Dec 25, 2009

Arien and Alanon - Underbog

As promised (sort of), here's a quick story of when Alanon came to help Arien find a couple lost druids in the Underbog. We did most of it in character, though this was before I got my chatlogger addon, so I wrote it afterward from memory. It happens right after this. (Also, please forgive the rather rushed editing job. :P)


Shortly after noon, Arien met Alanon at the draenei post of Telredor. The druid and paladin set off. They soon reached the mass of pipes in Coilfang Reservoir, marking the drain-entrance, and Arien slid off Snow's back into the water. Alanon dropped out of his bird form and splashed in with her, where he promptly turned into a sea lion. Arien was a bit startled, but quickly got used to it, and even thought to herself that it was almost rather cute. They swam quickly, and soon were through the water-filled tunnel, entering a large cavern. There they found the contact for the missing scouts, Watcher Jhang, kneeling on the shore holding her leg. "I twisted my ankle, or else I would be with the others. Don't worry about me, the others are in trouble. Can you please go find them?" she pleaded. "Rayge and Claw are somewhere in the Underbog, and Bite and Greenthumb got lost in the Slave Pens." They agreed, though Arien hated to leave the scout without healing, even for a simple twisted ankle. They slipped down one of the huge branching tunnels into a place the scout had called the Underbog. Aggressive sporebats greeted them, and Alanon quickly changed to a bear and charged them. Arien gave him a moment to grab the attention of all of them, then came up behind and began swinging her axe. With just two of them, and Alanon being very skilled at this kind of thing, Arien felt more comfortable helping him to bring their enemies down, rather than just sitting back and healing him. They progressed relatively quickly through the damp muggy caves, to the point where Alanon mentioned that they made a good team. Arien felt a small flush of warmth at that, and agreed.

After a while, they left the crude tunnels full of sporebats and elementals, and found some constructions rough-made of metal. Arien felt a very different flush at the familiar sight, this time of anger. Sure enough, a pair of naga guards came down the narrow ramp, where Alanon surprised them and, with Arien's help, quickly dispatched them. As they stepped past the bodies, Arien quietly grunted in disgust. "Hm? You ok?" Alanon asked. "Yea," she replied. "Just hate nagas." She wondered briefly what he would think, of a paladin admitting to hating something, but he just shrugged and went on. As they fought on through the hallway, they found a huge room, with a ramp leading to a platform with a enormous hydra. Alanon and Arien looked at each other, and Alanon switched to bear form. They charged the 'guard dog', Alanon giving Arien a warning to watch out for it's tail. She quickly discovered that the creature gave off a toxic sort of aura, which was making her too nauseated to fight, so she backed off and worked on just keeping Alanon healed. The aura didn't seem to bother him, and the thing was quickly dead.

They both moved to the edge of the platform afterward. Arien looked down at the water below, then glanced back at Alanon. "Guess we're jumping?" she asked. He nodded, and they both plunged in. The drop wasn't as bad as it looked, and Arien got a surprise when she hit the water. It was warm, almost hot. Alanon shifted into a sea lion, and lead her to the small niche in the surrounding wall that allowed them to climb out. From there it was another drop, into more of the crude tunnels. Different creatures lurked there, vicious nether rays and huge glowing insects. Arien was kept busy, using the Light to cleanse the bugs' poisonous spit, as well as helping out with her axe. At the end of the first stretch of tunnel, Alanon, in bear form, suddenly stopped and started sniffing the air. Arien heard a faint rustle almost immediately after, and slowly moved to investigate. She jumped and almost tripped over herself when a Night Elf suddenly appeared right in front of her. It was one of the missing scouts, Rayge, and he thanked them profusely for clearing the monsters out of his escape route. He too was slightly injured, but assured them that he was only resting before healing himself and escaping. He had a warning before they left him and continued, however. "There is a hunter up ahead, and he has somehow managed to trap my comrade Claw in his bear form, and is treating him like a pet!" he told them indignantly. "I'm afraid you might have to fight Claw in order to free him." The druid and paladin nodded to him, promised to be careful, and continued.

Down a few more bends of the tunnel, they found the pair. A broken hunter was sitting by a small fire, with a large bear with the typical markings that druids have on his shoulders and face. The smallish horns he sported marked him as a tauren, but druids held themselves mostly apart from the Alliance/Horde squabbles, and Alanon and Arien had no hesitation about helping him. "He's in the wrong shape for me to hold him still much," Arien whispered, as they tried to figure how to not hurt the bear. Alanon looked unhappy, but all he could say was, "We'll just have to try not to beat him up too much." She nodded, Alanon shifted again, and he trotted out to challenge the hunter. It called the bear to attack them at once, and Arien had to pull back her axe-swing more than once to avoid him, but after a long, dancing battle, the hunter fell. The bear continued his attack, however, and finally the two were forced to fight back to defend themselves. Before too long, the bear's angry red eyes seemed to clear, and he suddenly broke off his attack. He stood panting for a few seconds, then shifted into his tauren form and walked to the campfire, plopping down next to it, still looking confused. Arien slowly approached, Alanon right behind her, and she told him about his friend they had already discovered, as well as the two still unaccounted for. Alanon looked him over for any major injuries, as he thought for a moment. "Well, now that I'm free of that hunter, I can get out of here fine. Perhaps I will collect my companion on the way out," the tauren finally decided. Alanon nodded, having found nothing more serious than some small cuts and bruises, and the two of them continued, hearing some strange noises ahead.

Around another bend in the tunnel, Arien noticed some dark shapes on the ground. As they neared, she saw they were more nether rays, dead. She shuddered a bit at the sight of so many, and Alanon, a bear once again, remarked wryly, "You should be glad you can't smell as well as me right now." They turned the last corner, and saw a huge, strange creature moving about the piles of ray bodies. It was similar to the tall marsh walkers that roamed the waterways of the marsh, but much bigger, and solid black. It made low hissing noises as it fed on several of the half-rotted rays, and Arien began feeling slightly ill, watching it. Alanon was looking at her, and seemed to pick up on it. "Let's get it," he growled. She nodded and tightened her grip on her axe. Once again Alanon led, Arien letting him grab the monster's attention. As she moved in to join the battle though, it started casting magic, throwing chains of lightning around the cavern. Arien got too close on one blast, and was knocked back, lightning crackling around her hands as she stood back up. She stayed back after that, throwing healing spells on Alanon, and as the creature weakened, she called a hammer made of holy energy and threw it as hard as she could. The monster fell, leaving a small opening in the back of the cave clear. Bear-Alanon backed a few steps from the body and sat down, breathing hard, and Arien came up beside him, checking to see if he needed more healing. He was fine, though, if slightly out of breath, and they went to inspect the small doorway, finding it dropped into the same tunnel they had started from. They both looked at each other and shook their heads. "How convenient," Alanon said, with an ironic tone. They dropped down together, and wearily backtracked to the entrance.

+ + +

The two of them sat around in the instance for a while afterwards, chatting and such, but I'm gonna end the story there, because I don't have the entire dialog, and I don't want to wind up forgetting anything important. Hope you enjoyed it!

And now to go finish setting up my new laptop that I just got for Christmas. :D
Hope everyone else had a good holiday! /Waves

Dec 23, 2009

Two More Days...

I can hardly believe it's almost Christmas. Time is going by so darn fast. I'm a little excited, because I asked for a new computer, since getting one on my own will take a few years at the rate I'm going. Honestly though, between my cold and being worn out from work most of the time, it's been kind of hard to get into the holiday this year.

... Aaaaand, I had a point when I started this post, but it seems my brain is still not working properly. Darn cold.

I did at least accomplish a thing or two over my sick time:


Kel has a fawn! She was stuck at 74 pets for a while, then my OCD kicked in and I tracked down the darting hatchling nest. /Win.









This was a very cute ending to a nice night of RP'ing. Druid kitty rainbow FTW!
Except apparently Takani wasn't there for the shot, so we're missing the white version.

And that's all for now. I am feeling a little better, so I may be posting a new story or something soon. Anna's last post has me thinking about something me and my sister did with our characters running Underbog, which I wrote out. I'm not very happy with the ending, but I seem to fail at writing dialogue. Oh well.
/Waves

Dec 20, 2009

So...

I mentioned a couple posts ago that I was starting to get a cold. I definately have one now. So don't expect anything here for a while, til I get over this. :( I'm sorry, I don't deal with being sick very well.

/waves

Dec 18, 2009

Guess What?



It is snowing in Virginia. I can't remember the last time this happened before January, at the earliest. Maybe some occasional flurries that melted instantly, but now we have a couple inches and it's still coming down. Can we say, white Christmas? :D

I usually hate winter, because I have a really low tolerance for the cold. However, I really love snow. So I'm kind of having a ball right now. It is soooo pretty outside right now. I just hope the road crews don't clear it til it's too late to go to my work-shift-on-my-day-off tomorrow. (I almost feel bad thinking that >.<)

People in Virginia are funny. Work was crazy today, because everyone heard the word 'snow' in the weather forecast, which of course means the world is ending. /rolleyes
So everybody and their cousin were at the grocery store, buying all the bread/milk/what have you, and making the checkout lines ridiculously long. Hooray for my short shift today. :P

I wish I had some pics, but my camera's batteries died, and I have no idea where the charger is, or if I even have it. :( Oh well, maybe my sis will post some on her blog.

Now to hop on WoW and take some random toon through a bunch of heroics. >:)
/waves

P.S.-most of the random silly/cute pics here are brought to you by the most awesome website in existence, icanhazcheezburger.com . Definately go check it out sometime, if you haven't already. :D

More Updates and Thoughts

Because we need a happier post now.

First, I'm starting to think I'm getting a cold. Not sure yet though. Been having a stuffy/runny nose off and on for a while now, and today my throat is starting to hurt. It could all be weather related, though.. (I really don't like winter)

Second, I still love the new LFG tool. Windstar has 2 peices of t9, all from badges. Working on a new ring next. She is So Very Over-Hit-Capped though, argh. WTT hit rating for some expertise and ArPen. And need a new trinket. :P And then need to work on her healing gear. :\

Also, Star has done the entire new ICC trio, and it was AWESOME. Halls of Reflection especially. Running from Arthas was epic. At one point (third ice wall, I think?), we were killing the adds, and I noticed him almost right on top of us. I actually got scared for a second. Yes, I am a nerd. She got the Orca Hunter's Harpoon too, 'cause the hunter in the group had better already. It was over 100 more AP, in cat form, un- gemmed/enchanted. O.O (She had the staff from the Argent Tourney vendors.)

I need to run the entire thing with Arien. ICly if possible.. >.> With sis on Alanon, of course. I did get as far as the start of HoR with a guild group, but my friend on his shammy healer was starting to fall asleep by then, so we called it there. :P

Windstar is also getting her reputations done, which will be a first. :P My other level 80s, who I've played more than her, still haven't gotten all the WotLK reps done (although Kel is close). I'm such a slacker...

She's also almost at 300 fishing. Did I mention I'm a slacker?

I am missing my pally again, so sometime in the next day or so I might spend some time on Gilneas and just run heroics on her. And abuse her mote extractor, since it will be harder for my other toons to get eternals without Arien. Although my DK is a transmute-spec alchemist...

And I think there was more, but I'm falling asleep over my keyboard now. Must try to catch up on sleep, especially after I let myself get suckered into going in to work a few hours on Saturday, which was a day off. :(

I will end with one more thing Star has accomplished. Screenies are worth way more than words, so here ya go:


Goodnight! /waves

Dec 16, 2009

So, I was making a post in my head ...

...and then I read something that knocked it right the flip out.

First of all, let me warn anyone reading this, I got about 2 hours of sleep last night, and it is currently 3:30 a.m., and I am mostly brain-dead right now. However, I consider this to be important enough to let sleep wait just a little longer.

A very good friend is having some problems. I'm not sure exactly what started it, and I don't want to point anything out, because it just seems rather private. In fact, I really hope my friend will talk to me, in game or something, about this soon, so I can figure out if I did something wrong, what it was, and we can fix it.

......

And honestly? I can't even think of anything to say, that doesn't sound like emo whining, so I'm not even going to try. I will simply say that I am having too many RL issues of my own to deal with, and lack of sleep only makes it worse. I'm sorry I'm not a mind reader, I don't know something is wrong if no one will talk to me. :(

Dec 12, 2009

3.3 for me so far

Because everyone else is making notes about the patch, so I might as well join the club, amirite?

Well, so far I've only been doing stuff on Windstar, so I havent really tried out the hunter changes. Tried the new LFG on my troll Rajji last night, but wound up in herioc Old Kingdom, which hates me, and the tank abandoned the group on the first wipe. Which lead to the group falling apart. Not a good start for him. :( He is starting to camp for the new spirit beast bear though... >.>

Windstar, on the other hand, is having a ball. She has even gotten to run with a few friends. I'm almost always healing, but she did get to go kitty for a couple runs. Druid tree healing is fun, anyways, so I don't mind. The single bad experience I've had was last night, and it wasn't really anyone's fault. The LFG thingy was under the illusion that my gear level was good enough for the new Forge of Souls, heroic version. I have been avoiding the place, because no one wants to run the regular version, and I knew I couldn't handle it on heroic. I was proven correct. :P Although, some really nice caster bracers dropped, not sure if we had killed anyone special or if it was just a random drop for the instance. Then I got a bit of a '/facepalm /lol' moment when the warlock in the group complained that she couldn't roll 'need' on them. I had to point out that they were leather. /Sigh.

Nothing much to report RP-wise. Everyone has been running the new instances, and a lot of old ones, so there hasn't been much. I may spend the day on Gilneas, since a lot of my toons there are only short by a few badges to get some shiny upgrades, and I have been missing playing Kel lately. Have to see how long I can stay away from the crazy OOC chat that goes on on Feathermoon. /evil grin (<3 those guys)

And that's all I can think of for now. /waves

Dec 11, 2009

Tad - Keenath



Tad trotted his saber Fog towards the Dwarven District, heading straight to the stable master. Once he arrived and dismounted, total havoc broke loose. He was suddenly fending off 600 pounds of happy bear, while Aubri fanned the air around his head, making a brisk breeze. Skan looked at his 'brothers' in amazement, then padded into the shaded area, towards the water trough. Once Treyvan finally settled, Tad was able to look around for his oldest friend. As if summoned, the big wolf slowly climbed to his feet and walked over to his master. "Keenath, how're you holding up, m'boy?" Tad crooned to him affectionately, as he recieved a thorough face-wash. Keenath whined quietly, almost as if answering his master. Tad noticed him still favoring his right hind leg, and frowned. "Ok, I'm getting Star to look at you as soon as possible," he muttered, giving his wolf a gentle, thorough scratching.

- - - -

Windstar straightened, stretching, and looked at her brother, the eagerness on his face making her heart ache. She would never lie to him, however, no matter how much he would not like to hear what she said. "I'm so sorry, Tad, but I can't find anything wrong with him. He's just getting old." Her twin frowned, forehead crinkling in worry as he looked down at his very first companion. Keenath whined and wagged his tail, as if he knew what was going on, and was trying to apologize for the trouble he was causing. Tad knelt next to the wolf, catching his head in a rough carress. Star bit her lip as she watched them, wishing her nature affinity could help, but knowing that this was something that nothing could heal. Finally she just knelt next to her brother, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. He laid one hand on top of it, and smiled up at her, though there was still worry in his eyes. "Thanks for at least trying, Star. It'll be okay. I'll be okay." He squeezed her hand, and she smiled back, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before rising and heading towards the harbor, shifting to cat form as she went.

Worry still lurked in the back of her mind, however, and Star doubted that Northrend was going to offer any sort of comfort to her. Her thoughts went back to the group of misfits she called friends, a certain few in particular, and she hoped she might run into a couple of them up North, however unlikely it might be. She could really use an ear rub and a few friendly words right about now.

- - - -
So, poor Star is worried about her brother now. Plus my very bad timing with getting into groups for instances has kept me out of RP a lot lately, so she's not socializing as much as she's accustomed to. Lonely Star is lonely.

One other minor thing, that she's just now realizing. There's a bit of romance going around with the Riders and Co., you can read about it here. Now on one hand, Star considers Aely and Arrens to be among her best friends, and she thinks they are really cute together. On the other hand, seeing people she cares about pairing up makes her realize how alone she is most of the time. And her other favorite person, Feliche, has been MIA while he levels an alt. And on top of all that, there's been a strange druid (sis's recently transfered Pitchblack) hanging around, picking arguments with her friends and taking up the attention of her 'little sister', Shaurria. So, for a while at least, Star is going to be a bit out of sorts, and a major cuddle-kitty with anyone willing to give her attention.

That's pretty much it for now. Off to run heroics till I drop. :D
/Waves

Dec 10, 2009

Very Quick Update

..Because I really should be sleeping. :(


Star isn't very happy. It is totally her player's fault, too. Lack of sleep makes me depressed. Long term lack of sleep makes me want to go hide in a deep hole and never come out again. Long term lack of sleep + a work shift full of massive amounts of pain = 'o someone please just shoot me now'.

So, just so I don't have to pretend that my kitty is happy, when I really want to go lay down and die (not really, but close), I'm working on a bit of story line. It makes me sad, because it involves my little hunter Tadrith and one of his best friends. To make it short, his wolf Keenath is getting old. Windstar has been trying to help, but she can't do anything about simple old age. She has her own issues as well, but I'll get into that later. So, next post will hopefully be a story about that, and sometime in the near future, Tad will have another stable slot to fill, probably with another cat. Yes, as far as hunter pets go, I think I qualify as a crazy cat lady. :P

It is slightly annoying, but I just can't keep interested in wolf pets. No idea why. Kel has tamed several, and let them all go, my Belf Kerowyn had one, my orc Treng has one, but I haven't had him out of the stable in ages. I really love wolves, in-game and irl, but I just keep getting bored with them. So, Tad will be taming a lynx, because I love the model, and my one hunter alt that has one? Hasn't been played in months.

So, that's all for now, must go pass out before my headache gets worse. Goodnight!
/waves

Dec 9, 2009

I draw stuff

Well, sketch might be more accurate. Mostly horses, though I have been experimenting with WoW stuff. So, here's a couple samples:

Windstar headshot-



My tauren druid Bearkat-


Totally random cat sketch, just for kicks-


And a couple of my favorite horse drawings-










I used to draw horses at my last job, whenever I was bored and had scrap paper handy. Random customers would compliment me a lot. Personally, I know I'm far from perfect, but I do enjoy it. I would totally welcome any opinions/suggestions anyone would like to make. Just be nice? I have a very small, fragile ego. :P

Also, a couple more random youtube music videos, for anyone interested. I finally found a couple versions of my favorite Red song. :D

And here's a few more of my favorites.

Yes, I do like a lot of random stuff, and most of it is metal. Also, decent music videos can be hard to find on youtube. :(

And now I've stayed up way too late again :(
Sleep time! /Waves

Dec 4, 2009

Arien and the Scythe of Elune

(This is a story I wrote while going through the Scythe of Elune quest chain, that starts in Forest Song in Ashenvale. Some of it, like npc chat and such, is written from the actual quest text. Enjoy!)


Arien slipped down the path, trying to be as silent as possible while wearing chainmail armor and carrying a huge axe. The sinister shadows around her seemed oblivious to her presence, but there was no telling how long that would last. Sentinel Frostshadow had asked her to come explore the hidden shrine near the border to Felwood. The mysterious wolf-men that had invaded the tiny vale were making it difficult to reach the book that the Sentinel wanted Arien to inspect, however. Finally the inevitable discovery; a worgen smelled her and made a fierce, charging attack. Arien met it head-on, blocking its claws with her axe handle, then bringing her weapon around in a smooth arc that nearly cut the thing in half. It fell, twitching, and she looked around to see if any more were coming.Fortunately, none of the other creatures seemed to have noticed. She resumed her sneaking, and only had to deal with two more of the monsters, one at a time, before finally reaching the tome. She noticed, as she aproached the pedestal it sat upon, that it was remarkably well-preserved for being out in the weather as it was. She reached a hand to open the cover, and as she touched it, suddenly light came spilling out of the book. A tiny, flickering figure appeared, floating just above the pages, and spoke:

"The numbers of my companions dwindles, goddess, and my own power shall soon be insufficient to hold back the demons of Felwood.
"Goddess, grant me the power to overcome my enemies! Hear me, please, my need is desperate and my cause is just!
"What... what is this? Could this be the answer to my prayers? Elune has granted me a weapon--this scythe--to defeat the demons."

The ghost's voice was faint but clear. Arien's jaw dropped at her appearance. Sentinel Frostshadow had warned Arien that the Tome of Mel'Thandris was not a normal book, and now the paladin understood. But what had triggered the memory, and how had it been preserved inside this tome? She shook her head slightly, puzzled, and prepared to escape the shrine.

Arien quickly looked around. The nearest wolf-men had amazingly not noticed the tome's display, so she started slowly sneaking back towards the path, taking the same route as she had entering. She reached the little trail without incident, and prayed a quick 'thank you' to the Light, quickly leaving the cursed vale behind. Once back on the road, she called her warhorse, mounted, and rode back to Forest Song as fast as Faithful could run.

The Sentinel was shocked at Arien's report. "That was priestess Velinde Starsong, my predecessor!" she exclaimed. "She seemed to have the situation in Felwood under control, but then one day she just disappeared. I was sent to continue her work here, but I'm afraid I know nothing about her." Sentinel Frostshadow thought for a moment. "Perhaps a commander of the Sentinels might have some information they didn't tell me. Go see Thyn'tel Bladeweaver, in Darnassus. Surely she will understand the need for such information." Arien wasn't as certain as the sentinel that a ranking officer would reveal anything to a stranger, but she suposed it was worth asking about it.

A short hippogryph ride later, Arien stood in the Warrior's Terrace of Darnassus. Commander Bladeweaver stared at the paladin for a moment. "It is common knowledge that Priestess Starsong disappeared some time ago. As to further details of her departure ... it would take a very good reason for me to devulge such information." Arien supressed a sigh, then reported her incident with the Tome. Bladeweaver's eyes widened. "The Tome of Mel'Thandris showed you this? Well then, I supose there is no harm in allowing you to examine her belongings." She handed Arien a key, then gave directions to the bunkhouse where Starsong's belongings were kept. "I should tell you, the Sentinels believe she had reasons for leaving, and expect her return at any time. She has done much to earn our trust." Arien nodded, and left for the bunkhouse.

She quickly found the room, and retreived a journal from the small chest inside. She was curious about what would make such a respected priestess just pack up and leave, so she opened the journal and began skimming through it. As she read, though, she began feeling a small chill of dread crawl up her spine.

"Elune has granted my wishes ... Holding the Scythe in my hands, I recieved a vision of chaos ... the Lords of Emerald Flame ... I was able to draw worgen into our world ... I have identified leaders in their packs, and given them command ... A pack is lost ... I begin to worry about the leaders ... The small authority I give them, they stretch to the limits ... Though I have not summoned additional worgen, their numbers continue to increase ... Ordered them to remain at the Shrine ... Reports of a wizard, named Arugal ... see what he knows ... I will travel to the port and book passage to the New World ..."

Arien closed the journal, her heart pounding and mind whirling. This explained the monsters' presence at the shrine, and fortunately the priestess had enough control that her orders to stay confined still held them. She thought for a moment about the wizard Velinde had mentioned, this Arugal. The name was disturbingly familiar, but she could not remember where or when she might have heard it. She finally decided to think more about it later; the Sentinel commander was waiting for her to return with any important information, and this certainly qualified. She tucked the book under her arm and strode quickly back to Warrior's Terrace.

Sentinel Bladeweaver skimmed through the journal with raised eyebrows. "It seems Velinde's disappeareance is more troubling than it appeared. Even still, I cannot believe she has come to a bad end. Perhaps we should make contact with her." She looked up at the paladin. "Arien, since you seem so interested, I would like your aid." Arien nodded, supressing another sigh. She was not so certain Velinde was still fine, but what else could she do? The Sentinel commander instructed her to go to Ratchet, the goblin port, and ask about the Priestess from the wharfmaster there.

Faithful trotted wearily into the town of Ratchet, and Arien gratefully slid off and tied him to the post by the inn. Stretching her legs, she slowly walked down the docks, towards the goblin that looked to be in charge. Dizzywig the Wharfmaster listened to Arien's discription, then quickly scanned through the papers in his hand, then moved to the stack nearby. "Human, eh? Don't see too many of your kind here." He rifled through paperwork for several minutes before suddenly looking up at her. "When exactly was this elf suposed to have been here?" With an apologetic grimace, Arien gave him the estimated time. "Oh, here we go, shoulda told me it was that long ago. Velinde, booked passage to Booty Bay on the Black Osprey. No other reports, so I assume she arrived safely. Not much else I can do for ya, but she did ask about overland travel on that side of the world, and I mentioned a caravan driver based in the Bay. Might be this Velinde traveled with him. Move along, now. I ain't got all day for ya."

Arien thanked the goblin, then strode down the dock to the shipmaster. She booked passage for herself and Faithful, and spent an hour or so caring for her horse, then waiting in the shade of the inn, before the boat was ready to sail. The next morning saw her was stepping off the boat in Booty Bay. She strode down the dock, and soon found a goblin that fit the wharfmaster's description. Ruzzgot looked at her suspiciously. "You don't look like someone with goods to ship, so either you're lookin' for work, which I ain't got, or you're talkin' to the wrong goblin. Which is it?" The nasty glint in his eye disappeared as Arien explained. "Guess I was wrong about you, and that don't happen every day. Just so happens I remember this Velinde you're lookin' for. Ain't every day a night elf priestess wants to travel with a caravan like my own. We split up on the way north, she was headin' for Darkshire. Wanted to see the clerk about some records, he might know somethin' useful. And be careful, the jungle can be deadly at the best of times." "Don't worry about me, I have been through worse before," she replied with a grin.

A long and uneventful ride later, and Arien was standing in the center of the town of Darkshire. It was appropriately named, the sky clouded and dark, the few trees leafless and dead-looking. It was altogether a rather depressing place, and Arien began having a faint feeling of dread again. She spotted the town hall and quickly trotted into it. Clerk Daltry was in the entryway, and was quite happy to answer Arien's questions. "With all the strange happenings these last few years, I've kept as good records of strangers as I can." he told her as he lead the way to the records room. "Never know when it might come in handy... though it usually isn't very pleasant when it does. Not that I'm suggesting anything about this Velinde you're looking for." He poked around in his records for a few minutes, with Arien standing behind him, trying to at least look patient. "No, I don't have any records of a Velinde Starsong staying here in Darkshire... though, I can hardly imagine a night elf priestess taking a room in the inn, if you take my meaning. Those wolf-men you mentioned though, that's something I've heard of. Just the other day, Calor came in with a string of their heads. He works for the Carevin family. Hunters of demons, undead, and other monsters. Jonathan is the head of the household, go speak to him."

Arien went to the house Daltry pointed out, and spoke to the man she found inside, who seemed very suspicious and slightly angry at her questions. "Dark times, these are," he muttered, with an odd accent. "And in such times an unknown stranger enters my home and asks of worgen... I'll ask no forgiveness for my suspicions, only answers. And answers, I will have." Arien was slightly taken aback, but she carefully explained her story, about the book and the mysterious wolf-men in Ashenvale, and the clues that had led her to Duskwood. He considered her for a long moment before answering. "Your story rings true... I don't understand your motives, but if your business here involves ridding the forrest of a number of worgen, then I can forgo understanding for the sake of results." Carevin then told her about a mine, to the south, that had been overrun with worgen. He then asked that she come share anything important she found. She agreed, then stood to leave. She paused at the door, though, and looked back at him. "As for understanding motives, sir, there is only one thing you need to keep in mind," she told him. At his inquiring look, she simply stated, "I am a paladin," and left.

Arien retrieved her mount from the innkeeper, and rode south, as the bell in the town hall began ringing the hour in dull, mournful clangs. A short ways out of town, she found a small dirt track branching off the road. She decided to follow it a ways, and soon was glad, as she spotted the dim shapes of several worgen in the gloom. She dismounted and tied Faithful, using a knot that would give out should too much pressure be put on it. The trained warhorse would come at her call, and she didn't want to leave him trapped, where worgen could come upon him unable to escape. She stayed in the trees, watching them for a few minutes, then checked her weapon. When she was certain everything was in order, she walked out at the edge of the tiny clearing. The gloom seemed to work in her favor, as nothing seemed to notice her at first. She slipped her way carefully though the worgen, trying to find single targets to fight against as she looked for the mine. They were nasty, vicious, dirty monsters, and after almost every fight, she would have to use the Light on her minor injuries, to cleanse them of infections that would have turned them serious, possibly fatal. Finally, she could see the entrance to the mine, but a small group of worgen were in her path. Arien took a deep breath, and called a challenge to the nearest, as she burned it with a blast of Light. As the entire pack of four rushed her, she consecrated the ground she stood on, burning their feet and distracting them just enough for her axe to find openings for deathblows. The last one fell before too long, and she took a moment to cleanse and heal her wounds, and to catch her breath. As she entered the mine tunnel, she saw the worgen inside were few, and sread out. Fighting her way through, she came to the end of the tunnel, and discovered a small mound of disturbed earth. As Arien inspected it, suddenly a pale light shone from it, and the same ghost as from the Shrine appeared, weeping.

"I have failed... I have failed in my duty... failed my people... The worgen run rampant, and the Scythe of my goddess is lost.
"This evil I have unleashed... In whose hand does the power my goddess granted to me now lie... By whose hand is it directed?"


Arien blinked a little, in shock. The priestess had lost the Scythe? The infestation of the Duskwood was now more understandable. The question now was, where had it gone? It suddenly hit her that Velinde was undoubtably dead, and she took a moment to pray for the spirit of the priestess she had never gotten to meet. She then looked about, back to the only escape from the cursed mine tunnel. More worgen had slunk into the mine, and she had to fight her way back out. Once outside of the tunnel, she whistled to her warhorse, who came trotting to her in a matter of a few minutes. She mounted quickly, and urged him around the edge of the clearing in front of the mine, avoiding the worgen scattered about. Once clear of the creatures, she kicked her horse into a full gallop, riding cross-country for the shortest route, jumping fences and a fallen tree. Back in town, she immediately went back to Carevin to tell him what she had seen.

"This is an interesting story you tell, Arien. We will do what we can to contain the worgens numbers in Duskwood. Already I have instructed Calor to make it his first priority." He smiled grimly. "We will rein in the worgen problem, have no worries. This evil your friend introduced to our woods will be contained, and I bear her no ill will." Arien nodded, and excused herself to go report what had happened to the Sentinels in Darnassus.

Another long ride, another boat trip, and Arien was standing once more in Darnassus, before the Commander Bladeweaver. She was tired, dusty, and still slightly damp from the sea-spray on her last boat trip. She told Bladeweaver all that had happened on the other continent, and then waited for further instructions.

Bladeweaver looked thoughtful for a moment. "So this is the fate of Velinde, is it? The high priestess will be disappointed to hear this, they were good friends before her disappearance. Still, the Scythe of Elune was surely granted as a boon from our goddess, and it is unsettling to me that it has fallen out of her servants' hands." She then looked rather sharply at Arien, whose eyebrows were slowly rising. "Another matter for another time, however. I owe you a great deal of thanks for all you have accomplished." Arien blinked in surprise. Was that a dismissal? Already the Commander was turning away to another Sentinel, listening to her reports from who-knows-where. Arien stood there in confusion for a moment, then, when they continued to ignore her, she shrugged to herself, turned and wandered back towards the path to the docks, and the boat. She had a sudden need to see Kal, and tell her about this strange adventure. Perhaps her friend would be able to explain some of the Sentinels' cold reactions. Whistling to Faithful once more, she swung onto his back and trotted to the portal leading to the coastal village.

Towards home.


Dec 3, 2009

Ding!!

Windstar is level 80, finally! Best part is: it was on a discovery in Storm peaks. The 4 quests I had to turn in at the time wound up being 117 xp short. :P

Now, normally I'm able to get a screenshot of the big moment. I have 4 other 80s, and I have pics of each one. However, this time, the Lag Monster decided to throw a monkey wrench in it. :(
I had been having odd lagspikes off and on all day, finally forcing me to close my Itunes (/sadface), plus Star was doing the Sons of Hodir questline, so it was switching her between normal birdy and great big, swimming-in-the-air, blue thing. The screenshot caught her in midchange, and the lag meant, well, see for yourselves :


/Sigh...
Oh well :(

So one leveling grind is over. Now to start on heroics so she can get Tad the heirloom bow and some shoulders.
She's gotten a start on gearing up, after getting invited to dps for a regular ToC run. She got new feral shoulders, belt, and cloak, and a resto belt. I'm getting very happy with her feral gear already, she's almost hit-capped, and has somewhere around 4700 ap and over 30% crit. Not too shabby considering that she just dinged a few hours ago.

I have been missing my paladin Arien again lately, so I might be posting a story or 2 about her in the near future. Also. . . Things haven't been going too well on my guild on Gilneas. The GM has been doing RL things, and my other friends there have been trying to occupy themselves with no raiding. Since I'm usually on vent with them, I've heard a lot, though I'm not certain about details. I'm worried about the guild in general, but honestly, it's also just giving me even less reasons to play there.

So, I have decided. Arien and Kalenedral are coming to Feathermoon. My others will stay on Gilneas for now, mostly because my character list will be full with those two and my priest Caderlly, but also since Kel/Tadrith and Jahira/Windstar would be almost copying each other, and seems pointless to have on the same server (Kel and Tad even have the same proffesions!). And I have invested too much time and emotion into each one of my characters to even think of deleting anyone. Besides, my friends are still there, though 2 of them have transfered one toon each to Hordeside. Which means I will actually have people to play with if I ever get to leveling my Belf hunter there.

As for the transfers, I will be waiting until around Christmastime, in the hope that extra holiday pay will make the $50 less painful. Poor Cad is going to have to wait even longer, but. . /shrug. So, sometime soon-ish, the Pig will have a couple new faces. >.> Star will still be there regularly though. My sister has even said she will most likely move her druid Alanon there about the same time, or soon after. So Arien will get to keep her boyfriend around. >.>

On that note, the two of us have been working a little story about those two which hopefully will be done soon. I just need to get my brain out of Star's head, and into Arien's. :P darn writer's block...

Need to sleep now. I should stop posting things this late, I tend to ramble way too much when I'm sleepy. :(
/waves

Dec 1, 2009

Pilgrim's Bounty Shenanigens

Massive Wall o' Text alert :D And some hunter/druid mischief. >.>
Enjoy!

Tadrith was sprawled on his chair, at the table in front of Stormwind, completely bored. Shaurria lay under the table, equally bored. Tad was actually starting to doze off, when a voice hissed in his ear, "Nice lil spread they got 'ere, 'ey mate?" Tad jumped slightly, opening one eye to look at the seat next to him. A dirty, rogue-ish looking man, almost certainly one of Old Town's less reputable citizens, was looking at him, while filching bits of turkey and chunks of sweet potato in napkins into his pockets. He grinned, showing at least three missing teeth. "Course, the Horde gots tables too. They get real mad when you try 'n snitch stuff from 'em, tho'." Tad simply stared at him, slowly raising one eyebrow. The vagabond finally shifted uncomfortably in his seat, then abrubtly got up and went to another table, where he began grabbing handfuls of stuffing. Tad sighed and looked down at Shaur, sprawled half-alseep under the table. An idea began to grow slowly in the back of his mind. Reaching down, he gently tugged her tail. "Heya Fuzzy, just exactly how bored are you?"

Not much later, Tad and Shaur were getting on the boat that travelled to the goblin town, Ratchet. As soon as the boat landed, they mounted their sabers and headed to Orgrimmar. They found the feasting tables outside the city, far enough that the guards at the entrance didn't even notice them. The locals at the tables, however gave them several dirty looks, and a few muttered what Tad assumed were threats. They weren't attacked, however, though Tad noticed a blood elf watching them, and especially Shaur, closely. They left after only a couple minutes, deciding to travel to Thunder Bluff.

It was a long ride, but their mounts were in good condition, and they set a good pace, steady and not too fast, and soon entered the green rolling mesas of Mulgore. Tad entertained Shaur with the story of travelling here and finding Keenath, and before too long, they saw the towering bluffs in the distance. As they neared it, they saw more Horde gathered, looking far more agressive and angry than at Orgrimmar. The two elves slowed their mounts, finally stopping and leaving them tethered a safe distance away. With Shaur in her catform, they approached the bluff leading to the lifts to the town. A shower of stones, arrows, and curses drove them back, however. They withdrew a short distance away, and decided on a plan. Shaur, still in kitty form, slunk into the grass, sneaking her way up the front of the slope, while Tad snuck around the back. A Tauren druid found Shaur, and chased her away, but the commotion let Tad get near enough to a table to grab a turkey drumstick and a couple potatoes. The two then withdrew again, and Tad shared his snack. Shaur, naturally, took most of the turkey.

As they sat there, the same blood elf from Ogrimmar came up to them. Tad tensed, expecting trouble, but suddenly he noticed her very round belly. The fact that Skan was sitting calmly, eyeing the black lion at the Sin'dorei's side, only helped Tad relax further. She stopped several steps away, and simply stood there until Shaur looked up and noticed her. With a curious "Mrrow", she went over to the blood elf, who knelt and appeared to be talking to her. Tad watched, his wariness beginning to fade and a smile starting on his face. After a few minutes, Shaur stood, rubbed her head against the elf's leg, and walked back to Tad, looking up at him. He nodded to her, and swung back up on Fog's back, giving the blood elf a respectful nod.

They travelled back to the Eastern Kingdoms, taking gryphons to the Plaguelands. From there they got on their sabers again and headed towards Tirisfal. They reached the Lordearon ruins, only to find more horde fighters outside. They halted a safe distance away, and Shaur hopped off her mount and shifted to catform again. She snuck through the shadowy bushes, until she got to the doorway, where she was spotted. She came high-tailing back, curses and a couple arrows following her. "Tad! They're really mad," she reported, unnecessarily, after shifting back to her elf form. She then looked back, and Tad saw a brief smile on her face, before she turned cat again. Following her gaze, he saw the exact same blood elf that had been at the other cities. Shaur went up to her, purring, and got an earrub. Then the two elves stood looking at each other, while each one's cat imitated their masters. The Sin'dorei tried speaking in Thalassian, but even that was too different for Tad to understand her. He shrugged at her, apologizing in Darnassian, which he knew she couldn't understand, though he hoped it would show his appreciation of her efforts. After a few more minutes of trying to converse with gestures and a few simple words, Tad suddenly realized Shaur had vanished. Almost as soon as he noticed, there was a commotion at the Undercity's gate. Shaur came tearing back down the road, eyes huge and with a large turkey drumstick in her mouth. Tad gaped at her for a second, then almost fell over laughing. He quickly mounted Fog, and followed the frightened but triumphant druid back towards the Plaguelands. Looking back, he saw the blood elf waving at them, and waved back.

Reaching the Bulwark, the three companions shared Shaur's prize, with Skan getting most of it this time. Shaur was too excited to eat much, and Tad was, as usual, more concerned for his friend than himself. They then mounted once more, and headed for Silvermoon City, by way of the Ghostlands. The trip was uneventful, and when they arrived, they found less hostile Horde members, and guards posted far enough away that they were hardly noticed. And, sure enough, the blood elf hunter was there again. She approached them as they sat at the furthest table, when suddenly there was a small commotion. Shaur stared wide-eyed at the patrolling guard running towards her, and sprang out of her chair, shifting to cat in mid-leap. She took off at a dead sprint. Tad and the blood elf looked at each other, and followed.

Tad hopped on Fog to check the road in the direction Shaur had taken, then backtracked down it when he didn't see her. He soon caught up, finding her not far from the feast tables, in her swift cheetah form. She suddenly shifted back into her usual smoky blue-gray cat form, and Tad noticed the blood elf walking up to her. She sat, and Shaur came up and lay down in front of her, with her head in the hunter's lap (what little lap she had). Tad walked up carefully, trying not to startle them, but they heard him coming easily. The elf gave him a small smile, as she stroked Shaur and rubbed her ears. The black lion sat nearby, looking decidedly jealous. Tad stood a few feet away, watching for a bit, then noticed the sun sitting on the horizon. "Fuzzy?" he called quietly. "Getting late now, we best head back before Star and Arvoss start worrying." Shaur sighed, raising her head to look at him. The blood elf seemed to know what he was saying, because she gently pushed Shaur up to her feet, gave her one last scratch, and began motioning for her to go. Shaur sighed again, but then trotted to Tad's side. The elves waved goodbye to each other, as the Kal'dorei mounted their sabers and started back the way they had come. They rode in companionable silence for most of the way, but finally Shaur spoke up, "That other elf? She was nice." "Yes, she was," Tad replied. Shaur sat on her saber quietly for several minutes, then she stirred, turned to Tad, and asked, "Tad, why was she so fat?"

Sorry it took so long to get this down. I now understand why my sis complains about writer's block so much. Also, cross-faction RP is fun.
Goodnight! /waves