It is when the gryphon suddenly turns left and the air around gets that bluish, hazy texture, that you know you are entering Duskwood. Away goes the golden Elwynn sunset – so sweet in this time of the year – and deep you dive into the dark, silent woods, up to the small hill where Darkshire flight station is. In these days Darkshire is gloomier than usual, while its inhabitants are suffering from the unexpected onset of a mysterious disease, called, not without some exaggeration, a new ‘plague’ by someone. This strange epidemic has started quite abruptly some week ago and, even though the exact number of victims is not clear, it appears that it has diffused rapidly, affecting both Darkshire resident population and some travellers who had stopped by the village. The holy order of the Shield of Light is operating in the area, trying to contain, cure and study the disease. Another organization, The Shield of the Dawn, has been appointed to make sure any similar threat doesn’t reach Stormwind, where many circles and communities are getting concerned about general safety. Just landed to Darkshire, I am received by Sir Richard Tisdale, High Protector of the Shield of Light. “The disease is transmitted via ingestion of contaminated food and water. After its outbreak we started to investigate the possibility of someone actively spreading it,” sir Tisdale reveals to me, and then he heads towards the well opposite the main square. “We took a number of water and food samples, and naturally the well was one of them. From what we can gather, the water in it has been poisoned. Water is currently brought here from the brook up north, and it is under guard both day and night to prevent sabotage.” He rests his heavily-clad hand on the thick lid which is now sealing the well. “Any idea about who can be responsible of this heineous action?” I ask. “Well… Around these parts there's the obvious villain, but we cannot say for sure.” I suppose that sir Tisdale is hinting at notorious, extravagant local types like the Embalmer or Morbent Fel, and mention them. “Yes, or an agent of the Scourge.” I nod, while bad reminiscences about past attempts to poison the water in our very capital start surfacing in my mind… I will leave to my readers to draw any possible connections to past stories – with the warning that of course similarities in situations and criminal ‘modus operandi’ do not necessarily imply that the same hands are behind different crimes. Part 2