Haunted Mine (and Gertrude's Cat By Proxy)
Entry posted by Merch Gwyar
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I'm writing whilst on a massive high, because I've completed Haunted Mine! This was through a lot of help from my friends and I strongly doubt that I would have survived it alone.
The background here is that I've attempted it twice before. The first time I teled with barely any life left and the second time I died. Whiskas88 is going to be reading this with a mixture of cheering for my success and exasperation, as he's been trying to get me to repeat it for weeks, but under his protection. Only this dinnerhour, he managed to squeeze out of me a promise that I'd do it today or after my holiday in Scotland (next week), but I was thinking that I'd stay over after work and use my office's fast computer. Not this one here, which lags terribly.
In the meantime, though three things happened to render today not feasible. Firstly, my eldest nephew received his GCSE results, which were great enough to get him into college. Woot! Secondly, college-going people tend to get money from their delighted relatives, which translated here as buying himself Runescape membership. Thirdly, my youngest nephew, already feeling the bite of f2p, with a bank full of membership things, negotiated a deal whereby he cleaned my car and I bought him membership for a month. I couldn't really stay over at work, with celebrations and two nephews wanting my credit card in front of a computer (with me attached to it).
The upshot was that by the time I got onto my computer, my youngest nephew was back home logging onto his to enjoy his membership. He joined my chat channel and, while I was mining iron to make his brother some starter armour, he was getting to know several Slammers. I met up with him and led him to Varrock, where first Whiskas88 and then Guildwars took him away to do Gertrude's Cat, while I smithed the armour.
Many adventures ensued, including me getting kidnapped by the freaky forester and being so busy chatting that I quickly clicked through the blarb. It was only when I came to do the random that I realized I'd clicked through, unread, the bit where he told me what pheasant to kill! I had no teleport on me and only an iron longsword to fend off whatever lived wherever he'd send me, if I got it wrong. Ooops. I went for the two-tailed one and... yes... it was the wrong one. Fortunately, I only ended up in Lumby Castle Basement.
Whiskas had to leave, so Guildwars tend Jdeh (my nephew) through the rest of the quest. We were briefly joined by Cougarsrule9, in a lovely new outfit. 
Jdeh was off to bed and there's just me and Guildwars loitering around outside Gertrude's house.
'So...' Guildwars said, 'Haunted Mine next?'
I did the 'panic' emote several times on the pavement, but Guildwars didn't seem moved by this. I did it a few more times for luck, but he was still looking at me with a 'well, are you going to do it?' look. I was saved by the bell, logging off to take a phone call, but that pause got me thinking. I was still thinking when I logged back on and Teacuptime offered me sharks to do the quest with, plus his company alongside Guildwars's. With two of them ready, prepared and offering sharks, what can a girl do?
To start with, she can get her backside to Canifis quickly and get a new druid pouch, because she died carrying it last time! Teacuptime had given me some lower level food to run across the swamp with and fill the pouch. I was about it when Guildwars appeared en route to meet me at the mine's entrance. I quickly ran back to the bank and prepared myself. I was dressed in rune legs and platebody, with my helm of Neitiznot, rune kiteshield and dragon longsword. I wore a glory and a ring of life. I carried with me four prayer potions, a druid pouch, a strange fruit, a chisel, a super set, combat potion and lots of sharks. As I reached Guildwars, it occurred to me that I had no spaces left for pickpocketing the zealot for the key or for picking up the fungus. I handed Guildwars my chisel and strange fruit.
Teacuptime met us, resplendent in his quest cape, and the three of us snaked our way into the mine shaft. They were both, stupidly, following me, which meant that we immediately got lost. Opening the guide froze my computer twice, so Teacuptime took the lead. We'd have been there all night else and they'd have eventually rumbled my strategy - get lost in the mine, never have to fight the ghost. ;) (Joke) From thereon, it was Teacuptime and Guildwars taking turns to lead the way, from fungi to control board to train to the final battle.
I hadn't been too nervous until we approached that door. Then it all came back to me why this was a dangerous place. I asked if it was too late to chicken out, but apparently it was. I wasn't reassured by the fact that Guildwars's hell cat waited outside. Cats are psychic, you know. They know when it's best not to go inside places. I entertained the idea of waiting with the cat, to protect it, but it was looking at me in a certain way. I sussed that it was out there as Guildwars's ally, ensuring that I went inside to where both gentlemen were waiting for me. It was now or never.
I had a last check that I'd switched off my auto-retaliate, as had been advised on here and, I'm sure, was ultimately a huge factor in me surviving. I didn't get so yanked into the path of things nor was I trapped on tracks as often as before. That was a truly great tip. I took a sip of each in the superset, plus the combat potion, and traded the remaining vials with Teacuptime, who handed me more sharks in return. It was time.
The fight itself had me shaking like a leaf, the adrenaline rushing as several hits seemed to half wipe out my hp, but strangely enough, it was almost enjoyable. I found myself able to mentally slow down enough to plan my moves and routes, monitoring my prayer and hp points with, seemingly, all the time in the world. Teacuptime and Guildwars were standing in the middle, encouraging me, which really helped, particularly at the mid-point, when it felt like I wasn't getting enough big hits on the ghost. The biggest help though came in the form of sharks, monkfish and prayer potions, scattered across the room in all the places that the ghost could be found and also liberally scattered across the middle section. As I ran, I picked them up, ate them and finally... WOOT! He was dead and everything stopped moving!
Guildwars and Teacuptime were dancing and cheering in the middle of the room, while I just hyperactively shook like a leaf. Now all the pent up panic came out and I couldn't think what to do next! Teacuptime answered,
'We take a moment to chill.' 
We collected all the food and pots lying on the floor, then I took the key from the crate and my chisel from Guildwars, before being led through the mine shafts to the area with the shards. I had to laugh as we left the room. Teacuptime piped up,
'We're going to need a lot more fish to get Skilla through that one.' LMFAO!
I collected several shards, dropping them on the floor in order to get another, then picking them all up afterwards. We teleported to Lumby and wooted in front of the castle for a bit, before trading all the things that we had of each other's. I was so grateful to them both! And to everyone else who offered supplies or themselves accompanying me, particularly Whiskas88, who's been trying so hard to get me to do it.
The only sour note in this coda was an individual in my chat channel, who was ignoring us all telling him, on several occasions, that we were questing. As I was finishing, he suddenly tantrummed out,
'oh my gosh!!! I HATE YOU MERCH!!!'
That's fair enough, I don't need to be loved, though that's a nice added bonus where it happens. But neither do I have to accommodate people acting like that in my chat channel. I responded that that's fine and I'm kicking you, then did it. It was hardly the warning that I advocated in a previous post, which probably makes me a hypocrite, but a human one. He knew damn well that it was me doing it.
Within a minute or so, he reappeared in there under another name, telling us that it was him and stating that he was sorry, but also making a comment that made it clear that he hadn't understood why he was being kicked. I was still filled with adrenaline, glee, relief, excitement and all the rest, in the immediate aftermath of finishing the quest, but I looked and that heavy, black sense of duty threatened to penetrate my mood, as I realized I should explain why he was kicked. Before I could do so though, one of my generals piped up,
'And I'm kicking you for avoiding a ban.'
He was gone and, at that moment in time, I have to say I was thankful for it.
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