From The Crossroads, the party set off on their long journey southward to Mulgore. Their first stop would be Camp Taurajo, followed by Bloodhoof Village, and finally Thunder Bluff. Along for the trip with them were Tonga Runetotem, Nara Wildmane, Naralex, and Naralex's Remaining Disciples. A large, slow moving travelling party along well-known Horde roads.
The most dangerous leg of their journey, as they knew, would be to make their way past a region known as The Bramblescar; a large and rocky valley filled with thorny vines. Last time the party had simply kept to the main roads, but the druids that were with them spoke of some shortcuts they knew through, if the party fancied to save some time.
Ultimately though, they opted to just keep to the roads as they were safer. To travel past Horde outposts with so many elves in tow could be a risky ordeal, but considering how said elves were all members of the Cenarion Circle, it went without trouble.
When they then reached Camp Taurajo, they managed to find lodgings at the trade post with a pair of old orcs who kept a boar farm not far from the bustling centre of the post. They were Garn and Kerda Ironwind, and they were all too happy to take in travellers, share in good food, and hear stories from the road.
Kelrith Shalith even took the opportunity to break some cheese that had been acquired previously, but was still in decent condition, as thanks for the stay.
After Taurajo, the caravan travelled through the massive gates into Thunder Bluff, and then down along the roads that cut through its wide-open plains.
It was there that the party encountered a group of Outrunners from Bloodhoof Village. Led by one Ruul Eagletalon, the Outrunners were badly injured, some of them critically so -- and Ruul could tell the party of how they had ran afoul of harpies in the nearby hills.
A group of harpies from a flock known as the Windfuries had settled themselves in the mountains, and from there they were raiding camps and homesteads around Mulgore. The most recent attack was on the Winterhoof Tribe's home some way south of Bloodhoof Village, which spurred a group of Outrunners to retaliate.
Regrettably, the retaliation failed. It turned out the harpies had a pair of witches among them, leading the rest.
With their shared medical prowess, and Zachariah Hallowhold taking lead on a healing ritual together with his fellows, the party managed to save the tauren Outrunners so none would perish from their wounds. The Outrunners joined together with the party to Bloodhoof Village, where they planned to rest and recuperate. Ruul in particular seemed eager to try and call on the party's aid when he and his group would be ready to take the harpies on a second time.
When they reached Bloodhoof Village, the party first stayed the night over to rest and recuperate. Some of them figured that, while they were here, perhaps they could inquire further into the troubles that Nahari Cloudchaser had tipped them of? The troubles that had kept her business from any new diamond supplies out of Mulgore.
Nahari had mentioned one guild in Mulgore that her store would acquire gems from; the Darkmane Mining Guild. Gan Jedi took lead on trying to track its location down, though along the way he stumbled into an unusual sight -- a seemingly shady transaction between a goblin and a tauren, which the troll decided to butt in on.
The goblin and the tauren turned out to be Qalia Sugarfuel and Pyall Silenstride respectively. Pyall was searching, on his own volition, for adventurers who could take on the Windfury harpies, and Qalia was pitching herself as just the sort, providing Pyall would hand over some well-kept family secrets for it. The Silentstride tauren were renowned bakers and meat-smokers in the region.
Gan decided to seize this opportunity, to see if he could recruit Qalia over to join him and the other. She agreed to come along with him, and soon enough she was introduced to the rest of the party. By her own words, she was the prodigy of a small diner-running family in Bogpaddle; a sea-side resort town in the Swamp of Sorrows.
The party took a moment to get to know their new member a little better. Though, as they did. Turuk Thunderhoof and Nim laid clear their plans to venture on to Thunder Bluff with the rest of the caravan, if the party were going to stay a while here in Bloodhoof Village.
Nim and Turuk had been sharing experiences with some dark and dangerous visions that had recently come to them. Turuk had last seen them at the Pools of Vision in Thunder Bluff, and Nim had been visited by them in the nights during their journey to Mulgore.
Similarly, Servius Felheart had been requested back at Thunder Bluff, for a meeting with his fellow diplomats, a group of whom had offices in that city.
So when the party then made their way onward, it was Gan Jedi, Zachariah Hallowhold, Kelrith Shalith, and now Qalia Sugarfuel. All together set to get to the bottom of the Cloudchasers' diamond troubles.
One clue they had found during their searches was the Soft Creeks Tavern; a lakeside venue known to be poular among the miners who'd visit Bloodhoof between their work. Recently a group of miners had returned to town, disgruntled and disenfranchised, which seemed like a good clue for the party to follow.
Past a gruff bouncer at the door and into the locale, the party soon found themselves in conversation with a small group of miners -- chief among which was a man named Atoh. They were all longer-time workes with Darkmane Mining, but recently they had received work that they would be relieved as the mining guild would rescind their operations to someone else. It was an affair that happened suddenly and without warning, and none of the miners knew exactly what was going on.
At least, despite sour moods, the party managed to befriend the disgruntled miners fairly well. As the day drew to an end, it did so with a drinking contest between them and the party. Surprisingly, despite half the party being undead, the tauren came out on top.
When the day after would come, the party knew they had more than a few things to investigate.