Chapter 64

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Chapter 064: On the Road Again

The whole Lakeshire had only one clinic, located on a hill at the highest point of Lakeshire, run by a pharmacist family called Jannolos.

Unlike Stormwind, here the Herbalist took care of both treating and trading medicines, potions and the like for business. Despite being a big town, there were not many priests here.

Due to Lakeshire being a place where people from different regions frequently visited, the influence of the Holy Light Church was not as strong as in Stormwind. The only small church built by the Holy Light Church had turned into a gathering place for various strange beliefs, with the Holy Light symbol hanging at the entrance almost losing its original function.

In the middle of the night, Jesse sat outside the pharmacy waiting quietly for the people inside to check on Greed’s injuries. He knew nothing about treating wounds and didn’t want to disturb, feeling like waiting for results outside an operating room.

"Mr. Jesse Seso, right?" The owner of the pharmacy, a middle-aged man with gray hair, came out and said, "The dwarf gentleman’s injuries are severe, but his life is not in danger now. It might take a few more days for him to wake up. Fortunately, he is a dwarf. If it were a human struck by lightning, it would have been much harder to say."

Though it was good news, lightning strike?

Jesse no longer wanted to explain that Greed was attacked by an Orc, as everyone in town from guards to pharmacists thought he had hallucinated being attacked by an Orc Shaman.

According to them, if they meet an Orc, they will not survive, even if they do, the Orc would not be able to summon lightning and such.

He should ask that Orc for something as proof, maybe even get a reward, but now only half the town misunderstands him, making him really frustrated.

"Will he make a full recovery?"

"He should be able to, but from my experience even dwarfs need at least two weeks. Tomorrow, I will go to the camp across to ask the priest or Paladin for help, maybe he can recover faster and save some costs too."

"How much will it cost in total?" Jesse asked.

"The Lifesroot and various recovery drugs for the electric injury are not cheap," the pharmacist said. "Stabilizing his condition has already cost some, now it’s 3 silver coins, the future cost will depend on how long he stays here."

Jesse sighed, checked his bag, he brought 6 silver coins, now he only has 4 left.

Greed’s bag seems to have been lost during the fight, when he finds Greed back, how can he still think about his bag?

It may still be on the other side of the lake, but it’s pointless to go and search now, most likely the Murlocs have taken it.

He handed over 3 silver coins, then showed his assistant’s badge to the pharmacist and said, "I am from Wizard’s Sanctum, sir, I came to Redridge to work for a mage, my boss is Eden Malin. Please take care of this dwarf for me, don’t just throw him out because he doesn’t have money. I will finish my business in Stormwind and bring you the rest of the money needed within a week, how does that sound?"

"I am willing to trust someone from Wizard’s Sanctum, and I will not throw out any patients no matter what," the pharmacist said. "But it needs to be done quickly, as I also need to purchase herbs. If there is not enough money, the herb gatherers will not let me owe them."

Is it already straightforward to talk about herb gatherers like that here?

If it were a normal day, Jesse would probably like to ask about the prices of herbs purchased here.

Redridge seems like a good place for herb gathering, but with Greed lying inside and Jesse having other important matters to attend to, he was not in the mood to ask about prices here.

This mission not only didn’t get the reward from the Warrior Guild, but also cost a lot. It’s really a big loss.

Thankfully, the pharmacist said he could fully recover. If there were any aftereffects, he would regret it for a lifetime.

The next day at noon, Jesse bought some carrots at the inn to feed the horses, almost getting his fingers nibbled by the hungry horse.

Since he was running out of money anyway, there was no hope for the horse to eat anything good.

Even after resting for half the night and the whole morning, he still felt sore all over, but by noon he already felt much better than in the morning.

Jesse stopped thinking about complaining. If it weren’t for Saenor’s Blood Pact, he might have been in a much worse situation than even Greed.

After visiting Greed, he felt that his body should be okay, so he continued on to Stonewatch Keep, as time waits for no one.

Today is the last day of the agreed three days, but now it seems he won’t be able to return to Stormwind until tomorrow noon at the earliest. He would probably miss another morning of work.

But since this is official business, Malin should be able to understand, and maybe not fine him or fine him less.

The Redridge after the rainy day looked incredibly clear and bright, with sunlight spreading across the valley. After the continuous forests, Stonewatch Keep on the cliffs on the other side of the lake in the distance was clearly visible, as though one could reach it in one go.

But still, it would take a horse ride of one or two hours to get there.

"Master!"

Imp’s sudden appearance startled him.

"How did you come out by yourself?"

Saenor chuckled and said, "Of course, it’s because there are no other people around. Master, you don’t consider this big beast to be a wise being, do you?"

The chestnut horse beneath them seemed nervous and uneasy because of the sudden appearance of the demon, constantly pawing the ground. Jesse comforted her for a long time before finally calming her down.

Imp grabbed the horse’s mane and struggled for a while before standing firmly and asking, "Master, is that dwarf dead?"

"Not dead," Jesse answered coldly. Upon hearing imp’s words and his tone, anger surged in his chest.

"Too bad!" imp sneered.

Jesse grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up aggressively. Imp coughed violently and stared at Jesse in disbelief, struggling to say, "Master… are you planning to send me back to the Twisting Nether?!"

Ignoring the burning and itching sensation on his hand from the demon’s skin, Jesse grabbed him and angrily said, "Do you want him dead? I understand now, if one day I find Greed mysteriously dead, you won’t live to see another day!"

"Master!" imp weakly held Jesse’s hand and said, "Why are you protecting that dwarf? You want to become powerful, you want to live forever, and that dwarf only wants to make you a mediocre weakling! Relying on his swordsmanship and self-defense skills, you won’t live long! He is the stumbling block on your path to growth! I thought you knew that!"

"Can you hear what we’re saying?" Jesse asked.

"Did you really understand what I said, Master?" imp said urgently. "He hates the powerful evil demon forces, he hates the unfathomable powers from the void, but his own hatred of the powers of darkness is his problem, my Master, he can’t control you!"

Jesse stuffed imp into a bag and said, "He’s not controlling me, he’s just worried."

"Worried about what?" imp asked as he peeked out, "Worried that you’ll surpass him, worried that you’ll become a great wizard, surpassing him in every way, making him ashamed and questioning if he’s just a useless waste."

Jesse snorted disdainfully and said, "What a lowly provocation, imp. I wonder what benefit you have in saying these things, or are you demons just naturally like this."

"I’m just making practical guesses, and it’s all for your own good," imp slowly emerged from the bag, grabbed Jesse’s arm and brought his face close, saying, "I have no other motives, Master, I just want you to become strong, to at least protect yourself. If that dwarf doesn’t interfere with your growth, I won’t bother with him!"

"Look at what the so-called ‘evil power’ has brought you. If you don’t fear, if you don’t summon me, what would happen when facing that elemental messenger? Think about it, Jesse Seso, my Master!"

Imp anxiously said, "Azeroth is a world filled with powerful magic, shining like a beautiful gem in the entire dark void. Countless demons, shadows, the dead and the living all covet its beauty. In such a world… not finding a way to become strong means you can’t survive. Perhaps you can scrape by for a few years, but what about decades, centuries, even a thousand years? One day…"

"Let me give you a realistic example, this kingdom went through a great war, a terrible war between outsiders and the local residents. I can feel a strong magic stirring in the south constantly affecting this area! That is a portal, a portal created by demons, that is the passage for the outsiders to arrive here! My foolish Master, just imagine, how do the local races fight back against these outsiders and reclaim their homeland? It’s through power… and maybe a little faith, but power is the foundation of everything."

"I don’t really need you to teach me, imp." Jesse replied coldly.

"Too bad, esteemed master." The imp smirked sarcastically, saying, "Even though I don’t want to, I must obey your command and stop telling the truth I have witnessed. Even though I have to watch you slide bit by bit into a dark abyss of self-righteousness and delusion, ultimately reaching a pit of regret and helplessness, with your soul drowning in cries for decades, I still…"

"Shut up."

The imp coughed twice and retreated back into the bag.

Jesse grabbed the bag, shook the binding ropes.

"You even made me recite poetry."

The horse trotted cheerfully towards the main road, the sun setting, the walls of Stonewatch Keep coming into view.

Jesse took out a letter from the package, confirmed the recipient’s name – Martin Harold, apprentice at the Wizard’s Sanctum.