Children’s Week (1-7 May)
| Be strong Randis, and aspire to be the hero you were meant to be. |
Heed the spirits, young Grunth. It is there that true heroes hear their calling. |
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There are costs with war… ones often overlooked. Those costs are the orphans - children who have lost their parents to the far-too-numerous conflicts that rage across Azeroth. Those children who have no one else to turn to often come here to live until they are old enough to fend for themselves. One week out of the year during the Spring, …[we take] time to give something back to these innocents. This time is called Children’s Week. - Orphan Matron Battlewail, Orgrimmar |
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Alliance and Horde characters have different (though similar) quests for this season (event page may be found here). The main Children’s Week questline involves taking a young orphan to see the sights of Azeroth. This isn’t the most complex quest series, but can lead you to parts of Azeroth you haven’t seen before (some of our guild members had never seen the lighthouse in Westfall, for instance). If you already have the appropriate griff routes, you can complete the entire series in about 45 minutes (shorter if you’re a mage with ‘ports, of course). It’s a decent amount of all-team reputation for the time (4900 xp (2.94g for max-level characters), 1035 Alliance or Horde rep). For the Alliance, the quests begin with Orphan Matron Nightingale who is standing outside the Stormwind Orphanage at the eastern end of Cathedral Square. For the Horde, the quests begin with Orphan Matron Battlewail at the northern end of the Valley of Honor behind the mining trainer (across the lake from the fishing trainer). You need to speak with the matron and ask her about Children’s Week before she will give you the quest. A minimum of level 10 is required to start these quests. Please note that while mobs will not target your orphan directly, he can still be affected by AoE, so it’s safer to dismiss him while running between destinations and whistle him back up when you get there.
The whistle itself has a 2 (real-time) day lifespan, but if your whistle expires during the Children’s Week event, you can request a replacement whistle from the Orphan Matron.
After the initial quest, which just requires you to summon and speak to the orphan, the orphan will give you three tourist quests. After completing all three quests, the orphan will add the autograph quest and the ice cream quest. Finally, the orphan gives you the quest to turn in the whistle and claim your reward. In 2006, the rewards were upgraded from merely xp and rep to allow your choice of a (bind on pickup) non-combat pet (rat, turtle, or piglet) or a pouch of 5g (Curmudgeon’s Payoff, “A bag of 5 gold. For those who like telling children there’s no Great Father Winter…”).
 Mr. Wiggles the Piglet |
 Whiskers the Rat |
 Speedy the Turtle |
References:
- Orphan Matron Nightingale is probably a reference to Florence Nightingale, legendary nurse, whose foundation continues to promote nursing and care for orphans. It could also be a subtle reference to the TV series Alias, but the first explanation is a better fit.
- Randis is possibly a reference to Randis Albion, a Blizzard artist.
Coincidentally, Japan celebrates “Golden Week” from the end of April to the beginning of May. 5 May is celebrated as Children’s Day, when prayers are made for the health and happiness of boys and girls. Until fairly recently, 5 May was celebrated as “Boys’ Day,” with a separate “Girls’ Day” on 3 March. The first week of May in the United States is also Children’s Mental Health Week as part of both National Mental Health Month and Heal the Children Month.
| Quest | Given By | Description | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alliance | |||
| [60] Children’s Week Obtainable at L10 |
Orphan Matron Nightingale | Use the Human Orphan Whistle to talk with the child you will be looking after during Children’s Week. | Human Orphan Whistle, 10 Alliance rep |
| [60] Spooky Lighthouse | Randis | Take the orphan to see the lighthouse off the coast of Westfall. | 650 xp, 75 Alliance rep |
| The lighthouse is off the coast at the southwest end of Westfall, west of Demont’s Place and Moonbrook. There are L18-20 mobs in the area, but they can be avoided. | |||
| [60] The Stonewrought Dam | Randis | Take the orphan to the Stonewrought Dam in Loch Modan. You should take him to the middle of the dam so he can see out over the giant waterfall. | 650 xp, 75 Alliance rep |
| [60] The Bough of the Eternals | Randis | Take the orphan to the bank of Darnassus. The bank itself is hollowed out of a tree known as the Bough of the Eternals. | 650 xp, 75 Alliance rep |
| [60] Jaina’s Autograph | Randis | Travel to Theramore to see about getting Lady Jaina Proudmoore’s autograph for your ward. | 650 xp, 150 Alliance rep |
| Jaina is at the top of the round tower near the northern gate of Theramore. You need to talk to her and ask her for her autograph. | |||
| [60] You Scream, I Scream… | Randis | Get some Strawberry Ice Cream for your ward. The lad seems to prefer Tigule and Foror’s brand ice cream. | 650 xp, 150 Alliance rep |
| Normally, this ice cream is only sold by Brivelthwerp at the Mirage Raceway in Shimmering Flats, north of Tanaris in Kalimdor. During Children’s Week, there will be sweet vendors who have imported this treat; in Stormwind, Emmithue Smails sells these near the mailbox by the bank. They come in units of 5, so you can usually find others willing to sell you a single cone. | |||
| [60] A Warden of the Alliance | Randis | Turn in your whistle to Orphan Matron Nightingale and bid Randis a fond farewell until next year. | Your choice of:
1650 xp, 500 Alliance rep |
| Horde | |||
| [60] Children’s Week Obtainable at L10 |
Orphan Matron Battlewail | Use the Orcish Orphan Whistle to talk with the child you will be looking after during Children’s Week. | Orcish Orphan Whistle, 10 Horde rep |
| [60] Lordaeron Throne Room | Grunth | Go to the old Lordaeron Throne Room that lies just before descending into the Undercity. | 650 xp, 75 Horde rep |
| This is the only quest that requires going to the Eastern Kingdoms; just take quick zeppelin over and back from Orgrimmar. | |||
| [60] Down at the Docks | Grunth | Take your ward to the docks of Ratchet in the Barrens. | 650 xp, 75 Horde rep |
| [60] Gateway to the Frontier | Grunth | Take your ward to the Mor’shan Rampart in the northern part of the Barrens, just before entering Ashenvale. | 650 xp, 75 Horde rep |
| These are both within a run of Crossroads. To get credit for the Mor’shan Rampart, it is necessary to run up to the main gate. | |||
| [60] Cairne’s Hoofprint | Grunth | Travel to Thunder Bluff to see about getting Cairne Bloodhoof’s hoofprint for your ward. | 650 xp, 150 Horde rep |
| Cairne is in the Chieftain’s Tent at the highest point of the main rise in Thunder Bluff. You need to talk to him and ask him for his autograph. “Hrmm… what advice should I give to him? Listen to the spirits, yes… maybe something about eating all of his vegetables too…” - Cairne Bloodhoof |
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| [60] You Scream, I Scream… | Grunth | Get some Strawberry Ice Cream for your ward. The lad seems to prefer Tigule and Foror’s brand ice cream. | 650 xp, 150 Horde rep |
| Normally, this ice cream is only sold by Brivelthwerp at the Mirage Raceway in Shimmering Flats, north of Tanaris in Kalimdor. During Children’s Week, there will be sweet vendors who have imported this treat; in Orgrimmar, you can find the sweet treats vendor Alowicious Czervik standing off the path leading to the bank. They come in units of 5, so you can usually find others willing to sell you a single cone. | |||
| [60] A Warden of the Horde | Grunth | Turn in your whistle to Orphan Matron Battlewail and bid Grunth a fond farewell until next year. | Your choice of:
1650 xp, 500 Horde rep |
Special thanks to Worgul of Alexstrasza, Orc Hunter, for supplying the Horde quest information.
Children Say the Darn’dest Things
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Do fish ever get thirsty? I’ve been to Ironforge before. It smells funny there. Did you just come out of a dungeon? Did you get me anything? What happens if your snot freezes in your nose? If overalls are held up by the snaps at the top, then why do they have belt loops? Mushrooms always grow in damp places and so they look like umbrellas. When I grow up, I wanna be the king of Stormwind! If you try to fail and succeed, what did you just do? |
What does “zug zug” mean? I have a rock in my nose. If you’re a real hero of the Horde, then I wanna see you fight a dragon! Yeah! If your glove is too big, does it still fit like a glove? Your armor looks scary. Are you scary too? If a turtle doesn’t have a shell, is he homeless or naked? Would a fly without wings be called a walk? When lightning strikes the ocean why don’t all the fish die? |
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