All Hail the Conqueror of Skorn!

Quest Giver: Westguard Sergeant (summoned at Skorn)

Turn-in: Captain Adams at Westguard Keep [28, 44]

Objective: Return the Westguard Command Insignia to Captain Adams at Westguard Keep.

Quick Facts

• Type: Turn-in (travel back to Westguard Keep)
• Faction: Alliance only
• Prerequisites: Burn Skorn, Burn! + Gruesome, But Necessary + Towers of Certain Doom (all three required)
• Unlocks: Of Keys and Cages, Dealing With Gjalerbron, Of Traitors and Treason

Walkthrough

1. After completing all three Skorn assault quests, speak to the Westguard Sergeant (resummon with the insignia if needed).
2. Accept the quest.
3. Travel back to Westguard Keep [28, 44].
4. Turn in to Captain Adams in the keep’s main building.

That’s it. This is a pure travel-and-turn-in quest. Use the flight path if you’ve picked it up, or ride west from Skorn.

Before You Leave Skorn

Don’t rush back to Westguard Keep yet. Make sure you’ve handled these while you’re still at Skorn:

• Vrykul Scroll of Ascension: If this dropped during your killing spree (random drop from any Winterskorn vrykul), it starts Stop the Ascension!. This quest sends you to the Thane’s Pyre [45, 35] at the top of upper Skorn to challenge and kill Halfdan the Ice-Hearted, the Winterskorn thane. Complete this before leaving — it turns in at Father Levariol back at Westguard Keep.
• If the scroll didn’t drop: Keep killing Winterskorn vrykul until it does. It’s worth the extra few minutes. The Stop the Ascension! boss fight is satisfying, and turning it in at Westguard Keep alongside this quest saves a return trip.

Story Context

The Sergeant sends you off with genuine respect:

“We—well, you—have done everything that we were sent here to accomplish, <sir/ma’am>. I must say that it’s been a pleasure taking orders from such a fine, young <race>.”

He offers to stay: “The captain is sure to want to hear of your success, but if you decide to stay out here for whatever reason, I am at your disposal.”

Captain Adams is thrilled when you arrive:

“I gather that since you’re here, Skorn is no more? That’s unbelievably good news! I knew that you could pull it off, <name>! At least someone around here can produce results!”

He opens the treasury: “Well, this calls for a reward. Go ahead, take your pick; the treasury is open to you.”

Lore Note: What You Actually Accomplished

Take stock of what Operation: Skornful Wrath achieved. With one soldier (you) and one sergeant, Westguard Keep neutralized an entire Winterskorn settlement. You burned their longhouses (eliminating shelter and food stores), dismembered their dead (preventing Val’kyr resurrection), destroyed their watchtowers (removing their tactical advantage), and — if you completed Stop the Ascension! — killed their thane before he could undergo a dark transformation.

Captain Adams sent you because he didn’t have the forces for a conventional assault. What he got was more thorough than any army could have managed. The Sergeant’s comment about “taking orders from such a fine, young <race>” carries weight: you didn’t just follow orders, you exceeded them.

Adams’ line — “At least someone around here can produce results!” — hints at frustration with the broader war effort. Westguard Keep is undermanned, undersupplied, and fighting on multiple fronts against vrykul, Forsaken plague operations, and the Scourge. 

What Opens Up Next

Turning in this quest (alongside Stop the Ascension!) unlocks three new quest lines from Westguard Keep, all heading north toward Gjalerbron:

• Of Keys and Cages (from Father Levariol): Free prisoners from vrykul cages at Gjalerbron, where vrykul are using living sacrifices to fuel awakening rituals.
• Dealing With Gjalerbron (from Captain Adams): Kill vrykul at Gjalerbron to weaken their forces, the same kind of direct assault work you just proved yourself capable of at Skorn.
• Of Traitors and Treason: A separate storyline that can wait until you’re heading toward Dragonblight.

Gjalerbron is where things get serious. It’s the vrykul awakening site where Queen Angerboda is attempting to rouse King Ymiron from his ancient slumber. What you discovered at Skorn, vrykul rising from death, ascension rituals, the Lich King’s influence, was just the beginning.

Gjalerbron is where the full scope of the vrykul threat becomes clear.

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