The group passed through the guard post at the bridge without trouble. After all, one of the girls was the lord's daughter, and the other was a princess of Kul Tiras. They were both children of famous, powerful nobles. The guards wouldn't dare stop them. Besides, they were only going to look around a nearby farm. As for Taelan, who was wearing armor, he was probably some sort of attendant to the princess of Kul Tiras!
The three of them followed the main road northwest. In World of Warcraft, this was a must-take leveling route for Horde players above level 50. Alliance players usually chose to pick up quests in Felwood and Winterspring, or simply level in dungeons. It wasn't until level 60, when the era of the three basic dungeons began—the Tier 0 Era—that they came to East Weald, also known as the Eastern and Western Plaguelands, to do the Scholomance key quest.
The three basic dungeons of the Vanilla Era were Upper Blackrock Spire, Stratholme, and Scholomance. Of the three, Scholomance was the hardest. Back then, people didn't understand World of Warcraft very well, and their gear was poor. The difficulty of Scholomance hadn't been lowered yet, and the patrol mobs respawned every ten minutes. What's more, in those days, groups cleared every single mob in a dungeon! Since everyone was unfamiliar with the drops and the routes, and Scholomance had a whopping thirteen bosses, the Herald hadn't even been removed yet! When clearing mobs, they used every kind of crowd control: Mages sheeped them, Rogues sapped them, Priests shackled them, and Warlocks banished elementals. Then they focused fire and took them down one by one.
Scholomance was especially unforgiving! Those two rows of Summoners standing right next to each other were the worst! Humanoid mobs ran away when their lives were in danger, often pulling extra enemies, and then the whole group would get wiped out by a screen full of little skeletons! And don't think Mages could just use Arcane Explosion! Shadow Bolt was no joke! Scholomance was also very big on respecting one's teachers. If anyone accidentally angered those yellow-named students, they'd be beaten to death on the spot!
Back then, Taelan had only done one quest chain and gotten a blue Paladin shield and one Tier 0 piece before he stopped coming here. So he could only say he was somewhat familiar with the place! Between Sorrow Hill and Uther's Farm, he chose Uther's Farm, which was farther from Alterac. A forest lay between the farm and Sorrow Hill. At this time of year, plenty of beasts lived there. There was also a Gnoll camp. Since it was close to Andorhal, the Gnolls were often driven off, so despite their numbers, there were no Gnoll Warlords among them! At most, there were a few Gnoll Overseers with Aura of Command. They were support units, and not very strong.
Once they entered the forest, the path quickly became rough. As a Paladin, Taelan walked in front to lead the way, making it easier to protect the two girls. He also activated his cost-free Aura of Might to support his companions. Jaina had already made contact with the Elemental Plane. She had learned beginner-level Occultism and the basic spell Frostbolt, which she could cast for the rest of her life. Taelan Fordring still didn't know what Janice could do, since that was a personal secret. But she was clearly wearing a full set of basic Mage gear, even better than Jaina's. She had studied in Dalaran for two years, after all.
As soon as Taelan Fordring activated Aura of Might, Janice felt her strength increase. Her magic damage had more than doubled! She was startled. His Aura was completely different from those of other Paladins. It wasn't Devotion Aura, which increased defense, but a special Aura ten times stronger than Aura of Command!
Jaina had already seen Taelan Fordring's nearly perfect Aura support, so she wasn't surprised. Nor did she complain about the arduous journey. On the contrary, she was eager and ready to cast a spell at any moment!
Before long, they came across a group of five Gnolls. One was a Gnoll Overseer holding a strange staff; it was accompanied by a Gnoll Warden and three Gnoll Archers. Taelan Fordring immediately told the two girls to hide, then explained the plan: he would Charge in and draw the mobs' attention. Once he had secured their aggro, the girls would step out and focus their magic on his target! If the Gnolls charged at them, they shouldn't panic. He would protect them with Blessing of Protection or Power Word: Shield. And if a Gnoll Warden focused on them, they shouldn't worry either. Even if Purify slowed them down, he could use Blessing of Freedom to help them retreat safely.
As for whether he could withstand the Gnolls, Taelan wasn't worried! He and a few friends had already tested it! A Dark Paladin with a shield was incredibly tanky! He had Block, Evasion, and plenty of armor to reduce damage. He could also use Contempt to increase his armor, or simply Prayer to heal during combat. In a pinch, he could activate the Eye of Violet and the Legendary Libram at the same time, then become a Shield Bash Paladin: Charge—Shield Bash—Zeal! Zeal was an area-of-effect skill, striking everyone nearby once! It dealt powerful damage over a small area! If he landed a critical hit, he could deal 300% weapon damage—enough to kill a Gnoll Archer in one blow.
Jandice was astonished that Taelan Fordring had already mastered so many Paladin skills. Jaina, meanwhile, had complete faith in him. She always felt safest by his side! Perhaps that was just an illusion left over from the Dragonkin incident back then!
They approached the small Gnoll camp. Taelan told the girls to stay hidden, then Charged at the Gnoll Overseer. The Overseer had been sound asleep, dreaming that it defeated its old enemy Snamain and became the new Warlord. Then it would conquer Andorhal and become Lordaeron's version of Uncle Hogger! It would have bones to chew every day and would never again be bullied by Lordaeron's guards or those sneaky, despicable bastards.
Then its beautiful dream was shattered! It opened its eyes and saw a human brat, shorter than it was, flying toward it. A sharp pain struck its nose, and its head spun. At first, it thought the guards of Lordaeron had come looking for trouble. This place was close to Caer Darrow, and no guard would meddle in Barov's affairs. But there were plenty of spies from the Secret Council and other thieves snooping around! They didn't even leave the Gnolls' garbage heaps alone! Had they really come?
Gogri's first thought was to run. Those guards always traveled in groups, and sometimes they even brought Dalaran Mage apprentices along to get some field experience! But when it looked closely, it saw only a human brat, without even an attendant!
Delighted, it immediately shouted for its subordinates to surround the human brat. The Gnoll Warden was a spellcaster and much smarter than the three Gnoll Archers! It promptly swung its flail, sending a ball of lightning flying toward Taelan Fordring. The human brat raised his shield to block the arrows from the Gnoll Archers. The arrows thudded feebly against it, going thwack, thwack, thwack.
Uncle Gogri was furious. Not only had those useless idiots reacted a beat too slowly, but they'd shot their arrows as if they hadn't eaten in days! Once it dealt with this brat, it would drive them off and find some sharper underlings! As for why it didn't summon more underlings, this wasn't a game. You couldn't just summon minions, have them stand around and fight when something happened, then freeze in place when nothing was going on! They had to eat—twice a day! How could they make more little Gnolls without food? Would they all starve to death?
First posted now, edits to come! Please show your support, and vote with your monthly and recommendation tickets. Thanks!
Before you continue