Chapter 079: Murloc Magic

“I wanted to ask about some potion recipes,” Jess said. “Is there a cheap, easy way to make mana potions?”

“Those aren't easy potions to brew.” Ursula wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm and stood. “Are you planning to use them yourself, or sell them? Maybe make them for somebody else?”

“For myself,” Jess admitted.

Ursula nodded and thought for a while. Jess found it hard to stop himself from glancing at the shape of her chest under her thin sleeveless shirt.

She wasn't especially pretty, and she was at least ten years older than Jess. Before he'd come to this world, he probably wouldn't have thought anything of it.

But now he was a seventeen-year-old boy. Whatever he'd been before, this body had everything a boy that age was supposed to have. Even with an older mind, it was hard to suppress the urges that came with being young.

Sometimes he even felt as if the body's desires were influencing his thoughts, rather than the other way around.

And Ursula Delin stood there surrounded by steam, her damp skin making her look almost like a teenage girl. She was slender but a little muscular, standing with her hands on her hips without trying to hide herself at all.

After all, this wasn't an internet-connected world where a person could easily find all kinds of strange material. Still, Jess tried his best not to think about it. He'd come to ask for help. If she caught him staring and took him for some little creep, that would be a disaster.

After a moment's thought, Ursula said, “Mageroyal, Briarthorn, and Silverleaf. Those are the essential ingredients. By changing the proportions, you can make potions that restore different amounts of mental energy—the mana potions you're talking about. If you gather the ingredients, I can brew them for you. You're one of us, so I won't charge you. Unless you'd rather do it yourself?”

“I'll gather what you need and ask you to make them. I don't know alchemy,” Jess replied.

“Ha! No need to be modest,” Ursula said. “The first time we met, I smelled the trace of transformed shadow power on you. You were worried someone here might hurt you, so you drank a Shadow Protection Potion in advance, didn't you? Nobody else in this city makes those right now. That's why I guessed you'd brewed it yourself.”

Jess gave an awkward laugh. “But I really haven't made many potions. That one was just practice, and I wasn't very good at it. So I'll still need your help.”

“I could teach you a few alchemy tricks,” Ursula said. “Right now I'm the only one working on potions down here, and there's too much for me to handle. These warlocks need all kinds of things. Potions for experiments, things to ease the side effects of shadow spells, antidotes...”

“Great! I'd love to learn more alchemy.”

Watching an alchemist who could recite a mana potion recipe off the top of her head, Jess suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, Ms. Ursula Delin, is there a potion that can cure bat venom?”

“Bat venom?” Ursula scooped up a little potion with a spoon and gently tasted it. She turned down the fire, sat in a nearby chair, and looked at him. “What kind of bat? The venom-mist bats of southern Elwynn?”

“The riding bats used by the Amani forest trolls. The ones from the Hinterlands. Do you know anything about their venom?”

“I do,” Ursula said. “It's similar to the venom of a certain kind of cobra in Stranglethorn Vale. It causes paralysis, severely damaging a person's senses and ability to move.”

Jess nodded. “A friend of mine was poisoned by one. The poison itself has worn off, but the damage it left behind blinded him in one eye, and he often can't stop his hand from shaking. Is there a medicine that could treat those lasting effects?”

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“That's an entirely different problem, Jess,” Ursula said. “There aren't many ways to treat it, and every one of them is difficult. You'd need to restore the body's normal functions. Ordinary medicine for treating poisoning wouldn't address the problem at all.”

“I'll tell you the best place to ask,” she continued. “Go to the elves. Quel'Thalas has fought the Amani trolls for thousands of years. I'm sure the elves have far more experience dealing with those riding bats than we do. Their alchemy also comes from the ancient elven kingdoms of legend. It's very different from human alchemy.”

“Elves,” Jess muttered.

So this was the easiest of the few options?

Forget traveling all the way to Quel'Thalas. Ever since the expeditionary army departed, it had become very difficult to find even one genuine elf in Stormwind.

Occasionally he'd see someone who looked like an elf, but they were all half-elves abandoned by Quel'Thalas and forced to make a living in human society. Apart from their appearance, they were hardly different from ordinary humans.

Still, Ursula's words gave him a little hope. Maybe the elves really could heal Gred's injuries.

“Sounds like I'll need to think about that in the long term. Let's talk about the mana potions again.”

Ursula nodded. “I have two common recipes here. One is a basic mana potion used by beginner mages. The other is a lesser potion used by more experienced mages. Which do you want? We warlocks don't cast as frequently as those show-offs at the Wizard's Sanctum, so I'd suggest the basic one. The lesser potion calls for Stranglekelp, which grows in the sea. That's very hard for an ordinary person to gather, and it isn't cheap either.”

“Then I'll start with the basic one.”

Ursula took out a sheet of paper and wrote as she spoke.

“Half a pound of Mageroyal, three pounds of Silverleaf, and one Briarthorn plant. That'll make about four bottles. Gather enough ingredients, bring the right number of empty bottles, and I'll brew them for you.”

“Where can I find the most Mageroyal? You're planning to pick it yourself, right?”

“Of course. I don't have money to buy it.”

Ursula scratched her neck. “Northwest of Sentinel Hill, there's an old mine nobody uses anymore, called Jangolode Mine. Head west from the mine toward the coast, and you'll climb a large hill exposed to the sea wind. Quite a lot of Mageroyal grows there. The problem is that if I know the place is good for Mageroyal, everyone else knows too. Watch out for gnolls. They're getting terribly bold lately. There are rumors of a gnoll tribe around Jangolode Mine. They gather herbs and boil potions too.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

Jess was about to leave when Ursula stopped him.

“One more thing, Jess. If you're heading to Westfall... I have some news about the murlocs there.”

“What news?”

“Westbrook patrols found murlocs using dark magic along the northern coast. They can control shadow power and have been attacking travelers, including soldiers. My guess is that they learned it from orc warlocks. Perhaps they have books containing spells, or they've learned how to cast from watching someone. At the very least, they may have heard an orc speak an incantation.”

“I wanted to see what kind of magic they were using. Maybe it could add something to our collection of spells. But as you know, I've got so many potions to brew that I haven't had the chance. Could you investigate? If it's something new, perhaps we could gather a few willing companions and find out how the murlocs learned it.”

“I could. But you said a collection of spells?” Jess asked. “We actually have one of those?”

“Of course. Our group believes in sharing. Everyone can look through the collection. Most of it is useless, though. A lot consists of guesses, rumors, or badly recorded words somebody heard. Galds keeps it. Don't expect to find anything wonderful in there. Sometimes Gakin calls us together just to test whether one of those spells works. Including the time you first...”

Ever since hearing Marin explain proper casting technique, Jess had realized how dangerous inaccurate incantations and instructions could be. That made a messy collection of half-understood spells much less attractive.

“Whatever you find, make sure you show me first when you return,” Ursula said. “Westbrook Garrison doesn't want the people around here to know that murlocs have learned this kind of magic. The thought of murlocs using orc magic is pretty frightening, after all. It took some effort to hear about it through all the secrecy.”

“You seem pretty certain they have a spellbook or something,” Jess said. “Can murlocs even read Orcish?”

“You underestimate murlocs, Jess. Even if they don't have books stolen from orcs, they must have ways of recording things themselves. And don't go alone. Bring at least one person to back you up. A single murloc may be weak, but they know their weaknesses well. That's why they never travel alone.”

“I understand.”

Jess knew he absolutely couldn't bring Gred on a job like this. There was no clear payment, the goal was to find warlock magic, and the enemies were murloc warlocks. It was practically designed to annoy him in every possible way.

But besides Gred, who else could help? Another warlock?

There wasn't a single person in this basement Jess wanted as a traveling companion. Gakin, Galds... He would never put his safety in their hands.

Wait. Wasn't Saeno a companion already?

If he brought anyone other than a warlock, Saeno would have to remain hidden the entire time.

But Saeno's loyalty and abilities were far better than anything Jess could expect from the helpers he'd find in Stormwind's taverns.

And there'd be no splitting the loot, no arguments, no falling out...