War stories, articles & game guides
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2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
War stories, articles & game guides
Gamer
Tribute
2026
Expeditions,
War Stories &
Culture
“You must defeat the lords of Scourgeholme if this place is to be free of the Scourge’s grasp. Salranax the Flesh Render lords over the temple on the first tier of Scourgeholme. Nearby Salranax you’ll find High Priest Yath’amon preaching at the spirit tower on the second tier. Underking Talonox holds court at the Pit of Fiends, up the high road.
These are formidable opponents and must be approached with caution. Use this war horn should you require aid. The death knights of Acherus will come.”
-The Ebon Watcher
The Ebon Watcher at the Valley of Echoes in Icecrown wants you to kill Salranax the Flesh Render, Underking Talonox and High Priest Yath’amon.
Provided item:
You will be able to choose one of these rewards:
You will also receive: (if completed at level 100)
Upon completion of this quest you will gain:
Quest Giver: The Ebon Watcher — Valley of Echoes, Icecrown [80, 68]
Objective: Use the War Horn of Acherus to summon death knight allies and defeat Salranax the Flesh Render, High Priest Yath’amon, and Underking Talonox.
Quick Facts
Walkthrough
The Ebon Watcher sends you to kill three elite Scourge lieutenants inside Scourgeholme. Each has roughly 240,000 HP and is not meant to be soloed at level. You are given a War Horn of Acherus that summons a death knight of the Ebon Blade to fight alongside you.
Boss Locations
The Watcher notes that the first two are close together: “Nearby Salranax you’ll find High Priest Yath’amon.” Only Talonox requires the trip up the high road.
Using the War Horn
Who Shows Up? The ally is fixed per boss, not random. Munch, an orc death knight with his ghoul Melt, answers at Salranax. Jayde, a blood elf, answers at Yath’amon. Highlord Darion Mograine himself answers at Talonox, and hits hard enough to demolish the fight in seconds. All three are strong enough to carry the kill alone.
Efficiency Tips
Lore & Secrets
The Ebon Watcher Unmasked
This quest marks one of the first moments where The Ebon Watcher’s true identity is openly revealed. When Darion Mograine appears as your summoned ally for the Underking Talonox fight, he drops the disguise entirely, announcing himself as Mograine and taunting the boss directly.
His post-combat dialogue, “Suffer well, ally,” matches his standard greeting as Highlord of the Ebon Blade. Players who paid attention to his earlier conversations with Tirion at the Argent Vanguard can piece together the connection earlier in the chain.
Quest Reward Easter Egg
Explore Icecrown’s hidden easter eggs, lore mysteries, and connections across Warcraft history in Vikstone’s Icecrown Chronicles, along with the complete quest storyline.
Vikstone's War Journal“You must defeat the lords of Scourgeholme if this place is to be free of the Scourge’s grasp,” Mograine said. “Salranax the Flesh Render lords over the temple on the first tier of Scourgeholme. Nearby Salranax you’ll find High Priest Yath’amon preaching at the spirit tower on the second tier. Underking Talonox holds court at the Pit of Fiends, up the high road. These are formidable opponents and must be approached with caution. Use this war horn should you require aid. The death knights of Acherus will come.”
I have been given a great many things by that man in the last week and this was the first one that was not taken off a corpse.
Salranax holds the temple on the first tier, and what he does with his hands is in his name. I sounded the horn from the steps and the air came apart about four feet to my left, and an orc walked out of it with a ghoul at his heel.
He gave a name, Munch, and did not offer anything else. The ghoul is called Melt. I did not ask which of those the orc found funny.
He put frost into the abomination’s legs and I went in, and it was over fast. Then he looked at me for a moment and stepped back into the dark he came out of. No farewell. Death knights do not seem to bother.
Yath’amon preaches at the spirit tower on the second tier, and preaches is the correct word: he had a congregation of his own honor guard around him. The second blast on the horn brought a blood elf. Jayde. She went through the guard while I went at the priest, and his shadow work got as far as the inside of my skull before I reached him.
Then the high road, and the Pit of Fiends, and Talonox with his court chittering around him in the dark.
I put the horn to my mouth a third time.
“You challenge death itself!”
Not the Watcher. Not the cowl and the flat voice at the tent outside the Breach. Highlord Darion Mograine, under his own name, out of the death gate with both runeblades already moving, announcing himself at volume to a room full of nerubians.
I have known who he was since Fordring said the name in front of me. I had not until that moment understood that he knows I know, and has simply been letting the arrangement stand. He came up that road to take Talonox apart himself and he did not send anyone in his place.
The underking is fast and he is armoured and he is very old, and between the two of us he did not last long enough to say anything I could write down.
“A hard fought victory! The lieutenants will be replaced, but at least for today the air about Scourgeholme stands still.”
The cowl was back on by the time I reached the Valley of Echoes and he said it in the Watcher’s voice.
He is right about the replacements. He is also the only officer in Icecrown who has told me the truth about that.
Three lieutenants died and three more would be appointed by morning. The only way to break it was to stop killing the Scourge and start listening to The Restless Dead.
