OSRS Beneath Cursed Sands:
The fourth quest in the OSRS Desert quest series is called “Beneath Cursed Sands,” and it aims to familiarize players with the backstory of the Tombs of Amascut, the third raid. As part of the quest, the Ruins of Ullek and the Necropolis are now available in the southeastern region of the Kharidian Desert.
Walkthrough:
Entranced Menaphites:
Items needed: Combat equipment, one empty inventory space
Items recommended: Stamina potion, Pharaoh’s sceptre, a means to combat desert heat
To initiate the quest, head to Sophanem and speak with Jamila, marked on the minimap (
icon on the minimap). She’ll offer you an exclusive item as a reward for your help in the area. While attempting to fit the item, a gold ring, on your finger, she’ll secretly pass you a message. Read it to discover that someone wishes to meet you at a campsite near the cliffs east of the city.
The messenger, Maisa, whom you met during the Contact! quest, will inform you that Menaphos citizens are bypassing the city’s quarantine and excavating the old necropolis south of Sophanem. She’ll request your help investigating and take you there via a cutscene.
Upon arrival at the necropolis, you’ll observe citizens and Menaphite guards excavating the site. If you possess the Pharaoh’s sceptre, you can teleport directly here via the “Jaltevas” option on the sceptre.
Head southeast to the Jaltevas Pyramid and investigate the blocked entry. Speaking to a citizen or guard will trigger a cutscene where the Head Menaphite Guard and two guards confront you. Maisa kills one guard and fights the other, while you battle the Head Menaphite Guard. Avoid using Protect from Melee as he’ll shout and damage you significantly.
Upon defeating the Head Menaphite Guard, you’ll discover that Amascut has hypnotized the Menaphites and is inside the tomb. Additionally, he’ll inform you that scabarites from some ruins to the northeast assisted her. Maisa will request you to return to her camp.
The Ruins of Ullek:
Items needed: Combat equipment, coal, tinderbox, spade, iron bar
Items recommended: A means to cure/prevent poison and desert heat, food and a stamina potion
Speak to Maisa at the camp and agree to explore the cliffs to find the scabarites while she works on re-entering Menaphos. Don’t forget to finish the conversation with her or you won’t be able to progress further. If you don’t have a tinderbox, search the camping equipment by the tent to get one, and a spade can be found at the north side of the campsite.
Head south and then east from the campsite to find a set of stairs leading to the Ruins of Ullek. Proceed towards the furnace next to the well, and use coal and tinderbox to ignite it. Then, search the well for a stone tablet, and read it. The tablet reveals the location of a hidden chest buried in the southernmost ritual pillar, located southwest of the climbing steps.
Dig there to uncover the chest, and use the passcode “1118513” (deciphered from the name “Akhem”) to open it. The chest will contain a scarab mould. With the scarab mould and iron bar, return to the furnace and make an iron scarab emblem. Head north and insert the emblem into the pillar in front of the stairway, then use the interface to rotate the scarab until it faces down. The entryway will then be unlocked.
Upon climbing down the stairs, you’ll encounter two Scarab Mages who attack rapidly, so use Protect from Magic. After starting the fight, a Scarab swarm will also spawn and attack with rapid, weak melee attacks that can inflict poison, but it can be ignored as it dies when the mages are defeated. After killing both Scarab Mages, take one of the two stairs down and follow the green arrows to the southern lever, and activate it. Then quickly run along the red lines to pull the other lever to proceed to the next area. If you’re hit by the projectiles fired by the Tomb walls, you may take up to 10 damage.
Riddle of the Tomb:
Head back to the junction and use the door that was previously locked to enter. Once inside, examine the south-western plaque to find four emblems which depict a human, scarab, crocodile, and baboon. These emblems must be placed in the urns in the correct order as indicated by a riddle on a plaque to the north-west.
To solve the riddle and place the emblems in the correct urns, use the table below as a guide. The order of the urns is randomized but remains the same even if you exit and re-enter the tomb.
In this example, the correct order for the emblems would be baboon, crocodile, scarab, and human, placed from the northern to southern urns:
- “To the one that arrived first, he offered item 1.” – Place the emblem corresponding to item 1 in the centre-south urn.
- “The one that was offered item 2 came from just south…” – Place the emblem corresponding to item 2 in the southernmost urn.
- “The god 1 arrived just before the god 2…” – Place the emblem corresponding to god 1 in the northernmost urn and the emblem corresponding to god 2 in the centre-north urn.
| Emblem | God | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Scarab | Isolation | Carving |
| Human | Health | Wine |
| Crocodile | Resourcefulness | Necklace |
| Baboon | Companionship | Linen |
After correctly placing the emblems, pull the lever located at the south-west and proceed to the next area. If the emblems are misplaced when pulling the lever, you will suffer from significant damage, poisoning, and temporary stat reduction. However, the riddle will remain unsolved, and you can attempt to solve it again.
Once you reach the next area, speak with the spirit, who introduces himself as Mehhar, the son of Osmumten. Mehhar will disclose that Osmumten’s tomb is located in the pyramid at the necropolis and that Amascut is probably searching for the divine weapons buried with him. He will also provide some historical background on the Second Age of the Kharidian Desert.
Finally, he will ask you to release the High Priest of Scabaras from Amascut’s control by reciting a spell. After that, search the urn at the end of the room to acquire a rusty key.
The Champion of Scabaras:
Items recommended: Ranged combat gear, stamina potion, Prayer Potion, antipoison, food
Go to the upper level of the dungeon and be prepared to fight a level 379 boss – the Champion of Scabaras. The champion is highly resistant to magic and resistant against melee attacks. As such, ranged is recommended for this fight. Bringing a stamina potion and some form of antipoison is advised.
When ready, unlock the door upstairs to begin the fight. The Champion of Scabaras will attack with magical shadow attacks and melee up close. After several normal attacks, it will use one of three special attacks.
- Shadow Burst – The Champion will cast a shadow beneath themselves, then proceed to send out a burst of shadow magic. This reaches for 4 tiles, and can hit over 40 damage multiple times (less if further away from the champion). It is advised to kite the Champion throughout the fight to avoid this attack, as he cannot be frozen due to his magic immunity.
- Shadow Portal – The Champion will shout We are born in the shadows! and summon a shadow portal within the arena. The portal has 20 hitpoints and will explode, dealing 35+ damage, so it is recommended to quickly destroy it.
- Shadow Flames – The Champion will shout The children of Scabaras are eternal!, and a poisonous scarab swarm will appear. The swarm has 5 hitpoints and leaves dark fire in its path, which will hurt when stood upon. It is advised to kill the swarm as fast as possible as the fire will linger and hinder movement if left unattended.
It is advised to pray Protect from Magic throughout the fight, and kite the Champion with ranged attacks to avoid its shadow burst. Setting your weapon to the Longrange style can help with this. If bringing a crossbow, it is recommended to bring both enchanted ruby and diamond bolts, due to their special effects.
The door leading to the Champion of Scabaras stays unlocked after using the Rusty Key, even if the player leaves the combat area by teleports or death. If players die during the fight, their gravestone will be found by the tomb’s entrance on the surface.
After defeating the Champion, speak to the High Priest of Scabaras. You will free him from Amascut’s influence, and he will reveal that with their help, Amascut has captured the lesser gods and has brought them into Osmumten’s tomb.
He will also tell you that the Pharaoh is also being controlled by Amascut, and that she needed the city to be quarantined for reasons unknown. Lastly, he admits to releasing locusts and frogs, as well as the poisoning of the cows, though he is unaware of the pox infections.
Cure Me Pox:
Items needed: Raw beef or cooked meat
Items recommended: A means to combat desert heat
After conversing with the High Priest of Scabaras, proceed to Zahur’s store located south of the fountain in Nardah. Zahur and Maisa will confirm that the pox is caused by the bark of a cadavaberry bush and can be cured easily. Your discoveries in the Ruins of Ullek support their claim, and they will ask you to bring them a Lily of the Elid, which can be found on an island to the west of Nardah. If you don’t have any raw beef or cooked meat, purchase it from the Nardah General Store as you’ll need it shortly.
Travel westward until you reach the River Elid, where you will see an island with lilies growing on it. Try jumping to the stepping stones and toss the meat at the crocodile (who you fondly name “Roger”). Pick the lily and return to Zahur’s store. She will begin to prepare the cure and request you to warm up her chemistry equipment by adjusting the individual heats until the overall temperature reaches the marked level. Note: pressing “-” on the middle heat pushes the two side bars up. Increase the middle and right bars to the maximum, then alternate decreasing the right bar and the middle bar until the desired temperature is reached.
Once finished, Zahur will prepare the cure and ask you to take the cure crate to the High Priest in Sophanem. Proceed to Sophanem and deliver the cure.
Fight with the Menaphite Akh:
Prepare yourself for a fight against a level-351 boss with melee equipment before making your way to the necropolis. When ready, head to the northern Necropolis and speak with Maisa. Those with the Pharaoh’s sceptre can use it to teleport to the obelisk if they have communed with it as mentioned earlier. Alternatively, you can reach the necropolis through the fairy ring using the code “akp.”
Upon arrival, a cutscene will play where you chant the incantation, freeing everyone in the necropolis from Amascut’s influence, except for two citizens who want to assist in mining the blockage to Osmumten’s tomb. Afterward, you and Maisa will return to her camp, where you will encounter Osman spying on her.
Maisa becomes enraged and leaves, leaving you and Osman alone to argue about your actions. Osman believes that this is all a ploy by the Pharaoh to keep Al Kharid divided. Suddenly, the ground shakes and lightning strikes the sand, causing scarlet flames to burn around. A Menaphite Akh appears to kill you, while Osman disappears.
The Menaphite Akh attacks with melee using a dragon scimitar and will occasionally use special attacks. After every seven rounds of actions, she twitches and performs a lightning bolt attack, which can hit for 70+ if not avoided. During the fight, she will summon a Menaphite Shadow that attacks with ranged attacks for the first 50% of Menaphite Akh’s health and then switches to magic attacks for the remaining 50%. Kill the shadow as quickly as possible.
The Menaphite Akh will occasionally swap places with her shadow and begin channeling an attack. Quickly attack the Menaphite Akh (not the shadow) to interrupt this, or you will take a large amount of damage. Even if the shadow has been killed, you will still take damage if the screen-darkening animation has begun.
If you leave the fight, speak to Osman just outside Maisa’s camp to restart the battle. If you die during the fight, you can return to reclaim your items.
After defeating the Menaphite Akh in OSRS, Osman still won’t believe that Amascut is responsible, but he acknowledges that there’s more to all of this than he realized. He suggests speaking with Maisa, who has likely gone to Sophanem. Return to Sophanem and speak with the High Priest or Maisa.
A cutscene will play with Pharaoh Kemesis himself appearing at the bridge between the two cities to announce that Menaphos will begin preparing to end the city’s quarantine. He leaves as quickly as he arrived.
