Not even two months into Runescape's life, on February 28, 2001, the quest Prince Ali Rescue debuted. It kicked off the Desert quest line... one which, 24 years later, still hasn't actually goddamn finished. Until now, that is.
As revealed during the Runescape Ahead at this weekend's Runefest, the questline will finally come to a conclusion across the Return to the Desert trilogy quests happening in April and July.
"You've raided tombs, you've discovered ancient artefacts, and you've done a fair bit of smuggling. You've even resorted the spirit of a long-dead pharaoh queen," Mod Shrike told RuneFest attendees. "All the while, criss-crossing the desert and learning more about the desert pantheon, in particular Amascut the Devourer, cat goddess of destruction.
Eventually, we opened the gates of Menaphos itself, the golden city, and it was here that you uncovered the fates of three of the lesser gods: Crondis, Apmeken, and Hets, and you freed them from Amascut's corruption."
Mod Zura also took to the stage to tell players: "More recently, you've made it clear that you want us to finish older storylines. Starting with last year's Ode of the Devourer, and continuing with the Return to the Desert Trilogy, we are finally bringing this 24-year-old storyline to its conclusion."
Beneath Scabaras' Sands kicked off that trilogy back in January, with April seeing Pharaoh's Folly pick up right from where we left off before finally concluding with July's Eclipse of the Heart.
It seems like the quests will be revisiting some old spots familiar to Desert series enjoyers, like nipping back to Menaphos with "enhanced" features like Slayers seeing better odds of catching Slayer souls and better journal log drops.
Several returning characters will also be receiving some new looks as things wrap up, including Amascut regaining her "divine feline form," Mod Zura told fans. Plus, players will be able to go toe-to-toe (or I guess, toe-to-paw) with Amascut herself in a brand-new fight, one which is also being accompanied by the game's first ever world-first race.
It's always kind of wild to me to see just how long some MMO questlines can go on for, and I'm sure long-time Runescapers will enjoy getting to see the conclusion to one of the game's longest-standing stories to date. My worst fear with these games is seeing genuinely interesting plots left to die as new, shinier things take its place, so I'm glad to see at least one narrative able to run its full course.
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