Chapter 138

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Chapter 138: Hillsbrad "Scenery"

In the following days, Palatine Bay was as calm as a mirror. Whenever things started to go smoothly, Jesse became vigilant, always worried that luck might suddenly strike him from a strange angle.

However, on the evening of November 30th, you could already see a long line of lights forming from the north, that was Southshore, Southshore at night.

Maybe fate also has limits, can’t keep giving Jesse endless work.

Southshore is the largest town and port in Hillsbrad, Jesse remembers the last time he left here feeling a bit disappointed, heard it was bustling in royal city, but didn’t seem much after seeing it.

But after staying in the Kingdom of Stormwind for two years, seeing the towns of Redridge and Elwynn, returning to Southshore made it seem like a fairly large port, especially after two more years of development post-war, even at night the streets were busy with lit lanterns.

Jesse remembered there used to be a curfew in this town when he left.

Of course, people leaving from royal city would feel like the whole world was just small towns and villages, after all, royal city is undoubtedly the largest city on the continent, even the second largest city Stratholme in the kingdom is much busier than Stormwind before the war.

According to past game data, the population of Stormwind after the Scourge War was about 200,000, when Jesse was in Stormwind, of course he didn’t feel there were that many people, hearing a census giving data of around 70,000 to 100,000 human populations.

Considering the Kingdom of Lordaeron in the game was on the brink of destruction, half of its land became uninhabitable plague wastelands, thousands of surviving refugees moved south into the Kingdom of Stormwind, a population increase to 200,000 in a decade was not impossible, especially as Stormwind kept expanding.

And now the capital of the Kingdom of Lordaeron should be as big as later Stormwind, at least when Jesse was in royal city, it felt much larger than Stormwind.

In Southshore, with the dock as the center, all the roads in the town lead to the pier. As Jesse approached the dock along those streets, he could see the whole town.

The man with the ponytail made it to the dock safely, and even recovered quite a bit. After a few days of rest, the woman was able to come up on deck for some fresh air by herself.

After all that commotion, the "Dark Night Baron" didn’t stir up any trouble anymore, maybe because of the increased dosage of the hypnotic drugs, or perhaps he had given up. In any case, he didn’t make much noise.

Everything was going according to the captain’s wishes. These past two days, he had been throwing money around like crazy, willing to pay anyone who could help keep the ship stable by any means necessary. It seemed like he was making a lot of money transporting the "Dark Night Baron".

However, Jesse suspected that this job might mean more for the reputation of the Steamwheedle Cartel in the gladiator transportation industry. The true benefactors and superiors of the captain, the bosses of Gadgetzan, would never tolerate any major mistakes. Captain Neeraz stood at the bow of the ship, watching the sailors busy preparing to dock, looking much more relaxed in both expression and tone than a few days ago, probably feeling he had passed the test.

After the ship came to a stop, Jesse walked onto the gangplank, looking at the crowded street ahead and feeling a vague sense of unease.

There are so many people, what if we can’t find a carriage to Dalaran? Even if there is one, it might be very expensive.

Greed walked up and said, "We’ll need to find an inn to stay at again, I have a feeling it might be hard to find a vacant room."

"Yes, let’s go to the waystation and inquire about tomorrow’s journey," Jesse said.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Greed asked. "We arrived early by several days, and this boat stops at Menethil Harbor, which I didn’t expect at first."

Jesse pointed at a person in front of a tavern over there and said, "Look at how crowded it is, I feel uneasy. Even if we plan to stay here for a few days, we should check the timing first and make a reservation if possible. Remember when you forgot to buy tickets in advance in Stormwind, and we ended up riding on that goblin’s ship, almost getting eaten by a Stranglethorn panther."

Greed replied, "You’re one to talk, weren’t you clueless too?"

Jesse sighed, "So now we learn from our mistakes and act early rather than late."

"Let’s go," said the dwarf.

The two walked north along the largest road in the middle of Southshore. The road was uphill, and the two weary travelers who had just disembarked from the ship finally reached the inn near where the caravan was gathering.

Suddenly, Jesse heard a howling wind, followed by a series of rumbling noises that sounded like some kind of engine coming from the other side of the inn.

Has Lordaeron already built steam trains for transportation?

Greed’s large ears perked up upon hearing the sound.

"What’s that?" asked Jesse.

"It’s a gryphon!" Greed ran wildly to the side of the dormitory with the bag, and Jesse hurried to catch up when he heard it was a gryphon.

They looked at the open space behind the post station and saw a huge gray and white lion-bodied monster raising its wings impatiently, shaking its eagle head.

Many people around were leaning on the railing, looking out of the windows, and watching the restless appearance of the monster with chatter and laughter. The gryphon seemed a bit uneasy because of the gazes of these onlookers.

This monster was much bigger than Jesse had imagined… After all, even in the game, when a dwarf rode on the back of a gryphon, it didn’t feel much smaller than the gryphon.

But this gryphon was surprisingly large, like a tall horse, with its fluffy feathers, spread wings, sturdy muscle contours on all four legs, making the draft horses in the nearby post stations look like a group of timid little dogs.

A mage wearing a purple Kirin Tor robe quickly walked past the onlookers and skillfully leaped onto the gryphon. After shouting something, the gryphon immediately raised its wings slightly, took off the ground with both feet, and the gust of wind generated was comparable to a helicopter.

Many onlookers’ hats were blown away, and Jesse had to hold onto his own hood. The cape behind him kept swaying in the wind, but his eyes were fixed on the gryphon, even though the sandstorm was severe.

He was almost in a daze, and goosebumps erupted all over his body.

If things were normal, he might wonder about the mage’s identity in the Kirin Tor, what kind of magic he wielded, how powerful he was in battle, and how long it would take to reach his level… After all, the mage looked quite young.

But now none of that mattered, because the gryphon ahead shone so much brighter than him!