I'm not done here, though. To find the last Dwarf, I head down to where the Vrykul are apparently holding a makeshift gladiatorial ring, using captured Alliance to fight to the death. Since I'm a Player Character and consequently not worthless, I step in to succeed where they failed. Four named Vrykul warriors come to take me on, and they all drop easily.
Incidentally, one of them has the title "the Violent." I question this title. I don't think it's particularly fair. I must have killed at least 40, maybe 50 Vrykul just since I logged in today, let alone other types of enemies. That's a light pre-breakfast workout for an adventurer, you know? But somehow, this chump is "the Violent" and I'm not? Geez, that's a rip-off.
I free the prisoners, I head back up to Valgarde, and I deliver the Sacred Artifact to the local leader of the Argent Crusade - surprisingly, Tirion is nowhere in sight. There is, however, a hooded "Cleric of the Crusade" nearby.
That's not suspicious at all.
Upon completion of the quest, the Cleric reveals himself as - wait for it, wait for it - Tirion Fordring! Gasp! He tells his buddy that it's not fair for him to hide in protection while others are giving their lives, because he's a badass like that. He takes the Sacred Artifact for himself, and lo and behold, it turns out to be ... the Ashbringer!
Raise your hand if you saw that one coming.
All right, so, I'm going to go back to the confusion over the Ashbringer lore here. The quest from Ares did say that it was cleansed by the "light of dawn," after many had given their lives. That could very well refer to the final quest chain in the Death Knight storyline with the climactic assault on Light's Hope Chapel, in which that exact phrase (light of dawn) is used. The sword was cleansed, many Argent Dawn/Crusade gave their lives, everything fits.
What I don't get is how the sword ended up in the basement of Utgarde Keep. Tirion already had it at Light's Hope! Somehow he lost it again, and it "fell" down to where I picked it up for the quest? That's a bit hard to believe.
Then again, this is a world where a giant being made of living flame collects pants. So I guess I can let it slide ... this time.
While the Dwarves have been busy excavating and focusing on the physical past, the local Shaman has a different method he wants to try - looking into the world of the spirits. He is obviously in a drug-induced haze. I kind of want whatever this guy's on, to tell the truth.
Apparently, he's fine with sharing his stash, because he asks me to go on some sort of vision quest into the "world of spirits." Trippy, dude. Far out. Like, whoa.
I head to the center of the Vrykul village as instructed, down his specially-prepared mojo juice cocktail, and ...
OH CHRIST LORD THAT'S THE FREAKIN' LICH KING WHAT HE'S LIKE RIGHT THERE
Right, uh. So, it turns out that Arthas, the Lich King, is somehow chillin' like a villain in the "Spirit World," right in front of the stairway to Utgarde Keep, flanked by two Val'Kyr. I'd entered the drug trip not ten steps from him, and he promptly yanks me over to him, taunts me chidingly, and then one-shots me.
It doesn't even do damage. Literally, it's just "You die."
That was pretty crazy. Also, unexpected.
Upon rezzing and re-entering the world of spirits, I go into Cat form and see if Arthas can see through stealth.
As it turns out, he sure can. That's death #2 at his hands.
While being one-shot by the Lich King himself is sorta kind of actually really goddamn awesome, I eventually decide to get on with the quest, seeing a vision from the Vrykul past involving a cursed baby or something like that but I really don't care because that was the Lich King, man!
Ahem. Right. Moving on now.
