Talion led Arthur and Melina into his living quarters, where a rather attractive middle-aged woman was cleaning.
She wore a blue robe, a dagger at her waist, and her pockets bulged with what looked like throwing knives. Her calloused hands also told Arthur and Melina that this woman was a seasoned warrior.
Talion showed a happy expression, gently embraced her, and after a kiss on the cheek, turned around and introduced her to Arthur and Melina: "This is my wife, Ioreth, and you've already met my son, Dirhael, outside."
After Talion finished speaking, Ioreth greeted them: "Hello, two guests from afar."
Arthur returned the greeting: "Hello, Ms. Ioreth. I am Arthur, the Lord from the Golden Tree Territory, and also a wizard."
Melina, after returning the greeting, simply stated her name: "Melina."
Ioreth then put down the broom in her hand, wiped her hands on the apron at her waist, and warmly said to Arthur and Melina: "Talion told me long ago that he wanted to meet the Lord of the Erdtree, but I didn't expect you two to personally come to this remote and dangerous place."
Talion said to Ioreth: "My dear, please brew them a pot of hot tea and bring some of the pastries that the Gondor transport team delivered earlier."
Upon hearing this, Ioreth nodded and quickly left, while Talion motioned for Arthur and Melina to sit at a round wooden table.
After the two were seated, Talion took a deep breath and said: "I actually had another purpose in visiting the Erdtree, but there were too many people outside just now, and it wasn't convenient to explain it to you in detail."
Arthur looked at the weathered ranger and nodded, signaling him to continue.
Talion rubbed his temples, organized his thoughts, and then spoke: "I suspect there's an internal traitor among my people, someone who has defected to Sauron."
Ah? Such a shocking revelation right off the bat?
Arthur's expression instantly became colorful, and even Melina's eyes widened slightly.
Talion looked at their expressions, sighed slightly, and explained: "Even before heading to the Golden Tree Territory, I had already noticed some signs, but I wasn't certain. Because on the surface, there seemed to be no trouble here at the Black Gate, and Sauron's servants were only attacking the Black Gate at the same frequency as before. But in reality, if you observe carefully, you'll find that the places where those orcs attacked were precisely the positions where defenses had flaws. Once or twice might be a coincidence, but so many times, it's definitely not. It made me have to suspect whether there was a traitor within."
Arthur asked: "What's the result? Do you have any leads?"
Talion shook his head slightly: "Not before. I know everyone at the Black Gate very well. Every ranger willing to be stationed at the Black Gate is a noble warrior, and I really couldn't understand why anyone would choose to betray us. If they wanted to become rich and powerful, there was no need to come here to the Black Gate."
Melina followed Talion's words and asked: "Sir Talion, you just said, 'Not before,' right?"
Talion's face darkened, as if it was about to drip water, and he nodded: "Yes, because something changed in Mordor recently, which led to the traitor being discovered as he didn't hide his tail well."
Just then, Ioreth slowly approached, carrying a tray with a teapot and pastries, and gently placed it on the table.
The tray clinked against the table, and Ioreth sat down next to Talion, saying to Arthur and Melina: "The matter of the traitor was something Talion and I discovered together."
Talion motioned for Ioreth to pour tea for Arthur and Melina. The latter first gave Arthur and Melina an apologetic look, then quickly stood up again to pour the tea.
After Arthur thanked Ioreth, he asked: "Continue to tell me about the traitor. How did you two discover the traitor?"
Talion and Ioreth exchanged glances, then he himself sighed, and said with a mix of sadness and amusement: "The traitor himself was well hidden, but he forgot one thing, which is that the orc he was in contact with didn't have his intelligence. During a routine patrol, Ioreth and I killed a squad of orcs, and found a letter written by the traitor on one of the orcs."
Arthur frowned: "Then why not expose the traitor directly?"
Ioreth answered for Talion: "Because we couldn't confirm the traitor's identity. We could only determine from the shift change times in the letter that someone among us had betrayed us."
Talion nodded: "Hmm… Although I know everyone here, I can't identify everyone's handwriting. But fortunately, not many people know the exact shift change times; only those at the captain level are qualified to know."
Arthur asked: "How many captains are there here at the Black Gate?"
Talion replied without hesitation: "Close to twenty."
Now it was Arthur's turn to frown.
And Melina, after hearing Talion's answer, said: "That number… it would probably be very difficult to confirm who it is, wouldn't it?"
Talion said: "Originally, I wanted to avoid alerting the enemy and slowly find out who the traitor was. But recently, the orc attacks have become more frequent, and because of that traitor, we've lost many brave warriors, which is making me lose my patience. But thankfully, you two arrived at this time."
Arthur was not stupid and immediately retorted: "Are you trying to use our arrival to make the real traitor reveal himself?"
Talion said sincerely: "I do have that intention, but first I must get your consent. If you think helping with this is too risky and you're unwilling, I completely understand."
Arthur pondered for a while, brainstorming.
Melina remained silent, quietly awaiting his decision.
It wasn't until the tea was almost cold that Arthur broke the silence in the room and said: "I am willing to help you with this, but I have two conditions."
Talion quickly asked: "Please tell me."
Arthur first held up a finger: "One, if we expose the traitor under your command, it must be done my way. Two, I need a detailed map of Mordor, preferably one that shows the areas where orcs congregate."
After hearing this, Talion breathed a sigh of relief.
He had thought Arthur would be like some Gondor nobles he had seen before, demanding treasures with exorbitant prices.
But he didn't expect him to only ask for a map of Mordor, which almost everyone at the Black Gate possessed.
As for the first condition Arthur proposed, Talion couldn't possibly object.
One must know that when Arthur introduced himself earlier, he clearly stated that he was a wizard.
In Talion's eyes, what Arthur meant by that sentence was that the wizard would personally help him expose the traitor.
So Talion quickly agreed, afraid that Arthur would go back on his word: "Deal!"