After the exciting adventures in the Citadel proper, I decided to pursue a somewhat nagging problem: when I had shown up to the front door, the vast majority of my group weren't visible. I could see their 'dots' on my mini-map, but that was the only proof I had they were in the area until I was inside the portal.
I deduced it must have been a 'phasing' dealie, which I'd seen before...notably during the Wrathgate saga, but now I was intrigued. Why was it phased here? More importantly, what did I need to do to be 'in phase' next time?
I flew around the entrance and watched hordes of undead battle the staunch Ebon Blade defenders. There were no quest keepers-- the answer must lie elsewhere.
After searching through the zone, I found what might have been the answer: a ragtag group of Ebon Bladesmen standing around waiting for me to help them. All total, they gave me a half-dozen quests around the area and into Crystalsong Forest. My reward was a "bread crumb" quest that took me to a small encampment on a ridge. I was tasked with planting a banner atop a ridge and defending it against waves of undead. My kind of mission!
I flew over to the ridge only to find another player engaged in the same quest. I landed nearby and watched with bemusement as he and a squadron of NPCs fought against the teeming throng. An aura was eminating from the banner that effectively kept my mana topped off, so I knew when it was my turn, I'd have little problems spamming Blizzard as much as I liked. In the meantime, I passed the time watching villagers running around trying to repair small burning huts that had been constructed on the overlook.
Much to my surprise, when the other player finished my quest updated as successful. I immediately felt slightly guilty for not killstealing-- err, helping-- him out, but he was gone in a flash, presumably to turn in the quest. Naturally I followed suit.
I got sent back to the same ridge, but when I arrived, I discovered that it was a phased zone as well. The burning hovels had been replaced by a formidable tower now populated by vendors, a flight path, and a guy called "Fordring". I recognized him from the Citadel, so I figured I was on the right track.
My adventures from that point varied widely from one end of Icecrown to the other, as I killtenratted my way to glory. I was sent to fields of undead, the floating gunship Skybreaker, and even to save some hero I probably should've known from becoming a servant of the MFLK in undeath. Finally, I was sent to the Citadel, to a secret area underneath.
My mission? Killtenrats. I really should know by now. Afterwards, it got a bit more interesting.
While attempting to set off some explosives under the citadel (Ah ha! Maybe this will change the terrain!), I was blown into a pit and fell for a long while. I braced myself for the impact, but landed in a pool of water. When I climbed out, I saw I was in a large subterranean cavern populated with enough tentacled Lovecraftian critters to give a bus full of Japanese schoolgirls nightmares for life. There was also a spectral child who demanded I collect blood from them (The Lovecraftian horrors, not the schoolgirls).
After doing so, the creepy kid bade me check out a frozen lump in the water, but afterwards sent me back to the surface via a convenient nearby portal.
I had a feeling I'd be seeing this kid more in the future and I was right.
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