The half-spider, half-humanoid viziers once served as advisors, sorcerers, and seers to the mighty nerubian spiderlords. But in the aftermath of the War of the Spider, the tables turned, and in the vacuum of their collapsed society, the cunning viziers rose to power. Utilizing their sorcery and high intelligence, the viziers have emerged as the rulers of the nerubians' underground kingdom.

It is rumored that the viziers themselves may serve an unseen emperor, one who is destined to lead the ancient spider-people to a final victory over the Scourge. While many can only speculate as to the existence of this nerubian emperor, some continue to investigate the link believed to exist between the nerubians and the vicious insect race known as the qiraji.

Plague eruptors are the latest experiment of the Lich King, designed to spread horror and chaos across the world of the living. These walking corpses have quickly earned a reputation as the most destructive of the Scourge army: hyper-violent, incredibly strong, and deceptively fast. The most terrifying weapons in the eruptors' arsenal are the myriad pulsing nodules that dominate their rotting skin. It is from these nodules that the undead plague festers and bursts, insuring that wherever the eruptors go, they quickly spread the Lich King's apocalyptic contagion.

The powerful and ferocious shovel tusks are easily identified by the massive curved antler which protrudes from their heads and the twin sloping tusks that extend from their jaw. The moose-like beasts use their tusks primarily to dig for food, whereas the antler makes for a fearsome ramming weapon in contests to establish dominance over other males.

The shovel tusks are territorial and will protect their feeding grounds with deadly force. Adventurers traveling in Northrend would be wise to avoid these cantankerous and unpredictable beasts.

The Explorers' League has scoured the far corners of the world, seeking to uncover the truth behind the origins of the dwarves. Now it seems they may be one step closer to unlocking the secrets of the past.

The latest clues come from ancient dig sites within the Howling Fjord, where the iron dwarves were first encountered. Etched with runes of power - and with lightning pulsing beneath their thick, metallic skin - they may represent the missing link between the dwarves and the legendary titans of myth. Unfortunately the malevolent iron dwarves have openly defied the Explorers' League and seem intent on destroying any and all artifacts connecting them to the shadowed recesses of history.

This tenacious, stoic race knows all too well the rigors of living in the harsh and often deadly wastes of Northrend. Over time, the taunka - whom many believe to be ancestral cousins of the tauren - have adapted, but only by forcing the land and the elements to yield to their will. The taunka's relationship with nature, unlike that of their tauren brethren, has been one of constant struggle and grim perseverance.

Although the taunka may seem dour or even cold to outsiders, those who come to know them will soon recognize an embattled race of survivors characterized by colossal hearts and unshakable resolve.