He soon found that the world was nothing as peaceful as the Elders in Ak'Anon portrayed it to be. Around Ak'Anon, Horkin assisted the guards in wiping out the endless vermin that stream out of the hills like water from a spring. After perfecting is world-famous Rat Sandwiches, Horkin moved further out into the Steamfont Mountains. He soon realized that the skeletons and pumas were too much for him, so he abandoned his goal of wiping out the Kobold scourge and left for parts unknown.

Horkin wandered into the elven lands, and after a few run-ins with the Orcish Hordes outside Crushbone, he enlisted as an auxiliary guard for the City of Kelethin. On Orc Hill, he made a name for himself, slaying many Orcs, and providing safety and first aid for many young elven warriors, including a young Grimstaff. After a brief, and unfortunate, foray into Crushbone, he wandered back to Ak'Anon to let his family know that he was well, and to drop off a huge (by normal standards) sum of money to support them.

His mage training was going well, so he set off to even the score with the Kobolds, skeletons and pumas in Steamfont. It was during these trips that he found the Minotaur caves, whose vile and maleficent denizens were terrorizing the lands. While slaying skeletons and the unholy free earth elementals, Horkin had many encounters with minotaurs, and most went badly for him. He still bears the scars that many slavers and the dreaded Hero has given him. It was time to turn his great power and his tenacity against the minotaurs.

During this time period, Horkin once more met Grimstaff (now somewhat more powerful), a barbarian shaman named Tanul, and a bard named Aaprim. He adventured with all of them, and after a horrible day in which Horkin had had just about enough from the Minotaur Hero, he turned to fight that which he could not beat, in defense of others. The Minotaur Hero struck Horkin down, but it was such an act of courage (his parents would call it stupidity), Horkin was nominated by Tanul to join the ranks of the Protectors of the Five. After a cleric resurrected him, Horkin set off for the frozen wastes of Everfrost.

It was here that Gillit, a fellow gnome practitioner of the Arcane, asked Horkin if he would take the Test of Courage. Horkin made his decision quickly, for this seemed a perfect opportunity to advance his goals of seeing all of Norrath. The test took place in that most horrible of Bastions of Evil, Permafrost, and during the test, all the Defenders of Goodness in the place fell or fled, such was the heinousness of the place. Horkin emerged from Permafrost, somewhat battered, but alive. This was enough evidence for Moonglum Gnollsbane, and Horkin was accepted onto the Path of Courage. Since then, he has seen almost all of Norrath, and is quite a happy little baker's son.