#pro hunter

“I should have been the one who died!”

I have been on the road for a few days now heading south. My direction of travel was chosen for me on the morning I was set to step off as there had been word of harpy raids on caravans to the north. It was enough news for me to journey southward especially because I am not familiar with the routes in Kalimdor to try and circumvent the areas being raided. I stocked up on supplies, procured a map going as far south as possible and began the next leg of the journey.

For as sparse as the landscape looks, The Barrens remind me a bit of Westfall if I am to be honest. The big difference though is that the Barrens is teaming with wildlife of all sorts and sizes. Plus, the ground as brown as it looks, contains more life force then the dried fields of Westfall as well. From the map I have, the Barrens seem to go on for another day or two from my current position. At nights I try to make camp up on one of the many looming hills that dot the landscape, to give myself a good vantage point of the landscape, but also, they prove a wonderful spot to just lay at night to stare at the stars and constellations above, the light pollution here is pretty much nonexistent. My hunting skills have definitely improved, I find it quite easy now to stalk prey, bag the kill and quickly gut and clean as much meat as I need. I find myself most vulnerable during that process, so I constantly must look around. I feel like I buy myself some good karma with the predatory wildlife though because whatever I manage to kill, I always leave a good amount left on the carcass for them to feed from.

I have passed a few traders along the route south, thankfully no trouble was brewed. I did get a few good internal laughs from the brief encounters though as normally the look I am given Is one of confusion. One small trade group though I did manage to stop and make trade with. It was a trio of Taurens who seemed to be on their way to town of Crossroads as their cart was loaded with cured leather and supple furs. I can’t deny that the nights do tend to get cold beneath the stars and I don’t always light a fire, especially If there are signs of other humanoid activity around. I was surprised there wasn’t too much of a language barrier, their common was a bit more…rough then what is spoken in the Cities back home, but we were able to strike a deal for a pair of nice lion pelts, one for a ground mat and one for a blanket. Deep down I had the warm a fuzzies that I supported the local economy even though I am most positive I probably paid above market price.

So far, the trip through the Barrens has been relaxed, like a safari even, though I cross my fingers to hope I don’t jinx myself. The traders mentioned that I was getting closer to a contended area between a Horde Fort and Alliance outpost. There were still the occasional harassment attacks, but I was told to not be surprised to see the remnants of large battles still around and to tread carefully to make sure I didn’t pose a threat to either side.