Nek'rosh's Gambit

"Damaged Apprentice Journal" is a book in Dalaran which can spawn in place of The Schools of Arcane Magic.^{[52.2, 54.8]}

Contents

Damaged Apprentice Journal

<The majority of the book's pages are missing or soiled beyond recovery. A few of the early entries and the name 'Darius Orion' are still legible.>

Dec. 2 of the Year 20

The cold this year has been particularly cruel. I find that no matter how many layers I wear under my robes, the frost cuts deep into my bones. The masters say that it will pass but I have trouble believing that at times.

A small group of workers from an outlying farm near Andorhal were brought in this morning and taken to the infirmary within the Violet Citadel. I do not know much about what ails them but I overheard one of them complaining about weakness and nausea. I hope the masters choose me to aid them in working to treat the farmers.

2 hours later

What luck! One of the masters informed me that I will be working with the men who were brought in from Andorhal earlier. I intend to make good use of this opportunity to show how far I have come in my studies.

6 hours later

This is not turning out to be quite as glorious as I had planned. The farmers' conditions have deteriorated quickly in their short time here. One has developed irritated boils covering large portions of his skin. I have treated the most seriously afflicted with some of the most powerful herbs and poultices available in the citadel. There should be some noticeable improvement within the next few hours.

10 hours later

The situation has quickly gotten out of control. all of the subjects are now covered in lesions which leak yellow-green fluid. All but a few that are awake alternate between complaints of paralyzing numbness and burning aches in their joints. All of the subjects are showing a milky coloring in their eyes.

Our attempts to slow the progress of the illness have been unsuccessful. Word has spread among the apprentices that this disease may be magical in nature: the masters were quick to quash the rumors. Many of the working with on this project have excused themselves for fear that the disease is contagious and capable of penetrating our personal wards.

I excused myself to take a walk out on one of the terraces to clear my thoughts. I could not have been outside for more than a couple minutes when I had to run back inside. My hands and feet had gone numb and my nose and ears were showing the symptoms of mild exposure to frostbite. I will have to be more careful next time.

13 Hours Later

Light Save us.

The subjects have begun severe hemorrhaging from the eyes and ears. The masters believe they will all be dead within the hour. All attempts to halt the progress of the disease have failed. I have done what I can to ease their pain. I only hope that we can learn what we need from them after their deaths. No one should suffer as these men have suffered. I plan to say with them until the end.

To make matters worse one of the guards found the body of a first year apprentice in the gardens. It has not been confirmed yet but the rumors are that he froze to death. I do not think it has been this cold here in Dalaran in decades, if ever.

18 Hours Later

The farmers from Andorhal are dead, I thought they would finally be at peace but I was wrong. Only a few minutes after the last one breathed his last breath something horrifying happened. Their disease riddled corpses somehow animated and began clawing at myself and the other mages in the infirmary. Once the initial confusion passed one of the masters organized a force to deal with the animated bodies. The undead quickly fell to our combined arcane might.

There were minimal casualties. A few of the apprentices had been scratched; one had a nasty bite that required stitches. Shortly afterward guards arrived and escorted myself and the other apprentices to our rooms. I tried to learn what was going on but they would not answer me. As we were being led through the halls to our rooms we passed by several troupes of guards with weapons drawn and readied. Is this what war feels like?

After I was brought to my room I was told to lock the door and not come out until I was told by a master personally that it was safe to leave. What is going on? Has the world gone mad?

24 Hours Later

I have been awake for over twenty-four hours now. I am exhausted but my room is too cold to sleep. I managed to complete a sending and contact a couple of the other apprentices who are trapped in their rooms. Through them I was able to learn what has the citadel on high alert. The masters are organizing search parties to locate the necromancer who was responsible for animating the corpses of the diseases farmers.

There has not been a practicing necromancer in Dalaran since Kel'Thuzad. I hope the monster responsible for the horrors I have seen today is brought to justice soon.

38 Hours Later

The quarantine has been lifted and we apprentices are finally allowed to leave our rooms. The necromancer responsible for animating the dead farmers was never caught but the masters are confident that he is not within the citadel or anywhere near Dalaran.

We have resumed our efforts to learn more about the disease. Work has been slow due to most of the bodies having been obliterated. The masters have called in Lady Jaina Proudmoore to aid in our research. She will teleport here by the end of the day. I hear she is quite beautiful; hopefully working with Lady Proudmoore will help me keep my mind off of this damned cold.

<The journal is too badly damaged to read beyond this point.>

Other Notes

It may have been written by Apprentice Darius. A small clue to support this is that throughout the journal he mentions cold many times, one of the original two items Darius sold was the pattern to create  [The Frozen Eye], which may be a reference to the cold.

External links

• Wowhead
• WoWDB