Interlude (1)

On the throne located in Erebor, sat the king under the mountain, in front of him stood a few Dwarfs with concerned and frightened faces.

Thorin's expression was grave, the Arkenstone that shone atop his throne added a mystical dignity to his expression. "The scouts saw an army of undead orcs march to the north?!" He asked grimly.

The Dwarfs in front of him nodded, the leader among them came forth, "Yes my king, An army of at least one thousand or more... The scouts were too terrified to chase them. We lost them in the mountains.".

Thorin frowned as he contemplated, 'Just who is responsible for this? A Necromancer?! But wasn't he defeated?'. "Send a messenger to Gandalf the grey and inform him of the situation, Tell him undead evil is taking root in the north with an unknown Necromancer. Summon him here for this matter is urgent."

The Dwarfs nodded and went away leaving a worried and befuddled king behind. 'Perhaps I should Ask Arthas a favor? He promised protection to us. his kingdom is prospering quite well...'

Bilbo finally sat on his favorite spot and lit up the pipe to smoke. He looked at the azure sky and the morphing clouds adorning it with a smile. Gandalf who sat beside him exhaled a small cloud of smoke and chuckled. "The quest comes to an end with everyone happy. Bellies filled with food and lungs filled with the smoke of pipe-weed. Darkness is gone and peace is restored. hmm..."

Bilbo nodded, "It would have been nice if Arthas was here, I could have shown him the pleasures of pipe-weed and the relaxing site of this scenery." Gandalf agreed, "Hoho, he is now a king of his people, leading them to a better future. I heard he is quite the wise king, even some elves of Lorien joined him! I am sure he is very busy.".

Bilbo smiled, "Indeed, I wouldn't mind following him but I prefer the peaceful and relaxing home of mine here. Building a new kingdom seems like a lot of work. By the way, What happened in the past year?".

Gandalf snorted, "A lot of work you say, hmph, it is incredibly difficult; in any case, he is doing fine at least. As for the happenings of the past year, after we separated, I made a visit to Gondor and scouted the darkness in Mordor. We are safe for the time being.".

Bilbo became concerned, "A new war?". Gandalf laughed calmly, "No, no, at least not in the foreseeable future; You need not worry my friend.".

It has been a year since the two had met, they began reminiscing about the past as they enjoyed the pipe-weed and the relaxing breeze and weather. The sound of a galloping horse interrupted the peaceful atmosphere as Gandalf stood up to see what was going on.

A Dwarf that was quite familiar entered their vision. It was Balin. He approached them and fiercely hugged Gandalf and Bilbo as greeting. "How are you doing?", Bilbo replied in a good mood, "Good, thank you very much. How are you?". Balin laughed, "Fine, fine; Mr. Baggins.".

Gandalf laughed, "Ah Balin, what are you doing here?". Balin's smile froze and his mood became a little gloomy, "I am afraid a grave matter has come up.".

Gandalf and Bilbo frowned. "Let's discuss this inside."

They entered the house and Balin began telling his Tale. "An undead army of orcs numbered in the thousands has been spotted a few months back towards the north of Erebor. Thorin has summoned you to take a look."

Gandalf's frown deepened, "An undead army?! But that is not possible even with Sauron's power.". Gandalf looked at Bilbo, "My friend, I must leave early and go to Erebor. This matter must be dealt with immediately.". Bilbo nodded with a little fear in his eyes, "Go, and good luck.". 'Undead?! That's certainly not something I wanna get involved with.'

Gandalf left Bags End and embarked on the journey to Erebor. 'What is this new evil?!' He wondered.

The investigation began in Erebor with the help of Gandalf the grey, they found the remnants of black magic used but they did not find the Army...

'Darkness is looming in the north and south, we must prepare. I must go to Lordaeron and meet with an old friend.'

A few weeks later, an astonished Gandalf entered Elwyn's forest and saw the town. He saw the races living peacefully with each other, he became awed by the little kingdom Arthas had built. 'He spoke of this but did not believe he could accomplish so much. So many revolutionary ideas...'

He saw a feast and his eyes widened when he saw the people. His shock was due to the power he felt from half the people in armor. They all had the same light as Arthas only much much weaker and more diluted. He saw little stars, magically.

A familiar voice came from behind him, "Those are my paladins, what do you think old man?".

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Within the Lands of Darkness shone a brilliant red light, its source was a pig with a greedy face. Gandalf stood in front of the evil pig. "You shall not PASS!!"

The pig sneered and said, "Check out Pat'reon or I will destroy the world, AHHH!". Gandalf frowned as Jojo appeared from behind him, "Yare Yare Daze... What an ugly pig".

ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA...

The pig was blown away as Gandalf looked at Jojo with shock, "What magic is this?!!". Jotaro calmly walked away as a note was thrown by him in the air; gently swaying before hitting Gandalf in the face making the latter fall to the ground. "Ah, my back..."

"Join Discord and check out Pat'reon or else..." was written; 'what ugly handwriting.' thought Gandalf 'Never!'.

If you want to support me: pat'reon.com/TheMysticOne

https://discord.gg/zzFJv5F