The Keepers are currently located in Ratchet in the Barrens and have had quite the busy week! Incoming update and it’s a big one, woops!
Accepting the summons of the unknown Madame Xiu, several of the Keepers made their way to the Goblin town of Ratchet to meet with the woman who had reached out to them all. It didn’t take long for a Tauren woman to approach and invite them into the tavern, explaining that she was the one that they had come to see.
It was clear that this Tauren was not Madame Xiu and it was swiftly revealed that she was a woman within the Madame’s employ, one of Xiu’s many assistants. While offering the Keepers a variety of beverages (as she had been instructed to take good care of the group), the assistant explained that Madame Xiu is a careful woman who only shows herself when absolutely necessary and so she had sent an assistant in her stead.
After much praise and, frankly, sucking up to the Keepers, the assistant finally revealed why Madame Xiu had reached out to them all. She saw them as a potential investment and, knowing of their recent struggles with receiving appropriate work from the Horde, decided now was the time to invest.
The offer was a simple one. The Keepers would become independent, no longer backed by Horde funding but instead receiving the gold they required from Madame Xiu. This independence would come with advantages, such as the group being the ones to decide on what happens to the relics they recover, rather than turning them in to the Horde. Do they keep them? Sell them? Destroy them? Lock them away? The choice would come down to the Keepers themselves…
Of course, Madame Xiu is a businesswoman and there would clearly be no advantage for her if that was all there was to the deal. The assistant revealed that, in exchange for her funding and this freedom, the Keepers may be asked to retrieve certain items deemed valuable on their travels for Xiu herself. Assured that these would simply be trinkets and baubles of monetary value, and not ‘super powerful evil death sticks’ as Iffy questioned, the group deemed this to be a reasonable arrangement.
As a show of good faith, the assistant brought forth the Earth Mother’s Urn - a relic that the Keepers of old had contemplated seeking before they opted to hunt for Onyxia’s Talon. Informed that Xiu wished for the Keepers to have the Urn as a show of good faith, the group agreed. It was revealed, however, that the relic appeared to have been corrupted by something or someone and was in need of purification. The assistant had already sought out the aid of a Shaman for this and a ritual site had been prepared. The Keepers agreed to the assistant’s offer of staying in Ratchet in order to rest, with the intention of purifying the Urn another day.
The day came for the Keepers to carry out the purification ritual and so the group set off from the Goblin town towards the mountain of Thunderhead! Their journey was different to their previous walk through the Barrens. They were cleansing a relic! Doing something that the Keepers actually sought to do. It felt right and the group seemed to be in good spirits.
Soon enough they came to their first hurdle - a group of slumbering prowlers, hunting raptors and patrolling Centaur blocking their path. Eyeing the potential threats and deciding which might be the easiest to face, Scythois opted to cast a silencing spell around the group, preventing them from making a single sound - even if they tried to! Remaining close to the Nightborne, the group were able to casually stroll past the slumbering felines and found themselves at the base of the mountain.
The climb was a little harder than they may have expected, with Hughy opting to practically crawl his way up through the dirt, Scythois utilising her magic to blink from fencepost to fencepost, Cha’zan showing some fancy footwork and squatting his way up (and seeming to enjoy the exercise!), while Isara and Kiera forced their limbs onwards without complaint!
Finally they reached the summit and found the ritual site that had been prepared with several satchels of stone and soil, and many bowls of rainwater and earth. Planting the urn atop a large slab of stone, the group stood back as the magical purification began. Almost like a snow-globe, the circle of offerings was assaulted by heavy rain, raging gusts and rumbling earth. Not a single droplet or stone moved out of the circle, even as the raging gust blew the offerings round and round. Then, the urn toppled and the lid came free!
Almost immediately, the Keepers were greeted with a rancid, acrid scent that practically burned at their senses and skin. Pouring forth from the Earth Mother’s Urn came a thick, viscous green liquid. Steam rose from it as it was expelled from the relic, and it carried that scent along as the ooze bubbled and thickened upon the dry earth. The puddle of ooze swiftly began to harden and shift, taking on a shape. Expanding upwards and outwards, it grew larger and larger and seemed to grow four limbs. The bubbling ooze extended, shaping into claws and a maw of sharp, burning, dripping fangs. The Keepers found themselves staring at a creature very similar to the prowlers they had avoided, only this one was made of whatever sickening substance had corrupted the relic!
Leaping into action, the Keepers readied themselves for a battle. The beast was agile and leapt over them, landing amidst the adventurers and, like a soaked dog trying to dry itself, shook its body around to fling acidic globs of its gooey form at them! When that didn’t work, it opted to use those dripping fangs and try to bite down on the Keepers, to puncture and burn at their flesh with its acidic slime!
As Cha’zan jumpedf orth as the group’s protector and Scythois summoned an illusionary army of the Zandalari Troll, the beast found itself struggling to find a target to truly strike. This allowed the rest of the Keepers to strike, with Hughy throwing several spires of earth, Kiera showing her own prowess at leaping and hacking at the beast’s neck with her hatchet, and Isara utilising dark tendrils to ensnare the beast before finally crushing it within them. The battle was won, leaving behind just a steaming puddle of stinky slime and the purified relic.
Returning to Ratchet and pouring some seawater into the Urn (and using Kiera’s boot to pour it in, even), Cha’zan bravely took a sip of the water within to see if it had been purified - and it had. He found himself sipping on a perfectly cool and clean glass of water. The relic had been restored and the Keepers excitedly chatted about what they might do with it! Now that their adventure of the day over, the group retired to the tavern once more with Hughy informing them that where was one last catch to working with Madame Xiu. He revealed that she did not just invest in members of the Horde and, by extension, the Keepers may have to be open to working alongside (or even with) some members of the Alliance. Reactions within the group were mixed thanks to the long history of bloodshed between the two factions but, though some were reluctant, it was agreed that what Xiu was offering was still the best path for the group at this time. With Madame Xiu’s funding backing the Keepers and allowing them to set off across the world once more, the time now comes for them to decide where, exactly, they will go next! And what will they seek to find?
The Keepers have accepted the backing of this mysterious Madame Xiu, despite the fact that it means they might be working with some members of the Alliance going forwards! What does this mean? It means we are working our way to becoming cross-faction! It’s still in the early days at the moment as we get a feel for things but expect an update on that soon!
Recruitment is still open for members of the Horde who are interested in joining us! We’re getting ready to set off on our next expedition, so now is a great time to get stuck in and come along for the adventure!
