However, Aige's clarification did not seem to have much effect. Ordinary people knew and had access to very little. Mages were rare to begin with, and people never encountered them in everyday life. In their minds, a mage was synonymous with power. How could they distinguish an apprentice from a junior mage? Did it make any difference to them?
"See? Mages are always so modest! Come, come, please come inside!"
The mature woman, who appeared to be just under forty, warmly ushered the honored guest inside.
There was a reason for such enthusiasm! Though Hall Farm had hosted plenty of adventurers, it rarely encountered a real mage. Most were mercenaries with a little fighting ability, and nobody paid much attention to people who were a dime a dozen. Thanks to its good location, Hall Farm effectively ran a small inn as well, where passing adventurers could stop for a rest and a bite to eat... Although the farm made its living mainly by producing agricultural goods rather than from the inn, quite a few adventurers passed through. Surely the farm couldn't cover their expenses every time? Once or twice was fine, but too often would be a problem.
"Please, you needn't trouble yourselves, any of you. I'm already grateful to have a safe place to rest. I'm overwhelmed by your hospitality!" Aige knew nothing happened without a reason. They had suddenly become so welcoming, and he would never believe there was nothing behind it. He'd better make things clear first, lest someone use him as a pawn without his realizing it...
This was actually a basic rule of self-protection that everyone had to follow in the morally bankrupt era of later generations. But the Azeroth Continent had not fallen that far. In fact, this family really had no other intentions; they simply admired powerful mages, nothing more...
The more he spoke like this, the more extraordinary he seemed to the others. Only truly confident people would not change because of others' attitudes. As the actual owner of Hall Farm, Shate's mother clearly had some experience. "Please, mage, don't stand on ceremony. Now that you're here, make yourself at home at Hall Farm. Mother, please bring some pies from the kitchen. Shate, fetch a bottle of our finest grain liquor from the cellar. Sir, please sit over here!"
Watching the old woman and the boy hurry off to fetch the food, Young Master Ai felt a little embarrassed instead. "I really was just passing through and stopping for a rest. I won't be staying long. If I'd known I'd cause your family so much trouble, I might as well have found somewhere outside to curl up for the night..."
The woman hurriedly waved her hands. "If other people found out Hall Farm had neglected an honored guest, our reputation would be ruined. You mages are always so hard to catch a glimpse of, and you've been fighting all along to protect common folk like us. It's not often we get to meet one of you, so how could we not treat you well?"
It had to be said that, despite all the disasters and hardships humanity faced, its people were also more united than ever, each fulfilling their own duties. At this time, the vast majority of mages were good. Many served in the army, fighting to protect civilians. Though there was no shortage of bad ones, their overall reputation was still quite good. This was especially true near Stormwind City, where the authorities made a vigorous effort to promote the profession and encouraged talented commoners to become mages. But becoming a mage really did require considerable talent.
Before long, the food for Young Master Ai arrived. With a good meal before him, he wasn't going to keep declining out of politeness. He had leveled rather hard today, and he rarely worked so diligently at Milly's Grape Estate. He really was rather tired, so he would eat first...
The pork pies were excellent, the meat succulent and flavorful. Paired with the farmstead's special sauce, they left a lingering fragrance in his mouth. Aige polished off four in one go... But when his host asked whether he wanted more, he politely declined. Life was still quite hard for ordinary people, and those four pies were probably the last the farm had to spare today. If he had the nerve to ask for more, they might have to go to the trouble of steaming another batch, and that wouldn't be right!
The liquor was good too. Though it was no famous vintage, the farmstead produced fine grain, so the liquor made from it was naturally good, with a very refreshing taste. Master Ai didn't drink excessively, but he did enjoy a tipple. It had been the same before: though he couldn't hold much liquor, he would still have a few drinks by himself now and then...
As the saying went, it was hard to refuse someone whose gifts you'd accepted, or speak harshly of someone whose food you'd eaten. He had enjoyed their warm hospitality, so shouldn't he at least do something in return?
"I'm an adventurer, and I have some fighting ability. If any of you have a problem, you can tell me. As long as a task is within my abilities, I won't refuse it!" Young Master Ai declared, wiping the grease from the corners of his mouth.
"Hehe, Lord Aige, you really are a straightforward man. Adventurers often pass through Holt Farmstead, and we've already given them the usual tasks. For the moment, there's nothing..."
Before the hostess could finish, her son cut in. "Mother, didn't you lose a necklace last time? It was a precious keepsake Father left you. Couldn't you ask Lord Aige to help look for it?"
The woman shook her head. "Although that necklace is very important to me, there are no clues at all. And it's quite possible the Kobolds near the mine picked it up. It's far too dangerous over there. I can't put you in danger for the sake of an object!"
Danger? A mine? Hehe. Master Ai smiled. This was obviously a quest; even the dullest person could tell... Better to kill the wrong target than let one get away!
But he had to phrase this skillfully! Otherwise, unsolicited kindness meant one was either a crook or a thief!
"Mrs. Stonefield, there's no need to worry. As it happens, I've accepted a task from Paul, Goldshire's marshal, to investigate the mine, so it's on my way. Could you describe the necklace's design and features?"
"Really? Then you truly are a benefactor to me. Shate's father gave me that necklace when we married. It's a gold necklace with an old-fashioned design, two hearts joined together. You'd recognize it at a glance. But for now, I'm only guessing that it might have fallen into the Kobolds' hands; I have no particular evidence. I only heard that the children at Beech Farm to the east might know some details. But because it might involve those dangerous Kobolds, I've never been willing to give the task to ordinary adventurers, for fear of getting them hurt. A powerful mage like you is different!"
"If you can help me find it, you'll be a friend of Hall Farm forever, and the farm's doors will always be open to you. Also, an adventurer once left a pair of linen gloves as collateral. They aren't very good, but they are a piece of cloth armor. If you find them acceptable, please take them as your reward for this task!"
Notice: Accepted the quest to find the gold necklace. Upon completion, you will receive the linen gloves, and one card will be drawn at random from the one-star Priest class cards and added to your card pack.
As the farm's most honored guest, Young Master Ai was respectfully settled in its finest room and would not be charged for food or lodging... If he could complete the quest to find the gold necklace, this treatment might continue until Hall Farm went out of business! (The humans of the Azeroth Continent valued their promises. Since the owner had personally said he would be a friend of Hall Farm forever and its doors would always be open to him, this really could happen.) Though he had no desire to take advantage of free food and lodging, Aige truly accepted the sentiment...
Now a level-eight Warcraft mage, he had just learned a new spell, one that would surely remain with him for the rest of his life, never leaving his side...
Polymorph: Casting time: 1.5 seconds. Transforms one enemy into a sheep that has essentially lost its ability to fight. The duration depends on the difference between the mage's level and the opponent's, lasting up to 50 seconds. If cast on the same target again within a short time, the effect is immediately halved.
Polymorph? Polymorph?
This was a mage's signature skill. In Warcraft III, a sorceress could only use it after reaching the highest tech tier. In Hearthstone, it was also one of only two super hard-removal cards in the entire game. Hard removal meant that once this Polymorph card was used, whatever minion the opponent had would be done for. Whether it was Ragnaros or Ysera, even if Deathwing himself appeared, he would go down all the same. The other card was the Shaman's Hex... All the other classes could go cry their eyes out.
Of course, the Polymorph Aige had learned here at level eight was nowhere near that outrageous. It had to pass a power check between caster and target. If Deathwing really showed up, with this feeble Polymorph, the one who would definitely go down would be Master Ai.
That said, Polymorph gave Aige the ability to fight multiple enemy targets at once. In the classic tactic, turning one into a sheep, using Sap on another, and trapping a third was no joke. Among crowd-control skills under comparable conditions, turning an enemy into a sheep was the most reliable and convenient, which also made mages highly sought after in group battles!
In fact, Aige had long been capable of taking on several enemies at once, thanks to the powerful minions provided by the Book of Hearthstone, which could help share the pressure. Otherwise, given an apprentice mage's combat ability, it was best to stick to honest one-on-one fights. After all, at this stage, they had no area-of-effect skills...
This was an awkward time for mages, who suffered badly from the glaring weakness of having no area attacks. But once they learned several area-of-effect skills, such as Blizzard and Flamestrike, these trump cards would let them dominate the martial world. For now, though, that was getting ahead of things. For young mages who only had single-target spells like Fireball and Frostbolt, the standard way to fight was to turn one enemy into a sheep, take out another first, then turn back to deal with the one they had sheeped earlier... Their fighting style meant that it was relatively safer for these mages to face no more than two monsters at a time.
Aige had a Hearthstone card pack and plenty of minions, but Polymorph would still be his first choice. It was a signature skill, and one that many low-level mages didn't even have!