Windshear Crag

Windshear Crag once was a massive old-growth forest nestled in a valley in the Stonetalon Mountains.

History
The once green landscape is now a barren area of tree stumps, polluted waters, and creaking machinery. The Crag is now home to a massive logging expedition by the Venture Company. The entire logging operation was put in the hands of Gerenzo Wrenchwhistle, a gnome who is now more machine than gnome. Using his mechanical expertise, he built the Super Reaper 6000 which can reduce the most massive trees to sawdust. He watches over the crag from a platform built above the Cragpool Lake.

In the southeast corner of Windshear Crag lies the Windshear Mine. Kobolds occupy the mine and are digging for Smoky Iron Ingots. In the northeast corner is the Talondeep Path. This cave stretches under the mountains and exits in Ashenvale. Nearby the entrance is Braug Dimspirit, a tauren that administers the Test of Lore to members of the Horde.

Pearl of Pandaria
By the time of the war against the Lich King, the crag was completely deforested by the Company. Li Li Stormstout and Strongbo, who was angered by this, arrived here and continued to a hidden valley, containing indellium, which was also previously ravaged by the goblins.

Cataclysm
Since the Cataclysm, a large majority of the Venture Company has been removed and replaced by members of the Alliance and Horde. The lumber mill is currently under control of the Horde. A path into Ashenvale was carved out by the Horde, but they're currently under attack by Alliance forces. The Water Wheel is currently under control by the few remaining Venture Company personal.

The entrance to the Crag from Webwinder Path has been taken by the Alliance and Windshear Hold established with an inn and flight path. To the southeast of Windshear Hold and across the Crag the Horde have established Krom'gar Fortress, with their own inn and flight master, and also their own mine; Goblin and Gnome machines fight in the valley below.

In the RPG
Windshear Crag is the hotbed of Venture Company activity in the mountains, and the area is swarming with dozens of machines. The most impressive of these is a unique, tanklike logging machine called the Super Reaper 6000 — and while the machine is used primarily for cutting wood, I have no doubt that the goblins have rigged every inch of it with some sort of explosive device. Goblin shredders, including the XT-9 and XT-4 prototypes, also strip the land, albeit with somewhat less speed than the Super Reaper. The area is littered with mines (of both the "ore-filled" and "damn, I stepped on a —" kinds), excavation sites and gyrocopter landing pads. Nearby, travelers might find Ziz Fizziks, a goblin who works with the trade princes. Ziz works to retrieve plans that a disloyal goblin stole and sold to the Venture Company.

This cut in the mountains leads from the southern border of Ashenvale into the stormy canyons of the Stonetalons.