Prison Break Is Something I Have Experience With

"My sincerity is right there. Now tell me, how do I restore his appearance?"

"That little sincerity isn’t enough!" Aaron answered without addressing the question. "Your Highness, we’re still in prison cells!"

Legolas froze for a moment. "If you cure him, I’ll naturally let both of you out. I guarantee it in the name of an Elven prince."

"And what if your father disagrees?"

"Then I may disobey him for the first time." Legolas gave a bitter smile.

Aaron looked at Legolas’s resolute expression and nodded thoughtfully. "I’ve seen your attitude, but your guarantee means nothing to me. What I need is concrete action.

Besides, your father made the same promise. In other words, your sincerity amounts to nothing more than one extra dagger compared to his. How is that any different from trying to get something for nothing?"

Legolas fell silent for a long while before lifting his head to look Aaron directly in the eye. "What else do you want? As long as it’s something I can do, I won’t refuse."

"First, you have to return my Wand." Aaron spoke seriously, in a tone that allowed no argument.

"I can do that, but only after it’s done."

"Second, release the dwarves."

"I can’t do that."

"Let me finish. Release every dwarf except Thorin Oakenshield. You can accept that condition, can’t you?"

At that, Legolas drew a deep breath. "I’ll do my best to persuade my father."

"Go do it." Aaron waved him off. "Before I change my mind."

After Legolas left, Aaron leaned calmly against the cell door. "Done. Everything is under control."

"Why are you so confident?" Bilbo looked at Aaron in surprise. "Your bargaining skills don’t seem like those of a child at all."

"I’ve had professional training."

Aaron proudly raised his head, though his feelings were rather complicated.

Those Cram Schools really hadn’t been for nothing, though remembering them brought nothing but bitter tears.

"Gaius, why aren’t you saving Thorin?" Dwalin asked in a low voice.

"Could you use a little common sense?" Aaron rolled his eyes at him disdainfully. "The most important thing in negotiations is knowing the other side’s bottom line. To Thranduil, Thorin is practically the Elf Tribe’s greatest treasure. Do you think he’d release him so easily?

I’ve already fought for as much as I could for us. What else are you dissatisfied with?"

Dwalin froze. "No matter what, we can’t abandon Thorin."

"I was wrong." Aaron scratched his head. "I originally thought you were merely simple-minded and brawny, but now it seems you genuinely have no brain."

"You…"

"You what?

If only Bilbo and I are released, then the two of us will be saving all of you.

But under the condition I just proposed, the fourteen of us will be saving Thorin alone.

Do I really have to tell you which one has the better chance of succeeding?"

"Th-this, this…" Dwalin stammered incoherently for quite some time before giving Aaron a solemn bow. "I’m sorry. I misunderstood you."

"Aaron, didn’t you say there was another way before?" Bilbo asked. "What is it?"

"What else could it be? Breaking out of prison."

"What? Breaking…"

Bilbo’s eyes widened, and he instinctively started to shout.

Aaron swiftly covered his mouth. "Easy there, buddy. Don’t bring the Elves running."

Bilbo nodded frantically and lowered his voice. "Maybe I heard wrong. Did you say prison break?"

"Relax. I have experience.

Give me some time. This cell can’t hold me."

"You have experience breaking out of prison?" Bilbo was already numb. "What exactly do you do?"

"Sorry, I misspoke. I don’t have experience breaking out of prison." Aaron gave an awkward smile. "But the second half is true. I’m confident I can get us out of here."

"How?"

Aaron hesitated for a moment, then looked at Bilbo with a grin. "Though I’m not a burglar, I know a little about picking locks."

Bilbo raised an eyebrow and silently moved a little farther away from Aaron.

"My instincts tell me that nothing good can come from you telling me that."

"Uh… I just want to borrow something from you to make opening the lock easier."

Bilbo gave an embarrassed smile. "Borrow what? It isn’t going to be my hair, is it?

That won’t work. I tried it when I was little. Hair can’t open locks at all."

"Mr. Baggins, you really do have the talent to be a burglar. You tried opening locks with your hair as a child?

Don’t overthink it. I’m not interested in your lovely hair. I just want your sword."

"Sting?" Bilbo was completely baffled. "What do you need it for? That sword can’t cut through the cell door, or Legolas wouldn’t have been so comfortable returning it to me."

Aaron said nothing. He directly spent two Magic Points to buy a bottle of wine from the shop, then used Sting to pry out the cork.

Gloin drew in a deep breath and licked his lips. "Where did that wine come from?"

"Don’t worry about the details. Hiding a few things under the Elves’ noses isn’t that hard."

"No, I mean the wine smells so rich. I’ve never had such fine wine in my life."

"Aaron." Oin from the neighboring cell stretched out his arm. "Let me have one sip. Just one."

"In your dreams." Aaron covered the bottle’s mouth with his finger. "If you get drunk, even if I open the doors, you won’t be able to get out.

Those of you near the entrance, keep watch for me. Cough once if an Elf comes."

With that, he matched the lock’s keyhole and began carving the cork with Sting.

Wood chips flew everywhere. Bilbo stared dumbfoundedly at Aaron’s movements and the wooden key rapidly taking shape, then rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"How… are you so skilled at this?"

"As an excellent chef, my knife skills and carving skills have both been thoroughly tested," Aaron said with a straight face.

Bilbo: …

Who are you trying to fool? Yet he really couldn’t find any reason to refute it.

"Ta-da!"

In less than two minutes, Aaron had a key in his hand, though the back half of it was still half a block of wood.

"Now comes the moment to witness a miracle." Aaron spoke to Bilbo as he carefully inserted the wooden key into the keyhole and slowly turned it.

"It worked?"

Bilbo was overjoyed. Although he found it difficult to accept such a method, he had to admit that hearing that click felt wonderful.

Aaron nodded smugly. Just as he was about to push open the cell door, he heard a string of coughs.

Someone was coming?

Aaron was startled. He quickly pulled out the key and stuck it into the wine bottle, then shoved the bottle into Bilbo’s arms.

After finishing all that, he sat down as if nothing had happened and closed his eyes to rest.

Tauriel came down the stairs. The female Elf, who looked somewhat troubled, stopped at Kili’s cell door.

She watched Kili gently rub a black stone and asked curiously, "What is that stone in your hand?"

"It’s a Rune Stone.

It has a powerful spell on it. Anyone but a dwarf who reads the Runic Script on it will be cursed forever."

Tauriel was startled and turned to leave.

"Or maybe not." Kili smiled. "It depends on whether you believe in that sort of thing. It’s just a stone.

A runic stone. My mother gave it to me so I would remember my promise."

"What promise?"

"That I’d return to her side." Kili played with the stone in his hand. "She worries about me a lot. She thinks I’m reckless."

"Is that so?"

"Not at all."

When he tossed the stone into the air, he accidentally dropped it outside the cell, where Tauriel stepped on it.

Tauriel then told Kili about the Elves’ love of light. She was an Eldar Elf and loved all light, while Wood Elves loved brilliant starlight most of all.

Tauriel spoke wistfully of walking beneath the stars, and Kili told her about the Fire Moon he had seen.

That conversation brought the two much closer, and Tauriel returned the stone to Kili.

After she left, Aaron whistled with an amused smile. "Kili, I take back what I said. Maybe you really can steal the woman the prince has his eye on."

Kili said nothing, but the upward curve of his lips and the faint flush on his cheeks exposed his delight.

"But I’d still advise you to be realistic. Don’t pursue her."

"Why?"

"You’re different species!" Aaron spread his hands. "Elves can live for hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of years, or even longer. But what about dwarves?

Unless your lifespan can reach the same level, you’ll only be a passing traveler in her life…

In short, don’t take on porcelain work without a diamond drill. You can’t handle it."

"Ahem." Bilbo coughed. "Aaron, what you said makes sense, but before we escape, it’s all just a castle in the air."

"Right, the key."

Aaron took the wine from Bilbo, pulled out the cork, and opened the cell door under everyone’s watchful eyes.

"The smell of freedom." Aaron smiled smugly. "I told you this door couldn’t hold me."

The dwarves all laughed, and Bilbo was even more excited.

He was just about to walk out of the cell when Aaron quickly pulled him back.

"Don’t rush. A prison break is a major undertaking. Opening the door is only the first step." Aaron spoke patiently. "There are Elves everywhere outside. Once we’re discovered, we’ll be caught again soon enough."

"Then what do we do?"

Aaron patted his shoulder and said meaningfully, "We rely on you, top-notch burglar."

Hearing the words "top-notch burglar," Bilbo immediately understood. He could use the Magic Ring to become invisible, and it wasn’t impossible for him to find the best escape route through the Woodland Realm.

"I’ll find a way."

"And the keys." Balin immediately reminded him. "The keys to our cell doors."

"Got it. I’ll bring them back."

"And weapons," Dwalin added. "We can go without anything else, but we absolutely can’t go without weapons."

"And wine," Gloin said. "It’d be even better if there was food."

"Hey, hey, hey, don’t push it." Even Aaron couldn’t listen to this anymore. He turned toward Bilbo, whose face had darkened. "Don’t listen to them. Finding the keys and a route would already be a blessing.

But if you can, bring back my Wand."

Bilbo let out a helpless sigh. "I’ll do my best!"

After leaving everyone’s sight, Bilbo put on the Magic Ring and became invisible.

He moved carefully all the way, not daring to make the slightest sound. After wandering around for most of the day, he finally found the Elf carrying the cell keys and followed him into the wine cellar.