The moonlight illuminated the map, and certain lines appeared clearer than before. After a moment, Elrond seemed to confirm something.
He looked up and walked back: "It appears I was right — these are moon-letters, which appear only under moonlight. Moreover, it must be the right season and the right phase of the moon."
Thorin's gaze flickered, and he pressed further: "Can you decipher them?"
Elrond looked at Thorin with a half-smile, his expression seeming to say: "If it couldn't be deciphered, why would I be saying all this?" He glanced at the moon in the night sky and said quietly: "Come with me."
---
Soon after, Karl and his five companions followed Elrond to a cliff. This place was higher up, nearly at the edge of the valley, with protruding rocks and a deep canyon below. In the distance, the waterfall split into several streams, cascading down the cliff, and moonlight poured down freely.
At the edge of the cliff stood a crystal platform — not an ordinary table, but one that seemed to have formed naturally. Its top had been polished smooth by Elven craftsmen, and its edges were adorned with carvings of stars and moons. Moonlight bathed everything around, reflecting a dazzling halo on the crystal platform's surface.
Elrond unfolded the map and laid it on the crystal platform. He explained, lightly touching a barely visible mark in the corner of the map. "These runes were written on the evening of the summer solstice... under a new moon about two hundred years ago." He paused, then looked at the moon: "It seems you were destined to come to Rivendell. Fate has favoured you, Thorin Oakenshield — tonight, the same moonlight shines upon us."
The crystal platform began to change; first, a faint light started to seep from within the crystal. Then the light grew brighter and brighter, as if the entire crystal was illuminated from within, emitting a soft white glow. Then the map placed on the crystal platform was lit from below. Previously invisible runes began to appear one by one. The lines changed colour from silver-white to pale blue, and finally to a bright blue.
The moon-letters were arranged on the map in rows and columns, forming complete sentences and paragraphs. Elrond's finger slowly traced the blue light patterns appearing on the map. He read aloud the words written in the starlight: "When the thrush sings its song, standing by the grey stone, the last light of Durin's day shall shine upon the keyhole."
After he finished speaking, silence fell over the courtyard for a moment. Gandalf looked up, his eyes gleaming, and stroked his long beard. "That is the dwarves' New Year, the day of Durin," he said. "According to the dwarven calendar, it is the only time of year when the last month of autumn and the first sunrise of winter meet in the sky simultaneously. The last rays of the setting sun form a certain angle with the newly risen moon..."
Thorin frowned. He looked at Gandalf, then at Balin and the others standing beside him. "Gentlemen, this is bad news. Summer is coming to an end, and there are less than two months until Durin's Day."
Balin raised his hand, signalling Thorin not to lose patience: "Thorin, there is still time. We need to be in the right place at the right time. If you can accomplish these two things, the door will open."
Elrond's gaze shifted from Thorin to Gandalf, and finally rested on Karl, who had remained silent all this while. "So your goal is to reach the Lonely Mountain?"
The map had been deciphered, and Thorin no longer maintained that deliberately humble manner with the Elves. He straightened his back, regained the pride of a dwarf prince, and answered Elrond without any courtesy. "So what? Even if you decipher the map and learn our goal, what can you do about it?"
Elrond did not grow angry. He rolled up the map and returned it to Thorin: "Some might consider this an unwise undertaking."
Gandalf frowned in confusion, lightly tapping his staff against the ground: "What do you mean by that, Lord Elrond?"
Elrond smiled and said something seemingly unrelated to the conversation. "Gandalf, you are not the only guardian of Middle-earth."
This phrase struck Gandalf. It seemed something suddenly occurred to him, and his eyes widened slightly. Elrond offered no further explanation and gave Karl a slight nod. Then he turned and slowly walked away along the stone path by which he had come, to inform the others.
Elrond had just exited the passage when he suddenly stopped at a corner adorned with vines and moonflowers. There stood a figure, radiating a holy and gentle light. Illuminated by the light, her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. She wore a white gown of fine fabric, which swayed softly in the night breeze, barely hinting at her graceful form.
At this moment, she looked at Elrond with a slight smile on her face. "Galadriel? When did you arrive? I was just about to send you word." Elrond was somewhat surprised.
Galadriel did not answer immediately. She slowly turned her head and carefully glanced toward where Karl was. In that single glance were reflected extremely complex emotions, including nostalgia and joy. Then Galadriel raised her right hand and gently swept it through the air. A golden veil of light silently unfurled, completely concealing her and Elrond's figures. The light screen not only blocked the view but also prevented sound from spreading.
After all this, Galadriel shook her head and said quietly: "It doesn't matter, Elrond." She extended her right hand from the wide sleeves of her fine gown; her skin was like the finest pearl. What drew the most attention was the golden ring she wore on her ring finger. A flash of golden light from the ring, and above Galadriel's palm, a small box appeared from nowhere, silently floating in the air.
It was a box made entirely of mithril, its surface covered with numerous runes. The runes were not static; they slowly flowed across the box's surface, breathing like living beings. The box slowly floated toward Elrond, hovering in the air, waiting for him to take it.
"Elrond, I need you to return this box to him," Galadriel said.
Elrond extended his right hand, and the box softly settled into his palm. He looked up at Galadriel, confusion in his eyes: "Galadriel, I don't understand — you waited for him for an entire age. After his sudden disappearance, you never ceased searching for him. Now that he has returned, though... he has changed somewhat, it is certainly him. Why not go and see him in person?"
"No," Galadriel interrupted quietly. The word "no" was spoken softly, but with unshakable resolve. For a moment, Elrond caught a glimpse of something in her eyes. But that thought flickered through her mind, and Galadriel quickly restrained herself. Her face regained its composure, but deep within her eyes, some turbulent tension still lingered.