Chapter 110: What They All Had in Common

Ursula rolled her eyes at Jess, but finally nodded.

"That's true. That scale was perfect, Jess. It worked even better than I expected. Fine, I'll let you off this time, brat."

"By the way, what are you going to use that scale for?" Jess whispered.

"Secret." Ursula tilted her head. "You weren't honest with me. Don't expect everyone else to tell you everything."

Jess gave a helpless shrug and turned his attention to Gakin, who stood in the firelight at the center of the room.

Gakin was reciting Curse of Weakness and explaining its casting gestures. Jess had written all of it down for him, so he hardly listened.

By now, the room smelled of roasting meat drifting back from the inn's kitchen.

If this was the last spell, dinner should begin as soon as Gakin finished. Jess had been waiting for that since the start.

But Gakin suddenly said, "Our little group has been around for some time now. Gardes and I think we should choose a name to bring us closer together and continue our spirit of sharing and helping each other. What do you think?"

"Agreed!" Erlan called out.

Ursula and Surena nodded too, and Jess had no reason to object.

"Wonderful, if we all agree," Gakin said. "Do you have any suggestions? Let's hear what everyone thinks."

"The Black Rose," Surena offered. "Don't you think that sounds cool?"

"Sounds like a pirate group," Ursula said. "And isn't it a little too showy?"

"There is something to that," Gakin agreed.

"The Dark Brotherhood!" Erlan suddenly declared. "Born in darkness, grown in darkness!"

Jess shuddered at the name. That would be crossing universes a little too much. This was Azeroth, not Tamriel!

"That doesn't sound like a group of good people," Ursula said. "We're not a criminal gang planning murder and arson down here. Do we really need to make ourselves sound so evil?"

"You reject everything! Then you suggest something, Ms. Deline!" Erlan snapped.

Ursula hesitated. She didn't seem to have a better idea.

"I have a suggestion," Gardes said. "Let's call ourselves the Dagger Society. Every one of us used a dagger to slaughter a lamb during our initiation sacrifice. I think the dagger is the symbol that connects us, the thing we all share."

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"Quiet enough," Gakin said. "But might people think we're assassins?"

"Compared with the Dark Brotherhood and the Black Rose, doesn't Dagger Society sound less like assassins?" Gardes replied. "Daggers have been important ritual tools since ancient times."

"What a boring name," Ursula said.

"Stop talking, Ursula Deline!" Erlan said. "Let's call it the Dagger Society. Does choosing a name have to be this complicated?"

"What do you think, Surena? Jess?" Gakin asked.

"No objections," Jess said. "Dagger Society is fine."

"If Gardes suggested it, I agree," Surena said.

Gardes's suggestion had surprised Jess, but it hadn't come entirely out of nowhere.

In the game, more than twenty years later, the warlocks of Azeroth would form an organization called the Black Harvest Council. Before that, six powerful warlocks had formed a group that called itself the Six Daggers.

Maybe Gardes's Dagger Society was the earliest form of the Six Daggers Council.

Jess had always thought the founder of the Six Daggers was Kanrethad Ebonlocke, the first leader of the Black Harvest Council. Kanrethad was much better known than these warlocks, especially to warlock players who weren't human.

But Jess had never heard of him in the real Azeroth. He did know that Ebonlocke was the surname of a noble family from Grand Hamlet. That meant Kanrethad was probably there right now, in the place that would later become Darkshire.

Was he secretly studying dark magic there on his own?

"Very well!" Gakin announced. "The Dagger Society's first dinner gathering now begins!"

He'd barely finished when Surena sighed, "Thank the Holy Light! Finally, something to eat. My stomach's already growling."

"Thank the Holy Light?!"

"Tsk!"

Several men burst out laughing. The serious mood in the basement suddenly lightened.

Jess straightened up and stretched, put his book away, and waited for Zare to bring down the food.

He hadn't eaten all day because he was waiting for this free feast. He'd gone beyond feeling hungry earlier, but hearing people mention dinner made his stomach growl again.

"Do you like it here, Jess?" Ursula whispered beside his ear.

"Of course," Jess said. "It's pretty relaxed here."

"Not because of Surena?" she asked.

"Surena?" Jess looked puzzled. "Why? I barely know her."

"You really don't know? Every one of those men has slept with her," Ursula whispered. "Gakin, Erlan, even Zare... That bartender who claims he has nothing to do with the warlocks has been with her. Gardes... I don't know. But he's certainly not as proper as he pretends. So what about you?"

Jess wasn't surprised. Surena had seemed like that sort of woman from the beginning. Still, he shook his head.

"Maybe we just don't know each other that well yet."

"Be careful, Jess," Ursula said. "As soon as sex gets involved, everything becomes a hundred times more complicated. I think you're a kind kid, and I don't want you dragged into this mess. When those bastards make a complete disaster of things someday, you'll be able to stay clear if you haven't gotten involved. You know what I mean?"

Hearing himself called kind, Jess suddenly remembered the sheep he'd drained until it looked like a starving stray dog. What had become of it? Had wolves eaten it? Had gnolls caught it? Or was it still wandering around the forest?

"Surena isn't my type," he said.

Ursula pressed him. "What, do you prefer men?"

"No. Surena just isn't my type."

Ursula whispered, "Don't be so sure. If the opportunity ever comes, I hope you remember what you're saying now. Don't let your body happily agree while your mouth says otherwise."

Jess looked at Gakin and Erlan, then at Surena.

"If she were a little fairer, maybe. As it is, when the light gets dim, I can barely see her."

He stopped there, smacked his lips, and shook his head with a self-mocking smile. Ursula laughed and sat back down.