Evil Walks

I find it rather amusing at times how well my Pandora Station will kick out just the right song when I'm questing around on a lowbie in contested territory on a PvP server. I'm carefully working through Redridge at the moment, almost to 25 and avoiding the roads whenever possible.

Old habits stand me in very good stead - I'd still rather go cross country overland on a lower level character than take a road in WoW. Roads on a PvP server = kill zone. They may be an "easier trip" for avoiding mobs, but I realized long ago that if you are on a hunter, you can handle anything up to 5 levels above your level. That is as a one on one encounter with an even level pet post level 20. Because I know I can handle most mobs in the zone I'm finishing up, I avoid the road and the indefinate stream of level ?? players that are trying to murder my baby night elf hunter* if I'm on a road.

Anyways, I was briefly following a deer trail up to an area (which qualifies as a road) and Pandora kicks out "Evil Walks" by AC/DC. The very next second after I hear :

"Black shadow hangin' over your shoulder
Black mark up against your name
Your green eyes couldn't get any colder
There's bad poison runnin' thru your veins
Evil walks behind you"

I die to a blood elf rogue. Came up from behind. One second I'm fine, running along on my little frost saber (see I can remember I have a mount button, dang it) and the next I'm a twisted mess of limbs and white hair on the ground and I've got a prompt for release to the graveyard.

I have to wonder, does that qualify as irony? I think it does. That or Pandora is capable of premonition... never heard that as one of her traits... but then again, Pandora did release every evil possible into the world, trapping only hope.

And dang it, now I have to go listen to "Only Hope", which I believe is a Mandy Moore song. Ah well, good music, always a reason to listen.

And I might as well add... this entire section of dying was prefaced by "Sign of the Gypsy Queen" which is one of my all time favorite April Wine songs. I should have known something was coming.


* Yes, I do know the sterotype about Night Elf Hunters, especially on a PvP realm. But, combine kitty's prowl + NE shadowmeld and you have a pretty safe way to go AFK for a little bit.

Deadmines From Hell

Who needs to wait for them to make it a Heroic? The run I had tonight qualified a few times over. The group makeup was me on a level 22 night elf hunter with a ghost saber pet. Another night elf hunter at 24 with a white spotted leopard, a 20 druid for healer, a 21 warrior and a 14 druid.

We get into the instance and the warrior is moving fast. It becomes pretty apparent that the hunter has never really played her class before... pet is on either defensive or aggressive... I really couldn't tell very well, going off in all directions, she is meleeing things to death... and can't figure out how to turn off growl or how to heal her pet. I explained how to do both repeatedly. I'm compensating as much as I can, because I really, really want to get this instance DONE, and get the Tunic of Westfall.

We get to the goblin forge area (the workshop I think?) and the 20 druid suddenly bails on us. The 14 steps in to heal, and I fall into keep everything off the healer mode. Other hunter's pet pulls half the room, she panics, I just drop a trap between me and the healer and then start focus fire on the tank's target. I ended up twisting the pet around to pick up stray mobs and throw a heal at him on occasion. We down the boss, blue leather + Stam pants drop. I pass, since I'm wearing a green of the monkey at level 19.

Warrior charges ahead, while druid is drinking. I stay with the druid. Hunter's pet goes tearing off after something. Pull three things on top of what the warrior picked up. We deal, healer starts getting snippy, snappy with the hunter about everything from how she can't control her pet and to bleeping heal your own bleeping pet. I tell him to just ignore the healing on mine, I can keep my pet up. He retorts that I'm not the one he has to worry about. I tell him to chill a bit (we aren't to VC yet).

We get to the boat, fly through Smite. My pet gets glitched right at the point where the dock meets the land before the boat, so I click stay on and move forward. I would have dismissed and resummoned, but didn't because the warrior is already half way up the ramp and engaged. Hunter's pet goes in the opposite direction of what it was suposed to. Three things land on the hunter, healer uses Shadowmeld, I watch her die, realizing I can't do anything with that kind of numbers, warrior dies, healer dies, I smack Shadowmeld and everything goes away.

Hunter, I believe was getting tired of being told how to play her class, even though I was being as nice to her about it as is possible - we've all been there at some point. If a person doesn't know what the heck they are doing, gentle correction and explanation is needed. The other two were swearing and screaming... not a good environment. She hearths out at the beginning of the instance after rezzing.

The three of us decide to press on - we've all seen we can handle our roles. 15 Druid by this point rezzes and walks into an elite patrol, dies. I start heading in the opposite direction, towards the entrance, knowing we might have to handle a patrol or two. I run into a group of 3. Kills my pet, run into the other two making their way to me, we kill the three, I rez pet, druid drinks.

We move back to the boat, kill our way through the scaffolding ramp, then suddenly the warrior has two + the Captain + his adds. We all die. Run back... I get lost in Deadmines as usual, healer laughs at me, and resurrects me inside the instance. We kill the two then pull the Captain down, kill him no problem. Then we kill Van Cleef... again very little problem. Druid stops to drink... he blew his mana keeping the pet and the warrior alive. Warrior goes jumping down after Cookie. I just sigh, pop eyes of the beast after checking the druid... jump cat down, follow.

Druid runs away from Cookie... right out of the instance... he grabbed Heal Aggro by healing a bit too early. Warrior grabs it as Cookie comes back at him, and then dies to Cookie + adds. He's swearing, I'm left with 1 Add + Cookie. I drop my trap and flick on Growl, throw the cat at Cookie.

My level 21 ghost saber tanked Cookie, I danced around with the add, used a health potion,and grinned as he died. Then the cat and I drop the add and I look at my chat log to see that the warrior left the group as did the druid....

I tanked Cookie and an Add on my own, at level 22 with a 21 pet. I got Cookie's loot, which was the wand and the Siamese cat that was waiting for me.

I do not ever want to do that again, but it was definitely an interesting time. Ugh, Pugs.

Sorry Guys

I just want to start out by saying I'm sorry for posting even less than I usually do. But the last few weeks here in the real world have been a bit of an upheaval. I've been working either every single day or not at all, juggling three college classes all demanding various things of me (two of which are just paper after paper after paper). Some days the only thing I end up doing is getting up in the morning write half a paper, go to school, come home, continue writing, eat, save what I've written and then fall into bed. Other days its add work for the evening into there. Basically, school and work have been making so many demands on me of late that i have not had time to play Wow, or when I do, I just do it to try and destress between Math tests and papers coming up due.

On the math testing though, I'm highly pleased to report a B on the last test. Now I just have one more section of this class to get through and then I shouldn't have to deal with Algebra again for a little bit of time!

For Thanksgiving I will again be going to my parents house. Now here's to hoping I can just survive this semester and the next one isn't as scary... of course, if I can manage to pass this math course and the next one lined up, that will clear the last gen ed hanging over my head.