It seems there are still plenty of secrets to be found within World of Warcraft, as an in-game treasure hunt recently turned into a fight for survival against an ancient (and secret) boss monster.

As documented on Reddit, the saga began with members of the WoWHead community putting their heads together in order to discover the secret to obtaining the Reins of the Long Forgotten Hippogryph in World of Wacraft's new Legion expansion. The hippogryph is a long-unreleased mount first revealed via data-mining way back in 2007, and something for which mount collectors have long waited.

The hunt for the hippogryph led players to discover a secret cave hidden within a destroyed ship in the middle of the ocean. Inside, players found a mysterious orb. Soon, other hidden caves were discovered alongside more dark orbs, but it was unclear what exactly the orbs did or how many existed in Legion's new region of the Broken Isles.

Eventually, an NPC with deep ties to Warcraft lore, the warlock-hermit Drak'Thul, was found to be near one of the mysterious orbs. Better yet, a makeshift map next to the NPC seemed to pinpoint the location of each orb. Through trial and error, players eventually discovered that the orbs needed to be clicked in a specific order, though for what purpose remained a mystery.

That's when something unexpected happened. Rather than being rewarded the long lost hippogryph mount or a quest to obtain it, a gigantic Old God by the name of Kosumoth the Hungering appeared. Nearby players, regardless of faction, were then tasked with slaying the beast, who appeared on an island off the coast of the game's new region. Eventually, players rallied together and emerged victorious, but their prize for defeating the monster wasn't what the players who began the treasure hunt had hoped for. Rather than a hippogryph mount, players are rewarded either with a Fathom Dweller jellyfish mount or a Hungering Claw battle pet for their efforts.

It's cool to see that Blizzard went through so much trouble to create a massive world boss and quest line that few players will likely ever do for themselves. Alas, the search for the Long Forgotten Hippogryph still continues. Here's hoping players don't accidentally wake up any more slumbering gods bent on the destruction of the world in their quest to find it.