Chapter 124: Gred's Preparations

Jess started packing as soon as he got home at noon. He still had a full day before departure, but there was an awful lot to arrange.

First were all the things connected with warlocks: books on Demonic and Orcish, the huge stack of copies the imp had written out for him, and everything else of that sort. He had to take them with him, and he had to pack them securely.

For the sake of secrecy, he didn't intend to open them again during the journey. Ideally he'd put them in a small locked chest, seal it, and bring it back exactly as he'd taken it away. His only aim was to avoid leaving any of it in Stormwind for someone to discover his little secrets.

None of those books carried magical energy, so they couldn't be detected by magic in Dalaran. But there would certainly be people in Dalaran who could recognize their contents. That was why they needed to stay locked away.

The biggest problems were the imp and the staff of Teron'gor he'd taken from the orc corpse.

Actually, the imp was by far the worse problem. He'd carried that long staff all over Stormwind and through the Mage Quarter. The only thing he hadn't done was take it into the Wizard's Sanctum.

And there were warlocks in Dalaran, too. Surely bringing in an object with a trace of shadow energy wouldn't cause an immediate uproar. Alchemists sometimes carried the smell of shadow magic themselves. Besides, there was nothing on the wooden staff's surface that gave away its connection to shadow.

The imp was different. It was a genuine demon, and all he had to hide it was that bag. Would carrying it into Dalaran really be safe?

If he decided not to take it, he had two choices: kill it or let it go.

Killing it would obviously be safer. Releasing it could bring all kinds of trouble.

But killing it...

This was a long journey, and anything could happen along the way. It was hard to say whether Saeno would bring him more benefits or more trouble.

In the end, Jess decided to keep the imp and carry it in the warlock bag.

After all, it had worked for so long without a problem. Nobody in a city as large as Stormwind had noticed a demon inside it. Even Morgans at Stonewatch Keep hadn't sensed anything wrong, and the gnolls hadn't noticed it either.

Still, Dalaran was another matter.

If the worst came to the worst, he could leave the imp to wander around the forests of Hillsbrad on its own. A demon didn't need to eat or drink, did it? It could probably stand under a tree for ten days or two weeks without any trouble.

Jess rubbed his eyes and wondered what would happen if Gred saw the imp.

The dwarf had grown much more tolerant of his dark magic lately. Jess had been introducing one little piece at a time, like slicing a sausage thinly... but how long could that go on?

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Dropping a demon on him all at once wouldn't be another thin slice. It would be chopping off an entire leg. He needed to wait for the right moment to help Gred accept it.

And then there was Aerie Peak.

Perhaps leaving the imp outside to roam would be even more important there. Taking a demon into the Wildhammer clan's mountain fortress was just too dangerous.

Jess had bought a simple wooden lockbox from a general store earlier. He packed the damaged book, dictionaries, and copies into it until it was full. Then he put Gorefiend's letter into his warlock bag and stuffed the imp in there too.

That took care of most of his travel things.

As for the remaining naga scales, a few materials he'd kept for himself, and extra potions, he would leave them in his rented room. His landlord seemed reliable enough. If Jess paid three months' rent in advance and asked him to keep an eye on things, there shouldn't be a problem.

When he finished packing, he sat on his bed, looking at the scattered bags and boxes on the floor. Then he glanced outside at Stormwind's white sky.

After more than two years, he was finally going back. He wondered how Lordaeron had changed.

The thought made him laugh.

It wasn't as if Lordaeron's GDP had been growing ten percent every year. How much could have changed?

Stormwind, on the other hand, was rebuilding so quickly that the city looked different almost every day. Whenever he looked out his window, another new building seemed to have appeared.

Jess had arranged to meet Gred at the Gilded Rose that evening. By the time he arrived, the dwarf was already sitting inside with the drinks ordered.

Jess glanced at the clear liquid in the glass and smelled it. Strong, sweet liquor.

"We're going all out this time?"

"Can't drink tomorrow night, lad," Gred said. "We board at six in the morning the day after. Didn't you buy a pocket watch? Don't oversleep."

"Don't worry. I've been waking up at five every morning for the last two months. Remember, I have to clean that mage's place. If I don't want him docking my pay, I can't sleep in. I've developed a healthy habit of going to bed early and getting up early."

"How's your packing?"

"I've got a little box, but it's awkward to carry. Don't you have that big woven sack we used for herbs? Could you put some of my stuff in there?"

"Of course. I'm not bringing much, and what I have I'll carry on me. That sack's still mostly empty. I couldn't think what to put in it. How big's your box?"

"Just a little book box." Jess held his hands apart to show a small square. "A bit bigger than a book. What's inside probably isn't much heavier than the box itself."

Gred nodded. "Bring it over. I bet it's those..."

"Hey." Jess looked around. "There are people everywhere. Could you let me stay alive, brother?"

"I keep forgetting." Gred lowered his voice. "But they're only books. How bad can they be? Still, your things are all dangerous, so I'm going to bury the box at the bottom of the sack. Don't expect to take it out whenever you want to read."

"I wasn't planning to. I'll carry it there locked and bring it back locked. I just don't want anyone finding it in my room while I'm away."

"That's good. Safer for both of us," Gred said.

They watched a server bring over several thick, spicy roasted wolf chops, glossy with red hot sauce.

Gred swallowed. "You're sure those mages can get the tickets?"

"Why wouldn't I be sure? Both my teachers say it's fine. You're the only one insisting there's a problem. Could you stop making me miserable and let me enjoy my food?"

Gred grinned, tore off a strip of meat, and stuffed it into his mouth. "It's just that good fortune came so suddenly! Oh, did you find a tenant?"

"A tenant? What tenant?"

"We're leaving for two or three months. Aren't you subletting your place? Doesn't paying three months' rent for an empty room bother you?"

"The stuff in my room's worth much more than the rent, and I can't take it all with me. I'll treat the place as a storage room." Jess took a drink and asked curiously, "Is it easy to find someone to rent from you?"

Gred nodded. "I've rented my place to a mother and daughter. Heard they fled from somewhere in the south. That little girl's as skinny as a kobold."

Jess frowned. "That's a strange way to describe a child."

"But is it accurate?" Gred said. "They've been living outside Stormwind's gates for almost a month. They finally found somewhere to stay. I told the mother to find another place quickly, though. Otherwise I'd feel bad moving back in myself."