The Turncoat is one of the quieter objectives in the Skyborne stretch of WoW Forever. Nobody talks to you, nothing needs looting, and there is no escort timer to babysit. You walk into hostile woodland, fight through packs of assassins, and find a corpse on a floorboard.
Quick answer: In Valanaar, accept The Turncoat from Talxanris Shadowsong. Go southwest to Shen’dar Highlands, defeat the Al’Aketh Assassins at the isolated house, then interact with the Dead Cultist inside.
Where The Turncoat starts and what it asks for
The quest is handed out indoors, from an elevated building in Valanaar on Zephras Isle. The objective text is vague on purpose, so open your map before you move anywhere. The marker is the only thing telling you which direction the house sits in.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Quest giver | Talxanris Shadowsong |
| Start location | Valanaar, Zephras Isle |
| Objective | Locate the isolated house within Shen’dar Highlands |
| Objective zone | Shen’dar Highlands, southwest of Valanaar |
| Turn-in object | Dead Cultist, on the floor inside the house |
Al’Aketh Assassins guard the entire approach
Every fight between you and the house is an Al’Aketh Assassin, and they rarely stand alone. There are scattered groups along the woodland trail, a cluster sitting right at the foot of the path to the door, and one more waiting inside the building. They stack damage fast when several land on you at once.
- Fight on the trail rather than out in open grass, so only the pack in front of you joins in.
- Wipe out the group at the bottom of the path before you climb toward the entrance.
- Before interacting with the body, eliminate the assassin in the house.
- Stealth classes can slip past most of the outdoor packs and go straight for the door.
Check your spellbook before you set off and put crowd control and an interrupt on your bar, because these fights come in bunches.
All those kills can count for something extra. A Peacekeeper NPC standing near a large tree on the way in offers an optional quest, Al’Aketh Assassins, which asks for 10 of them. Grab it before you push up the mountain and the trash you have to fight anyway fills the counter.
Route from Valanaar to the secluded house
How to complete The Turncoat at the Dead Cultist
Step through the doorway and look down. The turncoat you were sent to track is the Dead Cultist lying on the floor, and interacting with the body is the only action that closes the quest. There is nobody to speak to and no item to pick up first.
A successful interaction brings up a quest window containing the Complete Quest button. Use it to gain experience and reputation, after which the objective disappears from your tracker.
The same body immediately offers the next quest in the chain, so accept it before you walk back out of the house.
The follow-up quest name changes between beta builds
Do not panic if the quest the corpse offers does not match what you have seen elsewhere. The follow-up has carried several different titles across beta builds, including these.
- Unholy Rites
- Unresponsive Peltis
- Unfortunate News
- Unfortunate Ruins
- Cryptographic Prisms
This quest setup remains under adjustment before the November 4th, 2026 launch, and beta builds may alter names or minor details. The route has stayed the same: leave Valanaar southwest, fight through the Al’Aketh Assassins, and interact with the body on the floor to finish.
