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
“Even as we ready for the tournament, Argent Crusade forces prepare the way for an assault on the enemy’s stronghold of Icecrown Citadel. In the Court of Bones in southwestern Icecrown, a few brave crusaders have set up a forward camp on the southern side of Corp’rethar. Equip your lance and mount the stabled campaign charger at the camp, then destroy the Lich King’s minions.
Do not fear the masses of boneguard footmen, Vikstone, for they can easily be trampled under your horse’s hooves.”
-Airae Starseeker
Airae Starseeker at the Argent Tournament Grounds wants you to kill 15 Boneguard Footmen, 10 Boneguard Scouts, and 3 Boneguard Lieutenants.
You will be able to choose one of these rewards:
You will receive:
Upon completion of this quest you will gain:
Quest Giver: Your city’s mount master at the faction tent. For Darnassus: Airae Starseeker, Mistress of Nightsabers. Each city has its own, including Clara Tumblebrew, Mistress of Rams, for Ironforge.
Objective: Mount a Stabled Campaign Charger at the Argent forward camp. Kill 15 Boneguard Footmen, 10 Boneguard Scouts, and 3 Boneguard Lieutenants.
Quick Facts
Enemy Breakdown
| Enemy | Count | Threat | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boneguard Footmen | 15 | Very Low | Weak melee mobs. Trample them by riding over them. The quest text explicitly tells you they “can easily be trampled under your horse’s hooves.” No abilities needed; just ride through groups. |
| Boneguard Scouts | 10 | Low | Flying gargoyles. Hit them with Shield-Breaker (ability 2) from range. Two Shield-Breakers usually kills one. Their ranged attack, Necrocution, strips your Defend stacks, so refresh between shots rather than letting them wear you down. |
| Boneguard Lieutenants | 3 | Moderate | Ground-based jousting opponents with 1 stack of Defend. Strip their Defend with Shield-Breaker, then Charge + Thrust to kill. Treat them like a weaker version of tournament Valiants. |
| Boneguard Commanders | DO NOT ENGAGE | Deadly | These maintain 3 stacks of Defend and hit extremely hard. They are not quest objectives. Engaging one by mistake will likely destroy your mount. |
Walkthrough
Critical Warning: Avoid Boneguard Commanders
Commanders look similar to Lieutenants but maintain 3 stacks of Defend and deal significantly more damage. They will destroy your mount fast.
The key difference: Lieutenants have 1 Defend stack, Commanders have 3. If you see a target with 3 shields up, disengage immediately. Commanders are found near the steps of Corp’rethar and in the densest mob clusters.
Efficiency Tips
Lore & Secrets
Easter Egg: Enemy at the Gates
The quest title is very likely a reference to the 2001 war film Enemy at the Gates, starring Jude Law, which depicts the Battle of Stalingrad and the desperate siege warfare against an entrenched enemy position. The film is based on William Craig’s 1973 book of the same name.
Narrative Context
This quest is the closest the tournament dailies get to actual warfare. While the Argent Tournament is ostensibly a training exercise, At the Enemy’s Gates puts you on the front lines at Corp’rethar, the gateway to Icecrown Citadel. It is a joint operation between tournament competitors and Argent Crusade forces, reinforcing the tournament’s real purpose: preparing champions for the assault on the Citadel.
The Court of Bones is littered with the remains of armies that failed to breach the Citadel’s defenses. Fighting among those bones while mounted on a warhorse provides a visceral reminder of what’s at stake. Unlike the jousting ring back at the tournament grounds, this isn’t practice.
The Scourge forces here are the real enemy, and the quest serves as a bridge between the tournament’s competitive framework and the war it was built to support.
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“Even as we ready for the tournament, Argent Crusade forces prepare the way for an assault on the enemy’s stronghold of Icecrown Citadel. In the Court of Bones in southwestern Icecrown, a few brave crusaders have set up a forward camp on the southern side of Corp’rethar. Equip your lance and mount the stabled campaign charger at the camp, then destroy the Lich King’s minions. Do not fear the masses of boneguard footmen, Vikstone, for they can easily be trampled under your horse’s hooves.”
A forward camp with a stable in it. Somebody hauled horses to within sight of the Citadel steps and then wrote out instructions for their use.
The footmen were as advertised. They beat on the charger’s flanks to no effect whatever and then went under the hooves.
The scouts are gargoyles and they hover too high for a lance to reach, so it has to be the thrown one, twice each. What they send back is called Necrocution and it takes the guard off a layer at a time, which meant the whole engagement was spent putting the guard back up between volleys.
The lieutenants fight exactly like the valiants at the tournament grounds. One stack of guard, stripped and charged and finished, the same three motions Jeran and Rugan and Valis spent a week putting into my hands. The Scourge has jousters.
Down nearer the steps there are Commanders who hold three stacks at all times and never spend any of it. Nothing I have been taught touches that. The crusaders in the camp told me to ride around them, and I rode around them.
“Your bravery on the field has shown the crusaders that we are ready to face any enemy,” Airae Starseeker said.
Somebody had been killing every rider drawn against him and the Crusade could not prove a thing, which is why Rhydalla quietly asks Vikstone whether there is really any such person as The Black Knight of Westfall?
