Bilbo's voice instantly excited Lobelia, who noticed him, but her mouth was gagged with a rag, so she could only make crying sounds.
Bilbo angrily pointed at Lobelia, who was hung outside the door, and questioned, "I warn you, don't give me that look like I can save you. What exactly is going on with my house?!"
Arthur noticed Bilbo's anger, gently patted his back, and said, "Calm down, Bilbo. These two have their mouths gagged, so they can't answer you if you ask them like that."
At this moment, the round wooden door of Bag End opened outwards, and Rogier slowly walked out, bending at the waist, then straightened up, his handsome face instantly breaking into a smile upon seeing Arthur and Bilbo.
"Ah, you've finally returned. Arthur, and Bilbo. How was the journey to the Lonely Mountain?" Rogier asked gently.
Then, when his gaze fell upon Melina, he showed a surprised expression, paused, and removed his wizard's pointed hat to bow with his hand over his chest: "Long time no see, Miss Melina, I am very pleased that you are able to accompany Arthur once again."
"Hello, wizard."
Melina gave a slight curtsy as a return greeting.
Arthur and Bilbo both showed surprised expressions; they had not expected Rogier to appear at Bag End.
Arthur dismounted from Torrent, quickly walked a few steps, and gave Rogier a strong hug, then released him, asking curiously, "Why are you here? Did you do this to these two hobbits hanging by ropes outside the door?"
And Bilbo nodded frequently with Arthur's words; everything he wanted to ask had been asked by Arthur.
Rogier helplessly glanced at the two hobbits hanging outside the door, then looked at Bilbo and explained, "It wasn't me who hung them at the door, but Darian."
Then Rogier's voice grew slightly colder as he looked at the two frantically shaking their heads hobbits, and said, "But I don't think Darian did anything wrong this time, because when we passed by Hobbiton, we wanted to know if you, Bilbo, had returned from the Lonely Mountain, but we found that these two, by some unknown means, had presumptuously opened your house door and were moving your furniture out. Darian was very angry when he saw this and drew his weapon; if I hadn't stopped him, these two would probably not just be hanging here."
Bilbo gave them a speechless look, then looked at Lobelia and her husband with disdain: "You truly haven't changed your thieving ways. I was only away from home for a little while, and you tried to pry open my door."
Arthur realized, "So that's why the people of Hobbiton looked panicked and avoided Bilbo when they saw him? Was it because your actions at the time scared them?"
Rogier slightly shook his head: "Yes, and no. Although only these two hobbits were prying open the door, when Darian and I came by, there were quite a few hobbits gathered outside, waiting for something, I don't know what. They dispersed very quickly after seeing us."
"What do you mean 'dispersed very quickly'? Those timid Halflings were just hiding to see what we were going to do to Lobelia and her husband, and they only dispersed after seeing us hang these two at the door." Darian's voice came from behind them.
Arthur turned around and found Darian still wearing his silver and gold twin armor, but in each hand, he held something wrapped in cloth.
Judging by the aroma wafting from the cloth bags, it was clear that Darian was holding freshly bought food.
Then, before Arthur could speak, Darian placed the cloth bags on the stone steps in front of Bag End and knelt on one knee before Arthur: "Lord Arthur, congratulations on your victory in the Battle of the Lonely Mountain."
After Darian stood up, Arthur asked curiously, "How did you know that Bilbo and I had returned from reclaiming the Lonely Mountain?"
Darian replied resonantly, "Lord Arthur, I do not need to hear this news from others. Because I believe that when you go to the Lonely Mountain, you will surely cleanse all the evil there!"
Rogier looked at Darian's increasingly fervent tone and sighed slightly. To prevent him from truly becoming fanatical in front of Arthur, he interrupted, "In any case, let's go inside first. Darian, please go to the market again and buy food for three more people."
"It is my honor to serve Lord Arthur and his two friends, how can it be trouble!"
Darian did not hesitate, turned, and went to the Hobbiton market again.
Melina hid her face under her hood, looked at Lobelia and her husband, and asked, "Are they just going to stay hanging like that? How long has it been?"
Bilbo sighed and also said, "Yes, it's also a hassle to have them hanging at my door all the time."
Rogier shrugged: "Only two days, but don't worry, Darian healed their injuries with Prayers after punishing them. We've also given them water and food these two days, after all, we just wanted to teach them a lesson, not to cause a death. You decide what to do with them, Bilbo."
Bilbo looked at Lobelia, who was frantically making "mmm mmm mmm" sounds begging for mercy, and said to her crossly, "I'll take you down first, but then I'll hand you over to the Hobbiton constabulary, and let the laws of the Shire decide the punishment you should receive."
Arthur said, "Then let Melina and me go to the constabulary with you, and also speak to the person in charge here."
Bilbo nodded, then asked curiously, "What are you going to say?"
Arthur bent down to straighten Bilbo's collar and said, "Of course, to remind the people here that your status is no longer the same as before. My dear Bilbo Baggins, haven't you realized yet that you are a good friend of me, the Lord of the Golden Tree, and Thorin Oakenshield, the King Under the Mountain?"
Then he straightened up, glanced at Lobelia, who showed an even more desperate expression, and smiled: "And this friend, because of the promise of the Lord of the Golden Tree and the invitation of the King Under the Mountain, went on a long journey, but during this time, his home was entered by thieves. I think the person in charge of Hobbiton will certainly give my friend a fair and just outcome."
Bilbo blinked after hearing Arthur's words, then said, "To be honest, I've never felt that you and Thorin were like kings. I mean, neither of you has ever put on any kingly airs in front of me, so I don't really feel like I'm a friend of kings. Although this status sounds noble, I still prefer the way I interact with you and Thorin now."
"I like it this way too," Arthur said, as he untied Lobelia and her husband.
Although Arthur untied the two, he did not remove the rags stuffed in their mouths, and they headed to the constabulary under Bilbo's lead.
By the time Arthur and Bilbo returned from the constabulary, Rogier and Darian had already thoughtfully prepared lunch.
And during lunch, Arthur also told Rogier and Darian about the purpose of his long journey.
"Lord Arthur, are you looking for places with orcs to collect their souls this time? In the past year or so, Rogier and I have been to many places in Middle-earth, the Gundabad Mountains in the north or the Black Gate in the southeast, both meet your requirements," Darian said.
Hmm, Black Gate again?
Arthur raised an eyebrow; this was the second time he had heard this place name.
In that case, he really needed to investigate the Black Gate.