Chapter 74: Rivendell

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The group exited the cave, and as they were about to decide a direction to go to, they heard something go through the leaves quickly. They all took out their weapons as they saw a strange kind of chariot come their way, but Gandalf stopped them from attacking.

"Radagast the Brown, a fellow wizard… What are you doing here?"

Radagast rode a wooden chariot, pulled by a bunch of hares. His outfit was quite special, to say the least, he was dressed in brown rags and even had a bird's excrement that dried in his hair…

Edward could feel he was undoubtedly a wizard though, and knew better than underestimate him. His Chi was weaker than Diana, but not by that much either. As for Gandalf, he was even stronger, and although that doesn't necessarily mean he would defeat her in combat, it still showed his great power.

However, for both wizards he could feel that a major part of their power was sealed away, but not in the same fashion as him, more like it was hidden deep within them.

At Gandalf's inquiry, Radagast looked a little on edge as he warned, "Something is wrong, something's terribly wrong, Gandalf. The woods are sick, a darkness has fallen over it, and it comes from… Dol-Guldur."

"Dol-Guldur? Isn't that old fortress abandoned?"

"It's not, a dark power dwells in there, the shadow of an ancient horror. The spirit of the dead were summoned, there lays a Necromancer!"

"Necromancer? Are you sure?"

Faced with Gandalf's doubt, Radagast took out a wrapped up object. Edward, who was standing a meter away, immediately felt a strong aura of death coming from this object, it was the opposite of Chi. It was covered by Radagast's own aura at first, but now that he took it out, he could feel it, and so could Gandalf it seemed as he didn't even look at the object beneath the cover before putting it away.

Radagast was about to add something when the company suddenly heard howls, and the rustling of leaves as a bunch of wolves as big as a man jumped out of the bushes.

The dwarves, who still had their weapons in hand, quickly retaliated, and Edward, who had one of them jump on him, punched it so hard in the head it was sent flying into a tree, it's skull caved in with gory bits of blood and brain exploding out.

They managed to kill all the wolves, but they heard cries not so far away, and Kili muttered, "Orcs…"

Thorin frowned and said, "There are many, and they have Wargs with them. We won't be able to outrun them, let's go back inside the cave, it should cover our scent."

Gandalf shook his head though and advised, "They must have been following our tracks for a while now, if they find the corpses of the Trolls then they will knew to search for this place."

Radagast offered, "Don't worry, I will drive them away."

Gandalf frowned and refused, "Those are Wargs, you can't outrun them."

Radagast snorted and jumped onto his chariot, "Watch me."

His set off as his hares easily carried him, and he weaved through the trees as he began crying at the top of his lungs. Gandalf turned to the rest of the company and urged them, "Some of them may still come here so we need to leave quickly!"

Everyone jumped on their ride and set off, following Gandalf's lead as he guided them through the woods. As the only one on horse, Edward easily caught up to Gandalf and asked high enough to be heard by him but not by the others, "You are leading us to Rivendell aren't you?"

Gandalf raised an eyebrow in surprise, and nodded, "How did you guess?"

Edward replied, "Radagast isn't their target, and once they notice they can't catch up to him they will come back, and if they really are riding those Wargs then they will catch up to us quickly. But if we enter the territory of the elves with them on our tail…"

Gandalf hid a small smile and said nothing.

The company quickly left the woods, and arrived before a large plain. At the other end of this plain was a large mountain range, that extended from North to South, or from left to right for them.

It was so large they couldn't even see the end of it, and the tops of the mountain were covered in permafrost. Those were the famed Misty Mountains.

Gandalf turned to the company and hollered, "We must hurry up!"

Everyone picked up their speed, they had trouble keeping up with Gandalf's horse, and Edward knew this wasn't the horse's top speed, he could feel a strong Chi from the horse too, it definitely was a special one.

However, even with their increased speed, before long they once again heard the howls of Wargs, as well as the cries of orcs. Looking behind them, the company saw a big group of orcs mounting Wargs chasing after them, getting closer with every second.

Thorin frowned and hollered, "We'll get butchered if we keep fleeing! Stop and prepare for combat!"

The order contradicted Gandalf's earlier order of fleeing as fast as possible, but the dwarves did not hesitate in the slightest to stop, and neither did Edward. He was confidant he could take care of those orcs by himself, the dwarves weren't dainty maidens who needed to be protected either.

Moreover, Gandalf didn't say anything and got down from his horse too, unsheathing his blade, so they probably had entered Rivendell's territory already.

As everyone took out their weapons, Edward also took out the Ebony Blade. He wanted to fight using only magic, to see how he would fare, but he was still too weak, with the amount of Chi he had he would be lucky to throw two deadly spells.

That was the thing with his magic, the power of his spells was above that of any other magicians, as it was the purest kind of magic, but it also had a far greater burden than the others.

The orcs did not charge at them straight away, but instead encircled them, and their leader made a sign with his hand. At his gesture, all the Orcs had their Wargs howl and growl.

Everyone was confused at the gesture, but after a second the dwarves panicked as their ponies ran away, alongside Edward and Gandalf's horses. And even as the horses and ponies fled, they didn't stop.

The Orc leader eventually had them stop though and pointed his blade at Thorin, "Son of fool, Son of mad, I shall deliver your head to my master!"

The orc leader raised his blade to the sky and initiated the attack.

Although the dwarves were battle hardened and were very brave, having a dozen Wargs taller than themselves charge at them and even more behind, it obviously shook them.

Edward took half a step forward, but it did nothing to reassure the nearby dwarves. However, he felt a warm wave of energy spread around the company, and himself felt invigorated by it. It didn't make them stronger, but he could feel bravery in his heart.

Edward could feel it came from Gandalf, but he couldn't ask as the Wargs were upon them.

But just as they were about to reach them, arrows flew into the circle and hit all the Wars surrounding them. The Orc Leader, who had blocked an arrow coming for his Warg too, looked scared as he yelled something in a language Edward couldn't understand.

The next moment, the sound of horses charging was heard as a bunch of soldiers on their horses slammed into the Orcs and their Wargs, slashing them down.

They showed an exquisite teamwork as their moves seemed to be synchronized, and the orcs, who had fallen into a disarray because of their attack, stood no chance.

The dwarves profited of the occasion to send in a strike or two, but they couldn't do much as the orcs quickly fled in fright.

Trouble wasn't over for the dwarves though as the soldiers that drove the Orcs away surrounded them too, and quickly circled around them, never stopping.

As the dwarves were being driven to their edge, a voice came from one of the riders, "Mithrandir!"

The soldiers moved to let pass a man and his horse, and he was looking at Gandalf. The later smiled and greeted him like an old friend, "Lord Elrond, my friend."

Those soldiers were the elves of Rivendell, and this man was Lord Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. The dwarves looked distasteful, especially Thorin, and their animosity didn't go away. Edward was fascinated though, the elves had always been a legendary race.

After speaking a few words in Elvish, Elrond turned to the company, and said, "You have a strange company Gandalf. Dwarves, a Hobbit and a man…"

Edward made a short bow toward the Lord of Rivendell, surprising the latter but he still nodded. Then, Thorin walked out of the group, and Elrond greeted, "Thorin Oakenshield."

Thorin grumbled, "I don't think we've met."

Elrond smiled, before saying something in Elvish. The dwarves, thinking this was an insult, looked ready to fight it out, but Gandalf translated, "Lord Elrond is inviting you to his abode, for rest, food and to wash yourselves."

Thorin looked reluctant, but he looked at the other dwarves, Bilbo, Edward and Gandalf before sighing. Gandalf smiled and nodded to Elrond.

With the elves accompanying them to Rivendell, no more trouble came their way as they peacefully entered the hidden valley.

Edward had high expectations of Rivendell because it's beauty had struck him when he saw the movies, but only when they arrived did he understand how much more beautiful the town was.

Rivendell reeked of clarity as all the materials used to make the town were light in colour, and magic permeated the area.

Other than Edward, Bilbo was also looking at the great town of the elves in wonder, mesmerized too. The elves were creatures of beauty, and their home portrayed them well.

Gandalf sent a look at Edward, who came forward, and Gandalf introduced him, "Lord Elrond, this is a friend of mine, Edward."

Elrond looked at Edward with some curiosity, and nodded. Gandalf then added, "Edward is a most remarkable man, as you may have sensed, as he not only is a great warrior, he is also a magician."

This finally sparked something in Elrond as he said, "Is that so?"

Edward smiled and explained, "Unfortunately, my power is sealed for now, but I am working on restoring it. I must say, Lord Elrond, you have a most beautiful home, I wish mine was like yours."

Elrond smiled, "Thank you. Where do you come from? It is rude of me, but you feel… foreign."

This made Edward chuckle, "As expected of Lord Elrond, your senses sure are sharp. I do come from a foreign place, and I cannot say much I fear, but I was sent here on a mission, to fight the forces of darkness."

Elrond nodded slightly, and said, "It does not matter, we will have more time to talk. For now, a feast awaits our weary travellers."

The dwarves looked excited at the mention of an abundance of food, and some were already salivating, making a few of the nearby elves chuckle.

But as they neared the great hall within which they would feast, a golden haired elf approached the group. He had a fair face, and a smile on his lips, exuding joy as he approached.

He bowed slightly and greeted, "Lord Elrond, Mithrandir."

Gandalf bowed back, while Elrond smiled and turned to Edward, "You arrived at the right moment, I have a feeling you two could become great friends."

The elf looked surprised, as he and Edward looked at each other in the eyes. The elf immediately felt this man was not from Gondor or Rohan, nor was he like any man he had ever met.

As for Edward, he could feel great power within this elf, so great in fact he could very well match Gandalf.

So Edward made a respectful bow and presented himself, "I'm Edward, pleased to meet you."

The elf bowed back, "It's my pleasure, I am…"

"Glorfindel."