There’s Something Going On In Those Caves

Quest Giver: Bixie Wrenchshanker, south of The Dens of Dying [73, 19]

Turn In: Bixie Wrenchshanker

Objective: Use Bixie’s Inhibiting Powder at a Den of Dying Plague Cauldron to neutralize it

Quick Facts

• Chain Position: Quest 4 of 4 in the Transmatter chain (finale)
• Previous: Oh Great… Plagued Magnataur!
• Unlocks: Might As Well Wipe Out the Scourge, Rats, Tinky Went Into the Necropolis!

Walkthrough

The Dens of Dying contain two caves on the slopes above Bixie’s position. The plague cauldron is located inside the northern cave at approximately [75, 14].

1. Head north from Bixie toward the caves
2. Enter the cave at approximately [74, 15] or [78, 18]
3. Locate the Den of Dying Plague Cauldron inside
4. Use Bixie’s Inhibiting Powder (from your inventory) directly on the cauldron
5. Return to Bixie

The cauldron is guarded by an Aged Magnataur and at least one Cult of the Damned Cultist. Quest credit is instant upon using the powder.

Quick Completion

Stealth classes (Rogue, Druid) can Stealth/Prowl directly to the cauldron, use the powder, and slip out without combat. Non-stealth classes can mount up, ride straight to the cauldron, quickly use the item, and ride back out. The cave isn’t deep, and fighting through isn’t necessary unless you get dismounted or want to clear for safety.

Lore: Plague Cauldrons

The plague cauldron in these caves connects to one of Azeroth’s darkest chapters.

Before the Third War, the Lich King Ner’zhul placed his plague energies into portable artifacts called plague cauldrons. He ordered Kel’Thuzad to transport them to Lordaeron, where Cult of the Damned operatives hid them within villages across the kingdom. These cauldrons acted as plague generators, seeping the Plague of Undeath across farmlands and cities.

The enchanted cauldrons were masterminded by Heigan the Unclean, infused with necromantic sorcery that corrupted not just humans but flora and fauna as well. The gas emitted is deadly to the living while empowering undead.

Classic WoW players may remember the four infamous Scourge Cauldrons in Western Plaguelands at Dalson’s Tears, Felstone Field, Gahrron’s Withering, and The Writhing Haunt, each guarded by a Cauldron Lord, which the Argent Dawn worked to subvert.

The cauldron here serves the same purpose: infecting the Dens of Dying’s aged magnataur, transforming what should be a peaceful death ritual into a vector for undeath. The cultists operating it likely survived Talramas’s crash and continued their work in the caves.

The Cult of the Damned

The Cult of the Damned Cultists you encounter aren’t random necromancers. They’re members of an organization founded by Kel’Thuzad himself, promised immortality through undeath in exchange for service to the Lich King.

For three years before the Third War, Kel’Thuzad recruited from Lordaeron’s downtrodden masses, preaching social equality and eternal life. The cultists distributed plagued grain, welcomed their own transformation into undead, and continue serving the Lich King to this day. They’re true believers, not mercenaries.

That gnomish anti-venom Bixie “mixed up with some other stuff” is doing the same work the Argent Dawn spent years perfecting in the Plaguelands: neutralizing Scourge plague technology.

Horde Equivalent

Horde players complete Stop the Plague, given by Sage Highmesa at [74.7, 23.6]. Same objective (neutralize the plague cauldron) but different method and tone.

Instead of gnomish inhibiting powder, Sage Highmesa provides Highmesa’s Cleansing Seeds, a natural ward against the Scourge repurposed for this task: “I normally use them as a ward against the Scourge, though perhaps they can be used to disrupt whatever foulness is happening in the dens.”

Explore Borean Tundra’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Borean Tundra Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.