A premonition? Kael knew that beings like Rómestámo and Gandalf possessed prophet-like intuition.
But he still hesitated somewhat.
After all, if something could put Morinehtar in danger and even make Rómestámo sense peril in attempting a rescue, what turning point could he, a wizard of weaker power, possibly bring?
But since the other party had just helped him, he couldn't very well refuse.
After a moment of hesitant struggle, Kael sighed helplessly in his heart. He simply couldn't stand by and watch two Blue Wizards fall into danger.
From what he knew, the two Blue Wizards had continuously resisted Sauron's erosive influence in the east, relieving pressure on western nations in their fight against Sauron and making certain contributions to ultimate victory.
But after the final War of the Ring, only Gandalf among the five wizards successfully returned to Valinor.
Among the other wizards, Saruman the White lost his qualification to return due to betrayal. Radagast the Brown became so enamored with Middle-earth's nature that he forgot his original mission, ultimately choosing to remain in Middle-earth and continue living in forests with his animal companions.
As for the two Blue Wizards, little was said about them, but it was speculated they likely failed, which was why they couldn't return to Valinor.
Kael didn't know how the two Blue Wizards failed, but seeing Morinehtar now in danger with Rómestámo preparing to rescue him, he had vague suspicions.
Perhaps without his arrival, things would unfold just as Rómestámo sensed. The two Blue Wizards might fall into desperate straits, leading to mission failure.
So without the two Blue Wizards constraining eastern forces during the War of the Ring, Mordor's strength would surge dramatically, enabling attacks in all directions while still maintaining defensive forces several times larger than Gondor's alliance.
Knowing the situation, Kael naturally couldn't let Rómestámo fall into danger.
So he agreed to Rómestámo's invitation and decided to jointly rescue Morinehtar.
Hearing Kael's answer, Rómestámo was very happy and grateful.
Rómestámo and Morinehtar were very close friends. When the one still named Alatar had volunteered for Middle-earth, the one originally named Pallando had come to Middle-earth with his friend to jointly assist in confronting Sauron's threat.
So even knowing the danger, he wouldn't hesitate to rescue his friend Morinehtar.
"I know this journey is fraught with peril. That you've agreed is more than I could ask for!" Rómestámo said, then drew a white gold-inlaid horn from beneath his robes.
"This is the Horn of Victory. When blown, its sound can carry thousands of miles, not only making enemies fear and friends rejoice, but also summoning the horn-blower's friends to come. It's something I carried when I came to Middle-earth. I'm giving it to you now; please don't refuse."
With that, he handed the horn to Kael.
Kael was surprised, not expecting this horn to come from Valinor.
But since it was the other's personal possession, brought from Valinor itself, it must hold extraordinary significance.
He immediately waved his hand in refusal. "I won't take what you treasure. Wizard Rómestámo, this horn has accompanied you so long; please keep it."
Rómestámo gave Kael no chance to refuse, directly pressing the Victory Horn into his arms and shaking his head.
"This horn was made jointly by Morinehtar and me. If we can rescue Morinehtar, we can make another horn together later. But if we cannot, it would be meaningless to me."
Seeing Rómestámo's insistence, Kael could only accept the horn.
Only then did Kael discover that Rómestámo's earlier introduction of the horn had been too simple.
The horn's material was clearly made from white horn, pure white as jade throughout, emanating a bright, sacred aura, definitely not from ordinary cattle.
Besides this, the horn was covered with ancient, mysterious script containing extraordinary power.
This horn could be called a divine sonic weapon. When blown, it could not only make enemies fear but also produce massive sound waves, causing widespread enemy agony.
More importantly, it didn't attack indiscriminately. In enemy ears it was deadly noise, but to allies it was inspiring, pleasant horn calls.
It could even let friends thousands of miles away hear the summons and quickly come to provide support.
Having obtained such a divine artifact, Kael became more determined to rescue Morinehtar, otherwise he'd be unworthy of Rómestámo's gift.
Rómestámo and Kael didn't linger at the Dorwinion tribe, immediately heading south toward the Khand and Harad regions.
Khand was located southeast of Mordor, mainly inhabited by Variags who raised horses and possessed skilled cavalry. Like the Rohirrim, they were a people of the saddle.
Harad lay south of Mordor, mainly inhabited by Haradrim. Near Haradrim, close to Gondor, had brown skin, black hair, and black eyes, similar to Gondorians.
But the Far-Haradrim had black skin and black eyes, reportedly the result of various dark creatures mixing with humans.
Moreover, the Haradrim tamed mûmakil, massive elephants that became their mobile war towers for charging into battle.
Morinehtar had long been active in the Khand and Harad regions, secretly inciting rebellions against Sauron's rule while infiltrating high levels of Khand and Harad to turn leaders and free them from Sauron's control.
Along the way, hearing Rómestámo speak of Morinehtar's activities, Kael couldn't help being continuously amazed.
These two Blue Wizards were truly formidable. Rómestámo organized guerrilla warfare in Easterling territories against Sauron's forces.
Morinehtar was more like conducting espionage activities, dismantling power from within Sauron's forces.
Throughout the journey, Kael flew at low altitude on his broomstick.
Rómestámo rode his wild bull at speeds no slower than Kael's.
To avoid attention, both chose uninhabited routes, avoiding Khand tribes.
Rómestámo was certain Morinehtar wasn't in Khand, so they didn't stop, continuing south until finally entering Harad territory after a week.
Harad was a mixed region. Besides Near-Haradrim and Far-Haradrim, there were many pirates, bandits, and Black Númenóreans.
Near-Haradrim were partially civilized, but Far-Haradrim were uncivilized peoples living primitively in jungles and wastelands, having mixed with trolls, orcs and other dark creatures until barely qualifying as human.
As for Black Númenóreans, like the Dúnedain, they were descendants of Númenóreans but had been corrupted by Sauron into evil service, becoming part of his dark forces.
Most of Harad was desert. The two avoided Harad Road, crossing the desert toward the city of Minas Harad.
Minas Harad lay deep in the Harad desert canyons, a massive fortress built by the Haradrim to monitor the Harad region.
Kael and Rómestámo hid behind sand dunes, quietly watching the distant canyon fortress.
The bull behind them seemed to sense danger, staying quietly in place without making a sound.
"Rómestámo, are you certain Morinehtar is in this fortress?" Kael whispered.
Rómestámo nodded firmly. "I'm certain. My connection with Morinehtar tells me he's here!"
Well, special sensing between close friends? Kael didn't understand but chose to respect it.
But Rómestámo seemed to want final confirmation. He closed his eyes and softly called. "Alatar, Alatar..."
His voice was low, carrying mysterious power.
After a while, Rómestámo opened his eyes, his gaze directly locking onto a tower of the Minas Harad fortress.
"Morinehtar is in that tower!"
But how to approach the tower was a problem.
Minas Harad was obviously a fortress stronghold with not only numerous Haradrim soldiers but also orcs, even massive mûmakil roaming about. Under gloomy skies, countless giant bats circled the towers.
Dealing with just these wouldn't frighten them.
But the problem was that causing major disturbances might attract Sauron's attention; that would be the biggest trouble.
"For now, we should find a way to infiltrate the fortress. If we can secretly rescue Wizard Morinehtar, that's best. If not, we can force our way out with him," Kael said.
Then he drew his wand, pointing it at himself as his body quickly became invisible.
He then cast a Disillusionment Charm on Rómestámo as well.
Under cover of night, the two quietly approached the city of Minas Harad in the canyon.
As for the bull, they left it in place to await summons.
The two circumvented massive mûmakil and reached the fortress gate. Being invisible, they successfully passed Haradrim soldier guards, but when passing orcs, the orcs alertly sniffed.
"Confundo."
With the silent spell's effect, nearby orcs became dazed, instantly forgetting what they were doing.
The two then passed through the gate, silently avoiding numerous checkpoints until finally reaching the tower imprisoning Morinehtar.
If not for the giant bats circling the tower, Kael would have preferred to Apparate directly to the top.
The tower was also guarded by Haradrim and orcs. The two circumvented them layer by layer, climbing upward until finally discovering Morinehtar imprisoned in an iron cage at the top floor.
Morinehtar looked terrible, covered in torture marks throughout his body, his staff nowhere to be found, weakly trapped in a spike-filled iron cage.
Seeing his friend in such pitiful condition, Rómestámo's face filled with worry and tension. Regardless of exposure, he used his staff to shatter the cage and rescue Morinehtar.
The giant bats outside sensed the disturbance, making piercing sounds before attacking Kael and the others.
"Protego Totalum!"
Kael cast protective charms to block the giant bats.
Seeing his friend still unconscious with weak breathing near death, Rómestámo prepared to expend magical power for healing but was stopped by Kael in time.
He took out the golden cup, pouring recovery potion into it. After shaking it to let the cup maximize the medicine's effects, he fed it to the unconscious Morinehtar.
The recovery potion plus the cup's healing abilities restored some vitality to Morinehtar.
He slowly opened his eyes. Seeing Rómestámo, instead of joy, he showed a terrified expression.
"This is a trap! You must leave quickly!"