A New Adventure: Phase 1

The dard haired gnome sits on his knees on the beach of Darkshore. He stares at the burning remnants of Teldrassil, his thoughts unspoken. After a long moment, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He whispers, only those very close to him could hear, "Makers ... Light ... Elune ... be with us." He stands, wiping his eyes and turning inland, trying to decide what to do next.

"Greetings traveler."

A massive (well to a gnome at least) tauren steps out of the treeline near the shore and slowly makes his way over to the beach as well. He blends in well with the trees, wearing a tattered robe of stitched together bark and twigs. Even his horns appear branchlike.

"My apologies, I hope I did not startle you. I am River of the Cenarion Circle."

  At this point one of the piles of driftwood and garbage on the shore starts shaking.
— Ow! A bit muffled voice sounds from underneath it. What kind of sha bit me?

  From the said pile emerges a female pandaren. Her outfit that looks like it was ceremonial at some point is now a bit torn and singed. Dark red fur is covered with dirt and ashes. There is a longbow on her back together with a round wooden shield adorned with a green paw symbol. Attached to her hip is a longsword.

  Pandaren kicks a crab that apparently was the reason of her awakening and with a frown begun to rummage around in the pile that she was under previously. After a few moments she apparently finds what she was looking for - a backpack with a waterskin attached to it. Bot items have green leaf symbols on them.

  Done with that, she starts to look around and notices gnome and the tauren nearby.— Hello there. I wave at others. This humble one's name is Xiao Yu from the Silentmind family. It appears that we share a path... Or at least, I hope we do. The thing is - I'm quite new to this continent.

A draenei shaman walks through the ruins of Teldrassil, letting out a heavy sigh.
So much destruction..

He said softly. Noticing the sounds of people talking, he then trudged over, shifting the weight of the greathammer on his shoulder slightly.

The old tauren glances around nerviously. "Oh, my. Indeed. I hadn't realized... Ahhh, but of course the fates would bring us together to witness this.. this... abomination." A great owl glides silently out from the woods and perches on one of the druid's horns and scowls at the others.

Initially startled by the sight of the Tauren, the gnome visibly relaxes at the mention on the Cenarion Circle. "Oh, I see. Yes, well then I don't suppose you would ever be a part of that-" he gestures behind him, indicating the burned World Tree. "Very good to meet you, River. I am Kleemock Fastcog, newly appointed prospector of the Explorer's League of Ironforge. You may call me Klee." He ends his introduction with a respectful bow and a sad smile.

Upon the Pandaren's arrival, Klee waves back and introduces himself once more. "Greetings! A sorry sight to see, this your first visit to these lands. I'm Kleemock Fastcog - Klee for short - Prospector of the Explorer's League of Ironforge." He bows his head to the Pandaren.

Greetings to all.
Caelaen says as he walks over, his posture showing that he was not here to fight.
Is everyone here ok? He asked, ready to heal any injuries if he needed to.

— Well, I saw how it looked before... I approach everyone, while trying to remove some dirt and sand from outside and even inside of my outfit. I was a part of delegation sent to your lands. Well, more like a tag-along. My clan leader thought that it was time for me to see the outside world. I wonder what his reaction would be to this?
  I find a relatively clean and dry spot to sit and begin inspecting my equipment, cleaning it, if necessery.

Caelaen then extended his hand to the Pandaren.
My name is Caelaen. May I know yours?
He smiled politely.
This destruction... the elements must be devastated...
He then sighed.

— Oh? Hello there, friend. Name is Xiao Yu from the Silentmind family. I shift my attention from cleaning sand from the sword sheath to the new person and shake his hand.

Steps back as everyone around him begin to introduce themselves. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath of the ash tinged air. The owl perched on his horn hoots softly. "Yes, I agree. It's quiet isn't it? Very well, feel free to take a look around, but don't fly off too far."

The bird hoots and begins flying overhead, in a wide circle around the group as if hunting. River then takes a moment to inspect the tracks in the sand at his feet, saying out loud, though mostly to himself. "Hmmm, wolf prints perhaps? Deep though... perhaps ridden upon."

Klee glances around.
Edit: Yup. It's a beach.

Caelaen takes a look around, his eyes flitting over the area.

"Oh!" the gnome blinks quickly, offering an embarrassed smile as he acknowledges the draenei. "I do apologize. I wasn't intending to ignore you. It must be all this - you said it best I think - this destruction has me all in a tizzy. Though it seems my cousin Jan had it right when he said 'you can't make a raging queen happy without spilling blood'." The gnome enthusiastically reaches out a hand to the draenei towering over him. "The name's Kleemock Fastcog. Call me Klee."

The druid slowly stands back up and dusts off his knees. "Ahh, no. We're in luck it would seem." Smiling broadly he says, "These are saber tracks. It would appear that the elves of this village have fled to the east, into the woods. I happen to have very good rapport with the night elves here..." Which is when he notices the ghostly forms suddenly baring down on the party and yells, "Look out!"

Caelaen, hearing the warning and seeing the ghostly figures running towards him, brings his hammer down from his shoulder, gripping the greathammer with both hands.

— Huh? Ghosts? Can our weapons even hurt them? I spring up to me feet with weapons ready for action.

Klee takes a surprised step back.

  Confused by what is happening, I do not bother struming my longbow. Instead I unsheath longsword and with shield in my left hand move to intercept second ghost.

— It appears that your spirits are not at ease. Let us help you to move on... I say while swinging my sword.

River roars in pain as the ghostly blade bites into his arm. Knowing that he can't take another hit like that he thrusts his staff before him and yells, "Begone foul creatures!"

Klee stumbles and stutters at the sight of the ghosts, as he's obviously completely unprepared for such a sight.

With a roar, Caelaen then swings his hammer at the ghost nearest to him, aiming for its head.

  I grumble, feeling some of my vitality escaping my body. But still, I swing my sword...

Seeing that perhaps physical violence is the most efficient way to put these souls at rest, the Tauren druid bellows and swings his staff wildly at one, hoping that fear and adrenaline will make up for lack of skill and training.

  I sigh out and slump down in the ground, breathing heavily.

Klee put away his crossbow and sat, flabbergasted. "Of all things! Ghosts! Why it's just like my Uncle Eustace always said, 'You don't want anyone to turn in their grave. That's how you get ghosts.' Of course, he was a professional ghost hunter. Probably should have talked to him before heading out into the world." He looks up at everyone, smiling expectantly.

River pants a bit, hands on his knees. "That was distressing." He glances up and down the shoreline, the abandoned inn now looking decidedly more sinister. "We shouldn't tarry here... It would appear the survivors have fled into the woods, perhaps we should follow?"

Yes come, let us head to somewhere we can rest. I can heal everyone then.
Caelaen smiled at the group as he gestured with his hands that they should head to the woods.

"Where shall we go?" Klee stands up and dusts himself off as he asks the tall people around him, a hint of worry in his voice.

The druid nods and follows Caelaen as they make their way into the woods. "I don't know these woods well, though I have studied a bit of their history. The accursed ruins of both Bashal'Aren and Ameth'Aren are near here. We should try to avoid them if possible."

— Any one of you is local or have knowledge or where we can go to?

Klee looks up at River, mouthing the words the Tauren just said. "Ruins, you say? Hmm, sound like Night Elf places." The gnome seems excited as he makes his way into the woods.

River chuckles at the tiny figure walking next to him. "Ha! I had no idea young dwarves were so adventurous! But no, these ruins predate even the night elves. They're Highborn ruins, built during the time of Queen Azshara herself. I've never been there myself though."

Who is this... Queen Azshara you speak of?
Caelaen asked, intrigued as he walked beside the tauren. Coming from Draenor not so long ago, he was still learning the history and ways of this world.

Klee laughs hard at what River says, "Oh! Haha! I can understand why someone as tall as yourself would confuse a dwarf and a gnome - which a gnome is what I am. And yes, you could call me quite the adventurous one. You see, I'm an official Prospector of the Explorer's League!" He proudly beams, pointing out his Explorer's League pendant hung around his neck. "I assume you're affiliated with the Earthen Ring or the Cenarion Circle? Those are the only organizations I know of that tauren associate with."

"Oh, yes... I see. My sincere apologies. You are correct though, I am a druid of the Cenarion Circle. As a druid of the leaf I did not venture far from the Moonglade. I'm sorry to say that neither dwarfs nor gnomes visit us there very often."

Turning to Caelen he says, "Yes, Queen Azshara, now there's an old tale. The highborn queen of the Kaldorei. She sought to cleanse Azeroth of all the *ahem* inferior races, and made a deal with the demon lord Sargeras to do so. With the aid of Sargeras it was she who summoned the Burning Legion to Azeroth, destroying the Well of Eternity in the process. This was the first cataclysm, the Great Sundering. This was a thousand years ago of course, but it's said that Azshara still lives on, as the queen of the Naga."

Listening....

Listening...

  I somewhat recovered while the others were discussing our destination and some lore of the land, so when we started moving, my senses returned back to normal...

Caelaen closes his eyes as he walks, taking a deep breath of the surrounding air.

  I raise my paw in the air, signaling for the group's attention.

— There's someone... Or maybe something. I say with hushed voice while knocking an arrow. Any one of you can move... Silently? To scout if it is a threat.

Klee stalks forward to see who or what is making the sounds.

River will hang back, letting those who can actually be sneaky do so.

Caelaen shakes his head, letting Klee walk forth. Due to his size, he knew he wasn't considered stealthy.