Rivendell [Seeking Recommendation Tickets]

"Ah."

"Morgan, you're pressing on my wound."

"Sorry, I didn't know you were underneath."

"Bombur, you're crushing the breath out of me. You need to lose some weight."

"I'm injured, don't blame me for that."

"Damn it, Fili, something on you is poking me."

"."

In the dim cave, the members of the Company who had just slid down from the opening above were huddled in a heap.

As they stood up one by one, Gandalf began to count heads.

"One, two, three, four... fourteen, fifteen."

"Why are there only fifteen? Who is missing?"

After finishing his count, Gandalf hurriedly looked left and right.

Bilbo suddenly spoke up: "Gandalf, you forgot to count yourself."

"Oh, right, look at me getting muddled."

Gandalf patted Bilbo on the shoulder and laughed.

Just then, a dwarf suddenly asked: "It seems we don't hear the howling of those wargs anymore. Can we rest for a while?"

"No!"

"Certainly not!"

Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield spoke at the same time.

"We are not too far from the Orcs right now, and those Gundabad Warg have very sensitive noses. They could track us down at any moment."

"We must leave here first. We can rest once we are completely safe," Gandalf continued.

Thorin Oakenshield said nothing, clearly sharing the same concern.

Soon, the Company continued on their way.

However, this time it was no longer the hilly forests from before, but a narrow stone path.

Gandalf continued to lead the way, with Morgan following right beside him.

This stone path was dim and long.

At the entrance, it was still illuminated by the light from above, so it wasn't too dark.

But the further they went, the darker it became.

Finally, after walking thirty or forty meters, the narrow path turned pitch black.

"It's too dark here. Gandalf, can you make it a bit brighter?"

Dori, the dwarf who was always the most curious about the wizard, asked considerately.

Gandalf didn't speak; he simply raised his staff to his lips and blew on the black crystal embedded at its tip.

The black crystal soon emitted a faint glow.

"It's not bright enough. Gandalf, can you make it any brighter?" Dori the dwarf continued earnestly.

Gandalf looked somewhat helpless: "This is as bright as it gets."

"Alright then."

Dori stopped pestering him.

Gandalf held his glowing staff and continued forward.

With the staff providing light, the group's pace quickened significantly.

The further they went, the darker and narrower the stone path became.

Ten minutes later.

Morgan followed Gandalf and stopped in front of a low, small cave.

Although the stone path beside them was narrow, Morgan could barely squeeze through with his sturdy frame.

But the cave that appeared before them made Morgan feel a bit uneasy.

This cave, which appeared to be naturally formed, was truly too small.

Morgan gestured with his hand; it was barely larger than his own body.

The entrance was small and dark.

Anyone with claustrophobia probably wouldn't even have the courage to stand in front of this cave entrance.

Just looking at it, one could already feel a sense of oppression washing over them.

"What's going on up ahead?"

"Are we heading out?"

At this moment, the voices of the dwarves came from behind.

The narrow stone passage was only wide enough for one person to walk through at a time.

When the front stopped, the entire Expedition Team was effectively blocked.

"It won't be long now."

"We're almost out, just a little more climbing."

Gandalf's reply immediately drew the attention of the dwarves.

The dwarves in the front were fine, catching sight of the cave entrance by the faint glow emitted from the staff.

The dwarves in the back, however, were confused as to what Gandalf meant by climbing a bit further.

The dwarves in the back continued to ask questions.

Gandalf did not answer again, but instead looked at Morgan, whose expression was somewhat poor, and asked, "What is it? Are you feeling unwell?"

Morgan shook his head: "No, I just don't like being in this kind of environment."

In truth, it was easy to imagine; having to crawl into an even narrower, dark cave while already in a cramped, dark stone passage.

Just the thought of it was suffocating.

Hearing Morgan's words, Gandalf couldn't help but be stunned. He truly hadn't expected that someone like Morgan, whose Archery was so formidable, would still be unaccustomed to such an environment.

"It's alright, you'll get used to it after a few more times."

Seeing that Morgan wasn't joking, Gandalf reached out and patted Morgan on the shoulder to comfort him.

After speaking, he lowered his head, bent his waist, and then crawled into the dark cave on all fours.

Although Morgan felt uncomfortable, he was by no means a delicate person.

He followed closely behind Gandalf, bent down, and crawled in.

Morgan was not the only one feeling suffocated.

But since Gandalf and Morgan, who were leading the way, had already gone in, the dwarves had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

Although the dwarves were short, their girth was in no way inferior to Morgan's.

Especially the stout dwarf Bombur.

One by one, the dwarves nimbly crawled into the cave.

When it was Bombur's turn, they finally encountered a problem.

As soon as he crawled into the entrance, Bombur got stuck and couldn't move.

In the end, they had to strip off all of Bombur's clothes and leather armor.

Only then, wearing nothing but a pair of oversized trunks used as underwear, was Bombur barely able to squeeze into the cave.

It was a struggle for Dori, who was following behind Bombur, as he had to constantly push him forward.

After much dawdling, the entire Expedition Team finally entered the cave.

They crawled forward slowly like maggots in the dark, narrow, and cramped tunnel.

Bofur finally couldn't help but speak up: "Such a narrow cave reminds me of the mines."

"What do you think would happen if this collapsed?"

"Shut up!"

"Damn it, shut up, Bofur!"

Bofur's words stirred up a hornet's nest, and the dwarves immediately began to shout in anger.

"Alright, alright, I'll shut up."

"I was just voicing what you all were too afraid to say."

"Besides, it's not like our mines haven't collapsed before."

Bofur's voice grew quieter and quieter.

Although he knew he had said the wrong thing and provoked the wrath of the group, he was too stubborn to admit defeat and voiced his inner thoughts anyway.

"Shut your stinking mouth!"

"Damn it, just shut up, Bofur!"

"You really are becoming more and more annoying."

"..."

The dwarves collectively berated Bofur for his ill-timed words.

The sudden noisy atmosphere in the dark cave made Morgan feel much more relaxed, easing his previously suppressed emotions.

Morgan let out a few long breaths, looked up at Gandalf ahead, and asked, "Gandalf, how much longer until we get out?"

"A little while longer."

"Are you alright, Morgan?"

"I'm fine, just asking."

During the rest of the journey through the cave.

With the chattering dwarves providing a distraction.

Gandalf would also chat with Morgan from time to time.

This helped alleviate much of the oppressive feeling Morgan had been experiencing.

Time passed slowly.

When a bright light finally appeared at the front of the cave.

This pitch-black, cramped, and utterly stifling tunnel had finally come to an end.

"Ah, finally out."

"I have never longed for the light as much as I do today."

"It's good to be alive."

As the members of the Company groaned while crawling out of the cave and stood outside, they were stunned.

Everyone was dumbfounded.