bookbashuk Chapter 124 The Curse of Unwavering Loyalty
Chapter 124 The Curse of Unwavering Loyalty
Chapter 124 The Curse of Unwavering Loyalty
Upon hearing Dui's words, everyone fell silent.
Gandalf's expression was very serious.
"Duir, this is a very serious accusation!"
"Moreover, the accusation concerns the most prestigious white wizard in Middle-earth, and the leader of the White Order. Do you have evidence that Saruman colluded with Sauron?"
Elrond and Galadriel did not speak, but their expressions were very serious.
They knew Duir wouldn't speak without reason, but they also didn't want to believe that Saruman would fall into depravity.
In their view, Saruman, though somewhat arrogant and stubborn, has been a leader against the forces of darkness for thousands of years.
If they were to truly plunge into darkness, it would be a huge blow to the side of justice.
Evidence? Dui certainly has it.
He raised his wand to his temple and slowly pulled out a strand of memory silver thread.
"Lady Galadriel, this is troublesome!"
Galadriel nodded, understanding Duy's meaning, and led the group to her private garden.
In one corner of the garden, spring water flows from a fountain on a hill, forming a stream that flows into a silver basin placed on a pedestal carved into the shape of tree branches.
The silver basin was wide and shallow, and a silver water jug was placed next to it.
This is the Mirror of Galadriel, which can reveal visions of the past, present, and future.
Galadriel picked up the silver jug, took the stream water, and then slowly poured it into the silver basin.
The surface of the water in the silver basin rippled, turning into an illusory water mirror, as if countless illusions were appearing within it.
Having done all this, Galadriel stepped aside and gestured for Dui to continue.
Dui approached the silver basin and shook the silver thread wrapped around the tip of his wand into it.
As soon as the silver threads fell into the basin, they quickly dispersed and dissolved into the water.
The illusory scene immediately appeared in the water mirror.
The crowd couldn't help but gather around, their eyes glued to the scene.
The scene showed Saruman using the Crystal of Knowledge to contact the Dark Lord Sauron, Gandalf arriving in Isengard only to discover Saruman's betrayal and being imprisoned in a tower by Saruman, and Saruman creating Orc variants that were immune to sunlight.
These images are all very fragmented, but without exception they all demonstrate Saruman's descent into darkness.
Everyone was shocked and incredulous upon seeing these images.
Gandalf looked very serious and solemn, his eyes fixed on the content of the image, trying to glean more information from it.
Elrond, also watching the screen, quickly realized what was happening and looked at Dui with surprise and doubt:
"These are scenes that haven't happened yet; are they visions of the future you've seen? Did you predict them?"
The others also looked at Dui in surprise.
Dui nodded and then shook his head: "It's not exactly a prophecy, it's more like a premonition, since prophecies are unchangeable."
In fact, some of these images were indeed seen during the previous prophecy.
But the majority of these are false memories created by Dui based on the known plot.
He wasn't one to hold grudges. Saruman had repeatedly belittled him as a third-rate warlock, so this time he seized the opportunity to expose the guy's dirty secrets.
Moreover, he was not afraid of being suspected by Gandalf and others.
After all, these are things that Saruman will do in the future, and he did not make any false accusations.
Therefore, Dui was full of confidence and had no qualms whatsoever.
Galadriel, Elrond, and the others fell silent upon seeing this.
Finally, they accepted the fact that their former ally might have betrayed them.
"How should we deal with Saruman's corruption?" Gandalf asked.
Elrond shook his head: "We don't have any real and concrete evidence about this right now, so we can't question Saruman immediately. To avoid him becoming wary, we can only investigate and gather evidence secretly."
Saruman's status and strength were truly extraordinary; he was not only the head of all wizards but also the leader of the White Way Society.
Any rash action could easily destabilize the entire Central Continent.
"And the matter of the One Ring also needs to be kept from him to avoid any further unforeseen events," Elrond said.
Galadriel and Gandalf both nodded in agreement.
Now that we know Saruman has ulterior motives, we must not let him know about the existence of the One Ring.
"Who will be in charge of the One Ring for the time being?" Kellerborn asked.
Since the One Ring cannot be destroyed, a safe storage plan is needed to prevent any mishaps before it is delivered to Mount Doom for destruction.
The question of who should keep the One Ring has once again put everyone in a difficult position.
The One Ring has the power to bewitch and corrupt people, and it is difficult to guarantee that no matter who is entrusted with its care, they will not be affected by the power of the One Ring.
The stronger a person is, the harder it is for them to resist the allure of the Ring.
If powerful figures like Gandalf and Galadriel were to be influenced or even corrupted and degenerate, it would truly be a disaster.
Therefore, for safety reasons, the Ring cannot be entrusted to a powerful person.
So it seems that the choice of who will keep the One Ring has once again fallen to Bilbo.
"I think since fate has brought Bilbo the Ring, he should keep it until he decides to destroy it," Celeborn suggested.
"Of all of us, only Bilbo is least affected by the Ring, so it is safest to entrust it to him."
There's one more thing Celeborn didn't say: Bilbo poses the least threat, and even if he's affected by the Ring, he won't cause much harm.
Gandalf shook his head in disagreement: "The Ring has little effect on the hobbits, but that doesn't mean it has none. We can't gamble Bilbo's safety on the Ring not harming him."
Elrond agreed with Gandalf's words.
Galadriel remained silent throughout the debate until everyone sought her opinion, at which point she turned to Duy and asked, "Duyel, what's your opinion?"
Upon hearing this, Gandalf and the others also looked at him.
Dui was somewhat surprised that Galadriel would ask him this, but he still said:
"I know someone who can take the One Ring. In his hands, it's no different from an ordinary ring. And with the One Ring in his possession, there's no need to worry about anyone taking it from him, not even Sauron himself!"
Hearing Dui's words, everyone was very surprised. Was there such a person in Middle-earth?
"Who are you talking about?" Elrond asked in surprise.
Dui smiled and replied, "It's Tom Bombadil, who lives in the old forest."
Elrond was taken aback by what he heard, then suddenly realized.
He nodded: "If it's Bambadir, then he's certainly a good candidate."
Galadriel and Celeborn also remembered this character.
However, in Sindarin, Bombadil has another name: Iawain Ben-Arda, which means "the oldest and fatherless Tom-Bombadil is very old, existing long before the elves awoke from Quevey.
He even lived with the elves for a period of time.
So some ancient elves had heard of his name.
Tom's identity is mysterious, but his power is undeniable.
Therefore, Galadriel and Celeborn did not object to the suggestion of entrusting the Ring to Tom Bumbadir for safekeeping.
Only Gandalf was somewhat uneasy:
"Bambadil's personality is like the clouds in the sky; he doesn't understand the importance of this at all. If you give him this ring, he will probably forget about it very quickly, or even throw it away very soon."
These kinds of things don't even exist in his mind; I think he's an unreliable caretaker.
Upon hearing this, Elrond hesitated.
"Actually, there's no need to worry too much. Although Tom is a bit unreliable, his wife Goldberry is a meticulous lady. As long as we explain the importance of the matter to Mrs. Goldberry, we don't need to worry that Tom will be forgetful and lose the Ring," Dui added.
Dui had lived with Tom and Goldenberry for a while and knew that although Tom was a bit eccentric, Goldenberry was very caring and gentle.
Tom and Goldenberry helped Duy, so it's not fair for Duy to bother them with that.
Only by entrusting the Ring to Tom for safekeeping can one avoid the Ring corrupting people and prevent Sauron from taking the Ring from Tom.
Of course, all of this still needs to be discussed with Tom and Goldenberry.
If they don't want to take on this trouble, they can find another way later.
So Dui told the others about his thoughts.
Gandalf did not object this time either, after all, he would be happy to have someone keep this dangerous item safe if the safety of the ring could be guaranteed.
Even if Bombardier could keep the One Ring indefinitely from Sauron, there would be no need to risk going to Mount Doom to destroy it.
After all, once the One Ring is destroyed, all three Elven Rings will lose their power.
Gandalf didn't care whether the Ring of Fire was lost or not.
However, without the protection of the Ring of Elves, both Lorien and the Valley will gradually decline.
Just as Dui prophesied: the age of the elves will end, and the age of mankind will begin.
Gandalf and the elves knew that day would come and were prepared for it, but they always hoped that day would come later.
Now that they had decided on the destination of the Ring, the group did not hesitate any longer and decided that after leaving Lorien, they would take the Ring to visit Tom Bombadil.
Since no one dared to touch the Ring, it was decided that Bilbo would continue to keep it for the time being.
Bilbo never expected that the One Ring would return to him. Although he would only keep it for a short time, he was still quite happy.
However, to prevent the Ring from continuing to corrupt Bilbo, Galadriel took out a delicate little box engraved with elven runes, placed the Ring inside, and locked it away.
This exquisite little box was made during Sauron's powerful period to prevent him from discovering the Three Rings of the Elves.
By placing the Ring inside, its influence on Bilbo can be minimized.
Seeing this, Dui also decided to lend a hand and revealed the plan he had already devised:
"I have a steadfast love spell that can hide the secret of the Ring deep within the soul. No one can reveal the Ring unless the keeper speaks of it, not even mind reading."
Most importantly, even if outsiders knew about the One Ring, even if the Ring were placed right in front of him, he would still be unable to see or touch it.
"In this way, we can ensure the safety of the Ring to the greatest extent possible and prevent anyone other than us from knowing about the Ring."
Upon hearing about the effects of the "Spell of Unwavering Loyalty," everyone's eyes lit up.