Given the disasterous results of last year’s family gathering in Southshore, we decided to have this years’ in the safety of our own home. I’m just thankful that we got dear Fai back, even if there were a few unexpected changes.

It’s been an eventful year for us all, with a few surprises here and there, but through it all we’ve kept each other in our hearts and minds whenever possible. If you have family, remember that not everyone does – but if we’re very lucky, we’ll find one anyway. My family, as diverse as it is, is still my family, and I’m glad for every one of them.

To celebrate, we gather together and feast and enjoy each others’ company. We all decided to get gussied up for the Feast of Winter’s Veil, although Kutath lost his fancy duds when The Exodar crashed, and he hadn’t gotten around to getting replacements (and believe me, it’s not easy finding fancy duds to fit a fully grown male Draenai!).  He took it in good humor, though. Well, here’s looking forward to next year’s gathering.

Here’s a little something from us to you to commemorate the occasion. Thanks for coming by, and we hope to see you again! Best wishes for the new year from Grimmtooth, Jasra, Floramel, Illume, Faiella, Slithmere, Kutath, Orlee, Amusmoses, and Yarley!

So Jas ran Grimm’s sweetie’s alt through Uldaman last night. Overheard in party chat:

“I swear, there’s no doubt you’re Floramel’s sister.”

I’m so proud, I’m almost misty over here.

Almost.

DoTs are DoTs are DoTs, sister.

My Order is at a crossroads. This thing with Fai illustrates it magnificently. Here I’m forced to make a choice – a choice between what I know in my heart to be right, and what I’ve been told is right. Fortunately, I have plenty of company and our Leadership is doing a lot of soul searching.

I hear the archbishop of Stormwind’s brother came back as a Death Knight and is living in his cottage in Elwynn.

So I don’t have to renounce my Faith – yet.  I’m pretty sure that, should it come to that, I would do so. I cannot look at her and imagine it any other way.  She’s my little cousin, no matter how Arthas tried to twist her. And I’d as soon lay down my own life as harm a hair on her head. I’ll take up farming. See if I don’t.

She worries, she does. Not about me, now, I think, but in the back of her mind I think she still thinks she’ll turn on us.  That Arthas has a hold on her and what can be undone, can be redone. Damn him for hurting her so. Damn him.

This whole thing just got a little more personal for me.

She’s been cleaning out her room, including the sad little task of dismantling her pet’s sleeping pit. At least she’s letting go a little bit.  Old habits are hard to break and all, but she has a new … life … now. Best be on about it.

I found her on the balcony, a favorite place for our family when thinking Deep Thoughts.

“Finished with the room, are you?”

“Aye,” she sighed. Even her sighs are ominous now. “It’s more appropriate for one such as me, now.”

“I know you still miss Oberon, lass. But Grimm saw that he was doing all right now, so put it out of your mind. He’s happy and doing what big cats do.”

“Aye, I know. But it was nice having a friend out there. I have a long journey ahead of me, Uncle. It’s nice having a friend along, even a furry one that doesn’t talk. I’m just used to it, is all, and nothing has changed that fer me.”

Mew

“What was that?”

Mew

“A little something I got from a lady outside of Stormwind. I don’t know if the markings are exactly right, but it’s certainly a striking resemblance.”

Mew

“Oberon!” She reached out and grasped the little ball of fluff I had in my hands. Bounce “Uncle, I love him!”

I think she cracked one of my ribs with that hug. She’s got a grip on her, that one. She’ll do just fine.

- fin -

It’s nice to be appreciated, even if that’s not really why I’m in this business. It’s nice to know if I am, but at the end of the day I know in my heart if I’ve done a good thing or not. This business with Fai is just that; even thought it was obvious that he didn’t want to burden  us with an extended search, it was also apparent that Uncle Grimm still had hope.   If he had a reasonable hope, then there was only one possible action – help him out whether he wanted it or not.

Success is not even the ultimate goal here. It could have come down to the worse possible of all outcomes, but at least we would have known, grieved, and moved on. Anyone that’s been bumped up to health by a good Pennance bolt knows: sometimes healing can be painful.

Some days are good, some days are bad. The day that I saw comprehension on Faiella’s face – that her place was still among us, no matter what – is probably the best day of my life. If I never raid again, if I never stand on the field of victory or loot an epic item, I will have that.

It is enough.

In the end, we all pitched in. Slithmere, Kutath, and Orlee to the south and west, Amus and Yarley to the east and north, Illume keeping the lines of communication open an providing a fast transportation system when it mattered the most. Flora was certainly my keenest ally in this quest, though, once she put two and two together. She hardly ever shows it, but she feels as strongly about this family, and Uncle Grimm, as anyone. She may have that Gnome Milo fooled, but I know what she’s really made of, and it makes me happy to know that she’s with us when we need her.

And I – we - will be there for her should she ever need us.

Last year, instead of having our All Hallow’s gathering in Dun Morogh, Grimm decided to have it on the more amicable shores of Southshore.

Faiella didn’t make it, and that worried everyone. A lot. The whole crew set out to search, with Grimm apparently tromping every square inch of sod between Silverpine and Hammerfall.  Eventually, he called off the search, thanked the family, and returned home to try to find some sort of peace.

With any other group, that’s probably where it would end. Well, any group without a Jasra.

Dalaran, 5 months ago

I know I’m not going to see the inside of a raid for quite some time; not only does the Guild need Jasra more than me, but there’s also the possible gimping of my abilities. I’ve even tried Affliction, and while it was nice having the puppy out for a change, it still wasn’t doing it for me.

Up in the library, she found me.  “Floramel. We need to talk.”  Unusual for her, she’s usually pretty chatty with or without permission. We wander out to the balcony.

“I’m not giving up on Fai. This is killing Uncle Grimm. He has no closure, no idea what happened. Is she dead? Did she just run away from home? He just needs to know. I’m going to find out.”

What?

“Jas, he gave up of his own free will. He’s a trained tracker. He can practically see through walls. He wouldn’t have given up if he thought she was still alive. He’s making his peace now. Don’t reopen this, it’ll just make it worse.”

She doesn’t look away from the view, but for some reason I feel her eye upon me. “Flora … he gave up to spare us. If it wasn’t for his family, he’d still be looking. But he knows we wouldn’t abandon the search as long as he kept at it.   Watch him, you’ll see. Any chance he has to get back to Hillsbrad, he’s there. But he wanted to spare us from a long despair. As usual, he sees us as the children he adopted. We’ll always be kids, in his heart.”

“Jas, that’s a long stretch… ”

She cut me off. “Listen, I’m not asking for much. I’ll do most of the work. I just need you to keep your eyes peeled for anything … significant … here in the capitols. You and Illume are the city dwellers among us, and you especially have the best connections. Can you do that for me? Please?”

Part of me wants to say yes, part of me wants to keep from encouraging her. “Illume? She hardly comes out of the mages’ towers now that she’s taken up Inscription. And what makes you think Fai’d be in the city, anyway?”

A chuckle – at least she can still do that. “Illume serves the cause in her own way. And everyone else is focusing on wilderness areas, no worries there. But you have the connections. This really can’t work without you, Floramel.  Please help us.”

The road to damnation starts with baby steps, my mentor once told me. “Fine. Tell me what you need, sister. I’ll see what I can do.”

Ironforge, three months ago

When Uncle Grimm decided to adopt a number of homeless war orphans, he sunk his entire inheritance into a rather large apartment in the side of the mountain. Being a Wildhammer, he chose the wall of the mountain overlooking the Wetlands. “If you look right over there, lassie, you can see the window to my old home at Grim Batol”, he’d tell me, and point it out. I’d always pretend like I saw it, because it pleased him to think I did. “Someday I will reclaim my father’s house, and then the family will have a proper Keep!”  Sometimes we forget that he, too, is an orphan.  I imagine this view is all that keeps him going at times.

For the five hundredth time, I’m squinting, trying to make it out. Jasra joins me. She’s a bit beat up, but otherwise exuberant. “We were that close to taking down Meaxxna!”, she beams. “Next time, I’m sure we’ll do it!”  As I help her clean up and mend, we talk business.

“He’s out there again, I’m sure of it,” I tell her. “I saw his gryphon go by this morning. He thought he was being clever by aiming it at Arathi, but we both know he never ventures into the battleground.”

“So you believe me, now. Any other news?”

“Word of a Death Knight that may have some of her belongings. My sources are trying to nail down some sort of pattern that we can use to get closer to it.  My mentor says he may know a way to extract information from it if it proves uncooperative. Where it found the things. How it got them.”

“Where at?”

“Stormwind, mostly. Sometimes Exodar, sometimes Darnassus, but usually around Stormwind. Never in Ironforge. That may be significant.”

“Unfortunately, I have Guild business to attend to. I’ll loop around the capitols to see if I can spot this Knight, too. I’ll return as soon as I can. Good luck, sister. ”

Well, I have to admit. We’re making more progress than I thought possible.

Ironforge, six weeks ago

“Hail the returning hero!” As Jasra walked into the common room, the entire family burst into cheers, with Uncle Grimm leading the way. My little sister had done something none of us has done yet – vanquished the dread lich Kel’Thuzad, and we were full to bursting with pride. As the night went on, various guildies also dropped in, to shouts and applause.  Swan, Dedi, even Shima made a brief appearance.  A lot of these people were old compatriots of Uncle and myself from the Kara days. Much ale consumed, many stories told.

Later, quietly, we get some time together.

“I’ve news, sister. I’ve seen this Death Knight a number of times now. It carries a rifle with the Wildhammer seal on the stock.”

Her eyes got large. “Did it tell you where it got it?”

“I’ve only seen it, Jas. It’s pretty elusive. It would give Uncle Grimm a run for the money. I’ve seen it in Stormwind, chased it through three flight points only to have it disappear in the middle of nowhere. It knows it’s being tracked now, I think.” Might as well tell her. “It was here, this evening, watching you come home, from above the barber shop.”

“You let it get away!?!” Really, she can move pretty fast when she wants to.

“Yes! I let it get away! What, did you want me to call attention to what we were doing at a time like this? Think, sister.  We can’t show our hand yet.”

“Hand? What are ye on about, cousin?” A somewhat lit Uncle Grimmtooth was leaning against the doorway. “What are you two conspirators up to?”

Jasra practically squeaked. “It … it’s supposed to be a surprise, Uncle!” Well, this should be interesting. “I’ve been … busy, or I’d have been done by now. Can you pretend you didn’t hear anything and act surprised later?”

He laughed a little. “Aye, busy you have been. Ah, it’s hardly necessary, lass, but if it makes you happy I heard nothing at all.” Slow wink. “Looking forward to seeing your ‘hand’ when the time comes.”

As he sauntered out, I couldn’t resist. “Nice play of the martyr card, sis.”

The glare I got made Hellfire seem tame by comparison. “Shut up!” Just shut up!” Fade to shadow. “Find me that Death Knight!”

“Sure, sister. By the way, your shadow’s showing.”  I really shouldn’t goad her. I really shouldn’t.

Grizzly Hills, one week ago

“I’ve seen it, Flora. I’ve seen it, followed it, and lost it, just like you said.  Many times. It’s definitely on to us. How did you even get close enough to see the stock of the gun?”

“I have minions. I know things.”, I murmured as I watched Pizkip playing in the embers of the campfire. “It was watching me so closely that it failed to notice a Felguard walking right by until too late to avoid that.”

“It’s like that Ironforge appearance was its way of taunting us.” Jas sighed as she threw back her drink. “And now it’s gone to ground completely. I haven’t seen it in two weeks. And neither have you.”

“There are two possibilities, as I see it,” I mused. “The first is that it has left the cities completely and retreated to the wilderness, which is unlikely. The second is that it has changed its haunts, knowing it is being watched. I will work on the latter. You work on the former.” Nod. “Piz, come. We’re leaving!”

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee YouWillPerishInFlame!” fwooosh “Eeeeeeeeeeeeee That’sRight,PickOnTheLittleGuy!” fwoosh “Eeeeeeeee IMeanYesMistress!”

Always pushing the boundaries, my little imp.

Blackrock Mountain, three days ago

I like doing nice things for Uncle Grimm. He’s gotten himself a sweetie, and we’ve all been pitching in to make her feel at ease with his rather large and diverse family. So into Blackrock Mountain we go – me, Headhun, and Rosamunde. I admit I like her style. Getting her picture taken on the Emperor’s throne was inspired.

As I headed to the mailbox in the Underbelly, one of the shadows peeled off of the wall and spoke. “Floramel.”

Jasra’s getting really good with the shadow form.

“I have news, Jas. My old mentor in Stormwind knows where our friend has been hiding. She – it’s a she, and a dwarf, as it turns out – often takes her evening meal at an establishment he knows of before retiring to wherever it is that Death Knights retire.

Gasp. “Flora, I … I have news, too. I found Fai’s stuff. In behind Tarren Mill, her pack and a few other items. But no body.”

No … Oh, Gods, No!

Even in shadow form, I could tell that she had reached the same conclusion.

“Let’s not be hasty, sister. If we spook … her … again we might never know.  I’ll handle this, Jas. Coordinate with Illume. Be where we can find you.”

She nodded mutely.

‘And, Jas?”

“What?”

“Don’t be a hero.”

There’s that look again.

Stormwind, two days ago

“Milo, that’s not fair! We had an agreement! I’ve kept my end of the bargain up. Now do likewise!”

Milo, my old mentor, didn’t look at all impressed. “Flora, I am changing the terms of the agreement. Keep this up and I’ll change it again. And you’ll never see your precious little Death Knight again. I want a certain noble dead, you will do it, or else. All I have to do is tell her one word, and she’ll bolt again.”

Fume

Milo, I’m … I’ll … GRRR!” He grinned up at me. That Gnome had me by the short hairs, and he knew it. “Let me think about it. I need a drink.”

Smugly, he nodded assent. “You know where to find me, my dear. But don’t take t0o long. Some things are … perishable.” You know you’ve already won, don’t you, you bastard?

Headhun glared across the table at Milo’s demon, a doomguard. “What happened to your friends?” Oh, I’m going to have to zap him a few times if this attitude keeps up.

I have varying tastes. When I’m in a good mood I often go to the Blue Recluse and enjoy the show as the scrubs come in to clear out the ghosts from time to time. But on a night like tonight, I wants it strong and angry. There’s only one place that carries the darkest of rums, distilled (so they say) from demonic grains harvested on Argus itself. The Slaughtered Lamb. Right below Milo’s quarters, and above my old training grounds.

The gleam of blue glowing eyes staring back at me from under a hood frightened me out of a year’s growth. That bastard! Right under my nose!

I’m either going to kill him, or buy him a drink!

Ironforge, present day

The view from the balcony is, as always, breathtaking.

Milo, it turns out, was more annoyed at having to renegotiate than anything else. For a suitable lump sum of gold, he now has a shiny new soul shard on his mantlepiece, which he occasionally has his doomguard swallow whole and then … retrieve. I am lead to understand that this will be an object lesson to said noble, who will eventually find himself back home with a healthy new respect for the “worst that can happen.”

Uncle Grimm is happiest I have seen him in months. He even seems younger. Jas is, as always, an exceptional healer.

I feel a presence next to me on the balcony. “Aunt Flora, I haven’t had the chance to thank you. I’m sorry I put you through all that. I’m glad you didn’t give up.”  No wonder this little Death Knight gave us such a merry chase. She’s still a hunter at heart. She even still cuts her hair with her skinning knife. I guess Amus is right – it’s the heart that matters, after all.

“Just don’t go doing a fool thing like that again, little sister.” I try my best to be gruff. “Otherwise, I swear … I swear I’ll kill you so hard that you won’t come back.”

For the first time since we found her, she laughs.  It’s cold, deep from the ground, diabolically chilling, but it’s mirth nonetheless.

I kinda like it.

It’s hard to resume a life when everything about it has changed. And in fact, now it’s not so much a life as an unlife. That’s one of the oddest things about being a Death Knight.

This all started in Southshore, where I was looking for herbs, getting cheeky and hitting Silverpine and Alterac as I go along. Then the Scourge invasion dropped on us. I was running for my life, then, trying to stay out of trouble and survive long enough to somehow get home or at least to the Wildhammer fortress. I actually saw Dalaran come to life and take off, then head north. Stupid Kirin Tor couldn’t be bothered to pick up a little Dwarf Hunter, could they?

Naturally, I got snagged by the plague. That’s a dark time; I can’t even remember what I did, where I was, or how I got to old Lorderon. Nor, I suppose, should I want to. But I do remember one day, before I Became. The terrible gaze of a Lich bearing down on me; “You, there. We have a special use for you. Your ‘family’ may be of some significance to the Lich King. We shall mold you; you shall bring them to us.”  And I started on the road to become a Death Knight.

It’s true, what they say. The sensations are unbelievable. The power you can draw on is only limited by your ability to control it.

I remember, then. My indoctrination. My education. My … crimes against the Alliance. The terrible, terrible battle. The redemption, my new Order. The shame of Stormwind. The acceptance of my new King.

But I couldn’t face my family. I remembered those words from my “mentor” … “bring them to us.”  From the shadows, I followed their progress. Uncle Grimm tearing up the countryside; smiling with glee at his taming one of those nefarious Stealth Dinosaurs that vexxed him so long ago. Aunt Jasra healing our guildmates through Naxxramas, bringing down Kel’Thuzad himself. Aunt Flora’s first 10K crit. Good times for the family.

Good times that I could not share.

What would they think? What would uncle Amus do? And what if it was true, that I was an instrument of doom to be used against my own family, even in my new ‘enlightened’ state? Too risky.

Sentiment was my downfall.

I was unable to entirely divorce myself from my past life. I was no longer a hunter and had no use for firearms, but I couldn’t help but pick up my old rifle when I found it. It was as if the Gods had proclaimed that I should find it. I was skilling up my herbalism in Hillsbrad once again, and I stumbled across the very place that the Scourge took me, in behind Tarren Mill. There were my old belongings, mostly rotting away, but the gun was mostly intact – though no longer functional.  I took it up, cleaned it, and kept it as a memento of the past.

This attracted someone’s attention. Before I realized the cause, I realized I was being tracked. Just a glimpse from time to time. One, shadowy, glowing eyes. The other, Warlock, dark hair. From under a tree, the corner of the Auction House, back table in the inn. Before I realized who it was, the trap was sprung. The Slaughtered Lamb was a poor choice for dinner and a drink, turns out, and suddenly I found myself in a corner, confronted with the reality of my folly.

Aunt Flora was not amused.

“So, Jas was right. It is you, isn’t it? How many Death Knights do you think normally tote around rifles with Wildhammer markings on them, anyway? You made it easy, cousin.” Cousin? “Yes, foolish girl. Do you think we’d waste our time on anyone else?”

Oh, no. “Please, no! Aunt Flora, don’t tell him! I couldn’t bear it!”

Hard to read Aunt Flora, sometimes, especially when she’s wearing the Mask. “Not my operation, sweetie. This is Jas’ show all the way. Wait right here, I’m off to get her. Headhun will keep an eye on you, won’t you, big guy?” Pause at the door. “He isn’t too bright. His orders are to kill you if you leave this room. We’ll resurrect what’s left of you later if you’re of a mind to make a break for it.”

“Too weak to do your own work?” he muttered. ZAP! Flinch! “I meant, yes, Mistress!”

Leaving a trail of brimstone in her wake, she departed.

“Please,” I begged the demon. “Let me go. I’ll do anything. I can’t bear this!”

Sidewise look. “You have no idea of the power she holds, over me, girl.”, he growled. “I have no choice. I must obey my mistress!”

“Wouldn’t help you anyway.” from the doorway, a shadowy figure emerged. “I wasn’t all that far away.” What … was this wraith-like being? “I’ve been looking for you, and I would have found you no matter what.” The shadow started to fade, take on color. “My uncle is in pain.” Glowing eyes, green hair, gentle smile, outstretched hand. “He doesn’t let on, but he hurts.” Aunt Jasra, kneeling down, hands on my shoulders. “And you ache with guilt and sorrow and loneliness.” No revulsion, no drawing back … acceptance? How? “Auntie Jasra prescribes Reunion. You are one of us. You are family. It doesn’t matter what he did to you. You never really leave your family. I know my family. It won’t matter. Having you back is all we desire.” Bright, joyful gaze. “Go to him, little sister. Go home.”

From the corner, Aunt Flora grinned. “She’s getting pretty good with that shadow form. You might want to listen to her and not make her angry. You wouldn’t like her when she’s angry.”

I couldn’t help blurting out, “Aunt Jas … shadow spec?“

I’m at the Tournemant, doing my bit for King and Country, chasing down Scourge and retrieving swords, and processing leftovers for the Kirin Tor.  My squire, Iggy, comes pounding out of the pavillion waving a letter over his head; I look at the return address and my heart skips a beat.

My cousin Faiella has been missing for months. No word since she went up to Southshore to find a good place to farm herbs; we feared the worst, though her room was still her room with all her stuff.

The letter was from her, and it was postmarked yesterday!  It was short and to the point:

Uncle,

I’m home. Please come.

Fai

Not that it would take much more under any circumstances. She’s always been one of my and Amus’ favorites.

I hit Dalaran so fast that the Kirin Tor though they were under attack, and took the portal right back to Ironforge.  As soon as I hit the ol’ homestead, though, I knew Something Was Up. The common room was all wrong.

Amus was in his usual spot, with an ale and a pipe, but he was gripping his weapon, and the Light it gave off was a bit off – if I didn’t know better, I’d say chagrined. Before him, Random was stretched out on the rug, a bit closer than usual. Orlee was likewise close at hand, her gaze intent on Amus.

My dear cousin was sitting on the opposite side of the room; she had been speaking with a very troubled Yarley, whose tears were flowing down her face as if she had lost a friend.

“Damn“, I thought. “Where’s Oberon?” Fai’s pet was nowhere to be seen.

Then I got a real good look at her. Pale skin, glowing eyes, and armor so dark you could lose yourself in it. Oh, no. No, cousin. She stood, pushed back the hood of her cloak, and spoke with a voice from the bottom of a grave. “I’m sorry, Uncle. I took a wrong turn somewhere.”  Arms outstretched, eyes, shining brightly. But no tears.

Death Knights don’t cry.

It’s strange to hug a Death Knight. Something about the armor, maybe, or the chill of that terrible sword. But the Heart above all knows the truth of it.  This was my little cousin, come home to me.

After a moment, I stepped back and looked at Amus again. Something had changed in him. I realized the dilemma he might be having about now.  “Do we have a problem?”, I asked, wondering how I was going to smooth this over.  Orlee tensed up, and I noticed Ku and Illume easing into the room as well.

“Aye. We have a problem.” He looked up from his mug, set his pipe down, fixed his gaze on me, then shifted to Fai. “Since when does a Wildhammer turn his back on his Kin?”

The room got a little silly, then, until I realized that we had another possible problem. “Oh. Who’s going to tell Jas?”

“Who do you think found her, Uncle?” from the doorway. I turned to see her smiling behind me. “Silly dwarf – healing is what I do.”

I’m not as far along as Jas on the faction grinding, but I’m getting there. A few days ago I got me a mechanostrider (Yellow, thanks for asking). Today I got a license to drive a kitty.

Now, I could have gotten one off the lot, but I had a chat with the guy. You know, the one behind the tree with the dirt. He set me up with a sweet deal, and today I have two things I’ve wanted for a while.

First, I have a kitty mount.

Second, I have my old pal Random back with me.

That guy makes one sweet conversion kit.

Random was getting bored with scaring the hell out of those belf ninjas, anyway.

Well, it’s a hectic time around here at casa de Grimmtooth as we get ready to celebrate. Between coloring eggs and filling baskets, the whole crew’s really busy this time of year.

Just in case I don’t get the chance to say it later, have an excellent Easter no matter what your faith may be.

Well, gotta go. Have to hunt down the traditional rabbit for tommorrow’s feast.

… why are you looking at me like that?

I committed to getting to 80 as fast as possible so that our guild would be able to field a viable force for 10-man raids.

For several weeks, the team has all pitched in. Grimm hunted down items to DE. Amus organized and sorted various elemental bits. Illume actually retrained to learn how to inscribe. Flora contributed all her tailoring and enchanting items. And they all gave up cycles so that I could have as much time per day as possible, to achieve that level 80 achievement and be ready to heal the guild.

I consider my commitment fulfilled. Now it is the guild’s turn. It is the guild’s turn to produce a group to be healed. To produce leadership that is ready to go in and start a months-long slog like we’ve seen in Kara. To be there.

I – and the rest of Team Grimmtooth – did what was necessary to bring a healer to the playing field.Now, the team takes its rightful place until the rest of the contract is fulfilled. From now on, we return to our normal rotation. Everybody now gets a chance to be more than a support system for a priest. Everybody gets a chance to live instead of serve some obscure goal.

Now, it’s not so much about getting there, but about how to best tweak my spec to meet further requirements down the road.

But for now … I consider my commitment fulfilled. The next step is up to our guild. I’ll be there for them. If we never raid again, so be it. If we do, I have teh healz. We’re ready.

As much as I hate making obligatory “still alive” posts, I probably should since I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been jotting down random stuff but not posting it.

My main job has been to stock Jasra with enchantment materials. As of yesterday, she officially broke 350, so my services in this capacity are no longer required. I managed to even solo a few Outland instances with my trusty Gorilladin. Ramps and BF both fell before me. Underbog fell other than the final boss, and I probably just need to tweak my strategy for him. Slave Pens, no problem. Steam Vaults … maybe later.

Of all the Classic instances, Strat and Scholo seem to be the best sources of items that DE to Eternal Essences. I decided to camp out at Light’s Hope Chapel and do the Dead side of strat over and over again in the hopes of also getting Rivendare’s mount. Alas, it was not to be. After ten tries, it didn’t drop. I did get the Dwarven Hand Cannon, and passed it on to my sweetie.

One thing that is important to remember on Baroness Anastari is that she will Mind Control you and heal back up if you are in a group, but will not if you are solo. What this means to Huntards, Dork Kinnigets, and Locks is: put yer pet away and pew pew.

I also managed to pop Exalted with the Argent Dawn. Yay.

I would be more effective on these solo expeditions if Saiph, my Gorilladin, was higher level (currently 76, but was 75 for the bulk of this adventure).  At the same time, I need to gather Northsea Pearls for Jasra’s tailoring. Unfortunately, I only have two choices: go after the murlocs and gorlocs in The starter areas, which give Saiph no XP, or go after the gorlocs in Sholazar, which are, you know, Oracles. Unfortunately, since I am of Oracle faction, option #2 is out of the question. So I’ve been also going after Jormungar Tunnelers in Dragonblight, which is good for my leather skilling too.

In the process of getting Jas some more Arcane Dust, I managed to ding Exalted with Cenarion Expedition, and am now the proud owner of a Cenarion War Hippogryph. Jas is not amused since the 1600 gp required came out of her Epic Mount fund. Sorry, Jas. I’m pulling rank.

Aside from that, it’s been quiet. Jas has been hogging the limelight and may have big news soon. I’ll give you a hint: she’s 79 now.

Our guild has pretty much fallen apart. We had a couple of high-end defections, including one officer’s alt, to the usual suspect’s guild, and I think that broke the GM, or initiated events behind the scenes that accomplished that – though the ennui itself is cleverly disguised as “burnout”.  But one can draw lines between cause and effect pretty easily if one keeps one’s eyes open.

So – we are back to pure casual, not “casual raiding” as we were before. Things have panned out pretty much in a predictable fashion. We’re right back where we were when Grimmtooth Mk I quit the game in disgust. I think I might “heal through” the drama right now to see what is on the other side. I suspect, however, that there are at least five other people that will leave before it is all over.

Next year we get to make contact; so sayeth Arthur C. Clark.

A year ago I was wembling over how our guild might beat Maiden and Moroes, and celebrating our final addition, that being the lovely Yarley, our token Druid.  Of course, she wasn’t the last, with Fai joining shortly thereafter¹ .

Today I am wondering if we’ll ever see the inside of Naxx as a guild. I’m fairly content with “no” but the distress it causes others is … distressing. Not to mention the white-hot hatred I feel for certain … induhviduals.

At any rate, here’s hoping for an  upward slope for the year to come.

All the best from myself, Flora, Jasra, Slithmere, Kutath, Orlee, Amus, Yarley, and Fiaella. May your lewt be epix.

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1. … and who is still not being all that talkative about her whereabouts [↩]

We Wildhammers celebrate the day with feasting, frolicking, and fellowship, all accompanied by a fine ale of some sort. We start the day opening presents (with ale). Mid afternoon are the kiddos’ steam tonk demolition derbies, accompanied by ale. Early evening we get started on the feasting and dancing, with plenty of ale.

Naturally, we pick a spot and stay there. Riding a ram or bear after all that ale is a bad idea, what with cliffs like these!

However you celebrate, we at Team Grimmtooth wish you a happy and safe holiday, and many more to come!

As noted, in Meta’s land it’s a time to give thanks, so we’ll play along.  I’ll go first.

Grimmtooth: I am thankful that, like BRK, I’m a Dwarf. What’s not to like about being part of a race of people that has a holiday just for celebrating ale?

Floramel: I am thankful for my fel Reaver what’s-his-name. The axeman rocks my world, and of just about anything else he touches, too.

Illume: I am thankful for the Mad Achemist’s Potion. It’s the side effects they don’t tell you about that makes it so much fun.

Jasra: Reflective Shield. The look on their face is priceless:

Slithmere: Pockets.

Kutath: The kind people of Azeroth for letting us keep that island. Yes, our lovely, desolate, abandoned home. Good times.

Orlee: Mutable laws of physics.

Amusmoses: Scourge. It’s nice to know I won’t be out of a job for some time to come.

Yarley: Grubs. I mean … oh, kittens.

Faiella: …

This here’s my bear.

Ain’t he got flair?

It’s mah bear.

Yes, somebody made it to Daleran yesterday, and after mugging Flora for some change, I purchased my new favorite transportation medium. Oh, she can gripe all she wants, but when all is said and done, she’ll get a flying carpet. For me, this is it without some serious faction grinding.

I’ve completed the Nexus quests now, so I can move on if needed. Last night we went with a pally tank so I broke out my new trick – Hunter AoE. I was able to stay on top of the charts against one of our heavier damage mages when AoE was on the menu – a least, for a while. We were pretty much neck and neck for the whole thing. Even though she’s 3 levels lower, she still has been the DPS queen, so even getting close is an achievement. And I haven’t even tweaked for my final build.

The cooking dailies look very interesting and I look forward to trying the new system out.

Flora got a new polar bear cub to celebrate the 4th year anniversary of WoW. I had understood that it would only be awarded to four year vets, which none of us are, but apparently everyone is getting one. It’s a shame, those that have stuck with the game for four years should be recognized.

My sweetie suggests that next year, a spectral tiger cub would be ideal.