Chapter 58

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Chapter 058: A Fresh Start for Jesse

Looking over from the bridge at Lake Everstill, the lakeshore up to the half-mountain was surrounded by layers of white walls and red tiles, nestled within dark green forests. The tall bell tower resembled an elderly man wearing a red hat, observing approaching travelers among a group of fancifully dressed children.

The reflection of Lakeshire in the lake intertwined with the town itself to form a beautiful giant butterfly, lying between the mountains and the water.

Jesse gazed at the painting-like beautiful scenery from his horse, almost forgetting about the dangerous things hidden in the mountains.

On this side of the bridge, military tents, soldiers in silver armor and spears crowded and swayed, even though the war was over, the area around Lake Everstill was still the most dangerous in the whole kingdom.

Looking into the distance from the bridge, through the dissipating morning mist, Jesse could already see the faintly visible fortress watchtower on the mountain on the other side of Lake Everstill, which was Stonewatch Keep, the most important military stronghold overlooking the entire Redridge and Lake Everstill lakeside valley in the region.

During the war, Orcs and humans fought fiercely multiple times for this stronghold, resulting in the entire Stonewatch Keep being tortured for years by magic and explosives, and it had still not been completely rebuilt twenty years later.

But Lakeshire in front of him seemed to have recovered quite well, with only some building materials and scaffolding that had not been removed yet telling of the disaster that struck here years ago.

The bridge had not been fully repaired yet, progress was slow, but pedestrians and lone horses could already pass through.

Arriving in Lakeshire, coming out of the stable, Jesse couldn’t take his eyes off the shimmering lake, not the only one captivated by the scenery on the lake, many soldiers who had just arrived from Eastvale Logging Camp were sitting together on the edge of the dock, chatting and looking at the lake.

Further along the lake shore, a few children were playing in the lake, their sisters or mothers standing on the shore anxiously calling out. An old man carrying a fishing rod and fishing gear took slow steps away, possibly wanting to avoid the crowded people here and find another fishing spot.

"I have to go to the town center to ask the Warrior Guild brothers what kind of activities they do here," Greed adjusted his pants, walked over and said, "The air here is really nice, staying in Stormwind is not good for your health!"

"Let’s not talk about health for now." Jesse looked at him and asked, "So you came to Lakeshire without knowing what tasks are there?"

"I am a sergeant now, Jesse," Greed patted his stomach and said, "Even if I don’t know what the task is, I know it won’t be too dangerous and it matches my rank. That’s the advantage of the rank, see? And the tasks now offer good rewards for me. The guild told me this bounty is at least 10 silver coins, at least!"

"Remember the time we almost lost our lives for two silver coins?" Jesse reminded him.

"That was unexpected, unexpected." Greed laughed and said, "Who knew a regular delivery task would encounter the biggest trouble after the Kingdom of Stormwind war? That huge Gnoll is now the main target of Westbrook Garrison. We can consider our mission as very brave and invincible."

Thinking about it, Greed was not wrong. Assigning tasks based on the performance and combat abilities of guild members allows everyone to be useful, to train without always facing life-threatening risks. Even if the guild takes some money, it’s not a bad thing.

"I’ll trust you one more time, where is the inn here?" Jesse asked.

"Over there," Greed said, "On the other side of that small forest, do you see that three-story building, slightly blocked by the clock tower?"

Jesse looked in the direction he pointed and said, "I’ll wait for you there."

The inn in Lakeshire is called "Lakeshire Inn," unlike the fancy names of inns in Stormwind.

Even though the inn sounds ordinary, it is quite big, and they offer a wide variety of food and drinks, including things you can’t find in Stormwind, like Roast Buzzard and various types of lake fish only heard of in games.

Skipping the usual dishes like boar liver and stew, Jesse’s eyes fixated on one dish on the menu board that he couldn’t look away from.

"Roast… Roast Raptor?"

He looked at the bald-headed owner sitting behind the counter, who said, "Roast Raptor, exactly, young sir. You see, the Roast Raptor from Stranglethorn is tender like chicken and crispy like fish, complemented by the local Redridge spices, you can even taste a hint of dwarf flavor in it. Despite a slight price increase due to trade routes issues, it’s still worth a try."

Only then did Jesse remember that there were Raptors in Stranglethorn.

"I’ll have one."

"That will be 1 silver coin and 30 copper, sir. Roast Raptor is our specialty here."

"One meat dish for one and a half silver coins?!" Jesse glanced at the menu again.

That’s a Roast Raptor!

"One plate of Roast Raptor, and another pot of Moon Plum Juice," he bravely placed a silver coin and a copper coin on the table. The innkeeper took the money and immediately shouted for the kitchen to start cooking.

On the other side of the inn hall by the fireplace, a few soldiers without armor were singing a song. Jesse looked at the package on the table, thinking about the hidden imp inside, feeling it all seemed unreal.

He then placed the package under the table and held it with his foot.

Lakeshire was much busier than Goldshire, with adventurers gathering here from the north and south. There were not only humans but also dwarves and gnomes. Outside the inn, Jesse even felt like he saw an elf.

Many armed travelers like Jesse, with two pockets and a plain staff on their back, a sword hanging from their waist, did not stand out much in the crowd.

In a corner, a mysterious figure wearing a hood that was hard to tell if he was an elf or a human, sat silently observing everyone in the inn. Despite his inconspicuous attire, it was clear that everyone in the inn was somewhat afraid of him, mainly because of the long knife at his waist.

Just as he tried to listen carefully to what the human soldiers were singing, Greed suddenly sat down across from him.

"Exciting times ahead, Jesse!"

"I haven’t agreed to work with you yet."

"You will definitely agree, I am one hundred percent sure!"

"Why?"

Greed smiled mysteriously and said, "The target is a hidden Orc Warlock… What do you think? What do you think?!"

Jesse immediately understood what Greed meant. When they said Orcmage, they actually meant Orc Warlock. Ordinary townsfolk don’t make a strict distinction between the so-called warlocks and mages. They would naturally call anyone who casts spells and does magic tricks with fireballs a mage.

Since they found so many good things on the body of the last Orc Warlock, what might this living one be hiding? No one knows.

Jesse couldn’t help but feel excited.

"Are you sure he’s alone? What if the Orc is accompanied by a large group of guards?"

Greed replied, "If that’s the case then we’ll forget about it, but the intelligence says that this guy is a lone deserter, hiding in Redridge and not daring to venture further south, following their main force back to the Dark Portal."

At that moment, the roasted meat was brought to the table. Greed stared at the large piece of meat, a mixture of lean and fat, for a while, then sniffed and said, "Roast Raptor?"

Jesse exclaimed, "You can smell that?"

Greed chuckled and said, "My dad was once known as the Raptor killer. You know, he killed over a hundred Raptors when he was in Grim Batol, more than the bugs you’ve stepped on."

"I’ve stepped on an ant hill," Jesse said.

"You’re amazing! You’re proud of stepping on an ant hill!" Greed tore off a big piece of meat and put it in his mouth before Jesse could even stop him.

This piece of meat costs more than a silver coin! Jesse hesitated for a moment but had to quickly grab a piece of the shiny, oily meat and eat it, forgetting about manners. The meat disappeared quickly!

"Let’s spend a day in Lakeshire first, Jesse. Tomorrow we’ll hit the road to find that Orc," Greed said as he gnawed on the meat. "What do you think?"

Jesse said unhappily, "I only have three days."

"How long can it take to deliver a letter?" Greed said. "We’ll play today, deal with that runaway Orc tomorrow, deliver the letter the day after, and then head home. Stormwind isn’t as far as Sentinel Hill, we’ll be back soon."

"I have a feeling," said Jesse.

"What kind of feeling?" Greed looked at Jesse’s face, then looked around warily.

Jesse said, "Every time you start comforting me, telling me everything will be okay, we’re about to have some bad luck."

Greed threw a bone into the plate and said, "So, what do you think is wrong this time?"

Jesse asked, "What are the chances of finding a wanted Orc who’s hiding away in just one day?"

"There are some clues, and besides me, no one here has experience dealing with mages, so I’ll take on the responsibility to protect the people," Greed looked at Jesse and said, "How about this – we search tomorrow, and if we don’t find anything, you head to Stonewatch Keep the day after tomorrow, return to Stormwind, and I’ll stay here to keep searching. If you still remember your old buddy, come back to help me search, and I’ll split the bounty with you. The Warrior Guild bounty plus the Lakeshire Mayor’s extra contribution make a total of 13 silver, what do you think?"

13 silver, Jesse’s heart skipped a beat.

Spending money these past two days had been a bit much, and payday was still a few days away. If he didn’t make some quick money, he might have to eat dry bread for a while.

This wasn’t the oily, soft sweet bread you could find in any bakery; it was rougher and drier than a bun, harder to chew than a week-old hard biscuit, often biting into strange hardened bits of unknown black substances.

After eating for three or four days, the healthy body will enter a barely alive state close to death.

"What if that powerful warlock?"

"Don’t worry, there is enough evidence to show that guy is not really skilled, just hiding with some potential threats, no actual harm done, unable to move the Kingdom army of Lakeshire to hunt him down, so the mayor can only reward us mercenaries."

Orc Warlocks are mostly officers in the Horde, and they are the craziest and evilest Orcs. Since becoming deserters, their strength might indeed be a problem.

But Orcs… after all, they are still Orcs, let’s look for them first.

"Let’s go with that plan."

Jesse took a big sip of moon plum juice, Greed chuckled twice and tore off a big piece of meat. Not willing to be outdone, he directly pulled off all the meat on a bone.

One of the biggest benefits of coming to Azeroth is not having to worry about calories anymore, not getting fat. All kinds of desserts, snacks, meats, drinks, you can eat and drink as you please.

Firstly, the food here is far less calorie-dense than the 21st century. Even if some foods are greasy and sweet, for Jesse’s soul that has experienced industrial heavy flavors, it always lacks interest, like the difference between diet soda and regular soda.

Another thing is, being poor here can really help him lose weight.