Day Hundred and Sixty-Five

Another day, another batch of wounded. Five got hit in a patrol down by Andorhal, the only one who's regained consciousness since says they were hit by the undead. No word yet on whether it was the scourge or the forsaken.
They claim to honor the neutrality we held in icecrown, but simply put I don't trust them anymore. I don't think anyone really does, the Orcs sent troops to keep an eye on them. Not just the Kor'Kron that came last year to guard the city, generals and warlords from Ogrimmar with foot soldiers. And a few nobles in Stormwind have sponsored an expedition to retake Andorhal, they sent a messenger to parlay with the Highlord when they first arrived. I haven't seen their base for myself, but I'm told they're fortifyingthe bridges and have brought siege weapons. With the Forsaken outpost on the other side of town in the granaries and what used to be the mill district growing in number and defenses, conflict seems inevitable.

Not to sound old, but I remember when this was all farmland, far as the eye could see.

Day Hundred and Sixty-Four

Wow! I thought I'd lost this thing. So much has happened since Northrend, visit to the trolls and the Wildhammer, arrival back in the plaguelands; it's amazing to see the progress we've made on the land.

I've been working with some of the Druids. They're...odd. Vegetarian, all focused on nature, and their moon goddess I don't like them much. Can't deny their effectiveness though, I've seen some of them turn a seed into a sapling in a matter of days. And some of the oldest trees of the forest, the ones that survived the plague anyways, are being restored. Even the grass is coming back in parts.

Not to say it's all their doing. The druid's magic has a hard time taking hold on unholy ground, and the spirits of the shaman must give their blessings for the changes to hold. But the real work is still being done by the Argent paladins and priests. The scourge, what little is left of it anyways, is still active to the South and the East. Casualties aren't as high as they used to be, but with so many of the mercenary forces and adventurers returned to their homes in the face of war between the Alliance and the Horde our numbers are nearly crippled. It's almost imposible to make the progress we were a month ago, and every fallen soldier is a greater loss than ever before.
Which makes me valuable enough to be given a proper lab, and all the medical supplies I could ever dream of. Sadly, I have no time to use the lab. Even during the night there are wounded who must be attended to, and proper surgeons like myself are few and far between. Especially since the Alliance and Horde need all of theirs, and what few there are besides are helping their own factions.
Makes a girl feel special, even if she is one of like three dead people in the entire Argent Dawn.

Day hundred and twenty two; Outside Aerie peak

Trust Laud to carry a map.

Safe, sound, and warm for the first time in a week. The Dwarves still won't let her in town, bt they agreed to let us fly to Light's Hope tomorrow. So we'll be back on track.


She won't talk about it. I don't think it went well. I'd go so far as to say it went horribly, she refuses to even touch her alchemy equipment. I asked Gidge and she just shrugged and said she'd ask about it. I hope its nothing too bad.

Day Hundred and Twenty

Blood, slime, and bits of troll everywhere.


Upside is we found Laud, downside is she's in the process of knitting a troll back together and I'm afraid to get within ten feet of her. That needle is moving so damn fast I think she'd attach me to him without even noticing.

I'll figure out what happened tomorrow. Blood loss makes you sleepy.



Oh and Gidge is fine; she's watching Laud intently. I don't know what they're talking about, but it has to do with joints and biological design structuring.
Whatever that is.

Day Hundred and Eighteen, Hinterlands, there are some troll ruins over there

Gidge must be bored, she's being snide now. Apparently the silent treatment wasn't bothering me enough for her liking.

Killed a slime today. It contained twenty silver and what would appear to be a map. Sadly, the map is a tourist map of Stratholme. It'll come in handy when we catch up with Laud and drag her there by her hair. Putting us through all this trouble, shouldn't have left in the first place, It's not like there's anything out here but trolls, trees, slimes, and trees.

Day hundred and Seventeen, location unconfirmable

Trees, trolls, and trees that's all there is out here. Gidge still isn't talking beyond 'are you gonna kill him or am I going to have to do all the work?'


I hate this place. Laud, if we ever find you I'm gonna kick your leg off for this.

Day Hundred and Sixteen, somewhere in the Hinterlands

In retrospect I should have bought a map, or hired a guide, or scouted the area, or something other than just walk into the wilderness with two weeks rations, my weapons and armor, and a fifty foot length of Dwarven rope. A tent, for example, might have been a good idea; a blanket wouldn't have been such a bad idea either.

I'm not alone mind you. Gidge is securely lounging in the hamock/tent half way up a tree. She used her fifty foot rope and her fancy engineer's cloak to get nice and cozy. She's still mad at me for not bringing a map, and refuses to build me one. I don't really blame her, it was pretty stupid on my part.


Laudren, wherever you are; stay still and we'll find you.
Then maybe you could show us all how to get home.

Day Hundred and Fifteen, still wildhammer stronghold

I bought supplies yesterday. If she's not back by 6am tomorrow I'm going after her. And since Gidge got her wake-e-matic auto-gong working this morning, much to this dismay of hung-over Dwarves everywhere, I'll actually know when that is.

Gidge says six in the morning is too late to go to sleep and not late enough for a drink. Must be a Dwarven saying, I've never caught her drinking in the whole twenty odd years I've known her.


Now this Ehrnsie girl of Laud's, seems like she could put away a good drink or two. And I've seen Laud down a few herself. Sounds like her Dad was more of a collector than a drinker, Rumor behind the counter is that the Thadsbrook Keep cellars were host to one of the finest collections of ale, mead, and wine outside of Ironforge. The value, so I'm told, was nearly half of the family's entire wealth.
Must have been quite the cellar, I'll have to ask Laud if we can go to her place.



Not like that. Although it seems like a good time to point out that I think I know what she was talking about when I asked her what she saw in the mirror while she was wearing that potent perfume of hers back in southshore. Must have some major self-image problems from growing up with that additude about her own looks. If I ever catch that girl I'm going to give her a piece of my mind.

Day hundred and Fourteen; wildhammer stronghold

Still not back; I've asked if anyone's heard from her. The Dwarves don't seem worried at all. Several of them actually laughed at the thought of her being in trouble.

Which brings up an interesting sidenote. Apparently Laudren's mother, Tania, spent a fair bit of time hunting with the Wildhammer's when she was younger. Garnered a fair reputation as an amazing cook and a steady hand with a hammer. It's mostly their respect for her that makes them as tolerant towards Laudren as they are. Some of the ones who actually hunted with Tania used to visit while Laudren was little, right up until the scourge came. They've had some..Gidge calls them interesting things, I just wonder how much of the goings on of her own household Laudren was actually aware of. Talking to her you'd think her mother was an angel and her father a saint. The first one is understandable, her mother died when she was only four, giving birth to a younger sister, the Ehrnsie she refrences in the journal's front page I assume.

But her father, Dwarves tend to be quite trustworthy and I doubt they'd lie about something they stand to gain nothing from. I'll not say more until I find a more direct source to talk to; I know that this 'Cellan' person was still alive two years ago. And odds are fairly good that if Gilneas remains as secure as it appears then Ehrnren is alive, and mother of a fair size brood I imagine. I'll try to talk to one or both of them before I tell Laudren any of this. She needs all the stability she can get.

Day Hundred and Thirteen, no location change

She's still away. Most of her trips aren't this long, I suppose the coast is a good distance away but it still isn't normal for her. If she's not back by Wednesday I'm going after her.

Now that we have regular mail service Gidge wrote back to her parents to make sure they knew she's still alive. I could care less what my mother thinks; but I have been trying to write a letter to Maddie's folks. They ought to know what happened. And since it was just Gidge and I, and I have seniority, I ought to be the one that tells them. It's been hard to relive, even after a year. I should have been there, I shouldn't have left her alone like that. There was no way she could have defended herself against that many of them, even in her best condition.
Gidge keeps telling me not to beat myself up over it. But it was my fault, I don't deserve to be forgiven for it. If it weren't for me she'd still be alive, safe at home or here with us. I had to go and let my feelings get in the way and she paid for it.

Crap, need to go get Gidge out of a barrel. She just hit on one of the Dwarves and she'll need help. Again.

Day Hundred and Eleven...er Twelve, still Wildhammer stronghold

Gidge finally managed to crack it. It seems like whoever enchanted this thing really didn't want people to get into it. I wonder who Laudren had doing her enchanting? This thing seems to only go back until she started her count, back when she first got to Northrend, but the pages go back years prior. But neither Gidge nor I has managed to extract any of the things recorded in them.


So the latest problem is that it was refusing to work when she gets more than about a hundred meters away. We managed to crack it, but it wasn't easy. And the Dwarves were laughing about it while we tried.


She's gone east to visit the Revantusk tribe along the coast. Some of the Wildhammers escorted her as far as the Highvale Lodge, and the rangers agreed, hesitantly, to escort her back when she returns. She's paying good money for what limited hospitality she's recieving, and it seems like some of the Dwarves here have previous dealings with her. One of the older hunters says that Laudren's got her mother's love of carefully ordered shelving, her bracelet, and her right jab. One of the younger, relatively speaking, Dwarf ladies mentioned she's got her father's hair. I take it that her family lived in the general area, and were quite popular with the Dwarven community.

Day hundred and Nine, just south of Durnholde

Alright, we're camped out tonight. Laudren's on guard, the Forsaken are strong in this area and she'll be the least likely to cause suspicion, this time. More importantly she's travelled the region before and knows the surroundings better than we do.
Also she doesn't sleep, ever.



And now the fun part. I went over to help Laud get away from Gidge last night. I open the door and find that Laudren has put Gidge in the dresser and is leaning against it to keep her from getting out. I ask her if she needs help, and she just smiles. Apparently during the whole crown chemical deal last spring she bought a lot of extra vials so she could figure out how they did it. She used a little bit of Troll voodoo to extend the effects and strengthen her own resistance to it. Apparently the side effects can be.. well, no one would have objected. A part of me wishes she hadn't taken as many precautions. She did let me sketch her though, twice. She wanted to keep a copy for herself. She also wanted to make sure we stopped off at what's left of her place on our way to Light's Hope. Probably just nostalgia.

Gidge is still a bit shaken. It was a powerful potion, and it's not often you find yourself face to face with the girl of you dreams; even if you know she's actually a rotting corpse.

Finally, Day Hundred and Eight; Southshore.

So it turns out that Laud knows more than just medicinal potions. She had us land just north of town and set up her Alchemy kit. How she got it all into that knapsack I don't know, magic probably.
Anyways, she gets out a half dozen vials and combines them in a rather ceremonial pattern. Right and while she was setting up her stuff she had Gidge and I settig out some Votive candles and a couple of Orcish skulls, must have been Orcish, they had those little piggy tusks of theirs. Again, cermonial patterning was quite obvious.

Then she recites something in Light knows what, not Demonic Gidge's brother was a warlock and he taught her enough that she can tell. Troll maybe, could have been Tauren for all I know.
Then she climbs into the cauldron.

Yea, she's quick like that; I almost got to her in time to stop her. I thought she'd disolved or something, but then she climbs back out all healthy looking. Clothes and all, not a bit of rot on her; that I could see anyways.

So we're in the inn now, nobody knows she's not alive. Do all undead know this stuff? And what was in those vials? Must be some pretty potent stuff, probably cost a fortune. ANd who knows how long this isgoing to last. She says we're going to leave the town early in the morning, but I don't know if she'll be back to dead by then or just quickly rotting.




It's all rather suspicious to me. But aside from the sheer oddity of this sort of magic, it puts her in a rather different light. She's...not half bad looking. If I didn't know better I'd probably buy her a few drinks and see how far it got me. I mean, I wouldn't because under that magic she's still dead and corpse-y, and that's just kind of stomach rending to think about. But if I didn't know that, I might try it. At least two of the guards have hit on her, I can't tell if she was blowing them off or just didn't pick up on it. If the former than she's an artist; if the later, she's blind, the second guard was pretty blunt.
She and Gidge are in their room. I'm actually a bit confused about that, Gidge has been giving Laud some...odd looks, to say the least. She's got this gleam in her eyes I haven't seen since before we joined the army. It was usuallywhen she met a particularly....

That easy? Really? I'd have... Genius, she really does know her craft. It's not a disguise, it's some sort of love potion. She figured out a way to make some sort of potion that causes her to appear as the most attractive thing to whoever..senses her; I don't know how it works exactly, but if she could brew it properly it would make a disguise unneeded. Provided there were no other undead around, or elementals, or...I don't know if demons feel love or not, but I bet they'd see through it.



Well in any case, at least now I know what the girl of my dreams looks like. I think I'll try and get her to let me sketch her before it wears off. I'm guessing that by now she'll need a reason to get away from Gidge anyways. That little tinkerer can be quite agressive when her intrests have been aroused.

Because I don't like having my post count as 69, here's a short story

((Alright, so I saw Totalbiscuit's coverage of stonetalon and I remembered 'hey, I have a troll that lives in Malaka'Jin! How is he dealing with all the new company?' This is pretty much how he reacts.))

It was a good hunt. He had drawn the thunder beast's attention long enough for Tali to hit it from the side. The beast's hide and entrails would bring him a good price at market, and the meat would feed them both for weeks to come. The Tauren used large teams of hunters when they assaulted such a creature, so they could carry it all back. Natame had only Tali. The sinews of the beast's legs he had stretched out, and woven together into a net. The hide had been wrapped around the meat, which he had salted to preserve it. The more valuable organs and glands had been placed into jars, enchanted by the Witch Doctor to keep them pure. All these had been placed into a sort of sled made of the sinews and bones, and hitched up to stalwart Tali. He would not make good time, but he would make good profit and the Loa would see that he did not squander their blessing and would perhaps grant him further blessings; maybe even a family one day. Many Trolls mocked him for thinking the Loa would involve themselves in such mundane matters, but he knew that the loss of the Echo Isles was a judgement by the Loa for their infidelity. They had failed to give the Loa credit for all their blessings and so their blessings were lost.

"Come Tali, Ol' Natame knows ya burden and he will reward ya for it when we make it home."
The Raptor snorted cheerfully and started off at a steady walk. He stayed back slightly, Tali pulled the hunt but she was vulnerable to other beasts; spiders, other raptors, there were still grimtotem raiders in the hills that would not hesitate to attack a lone Troll and his harnessed raptor.
But not this time. It was a long and quiet walk up the mountain path to Malaka'Jin, which he now called home. But when he arrived he noticed something almost instantly.
Lots of Orcs, armored Orcs, unarmored Orcs, Orcs carrying a weapon, Orcs carrying two weapons, Orcs with guns, and Orcs with axes, there were even Orcs wielding magics.
And He thought he saw a Peon crying in one of the corners while a larger Orc hit him with what he could only assume was some sort of shoe-a-rang.

It took him a while to find someone he recognized, most of the Trolls had migrated towards the Witch Doctor's cave at the end of town.
"Hey mon, why dere be all dese Orcs here?"
"Dats what he jus' explained, 'choo stupid or someting?"
Natame grabbed the younger Troll by the dreads and pulled his head back.
"No, I jus' been working ya lettil runt. 'Choo could try it sometime, might teach ya a ting or three about respectin ya elders."
"Don hurt me mon!"
"Get outta here lettil one, dere be no place in dese mountains for da weak a spirit."
The runt ran off and Natame found himself face to face with the Witch Doctor.
"What 'choo be doin roughin up da little one?"
"He be callin me stupid, I taught him to respect his elder."

The two stood staring eachother down for several minutes before Natame finally went for his pack.
"I brought 'choo da gland like ya ask."
The two friends laughed at the crowd, still tense from the assumed conflict.
"Come Ol' Natame, walk wit me."

Natame flipped a few silver to one of the Witch Doctor's daughters and motioned for her to unload Tali's sled. The girl had dealt with her before and he knew she'd manage to avoid reaching Tali's bad side.
Jin'Zil stopped when they reached a little shrine just above the village. Halazzi, of the untamed spirit, was commemorated here. His chosen patron, and responsible for all the hunters of his tribe.
"I thought, maybe it would be best for ya to be with da ones dat keep ya safe. To make sure ya don' do anyting ya regret."
"Jin'Zil, why are dere so many Orcs here?"
"Word on da winds be dat Thrall be steppin down as warchief." The Witch Doctor put a hand to his shoulder to silence him, seeing Natame's displeasure. "Da Hellscream be ordering da Horde to war already, Vol'Jin opposes him."
"Da shadowhunter be a wise leader den, dere be noting to be gained from war so soon after da Lich King."
"Dere be no war yet. But dey be building strongholds in da mountains. Most of da Orcs will move further in, but some of dem be here to assure Garrosh dat we be workin for da Horde."
"Thrall may be wise, but to put such a beast over da Horde is madness."
"On dis we agree; but for now we cannot do a ting."

Natame sighed and knelt before Halazzi's shrine. "Loa, give dis ya servant da strength to accept da wisdom of da warchief. And da patience to deal wit his successor."
"'Choo be a good troll Natame, an I think as much a blessing to da Loa as blessed by dem. Come, Ora'Zil will be finished wit Tali. Maybe 'choo could tell her of one of 'choo hunts?" The witch doctor nudged the hunter, and the two walked back into town.

Day one hundred and six, two days left on this blasted craft

We're rounding Gilneas, I've got Whitefeather groomed and ready to go once we get into the Southshore waters. Laudren and Gidge agreed to accompany me. Laudren took a little coaxing, she'd wanted to see the Dwarves in Menethil. I get the impression she likes Dwarves, not in that sort of way, but as more of a respect thing.

Gidge just gave me one of her nods. She knows how I feel about Menethil. I feel bad bringing her, I know she'd like to see her parents again, but I'm glad she's coming anyways.



The two of them are still chatting. Apparently Laud's not bad with a pair of scissors, she managed to get Gidge's hair down to a rather neat bob. I'm impressed to say the least. It would appear that our doctor is quite versatile. Must have been a gypsy or something, most people don't learn more than one useful skill in their whole life and she's got dozens.

Day one hundred and five, three more days left at sea.

Gidge spent the whole day talking. She wanted to know if we were okay. She wanted to know what happened. She wanted to know who cured her and of what. And she wanted to know how to wear her hair now that it's brown, a color she apparently always wanted it to be.


She and Laudren are still talking about that last part. I never took Laudren for the sort of person who actually knew anything about girly stuff. I've never seen her do anything for her own appearance. For that matter, when did Gidge care?
It's really funny to think about, I mean the one has bits of dried herb in her hair and her skin is worn through on parts of her fore head and the other seems to wear grease as blush; and yet here they are talking about how to wear their hair and what colors they look best in.



Actually, it's kind of nice. We might have a lot of women in the group but we don't have many girls. If that makes any sense. I mean, even the female healers tend to be kind of tough after Northrend. But the two of them just seem to have forgotten it all and gotten out their makeup kits.

And yesterday I was worried she might be trying to kill us all. Either she's a mad genius or her work is the creepiest thing this side of the Maelstrom. It might be both.

Hundred and four days since first entry.

Gidge is still asleep, but she should be awake in a few more hours. She seems a lot better, and with what Laudren is calling 'minor side effects'.

Her hair turned brown. I suppose its not a huge difference, but I imagine Gidge will notice it rather quickly. Poor girl'll probably be shocked speechless.



Laudren is doing fine otherwise. She..um..collected a few samples from some of the patients on the ship. Vials of blood from the wounded, bits of hair and skin from the humans, one of the Goblins drowned in the storm below decks and the body just sort of dissapeared. I'd confront her, but I'm half afraid to find out what she's doing. She's brilliant, and nice, and even reasonably attractive for a dead person; but she can be pretty fierce when people question her motives and her methods.

At worst, I suppose I'll be killing an undead goblin or the ship blows up. It's goblins, if it goes unattended for a few hours that'll happen anyways.
At best? Now that's a scary thought.

Day hundred and thirty, sorry, hundred and three

Gidge is sleeping, quietly. The fever dropped off within hours and everything else seem to be correcting itself. She's gonna be okay.


Laudren yelled at me for not getting her sooner. Apparently she's done the same to the healers. It kind of established a pecking order really; Laudren being kind of the top medicinal authority in the group now. She's certainly got the expertise. She's just not very approachable, not that she isn't nice, just that she tends to take a lot of her knowledge as basic and makes it apparent what sort of healer you must be for not knowing it. I wouldn't say she bullies the healers, she just reminds them where healers stand in the medical community.

A lot lower than I'd have ever thought. You'd think a combat healer would need to be the best, but apparently just 'summoning your inner power', or whatever the hell magic is, is pretty easy compared to curing disease or rehabilitating ex-soldiers. Probably an issue of training too, she's spent years learning this stuff and most of them just learned a bit of restorative magic from a hunchbacked crone outside of town and refined it a bit as they fought in Northrend.

Day hundred and two, really early in the morning

Got a spare moment and I'm using it. Laudren has a very..involved way of brewing her potions. That or Alchemy is way more athletic than I'd ever realized. Maybe it's just something to do with the way she organizes her herbs, it seems like whatever she needs is on the opposite side of the room from what I've just gotten her.


The medicine should start working within hours, but she'l need to rest for a while. I have high hopes. I can't say much for Laudren though. She's in this wierd sort of trance almost. Like she can't see anything outside of curing Gidge. It kind of worries me.

still the hundred and first day

It's some exotic sort of fever. I think she called it a Scarlet fever. She handed me a book and told me to find out what I can while she 'meddles'. Apparently it's a particularly nasty sort of disease that killed hundreds of Scarlet's a few years ago. Gidge must have caught it while we were in New Hearthglen, probably from one of the ex-scarlets. From the looks of it it should have taken longer to get this bad, but for a Gnome the disease has less to infect and it escalated very quickly.

But it looks treatable, If Laudren has the herbs then she shoud be able to cure it rather easily. It'll be a few days before she recovers, but Gidge should be able to pull through.