The Collection of The End

——Third Age, 3018, September 23——

Late night at Bag End.

The originally peaceful and cozy cabin was now dark.

It is not that there are no lights in the house, but whether it is an oil lamp, a candle or a bonfire burning in the fireplace, the light emitted cannot illuminate the space more than half a meter away from them. It is as if the hut is filled with "darkness" and can no longer illuminate the space. There is no room for a trace of "light".

Hiss—buzz!

In this darkness, a group of light slowly lit up. It was as weak as a firefly at first, but soon spread out. In less than two breaths, all the unnatural "darkness" in the room was driven away, revealing Standing in the middle of the room, a gray-robed wizard with a long staff in hand and a serious look on his face. At his feet, there were several black and tattered cloaks and rusty armor pieces piled up.

"Gandalf, that's amazing." Sophie walked in from the door, grabbed the pie on the table and threw it into her mouth.

"..." Gandalf subconsciously raised his hand, paused for a moment, and then put it down again: "Forget it, some magic pollution should have no effect on you at all."

"What exactly happened here?" Sam walked in with his head tilted: "Where are those black knights who are looking for trouble?"

"Sophie said they are 'empty shells'," Frodo followed into the house and looked at the debris piled on the ground: "Without the 'filling', of course they will 'collapse'."

"Yes, really? Are they dead?" Sam almost stepped on the black robe and backed away in fright.

"Death is a relief for the 'ringwraith'," Gandalf shook his head, picked up a poker, and threw the cloaks and armor pieces one by one into the bonfire of the fireplace: "Their souls will forever be Sauron enslaved, and even if the husks were 'killed', they could easily regenerate until the One Ring was destroyed - where did you put it?"

"It seems that my guess was correct," Frodo shrugged. "After Bilbo left it to me, I checked the relevant information and roughly determined what it was."

"How are you sure?" Gandalf was watching the "shell" of the Nazgul being burned. Hearing this, he turned to look at Frodo: "I went to Minas Tirith to look up the History of the Fall of Emmenur. , only then did I find the records about those words.”

"According to legend, whether it is the Three Rings of Elves, the Seven Rings of Dwarves or the Nine Rings of Humans, they can all be destroyed by dragon fire." Frodo walked to the window and rummaged in a flower pot: "And the dragon fire is endured once a year. The one that hasn't been broken by the burning can only be the Supreme Lord of the Rings - although Sophie looks like a hobbit, she is still a dragon."

"..." Gandalf froze.

"Gandalf is a fool." Sophie finished the pie and turned to the jam bread.

Sam nodded, then turned hastily when Gandalf glared.

"Actually, Sophie must know what it is, but you never asked." Frodo took out the gold ring covered with mud from the bottom of the flowerpot, held it in his hand and walked back to Gandalf: "What should we do now?" ?You take it away?"

"Oh, no, I can't touch it, not even for safekeeping." Gandalf took two steps back: "I have now developed the idea of ​​using it to do good things and the confidence not to be tempted by power - and this is absolutely impossible."

"But those 'faceless ghosts' have found it here. I can't keep it here." Frodo handed it to Gandalf again.

"No, no... don't tempt me!" Gandalf struggled with his eyes and suddenly shouted loudly.

"Hey!" The inexplicable pressure in that voice made Sam squat down directly holding his head. valley

"..." Frodo was stunned, and held the ring in his palm with his five fingers together: "Why are you shouting so loudly?"

"Sorry..." Gandalf breathed out: "The more powerful a person is, the harder it is to resist its charm. On the contrary, hobbits who are loose in nature and don't have many goals are not affected by it. The same is true for Bilbo, and so are you. .”

"Really?" Frodo looked at Sophie who was still eating a lot: "Are you sure?"

"Huh?" Sophie looked back and said, "That ring is a big talker."

"Talker?" Gandalf asked doubtfully.

"It said it could fulfill any of my wishes, give me extremely powerful power and countless treasures, and promised to rule the world with me," Sophie said while eating.

"Hiss..." Gandalf took a breath: "How did you answer?"

"I said I wanted to see Ilúvatar, gain the same power as Melkor, and turn Arda into a big cake that couldn't be eaten, and it would never pay attention to me again," Sophie snorted. : "In order to prevent it from deceiving Bilbo, I will burn it once a year."

"..." Gandalf froze for the second time.

"What's the matter? Who are they?" asked Frodo.

"What she said were...'the supreme god who created this world', 'the former master of the demon Lord Sauron' and 'Middle-earth itself'," Gandalf laughed: "The wish is too huge, and it is also against the Lord of the Rings. The method of bewitching, but simply talking about it is useless, it only proves that Sophie really thinks so, and under those wishes, only food can attract her attention slightly. "

"You still haven't said what to do with the ring." Frodo looked down at his clenched fists.

"Anyway, Ciel is no longer safe. You have to leave with it. Go to the Prancing Pony Inn in Bree first. I have to discuss countermeasures with the Whitecil, and I will find you later," Gan Dolph's eyes turned to Sam who was peeking out his head: "Sam, you go with Frodo. If he loses to the bewitchment of the Lord of the Rings, you have to be responsible for waking him up."

"Oh, okay, after all, the gardener always has to follow the master." Sam agreed immediately.

"Will Sophie come with us?" Frodo looked at the hobbit girl who had already cleared away the food prepared in advance.

"No, in fact, I came here originally to find her." Gandalf shook his head and said to Sophie, who was looking at him: "After the Demon Lord Sauron woke up, he gathered the Harad people from the east to attack the Lonely Mountain. They have launched an attack on the front lines of , Changhu and Iron Hills, which are also the production areas of your rations. I hope you can rush to their aid."

"No, it's too much trouble. It's better to go to the Shire." The little hobbit girl yawned, as if she was ready to take a nap after eating.

"Huh...it's just a 'tribute' over there. It may not taste good, but you know what? Those Haradurs brought their tamed mammoth war elephants," Gandalf paused and added reluctantly Said: "The body is huge, the meat is firm, and it is delicious."

"Mammoth!" Sophie's eyes widened suddenly. After being stunned for two seconds, she jumped out of the window. The next moment, the little hobbit girl turned into a giant dragon covered with red scales, and flapped its wings. The resulting hurricane disappeared into the night sky in the blink of an eye.

"..."x2

Frodo and Sam looked at the gray wizard with contempt.

"Ahem, anyway, you go to Bree and wait for me. If I can't make it in time, there will be a chapter leader named Strider who will pick you up." Gandalf held up his hat and quickly left Bag End.