Chapter 66

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Chapter 066: The Night on the City Walls

Jesse followed the middle-aged man into the room, where there were two young people who looked like apprentice mages, and an older woman. Morganth was the oldest among them, he seemed to be their teacher.

"I am Master Malin’s assistant. Master Malin asked me to deliver the package to an apprentice named Martin Harold." Jesse handed over the package and said, "There is also a letter inside."

"I am Martin Harold." One of the young apprentices walked over to take the package.

"Eden actually sent a helper to deliver the letter here?" the woman said suspiciously. "And such a young one too."

Jesse said, "Master Malin hired me as a helper to assist with tasks in Redridge, ma’am."

"I see," Morganth asked, "Do you know what’s inside this?"

Jesse shook his head and said, "I haven’t opened it."

"Anyway, let’s stay here for the night," Morganth pointed to the room on the right and said, "The one at the end with no key, it’s empty. This is a military fortress, so safety isn’t a concern. You can rest assured."

The apprentice placed the package on the table and whispered to another young person.

"Teacher, look at this." Martin unfolded the Orc war flag inside and showed it to Morganth.

Jesse said, "I’ll take my leave now, master."

Just as he was about to leave, Morganth stopped him. "Do you know what this flag represents?"

Jesse looked back and said, "This is the emblem of the Dragonmaw clan."

Morganth opened the letter, read the contents, and said, "It seems Master Malin has a reason for asking you to help him find the trail of the Red Dragon, Mr. Jesse Seso. Malin is correct, unlike other tribes, the Dragonmaw Orcs did not escape Azeroth through the Dark Portal but stayed here, still enslaving the Red Dragon Legion. This flag has disproved my earlier guesses."

"However, the letter says it was found by mages in Menethil Harbor in Khaz Modan, not Blackrock Mountain, which is different from his previous assumptions. He wants me to return to Stormwind. Andromath wants to organize an expedition deep into the wetlands to search for the true base of the Dragonmaw Orcs."

"Could it be Grim Batol?" asked the female mage.

"Do you really believe the Orcs can find that cursed dwarven city?" Morganth said. "And Grim Batol hasn’t seen anyone from the Wildhammer Dwarves for 200 years."

"I heard there are dragons living there," Martin said.

Morganth said, "Some say they have seen a Red Dragon or even a Black Dragon there. Whether it’s true or not, it’s an extremely dangerous place. Perhaps Andromath shares your thoughts, but I don’t think embarking on a deep expedition into the wetlands is a wise decision right now."

He sighed, sat down, and looked at his students, saying, "Our Master Andromath wants to achieve greater deeds than the Kirin Tor. He aims to uncover the connections between the Green-skinned invaders and the Red Dragon earlier than Antonidas and Master Krasus. Eden Malin is someone who seeks power and fame at any cost. Maybe he desires it more than Andromath. These two are quite a pair. But if Wizard’s Sanctum wants an expedition… darn it, I have to comply. After all, I’m also trapped in their game."

Morganth chuckled, touched his forehead, and said, "I will write a reply tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll ask you, Mr. Seso, to deliver this letter to Eden. Oh, and about what I just said… please don’t tell him."

After Jesse promised, he turned back and opened the door, only to bump into a guard rushing up the stairs and brushing past him.

"Master Morganth, we found some signs of dark magic in the eastern forest. The colonel thinks that Gnoll Darkweaver has reappeared. Previous attempts to hunt him down have failed, so this time the colonel plans to lead the troops himself to eradicate the threat. He hopes you can come and help too. He wants to put an end to the trouble at Stonewatch Keep once and for all."

Upon hearing this, Morganth stood up and said, "I will leave immediately. Tell the colonel that I am ready."

Jesse walked to the door of the room where Morganth had spoken, but Morganth had already hurried down the stairs with the guard.

Knowing what Morganth did later, he now felt that Morganth had gone out not to help the soldiers hunt down the Gnoll Warlock, but to investigate the warlock’s belongings such as spells and artifacts for his own use.

Or maybe he was helping the Gnoll Warlock evade capture? Perhaps Morganth has already allied himself with the Gnolls in Redridge?

Thinking about this, he realized he might have been misjudging Morganth.

Jesse put down the bag and walked straight out of the fortress tower through the doorway at the end of the corridor.

Arriving at the city wall and looking towards the eastern forest, he wanted to see what exactly the signs of dark magic were.

The sky was getting very dark at this time, the sun was already blocked by Redridge, leaving only a faint red glow trying to keep the sky from completely turning black.

Even so, even with Jesse’s sense of dark magic, he could still feel an unknown presence in the forest.

In the courtyard behind Stonewatch Keep, the sound of hooves had already been heard, soldiers were shouting, and the colonel’s orders were particularly clear.

In the game, the most powerful Gnoll Warlock in Redridge was a guy named Fangore. Fangore means "bloody claw" in the local Redridge language, indicating the cruel nature of this Gnoll.

But more terrifying than his name was his dark magic. Jesse didn’t know if Fangore still existed at this time, or if he still possessed such powerful magic, but the dark aura lingering in the forest indicated that there were already some warlocks in the Gnoll Tribe similar to him.

At that moment, he heard a door opening and closing, it turned out to be the apprentice Martin, who also ran up to the city wall to look east.

Jesse asked casually, "Can you feel the shadowy presence in there, Mr. Martin Harold?"

"What shadowy presence?" Martin looked over and said, "We are too far away from there, can’t see anything. By the way, you are just an assistant, right, Mr. Jesse Seso?"

"But, I think there really might be darkness in there," he continued, "The warriors here are all veterans who have experienced the Orc War, they are much more sensitive to shadows than I am. However, that doesn’t mean your feelings are always accurate, sensing magic also requires talent."

Jesse stayed quiet, more concerned about his own unusually strong ability to sense shadows than Martin’s self-deprecation.

The apprentice couldn’t feel anything, but he could see some things.

Perhaps with each use of shadow power and each tap into his inner darkness, his connection with the shadows deepened, allowing him to notice abnormalities in the forest better than the apprentice.

Was this just an illusion? Jesse ran to the lookout tower on the other side of the city wall, climbed the ladder, and reached the spot where the sentries usually kept watch over the deep woods, scrutinizing the forest more carefully.

Wasn’t this a great opportunity to improve his magical perception?

He carefully searched in the forest for the direction the riders of Stonewatch Keep were heading, although he could faintly hear the sound of hooves and the knights’ shouts, the tree canopy obscured his view, making it difficult to find a clear direction.

"I hope they return safely." Martin on the wall below seemed to be speaking to Jesse and to himself at the same time, then headed towards the fortress.

Jesse glanced at him just as Martin was about to touch the door, but then he heard a swooshing noise in the air, and the apprentice, looking like a white cloth caught in the wind, was suddenly dragged into the darkness under the city wall by the torchlight, not even able to let out a scream.