The Crone’s Bargain

Quest Giver: Lok’lira the Crone inside the Forlorn Mine [43, 69]

Turn In: Lok’lira the Crone (same NPC)

Objective: Retrieve the Runes of the Yrkvinn from Overseer Syra inside the Forlorn Mine.

Quick Facts

• Overseer Syra Location: Patrols the lower tunnels deeper inside the mine, near [44, 70]
• Prerequisite: Leave No Goblin Behind
• Chain Position: 3 of 23 in the Sons of Hodir chain
• Unlocks: Mildred the Cruel + Hyldnir disguise buff (active in Sifreldar Village, Forlorn Mine, and Brunnhildar Village)

Walkthrough

The Bargain

• Lok’lira proposes a deal: she’ll use her illusion magic to disguise you as a Hyldnir so you can move freely among them and rescue Zeev. But she needs her runes back first. An overseer named Syra confiscated them.

Finding Overseer Syra

• From Lok’lira’s position, head deeper into the mine in the direction she’s facing, up the ramp.
• Syra patrols the lower side tunnels near the Captive Vrykul workers (who are neutral and won’t attack unless provoked). She walks between the hallways extending to either side at approximately [44, 70].
• If you reach Mildred the Cruel (a level 79 elite at the top of the ramp), you’ve gone too far. Backtrack and check both side passages.
• Syra moves around on her patrol, so if she’s not immediately visible, clear nearby mobs and wait. She’ll walk into view shortly. She’s a tall vrykul in a dress carrying a large spiked mace/staff.

Kill Syra and Loot the Runes

• Syra is not elite and can be soloed by any class without difficulty.
• The Runes of the Yrkvinn are a guaranteed drop. If you don’t get a drop, make sure you’re not in a raid group (raid groups disable quest item loot).
• Return to Lok’lira to turn in.

Important: Hyldnir Disguise Buff

• Upon completing this quest, Lok’lira casts an illusion on you. From this point forward, you’ll appear as a Hyldnir frost vrykul whenever you’re in Sifreldar Village, the Forlorn Mine, or Brunnhildar Village. This disguise is required for several upcoming quests in the chain.
• Druid note: Unlike most costume/disguise effects, this one persists through shapeshifting, including cat form and flight form. You can fly around the area as a levitating frost vrykul, which looks as absurd as it sounds.

Lore Context

Lok’lira introduces herself as a Yrkvinn, which she translates as “a practitioner of illusions.” This is an actual vrykul word (confirmed in the official vrykul language primer on Wowpedia). The Yrkvinn use rune magic to cast their spells, and the runes you’re retrieving are Lok’lira’s tools of the trade.

There’s an irony to this quest that only becomes clear much later in the chain. Lok’lira is telling you the absolute truth about being a master illusionist. She just isn’t telling you who she really is.

The name “Lok’lira” is a near-anagram of “Loki,” the Norse trickster god, and also echoes “Loken,” the Keeper who betrayed Thorim. This is not a coincidence. Lok’lira is Loken in disguise, and every quest she gives you from this point forward is part of his scheme to lure Thorim out of the Temple of Storms.

When she says “I dread to think what will happen to me if I stay here for much longer,” the line takes on a very different meaning when you know who’s actually saying it.

Cross-Expansion: The concept of rune-based vrykul magic introduced here, along with the idea that vrykul have their own magical traditions distinct from arcane or divine casting, gets expanded significantly in Legion’s Stormheim zone. The vrykul runecasters and mystics players encounter there build on the same cultural framework established in this Storm Peaks questline.

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