"Kill it?"
Thranduil's face displayed a rare smile, as if he had heard an amusing joke.
"I suppose... you haven't seen that dragon, have you?"
Upon hearing this, Ino was a bit slow to realize he might have oversimplified the situation.
"No, Your Majesty! I have never seen Smaug."
At this moment, Thranduil spoke in a peculiar tone:
"The King under the Mountain, the Arkenstone symbolizing power! Supreme craftsmanship, sharp weapons, various war machines—once, the might of the Dwarves of Erebor was unmatched in all of Middle-earth."
At this point, Thranduil laughed outright:
"And the result? That dragon took only a few days to completely shatter the entire clan of ten thousand mighty Durin's Folk. And now you tell me you want to kill that dragon?"
"The endless treasure of Erebor makes all the forces of Middle-earth green with envy. But why hasn't anyone taken action?"
Hearing this, Ino confirmed once more that he had indeed oversimplified the matter.
From the beginning, he had been comparing this dragon to the ones in his magical world, but now it seemed the two were on entirely different levels.
"Alright, I was being presumptuous! But this was my speculation, after all, Gandalf didn't tell me much before he left."
Ino truthfully explained the situation, as it was not a secret worth hiding anyway.
"Mithrandir?" Thranduil showed a thoughtful expression upon hearing Gandalf's name.
"If it's him, you might succeed. After all, he has always had a good ear for thousands of years."
Perhaps thinking of something else, Thranduil slowly stood up from his throne.
"One last piece of advice, young human wizard. Many things in Middle-earth cannot be judged by appearances alone."
"Tonight, you may stay here. By tomorrow evening, I will loosen the guards. Perhaps you can take those Dwarves and escape through the river's outlet."
"Thank you for your generosity!" Ino said with a slight bow.
At this moment, he no longer harbored any pride. Especially the sense of achievement from killing giant spiders in the forest was thoroughly shattered.
Middle-earth was always more complicated than he had imagined.
...
Underground Palace.
Ino was led into a guest room-like chamber by another Wood-elf.
Though underground, the room was filled with a faint natural fragrance, a mix of floral, grassy, and woody scents, making one feel as if they were in a forest.
In the center of the room was a bed woven from slender vines, covered with soft leaves and petals.
In one corner of the room, there was even a small fountain, with water gently flowing from a crystal-like stone into a pool below, making a pleasant sound.
Sitting on the vine bed, Ino no longer wanted to think about future events. Let the story follow its destined path.
Unlike his conversation with Gandalf, Thranduil had given him a real lesson today.
All those plans of escaping from the dungeon and hunting Smaug were just following someone else's script.
Middle-earth was always a world, not a village or a town.
But now, the only thing puzzling him was what role he, an outsider, was supposed to play.
Thinking of this, Ino took a deep breath and slowly pulled out the divination dice from his inner lining, attempting to explore another possibility.
Silently, he chanted the content he wanted to explore in his heart, then threw the dice into the air.
The dice traced a graceful arc in the air before landing on the ground with a "plop."
"...1..."
Staring at the absolute number that had never appeared before, Ino felt a chill run through his body despite his ice magic and adaptation to the cold.
Time slowly passed.
In the silent room, only the dripping sound of the small fountain in the corner could be heard.
No one knew how much time had passed as Ino remained motionless, seemingly lost in immersive thought.
After a long while.
He slowly picked up the dice from the ground and threw it again.
Dozens of seconds later.
"Whew... sleep, sleep! Better not meddle too much!" Ino put away the dice, sighing as if he had narrowly escaped death.
Then he lazily collapsed onto the vine bed as if he had been struck by a Bone-Removing Curse.
...
Unlike the silence of the guest room.
The Dwarves in the dungeon were engaged in a heated discussion.
Some hoped to exchange part of the treasure of Erebor for the Elves' help.
But this suggestion immediately caused an uproar among the Dwarves, splitting them into two factions, each passionately arguing their case.
As the spiritual leader of the Dwarves, Thorin stared blankly at the dungeon wall, his thoughts a mystery to all.
Seeing the escalating argument, Balin, the eldest Dwarf apart from Thorin, had to step in.
"We still have time. There is a whole week until the appointed time. I don't know why you are arguing. What we need to do now is escape, not quarrel over wealth."
Although Balin had considerable prestige, the Dwarves trapped in the dungeon seemed especially irritable, and someone immediately retorted:
"We are trying to use wealth to escape! And that human wizard is not here, nor is that Hobbit. If we continue to hesitate, they might beat us to it."
A new round of arguments began.
...
In another part of the underground palace.
After resting on the vine bed for a few hours, Ino slowly sat up.
Thranduil had said he would reduce the guards tomorrow evening. Though Ino wasn't sure why they had to wait another day, he dared not ask too many questions.
The appearance of the absolute number on the dice had already made him realize that in Middle-earth... it was best to behave.
So, taking advantage of this time, he decided to explore the Woodland Realm, as he might not have another chance to visit this legendary place in the future.
With this thought, Ino opened his suitcase and took out his long-unused accordion. This time, he didn't even drink the Polyjuice Potion in his pocket.
Dressing in an elegantly tailored robe, he stepped out of the room in his true form.
As he walked along.
Ino nodded and smiled at every Elf he met, without any hesitation or restraint.
He strolled casually while his accordion floated behind him, playing a beautiful melody.
Unknowingly, he walked out of the underground palace and came to a clearing in the forest that resembled a plaza.
At this moment, many Wood-elves had already gathered in this spacious forest clearing.
They sang lively songs of nature in the forest.
Unlike the Elves of Rivendell and Lothlórien, who loved to sing of heroic epics and legendary tales, the Wood-elves preferred to praise the starlight and the forest.
Without disturbing them.
Ino stood quietly at the edge of the forest, listening intently.
"Why don't you go over? I followed you all the way here. The melody of your accordion is also beautiful."
Ino turned around to see a girl about his height speaking to him.
Of course, he didn't underestimate her due to her height. Given her age, this "minor" Elf might even rival Nicholas Flamel with the Philosopher's Stone.
Though thinking this, he promptly replied:
"Appreciating it from here is fine; no need to be up close. When you hold something tightly, you have nothing, but when you let go, you have everything."
As he spoke, Ino stretched out his hand, his slender fingers gracefully moving through the air.
"Hahaha, you're so funny." The girl laughed heartily.
"My name is Doris. Welcome to the Woodland Realm."
"You can call me Ino! Although I know a bit of magic, I am a bona fide bard."
Hearing this, Doris replied earnestly:
"Then, Ino, please start your performance! If it sounds good, Doris will even pay you. I have many fun things hidden away."
Looking at the lively girl before him, Ino didn't think much of it and simply waved his wand, allowing the accordion to play a new melody.