The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 2: A Norse is a Norse (of Course, of Course) : The Mage They Call Jayne(z), Part 2: A Norse is a Norse (of Course, of Course)

Utgarde Keep

I suppose the official name for the level 70 wing is actually Utgarde Catacombs, but for now we'll just go with Utgarde Keep (and refer to the level 80 dungeon as the Pinnacle, whenever that gets implemented). Though I haven't done much of the story as of yet, the arrival of outsiders from both the Alliance and Horde has ticked off the local population of Vikings. Okay, yes, they're actually called "Vrykul," but really, Blizzard, who do you think you're kidding?

To be fair, the Forsaken aren't exactly the world's most pleasant neighbors, and having a bunch of plague-ridden Abominations running around is bound to drive market prices down, so I can see why they'd be annoyed with the Horde. As for the Alliance? I dunno, I guess they just don't like Gnomes.

Whatever the reason, though, these Vikings are eeeeevil and not quirky and awesome like Blizzard's earlier trio of Mislaid Norsemen. Plus, I think they're still in Uldaman. So to stop the Viki-sorry, "Vrykul"-from destroying and pillaging as they're wont to do, it's up to adventurers like us to stop them! As many times as it takes to get the drops we want, anyway.

Zoning into the Catacombs of Utgarde Keep, there's a questgiver immediately inside the instance portal. Apparently, this Blood Elf (well, Dark Ranger, so... Undead Elf?) was part of a reconnaissance group, but since they weren't awesome like we are, they all got killed except for her. According to her, since the Vrykul are so relentless and fearless in combat, the one way to disrupt them is to go for their leader, Ingvar the Plunderer, and kill him.

Hey, works for me.

Perhaps this isn't quite working as intended, but for being such "relentless fighters" with "savage tactics," the Vrykul aren't very quick to notice and/or react when their nearby drinking buddy gets turned into a sheep. We mercilessly slaughter our way through Utgarde Keep, very quickly coming to the "furnace room" featured in promo screenshots and videos. Yes, it looks pretty. This is not much of a surprise. The fire does hurt if you stand in it, but as you kill the groups around the forge, one by one the jets of flame go out until you can safely make your way around. I'm not quite sure why the furnace's operation is apparently tied to the very lives of those around it, but let's not look a gift Dreadsteed in the mouth, right?

You know, as good-looking as Lich King is, other than the one furnace room, Utgarde Keep is surprisingly visually uninteresting. Don't get me wrong, it certainly doesn't look bad, and is pretty damn atmospheric ... but for the most part, it's almost entirely just dark, enclosed hallways mixed with large wooden stairways. They've done better (and DO better, as I'll get to), so it's sort of a let-down from me.

Continuing through the instance, we encounter Proto-Drakes, which look like a cross between ... well, a regular Dragon crossed with the bipedal Drakonids crossed with ... well, I don't know, but it ain't pretty. They give an absurd amount of experience, though - this might just be a beta thing, but who's to say? - while rested, one kill gave me more than five thousand XP. There are a few of them, too, so leveling in instances is fairly quick.

After more indiscriminate slaughter, we come to the dungeon's first boss, Prince Keleseth - I haven't done it for myself yet, but I'm told he's involved in the Death Knight starting quest, so it looks like the Vrykul are buddying up with the Scourge. Probably not a good thing. There's a four-pull of guards before him so some CC is nice to have, but not necessary. At the time I first ran this, they weren't linked - but this has been changed as of writing, and Keleseth will aggro immediately after the fourth Vrykul is killed. Consider yourselves warned.