A Brief Tour of Durotar

 Hey there All.  Sarracenia here to share the sights I saw when I went to check out Durotar.  That’s where all the new troll and orc recruits for the Horde come from.  I started my tour by landing in Orgrimmar and leaving the city through the front gate.  When I turned and looked back, the gate was a truely imposing sight!  But there was so much more to see that I didn’t hang around there for long. 

I rode down to the south along the road and through Razorwind Canyon.  There are harpies in there with stashes of goods that adventurers get asked to retrieve for a goblin beside the road. 

At the other end of the canyon is the town of Razor Hill.  Razor Hill is run by the orcs and they keep a nice clean place.  There are trainers there in and around the Razor Hill Barracks for all classes of adventurers.  And they have a cozy inn with all the important stuff.  The cook is even nice enough to set up outside the inn so that no one has to worry about getting singed in their sleep.  The leader of Razor Hill, Orgnil Soulscar, has a few things for any intrepid adventurer to do.  If you are into intrigue, he’s the guy to go to.  Orgnil is very concerned with the Burning Blade activity in the area.  They are some really nasty orcs, members of the Burning Blade, that are into the demonic stuff.  Razor Hill is also home to some orcs that would dearly love some of your business.  There is some orc there to sell just about anything that your little Horde heart may desire.  And there are a number of orcs skilled in armor and inventory repairs. 

Continuing south out of Razor Hill, the first place of note I saw was Tiragarde Keep on the east side of the road.  The orcs don’t like that Tiragarde Keep stands so close to Razor Hill and they keep a close watch on the Kul Tiras Marines and Sailors parading around the grounds.  Lieutenant Benedict and Watch Commander Zalaphil are there at the Keep trying to make sure that Gar’Thok, a formidable orc at Razor Hill, is not successful in his determination to drive out the human infestation at Tiragarde Keep. 

The next stop on my tour of Durotar is Sen’jin Village.  Sen’jin Village is the troll outpost here in Durotar.  This is where the Darkspear tribe settled in after they left the Echo Isles.  Sen’jin Village is a nice seaside resort kind of place.  The palm trees offer good shade for the Riding Raptors that are for sale out to the south side of the village too.  You can learn Herbalism and Alchemy in Sen’jin Village.  After all troll Witch Doctors are pretty good at brewing up potions for just about anything.  You just need to be careful of Bom’bay, he’s always trying to get adventurers to try some new concoction he’s brewed up.  And while the results can be amusing to the casual observer, not everything he does is nice. 

Outside Sen’jin proper and to the south along the coast, on the Darkspear Strand, is a hut where a troll named Lau’Tiki lives.  If you want to know about fishing, he is the troll to go to.  Not a troll of many words, he spends his days waiting calmly in his hut for adventurers to come along and admire that stinky shark of his while he waits for just the right signs to show him that the fishing will be good.  I think he likes his shark a bit too much. 

Behind Lau’Tiki’s hut, across the water, are the Echo Isles.  When you are in Sen’jin Village, you will notice that there are a few trolls who have a special interest in talking with adventurers to send them out to the Echo Isles.  If you decide to give these trolls a hand, be very careful out under those impressive trees covering the Echo Isles.  Zalazane and his spooky Voodoo Trolls have taken over the Echo Isles.  They’re the reason why the Darkspear Tribe took up residence in Durotar and settled Sen’jin Village in the first place.  The Echo Isles is a dangerous place now, full of Raptors, Tigers and Voodoo (Oh My - Zyrena).  The tasks handed out by the trolls in Sen’jin Village that take the adventurer to the Echo Isles are not to be taken on lightly.  Zalazane is very proficient with the necromancy and shrinking magic and it would be very sad indeed to find yourself used as a decoration for his voodoo staff…no matter how much Zy may laugh at you if it happens. 

Be careful swimming across the channel to the Echo Isles.  The water may be nice and warm, but it is best to remember that Makrura like the water too….and they are not too particular on whether their lunch is hot or cold.

The next stop in the tour is a brief look into Kolkar Crag in the hills along the southern-most tip of Durotar.  The Kolkar Centaurs have taken up residence in there and they are suspected of plotting an invasion.  There is a troll watcher in Sen’jin Village, named Lar Prowltusk, who is very concerned with this possibility and he is seeking the aid of adventurers to thwart their plans. 

After peeking into Kolkar Crag, I made my way back to Sen’jin Village and took the west road out of the village and straight on into the Valley of Trials.  The Valley of Trials is where every young troll and orc starts their career in service to the Horde.  The Den is a cave cut into the face of the cliff in the center of the valley.  In there, the young trolls and orcs will find most of the things they need to complete the tasks set them by Kaltunk, Gornek and the other experienced members of the Horde in the Valley of Trials.  As the young adventurers perform the tasks set them by their various trainers and task masters in the valley, they get their first introduction to the Burning Blade.  These demon dabbling orcs have set iup a coven in the Valley of Trials and it must be infiltrated.  There are also some more mundane tasks to be performed as every task is important to the smooth operation of the Horde…even the collection of lumber by Lazy Peons. 

Leaving the Valley of Trials and the new Horde Recruits to their tasks, I travelled back north up the main road towards Razor Hill.  Just before the Razor Hill gates, there is a road off to the west.  As I followed this road, I was quick to notice a strange plant formation off to the north side of the road.  It was a tangle of the biggest thorn vines I had ever seen!  The most remarkable part of this was the fact that there were creatures living in amongst the vines in huts they had constructed there.  I later found out this area is called the Razormane Grounds and the creatures are the Razormane Quillboar.  They really weren’t very friendly; downright hostile to be honest.  The orcs of Razor Hill are concerned with these hostile neighbors and Gor’Thok is looking for adventurers to assist in the removal of this threat.

Farther west along the road and to the north of the road itself is another canyon of interest.  Thunder Ridge houses a canyon that hides another Burning Blade enclave with a leader named Fizzle Darkstorm.  Orgrnil Soulscar is looking for hearty adventurers to eradicate this goblin.  If you choose to offer your assistance in this matter, please take my advice and bring friends.  Fizzle will certainly not go quietly and he has a number of warlocks and their pet demons in the canyon to assist him.  Just to make things more interesting, Thunder Ridge is not just a creative name.  The canyon in the ridge is home to a number of Thunder Lizards that do not take kindly to wayward adventurers traipsing through their territory. 

At the western edge of Durotar, along this road, lies the bridge that will take you across into the Barrens.  I stopped long enough to admire the orcish construction, but then continued north along the river and back to Orgrimmar. 

Outside the Orgrimmar gates are two Zepplin Towers.  One to the west of the main gate and one to the east.  The eastern tower is the docking platforms for the zepplins to both Undercity and Grom’Gol in the Eastern Kingdoms.  The tower to the west houses the docking platform for the zepplin to Warsong Hold in the Borean Tundra in Northrend. 

And here ends my “brief” tour of Durotar.  I guess it really wasn’t so brief.  Ah well, lots of people to see and things to do and places to go  

Have Fun! 

~ Sarracenia

Tags: Durotar, Fizzle, Orgrimmar, Razorhill, Razormane Grounds, Sen'jin, Tiragarde Keep, Valley of Trials, Zalazane