When Birbo opened his eyes, he doubted if he had really opened his eyes. It was still dark in front of him. Nothing had changed. There was no one around him. Everyone could imagine how scared he was! He could hear nothing, see nothing, feel nothing but the floor beneath his feet.
He got up very, very slowly and groped around on all fours. Finally, he reached the wall of the tunnel. However, he couldn't feel anything up and down. There was nothing! There were no signs of orcs or dwarves. He felt the world spin, and he could not even determine the direction he had fallen in. He could barely guess a possible direction, and then crawled in that direction for a long distance until his hand suddenly touched a metal object that looked like an icy ring on the ground. This was a turning point in his career, but he didn't know it yet. He put the ring in his pocket without thinking, because it didn't seem to be of much use at the time. After that, he did not want to move at all for a long time. He just leaned against the wall in despair. He remembered the happy times when he was frying bacon and scrambled eggs in the kitchen at home, because his biological clock could accurately tell him that it was time for dinner, but this thought only made him feel more pitiful.
He couldn't think of what to do, nor did he understand what had happened, or why he had been abandoned by everyone. If he had really been abandoned, why hadn't the orcs captured him? Why did his head hurt so much? The truth of the matter was that he had been lying silently in a blind spot that was difficult for others to discover for a long time.
After a long moment of self-pity, he began to feel for his pipe. It had surprisingly not snapped; Then, he fumbled for his bag because there was still some tobacco in it. In the end, he began to search for matches on his body. However, this was too much to ask for. He couldn't find any matches at all, and his dream was shattered. When he finally regained his senses, he was glad that he couldn't find the match because he couldn't imagine what kind of monster would be attracted by the light of the match and the smell of tobacco in this pitch-black place. Even so, he still felt very dejected at that time. After searching through his entire body, he just happened to touch the hilt of the short sword on his body. This dagger was the weapon he had found in the cave of the cannibal woman. Since he had never used it, he only remembered it now. Moreover, because he had always hidden this weapon under his shirt, even the orcs did not notice it.
At this moment, he pulled out the dagger. It flashed a pale and weak light in the darkness. So this is also a weapon forged by elves, he thought."The beastmen aren't too close, but they aren't too far either.”
At least he had a sense of security. To be able to wear a weapon from Gondolin made him feel that he was an important person in the orc war in the ballad. In addition, he also noticed that when the orcs suddenly encountered such weapons, they would panic.
"Are we going back?" He thought, Better not! Walk to the side? Impossible! Move forward? This was their only hope! Let's go!" Therefore, he stood up and walked forward with one hand on the wall under the illumination of the sword. His heart was beating rapidly.
※※※
Now, for Birbo, the situation was indeed desperate. However, everyone should also know that the Hobbits would not be as desperate as you and me. Hobbits are different from ordinary people like us. Although the caves they live in are well-vented and adorned, at least they are more accustomed to these underground tunnels than us, and they can maintain a sense of direction underground. (Of course, after their swollen heads had recovered, they would not be able to make a mistake.) In addition, they could also move silently and easily hide their tracks. Their recovery speed after being injured was even more amazing. They also had a basket of ancient proverb that humans had either never heard or forgotten.
Even so, I do not wish to be in the same position as Mr. Baggins. The tunnel seemed to never end. He could only confirm that the tunnel continued to extend steadily forward, with occasional turns or twists in the middle. Sometimes, through the light of the sword in his hand or the result of touching the cave wall, one could confirm that there was a fork that led to another direction. He did not pay much attention to these forks. Every time he encountered them, he would walk quickly, hoping to avoid the orcs or the terrifying creatures he imagined. He walked and walked, and kept going down, until he could hear nothing but the occasional clatter of bats passing by the side. At first, he would be surprised by these annoying sounds of wings, but as time passed, he became used to it. I didn't know how long he persisted like this. He didn't want to continue moving forward, but he didn't dare to stop. He kept moving forward. In the end, he was so tired that it was indescribable. He seemed to have been walking without stopping for several days.
Suddenly, he stepped into the water without warning! Wow! This water was so cold that it was bone-chilling, and it made him suddenly feel energized. He did not know if it was a pool of water on the road, an underground river that cut through the tunnel, or the edge of an underground lake. At this point, the sword no longer emitted any light. When he stopped and focused, he could hear the sound of water dripping from the ceiling into the water. Other than that, there seemed to be no other sound.
"Looks like this should be a pond or a lake.”He thought. However, he still did not dare to rush into the darkness. He couldn't swim, and the slimy creatures in the water began to appear in his mind, as well as the sight of their protruding blind eyes exploring the water. Indeed, there were strange creatures in the pools or lakes at the bottom of the mountains: It was a strange fish that had evolved over countless years. If their ancestors accidentally swam into this dead end, they would never be able to leave. Their eyes, on the other hand, grew larger and larger in response to the need to see in the dim light. Other than that, there were many creatures that were slimmer and more disgusting than the underground fish. Even in the caves dug by the orcs, there were creatures that they didn't know about sneaking in to live. Some of the caves had existed before the orcs moved in. They had just expanded them and opened them up to each other. In these caves, the original owners were still lurking in the corners, waiting for an opportunity to hunt prey that they were not wary of. Next to this pool of black water lived Gollum, a small, slimy creature. I didn't know where he came from, nor did I know who he was, or what kind of creature he was. He was Gollum, as elusive as the darkness, with large, round, pale eyes on his thin face. He had a small boat that allowed him to paddle silently on the lake. This pool was indeed a lake, wide, deep, and bone-chilling. He stuck his big webbed feet out of the side of the boat and swatted the water forward. Not even a single bubble would appear. This was his silent style of doing things. He had always searched for blind fish in the lake with his large, pale eyes like oil lamps, and picked them up with his slender fingers as swift as lightning. He also liked to eat meat. As long as he could eat orcs, he would seize the opportunity to enjoy it. However, he was careful not to let the orcs discover his existence. As long as an orc walked to the water's edge while he was searching by the lake, he would strangle the unlucky prey from behind. However, the beastmen also felt that there seemed to be evil power hidden in the dark lake deep underground, so they did not often appear in this place. A long time ago, when they were digging a tunnel, they had come to this lake. At that time, they found that the tunnel could not continue, so the road was cut off. Normally, the orcs had no reason to come here unless the king sent them. Sometimes, the king would suddenly want to eat the fish in the lake, and in many cases, the fish and the messenger would disappear.
In fact, Gollum lived on a damp rock in the lake. He was now observing Birbo from afar with his large eyes that looked like a telescope. Birbo couldn't see him, but he could clearly see the other party. He was very curious because he could clearly tell that the creature in front of him wasn't a beastman.
As Bilbo groped desperately and helplessly along the shore, Gollum jumped into the boat and pushed himself and the boat away with his big feet. Silently, Gollum approached and began to whisper,
"My baby, bless us. We are really lucky! I think it's a feast, or at least a tasty snack for us, Gollum!”When he said Gollum, he would make a horrible gulping sound from his throat. This was also the reason why he got this title. However, he always called himself " my baby."
The hobbit was almost out of his mind when he heard the voice, and the large, pale eyes came to him at the same time.
"Who are you?" He raised the dagger forward.
"Who is he hissing at, my baby?" Gollum whispered. (Since there was no one else to talk to, he always liked to talk to himself). At this moment, he was sure that he was not really hungry. He was just curious. Otherwise, according to the usual practice, he would make a move first.
"I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins. I have been separated from the dwarves and wizards. I do not know where I am. As long as I can leave this place, I don't want to know where I am.”
"What's in his hand?" Gollum looked at the dagger that made him uncomfortable.
"A sword! It's Gondolin's treasured sword!”
Gollum became very polite."Perhaps you could sit here and talk to him, my dear. He likes riddles, doesn't he?" He was eager to show his goodwill in exchange for time to learn more about the hobbit and the sword: Was he really alone? Does it taste good? Whether Gollum himself was hungry or not. Guessing riddles was the only thing he could think of at that time. A long time ago, when he lived in his cave, guessing riddles with other interesting creatures was the only entertainment he was interested in. However, after he was chased away, he could only go down alone until he reached the deepest part of the mountain range.
" Alright." Birbo hurriedly agreed to the other party's proposal in exchange for time to understand this creature. He wanted to see if he was alone, if he was ferocious or hungry, and if he was an ally of the orcs.
" You ask first," he said, because he couldn't think of any puzzle at the moment.
Gollum hissed,
"What has feet but no one knows,
Tall than the trees,
It stands straight up into the clouds,
But you will never grow taller?"
"Simple!" said Birbo. "I think it's the mountains,"
"It thinks this is very simple? My baby, it must compete with us! If the baby asks a question and it doesn't know the answer, we'll eat it, my baby! If it asks us questions and we can't answer them, then it can take whatever it wants, okay? We can take it out, yes!"
"Alright then!" Birbo didn't dare to disagree. In order not to be eaten, he began to rack his brains to think of the puzzle that stumped the other party.
Thirty white horses stood on a red hill.
First they'll munch,
Then, she stomped her feet hard.
In the end, he stood still.
This was the puzzle he had thought of at that time, because his mind was still thinking about eating. It's actually a rather old riddle, and Gollum knows the answer as well as you do.
" Simple, simple," he hissed,""Teeth! Teeth! My baby, but we only have six!”Then he asked the second riddle,"
I have no mouth but I cry,
I can fly without wings,
I have no teeth, but I know how to stab,
No voice, but it can murmur.
"Give me some time!" Birbo's mind was still filled with food. Fortunately, he had heard similar riddles before. It took him a long time to calm down and think of the answer."It's the wind. Of course, it must be the wind!”At the same time, he was also proud that he could come up with the second riddle in an instant. "This will make that little underground fellow break his head!”He said,
Blue face with an eye,
He saw an eye on the green face.
"That eye is like this eye,"
The first eye said,"
"But on the ground,
Not in the sky."
"Hiss, hiss, hiss," said Gollum. He had lived underground for a very long time and had forgotten about this. But just as Bilbo was beginning to think that the fellow couldn't think of an answer, Gollum awoke a memory from a long, long time ago, when he had been living with his grandmother in a hole by the river."It means the sun shines on the daisy, yes.”
However, the memories of his daily life on the surface made him feel very tired. Moreover, it also reminded him that he was not so sneaky and lonely in the past. This made his temper turn bad, so this time he came up with another riddle that was even more difficult and uncomfortable:
Can't see it, can't touch it
He couldn't hear it or smell it.
It hid behind the stars, under the hills.
It could fill the void.
It came first and came later,
It would end life and kill laughter.
Gollum was unlucky, for Birbo had heard riddles like this before, and knew the answer before the other had finished. "It's darkness!" He did not even scratch his head, nor did he turn his head, and he solved the puzzle.
The box had no lid, no keyhole, and no chain.
However, there was a golden treasure hidden inside.
He had only asked this question to buy time so that he could come up with a really difficult puzzle. He thought that even a three-year-old child would be able to answer this question, so he only modified the description of the text. However, this was a difficult puzzle for Gollum. He kept hissing, unable to think of an answer. In the end, he began to mutter to himself, making puffing sounds.
After a while, Birbo began to get impatient."Well, what's the answer? From the sound of your voice, I must tell you that the answer is not a boiling pot.”
"Give us a chance, give us a chance, my baby, hiss.”
" That's enough," Birbo said after giving him a long chance,""Can you guess?"
Gollum suddenly remembered how he had stolen from the nest long ago. He sat by the river and taught his grandmother how to suck.”He hissed,"Eggs!" Then, he came up with a riddle.
Living but not breathing,
It was cold and deathly.
Never thirsty, never drinking water;
They were covered in scales but did not need to carry them.
To him, he also felt that this puzzle could not be any simpler. This was because his mind was usually filled with this thing, even when he was eating. However, he had been distracted by the egg's puzzle, so he couldn't think of any better challenge. However, for Birbo the Landlubber, this was a difficult problem that caught him off guard. I guess you know the answer, or at least you can guess it in the blink of an eye. Of course, because you were sitting comfortably at home and didn't have to worry about being eaten if you guessed wrong. Birbo sat up straight and coughed a few times, but still could not think of an answer.
After a while Gollum began to hiss happily. "Is it delicious, my baby? Is it fat and juicy? Or are you soft-hearted?" He began to size up Birbo in the darkness.
" Half a minute," the Hobbit said with a shiver."I gave you a long chance before.”
"Hurry up, hurry up!" Gollum began to climb out of the boat, ready to dive into the feast. Unfortunately, just as he put his webbed feet into the water, a fish jumped out in fright and landed on Bilbo's toes.
"Ugh!" "It's so cold and wet!" he said. This made him blurt out,"Fish! Fish!" "It's a fish!" he shouted.
Gollum was very disappointed, but Birbo did not give him any time to catch his breath. He threw out the next puzzle so that Gollum could climb back to the boat and think about it.
The one without legs was placed on one leg.
Sitting on two legs on three legs,
The four-legged ones also got some.
This was not a good time to ask this question, but Birbo had no choice. If he had chosen to ask this question at some other time, Gollum might not have guessed it for a moment. However, since they had just mentioned fish, it was not difficult to guess the " legless " part. As long as he confirmed this part, the rest was simple. " The fish is on the tea table, the man is sitting on the stool, and the cat is eating the fish bone." Of course, this was the answer, and Gollum quickly guessed it. Then, he felt that it was time for some scary and difficult puzzles. So he said,"
It will devour everything,
Insects, fish, birds, beasts, flowers, plants, trees,
It bit through pig iron and corroded through gold and steel.
Turning rocks into ashes,
Kill the king, wipe out the town,
The sea turned into mulberry fields, and the mountains turned into plains.
Poor Birbo sat in the darkness, thinking about the names of all the giants and ogres in the stories he had heard, but no matter how terrifying these guys were, they did not have such extraordinary abilities. He had a feeling that the answer was different from what he had imagined, but he just couldn't think of it. He began to feel nervous and afraid, which did not help him think calmly at all. Gollum was about to climb out of the boat again and come to him, and he jumped into the water and clattered to the shore. Birbo could see his eyes drawing nearer. Birbo's tongue seemed to be stuck in his mouth. He wanted to shout,""Give me a little more time, give me a little more time!”However, his clumsy tongue could only say,"
"Time! Time!" This was purely Birbo's good luck, because this was the answer.
Gollum was disappointed again, and now he was getting grumpy and tired of the game. The process of guessing riddles made him hungry. This time, he didn't walk back to the ship, but sat down beside Birbo. The hobbit was so frightened that his head almost turned into mush and flowed out of the flower.
"It can only ask one more question, my baby, hiss, hiss, hiss. One more question, yes, hissing..."said Gollum.
However, with such a cold and wet fellow sitting beside him, poking and touching him, Birbo really couldn't think of any problems. He grabbed and pinched himself, but he still couldn't squeeze out any problems.
"Ask us! Ask us!" said Gollum.
Birbo pinched himself and gave himself a few slaps. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and even reached into his pocket with his other hand. Then, he touched the ring that he had picked up in the tunnel but had completely forgotten about.
"What's in my pocket?" he said loudly. He was just talking to himself, but Gollum thought it was a riddle and was rather displeased.
"It's not fair! It's not fair!" He hissed,"That's not fair, my dear, is it, who knows what's in his dirty pockets?”
Birbo finally understood what was going on. As he really couldn't think of a better question, he could only say even louder,""What's in my pocket?"
"Hiss hiss hiss," Gollum hissed."It has to let us guess three times, my baby, three times!”
"Alright! Then guess!" said Birbo.
"Hand!" said Gollum.
" Wrong." Fortunately, Birbo had just taken his hand out. "Guess again!"
"Hiss-hiss-hiss," Gollum was even more frustrated than before. He thought about all the things he would put in his pocket. Fish bones, orc teeth, shells, bat wings, rocks used to grind teeth, and other disgusting things. He tried to think about what other people would have in their pockets.
"Xiao Dao!" he guessed.
"Wrong again!" said Bilbo, who had lost his knife not long ago. "Last chance!"
Gollum was in worse shape than when he had been asked about the egg. He hissed and puffed, shook his head back and forth, stomped on the floor, and shook and twisted his body, but he did not dare to waste his last chance.
"Hurry up!" "I was waiting for you!" said Bilbo.”He tried to sound optimistic and brave, but he wasn't quite sure how the game would end, whether Gollum was right or wrong.
"Time's up!" he said.
"Thread, or nothing!”It wasn't very fair for Gollum to guess two things at once.
"It's all wrong," shouted Bilbo, feeling relieved. He immediately jumped up, leaned against the nearest cave wall, and pulled out his short sword. Of course, he knew that guessing riddles was a very sacred thing. Even cunning and evil creatures would not dare to cheat during the competition. However, he didn't believe that the guy in front of him would keep his promise so easily. As long as this guy had any reason, he might think of a way to break the contract. Not only that, but he was also in the wrong. According to the ancient rules, the last question was not really a riddle.
At least Gollum didn't attack him immediately. He could see the sword in Birbo's hand, but he was sitting on the ground, muttering, trembling. Finally, Birbo lost his patience.
"How is it?" "Didn't you promise me?" he asked. I want to leave. You have to take me out.”
"Baby, did we say that? Let that despicable villain out? Yes, yes. But what was in its pocket? No thread, baby, not nothing. Oh, no! Gollum!"
"Don't worry about it," said Bilbo."You have to keep your word!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。