5.2 Updates!!

One month since my last post, I know, I know...

First off, the patch broke all my addons, so I couldn't even play for very long, since my game would freeze up and I'd have to close it and restart manually. Ugh. I think that's been fixed now (mostly) so I'm getting back into things.

First thing - Sis and I took our hunters (Lark and Kelesaria) out to Dino Island and killed Dinomancers. A lot of Dinomancers. It did take a while, but it was well worth it!

Dinosaaaaaur!

I love him. Holy flip, I love him. Even his noisy footsteps (and they are pretty loud) don't bug me. Kel tamed a white one, though I was a bum and didn't get any screenshots of hers. And we both managed to get one of each baby raptor, though it took Lark forever to get her last.

I now have an even better excuse for pet battles. Rheugan's become my main battler, and he's since hit 89 and is working steadily towards 90. He even dinged from a battle. XD

Leveling pets is going even faster than Rheu, partly in thanks to the safari hat that everyone now has. I've finished Rookie Pet Mob, and gotten 51 now to 25. The Pandaren spirit tamers are done, and at the moment I'm down to 1 last elite for the Beasts of Fable (which I'll probably track down tonight >.>). The elite battles have been surprisingly fun, and I've been discovering just how strong some of my pets are. For example- my nether faerie dragon soloed Dos-Ryga the fish, and Bash the Kun-Lai runt soloed Lucky Yi the cricket. Some of the rest have been tricky, and some have been pushovers. Overall I'm really happy with how Blizzard designed them all.

An added bonus to the elites is that many of them have normal battle pets congregating around them. I've upgraded several of my current pets to rare this way, so now I can level them, without having to worry about it being "wasted" if I stumble on a rare after.

I've captured all 4 of the Isle of Thunder pets, so now all I need is the drop pets. My snake and thundertail are both rare (and 25 \o/) already, though my croaker and razortooth are still just green-quality. It feels almost a waste to be pet-farming there, cause Pitch and Lark don't need the battle xp. I doubt they'd let Rheugan out there yet though, so I'll just deal with it. XD

Isle of Thunder is... well, it's kinda meh, for me at least. I just can't get myself excited over more dailies, and the zone itself is kinda dull and dreary looking. Hopefully it'll get better after I learn my way around and aren't getting lost constantly.  >.>

Pitch has run through the LFR version of the raid already, along with a bunch of fellow Feathermoonies. It's fun enough, although some of the fights were confusing at first. They're not hard to learn, however, and next time I'll probably know what I'm doing. XD

That's about all in WoW. Still playing Rift a lot, although my month there is about to run out, so I need to decide if I want to pay for another one or not. I've become addicted to their player housing, dimensions- enough so that I farmed up the money to buy Kirit something bigger than the newbie one they give you, and I'm currently building her a house in the middle of a forest. :D

House! Still a WIP.

Kirit is closing in on level 30, and my cleric Shaurria is up to 35! I also made some new alts (like I really needed them >.>) so if I do decide to let my sub run out I can still play now and then.

Can't think of anything else to add, so have one last shot of Lark and Devil. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Guard-dino. Rawr.

More Catching Up!

I really need to stop procrastinating on doing blog posts - it makes it hard to remember what's happened.  :P

Rajast was just a little bit from 78 the last time I played him, so my last day off work I spent some time on him. Shortly...

That went shockingly fast. I didn't even start on any Storm Peaks questing, just finished up a few things in Sholazar, then took him to Icecrown. Rajast is parked in Hyjal now, waiting for the next day that I feel like spending time on him.

Pet battles!

Gypsy the Feline Familiar has become my new lowbie-leveler. She is beastly against critters, and she even has a magic-based attack to take down those pesky flyers (who take reduced damage from beast attacks). Throw in her Devour and she finishes every fight at full health. I've been using her mostly to get my little babies up for my Rookie Pet Mob achievement - up to 50-somthing now, so it won't be long now.

I've had an awesome string of luck with pet battlestones lately, I've been getting one almost every day for almost a week now. Combine that with my OCD-driven hunting sprees, and my list of non-rares is steadily dwindling.

I've been plinking along on Lark, she's doing okay so far with rep (honored with most of the factions I wanted, and almost exalted with Tillers already), but the issues I've been having so far have been with Valor Points. She's just not getting enough from the dailies I do on her, and I never have the time/energy to do dungeons or scenarios. I've gotten a few done, and she got lucky with a 463 bow drop in one, but it's going so slow.

Still messing around on Rheugan too, although his RP storyline has stalled out for now. He managed to hit 88 through archeology, though I think I want to do more questing in Kun-Lai before I take him to Townlong Steppes. I have no plans on gearing him once he hits 90, however, aside from whatever's easiest to get just to make farming/questing easier.

I've also renewed my Rift sub temporarily, though I don't know how much I'll really be playing. I spent all this afternoon on Kirit, my ranger, though. I'd almost forgotten how much I missed her.

Rift invasion, ho!

I also used some of my tax return on a year-long sub for Lord of the Rings Online, just because my sister's been playing that lately, and I miss both her and my toons there. One of these days I'm going to get on Basten and do a leveling marathon; he's been at 41 forever.

So, looks like I've got more than enough to keep busy for awhile. Can't really think of anything else, so I guess that's it for now. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Catching up

Apologies for the blog silence, but I've been so danged tired over the last couple weeks that I haven't even been doing much on WoW, and I figured I would wait til I had enough to actually make a decent-sized post. So.

First things first - Lark is finally 90. She dinged a few days ago, actually, and she's gotten her Cloud Serpent rep finished already, thanks to finding a ton of eggs; it only took about 3 days of actual dailies to get there. Most of the time there was nobody out there while doing them, so all the eggs that spawned were all hers - one advantage to leveling her so "late", I guess.

I have a jade hatchling I named Sheth, so this is his grown-up version. Blame Mishi. I figured if she can be all tiny one minute, then grow up to full size to give someone a ride, then all cloud serpents ought to be able to, right?

Now that she's done with that, I'll start working on Golden Lotus and stuff. She's been doing Shiedwall stuff too on occasion, though I'm still toying with the idea of duoing her and Pitch through dailies as much as possible.

Planning to level Booggah next, so I'll have a max-level on Horde-side. Still working on Rheugan, too - he's still 87, but he's about to ding thanks to a lot of recent archeology. And I also want to level Barraccus, since everyone I know that has a DK has been crowing about how awesome they are.

I got him to 85 a few weeks ago, then took him out to get the beginning MoP quests done. He's been parked since then, waiting his turn with the rest.

Laoden is now 63 and working his way through Zangarmarsh, which is still one of the few zones I'm not tired of yet. I'm trying to avoid thinking of leveling him through the Cataclysm zones, though. >.<

I've been wanting to level my guys on Wyrmrest Accord as well, my troll shammy Rajast is 77 now so he doesn't have too far to go. My next highest are all in the 71-73 range, so I have options if I want them.

Pet battling continues as well. I just got the achievement for 30 pets at 25, which gives a better trap! Still have a lot of wild-caught pets that are grey/white/green, so that'll come in handy. And I've still got a bunch I want to level, so hopefully the next cheevoh won't be too bad to get. I've finished the Northrend trainers, and now I'm working on Cata ones, so more dailies too! And I got lucky with a dragonkin battlestone, which I'm going to save for whenever the Riders finish a Tarecgosa and I can get the whelpling.

There was probably more, but that's all I can think of at the moment. So, til next time Happy Hunting!

Catching Up - Pet Edition

I don't even know where to start, so here, have a bunch of pictures.

Finally found one of these guys, and it was a rare!

Tried duoing BWL with Pitch and Lark. It worked surprisingly well, and I wound up with this guy (finally)!

And once I had my chromepuppy, I got this guy!

This girl turned out to be a beast, and now she's my go-to lowbie-leveler. Varshuna is getting a well-deserved break.

Was checking Tanaris one day, and noticed the sky turning dark just as I logged out. Logged back in quick and nabbed myself a couple of these!

Had a rare one of these and leveled him up. Turtles are pretty awesome. He's named after a RL snapping turtle I used to have. :D

This guy has become one of my faves, he's a little powerhouse. I named him Ceasar. :D

Finally found a minfernal (gray quality, boo), but forgot to take a screenie of it. I've been going through several zones and upgrading all the pets I can to rare. I have quite a list of them at 25 by now, and still working on leveling. And I've unlocked 3 of the trainer dailies (really need to get going on Northrend trainers >.>), so I've been doing those pretty religiously. Gotten several battlestones from them, and I've upgraded a number of my pets- my worg pup, pug, and feline familiar are all rare now!

I'm 5 pets away from the "Level 30 to 25" achievement, so that's my main focus right now. That and getting the rest of the trainers unlocked, though for every trainer I've read up on, I find another pet that I need to level for it. Sigh...

Other than that, not much has really happened. Rheugan's current storyline is mostly wrapped up, just need to wait and see where he's going to go next. Lark is 89, closing in on 90. Once she does ding, I'm thinking of trying to duo her dailies with Pitch, so he can get exalted with a few more factions (Golden Lotus and Shado-pan, specifically). And there's the gearing up thing, ugh.

Laoden is 58 and in Outland now, though I haven't really done much yet. Debating running him through some dungeons before I start seriously questing. And I've decided to get Booggah to cap next, once Lark is finished, although I'm not really sure how much rep-grinding/gearing-up I'll be doing with my Hordies yet. Still, getting them both to cap would be nice.

I've picked up a few new mounts too, which I keep forgetting to mention. Sis and I decided to see how well we could 2-man Sarth for the drakes, and we actually did pretty well!

We did need help with the 25-man version. One of the Riders came to help for the first run, and we managed to 3-man him, just barely. Next week we had a bunch of Riders and friends to help, and we stomped him. So now Sis and I both have pretty new drakes!

Rheugan:... and Found

SO VERY DELAYED.

I don't even have a good excuse. Can I blame pet battles? And writer's block, though most of my distractions were simply doing other things rather than writing. I will try not to do this again... but no promises.  >_>

ANYWAYS, this pretty much catches up to where Rheu is at in-game. Things are starting to look up now, at least. Enjoy!

__________________

Pitch wouldn’t admit it, but he was far more worried than he’d let on. He was certain Rheugan wasn’t in the Vale, but Kun-Lai was so Elune-blasted big, and he’d stupidly let enough time go by that he didn’t have a trail to follow. He kept searching anyway, unwilling to give up on the druid that had become almost like another brother.

By the third day, Pitch was feeling certain Rheu wasn’t in the Summit. He’d checked the Valley of Four Winds off and on too, but there was no trace of him there, either. He finally turned his wings east, hoping while he flew that his hunch was right.

The Tian Monastery hadn’t changed a bit in the weeks since he’d last been there - not surprising, since even the Sha attack on Serpent’s Heart hadn't ruffled the monks there. He found a groundskeeper in short order and gave him the name he’d gotten from Rheu, and within five minutes he was following the ‘keeper through the grounds.

Pitch had never met Laoden, but the pandaren that the groundskeeper led him too looked pretty much the same as any of his race. It didn’t take an especially sharp eye to tell that most of his heft was muscle rather than fat, but otherwise he could have passed for any Shado-pan fighter or Halfhill farmer. He turned to regard Pitch with friendly yet wary interest as introductions were exchanged, favoring the druid with a brief bow, then he dismissed the groundskeeper. His expression sharpened as he turned back to Pitch. “You’ve certainly taken long enough to get here.” Pitch’s ears went straight up in surprise. “Yes, I had guessed you would be coming,” Laoden said. “We’ve both been expecting you. Now come.”

*   *   *   *   *

The cat was sitting down beneath the orange tree, not moving except to test the breeze when it blew past. Pitch supposed Rheugan was down there too, but he had no way of knowing if he and the cat were “sharing,” or if he’d gone wherever it was he went when he wanted to think or hide. He - they? - looked at peace, at least, so that was something.

“He is fighting it.” Pitch glanced at the pandaren seated beside him, but Laoden was still watching the cat, with the same inscrutably calm expression he’d worn all day. “He is not tainted, not yet, but the temptation is there.”

Pitch turned back toward Rheugan, suppressing another pang of worry. “Is he a danger?” he asked, after a minute or two of silence. Laoden frowned slightly, considering. “At the moment, no,” he replied. “I wouldn’t presume to know the future, however. If he continues as he is, he could become one.” Now he looked at Pitch, offering the druid a faint smile. “He hides much. Maybe too much.”

Pitch flattened his ears briefly. “He’s had reason to,” he said. “He.. hasn’t been treated well in the past.” Laoden looked at him curiously, then shrugged when the druid said nothing more. “He is welcome to spend a few days here, to rest,” he said as he climbed to his feet. “After that...” The pandaren shrugged again.

Pitch blinked at him in surprise, which quickly turned to anger. “What, you’ll kick him out again? Isn’t that more or less how he wound up like this?” Laoden favored him with a reproachful look. “We did not ‘kick him out’ the first time, and we will not this time, either,” he replied. “You are assuming he will want to stay. He is looking for something here, druid, and he has not found it yet.”

Pitch felt himself flushing under his fur. “I’m sorry,” he started, but the pandaren was already gone. Pitch looked back down at Rheugan with a sigh. He wished Alanon was there. This was his job, not Pitch’s. But his brother was still back in Stormwind, so he would have to do what he could.

The cat glanced over briefly as Pitch padded over to sit next to him, just long enough for the elven druid to see the flash of guilt in his eyes. So, Rheu was in there. Pitch considered his options, then unshifted and made himself comfortable on the grass before finally breaking the silence.

“Do not,” he began, as forcefully as he dared, “think that this was all your fault. I’m to blame at least as much as you, I should have noticed something was going on and said something.” Rheugan shrank down as he spoke; Pitch tried gentling his tone a bit. “Rheugan, those things are like... like old gods. They’re strong, they’re evil, and if they want you, they’re darned well going to try and get to you. Cenarius’ horns, Rheu, even I had some trouble with them when I first got here.”

That got his attention. Rheugan sat up and blinked at him, the last traces of the cat’s presence fading. “I... but...” Some of the shame returned, and he ducked his head again. “I.. I am sorrry,” he rumbled. “I didn’t want you to worrry.” Pitch just made a noncommittal sound as he eyed the younger druid carefully. “Do you need to go home, Rheu?” he finally asked bluntly. “Mean, this kind of thing might happen again, and if it’s too much for you...”

Rheugan shook his head firmly, then unshifted to settle on the grass, in an unconscious mimicry of Pitch’s pose. “I.. I have to be here,” he said, a bit uncertainly. “I don’t know if I can put it the right way, but...

“Shaurria said once that I was out of balance. I... I’m starting to get it back, but it’s all in.. in pieces. Northrend was a part of it, and so was Gilneas. But I’m not finished yet, Pitch. There’s something here that I have to find; I just don’t know what it is yet.” He looked up again, and a trace of what might have been a smile crossed his face at Pitch’s expression. “What do you think I do when I’m out ‘thinking,’ Pitch? I’m not debating the color of the sky, I assure you.”

Pitch coughed. “Yea, I suppose not,” he said with a bit of chagrin. Then he focused back on the younger druid. “Are you really, really sure, Rheu?” Rheugan nodded again wordlessly. Pitch sighed and looked up at the tree branches overhead, as if searching for inspiration.

“Well, we both need rest,” he said finally. “Why don’t we stay here a couple days, then maybe take a trip back to Stormwind? Just a short visit.” Rheugan nodded, his eyes fixed off in the distance again. Pitch reached over to gently touch his arm. “We’ll figure something out, Rheu,” he said softly. “I promise.”
____________

Small disclaimer- I am not trying to meta-game here. Pitch doesn't know that the Sha really are part of the Old Gods, but he needed a comparison and, since a good deal of the last 2 expansions involved the Old Gods and their effects, that was simply the first thing that came to mind. So, carry on. XD

Rheugan: Lost

Pitch was worried, he could tell. Rheugan might have been worried too, if he could just spare the energy to care. Everything he had, however, was currently going towards fending off the attacks from the Thing, which he now knew was a Sha.

Every time he set foot in Kun-Lai - hells, every time he went near the gates - he could feel it waiting for him. And each time it prodded at him, filling his mind with suggestions and urges that he had to fight back, before he lost control of himself. It was exhausting him.

He was able to avoid it by either staying in the Vale or taking a kite back to Halfhill, but Pitch seemed oblivious to his problem and often suggested they go hunting, usually in Kun-Lai. Not wanting his friend and mentor to worry, Rheugan invariably agreed.

Their hunting trips had become an ordeal, one that could only be eased by tracking down and eliminating every Sha-spawn he could find, with a single-mindedness that bordered on obsession. He kept hoping if he killed enough of them, the Sha would weaken or tire, and he would be left in peace. That plan hadn’t worked yet.

Rheugan found himself withdrawing, much like he had when he’d been brought back from the wild in Gilneas. His sleep was full of nightmares, and he began losing weight - not that he had much to spare to begin with. Pitch fussed over him, but Rheugan managed to put him off with half-hearted assurances that even he didn’t believe. It was enough to get Pitch to leave him alone, at least.

The cat was on edge. It wanted to help him, but this was beyond its experience, and all it could do was fret along with him.

It all finally got to be too much for him. He was only dimly aware of leaving the Summit behind, crossing back into blissfully familiar rain forest. When he came back to himself, he was standing before the Tian Monastery’s gates.

He had to ask one of the students for help, though fortunately the young pandaren was happy to comply. Laoden was overseeing a training session, but he left it immediately when he saw Rheugan. He came over and studied the druid, then reached toward him. Rheugan tried not to flinch as Laoden put a finger under his chin and tilted his face up. The pandaren stared into his eyes for a long moment, then released him with a sigh. Without a word, he turned and started off, gesturing for the Gilnean to follow.

Rheugan was only too happy to see his old quarters near the library. He fell onto the bed without bothering to undress. His sleep was still restless, but if he had any dreams they were forgotten by the time he awoke.

Rheugan: Road to the Vale

Halfhill was bustling long before the sun came up. Rheugan sat and watched the Pandaren move about, preparing to open shops or head out to their own farms.

Pitch had said he would be there to escort Rheugan to the Vale, but he hadn’t specified a time. Rheugan had thought he would simply wait for the druid to show up, but as the approaching dawn began to pink the sky, he and the cat both began feeling a bit of wanderlust. The first farmer he approached was able to give him directions, and soon Rheugan was loping up the incline toward the path cut into the mountainside.

He ignored the small voice that told him he’d be better off waiting for Pitch. He’d been wandering alone out here for days and nothing bad had happened. What could go wrong?

* * * * *

The tunnels gave him pause, but not for long. The saurok were everywhere, yes, but there were plenty of shadows along the cavern walls, and with the cat’s guidance Rheugan had no trouble slipping by unseen. The lizardmen never even knew he was there.

* * * * *

Kun-Lai was impressive - Rheugan thought it would have been even without the giant mountain peaks in the distance. It was quiet, as well, but Rheugan wasn’t fooled; here and there he could see smoke rising from what he assumed were the yaungol’s war camps. He skirted the mountains separating the plains from the Vale, giving any possible combat zones a wide berth. He judged he was nearly halfway to the gates when he felt the disturbance.

The corruption was still fairly new; to his druidic senses it felt like a hole in the earth. Despite his own misgivings and the cat’s reluctance, he found himself changing his route to pass near enough for a look.

He’d never seen anything like this. Rheugan had been careful to avoid Serpent’s Heart, but this looked the same as Pitch’s descriptions. Blackness boiled up out of the ground, while strange creatures idled about inside. It repulsed him, even as it resonated with something inside him that he’d thought long-buried. He stood frozen, suddenly unable to decide what to do next, until one of the creatures noticed him and headed toward him with a snarl.

Rheugan felt a flash of alarm from the cat, quickly followed by revulsion, and he found himself lunging to meet it with an answering snarl. The cat danced around the Sha-spawn, unwilling to get close enough to use its fangs. Claws worked well enough, however, and before too long the creature collapsed in on itself, becoming a shapeless blob on the grass. The cat watched it long enough to ensure it was dead, then lifted its head to stare out over the plain.

The other creatures were still oblivious to his presence, squabbling amongst themselves. Farther off, too distant to pinpoint a location, Something seemed to awaken, as though just becoming aware of him. It... called to him; Rheugan could feel it stirring up the anger he’d buried within, before he stamped it back down firmly. The cat suddenly shuddered, then abruptly it released control, and Rheugan found himself back in charge of his own body.

The distant thing called to him again. Rheugan turned and fled.

The gates were a more than welcome sight. Rheugan paused to study them for a moment, then passed through at a trot.

* * * * *

The Vale was singing. That was his first thought. His second was that the “singing” wasn’t something he heard, but sensed. Rheugan fell in with a grummle caravan, pacing alongside a wagon while he tried to make sense of it.

It felt... familiar somehow, although he couldn’t place where he’d felt it before. He found it hard to care at the moment - it was doing a wonderful job of soothing the jagged nerves left from his encounter with the Thing in Kun-Lai. A shadow passed over him suddenly, and he looked up to see an immense dragon- wait, no, they call them cloud serpents -flying past overhead.

He paused to look around one more time. Even here he could see the signs of battle, but they were distant enough that he felt safe. Here, maybe, he could find some peace. He padded on, heading further into the Vale and toward the Shrine of Seven Stars.