Chapter 732

Chapter 732: A Return to Stonewatch Keep

After bidding farewell to Mor’zul and leaving the village, Jesse immediately set off for Lakeshire.

He explained his identity and purpose to Mayor Solomon, who promptly lent this court mage a horse and a Lakeshire cavalryman for protection on the journey to Stonewatch Keep.

Though he understood such treatment was normal for a king’s court mage, the enthusiasm still made him uneasy.

He politely declined the mayor’s offer, taking only a pack horse routinely used for transporting goods between Stonewatch Keep and Lakeshire before heading east.

That night in the forest beside Lake Everstill, he tethered his horse and rested beneath a tree. Whether spring hadn’t arrived or came too quietly, the forest remained utterly silent.

Recalling his journey since Grim Batol—through Lordaeron and Quel’Thalas—Jesse found himself surprisingly unbothered by the Alliance’s occasional coldness.

He preferred being a nobody, living discreetly.

Had Deathwing not sought him out, he’d never have accepted Krasus’ request to go to Grim Batol. Without reading Archmage Rhonin’s notes revealing Deathwing’s role in shattering the Demon Soul, he doubted he could’ve defeated the dragon and freed the Red Dragon Queen.

Even then, without Vereesa and Greed, he’d never have reached the final confrontation.

That passionate conviction during his trip to Menethil Harbor—that he alone would save the world—now seemed little more than youthful recklessness. Had Greed not noticed his distress and brought Vereesa to intercept him, he’d be rotting among the corpses in the Wetlands’ marshes.

How could he accept the Alliance’s praise and admiration after that?

Thus, the Alliance’s failure to grasp Deathwing’s true power—and their reluctance to properly reward a Black Magic practitioner—ironically put him at ease.

The next morning, Jesse arrived at Stonewatch Keep.

From afar, the keep looked unchanged. Repairs progressed sluggishly; the great breaches now bore only scaffolding with patchwork that seemed barely substantial.

A sentry halted him from a distance: "State your name and purpose, mage. Stonewatch Keep is on heightened alert and closed to travelers."

"Jesse Seso. I come by the king’s command," Jesse called back.

"Master Seso?"

"Alert the commander—Master Seso is here!" "Your insignia, master."

A horn blast echoed from the castle. Jesse swallowed nervously, glancing at the battlements before presenting his insignia.

Soon, Captain Troteman, the keep’s commander, rushed to the gates.

"Apologies, Master Seso!" The buzz-cut captain strode forward, noticeably thinner than Jesse remembered.

Troteman directed guards to stable the horse while studying Jesse. "You’ve changed greatly, Master Seso."

"I was only seventeen last time, Captain Troteman," Jesse replied.

"Three years slipped by unnoticed," the captain said. "Much has changed—yet the Gnolls around Stonewatch Keep remain relentless. Even demons flooding through the Dark Portal into Gnoll Woods haven’t thinned their numbers. I’m beginning to suspect they collaborate with demons."

"Forgive the lack of ceremony, master. No word preceded your arrival." He gestured toward two rows of guards stiffly assembled on the training ground. "But we’re grateful for your expertise—especially against gnolls’ foul magic. We need your help retaking the Tower of Ilgalar. Without it, our men spent all winter uneasy."

"Honored to assist," Jesse said.

Troteman smiled. "Join us for lunch? This afternoon, I’ll brief you in the war room."

"Agreed."

After a simple meal in the castle’s ground-floor hall, Jesse followed the captain to the top-level war room.

Several captains awaited them. Jesse recognized faces from the keep’s earlier siege—two had stood beside him during the king’s honors. He was surprised he recalled them.

"Master Seso."

"Good afternoon, Master Seso. We’d heard of your coming."

Jesse expected reminiscences of their shared battle against gnolls scaling the walls—but received only stiff salutes and formal titles, making him feel a stranger.

A map lay upon the central table: Stonewatch Keep, its surrounding woods, and the Tower of Ilgalar.

Captain Troteman pointed to the mage tower symbol. "King Bael’tharen and the Wizard’s Sanctum built the Tower of Ilgalar after the Gnoll War to deter further attacks. For decades it served its purpose—no gnoll dared enter these woods under its watch, Master Seso."

"Orcs expended vast resources assaulting it. Unlike gnolls, the Horde was disciplined, fielding powerful warlocks who used Black Magic to suppress the tower’s power. Yet when we reclaimed it, the tower was a shadow of its former self."

"Post-war, the Wizard’s Sanctum maintained it. But when gnolls attacked, the tower neither warned its mages nor signaled Stonewatch Keep. As if orcish Black Magic had siphoned its very essence…"

"Mage towers draw power from Ley Lines, Captain," Jesse explained. "Recall the Tower of Karazhan explosion? That disaster damaged local Ley Lines. The tower’s failure may stem from that—not war damage."