Nazuga started off Day 7 of the TrialMan Challenge on top of a tower, feeling sorry for himself. He didn’t want to be recruited and was quite certain that today would be filled with death. Nazuga had grown quite tired of seeing the Spirit Healer.
There was no point in procrastinating. As a new recruit, Nazuga had been assigned to defend Far Watch. Specifically, he was supposed to go out and kill a whole lot of Razormane that were nearby. Reluctantly, he got up and started walking.
Upon leaving Far Watch, the first thing Nazuga saw was an Orc. He was running through the fields as though he’d lost his mind. Curious, Nazuga attempted to catch up to him.
Dorak was frantic, and therefore, very fast. The only reason Nazuga caught him was because, at the last second, Dorak quickly changed direction and ran smack into Nazuga. “Calm down, Orc. What is making you run randomly through the grass?”
“Help me, Mage! Piggy men come burn stables. Fire! Fire!” Dorak started wailing incoherently at the thought of it, and needed to be calmed down again. Wolves still chained inside. Someone’s got to save the wee wolves!” Unable to stand still for one moment longer, Dorak started running in circles again.
Nazuga could smell the smoke. That stable would soon be little more than ashes. Who will rescue the wee wolves? I will save them., thought Nazuga, as he sprinted towards the stable. Maybe I can kill a few Piggy men, um…Razormanes… in the process. That way, I’d still be doing the task I was given as a new recruit, right?
With a lot of determination and focus, Nazuga defeated the Razormane that was in his way. Gathering his courage, he ran into the burning stable and released the wolves. All three bounded away to safety, needing no instruction about what to do. Nazuga admired these beautiful, intelligent, creatures. Someday, he’d like to have one of his own.
Quickly, Nazuga returned to Dorak. He had to catch him, a second time, before he could talk to him. “The wolves are safe”, he assured Dorak. “I am unable to save the stable, though.”
Dorak was gleeful, for a moment. “You save the wolves! So brave! Someday, maybe you get a wolf just like that to ride.” Nazuga’s jaw dropped in amazement. Dorak was a mind reader!
Before Nazuga could ask him questions about how he learned to do that, Dorak spoke again. “What should I do now?” Nazuga followed Dorak’s gaze to the burning stables. Before Nazuga could respond, Dorak was off and running once again. Nazuga /shrugged. Perhaps, another, less stressful day…. I will return and ask.
Feeling quite a bit braver than when he started out, Nazuga decided to try and complete his quest. He saved the wolves! He ran into a burning stable, urged on by an Orc who might very well be crazy. Nazuga felt invincible.
He learned that yes, he was strong enough to kill a Razormane by himself. Unfortunately, he also learned that he wasn’t big enough to also kill the Razormane’s pet wolf.
A very dejected Nazuga stood before the Spirit Healer, once again. He couldn’t bear to look at her. Grumbling, he trudged back to his body.
(This is Nazuga’s sixth death since the TrialMan Challenge started).
Ok, I will give this one more try., Nazuga though to himself. It will go better this time. It has to! It wasn’t long before a Razormane started throwing spells at him. Nazuga threw spells back, as fast as he was able.
Wait… what’s this “Creeping Mold”? How did it get all over me? Where did it…
/sigh
(That would make death number seven since the TrialMan Challenge started.)
For a moment, Nazuga contemplated staying there. It was so… peaceful. But then, he realized that would never do. He had to go back and finish killing his quota of Razormanes. Using more determination than he thought he possessed, Nazuga continued this awful chore.
Finally! He was able to return to Far Watch and let Kargal Battlescar know that the quest was complete. “I have done as you asked. Would you consider assigning me to something less… painful now? I am a Mage, after all, not a Warrior, and hand to hand combat just is not….” Nazuga stopped talking when he realized Battlescar was laughing at him.
“Look, Orc,” Battlescar growled, “I don’t care what you came here as. You WILL become a Warrior, or you can go visit the Spirit Healer a dozen more times. Now, GO BACK OUT THERE AND KILL MORE RAZORMANE!”
This cannot possibly end well, Nazuga thought to himself. He was absolutely miserable.
Nazuga tried to plan a strategy as he was running. His map showed him the location of the Razormanes that he was supposed to go kill. The problem was that the entire area had several different kinds of Razormanes in it. All of them were unfriendly. What to do?
I cannot go through them, Nazuga thought to himself. Perhaps I can circle around them. He learned from his previous attempts at killing Razormane that they do not like water. Every time he jumped in the nearby river to evade them, the Razormane stayed on the shore. To the river!
Getting back onto land proved to be unexpectedly difficult.
This is impossible! Nazuga growled. Frustrated beyond belief, and having no desire to meet with the Spirit Healer (again), he used his Hearthstone.
To his surprise, Innkeeper Grosk was standing next to a gigantic, round, squash. Someone had given it a face, and stuffed it with candy. What is this? Nazuga wondered, scratching his head.
“Big Candy Buckets are in all the Inns now. Go ahead, take some candy!” Grosk encouraged. “Um…ok” Nazuga mumbled. He quickly grabbed a handful of candy, keeping his eyes on the Innkeeper. Holding up the candy, and grinning, he then backed away and out the door. Has Grosk lost his mind?, Nazuga questioned. Who uses a giant squash as a candy holder?
Upon exiting the Inn, Nazuga turned around. There were giant, decorative, squashes all over town! This place changes every time he leaves. There is some mighty strange magic in Razor Hill.
As a Mage, Nazuga could not resist trying to learn more about the magic. He also noted that the military was still in town. Hopefully, they wouldn’t notice him here, so far away from the quest he had been assigned as a new recruit.
The Orphan Matron was in town, wearing a mask that covered her face. Nazuga never could manage to keep up with the latest fashions. She sent him on a quest to do Fire Training, which he happily accepted. So far, he was doing pretty good with things that involved fire.
On his way out of town, to where the Fire Training was being held, Nazuga passed a group of injured Trolls and Tauren. A Tauren Druid was using a funny glowing post to heal them. Maybe I should ask this Tauren to come with me when I fight Razomane, Nazuga thought. Then again, the Tauren looks rather busy. I’ll have to ask another.
To his delight, Nazuga found he excelled at Fire Training! There was something satisfying about throwing buckets of water at a fire until it was extinguished.
The Orphan Matron was very pleased with Nazuga’s ability to put out fires. She even gave him a Tricky Treat as a reward. Nazuga decided to put it in his bag, to save for later. Her enthusiastic response confused Nazuga. It wasn’t as though putting out a fire was difficult!
It was then she told him about the Headless Horseman. “The what?” asked Nazuga. He listened carefully as she told him the story.
A skeptical look crossed Nazuga’s face. The Orphan Matron must have been telling that story to amuse the children (or, perhaps to scare them into behaving well). That cannot possibly be true, Nazuga thought, but, I don’t want to ruin the fun for the orphans. I’ll just keep quiet. Wait… what’s that in the sky?
Sure enough, it was none other than the Headless Horseman himself, flying through the sky on a dark horse with glowing feet. The Horseman was spouting some sort of rhyming nonsense. Suddenly, every structure in the town caught fire!
Nazuga nodded his head. He had learned three important things. One: The Headless Horseman was real. Two: The Headless Horseman knew a fire spell that was much more powerful than anything Nazuga knew how to cast. Three: Beware Orcs that are overly pleased with how well you put out fires. They have a hidden agenda!
The smoke caused Nazuga to become a bit disoriented. When his head cleared, he returned to trying to fight the fires. They were spreading quickly. Nazuga figured the speed at which the fire spread must have something to do with the strange rhyming spells that the Headless Horseman kept casting.
It seemed to Nazuga that only he, and a fast moving Troll, were trying to put out the fires. It did not surprise him when their quest failed. They simply did not have enough Horde working on it. The Headless Horseman laughed, and flew away. Shortly after, the fires extinguished themselves!
Nazuga glared at the military that was crowding Razor Hill. All these Horde, right here, and not one could lift a finger to help put out the fires? There were children in this town! Nazuga shook his head, and questioned the priorities of this newly formed military.
His eyes burning from smoke that still smoldered, Nazuga made a decision. He was absolutely disgusted with the military, and wanted no part in it. Hungry from his efforts, he ate one of the Tricky Treats the Orphan Matron gave to him.
A sudden burst of energy had him moving very quickly on his way!
Avoiding all the nearby Razormanes, and then taking the river, turned out to be a good plan. Nazuga eventually found himself at a town he had never seen before.
There was another large squash that was filled with candy in the Inn at Ratchet. The Innkeeper, who did not mention his name, pointed Nazuga toward it. Happily, Nazuga grabbed a handful of candy, wondering what it would taste like.
“What strange magic is this?”, Nazuga exclaimed.
The Innkeeper shrugged. “Unexpected side effects are not my problem, pal. I just work here.” Nazuga tentatively flapped his newly formed wings. He could fly!
It didn’t take long for BatOrc to fly through Ratchet, and off into the fields. This was wonderful!
When his wings tired, BatOrc returned to the Inn in Ratchet. How he wished he could fly around Azeroth whenever he wanted! He took one of the empty beds for the night. He hoped he would awaken as a bat. This was much better than his miserable life as a new recruit!
Here are Nazuga’s stats at the end of Day 7 of the TrialMan Challenge. He is still under the 10 gold limitation.
Here’s the total time playing.
Progress: Level 12
Location: Ratchet
Deaths: 7 (total since the start of the TrialMan Challenge)
Total Time Played: 8 hours, 41 minutes, 30 seconds