Hey dudes. Silvite Soltis back again for my next chapter of Memories of Vanilla - my reflective series of my adventures back in original World of Warcraft from 2005 to 2007.
Last time, I told the brief story of how I ended up in Tanaris, as well as my most memorable adventures there. And while it was good times, I completely forgot about another zone that I leveled in for a bit back in the day - a foresty zone in the mountains nestled between Hillsbrad, Arathi, and the Alterac Mountains, the Hinterlands.
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| The Hinterlands (Map) |
So sit back, relax, and enjoy, as I tell the story of what I remember of that scenic zone from back in the day...
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| The Quest |
Honestly, I don't remember the first time I went to this zone. I know most of the mobs here were in the early 40s, so I was probably here at some point before getting my mount. But really, I don't remember much about those quests. Something about necklaces and killing trolls and...I don't know - maybe wolves? Or owlkins?
Anyway, the things I really remember from this zone came later when I got a quest from a goblin in Tanaris to go collect something called a Violet Tragan, which could be found in a lake over in that faraway zone. I remember putting this quest off for a while as I finished up some other quests in Tanaris, but eventually deciding it would be a good idea to head over - just for completion sake.
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| A Violet Tragan |
So, I made the long journey back to the Eastern Kingdoms, flew up to Aerie Peak, and began my search for the magic mushroom. I must have been somewhere around level 46 or 47 by this point, because the mobs scattered around the fields posed little threat as I ran past, searching for the lake. Eventually, I located it in the center of the zone as the quest had instructed. Diving deep underwater, I found the bottom of the lake littered with these mushrooms, so I collected one, swam up to the surface, and looked in my bags, just to make sure it was there.
Scrolling over the new item in my bags, I confirmed that I'd looted it and was about to hit my hearthstone to head back to Tanaris to finish this quest and the last few that lingered in my quest log for the desert. But then I noticed something, the item's use text:
"Don't eat me."
Ok so, something bad was probably going to happen. But being 15 and curious, I couldn't just IGNORE this mushroom's text. After all, if something tells a teenager NOT to do something, what do you think they're going to do?
So I clicked it. And panicked as I watched my health whittle away rapidly as a result of the potent poison's effect. Frantic, I attempted to spam my flash heal button, but it was no use - I was in Shadowform and couldn't cast holy spells. And so, I died. GG Silvite. GG...
I ran back to my body, deciding not to repeat that mistake again, and sat to eat and drink up to full. As I sat there though, I noticed a group running over to some pyramid-like structure nearby - the Altar of Zul. And while I wasn't really sure what there was to do there, I wouldn't have to wait long to find out.
"Hey, Silvite. You're a priest! Would you mind coming and healing us for this? We're getting the Mallet of Zul'Farrak!" one of the players whispered me as I dived back into the water to collect my mushroom.
"Well..." I began replying. I had been planning to head back to Tanaris, but I'd heard about the Mallet before and was curious. So... "sure. Sounds like a plan to me!"
Up popped the invite and away we went. The trolls lining the pathway up the altar posed little threat to our party of four level 40-somethings, but what awaited us at the top was definitely more of a challenge. As I'd come to know, there were two level 50 elite troll mobs at the top that needed to be killed in order to claim the Mallet of Zul'Farrak - the Keepers, Morta'gya and Qiaga.
This battle was actually quite challenging for our group, as there were tons of other non-elite trolls at the top that we decided we'd have to pull separately. I mind soothed the one that was slightly closer, which allowed us to get just close enough to pull the mobs, but more than once we accidentally pulled the two elites and ran away - scared to face such a large pack without being properly prepared. Finally, however, we had just the keepers remaining and our plan was underway.
Our mage polymorphed the keeper closer to the stairs and we burned the other as fast as possible. I don't remember if she had any dangerous abilities, but with the careful pulling and crowd control, it ended fairly quickly. With her safely slain, we turned our attention to the other. All in all, the plan went swimmingly. Unlike my plan to get the mushroom initially had...
Anyway though, after both elites lay dead in front of us, we all looted their bodies. To my surprise, there was no Mallet of Zul'Farrak though - only an item called the Sacred Mallet.
"What about the Mallet of Zul'Farrak?" I asked in party chat.
"Oh man," one of my group-mates replied, "we're only getting started..."
I hope you enjoyed this tale of adventures in the Hinterlands. It's a zone that I honestly COMPLETELY forgot about when I started this series, but a good one nonetheless. When I think back now on everything I did there - both these memories, the ones before, and the many that came after - I really think that it's a bit of an underappreciated zone. Sure, it's not as forgettable as Desolace, but really...what is?
Anyway, that's it for today's installment. Next time, I'll round up the story of how I got the Mallet of Zul'Farrak, as well as how I saved a baby gryphon from some super-evil forest trolls. If you enjoyed this post, remember to follow my blog here, or check out my YouTube channel for additional content! Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter for more updates or just to chitchat about WoW Classic. I'd love to hear your memories of the game back in the day as we all wait for that summer 2019 release. But anyway, for now...
Take it easy!
Scrolling over the new item in my bags, I confirmed that I'd looted it and was about to hit my hearthstone to head back to Tanaris to finish this quest and the last few that lingered in my quest log for the desert. But then I noticed something, the item's use text:
"Don't eat me."
Ok so, something bad was probably going to happen. But being 15 and curious, I couldn't just IGNORE this mushroom's text. After all, if something tells a teenager NOT to do something, what do you think they're going to do?
So I clicked it. And panicked as I watched my health whittle away rapidly as a result of the potent poison's effect. Frantic, I attempted to spam my flash heal button, but it was no use - I was in Shadowform and couldn't cast holy spells. And so, I died. GG Silvite. GG...
I ran back to my body, deciding not to repeat that mistake again, and sat to eat and drink up to full. As I sat there though, I noticed a group running over to some pyramid-like structure nearby - the Altar of Zul. And while I wasn't really sure what there was to do there, I wouldn't have to wait long to find out.
 |
| The Altar of Zul |
"Well..." I began replying. I had been planning to head back to Tanaris, but I'd heard about the Mallet before and was curious. So... "sure. Sounds like a plan to me!"
Up popped the invite and away we went. The trolls lining the pathway up the altar posed little threat to our party of four level 40-somethings, but what awaited us at the top was definitely more of a challenge. As I'd come to know, there were two level 50 elite troll mobs at the top that needed to be killed in order to claim the Mallet of Zul'Farrak - the Keepers, Morta'gya and Qiaga.
 |
| Morta'gya the Keeper |
Our mage polymorphed the keeper closer to the stairs and we burned the other as fast as possible. I don't remember if she had any dangerous abilities, but with the careful pulling and crowd control, it ended fairly quickly. With her safely slain, we turned our attention to the other. All in all, the plan went swimmingly. Unlike my plan to get the mushroom initially had...
Anyway though, after both elites lay dead in front of us, we all looted their bodies. To my surprise, there was no Mallet of Zul'Farrak though - only an item called the Sacred Mallet.
"What about the Mallet of Zul'Farrak?" I asked in party chat.
"Oh man," one of my group-mates replied, "we're only getting started..."
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I hope you enjoyed this tale of adventures in the Hinterlands. It's a zone that I honestly COMPLETELY forgot about when I started this series, but a good one nonetheless. When I think back now on everything I did there - both these memories, the ones before, and the many that came after - I really think that it's a bit of an underappreciated zone. Sure, it's not as forgettable as Desolace, but really...what is?
Anyway, that's it for today's installment. Next time, I'll round up the story of how I got the Mallet of Zul'Farrak, as well as how I saved a baby gryphon from some super-evil forest trolls. If you enjoyed this post, remember to follow my blog here, or check out my YouTube channel for additional content! Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter for more updates or just to chitchat about WoW Classic. I'd love to hear your memories of the game back in the day as we all wait for that summer 2019 release. But anyway, for now...
Take it easy!
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