Chapter 082: Shadows Over Grim Batol

Jess arrived at Marin's study early the next morning.

Ever since he'd been given permission to become an apprentice, the flowers, trees, bricks, and stones of the Mage Quarter had all seemed a little prettier to him. Even the idle children who chatted and laughed there didn't sound quite so irritating anymore.

As he pushed open the door, he almost started whistling a tune.

But just as he pursed his lips, he saw Amy Marin cleaning the room.

“Ms. Amy... Marin?”

Amy turned around. She looked surprised to see him. “I thought you wouldn't be coming back, so I offered to help Father clean up. You know he'll never do it himself.”

Jess raised his eyebrows. He hadn't expected that becoming an apprentice instead of an assistant meant he no longer had to do these chores.

Apparently the Mage Quarter really did draw a strict line between assistants and apprentices.

“But your father still pays me,” Jess said. “Surely that includes coming in to clean in the morning. Remember, I'm still supposed to help with his red dragon research. I don't have anything else to do right now, so I might as well help.”

“That would be wonderful. Thank you, Jess. I thought I was going to become his unpaid cleaner again from now on.” Amy leaned the mop against the desk. “I've got an enchanting class later. Now I don't have to rush so much to get ready.”

Not long after she left, her father came in. He was just as curious to see Jess working.

“I didn't think you'd come today. I even told Amy last night to stop by and check on things.”

“I should at least finish out the month,” Jess said.

He stood up, pretended to be exhausted, stretched his back, and deliberately tilted his head until his neck cracked.

Marin smiled and sat down at the desk. “Strictly speaking, you aren't an apprentice yet. So it's only right that you continue your duties as an assistant. But I'll visit Master Andromath at noon today to finish the paperwork. Starting tomorrow morning, you won't have to do these odd jobs anymore.”

Jess nodded.

“Of course,” the old mage went on, “if you're still willing to help, I'll gladly accept. And I won't take away this month's wages—or the wages after that. I can afford to hire a separate assistant, Mr. Jess Seso. Even if you weren't an apprentice, what I hope you'll accomplish matters far more to me than an assistant's work.”

“By the way, you know Master Morgans is back, don't you? He switched places with another mage who went to fill the vacancy at Stonewatch Keep. Master Andromath wanted Morgans back in Stormwind to discuss a special plan: an expedition to the great wetlands in northern Khaz Modan.”

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“Grim Batol?” Jess asked.

“You think the orcs are hiding in Grim Batol?” Marin asked casually.

“Isn't the old Wildhammer capital of Grim Batol supposed to be somewhere in the highlands northeast of Khaz Modan? I'm only guessing...”

Marin thought for a while. “It's hard to say which frightens the orcs more: the horrors inside Grim Batol or being hunted by the Alliance. You've heard the old stories about that place, I assume?”

“A few. The ancient magical artifact and the dwarf sorceress,” Jess replied.

Jess actually knew more about it than either Gred or Marin. The dwarf sorceress was Modgud, wife of the sorcerer-king Thaurissan. The weapon she carried was an ancient and terrible dagger called Xal'atath.

Legend said the dagger was a surviving piece of a dead Old God. Over untold ages, it had passed through the hands of ancient tribes, fallen empires, and secret societies.

Each time a new power claimed it, a horrifying massacre or extinction followed soon afterward. The most recent disaster had struck Grim Batol two hundred years ago.

“Finding Grim Batol's exact location is only a possible objective for now,” Marin said. “If we find traces of Dragonmaw orcs or small hideouts deep in the Wetlands, and become convinced they have another, larger base, we'll turn our attention to the highlands farther east. Or, as you suggested, to the legendary Grim Batol.”

“The Dragonmaw orcs can control red dragons, so they must have warlocks. And they're working with black dragons too...” Jess muttered. He looked up at Marin. “If there are enough of them, occupying Grim Batol the way the Blackrock clan holds Blackrock Spire, wouldn't we need an entire army to go in safely?”

“Exactly,” Marin said. “Which is why having to go there would be the worst possible outcome. We'd certainly need to inform the Kirin Tor. The Wizard's Sanctum could never handle a mission like that alone. It might require help from several different powers.”

“And if the Dragonmaw orcs really can occupy Grim Batol, they must have some way to overcome the corruption there. Perhaps they possess powers we can't predict. It might even be connected to their help from the black dragons, or their ability to control red ones.”

The basis for Marin's guess wasn't entirely correct, but Jess still admired how sharp the old mage was.

Marin raised his eyebrows slightly. “Of course, the wetlands of northern Khaz Modan cover a wider area than either of us can imagine. Even the local dwarves wouldn't claim to know them well. The investigation may last several years. By then, the situation may have changed. There's no need to worry too much about it so early.”

So when exactly had Rhonin, Vereesa Windrunner, and Falstad of the Wildhammer clan begun their mission to rescue the dragons at Grim Batol?

Jess couldn't remember. But if it hadn't happened yet, it couldn't be more than a few years away.

Perhaps the Wizard's Sanctum would search the Wetlands without finding much, and that failure would lead the red dragon mage Krasus to decide that the orcs' most likely refuge was the legendary Grim Batol—and then launch the rescue mission.

No kingdom in the Alliance could currently put together an army capable of attacking a fortress city like Grim Batol. A direct assault against the Dragonmaw clan was unrealistic. Maybe that was why Krasus had wanted the Kirin Tor to send a small elite team to strike at the orcs instead.

No wonder Rhonin had thought it was a suicide mission from start to finish.

In his previous life, Jess had never really felt the weight of that story. He'd mostly paid attention to the romance developing between Rhonin and Vereesa.

But after fighting the orc shaman in Redridge, hearing Gred describe Grim Batol's dark history, and seeing how the mages avoided even discussing the possibility of searching for the place, he was beginning to understand something.

After rescuing the Red Dragon Queen, Rhonin had gone from an ordinary mage with a stained reputation to one of the highest-ranking archmages of the Kirin Tor.

Now Jess could see why.

It truly was a great feat, one that could shake the entire continent.