Schedule change

Up to now, I've been updating Monday, Wednesday and Friday. To be completely honest, I've hit a string of zones that I don't particularly enjoy, so I've been rushing the quests given to me, and only collecting screen shots for a couple chains.

Until I get to zones that I'm more prone to take my time with and fully document, I've slowed down the posting schedule so that I don't run out of material before I have more ready.

For now, updates are once a week, on Thursdays. When I have more of a buffer, I'll increase it to Tuesdays and Thursdays. We'll see where it goes from there.

Getting the Band Back Together

I found Keeshan exactly where I was told he'd be: fighting in the cellar of the inn, while people placed bets on him.

Considering he's the little guy, he was holding his own pretty well.

He wasn't very interested in helping out though. As he tells it, he was conscripted into the army, left behind after he was captured, and treated really poorly by the orcs for years before he escaped. And when he got home, he says people accused him of committing atrocities during the wars.

I don't know the other side of the story, but I can understand why he doesn't want to do it all over again.

Troteman thinks that I can change his mind if I rescue his former teammates who are also held prisoner by the orcs. I still don't know if I should be changing his mind, but rescuing his friends sounds like a worthwhile goal, so I'll do it.

I found Messner first. The key to his cage was kept in the wolf pen nearby. Luckily, they spend most of their time sleeping.

Messner was previously kept in the same place as Jorgensen, so he's going to lead me to him next.

Rescuing Jorgensen was easy. Krakauer, though, was strapped to an altar, about to be sacrificed by a troll priest! We rushed into the cave, hoping that we weren't too late to save him.

I almost feel sorry for that troll. He barely even knew what killed him.

The last member of our group - Danforth - was being tortured deeper in the cave by the orc's leader. Apparently, he thought Danforth had some kind of tactical information about Lakeshire. I don't know if he does or not, but I didn't plan on letting that orc find out.

That doesn't look pleasant.

When we returned, each of the others handed over one of Keeshan's possessions that had been taken by the orcs: his bow, his knife, his headband, and a locket that had belonged to his wife. When he took that last one, I could swear I almost saw a tear in his eye for just a moment.

I suppose I succeeded though. John J. Keeshan is ready to do battle with orcs again.

A Rock and a Hard Task

As I entered Redridge, the first thing I saw was one of the men who had been working on the bridge, pinned under a massive boulder. Even with six of them trying, they couldn't budge it. I tried to help them, but it wasn't enough to make a difference. Hopefully, I'll find some other way to help free him.

I spoke with the Magistrate and the local Marshal, and discovered that gnolls have been raiding Lakeshire regularly, taking supplies and people. I've been given a device called a "Gnomecorder" that will allow the Magistrate to talk to me while I'm in the field, and have been sent out to stop the gnolls and recover anything - and ANYONE - that they've taken that I happen to find.

Orcs. Wonderful.

They're Blackrock clan. The same clan that tried to invade Northshire. Let's just say that I'm NOT a fan. Via the Gnomecorder, Magistrate Solomon was able to read the orders I took from one of the orcs. They've been hired by Yowler, the leader of the gnolls to help attack Redridge, but the orders don't say why. I found something interesting in the cave here, in the possession of the gnoll tribe's shaman.

Apparently, this thing lets you mind control ettins. I bet one of those big guys could lift the rock right off the trapped worker. I'm going to find one, and see if this orb actually works.

How about that. It worked. With that out of the way, I returned to the gnoll encampment, to see if I could find this Yowler, and put an end to whatever he has planned.

I think I found the plans, but I can't read this orc gibberish, so I took it back to the Magistrate. It was worse than we could have imagined - the orcs and gnolls are amassing an army, and are planning on storming right through Lakeshire for a direct assault on Stormwind. The attack on Northshire was probably an advance unit, and when it was stopped, they found a different route - Redridge.

Magistrate Solomon seems convinced that we're all doomed, but Colonel Troteman, a retired officer who lives here, seems convinced that one of his former soldiers could lead a successful assault on the orcs - if I can convince him to take up arms again.

Defying the Defias

As we expected, the meeting was led by the shadowy figure I've been seeing around Westfall.

She was rallying the homeless to rise up and revolt against Stormwind, blaming the king for all the hardship they've been enduring. Judging from the crowd's reaction, they're more than happy to help her. I rushed back to Captain Alpert to report my findings.

He wants me to go talk to a shaman who's been studying the elemental disturbances around Westfall. The Captain thinks that he may be able to magically help me find out who the shadowy figure is. Thoralius, the shaman wants to put me into a trance that will send me to the spirit world. From there, I may be able to find what I need to know. He says that all I need to do is breathe the smoke from this incense.

It smells pretty bad. I think it's poop.

In the spirit realm, I was shown a scene from the past: A group of adventurers fighting and killing Edwin VanCleef.

And after they left victorious, his daughter came out of the cabin and discovered his murdered body.

I hurried back to Sentinel Hill to report back to Marshal Stoutmantle. I don't think that anyone was more surprised than he was when Hope Saldean interrupted my report and revealed that, before she was adopted, her name was Vanessa VanCleef! She admitted to being the one who had the Furlbrows killed, because they recognized her, even after so many years, and she couldn't risk them revealing her. She looked truly sad as she told us that, but her features quickly hardened as she called in a swarm of Defias, and ordered them to tie up the Marshal and his men and burn Sentinel Hill to the ground.

Before he was captured, Marshal Stoutmantle cut down the men who had grabbed me, and ordered me to take word to the king. I quickly mounted one of the gryphons and made my way to Stormwind.

I hope the Marshall and his men can make it out of there alive.

On the King's orders, I returned to Westfall after completing my report. I was to enter the Deadmines, and eliminate Vanessa VanCleef and her minions.

Sentinel Hill

I arrived at Sentinel Hill in the middle of a battle! Gnolls were attacking the outpost, and I leapt to the guards' aid as soon as I arrived. On one of their bodies, I found a set of written orders, telling the gnolls that they'd be well paid for the sacking of Sentinel Hill, and the release of "The Admiral".

Marshal Stoutmantle didn't know who this Admiral is supposed to be. There's only one captive here right now, and that's some homeless worgen that was caught attacking the transients around the walls.

We tried interrogating him to see if he had any idea who the gnolls were trying to rescue, but he was completely unhelpful. And rude.

The orders were sent by some goblin named Helix. It turns out that there's an SI:7 agent in Westfall trying to track him down. I've been sent to rendezvous with her, and maybe together, we'll be able to capture Helix!

Agent Kearnen sent me up into the tower with an invisibility potion to see if I could overhear what Helix was up to. I don't really know what's going on, but he was meeting with the same person who recruited the ogre mage earlier!

They're doing something in Moonbrook - tonight! Agent Kearnen has sent me to report to Marshal Stoutmantle, and to get new orders.

Marshal Stoutmantle wanted me report to Captain Alpert in Moonbrook, but before I did, I took a moment to talk to Hope Saldean. She'd heard about what happened to the Furlbrows, but didn't know what might have happened to them. Like many of the people around Westfall, she seemed happy to blame all their troubles on Stormwind, though.

Once I arrived in Moonbrook, I was sent off to find any information I could on when and where this meeting was supposed to occur. While poking around, I was set upon by bandits wearing red facemasks - made of the same red cloth I found on the gnolls near where the Furlbrows were murdered! Maybe the two are connected!

I did find out where the meeting was, and reported to Captain Alpert. The red masks confused him - he said that that used to be the symbol of the Defias, a gang that used to operate in Westfall. But they've broke up years ago, when their leader was killed. Maybe someone's trying to get them back together?

I guess I'll find out soon. In a few hours, I'll be sneaking into that meeting.

One Last Thing Before You Go...

I arrived back in Goldshire to another task awaiting me: There's been a request for help sent in from Sentinel Hill in Westfall, and I've been dispatched to help them out. It's late though, so I get to spend one last night at the inn here before moving on.

On the way to Westfall, I stopped at the garrison at the edge of Elwynn Forest, where the Deputy in charge hailed me to warn me to keep an eye out for gnolls; apparently, some of them have been crossing the river into Elwynn. There was also a bounty posted for their leader, a huge gnoll named Hogger.

Huge, indeed.

I managed to beat him into submission, and he was carted off to the Stockades in Stormwind. I'm not sure why he wasn't just executed. It's not like any of the other bandits are ever locked up; most of them are just killed on sight.

It looks like whatever's going on at Sentinel Hill will have to wait though. When I crossed the bridge, I met up with an investigator team of the Stormwind Guard. Their lieutenant recognized me as a deputy Warden from the badge I'd been given, and conscripted me to help with his investigation - the murder of two Westfall citizens and their horse, in broad daylight.

My first task was to interrogate the squatters on the nearby farm to see if any had seen anything. One claimed that a group of gnolls had been seen around the crime scene just before the investigators arrived, and another claimed that the Furlbrows had been murdered as part of a complex conspiracy hatched by the murlocs. I imagine that the gnolls were just scavenging the wreckage of the cart, and the murlocs... well, I think that guy might have been kicked in the head by a horse. But Lieutenant Laine sent me to find any clues I might be able to find. Yay. More murloc slime.

Neither of those leads turned up anything useful - just some red cloth, and some scraps of anti-Stormwind propoganda - so I've been sent to talk to an informant of Laine's, to see if he can help us track anything down.

It turned out that "Two-Shoes" didn't know anything useful, but he did know that something was going on in a nearby abandoned mine soon, so I went to see if I could find out anything useful.

I'm not sure I learned anything relevant, but someone in Westfall is recruiting ogres. That can't be good.

Two-Shoes also told me that some thugs started hanging out near the farm he's been squatting at, and they seem more organized. Like part of a gang. Now that might have something to do with what's going on here.

Good news: I heard them admit to killing the Furlbrows.

Bad news: They saw me, and I was forced to kill them in self-defense before I could figure out who they were working for.

Lieutenant Laine wants me to go talk to some farmer named Saldean in hopes that he can shed some light on things. When I arrived at his farm, I discovered that Farmer Saldean doesn't seem to be very fond of Horatio Laine. I don't know why, and I'm not going to ask, but it seems like they've got some sort of history.

Talking to him reveals why the Lieutenant wanted me out here though - Farmer Saldean uses his farmhouse to help house as many of Westfall's drifters as he can. If anyone here knows anything, it would have to be him. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a dead end, but Salma, his wife, thinks that their adopted daughter Hope might have heard something.

Hope works with the homeless people around Sentinel Hill. Farmer Saldean has offered to let me sleep at his farmhouse tonight. It looks like in the morning, I'll be back on track.

Mrgrglrglgl!

Did you know that murlocs are covered in a thick layer of sticky, fishy-smelling slime? And if you hit one, that stuff goes flying everywhere. It's like every monster I fight tries its hardest to be even more disgusting than the one before.

Jasperlode wasn't even as difficult to deal with as Fargodeep was: there were just a handful of disorganized kobolds there. They didn't even have a leader, and most of them seemed more interested in leaving than trying to defend the mine from me. Near the back of the cave, I came across a few dead kobolds wrapped in some sort of sticky cords and stuck to the walls. Maybe that has something to do with it.

I stopped at a stream I passed and cleaned off some of the murloc slime, and by the time I reached Guard Thomas, I had mostly dried off, but judging from the look he gave me, I imagine that I hadn't rid myself of the smell. He quickly informed me that there was another nearby village of murlocs that needed to be dealt with, and that there were a number of wild animals - mostly wolves and bears - getting too close to the logging camp, and told me to be off. As I was leaving, he told me to keep an eye out for the two guards he'd sent out yesterday to deal with the murlocs and wildlife, and have them report back if I found them.

I saw my first wanted poster! It was posted beside the bridge Thomas was stationed at. This James Clark character is wanted for so many things that Stormwind has placed a bounty on him - dead, with no "or alive" option.

I found James squatting in an unoccupied house in the Eastvale Logging Camp. On him I found evidence that he was working with local bandits. So when I turned in the bounty on his head, guess what? That's right. I was asked to drive out as many of them as I could, and if possible, find out who their leader is working for.

The bears and murlocs - I don't know how much of this is me, and how much is the enchantments on the gear I was given, but it seems like I'm getting better at this all the time. I found both of the missing guards. Or at least, I think so. One was in the murloc village, and the other near a wolf den. Both were mutilated beyond recognition. It was only because they were wearing Stormwind uniforms that I bothered to search them, and I found the insignia of the missing guards on the bodies.

The bandits seemed the worst of all. Marshal McCree recognized the insignia on the ring I brought back from their leader. He said that it was associated with the Defias, a criminal organization that I thought was wiped out years ago. Why would people be carrying around their symbols?

You no take candle!

On returning to Goldshire, I got my first real task. There are reports of kobolds overrunning the nearby Fargodeep Mine, and I've been sent to clear them out.

Compared to the orcs that invaded Northshire, kobolds are little more than rats, and I was able to quickly clear them out. While I'm here, I might as well practice some of those skills I learned in Stormwind.

As I left, I was flagged down by the matron of the nearby Stonefeld Farm. It seems that their prize sow has gotten too big to handle, and has developed a bit of an aggressive streak. It's a shame that she has to be put down, but I imagine that the Stonefelds will be eating well for a couple weeks.

I was also able to recover some jewellery stolen from one of the Stonefelds by the kobold leader.

One of the farmers in Northshire used to joke that the reward for a job well done is more work. I understand what he meant by that now. When I got back to Marshal Dughan, he didn't even thank me, he just told me that there are more kobolds in the Jasperlode Mine, and since I did such a good job at Fargodeep, he'd appreciate it if I could look into Jasperlode as well, and report my findings to Guard Thomas near the logging camp out there. Oh, and on your way past, could you do something about the murlocs in Crystal Lake?

Well, I guess this is what I had asked for, isn't it? I'm not so sure it's what I expected though.

The Big City

While there was nothing happening in Goldshire that was pressing enough that I was needed immediately yesterday, that doesn't mean that they don't have their problems. Bandits prowl Elwynn Forest, and Goldshire's guards need to be equipped in order to protect the citizens.

I didn't really expect my first job as a newly deputized Marshal to be "Take this order to Stormwind and bring back a shipment of armor." But... since I'll get to fly on a gryphon  for the first time ever, I think this might not be too bad.

I'm also going to have time to wander around Stormwind by myself while waiting for the order to be put together! I've only been there once, and that was years ago, and my parents wouldn't let me out of their sight, so I didn't get to do anything while we were there.

I visited every store I could find, and learned a few skills that should help me. But I didn't buy any equipment. I didn't need much, and even if I did, I didn't have much left after adopting this guy.

But now, the shipment's ready, and I need to get it back to Argus in Goldshire.

To Goldshire... And Beyond!

The courier arrived in the afternoon, a few hours after we'd finished dragging all the orc bodies into a big pile away from town. The bonfire of their corpses was still burning when he arrived, but at least I'd had a chance to clean off all the gore and smoke from the raid.

He was driving one of those gnomish choppers, with the thing on the side for a passenger, but he had this huge crate in it instead. He helped me unload and open it as he introduced himself.

The first thing on top was this little box with big red letters on it that said FRAGILE. It had this weird little thing inside with buttons and lenses all over it. Frank - he's the courier - explained that the gnomes called it a "S.E.L.F.I.E. Camera", and that it was for making pictures without having to draw or paint them. He showed me how to work it, and I gave it a try.

The next thing in the crate was a sword. It looked pretty normal, until I picked it up.

Oh, My, GOD.

Flaming Sword!

And of course, under that was the suit of armor.

Um. Yeah. It's great armor, but... ugly.

I hear that there are these guys in Stormwind that can change how armor looks. I'll have to look them up when I get a chance.

Once I had all that out, I noticed that there was a key stuck to the inside of the crate with a ball of wax. When Frank saw me pull it loose, he explained that it was the key for the chopper he was driving! He's been hired to drive me around and teach me how to use it, and once he's confident in my ability to handle it, I get to keep it!

As I was heading home to say goodbye and gather up the last of my supplies, Marshal McBride flagged me down. Apparently, he was so impressed with how I handled myself that he was deputizing me into the Stormwind Marshals! I'm supposed to report to Marshal Dughan in Goldshire for my next duties. When we arrived though, the Marshal informed me that all was quiet for now, but the Darkmoon Faire is in town, so he told me I should go check it out, and then enjoy a free stay in the local inn afterwards. I guess being a deputy has some perks.

Assault on Northshire

Well, I must have fallen asleep last night, because I woke up this morning to the sound of the church bell. Which was weird, because today isn't a church day.

There was a lot of shouting, too, so I threw on some clothes and rushed outside to see what was going on. The Marshal was outside the church, yelling orders at everyone. When I asked him what was going on, he shouted "Orcs! Get yourself to safety, girl!" I don't know if he noticed the look I gave him, but after a pause, he added "If you think you can help out, grab a sword from the rack, and go clear out some of those orcs and their wolves."

The only sword left was almost as tall as I am. I certainly hope that the one my cousin sends is a little more my size.

I must have handled myself well enough, because I killed several orcs myself, and by the time I was done, I had been called on to help with a group of goblins that had snuck in the back, and to help recover any survivors that had fallen from the surprise attack.

Once the attackers were routed, everyone that was still fighting fit reported back to the Marshal, just in time for us to see one of the hands from the vineyard across the creek to come running up.

She was dripping wet, as if she'd come straight across the creek, rather than detouring to the bridge, and where she wasn't soaked, she was covered in soot.

She told us that the orcs' leader had brought forces into the vineyard, and they were torching the fields! They must have already set almost everything on fire, because we could see the glow of the fire, even through the trees between. We were told to grab whatever we could find to put out the fires, to kill any orcs we found while over there, and to kill their leader in hopes that that would break the morale of any orcs left.

Fighting that close to what's practically a bonfire is harder than you'd think. But we did it! We found and killed their leader, put out the fires, and drove off the rest of the orcs.

I don't think that they'll be able to harvest anything this year, and it'll take months to repair all the damage to the buildings.

Maybe I shouldn't have complained about Northshire being boring. Bored is better than all the people who were injured. Or killed.

The Adventure Begins

You know where the most boring place in Azeroth is?

Northshire Valley.

There's the Abbey and a vineyard. That's it, other than a big wall that keeps anything interesting out.

You know where I grew up?

Guesses that aren't "Northshire Valley" don't count.

You know what isn't boring?

Adventuring.

I've got a cousin in Stormwind. He's a Paladin, and he's spent years saving towns and doing secret missions for the king and slaying evil overlords!

Yeah, he's kind of stuffy with all his "Light this" and "Light that" and "King's honor", but when he visits, he's always got the most amazing stories about the old days.

I wrote him a letter a couple weeks ago. I told him that I want to go adventuring too, so that I can help people like he did. He knows blacksmiths in Ironforge, and I asked him if he could get some armor made for me, and I'd pay him back once I'd collected some bounties. There's always some bandit leader or something that the authorities want brought in.

Well, I got a letter back, and at first I thought he wasn't going to help me, because he was going on about how he would feel terrible if anything happened to me because he allowed me to put myself in a dangerous situation. But then he said that there are people who owe him favors that he'll never need for himself,  so he's going to have the best weapons and armor made especially for me! And he's even going to have them enchanted by a mage he knows!

He also said something about a special surprise that he's having commissioned by some gnomes he knows. I don't know if I should be excited or scared. At least he didn't say goblins...

I got another letter from him today. He said that everything has arrived, and he's hiring a courier to bring it out. It should arrive tomorrow! I'm so excited, I probably won't sleep.