New Recruit

Quest Giver: Vereth the Cunning — Rise of Suffering, Icecrown [54, 72]

Objective: Subjugate a Lithe Stalker using the Sigil of the Ebon Blade and lead it to the top of the rocks northeast of the Rise of Suffering.

Quick Facts

• Chain Position: 2 of 3 (Vereth the Cunning > New Recruit > The Vile Hold)

Walkthrough

Find a Lithe Stalker

• Fly up to the bridge/rampart directly east of Vereth’s position. Lithe Stalkers are geist-type mobs crawling on the bridge around [55, 71] to [56, 74]. There are usually 2-3 visible near the start of the bridge where it meets the road.
• Important: Use the stalkers on the bridge above, not the ones inside Malykriss below. Stalkers from inside Malykriss can be subdued but will not complete the quest.

Subdue It

• Attack the Lithe Stalker and reduce its health to roughly 30-40%. Watch for the emote: “The Lithe Stalker is weakened by the assault.”
• Once you see the emote, use the Sigil of the Ebon Blade from your inventory. The stalker becomes subdued and follows you.
• The subjugation lasts 1 minute, so move quickly.

Lead It to the Drop-Off

• Walk back off the bridge toward the west (back toward Vereth’s side). You need to reach the area where the bridge meets the road, near the lone Lumbering Atrocity standing around [55, 70].
• Stay along the west side of the road, close to the cliff edge overlooking Vereth below.
• When you reach the correct spot, the stalker will break away, scramble up a rock, and leap off the cliff toward Vereth on its own. Quest complete.
• You do NOT need to return to Vereth manually. The quest completes the moment the stalker jumps.

Class-Specific Warnings

• Death Knights: Your diseases (Frost Fever, Blood Plague) will continue ticking on the stalker after subjugation and can kill it. Either attack without applying diseases, or use Death Coil (heals undead) to keep it alive.
• Warlocks: DoTs like Curse of Agony and Siphon Life persist after taming. Dismiss your demon pet first, as pets can also interfere with the stalker following you.
• Hunters: Dismiss your pet before subjugating. Some report the stalker refusing to follow while a hunter pet is active.
• Feral Druids: Bleeds like Rake and Rip can kill the stalker before you can use the Sigil. Be careful with your opener.

Troubleshooting

• Stalker won’t follow you: Dismiss any active pets. Addons (QuestHelper, Carbonite) can cause pathing issues. Try disabling addons if the stalker wanders aimlessly instead of following.
• Stalker runs back to spawn: You may have grabbed a stalker from inside Malykriss instead of from the bridge. Only bridge stalkers work.
• Stalker won’t jump off the cliff: Make sure you’re on the west side of the road near the cliff edge at approximately [55, 70]. Walk slightly off the bridge onto the road and the stalker should break away within a few seconds.
• Timer expired: If subjugation wears off, the stalker attacks you. Just beat it down again and re-use the Sigil. It won’t evade.

Lore Context

The Lithe Stalkers are geists, nimble undead scouts that once served the death knights of Acherus before the Ebon Blade’s defection.

Vereth explains that these creatures “used to serve us before we broke with Arthas” and are “about as perfect a scout as you can get.” The Sigil of the Ebon Blade is essentially a brand they were conditioned to obey. As Vereth puts it: “there’s no way these things would forget the lessons we lashed into their skins. They’ll fear those sigils for as long as they crawl this land.”

This quest establishes Vereth’s modus operandi: rather than attacking Malykriss head-on, he’s turning the Scourge’s own assets against them. First a scout, then deeper infiltration. His completion dialogue: “I’ve chained the wretch to the post over there and I’ll look into getting my hands on more of them.”

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