The Lost Shield of the Aesirites

Quest Giver: “Silvermoon” Harry — Scalawag Point, Howling Fjord

Turn In: Captain Ellis — aboard the Sister Mercy

Objective: Board the ghost ship Sister Mercy and speak with Captain Ellis to begin recovering the Shield of the Aesirites.

Quick Facts

• Location: Board the Sister Mercy from the small island at [37.9, 74.7]
• Chain Position: One of four artifact quests from “Scoodles.” Unlike the other three single-step artifact quests, this one branches into a 4-quest sub-chain, all completed aboard the Sister Mercy:
  1. The Lost Shield of the Aesirites (board ship, speak to Captain Ellis)
  2. Mutiny on the Mercy (recover blasting powder below deck)
  3. Sorlof’s Booty (use the ship’s cannon to kill Sorlof)
  4. The Shield of the Aesirites (receive shield from Ellis, return to Orfus)
• Pairs With: The other three artifact quests: The Staff of Storm’s Fury, The Frozen Heart of Isuldof, The Ancient Armor of the Kvaldir

Walkthrough

Step 1: Board the Sister Mercy

• Swim or run to the small unmarked island at [37.9, 74.7], southwest of the Ancient Lift. You’ll see the ghost NPC Juniper standing on the island, confirming you’re in the right spot.
• The Sister Mercy circles past this island roughly every five minutes. When it docks, a boarding ramp deploys briefly. Juniper must be present on the island for the ramp to appear. Walk up the ramp and jump at the top to clear the lip of the ship.
• Find Captain Ellis on the rear deck. Speak to him to turn in the quest and immediately pick up the follow-ups. Do not leave the ship. All remaining quests in this sub-chain are completed aboard the Sister Mercy.

Step 2: Mutiny on the Mercy

• Head below deck. The mutinous ghost gunners are relatively easy to kill, but they respawn fast.
• Loot 5 Barrels of Blasting Powder from the gunners’ corpses and return to Captain Ellis on the rear deck.

Step 3: Sorlof’s Booty

• Ellis directs you to man The Big Gun on the bow (front) of the ship. Head to the opposite end of the ship from Ellis.
• Right-click The Big Gun when Sorlof, a level 80 Elite mountain giant, comes into range at Sorlof’s Strand. You have unlimited shots, so spam-click the cannon. A few direct hits will take him down.
• Critical: Once Sorlof dies, immediately jump off the ship and swim to shore to loot Sorlof’s Booty from the ground near his corpse. The ghost crew can’t leave the ship, so you have to retrieve it yourself. Don’t wait around; the loot can despawn.
• Swim back to the island at [37.9, 74.7] and wait for the Sister Mercy to complete its circuit and dock again. Re-board and turn in to Captain Ellis.

Step 4: The Shield of the Aesirites

• Ellis hands over the shield as agreed. His parting words: “Me hopes it doesn’t curse ye like it did me’n’me crew.”
• Return the shield to Orfus of Kamagua at the Ancient Lift to complete this branch of the artifact chain.

Efficiency Tips

• Save this quest for last in your artifact route. The other three artifact quests (Frozen Heart, Staff, Ancient Armor) are simple grab-and-go tasks. This one has multiple steps and ship wait times, so completing it last avoids backtracking.
• The ship waits for no one. If you miss it after looting Sorlof, you’ll be swimming back to the island and waiting another cycle. Move quickly once Sorlof goes down.
• Timing the ramp can be tricky. If it doesn’t appear, try typing /reload. Multiple Wowhead comments report the ramp becoming visible after a UI reload. This quest has had a long history of intermittent bugs with Captain Ellis and the boarding ramp, but WotLK Classic has largely resolved these issues.
• Death Knights can use Path of Frost to stand on the water and run into the front of the ship as it passes, clipping through to the lower deck. A creative (if unintended) alternative to waiting for the dock.

Lore Context

• The Sister Mercy was crewed by Northsea Freebooters who stole the Shield of the Aesirites from Shield Hill. The shield’s curse killed the entire crew, leaving them trapped as ghosts in a perpetual war with Sorlof, the mountain giant who took their treasure.
• Captain Ellis and his crew can’t rest until the shield is returned, and they literally can’t leave the ship. Your role as the one living person who can go ashore and retrieve the booty is what makes the deal work.
• Ellis’s farewell line, “Ye don’t have to go home, but ye can’t stay here,” is a nod to Semisonic’s 1998 hit “Closing Time”.

Easter Eggs

• Sister Mercy: The ship’s name is likely a reference to The Sisters of Mercy, the English gothic rock band known for dark, atmospheric music. The ghost ship with its cursed, restless crew fits the band’s aesthetic perfectly.
• Pirates of the Caribbean vibes: Multiple player comments note the similarities to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise: a ghost ship crewed by undead pirates cursed by stolen treasure, complete with mutiny below decks.

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.