A Journey in to Horde Territory
It started out a day like any other, sharing an ale with my Dwarven chum in a local inn. Well, Grimbor was doing all the drinking, as I need a clear head for the type of magic I call upon; after the last time I got drunk and summoned a demon for a lap dance I decided that I wouldn't do that again. I have been tee-total since. I think that is also why Grimbor drinks more these days: he was there that night too.
Whilst we were in the inn, I received a request to undertake an important mission, one that would benefit myself in that I would be able to call upon a greater demon in the fight against the Horde. The drawback was that I would have to make my way through Horde territory to get this ability. It sounded dangerous, and I was about to bid farewell to my friend, when Grimbor picked up his staff and gave me a wink. Maybe this is why I don't mind when he drinks so much.
Our journey was long, and we started by heading through dangerous Alliance territory before we even got to the sea to travel to the western isle. We took the tram to Ironforge and then ran our way through the Wetlands, keeping to the path. Speaking to the gryphon master in Menethil allowed us to get back to Ironforge rather more quickly and safely, although a tipsy Dwarf on a gryphon isn't always safe. We caught a ship to Thermore Isle, a friendly port . But that was the end of the relative saftey. I asked Grimbor if he still wanted to accompany me. 'Aye', he replied. I started the rest of the journey quickly, not waiting to see if he actually was going to say 'I don't, see you back at home', so that he was compelled to assist me.
We ran through Dustwallow Marsh, sticking to the road, but still attracted the attention of some horrible beasts, putting our lives in great peril, but still we bravely pushed forwards. It was not long until we reached the Southern Barrens--Horde Territory! Not only were the creatures larger and more dangerous, but we were potentially surrounded by the enemy. And there was more to come. We had to get further in to the Barrens to find my contact; we had to press on.
Deciding that running on the road may attract unwanted attention, we started out running cross-country. It didn't take us long to find my contact, who gave me the information I needed, but that led me further north, all the way through Horde terriroty to Ashenvale. We decided not to linger and continued our journery cross-country. A few encounters with large 'Thunder Lizards' encouraged us to take the road instead, as even though we could survive the occasionaly lizard, which must be ten times the size of an adult crocolisk, there were probably more dangerous beasts just waiting for us to take a wrong step. We headed to the road, and kept our eyes open.
Unfortunately, we attracted the attention of a troll, who approached us. It seemed that curiosity was great on both sides. We had never seen a troll before, nor, it seemed, had the troll seen a Human or Dwarf. At least, none that strolled through his own land. Nevertheless, there was but one of him and we had the might of two, along with my summoned demon. We felt relatively safe. The troll approached and started 'talking' at us, although we understood nothing. We were both a little repelled and yet intrigued. The troll was somewhat intimidating, being uglier than Grimbor after a night of heavy drinking, and seemed to want a fight, again like Grimbor after a night of heavy drinking. We were not confident to do this though. We had numbers on our side, but only at that time. Who could tell what else would be travelling the road we were on? It could have been a main road, so we could not risk it.
We carried on our way, but the troll followed. We don't know what he was up to, as his guttural language was alien to us. It was not pleasant to be followed by a Horde monster, but we still weren't threatened to a great degree. That is, until we saw two more creatures come running down the road towards us. We stopped in our tracks, not knowing which way to turn. We stepped back a little, so that we could see both the two coming down the road and the troll following us. We were only mildly surprised to see the two new beasts be greeted by the troll; they must have been allies in the way that bonds Grimbor and I.
The three of them began taunting us afresh, and I could see beads of sweat appear on the Dwarf's brow. Sure, it was hot in the Barrens, but I don't think it was the heat that was causing the sweat to appear. I can't blame him. Even with demonic powers under my control, I thought we had bitten off more than we could chew. Even if we could get out of this situation, with three Horde monsters in front of us, how many more were waiting?
The Horde creatures taunted us, clearly wanting a fight. But something held them back? What it was I cannot say, but they clearly wanted us to make the first move. Perhaps it is some strange Horde tradition, or maybe they have orders to bring back intruders alive unless there is no other option to kill them. Either way, Grimbor and I felt the pressure release from our systems. What else could we do, but burst in to dance? Of course, this only angered the Horde monsters; we didn't care. The more they angered and yet did not attack, the more we danced like there was no tomorrow.
However, we knew that we were still not safe, so after a short while we cut our most distracting moves and, while the enemy was confused, we made a break for it, heading up the road as fast as we could run. Grimbor always impresses me with his sprints, although his long-distance running is what you would expect from a Dwarf. Our dancing must have done the trick though, as we escaped the attentions of the three Horde monsters. The road further north seemed safer from other creatures as well, with only critters and relatively friendly beasts around. We made it to Ashenvale. Sure, Ashenvale is hardly safe ground, but we would meet mostly allies within it on the roads.
Thus went our first journey in to Horde grounds. It has bolstered our spirits and we feel more confident should either of us be called to go there again. In the meantime, we will practice our hottest disco moves, just in case.
26th February 2005 at 2.18 pm
Out of character: the Horde characters couldn't attack us because our Player-versus-Player (PvP) flags, which allows or denies player-player fighting, were disabled. The Horde players turned their flags on, which is about the clearest sign you can make that you want a fight. We weren't there for a confrontation, though, so we did nothing about it.
It's interesting to note that the troll we first encountered seemed happy enough to take us on, and we thought about it, but the other two turned up pretty quickly and they were in the same guild as the troll. It's quite probable that the troll player contacted his guild mates, perhaps hoping to jibe us in to fighting him, thinking it was two (and my demon) against one, but knowing that he would have advantage of numbers in a short time. However, we really were just passing through and didn't fancy facing the full force of any Horde characters that would come our way.
26th February 2005 at 1.28 pm
I'm pleased to hear of our bold members making a mockery of the Horde! it is important for us to remind them of our presence, although we should not risk life and limb too often *grins*