The Dreams of Master Gogri

The group passed through the bridge checkpoint without a hitch. After all, one of the girls was the daughter of a lord, and the other was a princess of Kul Tiras—both children of prominent nobility. How could the guards dare to stop them? Besides, they were only going to a nearby farm for a stroll, and as for Taelan in his armor, he was likely just some sort of attendant to the Kul Tiras princess!

The trio headed northwest along the main road. In World of Warcraft, this was a mandatory leveling route for the Horde above level 50. The Alliance, however, generally chose to pick up quests in Felwood and Winterspring, or simply ran dungeons to level up. Only when they reached level 60 and the era of the three basic dungeons—the Tier 0 Era—began, would they come to the Eastern and Western Plaguelands to complete the quest for the Scholomance key.

The three basic dungeons of the Vanilla Era were: Upper Blackrock Spire, Stratholme, and Scholomance. Of these, Scholomance was the most difficult. In that era, people didn't have a deep understanding of World of Warcraft, and their gear was poor. The difficulty of Scholomance hadn't been tuned down yet. Patrolling mobs would respawn every ten minutes. Furthermore, back then, clearing a dungeon meant killing everything! Because players weren't familiar with the loot tables or the routes, Scholomance had a full 13 bosses. The Herald hadn't been removed yet! Clearing mobs back then was a chaotic display of crowd control: Mages used Polymorph, Rogues used Sap, Priests used Shackle, and Warlocks used Banish on elementals. Everyone would then focus their fire, taking them down one by one.

Scholomance was particularly unfriendly, especially those two rows of adjacent summoners! Humanoid mobs would flee when their lives were in danger, frequently leading to accidental pulls, followed by a total party wipe from a screen full of little skeletons! Don't even mention Mages trying to use Arcane Explosion; those Shadow Bolts were no joke! Moreover, Scholomance was extremely strict about respecting one's elders; if someone accidentally provoked those yellow-named students, they would immediately be swarmed and beaten to death!

At the time, Taelan had only completed one questline there, obtaining a blue Paladin shield and a piece of Tier 0 gear, and had never visited again. Thus, he could only say he was "somewhat" familiar with the place. Consequently, between Sorrow Hill and Uther's Farm, he chose Uther's Farm, which was further away from Alterac. There was a forest between the farm and Sorrow Hill. During this period, many beasts lived there. Additionally, there was a Gnoll camp; because it was close to Andorhal, it was frequently cleared out, so although their numbers were high, there were no Gnoll Warlords! At most, there were a few Gnoll Overseers with an Aura of Command, but they were actually support units and not particularly strong.

Once they entered the forest, the path became noticeably difficult to traverse. As a Paladin, Taelan took the lead to clear the way and protect the two girls, simultaneously activating his zero-cost Aura of Might to provide support to his companions. Jaina had already communed with the Elemental Plane; she had mastered basic Occultism and the fundamental spell Frostbolt, which she could cast for a lifetime. As for Janice's abilities, Taelan Fordring didn't know them yet—after all, those were personal secrets. However, she was clearly wearing a set of basic Mage gear that was even better than Jaina's. She had, after all, been studying in Dalaran for two years.

The moment Taelan Fordring activated his Aura of Might, Janice felt her strength surge. Her magical damage had increased by more than double! She was startled; his aura was completely different from other Paladins. It wasn't the defensive Devotion Aura, but a special aura ten times more powerful than an Aura of Command!

Jaina had long since witnessed Taelan Fordring's near-perfect aura support, so she wasn't surprised. She didn't complain about the arduous journey either, but was instead full of excitement, ready to cast spells at any moment!

Soon, they encountered a group of Gnolls, five in total. There was a Gnoll Overseer holding a strange staff, accompanied by one Gnoll Warden and three Gnoll Archers. Taelan Fordring immediately signaled the two girls to hide and explained the tactics: Taelan Fordring would Charge to pull the mobs, and once he had stabilized the aggro, the two girls would emerge and use magic to focus fire on his target! If the Gnolls rushed toward them, they shouldn't panic! He would protect them with Blessing of Protection or Power Word: Shield. They shouldn't be afraid if they were targeted by the Gnoll Warden, either! Even if they were slowed by Purify, he could use Blessing of Freedom to ensure their safe retreat.

As for whether he could withstand these Gnolls, Taelan wasn't worried! He and a few friends had already tested it! A Dark Paladin with a shield was incredibly sturdy! Not only did he have Block, but he also had Evasion and massive armor for damage reduction. He himself could activate Contempt to increase his armor or use Prayer to heal during combat. In a crisis, he could activate both the Eye of Violet and the Legendary Libram, transforming into a Shield Bash machine: Charge—Shield Bash—Zeal! One had to know that Zeal was an area-of-effect skill; everyone nearby would take a hit! It was very effective for small-scale group damage! Once a critical hit triggered, dealing 300% weapon damage, a single strike could kill a Gnoll Archer.

Jandice was amazed that Taelan Fordring had already mastered so many Paladin class skills, while Jaina was extremely confident in Taelan Fordring; she always felt that being by his side was the safest place to be! This might have been an illusion brought on by the Dragonkin incident from before.

They approached the small Gnoll camp. Taelan let the two girls hide while he launched a Charge at the Gnoll Overseer. The Gnoll Overseer, who had been sleeping, had a strange name: Gogri. He was currently dreaming that he had defeated his nemesis Snamain to become the new Warlord, then conquered Andorhal to become the Lordaeron version of Hogger! He would have endless bones to gnaw on every day, no longer bullied by the Lordaeron constables and those sneaky, cowardly dogs.

Then, his sweet dream was shattered! He opened his eyes to see a human brat, not even as tall as he was, flying toward him. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his nose, and his head spun. He initially thought the Lordaeron constables had come to cause trouble. This place was close to Caer Darrow, and no constable would bother with the Barovs' business. However, there were plenty of spies from the Secret Council and other petty thieves! They wouldn't even spare a Gnoll's trash heap! Could they have really come?

Gogri's first thought was to run, because these constables always traveled in packs. That wasn't all; sometimes they even brought Dalaran mage apprentices along to gain experience! But when he looked closely, he saw it was just a human brat, not even accompanied by an attendant!

He felt a surge of joy and immediately shouted, calling his subordinates to surround and attack the human brat. The Gnoll Warden was a spellcaster and much smarter than the three Gnoll Archers. It immediately waved the chain-mace in its hand, and a ball of lightning flew toward Taelan Fordring. The human brat raised his shield to block the arrows from the Gnoll Archers. The arrows struck the shield weakly, making a pat-pat-pat sound.

Master Gogri's anger flared; these useless trash were not only slow to react, but their arrows were as weak as if they hadn't eaten! Once he finished off this brat, he would definitely drive them away and replace them with some clever lackeys! As for why he didn't summon more lackeys—this wasn't a game. You couldn't just summon lackeys, have them stand there, and have them fight when needed while standing still when not! They had to eat! Two meals a day! How could they raise little Gnolls without food? Should they all starve to death?

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