I always find flying over The Burning Steppes and The Cauldron unsettling. I can’t help but imagine what would become of me if the gryphon decided to land and dump me amid the horrors that call these areas home. When we cross the ridgeline and enter Dun Morogh I always let out a sigh of relief.

The dwarves care not for the Defias Brotherhood. They’ve got problems of their own: Troggs. These primitive beings breed like rabbits, and while the dwarf graybeards say that in days past they were a reclusive people that kept to themselves, that is certainly no longer the case. The Troggs today are aggressive to the point of madness, flinging themselves into battle at the mere sight of a traveller.

The second leg of my journey carried me over a quarry where I saw many dwarf adventurers fighting swarms of these creatures. I should’ve come to this place earlier as these noble dwarves are clearly in need of aid. Naught to be done now; I can’t change the past.

As soon as the gryphon alights in Loch Modan I set out to see what can be done to help, and soon enough I find the task is simple enough. Kill Troggs. Lots and lots of Troggs. The Captain of the South Tower assigns me the grisly task of returning with 20 of their teeth as proof that I’ve done the deed. I take a deep breath, calming the anger that rises in response to the implied insult; am I not to be trusted, then? Well, I suppose I am looking a bit rough around the edges these days, and the world is full of deceipt.

My mood is lightened when I encounter Milgara, a dwarf paladin of my aquaintence. She too is working for the Captain and, without really speaking of the matter, we join forces. She knows an out of the way camp of Troggs that has been overlooked by most adventurers, and the Troggs there are gathering strength unmolested. We mean to put a stop to that.

We swim across the Loch to a small island. On the way we are assailed by a small but rather fierce fish. The beast is quickly dispatched but fighting underwater was a new experience. Had it been a longer battle I’m not sure my breath would’ve held out.

Milgara is impressed by the speed of my daggers. I’m impressed by the might of her arm and her powers of healing. We seem to complement each other well and the first few Troggs we encounter fall swiftly. Then things get interesting.

I’m surprised to find that the Troggs, some of them at least, have some skill at magic. And magic, as it turns out, hurts. But the job must be done no matter the personal cost. The trick is isolating the Troggs and taking them out a few at a time. They’re not very smart, and a sting from my thrown daggers is enough to send one running enraged at us, away from the aid of his companions. These brutes are killed as swiftly and humanely as possible.

But the Troggs with magic (called Seers) aren’t so foolish. They stay back and fire bolts of energy at us. If we move close to engage, all their companions swarm over us. Learning this costs us a few trips back from beyond. I’ve never traveled in ethereal form with a companion before. Turns out Milgara’s shade leaves a very pretty trail. Heh.

Eventually we learn to trick the Troggs. One of us hides while the other stings a Trogg Seer then runs out of range of its bolts. It will then pursue, taking it far enough from its fellows that we can isolate it. Still its a dodgy business at best, and I must confess that I was happy when my sack held 20 of the teeth I was sent to fetch.

A few particular encounters are worth noting. Once, in a moment of out-of-place levity, I used an explosive rocket to rile up a pair of Seers, just to try and get a rise out of Milgara. Instead, it got a rise out of the Seers and the resulting battle was painful, but I still must confess that I’m glad I did it. Rockets are fun!

And once, I used my powers of stealth to hide myself competely. Milgara stirred up a tight pack of four of the Seers, then ran past where she knew I was hiding. As the Seers passed me by, I rapped them each on the back of the head, sending them to dreamland while we fought their companions. That worked rather well and I’d like to practice the technique more.

At any rate, the job done we swam back to town (fighting more of those nasty fish on the way) and turned in our teeth. But the work here isn’t done. There are bigger, strong Trogg that need to be run off the Loch. And I’ll come back to help with that someday, but first…

Milgara spoke to me of a land she’s heard of called Darkshore. Apparently its where the Night Elves come from. The trip there from Loch Modan is frought with danger for one as young as I, but still…my curiosity will be my undoing!

I camped for the night to rest up. In the morning I’ll be seeking this land of Darkshore. I do not know that I will survive the trip, but I cannot resist the lure of seeing new places and having new adventures. After all, isn’t that what life is all about?