Merlin's Crystal

Merlin's Crystal is the first quest in the Camelot quest series, involving the player rescuing the wizard Merlin from a crystal.

Camelot
To begin the quest, talk to King Arthur in his castle of Camelot. Ask him if you can join the Knights of the Round Table, and he'll suggest you complete a quest first to prove yourself. He'll tell you that his friend and mentor Merlin has been trapped in a crystal.

While they did manage to find their court wizard and bring him back to the castle, they haven't quite figured out how to release him. Arthur will tell you to ask the other knights if you need any help.

The Impenetrable Fortress
First, speak to Sir Gawain about how Merlin got trapped; he'll either be in the same room as King Arthur or outside in the courtyard. He'll tell you that Morgan Le Faye might know how to release Merlin, since she's the one who put him in the crystal. Unfortunately, her hideout - the Keep Le Faye - is practically impenetrable.

Next, find Sir Lancelot upstairs and ask him if he has any idea on how to get into the Keep. He'll tell you that he reckons that the only way to get into Keep Le Faye is by sea, since the front doors are heavily guarded by Renegade Knights.

Now that you've got a lead, head down south to Catherby. You'll find Arhein on the docks just south of the bank. Talk to him to find out that he sails to the Keep to deliver some resources; he's not about to let you hitch a ride, though.

Since Arhein is so adamant about it, you'll have to find another way to reach the fort.

Knight Terror
At this point, it is advised to be equipped for combat. Head up between the Catherby bank and the candle shop where you'll find a few crates. Click on the large one to slip inside and hide. There will be a bit of dialogue as workers come to pack you up and put you in the boat. After a while you'll be dropped off at Keep Le Faye, at which point you can climb out.

''Do not perform any action or the conversation will end and you will have to go through it all over again! If you do perform an action or disconnect, you may have to teleport to exit the crate, at which time you will return to the crate and can try again.''

After your arrival, the renegade knights will not be hostile. Enter the keep and climb the stairs to the top floor, where you'll find a certain Sir Mordred. Dismiss familiars, if any, and talk to him to proceed into a fight. Mordred is fairly easy to kill, with a minimal requirement for food. Do not leave the castle or you'll have to go back to Catherby and do it again!

Just as you are about to defeat him, Morgan will appear begging you not to kill her son!

Sorcery
In exchange for sparing her son's life, she agrees to show you how to release Merlin. Note that if you choose to kill Sir Mordred you will have to wait for him to respawn and fight him again. You will need a number of things to free him from the crystal prison:

Bat bones
There are bats right outside the keep, to the west. Just go out the other door on the ground floor to get outside, and kill one.

''If you are doing the quest Rag and Bone Man, the bats may also drop some giant bat wings. These will not work for the quest.''

Black candle
Head back to Catherby and speak to the candle maker, whose house is just west of the bank. Talk to him and he'll tell you that black candles are traditionally very bad luck to make. Coax him into giving you one and eventually he'll agree — if you can bring him a bucket full of wax.

In the house just north of the bank, you can find a bottle of insect repellent on a table. Take it and head west to the fenced-in flax field, littered with the numerous bee hives. If you don't have a bucket, there is one that spawns right next to the gate by the beehives.

Use the insect repellent on any hive to temporarily drive the bees away, then use a bucket on it to obtain some wax. Take this back to the candle maker to trade for your black candle. You may talk to him again to get any number of black candles for a bucket of wax each. After completing the quest you will not be able to trade a bucket of wax for a candle, instead he will sell black candles for 3 coins each.

Excalibur
To destroy the crystal, you'll need a sword known as Excalibur, currently in the possession of The Lady of the Lake. She's located on the peninsula south-east of Taverley, around the lake shore and past the air balloon. Talk to her and she'll tell you that she has the sword, but that she first wants you to go to the jewellery shop in Port Sarim.

If you don't already have one, grab a loaf of bread from a food shop - the nearest one is Wydin's Food Store, in Port Sarim, just south of the lodestone - and head north to the jewellery shop. As you open the door, a beggar will approach you and ask you for some food to feed his starving family; give him the loaf of bread. When you do, the tramp will change into the Lady of the Lake, who was simply testing the purity of your spirit.

Now satisfied that you are worthy of the sword, she hands you Excalibur.

Magic Words
Go to the Zamorakian temple in Varrock, located in the south-eastern part of the city, near Aubury's Rune Shop. Right click to check the altar. The inscription on it reads: Snarthon Candtrick Termanto.

You must complete this step yourself or you will not be able to complete the ritual.

Freeing Merlin
Go back to Camelot and head to the north-east corner of the castle grounds - outside the castle, but inside the fence. You'll find a small stone gazebo with eight columns. Inside, on the ground, is a twelve pointed star.

Light your black candle within this structure and drop the bat bones here (do NOT bury the bones). A ghost named Thrantax the Mighty will appear and you will be prompted to say the magic words. The magic words are "Snarthon Candtrick Termanto".

If you get it right, the ghost will agree to grant one of your wishes. If you fail, he will attack you and you'll have to try again. Be careful though, as he is level 70 and can hit in triple figures. If this happens, simply stand in the middle of the twelve pointed star again and drop the bat bones. Once the ghost is under your control, you can ask for it to free Merlin from the crystal.

Now go back inside Camelot and from the south-east corner of the ground floor, climb to the very top of the tower. There you will find Merlin imprisoned in a blue crystal. With Excalibur equipped or in your inventory, smash the crystal to release him.

Head back downstairs and talk to King Arthur, who grants you honorary admittance into the Knights of the Round Table.

Rewards

 * 6 quest points
 * Excalibur
 * A replica of Excalibur will be placed in the Varrock Museum as a Varrock Museum display by talking to Historian Minas. This will give you 5 Kudos and a lamp for 1,000 XP (can be used on a skill at least level 20).

Required for completing
Completion of Merlin's Crystal is required for the following:
 * Heroes' Quest
 * Holy Grail

Trivia

 * Upon talking to King Arthur for the first time, he says 'Back in England, Merlin got himself trapped...' This is the first time a quest incorporates a non-fictional country into the game.
 * The quest was once a requirement to teleport to Camelot, but this was later changed.
 * This quest, at one point, could not be completed by skillers due to an update that forced players to wield the sword to smash the crystal. The 'smash' option being later added, skillers are now able to complete the quest again.
 * An interesting glitch currently exists, where if you attempt to enter the jewellery store with multiple loaves of bread, after giving one to the beggar and having him turn into the Lady of the Lake, you can attempt to enter again, spawning another beggar. This can be repeated several times, resulting in multiple copies of Lady of the Lake to appear.
 * This quest awards more quest points on completion than any other standard quest, exceeded only by Recipe for Disaster and Dimension of Disaster when considering the total awarded by completing all of either one's subquests.
 * When prompted to say the magic words "Snarthon Candtrick Termanto," your character will state "What where they again?" This may be a parody from the 1992 movie "Army of Darkness" along with the magic words themselves. Furthermore, "army of Darkness" is set in the medieval time period and somewhat relates to King Arthur and his round table.

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