Chapter 124 – Grid’s Preparation

At noon Jace got home and packed, the reason he started packing when he still had a day to go was because he had so much stuff to organize.

First of all, the contents about warlocks, such as the demonic and orcish books, the big pile of codices that the Kid had written out for him and whatnot, had to be taken away and packed.

For the sake of secrecy, Jace wasn’t going to open them up again along the way, better to bring a small lockable box or something to seal them up and bring them back how they were brought. The only goal was to not let those things stay in Stormwind and give people the chance to find out their little secrets.

These books and whatnot don’t carry any magical energy and can’t be checked in Dalaran, but there must be someone in Dalaran who recognizes their contents, so they have to be sealed and can’t be opened.

The biggest problem one is the brat, and the other is the staff of Talon Gore that was scavenged from that orc’s corpse.

The Kid’s problem was of course the biggest, after all, the baguette he’d taken in and out of Stormwind, the mage district had been there, and the only thing he hadn’t done was take him into the Wizard’s Sanctuary.

But Jace figured that even if there were warlocks inside Dalaran, the occasional thing with a bit of Shadow energy couldn’t inspire too much of a reaction all at once; after all, alchemists carry Shadow auras with them.

Not to mention the fact that this wooden stick doesn’t show any dark shadows on its surface.

The kid is much more troublesome, this is a real demon, and just by that package packed, will it really not be a problem in Dalaran?

If you want to not take the brat with you, you either have to kill it or let it go.

It’s obviously safer to kill it, and there’s no telling what other trouble it might cause if you let it go.

But killing ……

It’s a long trip, and there’s no telling what might happen halfway through, and it’s really hard to say which is the greater good or bad that Sayano can bring.

In the end, Jace was going to keep the brat and put it in the warlock package.

Since nothing had gone wrong for so long, no one in the great Stormwind could see that it contained demons, not even Morgans of the Stone Fortress, not even the Jackals had noticed it.

But even then, Dalaran was still a hurdle.

If you really can’t, let it stay in the forest of Hillsbrad Hills and wander around on its own, a demon doesn’t need to eat or drink anyway, it’s fine to stand under a tree for ten days or something, right?

Jace rubbed his eyes, thinking about what would have happened if Grid had met the brat afterward.

In fact Grider has become much more tolerant of his black magic in the meantime, and continues to slice sausages …… for who knows how much longer.

Anyway, when a demon suddenly appears, it’s definitely not sausage slicing anymore, it’s thigh chopping, or waiting for the right moment for Griddle to accept it.

Also Eagle’s Nest Mountain ……

Perhaps it would have been better to leave him out in the Eagle’s Nest to wander on his own, the danger of bringing a demon into the mountain fortress of the Savage Hammer Clan was just too high.

Jace had bought a small, simple, locking wooden box at the grocery store earlier and filled it with the remnants of the book, the dictionary, and the codex, stuffing it full, and then put the Bloodmage’s letter in the warlock’s bag and stuffed the brat in there as well, so that was pretty much all the baggage he needed for the trip.

As for the rest of the naga scales, and some of the materials he left behind, the extra potions and whatnot should be left in this rented house, the landlord is still a relatively reliable person, giving him a three month rent advance to let him help look after it shouldn’t be a problem.

After getting all of this packed up, Jace sat on his bed looking at the mess of packages and boxes on the floor and glanced out the window at the white sky of Stormwind.

After being here for more than two years, it was finally time to go back and wonder what had become of Lordaeron.

He couldn’t help but feel a little amused at the thought.

It’s not like the Kingdom of Lordaeron is growing its GDP by 10% per year, what could it become?

On the contrary, the rebuilding of Stormwind could be described as rapidly changing, and every time I looked out the window, I seemed to see new buildings popping up again.

In the evening Jace had arranged to meet up with Grider at the gold encrusted rose, and when Jace arrived Grider was already sitting inside getting his drink ordered.

Jace glanced at the clear liquor in his glass and sniffed it, a high-count sweet wine.

“Playing so big this time?”

“You can’t drink to-morrow night, lad.” Grider said, “On board at six o’clock the morning after, and didn’t you get a pocket watch, so don’t oversleep.”

“Don’t worry.” Jace said, “I’ve been waking up at five o’clock every morning for the past two months, and don’t forget I have to clean up after that mage, so I can’t wake up late if I want to keep from getting dinged, and now I’ve formed a good habit of going to bed early and waking up early.”

Grider asked, “How’s the luggage coming along?”

Jess said, “I have a small suitcase that’s not very easy to carry, don’t you have a large woven bag there, the one that holds the herbs together, could you help me pack some?”

Grid said, “Sure, I don’t have much luggage, and if I did I’d have to carry it with me, and that bag is still a lot empty not knowing what to bring. How big is that suitcase of yours exactly?”

“The kind that holds books.” Jace gestured to a small square and said, “A little bigger than a book, and the contents probably don’t weigh much more than the box itself.”

Grid nodded and said, “Just bring it to me though, I’m guessing it’s one of those …… you have.”

“Ugh.” Jace looked around and said, “There’s so many people here, just leave me alone, big brother.”

“I always forget here, but what can some books do.” Grid lowered his voice and asked again, “All your stuff is so dangerous I’m going to put it in the bottom of the bag and bury it, so you won’t think about taking it out anytime you want to read it.”

“I wasn’t planning on looking either.” Jace said, “Anyway, I brought that case back locked and loaded just so I wouldn’t leave it inside my rental house to be found by someone else.”

“That’s good, we’re all a little safer.” Grider said.

The two men watched as the wine waiter brought up a couple of thick, spicy grilled wolf steaks, glistening with the red hot sauce sauce that was still poured over them.

Grid swallows and asks, “Are you sure those mages can get good tickets?”

“Why can’t you be sure.” Jess said, “Both of my teachers said it was okay, you’re the only one who said it was. Can you stop giving me a hard time and let me eat something nice?”

Grid grinned and tore a piece of meat into his mouth, chewing as he said, “I thought the happiness was too sudden! Speaking of which, have you found a tenant yet?”

“Tenant?” Jess asked, “What tenant?”

“We’re going away for two or three months, and you’re not going to sublet your house?” Grider said, “It wouldn’t hurt you to just pay three months’ rent for nothing?”

“The stuff in my house costs a lot more than the rent, and I can’t take it with me, so I’ll just leave it there as storage.” Jace took a sip of his drink and asked again curiously, “Are the tenants easy to find?”

Grid nodded and said, “I’m renting the house to a mother and daughter, I heard they were fleeing from the south, the little girl was as skinny as a dog’s head.”

Jess frowned and said, “That’s an odd description even for you.”

“Just say image or not.” Grid continued, “This family has been living at the gates of Stormwind City for almost a month now, and it was hard to find a house. I told her to hurry up and find a new house, or else I’d be embarrassed to live back here.”