My Soulstone brings all the boys to the yard

(The continuing adventures of Haxrot)

I think my soulstone is a magnet for level 70 Alliance players - if there is an level 70 Alliance player in the same region we are destined to meet. I met one level 70 Human Warrior in Azshara on the top of The Forlorn Ridge in a cave! He was just sitting there waiting.. Probably for me... I was wandering around looking for safe way to get to Valormok. At first I thought he was part of some nightmare quest or dungeon I had stumbled into... But oh nooo...... I know the region is way above my current level but the only other living and unliving things in Azshara were vile monsters. Not another living soul throughout the region or on the road. And this guy is sitting in a cave!!! He jumps up and kills me with one hit. My new philosophy when encountering 70 Alliance players... "There is no point running - you'll just die tired"

Strangely I have had more strange deaths caused by level 70 players than monsters lately. I had just arrived in Ratchet to go to Booty Bay to pick up a crate of axes for the warsong supplies quest. Unfortunately about ten Alliance players raided. They looked like they had been there for a while. Not much was moving except me. And I started to move fast. I learnt a few days ago that red things moving in any Horde town means trouble. I made a mad dash to the Flightmaster and almost made it. The flight path screen popped up just as I died. They camped on my body for a long while.

They were also camped at the top of the hill at the shrine. I rezzed a few times and tried to click the fp but they were always too quick. By this time most of my kit was useless as I had died so many times.

So I rezzed back at the shrine again and fortunately the two humans were not there so I ran for the bay and dived in and swam down as far as I could. I found the crate bobbing in the water directly above the wreck and a crate of weapons. I found this the first time I swam down to the bottom of the bay the last time I went swimming around the cove. I tried to come up with a couple of plans to escape which didn't involve a long swim back or a long walk. One plan I had involved watching for the ship whilst standing on the crate and then making a swim under the docks and up onto the shore and onto the boat.

Haxrot Island (notice he's wearing Xantir's shorts!)

Unfortunately a few of the Alliance were waiting on the docks to slaughter the passengers as they arrived. My other plan was to swim across the merchant coast, try to fight the sand shark and then continue around to the troll village but that was a long way to the next flight path. Anyway I decided to sneak around to the shore and see if I could hide in the houses and get to the Flightmaster another way.

Then a funny thing happened. I ran down the hill and went into the blacksmith next to the bank and went upstairs to hide out for a while and work out how to make it out of there. I watched for a while and thought maybe I could jump to the bank below and sit and hide behind the window and boxes. Waiting upstairs I found a bed. Since some chairs let you sit I was wondering if beds worked the same way because in the crossroads I saw a player lying in a hammock. Clicking did nothing so I tried emotes and found sleep.

Looking at my body it looked similar to when I had died. So I went to the menu and hid my name (not sure if this helps) and waited for them to run past again and then jumped out the window and typed in /sleep. I was now out in the open. Now I am sure I must show up as alive but they kept running past and when they moved off to attack some things I jumped up and crept closer to the flightmaster again and then hit /sleep again. After 20 minutes of patiently watching them run back and forth past me and creeping forward I was surprised that they didn't notice my body was magically moving down the street... I was at the very foot of the flight master when they finally saw me but too late I flew away. Of course I typed in /dance when I was back safely at the capital because we blood elves are known musical talents and amazing sense of rhythmic dancing.. Ummm... not to mention our discretionary tactics... :-)

Anyway...

Changed to herbalist - Dropped mining. I have found herbalism easy to increase. I like cooking and am at 225. For some reason mining wasn't my thing. Now skinning... I am Jack-the-ripper baby...

I have been doing a few weird things to see what happens. The design mechanics are truly amazing. So much detail. I have started reading the novels and the kids have been collecting the cards not that there is anything worth getting from the cards except the red ogre totem. The atlas has come in handy...

Apart from some recent grinding, I have been exploring.

The only flight paths I don't have now are mostly due to the fact that even my amazing talents at avoiding being eaten by prehistoric creatures throughout the lands I am finding difficult.

I am going after Brokenwall village and Gadgetzan next although my chances are slim.

The Shipping News

(Haxrot delivers a nice slice of Azeroth aqua exploration)

I went swimming tonight to see what would happen if I went out too far. First I got fatigued as I tried to reach the bottom or went out to far. The other thing I did was swim around the coast near the island chains from Durotar to the Barrens.

Turning the corner just past the fisherman's hut with the huge shark hanging from it. Not long around the mountains where the river bay that divides the two regions is a massive identical sand shark.

Further around the corner in what is known as a the Merchants Coast I saw a big blue sailing ship which disappeared around the bend. A bit more swimming and I notice a wreck in the bottom of the bay deep down. I swim out to it and then down. It is the same ship only a wreck of it.

When I saw the ship originally it looked odd. Anyway I parked there for a while killed slimeshell crabs and waited. I didn't realise I was in Rachet and ships existed - eventually one came and docked there :-)

RodB

On Sunday 4 May, in memory of a guild member who passed away IRL, the legendary Hunter BigRedKitty, in tandem with Ratshag, held the inaugural Running of Da Bulls. An epic first level Tauren herd assembled at Camp Narache to commemorate BRK's fallen comrade, and to run all the way to Hammerfall! It was incredible. Sprinthammer (CMcG), Meatax (CW), and Neitzsche (MM) all partook. The screenshots pretty much tell the story...



The Barren's had never seen anything like it. No time for Chuck chat, though there was one legendary "LF800M WC" callout as we ran through.



The Zeppelin was ridiculous. Despite missing the first Zep, the later runners all managed to pretty much catch up as the early wave (including Meatax and Sprinthammer) were wiped by the Silverpine Wolves.



At this stage of the race, Meatax was actually in with a chance of winning. He'd taken a strategic veer to the left through the lake surrounding Fenris Isle. Alas, the splitting of the herd into smaller subherds meant that the natives managed to finish solo runners off pretty fast, so we were drawn back into the main herd - which was much more entertaining than running point!



It was hilarious seeing questing toons stand completely stunned by what they were seeing. Note the Ally in the shot below...



That same Ally decided to take matters into his own hands in Hammerfall...and somehow 500 level 2's (most had levelled on the trip) managed to wear him down to 50% before he was polished off by a friendly Horde protector.


The original plan had been to port to Shatt - but when the Mages failed to show, the cry went out - to Ironforge!





Of course the Ironforge natives finally overwhelmed the majority of the herd, but the ghost herd that formed was just as xool.


Alas Sprinthammer found her final resting place in the halls of Ironforge, not quite able to make it to the tram for the trip to deepest darkest Alliance territory, Stormwind.


But apparently some did indeed make it - For the Herd!

Big thanks to BRK and Ratshag for organising. And sounds like the next event is already being planned...