bookbashuk Chapter 174 Mother of Mithril
Chapter 174 Mother of Mithril
Chapter 174 Mother of Mithril
They harvested fire crystals from the Balrog's lair and extinguished the lava.
Dui looked around and finally fixed his gaze on the black boulder platform in the very center.
On this massive stone platform, there are traces of fire burning and various sharp scratches.
This is clearly the place where the Balrog once lived.
"Gandalf, do you think this stone holds some secret? How come it hasn't melted even under the scorching heat of the Balrog's fire?" Dui walked up to the black boulder, examined it, and said to Gandalf beside him.
Gandalf had naturally noticed it long ago.
He nodded in agreement, saying, "Even mithril cannot withstand the scorching heat of the fire demon. It is indeed unusual that this stone has not melted for so long."
As he spoke, he tapped the black boulder with his staff, unleashing magic.
The boulder was struck with the staff, and cracks appeared on its surface. Then, like an eggshell peeling off, the black outer layer of stone quickly peeled away, revealing a shimmering silver interior.
It turns out that the black stone skin was just a disguise, covered by lava; what was underneath was the real thing.
Seeing the exposed silvery glow, Dui was very curious and couldn't help but move closer to observe.
Gandalf looked surprised.
Then he raised his staff again and slammed it hard against the boulder.
With a powerful impact, the surface of the boulder shattered and fell off.
A silver-white raw stone, about the height of two people, appeared in front of them.
Its surface flowed with a soft silver light, like the core of a star, radiating light and illuminating the entire cave.
"Is this mithril?" Dui's eyes widened, somewhat doubtful.
Although mithril can reflect silver light, it shouldn't emit light on its own, right?
Gandalf exclaimed in astonishment, "No, this isn't ordinary mithril; it's the Mother of Mithril!"
"Mother of Mithril? What's that?" Dui was full of doubt when he first heard this title.
"It is the foundation of Moria, the source of all Moria's mithril. As long as it exists, Moria's mithril will never run dry." Gandalf touched it in amazement. "Truly, the wonders of creation! The Balrog's flames not only failed to destroy it, but instead allowed it to absorb the flames' energy, becoming even purer!"
"This Mother of Mithril alone is far more valuable than the entire Mithril mine in Moria!"
Upon hearing Gandalf's words, Dui's eyes lit up.
The Mother of Mithril—that sounds more powerful than Mithril; it must be something good.
He immediately asked Gandalf, "Gandalf, if I take a few pieces, will it have any effect?"
Gandalf nodded: "Take only a few pieces. It is the foundation of Moria. Don't be greedy."
With Gandalf's consent, Duy immediately used the spear Egolos as a tool to peel a fist-sized piece of Mother Mithril from the surface of the original stone.
When he took the third piece, Gandalf stopped him from taking any more.
"We can't strip any more, otherwise the Mother of Mithril will be affected. If the Moria Mithril mine is depleted, that would be our original sin."
Dui immediately stopped insisting.
He then took one of the three pieces of Mother Mithril that he had separated, gave one to Gandalf, and intended to give the remaining piece to Balin.
This time, Gandalf did not refuse and accepted the Mother of Mithril.
However, he somewhat disapproved of Dui's plan to send Bahrain.
"The Mother of Mithril is extraordinary; she is the very foundation of Moria. Even though Balin is the wisest of the dwarves, he could hardly resist the allure of the Mother of Mithril, just as the Arkenstone once had for Thorin's lineage."
"Moreover, once he learns of the Mother of Mithril, no matter how rational he is, in order to ensure that the Mother of Mithril remains in the hands of the dwarves, he and the other dwarves will be determined to find the Mother of Mithril."
That would be the greatest misfortune for the Mother of Mithril, and could even lead to the complete depletion of the Moria Mithril mines!
Upon hearing Gandalf's words, Duy fell into deep thought.
As Gandalf said, human nature is the most difficult thing to test.
The Mother of Mithril is the lifeblood of the Moria mines, and no matter how generous Balin is, he would never entrust his lifeblood to someone else.
Therefore, if he were to learn of the Mother of Mithril, even if it were only to ensure her safety, he would inevitably pursue her whereabouts and try his best to control her.
Once the Mother of Mithril falls into human hands, many unexpected events will occur, and even trigger many changes.
This is not impossible; it has been repeated countless times throughout the history of Middle-earth.
"So you can keep the rest for yourself," Gandalf said. "However, I suggest you look for a vein of mithril near Windrise and bury it along with some fire crystals deep inside. That way, you can produce mithril continuously in the future."
Dui's eyes lit up when he heard Gandalf's words.
"Is it really possible?"
Gandalf smiled and nodded.
"After all, this is the mother of mithril. It can continuously permeate and release radiation into the surrounding area. In a specific environment, it can slowly transform ordinary metal veins into mithril, or allow existing mithril veins to continue to grow."
Of course, the conversion process will take a long time; perhaps only one gram of mithril can be converted in a year, but it's still a benefit, isn't it?
"Furthermore, the Mother of Mithril can absorb some energy, forming a natural magical energy field that is also beneficial to the surrounding environment."
Upon hearing Gandalf's words, Duy was immediately intrigued.
When the dwarves were building Hogwarts Castle, they discovered a small iron ore vein at the foot of Windrise.
But neither Dui nor the dwarves considered this vein worthwhile, deeming it unprofitable to mine.
But now it can be put to good use, by burying the Mother of Mithril inside and slowly converting it into Mithril.
So, despite Gandalf's reluctance, Duy shamelessly accepted the remaining piece of Mother Mithril.
"Alright, let's finish the last bit of work now!" Gandalf clapped his hands.
"If the Mother of Mithril is left like this, it will definitely be mined by the dwarves in the future. So, Duir, please come with me to hide this Mother of Mithril so that no one can find it."
Gandalf's eyes gleamed with wisdom, as if he could already foresee the fate of the Mother of Mithril.
"Only if the Mother of Mithril remains undiscovered can it continuously produce more Mithril, ensuring that the Mithril mines will never run dry."
As he spoke, he faced the Mother of Mithril, raised his staff, and began chanting an ancient incantation.
Dui also took out his wand and inscribed runes on the Mother of Mithril. Then he waved his wand and cast all the spells on it, including the Ignore Charm, the Disillusionment Charm, and the Confusion Charm. He also cast the Fidelity Charm on the Mother of Mithril to hide her secrets and location.
Now, Dui believed that even if the Balrog were to regenerate, it would be impossible to find any trace of the Mother of Mithril.
After Gandalf finished chanting the incantation, he slammed his staff hard into the ground.
The ground shook violently in an instant, and a huge crack instantly appeared in the originally hard cave floor.
The rift was bottomless, and the Mother of Mithril fell directly into it, before the rift closed again.
Having done all this, Gandalf took a breath, wiped away non-existent sweat, and said with a smile, "Alright, now there's no need to worry about the Mother of Mithril's safety anymore."
"We have to leave, or Bahrain up there will be worried."
Dui nodded, and the two left the Balrog's lair.
After returning to the bottom of the mine along the lava tunnel, Gandalf did not forget to collapse the Balrog's lair, completely concealing the Mother of Mithril's whereabouts.
The two then flew upwards on their flying broomsticks until they finally saw Balin and Alwen waiting at the edge of the cliff.
Upon seeing the two return, Balin breathed a sigh of relief.
Alwen walked briskly and lightly to Dui, looking him up and down with concern.
"Duir, are you alright?"
Dui's eyes softened, and he shook his head with a smile.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
While the two were deeply in love, Bahrain also asked Gandalf about the situation.
"What's the situation now, Gandalf?"
Gandalf laughed and said, "Oh, don't worry, Balin. The lava below was just caused by the remnants of the Balrog's power. Duir and I have already dealt with it, and the lava has completely cooled and solidified. There's no need to worry about any accidents."
Upon hearing Gandalf's words, Balin breathed a sigh of relief.
"This is wonderful news! Thank you so much, Duir! I really don't know how we would have solved this without you!"
"That's not all, Balin," Dui said, turning his head to him with a smile. "I have good news for you. Once the lava below melts, it will be extremely pure mithril. You won't need to mine it anymore; you can just use it to smelt it directly."
Bahrain's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Really? That's great news!"
Having resolved a thorn in his side, Bahrain was overjoyed and led everyone to another banquet.
After spending two days in Moria, Dui, Gandalf, and Alwen bid farewell to Bahrain.
This time, however, Dui chose to go through the west gate.
Alvin was sent back to Lorien by him through the fireplace in Moria's First Hall.
Gandalf didn't go to Lorien, but instead left through the East Gate and rode his flying broomstick directly to Fangon Forest.
This time they killed the Balrog and wiped out Moria's Orc forces.
Originally, this was someone Saruman had secretly allied with, but now that they had lost an arm, Gandalf was worried that Saruman would resort to desperate measures, so he prepared to secretly monitor Saruman's movements through the Ents.
Dui chose to leave through the West Gate, partly to reunite with Smaug, the dragon guarding the West Gate.
On the other hand, there's another place he's been to, but he hasn't checked in yet.
So when they arrived at the west gate of Moria, Dui rode the dragon Smaug and flew home.
He deliberately allowed Smaug to make a brief stop at the ruins of Eregion.
Under Smaug's puzzled gaze, Dui leaped off the dragon's back, stepping onto the very spot where the Ring of Power had once been forged.
The next second, the system gave a notification:
[Hogwarts Check-in System: Locating Eregian, check-in required?]
"Check-in".
[Sign-in successful! Congratulations on obtaining the Fairy Forging Technique!]
(End of this chapter)