"Snowy, you look really good in the Robes of the Exalted."
On the way back to Light's Hope Chapel, Smooch kept admiring the Robes of the Exalted Danielly was wearing.
DeathScum gave his cloak a flourish. "My Cape of the Black Baron looks pretty damn good too."
Smooch scoffed. "If I hadn't already gotten a cloak earlier, and if I didn't feel bad for you, do you really think I would've let you have this one? You wouldn't even have anything to show off right now."
Smooch had already won the Stoneskin Gargoyle Cape earlier, so she had generously stayed out of the competition for the better Cape of the Black Baron.
DeathScum, who had lost the roll for Stonespine's cloak, had definitely come out ahead this time.
Gabryell was the only one feeling depressed. He had tried two different kinds of loot superstition—letting Rivendare's corpse cool down and rolling to decide who would loot—and still hadn't gotten either of the purple drops he wanted.
His dream of getting the Deathcharger would have to wait. He could only hope Ogabs wouldn't be as cursed as his old character, which had farmed Rivendare for years and still never seen the mount drop.
Rivendare hadn't dropped the Deathcharger or Runeblade of Baron Rivendare. Instead, they had gotten one healing robe and one physical DPS cloak.
Robes of the Exalted (Rare)
Binds when picked up
Chest
Cloth
89 Armor
+5 Intellect
+11 Spirit
Durability 80 / 80
Requires Level 58
Equip: Increases healing done by spells and effects by up to 68.
Cape of the Black Baron (Rare)
Binds when picked up
Back
45 Armor
+15 Agility
Requires Level 58
Equip: +20 Attack Power.
Calling that bad loot would get you buried under complaints from healers, Rogues, and Hunters. Aside from the mount and the Runeblade, this was already an excellent Rivendare haul.
"At least there's still the quest reward."
Aurius' Reckoning had a good reward too, and Gabryell chose the ring.
Blood of the Martyr (Rare)
Binds when picked up
Finger
+15 Stamina
+10 Intellect
For solo farming, the extra health and mana made it a useful ring. Depending on what he was farming, Gabryell could easily justify wearing it over a more damage-oriented ring like Songstone of Ironforge.
It was a small consolation prize for a man whose previous character had spent far too many years failing to get Rivendare's horse.
They returned to Light's Hope Chapel and turned in Above and Beyond.
"What should I take?" DeathScum asked.
After finishing the remaining dialogue with Lord Maxwell Tyrosus, they were finally allowed to open The Argent Hold and choose one of three rare rewards.
A one-handed sword: Argent Avenger.
A shield: Argent Defender.
A staff: Argent Crusader.
"Are you stupid?" Smooch asked. "You're a Rogue. Obviously you take the sword."
"Then what are you taking?"
"There's nothing I really need, so I'll just grab whichever one vendors for the most."
Gabryell wasn't about to risk regretting the choice later. He picked Argent Avenger first and immediately equipped it.
"Ogabs, why'd you choose the melee sword?" DeathScum asked in surprise. He had assumed Gabryell would take the staff, which was much more useful to a Mage.
Danielly looked at the glowing sword in Gabryell's hand. "Did you click the wrong reward?"
If he had, that would've been painful. Gabryell loved solo farming, and Argent Crusader's huge Intellect bonus would have given him a much larger mana pool.
Gabryell smiled. "Relax. My hands aren't shaking yet. I picked the right one. I just like how this sword looks, so I'm taking it for fun. I already have Blade of Eternal Darkness. I don't need the staff badly enough to pass this up."
Only then did everyone actually stop and look at Argent Avenger.
The sword looked incredible.
More importantly, it wasn't enchanted, yet the blade naturally glowed a brilliant blue. The effect was bright, clean, and impossible to miss.
Its blue energy-blade appearance was every bit as eye-catching as Teebu's fiery red glow. The biggest reason Argent Avenger would never become nearly as expensive or legendary was simple: it was a guaranteed quest reward rather than an absurdly rare world drop.
If Argent Avenger had been a random drop instead, collectors would've driven its price through the roof.
In Vanilla, there was nothing else quite like it available to a level-60 player. The Burning Crusade would eventually add another famous blue lightsaber-style weapon, Spellfire Longsword, but for now Argent Avenger stood on its own.
Skip it, and there was a good chance you'd regret the choice later. Take it, and even after you stopped using it, you'd probably stash it in the bank rather than vendor it.
Teebu's in the main hand, Argent Avenger in the off-hand.
Red and blue.
You'd look like you'd wandered into Azeroth from Star Wars.
DeathScum was immediately tempted. "All right. I'm taking Argent Avenger too."
Once he got it, he equipped it in his off-hand alongside Dragon's Call. The proc was only useful against Undead, but with a 2.20 attack speed and 40.7 DPS, it was still perfectly usable as an off-hand for now.
Until he bought a Krol Blade, DeathScum was happy to use it just for the look.
"Damn, it really does look good." Smooch gave in almost immediately. "Fine. I'm taking one too."
She chose Argent Avenger and equipped it on the spot.
Carlos looked at his own options. "I just got Crest of Retribution, so I don't really need another shield. I'm taking the sword too."
He equipped Argent Avenger in his main hand.
The effect was immediate. Somehow, the glowing blue blade made him look ten years younger.
Smooch laughed. "That really does look like a lightsaber."
She pressed Z and drew Argent Avenger. "Scum, duel me."
DeathScum unsheathed his own sword and played along. "All right, Jedi. Today we find out who the real master is."
Gabryell laughed. "Forget the duel. You two already look like a matching Jedi couple."
Argent Avenger's appearance really was hard to resist.
"Mentor, I took the staff."
Danielly could only look at their glowing swords with envy as she chose Argent Crusader.
Smooch finally stopped messing around. "Snowy, why didn't you take Argent Avenger too?"
DeathScum stared at her. "Because Priests can't use swords."
Smooch froze for a second before remembering.
Then she gave Danielly a sympathetic look. "It's okay. If you ever really want to play around with it, you can log onto my account."
Danielly smiled. "It's fine. This staff is really good. I like it."
Before a Priest got Benediction, Argent Crusader was genuinely useful for stacking Intellect and increasing the mana pool. If Dire Maul opened before Danielly got Benediction, she could even take it into Dire Maul East for lasher farming.
After getting Argent Avenger, Gabryell found Betina Bigglezink and turned in the Scourge Data.
At this point, The Active Agent only rewarded Seal of the Dawn, so that was what he took.
Later, once Rune of the Dawn was added, casters would finally get the version they actually wanted: a trinket that increased spell damage against Undead by up to 48 while still allowing the collection of Scourgestones.
When that happened, Gabryell could simply replace the Seal.
For now, though, the Seal of the Dawn was still useful whenever he was farming Undead in Stratholme, Scholomance, or the Plaguelands.
"Let's go see old Fordring."
Argent Avenger and the Argent Dawn rewards were nice bonuses, but the real reason they had gone through all of this was Of Love and Family.
Now that Stratholme was cleared, there was no reason to linger. They left Light's Hope Chapel and rode toward Tirion Fordring's secluded home to deliver the painting.
"These basic mounts are awful," Smooch complained along the way. "I want an epic mount like Ogabs has."
Unlike DeathScum, Smooch hadn't spent the gold on an epic mount yet. Neither had Danielly, so both of them were still riding the slower basic mounts.
Gabryell had somehow overlooked that until now.
I'll buy them each an epic mount when I get the chance.
Danielly and Smooch were already close friends both in-game and outside it. Buying them mounts as gifts wasn't unreasonable at all.
He didn't mention it yet.
Better to surprise them after he actually bought the mounts.
They eventually reached Tirion Fordring's home and handed him the painting from Of Love and Family.
The legendary Paladin—the future Highlord who would wield Ashbringer, shatter Frostmourne, and help bring down the Lich King—nearly broke down when he saw it.
Tirion covered his face and wept.
Even heroes had vulnerable places, and Tirion Fordring was no exception. His family, the woman he loved, and especially his son Taelan were the wounds he could never simply leave behind.
Later, when Isillien killed Taelan, Tirion would finally have nothing left holding him back. His resolve would harden, the Light would answer him once more, and he would strike Isillien down.
With the last ties to his old life severed, Tirion Fordring would go on to begin an even more legendary chapter of his life.