Chapter 85

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Chapter 085: Memories of a Veteran

In the afternoon, Jesse packed a bag of gathering herbs and tools, along with a Warlock Pack containing imp and a bottle of Shadow Protection Potion, and set off with a stick.

Originally, this trip to Westfall was for gathering herbs, with the intention to encounter Murlocs along the way and find out information Ursula wanted to know about Murloc’s use of Shadow Magic.

But after discussing with the teacher, and especially knowing about an upcoming important Orcish Language exam, Mana Potion didn’t seem as important anymore.

After all, for the next month, he had to seriously learn the Language Orcish. If it wasn’t for having extra energy to practice spells, he wouldn’t have planned to come out.

Accustomed to traveling with dwarves, he felt a bit uncomfortable traveling alone on a merchant caravan wagon in Elwynn Forest.

Resting at Westbrook Garrison in the evening, Jesse planned to pick up a weapon that others didn’t need. A soldier with a strange tone approached him and asked why he needed a weapon. Jesse emphasized several times that he just wanted a weapon for self-defense to scare off occasional wild animals, and the man agreed to sell him one.

Following the soldier to a secluded tent, Jesse went in and saw a pile of scrap metal in the corner.

"Take it," the soldier pointed and said, "10 copper coins each. Consider yourself lucky if you find one that works."

Jesse took some time to find a knife that was still usable.

The soldier, bare-armed, bent down to tidy up the old weapons Jesse had scattered. Jesse asked, "Where did all these weapons come from?"

"Found them, used ones, many were used by Gnolls or Murlocs," the soldier turned around and smiled, "Do you want Orc weapons? We have them here too, a bit more expensive, but most of them can still chop wood. The larger ones you might not be able to handle, but small knives, small swords, you can use them with both hands. I think you’re strong enough."

The man’s expression seemed mocking, and Jesse politely shook his head.

He remembered how the Orc Shaman in Redridge held a stick that looked thick up close, but seemed pitifully small when held in his hand from afar. Just that image alone gave him a good idea of the size of Orc weapons.

"Have you encountered many Murlocs?" Jesse asked again.

The soldier said, "In the past couple of years, sometimes shipwrecks washed up on this shore, bringing soaked supplies that attracted all the Murlocs from the west. It caused some trouble as Murlocs were never seen on the western coast before."

"What shipwrecks?"

"Mainly warships, including those from Kul Tiras, Stormwind… and even Orcs."

"Orcs?"

"Yes," the soldier said, "Once during patrol, we saw Murlocs roasting and eating Orc meat."

"How did you know it was Orc meat?"

The soldier patted his head and said, "I can recognize Orc heads at a glance, I’m very familiar with them."

"So you have seen Orc with your own eyes," Jesse asked, "Are you a veteran of the Orc War?"

"What do you think?" The soldier chuckled, saying, "Not only am I a veteran of the Orc War, I was among the first to enter the swamp under King Llane’s orders. Not many from the initial batches returned, and I was one of the lucky ones. My heart was filled with rage then, seeking revenge, so later I crossed Palatine Bay and joined the Hillsbrad battle with the Silver Hand."

"Then you must have a high rank."

Jesse realized he might have spoken too soon. This guy was selling old weapons here and didn’t look like a high-ranking officer at all.

"No, because I became a deserter at Hillsbrad," the soldier confessed.

"But where could I run as a deserter? Orcs, trolls, and wolves bigger than bulls were everywhere. So I went back. I was not executed because of my past deeds, and Stormwind needed people for its rebuilding. I returned to help, then was called back to the army for logistics. I have been a soldier for half my life; I can’t do anything else."

Jesse looked at the man, finding it hard to imagine the brave survivor who had been chased by Orcs in The Black Morass, and what he had experienced in Hillsbrad.

The battle not only had Death Knights but also Red Dragons. Without truly participating in that war, no one could confidently say they could hold on till the end.

As the man spoke of things that should haunt someone for a lifetime, it seemed like he was narrating another person’s story.

"What are you looking for Murloc for?" the old soldier suddenly asked.

"Oh, I want to go to the North Coast, so I was wondering where to find Murloc to avoid as much as possible," Jesse replied, then asked, "If I want to go there, where should I go first? Is there a place to stay?"

"Cross the bridge and head west," the old soldier said. "Follow the road for about ten miles and you’ll see an abandoned village on the other side, no one there. There’s a farm near the village, not far away, it belongs to the Furlbrow family, they grow pumpkins. Further north, there’s a small fishing village, only four households, you can see the coast from there, all these places have accommodations."

Jesse thanked him, about to leave, the old soldier asked again, "By the way, are you planning to go to that fishing village?"

"I want to go and see."

"My wife was born there," the old soldier said. "Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her in a long time. If you’re going, could you pass on a message for me, tell her that I’m doing well."

"Sure," Jesse asked, "What’s her name?"

The old soldier didn’t say anything, just looked at Jesse for a while, then turned and left from another exit of the tent.

Jesse wasn’t surprised at all by the man’s incomprehensible reaction, as he had felt from the beginning that this guy was not quite right in the head.

Of course, he wanted to help the unlucky person, but without the soldier’s name or the wife’s name, how could he deliver the message?

After leaving the tent, he started to feel that something strange was going on with this person’s words.

The village, Murloc, wife, mentally unstable old soldier.

Are they going to stage an Inscape Shadow for me?

There are no strange villages in the game, no events like the Deadmines in Westfall, but there are indeed some abandoned houses on the northern coast.

Since the old soldier mentioned that the village only had four households, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a family willing to marry off their daughter to a soldier.

Jesse remembered the old soldier talking about revenge and anger, considering that the wife might have died in the war, maybe that’s why the old soldier’s mind was not right, perhaps he had faced problems on the battlefield and was mistaken for a deserter or something.

If that’s the case, telling the wife’s family about the old soldier’s situation would be a way to give them closure.

He rested overnight at the inn in Westbrook and started his journey early the next day.

He had heard of Furlbrow Farm from the game, but he couldn’t remember the deserted villages and fishing villages mentioned by the soldier.

Westfall is very big, maybe even bigger than Elwynn Forest. Last time when he came with Greed, it took a whole day and night just to reach Sentinel Hill, not to mention going further south to Moonbrook.

Looking at the map, the carriage road from Westbrook Garrison to Sentinel Hill only crosses a short distance in the eastern part of Westfall.

Maybe there are many unknown settlements here that were quite famous before the Orc War and the opening of the Dark Portal. But after the Orcs raided this place, everything fell silent.

By noon, Jesse was feeling hungry and when he was thinking about whether to eat something, he finally saw a farm.

The farm had already been harvested, and judging from some dried leaves nearby, it seemed to be a pumpkin field. Could this be the Furlbrow Farm the old soldier mentioned earlier?

Jesse didn’t see any towns or villages around.

"Hey, you over there, are you here to harvest pumpkins? October is past already. The harvest festival is over."

Someone called from a distance near the house. Jesse looked over and saw a tall man wearing a brown coat.

"I’m not here to buy pumpkins, sir!" he replied as he walked over and saw that the man calling out was a young man.

"Is it Mr. Furlbrow?"

"Yes, Crildor Furlbrow! The owner of this farm!"