Day 15
I was wrong about being punished. I have now been assigned to securing the area around the mine and making sure the one kodo wagon that could be spared is kept alive for stone, gold and copper shipments. Yay me. At least I'm no longer climbing around on mountains, but I get to wait here while more information is gathered and warriors are rallied. Though being this close to the wild beasts without a decently sturdy wall around me is worrisome.
Also it turns out everybody assigned to the mine and its guard tower are useless at planning defenses. I decided I wasn't going to die to someone else's stupidity so I grabbed one of the peon crews and directed the foreman to cut down the few trees around us. I even drew up a crude representation of the terrain and where the fortifications would be placed. We couldn't put too much of our valuable stone into the walls so a simple waist high barrier to break a charge would have to do.
You know, I'd always known the Horde had issues maintaining a lumber supply but the Barrens really hit the point home for me. The wood around here was ok for building but there were so few trees that I almost wished I could slap the lazy night elves for never replanting their forests. Another suggestion I gave was the collection and planting of seeds from the trees a safe distance from our wall.
I spent several long hours with a couple of hunters clearing the area of every beast we could find. Unlike my previous hunts around here however we were able to return with plenty of meat and pelts for our own supplies. It will take a few days to chase the beasts off but I am serious about not losing that kodo, I don't want to know what will happen otherwise. No sir, not me.
Several of the orc Grunts were complaining about taking orders from a Scout but I challenged them to charge the small portion of wall that had been built. Needless to say, the wiser tauren and I laughed when the cocky orcs wavered before being slammed into the barrier by the men behind them. They shut up pretty quickly after that though they did sulk for a bit.
The slight valley we were nestled in provided a bit of protection from the wind but the centaur, Kolkar I think, claim quite a bit of territory to the South. I was repeatedly told no, I did not want to fight centaur, pray we don't need to. I can't quite understand that but they are super fast and that is annoying.
The view from the guard tower was pretty amazing. I could just barely make out pools of water in the distance by light reflecting. Also I didn't give much attention to it but there is a centaur-skin rug inside the tower. Kinda gross. I'm going to ignore the moral issues that is bringing up for me. Tauren are some of the most peaceful people you can find and if they have no issue I won't be bringing it up.
I was almost tempted to explore the inside of the mine but an enclosed space with sweaty orcs sounds awful. I smelled bad enough, I didn't want to smell other people. A bath followed by a soak in a hot tub would be worth dereliction of duty. Well maybe not, I have no desire to experience whipping or hanging. I doubt I get a third chance at things unless I'm unfortunate enough to be raised from the grave.
I have to wonder what kind of inventions the blood elves, dwarves, and gnomes actually have. I'm not going to trust a goblin invention anytime soon though since they do steal a lot of it from gnomes I should probably be wary about that as well. Wait a minute, I've forgotten one of the most important inventions ever: Mechano-hogs! I need to get one or my life will forever be incomplete.
Oh man the thought of zooming across the Barrens on a mechanical masterpiece just won't leave me now. Though if they are anywhere near as expensive in reality as I expect I'll have to save for years. Maybe once I'm a bit more secure in life I can start saving for that because right now there are more important things to worry about.
Speaking of things to worry about, I need to eat and get some rest. Good night Journal.
-Borgin