Thousands of miles away, at Isengard.
Accompanied by spatial fluctuations, Kael, Rómestámo, Morinehtar, and a white bull appeared out of thin air outside Orthanc Tower.
Seeing the familiar surroundings, Kael finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally escaped safely!
Looking at the Ring of Power in his hand, it had dimmed considerably, its stored magical power completely depleted.
That was magical power he'd accumulated for over half a year, equivalent to the total magic of hundreds of him, now completely exhausted by just a few of Sauron's attacks!
Kael felt pained, as this was magical power he'd accumulated bit by bit. Now reduced to zero overnight, he'd have to slowly re-accumulate it all again.
Moreover, the Eärendil's Light in his hand was also mostly consumed, becoming quite dim.
But successfully escaping from Sauron and rescuing two Blue Wizards was fortunate enough.
Then he looked toward the two Blue Wizards.
"Rómestámo, Wizard Morinehtar, are you alright?"
Rómestámo nodded weakly with exhaustion, showing a tired smile on his face. "I'm fine. Thanks to you we could escape. It seems my premonitions are never wrong. You are our savior."
Morinehtar, no longer under Sauron's continued mental erosion, finally recovered. His eyes were no longer crazed but became clear again.
But extremely weak, he no longer had the strength to speak.
Even though Sauron's mental erosion had already affected him, he was still using most of his will to suppress the evil will Sauron left in his body, avoiding a complete fall into darkness.
Seeing his friend in this state, Rómestámo was full of worry.
Sauron imprisoned Morinehtar and used this to set a trap, luring Rómestámo. The purpose wasn't to kill them but to corrupt and make them fall, turning them into subordinates loyal to him like Saruman.
But Morinehtar was essentially a minor divine-level Maiar with extremely strong, solid mental will. Even for Sauron, corrupting their minds wasn't easy.
So he imprisoned him in Minas Harad fortress's tower, daily torturing and tormenting him to weaken his mental will and exhaust his soul.
When mental defenses were weak, he'd strike while vulnerable, using evil power to corrupt and twist the mind, ultimately making Morinehtar an evil wizard under his control.
Morinehtar had been trapped and tortured by Sauron at Minas Harad for years. That he could persist until now without complete corruption was already remarkable.
But how to free Morinehtar from Sauron's influence? Rómestámo couldn't think of any solution.
Seeing Rómestámo's worried expression, Kael suggested. "We might be able to take Wizard Morinehtar to Rivendell. Lord Elrond of Rivendell is Middle-earth's finest healer. He might have ways to solve Wizard Morinehtar's problem."
Hearing Kael's words, Rómestámo's eyes immediately lit up.
"Then please help with the introductions!"
The two Blue Wizards had only briefly met Elrond once when traveling east and weren't familiar, so they could only ask Kael for help.
Kael nodded, smiling. "No need for courtesy. Lord Elrond is a compassionate lord. When I went to the Far East seeking you, it was Lord Elrond's suggestion. He greatly praises your achievements in the east and would surely welcome your arrival."
Then he brought Rómestámo and Morinehtar into Orthanc Tower, preparing to travel to Rivendell via fireplace.
Upon entering the main door, Rómestámo was amazed by the huge space inside.
But then he was attacked by a giant wolf countless times larger than his Araw bull mount.
Especially its three-headed appearance greatly surprised Rómestámo.
Cerberus sensed strange yet powerful scents, and instantly all three heads awakened, becoming fierce with bared fangs and throats brewing flames, preparing to attack.
"Quiet!" Kael shouted. "Cerberus, these are guests; be polite!"
Hearing this, Cerberus restrained its aggressive attitude, wagging its tail and sticking out its tongues, whimpering affectionately to Kael.
Kael helplessly patted the three heads. "Alright, I know. I have urgent matters now. I'll play with you later."
Seeing this, Cerberus stopped bothering Kael and obediently continued guarding.
Rómestámo showed surprise mixed with fondness. "This is your pet?"
Kael nodded somewhat apologetically. "Yes, he's called Cerberus, a variant three-headed hound. He's just over a year old and not yet mature, so somewhat misbehaved."
Rómestámo didn't mind Cerberus's earlier attack attempt but looked at it appreciatively, praising. "Just over a year with such power. If properly cultivated, perhaps another Hound of Valinor like Huan."
Kael shook his head, not taking Rómestámo's praise to heart. Huan the Hound was a true divine beast who not only killed the most ancient and terrible werewolf Draugluin but even made Sauron suffer.
When Elf Princess Lúthien rescued her beloved Beren, Sauron personally transformed into the largest werewolf in history to fight, yet Huan still wasn't suppressed. After Lúthien used magic to confuse Sauron, Huan seized the opportunity to bite Sauron's throat. No matter how Sauron transformed or cast sorcery, he couldn't break free, ultimately forcing Sauron to abandon Tol-in-Gaurhoth and flee as a vampire.
And they had just successfully escaped from Sauron, who was Huan's defeated opponent.
With such power disparity, Kael couldn't imagine how strong Huan was.
But back to business, Kael didn't linger at Orthanc Tower but directly brought Rómestámo and the weak Morinehtar to the fireplace, teleporting to Rivendell.
Seeing Kael's return, Elrond asked. "Was the journey smooth?"
Kael shook his head. "Hildórien's location is confirmed, but we can only find it on New Year's Day. Moreover, there were some complications midway."
Kael explained everything that happened in the Far East.
Hearing Kael's account, Elrond frowned slightly, finally shaking his head disapprovingly. "Your journey was quite risky. Sauron's power is strong. If you hadn't escaped in time, you'd likely have fallen into his clutches with an uncertain fate."
Kael nodded in acknowledgment. Without the last-moment check-in reward of Portkey, he'd probably be Sauron's prisoner, even mentally corrupted into a puppet.
Perhaps previous successes had made him lower his guard.
He hadn't anticipated Sauron's personal appearance, nearly leading to desperate straits.
After discussing matters, Kael and Elrond went to the medical room to see the two Blue Wizards.
Elrond expressed respect for the Blue Wizards' achievements in restraining Sauron in the east and promised maximum effort in treatment.
Rómestámo was fine, just exhausted without deep influence from Sauron's evil power. Good rest would restore him.
But regarding Morinehtar, Elrond frowned.
"Wizard Morinehtar suffered tremendous torment and is already physically and mentally exhausted, requiring long recovery time. Most troublesome is that part of his mind has been polluted by Sauron's evil, his pure soul stained with dark spots. Without extremely firm will, he'd have already fallen to darkness!" Elrond sighed gravely.
Hearing Elrond's words, Kael's expression became serious. He hadn't expected Morinehtar's condition to be so severe.
Rómestámo was even more worried, asking anxiously. "Lord Elrond, can you cure Morinehtar?"
Elrond shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, I cannot eradicate mental pollution. Perhaps only in the Blessed Realm of Valinor could Morinehtar be healed."
Rómestámo felt disappointed. Returning to Valinor was extremely difficult. They hadn't completed their mission and lacked Valar permission to return.
But Elrond continued. "However, I can attempt sealing the polluted part, preventing Sauron's evil power from further affecting Wizard Morinehtar. But this only treats symptoms, not the root cause. Without complete purification, there's always a risk of falling."
Hearing Elrond's words, Kael sighed with relief, silently complaining about the dramatic pause.
But Rómestámo regained hope, quickly requesting he seal Morinehtar.
Since Elrond mentioned it, he naturally intended to help.
He first treated Morinehtar's physical wounds and restored vitality, then used Vilya, the Ring of Air's power, to seal Morinehtar's corrupted mental parts, isolating Sauron's evil power's continued influence.
Elrond truly deserved being Middle-earth's finest healer, quickly healing the extremely weak Morinehtar's body while allowing him to fully regain consciousness.
"Thank you, Lord Elrond. Without your help, I'd have fallen to darkness beyond salvation!" Morinehtar first thanked Elrond, performing a solemn bow.
Elrond smiled and accepted his thanks, then instructed.
"Though I sealed the corrupted part in your body, Sauron's influence remains. The closer you are to him, the deeper the influence and the weaker the seal. Moreover, when sealing you, part of your power was also sealed, so prepare yourself mentally."
Morinehtar was quite optimistic, smiling. "This is far better than I expected."
Then Morinehtar formally and sincerely thanked Kael for traveling thousands of miles with Rómestámo to rescue him.
"Though Rómestámo already gave you the Victory Horn, it's insufficient to express my gratitude!" Morinehtar said sincerely to Kael.
"You not only saved me but also Rómestámo. I truly cannot imagine if, without you, we'd have fallen into Sauron's clutches, corrupted and losing ourselves, ultimately forgetting our mission. How desperate and terrifying that would be!"
Then Morinehtar mentioned he had a golden bow in his collection and planned to give it to Kael as thanks after returning to the Far East.
Reportedly, this golden bow was crafted by a Noldorin elf craftsman in Valinor, imitating Oromë the Hunter's bow, with never-miss characteristics. No matter how distant or cleverly hidden the target, it could strike precisely.
Hearing this, Kael was very curious about this bow and, at Morinehtar's insistence, accepted this unseen gift.
During the Blue Wizards' recovery time at Rivendell, Kael returned once to Weathertop.
He came to the cellar treasury and saw Smaug with half his body buried in treasure mountains.
When Kael entered, Smaug had already awakened, saying enthusiastically. "Master, you're back!"
Then he inconspicuously swept treasures behind himself, fearing Kael would demand money again.
Kael ignored these actions, simply saying. "Take out that thing of mine!"
Hearing this, Smaug opened his mouth and spat out a round black crystal stone.
It was clearly Kael's palantír.
Kael somewhat disgustedly used a Cleaning Charm to remove the saliva before catching the palantír.
This palantír was different from before, faintly emanating dark magic aura.
Moreover, within the crystal stone was a rolling black mist showing Kael's face.
This was Kael's final life-saving measure, a Horcrux.
Before going to the Far East, he had secretly split off a fragment of soul and used the palantír as a container to create his first Horcrux.
Palantíri were extremely hard. Even Aeglos, the Spear or Flammifer, couldn't destroy it, so Kael chose it as his first Horcrux.
At the cost of killing an orc, Kael created the palantír Horcrux and entrusted it to Smaug's safekeeping.
If he encountered any life-threatening crisis, he could use this Horcrux to resurrect.