Rune Mysteries

Rune Mysteries is a novice quest mainly set in the Wizards' Tower, replacing a former quest also called Rune Mysteries. Along with this quest, Rune Memories and the graphical rework of the Wizards' Tower were released on the same day.

Trouble in the Library
Talk to Ariane at the entrance of the Wizards' Tower, who is trying to convince Wizard Valina to allow her access into the tower because Ariane believes there is a serious threat to it. However, Valina refuses because Archmage Sedridor forbids her entry for any reason. It is then that she asks the player to pass the message to Sedridor.

Suddenly, a cutscene ensues showing a magical vortex attacking Wizard Borann the librarian. You and Ariane attempt to enter the tower but Ariane is warded off by a spell and falls to the ground. She tells you to lure the vortex to the centre of the power beam by casting Air Strike (or any other spell really) on it. You can pick up the tower mindspike (air) west side next to Borann if you don't have any air runes. If you already have a mindspike in your bank, one will not appear on the tower floor. Make sure you have the mindspike with you to avoid an un-nessesary trip to the bank. Stand at the other side of the beam, set a spell to auto-cast and attack the vortex to lure it into place. You must use an Air elemental spell (Ancients, or Normal spellbook). Keep doing this until the vortex moves to the centre of the beam, then it will disappear. Although magic abilities can be used to lure the vortex, it is not recommended as it is much harder to control.

The Old Tower
Talk to Ariane outside the tower by the bridge. When asked why she was not allowed to enter the tower, she reveals herself to be a seer. She tells that at the Tower students are taught that anyone can learn magic even without talent, but that being a seer is passed on through the family. As such, the other students resented Ariane for it. She had asked her mentor, Wizard Ellaron, to help her suppress her powers, but instead he helped her develop them. At some point, she had an encounter with the Tower's demon, who made the conversation look as if she were a Zamorakian, and used magic not from the Standard Spellbook, which ultimately lead to her dischargement by Archmage Sedridor. Hence, he regards her dangerous enough to put up a ward spell against her.

Ariane also tells about the old Wizards' Tower. One hundred years ago, the Wizards' Tower was divided in four orders: the Red, Blue, Green and Grey Wizards. When they found out the secret of the Rune Mysteries, the teleportation spell to the Rune Essence Mines (Senventior disthine molenko), the Red Wizards turned against the others, which somehow led to the Tower being burnt down. Archmage Perien had the tower rebuilt, sealed the old Tower's ruins and banished all Zamorakian Red Wizards.

Ariane has seen the tower in flames in one of her premonitions, which generally show the truth. Being stuck outside the tower, she asks you to talk to Archmage Sedridor, Wizard Ellaron and the other wizards to try and find out if anything unusual is happening lately (You MUST ask this first, or the options to ask for something unusual will not appear!). Enter back into the tower and ask wizards if they've seen anything unusual.
 * Wizard Valina will say she hasn't seen anything, then become annoyed, realising that you were sent by Ariane.
 * Wizard Borann will remark that the vortex was of Zamorak's colour, red, and he fears that the Red Wizards might somehow be attempting to attack the tower.
 * Professor Onglewip will not know anything about the vortex, instead redirecting you to Wizard Traiborn, who is into strange creatures.
 * Wizard Grayzag/Taloram will only be annoyed by Mizgog's beads and thinks about sending his imps after them before also sending you to see Traiborn, who "is always seeing things".
 * Wizard Isidor will remark that the power beam, the source of all the Tower's teleportation, is acting strange, and, as an expert on teleportation, he has felt many fluctuations in the power. He will tell that Sedridor already knows of the problem and redirect you to him.
 * Wizard Ilona will simply be glad that you are here to solve any problems there might be.
 * Wizard Mizgog will complain that his notes have been moved around by imps and redirect you to Traiborn, who loves telling things.
 * Wizard Jalarast will think that the commotion in the library was about nothing and that Wizard Borann is not up to the stress that being the head of the library brings.
 * Wizard Ellaron will express his support towards Ariane, taking her premonitions seriously and say he will attempt to convince Sedridor to take action. He tells of how he was Ariane's mentor, helping her to harness her gift in secret.
 * Wizard Traiborn will say that he saw a Thingummywut in the power beam, then contradict that they wouldn't fit in and that it was a swirly sort of thing. He says it came up from the ruins of the old tower.
 * Archmage Sedridor will say he's heard about Ariane's warning from Valina and that he's onto it. He is inclined to believe that she has premonitions, but cannot confirm that until he is presented evidence. He also says that she was banished for being a Zamorakian, despite her incredible magical skill. Sedridor is also preparing an Icyenic Purge spell, which sends a magical surge through the power beam, removing anything in it.
 * Wizard Finix will only say he's heard about the library incident, but, being on the roof, is rather cut off from the Tower itself.

Return to Ariane and tell her about Traiborn's observations of the creatures coming from the library floor. She will tell you more about the history of the tower and how it was destroyed many years ago by Zamorakian wizards. The new tower was built upon the ruins of the old tower, whose underground levels were sealed off by the first Archmage of the New Tower, Archmage Perien. Ariane will tell you of an old rumor that the door to the ruins can be unlocked by casting Water Surge, but many wizards have tried that to no avail.

Finding The Way In
Talk to Wizard Ellaron on the about accessing the ruins. He states that not even senior wizards have permission to access the ruins, and therfore making it impossible for him to tell "an ex-wizard" and "an outsider". Ask him if he knows how to enter the ruins and he will tell that only the archmage is allowed to know the secret. Talk to him about the Water Surge rumor, and he will hint that understanding the spell might be the key. Ask him about the ruins and he will tell you of how it was sealed by Archmage Perien, and his great understanding of Magic. He will tell you that he wrote a book on the relation between Magic and music. Ask if this is a hint and he will deny it, but will tell you that the book is available in the ground floor.

The books are found on the ground floor in the most eastern floating bookshelf. You will find The Harmony of the Runes and The Runes of the Spells of Water. Both books can right-clicked to view an attached diagram in each.

Read both the books first, which will allow the notes to be placed automatically on the organ. Go to the southern part of the ground floor of the tower and play the organ. You will have to play the notes in a specific sequence, as shown by the diagrams on the screen. Play the following notes the amount of times shown to get the key: If you play it correctly, a Wizards' Tower basement key will appear on the interface. Click it to add it to your inventory.

The Ruins
Tell Ariane you have the key and she'll be inquisitive of the content of the old tower, wishing that she could find knowledge that might have been lost for hundreds of years. She will tell you that the entrance to the ruins to the east of the tower, down a small flight of steps.

Go east and you will find Ariane near some ruins. Talk to her and she'll tell you to open the door. Walk down the nearby stairs and use the Wizards' tower basement key on the door to open it. If you click outside of the chatbox before the door opens and you enter, the door will not open and the key will disappear. In this case, you must go back and play the organ again as above to retrieve the key.

A cutscene of you and Ariane entering the basement. She will tell you that this must be the Chamber of Shrines, which was used as a meeting room and the place where apprentices would pledge allegiance to one of the four orders. You can ask her for more information about orders which were created to cater the different philosophies of Magic. You will need to go deeper in the ruins but there is a rune guardian blocking the road.



Testing The New Apprentice
Talk to the rune guardian and it will begin talking about a test. Ariane will explain that the guardian thinks you are new wizards joining the tower. The test consists of 5 questions.

Question 1:  "You are behind in your studies due to illness, and a test is coming up. Your place at the tower is safe, but if you fail you will lose some respect. Another apprentice offers you an opportunity to cheat."


 * Answers:
 * "Cheat only enough to make up for my illness and catch up." (Green)
 * "Cheat as much as I can." (Red)
 * "Don't cheat as I wouldn't learn anything." (Grey)
 * "Don't cheat, as it would be wrong." (Blue)Rune_guardian_(Rune_Mysteries).png

Question 2:  "An elderly wizard - the last practitioner of a unique branch of magic - dies. Her diary might contain details about her unique magic, but her will states that the diary should be destroyed on her death."


 * Answers:
 * "Destroy the diary without reading it." (Blue)
 * "Copy the most important information, then destroy it." (Green)
 * "Pretend to destroy the diary, but actually keep it to yourself." (Red)
 * "Put the diary in the library so that all wizards can study it." (Grey)

Question 3:  "A rival wizard is spreading lies about you and has made you the laughing stock of a nearby village. They believe you are of low intelligence and poor moral character, and throw vegetables at you when you visit. What do you do?"


 * Answers:
 * "Challenge the wizard to a magical duel in front of the village." (Blue)
 * "Try to reason with the villagers and convince them he is lying." (Grey)
 * "Appeal to the wizard's better nature and ask him to stop." (Green)
 * "Play practical jokes to knock him down a peg in return." (Red)

Question 4:  "You have become a senior wizard and are asked to take on an apprentice. The boy is talented but undisciplined and does not apply himself out his areas of interest. What is your approach?"


 * Answers:
 * "Constantly challenge him, forcing him to learn discipline." (Red)
 * "Show patience and compassion so he has a safe place to grow." (Blue)
 * "Concentrate on his weaknesses so he receives a balanced education." (Green)
 * "Give him the resources to develop his areas of interest." (Grey)

Question 5:  "A senior wizard asks you to take part in a ritual that will greatly benefit the tower. Before the ritual starts, you discover that he learned part of it from a demon. The ritual appears safe, but demons are expert liars."


 * Answers:
 * "Study the ritual and make up my own mind about its safety." (Grey)
 * "Stop the ritual; it may be corrupt in a way that I can't detect." (Blue)
 * "Make sure the demonic influence is balanced by other influences." (Green)
 * "Go ahead with the ritual but focus on my personal safety." (Red)

Your answers determine the order you belong to, therefore the title you get. You can retake the test as many times as you would like to get the title you want. The titles are: [Name] the Blue, [Name] the Green, [Name] the Grey and [Name] the Red.

After the guardian determines the order you belong to it will allow you to procede. Enter the door that was behind it.

If you land in between two orders you will be asked one more question:

Question 6: "You are balanced between two orders. A final question: which of these do you value most?"


 * Answers:
 * "Compassion" (Blue)
 * "Power" (Red)
 * "Knowledge" (Grey)
 * "Balance" (Green)
 * (Note that only two of the above possibilities will show)

Descent
Talk to Ariane in the new room. You will see a gap in the stairs and Ariane wants you to find a way to cross it. Climb behind the statue in the wall south of the gap and make a bridge by pushing the statue down. Cross the newly made bridge then climb down the staircase at the west of the room.

Talk to Ariane about the new room to find out more historical information about spells. She will tell you that the vortices you see are like the ones that attacked Wizard Borann so she wants to find out what they are.

You are going to need to lure one of the vortices (doesn't matter which one) to the circle Ariane creates and keep it in the circle until she has finished examining it (around one minute). You can lure a vortex towards you by casting a magic spell on it. The vortices will keep moving around, so it's expected that it will get out of the circle more than once. The timer slowly resets when the vortex get out of the circle.

The vortices aren't ghosts as Ariane first thought they might be. They are soul fragments. She will explain that the old wizards put part of their souls into the power beam to create a very powerful magical effect. However, this looks like it went wrong. Ariane thinks this might be what destroyed the first tower! She tells you that an enchantment might have sealed the vortices and someone removed it which allowed the vortices to go up the beam into the tower. Someone came to the ruins very recently and removed this enchantment! Ariane can replace the enchantment, but this will take some time. She will ask you to go to the new tower and delay Sedridor's plan. (Note: you HAVE to answer 'Okay I'll do it' for Ariane to not follow you back up.)

Distraction
Retrace your way out of the ruins and enter the tower. You will see Sedridor and three wizards casting Icyenic Purge. Try talking to Sedridor and he will simply ignore you. Play the organ five times total, pressing random keys on the lowest keys on keyboard to break the wizards' concentration. You will annoy Sedridor and see a cutscene of Ariane preparing the enchantment. Play the organ once more, and see another of her casting the spell.

After the cutscene, head back to Ariane who is standing outside the entrance of the ruins and talk to her to complete the quest.

Rewards

 * 1 Quest points
 * 250 experience
 * 250 experience
 * Tower mindspike
 * First tower hat
 * Air talisman
 * 70 Mind runes
 * 4 new titles (speak to the Rune Guardian to retrieve the title)

Music Unlocked

 * The Harmony of the Runes (outside the Wizards' Tower)
 * Blue Wizards (entering the Wizards' Tower)
 * Inner Secret (entering the Ruins)
 * Forgotten Orders (entering the Ruins after completing the quest)

Required for completing

 * Rune Memories
 * Rune Mechanics
 * Lunar Diplomacy
 * One Small Favour
 * What Lies Below

Trivia

 * A book in the quest, The Runes of the Spells of Water, makes the old spell rune requirements part of official magic lore by referring to them in detail, even though the spells no longer need such runes. In the quest the old requirements in the book are referred to as old and obsolete methods, long refined into the requirements required after the Evolution of Combat.
 * The quest was an introduction to the Runecrafting skill before the overhaul on 28 November 2012.
 * Although Ariane specifically tells the player to use Air Strike when dealing with the magical vortex very early in the quest, any combat spell that does damage (aside from Teleport Block) will have the same luring effect, Normal Spellbook or otherwise. Magic abilities like Wrack are also effective even though they are harder to control as the player has to be adjacent to the vortex.
 * During a part of this quest, Ariane clearly states that she can't teleport herself and the player across the gap on the stairs because a teleportation spell only sends the caster to a specific location, and creating a new one would take years; however, during the Fremennik Saga "Three's Company", she teleports herself and Owen to a nearby door with no problems.
 * It is possible to see the final cutscene twice.
 * It is also possible that you will see the cutscene in which Ariane casts the spell, but not the cutscene that is supposed to come thereafter. It is unknown why this is so.
 * Upon completing this quest, the Adventurer's Log will read: "I helped Ariane enter the ruins beneath the Wizards' Tower and restore the enchantment that kept the wraiths of old wizards trapped there."
 * Upon completing the quest, if you talk to Juna, your character will say: "...so Ariane and I trapped the anomalies in the ruins beneath the Wizards' Tower, but we didn't find out who had released them or what they were."
 * During this quest, Ariane states that it could "take years for somebody to discover a new teleport area". However, some enemies have the ability to teleport themselves closely or somewhere else as they desire, like Nomad, Kay Thanxby, and Cyrisus.