Chapter 101

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Chapter 101: Round and Round I Ended Up Here

In the afternoon, Jesse went to the dock to ask if anyone was buying Naga scales. He found a few small pieces of scales from Gnomes working for dwarf blacksmiths, and exchanged them for 7 silver coins.

He asked several people, and these two Gnomes offered a relatively decent price.

Walking home with the silver coins in hand, Jesse happened to pass by a general store. He thought about the Naga bead necklace and decided to inquire about its price. He also thought the broken pocket watch he found in Westfall might be worth repairing.

"Everyday Emporium, for all your needs."

The chubby shopkeeper, holding a book and wearing glasses, greeted Jesse without much emotion as he entered.

Glancing at the customer, the shopkeeper asked, "What can I help you with?"

"I just wanted to ask," Jesse took off the bead necklace from his wrist and placed it on the table, saying, "How much can I sell this for?"

"We don’t buy jewelry here, sir," the shopkeeper adjusted his glasses, but still took the necklace from Jesse.

"Rainbow-colored pearls, beautiful things only found in the deep sea, but this strand of pearls is not very big and a bit cloudy, like it’s been contaminated by something. Where did you get this pearl necklace? This chain itself… doesn’t seem like something made by the Kingdom of Stormwind."

The shopkeeper looked over the pearl necklace, occasionally glancing at Jesse, then said after a while, "You could probably sell it for about forty silver coins, sir. But you’ll need to go to a jewelry store to inquire. Turn left at the canal, follow the canal, and you’ll see a jewelry shop."

Forty silver coins.

Jesse thought about selling it, to make money for ink and paper… He was facing a test in Orcish language and needed to translate as much Demonic content from the book as possible to understand the meaning of the corresponding Orcish runes faster, which was quite important to him.

If he let it go, he wouldn’t hesitate at all.

But this pearl necklace was a loot, especially considering the life-and-death struggle that night, and a series of nightmares afterwards made him feel like proving his experience was worth more than forty silver coins.

"Um, sir, is there a chance this pocket watch can be fixed?" Jesse asked, placing the watch on the counter.

The shopkeeper examined the pocket watch and said, "I can’t say, you’ll have to ask at the clock shop on the street outside Cathedral Square."

Jesse thanked him, took back the pocket watch, and the shopkeeper said, "Welcome back anytime."

He always thought this shopkeeper was strange because he didn’t buy anything or ask for advice, yet the shopkeeper was so friendly. Why was that?

However, he did not dwell on it and followed the directions given by the shopkeeper to go to Cathedral Square, searching for the clock shop.

As he walked, he felt like someone was following him. After looking back a few times, he only saw ordinary passersby and guards, not noticing any suspicious characters.

Did he become overly suspicious because of his frequent use of shadows?

Just as Jesse turned into an alley and began to reflect on whether he had been using shadow magic too often recently, he suddenly heard rapid footsteps behind him.

Without any weapons, Jesse quickly turned around and shouted, "Who’s there?!"

A soldier in chainmail and a helmet charged at him, knocking Jesse to the ground. Jesse couldn’t just surrender like that. He struggled fiercely and managed to push the armored soldier aside, shouting as he tried to run out of the alley. However, he was stopped by another person grabbing his bag.

That bag… he couldn’t afford to lose it.

Jesse landed a punch on the soldier’s face, but it hit the helmet instead, hurting his knuckles and nearly bringing tears to his eyes.

Looking down the end of the alley, there was a guard blocking the way with a long stick.

"What’s going on?!"

"Behave and surrender, little thief!"

"Who are you calling a thief?!"

"We have received a report…"

Listening to the soldiers, Jesse suddenly understood why the shopkeeper had been so friendly – he suspected Jesse of being a thief trying to sell stolen goods.

The key is, why would a thief be foolish enough to openly walk into a shop on the main street to sell stolen goods? Why not first check with the local thieves’ guild in the sewers?

"I am innocent! These things are all mine!"

"Yes, of course they are yours. You are definitely innocent. Come with us to explain to the sheriff!"

Jesse knew that struggling was useless now, the soldiers had already decided he was a thief.

"I really am…"

"Shut up!"

Suddenly a fist hit his chin, and Jesse passed out.

Someone slapped his face, and he panicked, opening his eyes wide and shouting, "I am not a thief! Can you arrest someone just like that?!"

He felt like he hadn’t finished his words earlier, so he blurted out everything, but after speaking, he realized that he had been unconscious for quite a while, and he was no longer in the alley.

Just after speaking, Jesse looked around at the environment. It was a place that looked like a prison, all black around. Was this Stormwind Prison?

He was currently tied to a wooden chair, so he had indeed been brought here.

"He’s awake, bring in that merchant and ask him."

Jesse looked towards the voice and saw a chubby man walking in.

"Are you sure it’s him now?"

A bearded man in a soldier blue shirt looked at the chubby man who had just come in, Jesse saw clearly, it was the shopkeeper!

"It’s him!" The shopkeeper pointed at Jesse and said, "He’s the one who sold stolen goods at my place."

"Sold stolen goods?" Jesse stared at him and asked, "Did you see me steal? Whose things did I steal? Who reported me? Who lost something?"

"Look at his attitude, he’s downright wicked." The shopkeeper said fiercely, "Lord Morse, look at this guy’s poor appearance, so thin and dark, dressed in rags, how could he have such precious jewelry, that bead necklace in his hand could sell for a lot of money! Not to mention there’s a broken pocket watch, he might not even be a thief, but a robber! After beating someone up, he robbed everything from them!"

"Rags? You might as well write a novel." Jesse shouted, "Or did you do it yourself, that’s why you understand so well?!"

The shirted man named Morse didn’t immediately respond to the shopkeeper, he just looked back and forth at a ring, that’s when Jesse noticed that the ring was his Apprentice Badge that he had just gotten!

"That ring is mine!" Jesse yelled, "Give it back to me…"

"Do you know what this thing is used for?" Morse asked.

Just as Jesse was about to speak, the shopkeeper quickly interrupted, "Didn’t expect him to steal a ring too? This guy must be afraid I’d suspect him of stealing, that’s why he didn’t show me everything and ask for prices. Didn’t expect him to be so cunning, luckily I’m one step ahead."

"Noisy," Morse looked at Jesse and asked, "What do you think?"