I felt anxious, what could we hope to bring to bear, facing so many Murlocs?
A mage can indeed fight many when they are in the same spot, by casting spells that cover a greater area and do damage to all in that reach. But this was such a big group, what if I would miss some?
Those not affected would certainly come to grab and kill me instantly.
Frost-nova, yes, and then Blizzard to make ice-shards rain down on them.
I was going over the actions in my mind.
But such a big group! I never had taken on so many, ever!
I was pacing up and down, whilst thinking it over, when my foot hit the torch that the younger dwarf had used. It lay in the shallow water, extinguished.
Perhaps I could light it again and use it to keep the Murlocs at bay!
I picked it up and went back to the others.
"Where is the Rogue? I asked."
"He went to have a look and maybe draw the attention of a few wandering Murlocs." said Gregory.
"We are waiting for him to return. He won't be long."
So they had started without letting me know!
Or had I been in thoughts so much that I had not heard them?
I looked at the others, they were all watching the spot where the Rogue would show up again, on his way back.
How many Murlocs would he bring?
What if they would come all at once?!
This uneasy feeling was still there.
I looked at the Shaman. He seemed calm enough. Even Gregory had spoken with just excitement in his voice.
The only one who was some kind of tense was Wilani, but she had to spring into action as soon as the first Murloc would show up. Her normal Warrior's job.
So why was I so nervous then? No-one had suggested I should take on that whole group.
It did not matter, I still felt a stone in my stomach.
There he is! I wanted to shout, but I did not want to make a spectacle of myself and I was able to say nothing.
He was running towards Wilani, who was standing in front.
"Four!" He said, a little out of breath, while he ran past her and then he Vanished.
The Murlocs ran straight towards Wilani and since they could not see their former target, they went to assault the Warrior.
This was what she had trained for, making sure all the Murlocs would attack her and only her.
I targeted the one that was closest to her and casted a fire-bolt onto it.
The Shaman and the Rogue were doing the same and the Murloc was going down really fast.
Gregory was tossing many heals onto her, since she was getting hit from four sides, so he was really busy.
And when I saw she turned to the next Murloc, I followed her lead while the first Murloc died at the hands of the Rogue.
With one less, it was a little easier and number two was going down even faster.
Then it was the turn of Murloc number three. I saw that Gregory was using his wand, in between the now fewer heals that he had to do.
The last one died almost directly after the third.
That was a well-executed fight!
Nothing had gone wrong! I gave a cheer of relief.
"There are at least ten times more, Lady", said the Rogue in his familiar cold tone. "I don't think we want gamble on being this lucky, ten times in a row!"
Ohh! This guy! What was I thinking?! He was just the same as before!
"Well I have found this!" I said and held up the Dwarven-torch.
If we can light it again, we can keep those Murlocs at bay!"
"Do you know how to light it?", he asked.
"Well, it is a torch...", I started.
I looked at it closer: the handle was made of wood, but the wood was un-burned. The part on the top was made of metal and that was blackened by fire. Had they used some magic to keep the fire in-place?
It was quite different from my Fiery-Orb, that did not whip-out strings of fire.
"But it is unlike any torch I have seen before. I don't know."
I felt deflated, my initial enthusiasm had vanished without a trace.
"Perhaps I know", he said, "if I may have a look please?"
"Sure", I said. "But wait, what is this?"
As I held the torch upside-down, I saw on the bottom of the metal part a sort of button.
I pushed on it, in the hope to light the torch, but something fell out instead.
It dropped in the shallow water where it left an oily circle that slowly became bigger.
I picked it up from the water: it was a small glass vial, nearly empty, only a little oil and water was in it.
"Well, now we can be sure it is not going to work." said the Rogue.
"I can put it back in." I said hastily.
"That's not the problem, Lady", said the Rogue. "The oil is finished.
And by chance I did not happen to bring any oil with me." He added wryly.
"In my bags there is some fish-oil." came the deep voice of the Shaman.
"Shaman need it to Water-walk." he clarified. "It is for future use that I gather it."
"Well, it is not Fire-oil, but it might still work." said the Rogue. "I probably have to adjust the burner."
Since he seemed to know what to do with it, I handed him the torch and the Shaman gave him a vial, somewhat bigger than the one that had fallen out.
"I need something from my bags for that." he continued and turned away.
"Keep watching out for any Murlocs!" he said over his shoulder.
"Even if we can keep all the Murlocs in one spot, I can not kill all of them on my own!
They have too much health, I will be Out Of Mana before they are dead."
I was explaining to the others that I could not be expected to cast area-damage-spells onto all those Murlocs. But I think I was just trying to convince myself that I was not going to do that.
Somehow a pity. It is the trademark of a Mage to slay many in one go.
But one has to be realistic.
"To kill without need is not the way of the Earthmother." said the Shaman.
"You can say that again!", said Wilani.
"There was nothing to Need for: empty shells and broken stones! Nothing worth anything, we threw it all away."
She and Gregory had searched the dead Murlocs for pearls.
"Not even a fish-head", said Gregory. "They must be as hungry as church-rats!"
I had no idea what kind of rats that must be, but if bony-Gregory thought they were hungry, they certainly must be starving.
"Their freedom is in their hearts", said the Shaman, "They will be glad to leave from here.
Then Her task can be fulfilled without disruption."
"Hah!" we heard and we turned towards the Rogue: He was holding up the flaming torch. It was giving-off a lot of black smoke and did not look at all like how it had been burning when the Dwarf had held it.
And not just smoke! There was an enormous fish-smell coming from that thing!
"You guys go hide out of sight, quickly", said the Rogue "while I will go round them up and herd them out of this cave. I don't know how long this thing will keep on burning, so I don't want to waste any time.
Now go quickly! And don't worry about me, I can always Vanish!" he told us while he ran further into the cave.
We all got up, like stung by a bee and scrambled to find some good hiding spots along the side of the cave.
Oh! To run in without preparation is a sure way to die!
But it could not be helped. He was already gone.
I had only just found a spot when we heard the Rogue scream. His voice was getting louder, he was coming back towards us!
"Out of the way!" he yelled as we saw him running back.
He kept on running and instead of herding the Murlocs, they were chasing him! The fish-smell from the torch was irresistible for the ravenous Murlocs.
More and more Murlocs were running past us, even when he already went out of the mouth of the cave.
I could not help wondering if Vanish would help if you smelled like fish.
The last Murlocs had ran out off the cave but we all stayed where we were. What if they would come back?
The Shaman was the first one to get up from his hiding-spot.
"Now that they are free, they won't come back." he said.
"This has been a bad place for them. However, for your comfort, I will inspect the tunnel outside this cave."
"I will come along, in case you need Healing." said Gregory.
"We all come" said Wilani, standing up.
There was not much else left to do, so I followed without much enthusiasm.
At least we did not get killed because of that brash act. It could easily have gone bad.
Very bad indeed.
As for Mr. "Lee-rogue Jenkins" himself, it still had to be seen if Vanish had saved his skin.
Of-course I did not wish him to be dead but such an irresponsible act would warrant some kind of repercussion, would it not? And what would we encounter if we had to go look for his corpse?
No, it would be best if he would show up soon.
We came to the part where the Murlocs had been.
The water was a bit deeper here, nearly knee-deep and we were sloshing about.
At the back of the cave there stood a rough Altar: a big boulder that rested onto three smaller ones. If it had not been for the flattish top and the gigantic pearl that was lying on it, it could well have been just a pile of rocks.
But that pearl! It must be as big as a Murloc! That thing would be priceless!
But so big, no-one could hope to take such a thing anywhere.
And for what? Who could even pay for what it was worth?
The voice of the Shaman ended my dreams of boundless riches.
"The Earthmother had showed me this Altar in my Dream.
I will prepare for my Task, now. Please leave me until I return."
So we turned away, back to where we had come from, while the Shaman slowly neared the Altar.
“Owwaargh!” We heard the Tauren scream.
Shocked we quickly turned back and saw an enormous Murloc standing on his chest, clawing at his armor and biting his shield. He tried to cast a healing-spell onto himself, but he was greatly hindered. He had to keep his head above water and was unable to get up.
Horrified I watched how this monster was tearing patches of leather with it's flat fingers, out from the Shaman's armor.
But Wilani was already charging in, shouting and bashing her shield. Did she not know any fear?
Gregory was casting heals onto the Shaman and all I could do was watch.
Lani was slamming her shield on the Murloc’s head, to make him let go of the Shaman. She was really going all-out.
And I started to cast the biggest fire-bolt I could make.
At last, the Murloc turned towards the Warrior and the Shaman could get back up.
"Strength of Earth!" he roared and planted a totem and a fire-totem too.
Wilani was having a hard time just to keep standing, while the Murloc was clawing and biting at her.
"Help me heal her!" said Gregory to the Shaman "I can not keep this up for long!"
He had to equip his Staff to be of any use for Healing and then they were taking turns healing the Warrior.
Meanwhile, I was casting great balls of fire and my Mana was draining fast.
I was the only one now, doing any kind of significant damage to that monster and it had still more than half of it's Health left.
Suddenly, the Murloc tossed Wilani back and jumped back towards the Tauren. Whilst also kicking down the totems; it happened so fast. He quickly had to take up his shield again.
Gregory had to switch his heals fast and was trying desperately to keep him alive.
Wilani was back on her feet and tried with all her might to make the monster turn back to her.
It finally worked and the Shaman was able to crawl out of reach. He was badly hurt and only managed a little heal onto himself, using up the last of his Mana.
My Mana was also reaching it's end and the Murloc was still far from dead.
The last bit of Mana from the Priest and the quickly diminishing health of the Warrior was all that separated us from a grueling death.
"Sheep him!" shouted Gregory. "I have no Mana left!"
"I am OOM too!" I replied.
"You have to take a potion!" said Gregory again.
There was no other choice.
Mana-potions were a last resort. They were not cheap and could only be used once.
In order to take one, you really had to make it count. There was not going to be a second chance.
I quickly took one, even though they were not used often, they were always held at the ready.
Then I quickly casted the Sheep-spell onto the Murloc.
If it would fail, it would all be over fast.
And poof!
All the danger and horror was now contained in this harmless looking sheep.
It was verily a time-bomb!
Everyone was getting away from it, taking cover behind the Altar. But poor me had to stay in reach, to be able to cast the spell again, before it wore off.
Bandages were used now, to help to heal, since Mana was scarce and needed to be conserved. The fight was not done at all!
I was OK, except for the little Mana I was left with. And the terrified feeling inside me! That monster had been so fast, I was not sure if there would be time to cast a new sheep-spell, in case it would fail prematurely.
I heard exited voices coming from behind the Altar. It seemed they had found something special.
"Guys!" I called. "It is not dead, yet!"
Lani came running towards me. "We found all kinds of nice things there!" she said enthusiastically. "But we have to kill that thing first, of-course."
The Priest was coming this way too, followed by the Shaman, who was wearing some kind of dress now, instead of his badly damaged armor.
"I had not expected to wear the ceremonial dress into battle", he said.
And I had to smile: it is not often that you heard a Tauren say that he did NOT expected that.
They were all back to full health now and Mana too and even I had regained some of my Mana. I would need more time, though, before it was full again.
They came to stand around me, the Warrior between me and the sheep, the others behind me.
It made me feel quite a bit safer now. But I was not forgetting the sheep!
"It is clear that we can not take him head-on."said Wilani.
"Yes, he hits too hard" said Gregory. "We must stay away from him."
"He is too fast for that" I replied.
"And he does not seem to be so eager to bite on metal all the time." said the Shaman. "I need to think about this."
"Don't think too long!" I warned him, "I can not keep him Sheeped forever!"
But as time passed, my Mana went up slowly, bit by bit.
"The Elements are powerful allies," said the Shaman, "however, sometimes Strength is not the answer. The Earth, that supports everything, also has the power to hold things in place. And even Water, that flows everywhere can be used to freeze something to the spot, as you well know." Here he nodded towards me.
"I can clearly see before me, the Path that the Earthmother is showing me. The Earth-bind totem and Frost-shocks will slow the Murloc down, so I can stay out of it's reach. You can assist me with your Frost-nova and your Frost-bolts." he said again to me. "But don't overdo it," he warned, "you don't want him come over to you.
And you both should stay prepared in case something goes wrong." he said, talking to the Warrior and the Priest.
"It is going to be a very long fight and it will test all my powers to the limit."
I was speechless. Never had I heard a Tauren talk so much in one go. But Gregory said brightly: "I can use my wand, yes? It won't cost any Mana." "Sure", said the Shaman, "all help is welcome."
"It is best if we all would stay on the side", said Wilani, "so you have room to maneuver.
Cast one more sheep-spell onto him, Hani, then we get out of the way."
So I did and we all took cover behind the Altar.
Except for the Shaman.
He planted an Earth-bind totem in the center and readied himself to cast a Frost-shock spell onto the Sheep. It would instantly break the Sheep-spell and turn it back into that monster of a Murloc again.
Taking position so the totem would be between him and the Murloc, he unleashed the Frost-shock.
The Murloc ran immediately towards the Shaman, but markedly slower than before and the Tauren started to run in a wide circle around the totem. I looked fascinated how the Murloc tried to catch the Shaman, but he was able to keep his distance.
I knew this game, Mages did practice it too, it was like juggling Death. One mistake and you were in big trouble, if you were not killed on the spot.
I started to fire my smallest Frost-bolt, to slow down the monster even more. Gregory had begun to use his Wand, which casted Shadow-damage onto the Murloc. Only small amounts and together with my small Frost-bolts and the Shaman's occasional Frost-shock, it was only nibbling on the Murloc's health.
This was indeed going to be a long fight!
All the time, the Shaman was running, keeping an eye on his totem to see if it needed to be replaced.
Those were the critical moments where I assisted by casting a Frost-nova, to give him a moments respite.
We needed utmost concentration, not to make a mistake. It was definitely nerve-wracking.
The fight dragged on, endlessly it seemed.
I felt like in trance; everything around us was vanishing from my awareness.
We were nearing the point where the monster's health had diminished to half. I looked at my Mana; there was still at least three quarters of it left. So somehow we were in a better position than in the first fight. But the Shaman was visibly getting tired; he had been running non-stop.
I was tense like a bow-string, what if the Murloc decided to loose interest like he had done in the fight before? He would certainly throw himself onto me! Not wearing any Leather or metal-armor, he would tear me to shreds instantly!
"Lani!" I said with a hoarse voice.
"Don't worry, dear," she said "we can have him, he is already half-way down."
I don't know if it was his tiredness, or if our talking broke his concentration, but the Shaman stumbled and the Murloc was able to almost grab him. He had to run for his life and would not have any time to spare to put down a new totem again! It was disaster waiting to happen.
"You have to save him, Wilani!"
"Keep your shirt on", she said and charged in.
She expertly landed right between the Shaman and the Murloc. Even tossing the Murloc back a little due to the impact and blocking him from reaching the Shaman who was able to create some more distance.
He quickly planted a new Earth-bind totem and readied himself to continue his rounds like before.
But Wilani was not having any of that.
She blocked the Murloc's every move while he tried to get back onto the Shaman.
"You're too tired!" she shouted, "Help Greg with the healing!"
Her Fury burned with a white flame, that she unleashed onto the monster in front of her.
All this waiting on the side had made her explode like never before.
It made me cry, seeing it.
Lani, Lani, I thought, what have they made you into?!
Faced with such primordial wrath, the Murloc had to give her all his attention. There was no longer the risk he would attack someone else now and I started to cast for serious.
It was now or never!
Bolt after bolt flew towards the Murloc and the Priest and the Shaman were tossing heals onto the Warrior.
We had to get this monster down!
"You have quite a fight going on here." I heard a voice beside me say.
It gave me such a fright that I failed my casting.
I turned to the side and saw the Rogue. "What do you want me to do?" he said.
"KILL IT!!" I screamed. And he ran into the melee.
I was foaming with anger! This guy again! If we would survive this, I would, I don't know what I would do to him! Something bad, turn him into a frog, I don't care!
But an angry Mage is not an effective Mage. I had to get myself in check. Mages were not known for their temper. On the contrary, Icy Veins is as what some of us are referred to.
So I checked the health of the monster and how much Mana I had left.
It looked all good, so I upped the damage a little more.
We were going to win this fight!
As it's life neared it's end, the Murloc tried to flee and the Warrior had to run after it. The Rogue set in a sprint and was immediately back on top if it, while I fired off a big Frost-bolt, slowing it down. Nearly dead, this monster was still dangerous.
But then, it was dead. Finally! And somehow also suddenly, although that seems weird, isn't it?
It is dead! It is dead! It sang in my head.
We had won! We were alive! Yes!
I felt elated.
I was so happy that I could even hug the Priest, undead and all. I didn't of-course, but I turned towards him to congratulate him with a job well done. But what I saw made me scream in terror. "He's dead!"
Gregory was lying face-down with a Dwarven-axe in his back.
"Gregory is dead!" I shouted again, before it started to dawn on the others that there was something amiss.
Then we heard that maniacal laughter echoing against the walls of the cave.
We looked around and saw the insane Dwarf standing at the far end of the cave.
And then he was gone.
The Warrior and the Rogue sprinted after him, only to return some time later, they had been unable to find him.
The Dwarf had escaped and had left us a nasty surprise.
Everyone was talking in chaos: "Where had that Murloc come from?", "How could that Dwarf kill Gregory without anyone seeing him?", "How had he been able to survive all the Murlocs?", "How have you been able to survive all the Murlocs?","Why did it take you so long to come back?", "Why did you have to sneak up on me like that!?", "Who is going to ress Gregory?","What are we going to do now?", "What about all that loot that we found?", "What loot?", "We found lot's of things behind the Altar".
"Gregory is DEAD!!", I yelled at the top of my lungs.
"We can not leave him here, like that." I continued on a more normal volume. "It is his first time here and he could not even get in here without my help. There is no way his Spirit would be able to find his corpse again."
All seemed to agree with this account of the situation.
"So what can we do about it?", I continued.
"All Shaman can resurrect the dead." said the Shaman. "However, I am not trained in this, nor did I ever perform this on anyone. Therefore I am hesitant to offer my help. Furthermore, I have not finished the Earthmother 's task. Perhaps her guidance will come to my aid."
"I will need to meditate on this." he concluded.
"Yes people, let's give the guy some room. And hope he will not attract any more of those monsters." said Wilani grimly.
The Rogue and I followed her into the front part of the cave where there was less water.
I felt dead tired and was looking for a place to sit at least.
We settled down at the spot where the barefooted Dwarf had been sitting. It seemed ages ago.
I missed Gregory. And his cooking!
A fire would have been nice but there was not enough room to make a fire here. Except for the bit where we were sitting, there was water everywhere.
Oh! How I wished to get out of this cave and make a camp in some nice spot.
Wilani and the Rogue were talking about how he had escaped from that big horde of Murlocs and what had happened in the fight with the big Murloc, but I did not really hear it. I had not even the strenght to be angry on the Rogue.
Somehow, I dozed off.
When I woke up, I saw Wilani lying, with her head on her Shield, fast asleep it seemed.
The Rogue was nowhere to be seen.
I did not know how long I had slept, but it felt as not enough.
I decided not to wake her, she had really gone deep in that fight with the Murloc. She could do with some rest.
As I got up, my splashing steps alerted the Rogue. He was standing at the mouth of the cave.
So he had not left us unguarded.
"How long has he been in there?", I asked the Rogue, pointing to the back of the cave.
"Must be almost two hours." he said. "He is just sitting there, in front of that Altar.
I went to check on him, maybe half an hour ago."
"Do you think he can ress Gregory?", I asked.
"I certainly do hope so." he said a bit mysteriously.
"That was quite some fight, with that enormous Murloc.", he said.
"Yes, I don't want to talk about it right now. I am glad it is over." I replied.
That left an uneasy silence between us.
So be it. I thought.
He went back to mouth of the cave again and I sat back down, my knees pulled up and resting my chin on it.
I stared over the water, waiting.
I had come here, expecting to find pearls and perhaps something nice and useful.
But now I just wanted to go home.
It had been disastrous from the start and although everyone was doing their job as well as could be expected, it had been one unfortunate event to the next.
And now the Priest was dead and we were not sure if we could resurrect him...
It could well mean the end of this adventure and as far as I was concerned, I would not mind it at all.
I had already had my doubts by the time I had proposed to make a Portal to Orgrimmar, but everyone had wanted to go on, so....
And now I was sitting here, thinking gloomy thoughts.
That was not good.
I wished something would happen!
"Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true." came into my mind, but it was if I heard it being said by the voice of the Shaman!
That was it! No more thoughts!
I got up and went to have a look of what was going on over there, in the back of the cave.
But before I reached there, I saw Gregory and the Shaman coming towards me, their arms full of things.
"He is back!", I shouted.
I ran towards them to greet them.
"Welcome back!", I said. "You have been away for so long, I was afraid it would be the end."
"Yes! I got lost again!" he said with a big smile. "The spirit-realm is só different, long winding passages, all alike".
"It was a long search before I found him." said the Shaman. "His Spirit had drifted far away."
They looked at each other.
"The Earthmother's guidance helped me to bring him back to life." he said finally.
"Yes, thank the Earthmother!" exclaimed the Priest.
That made me raise an eyebrow! Both eyebrows!
An Undead giving praise to the Earthmother?!
Something special must have happened there, in that mysterious realm.
Unlikely that I was ever going to hear the details of that.
"There is a much smaller cave, on the opposite side of the tunnel," said the Rogue, "a bit further up. I checked it out, it has only a small pool of water and the rest is dry sand. If we can make a fire there, we can have a good look at what you guys have found."
"That's a splendid idea!" I said.
The prospect of a place to sit, next to a nice fire and probably some fresh cooked food filled me with renewed enthusiasm.
I went to wake up Wilani.
Tapping her Shield gently with my foot, I called her name.
It was always best not to roughly awaken someone who carried such a sharp weapon.
Once there, we found that the pool held several big blind crabs, that were watched by Wilani and Gregory with a shared interest. And I found the remains of a big old chest. It had been broken open long ago and given up its treasure, but the wood was still good enough to make a big fire.
I broke off some pieces and lit them, Mage-style.
Wilani threw a big crab-body onto the fire, after she had broken off the shears and the many legs. This to the dismay of the Priest who complained that she was throwing away the best parts and that she probably never had had any Cooked Crab Claw. He would show her what real cooking was, not just throwing food onto the fire.
With the fire burning and the preparation of the food on the way, I looked at the Rogue and the Shaman, who were ordering the things that we had found in the other cave.
Among them, I could definitely see some nice big pearls!
Eight pearls, four of them Iridescent Pearls and four smaller ones. The Shaman said he would forgo on them, so that meant one for each of us. Then I needed at least one more for my boots.
A Pearl-encrusted Spear, that none of us could use, except for the Warrior, who said that she had no particular interest in it, since she had already the Trident, that she liked better. So that went into the pile with other, less significant things that were going to be divided later.
Clearly the two best items, as far as I was concerned, were a Staff and Ring, both of which were well-suited for casters like me. But that meant that Gregory and the Shaman would also be interested. The Staff would be of more use even, for a Priest, than for a Mage, so if Gregory was opting for that, then I had a good chance to get the Ring.
The Shaman already had a Staff, a lot nicer-looking than mine, so, most likely, it would be between him and me for the Ring.
I had long hoped to find a good Ring. I could make all my cloth-gear myself, if needed. And, not being rich, all that I was wearing was self-made. Except for my Staff, of-course, which I had been carrying around for a long time. A better Staff would be really nice but a good Ring was hard to find. Most were not of much use for Mages. It was if all the other Classes were much better off, if it came to Rings.
So far I had not even found one.
Lani was not rich either. She spend all her gold on her gear; that needed constant repairing, or to be replaced. The little she was left with, went into Potions and some food, for when I was not around to magically make it for her. No, to be rich, you did not want to be a Warrior!
Rogues were often rich. They always seemed to have gold to spend. And looking at his Daggers, those were definitely of above average quality.
"All what you don't want, I can Disenchant." said Gregory, from his place at the fire.
I was speechless. Enchanting! That was such a costly affair! It was only practiced by those who already had everything! And now this Priest, younger than me even, could afford to destroy items that could be sold for good silver or maybe more!
Somehow, it looked so obvious, how Wilani and me were from some insignificant village, while the others were all so world-wise, living in their capitals.
We Trolls did not have such a thing as a Capital City. Of-course we were welcome in Orgrimmar, but that was an Orc-place. And I did not feel quite at ease there.
Thunder Bluff, where the Tauren-Capital was located, was nice and quiet and the Tauren were nice too, but it was out of the way and it being so high up in the air, made me feel uneasy. I knew, it was done for safety, but it meant that one wrong step there could have you plunge to your death. That made it unsafe again in a different way.
"How can you even afford to practice Enchanting!" I exclaimed.
"If you come with me to the Undercity, I will show you a little secret." he said.
The Undercity! The hidden Capital of the Undead. I was told to go there some time, if I wanted to learn more of Tailoring. More than the Tailors in my village, or even those in Orgrimmar could teach me. But it was so far away! Hardly anyone I knew, would risk the long trip in such a dangerous thing as a flying Zeppelin! Flying was for birds! What if it would fall to the ground? Everyone would certainly die!
I heard the Rogue and the Shaman argue over a pair of Naga Battle Gloves.
Even I could tell it was a very nice pair of Leather gloves and I could see how they both would like to have it. But to my surprise they were trying to convince each other that it would be best if the other one would take them.
"They gave me this complete set of gear, to use these Gloves, good as they are, would break the set and therefore give not much of an improvement. It is best if you take them." said the Rogue.
"You can take them and keep them for later." insisted the Shaman. "The Earthmother has shown me a new path. Therefore I shall no longer need Gloves like these."
"We still might need your assistance in melee" said the Rogue again, "and besides, I am not sure if they would appreciate me using something other than what they have issued me. I did not come here to find things, but to find things out."
It ended with the Tauren putting the Battle Gloves in his bags.
"The Mage would like the Ring, perhaps", he said. "The Staff being best suited for the Priest."
I was happily surprised, that was just how I had hoped it would go. And Gregory was content too.
"I will have to finish that Robe now, that I have been working on." he said, "Then I will really look like a Priest."
An unremarkable Scroll was left, together with some even less attractive looking bits of stone.
I knew better than to not value such a piece of writing: It could harbor knowledge of how to create some useful item or perhaps a powerful Spell. It turned out to be a Cooking Recipe: How to make Murloc Fin Soup.
"I think Greg should get that," said Wilani immediately, "he has been cooking for us all the time and he even showed me how I can improve mine."
Since none of us were doing any Cooking, we had not much say in it, but I said: "But Wilani, you have not gotten anything, other than one Pearl!"
"It doesn't matter" she said, "I have a new Axe, what more can a girl want?"
"Now you speak of that," said the Priest, "I had been planning to give you this, and now that you gave me this nice Recipe, I am sure that you should have it. Even though I had not much say in how it was 'given' to me, I think I can rightly say that I want you to be the one to have this." And he handed her the Dwarven-Axe that had killed him. "You can use two, I think?"
"I sure can!" she said with a big grin. "Watch me!"
She got up and turned into a whirlwind of sharp, blinkering steel that ended with both Axes buried into an unfortunate Crab, killing it instantly.
"He he heh" laughed the Rogue, "it looks like we got some real competition there."
"I'm never gonna use a Shield any-more!" she shouted happily.
"That was a generous gift!" I said to Gregory.
"Time to eat, guys!" he shouted "Now we have to eat that other one too!"
Everyone was happy, and there was lots of food. It was the perfect setting for a story.
"Yes," rumbled the Shaman, "we should not let it go to waste, that is not the Way of the Earthmother."
"Do all Tauren live by Her rules?" asked the Priest.
"All Tauren hold Her in great esteem. It is everyone's choice, to what extent one wants to pay heed to the consequences of ones actions. She does not demand and everyone is free to do what they want, but understanding enables one to avoid the creation of sorrow.
Perhaps I can tell you, how I came to decide to serve the Earthmother."
How the Shaman had decided to serve the Earthmother.
"Now, already three moons ago, I was asked by an Elder of my Clan to go and find some Star-wood.
A rare type of wood, that is used for Enchanting. The stock we had was running low and it would be a dishonor for the Clan to have to say that we were unable to provide. The Dawnstrider-Clan has always Practiced, Taught and Sold anything related to Enchanting. It was the Honor of our Clan, that I had to uphold, not just another errand and I felt proud that our Elder had thought me worthy for this task.
I would have to travel, all the way south of the Barrens, into this ravine, commonly known as the Thousand Needles. Many, who have not been there themselves, think that the name refers to the many stone pillars that are left standing there. Our legends say, that there used to be water there, coursing through that deep valley, leaving nothing but the hardest stone.
The water has long since gone, none of the other races even seems to remember.
Now, dry, hot winds lash the stone, shaping it even thinner. It is this hot wind, carrying dry dust and stinging man and beast alike, like thousand needles, that gave rise to the name.
It was here that my journey would lead me. A harsh place, dry and unforgiving, but with life in unforeseen places.
One of these places was harboring the trees that were the source of Star-wood.
I had been in the Thousand Needles once before, visiting family in Freewind Post. But this time, I was going there alone. I prepared myself thoroughly, knowing that this could be seen as a rite of passage.
I left Thunder Bluff and by sunset I had arrived at southern-most part of the Barrens.
Here was the Great Lift that was used to bring and haul travelers to and from the bottom of the ravine.
In the company of the brave Tauren that were guarding the Lift, I waited till the early morning, before making the descend.
The light of the sun had not yet reached here and it was still dusky.
It was prime hunting time for the great cats and that meant that the hyena's would not be so bold yet. Those went in small packs, of three or four and needed to be avoided at all cost.
I had to proceed carefully. This was no longer the Barrens, anything that was able to survive here, would pose a serious threat and more than one opponent could well mean my end.
My destination was on the opposite side of the canyon and just as far to the west.
I followed the road southward, till I came to the East-West road. The signpost showed Freewind Post, to the left. That was not the way I would go this time. I had to go west.
From here on-wards, it would be all unknown terrain for me.
So far, I had been lucky and had not have to fight any Cougars or any other dangers. To stay on the road is always advisable; creatures tended to avoided the road but it did not mean you could depend on that. Even so, I reached Whitereach Post unhindered.
There were three Tauren here and only a small building, used for trade, not for defense.
They had a fire going, so I sat down, to have some food.
They looked me up a bit, slightly amused, how one so young and inexperienced as me, had ended up here.
"Are you sure you are going the right way?" they said. "Going West?"
I assured them that that was my plan.
"Then you better watch out," they went on, "we had a Merchant here, who only just made it. His Pack-Kodo was attacked on the road, by a pack of Hyena's."
That a Kodo was attacked, was bad news. Kodos were so big, they could trample a hyena with ease.
"And the Centaur have made a camp close to the road too", they said.
Centaurs, being our mortal enemies, would hunt me down and kill me, if they were to spot me. I would rather take my chance with the hyena's.
I had to be very, very careful.
I thanked them for their advice and told them that I planned to return here, later that day.
Then I went, Westwards again.
After some time, I saw where the Centaur had build their camp. They had guards at the gate but no patrols outside and so, I dared to risk it. I had the choice to run and possibly draw more attention, or to go slow and careful, but be exposed for a longer time.
I chose the careful way, I could still run, if they were to spot me.
It took a long time, before I was out of sight of the camp.
Soon, I needed to go more to the South. I was still not at the opposite side. A small path left the road, going in the right direction. Walking there, I saw the wall of the ravine coming closer. Ahead was a big Winged Serpent hovering above the path, blocking my way.
There were Winged Serpents in the Barrens too and I knew them and their dangers well, but this one was bigger than I had ever seen! Twice bigger, if not more. What this magnificent monster could do, I could only guess.
It was best to stay far away from it.
Perhaps I should find another path going South. There must be many ways, weaving between the stone pillars. But on the next path, I found myself confronted with a Cougar. It had already seen me and ran directly at me. I was able to kill it, without getting hurt too much, myself. Then I went on-wards and spotted a Hyena. It was only one Hyena and it had not seen me, so, I decided to leave it be.
It is always good to not kill unnecessary.
The wall was now very close and I looked for the road that was going up. I could see it, winding up the side of the canyon, but where did it start? It turned out that it was not far from where I had been before and the Winged Serpent was flying in front of it.
I had to get up this path, so as soon as the monster had moved away a little, I made a run for it.
Only a few yards up the path, I was struck by a tremendous lightning bolt! I fell to the ground, but managed to get away before the Serpent could launch another bolt. Luckily, it was not following me.
I could only hope that it would be gone by the time I would return.
Finally, I arrived at my destination. The place where the Star-wood trees grew.
It was a secluded place, surrounded by high walls of rock.
This was the realm of the Wyvern, that flew around and had their nests here.
The Star-wood trees were growing in a very strange way, the branches staying low and to the sides, not upwards like normal trees. It must be due to the harshness of the place, that they grew in this way.
I could spot several Wyvern-nests, many of them were in use. Luckily, none were too close, and I set out to gather the Wood. Below the trees, there were dead twigs, of which I made a bundle that I put in my bag. This would last us quite some time, but would it not be better if I brought home a decent branch? That would certainly make a difference. Then this arduous trek needed not be made so soon again.
I set out to break off one of the lowest branches, but the living wood proved to be enormously tough. The dry heat had caused the wood to grow to be nearly indestructible.
As I was tearing at the branch, I heard a thunderous roar behind me. A Wyvern was flying directly towards me! I prepared to defend myself and was able to make it fly away.
As soon as I had this branch loose, I would be out of here!
I could not see the Wyvern any more and renewed my attempt to break free this terrible branch.
Then I felt a sudden sting in my back. The Wyvern had returned and had struck me with the end of its tail!
I felt the poison spreading though my body and I fell to the ground. I tried to get up, but all I managed to do, was to turn myself on my back. The pain in my back exploded in a multitude of colors and the poison took control of my body.
There, I was lying, staring up into the sky, being carried by the face of the World.
The poison was altering my perception.
The Sun, the Eye of the Earthmother, was watching me from above. And I saw myself, through Her Eye, far below, as an insignificant little speck.
But there was no malice or contempt in her gaze, just attention. She had Love for all her children and was watching what I was going to do. But I was unable to move and could only look back, to that bright Eye in the sky.
I slipped in- and out of consciousness during that long day, till finally the Eye left and the night fell.
But the night had it's own Eye, that looked down on me, with that same unspoken question. A question that I did not know the answer of!
Stop tormenting me this way! I exclaimed in my mind.
I knew that I was going to die. If not this night, then surely tomorrow. Another day exposed to the Sun would certainly bring the end. I hoped, it would not have to come to that.
I did not fear Death, but I could not say the same thing of dying.
Through the Eye of the Earthmother, I saw myself, walking towards the tree and trying to break off a branch. My thrashing about alerted a Wyvern, that took silently to the air. From his high perch, it had seen me as soon as I had entered his territory, but now, this trespasser was disturbing the peace.
He had several females with nests in the area, who depended on him for their protection.
In a long flight, he went closer to assess the situation.
The intruder was trashing about with the branches and it was making the females nervous.
He went for a new approach, to scare it away.
Roaring loudly, he announced his presence, but instead of fleeing, the intruder tried to attack him! He could not risk to get hurt, lest he would be unable to fly, but the invader had to be dealt with.
He readied himself for an attack and lashed out with his tail. The trespasser fell to the ground and the danger was averted. He went back to his high seat, to again oversee his domain.
The next thing I saw, was how it had been my unawareness, that had caused the Cougar to mistake me for an easy prey. A mistake that had cost it it's life.
I could see how we have responsibility, for everything that we do.
Seeing all this, I knew what I wanted, to live life with the ability to not make any more mistakes.
But there was no life for me to live any more. I was on the brink of Death. It did not matter, I knew now, the answer to the question that had been torturing my mind.
I could die in peace.
The white light of the moon was in my eyes and peace was in my mind. And dying seemed the easiest thing in the world. Lying there, peacefully, I awaited the end.
It was, as if the Earthmother spoke to me: "When a mistake is made, it need not inevitably lead to it's fatal conclusion."
And the white circle of the Moon became bigger and bigger, till it filled my view completely.
I was taken up in Her care.”
- The Wyvern patriarch had been waiting for the trespasser to leave, but it was still lying there.
Not their type of prey, it was not considered food. Hyena's were his favorite.
He would take the corpse and drop it, back into the ravine, so the Hyena's could get to it.
For reasons unknown, his flight, that night, was longer than expected.
-
“In the early morning, I was found by a guard, lying behind a tent, on the high flats of Freewind Post.
With their great care and healing skills, the people there were able to nurture me back to good health.
I gave them many thanks, for saving my life and was able to return home, after several days.
Back in Thunder Bluff, I had a lot to report and the Elders listened attentively.
Then, one of the Elders spoke:
"Every creature that decides to attack, hopes for gain, without getting hurt, or tries to prevent loss, possibly to the brink of Death.
We do hunt, out of need and sometimes to prove skill and bravery, but to kill many, all in the same manner, without need and letting go to waste, is a sign that one has lost the connection with the World and it is to ones own peril. Dwarves do come to mind, they celebrate their greatest hunters by the number of useless kills they make.
We can only hope, that they will once again, return to ways of the Earthmother.
Any other reason to attack is a sign of Insanity.
That includes greed, revenge, fear and anger.
There is great risk in that."
I told the Elder that I understood this.
That I had seen, how we are responsible for all that we do and that I wanted to live by the guidance of the Earthmother. They told me that She would find her own ways, to show me how I could help Her lessen the suffering of the World.
Following Her advice, I came to see that by doing that, I helped myself even more.
And now I have to eat this Crab," he concluded, "there is still a lot left."
"That was a great story!" exclaimed the Priest. "I wished I was a Tauren too. Being Undead, I have nothing to expect, but Death.
"Yes, and No." said the Shaman between two bites. "I can tell you about that later."
Why did I never see anything like that?! I asked myself. I had died and was ress'ed and had never seen anything, other than that misty place, where I longed to be alive again. It was like a bad dream, with no substance at all. And he talked about things and the Earthmother, as if it was all real. The only real things we had, were the skulls of our ancestors and the power to defend ourselves. Our magic depended on that, and Fire.
Fire was always needed.
I saw that Wilani had fallen asleep. It had been a long story and we were underground for so long, night must have fallen a long time ago. "We all should get some sleep." said the Rogue, while he brought some more wood for the fire. It was good. Once a fire was burning, I could keep it going with only the littlest use of Mana and very little wood. But the others would need to feed the fire during the night. If you could call it night.
Here, underground, it was dark all the time.
"I will take the first watch.", said the Shaman.
"I will take the second!", I said quickly.
"Wake me when you get tired", said the Rogue.
The Priest had put away all his cooking things found himself a spot, away from the fire. He dared not his risk to have his dried out bones catch fire while sleeping.
As he lay there, he looked like a parched and long dead corpse.
And I though of what he had said.
The Shaman was still eating and I was too much awake to go to sleep any time soon. What a story that was!
I went over it again in my mind. "So you are of the Clan Dawnstrider" I started. He "Hummed" in response.
"Would you be OK if I called you like that?" He "Hummed" again.
I fell silent and looked into the fire.
There was a lot to think about.
The flickering flames created images in my mind.
Images of things that had happened in my life.
One scene was quickly followed by the next.
It was like a whirlwind with me in the center.
Sometimes, I was still very young,
while others were more recent,
but I always felt myself as 'ME'
and the same one.
Not the same were the feelings and emotions connected to these images; the happiness in my childhood, the competition and connection between Lani and me, the fear when my mother went missing and the desperation and loneliness when she was gone and Lani also not being there.
All the way to the moments of intense fear when I was holding that terrible Murloc sheeped.
And then the whirlwind dropped me somehow into my body sitting by the fire.
I regained my composure and looked up. Had this been a dream?
I saw the Shaman looking at me intently, had he done this, in some way?
Seeing my reaction, he said "I looked after you, while you were away.
Call the Rogue if there is anything. I must sleep now."
And with that he closed his eyes and slumped backwards.
"But.." I started to say, only to get a sonorous snoring as a reply.
Well, he's not going to be much of a help, then, I thought. What am I supposed to do now?
I looked again at the fire and at the pile of firewood; it looked about as much as it had been before, so how long had I been 'away' then? Somehow I felt it was quite a bit longer then it seemed.
My legs argued that I had been sitting in this posture for way too long and I wanted to get up but a peculiar tug at my mind made me look in the direction of the mouth of the cave. I could not see anything in particular and wondered what it had been that made me look that way.
But then I heard it: the soft flaps of webbed feet: Murlocs! They had come back! They would kill us all!
Fear rose up in me like lava in a volcano, ready to burst forth but it had me frozen to the spot at the same time.
In panic, I Blinked, away from the fire, where I was in clear view.
Now in the shadows, I saw a Murloc coming towards the circle of light, but hesitant to get any closer: it feared the fire.
My heart left my throat to take it's normal place and I was able to think again.
Was it only ONE Murloc? It seemed so.
Why did it not attack? Yes, the fire. Thank the spirits for fire!
Could I wake the others in time or should I try to kill it myself?
Could I kill it by myself?
Then came into my mind what the Tauren-elder had said: to attack out of fear is the sign of insanity.
Well, I had fear all-right, no doubt about that. But what should I do then?! There was no possibility to run away and moreover, I could not leave the sleeping others unguarded!
I looked again at the Murloc; it's attention was not at all at those sleeping by the fire, there was something much more attractive: the rest of the mostly eaten crab. It must be really hungry to go so close to the fire.
For a moment I felt pity for the poor Murloc, but that vanished on the spot: those monsters had killed and eaten my mother! Suddenly the lava in my volcano had changed into anger!
I was going to kill at least THIS one!
