While passing through Draynor Village, the former World Guardian notices a strange portal at the crossroads to the north. When they get closer to inspect, a floating sword exits through the portal; before the player can make sense of the situation, a voice calls out "Yes, that one", after which the sword kills the player and sends them to Death's office in the Underworld. Upon arrival, Death asks that they explain the manner in which they died; when the player mentions the portal and the sword, Death immediately realizes what happened and hurriedly escorts them to the Underworld after mentioning that "he" has returned.
Death and the player reach the City of Um, where the mortal dead who are not yet ready to move on to the afterlife spend their time. To Death's horror, they arrive too late: a strange figure, whom Death identifies as Rasial, has stolen all the souls within the city. Rasial explains that he intends to forge the souls of the dead into an army, which he will then use to wage war upon the world of the living until all life has been extinguished. When Death proclaims that they will stop Rasial, the latter retorts that only a trained necromancer could hope to stop him, upon which he addresses the player as his new apprentice and encourages them to become strong enough to defeat him, if they can, before retreating to his citadel high above Um to begin his own preparations.
Death then explains to the player just who Rasial is: he is Gielinor's first-ever necromancer, having been around for ages past. While he rarely leaves the Underworld, when he does he usually chooses a mortal to become his latest apprentice in Necromancy, so that they may serve as pawns for his plans. Unwilling to let his plan to eradicate all life succeed, Death begrudgingly chooses the lesser evil and agrees to help the player learn Necromancy, since that is the only means by which Rasial can be stopped. The player objects to enslaving the souls of the dead, however, and proposes instead to ask for their willing assistance; the suggestion baffles Death, who comments that no necromancer in history has ever tried that approach.
Before the argument can continue, two souls who were able to hide from Rasial make their presence known - Lupe and Sostratus. They reveal that Rasial drained the Well of Souls, which houses all the souls in Um, using a powerful necromantic ritual, leaving it almost completely empty. Death muses that stealing the souls of the dead back from Rasial is not feasible for the moment, and suggests that the player perform a ritual of their own to guide the dead to Um and replenish the Well of Souls in order to use their strength against Rasial. Once the player reassures them that they don't intend to force the dead to cooperate, that they will ask for their assistance and that the dead will be free to refuse if they really don't want to help, Lupe and Sostratus immediately agree to help in whatever way they can.
In order to get things started, Death summons Malignius Mortifer from the world of the living to serve as a Necromancy tutor for the player. When Malignius asks why he would agree to do that, the player convinces Death to cut a deal with him instead of forcing his assistance. Death then allows Malignius to remain in the city for as long as he wants, the sands of his hourglass not flowing as long as he remains in Um to teach the player Necromancy, leaving him free to pursue whatever secrets and lost knowledge he can glean from the dead. While Malignius doubts that the player's approach to Necromancy will work, he agrees to the deal and starts by teaching the player how to perform a communion ritual using the ritual site that Rasial discarded.
Once the player performs a makeshift communion ritual to conjure their first soul, a skeleton named Ted pops out of the Well of Souls. They compare the player's ritual to Rasial's rather favorably, describing the latter as being forcefully pulled in and the former as a gentle, guiding hand showing them the way home. Once they are appraised of the situation and told of the player's approach to Necromancy, Ted agrees to lend their assistance. They explain to the player that before they can tap into the power of the Well of Souls, they first need to prove they are worthy of it. Malignius adds that the more souls that reside within the Well of Souls, the more power the player can access. In order to direct that power, however, they will need a "siphon" to safely channel necromantic energy in combat while protecting themselves from potential backlash. Sostratus provides the player with a death guard for that purpose, before the player puts it to the test by fighting ghost trolls. After a brief fight, the player is able to learn how to call the undead from the Well of Souls. Malignius explains that in order to do so, they will first need a "conduit" in order to connect themselves to their vessel, upon which Sostratus will provide them with a skull lantern to serve as a conduit with which to communicate with conjured spirits.
Seeing that the player's training is making good progress, Death prepares to return to his other, more immediately urgent duties. He decides to leave the portal to the Underworld open and offers to share more knowledge with the player once their power grows. Finally, he adds that, while Rasial's patience is limited, it is extremely high; now that he has made his move, he will await for the player to make theirs.
With that, quest complete!
Tropes
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Once Malignius realizes that Death has brought him to the Underworld, he immediately assumes that his time has come to an end and quickly starts begging Death for mercy. Death has to clarify that that's not why he's summoned him.Death: Malignius Mortifer...
(Malignius realizes just who is talking to him)
Malignius: No! I'm far too young! It isn't my time! I have so much to do! I promise to be a better person! This can't be how it ends! I won't let the mushrooms win!
Death: It is not your time. Sadly. - Ancient Evil: Rasial is introduced as the first necromancer to walk on Gielinor, having spent the last millennia in the Underworld in preparation for his plan to do away with the cycle of life and death.
- The Apprentice: Zigzagged; while Rasial chooses the player to become his unwilling apprentice in Necromancy, Rasial does very little actual teaching beyond providing the player with a very good motivation to start learning. Given that it's not explained why he would need an apprentice in the first place, it becomes clear that the player's apprenticeship serves some hidden purpose in his plan.
- Bad Powers, Good People: The World Guardian proposes asking the dead for their help instead of enslaving them. Death finds the proposal baffling, to say the least, and even Malignius thinks of it as practicing Necromancy "the hard way".
- Bargain with Heaven: Death strikes a deal with Malignius Mortifer in order to secure his assistance: to let him stay in Um for as long as he cares to, even agreeing to stop the sands of his hourglass from flowing while within the city, and search for whatever knowledge and secrets he can glean from the dead, in exchange for teaching the player Necromancy. Malignius is thrilled at the prospect and accepts the deal.
- Crazy Enough to Work:
- Both Death and Malignius don't think much of the World Guardian becoming a necromancer who asks the dead for their assistance instead of commanding them, but Death at least acknowledges that it could provide an advantage the more orthodox approach lacks.
- It's implied that Lupe's suggestion to use lit candles in order to "set the mood" during Necromancy rituals might have some merit to it, given Ted's reaction to the player's first ritual. Even Malignius can't be bothered to argue with her logic.Malignius: We have no need for candles. Only the glyphs are required.
Lupe: Maybe if you just want any old spirit showing up so you can control it. I thought we were planning to befriend them.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Averted twice over.
- While everyone agrees that using Necromancy to enslave the dead is a despicable act, the player gets to summon them with complete impunity because they are a "good" necromancer who befriends the dead before asking for their assistance in battle.
- It is implied that attempting to manipulate necrotic power bare-handed has nasty side effects, hence the need for a siphon. The death guard allows the player to channel necrotic energies into their attacks while shielding them from any potential backlash. In other words, Necromancy is a toy to be used safely.
- Justified Tutorial: The entire quest essentially serves as a tutorial for the most basic elements of the Necromancy skill, which was released on the same update. In order to make sure players know what they're doing, completion of the quest is required before the skill can be trained.
- Lesser of Two Evils: Above all else, Death abhors the practice of Necromancy, seeing the act of enslaving the dead as utterly despicable. Rasial's plan, however, forces him to relax his standards by allowing the player to learn Necromancy in order to stop him.Death: Of all my responsibilities, this is the only one I truly loathe. To enslave the dead is...despicable. But Rasial cannot be allowed to triumph. It is the lesser of the two evils.
- Necromancer: The quest introduces the player to the Necromancy skill by having Gielinor's first necromancer choose them as their newest apprentice.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Rasial marks the player as his newest apprentice. If they refuse to learn Necromancy, the only power that can hope to stop him, Rasial will end all life on Gielinor.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Rasial is not planning to conquer Gielinor: he's planning to end all life on Gielinor.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Rasial enters the story by having Angurvadal kill the player, which as usual doesn't keep them dead for long.
- Vigilante Man: Sostratus is implied to be one when asked how he can sell Necromancy gear if he hates necromancers.
