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This article is about the quest. For other uses, see Underground Pass (disambiguation).
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Underground Pass is a quest named after the location in which it takes place, notorious for its length and difficulty. You must venture into an underground pathway that leads to a new land, at the request of King Lathas of Ardougne, in order to help him destroy his corrupted brother Tyras.

Official description[]

There are rumours of a secret passageway that can be used to get to the other side of the mountains west of Ardougne. Now it's just a matter of finding it.

Walkthrough[]

Start pointQuest map icon
Underground Pass icon
Talk to King Lathas on the first floor of Ardougne castle.
Member requirementP2P icon Members only
Official difficultyExperienced Experienced
Official lengthLong to Very Long
RequirementsSkill requirements are not boostable unless marked with a [B] for boostable.
Quest Quests:

Recommended:

Items requiredItems from the tool belt are not listed unless they do not work or are not automatically added.

(The ropes and bronze arrows can be purchased from the West Ardougne General Store)

  • At least 2 ropes (the amount you will actually have to use depends on your luck - it is safer to bring at least 4)
  • A bow (crossbows and bows that do not require ammunition will not work)
  • Some arrows (ogre, god, broad, araxyte, wild, dark and ice arrows cannot be used for this. It is possible to fail multiple parts of the dungeon, so be sure to bring a few extras should you do so.)
Recommended
  • Armour and a weapon needed to fight 3 greater demons
  • 1000 Coins (in order to buy food from the drunken dwarf) should be all the food needed if you are a medium to high level, food is acquired during quest
  • Agility potions or summer pies, if you have a low Agility level
  • Telegrab runes for the amulet of othanian, if you have a low Agility level
  • An emergency teleport
  • Plank (helps in avoiding damage; can be obtained during the quest)
  • The catspeak amulet for amusing dialogue later in the quest
Enemies to defeat

Uncovered sect[]

King Lathas chathead
Koftik location

Location of Koftik

It is advised not to have any pet/follower with you during the quest, as a certain section of the quest causes your character to freeze; if this happens, the only way out is teleporting, forcing you to start the pass over from the beginning.

To begin, talk to King Lathas on the 1st2nd floor[UK] of the Ardougne Castle. After the previous quest's revelation, you find out that King Tyras, Lathas' brother, has moved on west, leaving his reign on West Ardougne. Ask King Lathas if his scouts have found a way through the mountains. He tells you that they have indeed uncovered an ancient tunnel, though it is riddled with cultists, who answer to the name of an evil Lord Iban, the alleged son of Zamorak.

He'll ask you to check in with Koftik, his tracker, who is waiting for you just outside the entrance to the tunnels in West Ardougne.

Underground Pass entrance

The entrance to the Underground Pass

Hawk eye[]

Items needed: A bow and some arrows

As the ruse about the plague is now known to you, West Ardougne can be accessed through the front gates, so head through and walk all the way west through the city until you find the cave entrance with Koftik standing outside. Talk to him and he'll explain more about the pass and tell you to meet him inside, next to the bridge.

Enter the dungeon and you'll see three paths branching off in different directions. It is possible to walk across the middle path, but it is not advised to do so as the unstable ground can potentially drag you down and send you tumbling down a very painful hillside, dealing around 140 damage, that you'll have to climb back up again. If you wish to avoid this, take either of the other paths. Climb over the rockslides to go around the swamp and get to where Koftik is standing next to a fire.

Underground Pass map
Stone Tablet (Underground Pass)

A stone tablet with strange writing at the entrance to the Underground Pass.

Firing at Guide Rope

Shooting a fire arrow at the guide rope.

Talk to him and he'll tell you it looks like there have been others in the cave already. He tells you that he found a damp cloth along with a book. Use the damp cloth on an arrow, then right-click and "light arrow" - or use the arrow on the fire nearby - to get a fire arrow, or a lit arrow if you used its bronze counterpart.

Ogre arrows, god arrows, broad arrows, ice arrows, poisoned arrows and dark arrows cannot be used for this. It's recommended to use cheaper arrows, as their type makes no difference and it cannot be recovered.

Equip the bow and arrow. If you try to shoot the arrow on the bridge guide rope from where Koftik is, you will get a message saying you can't get a clear shot. Move into the small room to your north. Look across the chasm and you can see where the guide rope holds up the draw-bridge. Click on it and you'll fire your lit arrow at the rope. If you succeed, the draw-bridge will drop and you'll automatically walk across the bridge.

Do not pull the lever next to the wall past the bridge unless you want to leave. It will drop the bridge and send you back. Moving on will take another arrow.

If you did not bring a plank with you, take the one nearby before proceeding - it can be used to safely pass some of the traps later.

On the grid, off the grid[]

Items needed: Rope
Underground Pass Crossing Chasm

Crossing the chasm.

Walk south a little to where you should see another fork in the path. Do not go south into the swampy area with the blessed spiders, or you'll be sucked down. Instead, walk east to a pit. Stone tablets are spread throughout the tunnel, inscribed with a passage that gives you a clue on how to proceed further safely.

Most men do live in fear of death
that it might steal their soul.

Some work and pray,

to shield their life
from the ravages of the cold.

But only those who embrace the end

can truly make their life extend.

And when all hope begins to fade

look above and use nature
as your aid.
 
— The text inscribed on the tablet next to the pit

Use a rope with the "old spike" on your side of the pit to create a rope balance that you can walk across.

If you fail: you'll fall into a pit and have to climb up, then start again from the very beginning of the pass. To get out of the pit, look for rockslides you can climb over. The first one is to the south, the second to the north, the third between the south-western pair of roof supporting pillars, and the fourth south of the north western most roof supporting pillar. At the northwest corner of the pit, you'll be able to climb up.

Underground pass failed rope dungeon map

The dungeon you appear in when falling off the rope.

Underground Pass Grid Puzzle

The grid puzzle.

When you succeed, continue on the path over some more rockslides until you see Koftik standing in front of a grid of mesh. When you talk to him, you realise that he is hearing voices, slowly going out of his mind.

You'll now have to use trial and error to figure out which squares will drop you into a pit and the ones that will support you. It's different for every person, so you'll have to figure it out for yourself. If you stand on any square for too long, you will fall. Falling down on the pit will cause you to take 150 damage. There are protruding rocks surrounding the small spike pit; use them to get back up.

Make sure to remember what the path is, since you'll need to come back this way again when you want to do Regicide. This path will always be the same from now on, so record the correct sequence or you will take heavy damage in the future.

Once you finally do get through to the other side, pull the lever by the south wall to get to the other side of the gate.

Lights in the night[]

Items needed: Plank

To the north of you is a furnace. Ignore it for the moment. There is also a one way agility pipe which is a shortcut back towards the start. To the west of you will be a narrow corridor.

Approach the hallway carefully, as there are five traps in the wall - two to the north and then three more in the south wall. (These are the 'odd markings') The same traps are also referred in the stone tablet to the north, after the agility pipe. Attempting to disarm the traps can be failed to cause a few hits of 560 life points each, although a higher thieving level will improve the odds. Another method to move ahead is to stand one square away from each trap, and then run ahead of it. However, this can also fail and cause damage similar to that from failing to disarm the traps.

The Surge ability is disabled while you're in the Pass, so it may not be used to bypass any kind of traps. Also, do not try to disable a trap while you're running past it, or else you'll stop and be rapidly hit for every tick that you're in front of the trap.

Whichever way you choose, you will eventually reach an area with a large and sinister-looking well in the middle, with a book beside it and an altar. The stone tablet reveals that "if a light should break the night, the dark will rise to win the fight". If you are running low on food supplies, a useful technique is to rest, turn on Rapid Heal or Rapid Renewal, and wait for your life points to regenerate, then pray at the altar.

There are four different paths branching off from this room.

For the "flat rock" pressure plate traps found ahead, it is possible to run straight through if you want to risk setting it off and tank the damage; you will not always be hit. Damage received can be anywhere from 1 ~ 1,000 (depending on your current amount of life points). If you want to pass safely, the plank can be used to cross these traps undamaged.

  1. In the northern path, use the plank on each flat rock to pass the traps. If you have a significantly high thieving level, you may also attempt to disarm them, but failure is still possible. Go past all three of the traps and pick up the orb of light at the end of the tunnel.
  2. The north-west path is easy as you'll just need to fight or run through the level 42 blessed spiders and level 67 ogres to grab the orb and run back again.
  3. The mid-west path is the same as the northern one, but with five traps instead of three. Use your plank to get over the traps, or try to disarm them.
  4. The south-west path has a small trick. Walk through the tunnel to reach the orb, but don't pick it up. You must disarm the trap underneath it or a log will swing down and hit you for 500+ damage. To take the orb, you must first disarm the trap. You will have to search the flat stone underneath the orb.
  • You may "succeed" several times, but don't be fooled - until you pick up the orb, the trap keeps resetting itself. Simply continue to search the flat rock and disarm the trap until you've automatically grabbed the orb. The log may swing down and deal high damage when disarming fails. The orbs cannot be tele-grabbed.

Now that you have all four of the orbs, back track a little bit. Go back to where the furnace was - remembering to be careful of the traps in the wall. Use each of the orbs on the furnace to destroy them. You will now be able to climb down the well. When you are ready, climb down the well.

Don't look down[]

You will find yourself beside three crates; search the middle one to get two salmon and two meat pies. There is also rope respawn spot nearby.

Koftik will be near, sounding stranger than before. Head further down the cave and you'll find yourself surrounded by cages. Following the passage ahead leads to a dead end, so you must find another way to move forward. Pick the lock on the eastern-most cage on the southern wall. You'll notice that there's a rather odd looking patch of mud at the back of it. Dig through the patch using a spade and find a hidden tunnel that will take you through to the other side. Edge across the narrow ledge, and you'll be near a maze of raised beams. Failing to cross the ledge will cause 50 damage. You'll have to make your way back to cross it through the slave's cage again.

  • If you have level 50 Thieving, you can use the shortcut a little bit farther south, preventing any chance of falling onto the traps. There's a door that you can pick the lock of. It completely bypasses the whole maze. You just have to be careful to avoid the places that are bubbling.
  • If you do not have the required thieving level, you need to get through via the beams. If you fail, you need to climb back up one of the ramps nearby, often setting you back a few steps.

Either way, go south and pass-through the obstacle pipe to get into the next area.

Slaughtered[]

Smashed unicorn

Poor unicorn!

In this next area you'll find a unicorn in a cage. Search the cage and you'll find a loose piece of railing. Head south down the path leading to where the cage is and you'll find a large boulder. Use the loose railing as leverage to push down the boulder, which will kill the unicorn. Now go back down and retrieve the unicorn horn by searching the wreckage of the cage.

Well to Iban's Lair

The entrance to the third level of the Underground Pass.

Heading north through the cave, you'll come to a small group of Paladins who have made a sort of camp in the tunnels. They're all level 81, named Sir Carl, Sir Jerro, and Sir Harry. If you talk to Sir Jerro, he'll give you 2 loaves of bread, 2 meat pies, a bowl of stew, a prayer potion (2) and attack potion (2). Unfortunately for them, you need the paladin's badges that they carry, to proceed, and the only way to get those is to murder them. The paladins can be safe-spotted by trapping them behind the nearby rocks.

Paladin Camp

The Paladin Camp.

Once you have all three badges (red, blue, and green) head a bit west, keeping your eyes out for the "flat rock" traps there. Again, you can foil them by placing the plank on them, or disarming them, followed quickly by running over them. Keep going west to another well. When you search the well, it reads "Feed me three crests of the blessed and the creatures remains". Use the three badges and the unicorn horn on the well to unlock the large doors.

Cornucopia[]

The final part of the quest takes place in an expansive cavern. This is widely considered to be the most frustrating part of the quest. Around the edges of the vast space is a rock ledge to walk on. The mid is a large, open area with a maze of walkways, most of which are permanently broken. If you try to jump across them, sometimes you will fall and end up taking large damage when you hit the ground below, as well as being in a large area filled with the Soulless. Even though it may be tempting, don't eat or throw away food to free up inventory space unless you have no other option. Hastily eating any kind of obtained food will increase your chances of dying from a fall.

While there is no minimum requirement, players with lower Agility levels will struggle to cross the broken paths. Regardless, it is still possible to complete all of the obstacles, even at level 1, with a little luck. The only mechanic that has been confirmed to affect success when attempting obstacles is a higher Agility level; with this in mind, before attempting to cross, be aware of the following:

  • Many players have reported that having full run energy and adrenaline helps when crossing the gaps. Turning on legacy combat mode will fill the adrenaline bar.
  • Summer pies will boost Agility by 5 levels, and do not weigh anything.
  • If you have a friend who would be willing to help jump and trade items, it has been reported that having no items worn or in your inventory has improved players' success.
  • Some players have reported success with weight-reducing clothing.
  • Even at higher levels (85+), failure is possible. You should expect to fall; complete success is very rare, especially at lower levels.
  • The most consecutive successful jumps you need to make is five, while getting the amulets.

For now, ignore the walkway, though do take note of the locations where you can get onto them. Head as far south as you can. When you reach the south wall, go a little west, and there will be some stairs in the wall. When you walk down them, Koftik will appear, ranting insanely before disappearing again. Before he goes, though, he'll mention some dwarves that have taken up residence there, and are the only ones immune to Lord Iban's power. Walk a bit to the west and enter a small cave to find them. There are three dwarves named Niloof, Klank, and Kamen in a small fenced area with two buildings.

Niloof will give you some food when you talk to him; if you need more, you can talk to Kamen. He will supply you with unlimited meat pies, stews and bread. You can buy some for 75 coins, or accept his offer of a drink. If you do take the drink, it will cause you a bit of damage and hurts your Agility a little. You can also heal using the Regenerate ability and killing the Soulless to build up the adrenaline needed.

The tale of Iban[]

Talk to Niloof to get to know about a witch named Kardia, who knows how to kill Iban. Once he's told you that, ascend the cave stairs again and head north-east until you get to the southern most of the many walkways from the ledge. Walk across it to the south platform to reach Kardia's house. If you fall, just go south of the room full of Soulless.

If you listen at her window near the door, and you'll hear her talking to herself about her missing cat. Do not attempt to open the door or the witch will take 900+ life points off of you. You can avoid being hurt by clicking away and not continuing the conversation.

To find the cat, head north, take a left, hop across the gap, then take the north branch of the path. Continue along it, until you reach a platform. Once you are at the platform, look at your minimap. Head towards the yellow dot and pick up the cat. Once you have the cat in your inventory, return to the witch's house. Do not drop the cat or it will run away and hide. If this happens, just wait around for a while and it will reappear at the same location where you first found it.

Underground Pass Kardia's treasure chest

Searching the chest

Use the cat on the door. You'll automatically hide behind the corner while the witch gets her cat. While she's distracted, sneak into her house and search the chest. You'll get a restore potion, a super attack potion, the history of iban, and a doll of iban. If you lose the book or fail to get it due to a full inventory, the dwarf Niloof can also give it to you.

Reading the book, written by Kardia herself, provides you with information on Iban and how to kill him. You need to destroy Iban by exactly the same way he was resurrected: collecting four elements of his life - Flesh, Blood, Shadow and Conscience - and imbuing them with his effigy. Only when this is done, can you finally kill him, ending his control.

Once the book and doll are recovered, the remaining four steps may be completed in any order. Considering the running involved here and with the demons nearby, it is suggested to fight them first and recover the shadow. However, having a lower agility level may cause you to fall from the breaks in the walkway, wherein getting the items from the dwarf camp can be completed first instead.

If you die at any point while preparing the doll, you can talk to Niloof, who will return it to you complete as it was before death, so you won't have to do everything again.

Incantia[]

Othanian

Othanian, one of the keepers of Iban's shadow.

To get Iban's shadow, you need to kill three level 78 demons named Doomion, Othanian, and Holthion, who are the keepers of Iban's shadow, summoned by Kardia with a dark, powerful ritual known as Incantia.

Head north of the witch's house and take the first left, and at the next platform head south all the way down until you reach where the demons are. Keep in mind that doing this requires the successful crossing of many consecutive bridges, a feat that, if your luck runs out, will take a toll on your life points. It is recommended to take advantage of Kamen's 75-coin meals to conserve your own food if this becomes a problem. When you get there, you can safespot them by standing on the bridges connecting the areas they stand and using ranged or magic on them, all while not taking any damage. Kill each demon any way you like and pick up the amulet of doomion, amulet of othanian and amulet of holthion that they drop respectively.

Once you have all three of them, head north of where Doomion was to reach a chest. Opening it will destroy the amulets of each keeper and give you Iban's shadow. Use it on the doll.

Essence of his darkness[]

Tomb on fire

The tomb on fire

Go back to the dwarves and talk to Klank. Make sure he gives you Klank's gauntlets. Next, grab a bucket from the large building and go into the smaller one. Use the bucket on the barrel inside to get some of the dwarf brew that Kamen was giving you earlier. Take this and head to the far south-east corner of the area, where the tomb of Iban is located. Dump the bucket of alcohol on top of the tomb and light it up with your tinderbox. After you're done watching it burn, a pile of Iban's ashes will be left behind in your pack. If your inventory is full, make room and search the tomb to find the ashes. Use them on the doll.

Searching the tomb before lighting it, with or without the gauntlets, will result in Iban shouting "Leave me be!" and using a spell which can deal 100+ damage.

Life force[]

Kalrag

Kalrag

Head straight north from Iban's tomb and keep going past all of the Soulless until you reach a corridor full of blessed spiders. Walk to the end of the enclosed area to find a giant level 81 spider named Kalrag. This venomous spider fed on Iban's body, draining it of blood, so she must be killed in order to smear his blood upon the doll.

When you defeat her, you'll automatically soak up the blood with your doll. You may want to run, as some of the spiders nearby will immediately attack you with ranged. Head to the northwestern-most corner of the area and go up the stairs, where you'll find yourself in an area with numerous caged half-soulless.

Unholy ambition[]

Items needed: Klank's gauntlets
Half-souless

The half-soulless.

To imbue Iban's spirit into the doll, you need to find the dove that was murdered by Kardia - representing Iban's innocent conscience that was corrupted by evil. The dove sat "inside an old wooden cage".

With your Klank's gauntlets equipped, head south along the western wall. You will pass two bridges. The third bridge will have a gap that needs to be jumped over. There will be several cages with half-soulless in them. Iban's dove is located in the group of cages in the centre of the area, specifically the one centre platform whose elevation is lower than the others. The half-soulless will bite at you each time you search a cage, and if you're not wearing Klank's gauntlets, the bites will cause some damage. Use the skeletal dove on the doll.

Ultimate demise[]

Items needed: Doll of Iban
Iban's room

Temple of Iban.

After successfully creating Iban's effigy, complete with the elements of his existence, you'll need to make your way to Iban's temple at the heart of the cavern. The world map shows the location of the broken bridges. If you happen to fall, the path with the fewest broken bridges from the edge is located on the west side - the second from the north, near the caged soulless where the dove's corpse was found. Once you're near the temple, kill a Disciple of Iban to get a pair of Zamorak robes.

Make sure the Zamorak robes are all you're wearing, else you're not able to enter the temple. Any items you drop outside will be lost! Even if you wear other Zamorakian affiliated items, you cannot enter; so just place all your armour, necklaces, amulets or gloves, etc. in your backpack. You may still enter with an aura activated. Having two spaces in your inventory will allow you to collect the runes that will be dropped on Iban's destruction.

The next part can be tricky to get through for lower-levelled players, though you don't have to actually fight Iban. What you need to do is use the doll on the well in the centre of the room. What makes it hard is that Iban will detect the doll in your possession and start launching spells at you - numerous bolts of blood-red lightning all at the same time, causing 100+ life points of damage on impact, and knocking you back to the entrance. Protect from Magic does not evade any damage from Iban's spells.

It is recommended to try to move as close to Iban as possible, as he casts fewer spikes in his vicinity. Try to time it so that you run when there are no magical spikes. If you are a higher level and have decent defence, simply running to the well is possible, without waiting. When you do manage to get the doll into the well, though, Iban will be destroyed and the temple will begin to collapse. Right after throwing the doll in the well, you will automatically receive Iban's staff, 15 death runes, and 30 fire runes, and be teleported out. If you do not have open inventory space, the runes will be dropped.

Underground pass end dungeon map

The Dungeon you appear in after defeating Iban.

You'll find yourself in a cavern where you find Koftik, who'll appear to be sane again now that he isn't under Iban's control anymore. Leave the cavern to Tirannwn, and Koftik will lead you back to the entrance. Go back to East Ardougne, and talk to King Lathas to complete the quest.

Rewards[]

Underground Pass reward
Music unlocked

Required for completing[]

Transcript[]

Cultural references[]

  • If you fall when crossing the pit trap, you will receive the text "It's a trap!". This may be a reference to Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, in which Admiral Ackbar utters the same phrase when his fleet is attacking the Death Star.
  • The slave in the cage with a skeleton quotes a mish-mash of quotes from two different plays by William Shakespeare. The first is "Is this a dagger [which] I see before me?" from Macbeth. He then goes onto quote a part of the "To be or not to be" speech from Hamlet when he says "Why should I bear the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?" and then Hamlet again when he mentions a "quintessence of dust". He keeps going to quote part of the famous "Goodnight Sweet Prince (and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest)" speech delivered by Horatio, before finishing with Hamlet's last words: "The rest is silence."
  • Koftik at the pit and grid quotes an excerpt from the Quentin Tarantino film, Pulp Fiction: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men." This quote has frequently been misstated to be an excerpt from the Bible (specifically, Ezekiel 25:17).
  • During the quest you will receive the text "I'll swallow your soul" which is a well known quote from the Evil Dead movie franchise.

Trivia[]

  • If you have a catspeak amulet, and you talk to Kardia's cat, it says: "In nomine Zamoraki, ite," which is Infernal (Latin) for "In the name of Zamorak, leave."
  • Some other phrases that Kardia's cat says are: "Zamurakus mortem tuum erit" and "in Zamorake fides meus", which translate from Latin as "Zamorak will kill you" and "In Zamorak I trust", respectively.
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