Ding.
A silver coin was tossed into the air and caught by Levi's outstretched hand.
Then it was tossed into the air again.
This behavior drew sideways glances from some dusty travelers.
But when many people turned their gazes toward that figure in black armor and linen robes, they couldn't help but slow their breathing. They furrowed their brows and desperately tried to recall, yet never understood where that familiar feeling came from.
Only when that person had moved far away did someone suddenly have an epiphany.
He took a breath and said: "That was that, that person with many titles who just passed by!"
"Who?"
"Him."
Bree border.
In the crudely furnished Forsaken Inn, as soon as Levi sat down, like a large stone, he directly suppressed all the scattered conversations around him.
This made the already sparsely populated inn seem even more desolate.
Only the innkeeper still stood behind the counter, quite naturally arranging glasses, making some slight noise.
"I'll have a beer and some roasted meat."
Levi placed his order.
"Just a moment, please."
The innkeeper immediately put down his work and was about to head to the kitchen.
But at this moment, another voice suddenly interjected: "Give me some bread, no need for drinks..."
Levi turned his head and spotted a familiar figure.
That person greeted the innkeeper and plopped down across from Levi with a weary sigh.
He said:
"Long time no see."
"Quite long indeed."
Levi accepted the beer the innkeeper handed over and took a sip first.
"Won't you have a drink?"
"No, for certain reasons, I'm a bit short on money lately."
"Well, that's easy to fix. I've made a small fortune recently. I'll pay for this meal."
"A small fortune?"
The person across from him fell silent: "If that can be called small, then nothing in this world can be considered much."
"Indeed quite a lot. Anyway, I can't count exactly how much there is."
Levi shrugged.
"I always feel like you're showing off."
"But it really is remarkable. I never thought that in just over two years, you could accomplish so many things. When I first heard about it, I thought people were joking with me."
"Regardless, it seems you've been doing quite well lately."
"Not bad, I suppose. But enough about me. Let's talk about you, Halbarad. You disappeared for several years. Where did you go?"
Levi ordered two more beers and another serving of roasted meat from the innkeeper, saying: "I almost thought you'd quietly become a wraith in some corner."
Hearing this, Halbarad was speechless.
"Even if I became a wraith, I'd have to get the news back to you, though you probably don't need it much now."
"What news?"
Plop.
Two beers were brought over and placed before each of them.
Halbarad took a sip; it was quite refreshing.
He replied: "The gold mines you wanted and news from some distant lands."
"After hearing your commission, I traveled east, crossed Ithilien, then went south from the Poros crossing, successfully infiltrating Umbar."
"That really isn't a pleasant place. Everywhere are spies of the Nameless One. They worship the being in the Dark Tower, developing the Eye cult with him as their faith."
"I searched for a long time in the war zone between Gondor and Umbar, finally discovering that in the regions west of Umbar there are some mine pits that can extract precious minerals. But before I could gather more information, I was suddenly exposed. The Haradrim there discovered I was from the north and shouted about burning me to ash."
"I ran for many days before making it back to the war zone, leaving there with the help of some Gondorian Rangers."
"Honestly, I think finding what you want in the Harad region isn't very realistic, so after resting for a while, I explored north of Mordor."
"That area... besides Dorwinion, there's Rhûn. You went to where the Easterlings live?"
"Yes."
Two plates of roasted meat were brought over, one with an extra piece of bread. Levi took the one without bread and began eating directly.
But Halbarad didn't seem to have much appetite. While recalling, he stared at the beer in his glass and said:
"I initially thought Rhûn would be better, but after walking just a little way inside, I was shocked by the situation there."
"There's unrest happening there, major unrest. In the more eastern regions, there's a resistance force fighting against the Easterlings."
"During my time in Rhûn, the fighting there became increasingly intense. Later, besides humans, orcs and wargs appeared, along with larger troll variants called Olog-hai that don't fear sunlight."
"Those wargs had blacker, more evil fur than those in the northern mountains, reminding me of the 'werewolves' from ancient history."
"They're assisting the Easterlings in launching attacks against certain forces."
Listening to this, Levi frowned.
Such commotion in Rhûn?
No wonder the borders were sealed and Dorwinion merchant caravans couldn't get through.
But resistance forces?
Levi swallowed the last small piece of roasted meat and was about to ask when he suddenly heard Halbarad say:
"Before the border roads were blocked, an elderly man in blue robes with agile movements found me and escorted me out."
"Before parting, he said something to me."
"I still haven't been able to understand what that statement meant."
"What?"
Levi perked up.
"He said he might not be able to return."
Some grieve for being unable to return.
Others are troubled by being unable to send away something.
Rivendell.
Under the starry sky, Elrond sat at his desk, gently lifting his pen to write a line on paper:
"To Levi:"
"Long time no see, my friend. How have you been recently?"
"Since our last parting, two years have passed. I have heard many legends about you and am greatly pleased by your achievements."
"But have you forgotten that you still have an extremely fast horse here?"
Writing this far, Elrond sighed.
That horse had given the stableman responsible for caring for it quite a headache. Though Levi had said there was no need to feed it, when the stableman occasionally passed by carrying a handful of wheat, that horse would stare straight at him, no longer as carefree as before.
The stableman sensed something and immediately offered the wheat. Sure enough, that dull horse immediately ate the wheat clean.
Then it began getting restless, sometimes rubbing against walls, sometimes wanting to go outside.
The stableman guessed it might be going stir-crazy, so he took it to the outdoor grassland for some air. On the grassland, that horse seemed much better, even occasionally lowering its head to nibble grass on the ground.
He immediately realized he might have been biased against this horse. Just because Levi said no feeding was needed, he'd treated it as abnormal and kept it confined in the stable.
The elven stableman immediately repented. From then on, he cared for this horse extensively, not only regularly taking it out for walks and fresh air but also bringing it to Rivendell's herd, trying to let it socialize with its kind.
Speaking of Rivendell's herd, they were all bred through careful selection and reproduction. Every horse was emotionally stable and swift - truly fine steeds. Toward this new, strange companion, they showed no rejection but acceptance, even though it seemed somewhat dull.
Everything seemed to be developing in a positive direction until one day, when the stableman fed that horse a handful of wheat in the pasture.
It immediately became restless, quickly approaching other horses that were grazing with their heads down. Regardless of whether they were male or female, it directly...
To prevent it from being kicked badly by the startled horses, the elven stableman ultimately could only continue keeping it confined in the stable.
This incident has saddened that elf ever since. He believed his inadequate care had caused this horse's various abnormalities.
Since it was a horse entrusted by an ally, Elrond occasionally, about once a year, would also check on the situation here.
Then he discovered the stableman's distress.
While thinking about this, the letter had reached its conclusion.
Though asking when Levi could take the horse away was the main purpose, this main purpose was only mentioned in a sentence or two in the letter.
Most of it contained caring inquiries, praise for what Levi had done recently, plus expressions of longing and welcoming him to visit anytime, that Rivendell would certainly receive him warmly, and so forth.
After writing these, Elrond noted at the end of the letter:
"Your friend, Elrond."
Having done this, Elrond waited a while, letting the evening breeze blow past and dry the ink.
At this time, footsteps came from one side.
Elrond turned his head and saw it was a young man, so he smiled at him.
"Estel."
Estel, meaning "hope" in Elvish, was also the elves' name for Aragorn.
This young man was indeed Aragorn.
Since the Kingdom of Arnor's declared destruction, Elrond had been helping the Rangers wandering in various places. Each generation's chieftain of the Rangers would be raised and taught by Elrond in their youth.
Of course, it wasn't merely simple raising and teaching. This was also protection of the royal bloodline.
At this moment, Aragorn stood not far away, bowing slightly to Elrond as a greeting, then approached curiously and asked:
"Are you writing to a friend?"
Having lived here so long, little Aragorn was seeing his foster father write a letter for the first time, and curiosity immediately became unstoppable.
Faced with Aragorn's curiosity, Elrond didn't hide anything. He nodded:
"He is a very unique person."
By now the writing on the letter had dried. While sealing the letter, Elrond told young Aragorn stories about the Lord of Roadside Fort, the Legend of the Wild...
He spoke for quite a while, until Aragorn's mother came looking for them, before Elrond stopped and escorted mother and son back.
Whoosh.
While walking, Elrond suddenly stopped, sharply turning his head toward the west, gazing up at the night sky.
The mother and son noticed the anomaly and also stopped to look in that direction, following Elrond's gaze.
But they saw nothing.
"Did something happen?"
Aragorn was full of questions.
Elrond placed a hand on his shoulder and said: "In a place beyond our sight, a white beam of light divides the night sky in two."
"I guess it's Roadside Fort."
Elrond smiled and continued escorting mother and son back.
But young Aragorn couldn't calm down for a long time. Even after being sent back to his room by his mother and lying in bed, he was still thinking about those words.
"Roadside Fort."
"Levi."
In the darkness, Aragorn leaned against his soft pillow, his large eyes blinking and blinking, never willing to close obediently.
He just stared at the ceiling motionlessly, his mind full of the legends he'd just heard.