Lakeshire

Lakeshire (or Lakewood) is a human town that sits on the banks of the majestic and large Lake Everstill. It is located in the Redridge Mountains, and its citizens are under the watchful and often worried eye of elected Magistrate Solomon. Recently, after many years, the bridge to Lakeshire was finally repaired.

Redridge is classified as a contested zone but contains no Horde flight point or quests. However, it is a very short ride away from the Burning Steppes, a high-level zone, and thus many Horde players choose to engage in raids there.

First War and aftermath
During the First War, Warchief Blackhand led a small orc raiding party into the Redridge Mountains, seeking to claim Lakeshire as a Horde stronghold. Anduin Lothar led his knights down the slopes and ambushed the orcs and almost succeeded in defeating them. Blackhand was accompanied by two Shadow Council warlocks who turned the tide of battle and forced Lothar to retreat. Blackhand and the other survivors left the area as well but returned after several weeks with a larger force and took Lakeshire and the surrounding land.

Following the Second War, Lakeshire and Redridge would be retaken by Stormwind.

Around the year 17, Greydon Thorne and Ceya Northbrooke wed and moved here to live in a cottage. They had their son Aramar Thorne, but after six years, Greydon abandoned the family. Two years later, Magistrate Solomon declared Greydon dead, allowing Ceya to marry one of the town's blacksmiths, Robb Glade. Robb left his forge and moved to Ceya's cottage where he built a new forge alongside the cottage. Their home would be known as the Glade cottage, and they eventually had two more children. Aram spent his childhood here, learning with his step-father the blacksmith craft. Aram, his dog Soot, his friends, Stitch and Willy would play at the Lakeshire quarry.

World of Warcraft
Like Westfall and Duskwood, the Redridge Mountains was also under the theoretical protection of the Stormwind army and — like them — has been left mostly to its own devices. However, there was a small guard platoon stationed in Lakeshire to maintain order in the town and they also originally had a garrison of soldiers in Stonewatch. Stonewatch Keep however, was overrun by Blackrock orcs who were presumably fueled by the evil magic of Morganth. Shortly after their victory, Morganth turned on his orcish cohorts. He constructed an arcane tower, the Tower of Ilgalar, and used his powers to build a small army of Shadowhide gnolls led by, to serve his malicious bidding. Both orc and man had fallen victim to the brutes that serve Morganth. Meanwhile, the Blackrock orcs continued to assault Lakeshire in their bid to conquer Redridge. Lakeshire continued to fend them off but they were sorely in need of more reinforcements and supplies. During one of the Blackrock orc assaults on Lakeshire, Everstill Bridge was damaged. Foreman Oslow also led a crew of bridge workers in repairing the bridge but their work was slowed due to losing various supplies to the orc invasions.

The dwarves of Ironforge sent a group to Lakeshire's aid against the Blackrock orcs, made up of Princess Moira Bronzebezard and her retinue, but they were ambushed and captured in the Burning Steppes.

Sometime later, Helendis Riverhorn gave Magistrate Solomon evidence that the Blackrock orcs were allying themselves with the black dragonflight. Solomon relayed this information to Highlord Bolvar Fordragon and pleaded with him to mobilize the Stormwind army to contend with this grave threat to the kingdom. Bolvar however, was debilitated from sending Stormwind's thinly spread troops to aid Lakeshire without proof. Bolvar sent Alliance adventurers to Lady Katrana Prestor, who knew much of dragons and dragonkin. However, Lady Prestor thought very little of Magistrate Solomon's claims and advised against providing the military aid. Though Bolvar respected Lady Prestor's stance, he could not let Solomon's plight go unheeded and thought of a compromise to appease all parties: Bolvar deputized the adventurers and empowered them to solve Solomon's problems.

Lakeshire was under constant attack from the Blackrock orcs, Redridge gnolls, and Shadowhide gnolls; and also lacked a proper defense. Magistrate Solomon pleaded for reinforcements from all of Stormwind's territories, yet to no avail as all of Stormwind were preoccupied with their own troubles. Left to their own devices, Solomon and Marshal Marris had to enlist the aid of the adventurers to deal with the hostile orc and gnoll incursions and dispatch the prominent orc and gnoll warlords. Meanwhile, agents of Theocritus were sent to dispatch Morganth and end his evil once and for all.

Aside from gnolls and orcs, Lakeshire also faced a murloc problem and occasionally employed adventurers to cull their numbers in order to preserve Lake Everstill's fish stock.

Cataclysm
With the guidance of the dragon Darkblaze, the Dark Horde and their Redridge gnoll allies have also begun invading Redridge sometime after the Cataclysm. Although Everstill Bridge was at long last repaired, Marshal Marris stated the local guard were overwhelmed with the Dark Horde's incursions; which is further exacerbated now that the gnolls have begun raiding their supplies. The Kingdom of Stormwind has sought to consolidate Redridge's security by constructing Tower Watch on the Three Corners and stationing a garrison of Redridge Watchmen there. Many s were lined up for an audience with Magistrate Solomon, angry with his inability to deal with the Dark Horde's kidnapping of their citizens. An Alliance adventurer deputized by the Stormwind Army traveled to Redridge to aid the beleaguered Stormwind guards and reform Bravo Company to combat the threat.

John J. Keeshan led Bravo Company in an assault on Render's Valley, freeing the Redridge prisoners of war located there and then decimating it in an explosion which turned it into a crater.

Bravo Company then discovered from the prisoners that the gnolls in Galardell Valley were being controlled by a powerful magus in the Tower of Ilgalar. After retrieving the key to its entrance from General Fangore, Bravo Company confronted Grand Magus Doane, who alluded to Darkblaze — the mastermind behind the invasion — before teleporting away.

The Bravo Company later assaulted Stonewatch, the stronghold of the Blackrock orcs, which culminated in a battle against a black dragon named Darkblaze. During the battle, all members of Bravo Company were killed except for the adventurer, Colonel Troteman, and Keeshan, who jumped onto the dying dragon's back. Darkblaze flew over Lake Everstill, and after some struggle, both of them fell into the lake's waters. Both Keeshan and Darkblaze were presumed to have died in the fight, and several of Keeshan's belongings were later recovered by Lakeshire's townspeople. Colonel Troteman stated that Jorgensen, Messner, Krakauer, and Danforth would receive a proper burial.

At some point, the Cloudkicker brought Makasa Flintwill, Hackle, Murky, and Galena Stormspear to Redridge. When they disembarked, they quickly found Aram's house near the center of the village, and Makasa told the Glades her and Aram's story. The Glades allowed them to stay in the house. When Makasa went to sleep, the Voice of the Light showed her the location of another shard of the Diamond Blade - the backyard of the house. Years ago, Greydon buried it here. Upon finding another shard in a cave, Makasa's group remained in a grove close to the village. After Makasa found the final shard, they returned to the Glade house, devising the next steps of their rescue mission. After securing the help from the Everstill murlocs, Makasa and her friends left Lakeshire and Redridge, vowing to bring Aramar and Greydon back home which she successfully did. One final time, Gazlowe and the Cloudkicker came to Lakeshire to take Aramar back to Kalimdor.

Battle for Azeroth
During the Fourth War, the town's inn was infiltrated by Dark Ranger Lyana and the Horde champion in search of Varok Saurfang.

Shadowlands
Lakeshire was attacked by the Scourge when they began rampaging after the destruction of the Helm of Domination.

Phasing
The area to the north of Everstill Bridge is currently populated by Bridge Workers Alex, Trent, Matthew, Jess, Dmitri and Daniel. They are attempting to push a large boulder blocking the road, with Foreman Oslow crushed underneath. Following the quest He Who Controls the Ettins, which starts from a drop from the local gnolls, the player controls an ettin and moves the boulder as the workers cower in fear. Both the boulder and the workers will disappear following completion of this quest, and Foreman Oslow will take his new position on the dock. Note that this is actually an optional side chain to the quest Canyon Romp and it is entirely possible for the player to complete both the storyline and the achievement Redridge Mountains Quests without doing it.

Another minor bit of phasing takes place after accepting the quest It's Never Over. The water to the east of Everstill Bridge will have a riverboat during this quest, with John J. Keeshan and the members of Bravo Company on it. There is also some phasing within the Lakeshire Inn and Lakeshire Town Hall involving Keeshan's storyline.

Flight

 * Camp Everstill, Redridge Mountains (0:20)
 * Eastvale Logging Camp, Elwynn Forest (0:39)
 * The Harborage, Swamp of Sorrows (0:39)
 * Morgan's Vigil, Burning Steppes (0:56)
 * Darkshire, Duskwood (1:01)
 * Stormwind City, Elwynn Forest (1:52)
 * Sentinel Hill, Westfall (2:09)

NPCs
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Trainers


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Other

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Military

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In the RPG
Lakeshire is a sleepy town, a blessing for those who just passed through the Burning Steppes to reach Stormwind. Some travelers don't even make it to Stormwind City; they would rather stay in Lakeshire. Populated by everyone from farmers and fishers, to retired warriors and mages, it is a diverse town where people are friendly and keep their secrets to themselves. Welcoming to strangers, Lakeshire offers many inns and taverns where a traveler can enjoy ale. You can spend the day fishing on Lake Everstill, the night drinking in the tavern, and call that a good vacation. The most serious person in the town is Magistrate Solomon, who is dedicated to keeping the town safe from orcs and gnolls. He is short on supplies and always on the lookout for mercenaries. Its population is 1,500.

The people of Redridge, mainly of Lakeshire, are an easy-going folk. Although the modest town bustles with travelers and merchants, they seem content to watch the world pass them by, and spend the day fishing or sitting in their stores, discussing the politics of Stormwind and laughing that if the people up there would just relax, their problems would solve themselves. They wear a mixture of fashions, a layered look of tunics and undershirts for the chilly evenings and the warm days. Some tailors have found a sap that waterproofs clothing and sell these clothes at ridiculous prices to visiting fishers.

Twice a year, at midsummer and midwinter, Lakeshire holds the Festival of the Lake. In the summer, people fish and swim, while in the winter they ice fish and skate. And, like all good festivals, you can get a fine serving of ale during these times. In the winter, they serve their wine hot, which the high elves and half-elves seem to like.

A goblin merchant recently moved into the town looking for a place to set up shop as well as a seasoned party to get her some special items. She has a list she needs filled, including items found in several places in the mountains, even from the canyons beyond Stonewatch Falls.

The Blackrock orcs who took control over Stonewatch Keep haven't disrupted the local area too much yet, but they have made a few low-key assaults on the Lakeshire humans. If they grow much bolder, they'll attract some unwelcome attention from Stormwind.

Film universe
Lakeshire is shown falling to the Horde.

Speculation
While it not named as such, the human town of the The Red Ridge Mountains Warcraft: Orcs & Humans orc mission may be Lakeshire considering the big river at the center of the map could be Lake Everstill.