Restarting the return to Azeroth

The instance entrance to the Stormwind Stockades is a portal to a mirror universe. With a bit of time at the end of the Deadmines run last week, Melmoth and I try to complete what we started by slaughtering the remaining Defias Brotherhood criminals, those that were caught and are currently rioting in gaol. Coldly and methodically entering each cell and killing anything that moves, we work our way down the main wing. Reaching the end we toss a coin and head right. Dextren Ward didn't know what hit him.

Working back the way we came proves more of a problem, as the gestation period of an average Defias Inmate, reproduced from shed skin cells of dead members of the species, appears to be twenty minutes. We choose the option of running back from the spirit healer in Elwynn Forest rather than fighting our way out of the Stockades, as time is occasionally more precious than a 10% loss of armour durability.

The Stockades are still in a mess when we return, a week later. Again, we clear the main wing but this time turn left, using the mighty power of logic to find our final quest quarry in the gaol, Bazil Thredd. We are therefore a little deflated to find Dextren Ward waiting for us at the end of the wing. Scratching our heads, wondering whether we both misremembered a simple left-or-right decision from only a week ago, it is only when we see all the Defias prisoners wearing sashes and Dextren Ward sporting an evil-looking goatee beard that we realise we've passed in to the mirror universe. We'd better head back the other way.

Bazil Thredd falls to our attacks, but only after one of his minions calls for help from another, and that new one also calls for help, then Thredd runs to another room to beg for aid like a coward, making the fight rather more epic than expected. It is a turning point for us as a pair. We realise that:

• I can't resist tanking, even as a cloth-wearing mage,
• it's impossible to play the hunter class as anything but a freaking noob,
• we tragically forgot to read the text of the Draenei starter zone quests.

Along with the potential of a new player coming to join us exploring Azeroth, our path is obvious: we must reroll our characters. Choosing a new pair of classes is relatively easy. The plate-wearing paladin appeals to me because I have never played one before and Zubon's recent positive experience of the Paladin is reassuring. The biggest hurdle is in finding an available name.

I think it's fair to say I'm not awfully good at naming my characters. Tiger, Sapphire and Knifey hardly taxed my thought processes, and my latest D&D character has the Scooby Doo-inspired name of Velma. I have a new trick, particularly handy after my attempts at novel names end up with awful unforseen abbreviations, in that I browse baby names on various internet sites. I found Bijou's name from looking up French names, and this time I am inclined to look for a Russian name. And it's all too easy compared to the frustrations of staring at my keyboard, hoping to come up with a pleasing string of letters.

One name jumps out at me, and not only is it cute and available but it also apparently means 'pure', just right for my class. Kiska the draenei paladin is born, although as my first awarded achievement is getting a haircut maybe I should have spent more time in character creation than fretting over the name. Adventure awaits in Azeroth!

Posted in Gaming |
Tags: azeroth, bijou, kiska, melmoth, mmorpg, stockades, world of warcraft