Defender of Varrock - New Quest Released Today!

First of all, here is the quest right here.

http://news.runescape.com/newsitem.ws?id=1430

[hide=Runescape]Captain Rovin is eager to recruit a bold adventurer for a scouting mission to the Wilderness. There's talk among the Varrock Guard of suspicious zombie behaviour and sightings of well-armoured zombies standing in organised formations. This isn't normal behaviour for zombies - they're much more likely to wander around aimlessly when left to their own devices. Could someone be controlling them?

There are tales of evil beings leading zombie armies in the past, and when they have, the city of Varrock has come under great peril, only standing firm through the brave resolve of the people and heroes of the city. This could become much more than a simple scouting mission.

"Its a long time since Ive written a quest and Ive been working on this for a while now, so Im excited about this update.

"Ive created lots of back-story about RuneScape over the years so its good to have the opportunity to reveal more of it through my own quests. You may have noticed that the Legend of Arrav has some loose ends and I felt it was time to address those. Ive tried hard to create a quest with some interesting puzzles and an exciting storyline. I hope you enjoy it."[/hide]

And here are the qualifications:

[hide=Click to reveal]Talk to Captain Rovin in the north-west tower of Varrock Palace.

Requirements to complete the Defender of Varrock quest:

Level 51 Agility

Level 51 Hunter

Level 54 Smithing

Level 59 Mining

Shield of Arrav

The Knight's Sword

Romeo and Juliet

Demon Slayer

Temple of Ikov

The Family Crest

What Lies Below

Garden of Tranquillity

Able to fight multiple level 85 enemies

Claim Varrock Museum kudos for completing Shield of Arrav

Willing to brave the dangers of revenants in the Wilderness

Reading the Legend of Arrav in the Lores and Histories will give you a better appreciation of the storyline of the quest.[/hide]

Many of us have speculated about this quest since I posted this message. Here it is! I wonder what relevance this quest has to Romeo and Juliet. That amazes me. Also, could the family crest quest be the missing link to the Elder's son who claimed the shield after Arrav threw it to protect Avvarocka?

I won't be doing this quest, so I won't be able to participate in the storyline as of yet, but much history will be revealed. All posts of this nature are welcomed.

Below is the old post.

There is plenty of history in Runescape, and during the last behind the scenes look at September 2008, we were told of a new quest, Defender of Varrock. Apparently this quest will be filled with lots of skeletons and zombies, and a whole lot of history. There must be previous quests that are relevant to this new quest (All Fired Up and Shield of Arrav, for instance), but there are probably some that may be relevant that we might not know about.

Traditionally, Jagex would release updates sometime between Monday and Tuesday of any given week. I've noticed that this hasn't been so in recent months, but something will be released in the next coming weeks for sure!

I have started by taking bits and pieces of news and historical lore together so we can attempt to decipher what might happen next to Varrock in the next week or two or three. There are lots of questions, for instance, why is Zemouregal wearing black armor, and why do we have to wear black armor when we fight tortured souls. Why or how did the Shield of Arrav destroy the undead that plauged Avvarrocka during the Fourth Age?

Anyway- read the lore, post anything you find that might help, kudos to everyone who has helped thus far! Most of the detail can be found below.

ARRAV LORE

I compiled lore from the Arrav on the Runescape Website. There's some passages that are of significance.

[hide=Click to Expand]

RUNESCAPE[/url]":3271dpy5]There will be few smiles in our last thriller update, Defender of Varrock. Deep in the Wilderness, braindead hordes will form into ranks, in a manner that the evil dead rarely do. Such an occurrence will need to be investigated, of course, and the identities of those behind it will have to be revealed. The question is, can you turn the zombie tide before Varrock becomes a shambling land of the dead? Reading the Legend of Arrav lores and histories may well help you out in this particular quest...

 

RUNESCAPE[/url]":3271dpy5]And one night, as Arrav visited the Land of Dreams, he encountered a man dressed all in black, with pale skin, and of dark countenance. And although Arrav knew himself to be in the Land of Dreams, where things cannot be trusted to be what they appear, this man was different from the other travellers he had encountered, and spoke to him by name:

 

 

 

"I know you, Arrav of Avarrocka, Curse of Goblins, Hunter of the White Stag, Child of Sun and Moon. I know you, and I do not fear you. I am Zemouregal of the Mahjarrat tribe, and this land is mine for the taking. I have seen our futures, for they are entwined together, and it ends with your utter defeat at my hand. You will serve me eternally as a slave, and the town you love so much will be destroyed at your own hand."

RUNESCAPE[/url]":3271dpy5]Then, just as he was forgetting his fate with time, two years since the peace was struck with the goblins, Arrav dreamt again of the dark and sinister figure.

 

 

 

In the middle of a field of dream-black wheat, beside a river of ghostly water Zemouregal came to him. Once more the mahjarrat was clad in black, black greaves upon his legs and black gauntlets covering his hands.

THE FATE OF AVVAROCKA

Because some people have been confused about what really happened, I decided to slip this in. In a nutshell, Arrav tossed his shield into the sky and it landed near a young man. At some point, for reasons not explained, the undead crumbled to dust.

[hide=Click to Expand]

RUNESCAPE[/url]":3271dpy5]Running back towards the town, he took the edge of the shield into his hand and threw it as a man might throw a stone to skim upon the water. It flew through the air and landed in the midst of the burning buildings. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, with a sigh, all the dead within the walls crumbled to dust. Fires dulled and the nightmares of the air screamed their last. A few men looked out from behind barricades and the dwarves rose from a crater of bodies to see what had happened. A young man, not more than sixteen, was stood in the street holding the shield.

 

 

 

Arrav recognised the man immediately: it was the grandson of the elder who had spoken to him the night before, a man of honour and compassion. Before he could think further, a blast of sorcerous energy struck Arrav in the back.

THE NEXT QUEST

It seems that this is the next quest Jagex is working on. There have been lots of hints and I think that the End of Summer quest, Shield of Arrav, and All Fired Up play a major role. There must be other quests so if you think you may know, reply with your ideas.

Also, kudos to Warlover, Smavey and DenUsynlige for pointing out a great some previously released pictures...

[hide=Click for Pictures]

[/hide]

I think we can confirm that Arrav is a slave to Zemouregal.

ZEMOUREGAL AND TORTURED SOULS

What we know, Zemouregal seems to be clad in all black and visited Arrav in the dream world. I have heard some people talking about killing tortured souls, and that the only way inflict damage upon them is to be wearing all black. I wonder if there is any relevancy here.

It seems that we will be facing the Mahjarrat, Zemouregal, and Arrav (in his undead form?). Also, part of the runescape news article said "leave no stone unturned". I wonder if this corresponds to the many statues 'staring' about. There are some all over the runescape continent, do they already belong to an existing quest?

A TIMELINE

Here is the timeline from the Third Age to the Present in Runescape. There is at least one significant feature here. First, from the Timeline, we can come up with a guess that Arrav is approximately 1270 years old.

[hide=Click to Expand]3rd Age --- God Wars

3rd Age --- yr 3740 Zamorkian city of Senntisten was settled east of Varrock (could be unrelated). Followers seemed to follow Zaros.

3rd Age --- yr 3804 Saradominist city of Saranthium was settled, god wars were coming to an end (again, this could be unrelated)

4th Age ---

4th Age --- yr 700 - 800.

Shield of Arrav Lore. Approximately the time when Avvarocka was settled

4th Age --- yr 1937

Lumbridge Established (We have an idea how long the 4th Age lasted, and that it is infact 2000 years long)

5th Age --- Current year, 169.[/hide]

Heres an old clue.

A wallpaper on the RS website called "Attack on Varrock"

From the page - "You can't keep a good necromancer down, it looks like Varrock may be about to have a very bad day!

I wonder if this corresponds to the many statues 'staring' about. There are some all over the runescape continent, do they already belong to an exsisting quest?

That's from the Holy Grail quest. They point to a place west of Brimhaven, which you use to teleport to the Fisher King's realm.

I have this odd feeling that we're going to have to fight Arrav. Maybe, after being killed my Zemouregal, he's now his undead slave. Seems plausible...

This isn't the quest jagex is working on

This isn't the quest jagex is working on

Is there only one quest that can be "worked on" at a time?

This isn't the quest jagex is working on

 

 

 

Is there only one quest that can be "worked on" at a time?

exactly. also, it actually might be part of the massive 150th quest, what leads you to thte fact that it cant be? If the quest's gonna be massive, why can't there be several parts to it?

I just hope this quest can give us more info about the runescape history. And for all of you that want to know a lil of Arrav, you should read the "Lores and History".

I bet this is gonna be a hard and long quest :pray:

Btw, i just remeber that in the Lores, it says that Arrav defeated Zemouregal with a special shield made by the Incado dwarves! New armour pl0x?

is that not the sheild from sheild of arrav?

Btw, i just remeber that in the Lores, it says that Arrav defeated Zemouregal with a special shield made by the Incado dwarves! New armour pl0x?

 

I just hope this quest can give us more info about the runescape history. And for all of you that want to know a lil of Arrav, you should read the "Lores and History".

 

I bet this is gonna be a hard and long quest :pray:

 

 

 

Btw, i just remeber that in the Lores, it says that Arrav defeated Zemouregal with a special shield made by the Incado dwarves! New armour pl0x?

 

It's probably gonna be blurite armor. blurite isn't that special. unless imcando dwarves know a special way to enchant it... Well then that's a fact that it might be another quest...Anyway, I doubt this would happen unless someone names some times that Runescape used lores and history for a quest like all fired up or something.

To the poster above, I don't know if the shield was from shield of arrav because the imcando dwarves made it...Always a possibility though.

Btw, i just remeber that in the Lores, it says that Arrav defeated Zemouregal with a special shield made by the Incado dwarves! New armour pl0x?

 

I just hope this quest can give us more info about the runescape history. And for all of you that want to know a lil of Arrav, you should read the "Lores and History".

 

I bet this is gonna be a hard and long quest :pray:

 

 

 

Btw, i just remeber that in the Lores, it says that Arrav defeated Zemouregal with a special shield made by the Incado dwarves! New armour pl0x?

 

 

 

 

It's probably gonna be blurite armor. blurite isn't that special. unless imcando dwarves know a special way to enchant it... Well then that's a fact that it might be another quest...Anyway, I doubt this would happen unless someone names some times that Runescape used lores and history for a quest like all fired up or something.

 

 

 

 

 

To the poster above, I don't know if the shield was from shield of arrav because the imcando dwarves made it...Always a possibility though.

it is

I understand All Fired Up and Shield of Arrav, but why Summer's End?

And it doesn't seem right for Jagex to release 2 quests then have 2 sequels or quests related to that come out within months

is that not the sheild from sheild of arrav?

Oh, ya, i cant believe i forgot about the Shield of Arrav :wall: lol my bad.

Oh well, maybe we will use it somehow to stop Zemouregal...

I understand All Fired Up and Shield of Arrav, but why Summer's End?

 

And it doesn't seem right for Jagex to release 2 quests then have 2 sequels or quests related to that come out within months

they release the quests, wait for the player's opinions on the sequels, then sue the best idea in the sequel.

I understand All Fired Up and Shield of Arrav, but why Summer's End?

 

And it doesn't seem right for Jagex to release 2 quests then have 2 sequels or quests related to that come out within months

 

 

 

they release the quests, wait for the player's opinions on the sequels, then sue the best idea in the sequel.

Within like 2 months?

Aren't we still waiting for mourning's ends 3?

I understand All Fired Up and Shield of Arrav, but why Summer's End?

 

And it doesn't seem right for Jagex to release 2 quests then have 2 sequels or quests related to that come out within months

 

 

 

they release the quests, wait for the player's opinions on the sequels, then sue the best idea in the sequel.

 

 

 

Within like 2 months?

 

Aren't we still waiting for mourning's ends 3?

We're waiting for teh big stone of jas quest, which is possibly 2 quests, the arrav quest, mep3, and a lot more.

[hide=Quote from Warlover]

Heres an old clue.

 

 

 

A wallpaper on the RS website called "Attack on Varrock"

 

 

 

From the page - "You can't keep a good necromancer down, it looks like Varrock may be about to have a very bad day!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the photo. It seems like Jagex has been thinking about this story line since before 2007 then.

This isn't the quest jagex is working on

 

 

 

Is there only one quest that can be "worked on" at a time?

 

 

 

exactly. also, it actually might be part of the massive 150th quest, what leads you to thte fact that it cant be? If the quest's gonna be massive, why can't there be several parts to it?

I think Cheefoo124 has got it right, Jagex probably works on numerous quests at once. It could be a multi-part quest such as recipe for disaster, or it could be a long, long, long quest with various things in between.

I just hope this quest can give us more info about the runescape history. And for all of you that want to know a lil of Arrav, you should read the "Lores and History".

 

I bet this is gonna be a hard and long quest :pray:

 

 

 

Btw, i just remeber that in the Lores, it says that Arrav defeated Zemouregal with a special shield made by the Incado dwarves! New armour pl0x?

Fact check- he didn't defeat Zemouregal. He used the shield to save Avvarocka. I'm not speculating on new weapons, armor, etc, I'm thinking about the story line so if possible why don't we keep it at that.

I think the Spirit of Summer quest and End of Summer have some relevancy to this- the so called land of dreams. I think there are other story lines as well, not limited to the ones I had mentioned (in fact I still am looking for more possibilities, if anyone is willing to take a shot.

Zemouregal had mentioned that he wanted to 'take back' the land where Avvarocka was on. I remember during the Dig Site quest that there was once a possible city older than Avvarocka at the same site, which might have been Zemouregal's old kingdom. Maybe he wants it back. Maybe he wants to bring back Zaros?

ke a quiz maybe in the quest about the shield of arrav lore, but after reading the lore it seems that this quest is going to be about an invasion of that shadow dude and arrav. The lore finishes with Arrav dying and the shadow dude saying how he's going to be back again to invade varrock, this time with arrav as his strongest warrior.

And this picture gives it away:

http://www.runescape.com/img/main/kbase ... _intro.gif

Aka the dude in the right is arrav!

And i bet in this quest we'll have to either kill him or kill both of them! And maybe we take the shield of arrav that we discovered in that noob ftp quest and use it

[hide=]

ke a quiz maybe in the quest about the shield of arrav lore, but after reading the lore it seems that this quest is going to be about an invasion of that shadow dude and arrav. The lore finishes with Arrav dying and the shadow dude saying how he's going to be back again to invade varrock, this time with arrav as his strongest warrior.

 

 

 

And this picture gives it away:

 

 

 

 

Aka the dude in the right is arrav!

And i bet in this quest we'll have to either kill him or kill both of them! And maybe we take the shield of arrav that we discovered in that noob ftp quest and use it

You posted this right before I had the chance to! I noticed that myself. It proves that Jagex has been given this considerable thought, and that we will face an enemy like no other.

Here is some more info that I dug up.

 

'Your doom is upon you, foolish weakling,' Zemouregal said then, 'your shield may save you from my magicks, but your home will drown in blood. Even now, your people are being slaughtered and shall rise again as my slaves. And now, standing before me like a belligerent child, you shall feel the might of my arm.'

 

 

 

With that, Zemouregal leapt forwards with a speed that Arrav had never before seen. Though Zemouregal's body was thin, each time he parried a blow Arrav felt a superhuman strength behind it. It was all he could do to defend himself, and Arrav had not the time to think of launching his own attacks. Behind them, in the distance, Avarrocka was falling.

 

 

 

Realising the fate of his people was not entwined in his own fate, Arrav paused. The sorcerer's sword slipped behind his guard and cut deep into Arrav's thigh. Zemouregal laughed all the louder then, and threw his hood back. A skull with burning sockets looked out upon the wasted fields and where his gaze fell there was nothing but death and evil magicks. Arrav looked down upon his shield - unblemished from any blow - and saw the truth of his path.

 

 

 

Running back towards the town, he took the edge of the shield into his hand and threw it as a man might throw a stone to skim upon the water. It flew through the air and landed in the midst of the burning buildings. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, with a sigh, all the dead within the walls crumbled to dust. Fires dulled and the nightmares of the air screamed their last. A few men looked out from behind barricades and the dwarves rose from a crater of bodies to see what had happened. A young man, not more than sixteen, was stood in the street holding the shield.

 

 

 

Arrav recognised the man immediately: it was the grandson of the elder who had spoken to him the night before, a man of honour and compassion. Before he could think further, a blast of sorcerous energy struck Arrav in the back.

 

 

 

Zemouregal stood over him as he crawled through the dust and mud, crippled with pain.

 

 

 

'Fool!' The mahjarrat said in a hiss. 'You have surrendered yourself to save your home, but nothing can protect it from me. In time I shall return. The decades pass like moments for those of my tribe, and nothing can defy our will for all time. But when I return, you shall lead my armies. You shall be my greatest champion; you shall suffer with the knowledge that though you hoped to save your people, you shall instead be their doom.'

 

 

 

Tendrils of oily smoke crept from Zemouregal's hands and twisted over the broken ground to Arrav, clutching him tight in their grip. For a few moments he struggled against their power, but finally he was still. Pale and quiet, Arrav, the greatest hero of men, was dead.

 

 

 

We remember Arrav for his sacrifice. We remember that his fate was not of his choosing, and we remember him as an example to all of us; for though he was stronger and faster than any other mortal, his strength of spirit and his compassion can be that of any man. We remember Arrav, too, because we must always be prepared for his return, sad though it shall be.

At the moment I'm working on a time line so we can better figure out everything...

First of all, when Arrov threw the shield into the air, something happened- we know that the undead all crumbled into dust. How it happened, there is no conclusion but either it was the shield itself, the person who grabbed the shield, or something else.

That leaves some unanswered questions, like, what is the true power of the Shield of Arrav? Did it get blessed while it was airborne? Is there a true bearer for the shield or possibly a true resting spot for it (to protect Varrock)?

And who is this person who grabbed the shield?

All the dreaming stuff reminds me of the Moonclan.

I have this odd feeling that we're going to have to fight Arrav. Maybe, after being killed my Zemouregal, he's now his undead slave. Seems plausible...

I've just found proof...

The man to our right of Zemouregal in that picture IS Arrav. Look at the first picture in The Legend of Arrav, Part IV... Arrav is wearing the same helmet!

I thought there might be something to do with the "what lies below" quest.

The beacons might come in handy.

Also, id like to say that in spirit of summer, you enter the spirit realm, not dream realm.

You enter the dream world in lunar diplomacy, which is a long way from varrock.

We might use the shield of arrav that is in the varrock library.

I also have a feeling that a new "distraction" might be after this quest.

Maybe a minigame is unlocked after the quest where you and a team have to kill undead zombies in an area that looks like its north of varrock.

After a certain ammount of time, the zombies will give up and you get some hawt necromancer outfit!

(Im allowed to dream.) :lol:

I have this odd feeling that we're going to have to fight Arrav. Maybe, after being killed my Zemouregal, he's now his undead slave. Seems plausible...

 

 

 

I've just found proof...

 

 

 

The man to our right of Zemouregal in that picture IS Arrav. Look at the first picture in The Legend of Arrav, Part IV... Arrav is wearing the same helmet!

Also, here you have the picture he mentioned! ;)

He has his sword in the undead picture and this one aswell.

(Sorry about the double post, missclicked #-o )

Probably im wrong but this guy looks similar to the one in the wallpaper (not much but both are skeletons). Its from the Development Diary "Runescape vs RWT".

Tell me what you think (btw, im not 100% sure).

I have gone through the first of many updates to the first page of this post. Thanks again for everyone who contributed.

I thought there might be something to do with the "what lies below" quest.

 

The beacons might come in handy.

 

 

 

Also, id like to say that in spirit of summer, you enter the spirit realm, not dream realm.

 

You enter the dream world in lunar diplomacy, which is a long way from varrock.

 

 

 

We might use the shield of arrav that is in the varrock library.

 

I also have a feeling that a new "distraction" might be after this quest.

 

Maybe a minigame is unlocked after the quest where you and a team have to kill undead zombies in an area that looks like its north of varrock.

 

After a certain ammount of time, the zombies will give up and you get some hawt necromancer outfit!

 

 

 

(Im allowed to dream.) :lol:

I agree with you about it probably having no connection to lunar diplomacy. As far as the spirit realm and the dream realm is concerned, what we know is this-

And one night, as Arrav visited the Land of Dreams, he encountered a man dressed all in black, with pale skin, and of dark countenance. And although Arrav knew himself to be in the Land of Dreams, where things cannot be trusted to be what they appear, this man was different from the other travellers he had encountered

This could be complete speculation, but the only way you can kill a tortured spirit is to be wearing full black armor and wielding a black weapon. So is it a coincidence that Zemouregal is also decked out in black armor? Could the Land of Dreams and the Spirit Realm be one in the same?