I ran out of quests and went fishing

Finishing Dun Morogh

I spent the first part of today finishing the quests I had left in Dun Morogh. I mined along the way and opened several battered chests, then stopped in Ironforge to use the bank and sell what I didn’t need.

Once I ran out of quests, I headed east through South Gate to Loch Modan, picked up some work, and grabbed the flight point.

Fishing until sunset

I went down to The Loch and started fishing. I had been there for a while before I noticed the sun setting behind me. I moved around until I could see its reflection stretching across the water. There were plenty of quests waiting, but I was in no hurry to leave.

Jarran and the dock

Before I reached the dock, I was running from the island with enemies behind me. I went through the water toward the mainland and noticed another player pull one of them off me. His health was already low, but I assumed he knew what he was doing. Maybe a buff or heal had put the enemy on him. I kept going without checking whether he needed help.

At the dock I found Jarran Mirhrbraid dead. I don’t know whether he was the player who took the enemy off me. If he was, I might have been able to save him. I did not even turn around to look. I apologized to his corpse and called him “Jarrath…” Sorry, Jarran.

I stayed at the dock after that, doing very little. Adventurers came and went. The ones who stopped to fish felt different. There was a quiet camaraderie in sharing the same patch of water without needing to say anything.

A crowded Thelsamar

I eventually left the dock for the camp near Thelsamar’s flight point. People were gathered around the fire, with more coming through all the time. I flew to Ironforge and emptied my bags, then flew back to Loch Modan before remembering that I had reached level 14 and forgotten to train. Back to Ironforge. I was getting very familiar with both ends of that route.

People had been sharing things throughout the day. Someone gave me a bag, someone gave me potions, and I handed out stacks of food.

I had two mage-only scrolls to give away. Thelsamar was crowded, and I looked up and down the town for at least ten minutes before catching a mage named Seymor passing through. I traded him the scrolls, and he used them right there. One turned him into a sheep. He showed me the staff-enchantment scrolls he got from the other.

Looking around after dark

I kept stopping to look around Thelsamar. The moon was up behind the trees, and the windows in the hills were lit. I mined a little more copper, climbed onto the canopy near the flight point, and found a rocky overlook with a view through the trees toward the lake. If it’s there, I can’t help but climb it.

The road toward Dun Morogh still had plenty of traffic. I passed the remains of a camp where about ten people had gathered earlier, with other groups running past. I wondered how many people had camped there over the course of the day. I was heading back to collect snow for a shaman. If I had known anyone wanted it, I would have brought some with me.

A few quests, finally

I eventually got back to questing. After fighting Tunnel Rats and turning in a few quests in the north, I headed south to the Stonesplinter troggs near the Valley of Kings.

Campfires in difficult-to-reach places

Somewhere between the troggs, I climbed onto one of the huge statues in the Valley of Kings. From up there I could look back over the road to the tunnel through the mountains, with the pines below me. I put down a campfire and sat beside it. I had finally started questing again and still managed to find another place to sit.

After coming down, I turned in The Trogg Threat and the first part of In Defense of the King’s Lands, then picked up the next part. A few minutes later I was on a rock ledge above the road, putting down another fire. I had found a new game: putting campfires in difficult-to-reach places.

Level 15, and a few setbacks

Just before midnight, defeating a Stonesplinter Skullthumper earned me 115 experience and brought me to level 15. I had started the afternoon at 13. Even with all the fishing, flying, and sitting on things, I had made some progress.

The next stretch was rougher. I died three times while working around Stonesplinter Valley after midnight. I did finish another part of In Defense of the King’s Lands and Banner of the Fallen before heading back. By then I was ready to leave the troggs alone for the night.

Back to Ironforge

Tired and sore, I returned to Ironforge to repair my gear and deal with the junk I had been collecting. The Great Forge was still busy, with people gathered on both sides and the gryphon platform across from me. It was past one by the time I stopped for a last salute. That was enough adventuring for one day.