The next day, when he woke up and sat on the bed, the room was empty and there was nothing.
Jess rubbed his eyes and looked at the crumpled piece of paper on the table full of wrinkles with words related to summoning magic written on it, but the imp in the room was gone.
It was already dawn outside. He felt that he hadn't slept for long.
Did the imp run away? Or had it never been here? Was last night just a dream?
He opened his mouth and reluctantly tried to say, "Come out, Zaernol."
Suddenly, a flash of light burst out from beside his feet. Zaernol jumped out from it and startled Jess.
"Master, I obey your order. As long as there is a third party present, I will definitely remain invisible!"
"Third party?" Jess looked around, then looked under the bed, opened the cabinet, and looked behind the door. After confirming that this five or six square meter house was unlikely to hide any living people, he asked, "Where is the third party?"
"Outside." Zaernol said, "I hear too many people's voices. Among them, could there be many priests and many paladins?"
"Probably. You did very well." Jess said, "You should be so careful."
Although he almost thought there was a ghost in his house, he was still relieved that the imp was so obedient to his order.
The imp happily hopped back and forth and said, "Does the master have any new orders?"
"Guard the house." Jess grabbed his clothes and said, "Don't leave here all day today. Stay invisible and don't open the door for anyone."
"Understood!" The imp jumped onto the table and disappeared in a flash.
When Jess was about to pick up his pants, he saw the staff placed in the corner.
"Come out first, Zaernol."
The imp reappeared and asked, "Is there anything else, master?"
"Do you recognize this staff?" Jess asked.
"Of course not." The imp said with a smile, "The Eredar have made too many things. How could I possibly recognize just a random staff?!"
Jess felt a moment of confusion in his head. "This is an Eredar staff?"
"It's a staff made by the Eredar, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's used by the Eredar, right, master?" The imp said, "Look at the material of this staff. This is something called shadow gold. In the entire Twisting Nether, it can only be found on Argus. There is a beautiful metal there called celestial gold. After being transformed by fel energy and shadow, this is what's left. And Argus... is precisely the homeland of the Eredar!"
Transformed? Probably polluted...
Zaernol touched the surface of the staff, shook his head and said, "Those Eredar wizards like to give the magical tools they make to their slaves and servants as gifts to show their power. Could the master be a servant of an Eredar? Then I am the servant of the servant of an Eredar. That's amazing."
Jess was stunned for a while. Zaernol's words reminded him of the possible origin of this staff.
Gul'dan was initially guided by Kil'jaeden, the second in command of Sargeras and the leader of the Eredar. From a useless person abandoned by his people, he embarked on the path of shadow and later established the Shadow Council.
This staff might be one of the many magic items he obtained from the Eredar demons among the Burning Legion after collaborating with them. In order to gain the loyalty of Teron'gor, he in turn gave this staff to him.
"You know a lot, Zaernol." Jess nodded in satisfaction and said, "Today, don't be idle at home. Help me with something."
"At your service, master!" The imp said excitedly.
Jess said, "Here, look at this book."
He took out that thick bilingual book from the cabinet and handed it to the imp, saying, "What language is in this?"
Zaernol took it and flipped through a few pages and said, "There is demonic language, the language of the pit lords... and... and a runic language. I don't understand it."
"That's Orcish." Jess said.
This is indeed a so-called bilingual dictionary, specifically for orc warlocks to learn and chant spells.
"Okay, translate all the demonic language on it into Common for me. Write down the comparison, pronunciation, and then copy it onto these papers." Jess brought out a stack of cheap straw paper that he used as toilet paper and record book.
When he put these papers in front of him, he realized that the ink and quill he had prepared for copying the order of the Bloodmages was far from enough for this workload.
He handed the ink and quill to the imp and said, "Copy with these first. I'll find a way to get you some more ink."
The imp stared with its big eyes full of fire at the book and paper that were even bigger than itself, speechless for a moment.
"Okay, start working, my good servant." Jess rubbed his hands. Just as he was about to go out with his clothes, he remembered something and turned back and said, "If someone passes by the door, remember to pause your work and make yourself invisible. But if one day someone pries open the door and touches that staff, remember to use all the magic you can to blow him up for me, no matter who it is!"
The imp shouted, "Yes! Obey the master's order!"
"Very good!" Jess rushed out of the door and headed straight for the Canal Bridge.
There are many places in the city that sell paper and ink. The cheapest one is the Magic and Science Research Institute affiliated to the university in the Mage Quarter.
Walking along the canal, crossing the tower of Stormwind Prison, you can see the building of the institute. Jess took ten silver coins. After ordering a sword from the blacksmith and buying a set of clothes these two days, this is basically half of his remaining property.
Early in the morning, there are already many people in the Magic and Science Research Institute. This is the second largest library in Stormwind City. But compared to the library in the Wizard's Sanctum, it is more inclined to face ordinary people and university students.
"I want to buy some ink." Jess ran to the librarian's counter and said, "And buy some paper by the way."
The librarian took out a bottle of ink and then took out a large bag of paper and counted them one by one for Jess.
"Ordinary quality paper, one silver and eighteen copper for a dozen sheets of twelve. Ink is five silver a bottle."
Halfway through counting, he also looked at Jess and asked, "How much do you want?"
Jess was still digesting this outrageous price. He struggled to crawl out of the wolf den and earned just a bottle of ink.
But this money can't be saved anymore.
If it's a small amount of paper and ink, he might be able to ask his boss Marin for some. But if the quantity is too large, it will inevitably arouse suspicion.
He is not an apprentice now. Even if he is taking the Orcish language course, there is no need to consume such a large amount of paper and ink.
"I... take a bottle of ink first, and then, three dozen sheets of paper."
After buying the paper and ink, Jess rushed all the way back home. By this time, the imp had already written some.
Jess looked at the words on that piece of paper and said, "You write too big. Write smaller and denser. Dilute the ink with some water. As long as it's legible. Save some for me..."
"Understood, master." Zaernol nodded in a panic.
Jess also fetched a bucket of river water from downstairs and brought it up. While wiping the sweat off his face, he said, "My future depends on you. There will be rewards if you do it well."
"What reward?" The imp suddenly asked.
What reward? This question suddenly stumped Jess.
"What do you want?"
"I want mortal souls..." The imp licked his lips and said, "Beautiful soul fragments, pleasant wailing, delicious pain and sweetness. Have you tasted them, master?"
"I'm not like you." Jess asked, "Only mortals have the souls you want?"
"Even beasts have souls. It's just that they are not as interesting as intelligent creatures." The imp tilted his head and said.
Jess thought that since it was said like this, the souls of the gnolls in Elwynn Forest might be usable. After all, they are more or less intelligent creatures.
"Wait. There might be a chance."
The imp let out a shrill laugh and said, "Oh, the master is so good to me."