Throughout his two years in Stormwind, Jess had seen the mysterious tower rising high above the city's western side whenever he looked that way. Sometimes purple light shimmered from its heights, or pale white magic glowed there at night. Yet this was his first time standing before the stairs at its base.

A mage at the entrance wore a short robe and a wide-brimmed wizard's hat that shaded him from the sun, yet a longsword hung at his waist.

The man was checking the badges of everyone entering and leaving. He was presumably one of the Wizard's Sanctum's mage guards—a so-called battle mage.

It was said that early in the war, many senior mages were killed because they lacked experience fighting orc warlocks, severely weakening the forces able to oppose the Horde's spellcasters.

Dalaran and the magical organizations of the various kingdoms had begun imitating the Church of the Holy Light's method of training paladins. They recruited ordinary soldiers with magical aptitude and rapidly trained them as battle mages skilled in martial combat and magic-enhanced fighting.

After the war, those battle mages unexpectedly developed into a formidable new martial tradition.

Jess had been hoping for a more intimidating security measure, such as an arcane membrane that barred anyone without a badge—or carrying a forged one—from entering.

He displayed his ring and passed without trouble. As he followed the stairs spiraling up the great tower, he soon climbed above the Mage Quarter's dense green canopy.

Looking into the distance, he saw the quarter's purple roof tiles and the blue roofs beyond. To the east rose the spire of the Cathedral of Light in the city center, surrounded by layer upon layer of homes and tall buildings. To the north stood Stormwind Keep, built on the hillside above the harbor. Noble residences gathered around it like children holding their father's hand, all overlooking the sea.

Along walkways spread like cracks across the white walls, crowds of workers and merchants traveled between the old and new districts beside wagons carrying goods and building materials. The traffic extended all the way to the highway outside the city.

Farther still, beyond the walls, stretched the endless plains of Elwynn. The Nazferiti River cut across them, and forests continued to the distant Redridge Mountains.

Eastvale, which took several hours to reach on foot, now seemed close enough to touch.

The view felt entirely different from the game. The general layout was similar, but the grandeur of the real landscape, its light and shadows, far surpassed the colored blocks and polygons on a screen.

Jess had not felt the same way in Lordaeron because the game had never shown him Lordaeron before its destruction. He had lacked anything to compare against reality.

Here, the contrast between reality and illusion struck with overwhelming force.

Passing through an arched doorway, Jess entered the upper section of the Wizard's Sanctum, where the library was located.

Following a librarian's directions, he descended two levels along the library's spiral stairs and reached the section devoted to alchemy.

Only then did he realize that he had worried needlessly about his clothes.

The apprentices and mages reading in the library probably paid no attention to what happened around them and would not mistake someone in shabby clothes for a thief. Perhaps only those with nothing to do but wander outside enjoyed criticizing other people's clothes and appearance.

With that realization, Jess relaxed and began openly consulting the books.

Fortunately, his mother was a farmer's daughter who had received a proper education in childhood, and she had taught him to read and write. Together with the education from his previous life and his ability to absorb new knowledge, that allowed him to understand the specialized books here.

Even so, matching the complicated herbs in these volumes with their names from the game required the help of illustrations.

"Shadow Protection Potion... Shadow Protection Potion..."

He searched index after index without finding the entry. The search engines he once took for granted had been far too convenient: enter a keyword, and a mass of related and unrelated results appeared at once. Returning to such old-fashioned methods left him fumbling.

After searching for quite some time, he discovered that he was in the wrong section. Most subjects related to shadow magic were shelved under protection against dark magic, including many varieties of potions and spells used to resist shadow.

In a heavily annotated book titled *Laurel's Techniques for Shadow Protection*, he found a relatively practical recipe and brewing process for a Shadow Protection Potion.

*Laurel's Lesser Shadow Protection Potion* was Master Laurel Haggai's emergency-use modification of the standard Shadow Protection Potion formula.

Its advantages were simple preparation, readily available ingredients, and a short brewing time. Even so, it could provide the drinker with a degree of protection from shadow and reduce the effects of shadow damage.

Ingredients:

1. Grave Moss. The base ingredient of a Shadow Protection Potion. The fastest way to obtain shadow energy is through this dreadful plant, which absorbs necromantic power in cemeteries. Somewhat toxic.

2. Kingsblood. An important medium capable of converting harmful effects into strengthening ones. Kingsblood transforms the Grave Moss's shadow energy, allowing it to absorb shadow damage instead.

3. Wicked Claw. The claw of a beast that has attacked and killed humanoids. The claw of an older predator living near a humanoid settlement will generally suffice. It weakens the potion's effect while shortening the brewing time.

4. Spring water kept far from any source of magic.

Brewing procedure:

1. Place the cauldron without lighting the fire, then pour in the spring water.

2. Add the Grave Moss to the water.

3. Light the fire and bring the water to a boil.

4. When the water turns pale purple and develops a bloody smell, begin stirring gently for twenty minutes.

5. As the water gradually turns dark purple, add one spoonful of dried Kingsblood ground into powder.

6. Extinguish the fire and wait until the turbid shadow energy becomes translucent and stabilizes.

7. Relight the fire and bring the mixture to a boil again.

8. Add powdered Wicked Claw. The powder should be as fine as dust; no particle larger than a grain of sand is permitted.

9. Stir gently for at least ten minutes, then extinguish the fire and allow the mixture to cool.

Note: Store the potion in a lead bottle or a specially made magical crystal vial. Divide a small bottle into two doses. Each dose lasts for one hour or ends immediately after absorbing enough shadow damage. During the final ten minutes, the effect gradually weakens.

Second note: The finished potion should be a reddish purple and more transparent than a standard Shadow Protection Potion. Its taste is sharp and sour. Dizziness upon first drinking it is normal. As the effect begins to fade, facial warmth, tears, and similar reactions are also normal.

After reading the formula, Jess could only marvel at how troublesome it was. In the game, a standard Shadow Protection Potion required only two ingredients and a bottle purchased from a merchant. Here, it involved all these steps.

He had already looked at the standard formula's brewing method. It read like the instruction leaflet inside a medicine box and was several times more complicated than this recipe.

As for gathering ingredients, Grave Moss grew in most places where the dead were buried, but certainly not in cemeteries close to Stormwind. Herbalists and mages would have picked those areas clean.

The cemeteries inside Stormwind were also cleared regularly. The plant was poisonous enough to harm innocent mourners who failed to notice it.

Jess needed room for trial and error. He had to prepare extra quantities of every ingredient so that one failure did not force him to start the entire process again. That meant finding somewhere with a large supply of Grave Moss.

There was only one ideal gathering site—Duskwood.

Merely thinking of Duskwood made the back of Jess's neck grow cold.

Not long after arriving in Stormwind, he had accompanied other workers to a small dock on a tributary of the Nazferiti River to move cargo. They worked until evening and saw a person standing in Duskwood across the river.

The figure remained there for more than an hour. It was still present when the workers prepared to return to Stormwind and had not moved the entire time, except for the occasional sway to maintain its balance.

When they returned and asked guards who often patrolled near the Nazferiti River, the guards explained that it was a zombie that had wandered down the riverbank from southern Elwynn. They were already accustomed to such sights.

A massive explosion from the direction of Stranglethorn Vale several years earlier had produced a terrible effect across southern Elwynn Forest. Enormous shadow energy swallowed a vast stretch of woodland, covering both Grand Hamlet and Raven Hill in darkness and even affecting part of Westfall.

Many people in Stormwind still spoke of the event. Refugees who had fled Grand Hamlet and Raven Hill generally preferred to remain silent. In any case, the disaster had cast a shadow over every resident of the Elwynn region.

Some believed dark energy had blown in from the orcs' homeland of Draenor through the Dark Portal. The theory had some basis. From Stormwind, the direction of Stranglethorn Vale roughly aligned with the Dark Portal, and the event occurred during the height of the orc invasion.

The problem was that even the orcs avoided entering Duskwood during their marches. If the dark energy came from their homeland, was that not contradictory?

Jess knew the true cause perfectly well. An ancient magical tower stood in the valley between the Swamp of Sorrows—the great marsh containing the Dark Portal—and Duskwood. That tower was Karazhan, and the evil shock wave had originated there.

Karazhan's master was the great mage Medivh whom Amy had mentioned. Controlled by Sargeras, Medivh had guided the orcs in opening the Dark Portal.

After learning the truth, several heroes—Lothar, the mage Khadgar, and the orc assassin Garona—planned and successfully carried out Medivh's assassination. At his death, the terrifying power within him broke free, causing the explosion and permanently altering the landscape for nearly thirty miles around Karazhan.

That was also the central story of the *Warcraft* film.

From that time onward, southern Elwynn, once as sunny and warm as the north, became a terrifying region filled with evil thorns and black, twisted trees. Only two human towns offered any shelter to the civilians who had once lived there.

Many people in Stormwind now called the region Duskwood and referred to Grand Hamlet as either Dark Town or Darkshire.

Near Raven Hill lay a great cemetery, the largest burial ground in the Kingdom of Stormwind. Countless nameless soldiers and nobles killed in the Gnoll War and Troll Wars were buried there.

If Jess could reach it, he would certainly find Grave Moss. The problem was how to go in alive and come out the same way.

Entering Duskwood would also solve the problem of finding Wicked Claws. Countless beasts there had gnawed on human corpses. Many had gone mad after absorbing too much necromantic energy and attacked every living thing they saw. What could be more wicked than that?

Kingsblood grew on level ground. It could be found around Lakeshire in the Redridge Mountains and in Westfall. It should exist in Elwynn too, but the herb was relatively rare. Jess could only hope they encountered some by chance.

At this point, Jess almost felt it would be better to return to the Slaughtered Lamb and endure the shadow spells with his bare body. It was difficult to say which was more dangerous: venturing into Duskwood or withstanding warlock magic.

The crucial difference was that the consequences of enduring warlock spells could neither be avoided nor predicted. On an expedition, some risks could be managed.

Using a borrowed quill, he recorded a brief travel plan and the required ingredients on the scroll. He felt he needed Gred's opinion. After all, the dwarf was the professional expert on survival in the Hinterlands.

First, however, he would visit Alchemy Needs and ask whether the Mage Quarter's herb merchants purchased herbs, what terms they offered, and how much they paid. With a concrete profit to place before Gred, the dwarf would be more enthusiastic.

The alchemy shop Alchemy Needs stood close to the Wizard's Sanctum. Many people assumed it was merely an alchemical workshop, but to most mages it was a small business combining herb sales, appraisal, grinding, potion research, and a range of related services.

Most senior mages had private alchemy laboratories or at least small apothecaries, and their apprentices used their mentors' facilities. As a result, the shop's intended role as a public alchemy laboratory was largely ignored, while its herb-related business grew increasingly busy.

The instant Jess entered, a rich medicinal aroma filled his nose. A blonde, middle-aged woman behind the counter turned to him. "New to the Mage Quarter, young man? I am Ruth Lumere, the owner. If you wish to buy herbs, continue inside. My daughter will assist you. I have work to finish at the moment."

"I am not here to buy herbs, my lady," Jess said. "May I ask whether you purchase them?"

"Of course." Ruth Lumere asked, "Are you an herbalist?"

"I... am," Jess said. "I come from Lordaeron and only recently arrived, so I do not yet understand the local market prices. But I already have a team able to gather herbs outside the city, and I came to ask what you pay."

"For herbs common to the Elwynn region, we generally pay by the pound: two silver for Peacebloom, two silver and fifty copper for Silverleaf, one silver for each Earthroot, and two silver for each Briarthorn."

"Does Kingsblood grow in Elwynn?"

"If you count southern Elwynn, yes, but it is rare and difficult to find. Herbalists no longer go there. They call the place Duskwood now, and anyone who enters meets with disaster. Because of that, our supply of Grave Moss has been cut off."

"If I can gather Grave Moss, how much would you pay?"

"Seven silver a pound. What do you think? We can also negotiate prices for other uncommon herbs, such as Bruiseweed and Liferoot."

After thanking her and leaving Alchemy Needs, Jess found himself conflicted.

Should he sell the Grave Moss or use it to make Shadow Protection Potions?

Should he find a way to learn magic, or first earn enough money to live?

Standing beneath the Wizard's Sanctum and watching the mages pass, Jess decided that he should master a dependable skill that could preserve his life—or even harm an enemy—as soon as possible.

With greater strength, gathering outside the city would become safer. In the future, he might collect harder-to-find herbs or other rare objects.

If he abandoned an opportunity for growth over a little immediate profit, he might spend the rest of his life terrified whenever he left the city.

Seven silver, a little profit?

Jess smiled bitterly. He had not expected his appetite to grow so large.

He did not even know how difficult gathering Grave Moss would be, yet he was already thinking this far ahead. Judging by the price of seven silver, it certainly would not be easy.

But if he never tried, he would never know.