Chapter 40

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Chapter 040: Night in the Forest

The farm mentioned in the deed was located a few miles east of Goldshire, and by the time they arrived, it was already evening.

The owner of this farm is named Stomir. Jesse doesn’t remember seeing this farm on the map, because "Stomir" means a vast lake in the common tongue, so many people call this place Great Lake Farm.

Even though there is nothing related to a lake nearby here, not even a river close by for seven or eight miles to the south.

To deal with the wolves, Jesse brought along the Orc stick. After all, when dealing with wild animals, every inch counts. These wolves aren’t Worgs, so they probably won’t last long, and using an axe would be too cumbersome.

However, to avoid knowledgeable people from noticing, he tightly wrapped the stick in cloth to hide its color and material.

The dwarf carried a sword and had a bow on his back, looking more like a professional warrior than Jesse’s street thug appearance. The two of them swaggered toward the direction of the farm.

Great Lake Farm wasn’t very big, despite its intimidating name. On the surface, it seemed less impressive than the farm they sneaked into in Duskwood. The mill and granary appeared somewhat modest.

Jesse roughly looked around at the size of the farm, feeling like he could build all the buildings and fences himself, except for the houses, which seemed impossible.

"Hey, is anyone there?" the dwarf shouted loudly towards the farm.

A person glanced over from behind a stack of upright straw bales, then suddenly ran away.

"Why did he run?" Greed asked curiously.

Jesse looked at him, then at herself, and immediately shouted, "We are not bandits! We are here to help, Mr. Stomir!"

The person who was running far away stopped halfway, looked back, then kept running all the way into the granary.

The two caught up to the side of the granary, and the man suddenly appeared with a pitchfork in hand, Greed quickly used her sword to block the pitchfork, pushing it into the ground.

"We are here to help you, what are you doing?"

"Get out!" the man gritted his teeth, "What use is coming now?!"

Jesse asked, "What’s wrong?"

"My child… my child is only four months old!" he stared at Jesse and said, "She was taken away by those wolves, I couldn’t even catch up!"

"When did it happen?" Jesse asked.

"It was just the day before yesterday," the man said, "I’ve reported to the guards in Goldshire so many times. If you had come earlier to find those wolves, this wouldn’t have happened!"

"Why didn’t you go look for her yourself first?" dwarf asked.

"I can’t leave the farm," the man said anxiously, "My wife was bitten, I couldn’t kill the wolves… I can’t do anything right, I’m just useless!"

After speaking, he suddenly pulled at his pitchfork, but before he could do anything, he turned around to grab the dwarf’s sword. Jesse rushed forward, pushed him to the ground. The man, in a frenzy, broke free from Jesse’s control with an unexpected burst of strength, colliding with Greed who was caught off guard.

The two rolled in the pile of broken grass, scattering straw and hay everywhere. The man got up, about to grab the sword, but the sword was already pointed at his neck.

"Don’t try to grab it, or the wolves won’t need to move their mouths, I’ll send you to meet your ancestors," dwarf said coldly.

"I’m going to find the wolves and kill them!"

The man shouted in despair and slumped against a pile of grain sacks nearby. He struck the wooden pillar of the granary hard, making the whole house shake.

The dwarf pressed down on the tip of his sword, feeling that the man’s mind was not quite right.

Jesse looked at the man, then glanced at the small cottage where he lived. An old lady stood at the door, watching them, struggling to keep her balance.

She didn’t say anything, just stared blankly. Jesse thought she might be too old to understand clearly, maybe unaware of what was happening.

She was probably his mother, or his wife’s mother.

This man supported two women and a child on this farm. It was really helpless to face a wolf attack in the middle of the night. If the child was taken away, he surely wouldn’t dare to chase too far.

If he went far, the wolves could come back around and might really kill his whole family.

At that time, how could you expect a confused old lady and a young woman who had just given birth to fight against a group of wolves?

"I’m not called Stomir," the man said quietly. "This is my wife’s family farm. She is from the Stomir family. My name is Matt, Matt Foller."

He picked up the pitchfork from the ground and said, "I’ll use this pitchfork to help you all kill those wolves, every single one of them, to avenge my children."

"We’ve been paid, Mr. Foller," Jesse patted his shoulder. "If you come along, do we still need to share the money with you? No, you should stay home and protect your family. If we find the wolves, we’ll take care of them for you."

The man was now so angry that he was not thinking clearly. Taking him along might only cause more trouble, so they needed to figure out a way to protect him from harm.

Foller stood still for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Eventually, he whispered, "If you find my child, or… any remains, belongings, please bring them back for me. I can offer you some money, though I don’t have much now, maybe two silver coins. I know it may not be much for mercenaries like you, but I truly hope, whatever it is, his clothes… at least give my wife some closure."

Jesse said, "Two silver coins is not little. Whatever the outcome, stay strong."

The man nodded, "My wife also said the same."

Jesse advised, "Your wife is right. Go back, take care of her, watch over the farm, and don’t let those wolves in at night."

"I understand." The man turned his head, and as if remembering something, he said, "Those wolves… I heard someone say there’s a pack of wolves living in the forest to the south."

"How many wolves are in this pack?" Greed asked.

The man rubbed his eyes and said, "A hunter mentioned that lately there have been groups of four or five wolves roaming the forest. I can’t search alone, so I had to ask for help from Goldshire."

After the man left, Greed watched the man’s dejected figure and asked, "Should we leave now or wait for daylight?"

Jesse carried a stick over his shoulder and said, "Let’s search first. What if the child is still alive? It’s easier to encounter wolves at night."

"But what are the chances that the child is alive?" Greed asked.

Jesse replied, "No matter the odds, we need to leave as soon as possible to search, Greed."

The dwarf said, "Don’t get your hopes up, let’s be realistic. We could end up losing both of ourselves if the child miraculously survives."

Jesse sighed deeply and said, "I think this is much more complicated than what the reward mentioned."

"I have a similar feeling," said Greed.

Searching for something in Elwynn Forest is much harder than doing quests in the game’s Elwynn Forest.

Especially at night, Jesse felt like everywhere he looked was a similar sight: a dark forest, occasional animal sounds, and no visible markers once far from the farm.

In the center of Duskwood, there is a high ground with a primitive forest of huge trees gathered on it, which helps as a reference for direction based on the terrain and forest shadows.

But here, it was so dark that nothing could be seen clearly.

"Have you ever caught a wolf before?" Jesse asked.

"Not at night," Greed stepped over a tree root and said, "But I’m sure there are wolves nearby, not only because that guy said so, but because…"

He picked up a bush. "Look at this."

In the pitch-black night, Jesse leaned in by Greed’s side and, with the slightest moonlight, managed to see a hint of silver thread on top.

"Wolf fur?"

Greed nodded and said, "There is good news and bad news now."

"Let’s hear the good news first," Jesse said unconsciously.

"Which news do you want to hear first?" Greed said. "The good news is that there is a lot of wolf fur here. I’ve seen plenty of wolf fur in just a short time, which means we might find the wolf den relatively easily."

Jesse continued, "The bad news is, there is too much wolf fur."

Greed shrugged and said, "That’s right, let’s hope all this fur is from baby wolves following their mothers. If it’s a whole pack of adult wolves, we might be in big trouble."

"Should we go back for now?" Jesse asked.

"It’s a bit late," Greed raised his head and looked at the moonlight filtering through the trees, saying, "Let’s make a fire here to keep away wild animals. I need to rest before the upcoming battle. You keep watch for a while, don’t worry, I’ll just take a short nap."

Jesse knew Greed always slept when tired, so he nodded. They walked towards a clearing in the sparse woods, where Greed sat down, checked his pockets, and said, "Oh no, I forgot to bring tinder. Did I drop it on the way here?"

"I have a bit." Jesse took a box of tinder from the warlock’s pocket and handed it over. Greed looked at his bag and said, "It looks pretty when you look at it like this, I mean your bag."

This bag doesn’t look cheap, and it doesn’t seem like something Orcs would have. It looks more like a noble’s or an archmage’s bag. It’s cool to carry this around the Mage Quarter.

Jesse looked around for dry branches and sticks for fire fuel, while Greed cleared the ground. Sitting down, he started using a knife to strike flint. After a few strikes, he lit the tinder.

"Hey, Jesse, why don’t you give it a try? This isn’t working too well."

"Is the air too damp?"

Just as Jesse turned around, he saw pairs of glowing eyes staring at them from the bushes twenty meters away behind Greed.