Unable to return?
Hearing Halbarad's words, Levi suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
Ordinary people definitely wouldn't understand this phrase, because they didn't know about those wizards' mission.
A total of five wizards were sent to Middle-earth to assist the Free Peoples in opposing Sauron. Three were in the central regions of Middle-earth, while two went to the far East. After some time, one of these two went further south to the Harad regions.
Whether East or South, both these areas weren't actually smaller than the central-western regions of Middle-earth.
But there was one problem. Both areas were basically under Sauron's control. The Easterlings, needless to say, were completely Sauron's allies.
Umbar was even worse. They'd already developed the Eye cult.
People only knew that the eastern Rhûn region had Easterlings and the southern Harad region had Umbar. However, in reality, both these forces were only corners of their respective regions, not the whole.
West of Mordor could still be considered a hundred flowers blooming, with plenty of space for stable development. East or south of Mordor was another story.
From most maps currently in circulation, Mordor seemed to occupy only a corner of the Middle-earth continent.
But the real reason was that maps could only record up to Mordor.
What appeared to be the free alliance surrounding this small piece of land called Mordor was actually Mordor united with surrounding unrecordable factions surrounding all of central-western Middle-earth.
This was also why the Lonely Mountain absolutely couldn't be lost, and the Witch-kingdom of Angmar absolutely couldn't be restored.
If either of these places fell into Sauron's hands, western Middle-earth would be like a piece of meat in a giant monster's mouth, only able to wait to be slowly chewed up.
After all, there was no Arnor now. If the Witch-kingdom really restored itself, those few Rangers alone couldn't defend the entire North.
Unless Levi moved his home to the Witch-kingdom's doorstep.
"This is my first time learning about the situation there. Very valuable information."
"Good that I could help."
After saying this, Halbarad began attacking the roasted meat and bread on his plate. Looking at his eating speed, his appetite was clearly quite good.
The East...
Levi looked at the large expanse of fog on the map, falling into thought.
Once the Easterlings resolved their current disputes, their next target would probably be neighboring Dale.
In the original timeline, during the War of the Ring eighty years later, Bard's grandson Brand died defending the Dale-Lonely Mountain front line. The then King under the Mountain, Dain, fought the Easterlings while guarding Brand's corpse, ultimately dying from exhaustion.
The Easterling invasion killed both the human and dwarven kings in one blow. They besieged the Lonely Mountain and Dale for over ten days, until the Ring was destroyed, Sauron was defeated, and the Easterlings' morale wavered, finally giving the remaining dwarves and humans a chance to counterattack.
Gulp.
While thinking, Halbarad had already finished the meat and bread on his plate, drinking the last bit of beer.
"I have a spontaneously thought-up adventure..."
Levi lightly tapped the table with his finger, sizing up the Ranger across from him whose spirits had improved considerably.
"Adventure?"
Halbarad raised an eyebrow, sensing something ominous.
"Yes, an adventure."
"Might need some manpower too."
Levi slowly nodded, continuing: "Preferably someone agile who's been to the corresponding region and has experience."
"Can I ask where you're planning to go?"
"The Easterlings."
"You could just say my name directly."
Halbarad looked helpless.
"I'm definitely willing to help you, but I have some things to do recently. You know, I haven't been back for a while. I need to check on my kinsmen."
"What's wrong with them?"
"Nothing much, they're wandering the wilds as always. It's just that somehow, companions in nearby areas have almost all disappeared. They seem to have abandoned vigilance over this area."
"Maybe it's because this area really no longer needs vigilance."
"How could that be..."
Halfway through his words, glancing at a certain living legend in black armor before him, Halbarad fell silent.
"Well, anyway, I need to reestablish contact with my companions as soon as possible. I don't know how they've been lately. Actually, if I hadn't seen you on the road, I should have already set out."
"Where to?"
"To our hidden refuge."
"That's quite intriguing. Speaking of which, I remember saying you and your kinsmen could always come to Roadside Fort to use the resources there, but until now, why haven't I encountered any other Rangers besides you?"
"Did you not tell them?"
Faced with Levi's question, Halbarad smiled slightly and replied:
"I did pass this news through the tribe, but... even if poor and often in difficult situations, Rangers have their own pride."
No reward without merit. Everyone disdained taking free meals.
That was roughly the meaning.
"We can still achieve basic self-sufficiency at minimum. Plus, with you here, this area has almost no enemies, so they have even less need to stay."
"Alright."
Levi understood.
Never mind other Rangers. Even Halbarad, who was relatively familiar with Levi, wouldn't come to Roadside Fort when he had nothing to do.
"You're going to find companions next, right? Could you take me along? I'm quite curious about your hiding places."
"Sure, if you want."
The brief journey was decided in just a few words.
Ready to go immediately, after settling the bill, the two left the inn and traveled south, climbing onto a stretch of hills.
The South Downs.
This was a desolate hill region east of the Barrow-downs and south of the Weather Hills, where greenery and trees were rarely seen. The soil underfoot was mixed with sand and stones. Looking around, everything was gray and dreary, appearing quite gloomy.
A truly uninhabited wasteland.
"Are you sure your stronghold is here?"
Levi stood on high ground desperately looking into the distance but couldn't see any traces of human activity.
"Even orcs probably wouldn't want to come to this place."
"That's where you're wrong."
Halbarad called from below: "Quite the opposite. Orcs often gather on this land."
"Then they get cleared out by our kinsmen who suddenly appear."
While leading the way ahead, Halbarad said:
"In this wilderness, no one can detect our position. In fact, if not for some special codes and markers, even we ourselves might not find our previous strongholds on a second visit."
"I hope the markers haven't changed during my absence, or we'll have quite a headache."
They walked silently for a stretch.
Suddenly, Halbarad raised his hand, signaling Levi to stop, and crouched down.
"What's wrong?"
Levi came over for a look but really couldn't see anything special.
"There's a problem. Something's been here."
An ominous feeling rose in his heart.
"This way."