This Potion, strictly speaking, was a failed Potion.
When Luke was making the Scabies Potion, he intentionally threw the porcupine quills directly into the Potion before the fire was extinguished, ultimately causing the Scabies Potion, which was originally meant to treat scabies, to turn into a highly corrosive liquid.
Luke carefully opened the Potion bottle, then used the Levitation Charm to control it, moving it above the Trolls' cauldron.
Immediately, the Potion lost its support and dropped directly into the cauldron.
"Plop!" A sound echoed from the cauldron.
"Hey, what fell in?" one of the Trolls asked curiously, then looked up at the stone wall above the cave, "Could it be a rock?"
"Who cares what it is, I'm starving!" another Troll said indifferently, then picked up a large bowl, scooped food from the pot into it, and began to devour it.
Seeing this, the other Trolls also quickly joined in the scramble for food, afraid of being left out and not getting any.
After all the food in the cauldron was snatched up, the glass bottle at the bottom of the pot made all the Trolls freeze.
"What is this?"
"It looks like something human."
"Why is something human appearing in our food?"
Before they could figure it out, they suddenly felt a sharp pain in their stomachs.
Their stomachs, small intestines, large intestines, and other organs felt as if they were being corroded and melted, and the pain of their insides being eaten away caused all the Trolls to fall to the ground, howling in agony.
The howls were deafening, echoing throughout the entire cave, attracting the attention of the humans in the prison.
But even with such a loud commotion, it failed to wake the soundly sleeping Troll leader.
Strike while the iron is hot; Luke and Gandalf immediately took action.
Gandalf borrowed Luke's Blazefury and charged into the howling, fallen Trolls, leaping constantly, using Blazefury to reap the lives of the Trolls.
Meanwhile, Luke came before the unconscious Troll leader and used the Levitation Charm to control a giant hammer, making it float into the air.
The giant hammer was made of iron and was extremely heavy, weighing over a thousand pound, making it very strenuous for Luke to control with the Levitation Charm.
When the giant hammer floated to a certain height, Luke withdrew his magic, and the giant hammer free-fell, smashing heavily onto the Troll leader's head.
A thousand pound of heavy object falling from a high altitude instantly smashed the Troll leader's head, making it bloody, and a section of its head was dented.
The Trolls were indeed formidable in defense; one blow did not kill the Troll leader; instead, it woke from its slumber.
But before it could make any other moves, the giant hammer smashed down heavily again.
This time, the Troll leader was not so lucky; its head was smashed, its brains splattered, and it died instantly.
Gandalf's movements were also swift; his body was agile, unlike an old man's, and he dispatched the Trolls one by one with his sword.
Soon, there was not a single living Troll left in the cave.
After the battle, Gandalf didn't even catch his breath; he went directly to the prison where the humans were held, slashed open the cage with his sword, and released everyone inside.
Entrusting the task of comforting the people to Gandalf, Luke went off alone to search for the Trolls' treasure hoard.
He continued deeper into the cave and soon found its end.
The end of the cave was piled high with gold, silver, and jewels, which shone exceptionally brightly under the glow of the fireflies, and their quantity was several times that of the treasures from the previous five Troll caves!
But just as Luke was astonished by such a large amount of treasure, he accidentally discovered a black object emanating magical fluctuations buried among the gold coins within the treasure.
Luke's curiosity was piqued.
He walked over and used his magic wand to brush aside the gold coins on top.
When it was fully revealed, he found it was a black crystal ball the size of a head.
He leaned closer for a careful look; it seemed to be a spherical object polished from an entire black crystal, and inside, a faint, shimmering mist constantly surged, displaying various blurry images.
"What is this?" Luke carefully touched it with his magic wand, and after finding no reaction, he dared to touch it with his hand.
As soon as he touched it, the black crystal ball instantly reacted, emitting light, and the misty light inside transformed into a clear image.
The scene displayed in the image was none other than Gandalf comforting the villagers on the other side of the cave.
Gandalf, as if sensing something, roared into the void, "Who's there?"
Luke was startled, looking at Gandalf's eyes, which seemed to be looking back at him through the crystal ball from across space, and then quickly shouted towards the outside of the cave, "Gandalf, come over here!"
Hearing Luke's shout, Gandalf came in Luke's direction, and Gandalf's figure was also dynamically displayed on the crystal ball.
"What happened?" As footsteps approached, Gandalf walked into the treasure cave.
Luke showed the black crystal ball to Gandalf, "Gandalf, can you tell me what this is?"
Seeing the black crystal ball held in Luke's hands, Gandalf was very surprised and blurted out, "A Palantír!"
Then he realized, "I was wondering why I felt like I was being watched just now, so it was the Palantír in your hand!"
"You are truly lucky to have found a Palantír; this is a treasure everyone dreams of!"
Gandalf couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
"Gandalf, you said this is a Palantír?"
"Absolutely right," Gandalf said with certainty, "I have seen other Palantír before, and apart from the difference in size, it is no different from the others."
Although Luke had already suspected it, he couldn't help but feel a surge of joy upon hearing Gandalf confirm that it was a Palantír.
The Palantír is a divine artifact that allows the user to see events that happened long ago or in distant places.
Those with strong will and powerful minds can even direct their gaze to anywhere they wish to see.
It can be said that with a Palantír, he would be equivalent to having clairvoyance, able to win battles from a thousand miles away.
He could even use it to see ancient events and explore ancient mysteries.
However, Gandalf immediately warned Luke, "Luke, you must use this Palantír cautiously, especially do not try to contact other Palantír with it, because you simply do not know who else might be using other missing Palantír."
"I understand, thank you for the reminder, I will use it carefully." Luke nodded earnestly.
As far as he knew, the Demon King Sauron and the White Wizard Saruman both had a Palantír in their hands, and Saruman was controlled by Sauron through the use of the Palantír, thus falling and choosing to betray the side of justice.
Even Saruman could be influenced and corrupted by Sauron through the Palantír; he naturally would not be so overconfident as to try and contact other Palantír.
Having obtained such a treasure as the Palantír, which even Gandalf envied, Luke was extremely happy; even the large pile of treasures in the cave failed to excite him in the slightest.
Gandalf had already comforted the villagers who had been imprisoned and kept by the Trolls outside, rekindling their hope and courage.
The two then, as before, distributed a portion of the money to these villagers, allowing them to take the money and leave the area, either by boat south to the southern human kingdoms, or west towards Luke's Weathertop or further west to Bree.
Luke then once again summoned a snake that knew the way, allowing the fearful villagers to follow the snake out of the forest.
After finishing all of that, Luke once again used magic to seal and hide the treasure, planning to retrieve it when he returned.
Then they continued to search for the next Trolls' cave.
However, this time, with the Palantír, the two found it much more convenient to search.
"Let me see, where are the next Trolls?" Luke held the Palantír, concentrating his will to stare at it.
Gandalf also leaned over, looking expectantly at the misty light within the crystal ball.
In an instant, a scene appeared in the crystal ball.
However, the scene that appeared surprised both of them.
Because in the image were Thorin and others, who were tied to a tree trunk by three Trolls and were being roasted over a fire.
Bilbo, in the face of danger, showed enough composure and wisdom, constantly distracting the three Trolls with words, saying that the Dwarves had illnesses and would get sick if eaten, and also using the conflicts between the three Trolls to provoke them into arguments over uneven distribution, continuously stalling for time.
Seeing Thorin and others trapped in the crystal ball, Gandalf did not show any anxious expression, but instead commented happily, "It seems my choice was not wrong. Bilbo is indeed the best candidate for a 'burglar.' When he is with the Dwarves, his brilliance becomes even more apparent."
Luke was not as calm as Gandalf. He did not expect that even with himself as a variable, they still encountered the three Trolls.
While lamenting the inertia of fate, he hurriedly urged, "Bilbo and they look like they can't last much longer, Gandalf, let's hurry over to rescue them!"
The situation was urgent, and Gandalf and Luke rushed toward Thorin's location without stopping, and with the Palantír's monitoring, they could see the situation on Bilbo's side at any time.
Before long, the two arrived near Bilbo and them.
From a distance, seeing the firelight and the three massive Troll figures, the two moved slowly and carefully, hiding behind a large rock.
"What should we do? Should we go directly and deal with them?" Luke tilted his head and whispered.
"Bilbo's provocation is very effective. Perhaps we don't need to do anything, and they can stall until dawn when the sun comes out," Gandalf said with approval, looking at the three Trolls not far away who were arguing so fiercely they were almost fighting.
"Of course, if you still have those Potions from before, you could use them against them again."
"My Potions are used up, I don't have any left to deal with them," Luke shook his head and said, then looked somewhat gleefully at the Dwarves tied to the wood, "It seems we can only let them suffer a bit longer and wait until dawn."
However, despite saying that, his actions did not stop. He quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and Gandalf, and then the two slowly approached the firelight invisibly.
The three Trolls were still fiercely arguing over how to distribute the people, completely unaware that someone had quietly approached behind them.
"Confundus Charm~" a faint sound rang out, barely audible hidden in the wind.
The three Trolls immediately became dazed, their not-so-smart brains now only fixated on food, single-mindedly wanting to obtain the largest number of Dwarves, and thus they were filled with hostility towards their two companions.
A voice in their minds was constantly enticing them: as long as they killed the others, all the Dwarves would be theirs.
It was unclear who struck first, but soon the three Trolls began to fight each other amidst the astonished gazes of the Dwarves, like mortal enemies, using all their might to kill each other.
For a time, the surrounding trees and boulders became weapons in their hands, the fighting area was a mess, and trees were destroyed.
Only the area where Thorin and the others were located was protected by an invisible barrier, blocking the impact of the debris.
Upon realizing this, the Dwarves were immediately overjoyed.
Bilbo was even more surprised, turning his head to search around, and quietly asked the air, "Luke, is that you?"
The Trolls fought more and more fiercely, eventually stopping the battle with a result of almost three-way mutual destruction.
One Troll was smashed by a boulder, bleeding from the head, and lay on the ground, life or death unknown; one had an arm and a leg broken, losing mobility; the remaining one, who was the final victor, also won a tragic victory at the cost of severe injuries.
"Hehe, mine, they are all my food!" the tragically victorious Troll said very happily.
But before it could finish celebrating, Blazefury directly pierced its chest, releasing scorching golden flames that burned its heart to ashes.
And the one holding the sword was Gandalf.
Seeing this sudden scene, the other Troll with broken limbs was terrified and immediately tried to stand on one leg to escape.
But the next second, two sharp daggers instantly pierced into its most vulnerable eyes, directly turning the disabled Troll into a blind one again.
The Troll let out a painful scream, and without its eyes, it scurried around like a headless fly.
"Luke, take the sword!" Gandalf threw the sword over.
Luke caught the Blazefury, plunged it into the Troll's back, and released raging flames.
The Troll's screams stopped abruptly, and it fell to the ground, unmoving.
Luke pulled out the sword and came before the last unconscious Troll, easily finishing it off.
Thus, all three Trolls were dealt with by Luke and Gandalf.
As Luke laboriously pulled his two daggers from the Troll's eyes, enduring his disgust as he wiped off the black blood, Gandalf had already unbound Bilbo and the Dwarves.
Seeing Luke and Gandalf so easily defeat the three Trolls and rescue them, Bilbo and the Dwarves were all very excited and grateful.
Even the most stubborn Thorin solemnly expressed his thanks to Luke and Gandalf.
"Luke, what is this?" Bilbo asked with surprise and curiosity when he saw Luke bring over a large black crystal ball.
"This is a Palantír?!" Thorin Oakenshield was very surprised; as the heir of the Durinfolk, his knowledge was extraordinary, and he immediately recognized it.
Seeing Thorin recognize it, Luke did not hide anything and nodded with a smile, "It was found in a Troll's cave. I happened to see you trapped through it, so Gandalf and I rushed over without delay."
Upon hearing this, Thorin was very envious.
If the Durinfolk also had a Palantír, they would have been able to discover the dragon's presence in advance, and would not have lost the Lonely Mountain and been forced into exile.
After rescuing everyone and leading back the horses that had been captured by the Trolls, including Luke's pony Little Stupid and the carriage.
The carriage had been protected by magic cast by Luke, so it was not damaged, and nothing inside was missing, including the pot of mature Mandrake.
A mature Mandrake is a great weapon, but unfortunately, Luke had not learned the spell to block hearing, so he could only regularly cast Petrificus Totalus on it to prevent it from killing himself before killing the enemy.
After placing the Palantír into the carriage, Luke suggested exploring the three Trolls' cave.
He remembered that Gandalf's Glamdring and Bilbo's Sting were both obtained there.
After finishing all of that, Luke once again used magic to seal and hide the treasure, planning to retrieve it when he returned.
Then they continued to search for the next Trolls' cave.
However, this time, with the Palantír, the two found it much more convenient to search.
"Let me see, where are the next Trolls?" Luke held the Palantír, concentrating his will to stare at it.
Gandalf also leaned over, looking expectantly at the misty light within the crystal ball.
In an instant, a scene appeared in the crystal ball.
However, the scene that appeared surprised both of them.
Because in the image were Thorin and others, who were tied to a tree trunk by three Trolls and were being roasted over a fire.
Bilbo, in the face of danger, showed enough composure and wisdom, constantly distracting the three Trolls with words, saying that the Dwarves had illnesses and would get sick if eaten, and also using the conflicts between the three Trolls to provoke them into arguments over uneven distribution, continuously stalling for time.
Seeing Thorin and others trapped in the crystal ball, Gandalf did not show any anxious expression, but instead commented happily, "It seems my choice was not wrong. Bilbo is indeed the best candidate for a 'burglar.' When he is with the Dwarves, his brilliance becomes even more apparent."
Luke was not as calm as Gandalf. He did not expect that even with himself as a variable, they still encountered the three Trolls.
While lamenting the inertia of fate, he hurriedly urged, "Bilbo and they look like they can't last much longer, Gandalf, let's hurry over to rescue them!"
The situation was urgent, and Gandalf and Luke rushed toward Thorin's location without stopping, and with the Palantír's monitoring, they could see the situation on Bilbo's side at any time.
Before long, the two arrived near Bilbo and them.
From a distance, seeing the firelight and the three massive Troll figures, the two moved slowly and carefully, hiding behind a large rock.
"What should we do? Should we go directly and deal with them?" Luke tilted his head and whispered.
"Bilbo's provocation is very effective. Perhaps we don't need to do anything, and they can stall until dawn when the sun comes out," Gandalf said with approval, looking at the three Trolls not far away who were arguing so fiercely they were almost fighting.
"Of course, if you still have those Potions from before, you could use them against them again."
"My Potions are used up, I don't have any left to deal with them," Luke shook his head and said, then looked somewhat gleefully at the Dwarves tied to the wood, "It seems we can only let them suffer a bit longer and wait until dawn."
However, despite saying that, his actions did not stop. He quickly cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself and Gandalf, and then the two slowly approached the firelight invisibly.
The three Trolls were still fiercely arguing over how to distribute the people, completely unaware that someone had quietly approached behind them.
"Confundus Charm~" a faint sound rang out, barely audible hidden in the wind.
The three Trolls immediately became dazed, their not-so-smart brains now only fixated on food, single-mindedly wanting to obtain the largest number of Dwarves, and thus they were filled with hostility towards their two companions.
A voice in their minds was constantly enticing them: as long as they killed the others, all the Dwarves would be theirs.
It was unclear who struck first, but soon the three Trolls began to fight each other amidst the astonished gazes of the Dwarves, like mortal enemies, using all their might to kill each other.
For a time, the surrounding trees and boulders became weapons in their hands, the fighting area was a mess, and trees were destroyed.
Only the area where Thorin and the others were located was protected by an invisible barrier, blocking the impact of the debris.
Upon realizing this, the Dwarves were immediately overjoyed.
Bilbo was even more surprised, turning his head to search around, and quietly asked the air, "Luke, is that you?"
The Trolls fought more and more fiercely, eventually stopping the battle with a result of almost three-way mutual destruction.
One Troll was smashed by a boulder, bleeding from the head, and lay on the ground, life or death unknown; one had an arm and a leg broken, losing mobility; the remaining one, who was the final victor, also won a tragic victory at the cost of severe injuries.
"Hehe, mine, they are all my food!" the tragically victorious Troll said very happily.
But before it could finish celebrating, Blazefury directly pierced its chest, releasing scorching golden flames that burned its heart to ashes.
And the one holding the sword was Gandalf.
Seeing this sudden scene, the other Troll with broken limbs was terrified and immediately tried to stand on one leg to escape.
But the next second, two sharp daggers instantly pierced into its most vulnerable eyes, directly turning the disabled Troll into a blind one again.
The Troll let out a painful scream, and without its eyes, it scurried around like a headless fly.
"Luke, take the sword!" Gandalf threw the sword over.
Luke caught the Blazefury, plunged it into the Troll's back, and released raging flames.
The Troll's screams stopped abruptly, and it fell to the ground, unmoving.
Luke pulled out the sword and came before the last unconscious Troll, easily finishing it off.
Thus, all three Trolls were dealt with by Luke and Gandalf.
As Luke laboriously pulled his two daggers from the Troll's eyes, enduring his disgust as he wiped off the black blood, Gandalf had already unbound Bilbo and the Dwarves.
Seeing Luke and Gandalf so easily defeat the three Trolls and rescue them, Bilbo and the Dwarves were all very excited and grateful.
Even the most stubborn Thorin solemnly expressed his thanks to Luke and Gandalf.
"Luke, what is this?" Bilbo asked with surprise and curiosity when he saw Luke bring over a large black crystal ball.
"This is a Palantír?!" Thorin Oakenshield was very surprised; as the heir of the Durinfolk, his knowledge was extraordinary, and he immediately recognized it.
Seeing Thorin recognize it, Luke did not hide anything and nodded with a smile, "It was found in a Troll's cave. I happened to see you trapped through it, so Gandalf and I rushed over without delay."
Upon hearing this, Thorin was very envious.
If the Durinfolk also had a Palantír, they would have been able to discover the dragon's presence in advance, and would not have lost the Lonely Mountain and been forced into exile.
After rescuing everyone and leading back the horses that had been captured by the Trolls, including Luke's pony Little Stupid and the carriage.
The carriage had been protected by magic cast by Luke, so it was not damaged, and nothing inside was missing, including the pot of mature Mandrake.
A mature Mandrake is a great weapon, but unfortunately, Luke had not learned the spell to block hearing, so he could only regularly cast Petrificus Totalus on it to prevent it from killing himself before killing the enemy.
After placing the Palantír into the carriage, Luke suggested exploring the three Trolls' cave.
He remembered that Gandalf's Glamdring and Bilbo's Sting were both obtained there.