Chapter 115: Exam Day

That morning, Jess came to Marin's study as usual, did some quick cleaning, and returned a borrowed book to the shelf.

He was looking around to decide whether to borrow another when Marin entered.

"I haven't run into you for several days, Mr. Seso. But you're getting better and better at cleaning. Every time I come into my study, it feels fresh. You're certainly more careful than my Amy."

"Practice makes perfect, Master." Jess gathered his things and was about to leave when Marin called him back.

"Oh, there's something I need to tell you."

"Remember when you said the gnolls were secretly making poison in an alchemy room? You asked me to tell the royal mages. I did, and I just received the latest news yesterday."

"The king sent investigators. They confirmed that the gnolls really were making poison. The dead murlocs weren't test subjects. The gnolls were using their eyes as an ingredient, and keeping the bodies there as food supplies. Somehow the gnolls obtained a formula and planned to spread a plague throughout the kingdom. But Stormwind has sent a squad to destroy the alchemy room and burn all the materials."

Jess nodded. To be honest, he'd almost forgotten about the matter lately, especially after Marin told him not to involve himself in so many things.

Still, he wondered how the problem had been resolved in the game. After all, he hadn't existed there. If he hadn't told the Wizard's Sanctum about the gnolls, the incident might have been handled months or even years later. Would the gnoll plague have been released in the end?

There was no way to know. He couldn't go back and ask in a gaming forum or chat group whether the game had any story about it.

"Did they discover who was behind it?" Jess asked.

"No," Marin said. "But who else could it be besides the gnoll leader who's been attacking people? He's undoubtedly the chief of the Riverpaw tribe now. At the moment, we have no sign that the gnolls are working with any other enemies—not the Blackrock orcs, not the Dark Iron dwarves, not even the Gurubashi trolls. Of course, the proud Gurubashi would never cooperate with gnolls anyway."

"The only sign we have is that the gnolls learned some magic from the orcs. Even during the war, they weren't exactly allies. They fought several times."

"Is the king planning to send troops to Westbrook Garrison to wipe out the Riverpaw tribe?" Jess asked.

Marin shook his head. "For now, the king has just raised the bounty again. Another group of mercenaries disappeared recently. I expect the reward will go up again before long."

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Hogger would still be causing trouble around Elwynn Forest more than ten years from now. No wonder Marshal Dughan of Goldshire would consider Hogger nearly as serious a problem as Blackrock Spire.

The Blackrock orcs might be terrifying, but they mostly operated in northern Redridge. Hogger and his followers, meanwhile, had roamed near Stormwind for years, ambushing travelers and merchant caravans almost daily.

And a few years from now, the Stonemasons' Guild would rebel. Moonbrook would gradually be abandoned because of bandits and thieves. With all of Westfall in decline, Elwynn's guards would lose the support they needed from neighboring towns, making it even harder to eliminate Hogger.

"Your exam is this afternoon, isn't it?" Marin asked. "Orcish, with Master Duchamp."

"Yes," Jess replied.

"How's your preparation? Think you can take first place?" Marin smiled as though teasing him.

"Probably not." Jess scratched his head. "I've only been cramming for a month and a half."

"Then just do your best," Marin said. "Even if you don't win free passage to Dalaran, pushing yourself to learn more is worthwhile."

"Master Duchamp hasn't mentioned that at all," Jess said. "He's only talked about the exam, never the Orcish exchange event in Dalaran at the end of the year. Could it have been canceled?"

"No," Marin explained. "There was no need for him to mention it. His job is simply to choose the students. Master Andromath has already set aside the travel funds. He's waiting for Master Duchamp to choose students to accompany him to Dalaran. Given the current situation, Dalaran is quite eager to train people who specialize in Orcish, so they can communicate better with the orcs in the internment camps and prove Master Antonidas's theory sooner."

"Is cancellation completely impossible? I suppose not. A few black dragons could suddenly appear in the skies above Dalaran, for example. But instead of worrying about that, shouldn't you concentrate on your exam?"

Jess nodded.

When he went to the Orcish classroom that afternoon, he deliberately wore the pale yellow-brown short mage jacket he'd collected from Larson's a few days earlier. It made him look more like an ordinary member of the Mage Quarter. Perhaps that would even earn him a few extra points for his appearance.

He'd specifically asked for something simple and plain, but the outfit was far more finely made than any shirt or coat he'd worn before. It was worth more than ten silver coins, after all.

And Larson's gave the Wizard's Sanctum a special discount on custom robes. Buying something like this ready-made elsewhere would probably cost much more.

Several students were already sitting outside the classroom, waiting for their exams.

"Nice clothes, Jess," a young classmate greeted him.

"Good afternoon," Jess replied. "Good luck on the exam."

"You too."

Everyone looked relaxed. Orcish was an elective course and didn't count toward grades or assessments, whether at the university or the Wizard's Sanctum.

It was basically a class people took for fun. Jess was the only one nervous about it. Students entering and leaving the room looked as though they were attending an ordinary lesson. This final exam meant little to them. When they finished, they didn't even discuss how they'd done. They simply made plans to drink at The Blue Recluse.

Jess worried things were going badly already. Not only had he probably studied Orcish for the shortest time of anyone here, but now he also had the worst attitude toward the exam.

Really, he should have been as relaxed as everyone else. The only difference was that Marin had told him what the exam actually meant.

If the other students knew a good result could win them a trip to Dalaran at public expense, who knew how fiercely they'd compete? That was the city every mage—no, every student and scholar—dreamed of visiting.

In other words, opportunity lay hidden inside the danger. The pressure gave him a disadvantage, but his knowledge also gave him an advantage.