A Quick Side Trip...

Along the way I encountered a pair of unfortunate apprentice magicians who got into a little trouble with the local creatures and lost a very important book of their master's. Upon retrieving it, one asks you to return it to the master in their stead- since he'll obviously be upset - and lie about how you found it, for a bribe. I was glad I followed through on this quest, since finding the master granted me my first look at the Dead Scar as well as the Shepherd's Gate of Silvermoon City. The master magician, near the gate at Stillwater Pond, thanks you for being truthful about the apprentices' plot and sends you to conduct a little bit of "creative" discipline.

When I finished the quest, it seemed like a good time to explore Silvermoon City, which proved to be at least as grandiose and borderline gaudy as I'd been hoping for. A roaming set of emissaries, one from each Horde race, was a nice touch. Feeling sure I'd be back soon, I cut my exploration short and trekked southward.

Fairbreeze Village and Environs

From here, the adventure starts to branch out. Upon arriving in Fairbreeze Village, I learned of the following: Scourge incursions at the rampart to the east, the loss of Sunsail Anchorage to thugs to the west, a magician missing in action at the Scourge-held East Sanctum, the dire need for stalker pelts, and finally (comically) of a nearby aristocrat in need of party supplies, also to the west. Lured by promises of an open buffet, I decided to see what I could do about the party first. When I arrived, however, it seemed like a lot of extra legwork to gather the necessary items from Silvermoon City, Fairbreeze Village, and the yet undiscovered Farstrider Retreat, so I continued on to Sunsail Anchorage. The rabblerousers here proved to be an easy mark, and there were an abundance of stalkers in the nearby foothills. With two quests complete, I headed back to Fairbreeze to investigate the goings-on at the East Sanctum (and to pick up some fireworks for the party!).

The East Sanctum proved to be a bit of a challenge. The magician was very much alive, avoiding the fate of many a missing WoW NPC, but needed some soil samples to determine if the East Sanctum, ankle deep in the Dead Scar, could be reclaimed. Dodging a number of powerful mobs yielded the samples, but upon examining the samples with magic, the magician drew the attention of a trio of nasties from the Scar. We defended ourselves successfully, and the magician made quite a discovery about the soil. I was tasked to take the results back to Fairbreeze Village, thankfully avoiding one of those horrid pathing quests as the magician needed more time to analyze her results.

From here I headed east to see if I could be of service at the ramparts, and was given a quest to thin the Scourge numbers. I found myself eager to deal the Scourge a blow at long last for ruining such an idyllic region. Proceeding southward, I came to one of the powerful monolithic runes protecting the southern Ghost Lands border, and from here it was a short jaunt to the Scorched Grove. One of the runes here had become inactive, allowing the blight to advance. I had to stave off angry tenders for a minute while allowing a crystal to repower the rune. The effort failed and I barely escaped with my life, so I decided to venture elsewhere, feeling confident I'd soon return to this ever-darkening section of the map.

At Fairbreeze Village, I learned that the farstriders could use some help, so I headed off to do some party shopping and farstrider-helping. It seems that a particularly vicious breed of trolls had conquered the side of the map near Tor'watha - which loomed like some artist rendering of Mordor in the east. I'd just turned level 10, and it looked like skewering trolls was next on my to-do list. But then I had another look at the mysterious Tor'watha (beta participants aren't permitted to display screenshots of unfinished areas, or I'd show you this daunting fortress) and decided to hearthstone back to the party and join in the festivities for a while first.

Continuing the Journey...

Stay tuned to our "The Burning Crusade" Coverage Portal for more previews of the new regions and instances as beta progresses, including a look at the regions that should take blood elf characters through level 20!

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