"There are two Stockades in Stormwind. One is the dungeon we're about to run, and the other holds even more dangerous criminals. Unfortunately, for some reason, Blizzard abandoned that one halfway through development. You can see its entrance from the riverbank, but there's no way to get inside."
Gabryell reached level 27, and Carlos and the others smoothly hit level 25, making them ready to challenge Stormwind The Stockade.
He led the group to the dungeon entrance, aiming to secure the first clear before the Madhouse.
"Actually, there are quite a few abandoned instances in Azeroth. You'll learn about them eventually."
Gabryell couldn't help but poke fun at Blizzard. Some dungeons were left unfinished mid-development. The most famous among them in vanilla was Grim Batol, which Blizzard only revisited after Cataclysm, finally completing the previously unfinished portion.
Of course, what Gabryell cared about most was the level 62 elite red dragon in Grim Batol. Back in WoW Classic, he had farmed it for two full months, killing over ten thousand mobs and getting tons of purple drops—yet never once seeing Teebu's Blazing Longsword.
"The Madhouse team is here."
Carlos, who had been keeping watch, suddenly called out, "Dreamshade's leading them."
Gabryell turned his camera and saw Dreamshade arriving with four Madhouse members, stopping near the Enchanting shop.
He checked them one by one. Besides Dreamshade's Rogue, there was the Human Warrior Gorak, the Human Priest SilkHair, the Gnome Mage Frostwind, and the Night Elf Hunter FadedGlory.
"The Madhouse's main squad. Main tank, priest lead, mage lead, and hunter lead."
In Gabryell's previous life, all five of them had taken part in the first clear of Naxxramas in Tichondrius. Their strength was undeniable.
Dreamshade walked up to Gabryell's Mage and typed in public chat: "Ogabs, I didn't expect you to hit level 27 in just half a day. That's seriously impressive."
Gabryell had practically reached level 27 at the same time as Dreamshade, nearly making him doubt himself while turning in elite quests in Redridge.
"You'll get used to it," Gabryell said with a smile.
Dreamshade said, "We started the Stockade at the same time, and our levels are the same. You've got two healers, while we have more DPS. In terms of comp, we've got the edge."
Igor frowned. "I'm DPS right now."
Gorak scoffed. "Come on. A Retribution Paladin's DPS isn't even higher than mine with a shield."
"Can you heal?" Igor shot back. "I can DPS, tank, and heal."
SilkHair cut in, "Does a bit of everything, good at none. Pretty much useless."
That line hit like an AoE taunt. Even Lunatori, who usually kept her cool, couldn't stay quiet.
"You were still slower than us in The Deadmines."
With Lunatori speaking up, Hugo immediately followed, "This time in The Stockade, we'll clear it faster than you."
Frostwind said, "Last time we started a bit late and gave you the advantage. This time we're at the same level. You're not getting first clear again."
FadedGlory added, "We're both Hunters. Let's have a duel sometime." His words were clearly aimed at Hugo.
Gabryell and Dreamshade didn't stop the exchange. This kind of rivalry was exactly what drove improvement. Without competition, there was no progress.
"Looks like our guilds are going to be competing from now on, all the way to Maraudon," Dreamshade said.
"You're wrong," Gabryell replied. "We'll be competing long after that. Maraudon isn't the end. It's just the beginning. There are plenty more dungeons ahead."
Dreamshade laughed. "Exactly. That's the kind of competition we like."
The two guilds were rivals, not enemies. Healthy competition would only benefit both sides.
"Freedom's here too."
Gorak's Warrior turned to look behind him.
Both groups stopped arguing and looked toward the canal bridge, where another party was heading toward the Stockade.
Among them, Gabryell spotted a familiar face—the same guy he had sheeped into frustration outside Ironforge.
"NoobSlayer," level 24, holding a Gilded Buckler dropped by Miner Johnson in The Deadmines.
The Freedom party had five members: besides the Gnome Warrior NoobSlayer, there was the level 24 Gnome Mage Bruiser, level 24 Gnome Warlock GrimBeater, level 24 Dwarf Paladin KingsReturn, and level 25 Gnome Rogue Merciless.
"An average level 24 group, coming for the Stockade?"
Gabryell couldn't help but laugh. NoobSlayer, Bruiser, and GrimBeater were clearly friends in real life. The Dwarf Paladin was a standard PvE healer. Dwarves weren't that different from Humans. The Gnome Rogue was nimble and strong in PvP, but for sword builds, Humans had the advantage.
Looking at this group of short races, Gabryell finally understood why Freedom always lagged behind the Madhouse in dungeon progression, forever stuck as second place in Tichondrius.
"A Dwarf Warrior main tank. How is that supposed to compete with a Human Warrior?"
Gabryell had once advised NoobSlayer to reroll a Human Warrior, but the guy had taken it as mockery instead of advice.
As long as NoobSlayer remained Freedom's main tank, they would never surpass the Madhouse in progression.
"There's always been a spy from Freedom in our guild," Dreamshade whispered. "They probably heard we were coming to the Stockade and rushed over to try and steal the first clear."
Gabryell replied, "They've only got one level 25 Rogue. They'll wipe badly in there. Not much of a threat."
Dreamshade said, "Merciless used to play a Hunter in beta. After clashing with us a few times, he switched to Rogue at launch."
"He's targeting you," Gabryell said.
Same-faction players couldn't PvP freely. If Freedom's guild leader chose Rogue, it wasn't to fight random players. He was clearly aiming to challenge Dreamshade for the title of Tichondrius's top Rogue.
"A half-baked Rogue. Not worth worrying about," Dreamshade sneered.
As the top Rogue in Tichondrius, he wasn't just strong in PvE—he was also the first to reach Grand Marshal in PvP.
"I'm looking forward to your Rogue showdown," Gabryell said.
Same faction couldn't PK, but they could duel. If nothing changed, just like in his previous life, Tichondrius would hold its first dueling tournament in about a month.
Dreamshade was full of confidence. "He's got no chance against me. Fighting you would be more interesting."
"Plenty of chances to duel in the future," Gabryell said.
Fighting someone at Dreamshade's level was actually fun—not like bullying someone like NoobSlayer, which just got boring fast.
The Freedom team arrived at the Stockade entrance. The moment NoobSlayer saw Gabryell, he rushed straight over and stopped right in front of his Mage.
When enemies meet, tensions flare instantly. If you could see him behind the screen, his eyes would be bloodshot, his expression filled with fury—as if he wanted to tear Gabryell's Mage apart on the spot.