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Four Blood Elves crossed Hellfire Ramparts with ample water, fine loot, and a final accounting that Nazan enlarged after he had already lost.
The expedition’s first real act of courage was logistical. Meho ranged from Scholomance through Shattrath City, Terokkar Forest, and Hellfire Peninsula before the trail curled back to the Undercity, while Blaedy amassed enough Conjured Crystal Water to suggest that thirst, rather than demons, had been declared the evening’s true enemy. By the time the party formed for Hellfire Ramparts, practical preparation had acquired the air of a campaign.
Inside the Ramparts, Meho led the group through the opening resistance to Watchkeeper Gargolmar, while a remarkable run of finds placed good gear in Blaedy’s, Arrowyy’s, and Meho’s hands. Gargolmar’s fall gave Arrowyy a better set of leggings; Omor the Unscarred gave Blaedy an unwanted lesson in Arrowyy’s Treacherous Aura, then gave Summoneyy a Crystalfire Staff worth equipping twice. The final victory over Vazruden the Herald and Nazan arrived smoking, delayed, and expensive: Meho, Arrowyy, and Blaedy all met Nazan’s final objections, yet the party rose around the bodies, divided the prizes, and managed congratulations. This is the sort of triumph Westfall recognizes: standing at the end, damp with recovery magic and pretending the corpse run was part of the plan.
The party’s campaign began with a long road, shifting ranks, and Blaedy taking hydration far more seriously than glory.
Every proper expedition begins with a plan, and every honest one begins with somebody crossing half the known world before the plan admits it exists. Meho’s trail came out of Scholomance, passed through Shattrath City’s Terrace of Light and Terokkar Forest, reached Hellfire Peninsula, and finally bent back to the Magic Quarter of Undercity. Group ranks shifted along the way, which is how parties usually announce that an undertaking has acquired momentum and lost the original plan.
Blaedy attended to the less heroic requirement. Stack after stack of Conjured Crystal Water found its way into her keeping, a quiet stockpile built with the determination of somebody who had met an uncooperative evening before. None of it sang, glowed, or threatened anyone, but a healer who expects a long night learns what bards omit: victory often begins as an alarming quantity of drink.
No fortress has ever fallen because its conquerors packed too much water. Several have survived because someone did.
Hellfire Ramparts opened its gates, offered a string of rare finds, and finally produced Watchkeeper Gargolmar for the party to settle with.
Hellfire Ramparts received Blaedy, Summoneyy, Meho, and Arrowyy with its opening forces and the usual implication that a fortified ruin could make short work of four travelers. Meho held the party’s advance together as they pressed inward, and the others kept the passage from turning into one more story about an entrance that had been overestimated. At the end of that push stood Watchkeeper Gargolmar, and the party brought his watch to a successful close.
The lesser spoils spread themselves around with no great ceremony: Blaedy gathered Runecloth, Meho took Roasted Quail, Arrowyy had Runecloth, and Summoneyy found a Bloody Fang. Then the Ramparts became suddenly generous. Blaedy received Laughing Skull Shoulderpads of Spirit, Meho received Unyielding Leggings of the Soldier, and Arrowyy received Ango’rosh Helm of Healing. Three rare pieces before the first boss had properly settled into the evening—a distribution of fortune suspicious enough that a sensible party would check the ceiling for a trap.
The dungeon had already paid dividends before Gargolmar had the courtesy to fall over.
Gargolmar’s defeat left Arrowyy with better leggings and an entirely reasonable need to equip them immediately.
With Watchkeeper Gargolmar’s encounter finished, the Ramparts permitted the party a breath—not peace, exactly, but the brief clerical interval in which the dead are counted and the pockets examined. Blaedy and Meho each gathered Netherweave Cloth from the aftermath, proof that even victory comes with fabric attached if one waits long enough.
The notable prize belonged to Arrowyy: Scale Leggings of the Skirmisher. Arrowyy replaced Battle Scarred Leggings with them at once, briefly stepped away from the new pair, then put them back on. This was not indecision so much as due diligence performed at the speed of a hunter who has found something better. Gargolmar’s watch ended with the party still moving forward, and Arrowyy’s newly improved legs were given every chance to agree with the decision.
Fine gear deserves a second look. Fine gear that survives the second look deserves to stay on.
Omor fell, but not before Arrowyy’s Treacherous Aura found a most unfortunate target in Blaedy.
Omor the Unscarred put the expedition under enough pressure that an ordinary mistake could have been forgiven. This was not quite ordinary. During the fight, Blaedy died to Arrowyy’s Treacherous Aura. The killer was Arrowyy; the spell was Treacherous Aura; the name had, in this instance, provided excellent advance warning. Blaedy returned by resurrection, because leaving the healer dead while pursuing a demon is the sort of decision that fills graveyards and memoirs.
With Blaedy back, the group carried the fight through and Omor fell. In the aftermath, Summoneyy claimed Crystalfire Staff and equipped it in place of The Staff of Twin Worlds. She briefly swapped away from the new staff, then re-equipped Crystalfire Staff, apparently requiring a second confirmation that a rare prize remained rare after a proper look. It did. Omor’s defeat thus left the party alive, more armed, and possessed of one friendly-fire incident too specific to be forgotten.
A Treacherous Aura is less a spell name than a written waiver.
Vazruden fell, Nazan died, and the victory then spent its final moments trying very hard to become a disaster.
Vazruden the Herald’s final stand did not surrender cleanly. Nazan made certain of that. Meho died to Nazan in the fight, and Arrowyy died to Nazan shortly after. Valetor also died when Liquid Fire’s Blaze took hold. The battle nevertheless reached its successful end, with Nazan killed and Vazruden’s encounter concluded—at which point Nazan killed Blaedy moments afterward. A dead enemy with one last casualty to collect is not a tactical innovation, but it remains deeply irritating.
Meho resurrected at the corpse and received Kilt of Rolling Thunders. Summoneyy received Ursol’s Claw. Blaedy later returned by resurrection, bringing the party back from the sort of victory that looks less impressive when viewed from the floor. Arrowyy and Blaedy offered congratulations afterward, an admirable display of manners considering Nazan’s casualty ledger. The Ramparts had been cleared; it simply refused to let its conquerors leave with their dignity entirely dry.
The final boss died. The floor, having made its point, kept several witnesses.
