Quiet footsteps echoed within the darkened room, a single candle upon a dusty, worn table the only source of light. As the flame danced and flickered, it projected a shadow upon the nearby wooden wall. A wide frame with a slight slouch and slightly pointed ears. The shadow, much like its Orcish owner, was pacing from side to side with anticipation. He was waiting for something. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. Still those heavy footsteps went, kicking up dust from the wooden floor with each step. It was not until there was a loud knock at the door that the pacing stopped. Instead, the Orc flung himself towards the exit of the room and swiftly swung the door open.
âYes?â asked the Orc as he stepped out of the wooden hut, greeted by the harsh sunlight of Durotar. Immediately he could feel the heat burning down upon his bald head, causing him to narrow his eager gaze out of frustation. Before him stood a somewhat short and, simply put, dirty grunt. The grizzled, hardened face met the gaze of the awaiting Orc before he thrust his dirty arm forwards, slamming a rolled up piece of parchment into the Orcâs hand. Then, without a single word, the grunt turned and trudged away down the humid streets of Orgrimmar. An amused grin crossed the Orcâs face as he watched the delivery grunt wander off, though the figure did not keep his attention for long. He swiftly set to work unrolling the parchment and as he saw what was scrawled upon it, that grin grew even wider.
Above his own immaculate handwriting he saw two, newly-penned additions. The unmistakable symbol of the Horde and a single word. âApprovedâ.
He wasted no time. Within seconds he had snatched up a pile of worn parchment from the table and darted out the door to post those flyers wherever he could. The writing was messy and the presentation was poor but the promise was clear.
âExplorers needed! Adventure awaits!â
Keepers of Antiquity are a small Horde-aligned group of adventurers and relic hunters that are set on exploring the world as a group and uncovering artefacts and secrets that have long been hidden away. This is all done in the name of the Horde, with the intention of any findings being utilised for the benefit of the Horde and its people. While out on expeditions, Keepers also work in order to aid the Horde people with their local issues and problems. They are adventurers at heart with the hunt for relics guiding their journeys.
Keepers come from all styles of life and background. From new adventurers seeking fame and glory to retired soldiers wishing to spend their twilight years aiding others, or even those who are seeking to make a quick profit. All are welcomed to stand together in order to recover the artefacts of ages past to assist the Horde.
The Concept
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Keepers of Antiquity is a guild built around the idea of bringing together a varied cast of characters and developing them through exciting, and often dangerous, adventure. It is important to note that while this is a guild built around exploration and adventure, The Keepers are a Horde-aligned group and do their work in the name of the Horde. While neutral characters are welcomed, there may be plot elements that relate to potential lingering tensions between the two factions.
The main aim is to provide a home where players can develop their characters through travelling and adventuring together, while interlinking their personal stories with their new allies. We welcome roleplayers of all experience and are more than happy to help with introducing new roleplayers to the incredible hobby in a fun and light-hearted environment. While there is no strict cap on member numbers, we do aim to remain on the smaller side so that events can be tailored around individual characters and for members to find ample opportunity to link their own stories in with the guild.
Events and Roleplay
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As Keepers of Antiquity is a guild built around adventure and exploration, events usually take place outside of the main capital cities. Events can range from travelling towards our destination and helping locals we meet along the way, to setting up a base camp at the targeted destination, or simply just finding the artefact we were aiming to retrieve. Though more often than not, it wonât exactly be âsimpleâ! Event chains will focus around the expeditions we undertake to investigate and retrieve specific relics and artefacts. Through these chains, we aim to build up an overarching story that features our characters as the protagonists, with them coming together to face whatever hurdles or threats they find in their way, celebrate their victories and even mourn their losses.
Due to the nature of the guild, several events do include opportunities for combat. Though relic hunting is part of the guild theme, to truly enjoy the concept and what we have to offer we would recommend joining on a character that wonât always shy away from combat situations.
All events are optional, though it should be noted that when out on an expedition, The Keepers may be away from capital cities for several days at a time. Weâll be using the thread to update our current location, so if you are out in the area, do be sure to come roleplay with us!
We also encourage all of our members to host their own events, no matter how big or small. Different styles of events are refreshing and keep things new for all involved. We are currently utilising a very simple rolling system to assist us with events while giving people a chance to lean into the strengths of their characters. This is always under review â weâre here to have fun, not find ourselves limited by the system we use!
We are also happy to help any member plan and run an event that they have in mind. There are also chances for more light-hearted events and roleplay, such as bonding over a warm campfire, team-building activities for the members, and perhaps even a celebratory visit to the beach after reclaiming a truly valuable artefact. The possibilities are almost endless.
Recruitment
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We are always eager to meet a variety of characters who think they will be a good fit! The Keepers are Horde-aligned and so we accept all races within the Horde.
Regarding Demon Hunters, Death Knights and the recent Dracthyr, we are open to all of these classes though this will be in limited number as we wish to keep things relatively balanced when it comes to character power. We believe these races would be interested in Legion/Scourge/Titan artefacts respectively which is why we do think that they could be a good fit in moderation!
Recruitment Update 09/06/23: While weâre underwater for the next couple of weeks, itâll be hard to have people join up IC. We are still open for recruitment however and will look to grab some people in as soon as weâre back on dry land, so do reach out if youâre interested!
If you find yourself interested in signing up with the Keepers or want to discuss potential plotlines, please send an in-game message or letter to Hughy (or my alt Penny), Mournflame or Koralash. Weâll be happy to answer any questions you may have OOC and we can then look to get you recruited! If you canât catch us online then do get in touch on Discord at pohtaitoe.
Thank you for reading and weâll see you all out and about in Azeroth!
Thank you for the lovely memories, they still put a massive smile on my face, too! 
It was fantastic to RP with you back then and I hope our paths will cross again some time soon!
(please)