Icthlarin's Little Helper

Official quest description: In the deep south of the desert, unrest is brewing... The cities of the Menaphites have barred their gates to all. An unsettling desert wanderer may know of a secret entrance though, to Sophanem - the city of the dead.
Will you become Icthlarin's Little Helper by entering? Enter into a titanic struggle for the soul of the high priest of Icthlarin in a land where the cat is top dog.
Release date: 26 April 2005
Start: South-east of the bridge over the River Elid in the desert far south of Al Kharid. Talk to the Wanderer.
Difficulty: *****
Length: Medium-Long
Members only: Yes
Requirements: You must have completed Gertrude's Cat, a high agility level (35 +), you must be able to defeat a level 91 monster (Level 37 Prayer highly recommended)
Items needed: A kitten, cat, or overgrown cat (if it's a kitten, you might want some fish with you in case it gets hungry), a tinderbox, about 500 coins (to pay for the magic carpets and supplies), at least 2 waterskins, a pile of salt or a bag of salt (they later can be bought from any Slayer Master or other players), a willow log, Ghostspeak Amulet, a bucket of sap (use a knife on an evergreen tree; bucket and knife can both be found in the Lumbridge castle basement), an antipoison potion or two, a lot of food (Monkfish or better). Ring of Charos (a) will allow for half-price carpet rides.
Monsters to kill: level 91 Possessed Priest
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Important Note: It is possible to get out of the city without committing suicide or finishing the quest. There is a small crack in the north-eastern corner of the wall near the locust. You can re-enter the city from a cave under 10 feet north east from where the quest started.
edit Walkthrough
Visit the Wanderer by her tent just west of the Agility Pyramid.
The Wanderer will have a strange reaction to your cat (if you don't have it with you, it won't work.) She will tell you that if you get your cat away from her, she will tell you about the secret entrance to Sophanem. Once your character picks the cat up, the wanderer will ask for a tinderbox and full waterskin. Once you give them to her, she will hypnotize you and you'll enter a small cave (you can now use this passage to enter the city at any time). The entrance to that cave is north-east from wanderer's tent, in a rock. You will enter at the eastern side of the city.
You will end up outside a pyramid in Sophanem many hours later, and a canopic jar will appear in your inventory, which you can't bank or get rid of. If you wish to be insulted by the ghost you find yourself next to, you can speak to it using a ghostspeak amulet. Touch the north door of the southern pyramid to begin the first flashback.
[edit] Flashback 1
Every now and again during the quest, you'll experience a flashback where you remember what you did while you were hypnotised. You need to play through these in order to progress through the quest.
Beware, dying in the flashback is no different from a normal death so make sure to bring plenty of strong food. Also, a 'mysterious force will block any teleports so be careful.

During the first flashback, you will need to go through the pyramid. You'll see some wall crushers. Stand on the opposite wall and don't go next to them, as they will damage you if you do. Stepping diagonally will mean you avoid them completely. Once you're past the crusher blocks, you'll find pit traps in the next hallway. If you step on the wrong spot, you'll fall into a pit and end up at the beginning of the pyramid. Stay along the left wall until you pass the whitish rectangle on the wall, then go to the right side. Continue walking until you are opposite the next whitish rectangle. Go back to the left side until you pass a candle. Switch to the right wall once more.

The image to the right shows where the first set of traps are. The red squares represent the traps, the normal squares represents the path you should take.
You'll see Mummies (level 84). They will attack you, simply go past them. You'll also see Scarab swarms (level 98) crack out of the ground. They hit either 0-2 damage on you really fast and can do a 3 damage poison condition. Continue to some more wall crushers. Past these, you'll eventually find a large pit. Jump over it with running option turned on. The common theory that you need at least 20 run energy is correct, you must have 20% run energy, if you do not have 20% run energy your character will say "I think I need to rest before trying this again." If you fail to clear the pit you will return to the area right after the floor traps and take 5 damage.
Go to the left door and open the puzzle door. You need to solve a puzzle. The objective is to flip all of the tiles onto their gold sides. There is no required number of flips that you must make, nor is there any sort of limit. Each time you flip a tile, the 8 tiles around it will also flip. This is similar to the mini-games "Puzzle Panel" and "Puzzle Panic" in Super Mario 64 DS. Once you've solved it, you'll wake up fully healed outside the pyramid.
[edit] After Flashback 1
After you finish the flashback, talk to the Sphinx (with your cat), asking for help, and she will ask you this question: "A husband and a wife have 6 sons. Each son has a sister. How many people are in the family?" The answer is 9. If you guess wrongly, you will lose your cat. Once answered correctly you will receive a Sphinx's token so you can speak to the High Priest.
Go to the High Priest, located on the west side of the city (in the temple), and ask him about the remains. He will tell you to put them in the burial chamber, and that you will need the help of your cat.
Go back through the pyramid. When you again try to jump the pit, you'll enter another flashback.
[edit] Flashback 2
You'll be starting exactly where you left off with your last flashback. Go through the door (no puzzle this time) and pick up the jar that you had in your inventory before (there are four on the ground). Depending on your jar, you will fight a different guardian god: either Apmeken, Het, Crondis or Scabaras. Their levels range from 75 to 81. Protect from Magic prayer can make this battle a walk in the park.
Once you've defeated it, pick up the canopic jar. Jump back over the pit to end the flashback. If you ever find yourself out of antipoison, kill Locusts in the city and eat their meat for a small source of food.
[edit] After Flashback 2
After the flashback is over, you will say to yourself that you think you should put the canopic jar back. Go to the west door. This time you have to solve a puzzle that flips 9 squares. Turn all of the tiles to their gold side, then enter the room. Drop the jar where you found it and go back to the High Priest.
He will ask if you could prepare a ceremony by helping the towns Carpenter and Embalmer. Find the Embalmer to the south of the temple and talk to him. He will ask for a bucket of sap, linen, and a bag of salt. To get a bag of salt, you can either buy it from a slayer master or go to the lake north of Sophanem and use an empty bucket on it. Then use the bucket on the centrepiece inside of Sophanem. You will pour the bucket of water into the font, and the water will evaporate, leaving salt that was in the water. search the font and take the salt. A bucket of sap can be obtained by using a knife with an evergreen tree while you have a bucket. Then head to the city's eastern side to find the carpenter. Give him your willow log. (After the quest he will buy willow logs from you at 40gp each in groups of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20.) Next, head a bit north to the linen worker, named Raetul with a purple headpiece. Buy a sheet of linen for 30gp. Then go back to the Embalmer. Give the items to him. (After the quest he will buy buckets of sap from you at 30gp each in groups of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20.)
Head back to the High Priest and he will tell you to talk to the Carpenter. Go speak to the Carpenter (who is at the pottery wheel) and he will give you the Holy symbol. Next, go back into the southern pyramid and try to jump the pit. When you try, you'll enter another flashback.
[edit] Flashback 3
You will find yourself outside the west (left) room) and will have an unholy symbol in your inventory. Go to the east (right) room. Enter it and use the symbol with any Sarcophagus around the walls. Go back through the door.
Searching the sarcophagi can result in poison gas (7 poison damage) or scarabs attacking.
[edit] After Flashback 3
You will speak to yourself again, saying that you should not have done that. Jump across the pit again and reenter the eastern burial chamber. After a cutscene, you'll learn that the Wanderer was behind it. She is really the Devourer, Amascut, an evil goddess, and she'll possess one of the priests. You will fight a level 91 Possessed Priest. Use Protect from Magic prayer and kill him. (he drops an attack, strength, magic, defence, or agility potion. They are 4 all doses).
Talk to the High Priest again then leave the room.
[edit] Flashback 4
You'll experience another flashback. This one is simply a cutscene. You will be escaping from the pyramid, and Icthlarin, god of the dead, will dehypnotize you with the help of the previous high priest.
[edit] After Flashback 4
You will find yourself back in the eastern burial chamber. Head outside and talk to the High Priest to complete the quest.
Congratulations! Quest Complete!