Item is located right behind the elevator that goes down to the second boss (right after the fat mother with her imps)
Quest
Vault of the Wardens: Borrowing Without Asking
Quest facts and objectives from the current retail game data.
The highest voted Wowhead comments for this page. They are community notes, not TheWoWDB comments.
Quest item was not there in a mythic + run.
Introduction
This quest is part of a comment-size guide for "Balance of Power." questline. Quests are pretty much self-explanatory and all it takes is some time and good will to complete them. Completing this questline rewards Artifact Appearance (Appearance 3, Tint 1).
Part 1
Image of Kalec appears in your Order Hall and gives you the following quest:
The Power Within (Meet Archmage Kalec at Azurewing Repose in Azsuna.)
Reasons behind appearance of Archmage Kalec in your Class Order Hall are not yet completely understood but most people noticed him few days after they completed their Class Campaign.
Part 2
From there you take a next quest from Senegos:
The Heart of Zin-Azshari (Retrieve the Heart of Zin-Azshari and defeat the Wrath of Azshara in the Eye of Azshara on Mythic difficulty.)
Part 3
After completing the previous quests you receive a few new quests (exactly 3: two from Senegos and one from Archmage Kalec).
Senegos:
[1] A Vainglorious Past (Obtain a Vainglorious Draught from Veridis Fallon.)
- You can purchase Vainglorious Draught from Veridis Fallon in Crumbled Palace [46.9 , 41.4] in Azsuna for 150g (Requirement: Court of Farondis - Honored).[2] Fallen Power (Recover a Corrupted Essence from Oakheart and defeat the Shade of Xavius in Darkheart Thicket on Mythic difficulty.)
Archmage Kalec:
[3] Tempering Darkness (Obtain 30 Blood of Sargeras.)
Should not be a problem since by the time you get that quest and if you did not spend any Blood of Sargeras you should have some stacked up simply by completing Dungeons and World Quests.
Part 4
Archmage Kalec:
Lucid Strength (Absorb the power from the Corrupted Essence using the Heart of Zin-Azshari.)
Right next to you.
Part 5
Senegos:
The Wisdom of Patience (Await the opening of The Emerald Nightmare, then report back to Senegos in Azsuna.)
Part 6
Archmage Kalec:
[1] In Nightmares (Obtain a Deathglare Iris and the Horn of the Nightmare Lord from The Emerald Nightmare.) NOTE: NOT doable with LFR. It has to be Normal difficulty or higher. In order to complete this quest you need to kill 2 bosses: Il'gynoth and Xavius and loot mentioned quest items.Senegos:
[2] Essence of Power (Collect 30 Corrupted Essence from The Emerald Nightmare.) This quest gave me a weird WoD and Khadgar flashback. NOT doable with LFR. Only Normal or higher difficulty. Essenceshave a 100% drop rate and bosses can drop 1-do not3 Corrupted Essences at the time.2
Part 7
Senegos:
Essential Consumption (Absorb the combined power of the Corrupted Essences using the Heart of Zin-Azshari.)
Right next to you.
Part 8
Archmage Kalec:
Repaid Debt (Meet Archmage Kalec in the Shal'Aran in Suramar.)
Part 9
Thalrenus Rivertree:
Lost Knowledge (Obtain the Scroll of Elun'dris from First Arcanist Thalyssra.)
- Costs 120g. Requirement: The Nightfallen - Revered).
Part 10
Thalrenus Rivertree:
[1] Borrowing Without Asking (Recover a Containment Crystal from the Vault of the Wardens on Mythic difficulty.)Syrana Starweaver:
[2] Rite of the Captain (Take Advisor Vandros' Eon Winder from The Arcway on Mythic difficulty.)Lothrius Mooncaller:
[3] Literary Perfection (Find Lothrius' first edition copy of "Wards, Sigils, and the Nightborne Way" in the Court of Stars on Mythic difficulty.)
Part 11
Syrana Starweaver:
Twisted Power (Use a Greater Portal Stone to summon Vizuul the Twisted at the Altar of End Times in Faronaar and collect his runebindings.)
Part 12
Syrana Starweaver:
A True Test (Absorb the power from the Twisted Runebindings using the Heart of Zin-Azshari.)
Right next to you.
Part 13
Archmage Kalec:
Seeking the Valkyra (Seek out Ashildir at the Vault of Eyir in Stormheim.)
Part 14
Ashildir:
The Mark (Prove your worth to the Valarjar, then receive the Mark of the Valkyra from Eyir.)
Part 15
Ashildir:
Retrieving the Svalnguard (Retrieve the Svalnguard and defeat Helya in the Maw of Souls on Mythic difficulty.)
Part 16
Ashildir:
[1] A Feast Fit for Odyn (Acquire flank meat from Thunderhoof in Stormheim, Spinesever's spine in Highmountain, and a steak from Leytusk in Azsuna.)[2] Presentation is Key (Retrieve 4 Adamantium Casing Scraps and defeat Dargrul the Underking in Neltharion's Lair on Mythic difficulty.)
Part 17
Ashildir:
Odyn's Blessing (Obtain Odyn's blessing in the Halls of Valor onMythic difficulty.)Heroic or
- Use Grand Feast of Valhallas when you enter the dungeon - at the start. You can enter the dungeon alone, put the feast down, get out and then get a group to defeat Odyn and get his blessing. After you defeat him wait for him to finish his speech (RP) and then you can collect his blessing on the loot chest.
Part 18
Archmage Kalec:
Planning the Assault (Await the opening of the Nighthold, then meet Archmage Kalec in Shal'Aran.)
Part 19
Archmage Kalec:
[1] Into the Nighthold (Collect 20 Nightshards from the Nighthold on Normal difficulty or higher.)
- Try and complete this quest without killing Gul'dan because if you kill him before acquiring The Nighthold: Darkness Calls quest in Part 20 he won't drop quest item for you this week and you'll need to wait for a next reset to complete The Nighthold: Darkness Calls quest in Part 20.Thalrenus Rivertree:
[2] The Nighthold: Delusions of Grandeur (Collect the core of Trilliax and Grand Magistrix Elisande's Millennia Tome in the Nighthold on Normal difficulty or higher.)
Part 20
Archmage Kalec:
The Nighthold: Darkness Calls (Bring one Gul'dan's eyes to Archmage Kalec on Normal difficulty or higher.)
Part 21
Archmage Kalec:
Balance of Power (Absorb the combined power of the Nightshards and the Eye of Gul'dan using the Heart of Zin-Azshari at the Lunar Crucible.)
Congratulations on completing this questline and acquiring new Artifact Appearance. Enjoy!
Foxies, out.
Quest facts
Check whether you have already completed this quest
in-game: /run print(C_QuestLog.IsQuestFlaggedCompleted(43525))
Description
The elusive Wardens run an immense secret prison facility deep underneath the mountains of Azsuna housing all manner of terrible creatures. Perhaps... 'used to run' is more accurate. This presents us with a unique opportunity. The wardens used powerful containment crystals to encase each prisoner in their cell. If any of them still remain intact, we could use one to safely contain the Heart's power. They certainly won't be needing them.
Where to go
Pins are the quest’s own POI points from the current retail client, projected onto the in-game zone map. The game marks one blob as the quest’s turn-in; the rest are objective areas. Points that fall outside a map’s window are dropped rather than guessed at.
Coordinates
- Turn-inSuramar 37.8, 47.2
/way #680 37.8 47.2 - Objective areaAzsuna 48.3, 80.1
/way #630 48.3 80.1
Map coordinates of the pins above. An area the client draws as a shape is given by the centre of its points.
Nearby on the Suramar map
- Missing Mages about 20 yards
- Telemantic Expanse about 40 yards
- Hungry Work about 40 yards
- Mouths to Feed about 50 yards
- Ephemeral Manastorm Projector about 50 yards
- Flow Control about 50 yards
- Arcane Communion about 60 yards
- Scenes from a Memory about 60 yards
- Shal'Aran about 60 yards
- And They Will Tremble about 60 yards
Quests whose map markers the client places closest to this one on Suramar, nearest first. Distances are straight lines between the markers.
Getting there
Flight points closest to the quest’s turn-in marker on Suramar:
- Meredil, Suramar
- Irongrove Retreat, Suramar
- Obsidian Overlook, Highmountain
From the turn-in, the objective areas lie:
- Objective area
Inside the dungeon: Vault of the Wardens
This secret Warden facility was carved into the mountainside deep in Azsuna, and sealed with magical wards both to keep intruders out, and to ensure that the terrors locked within could never escape.
Bosses in the Adventure Guide, in order: Tirathon Saltheril, Inquisitor Tormentorum, Ash'golm, Glazer, Cordana Felsong.
Entrance: Azsuna at 48.3, 80.1.
Straight-line distances in yards between the quest’s own map markers (QuestPOI) and the client’s flight-point positions (TaxiNodes); flight paths and terrain are not modelled. Instance text, bosses and entrances are the client’s Adventure Guide data.
Community notes from Wowhead · 54 comments
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Storyline
Balance of Power
Part 21 of 35.
Previous: The Arcway: Rite of the Captain · Next: Twisted Power
- 16Seeking Refuge
- 17Repaid Debt
- 18Lost Knowledge
- 19Court of Stars: Literary Perfection
- 20The Arcway: Rite of the Captain
- 21Vault of the Wardens: Borrowing Without Asking
- 22Twisted Power
- 23A True Test
- 24Seeking the Valkyra
- 25The Mark
- 26Maw of Souls: Retrieving the Svalnguard
- 27A Feast Fit for Odyn
Showing steps 16 to 27 of 35.
Storyline order is the client’s own QuestLine data from the current retail build.
Where this quest fits
Before this quest
Taken from the storyline's own step order.
- The Arcway: Rite of the Captain
Only a captain of the Guard may receive the power of our order - our ancient laws forbid otherwise. You must complete the rite of the captain. Traditionally, aspirants patrol the Arcway for three weeks without rest, the vast labyrinth putting their skills as a Guard to the test.
After this quest
Taken from the storyline's own step order.
- Twisted Power
It is time we put our work to the test by infusing the most potent source of power I know of - fel magic. Rarely, the Legion's minions will carry fragments of the greater portal stones used to usher in their eredar masters.
The storyline at a glance
Balance of Power has 35 steps, from The Power Within to Balance of Power.
Maps its steps are placed on (steps per map): Suramar (16), Azsuna (13), Stormheim (6).
Other storylines on the Suramar map
- Blood and Wine
- An Elven Problem
- Crafting War
- The Waning Crescent
- Eminent Grow-main
- Breaking the Lightbreaker
Steps, storylines and map placement from the client’s QuestLine, prerequisite and QuestPOI data; neighbouring quest text is Blizzard’s own (quest API), shortened to its opening sentences.

