Shaurria: A Night At the Pig & Whistle

Inspired by Tuesday night's awesome rp.


Shaur with her two friends Aleros the druid and Aely the pally.


Sitting with Aely. Shaur is kinda attached to her.


Overlooking her domain from the stair railing.

She had a really good time despite the fact that she was missing Arvoss (he's still in the Plaguelands). Aleros helped alot by playing with her a couple times. I should have gotten a couple screenshots of that. >.>

She also couldn't find Windstar, so she didn't have her regular friends around her. It made her more nervous than usual, but she actually found it easier to just go up to people and say hi. I am starting to realize, however, that my little druid has some major issues. Hmm.

I think I'll have Arvoss' story done before I finish Kaled & Khaotic's, so I might post part 1 of that soon. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Kaledain & Khaotic: Mischief

Still working on the longer stuff, but I came up with this shorter story. I had the first part written weeks ago but it didn't feel "finished" enough to post. Couple days ago I went back to it and added more to it, and here it is! Enjoy.

P.S. Kaled and Khaotic are both extremely ticklish. I wouldn't try anything or you'd probably get a blade to your face (>.<), but to each other it's fair game. /evilgrin

P.P.S. This is after their trip to Winterspring, but still a week or two before they head to Eastern Plaguelands.
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The early morning light shone down on Silvermoon, the sun just peeking out over the tops of the buildings. The city was still quiet, until you reached Farstrider Square, then the hush was broken by the regular hssstt- thnk of someone practicing their archery at the training dummies.

Kaled and Rajji stood at one of the dummies, pulling their arrows out. Kaled had his bow at hand; Rajji had set aside his rifle and was using an old bow of Kaled’s. Kechara perched on the wall nearby and Ashke lay underneath her, side-by-side with Rajji’s newest companion. Kaled still wasn’t sure what to make of the brightly-glowing, transparent, catlike creature, but Rajji had assured him that Wraith was harmless, to the troll’s friends, at least. Alti had followed them out as well, even though he had scarcely left Khaotic’s side in the last several days. But the scrawny cat-that-was-not-a-cat that also lay nearby had intrigued the young lion so much that he had come out with them, and he now sat grooming the stranger’s mane, his expression still confused. Bearkat took it all in stride, and let Alti be as he watched his two friends.

Kaled was continuing the conversation they were having as they practiced their archery. “It’s just that we’d like to know,” he was telling the troll. “We can’t call the baby an ‘it’, that’s insulting. But we don’t know whether to say he or she, and it’s just getting confusing.” Rajji stopped and thought for a bit. “I know what ya mean, Kaled, but I’m afraid that I’m not sure whether my priest or shaman brothas can do what ya ask. I don’t know enough about what they do, ya know.” “Well, what about a witch doctor? Do they have any different skills?” Kaled asked, and Rajji shrugged. Kaled turned to the cat lying nearby. “What about the druids? Do you have any spells or something that could help, Bear?” The druid closed his eyes as he thought, then opened them to look at Kaled. “We have no spells,” he answered, his voice a deep rumble. “Perhaps there might be something in the Emerald Dream, but I haven’t walked there for a long time, and it’s grown dangerous.”

Kaled frowned in concentration. “I know our priests, paladins, and mages can’t help; I already asked them. I asked the orcs too, and they said the same thing. Their shamans don’t use the kind of magic that could help.” He sighed as he looked at Rajji. “I guess we’ll have to wait, then,” he said ruefully.

They took a few more shots before Bearkat asked Kaled, “So where is Khaotic this morning? Still sleeping?” “She was awake when I left,” Kaled replied. “But she hasn’t been feeling all that well the last couple days. I think the baby’s being kind of hard on her,” he finished with a worried frown. “Do you want me to come look at her?” the druid offered. “I’m no healer, but I know enough to help, maybe.” Kaled shook his head. “Thanks, but we have Harene taking care of her already. She says everything is okay, he’s just… active.” He watched as Rajji tried a few more shots, then as they pulled the arrows out of the target again, he said, “I think that’s enough for me. Thanks for coming out here, you two. I need to get back to her.” Rajji nodded and clapped him on the back, and they watched as Kaled headed back to the Royal Exchange and home.

* * * * * *

Khaotic was sitting in a chair with her chin propped on one hand, elbow on the armrest. She didn't look around when Kaled came in and stepped up behind her. “What’s wrong, love?” he asked her. She tilted her head back to look at him. “Nothing much, I just haven’t been sleeping well the last few days,” she answered as he started rubbing her shoulders. “Mmmm,” he said. “The baby?” She nodded. “It’s not really his fault; it’s just hard to sleep when it feels like a kodo is hopping around in your belly.” He snorted, trying not to laugh, and she eyed him. His expression changed to complete innocence, and she sighed at him.

He continued his massage, and she hardly paid attention when his hands moved down her back. She was completely unprepared when he suddenly started tickling her sides. “Kaled!” she yelped. “Stop that!” He laughed and went after her again, and she slapped his hands away, then retreated upstairs. He followed her more slowly, giving her time to prepare a defense. By the time he reached the top she was standing next to the bed, staring at him fiercely. “I’m warning you, Kaled,” she said when he started toward her.

She glared at him as he approached, then with a snarl she grabbed the pillow from behind her and swung it at him. He blocked the blow but she swung again. The third swing he managed to get a hold on the pillow and pulled it out of her hands, then dropped it to grab her wrist as she struck at him. He was laughing again by this point; she was still snarling. He forced her back to the bed, and she fell backwards onto it when the edge hit the back of her knees. She tried to hit him with her other hand, but he grabbed that wrist as well, pinning both her hands to the bed above her head while he crouched over her. She twisted underneath him in an attempt to throw him off, then tried to knee him between his legs. “Hey!” he protested, blocking the knee before it hit anything important. Growling under his breath, he sat on her, being very careful of her belly. Straddling her with his knees on either side, he hooked his feet over her legs, holding her immobilized.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, catching their breath, then suddenly Khaotic started giggling. “That’s much better, love,” Kaled said, but then she muttered something under her breath in Thalassian. He raised one eyebrow in mock reproach. “No thanks, love. That’s not really my thing, which you ought to know by now.” Khaotic smirked at him, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Ready to behave yet?” he asked. Her grin stretched wider. “No.” “Good,” he murmured as he leaned down closer. “Neither am I.” His lips brushed her forehead, then he kissed her on her mouth. She returned it eagerly, hungrily. After a moment, he released her wrists, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down on top of her.

The need for air finally forced them apart. Kaled eased over so he was lying beside her, then ran his hand down her face, cupping her chin. “Su balah,” he said softly, then grinned at her, and she returned it. “You are impossible,” she murmured back. He kissed her again, and her last coherent thought for a good while was how much she loved him.

Arvoss: Darrowshire, prelude

Arvoss sat in the Park, watching Shaurria walk around him batting at random grass tufts. She stopped suddenly, dropping to a crouch and tamping her back feet a few times, then leaped out, covering a dozen feet in one jump. The squirrel she had targeted squeaked and ran for its tree, making it just barely ahead of the druid. Arvoss sighed. "Kitten," he called to her.

Shaur was staring up into the tree after the squirrel, but quickly turned and loped over to him. Skidding to a stop, she rubbed first her head, then her whole length against his plate-covered back, ending up flopped on the ground at his side. He tried for a stern stare. "Ye've jus' 'ad yer dinneh, naow ye shouldnae be chasin' squirrels when ye've got a full belly," he told her. She considered this for a moment, then gave him a baffled look. Shifting out to her night elf form, she sat down next to him. "But then when should I chase them, Arvoss?" she asked, her forehead furrowed in confusion. He sighed again and changed the subject.

"Ah've got ta go out agin, kitten. Dinnae ken 'ow long Ah'll be gone this tahm," he said. Her face fell. "More smithing stuff?" she asked him. He shook his head. "Nah, this's diff'ren'," he said quietly. "Ah 'ave ta... there's jus' sommat Ah've got ta do, is all." She frowned, then brightened again. "I can watch your house while you're gone," she offered, and he smiled. "Tha's a good ideah, lass," he told her. "Ah'm leavin' Shadow heah as well, ye can look aftah 'im too."

They sat in companionable silence for awhile after that. Shaurria finally broke the silence. "Where are ya going this time, Arvoss?" He didn't answer at first, then quietly he said, "Ah'm 'eadin' ta th' Plaguelands, kitten. Ah'm goin' back 'ome, ta Lordaeron."
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In the interest of Character Development, I'm going to run Arvoss through the Darrowshire chain as well. This will give me something to do, since it looks like Kaled & Khaotic's tale will have to wait til the server resets (aka, Darrowshire on Durotan is still overrun with battling undead). What I have in my head so far is shaping up to be a Massive Wall O' Text, so I'll probably write it all out, then post it in increments once it's ready.

Kaled & Khaotic reach level 60!

And as soon as I can wrap up the Darrowshire questline, they are heading to Outland at last. But why did I wait? Couple reasons- firstly, epic ground mount. Faster escapes when I run thru everything in my path is always good. Also, not every quest out there is available at level 58. I'm toying with the idea of taking them to Zangarmarsh first, and doing Hellfire Peninsula later. Also, I have rushed thru content so much for most of my toons; I wanted to do some of the quests that I haven't done before (like the Darrowshire chain). Call me nostalgic if you will, but eh.

My sister on her druid & I were going to finish the questline tonight, but we ran into a snag. Seems the Battle of Darrowshire quest bugs out sometimes. When we went to do our quest, there were mobs and guards running all over the place, and no sign of the NPCs anywhere. We might have to wait for Tuesday's reset to be able to finish it. :(


Will finish up the story once we do complete it. Then it's on to Outland, with a brief stopover to do Warlord's Command (love that quest and haven't done it since Boogga reached 60).

And it is once again waaay too late, and I need sleep. Til next time Happy Hunting!

Kaledain & Khaotic: Plagueland

Kaled is not a morning person. >.>
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Khaotic yanked the covers off the bed. "Come on, Kaled. Time to get up!" she told him, then shook his shoulder. He groaned loudly, then buried his face in the pillow. "Kaled!" she said sharply. "We need to get going if we're going to make any sort of time. It's a long trip to Light's Hope." He half-raised his head and looked at her blearily. "But it's still dark," he mumbled. "Nonsense, I've got the lamps lit," she retorted, then grabbed his legs and pulled them off the bed. Kaled got himself to a sitting position, then blinked at her. "Outside, I mean." She sighed at him. "We need to be leaving Undercity by daybreak if we're going to reach Light's Hope early enough to do anything. You're the one that wanted to help that girl find her sister, remember? Now come on." He mumbled something unintelligible, but got himself up.

They did manage to be leaving the Undercity by the time dawn broke over the horizon. Alti paced at the heels of Khaotic's hawkstrider, while Argus followed Kaled. They made it to the Bulwark in good time, and passed through the Western Plaguelands without incident as well, having familiarized themselves with it before. Once they crossed the Thondoril River they relied heavily on their map and followed the road, until they neared the town of Corin's Crossing.

They stopped a healthy distance away. Even so, they could see the movements of the undead within the town. "Light save us..." Kaled said quietly, eyes wide. Khaotic said nothing, her gaze sweeping over the closest buildings. Finally she reached out and touched his arm. "Let's go," she said quietly. "We can find a way around. That's too many for us, and we have a promise to keep." Kaled nodded and followed.

They cut across country once they were clear of the town, but wound up too far south, at Tyr's Hand. They backtracked and, after studying the map more, finally found the Chapel. There they asked after the Redpaths, but no one knew what had become of them, save that most of the family was believed dead. That didn't faze them much, since the girl from Everlook, Jessica, had already said the same. They did find a member of the Argent Dawn who knew where Darrowshire was; he marked their map, then told them to be careful. They were preparing to leave Light's Hope when Kaled ran across a cat-formed druid, sitting near the inn and sniffing the breeze. It took Kaled only a moment to recognize him.

"Bearkat!" he exclaimed. "How have you been?" The druid purred at him. "Hello, Kaled. I've been well, how are you?" Khaotic came over and joined in the greetings, then Kaled said, "We were about to head out to find Darrowshire. We met someone who wanted us to try and find her family. Would you like to join us?" "Why not?" Bearkat replied. "I do know the area, though it's been awhile since I was here last."

The three headed out shortly. Alti growled at Bearkat once, but after a light cuff from his mistress and an admonishment to behave, he seemed to accept the druid. They had to steer clear of Corin's Crossing again, but reached Darrowshire without incident.

Kaled wasn't sure what he had expected. After what Jessica had told them, he didn't really think they would find a thriving town, but he hoped it would not be another Corrin's Crossing, swarming with undead. Yet, as they approached the outer buildings, and they saw the state of disrepair that the nearest house showed...

Khaotic whispered, "Kaled..." He reached back and took her hand as they all came to a stop. "It's... dead," he said, looking all around. There was no sign of life at all, not even Scourge.

Bearkat sniffed the air, then headed toward one house. "I think I smell something," he called back to them. "It smells odd, though." The two elves dismounted and tethered their hawkstriders, then followed the cat to the house. Alti was pressed against Khaotic's leg, growling softly as he watched all around. They got to the doorway and stopped again.

"Hello," said the little girl. "Have you seen my family? I've been waiting for them a long time. Do you think you could help me find my doll?" She looked at them expectantly, seeming to be completely normal except for the fact they could see right through her.

"Kaled," Khaotic gasped. "She's..." "Mmhmm," rumbled Bearkat. "That would be why it smelled wrong." "Light..." Kaled said softly. He reached out to pat her head, but his hand went right through her. He shivered slightly, then looked at the others. "Let's see if we can find her doll."

They found the pieces scattered throughout the other buildings, and Kaled did a fair job of stitching it back together again. He placed it on the ground in front of her and looked into her face. "Is there anything else we can do for you, Pamela?" he asked.

"Do you know where my family is?" the ghost asked. "Auntie Marlene told me to stay here, but then she left and never came back! And my dad... have you seen him? Maybe Auntie Marlene knows where he is. Can you ask her? She lives near Andorhal, in a house to the south. I think it was on a hill... she said it was on a hill. And sometimes, when it's nighttime, I can hear my Uncle Carlin crying. It sounds like he's far away, to the east. Will you find my uncle and tell him I'm alright? If you find him say I'm waiting for him, and I want to hear the funny story he used to tell." Kaled looked to the others, and at their nods, he told the girl, "Yes, we'll find them."

As they walked back to their mounts, Khaotic started mumbling to herself. "What's that, love?" Kaled asked her, and she said, "Uncle Carlin is to the east. Wasn't there a Carlin Redpath with the Argent Dawn at Light's Hope?" "That's it, love. You've got it!" Kaled exclaimed, then stopped and looked at Bearkat, then back to Khaotic. "Which do we go to first?" he wondered. Bearkat looked up at the sky. "We have enough time to get to Andorhal and back before dark. Shall we go the longer trip first?" Khaotic nodded, and Kaled said, "It's settled then. Let's go."

They were all quiet during the trip, although Kaled broke the silence once after they crossed the Thondoril River. "Never would have thought I'd consider the Western Plaguelands to be 'clean'," he said quietly. Khaotic grunted noncommittally, while Bearkat simply looked at him, then back to the trail ahead.

They found the house, right where Pamela had said. Bearkat went up the stairs inside ahead of the hunters. "Uh," he called back down. "Brace yourselves, elves." Curious, Kaled and Khaotic came up and joined him in a bedroom, where they saw what he was talking about. "It's another ghost," he said, unnecessarily. Marlene, like Pamela, looked at them all, quite plainly able to see and hear them. "Marlene Redpath?" Kaled began; the ghost nodded at him. "We've come from your niece, Pamela. She wanted to know where her family is, especially her father...?" The ghost's eyes turned sad at that. "I wish Joseph could be with his daughter again, but it cannot be so. His soul was twisted by the Scourge, and he became a monster," she told them. "But perhaps we can change his fate. Search the graves outside for Joseph's monument. His body's not there, for it was trampled and destroyed years ago, but under the monument is his wedding ring. Take that ring to Chromie... a strange gnome with very strange powers. She is staying in the ruined inn at the northwest corner of Andorhal."

Kaled and Khaotic had both had dealings with Chromie before, so they were able to go straight to her. The "gnome" was still where she had been last time they had seen her, and didn't really seem surprised to see them. After listening to them explain everything, she said, "To save Joseph Redpath, we must first discover his past. We can learn this in the Annals of Darrowshire, a book held in the city hall of Andorhal. Bring me that book. We can then learn Joseph's fate, and with luck... change it!"

The town hall was not easy to get to, as there was a large group of undead milling in the square nearby. There had been a lich as well, but with help from their friend Rajji, Kaled and Khaotic had dealt with him some time ago. Even without their leader, the remaining undead were still dangerous, so the three slipped into the big building as quietly as they could. Khaotic had to speak sharply to Alti as he tried to go after the closest group. He reluctantly returned to her side, rumbling deep in his chest. Bearkat eyed him cautiously before turning his attention to the books scattered everywhere. "Which one are we after?" he asked as the two elves poked through the mess. Khaotic picked one up, but it promptly fell apart in her hands. Almost as if that was a signal, a large ghostly shape sprang up from nowhere and rushed at her. Alti lunged at it with a snarl, finally finding a target for his aggression, and the shape scattered to wisps beneath his claws, then vanished.

Kaled looked at the others. "Um, I hope neither of you think any less of me for this, but to be honest, all these ghosts are starting to freak me out a bit," he said, rather shakily, and Khaotic managed a laugh. Bearkat continued to poke through the books on the floor. "I think I've found it," he said. "Come take a look. Hands are better than kitty paws for this." Kaled gingerly picked it up, expecting another ghost to attack, but nothing happened. He checked the first few pages. "This is it," he said. "Back to Chromie."

Chromie took the old book from Kaled and promptly started casting a spell over it. Finished, she handed it back. Khaotic quickly took it and started leafing through the pages. Chromie explained, "The Annals of Darrowshire, through my magic, has gained pages at its end, and now it extends its history beyond the battle. One of the extra passages tells of another Redpath, Carlin, who survived Joseph's betrayal. Carlin's now in the Plaguelands to the east, at the Light's Hope Chapel. Go, take the book and speak with him."

Kaled turned toward the door, then noticed his wife. He chuckled and went over to her. "Reading it already, love?" he asked. "Mm," was all she said. Kaled began reading over her shoulder, and even Bearkat's curiosity got the better of him. He changed to his Tauren form and came over to read over her other shoulder. She obligingly waited until they had caught up with her before turning the pages.

They read through the first parts quickly, then came to the chapter pertaining to their quest:

The battle continued, and Captain Redpath led his militia bravely. And it might have been won, had the captain not been corrupted by the death knight Marduk the Black.

In the middle of the fray Marduk rode up to Redpath, and with black magic he tore loose Redpath's spirit, twisting it into an evil shadow of the brave captain.

The corrupted Captain Redpath then spread his evil taint among the defenders of Darrowshire, who betrayed their allies and slaughtered them. They then turned on the town of Darrowshire and killed all who hid in their homes.

They finished reading in a state of shock. Finished, Khaotic closed the book with a thump. "Anar'alah belore," she said fervently. "I think I agree, love," Kaled replied. "So that's what happened to the town..." "Dor rini dath," Khaotic muttered to herself. "Uh, language, love," Kaled prompted her, as Bearkat raised a curious eyebrow at her. "Oops, sorry Bear," she said apologetically. "Sometimes I forget what language I'm speaking. The poor girl." Bearkat waved off her apology. "Yes, now we know what happened to her," he said, shifting back to a cat. Kaled cleared his throat. "Let's get back," he told them. "I don't want to be here when darkness falls."

They wearily rode into Light's Hope as the sun sank below the trees. After giving the book to Carlin Redpath, they stood and waited while he read it. "What is this book? The Annals of Darrowshire? That was my home before the war... my home before the battle that destroyed it! Why did you bring me this book? But look here! At the end there are pages that tell tales of the days beyond the battle! Here is a passage about me! And one about my brother Joseph! Is this book true? We must discover the truth!" He looked at them anxiously. "Will you help me?" Kaled looked at Khaotic and Bearkat, who both nodded at him. They had come this far, now they all wanted to see it through to the end. "Yes," Kaled told Carlin. "We'll help. What do you need?"

"The Annals of Darrowshire tells of the villains of that battle," Carlin told them. "It tells how the ghoul lord Horgus the Ravager was destroyed by Alliance forces during the battle. His body was cast into a lake, northwest of Corin's Crossing, and his skull remains there.

"Marduk the Black was never defeated, but his fabled sword was shattered and lost. It lies at the bottom of the gorge west of Corin's Crossing. Retrieve these items if you can. I know not why, but I am certain their fate lies with you." Kaled nodded. "We'll start in the morning, sir."

The trio walked back to the inn. It was crowded with Argent Dawn soldiers and officers, but Khaotic managed to get inside and order a couple bowls of stew and bread from the innkeeper. She brought them out to a quiet corner of the camp, where Kaled had already spread their bedrolls. He took his supper gratefully, and they ate in silence. Afterward, he took Khaotic's arm and pulled her close. They sat together for a long time despite their weariness, finding comfort in the other's warmth and presence. "Tomorrow will be even busier, unless I miss my guess," Kaled said quietly. Bearkat opened one eye from his sleeping place on a nearby wagon. "Yes, but we'll find out what happened here, one way or another," he replied. "Maybe we'll even help that little girl find peace." "I hope so," Khaotic broke in. "To think she's been alone here all this time, waiting for her father to come home..." She trailed off, but Kaled noticed her hand moving to her belly, and knew she was thinking of their own baby. He squeezed her reassuringly. "We'll help her, love," he whispered to her. "Come on, let's get some sleep before morning." She let him pull her down next to him on the blankets, and finally they all fell asleep.

Kaledain & Khaotic: Winterspring

I am attempting something a little bigger than what I've done recently. I'm going to chronicle the entire Darrowshire quest chain as they go through it, as a story. Hope you enjoy.
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Winterspring was a vast improvement over the Plaguelands. Well, if you didn't mind the cold, that is.

Kaled was woken up by a kiss on his cheek. He opened his eyes to see Khaotic bending over him. "Wake up, love," she told him with a grin. "Time to see what the day brings." He grinned back at her, then hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her down next to him, mindful of her growing belly. "Oof," she said, then looked at the edge of the bed, which was right at her other side. "They didn't exactly plan these beds for sleeping double, did they?" she asked. "No, they didn't," Kaled responded. "And I had a very long, cold night last night." He kissed her soundly, then pulled back and looked at her. She smiled back at him. "So did I," she said softly, then abruptly she winced and put a hand on her stomach. "Kicking again," she said, then reached for his hand and placed it next to hers. "Feel it?" He was still for several seconds, then started grinning widely. "Yeah," he said softly.

The baby settled down soon, and Khaotic pulled Kaled out of bed and onto his feet. "Come on, love. We have to earn our keep here," she said, only half-joking, and he allowed her to help him into his armor before returning the favor for her. Finished, they went to find some breakfast.

In the inn's common room, they were approached by a young human. "Please," she asked them. "Can you help me find my family? We lived in Darrowshire, where the Plaguelands are now." Kaled looked regretfully at her. "We'd like to help, but we just left the Plaguelands not long ago. We weren't planning on going back so soon." Her face fell. "My name is Jessica Redpath. If you do go back, keep an eye out for them? Please? I'm really worried about my sister." Kaled nodded as they passed her and went outside.

Once outside, they both took a good look around. The little town was mostly populated by goblins, but there were a few others of different races; they all seemed to be keeping mostly to themselves. Khaotic stopped one goblin and asked if there was any work available. The goblin sized them both up, then said, "There's a dwarf out by the hot springs that needs help with the furbolgs here. Buggers have gotten nasty lately. Her name's Donova Snowden." Khaotic thanked the goblin, then turned to Kaled with one eyebrow raised. He shrugged. "Sounds good to me. Let's go." As they went to get their mounts and pets out of the stables, Khaotic sighed and muttered "More furbolgs."

They found Donova with no trouble. The story she told them sounded much like the problems in neighboring Felwood; the formerly peaceful furbolgs had turned vicious and were attacking anything that came near. The first thing Donova asked them to do was thin out the furbolgs nearby, as they had been keeping her from doing her research at the hot springs. Kaled and Khaotic looked at each other, then headed out.

As they picked through the belongings of a couple furbolgs they had killed, Kaled suddenly straightened up, an empty vial in his hand. "What's this, love? Looks like some sort of strange liquid." Khaotic peered at it, then shrugged. "Let's take it to Donova."

Donova's eyes went wide when they showed her the flask. "This greenish liquid... it reminds me a bit of the sludge I saw when traveling through Felwood. And I've seen some Winterfall runners passing into Timbermaw... Perhaps these things have something to do with the flask you found! There's a large group of furbolg just past Timbermaw Hold, in Felwood, called the Deadwood tribe. They have been corrupted and driven mad by the fel. Why don't you look around there and see if you can find any evidence of dealings between the Winterfall and the Deadwood?" The two hunters nodded and set out.

They found the camp with no problems; they had been there before. But this time they fought their way to the back of the camp, where they found a white Winterfall furbolg showing a few of the Deadwood something it was brewing in a cauldron. They had to kill the furbolgs to get to the cauldron, then Kaled carefully dipped out a sample for Donova, stoppering the flask tightly before stowing it in his pack. He looked at Khaotic. "If you don't mind, love, I'd rather you not touch any of this stuff." She just nodded.

They returned to Donova and gave her the sample, which she began studying carefully. Kaled and Khaotic took the opportunity to grab a quick lunch from their packs while they waited. Kaled was idly tossing bits of jerky to Kechara, watching her swoop after them and catch them, when the dwarf called to them.

"This is very interesting," she told them. "When this toxic substance is mixed with the water from the hot springs, it loses its toxicity, only retaining the ability to temporarily affect those that ingest it. This must be why the Winterfall protect the hot springs so fervently -- they need them to purify their firewater.

"We need to stop this -- cut off contact between the Winterfall and the Deadwood. A group of runners walks the distance between their village and Felwood. Find them and steal their shipment."

The group of furbolg, three of them, weren't hard to find. After sending in Kechara and Maelthra to distract one of them, the two hunters quickly dispatched the others, then finished off the third. They recovered the crate that one had been carrying and returned to Donova. She took the crate and set it aside, then looked at them, almost apologetically.

"You're probably not going to like this," she began. "While we still know very little about why the furbolg have been ingesting this strange substance, I do think it's best that we put a stop to it before it gets out of hand. The Winterfall furbolg are not a normally aggressive tribe, and this change in their behavior leads me to think that they must be under orders from their chief. We most likely can't undo the damage that has already been done, but I think that if their leader is slain, they will not get any worse." She took a deep breath. "Winterfall Village is to the east."

Kaled and Khaotic looked at each other, then without a word they went to their mounts and headed off. Kaled waited until they were well down the road before speaking. "Is it really necessary?" he asked. "Killing their chief just seems a little....excessive." "I think she's right, Kaled," Khaotic answered. "Without a leader they will stop the attacks on travelers, if only because they will be busy fighting among themselves to find a new leader." "But there's no guarantee of that, Veldora," said Kaled. "And when they do find a new chief, who's to say that he won't start up again where the last one left off?"

Khaotic sighed. "There is no guarantee, you're right about that," she said. "But if we leave things the way they are, the attacks will continue, and will probably get worse. Sometimes, better to take the unknown rather than suffer under an already bad situation." Kaled was silent after that. She could tell that he still didn't like it, but she had at least partly convinced him.

They had to fight their way through the village, to the cave in the back where the chief lived. They found him there, with a shaman accompanying him. Sending thier pets in to distract the shaman, they both took aim at the chief, and loosed.

Kaled looked down at the fallen chief rather sadly, as Khaotic rifled through his meager belongings. "What is this?" she asked, straightening up with a small book in her hands. Kaled took it and leafed through it. "Looks like a journal or something," he said. "I certainly can't read furbolg, can you?" She shook her head. "Donova again?" she suggested, and he nodded. "We need to let her know the chief is taken care of anyway," he said, a trace of regret in his voice.

Donova took the journal carefully and began looking through the pages. "The Winterfall are no longer a threat to me, but if you still want to find out what was driving the furbolg to create and consume this strange firewater, I think you should seek out Kelek Skykeeper. He is part of a group known as the Emerald Circle, druids that are committed to their work in Felwood, healing the land from the corruption. Kelek has much experience with the furbolgs in Felwood, and may be able to tell you more about this log." She closed the book and handed it back to them. "Thank you, again, both of you."

Kaled and Khaotic took the Timbermaw tunnels up to the Moonglade, then hired a couple wind riders to carry them to the Emerald Circle's camp in southern Felwood. They arrived at dusk and gave the book to Kelek, who promised to study it and send them word if he was able to translate any of it. After that, the two elves wandered to the edge of the camp. Kaled sat down, then gently pulled Khaotic down too. As she settled into his lap, she asked quietly, "Now what, love? Where should we go next?" He was silent for a bit, and she turned her head to look at him. He was staring off into space, his eyes distant.

Finally he said, "You remember that girl at the Everlook inn? The one looking for her sister?" "Yes," she said, and waited. "I think, maybe we ought to go try to track down her family," he said slowly. "I'd like to do something helpful, like that." She took his hand and squeezed it. "Alright, my love. We'll go do that." He wrapped his arms around her, and they just watched the woods around them until it grew too dark to see.

I have come to a few realizations...

The first is, I can be really ADD in-game.

The second is, I cannot for the life of me get Barraccus to his next level. He has been 75 for weeks and I can't even log on him for more than a few minutes. I remember this happening when I was leveling Boogga and Alanon too. There's just something about the halfway point that baffles me.

I'm hoping that if I can focus long enough to get 2-3 quests done at a time, in a few more weeks he will reach 76. Then he can go quest in Sholazar Basin, which is my favorite zone, and hopefully break out of this leveling slump.

I really want to get him up to 80, because the next in line for leveling is my favorite, Taurros the feral druid. If there's any toon that I can escape the midway slump on, it will probably be him.

The third thing I've realized is that in WoW, I go through phases. I had a PVP phase back before Wrath was released and got several pieces of gear on several toons while I was at it. I've gone through a couple "raiding" phases (currently at the end of one, I'm almost glad that my Alliance guild has stopped seriously raiding just cause it gives me a break). I go through alt-leveling phases almost like clockwork (this seems to be the phase I'm in right now). And I have also started an RP phase. This last I think is because I have never actually tried to actively roleplay on any of my characters, so it's kind of a "new shiny" thing.

Playing Barraccus for the short bit I did was the first time I was on Gilneas for a long time. I think perhaps some of my guildies might have been upset that I haven't logged on in so long, particularly my GM. She wasn't online while I was, so I don't know for sure, but she did put an interesting guild note on Crison, who has been mostly playing on the same servers I have. That's what really made me notice just how ADD I can be in WoW. I tend to focus on one thing for a short while, then something else will come along and I'll pretty much forget what I was just doing. Couple examples are: leveling Barraccus to 80, getting Kaled & Khaotic their PVP mounts, raising profession skills on various toons, etc.

Playing on Feathermoon has been fun, though. When I'm on Shaurria, I've been trying to interact with as many people as I reasonably can, and she's even made a few friends. I'll probably be posting another story of her, Arvoss & Co. sometime soon, as well as another Kaled & Khaotic story if I can kick my brain into gear. Right now I seem to be having some writer's block.

Can't think of anything else noteworthy to add, so til next time Happy Hunting!

Kaledain & Khaotic

Couldn't think of a title for this one. Oh well.

Oh, and I got Khaotic into her first battleground (Arathi Basin). It lasted all of about 5 minutes and we lost miserably. If I'm remembering correctly, they 5-capped us at the end. >.<

One mark down, 29 to go. Then 30 each from the other 2 battlegrounds. /dramatic sigh


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The relative quiet of the Western Plaguelands was broken by the sound of two people arguing.

"Come on, Kaled, if you really didn’t see that bear just because you were distracted by an herb,” Khaotic was saying, “what kind of hunter are you? If I wasn’t watching your back, where would you be?” “Home,” laughed Kaled. “And probably still camping in the woods because I’d be too anti-social to buy a house.” She laughed with him. “You’re probably right. Now aren’t you glad I found you?” she said. “Wait, who found who?” he countered. “I seem to remember I saw you first.”

Their banter continued until they reached the Bulwark, there on the edge of the Plaguelands, and turned in the samples they had gotten from the Scourge cauldron. Then they headed back out again. “What’s next on the list, love?” Kaled asked. Khaotic scanned the notes that the Forsaken priestess had given them. “Umm, the Writhing Haunt,” she said, then checked their map. “It’s further south, near Andorhal.”

They reached the field and began methodically thinning out the undead, so they could safely reach the huge cauldron spewing something out into the air. Once at the cauldron, they searched the Scourge bodies for the one that held the key to the cauldron's spigot, then gathered the sample they needed and headed back again. “On our next trip out,” Khaotic suggested, “let’s get the kitties. They need to stretch their legs.” Kaled nodded, and Kechara hooted from her perch on his shoulder, sounding like she agreed.

Once they had returned and gotten Ashke and Alti from the resident stable keeper, they realized how late it had gotten. They promised the Forsaken there that they would return the next day to finish up, then headed toward the Undercity.

As they rode back home, Khaotic said to Kaled, “I would almost like to know what they plan on doing with the cauldrons. Somehow I doubt they’re trying to cleanse them.” “Not likely,” Kaled agreed, “but I’m not sure if we’d want to know, love.” She conceded the point.

They trudged into the house together and immediately shed their armor. Kaled racked everything while Khaotic started looking for something quick for supper. “I’ll have to clean this before bed,” he told her while he examined a tear in the leather backing of his chain shirt. “It has Scourge blood all over it.” Khaotic shook her head. “I imagine it all does, love. Come eat, then we can both work on it.”

They spent an hour working on the armor after supper, then finally went up to bed. Kaled was standing beside the bed, pulling off his shirt, when he heard a low whistle. He glanced over to see Khaotic sitting on the bed, looking at him with a mischievous grin. He gave an answering grin and stepped over, bending down to kiss her tenderly. She grabbed his belt before he could move away and pulled him down next to her, determinedly unfastening the buckle. He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand, making her pause and look at him; he was smiling broadly. “O fulo osa, su balah,” he said softly, and she grinned back, then leaned in and kissed him soundly. He returned it, with a good bit of heat, then moved to her neck and shoulder as he reached to help her with her own shirt. She moaned softly and leaned back on the bed, and he slid closer to her. That was when they both heard a deep, blood-chilling growl.

They both looked up to see Alti at the top of the stairs heading toward them, his eyes fixed on Kaled, an unfriendly glint in them. Kaled cursed softly and moved away from Khaotic, but she grabbed his arm. “Nuashdie, Alti!” she commanded, and the lion obeyed, coming to a halt. She proceeded to scold him soundly, with a few choice curses thrown in. Alti stood still, eyes closed and ears flattened, while he took it all. “Anord, Altiuiqo. Baar,” she finished firmly, and he looked at her, his eyes calmer now, then with a quiet rumble he turned and went back downstairs, where he lay down next to Ashke.

Kaled gave Khaotic a shaky grin. “Maybe we should put him outside when we’re going to do this,” he said, but she shook her head. “He’ll behave now, or else we’ll have a new rug,” she said firmly, then reached for his arm again and pulled him close. “Now, where were we?”

* * * * * *

Later, as Kaled cradled her spoonwise against his chest, she said quietly, “We’ll have to watch him for now. I don’t want one of my pets turning into a killer. I don’t care how protective he thinks he’s being.” Kaled kissed the back of her shoulder. “I think he’ll be alright, love. He listened to you right away, so he’s not turning mindless or anything. He just worries, like I do.” She turned her head to look at him, and sighed. Then she twisted around in his arms to face him and kissed him gently. “Naaru burn me if I’m going to let my cat keep my husband from touching me,” she said, then she slipped out of his grasp.

She started down to the main room, but stopped when Kaled said, “Ahem, love?” She looked back to see him holding out a robe. She gave him an impish grin, then continued down, ignoring the robe. Kaled sighed, then watched her as she went down and knelt next to Alti. She spoke to him quietly for several minutes, the cat watching her raptly. Kaled caught a few words now and then; she was just speaking nonsense to him, her equivalent of baby talk, but the big lion was paying attention to every word she said, not even moving except to twitch an ear or blink at her. Finally she stroked his head; he pressed against her hand with a throaty purr. Then she stood and made her way back to bed. Alti watched her go but stayed where he was, and shortly he laid his head down and closed his eyes.

Khaotic clambered back into bed, climbing over Kaled to get to her side, then snuggled back into his arms. “He’ll be fine,” she said sleepily, closing her eyes. She opened them again abruptly as Kaled began rubbing her back and shoulders with both hands, and looked over her shoulder at him in surprise. “What, again?” she asked, and he chuckled. “Hey, you’re the one running around without even a robe on,” he said quietly as he pressed closer. She managed one laugh before he silenced her with a very thorough kiss.

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Running through those quests got them both almost to level 57. I'm going to go back & finish up the cauldrons, then maybe take them to Eastern Plaguelands. That will definitely ding them.

I'm having thoughts of just getting them up to the next PVP level bracket & seeing if it's any better there. If they hit 60 before they get their mounts, I have no problems with them buying the epic hawkstriders. Although Khaotic will be pretending she is NOT on a big pink/purple/what-have-you bird...

The commands Khaotic uses are not what you would get from speaking Thalassian in-game. I used a translator for them. Apparently what comes up in-game is different from "real" Thalassian. O.o

Introductions: Arvoss and Shaurria

I promised an introduction to the newest members of my troupe, so here they are. Starting with a bit of their backstories, then finishing with what has happened so far in-game.
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Arvoss-

Arvoss was a paladin of the Silver Hand, living near the capital city of Lordaeron. He faithfully served his king and country for almost 30 years, until the day he and several others went with Prince Arthas to investigate rumors of a plague. They found the rumors were true, and worse. When they reached the city of Stratholme and Arthas announced his plans, Arvoss was shocked. But despite his misgivings, he followed his Prince inside.

The slaughter of the unsuspecting citizens would haunt Arvoss for the rest of his life. He continued to follow Arthas' orders, but began losing his focus as they moved through the city. The townspeople began to fight back against the paladins, and as Arvoss tried to hold off 3 at once, another slipped behind him with a kitchen knife. He never saw it coming.

In an even crueler twist of fate, his body was taken to Acherus and he was raised as a death knight. His memories of the following years are hazy at best, and he never speaks of them. The only good that came from them was his friendship of a gnome death knight named Frazle. Then came the day of the attack on Light's Hope.


After the battle at the Chapel, Arvoss and Frazle helped their new brothers of the Ebon Blade retake Acherus and fortify it as their new base. Then they were sent to Stormwind, papers in hand, to recieve (they hoped) a pardon from the King and acceptance into the Alliance. ((See the movie in my last post.)) They got it, and upon leaving the palace they ran into a curious druid, who had followed them through most of the city. She introduced herself as Windstar, and they became unlikely friends. With nothing better to do, Arvoss spent much of his time with Windstar, and also met her twin brother Tadrith, a hunter, the following week. He appreciated the Night elves' friendship, and began taking a sort of fatherly interest in them, spending time with them when they were in the city and keeping in touch when they left.

Frazle also stayed in Stormwind for a time, but then moved to Ironforge, to better pursue his interest in engineering and gadgets, so when the twins were out doing their own thing, Arvoss spent a lot of time alone. He also began slipping into a depression as his memories of when he was a paladin came back. He missed the Light badly, but naturally he couldn't do anything with it as a death knight. So he spent many nights drinking at the Pig & Whistle tavern.

Windstar found out about what he was doing and tried to talk to him a few times, but finally wound up sending her brother a letter. Tadrith found Arvoss at the Pig one night a few days later, and they had a long talk. Finally, Arvoss promised he would think on what Tad had said.

The next day he went to the Dwarven District and asked for a blacksmithing hammer. Over the next few days, he would go out to mine ore, then returned to Stormwind and pounded the metal into things. He also stopped drinking, except for special occasions, and didn't get drunk like he used to. With Frazle's encouragement, he took a trip to Ironforge and started looking at houses for sale.



Shaurria-

Shaurria knew she wanted to be a druid from the time she could understand things, and started her training as early as possible. She focused mostly on the healing aspect of druid magic, with her doting parents' blessings. She also made a fast friend of a rogue named Sydana, and they spent most of their time training together. While they were out one day, they ran into a hunter named Tadrith, who helped them out with a few things, then gave them some leather armor pieces he had made. He introduced them to his sister Windstar the next day, when they ran into the twins in Darnassus. Windstar took a special interest in Shaurria, answering the shy, younger druid's questions and giving some advice. The two became close very quickly.

Even though she wanted to become a healer, Shaurria still went through lessons on a druid's feral forms. When she learned how to shapeshift into a bear, she went running to her parents' home in Starbreeze Village to tell them. What she found was the village overrun with crazed furbolgs. She managed to sneak through the village without being caught to her home. There she found her parents, killed by the furbolgs. She went into shock at the discovery, and remembered nothing until she found herself wandering the southern edge of the Moonglade. Overcome by grief, she kept wandering aimlessly until she heard a deep, rumbling voice in her head. You don't have to be alone, it said. Come to me little one. She followed the voice to find an enormous cat, an animal spirit, waiting for her near the Barrows.

The cat spirit cared for her until she was over the worst of her grief, then began teaching her the feral path. She learned quickly, but her parents' deaths had shocked her, and she tried to avoid contact with others. The cat spirit urged her to go out, however, so she made her way back to Darkshore, feeling more comfortable among her own race. It was there that Windstar found her again.

Windstar convinced her to come with her to Westfall, accompanied by the twin sister of Shaur's old friend Sydana. Although Shaurria was terrified for most of the trip, especially when they got to Stormwind and she saw the crowds there, Windstar guided her carefully and didn't let her panic. Syeana, their companion for the trip, also helped some. When they finally arrived, Windstar and Syeana explained to Shaurria how the Defias organization was making things tough for the farmers there, and Shaur began feeling an urge to help. She wound up settling in nicely, and after a few days Windstar felt it was safe to leave her.

Shaurria did whatever the militia leaders asked of her, and finally the Defias were somewhat neutralized. Shaur was feeling much more confident about herself by now, and even surprised Windstar a time or two by visiting her in Stormwind. Around that time, Windstar began having thoughts about Shaur, and her other friend Arvoss...

Then Shaur was called back to Moonglade by the cat spirit, who had an important lesson for her; with his help she finally learned to shapeshift to a cat. With the lesson came sadness, though, because the spirit told her she shouldn't visit him often again. Now that she could take on his shape, she should stay with her own people more.

Shaurria was feeling a little bit lost and lonely when she returned to Westfall. Windstar found her there and asked her to come to Stormwind for a bit. Shaur agreed, doing her best to appear normal in front of her mentor. Windstar took her to the Pig & Whistle, which was crowded that night. Shaur kept to the shadows mostly, watching the other people. She finally felt confident to sneak out and steal a few scratchings from the friendlier folks, and was feeling pretty good when Windstar took her up to the second floor. There they found a pair of death knights at a corner table.

Windstar walked up to them. "Hello, Arvoss, Frazle," she said. "This is Shaurria." As the two death knights turned to look at her, Shaur found herself strangely drawn to the human. She purred politely to the gnome, then stepped closer to the one Windstar had called Arvoss. He grinned down at her. "Ah think Ah ken what ye be lookin' for," he said with a rather thick Lordaeron accent, and began scratching her around the ears.

That was possibly the best evening Shaurria had had since she could remember. As the number of people in the tavern dwindled, she became brave enough to mingle with those that stayed, and wherever she went, Arvoss and Windstar stayed close. For the first time since her parents died, she felt safe. Arvoss even went to the kitchen and came back with a heaping plate for her, which she bolted, then went back to begging ear rubs. She barely noticed when Windstar took Arvoss to a corner and they began speaking in low voices. She heard her name once or twice, and knew they were talking about her, but she was too distracted by the other people to care much.

Finally the tavern was mostly empty, and Shaurria was yawning every few minutes. She followed the others as they left the Pig and they stood at the door for a few minutes, saying their goodbyes. Shaurria wanted to say goodbye to Arvoss, but she didn't speak well while in her kitty form, so finally she did something that she usually never did; she shifted to her Night elf form. "Goodbye, Arvoss," she said shyly, while Windstar gawked at her. "It was nice meeting you." "S'a pleasure," Arvoss replied, surprised. Shaurria smiled at them all, then turned and headed off to her favorite sleeping spot in the Park, shifting back to a cat as she went.

Arvoss, Frazle, and Windstar talked for awhile longer, mostly about Shaurria. Finally they parted ways, each heading to their respective homes. Arvoss found himself thinking hard about the little druid as he rode his charger Shade back to the inn. Windstar had told him what she knew of Shaur's history; how she had disappeared for several weeks and had returned skittish and wary, how she lived either in the Park or out in the wild, and how she didn't seem to have anyone caring for her, outside of Star herself. He thought about it all the way to his room. By the time he lay down to sleep, he had reached a decision.

The next day he took a picnic lunch out to the Park where, just as Windstar had said, he found a young druid kitty playing in the sun. It was the first of many.

I'm not dead

Yes I know it's been awhile, but haven't had much of anything going on. I've been taking a semi-break from raiding, most stories I've come up with have fizzled before I finish them, and I just recently started trying out Runes of Magic (No I am NOT quitting WoW, it's mostly just for a change of pace).

So what exactly have I been doing? Working mostly, and I've been tired enough when I get home that I usually just plop in front of the computer and tinker til bed. I am debating making a pvp movie (will be my first!) involving Kaled and Khaotic, but I haven't even started recording stuff for it or anything, so it's still a work in progress.

I've spent alot of my playtime on the Feathermoon server. I've made 2 Alliance alts there and 1 Horde, just to see what goes on so I can try to decide where I'm going to transfer Kaled & Khaotic. My troll hunter is level 12, and I have a level 20 Nelf druid and a level 58 human death knight. Arvoss, the death knight, hasn't done much of anything but RP and skill up his professions since he left Acherus, though I'm going to start leveling him soon. Shaurria the druid is my "main" right now. I had almost forgotten how much fun a lowbie druid can be, and I'm getting a little excited for all my druids about the new cat/bear skins that are coming with the next patch. When the patch goes live, Shaurria will look something like this-

Now, they are on an RP server, so yes I've been roleplaying them. I've actually got a pretty nice storyline going with my sister and a friend, and will be doing introductions soon, probably in the next blog post.

My computer has been having issues again lately, so I may be taking a vacation from raiding or anything else serious until the new one is finished. If that's the case, I'll be leveling alts, and hey! more time for the blog! I hope, hehe.

Going to end this with another movie. I recorded Arvoss' walk through Stormwind, when he gets his pardon from King Varian Wrynn. The song in the background is "Micah", by Russian Circles, and I've been thinking of it as Arvoss' theme song, kinda. Enjoy!