Vaelen Has Returned

Quest Giver: Baron Sliver — The Shadow Vault, Icecrown [42, 24]

Objective: Speak with Vaelen the Flayed inside the Shadow Vault.

Quick Facts

• Chain Position: 1 of 2 (followed by Ebon Blade Prisoners)
• Prerequisite: Let the Baron Know
• Pairs With: Pick up all available Shadow Vault quests from Baron Sliver after this turn-in, including Crush Dem Vrykuls! and dailies like Vile Like Fire!

Walkthrough

Speak with Vaelen the Flayed

• Vaelen the Flayed is inside the Shadow Vault castle building, on the left wall as you enter [43, 21].
• This is the same room where you turned in previous Shadow Vault quests. Talk to him to complete the quest.
• Vaelen immediately offers the follow-up, Ebon Blade Prisoners, which sends you to Jotunheim to rescue the death knight contingent he lost.

Troubleshooting

• If Vaelen doesn’t appear, try logging out and back in. Some players have reported a visibility bug with this NPC after phasing into the captured Shadow Vault.
• If the Shadow Vault is still hostile (Scourge-controlled), you need to complete the capture chain starting with It’s All Fun and Games. The entire vault phases from enemy territory to Ebon Blade hub once that chain finishes.

Efficiency Tips

• This is a quick handoff quest, so turn it in and grab the follow-up before heading to Jotunheim. Ebon Blade Prisoners pairs naturally with the Jotunheim daily quests.
• Completing “Let the Baron Know” also unlocks several other quest branches at the Shadow Vault. Grab everything available from Baron Sliver before leaving to maximize your trip into Jotunheim.
• The Shadow Vault has a flight point (Morlia Doomwing), an innkeeper, and the Knights of the Ebon Blade quartermaster (Duchess Mynx at [43, 20]). If you’re working on Ebon Blade reputation, buy the tabard here and wear it in Heroic dungeons.

Lore & Secrets

Vaelen’s Failed Mission

Baron Sliver sent Vaelen with an entire contingent of death knights to invade Jotunheim, the Ymirjar stronghold in northern Icecrown. The mission went badly: Vaelen was captured by Instructor Hroegar in the halls of Thane Ufrang the Mighty, and his entire force was taken prisoner alongside him.

The Ymirjar are elite vrykul warriors who passed the Lich King’s “ascension trials” at Jotunheim. Vrykul who pass become Ymirjar warriors if male and Val’kyr if female. Those who fail are reduced to Vargul, lesser undead.

Vaelen’s failure and the follow-up quest to rescue his knights set up the broader Shadow Vault campaign against Jotunheim, which includes multiple daily quests and the Ymirjar disruption storyline.

Baron Sliver, the Darkfallen Commander

Baron Sliver is one of the Darkfallen, undead blood elves (also called San’layn). Unlike the San’layn princes who serve the Lich King loyally (Keleseth, Valanar, Taldaram), Sliver grew disillusioned with the Scourge and secretly defected to the Knights of the Ebon Blade.

He calls Vaelen an “incompetent fool” and demands his death knights be returned. Sliver is not the sentimental type.

Before the vault was captured, Sliver worked undercover pretending to still be loyal to the Lich King. One of his idle lines during this phase: “Do keep out of sight, will you? I’m trying to pretend that I’m still under the Lich King’s control!”

Cross-Expansion Connections

Baron Sliver in Later Expansions

• Legion: Sliver appears in Acherus: The Ebon Hold and plays a key role in the Blood Death Knight artifact quest. He travels to the Legion world of Niskara alongside the player to claim the Maw of the Damned from Gorelix the Fleshripper. True to form, he rushes in ahead of the player and immediately gets captured, requiring rescue. His personality hasn’t changed: he dismisses the idea of rescuing captured allies as a waste of time.
• Dragonflight: Sliver appears at Tyrhold Reservoir in Thaldraszus as a vendor for Azmourne items.

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