6/03/2011

On 8:36 PM by Site Admin


They Took Our Men!
Arriving at K3 in The Storm Peaks, you find yourself petitioned by a distressed goblin. Gretchen Fizzlespark tells you she was part of an expedition into the mountains that was attacked by odd, blue skinned Vrykul. The Vrykul captured all of the men, but released all of the expedition's women. You agree to get them back.

You fly to Sifreldar Village, and observe the hyldnir there. You find that many of them carry keys to the cages in and around Sifreldar. You kill a few hyldnir for their keys, and liberate the goblins held prisoner. While you're doing this, you remember that Gretchen also mentioned that the Hyldnir also took a fair amount of the expedition equipment. Thoughtfully, you pick up what you can find of it to take back with you.

Leave No Goblin Behind
Reporting back to Gretchen, you discover that you missed one. Specifically, Zeev, Gertchen's brother. Gretchen asks you to look around The Forlorn Mine, since that seems to be where they send a lot of their captives to work.

The Crone's Bargain
While you don't immediately find Zeev, you do find something else unusual: a female captive. She accosts you, guessing correctly that you are looking for the new prisoner.

She introduces herself as Lok'lira, and offers you a deal: She'll help you get Zeev back, if you help her escape. She intends to put an illusion over you, so that you appear to be one of the Hyldnir. To do that, she needs her set of runes, currently held by one Overseer Syra.

You hold no particular love for the Hyldnir, so it is no great moral quandary to slay Syra and retrieve the runes.

Upon completing this quest, you are given the seeming of a Hyldnir. The illusion only applies if you are in humanoid form. Also, NPC Hyldnir in Sifreldar Village, the Forlorn Mine, and Brunnhildar Village who formerly regarded you as hostile will now be friendly regardless of whether the illusion currently applies or not.

Discipline
Mildred has been expecting a new Overseer (presumably to replace the one you slew earlier). She sets you to administering discipline to the male Vrykul toiling in the mines. Charming. Necessary, though, if you are to free Lok'lira.

Examples to be Made
If you had any qualms about the last job, you'll be having more bout the next one. Mildred has found the leader of the frykul resistance in the mines: one Garhal. She wants you to slay him in front of the other males, to make a lesson of him

A Certain Prisoner
Even Mildred (whose own ekename is "the Cruel") acknowledges that you are without mercy. She has found yet another task for you: kill off Lok'lira. Naturally, this involves the shackle keys you've been after all this time.

A Change of Scenery
You quickly take the keys to Lok'lira, and set her free. She's eager to get out of the mines, but you have to leave separately, to avoid suspicion. (You were told to kill her painlessly. She is gone from the mine. As long as you don't have to show anyone a body, no problem!)

Is That Your Goblin?
You make your own way to the eastern end of the mine, leading to Brunnhildar Village. There you meet with Lok'lira, who is sporting a look much like your own illusion.

And it seems you've arrived in the nick of time, too. It seems he's about to be spitted by one of the Hyldnir. You challenge her to mortal combat (not uncommon at the Hyldsmeet), and 'win' Zeev's freedom.

The Hyldsmeet
It seems that Thorim, a servant of the titans, had been a guardian of Ulduar and the Terrace of the Makers. However, when Loken killed his wife (Sif), he flew into a rage and lashed out at everyone close. This included the Sons of Hodir. The Hyldnir of Brunnhildar Village took their cue from that, resulting in a war between them and the frost giants lasting to this day. Once he recovered from his rage, Thorim sank into depression, and exiled himself to the Temple of Storms.

The Hyldsmeet is a contest to determine who gets to be Thorium's new wife. Lok'lira had come to Brunnhildr Village in an attempt to participate in the Hyldsmeet, and gain access to the Temple, hoping to get Thorim to pay attention to the world again. The Hyldnir took exception to that, and there you are.

You, by killing the Hyldnir threatening Zeev, have automatically entered the Hyldsmeet. You COULD just skip out now, but with the guardian Thorim brooding instead of guarding, taking action sounds a whole lot more useful to you.

Taking on All Challengers
Lok'lira directs you to the next round of matches. For that, you need to defeat 6 (other) Victorious Challengers.

You'll Need a Bear
For the next step, you'll need a Warbear. Lok'lira directs you to Brijana, just past the east end of Brunnhildar village. Prove yourself to her, and you will be on track to getting a war bear of your own.

Going Bearback
You go to Brijana. She does have a task to prove yourself: Ride Icefang down the valley and back, burning Frostworgs and Frost Giants alike.

You prepare yourself, and hop on Icefang's back. He apparently knows where he wants to go, and goes there without your direction. You take advantage of that to inflict pain and suffering among the foes of the Hyldnir. Brijana is satisfied with your performance, but not yet ready to help you get your bear.

Cold Hearted
Instead, she has another mission for you. The Frost Giants are holding a number of the Hyldnir prisoner, frozen in blocks of ice. This is not a proper end for a warrior! Your task is to free a number of proto-drakes from the chains that hold them, load them up with Brunnhildar prisoners, and return them home.

And isn't that the wild ride? You take your own flying mount out to Dun Niffelem time and again, releasing the shackles on a proto-drake, and directing the drakes to break the ice blocks to free the prisoners. All the while, giants are throwing their clubs at you, forcing you to dodge, weave, duck, and sometimes just take it on the wing. Still, eventually, you've returned a large number of Hyldnir to Brunnhildar.

Deemed Worthy
That, Brijana declares, is a glorious feat! (And rightly so, in your own humble opinion.) She directs you to speak to Astrid Bjornrittar, back in the village, and tell her of your accomplishments.

Making a Harness
Astrid, of course, is more than happy to tell you that the reward for a job well done is another job. In this case, that you've got to make a harness before you can ride your bear. And she knows just where to find some hides that will do.

Following her directions, you fly down the cliffs south of Brunnhildar Village and find scattered groups of Yeti. You don't have to kill many to get enough hides, but you do have to watch your step. Fortunately, you don't tumble over the cliffs to an ignominious death.

You give her the hides, and she puts together a harness for you from them.

The Last of Her Kind
Now, what you need is the bear itself. Astrid directs you to the Hibernal Cavern, where the Brunnhildar have traditionally gotten their bears (before breeding them in captivity). At the caverns, you will need to find an Icemaw Matriarch. She warns you, though, that the cave has recently been overrun by jormungar, and most of the wild bears have been killed.

As an aside, she asks you to kill a number of the Ravenous Jormungar while you're there.

You venture into the caverns. It's nice that Astrid offered you a bounty on the jormungar, as you can barely move without tripping over them. You slaughter your way in to the back of the cave and find one last, Icemaw Matriarch, albeit injured. You harness her up, and head out of there.

The Warm-Up
Astrid admires your bear, but tells you that you need the skill to ride it, to make it an effective combatant. She directs you to a point in town where Kirgaraak is chained up. Kirgaraak is the largest yeti the Hildnyr have yet captured, and should provide you adequate practice.

Into the Pit
You return to Astrid after beating up on the chained yeti, and she declares you ready to face opponents in the Pit of the Fang. At this point in the Hyldsmeet, you have to defeat 6 other warbear riders, to advance to the next stage.

The Pit is an anarchic place, with Hyldnir attacking each other based seemingly on who they were close to. You find that your bear is indeed superior to most of the other bears in the pit, but your bear takes a lot of mauling before you have defeated the 6 opponents required.

Prepare for Glory
Astrid Bjornrittar congratulates you on your success, and offers to take care of your bear until you return, as you won't need her on the great Drakkensryd. ... assuming you survive the Drakkensryd, as that is a mortal challenge. Astrid tells you to set your affairs in order and say goodbye to your friends, as you will either succeed, or perish.

Lok'lira's Parting Gift
You think it wise to return to Lok'lira for any parting advice at this point. She is amazed at the speed of your progress. However, the Drakksryd is something that will require a little luck, as well as courage and skill. She attaches a strand of her hair to yours, saying "you cannot fail now". You wonder, for a moment, whether it is knowledge, or wishful thinking.

The Drakkensryd
Your next task is to go to Gretta the Arbiter and declare your readiness to take part in the Drakkensryd. To win, you must defeat 10 Hyldsmeet Drakeriders in flight around the Temple of Storms. The winner lands at the temple and talks to Thorim.

You are handed a harpoon with a chain attached, and set off on a Hyldsmeet Proto-Drake, possibly even one you'd freed earlier. The temple is perhaps the highest point on Azeroth, and a long way up even from the rest of the Storm Peaks. You join the swirling, jostling crowd of drake riders circling the peak, and set about to prove your dominance. One after another, you spear a competitor and use the harpoon's chain to swing to their mount, slaying them in hand-to-hand combat and tossing the body off only to spear another.

At long last, you have risen through the pack, and hook the harpoon around a decorative ornament and swing to the floor of the Temple itself. Now, to face thorim...

Sibling Rivalry
Initially, Thorim mistakes you for Sif. He throws it off after a moment, though, and declares that he intends to avenge her. You entice him to tell you what befell Sif. In turn, you describe how Loken now controls Ulduar. He rages some, then recalls his dispair of the time, and what he did. You remind him that he can still fight, and he enlists your help.

Mending Fences
First, he asks you to help him make amends to the Sons of Hodir by slaying the fire giant Fjorn and some of his iron giants, at an anvil east of Dun Niffelem. He provides you with a charm that summons Earthen to aid you against the giants in the area.

The Refiner's Fire
In the process of dispatching the giants, you find a sizable piece of [slag covered metal]. It looks interesting, but you would need something hot to work the slag off in order to find out what it is.

One of the nearby fire revenants unwittingly catches your attention. Soon, you've captured a fair number of the revenants, put the metal lump on Fjorn's anvil, and apply the revenants to burning off the slag.

A Spark of Hope
What is left by the revenants is a gleaming lump of [refined ore]. When cool, you examine it and discover one of Thorium's runes shining from beneath the surface. You return to Thorim with the mysterious ore and the news that Fjorn and his giants are dead.

Completing this quest, you will be Honored by the Sons of Hodir.

Forging an Alliance
Thorim tells you that the ore is what remains of his armor, cast off in grief at the loss of Sif. He asks you to take the metal to King Jokkum at Dun Niffelem, and plead for the assistance of the Sons of Hodir in reforging the armor.

You Can't Miss Him
Kind Jokkum listens to your story and thanks you for having defeated Fjorn. While there are still some ill feelings between him and Thorium (you can't expect one good deed to erase years of bitterness), he will allow his smith, Njormeld, to reforge the armor.

However, Njormeld was sent to recover Fjorn's Anvil, now entirely Fjorn-free. You need to meet him there.

Battling the Elements
Njormeld agrees that it can be done once the anvil is back in Dun Niffelem. However, the Seething Revenants you used to burn off the slag are still around, and Njormeld asks your help chasing them away to let the anvil cool enough to move. One of the older Ice giants of Dun Niffelem accompanied him to the anvil, and Njormeld thinks it would be a kindness for you to help him do the work.

With Snorri's help (and your guidance), a few well-aimed snowballs send the revenants packing. You give Njormeld the ore and your thanks, and promise to meet him back in Dun Niffelem, when he's done with the armor.

Upon returning to Dun Niffelem, you find Njormeld at the anvil, now installed where he can use it safely. And better, he has the armor ready for you to take back to Thorim. And it's better than it was when new! Njormeld hopes that the armor will remind him of those better days when they stood together.

A New Beginning
You return to Thorim, armor in hand, who is amazed at its beauty. He is grateful ... but there's more work to be done.

Veranus
When he set to brooding, he released his old riding drake, Veranus, back into the wild. He is hoping to recover her despite the odds. He comes up with a plan that will involved Veranus' old nest. She may be a broodmother in name only these days, but he hopes that he can perhaps lure her back to her nest with some eggs 'borrowed' from other nests.

And for that, he needs you to go bring some back. The nests are all over, with nothing more than ravenous baby proto-dragons and the occasional watchful parent to worry about.

Territorial Trespass
A fair few drake-bites later, you return with the eggs. Thorim tells you where to find Veranus' nest, and positions himself for the capture. A bit nervously, you plant your cuckoo's eggs in Veranus' nest, and shortly the old drake herself shows up. Fortunately, your close air support (Thorim) arrives before Veranus can really get lined up on you. Thorim manages to calm her down (a little, anyway), but ... it's going to take more time. Thorim asks you to meet him back at the Temple of Storms.

Krolmir, Hammer of Storms
One last task remains - recovering Thorim's hammer. In his rage, he had thrown it to the earth and walked away. It might have been destroyed, but King Jokkum would be the one who would know, if anyone does. Thorim asks you to return to the king and ask what he knows of it.

You return to Dun Niffelem and talk to King Jokkum. He tells you that while there is much left to be done, mending relations between Thorim and the Sons of Hodir, he can share with you the secret of Krolmir's fate. King Jokkum gives you a ride atop his helm ("Hold on!") to the Thunderfall. There you behold a tableau of dwarves and giants frozen as they fought. King Jokkum reveals that his father's last act was to cast a rune at Krolmir, freezing it in a block of ice, to keep it out of the hands of his foes. The king summons the hammer, and returns it to Thorim.

Note: prior to patch 3.3.0, the character would have to complete several side quests and/or daily quests to gain the required reputation level. Now, one reaches Honored with the Sons of Hodir faction by the time one reaches this point in the chain.

The Terrace of the Makers
Thorim asks you to meet him on the Terrace of the Makers. It's a short flight from the Thunderfall.

Source: Wowwiki.com