Chapter 141: Above the Forest

Southshore is much colder than Stormwind. Jess wonders if a half-month journey can cross enough latitudes to make the temperature difference so obvious. Perhaps it's because it's almost December.

However, it's still lush green here. Elwynn is already covered with yellow leaves.

Of course, different from the large deciduous broad-leaved forests of Elwynn Forest, Hillsbrad Foothills are covered with large areas of pine and cypress trees. Even in winter, some pine and cypress needles will wither and fall off, but it only makes the forest a bit darker, rather than completely falling into the stereotypical autumn look.

The next day before the sun rose, the two left Southshore and headed north along the coast. The deserted coast made people wrap their cloaks tightly even though they were wearing a mage's short shirt inside.

But Gerred is extremely excited. Perhaps he hasn't had a chance to practice for a long time. He is looking forward to his next battle.

Jess has been thinking about what Fabron warned him. That is, murlocs will rush towards him and fight desperately with him as soon as they see him during the day.

He is thinking that if he is really in a crisis this time, he will not be stingy with any shadow magic at all. Especially now that Gerred doesn't seem to hate shadow magic so much anymore.

Most importantly, he doesn't want to be stabbed with a murloc's fork in his waist and make several holes for no reason.

"Catch up quickly, Jess." Gerred shouted in front while holding a logging axe. Although his voice is extremely loud, it becomes rather pale and monotonous as it spreads across the desolate tidal flat.

"It's too cold here in the morning, Gerred."

"If you had said earlier that you were afraid of the cold, I would have brought your wolf skin coat. Unfortunately, it's in the inn."

"You actually remembered to bring it."

That wolf skin coat doesn't look like something to wear in autumn. It looks like something to wear when struggling in a snowstorm in winter. So Jess took a look at it before and didn't think about taking it away immediately.

After all, his small dilapidated house can't hold such a large item. Only Gerred's giant woven bag can make room for this fur coat.

Thinking of this, it's better to give this coat to his father.

Before leaving the capital city, due to his age, his father no longer stands guard outside very often.

But he still likes to stroll on the city wall when he has nothing to do. If he has a thick coat to wear in winter, it should be much more comfortable. Especially if he can say that this is a wolf killed by his son in the Kingdom of Stormwind, it will be even more impressive.

Thinking of this, Jess couldn't help grinning. Seeing that Gerred had run far away, he quickly quickened his pace and chased after him.

After rounding a low cliff full of tree roots, Jess saw Gerred standing on a big rock in front, squinting and looking at the coast not far away. He came under that rock and looked up and asked, "What's going on?"

Gerred raised his arm and pointed at the tide and said, "Look over there. See anything?"

"What thing..."

Jess took a glance and didn't see anything, so he also climbed onto the rock and stood on tiptoe and looked carefully. He found some small huts made of wood and seaweed in yellowish or brownish colors over there.

That's a murloc village. Jess knows.

Whether in the game or in this world, murlocs like to live in such small houses. However, this is not really a village. At most, it's a small settlement of murlocs here. There may be only a small clan of murlocs consisting of a dozen or twenty living here.

After all, it's not far from Southshore, only a few miles away. From here, one can even see the smoke rising from the city of Southshore in the east. Human soldiers may patrol here at any time.

This should be a settlement that has recently developed here after the humans were too busy to deal with the murlocs here during the war.

However, there is not a single murloc in this small village. It's as if someone had just cleared the monsters here not long ago.

Of course, the monsters here won't respawn out of thin air. If they're gone, they're gone. Either they're all hiding, or they escaped for some unknown reason a long time ago.

Jess speculates that perhaps Southshore has resumed its pre-war busyness. There are many soldiers or mercenary groups coming and going here. Just like Jess and Gerred, travelers or adventurers. Murlocs don't want to provoke them either, so they can only move back again.

"So, where's my money?" Gerred scratched his neck and asked, "Where did all my silver coins go?"

"Silver coins with long legs will naturally run away." Jess said helplessly, "You can't expect them to wait here for you to come and cut off their heads."

Gerred said, "Just abandon such a bunch of small houses? Those little murlocs with thin arms and legs. It's not easy for them to build so many houses."

As he said that, he jumped off the rock and ran towards the settlement holding his axe, taking one step at a time on the sand. Jess shouted worriedly, "Be careful of ambushes!"

"That would be even better!" Gerred said while running and turning his head, "I'm looking forward to the silver coins ambushing me!"

Jess also slid down the rock and took the staff off his back and got ready.

He was thinking that if a group of murlocs appeared, he would immediately release a fear spell strengthened by the staff to scare them all away, and then take Gerred and look for an opportunity to escape.

Thinking of this, he took out a mana potion from the warlock bag and stuffed it into the strap on the chest of his mage robe.

However, before he could tie up the warlock bag again, the imp suddenly popped out and said, "Master... I sense it. A bad aura."

"You... go back!" Jess was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Gerred who was running far away. He had already run past that raised sand dune and couldn't see the situation here clearly. That's why the imp dared to show up.

"What aura?"

The imp stared and said, "A shadow creature is approaching, master. And it has great hostility! I can feel it... It's wandering far away right now, but... It doesn't hide its shadow aura at all. It should be said that it's deliberately releasing its shadow power. Perhaps it's casting a spell, or perhaps it's deliberately trying to let others see it!"

"Shadow creature? What kind of shadow creature? Is it an orc warlock or something? Are you sure?" Jess asked.

"Sure! But what kind of creature... I... I can't say for sure." The imp grabbed the button on Jess's clothes and shook it and said, "Master, its target may not be you, but be careful anyway!"

"I know. Now go back in first." Jess rubbed the imp's head and stuffed it back into the bag. His hand was still a bit hot and painful. Undoubtedly, the imp's head is the place with the strongest evil heat. Although it won't burn like real fire, it's extremely uncomfortable to touch.

After tying up the bag tightly, he looked towards the distant coast and then at the pine forest on the shore. He didn't see anything unusual.

Is it Orgrim Doomhammer? Has Orgrim come to Hillsbrad?

If that's really the case, then the four-day blockade makes a bit more sense.

Or is it a naga? Are there nagas nearby?

He looked at the sea again. The sea of Lordaeron is blue-green and black. It's much deeper than the bluish sea of Stormwind. Looking at it for a long time also makes it seem more desolate and dreary.

But even so, there was no sign of any nagas. Jess looked along the coastline in both directions and didn't see any other humanoid things.

Could it be lurking in the sea?

He touched the pearl chain tied to his wrist and wondered if this naga ornament would have any magical effect on the approach of nagas. But this pearl is as dull as ever and there is no reaction at all.

In any case, since there is a more troublesome danger, it's not suitable to continue a task with a reward of only two silver coins.

"Gerred!"

Jess walked towards Gerred while rubbing his still itchy hand. He had already rushed into the murloc's small village.

Those small houses are extremely short. They are not even much taller than Gerred. Even if murlocs live in them, it must be extremely cramped and crowded. At most, it can only serve as a shelter from the rain. I don't know what these murlocs expect from these houses.

"Gerred! Be careful. I think there's something wrong here!"

"Indeed something is wrong."

As Gerred said that, he swung his logging axe and chopped hard on a small house. The house made of wood immediately tilted and collapsed.

Jess walked over and made sure there were no murlocs around before asking, "What are you doing..."

"Of course it's to attract murlocs." Gerred said while chopping, "It's really strange. They can't just ignore their homes being demolished, right? No matter if these damn little things are hiding in the water or in holes on the shore, they should... uh!"

With another axe swing, a small house was completely chopped down. Shells and dead fish fell to the ground in a mess. They were scattered by the tide and gave off a disgusting fishy smell.

Jess held his nose and took a step back. He looked around again and then at the sea again to make sure there was nothing.

"Let's go find the wine crate. Go back a bit towards Southshore and look carefully. Maybe there really are no murlocs here. Maybe what the boss said is right."

Gerred still didn't give up and spat on the ground. He knocked his axe on the sand and looked at the sea while holding the axe handle.

"I had such good plans. I thought I could earn more money. But there really are no murlocs. Those businessmen really don't want to pay a bit more."

At this moment, Jess caught a glimpse of a shadow passing over in the sky. He looked up in that direction. It seemed like a bird flying over the pine forest towards Southshore.

But after looking at it for a while, he realized that it should not be a bird, but a rather large thing. Only because it was flying so high and there were no reference objects around, creating the illusion that the target was very small.

That thing flew farther and farther away and slightly changed direction. Jess noticed that there was a long tail trailing behind that shadow.

Could it be another griffin ridden by mages?

"Hey, Gerred, is that a griffin?" Jess shook Gerred's shoulder and pointed at the shadow and asked, "It seems to be black. Is it a species from Hinterlands?"

"Huh? There are griffins from Hinterlands here? I don't believe it..."

Gerred tilted his head and took a look. His expression suddenly changed from disdain to frozen, and then quickly turned to shock.

"That... that..."

"What?!"

"Dragon! That's a dragon!"