The Mahjarrat series has been going strong since 2003. When Jagex released The Dig Site quest in July 2003, little did we know that it’ll jumpstart a slew of activities that many Old School RuneScape players would love. The most recent quest—Secrets of the North—was announced during the Winter Summit 2022, a livestream event where Jagex announced the upcoming updates planned for the MMORPG. This Secrets of the North guide will teach players everything there is to know about this quest.
In Secrets of the North, you will ally with two Mahjarrats, General Khazard and Hazeel, in an attempt to try and solve a murder mystery case that involves Sir Ceril Carnillean. And as all murder mysteries do, there will be no shortage of suspects. In fact, you will be one of them! In our guide, I’ll walk you through the things you’ll uncover as you do the Secrets of the North quest.
Requirements
Before starting the quest, it’s important to know the requirements for Secrets of the North. Here’s what you need to keep in mind.
You must have completed the following quests:
- Hazeel Cult
- Cold War
- Romeo & Juliet
- Priest in Peril
- The General’s Shadow
- Desert Treasure I (for the ring of visibility)
- Curse of the Empty Lord (for the full ghostly robes)
- Doric’s Quest
- Enter the Abyss
- The Lost Tribe
- Rune Mysteries
- Goblin Diplomacy
- Wanted!
- Fight Arena
- Devious Minds
- Troll Stronghold
- Death Plateau
- Wanted!
- Recruitment Drive
- Druidic Ritual
- Black Knights’ Fortress
- The Feud
- Jungle Potion
- Garden of Tranquility
- The Restless Ghost
- Creature of Fenkenstrain
- Swan Song
- Shilo Village
- One Small Favour
- My Arm’s Big Adventure
- Making Friends With My Arm
For the items, here’s what you’ll need::
- Lockpick
- 100 Coins
- Tinderbox (you can obtain this from the quest)
These are the recommended skills, levels, and items to have before undertaking the quest:
- 56 Hunter
- 69 Agility
- 64 Thieving
- 85 Combat Level
- Antipoison capabilities (or other forms of poison protection)
- Icy basalt (to teleport to Weiss)
- Any type of Ardougne cloak (for easy access to several quest locations)
Starting Out
To trigger the quest, talk to the guard outside the Carnillean mansion in East Ardougne. To reach the mansion, you can teleport your way to the Battlefield via the spirit tree. Once you talk to the guard, he’ll ask you for help in solving a crime.
Entering the Scene of the Crime
Once you’re inside the mansion, follow the guard upstairs to reveal the corpse of Ceril Carnillean. According to the NPC, the man was murdered in cold blood. Start investigating the crime scene by inspecting the various objects in the room. If you investigate Ceril’s body, you’ll find that he’s been stabbed in the back with a thin blade. Then, should you look at the window, you’ll see that it’s been broken from the outside.
Knock at a wall to reveal a hidden room, climb the ladder, and inspect the chest lying in the room. When you try to open the chest, you’ll see that it’s been emptied and broken into. That’s about it for the investigation; go outside once more and tell the guard about your findings. The guard will then show you an amulet he initially found by the broken window. Looking at the amulet, you’ll see that it has the skull symbol of the Khazard Army. At the back of the amulet, you’ll notice the name ‘Evelot’ engraved at the back of it. The guard will then suggest you search for more information at the Fight Arena bar since he can’t do the investigation himself.
Tracking Down Evelot
To begin tracking down Evelot, make your way to the Fight Arena bar in the southwest corner. You’ll meet the Khazard Barman, with whom you’ll need to bribe 100 coins to have him give you more information on the whereabouts of Evelot. The Barman will then say that Evelot has recently left in a hurry, suggesting you look outside the bar.
Track Evelot by inspecting the barrels outside the bar entrance. The game will reveal a trail to you, and once you follow it, it’ll lead you around the periphery of the arena to a row near the Tower of Life. Evelot will be standing there, and if you go near her, an instance will automatically start, and you’ll have to fight here.
Fighting Evelot is fairly easy once you know how her attacks work. She frequently uses melee attacks, and in every succession of those attacks, she’ll use a special that drains your prayer and disables protection prayers. After defeating her, she’ll tell her that she was merely hired to break in and steal a scroll from the mansion. She claims she’s not the murderer, then proceeds to deliver the scroll to the Hazeel cultists.
Conversing With the Cult
Confront the Hazeel Cult using the Ardougne sewer entrance (east of the Clock Tower). Once you’re there, talk to Hazeel to confront him. He’ll confirm that the cult isn’t responsible for Cecil’s murder. Rather, their only doing was stealing the scroll from the chest to restore Hazeel. When you’re done talking with the NPCs, return to the guard at the entrance of the Carnillean Mansion, where you can talk to the Carnillean family.
Continuing the Investigation
Update the guard with your progress and speak with the family members. If you try to speak with the family without talking to the guard, they’ll refuse to talk. Henrieta and Philipe’s testimonies aren’t much help, but Claus the Chef will reveal that he sensed a “feeling of cold” during the murder and saw a shadow.
Investigate the mansion more—specifically on the southwest shelves, where it will reveal a small button to unlock a room on the north side of the basement. Enter the passage and use a picklock to open the chest in the room. Pick the lock by moving the pins to specific positions; green means the pin is at the correct position, while blue means you’re 1 off. Thankfully, the ordering doesn’t change even after you make multiple attempts.
Upon opening the chest, you’ll find a Dusty scroll. Take the scroll back to Hazeel and Khazard (another cult member), where they’ll decide it’s time to return to the North. They will tell you to meet them outside the Weiss colony.
Onwards to North
Once you’re in Weiss, head to the north encampment, where you’ll find Big Fish and Dead Wolf—these are the troll manifestations of Hazeel and Khazard. They will have you speak to My Arm and Snowflake about what’s happening in the area. The NPCs will tell you that someone saw a strange shadow in the nearby mine.
Return to Big Fish and Dead Wolf and reiterate your findings to them. Big Fish will reveal that the area used to be known as Ghorrock—a settlement of the Zarosian Empire way back in the Second Age. After you finish the dialogue, head to the Salt Mine to begin a cutscene. Before entering the cave, be prepared for combat and bring antipoison.
The Fight
When you head down the stairs in the Salt Mine’s main building, you and Khazard will come across an assassin—the same you met during Devious Minds. This will trigger an instance, and you must defeat the assassin to carry on the quest.
The assassin can use melee and ranged attacks, and he’ll also react accordingly to protection prayers, so I recommend praying to what you’re weakest against. Combat is relatively simple; lure the assassin inside the smoke bombs he uses around the arena to damage him. Since his vision is obscured in the smoke, you can use this method to try and kill him. After luring him into the smoke, avoid the green vials he’ll be throwing. These vials inflict poison and deal up to 30 damage if you run into one. After the fight, the assassin will vanish.
Learning the Secrets of the Dungeon
Investigate the dungeon by searching the various accessible objects in the area. Here are the items you need to take note of:
- Duke note
- Lever handle
- Ancient map
- Tulia’s letter
You must use the items that get the icy key; you can use the key to unlock the southwest gate of the centre room. From there, you’ll see a crevice beyond the gate. I recommend re-supplying and re-gearing for magic and ranged before entering because you’re about to go into another battle.
Meeting the Strange Creature
When you enter the crevice, a Strange Creature will appear and attack you. It uses melee and ranged attacks, so be mindful when it switches things up. The Strange Creature has several forms; if its carapace is brown, it’ll use melee attacks, and if its carapace is green, it’ll use ranged attacks. The creature will change forms after taking a set amount of damage. It’s best to use that time to swap your gear accordingly since you have to use magic and melee attacks.
Once you defeat the Strange Creature, it’ll transform into Jhallan—a Mahjarrat. But before he attempts to question you about what happened, an assassin takes him away. Report what happened to Hazeel and Khazard. Khazard will leave a regiment of troops around the area, while Hazeel will offer you to teleport back to East Ardougne, where you can report back to the guard and complete the quest.
Reaping the Rewards
Here are the rewards you’ll get for completing Secrets of the North:
- 50,000 Thieving XP
- 40,000 Hunter XP
- 60,000 Agility XP
- 2 Quest Points
- Ancient Sceptre
- Saturated Heart
- Access to a repeatable boss (solo only)
The Ancient Sceptre, in particular, is an upgraded version of the ancient staff, and it requires 60 Strength and 70 Magic for you to wield. You can use the sceptre to auto-cast spells from the standard spellbook and Ancient Magicks, making it an excellent weapon for magic users. Plus, it has a passive effect that gives a 10% increase to Ancient Magicks effects.