Chapter 792

Chapter 792: Involving the Servants Deeply

In the Slaughtered Lamb basement, the corridors, passageways, and nearby rooms were filled with an even heavier presence of void energy that lingered without dissipating.

Although Erlan had been saved by a strong Healing Potion, he was still very weak, speaking softly and resting in his room.

Despite his injuries, he felt excited about being suddenly transported here from Goldshire and didn’t complain at all.

Jalane was caring for him while Ursula rushed to her Alchemy Room to make more healing potions, in case Erlan had other problems.

Meanwhile, Jesse sat in the hall, watching Surena Caledon standing quietly by Erlan’s door, looking down. Zardeth came over with a bowl of hot soup cooked by Jarel, ready to take it to Erlan, and said to Jesse, "Even though Erlan got hurt, I think our first summoning ritual try was pretty successful."

Jesse nodded. "We did bring a person here. But why did you pick Surena to help?"

"This is just for now; everyone will need to learn supporting roles later," Zardeth explained. "Jalane is leading, and I’m holding a support spot. Erlan often goes out to contact Booty Bay or Moonbrook. Ursula is our best with Felhounds and willing to deal with Seek out SI: 7. Soon, she might leave the Slaughtered Lamb a lot, leaving only Surena Caledon free. Surena doesn’t like using Shadow Magic, but her magic isn’t weaker than Ursula’s and is stronger than Erlan’s. Without you, she was the best choice."

"So it’s still about not knowing the chants well," Jesse said.

"Maybe," Zardeth replied. "Could emotions affect the ritual? Your notes don’t say anything about that."

Jesse explained, "The people who wrote those chants might not have known Shadow Magic ties to emotions. For now, we follow their words. To test which emotions matter, we need succubi to sense changes, but that takes many tries. Let’s try more demons, not just Felhounds. Zardeth, include succubi in summoning—their magic and size are closer to mortals, easier to call but harder than Felhounds."

Zardeth looked at Jesse. "You’re right. Summoning Felhounds went too smooth, making us rush." "Can succubi support?" Jesse asked.

"Sorrel and Erlan’s Sayaad can’t," Zardeth said. "We thought of it, but their magic isn’t enough for a Felhound."

"I can try, Master, if you let me," Ms. Molofeel said.

"Your magic should be fine, Ms. Molofeel," Zardeth said. "But even if you succeed, it won’t help much—you stay with Jesse, and he rarely comes back to the Slaughtered Lamb."

"Then let Gacresse try," Ms. Molofeel suggested. "He’s a Demon of Pleasure. Fighting is tough for him, but his magic is strong."

Zardeth agreed, "Okay. Surena doesn’t bring Gacresse here often. After she joined the summoning, we haven’t tried him. This might work; we’ll do it next time."

With that, Zardeth took the hot soup to Erlan’s room. Jesse asked, "What magic did Gacresse use to give Surena more magic?"

"Do I have to tell you?" Ms. Molofeel asked reluctantly.

"You must," Jesse insisted.

Ms. Molofeel glanced at Gacresse, who was comforting his master, and whispered, "The Dark Contract, a power strong Sayaads have. A Demon of Pleasure like Gacresse… knows the chants well. He once said he served a matron—giving her his magic was a must. Now, Surena is his new ‘matron’."

"Can you do it?" Jesse asked.

"I hunt demons, not please them," Ms. Molofeel smiled, leaning close. "Pleasing my master is just a hobby."

"So can you or not?" Jesse pressed.

"I can’t."

Ms. Molofeel shook her head, her tall horns swaying, making her slender neck covered in Mageweave seem ready to snap.

"Be honest," Jesse ordered. "That’s a command."

"Even if you say my True Name, I won’t," Ms. Molofeel replied. "And if I did, I’d need magic back from you. Master, I bet Gacresse will give Surena Caledon an unforgettable night tonight. Look at that Sayaad’s hungry face—tch, tch."

Jesse sighed. "Won’t give magic, won’t change shape…"

"And won’t fly," Ms. Molofeel added. "Are you getting tired of me, Master?"

She mentioned her wings, and Jesse glanced at her, suddenly not wanting to criticize. Ms. Molofeel smiled smugly; this Sayaad was clearly trying to win sympathy.

But he felt helpless even seeing through it.

The next noon at The Gilded Rose,

Jesse entered the inn and saw Greed bent over the table, counting silver coins. He looked up when someone came in and twitched his mustache on spotting Jesse.

The food on the table was simple—radish slices, jerky, bread, and two bowls of meat soup—but it looked good with meat and veggies. Jesse wasn’t very hungry but still licked his lips.

“Don’t you want a drink, Greed?” Jesse asked.

“I planned to go out for sword practice this afternoon,” Greed replied. “So no beer for me, just some milk or water.”

“Good idea,” Jesse said as he sat down opposite him. “It was just the right time to get some activity and relax…”

“How about a trip?” the dwarf asked.

“What?” Jesse responded. “Are you asking about Ironforge, or the Dark Iron Dwarves?”

“I’ve been to Ironforge a few times,” Greed said. “I’m not interested in the Dark Iron Dwarves; I’m asking about the Subway!” Jesse licked his lips and replied, “Exciting.”

“Lend me your ring; I want to try it too,” Greed said, extending his hand. “Doesn’t the knight medallion from King Terenas work for you in Lordaeron?” Jesse inquired.

“That thing only works within the Kingdom of Lordaeron,” Greed said, touching the ring on his hand. “If you don’t want to lend it, that’s fine. I’ve already made plans with a gnome friend; when it officially opens… I’ll definitely be among the first passengers.”

“Did you see any members of the Thorium Brotherhood in Ironforge?” Greed asked. “Are they willing to teach you how to communicate with the flames?”

“Absolutely,” Jesse replied.

“How strange,” Greed said, straightening his neck. “They actually agreed? What did you offer them? Gold coins? I can’t believe it myself.”

Jesse rested his chin on his hand, nervously tapping the table a few times with his fingers. “I taught him how to summon a succubus.”

“That group doesn’t summon succubi?” Greed said in surprise. “I never would have thought that. I thought most Dark Iron Dwarves lived with demons every day. When I was a kid, I heard a lot of Wildhammer Dwarves say that Dark Iron Dwarves have demon blood. Of course, I never believed it, but you never know what might happen.”

Jesse jolted and asked, “What dragon is flying up there?”

“A dragon wouldn’t leave its nest for no reason,” Greed pointed at Jesse. “Isn’t that a saying among you Lordaeron people? It means rumors don’t spread without a basis…”

“I’ve never heard that before,” Jesse said. “It’s probably just a saying of your dwarves.”

“Uh…” Greed cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s talk about elements.”

“That dwarf gave me a book on the language of elements to study, which is the language of Kalimdor,” Jesse said. “You studied it on Aerie Peak too; remember?”

“Language of elements book?” Greed frowned. “At Aerie Peak, the texts on the language of Kalimdor are treasured by the sages; they won’t even let you copy them. Those Dark Iron Dwarves were actually willing to give you one?”

“Why not?” Jesse asked. “Don’t the sages want more people to communicate with the elements?”

“They think it would be too dangerous if this language spreads,” Greed explained. “Think about it: if everyone could talk to the elements, what if they angered the elements or made them do bad things? Especially if the elements in Hinterlands stopped trusting us, our strength against the trolls would be less.”

“Now I understand,” Jesse nodded. “However, the book he gave me has explanations in Dwarven; I also brought a Dwarven dictionary. You’ll have to teach me carefully on the way to Kalimdor.”

“Sounds good,” Greed replied in Dwarven. “When shall we depart?”

Jesse was momentarily stunned; he felt like he understood what Greed said, but he hesitated, unsure.

After hesitating for a moment, Greed sighed and switched to Common, saying, “Looks like I have a lot to teach you; I was asking when we would leave.”

“Ah… I got it now,” Jesse said. “I just didn’t expect you to suddenly speak Dwarven!”

“Well, that’s a good start!” Greed said again in Dwarven.

“Stop speaking Dwarven now,” Jesse said. “We can start preparing; we just need to wait for Vereesa.”