(2025-07-23) Southern Barrens: Overgrown

Details

Author:	Alli
Summary:	Kenelly, Stelianna and Thaniel come to the Southern Barrens to help the druid Naralex with the alarmingly burgeoning Overgrowth. (Note: This is a story follow-up to Wailing Caverns) ~3200 words.
Rating:	T for Teen

Arc: Kalimdor Newbies

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quest-usual violence

Kenelly, Stelianna and Thaniel are in a small druid camp in the Overgrowth of the Southern Barrens.

Stelianna waves happily to Thaniel and Kenelly and says, "This place is growing so much, too, isn't it?"

Kenelly nods with a concerned crease in her brow. "It is…."

[Thaniel]: I think… that might be the problem?

[Kenelly]: Something does feel…I don't know…'off', here.

Naralex glances over and nods. "The energies unleashed here have surged through the wildlife, twisting them into powerful and unstable forms. You’re the team I asked for from the Circle, yes? The ones who’ve been working in the Cenarion Wildlands so successfully.”

Thaniel nods. "I'm Thaniel, and this is Stella and Kenelly."

Kenelly smiles and nods. "That's us!"

Stelianna waves eagerly. "Desolace is going so well. I bet whatever's going on here we can nip that right in the bud, or nourish the bud, or whatever we need to do!"

[Thaniel]: You should tell her the story you told me, Naralex…

Naralex says: About the Barrens? Certainly.

Thaniel nods.

Naralex says: The Barrens once was a lush forest. Thousands of years ago, before the first Sundering, it was verdant and thriving, watched over by the kaldorei. But when the continents were torn apart, and this land became separated as what we call Kalimdor, this valley of nature became a harsh, sun-scorched plain.

Stelianna listens eagerly, looking up at the druid.

Naralex says: When I first learned this, I saw it as a great tragedy. I decided I would find a way to regrow the forests once more.

Kenelly nods with a hopeful smile.

Thaniel sways idly from foot to foot.

Naralex says: While studying the land, I discovered a cave that stretched deep beneath the earth. These waterways carried underground rivers for miles beneath the parched savannah above.

[Stelianna]: Oooh… so it was just that close.

Naralex says: Yes. I named them the Wailing Caverns, for the howls made by the wind and steam as they coursed through its depths. This would be the instrument of revival, I thought. The water had already bubbled to the surface as small, lush, oases throughout the Barrens… if it were imbued, enhanced, this growth could spread across the entire land.

[Stelianna]: That sounds promising…

Naralex says: My plan was to connect these underground waters directly to the Emerald Dream itself.

Stelianna blinks. "To the Emerald Dream?"

[Kenelly]: Is that safe? Or…even possible?

Thaniel sighs and makes a so-so wiggly hand, but lets Naralex tell his story.

Naralex says: At the time, I thought it would be so. But… things did not go as I'd hoped. With my faithful disciples, I journeyed deep within the Wailing Caverns, settled into meditation, and entered the Dream. Through my own body, this world was connected to it. It was there that everything went wrong.

Stelianna shivers, anticipating horrors.

Naralex says: I came upon what I can only describe as an overwhelming corruption within the Emerald Dream. An unending nightmare that seized me in its claws and tore at my very mind. I could not break free of its grasp; my disciples were unable to wake me. This corruption was from what we call the Nightmare, and which… you may recall its influence on the world, over a year ago.

[Thaniel]: I don't remember. I didn't have my human mind back yet.

[Kenelly]: That must have been awful. I'm so sorry.

Naralex says: Thank you for your condolences. I have had some time to come to terms with my error. The cost was great — the influence twisted the wildlife into chaotic forms, and my disciples were also affected; their minds overcome by madness and savagery, they took on the forms of serpents, and called themselves the Druids of the Fang.

Stelianna smiles sympathetically at Thaniel, and then turns to Naralex. "How did you manage to end it? I assume you did?"

Naralex says: Not by my hand — I was saved by my last disciple, Muyoh *he gestures to the nearby tauren* and a team from the mercenary group called Cobalt Company. I thought my work was a failure, and that was the end of it.

Kenelly smiles and touches a blue and white brooch. "Oh! I'm with Cobalt Company as well. I'll have to ask about those events."

Naralex smiles. "Their aid was invaluable. You keep yourself in good company. But then, it was with the Cataclysm that I realized my work might have been all too successful. When the Barrens was cracked apart, a great font of underground water was breached and flowed up to the surface, full of the energies I imbued it with. Life immediately sprung from the earth around it, and the animals thrived… and then it continued to grow, uncontrollably, unchecked. That is the problem I have asked you here to help me solve. This overgrowth must be stopped, before it chokes out the natural wildlife entirely.”

Thaniel nods. "We can help."

Stelianna nods eagerly. "We'll do our best."

Naralex says: First, we must address the problem directly. I would ask you to cull the population of the overgrowth. You may speak with Muyoh as well, and see if he has other ideas.

[Kenelly]: It seems we have the opposite problem as Desolace. There we struggle to grow, here we must struggle against the growth.

Stelianna nods at Kenelly. "If we can do one, we can surely do the opposite, right?"

Thaniel nods and wanders over towards the tauren. "Hello, Muyoh."

Muyoh looks down at us. "Hello, humans. You are here to assist? I am with the Cenarion Circle, let me reassure you."

Stelianna turns to Muyoh. "We're happy to help! Do you… have an idea of what we might do?"

Thaniel smiles at Muyoh and does not deny being human.

Muyoh says: The corruption unleashed here must be studied if we're to find a way of properly fighting it.

Muyoh says: Luckily, not all the creatures have been as altered as others. The smaller snakes drink little water, and do not eat plants, so their exposure to the energies here has been minimal. They've still absorbed enough to change coloration. Go collect these snakes from the overgrowth and return them to me, so we can see just what is happening to the creatures here.

[Stelianna]: Collect snakes? Yeah, we can probably do that.

Muyoh says: Past that, there's got to be a way to cure these poor creatures without having to take their lives. I have an idea, but I'll need your help. The lashvine plants that roam here hold seeds full of the primal energy of this place. Collect these for me and bring them back, and we'll see if something can be done.

[Kenelly]: Oh, very good idea.

Stelianna smiles a little at that. "Kenelly, it seems like exactly the inverse. Planting seeds in Desolace, collecting them here."

[Thaniel]: Okay. We can do that.
Thaniel drops down to all fours, shifting to his worgen form.

[Kenelly]: Not to brag, but I have a bit of a way with small animals. I think I can get the snakes to be relaxed around us.

[Stelianna]: Oh, good! I admit I've caught a snake or two in my life, but I'm not… uh… soothing.

Kenelly coos soothing sounds as she carefully approaches an adder and gently picks it up.

[Stelianna]: Is it okay that I didn't correct him, about you two being worgen? I figured if you wanted to, you would.

[Thaniel]: We're human and worgen.

Stelianna nods. "Yes, exactly. It's like an adding thing, not a subtraction."

[Kenelly]: I honestly didn't even notice. I do think of myself as human, still.

[Stelianna]: I think he was more worried we'd be scared of a tauren. But there's loads of tauren in the Circle, it seems like.

[Thaniel]: I'm not scared of people because of what they are, only what they do.

[Stelianna]: That's a good way to look at things. And the only things we know he's done is help rescue Naralex and also try to help the land here.

Kenelly nods in agreement. "I think that's become a rather common outlook among our people."

[Thaniel]: I look scary to some people. But I don't mean to.

[Stelianna]: If they pay attention to what you do, they'd see how gentle you are.

Thaniel whispers to the wind and floats over a stream.

Thaniel gathers some seeds. They don't want to stay still, beginning to sprout in Thaniel's hand. He sighs.

[Stelianna]: Wow, they really are full of energy, aren't they?

Thaniel nods.

[Kenelly]: Hmm…yeah I see what they meant.

Thaniel looks curiously at a nearby quilboar.

[Stelianna]: It would kind of be nice if the whole Barrens was so lively like this… but then I guess that would displace all the things that are already here *Stella peers at the quilboar as well*

[Kenelly]: Indeed. Forests are lovely. But, by the sound of it, the land settled into a natural harmony after the Sundering. Regrowing the forest would likely have far greater consequences than we could imagine.

Thaniel whispers to a snake, but it seems more interested in Kenelly than him.

[Stelianna]: Maybe that's something he didn't understand before. Sometimes things change, and it's not necessarily bad, just different.

Stelianna keeps mostly away from the snakes, so they don't get scared.

[Kenelly]: I think, perhaps, this is why our witchcraft remained so subtle compared to druidism. We had to be very careful not to change things too much, or our efforts to improve the harvest could damage the fields in the long run.

Thaniel nods to Kenelly.

Stelianna nods at Kenelly. "That sounds right. I mean, look at Westfall — but then, people weren't trying to change it for the better. Maybe we need harvest witches there."

[Kenelly]: I agree! In fact, that's where I first came across Cobalt Company. I'd gone to Westfall to try to help the farmers there.

[Stelianna]: Oh, really? I don't remember if you've mentioned before… but that's my homeland! Thank you. *Stella smiles*

Kenelly shifts to human form to give Stelianna a beaming smile. "It's my pleasure."

The team returns to Muyoh.

[Thaniel]: The seeds are growing.
Thaniel holds a handful of seeds out to Muyoh.

Muyoh does not seem to be bothered by the shapechanging people. He is a druid, after all.

Muyoh says: Ah… I'm concerned by how… active these are. *Muyoh looks at the seeds* Nevertheless, it simply means we must continue to act quickly before the corruption here becomes worse. Were you able to collect some snakes as well?

Thaniel points at Kenelly's snakes. "Yes."

Kenelly is holding two snakes, and has a half dozen more just following her.

Muyoh says: These will do perfectly. Bright colors like these don't occur naturally in the barrens, but they haven't developed any other mutations so far. I will try to create a plan while you report in to Naralex. *Muyoh gestures the snakes over to himself*.

Kenelly gently sets the two snakes down, urging them toward Muyoh. The others follow readily.

Muyoh busily begins working with the lashvine seeds.

Thaniel wanders back over to Naralex.

[Stelianna]: Sir, Naralex, we culled what we could.

Naralex says: Thank you. I'm pleased to see you return intact; the viciousness I've been seeing among these creatures is startling. I'm still trying to come up with a plan, to find out where the source might be, but in the meantime I will still need you to slow the growth. The lumbering outgrowths of plant life shamble through the imbued stream here. They are a direct manifestation of the unstable forces mutating this area.

Kenelly nods. "We saw a few."

Naralex says: Good, so you know which ones I mean. Slay as many as you can, and we might be able to slow the spread of the overgrowth further. And while you're at it…be on the lookout for parts of them that appear especially corrupted. Bring any such pieces to me.

Stelianna nods. "I can do so. I hope we can find a way to slow the spread without killing all the plant creatures."

Muyoh waves us back over, an eagerness in his expression.

[Thaniel]: What is it?

Muyoh says: Based on what you've brought me, I think we may have a solution. I've imbued the lashvine seeds with healing energies!

[Thaniel]: Will that… work?

Muyoh says: I think it should. In any case, it caused no harm to the snakes you brought. Simple contact with these should imbue the creatures here with enough energy to force out the corrupted influence.

[Thaniel]: Ohhh.

Muyoh says: Please, go and attempt to heal the mutated raptors and plainstriders by sprinkling the seeds on them, and report the results back to me.
Muyoh offers out the bag of seeds for whoever will take it.

Kenelly accepts the seeds, bowing her head.

[Stelianna]: I hope this works, but it seems like… a very simple approach? Maybe simple is best sometimes.

[Thaniel]: I hope so too.

When they slay one of the overgrown plant creatures, vines emerge from the ground and lash around wildly.

Stelianna cuts at an overgrowth, and then leaps back as writhing vines spring from the earth.

[Stelianna]: These things are pretty ferocious.

[Kenelly]: Whew, they certainly are!

Thaniel hangs back and heals the others.

[Kenelly]: There's a strider.
[Kenelly]: Shall we try the seeds?

[Stelianna]: Yes, let's.

Kenelly approaches the bird slowly, again cooing gently at it. When close enough, she sprinkles the seeds on its back.

The bird catches on fire.

[Stelianna]: Whoa. Oh no.

[Kenelly]: By the Light!

Thaniel whines in distress. This is not the intended outcome.

[Stelianna]: But… it was healing magic!
[Stelianna]: Let's not try again.

[Kenelly]: Perhaps…the corruption is trying to fight back?

A vine emerges from the ground and yanks the strider underneath.

[Stelianna]: That could be it… like when you get a fever. But this was… a lot worse.

[Kenelly]: I do hate to risk that again, but we should see if that is always the reaction.

[Stelianna]: Maybe… we could try on one of the deviated raptors?

Thaniel nods.

Kenelly nods.

[Thaniel]: Okay. One more.

Kenelly points at Deviate Terrortooth.

[Stelianna]: Muyoh will need to know, if he can find a way to soften the magic.

Thaniel lures a raptor closer.

Kenelly tries not to agitate it as much, and scatters the seeds in the raptor's path.

The raptor pauses, sniffing, mid-approach, and then backs away confused. The corruption of the Overgrowth seems to melt away from it.

Thaniel gasps.
[Thaniel]: It… worked?

[Kenelly]: Oh, my! That was promising!

Stelianna says in a hushed voice, "It worked!"

[Stelianna]: Maybe this works for the raptors, and not for the striders? Or… I mean, we only tried two.

[Kenelly]: I think we have to try more. We need more information.

[Stelianna]: One more strider?

Kenelly scatters the seeds near another strider.

The strider becomes enraged, charging at the team.

[Thaniel]: Oh…

Kenelly frowns and sighs. "It's just made it angry."

Thaniel whispers to try and calm it down, but the strider ignores him.

[Stelianna]: Maybe if we leave, it'll calm down.

Kenelly nods and turns tail to flee!

Thaniel runs on all fours.

Stelianna runs after the two of them. "At least it wasn't much worse off. Just angry."

The strider is finally satisfied it’s run them off, and settles back down.

Another overgrowth attacks.

Stelianna cuts it down, and then peers at the earth as the vines retract. "What's this? It's all… squirmy." Stelianna picks up the plant bit. "We should bring this back, right? It looks weird."

Thaniel peers at it. "Yes."

Kenelly sniffs in the general direction of the squirmy thing.

[Thaniel]: It feels wrong.

[Stelianna]: It looks… shadowy to me. Somehow.

[Kenelly]: He did say he wanted a corrupted sample. That…might be it?

Muyoh looks over hopefully as the team approaches. “Were you successful?”

Thaniel walks over to Naralex. "Stella found something," he says. "It's bad. She's holding it."
Thaniel begins describing the strange bundle of vines.

Naralex is listening to Thaniel's description, growing more and more alarmed.

[Kenelly]: We got…mixed results.

Stelianna looks between Muyoh and Naralex, holding the squirming heart. To Muyoh, she says, "Yeah, I think you need to tweak it? It did help one animal, but also killed one and enraged another."

[Kenelly]: Killed…yes. It caught on fire.

Muyoh says: Oh dear. Maybe I made the healing magic too strong… I can try for a gentler approach.

Stelianna then steps over to hold the squirming heart out to Naralex.

Naralex says: I've been a fool. The one truth I did not want to accept has been staring me in the face this entire time…this foul thing is proof of that. You and I have much work to do. The overgrowth here is not being caused by a mere overabundance of energy. Do you understand?

[Stelianna]: Not…. really… no.

[Thaniel]: The Nightmare?

Naralex says: Exactly! A rift into the Nightmare must have torn open in the middle of the very land we're standing on! And to think it's my fault…

[Stelianna]: You were only trying to help… *Stella says, full of sympathy*

Naralex says: I'm done picking at the edges of this wound. Go to the west, to the center of the overgrowth, and meet me again there. We will dive into the heart of this corruption and force it shut!

Kenelly nods with confidence. "Absolutely."

Thaniel says, "Okay," with far less confidence than Kenelly.

Stelianna nods nervously. "Right, yes, we'll help you do that!"

Stelianna whispers, "I wasn't in the Nightmare War. I was just dreaming, back then."

They meet up with Naralex in the midst of the Overgrowth.

Naralex says: I will attempt to seal the scar. Make sure nothing from the other side makes its way through!

Shadowy creatures emerge from the scar.

Kenelly gasps at the shadowy horrors emerging from the scar.

Naralex channels life energy into the scar, slowly healing it.

Stelianna steps in front of him, eyes wide, to fend off the shadows.

Kenelly conjures up a swirling vortex of air to hinder the monsters, slowing their progress.

A massive writhing mass of shadow approaches the team, a final attempt of the Nightmare to stop the sealing of the rift.

Thaniel whispers to the Light, and a pillar of holy flame descends on the Shadow-creature.

Stelianna calls on the Light to imbue her strikes, as she helps defend the druid.

The shadow creature is defeated, and the dark rift is sealed. Naralex steps back, relieved.

Naralex says: We've done it! The nightmare's connection to this place has been severed. The rest of the land is safe from this intrusion now, and in time, the aberrations here will be subsumed by the balance of nature.

Stelianna cheers!

Kenelly sighs back into her human form, smiling with relief.

Naralex says: I cannot thank you enough, friends. By helping to restore order here, you've let me make amends for my foolish actions.

[Kenelly]: I'm so glad we were able to help, Naralax.

Stelianna nods happily. "And maybe this place can still be an oasis, but not… you know.. Unhealthily."

Thaniel pats Naralex on the head. There, there, powerful druid.
[Thaniel]: We were happy to help.

Naralex smiles, and pats Thaniel on the shoulder in return. "Should you ever need me, in the future, do not hesitate to call."

Thaniel nods. "Okay."