Although the Light"s Hope Chapel was neutral, the main city closest to it was Undercity.
This maze was originally under the capital of Lordaeron. The Forgotten Ones had built tunnels, caves and all sorts of structures within it. Sylvanas dwelled in this city and directed her Undead army to resist against the Scourge Army.
Sylvanas Windrunner was once a Ranger General of Silvermoon City; she protected Quel"Thalas, the Elf Kingdom.
She died in the third war and her home was destroyed by Arthas and the Scourge Army, but death was not her final destination – Arthas had taken her soul from her body and turned her into a hateful demoness. She had become one of the Scourge Army.
When Illidan Stormwind"s attacks successfully weakened the Lich King, Sylvanas and other strong-willed Undead escaped from its control. They built a new home in the ruins of Lordaeron and called themselves the "Forgotten Ones", swearing their revenge to the Lich King regardless of the price.
However, not all of the Undead Army were loyal to their Queen.
From what Lu Li has heard, there was an organization called the "Royal Apothecary Society" that studied alchemy, poison, diseases and other evil alchemic arts. Their leader – the Master Apothecary Faranell – had sent out countless Forgotten Ones to Plaguelands.
At the moment, Varimathras was the right-hand and advisor to Sylvanas. Varimathras was once Sylvanas" greatest enemy, but he betrayed the Scourge Army and Burning Legion and joined forces with her.
Without a doubt, Varimathras was in great position of power.
Besides following the Queen"s commands, Varimathras also gave out quests to players in private, asking them to slay the Paladins in the Plaguelands.
The Queen had been offended by the Scarlet Crusade, so all Paladins became her target.
Besides the strong monsters in Plaguelands, the players who helped the Forgotten Ones were also a threat.
With the Forgotten Ones leading them, other Horde players had a great advantage in this map. It was harder for Alliance players to try and set up a foundation here. This dungeon was similar to the Scarlet Crusade in the sense that they both favored Horde players.
This was precisely why Lu Li had asked them to be careful of these players.
They had a geographical advantage, casting spells on players that pa.s.sed by and picking up the loot after they died.
When Lu Li appeared in the outer ring, the Mage that was casting Blizzard from higher ground was immediately in trouble. Lu Li swiftly killed him within a few hits; his comrades couldn"t even catch him.
These were all average players and had no proper organization. Naturally, they were no threat to Lu Li.
Lu Li soon arrived at the entrance of the dungeon which was locked. The battle here was even more fierce and raged all around him.
As he waited for the others to arrive, some Alliance players began to gather with them. Those who stood in their way only lost experience.
People killed those who killed – this was simple karma.
Lu Li and the others attacked them from in front and behind, clearing out a safe zone in front of the dungeon before entering.
Nightmare Mode!
Lu Li wasn"t interested in the gears from Elite mode. His teammates were used to Nightmare mode already and were not surprised at all.
Twenty years ago, the Scourge Army had begun to invade the Lordaeron Kingdom, releasing their deadly Undead corruption.
The only son of King Terenas – Prince Arthas – was in charge of resisting the Scourge Army.
However, as the war progressed, the numbers of the Undead only grew. More and more Human soldiers and civilians were corrupted and became new members of the Undead.
As he faced an evil that could not be stopped, fear and hopelessness led Arthas to a crazy conclusion.
To stop the civilians of Stratholme from joining the Scrouge Army, Arthas ordered the city to be slaughtered. This caused the disbanding of the Knights of the Silver Hand. Arthas and his teacher, Uther the Lightbringer, also parted ways at this point.
The prosperous Statholme became h.e.l.l within a night. The landlord of Stratholme, Baron Rivendare was meeting with King Terenas in the Capital of Lordaeron. By the time he received news that his city had been wiped out, half a month had already pa.s.sed.
On the way to the old capital of the Blood Elves, Arthas pa.s.sed by the ruins of Stratholme again. There, he met Baron Rivendare, who had sworn to avenge all the civilians of the city.
"Esarus thar no"Darador!" [TLN: World of Warcraft term that means with Blood for Honor!]
The motto that had countless Paladins join the battle echoed in the air of that time.
Under the leaders.h.i.+p of the Brave Baron Rivendare, the Knights of the Silver Hand charged and engaged in a fierce battle with the Death Knight Arthas.
In the end, Baron Rivendare was slain by Arthas, who seemed to have limitless power.
The Baron fell off his horse and died in the city that he had sworn to protect.
Not long after, he opened his eyes once again, but they were no longer filled with dignity and justice. Instead, they were filled with an evil surge of darkness and emptiness. His soul had been controlled by Frostmourne and he was now another Death Knight under Arthas, following him on his quest to take down Quel"Thalas.
After these events, a seal that locked away the Lich King, Ner"Zhul, was broken by Illidan"s spell. Arthas was called back to Northrend in an emergency.
Sylvanas Windrunner, who had escaped from the control of Arthas, led half of the Undead army in an attempt to revolt against Arthas" dictators.h.i.+p.
In order to return as soon as possible to protect the Lich King, Arthas gave his authority over to his second-in-charge, Kel"Thuzad.
Baron Rivendare was sent back to Stratholme City and commanded the Scourge Army that resided in the North of Lordaeron. Now, the Death Knight Baron Rivendare reigned alone in Stratholme as he continued to lead his Undead troops into war.
Players had to kill this Baron who betrayed his loyalty in order to complete the Stratholme dungeon.
Lu Li really enjoyed this dungeon. Even though the difficulty was high, it dropped a lot of good equipment – even mounts.
Baron Rivendare became one of the most slain Bosses because he could drop the Deathcharger"s Reins. The Runeblade of Baron Rivendare was also an exquisite weapon.