#94

A picture of a dour looking troll can be seen on the page; dressed in well kept scale mail armor. He looks less than pleased at having his picture taken. Eishona labels this picture as being of a troll called Pk'tow.

Spent the last week in Orgrimmar negotiating for supplies before we head back to Zuldazar. The team met me on my second day here, getting back in to the swing of things easily. We're taking shipments of ore, ropes, cookware, furs and hides  from Highmountain and other general goods - the simple stuff seems to be so popular in Vol'dun - which makes sense. You can't easily make a bowl in a place with minimal wood. We'll be filling many orders once we arrive in the Vulpera camp, and start the trade route again. Our first stop after the Vulpera camp is the Temple of Akunda, after which we'll head for the coast.

The team met for a big meal on the third night in Orgimmar, to which I invited Vik'wa and my friend Pk'tow - he didn't stay long, but Vik'wa did, enjoying the conversation and food with the goblins that comprise our crew. Ginja got fairly drunk and had to be carried to a quiet spot to sleep it off. Vik'wa and I enjoyed some ganja with Pk'tow after dinner though, in the Valley of Spirits. We ended up sitting there all night in to morning discussing everything and nothing.  Some of the team joined us, but not for long - Pk'tow intimidates them. He is not nearly as friendly as Vik'wa and I and does not enjoy too many people around him. But given the chance he has a wicked sense of humor that I appreciate.

He's been hunting in Highmountain, finding the seclusion there favorable. He met up with us after I posted him a letter, explaining I was going to be in town for a spell. I was surprised when he showed up! He's usually hard to get to come out, but I think maybe Vik'wa being there helped. They have some unspoken fascination with each other. It's very amusing to watch. Maybe someday they'll hook up. She has so much patience for him and his garbled talking. Elder Wooshy confided Pk's throat was injured in his youth and he is very self conscious about it.  Vik'wa and I are very careful when speaking with him - we don't ask him too much to repeat himself, because he can speak slowly enough with us so as not to be rushed. His Orcish is very rough, as is his that accent but we work around it. The ganja helps him mellow out too - he's a very prickly sort usually.

I left Vik'wa and Pk for the comfort of my bed at the inn at the fourth hour of the morning, still talking away. I was making my way back to the Valley of Honor when I happened upon an interesting sight - hyenas in the city. Valley of Spirits is a fairly quiet space, so long as you aren't an asshole. My first mistake was assuming the handler of these amazing hyenas was some friendly troll. They turned out to be a very rude, older goblin that drew his weapon on me, as though I were coming to rob him or harm his beasts. (Which I wasn't doing!) I was given the chance to meet his hyenas (one reddish in color, the other a more orange color) on the chance he find something of note in my bags - to be honest I agreed because he seemed way too ready to turn an arrow loose on me. I was unarmed and dressed in simples, so I had no way to defend myself. He took my show display of teeth in exchange, and was none too friendly about it. We parted ways very quickly afterwards - I was all to happy to leave, he seemed more prickly than Pk'tow, if that can be believed. He said I was the longest conversation he'd had in four years. I DID give him my card.. maybe we'll meet again, but I won't be surprised if we don't. I hope he'll be ok though.  I think his name was Gadai, if I heard him correctly.

My third day in Orgrimmar saw me running in to an orc (a friendly orc!) of the Mag'har people. He had a rich red-brown skin, so unlike the green skinned kind I am used to seeing. His name was Grakkar, with a huge bull kodo named Kronk.  They, as it turned out, were suppliers in Stormsong Valley. They were signed on to the Horde via contract - the sort of thing Ginja wants us to do again, like in Darkshore. We discussed the merits of kodo as beasts of burden (his was very friendly) and the similarities of our respective trades. We both travel with the same goods, though his is with way more weapons than we carry. We carry mainly knives for cooking, where he deals with all manner weapons. We're looking to start carrying weapons, but easing into it. It's tricky, we're noncombatants as much as possible and don't want to contribute to the faction war that's going on, or murder or something dreadful. I was talking to a blacksmith a hour after talking to Grakkar, to discuss the merits of spears and daggers in hunting and defense. Grakkar was such a gracious erson, all to willing to pass the time - it was really refreshing. Not everyone in Orgrimmar is so willing to chat. Most are just passing through, or nursing dark thoughts in the mug of beer.

I met with Vik'wa and Pk'tow before we left for the ship in Durotar (it always runs late), sharing a joint before heading out. Something tells me the two of them shared some extra time together, but they weren't telling. But when Pk'tow hugs someone it's notable! I'll maybe hear about it later from Vik'wa over our crystals tonight. I sort of can't wait to hear about their time together!

I'm back in Zuldazar; we'll be here for a while. Maybe I can write to Ohanjo.. he seemed mildly curious about visiting. I'd really prefer to go back to the Broken Horn Tribe's village - it's very welcoming there.  But in the mean time I have to run figure with Ginja - she's got a backlog she forgot about over the holiday. Bye for now.