Chapter 156

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Chapter 156: Phoenix Feather

When he woke up, it was already dark outside.

Jesse glanced at his pocket watch and realized it was already past 7 o’clock in the evening, getting dark earlier in his hometown compared to down south.

Seeing a crack on his pocket watch, he remembered that he had promised Amy Malin to get her a souvenir.

Maybe he should go out and see if there was something nice to buy. Even though he didn’t have much time during this trip, Jesse didn’t want to waste his time lying around at home.

By looking around, even if he didn’t buy anything, he could at least have an idea of what gift to choose.

After waking up, Jesse felt much more alert than at noon, feeling comfortable and even the burn on his arm didn’t bother him as much.

He glanced at the bandage on his arm, it didn’t look good.

Going downstairs, Duchamp was having dinner, a smell of moldy cheese filled the room. Jesse’s nose twitched, focusing on the food in Duchamp’s hands.

Jesse had a strange feeling as if he had been sitting there eating all afternoon.

Hearing the noise from the stairs, Duchamp looked up and asked Jesse, "Do you still feel unwell? Is the medicine working?"

Jesse touched his forehead and the headache was gone. "I feel pretty good now."

"Great!" Duchamp held up a piece of green cheese and said, "Do you want to have some together?"

Jesse looked at the piece of cheese and felt like eating it would cause an unpredictable disaster, scarier than Stormwind’s blue cheese.

"My stomach is quite full, teacher, thank you. I want to go out for some fresh air, maybe stroll around the streets."

"Where are you planning to go?" Duchamp asked. "Since we’re here in Dalaran, we should explore. There’s a bustling commercial street to the east, and The Feast of Winter Veil is coming soon with many activities. Why don’t you join in?"

"There are activities for The Feast of Winter Veil in Dalaran too?"

Jesse was surprised, even though the residents of Kingdom of Stormwind had accepted the concept of The Feast of Winter Veil a long time ago due to their frequent interactions with Khaz Modan and the presence of many dwarfs in the city.

But in the continent of Lordaeron, at least outside of Aerie Peak, the concept of The Feast of Winter Veil had not fully spread. The Wildhammer dwarfs were more closed off than the Bronzebeards, not willing to share their things with the outside world beyond Hinterlands.

Of course, with the cooperation between dwarfs and humans during the Orc War, the sharing of holiday traditions had deepened rapidly. However, there were still no large-scale celebration events like in Stormwind in the royal city of Lordaeron.

"Some Gnomes and goblins are setting up a festival over there, you can go take a look," Duchamp said.

Indeed, there are quite a few Gnomes in Dalaran. Gnomes are heavily influenced by dwarves, while goblins always come up with ways to make money, it’s normal for them to join in the fun.

Once outside, heading east as Duchamp said, many houses and shops were adorned with ribbons, snow decorations, and more.

There were many people on the street, with several young kids in Dalaran robes carrying colorful candy canes playfully chasing each other. Every time a blonde girl passed by, Jesse couldn’t help but stare for a while.

It’s not because he’s some kind of strange lolita fanatic, in fact, he wanted to see if he could spot Jaina Proudmoore among these kids.

She should be around 10 years old now, about the same age as the little rascals running around here.

Jaina’s father, the leader of Kul Tiras, and Admiral Daelin Proudmoore sent her to Dalaran to study magic when she was 12 years old. Since then, Jaina rarely left Dalaran until she completed her studies here.

Of course, he had no idea what the world’s Jaina looked like, let alone her appearance as a child. Searching back and forth like this was just a way to pass the time while walking around the streets.

Or perhaps she hasn’t arrived here yet, and Jesse came a bit early.

A group of children were walking along the road, Jesse came upon an ice cream cart.

The children excitedly bought ice cream cones with their money. Jesse kept circling the cart, wondering if there was a magical ice maker hidden underneath.

After squatting for a while with no clue, he decided to buy one for himself.

One silver coin for one cone; he couldn’t help but marvel at how rich the children in Dalaran were.

Seeing how profitable the cart was, Jesse didn’t bother investigating how they made the ice. Maybe hiring two mages, one for making ice and the other for magically delivering it to the cart, could work too.

Even though the weather was a bit chilly for frozen treats, the ice cream cone was melting slowly. Jesse licked the ice cream while glancing at the shops along the street.

There were some interesting shops selling gifts, including a toy store that was unlike any in Stormwind, making the whole street feel like a Disneyland.

However, Amy was almost thirty; getting a child’s toy for herself would just mock her intelligence, wouldn’t it?

So, what would be an appropriate gift to give?

Book?

If Amy, an apprentice mage, can’t access the books in the Dalaran Library, she might not be interested, or she might have already read them all.

Wand or magic wand?

The Malin family seems quite wealthy. Jesse can afford a wand, which Amy probably wouldn’t like.

Eventually, it all comes down to a question of money. When Amy casually mentioned bringing back a souvenir, she thought it would be simple. However, once she arrived in Dalaran, she found herself unsure of what to get.

Lost in confusion, she spotted a stationery shop on the street corner ahead.

How about buying a feather pen to take back? Gryphon feathers, rare in the Kingdom of Stormwind, are not very expensive here and would be a good choice.

With that in mind, Jesse walked directly into the shop, surrounded by the scent of ink and paper.

"Hello, mage from Stormwind, welcome. We don’t often see guests from the Wizard’s Sanctum here."

The shop was empty, and the shopkeeper was a Gnomish, a real one, not a sick human.

Jesse couldn’t tell if the Gnomish was being sarcastic or genuinely welcoming with his chatty tone.

The Gnomish sat on a chair taller than himself, facing the counter outside. Jesse wondered how he could reach things on all those tall shelves behind him.

"Anything you need, sir?"

"How much for a pack of regular writing paper here?"

"2 silver and 44 copper, sir."

"How many sheets in a pack?"

"A pack contains 12 sheets."

"Why is it so expensive?"

"Teacher, our paper is all imported from Stormwind. Maybe the carriage you rode here had our goods on it!"

Jesse looked at Kanyu for two seconds before saying, "Okay, I want to see the pens."

"Here we have regular turkey feather pens, and also duck, eagle, owl iron, vulture, chocobo, gryphon, chocobo, Cloud Serpent feathers…"

Jesse listened to the Gnomish naming with the skill of a menu, never imagining there were so many types of feathers that could be made into pens.

If these people could not get supplies from the opposite side of the Great Sea to Kalimdor, they would probably make feather pens from the feathers of harpies if they could.

"Finally, there is also a Phoenix Feather, which one would you like to see?"

Wait, a Phoenix Feather?