Blood Runs Deep

The sick man's dream world

 * Make sure you have your Seal of passage with you, and travel to the Lunar Isle to speak with Baba Yaga in her chicken-leg house.


 * Talk to her about the man in the bed. She tells you he washed up on the shore and asks if you can help her.


 * Tell her yes.


 * She says you two can travel to the sick man's dream world and find the root of his problem. She reminds you that anything can happen in a dream world, so she suggests you prepare for war. She says to meet her back in her house when you are ready.


 * Warning:  During this trip with Baba Yaga, you are attacked by level 90 dagannoths that use melee, a level 88 dagannoth that attacks with range, and a level 98 Wallasalki that uses magic. You do not need to kill them (since they will just respawn), but you do need to survive their attacks for a few minutes while Baba Yaga works to get you two off the platform and back to her house. Bring good defensive armour and a weapon. Bring a dozen or so sharks or higher-healing food and Prayer potions. Turn on the Protect from Melee prayer. If you do die, your gravestone will appear near Baba Yaga's house. If you die and can return to Lunar Isle only by boat, talk to Lokar on the westernmost dock of Rellekka, and when he mentions your lack of a Seal of Passage, simply reply that you are only going to Pirates' Cove. You can then travel the rest of the journey as usual, but without a seal. Be sure to not talk to anyone on the isle until you've recovered your seal.




 * Once you are ready, talk to Baba Yaga in her house again.


 * In a cutscene, you and Baba Yaga go to the Ceremonial Brazier and then enter the man's dreams. In the dream, you find yourself on the first floor of the Lighthouse and figure out that the man is Silas, the previous Lighthouse keeper.


 * Choose the Listen Silas option on Silas to hear what he is muttering as he writes in his journal.


 * Baba Yaga then suggests you search the room.


 * Search the bookcase on the north side of the platform to find a Prophecy Tablet (Lighthouse).


 * If you have no empty inventory slots, Baba Yaga will take the tablet for safekeeping.


 * Talk to Baba Yaga again, and she wonders where the stairs lead.


 * Climb the stairs.




 * You see rows and rows of dagonnoths below you, walking out of a tunnel.


 * Talk to Baba Yaga, who suggest you listen for anything.


 * Choose Eavesdrop-on either Silas or the Dagannoth Mother.


 * You learn that the Dagannoth Mother is gathering an army to attack "the barbarian port" of Rellekka. She says the "Jah-Nay Islands" (Jatizso and Neitiznot) will not attack her army once they see what the dagannoths have done to Rellekka, and that Misk island (Miscellania) will quickly surrender, once its citizens realize the dagannoths have captured their king. The mother goes on to say that once her children have developed the new immunities she has mastered, the world will be their toy. After listening in, Baba Yaga says you two need to find a lectern to escape and suggests going through the tunnel.


 * Enter the tunnel to the west on your platform.


 * You and Baba Yaga find yourselves on another platform, with Silas slumped over on the ground and a lectern to the south holding a book called Our Lives.


 * Talk to Silas—who asks who you are—and then try to read the book on lectern, which isn't working.


 * Baba Yaga says she will have to study the lectern, but Silas hysterically says the mother has sent the dagannoths after you. Turn on the Protect from melee prayer, eat when you have to, and stay alive while Baba Yaga figures out what is wrong with the lectern. If you brought range or mage weapons, first take out the Wallasalki and the ranging dagannoth on the platform across from you. When the two respawn, they do not seem to attack you anymore with mage and range, letting you focus just on defending against melee attacks. She finally says "Did it! That was close!" and you leave the platform and find youself back in the chicken-leg house.

Defending Rellekka



 * Safely back in her house, talk to Baba Yaga.


 * The Oneiromancer appears in her house and talks to Baba Yaga, using an unknown communication method, probably telepathy.


 * Ask what is happening.

The leader of the Moon Clan tells you Rellekka is under attack by hordes of "daggermouths." She asks you to go help. Baba Yaga says she knows "a trick to get you there quickly." Her trick is to take your Seal of passage. Without it, she will not recognize you and will expel you to Rellekka. If you are ready to fight many dagannoths, agree to her trick. If not, bank, stock up, and then talk to her again.


 * Tell her you are ready for her trick.


 * In Rellekka, join the Fremennik in defending their city against level 88 and 90 dagannoths that use melee and ranged attackes.


 * Protect from Melee is recommended, and keep an eye on damage from the ranging dagannoths. For faster kills, help the Fremennik instead of fighting alone. A cannon greatly speeds up the process.


 * After 50 dagannoth kills, Brundt the Chieftain calls for you to join him on his ship on the indicated dock, marked with a yellow flashing arrow.


 * On the longship, speak with Queen Sigrid.


 * She tells you that King Vargas is missing and that the two of them are engaged to be married. She then gives you the mighty Balmung. She mentions to not let Vargas near the axe, as he can be so clumsy at times. You can also speak to your own beloved (Princess Astrid or Prince Brand) on the boat if you want.


 * After receiving the Balmung, talk to Brundt and ask him for another seal of passage. He tells you to keep an eye out for Bardur on Waterbirth Island as he might have seen something.


 * If you are ready, head out for Waterbirth Island. If you are not, go with Brundt back to Rellekka to prepare or have him take you to the bank on Etceteria.


 * If you choose Etceteria, he drops you off just west of the bank.

Saving King Vargas
Warning:  Your trip through the Waterbirth Dungeon will take you through several multicombat rooms (see the map of the path through the dungeon, to the right). You'll be attacked from all three sides of the Combat triangle, so wear good all-around defensive armour. Bring a few Prayer potions; lots of high-healing food for yourself and King Vargas; and maybe even a useful Familiar, such as a Beast of Burden to carry more supplies, a healer (a Bunyip or Unicorn for example), or a Titan to boost your defense. Leave one space open for a rope Bardur will give you. Once you find King Vargas, you may want to turn off run, as he is too injured to keep up with you otherwise.




 * Once on Waterbirth Island, go to the the dungeon entrance to find Bardur.


 * Ask him if he's seen anything strange.


 * He tells you he is hearing voices, like an old man's.


 * Talk to him again.


 * He tells you he saw a hole on top of the island "round to the south" from where you are standing, near a snape grass spawn and hobgoblins.


 * He gives you a rope to go down the hole.


 * Make your way round to the south-western tip of the island, and choose the Tie-rope option on the hole and then climb down the hole.


 * Once down in the cave, you see an injured King Vargas north-east of the rope.


 * Talk to him.


 * He tells you he is being help captive. Bardur yells down that "daggermouths" are swarming around the cave entrance above and you'll have to find another way out. Vargas tells you of another way, through an underwater passage that puts you in the middle of the Waterbirth Dungeon. He also asks for food but then says you should hold on to it for now. Later, in one of the rooms, you will need to feed him to keep him alive when he is under attack.


 * Tell him you will stay close to him.


 * You are teleported to a chamber.




 * Proceed north and then east to the ladder at the end of the corridor.


 * Take your time and turn off run, as Vargas, limping, has difficulty keeping up with you. don't get too far ahead of him, or the dagannoths will get him and return him to the first chamber.


 * Climb down the ladder, and you find yourself in room 15 on sublevel 5 of Waterbirth Dungeon. See the map to the right for the path to take from this room out of the dungeon.


 * This first room is a Multicombat area with Wallasalki with magic attacks, Rock lobsters with fast melee attacks, and Dagannoth with ranged and melee attacks. The rock lobsters can deal a lot of damage if don't turn on Protect from Melee. Give them a wide berth as you pass them, and some may not notice you and will not attack.


 * Head to the far-east side of the chamber, past the small Summoning obelisk, and climb up the next ladder.


 * In this second chamber on the map to the right, you and the king are among a group of dagannoths attacking with melee and ranged.


 * Kill the dagannoths that are attacking King Vargas, and use food on him to keep him alive.


 * You need to kill or distract the dagannoths attacking Vargas before you can climb up the ladder. One method is to be on the Ancient spellbook and cast Ice Burst or Ice Barrage on the dagannoths attacking Vargas, freezing them and giving Vargas time to escape.


 * Climb up the ladder at the west side of the chamber.


 * After exiting the second room, the only monsters left to pass are rock lobsters, which do not target King Vargas.


 * Make your way through the last two rooms.


 * After reaching the final room, King Vargas climbs the ladder first, and a trap set by the dagannoths causes rocks to fall, killing you. You awake to find yourself in the Fremennik spiritual realm, where fallen Fremennik warriors go when they die.




 * Talk with Eir—who explains where you are—and then with Nial Swiftfling and Asleif Hamalsdotter, who have walked up to the two of you.


 * After speaking with all of them, talk again with Eir so she can take you back to your friends.


 * You wake up on Brundt's longboat.


 * Talk with Brundt, who explains what happened.


 * Speak next with King Vargas.


 * He gives you a Prophecy tablet he found in the dagannoth cave. Vargas with Queen Sigrid then tell you they wish to be married on the boat and ask you to conduct the wedding ceremony.


 * Marry the royal couple, choosing whichever options you feel are appropriate.


 * Following the ceremony, unless you changed genders after Throne of Miscellania, your own beloved (either Prince Brand or Princess Astrid) suggests that the you two of you also get married. You can agree or choose not to marry by selecting the "Let's discuss it later" option. (Any choice is fine, as events later in the quest will show.)


 * Finally, talk to Brundt, who offers to take you to Rellekka or to the bank on Etceteria.

The Fremennik fleet sails
Warning:  While you can fight the Dagannoth Sentinels and then continue straight on for your battle with the dagannoth mother, you probably should teleport out of the dungeon and resupply between the two battles. The sentinels use melee up close and magic and ranged attacks at a distance and can heal each other with "a rallying cry." To keep them from healing each other, alternate your attacks between the two: Strike one sentinel, attack the other, switch back to the first, and so on. If you are going to melee, the sentinels are not immune to poison, so you can equip a Dragon dagger(p++) and use its special attack on both monsters twice at the beginning of the battle and then switch to the Balmung. (You don't need the Balmung for the sentinels, only for the mother.) If you are on the Ancient spellbook, the Blood spells are effective on the sentinels, letting you save food for the final battle. If you bring a Beast of Burden, Titan, or other attacking familiar, you can set it to attack one of sentinels while you alternate between the two: The sentinels will not heal damage inflicted by a familiar's attacks.


 * Get ready for a battle, and back in Rellekka, talk with Brundt in the long hall about the war against the daggermouths. Tell him you are ready to go.


 * You see a dramatic cutscene of the Fremennik fleet sailing for Waterbirth Island.


 * On board a ship, talk with Baba Yaga and Brundt about the meaning of the Prophecy Tablets. You three work out that the daughter of the old Dagannoth Mother has grown up and become the new mother to the dagannoths. To prevent a new mother from emerging again, instead of killing the mother, weaken her severely and then seal her in her chamber.


 * On Waterbirth Island, head to the dungeon entrance on the south-western tip of the island, where you originally found King Vargas, and climb down.


 * In the chamber, you find Koschei the Deathless, Baba Yaga, and the prince and princess of Miscellania.


 * Talk to them, and then try to enter the tunnel to the south of where you are standing. See the map to the right for directions to the sentinels.


 * Koschei says he will watch the entrance to the tunnel.


 * In the second chamber, attempt to enter the tunnel to the south.


 * You hear a roar, and Koschei enters the chamber and says the Dagannoth Kings have entered the hatchery. He needs help, so the rest of your companions go back with Koschei while you go on to finish the quest by yourself.

The fight with the sentinels



 * Enter the third cave, where you find the two Dagannoth Sentinels.


 * Attack them, alternating your attacks between the two so they won't have time to heal each other with their rallying cries.


 * After defeating the two, teleport away and prepare for the final battle.


 * When you return to this chamber, the dagannoth sentinels will be gone from guarding the entrance.

Getting to the Mother's lair
After you beat them, enter the tunnel to get to the next cave. There are Dagannoth guardians here. Make your way through the cave, going over a low obstacle and through a tunnel in the wall, head south, and you'll find the entrance to the Dagannoth Mother's cave.

Remember since the Dagannoth Sentinels will be gone from guarding the entrance after you killed them if for some reason you need to, you can teleport or walk back to a bank and restock on food etc.

The Dagannoth Mother
WARNINGS: 
 * You cannot leave this fight by any means other than teleporting.
 * If you are on a non-standard spellbook such as Ancient Magicks or Lunar Spells, it is absolutely necessary to switch to the normal spellbook for the use of Elemental Spells!
 * Her stripe will be grey at first and will NOT change; you must hit her with Balmung to activate the colour changes.
 * Do not forget to drink Prayer potion. Some players forget because of having to change between fighting styles.
 * When starting the battle, make sure Protect from Melee is ON, as the mother can hit up to 43 melee damage.

If you die fighting her you get the option to be taken back to the outer cave of her area, so you should easily be able to reach your gravestone in time.

The Dagannoth Mother is a powerful foe, switching between ranged, magic and melee attacks. She sticks to one attack style for a while before switching, so Protect Prayers and Deflect Curses can prevent a lot of damage. Her back will change colour periodically, showing the only type of damage she is currently vulnerable to. You should bring equipment for all the combat styles.

You must bring every type of magic spell available, a range weapon and a melee weapon - if you neglect two or more of these, the mother will alternate between the two methods that you don't have. It is suggested to maintain a high mage and ranged attack bonus, because the mother tends to alternate between whatever your lowest attacks are, and if you are consistently missing with magic attacks, it is likely she will not switch away from them. She will not move toward you if you stand away from her: when not using melee, stand out of melee range from her, lowering her max hit to about 19 with range. Her max hit is 43 with melee, yet her melee attack rarely hits; if you see her meleeing you it is definitely suggested to switch as fast as you can.

A good strategy is to use good magic defence gear, such as black dragonhide or Karil's.



Suggested Equipment:


 * Black dragonhide body
 * Ahrim's skirt/Mystic robe bottom (for Magic bonus)
 * Torag's Armour (w/out hammers) is effective against the Mother's Range attack but has fairly negative range an magic attack bonuses
 * Amulet of Fury/Glory
 * Prayer book/Spirit Shield
 * Mystic Boots
 * Mystic Hat/Splitbark Helmet
 * Rune Crossbow (with BroadBolts)
 * God Cape/Ardougne cloak 3 (for Prayer bonus)
 * Ancient staff/Lava staff for more space for food
 * Balmung (required to first attack mother)
 * Barrow gloves
 * Explorer Ring 3 (for Prayer bonus)

Inventory:


 * 1 Prayer Potion
 * All elemental wave spells (at least 50-100 casts of each?)
 * Super defence potion
 * Familiar Pouch: Beast of burden (Spirit terrorbird and above) / Healing Familiar (Titan and above)
 * Fill the rest of Inventory with high healing food (Shark, Cavefish, Rocktail) If summoning a Beast of Burden, they should be carrying a full load of food (and set your summoning left-click option to take BoB inventory, to fill your pack with food instantly, this is a big advantage during the fight against the mother).
 * Note: It is NOT worth taking a bunyip as they do not heal enough.
 * Note: You may also use Saradomin brews as food during the fight but then you might also need a few Super restore potions too to restore your stats after you drink a brew)

Strategy

 * See Dagannoth Mother (Blood Runs Deep) for more detail on how to fight her.

First, start off the fight with the Balmung, this damages the mother and she will start to change colour.

When she changes colour, use the above table to distinguish which attacks to use. Remember, green is not

earth attacks—it is ranged.From then on, it is more effective to stay at a distance and Protect from Ranged.

This will prevent the Mother from using melee, which only leaves her magic or ranged to attack with. Therefore, good magic defence such as Karil's is advised. This is the best technique for avoiding her devastating 40's and will make her a relatively easy kill. When the Mother does turn orange, players can switch to their Balmung and execute a hit-and-run technique, which is a similar technique seen in Bounty worlds, or a player may not even use melee at all during the fight in order to save food (excluding the first attack with the Balmung.)

Tip: If you cannot see the colours clearly, you should go to Graphics settings and set lighting detail to: low. The chat box will also show to what colour she has changed to.

Eat food when required and keep changing your attack style corresponding to her colour. If you cannot see the colour clearly, read the text which makes it clear what colour she is and what attack style you should use. Also, it may be helpful to have a second set of eyes watching the fight to call out colour and attack changes.

Tip: This can help if you're a more melee style fighter. Make sure you have auto-attack turned off. Wear black d'hide and use protect from melee. Stay close.

(Note: Many people have died during this quest trying to melee her when she has not turned orange. This has been proven to be ineffective.)

Sealing the chamber
Beware:, if the Dagannoth Mother is in the death position, but a familiar attacks her, then she will briefly stand up and retaliate against the player, possibly causing damage or possibly death, so it is advised to keep protect from melee on until you are out of the chamber, if you are using a familiar.

When the mother runs out of hit points, she collapses but does not die. (There are no drops, and she is still visible on the map and minimap, but she is lying on the ground, unable to move or attack.) You can now exit her chamber and should do so. In the entrance area, collapse the columns there with the help of the pickaxe, tinderbox, and plank, which spawn there. Your plan goes amiss and the ceiling caves in, killing yourself once more and sending you to the Fremennik spiritual realm.

Finishing up
Eir will explain that this is your last time you can visit until you are there for good. She will send you back to your companions at the start of the caves. There, you discover Princess Astrid and Prince Brand have been killed by the Dagannoth Kings. (This is why it doesn't matter whether you get married or not earlier.) Koschei and Baba Yaga seem to be alive and you can talk to them. However, Koschei reveals that he thinks he has died again.

Attempt to climb up the rope, and Brundt the Chieftain will call down, saying they have to retreat from the dagannoths on the surface. You and he board his ship and talk about what happened. If you use a teleport to escape the dungeon instead of the rope you will have to talk to Brundt in Rellekka where he will tell you he was waiting for you at Waterbirth. The quest will then continue.

You sail to Miscellania and Etceteria, where a bittersweet cutscene plays as King Vargas, Queen Sigrid, Brundt, and you launch and set on fire the pyre ships bearing the bodies of Prince Brand and Princess Astrid.

Brundt and you then return to Rellekka, and the quest will be complete. Speak to Brundt three times after the quest to receive all your rewards.

Rewards

 * Three lots of 150,000 experience in either Attack, Defence, Strength, Hitpoints, Ranged, Magic or Prayer (level 75 and higher), for a total of 450,000.
 * Balmung
 * 2 Quest Points

Music
Music tracks unlocked:
 * The Fallen Hero
 * Jaws of the Dagannoth
 * Maiasaura

Trivia

 * This is the only quest that involves the player dying in the storyline.
 * When the quest first came out, the spoilers for the quest read "Eir is keeping the rewards a secret for now. She'll let us know what they are sometime before the End of Things..."
 * In the adventurers log, when someone has completed the quest, it shows up with the story "A new dagannoth mother threatened civilisation itself around the northern seas, but with a mighty force of Fremennik and their allies at my back, I have trapped her."
 * During the battle in Rellekka, some Fremenniks say "This is Rellekka!". This refers to the film 300 where King Leonidas said "This is Sparta!"
 * While you are escorting the king, the monsters in the dungeon have significantly reduced drops until you finish the quest and/or enter the dungeon a different way.
 * This is the first quest that requires players to have finished a whole Achievement Diary before they can start the quest.
 * There is an Aliens reference in the first conversation that you have with King Vargas underneath Waterbirth Island ("They mostly come at night. Mostly...").
 * There is a Star Wars reference when speaking to Nial Swiftfling. Nial says: "You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled." Lando Calrissian says this to Han Solo when Han arrives at Cloud City during The Empire Strikes Back; like Lando, Nial was merely pretending to be upset.
 * This quest gives the most experience directly when completed, a total of 450,000 experience. Previously While Guthix Sleeps gave a total of 400,000 experience and Nomad's Requiem gives 70 zeal which can potentially be converted into more experience if it is spent on a skill and that skill is of a sufficiently high level.
 * There are multiple glitches in the quest; for one, when fighting the Dagannoth Mother, it will tell you in the chat box that your ring of recoil is ineffective, even if you don't have one equipped or with you. This is caused by using Deflect curses in the Ancient Curses prayer set when using them.
 * A glitch occurs when a player reaches one of the requirements for this quest. The accomplishment will scroll read: "You now have all the levels/one of the levels required to complete null."
 * After the quest it is impossible to retrieve any of the prophecy tablets, as the player character tells Brundt they will destroy them and they disappear, even from the bank.
 * In addition, there is no option to update the Varrock Museum curator regarding the prophecy tablets that were originally displayed there after the Glorious Memories quest was complete.
 * When Baba Yaga takes the player's seal of passage, the player states "I see what you did there." This is a reference to a popular internet meme.
 * After the Mother is killed if you fail to examine the dead bodies and go straight up the rope, the cut scene will play as normal except there is no reward; The player is then prompted to go back into the hatchery to examine the bodies, thus causing the cut scene to be played twice showing the funeral again.


 * This quest requires higher Attack, Strength and Slayer levels than any other quest.
 * When Princess Astrid and Prince Brand are lying dead on the floor, you can talk to Baba Yaga about her promise to protect Princess Astrid/Prince Brand, if you keep choosing negative comments you will be able to attack her for one time, after attacking she teleports away.
 * A glitch occurred that when a player returned to Baba Yaga, Koschei, and the dead princess and prince after their victory over the Dagannoth Mother, if the player logged out before climbing the rope up out of the cavern, when they logged on they would be outside the dungeon again and once they reentered, a message would pop up saying "You have unlocked a new music track: ." This also happens if you go back to the dungeon after you have completed the quest. This glitch has been fixed .
 * King Vargas is the first NPC to walk slower than any other NPC on RuneScape.



Blood Runs Deep