Back to my Roots

Back to my Roots (#126)

File:Back to my Roots.jpg
Release date	9 October 2007 (Update)
Members	Yes
Voice Over	Unknown edit
Official difficulty	Master
Quest series	Handelmort Mansion
Age	Fifth Age
Developers Main developer(s) Marion C Graphics Concept Unknown edit Quality Assurance Core Unknown edit Audio Composition Unknown edit

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Official description

“	Use your Slayer skills to battle out of control vegetation with an attitude, cultivate your wits and stretch your Agility to solve a cunning maze - all to make a gardener's day. Do you have what it takes to cut this quest down to size?	”
	— Game Guide

Development team

• Developer: Marion C
• Graphics: Matthew M, Matthew S, Kavi M
• Quality Assurance: Adam D
• QuestHelp: Gillan M
• Audio: Dan A

Walkthrough

Start point	Speak to Horacio outside Lord Handelmort's mansion, in East Ardougne.
Member requirement	Members only
Official difficulty	Master
Official length	Short-medium
Requirements	Skill requirements are not boostable unless marked with a [B] for boostable. Quests: Back to my Roots Fairy Tale I - Growing Pains Jungle Potion Lost City Nature Spirit Priest in Peril The Restless Ghost The Hand in the Sand One Small Favour Rune Mysteries Shilo Village Jungle Potion Tribal Totem 55 Agility 53 Farming 59 Slayer 72 Woodcutting Skill boosts are not allowed. (Horacio will not talk to you about the quest until you have all the requirements.) Must be able to defeat a level 130 foe.
Items required	Items from the tool belt are not listed unless they do not work or are not automatically added. Antipoison or Prayer Book (For in the maze only) Food (Monkfish or better) Any woodcutting hatchet (Toolbelt will work) A machete (Toolbelt will work) A plant pot with soil A spade (Toolbelt will work) Soft clay and an Empty Pot (To make pot lid during quest after talking to Wizard Cromperty a bought pot lid will not work or if it's made before the quest.) A pair of secateurs (or Magic Secateurs) (Toolbelt will work) A gardening trowel (Toolbelt will work) Transport to Shilo Village (for example 30 coins or Ring of charos(a) or Karamja Gloves 3).
Enemies to defeat	Wild jade vine (Level 130)

Helping Horacio

Start the quest by talking to Horacio, in East Ardougne, and offer to help him with his gardening. He can be found in the garden of the big house just north-west of the Ardougne Market, near the two fountains. He'll want you to get a special vine that grows near Shilo Village. He cannot give too much information and he recommends visiting Wizard Cromperty in East Ardougne.

Now go to Cromperty and he will ask you to investigate the reason the RPDT is not delivering Cromperty's parcel.

Cromperty reveals his magical device - A broken pot lid.

The next stop is the RPDT headquarters south of the southern Ardougne bank. Talk to any of the RPDT employees. The employee will say that the smelly package is delayed because the address is unreadable. The RPDT employee takes the subtle hint that a non RPDT employee can open the parcel, so locate the parcel on the table and open it. Inside there is a severed wizard's hand. It has no use during the course of the quest, but it is used in the Returning Clarence.

Go back to Cromperty and talk to him. He opens the package and discovers that the item in the package appears to be broken. Make a new pot lid out of soft clay. Make sure to 'use' the unfired pot lid on the pottery oven. You can find a Potter's wheel west across the river from the north bank. Note that a pot lid made prior to talking to Cromperty will not work. Similarly a pot lid purchased on the Grand Exchange will not suffice; Cromperty will say the lid is too small.

Talking to Garth

Cromperty's next instructions are to talk to Garth, the farmer near the fruit tree patch in Brimhaven. A boat to Brimhaven can be found slightly east of the RPDT workers, for 30 coins. Garth will tell you how to get the jade vine to grow in Horacio's garden. You can use the cart of Hajedy to get to Shilo Village very quickly. Hajedy is located only a few steps east of Garth. Teleporting to the Al Kharid lodestone and using the glider if you are able is also a quick way to travel to the maze.

Karamja Vine Maze

The maze.

Note: You CANNOT take a familiar with you into the maze.

What to bring

Note: there is a bank in Shilo Village. For this part you will need to bring a machete, a normal pot, Wizard Cromperty's pot lid, a plant pot with soil, a spade, a Woodcutting hatchet, and a pair of secateurs. Given that the maze is loaded with aggressive monsters, take decent armour, food and anti-poison. A super defence potion is recommended as well. The alternative to food, armour and anti-poisons is to take a few prayer potions, equipment with prayer bonus and a Prayer book with a Holy Symbol to cure from poison. With this method, the Protection from Melee prayer (level 43 Prayer required) will nullify almost any damage, except the damage taken from failing obstacles and occasional poisoning.

File:Backtomyrootsmazeentrance.png

The entrance to the maze northeast of Shilo Village.

How to get to the Maze

From the Shilo Village exit, go east and jump on the stepping stones. Go far north past the maze to a log, cross it, and go south again. An alternative path is to walk around Shilo and go east along the northern fence of Shilo. Try to find an endpoint of a vine to climb onto on the north-west corner of the maze. The 'climb-on' vine point forms the maze entry. As the maze is fairly close to the Nature runecrafting altar, all paths to the maze are fairly similar to the nature runecrafting trips. The Eagle transport system provides an alternative entrypoint further down the path through the maze. Unfortunately, that transport option is pretty isolated. You can also use the Fairy ring code CKR Karamja: South of Tai Bwo Wannai Village Shilo Village and run straight east past the nature altar, or a Spirit graahk to teleport you (57 summoning required). The fastest way is to use the wicked hood's teleport to the Nature Altar. This is usually the fastest way to the maze, unless you used Hajedy's cart to get to Shilo Village.

The creatures

In the maze are many creatures, some aggressive, some poisonous. Players should bring anti-poison potions and food.

• Monkey level 3.
• Jungle spider level 40. (poisonous)
• Giant ant soldier level 58.
• Giant ant worker level 40.
• Tenacious toucan level 70.
• Giant Wasp level 66.
• Frog level 66. (poisonous)
• Pernicious parrot level 66.
• Snake wrapped around tree. Not attack-able but can poison. High Agility enables evading of snake strikes.

The path through the Maze

Vine scar.

Entering the maze.

The maze has a number of navigational options:

• Enter a hole
• Enter vine
• Climb up/down vine
• Cut/squeeze/crawl through vines hanging down
• Swing-on vine

Tip: Scars on vines will help players to find their way.

Climb on to the vine in the north-west corner of the maze.

Walk to the east, and go up the vine.

Walk to the south-east, and go down.

Go north-west, and then climb off. If you fail the river crossing, this is where the hole will take you.

Walk to the south, cut the vines hanging there, and crawl through them. Alternatively you may enter the vine through hole to the west, which will lead you to same location.

Walk south again, and squeeze through the vines.

Go south-west, and climb on vine.

Climb up the vine, then climb up again, and you're on the eagle's platform. There is a chance of falling through the platform. If this happens, climb up the vine again. This can be avoided by rather walking around on the edges to the other side instead.

Walk east across the net to the other side and climb down.

Walk to the north, and then swing-on the vine hanging in the air to the east. You may fall off this vine. If this happens, make your way back to the platform. Look for a hole that will take you back into the maze.

Walk to the north, climb down the vine and then climb off the vine to the ground (use the eastern climb).

Crawl through the southern vines, then squeeze through the vines (again in the south).

Go south-east and climb onto the vine.

Go up the vine to the east and cross the vine across the river. You can fall down here. If this happens, you will need to find your way back to the vine crossing the river. Look for a hole that will take you into the maze.

You are now in the eastern part of the maze. Climb down the vine and climb off it at the north east.

Cut the vines in the south and crawl-through them.

Climb back onto the vine in the south-east.

Walk to the south, and then to the west. Climb up the vine.

Walk to the west, climb down the vine, and then climb up again.

Cross the vine across the river, back to the western part of the maze. You can fall here again - look for a hole to take you back into the maze if this happens.

Go a bit west, then south, and then east. At last, the root of the problem!

Climb down the vine, and climb off it to the ground. Congratulations, you made it to the end of the Jade Vine maze!

The end of the maze features the vine root. It can be obtained by using your spade with the loose soil on the ground or with the dig option. This exposes the vine root. Cut the root with your secateurs. Use the root cutting on the plant pot. With a bit of luck it will grow.

If the cutting does not grow, dig up and cut another root in a different soil spot. Note that there are FIVE spots to dig in (two northeast of the trunk, one north of the trunk, one west of the trunk, and one off in the corner to the southwest of the trunk), and only one of those five spots will yield the root that will grow. When the vine root cutting successfully grows, use your plant pot on your normal pot to end up with a sealed pot. That pot now contains the root. NOTE: Be careful not to teleport until the root has grown and has been sealed in the pot. If the sealed pot is lost, talk to Garth to get another.

Growing the Vine

Go back to Ardougne, and talk to Horacio. Bring the root cutting sealed in the pot. The player must plant the vine in Horacio's vine patch, found northeast of Horacio with a gardening trowel. A tool leprechaun is nearby, for obtaining Farming tools if you already stored them. After planting the vine, a cut scene appears where the jade vine has grown out of control. Horacio now insists that the vine needs to be killed. Fortunately, there is an opportunity to prepare for the battle.

A guard dog barks at the Jade vine...

...only to be hit with one of the vines attacks. The dog then flees.

The vine binds Horacio, so he will not help you with the battle.

The Battle

Fighting the Wild Jade vine.

The wild jade vine can only be damaged by using a woodcutting hatchet as a weapon. If you do not have one you can buy an iron hatchet from the general store just south west, but it is recommended you use rune or higher. It uses all three combat styles so you can not fully protect yourself with prayer, however its magic attack is much weaker and used less often than its melee attack. Therefore it is recommended to get magic defence, and then protect from melee. The vine's magic attack will poison for 70 damage (regardless of if it hits), so a dose of a super antipoison can be used to defend against it. The ranged attack is not a serious threat but it is recommend to still keep your health up as it occasionally hits up to 100.

It is recommended that you do NOT use a Prayer book. It will drain your prayer each time you use it, and the vine poisons quite frequently, causing you to waste a lot of your much needed prayer points. If you need to leave, you can exit through the arch, but you will have to start the battle over again. After killing the vine, cut the last remainder of it using your secateurs.

Now talk once more to Horacio to complete the quest.

Reward

Back to my Roots Reward

• 1 quest point
• 24,000 experience
• 40,000 experience
• 23,000 experience
• 15,000 experience
• Vine Farming Patch in East Ardougne
• Jade Vine Seed
• 2 extra spins on the Squeal of Fortune

Access to:

• A new maze Jade vine maze, slightly larger than Draynor Manor.
• 8 new creatures: Giant ant soldier level 58, Giant ant worker level 40, Tenacious toucan level 70, Giant Wasp level 66, Frog level 66, Pernicious parrot level 66, Wild jade vine level 167, Karamjan Jungle eagle.
• Transportation between Eagle's Peak and Karamja using the Karamjan Jungle eagle.
• Ability to slay the Jade Vine for extra Slayer and Farming experience once every 15 hours.

Returning Clarence miniquest

Main article: Returning Clarence

If you collect 6 body parts, and prove who murdered him, Clarence can be buried and you will be richly rewarded.

Reward

• 10,000 experience
• 200 blood runes
• 100 law runes

Repeatable rewards

A vine seed is part of the quest rewards. When lost, talk to Horacio to get a new one. Plant the seed in the west patch of the garden in front of the Handelmort mansion. Talk to Horacio and ask him to look after the vine patch. He'll want a payment of 10 wildblood hops. Those can be grown in any hops patch with 4 wildblood seeds, the payment is 1 nasturtium.

Growing a jade vine offers repeatable rewards, like the once per week Tears of Guthix activity. When the vine is fully grown, checking its health yields 1500 Farming experience. After a short time, the vine will grow branches. Pruning these with secateurs will provide 30 Farming experience. Without pruning, the jade vine will grow wild. As in the quest, the wild jade vine can be killed using a woodcutting axe and secateurs. This gives 2500 Slayer experience and a new vine seed. Talk to Horacio about the wild vine and he'll offer to kill it for a payment of 5 coconuts and 5 watermelons. Paying Horacio gets rid of the wild vine but yields no experience reward in any skill. After clearing the patch repeat the cycle. If a player loses the vine seed, he may ask Horacio for a new one. If the jade vine dies, then after clearing the patch of the dead jade vine, the player may ask Horacio for a new seed. The vine growth is approximately 15 hours. The vine turns wild a few hours after checking its health. If you trim the vine regularly, Horacio will continue to keep it in good health. If you allow the vine to grow out of control, you must kill it, receive a new seed, replant it, and again pay Horacio 10 wildblood hops if you'd like him to look after it for you.

Killing a wild vine during repeatable rewards makes it possible for a player to abandon the battle without a teleport by simply using the gate exit.

Music unlocked

• Roots and Flutes (if not already unlocked by exploring the land just outside of the maze)

Required for completing

Completion of Back to my Roots is required for the following:

• Returning Clarence (miniquest)
• Ardougne Tasks:
  • Hard: "Vine-Detta"

Trivia

• Upon the completion of this quest, one's Adventurer's Log will read: "I successfully navigated the vine maze to get a cutting of a very rare vine for Lord Handelmort."
• On the first day of release if players clicked to see the spoilers they received the message: Good quest spoilers need time to take root. Come back when they're in season.
• When speaking to Garth about preserving the vine root, he will mention Wizard Cromperty is a "wonderful wizard", and then he and your character will take turns saying "because" a few times. This is a reference to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
• Your player also says "I'm off to see the wizard...". This is also a reference to the Wizard of Oz
• This quest also gives 40000 Woodcutting experience as a reward, also breaking a record in quest experience given in a single skill as a reward. The previous record holder was Monkey Madness, which gave 35000 experience in 2 combat skills of the player's choice. However, this record was again broken with the release of While Guthix Sleeps, which gives 100000 experience to four skills of the player's choice above level 65. The quest Blood Runs Deep then broke that record, giving 150,000 experience in any combat skill over 75 excluding Summoning. This record has now been broken for some people with the release of Nomad's Requiem which gives 70 Zeal points which can be exchanged for more than 450k experience in some cases depending on your level. Ritual of the Mahjarrat has a 110,000 Agility experience reward as well, also topping this quest in terms of single experience rewards.