Names

  Us warlocks tend to think about names more than other people. Names are important to us. You know a demon's name, you can summon that demon. That's why we always get the same ones, not like mages with their generic nameless elementals. (That's 'cause of the difference between demons and elementals, y'see, where demons are individuals and elementals are just sort of facets of one big natural force... anyway.)

  Names of places are important too. Revealing. Well, some of them anyway. A lot of places got 'named' when the person making the map pointed at something and asked a local "what's that?" ...and since they were usually talking to someone who didn't know their language well if at all, a lot of places are called something like "I don't know, what?" or "Your finger, you fool!" It could even be something like "Piss off and stop bothering me, you weirdo!"

  And then there are the places which so obviously deserve a particular name that the mapmaker doesn't bother asking a local, and just writes down the first word that comes into their head. Like... Winterspring is frikkin' cold. Desolace is frikkin' desolate. I'd be willing to guess that Hillsbrad has some hills somewhere. And the Barrens might as well be called the Borings.

  You guessed it. I got sent to the Barrens. Damn apothecary couldn't walk the stupid worg heart here by himself... eh, he's paying me. There is frikkin' well NOTHING HERE! Dead grass and flat land and the sun beating down on you and that's IT. Can't even take a break under a tree 'cause every bit of shade here is already inhabited by things with big teeth. Oh sure, there's an oasis or two, but you gotta fight centaurs and hyenas and so on to get to the water, and then you gotta strain the huge snapping turtles out of it before you can drink any. Sheesh.

  Whatever. I'm gonna make my delivery, get the heck outta here back to somewhere with some green in the scenery, and keep a lookout for anywhere called LockLootLode.