Contact
Entry posted by Merch Gwyar
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There are a handful of quests which seem to make up a kind of Ivy League of terror. Their names ricochet across Runescape on the lips of quivering adventurers. Their very mention doesn't so much bring forth tips as traumatized mutterings. 'I died three times...' 'I lost my whip...' 'I hated that quest...' For those who haven't even attempted them, the warnings are enough to tuck them away as things to do in the vague, unformed future. Not now, never now.
For as long as I've been playing, 'Contact' has been in that league. When I completed 'Itchlarin's Little Helper' with barely my life intact, I made enquiries amongst my friends and was unequivocably told, 'No, you aren't even close to the levels needful to do this one.' Ok, quiver, fear and forget it. Besides, what does the guide say:
Forewarning: At almost any level you can easily die during this quest!
I warrant that half of Sal's, not to mention the general public, only get that far before turning back in search of another quest.
It only takes a few runs around the Pyramid Plunder mini-game to start thinking wistfully about a bank in Sophanem. I awoke this morning after a bizarre dream involving Richey Manic as a small boy and me having to carry him up a steep hill or else something bad would happen. How bad could 'Contact' be after that? Yuan said yesterday that it's quite easy. Ok, so he's level 126 combat with a plethora of high-level artillery, but how bad could it be? My fate was sealed when I logged on to find Henrique running around Sophanem, in my world, helping Itchlarin out. I asked if he fancied another quest after this and he did.
I carefully read the guide, as in past the bit where it says you can die, and spent a while in Nardah bank dressing and preparing. Then Henrique logged off and never came back. 
Meanwhile, in the chat channel, Demsla was telling about his two deaths in this quest and his armour losses. I was paused in the act of going to do it alone, when Demsla piped up. 'If you can lend me a weapon and a prayer pot, I'll come with you.' Deal!
I can't quite express how nervous Demsla and I were as we loitered at the top of the trapdoor. In chat, Daz had the guide primed just in case. I was doing something that I never do, I had a second browser open and on constant view on my tiny monitor. Lag aside, it also meant that I had a little window showing Runescape and had to scroll across to either access my bag or put on a protect prayer. We were as ready as we would ever be.
Using the maze map on Sal's site as our guide, Demsla and I picked our way to the ladder. We only ran into a couple of mage warriors, which didn't do much through our protect from mage, then we were there. What?! Huh?! That was the terrifying maze that everyone goes on about? :P I'd got through every thieving and agility trap as if I was strolling through Lumbridge. Easy didn't cover it! We quickly searched the body, got our parchment and teled back to Al-Kharid wondering what all the fuss was about.
Round two, we flew to Polly, then to Nardah, restocked and wandered off over the desert so blase about going to do this maze again. Blase, that was, until we did it. It didn't quite live up to its reputation this time, but was closer. First a mage put out my lantern, but I scrolled my screen across until I could relight it; then I was late putting on my protect from mage and got hit for 15. An agility trap whacked Demsla for 17, then the thieving trap hit me for another 15. We paused to regroup and heal. Lag really got me on a moving wall, but it was all good, until I ran around a corner and fell down a hole. I immediately used my Ectophial and was out of there, finding Demsla standing beside me at the Temple.
We'd had a strategy that if either one of us died, the other would grab the stuff and teleport out. Both of us thought that the other was just being nice and had left too when the trapdoor opened. I hadn't realized that he'd fallen down the same hole and neither had he me. LOL We restocked and was in Al-Kharid, when Daz gave an SOS that he'd died in Rimmington. I immediately banked for room, then gloried over there, but wasn't in time to pick up his mithril armour. :/
Back to Al-Kharid, Demsla and I descended for round three. We discovered that it had been a good thing that we'd fallen, as neither one of us had spoken to Osman outside Sophanem gates. LOL Only slightly more wary than before, but a lot more relaxed than on the first attempt, I nonetheless managed to fall down precisely the same hole! Why isn't there a smiley that says 'nub'? I'm in need of one. Demsla abandoned in the maze, I recharged my Ectophial and, via chat channel, agreed that he should stay there. He made his way to the ladder, while I blushed my embarrassed way back to the maze. This time I made it through without mishap. :/
Stupidity aside, this should be a really short quest. We were already at the final fight, with strategies formed at the ladderhead. We didn't know if we'd be in a cut-scene or if we could cover each other. (It was the former, which shouldn't have surprised us, since the guide clearly states that it would be.) What was confusing was the prayer advice. The guide says that melee or range are best, but the illustration shows a player with protect from mage over his/her head. We strayed onto other sites to determine that protect from melee is the one to go for. The plan? Demsla to go down first, in his rune armour and level 91 combat. That was his suggestion, on the basis that he'd got a slightly higher chance of survival than me, in my red dragonhide and level 87 combat. If either one of us died, the other would grab their stuff and tele. We were in this together.
Demsla went first. I waited about 30 seconds, then followed him down the ladder. Soon as the cut-scene finished, I could see the monster on my mini-map, but no tell-tale green dot beside him. There was silence on the chat channel, then Demsla confirmed that he was fighting. He also reported that it was a fairly easy fight and that he was winning. He had a great safe spot, he told me. I crept closer, but still no sign. We were definitely in different realms. The call came that he'd won. Yay and Wootness!
My turn. I switched on protect from melee and got my dragonhide bottom into the path of the Giant Scarab. I wasn't making a dent, but a mage had appeared behind me and was making a dent in me. I ran beside the corpse, trying to put the scarab between me and it. It worked! I've since seen Simple's map and wish I'd nipped into blogs before this point. Mine was a safe spot, but I'm wondering how much of that was due to circumstance. We weren't fighting in the arena. I'd hung around so much, that the scarab was past the corpse and halfway into the passage. By running by and standing next to Kaleef's body, I was able to use the scarab itself as a shield against its helpers.
I was poisoned often. I took two (4) super antis and used all but one drop. I also took two prayer pots and used one of them up too. I still wasn't doing damage, though the frequent poisonings were hurting me. I healed, then noticed the super attack and combat potions I'd bought. :s For not being able to see my bag properly! I gulped some of those down, as Demsla assured me via chat that even his might hadn't damaged the scarab for the first ten blows. I raised my dragon skimmy, with two sips of anti left, and whack! Hit the scarab for 17. Thereon my hits were landing! Its hitpoints went down pretty quickly, until, nearly dead, it poisoned me a final time. I used that penultimate drop of anti poison, hit and it died. Yay! I had eaten about four monks and a couple of karambwan, but that's all.
I hereby demand that 'Contact' comes out of the terror list of horrific quests and is replaced by 'Haunted Mine', which no-one seems to warn about in advance! LOL
Thanks for the adventure, Demsla, that was fun!
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