Details
| Start point |  South-east of the bridge over the River Elid in the desert far south of Al Kharid. Talk to the Wanderer.
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| Official difficulty | Intermediate |
| Description | In the deep south of the desert, unrest is brewing... The cities of the Menaphites have barred their gates to all. An unsettling desert wanderer may know of a secret entrance though, to Sophanem - the city of the dead.
Will you become Icthlarin's Little Helper by entering? Enter into a titanic struggle for the soul of the high priest of Icthlarin in a land where the cat is top dog. |
| Length | Long |
| Requirements | You must have completed Gertrude's Cat, you must be able to defeat a level 91 monster. |
| Items required |
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| Enemies to defeat |
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NOTE: You can get the salt and the bucket of sap from Burthorpe in one trip. There is a slayer master to the east and evergreen trees scattered everywhere. For these quest battles use MELEE or RANGE and have 40 attack and strength or 45 range.
Walkthrough
The start point.
Talking to the Wanderer
Load up on all the supplies for the quest including your cat. Head to The Wanderer in the desert. The Wanderer will have a strange reaction to your cat. The cat must be out. It won't work in your inventory. Use the chat option to put your cat away. She will tell you that if you get your cat away from her, she will tell you about the secret entrance to Sophanem. She will then ask for a tinderbox and full waterskin. Once you give them to her, she will hypnotize you and you'll enter a small cave. You can now use this passage to enter the city at any time, including if you die which will give you the quest items back.
The pyramid door.
You will end up outside a pyramid in Sophanem, and a canopic jar will appear in your inventory. Examine the jar to figure out which organ is inside it.
Flashback 1
A hypnotised player.
WARNING! Once you begin a flashback, you will be unable to teleport away until you either finish it or die. Make sure you are prepared.
Every now and again during the quest, you'll experience a flashback where you remember what you did while you were hypnotised. You need to play through these in order to progress through the quest.
Touch the door of the pyramid to begin the first flashback. During the flashback, you will need to go through the pyramid. You'll see some wall crushers. Stand on the opposite wall and don't go next to them, as they will damage you if you do. Once you're past the crusher blocks, you'll find pit traps in the next hallway. If you step on the wrong spot, you'll fall into a pit and end up at the beginning of the pyramid. You can move forward by clicking on the map and your character will avoid the traps on its own. Stay along the left wall until you pass the whitish rectangle on the wall, then go to the right side. Continue walking until you are opposite a square. Go back to the left side until you pass a candle. Switch to the right wall once more.
The pit.
You'll see Mummies (level 84). They will attack you, simply go past them. You'll also see Scarab swarms (level 96) crack out of the ground. They hit 2 damage on you really fast and can do a 2 damage poison condition. Continue to some more wall crushers. Past these, you'll eventually find a large pit. Jump over it (you'll need 20% run energy. If you fail, you'll reappear near the second set of wall crushers).
The Puzzle.
Go to the west door and try to open the door. Now you need to solve a puzzle. The objective is to flip all of the tiles onto their gold sides. There is no required number of flips that you must make, nor is there any limit of tries. Each time you flip a tile, the 9 tiles in a 3x3 grid will also flip. Once you've solved it, you'll wake up fully healed outside the pyramid.
After Flashback 1
Talking to Sphinx.
After you finish the flashback, talk to the Sphinx with your cat out. Ask for help and the Sphinx will ask you this question: "A husband and a wife have 6 sons. Each son has a sister. How many people are in the family?" The answer is 9. If you guess wrongly, you will lose your cat. Once answered correctly you will receive the Sphinx's token so you can speak to the High Priest.
Talking to the high priest.
Go to the High Priest, located in the southwest corner of the city, and ask him about the remains. He will tell you to put them back in the burial chamber.
Return to the pyramid and select open door. Your cat will help you get back inside. Go through the pyramid using the same steps as in the first flashback. When you reach the pit, you'll enter the second flashback.
Flashback 2
Attacking the guardian.
The second flashback begins where the first one left off; on the other side of the pit. Open the unlocked door of the west room. Examine the four jars to find which one you used to have in your inventory. If you don't remember, just try them all. The player will only take the correct one. As soon as you try to pick up your jar, a guardian will attack you. It can be anywhere from level 63 to level 81. It attacks with magic and melee. Use the protect from magic prayer or take off your armour to kill it with melee. Once you've defeated it, pick up the jar. Leave the room and return to the pit. The flashback ends.
Returning the canopic jar
The end of the puzzle.
After the flashback is over, you will feel regret and you will say to yourself that you think you should put the jar back. Jump the pit and go to the west door. You will need to solve the same door puzzle to enter the room. Turn all of the tiles to their gold side, you will automatically enter the room. Drop the canopic jar where you found it and go back to the High Priest.
Talking to the Embalmer.
The High Priest
Go back through the pyramid across the pit, past the monsters, and past the traps. Talk with the high priest. He will ask you to prepare a ceremony. You will need to help the Embalmer and the Carpenter.
The embalmer
Find the Embalmer in the building south of the high priest, near the water symbol, and talk to him. He will ask for a bucket of sap, linen, and a bag of salt. The bag of salt is bought from a slayer master, and buckets of sap can be obtained by using a knife with an evergreen while you have a bucket. Tell him you will get the items later.
The carpenter
Talking to the Carpenter.
Then head to the city's eastern side to find the Carpenter, who can be found east of the bakery stall. He needs a willow log to make a holy symbol. Talk to him again to give him your willow log. After the quest, the Carpenter will buy willow logs from you at 40 coins each in groups of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20. Next, head a bit north to talk to Raetul, who is wearing a purple headpiece. Buy a sheet of linen for 30 coins.
Then go back to the Embalmer. Give the three items to him. After the quest, the Embalmer will buy buckets of sap from you at 30 coins each in groups of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20.
Go back to the Carpenter and he will give you the symbol.
Starting the ceremony
The Carpenter or the Embalmer (whoever you helped last) will tell you that the High Priest began the ceremony without you. To find him, go back into the pyramid past the traps and the pit. As you cross the pit, the third flashback will begin.
Flashback 3
You will now have an unholy symbol in your inventory. Your character tells you that your mistress wants it inside the pyramid so she can teleport there. Enter the east room and use the symbol with any Sarcophagus around the walls. Leave the room and the flashback will end.
The ceremony
The Ceremony started and the player was too late.
You will speak to yourself again showing your regret for causing harm to the town. Jump across the pit again and reenter the eastern burial chamber. After a cutscene, you'll learn that the Wanderer was behind it. She is really the Devourer, an evil goddess, and she'll possess one of the priests.
You will fight a level 91 Possessed Priest. Use protect from magic and kill him. He drops a four dose attack, strength, magic, agility, or defence potion. Talk to the High Priest again and you will experience the last flashback.
Flashback 4
Icthlarin, god of the dead stops the player from stealing.
You'll experience another flashback. This one is simply a cutscene. You will be escaping from the pyramid, and Icthlarin, god of the dead, will dehypnotize you with the help of the previous high priest.
Finishing the quest
You will find yourself back in the eastern burial chamber. Head outside and talk to the High Priest to complete the quest.
Congratulations! Quest complete!
Reward
- 2 Quest points
- 4,500 Thieving experience
- 4,000 Agility experience
- 4,000 Woodcutting experience
- Catspeak amulet
- Access to the city of Sophanem
- Unlock the carpet rides from Pollnivneach to Sophanem and Mephanos
Trivia
The salesman you get the linen off tells you "Thank you, come again", a catchphrase from Apu the Kwiki Mart owner from The Simpsons.