Blood Runs Deep

Blood Runs Deep is the final quest in the Fremennik quest series, where the player deals with the dagannoth threat. This quest is a sequel to Glorious Memories and Horror from the Deep.

Walkthrough
Note: Through much of the quest, you frequently need to restock and pass through Rellekka. Consider moving your player-owned house to Rellekka, as this would be a convenient way to return to the action. You can also use an enchanted lyre for quick access to Rellekka. Another option is to cast the home teleport to Lunar Isle and take the boat back to Rellekka. After the quest Love Story players can also use a chisel on a House Teleport Tablet to create a teleport tablet to the Rellekka Player-owned house portal without moving the player's house to Rellekka. The lodestone near Rellekka is also a convenient option.

The sick man's dream world
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.

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 113 dagannoths that use melee and ranged (weak to air spells), 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.

If you die, your gravestone will appear near Baba Yaga's house. Use the Lunar home teleport, or the Moonclan Lodestone, to arrive right next to the moonclan bank within seconds.

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 when they arrive. Also, you may want to bring mage or range with you to try to attack the level 88 and level 98 because they will be on a different platform. A protection aura, such as Aegis, or Vampyrism is recommended to reduce the amount of food needed. You do not need to attack the dagannoth, as they respawn a few seconds later, but it is a good idea to do so if you have the Saradomin Godsword/Enhanced excalibur(for the passive effect) or a shield (for the o.a. the Resonance ability), Vampyrism or Soul Split.

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. 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 dagannoth below you, walking out of a tunnel.

Talk to Baba Yaga, who suggests you listen for anything. Choose to 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 dagannoth have done to Rellekka, and that Misk island (Miscellania) will quickly surrender, once its citizens realise the dagannoth 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 dagannoth 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. Occasionally Baba Yaga will heal you, but only a certain amount of times, as she has limited sharks to heal herself — she will announce how many she has. She will also sometimes cast Vengeance on your character.

If you brought range or mage weapons, you can take out the Wallasalki and the ranging Dagannoth on the platform across from you, to prevent taking damage whilst using protect from melee. Both of them will respawn a short while after, and will try to retreat after being attacked, but less damage will be taken than if they are left alone. The dagannoth appearing from the nearby cave will typically line up, and since they use melee, you will only have to deal with a couple. Do not use your dwarf multicannon in this area.

After the fight, Baba Yaga will congratulate you, mentioning how close the battle was, and you will both leave the platform and find yourself back in the chicken-leg house.

The dagannoth Attack
You will be safe back in her house. You can restock at this point, if you are not ready to fight another large group of dagannoth. When you are ready, 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, and offers to get you to Rellekka quickly. (Her trick relies on outdated game behaviour: previously if you tried to talk to a Moon Clan member without a Seal of passage in your inventory, you'd be expelled and find yourself in Rellekka. So Baba Yaga's trick is to take away your Seal of passage so that she no longer recognises you and expels you to Rellekka. Oddly, this works even if you don't have a Seal of passage.) Note that if you travel to Rellekka any other way, you will not see the attacking dagannoth, just the city as normal.

In Rellekka, join the Fremennik in defending their city against level 88 and 90 dagannoth that use melee and ranged attacks. Protect from Melee is recommended, and keep an eye on damage from the ranging dagannoth. For faster kills, help the Fremennik instead of fighting alone. A cannon greatly speeds up the process. Guthans is also a useful method of fighting them. Using the Vampyrism aura will limit the amount of food you need.

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, go to 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.

It may be convenient for the rest of the quest to set your lyre to travel to Waterbirth Island rather than Rellekka, by speaking to Olaf the Bard in Rellekka.

Saving King Vargas
Warning: Your trip through the Waterbirth Dungeon will take you through several rooms. 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 stallion for example), or a Titan to boost your defence. Leave one space open for a rope Bardur will give you. If death occurs in this dungeon, your gravestone will appear inside the dungeon where you died.



Once on Waterbirth Island, go to 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, and he tells you he is being held captive. (You may want to turn off run, as Vargas is too injured to keep up with you otherwise.)

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 when the option arises.

Inside the Chamber
NOTE: If you die in this part, your gravestone will appear outside the entrance to the Dagannoth Cave. Upon death your Balmung will not appear under your gravestone, however it can be freely re-obtained from Chief Brundt back in Rellekka.

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 dagannoth will get him and return him to the first chamber. Vargas walks slower than walking pace, so make sure to stop and let him catch up with you.

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 contains a 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 you don't turn on Protect from Melee. They are level 156 and have a high defence, they can hit twice as fast as a whip. Give them a wide berth as you pass them - 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 dagannoth attacking with melee and ranged. Kill the dagannoth that are attacking King Vargas, and use food on him to keep him alive.

You need to kill or distract the dagannoth 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 dagannoth attacking Vargas, freezing them and giving Vargas time to escape. Alternatively, when in a room of monsters using only a single attack style (wallasalkis - magic, dagannoths - ranged, rock lobsters - melee), attack each of the monsters before they notice King Vargas, using the appropriate protection prayer. This can be quite a drain on one's prayer points, so bringing a prayer potion along can be useful.

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 dagannoth causes rocks to fall, killing you. You awake to find yourself in the Fremennik spiritual realm, where fallen Fremennik warriors go when they die. This will be your future respawn until the quest is over.



Spiritual Realm
Note: If you leave the Spiritual Realm or log out, you may return by getting a letter from Brundt the Chieftain and continue from then on.

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, your own betrothed (either Prince Brand or Princess Astrid) suggests that the 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.) If you have changed your gender since the original quest, both Brand and Astrid will simply say that you did a good job and you will not have the option to marry.

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

The Fremennik fleet sails


Warning: Ahead you will face 2 fights - first against the Dagannoth Sentinels and then continuing straight on for a battle with the Dagannoth mother. It is possible to kill the sentinels and then teleport out to prepare for the second battle.

Get ready for a battle:
 * The sentinels use melee up close and magic and ranged attacks at a distance, and will heal each other if not attacked correctly.
 * The sentinels can be poisoned.
 * If you are not banking between fights, switch to the Normal or Ancient Spellbook.

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 dagannoth. To prevent a new mother from emerging again, instead of killing the mother, you must 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. 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
See the map to the right for directions to the sentinels.

NOTE: Since the EoC there are currently several bugs during this fight. They are detailed below with possible work-arounds.

Enter the third cave, where you find the two Dagannoth Sentinels (level 140).

The sentinels are powerful guardians of the Dagannoth Mother. They use all three combat styles against the player: a melee attack, the signature Dagannoth ranged attack, and a water-based spell similar to the Wallasalki. They also have a "Rallying Cry" that they'll use if one Sentinel's life points fall too far below the other, which will cause the weaker one to heal.

The preferred strategy to beat them is to use Balmung, as they have a weakness to both it and Slash damage. Bring whatever armour you would like, but level 60 or above is recommended. Hybrid armour is strongly suggested, especially if you intend to follow on to the Dagannoth Mother immediately after this fight. Using Area-of-effect abilities can be extremely helpful for lowering both of their health at the same time. Due to a glitch caused by EoC, some players may find that they are unable to target, and likewise attack the second Sentinel. The easiest way to circumvent this is to stand on top of one Sentinel, and then use range or magic to kill the other. The first will keep attempting to attack you but can't, and won't heal his companion. Another method is to simply use Balmung to power through its health faster than it can regenerate.

Another bug exists; however, that may cause the Rallying Cry to fully heal the dagannoth. If this happens to you then the simplest method is to use an Ultimate ability such as Berserk, build up to your threshold, and then drop it one hit.

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.

They do not respawn after you've defeated them. You can take this opportunity to bank and return, or press on to the Dagannoth Mother if you feel well prepared for it.

The Dagannoth Mother
From the now-empty dagannoth sentinel chamber, enter the tunnel to the south to get to the next cave. You'll find many Dagannoth guardians here.

Make your way through the cave, avoiding the guardians: Head east, climb over an obstruction, loop around to the west, enter a tunnel entrance, and then head south. See the map above right for the path to the mother.

You find the entrance to the Dagannoth Mother's chamber at the end of this tunnel.

Strategies
Much like the mother from Horror From The Deep and the Gelatinnoth Mother from the final subquest of Recipe for Disaster, this new mother signals her weakness by the colour on her back. Unlike those preceding mothers, however, her colour changes do not follow a predictable pattern. Instead, she randomly moves between colours and sticks with colours you either didn't bring a weapon for or you yourself have a lower combat level in.

To cover her shifting vulnerabilities, bring the required Balmung, runes for casting each of the four elemental spells, and a ranged weapon.

She is a strong foe, using a powerful melee attack up close—which can strike for 1000 or more life points—as well as range and mage attacks. She does not move toward you to attack with melee, so you can attack with mage and range from a distance and then guard against her mage and range attacks. Protection prayers or Deflect Curses can prevent a lot of damage.

Players should bring the highest level hybrid armour they can. For your inventory, consider a prayer potion or two, a super defence potion, a ranged weapon, enough air, water, earth, and fire runes to cast each of the four elemental spells at least 50 to 100 times, and the rest high-healing food. A Beast of Burden filled with extra supplies would be useful.

After you enter her chamber, the dagannoth mother will briefly speak with you. Be prepared to turn on your Protect from Melee prayer, because she attacks you after the short dialogue and can hit over 1000 with melee. The mother's stripe will be grey at first and will not change until you hit her with the Balmung, which activates her colour changes. You will not be able to leave the fight except by teleporting out.

If you die while fighting her, you will end up in the Fremennik spiritual realm again. Eir gives you the option of returning to Waterbirth Island or your regular Spawning spot. You don't lose regular items when you die, so you can return to a bank and re-stock before trying to fight again. You still lose items you normally lose on dying, such as Fremennik sea boots 3.

Due to the EoC update, Ancient Magics now work for hitting her elemental weaknesses.

The following table lists the mother's vulnerabilities:

If you cannot clearly see her colour changes, go to Graphics Settings and try setting Lighting detail to Low. Your chat box also tells you what colour she has changed to. You will do little or no damage if you are not attacking the correct weakness.

See the Dagannoth Mother page for more on how to fight her.

The Final Showdown: vs Dagannoth Mother
Enter the dagannoth mother's chambers. You are in a small antechamber with a Bronze pickaxe, a Plank, and a tinderbox to the west.



Enter the tunnel to the south to find the dagannoth mother. After a brief conversation, get ready to turn on your Protect from Melee prayer because she is about to attack you.

After her attack, begin the fight with the Balmung. Your Balmung attack damages the mother and initiates her colour changes. Another option is to poison her, stand in the safe spot and wait for the mother to run out of life points!

If you are mainly using range and mage attacks, step back, keep your distance, and switch to your Protect from Missiles prayer. Eat as needed, and change your attack style to match her changing colours.

When the mother runs out of life points, she collapses, yells "No! You cannot do this!" but does not die.

Note: After the mother has collapsed, if your familiar attacks her, she may briefly stand up and retaliate against you, possibly causing damage. To be safe, keep on the Protect from Melee prayer until you are out of her chamber, if you are using a familiar.

If you are wearing a ring of life and are teleported but manage to kill the mother before this, the mother will be lying on the ground just as if you had killed her. Exit her chamber, and return to the small antechamber, which contains the pickaxe, plank, and tinderbox.

Seal her chamber
In the small antechamber you passed through earlier, pick up the pickaxe, plank, and tinderbox and choose Collapse Pillar on one of the pillars in the room to seal in the mother. (You must pickup the pickaxe and the tinderbox, even if they are on your toolbelt, or you won't be able to collapse the pillar.)

Your plan goes amiss, however, and the ceiling caves in, killing you once more and sending you back to the Fremennik spiritual realm.

Talk to Eir, who says it's still not your time to be in the realm and she probably won't see you again until your real time comes. She sends you back to your companions in the main chamber, where you first found King Vargas.

Fremennik Fatalities
Back in the main chamber of the dungeon, you see the dead bodies of Prince Brand and Princess Astrid on the floor. Choose the Check option on them.

Talk with Baba Yaga and Koschei to learn what happened. Baba Yaga tells you the prince and princess didn't die in vain. Koschei says he thinks he has died again.

Attempt to climb up the rope. Brundt the Chieftain calls down, telling you to head to his boat as the Fremennik offence is failing.

On board his ship, talk with Brundt about what happened. If you use a teleport to escape the dungeon instead of the rope, talk to Brundt in Rellekka, where he tells you he is waiting for you on Waterbirth Island. The quest then continues.

You sail to Miscellania and Etceteria and watch a poignant cutscene where King Vargas, Queen Sigrid, Brundt, and you launch and set fire to pyre ships bearing the bodies of Prince Brand and Princess Astrid. Brundt and you then return to Rellekka.

'''Congratulations. Quest complete.'''

Speak to Brundt three times after the quest to receive your experience rewards.

Rewards

 * 2 quest points
 * Balmung
 * (3x 150,000) in either, , , , , or  (requires level 75+, speak to chieftain Brundt to receive this)

Music unlocked

 * The Fallen Hero
 * Jaws of the Dagannoth
 * Maiasaura

Required for completing
Completion of Blood Runs Deep is required for the following:
 * Koschei's Troubles
 * Fremennik Tasks:
 * Elite : "Axe'll Grease"
 * Desert Tasks:
 * Elite: "Sun Shade" (The Dagannoth Mother and Sentinels need to be killed in the dominion tower)
 * Tirannwn Tasks:
 * Elite: "Properly Metal"

Trivia

 * 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..."
 * Upon the completion of this quest, one's Adventurer's Log will read: "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."
 * While you are escorting the king out of the dungeon, the monsters you kill in the dungeon have significantly reduced drops until you finish the quest or enter the dungeon a different way.
 * There currently is an unfixed bug that, right after their suggestion to get married as well, Princess Astrid/Prince Brand starts crying, leaving you unable to get married. Reading the quest log results in you apparently having rejected their proposal.
 * This is the first quest that requires players to have finished a whole tasks list before they can start the quest.
 * This quest gives the most experience directly when completed: A total of 450,000 experience. Previously, the highest reward came from While Guthix Sleeps, offered a total of 400,000 experience. Nomad's Requiem gives 70 Zeal points, which can potentially be converted into more experience if it is spent on a skill of a sufficiently high level.
 * When Baba Yaga takes the player's seal of passage, the player states "But I have a seal of pass-- Oh, I get it. I see what you did there." This is a reference to a popular internet meme.
 * During the battle in Rellekka, some Fremennik say "This is Rellekka!". This refers to the film 300, where King Leonidas said "This is Sparta!"
 * The quest includes an Aliens reference in the first conversation that you have with King Vargas underneath Waterbirth Island ("They mostly come at night. Mostly...").
 * The quest also includes two Star Wars references, when you speak 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 ; like Lando, Nial was merely pretending to be upset. Also, right before the final battle if you ask the Mother for a speech she responds:"what, something like, if you strike me down now blah blah blah?" Which is a reference to Obi-Wan Kenobi's threat to Darth Vader in Star Wars IV.
 * There is a Helm of Neitiznot and a Steel Longsword on the dry stone wall near Eir.
 * If your gender has changed since you finished Throne of Miscellania, in the case of male to female, Princess Astrid will say "Oh, [player name], how I wish you were still a man. It's so hard to be alone at a time like this." Similarly, in the case of female to male, Prince Brand will say, "Oh, [player name], how I wish you were still a woman. You were such a lovely Muse..."
 * If you are on a Dagannoth Slayer task during the quest then the dagannoth you kill count towards your task but you will only receive 1xp per kill (though a Slayer helm helps by increasing your damage and accuracy).
 * The path into the final floor of the Waterbirth dungeon (where you went in to rescue the king) is closed off after completion of the quest and cannot be used as a short-cut for Dagannoth King slayers.
 * When you die due to the cave ins, the place you end up in is a reference to Asgard and Valhalla, the place where men who died honourably in battle end up in Norse mythology. The great battle is a reference to the Ragnarok, the last battle before the universe is destroyed, and Midgard (earth) sinks back into the sea.