*knock knock*…. hello?

Lightning strikes outside the boarded window, as rain pours down the side of the small office.

The door slowly creaks open, revealing what little light was outside, long missing from these inner corridors. Within that light a shadowy figure appears, moving through the doorway. A cloaked individual, carrying stacks of paper, and photographs.  The figure dusts off the layer of dust atop the nearby desk and places the documents down.

He is soon followed by a much larger figure, slightly hunched, and very muscular, clad in what appears to be plated armor. A sent of wet dog fills the air.

A gust of wind blows in the door, causing some of the documents to be lifted off the desk.

“Please, close the door behind you Mr. Ashenmane,” the first figure says.

The other figure pulls the door tight, preventing any further gusts to enter. He then turns and lights a nearby lantern filling the paneled room with a flickering glow.

“Well then. I feel that we should get to work then,” the cloaked figure determines. “Mr. Ashenmane, please introduce yourself to our audience, while I sort through this mess. It is likely a smaller group than before.”

The larger figure stretches to his full height, adjusting his chestpiece to fit mor comfortably. The lantern now revealing the ashy white fur that covered his body, and the deep set yellow eyes peering out above a long pointed snout. His ears both pointed, one slightly lower than the other due to the cut across it’s lower lobe. His grin revealed several pointed teeth, some protruding even beyond his lips. His hands tapering into pointed claws, yet articulate in their movements.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.  I, am Mr. Logosh Ashenmane, former Sergeant-in-Arms for Lord Greymane’s army in Gilneas. As you can likely see, I have been changed by the worgen curse that is so prevalent in Gilneas, but do not fear, I have control over my affliction.

“I have been asked to join your host Crusader Khraden Lionbearer in providing some new insight into this new world that we now live in,” the worgen stated.

Khraden removes his hood, and replies, “We greatly apologize for the recent lack of information, but we are told this ‘real life’… thing… has been getting in the way of our duties here. We cannot make any definite promises, but I hope that Mr. Ashenmane and I can provide more future coorespondence, beyond just random babble.”

— Thanks for those of you who have hung around.  I have been pretty busy, and have not had the time, nor the ability to post much lately.  But I’m hoping that will change.

Shared Topic: The Best & Worst: Cities/Towns

Sentinel Hill

I apologize if I get a bit off subject, this topic seems to have brought a lot of thought to the forefront.

This week’s shared topic was a very thought provoking one. You see, I play on a PvE realm, but I play in an RP way, where whatever I do, I feel that it should be something that was determined, and not just some random whim. An example of this is my very early days leveling Khraden. Every time that I would log of, I would have him sleeping on one of the cots in the Westfall “Inn” when he was in that area.  If he was out in the middle of Duskwood, I would either try to find the nearest camp, and log out there, or park him in a shady spot, somewhat isolated from the dangers of those eerie woods. If I was questing in Stranglethorn, I would have him tucked away in one of the abandoned Troll ruins, where sneaky murlocs and raptors couldn’t get to him.

It’s been a little thing that I’ve always done. I want to think that he would rather be comfortable than be stuck sitting on top of a horse in the middle of a corn field all night. I even continue this to this day, even though I don’t need the rested XP bonus, I’ll usually find him an Inn or Tavern to lounge in for the duration of my logoff. Even just last night, I had to get off kind of quickly. I was in the blacksmith in Dalaran, and ran him up to the second story, and had him sit on the rails, so that he could watch the other folks shop while he waited (while not being in the way).

Duskwood

Ok, maybe it’s just getting a bit creepy sounding, but WoW is my escape, so I like to have it feel that way.

Well, let’s get back on subject. As for the cities/towns/villages/camps that I like best, I believe that the top of my list is the Purple Parlor in Dalaran. It is the place that I go to when I need to work on a respec in peace, it’s where I go when I want to sort out my bags. It provides that lag free spot, with a view of the city, and a quick flight out when I’m finished. I’m sure that this location will end up being replaced by the secret room in the Violet Citadel, once I get my “Higher Learning” achievement, but for now, it is a favorite of mine.

Outside view of the Purple Parlor

Now, in contrast, Dalaran also holds some of the worst places to just sit back and relax. One of those being the Ledgerman Lodge or the Hero’s Welcome. It almost seems that most people want to stand around in there, or use it as a landing pad to log in and out from. The lag generated in that area is awful, and more often than not will crash WoW on my laptop. I do use the Beer Garden balcony as my current Hearthstone, simply because it is out-of-the-way, and a quick jog to the portals, but it is far enough away from the congregating crowd that I don’t have to worry about the lag as much.

This places Dalaran near the top and near the bottom of the list of best/worst cities.

Other towns, provide a bit more character though. I have always enjoyed the small Eastvale Logging Camp, for its quaint little setting, and constant banter between the NPCs. It reminds me of the Lower City in Shattrath (which is now a very barren place, outside of the constantly moving NPCs).

Another town, well city, that provides character is the Alliance Bastion of Stormwind. Ever since beginning the game I have always liked Stormwind. It provided that proud to be a human feeling throughout the city streets. Like every city, it has its seedy secrets, and they are portrayed so well in the small questlines that are based in the city. I have actually had my character take up residence across from the Champion’s Hall, where normally Warrior trainers would reside. The building is empty enough that I can feel that it’s “my” house in the game, those who are there already, are just house guests, haha.

Stormwind, Bastion of the Alliance

It brings to mind the ever pending question of whether there will ever be player housing, or even Guild housing. I am very sure that it would be a popular addition to the game. Especially with the amount of gold flowing now-a-days, the houses could even be upgradable, and maybe hold a personal “lockbox” to keep extra stuff that you can’t fit into the bank (see Hoarding: Buried Alive).

Anyway, even Stormwind has its rough spots, including anything around the bank/AH.  As with any city with an AH, this area gets pounded daily.  I actually thought about this area as a nice quiet area at one time, with the little shops and “apartments” around the center square, but not so much anymore.

As you can tell, I’ve done far more on the Alliance side then the Horde, and it does feel somewhat lopsided, though I am working on a BE Paladin (may end up being a Tauren paladin) to see that side of the world.

To finish it off, I’ll mention one of my most favorite spots in the game, if not the most remote. Ravenholdt Manor, yup, that mansion up in the hills, home of the masters of rogue-erdom. It is such a nice area, with the little garden outside of the large mansion, split up by several rooms, NPCs in nearly every corner.  A put away, and almost forgotten area if you ask me. This area does point out both the best in looks and environment, but worst in location or accessibility.

Ravenholdt Manor