The Dorgeshuun goblins and the humans of Lumbridge have been at peace for a while now, but no human has been in Dorgesh-Kaan and no cave goblin has been outside on the surface, and the Dorgeshuun think it's time to fix that. They'll be sending a cave goblin to the surface, and they want you to act as tour guide.
Accept (and have two sets of H.A.M. robes handy as a disguise for later), and you'll get to meet Zanik, a crossbow user very eager to see what the surface is like. She also has a strange marking on her forehead, but won't tell you where she got it. When meeting the Lumbridge citizens, she's quite nice, but is distrusted because, well, she's a goblin, and most humans see goblins as brutes, thieves, and generally nuisances (they do have a reason, as East Lumbridge was invaded by goblins a few years before). She gets into a bit of a conflict between Father Aereck over believing in gods (The Dorgeshuun are non-theistic because of their bad experiences with the Big High War God), but she's ready to keep an open mind. She's also eager to see what the surface goblins have been doing with their time, and is quite disappointed to hear that they still believe in the Big High War God's creed of fighting, being strong, and not thinking for yourself.
At this point, she's ready to tell you how she got the forehead marking. It happened while she was doing the Tears of Guthix minigame, and it apparently means she is destined to do something great. She is then ready to go see the H.A.M. hideout, wearing a set of their all-covering robes so they don't realize she isn't human. While there, you and she learn that H.A.M. is planning something against the Dorgeshuun, but only the top echelon of the cult know what it is, and they're currently in a secret meeting.
Zanik spots a trapdoor, which you sneak through (killing a few guards in the process) to find the meeting room and listen at the door. You can't hear anything, but Zanik can, and whatever she hears terrifies her. She doesn't get the chance to tell you before you're discovered and beaten unconscious. You wake up later in a jail cell in the main H.A.M. base (the lock on which is easily pickable), but you're human. Zanik is a goblin, so the cult lynches her and leaves her body outside. However, this is not the end- the mark on her forehead is glowing despite her being dead, which means that it's time to take her to Juna at the Tears cavern and see what's up.
Juan allows you into the cave to collect some tears for Zanik, which revive her. She then tells you what she overheard- H.A.M. is planning on tunneling from the River Lum to the Dorgeshuun caves, flooding them. It's up to you and Zanik to stop them by sneaking over to their tunneling machine, where you fight Sigmund. He'll use protection prayers against you, but once Zanik joins the fight, he'll switch over to Protect from Ranged to stop her attacks, leaving you free. Unfortunately, he has a Ring of Life, which will teleport him away at the end of the fight.
Sigmund is still alive, but so is Zanik, and the day is saved. You are now allowed access to Dorgesh-Kaan, and there'll be more adventures with Zanik to come.
Tropes
- Back from the Dead: Zanik.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Sigmund almost dies, but he has a ring enchanted to teleport him away at low health.
