"You guys are too slow!"
"No, you're just too damn fast."
"Slow down. Seriously, slow down."
"Don't leave us behind… We can't keep up!"
"Too fast? In-game, that's a compliment."
Gabryell's group took a gryphon from Ironforge to Southshore, skirted past Tarren Mill, entered the Alterac Mountains, and headed toward Western Plaguelands.
His epic mount was so fast that Carlos and the others were left far behind, giving them their first painful taste of what it felt like to chase a 100% mount on a basic 60% mount.
"In PvP, slow players are just free honor."
Gabryell slowed down and said, "In future sieges, anyone still riding a basic mount is just cannon fodder."
Whether it was Alterac Valley or an attack on Orgrimmar, riding a slow mount made it easy to fall behind the main force. Anyone left alone would be surrounded and beaten down by enemy players.
"Once I hit 60, I'm switching to an epic mount right away," Igor said.
He only had the confidence to say that because Gabryell had already traded him one. If Igor had to buy it himself, 1,000 gold would keep him busy for a long time.
For Horde players, reaching Western Plaguelands was much more convenient. They only had to pass through Tirisfal Glades and ride to The Bulwark, a trip that took two or three minutes at most.
Alliance players had it much worse. They had to make the long ride from Southshore, head north through Alterac Mountains, pass Strahnbrad, and continue on before they could finally reach Western Plaguelands.
The Alliance camp there was Chillwind Camp, an Argent Dawn outpost.
It was also a complete trap.
The place was exposed on every side, and Horde players could charge in at any time. On servers where Alliance was at a disadvantage, players could even get camped right at the entrance.
After arriving at Chillwind Camp and unlocking the flight path, Gabryell opened his friends list. Sure enough, Coldhands was in Western Plaguelands.
"Where are you?"
Coldhands replied almost instantly.
"I found a castle full of elite mobs. Feels like there should be a dungeon inside."
A castle full of elite mobs.
Gabryell already knew where he was.
"Hearthglen?"
"As expected of Ogabs," Coldhands said. "I hadn't even said the name, and you already guessed it. Respect."
"There's no dungeon in Hearthglen. Farming there is a waste of time. You're already 56, so you might as well head to Eastern Plaguelands and quest."
Eastern and Western Plaguelands each had a Scarlet Crusade stronghold.
In Western Plaguelands, it was Hearthglen, located at the very top center of the map. It was where the final step of the Of Love and Family questline took place, and Taelan Fordring was inside.
In Eastern Plaguelands, it was Tyr's Hand, located in the southeast corner of the map. The mobs there were higher-level than the ones in Hearthglen, and the elite mobs possessed wealth ordinary mobs of the same level could not compare to.
They directly dropped around 20 silver, materials dropped constantly, and most importantly, the place was famous for one weapon that could make someone rich overnight.
Teebu's Blazing Longsword.
That sword was legendary. It was said that the highest-level elites in Tyr's Hand could drop it. Since they were humanoid mobs, they could be pickpocketed, and the area also had locked chests.
In Vanilla, Tyr's Hand was a Rogue's gold-farming paradise.
Of course, PvP there was constant. Horde and Alliance Rogues gathered in large numbers, and Rogues without good skills basically could not survive.
"No dungeon?"
Coldhands cursed. "Are you kidding me? I got my hopes up and died there for nothing?"
"Come to Chillwind Camp later and help me with a quest."
Since he was already there, Gabryell wanted to complete the Scholomance key chain. Once Carlos and the others reached 60, they would definitely go there. The gear from Scholomance bosses was still very good.
Getting the Skeleton Key was not difficult. The early steps were mostly running errands. The real wall was the final step, which required going to the Ruins of Andorhal and killing Araj the Summoner, a level 61 elite.
Gabryell could not solo Araj. He needed a party.
In fact, even adding Carlos and the others still would not be enough if they fought normally. Araj was surrounded by a large number of mobs, making him extremely annoying to kill. Combined with his level advantage, even a full party of level 60 players could wipe there.
But Gabryell had future knowledge.
He had no intention of fighting Araj head-on. He could jump onto the ruined rooftop near Araj and use the terrain exploit there to kill him. The bug would stop the surrounding mobs from reaching the players. Since Araj was a caster, though, Gabryell still needed a healer so he would not get burned down.
The more ranged DPS he had, the faster the kill would be.
Coldhands, a free level 56 ranged laborer, was there to be used.
"I'll come back right now, wait for me."
When he called, Coldhands did not dare waste a second.
Unfortunately, Chillwind Camp had no inn, so he could not set his Hearthstone there. He could only ride his slow mount back.
Gabryell used the time while Coldhands was running back to pick up the Scholomance key quest.
"Carlos, you guys pick up every quest you can at Chillwind Camp, then go quest first. Come over when I need help."
Carlos and the others had already grabbed their quests. Their top priority was leveling. As for the Skeleton Key, having Gabryell's was enough for now.
After they reached level 60, if anyone else really needed their own key, they could come back and do the chain again. By then, everyone would be 60, and it would be quick and easy.
Igor said, "Ogabs, you're already a mature level 60 Mage. You need to learn how to carry yourself."
"Then give me back Twig of the World Tree and that thousand-gold horse."
Igor immediately behaved.
Although Paladins had class mounts, that did not mean a Paladin with money to spare could not buy a level 60 epic mount first. That way, the class mount quest could be done slowly, while still letting them ride an epic mount the moment they reached 60.
From Commander Ashlam Valorfist, Gabryell accepted both the Scholomance key quest and Alas, Andorhal! at the same time. Their objectives overlapped, so they could be done together.
Of course, he did not forget to take the Argent Dawn Commission. Only by wearing it could players obtain Scourgestones from undead mobs in Western Plaguelands, Eastern Plaguelands, Scholomance, and Stratholme.
The Scholomance key chain had five steps in total. The second step required farming 15 Skeletal Fragments from nearby skeleton mobs.
Gabryell headed east of Chillwind Camp and, for efficiency, chose the level 50 Skeletal Flayers.
For a level 60 Mage, farming those melee undead mobs was far too easy. Just pull them together and AoE them down.
He quickly collected all 15 Skeletal Fragments.
After turning in the quest, he picked up the next step. This one required taking the Imbued Skeletal Fragments and 15 gold to Krinkle Goodsteel in Gadgetzan so he could make the Skeleton Key Mold.
Goblins really were a race that cared more about money than life.
Any poor player who reached this step and saw the 15 gold requirement would start cursing on the spot. Their already tight in-game finances would only get worse.
But the money had to be spent.
Unless, of course, they did not want the Skeleton Key.
Fifteen gold was nothing to Gabryell. The only annoying part was having to run all the way to Gadgetzan.
If Blizzard allowed it, he would gladly pay 50 gold just to drag Krinkle to Chillwind Camp. Those money-grubbing goblins would probably accept the offer on the spot.
"I'm here!"
Just as Gabryell was preparing to head to Gadgetzan, Coldhands sent him a message.
A moment later, he saw Coldhands appear nearby. Judging from his movement path, he did not look like he had come from Hearthglen.
It looked more like he had just run out from the graveyard.
Gabryell clicked his portrait.
Sure enough, Resurrection Sickness.
This guy had actually taken a Spirit Healer rez.
"How did you die?"
Coldhands said, "When I was leaving Hearthglen, I got knocked off my mount by the mobs at the guard post near the valley entrance. Then I Blinked and landed in another pack. I was too lazy to run back to my corpse, so I just took the sickness."
Since Gabryell did not need him yet, Resurrection Sickness was fine.
"Wait at Chillwind Camp until it wears off. I'm going to Gadgetzan for the quest and will be back soon."
"Got it."
"Wait, actually."
"I've got something for you to look at."
Coldhands suddenly called out just as Gabryell was about to take the gryphon toward Menethil Harbor.
"I got an Enchanting formula from a mob on the road to Hearthglen. No idea if it's worth anything. Can you check it for me? If it's trash, I'll just vendor it."
As he spoke, he opened trade and placed the item into the window.
When Gabryell saw it, even he froze for a second.
This guy was basically a walking world-drop detector.
"It's just a green-quality Enchanting formula, so it's probably not worth much," Coldhands said. "But vendoring it feels kind of wasteful. Maybe I'll list it on the AH for 10g and see if some sucker buys it?"
"Vendor it? Are you insane?"
Gabryell almost laughed from anger.
"If you list Formula: Enchant Weapon - Crusader on the AH for 10g, you'll go down as the dumbest player in Azeroth."
Formula: Enchant Weapon - Crusader.
And this idiot wanted to list it for 10 gold.
How did he even come up with that?
If it actually sold and he later found out what it was really worth, he'd be kicking himself for the rest of the game.