Darkshore

Using my newly acquired hearthstone, I was whisked away in a burst of green energy and teleported right back to Darnassus, my appearance stirring leaves all around the inn to which my hearthstone was bound. The innkeeper was nowhere in sight, thankfully, or I suspect I may have received a dirty look.

I stopped by a nearby shop and purchased the necessary tools to resume my alchemy studies. I always did enjoy the bubbling flasks and acrid burners of my father's lab as a child. I left my address with the Master Alchemist, hoping he could put me in contact with an herbalist later.

After flying to Lor'Danel by hippogryph, I was immediately put to work helping refugees from Auberdine make their way to safety. Water elementals were trying their best to finish off any survivors, so off I went to pound the little bastards into puddles. Dead puddles.

A Worgen Gentleman in Lor'Danel

I wasn't sure what was going on in Darkshore, but the enormous cyclone in the distance seemed to indicate that something wasn't quite right. I had a feeling I would be finding out sooner rather than later.

Not my best pose

At one point, I met a Keeper of the Grove and a dryad! They are the children of Cenarius, the demigod who first taught the night elves to be druids thousands of years ago.

A Keeper of the Grove and a dryad

While in Lor'Danel, I met a very interesting gnome named Jenna Lemkenilli who insisted that I begin learning how to be an engineer. She was very convincing. And cheerful. And enthusiastic. We spent an hour talking and she gave me some schematics and showed me the basics, saying I'd get the hang of it in no time. It's quite fascinating, a bit like alchemy, but with more emphasis on craftsmanship and manual dexterity.

Next morning the Sentinels dispatched me to the Ruins of Mathystra to deal with the Shatterspear trolls. It seems that after years of peacefully coexisting, the Horde managed to convince the tribe to attack the night elves. The bastards had kidnapped a civilian and were torturing her for information. By the time I got there, it was too late. Thinking she was a spy, they tortured her nearly to death trying to get her to talk, then discarded her like garbage. She died in my arms.

I killed the filthy troll that did that to her. He taunted me and laughed about what he had done to her, but he didn't stand a chance.

Rit'ko, Shatterspear Torturer meeting his demise