Icemist Village Icemist Village is the former capital of the taunka ( aka " Winter Tauren " ) . It is said that the village was originally an Icemist tauren outpost ( but it is unclear how long ago that was ) , but is now the ravaged capital of the " Winter Tauren " . It is located on the edge of Lake Wintergrasp within the Dragonblight . It was destroyed by undead nerubian s and is currently controlled by the Scourge forces out of Azjol Nerub ( which for some reason the village was built right next to ) . The Scourge here are led by Under - King Anub ' et ' kan whom players must kill during the quest chain . The taunka chieftain , Roanauk Icemist , is currently being imprisoned amongst the ruin s of the village . The player frees him in the quest chain . Background . Tauren who moved to the Dragonblight lived only in one place , Icemist Village . Icemist Village was once a small village perched on the edge of Lake Wintergrasp . A pack of Icemist tauren settled on the west edge of the Dragonblight , on the shore of Lake Wintergrasp . They didn ' t venture into the blight proper very often , preferring the clean cold of the lake to the bitter air of doom and death of the blight . Icemist Village was a pleasant outpost , with friendly and helpful tauren . Most travelers in Northrend stopped there when passing in its direction . Travelers could always find someone with whom to trade or share information over a drink . The tauren kept a ready supply of food , drink , clothes , and basic tools , and sold them to anyone who was in need . They even gave things away , if people were desperate , and they even dragged in travelers they found collapsed on the lake or in the surrounding area . Tundra Coldhoof oversaw the village . Present . The village became the capital of the winter tauren , the taunka . In time they spread out from Lake Wintergrasp and built villages elsewhere in Northrend , including in the Borean Tundra , Grizzly Hills , and Howling Fjord . The taunka high chief , Roanauk Icemist , has become Icemist Village ' s most recent ruler . Recently , the village was attacked by the Scourge and brought into ruin . Many of the taunka were able to escape and were held in protective custody at the Westwind Refugee Camp on the western border of the Dragonblight . Roanauk Icemist , however , was captured and remains in the ruins of the village . Icemist tauren ? Winter Tauren ? Taunka ? It is known that taunka originally were an offshoot of the tauren . It is unclear when they first became taunka however . The terms " Icemist tauren " and " winter tauren " may be synonmous in meaning . This would make the term " taunka " synonmous as well . Several quests refer to the taunka as " winter tauren " . Some quests use the terms " taunka " and " winter tauren " within the same quest , which shows that the terms are apparently synonmous and can be used interchangeably . See for example . If this is true , then maybe the " Icemist tauren " / " winter tauren " were always taunka , but have alternate race names ( or that they first colonized the village when they were tauren and later became taunka ) . Considering the new backstory ( or expanded backstory ) , it is possible that Tundra Coldhoof is a taunka . Another possibility , considering there is a different leader replacing Tundra Coldhoof , is that the village once had tauren and taunka at the same time ( although " winter tauren " and " Icemist tauren " may mean the same thing ) . Another thing to consider is that material described in " Lands of Mystery " took place approximately 2 - 3 years before Wrath of the Lich King , which would have given time for certain changes in leadership and for the village to change hands . It may be possible that the " Icemist tauren " have evolved into taunka in the last couple of years . Another good question to ask is " when " was the settlement first founded ? It may have been founded as a tauren outpost a long time ago , but later became the taunka capital .