Missing, Presumed Death



Missing, Presumed Death is a quest that features Death, who has gone missing, and the Menaphite god of the dead, Icthlarin, who is attempting to take over his role until he is found. The quest starts in Silvarea, west of Paterdomus, where some monks have been murdered, their souls unable to pass on due to Death's disappearance.

It also involves the Mahjarrat Sliske, revealing how he obtained the Staff of Armadyl from the Dragonkin prior to the assassination of Guthix.

Official description
When a group of Saradominist monks are slaughtered by an unknown assailant you are asked by the only survivor - a monk who is extremely traumatised - to find the killer and bring them to justice. But there's more to this puzzle than meets the eye, starting with the souls of the dead monks being trapped in their bodies...

Murders in Silvarea
To start the quest, speak to Brother Samwell in the mountain pass of Silvarea, located west of Paterdomus and east of Varrock. The player calms him down, and he hands the investigation notebook to the player.

Investigate the three slaughtered monks, tree with an arrow stuck in it and the nearby plant to find all the core clues. Searching a plant nearby yields a lost ring. Talk to the south west slaughtered monk to gain an additional clue.

NOTE: Sometimes, not all the pieces register as "found". Destroy the problem item and find it again, if this happens.

Return to Brother Samwell.

He then says find a witness, Go up the hill and talk to the Odd Old Man. In order to get him to talk, persuade him three times, then threaten him. Return to Brother Samwell.

Select all the chat options. Then select, "I think someone else did it".

Next, follow the crystals to the east. These crystals are small and blue; they may not appear on low detail. The trail leads up the steps and off towards the beacon. Upon coming to the end of the trail, the player sees the dead elf. Click her to find a core clue on her hands and an additional clue by listening to her soul. Also, investigate the plant to find a necklace, the clothing on the fence, and the bench to find a letter. Talk to Blaze at the beacon by threatening him twice then persuading him for more information. Return to Brother Samwell.

Go to the Wizard's Tower south of Draynor and talk to Wizard Valina (at the front entrance). Show her the clues, then ask her about elves, Saradominist wizards and teleportation. Accuse her of covering up for wizards for a more thorough explanation. She claims that it is neither elves nor wizards who did the crime.

Return to Brother Samwell and tell him what was learned. Select the option about a "Clear conclusion." Choose any option to discuss a possible suspect, but none of the clues address the trapped souls. Icthlarin communicates with the player telepathically and appears. Go through all his dialogue options to learn about Death's disappearance and their work. At this point, 4 wights attack. Their life points vary depending on your level. Icthlarin will battle them alongside you with magic, but you will have to finish them off yourself as he can only weaken them to around 25% of their lifepoints.

After defeating the wights, the last one you kill drops an invitation box. The box, left by the killer Sliske, invites Icthlarin to attend his ascension. Ichthlarin debates going, but decides to do so after dealing with the dead monks. Open the invitation box to be transported to the Empyrean Citadel.

The Empyrean Citadel
Upon arriving at the citadel, there are representatives of the gods standing outside a set of doors guarded by the Barrows Brothers. The player may talk to any of them for some interesting, but inconsequential, dialogue. Talk to Icthlarin to proceed.

The Maze
Enter the door to the west then head north to the window to witness a cutscene of Saradomin, Zamorak, Bandos and Armadyl arguing. It is unknown if Zaros is in attendance, as there is an unexaminable purple smoke/hue floating on a Zarosian pedestal that does not speak or interact with anyone in any way, and nobody acknowledges it.

Icthlarin enters and tries to unite them to no avail. Once the cutscene is over head round the crates and out the southern window, jumping over the gap, running over the planks, jumping down the rocks then up the rocks to enter the western window. Climb through an obstacle then head to the northern door to proceed.

Attack of the Wights
Enter the northern room to do battle with 7 wights (level 10, 9900 HP)

Before you start the battle, pull all three levers in the room, this will reveal some light in the room which makes the wights vulnerable, you can only harm them while they are standing in these spots. You may have to lure each wight into the light in order to kill it. The battle will be in waves of 1 wight, then 2 ranger wights, then 4 wight footsoldiers. Once all the wights are dead, go to the window to view a cutscene of the gods, including Brassica Prime, discussing why they are here, then go through the door to the north. If you die in the battle, you have to restart the waves; however, the lights stay on.

Shadow Caster Puzzle
In this section, you encounter a room with two masks on a viewing panel. Clicking on the panel yields an interface in which you need to rotate the shadow casters to project an image on the floor. Rotate the bottom-left machine once, the top-left one twice, the top-right one three times and the bottom-right machine once. This forms the correct shape from the shadows. Go to the window to view a cutscene of Sliske's arrival, and then continue through the east door.

Riddle Puzzle
Start by talking to the "Statue of Death" for the first riddle, place the correct answer-item on the pedestal next to him

After solving the last riddle, you receive an invitation to Sliske's ascension. Go to the window to see Sliske summon Death and the Dragonkin Strisath. Leave by the southern door and jump off the drop.

On the edge of war
Speak to one of the Barrows brothers to get inside the main room. Once inside, and after some dialogue, Sliske announces a contest: whoever kills the most gods will be awarded the Stone of Jas. After a lot of commotion to trust Sliske or not, he sets the dragonkin loose (which goes on a rampage) and throws the key to Death's cage at you. Icthlarin puts up a shield to protect you from the dragonkin's attacks while you get to Death. To get to Death, head west and stamp out the flames until you get to his cage. Free him and return to Icthlarin. Talk to him and a cutscene plays and Death teleports everybody remaining to safety.

Note: If you or Icthlarin, after his shield fails, get hit by the Dragonkin's attack you must start the whole sequence again.

Rewards

 * 2 Quest points
 * Prayer lamp, granting 500 Prayer experience
 * Agility lamp, granting 1000 Agility experience
 * Combat lamp (1500XP), granting 1500 experience in a chosen combat skill
 * Mask of Sliske, Light/Mask of Sliske, Shadow cosmetic headgears.
 * Book of the Underworld
 * Invitation box, used to teleport to the Empyrean Citadel.
 * 2 spins on the Squeal of Fortune

Additional rewards
After completion of the quest, one can return to the Empyrean Citadel and talk to the statue to gain extra rewards if you meet the requirements. These rewards are: Note if you do not have the required level to claim a lamp, the Statue of Death will withhold that lamp and you will receive a message stating that you cannot claim the lamp.
 * Thieving lamp, granting 50,000 Thieving experience (requires 75 Thieving; not able to use temporary skill boosts)
 * Constitution lamp, granting 50,000 Constitution experience (requires 75 Constitution)
 * Antique lamp, granting 30,000 experience in a chosen skill that is at least level 75
 * 30 Barrows amulets
 * Two new death animations

Music unlocked

 * Undying
 * Empyrean Citadel
 * Cliffhanger
 * Dying Light
 * Faces Obscura
 * Free Death

Post-Quest FAQ

 * Missing, Presumed Death - FAQ

Trivia
Desaparecido, Morte Presumida
 * The quest's title is a pun on the classification "missing, presumed dead" used for people who have been missing and are most likely to have died.
 * A purple aura could be seen over Zaros' podium, whereas for other Gods who were not present such as Seren, Marimbo and Guthix, no such aura appeared, indicating that the Empty Lord was fully aware of what was happening.  Azzanadra also said that Zaros is 'ever-present'. Additionally, if the player sides with Zaros in the Citadel meeting room, a dialogue box appears and states the player feels a strange presence around them, whilst if you side with any of the other factions, no presence is felt.
 * If you have released Hazeel and Kharshai, they will both be present at the citadel. Hazeel will take Khazard's place, though.
 * The talking masks in the first puzzle room occasionally say things that break the fourth wall, such as referring the puzzle as novice difficulty or accusing the player of using a walkthrough, amongst others.
 * Relomia, the Emissary of Sliske, can be seen on the walkway to the second puzzle room on one of the floating rocks in the distance. She seems to have arrived to see Sliske.
 * Near the Memorial Statue there is storage crate. Investigating this crate reveals that it contains several copies of a list. The list mentions the gods invited to the ascension, and states that Death and the player are mischief-makers. It would seem that this is a list of all the people who Sliske was expecting to be present at his announcement.
 * Upon completion of the quest the Adventure's Log states: I saved Death from Sliske, after hearing him announce that he would give the Stone of Jas to the person that could kill the most gods.
 * After completion of the quest, additional dialogue is available with Azzanadra and Wahisietel discussing the current state of Sliske and the Stone of Jas.
 * This is the third quest in which dead Saradominst hermits are seen, and the second of them to be investigated.