Chapter 511

Chapter 511: Starting Point End Point

A week later, they arrived at Booty Bay, with smooth sailing and no troubles on the ship.

Feeling the salty breeze on his face, Jesse thought that this was a good start for their journey to Kalimdor.

Once the ship docked, Greed looked around the pier and commented, "Oh, it looks exactly the same as the last time I was here. This is probably the only place in the south that hasn’t been affected by the Orc War!"

"As long as we make money, it doesn’t matter who we’re dealing with," Jesse followed up, "Orcs, demons, if it weren’t for the Kirin Tor, we’d even do business with undead creatures!"

"This sounds a bit scary, Jesse," Greed said.

Jesse had a point. In the future, the trade and cooperation between the Steamwheedle Cartel and the Horde became more frequent, including the undead known as the Forsaken among the Horde.

Its competitor, the Rustwaters Cartel, fully joined the Horde and became allies with the undead.

Booty Bay didn’t have much of The Feast of Winter Veil atmosphere. After all, being a southern harbor on the continent, there wasn’t much of a winter feel here. There weren’t many dwarves who loved The Feast of Winter Veil residing here, and after coming here, it was almost easy to forget the season.

Greed asked, "Where should we go next? Look for Vereesa? Or find a place to have fun first?"

Jesse replied, "Let’s go to the Reliquary first. Then I’ll go to that goblin’s place to sell the Essence of Undeath to him, also to get some travel money, and to play… What do you want to do?"

"Fishing," Greed pointed to the small dock in the middle of the harbor where fish of all sizes were hanging, then gestured to the other end of Booty Bay, saying, "Or we could check out the trading post there."

"Have you been to The Salty Sailor Tavern? There’s more to play inside, it’s more interesting…"

"Let’s save some money," Jesse said.

"Ah, finally got a chance to come." Greed said helplessly.

Arriving at Reliquary’s headquarters, Jesse knocked on the door. The one who opened it was still the inspector, Cyrus Lightracer. This time, he was excited to see Jesse coming in and said, "Mr. Jesse Seso, it is indeed you! The Wizard’s Sanctum, Ms. Vereesa’s friend, a young human interested in demon knowledge and shadows. There is really no other possibility."

"Yes, it’s me, Mr. Cyrus," Jesse nodded and said.

Cyrus led the two inside and said, "I’ve been informed by Silvermoon City that you have agreed to the task of finding the unknown Highborne Darkweaver in Kalimdor."

"Yes," Jesse said. "Reliquary has arranged for a Farstrider to meet me in Booty Bay. Do you know when that person will arrive?"

"The one from the Goldenthorn family will arrive in three or four days," Cyrus Lightracer said. "This small house doesn’t have enough guest rooms for both of you, so I can book four nights at The Salty Sailor Tavern for you and Mr. Greed Thunderfist…"

"You can book rooms at The Salty Sailor Tavern?" Greed asked in surprise.

This was the same question Jesse wanted to ask. It seemed that Greed had faced difficulties at The Salty Sailor Tavern before.

"Of course," Cyrus said. "Reliquary’s relationship with the local ruler, the wealthy Mr. Revilgaz, is decent."

He spoke as he walked into the inner room and took out a cloth map, then said to the two people in front of him, "Now I will help you with the ticket issue."

"This map shows the southern part of Kalimdor, it is a rough terrain map of Tanaris Desert, the mountains and wastelands to the north, drawn by the Steamwheedle Cartel. Goblins have explored this area in much more detail than any other race, Mr. Seso."

Jesse glanced at the map and felt that Tanaris did indeed match his impressions of the game, including the ancient troll capital Zul’Farrak, the locations of Gadgetzan city and Steamwheedle Port, and the canyon leading to The Shimmering Flats from the north…

What intrigued him the most were not these places, but "The Caverns of Time."

The Caverns of Time are located deep in Tanaris, where the Bronze Dragonflight led by their king, Nozdormu, watches over the timelines to prevent them from being corrupted or destroyed.

However, The Caverns of Time do not appear on this map; it seems that the goblins have nearly explored all of Tanaris Deserts but have not yet discovered this place.

Of course, Jesse was not surprised. Leaving aside whether the Bronze Dragonflight wants to be discovered by outsiders, perhaps in this world, even the existence of the Bronze Dragonflight and The Caverns of Time is completely different from the game.

"Can we only go to Gadgetzan by boat from here to Kalimdor?" Jesse asked.

"Kalimdor is not like the Eastern Kingdoms, Mr. Seso," Cyrus explained, "In Kalimdor, you can only rely on the settlements established by goblins. Whether you are human, dwarf, or high elf, none have successfully established other settlements there, or settlements that are friendly to the general public. Who knows how many smuggler dens or pirate hideouts there are?"

"Right now, there is only one safe big ship for goblins in Kalimdor to dock at for travel, and that’s Steamwheedle Port in Tanaris. I heard that the Steamwheedle Cartel is trying to build a second port on the east coast of Kalimdor, but they are facing challenges from the Quilboar and lobster people living there, and they are running out of money. So, I don’t think their investment will succeed."

The second port Cyrus mentioned is Ratchet.

In the game, Ratchet has become a livelier place than Steamwheedle Port because it is located between the Orc capital Orgrimmar and the largest human settlement Theramore in Kalimdor, serving as a neutral trade hub.

Hearing Cyrus say this, Jesse understood why Ratchet, although claimed to be neutral in the game, leaned more towards the Horde. When the Orcs arrived in Kalimdor by crossing The Great Sea, they defeated several Quilboar and harpy tribes before settling in this area, which laid the foundation for goblins to establish a new port here.

However, the Goblin Collector Pucodyaz mentioned that his mercenaries had tracked the magical traces on the Eldre’Thalas dagger to Maraudon.

Maraudon is a sacred place for the Centaurs, located further north than the area shown on this map, deep in the heart of Kalimdor.

It’s unknown how many obstacles one would have to overcome if they set out from Steamwheedle Port to reach there.

Those several dozen gold coins won’t be easy to come by.

Cyrus said, "Mr. Jesse Seso, Mr. Greed Thunderfist, and the Farstriders, a total of three of you, I better buy return tickets for you on this side, because if you don’t have return tickets when you get there, those darn goblins will rip you off, they know you have no way back other than taking their ship."

"So, that’s 7 gold coins and 20 silver coins for the boat fare."

"7 gold coins? Do we… not have to pay this money?" Greed asked.

"No need," Cyrus said. "The travel expenses for you three will be covered by Farstriders and Reliquary, but we won’t reimburse other expenses along the way."

Greed let out a big sigh of relief. "That’s good enough."

When Jesse heard Cyrus emphasize "three people" and then gave Jesse a meaningful glance at the end, it made Jesse wonder.

He remembered Booty Bay, where goblins made it clear that even summoning demons as a warlock required payment.

Did they have to buy tickets for succubus and imp when going to Kalimdor?