The Collection of The End

——Third Age, 3018, October 24——

When Frodo walked out of the "ward" to visit the beautiful scenery of Rivendell, the brief dispute between the dwarves and the elves had disappeared, perhaps because Gandalf rushed over with the "gem".

When asked what happened, Sophie just said nonchalantly, "Gandalf was captured by the bad old man, and then I rescued him," and then ran away happily.

However, Frodo could still see the difference between the old wizard and the last time they met. He was...a little desolate, as if his original companion suddenly decided to part ways with him.

If you want to make an analogy...Sam suddenly decided not to travel with him anymore?

"Hey, hey, this is yours, this is mine..." Just when he thought of this, Frodo heard Sam's voice coming from the terrace in front. When he followed the sound, he found that Sam was directing Merry and Pippin packed a lot of things, some of which were luggage they had brought from the Shire, and more of which were daily necessities that were obviously elf-style.

"Sam? What are you doing?" Frodo walked over quietly and asked abruptly.

"Hey, what else is there? We have already delivered our things, so naturally we have to separate our luggage and go back to the Shire." Sam casually took out a small silver mirror inlaid with blue crystal and looked at it: "What did you say Rose? Will you like it?"

"Who is Rose?" "Who is Rose?" mocked Merry and Pippin.

"Yes, didn't you say you wanted to marry an elf?" Frodo also smiled.

"Don't mention it. I found out after asking that, although in the 'Legend of Princess Lúthien', it is true that 'elves can give up eternal life for their lovers,' but they have to be elves of a specific bloodline. Ordinary elves have not given up immortality yet. Qualifications, it seems that an elf named 'Tauriel' recently got together with a dwarf named 'Kili', but she can't give up her immortality. Fortunately, dwarves can also live long..." Sam said He suddenly paused in the middle, then suddenly dropped what he was holding, turned around and opened his hand: "Hi! Frodo! I'm so glad you're okay. Does the wound still hurt?"

"I'm fine," Frodo hugged him: "So, you are going to return to the Shire and no longer go forward with me?"

"What? Didn't we complete our mission?" Sam looked confused.

"I don't think so," said Frodo, touching the necklace around his neck and the ring below. "If anyone here could take over my job, it wouldn't be on me."

"Continue the journey!" "Continue the adventure!" Merry and Pippin cheered, throwing down the luggage they were packing.

"..." Sam raised his hands to cover his face: "So when I asked the elves for daily necessities, was this what their expressions meant?"

"Ordinary elves should not know such high-level decisions, but they have lived long enough to judge future development from the current situation." Frodo walked to the edge of the terrace and looked down.

On the large grassland, there are many dwarves and humans whose style and elegance are completely different from Rivendell. They are standing or sitting, talking and laughing loudly, while the elf guards are on the edge, looking at them with indifference or contempt.

"Obviously," Frodo turned to Sam, "our adventure is not over yet."

——

At the same time, the Rivendell Treasure House.

As the oldest refuge for elves in Middle-earth, Rivendell naturally also houses the largest collection of treasures.

However, compared to the common objects that are sought after by mortals and can be exchanged for wealth, the ancient cultural relics, ancient documents, and some secrets that have been lost in history are more valued by the elves.

Aragorn was sitting on a stone bench, looking at the mural in front of him in a daze.

The mural depicts the scene of his ancestor Isildur cutting off the ring from the hand of the Demon Lord Sauron. The overall style is more realistic, but the painter did not draw the Lord of the Rings.

Perhaps he believed that he could not draw the bewitching side of The Lord of the Rings. Instead of drawing a meaningless golden circle, he might as well leave it blank and let the viewer imagine.

Aragorn stared at the broken sword "Nasir" on the screen for a moment, then turned his head and looked at the genuine item on the tray held by a statue next to him.

The fragments broken into four pieces glowed coldly.

He has been working hard to become the King of Gondor in the future, but the harder he works and the higher his achievements and popularity are, the more he realizes that he is not qualified to become a true king.

Originally, he planned to wait and recast it after confirming that he had the qualifications to hold it. However, the appearance of the Lord of the Rings and the resurrection of the Demon Lord made it impossible for him to move around as "Strider" easily. travel.

"The day the broken sword is reforged..." He whispered to himself.

"Hmm...here are all inedible books and paintings."

At this time, a clear and childish voice sounded from the other end of the treasure house.

Crash, clatter—boom!

What came next was the sound of paper objects being turned over randomly and certain furnishings being pushed from the table to the ground.

"..."

Aragorn was determined to stop him, but then he thought about it. There were only a few people in Rivendell who could enter the treasure house. They were basically on the same level as his prospective father-in-law Elrond. And if these people wanted to mess around in the treasure house, they would not be able to do anything. No one can control it.

Moreover, the voice seemed to be that of a young girl, perhaps a junior of Princess Evening Star?

——Although the elf is older than me no matter how junior he is.

"Oh, this painting is the same as before." A moment later, the treasure house destroyer came to Aragorn and admired the painting he had just observed.

It was a Hobbit girl in a pink and white dress, pink and white hair, a round face, blue eyes, short stature, and thick legs.

Was she among the hobbits he brought out from the Shire this time?

"Oh, it's the real thing." The girl turned around and looked at the broken sword fragments in the tray with her face in her hands.

Forget it, since he can come in, it probably has something to do with Bilbo. Frodo should have met his uncle by now.

"Well..." The girl finally noticed Aragorn, looked at him, and then at Isildur in the mural: "There is actually a statue?"

...She may not have a good look in her eyes.

"Ahem," Aragorn cleared his throat, and then said with the girl's "actually alive" expression on his face: "Thank you for your compliment. Many people say that I resemble that handsome ancestor. Please introduce yourself. I am the thirty-ninth descendant of Isildur, the future King of Gondor, Aragorn."

"Oh, I am boromir, the daughter of Dehor, the regent of Gondor." The girl replied.

"The daughter of the Regent of Gondor is a hobbit?" Aragorn raised his eyebrows.

"..." The hobbit girl who called herself Jackfruit looked down at her short legs and said, "Wait for me."

Hiss——hu——

She took a deep breath, and a burst of white light appeared all over her body, and the figure in the white light also lengthened.

When the white light dissipated, what appeared in front of Aragorn was a human girl whose appearance was even more exquisite than that of an elf.

She has long silver-white shawl hair tied with a black ribbon, a pair of sharp golden eyes, a strapless pure white dress, an ink ribbon tied around her waist, long black gloves and white gauze wristbands, and pure white socks. and black short boots, the whole person's temperament becomes sharp and dangerous.

"Reintroduce yourself,]"

She said in a slightly hoarse voice:

"I am the daughter of Denesa, the regent of Gondor, the sister of Lord Faramir Nearian, and the Countess Onyxia."

"..."

——Third Age, 3018, October 25——

"Distinguished guests from afar, and long-time allies, you have been summoned here to deal with the threat from Mordor."

In the largest conference hall in Rivendell, Lord Elrond, wearing a gorgeous elf dress, was standing at the main seat and delivering a speech.

The conference hall continues the elf's usual exquisiteness, magnificence and grandeur. The height of the roof is enough for Sophie to move around in her original size... Isn't that really the purpose?

Frodo, who was sitting with Gandalf, looked at Sophie, who was sitting majestically next to the human representative, and the humans nearby were quite respectful to her.

In the conference hall, dozens of representatives formed a half-circle. The elves and dwarves camps were separated by the human camp, but they were looking at each other. Judging from their expressions, they might disagree with each other. Let's fight.

So Sophie, no, how did Smaug get in?

It is already very rare for a giant dragon to turn into a human. She seems to have gained a high status among humans, but if that is the case, why does she still go to her uncle to buy food?

"Middle-earth is on the verge of survival. No one can escape. Either unite or be destroyed." Elrond continued.

Well, is there such a possibility that "Smaug" is actually a disguised identity? She and her family have already had a place in the human world. They went to occupy the Lonely Mountain and attacked everywhere just because of her "true identity" She's not allowed to do this?

But, her "real identity" is human, right? That appearance, in human terms, may not be more than 10 years old, so how can he be qualified to attend such a meeting?

Are these humans controlled by her and her family? But this is Rivendell, a place where no evil creatures can approach and no evil spells can take effect...

That's weird.

Frodo touched the ring around his neck.

"Everyone here is bound by the same fate, the same doom." Elrond stopped speaking and looked at Frodo: "Come forward with your precepts, Frodo."

"..." Frodo blinked, jumped off the chair and walked towards the center of the circle.

Elrond raised his hand, and a cylindrical platform that looked neither gold nor wood slowly rose from the ground in front of Frodo, with many elven writings engraved on the edge, and it was glowing slightly.

Frodo approached the table, took the Ring from its necklace, and placed it in the center of the table.

"——"

The entire conference hall fell silent instantly.

Everyone...almost everyone turned their attention to that small golden ring.

Frodo looked at the eyes of the attendees around him, then slowly backed away and returned to his seat.

Sure enough, no one can resist the bewitchment of the Lord of the Rings, maybe even Elrond...

He glanced at the elf lord on the podium, and then found that he was wearing something strange at some point.

It consists of two thin pieces of black crystal. The connection and bracket fall on the nose and ears respectively. The two pieces of black crystal just block the eyes of the elf lord, making it impossible to see his eyes and expressions.

Although it's a bit weird, it feels quite suitable, as if he was supposed to be wearing this thing in the first place.

"Huh..." "The rumors are true." "This is..."

After a brief silence, humans, dwarves and elves began to discuss in low voices, and most people still didn't look away from the ring.

"How does it feel?" Gandalf asked in a low voice to Frodo who returned to his seat.

"The ring cannot stay here, can it?" Frodo whispered back. "And I cannot return to the Shire."

"Sorry, child," Gandalf nodded: "I asked you to come here specifically to show you how resistant it is to the races of Middle-earth except you - unfortunately, that kind of thing does not exist. Even if there is, it is like the morning dew.”

"Anyone who desires something will be bewitched by it." Frodo looked at Sophie, who was sitting in the human camp, her eyes rolling around, looking quite bored: "Except the Hobbit who only thinks about the next meal. people."

"You have only one choice, destroy the Supreme Lord of the Rings," Elrond said while wearing the strange thing: "As its original owner, Sauron can instantly take away control when you use it against him. Don't believe it. If so, you can try vilya first."

Is this a threat? Frodo thought, as the holder of the Ring of Air among the three elven rings, Elrond was reminding those who were attracted by the Ring that he was the most powerful person present, enough to be able to protect his mind even if he was not clear-headed. Kill the guy before he can grab the ring.

"Why don't we use this thing to do something else?" A dwarf said in a rough voice: "Even if it cannot be used against its owner, if we use its power, we may be able to get rid of the evildoer. The plundering dragon.”

"..." Sophie turned her head and bared her teeth at the dwarf, but he just stared at the Lord of the Rings and didn't pay attention at all.

"The Lord of the Rings was forged in the flames of Mount Doom. It must be taken to the heart of Mordor and thrown into the fire of the abyss before it can be destroyed." Elrond ignored the dwarf's opinion and continued: "Teach the other in return. .】"

Hearing Elrond's words, Aragorn didn't know what he thought of and smiled.

"However, according to my observation just now, if the Lord of the Rings is handed over to anyone here," the elf lord took off the black crystal piece: "The result will be that they will directly steal it."

"..." Almost everyone turned their eyes away involuntarily.

"So," Elrond looked at Frodo: "Mr. Frodo Baggins, who was able to easily hand over the Lord of the Rings that he had carried for a long time, could you please take a step forward for the safety of Middle-earth? Do you want to go? We will fully cooperate."

Suddenly, Frodo felt that the scene in front of him seemed familiar, but the difference was that last time he went to bring something back to the west, but this time, he brought it back to the east. The commonality is -

"I do," he replied, then raised his hand to Aragorn: "But he must come with me."

"No problem!" Elrond responded immediately.