Level 11 - And finally a proper shaman...

So a long run takes me back to the starting point and I approach a dodgy looking man who had lurked in the shadows but refused to speak to me in the beginning. Now, however, he was full of chatter - Ah, young shaman, you are full of promise, etc, etc. Go and get me some some fellstalker hooves and I'll give you some magical drugs, and so forth.

He pointed me towards the valley to the north, but I couldn't remember ever seeing any 'fellstalkers' at all. But, I explored anyway and failed completely to find any. I exited and went so far as to go way north and then west before I had a terrible suspicion that they might be in that cave right at the start of the game.

A long run back. I'm tired of running now. I want to be a wolf. Or have a horse, or something.

They are - in the cave there are a hoard of fellstalkers, but as they were designed to be a challenge many levels ago now I can simply knock them on the head with my mace and they run away in fear. I collect my hoof loot and return to the shaman dealer.

Ah, young shaman, the power of the earth, etc, find our secret place, etc, drink this, all will be good.

So I run off to the spirit stone in the hills and drink the brew.

Blimey, it's fast acting and sure enough and the earth itself rises up to chat to me. It's quite big and I'm glad it is on my side. It rumbles that it's my lucky day, and here's a bit of quartz. As I chat I notice a mini-earth creature running around in circles nearby. I can't target it and it ignores me.

I wave goodbye and return to shaman guy who quickly tranforms my rock into a rock covered in twigs and cotton. Ta-da! Your earth totem is ready. The game catches up and I learn a flurry of spells.

I try out all my totems as curious starters stare at me and wonder what I'm doing. Lights flash, things twirl, I glow. Lovely.

I experiment with the user interface (UI) and bring up some more slot bars to put in things that I don't use often, but need to access at times. I leave all my attacks on the key-mapped bar.

I teleport (using the hearthstone) to the inn in Razorbackvillemoutain (or whatever) and head north to complete a neglected quest - kill a lot of slightly tougher harpie creatures in a canyon to the east.

I equip all my buffs (I think that's the correct expression) and target a nasty looking harpie. Lighting x 2, then shock before she can cast a spell, then a whack with the mace followed by a fireball of some kind and she drops dead.

I repeat as I move through the canyon without any problems at all. I get right to the end of the place and am just killing the last one when a bunch of orc hunters turn up, looking frustrated at the lack of live prey. They glare at me, but say nothing.

I make my way back and claim my reward.

It's time to eat the curry that has been re-heating in the oven now, so I take a look at the landscape near the orc capital and then log off.

Thankfully, no dreams of wow that night - I think I'm getting over it.