Murder on the Border - RuneScape Guide (2024)

New Foundations

Unwelcome Guests

1. Head to Fort Forinthry’s Town Hall and speak with Aster. She will inform you that King Roald has sent an urgent request. After accepting the quest, she will tell you that King Roald wants to host a banquet at the Fort! Oh no, the horror. To host an acceptable banquet, you will need a kitchen, a new building manager, and staff to gather produce. She will tell you to start by speaking to Bill, who is near the Workshop.

   

2. Walk South West to the Workshop and speak to Bill and talk with him. Once you have spoken to him, gather your resources for the kitchen (12 Willow frames and 6 Stone wall segments) and plan the kitchen at the Blueprint table.

   

3. Once the plans have been created, walk to the East side of the Town Hall and build the Kitchen (Tier 1). This will require . Once the kitchen is built, return to Aster.

   

4. Speak with Aster. She will recommend her sister, Bianca, to be the Kitchen Manager for the Fort. You will accept her suggestion without any hesitation before she begins to tell you about the "success" of finding local produce. When the conversation finishes, she will tell you to meet her by the front gate when you are ready to begin greeting the guests.

   

5. Head South toward the front gate and enter the portal on the ground just South of the well to continue the quest.

   

6. You will appear with Aster at the front gate to greet the guests. The first to arrive are King Roald, Queen Ellamaria, Iris, and Simon. The Queen will complain about the lack of guards on the Kings Road.

   The next to arrive is Bianca, the Kitchen Manager/chef for the Fort, who accidentally spilled half the soup she prepared. Shortly after her, Duke Hoarse, Rodney, and Princess will arrive. duch*ess Alba will arrive last, itching to get this over with.

   

7. Once all the guests have arrived, you will have to go mingle with them to keep up good appearances. Make your way North into the Town Hall and join the party. Speak with each group of guests. Duke Hoarse will be in the East side of the Town Hall. Simon, Rodney, Princess, and Alba will be near the stairs in the West side of the Town Hall. Roald, Ellamaria, and Iris will be up the stairs on the balcony. Note that the guests can be spoken to in any order.

   

8. Once you have mingled with all the guests, return to Aster near the kitchen and speak with her. She will inform you that the feast is ready to be served.

   

9. During the feast, there will be some arguing. Tell a story of one of your adventures and, suddenly, Duke Hoarse will begin coughing. He will then will collapse dramatically in a heap on the ground, his last breath escaping his lungs (Dun Dun Dunnn). Everyone will start to argue yet again. Ellamaria will give you until sunrise to find the killer. Who could the killer be?

   

10. Aster will offer her help, given her experience in mystery novels, and will suggest interrogating the guests and looking for clues within the Fort. She will hand you a Mystery journal to keep track of the clues and interrogations.

    

11. It is time to embrace your inner detective and start looking for clues!
    
    1. Head into the kitchen, search the supplies cupboard on the South wall, and take a Hollyhock.

       

    2. Investigate the nut roast East of the Supplies cupboard. Both you and Aster will note that it’s a strange gift knowing Roald is deathly allergic to nuts. (Clue 1/8)

       

    3. Walk out the Eastern door of the Kitchen and head toward the tree. You will stumble upon a half-buried box in the ground. Investigate the box to reveal that it is full of jewels!(Clue 2/8)

       

    4. Head South to the Chapel and talk with King Roald. Ask if he noticed anything suspicious and he will explain it was odd that Duke Hoarse had the same starter as him, as the only reason he had the páté was because of his nut allergy. (Clue 3/8)

       

    5. After the conversation with the King, head just outside the Chapel and speak with Bianca at the South West corner. She will say she is sad that someone died eating a meal she prepared. Click on Bianca again and choose to link a clue with her, selecting the Jewelry box. She will confess to hiding the box, stating she found the jewelry scattered near the road and, due to tough times, placed the jewels inside the box before hiding it. (Clue 4/8)

       

    6. Head South to the Command Centre and talk with Alba. Ask if she had seen anything suspicious, she will say "No." Next, link the Nut roast with her, the same way you linked the Jewelry box to Bianca. You will learn that she was being petty, despite knowing about King Roalds' allergy, but no harm was intended. (Clue 5/8)

       

    7. Walk North to the rear gate, where you will find a strange satchel near some rocks and a dead tree on the East side of the road. Investigate it to reveal a well-used book, conveniently named "How To Poison Dummies For Dummies", some assorted ingredients, and dozens of vials of a clear liquid. (Clue 6/8)

       

    8. Head to the front of the Town Hall and talk to Simon. After the conversation, link the book with him. He will instantly recognize the book as his and tell you that he lost the book when the convoy was attacked. Simon will explain that the book doesn't just describe how to make poisons but also how to detect them. Unfortunately, that page is missing! He will write down how to make the Detection potion and tell you to get a vial of clear liquid from his satchel. (Clue 7/8)

       

    9. Head back to the strange satchel and take a vial. Use the Hollyhock on the vial to create an Unheated poison detection potion (hollyhock). Return to the Kitchen and use it on the range to make a Poison detection potion (hollyhock).

       

    10. Head back to the table and use the detection potion on Duke Hoarse's plate. This will reveal that it was indeed the Páté laced with Hollyhock that killed Duke Hoarse! (Clue 8/8). Talk with Aster, she will say “let us discuss our findings in private.” You will suggest the roof of the Town hall.

        Before the next step, ensure you have your best combat gear, as the combat encounter scales to your level. The Assassin attacks with Melee and uses combat abilities. For this reason, we recommend gearing up to fight with Magic if you can. Note that you will need to "leave" via the portal at the North gate if you need to bank. When ready, you can reenter the area via the portal near the South gate.

        

12. Head to the stairs West of the Town Hall and climb them to the top floor. Talk with Aster and you will discuss the facts of the investigation until you are suddenly ambushed by an Assassin! The Assassin will kick Aster across the roof, stunning her, and then will try to kill you! Dispatch him quickly.

    Only use Freedom when the Assassin stuns you, otherwise he will have a few seconds to freely lay into you. If he stuns you, you will not be able to eat or use abilities. You can use Protect from/Deflect Melee, but the Assassin can hit you with Havoc, which will disable them. Familiars can be brought and used.

    Note: Falling to the Assassin is a safe death. If you fail to defeat the Assassin, Princess will rescue you.

    

13. Once the assassin has been defeated, talk to Aster. She will tell you that she is unharmed and that the assassin only incapacitated her. Search the assassin to reveal a letter which will reveal a clue: "Remember, we need the steward alive." Someone must care about Aster! Leave the roof and go check on the other guests.

    

14. Once you reach the ground floor, you will notice everyone in the courtyard. Talk with King Roald to reveal what has happened. He will tell you that he heard a scream and, when he went to investigate, the Dark beasts were running at him! If it wasn't for the Queen, he would've been killed alongside Simon. Discuss the Assassin and confirm if all the guards are accounted for. A short conversation will take place, after which the next leg of the mystery starts, with this conversation providing Clue 1/8.

    

    1. Head to the Command centre and talk with Alba. She will be quite hostile towards your questioning, but will explain why she doesn't like the King if you ask what her beef with the King is. (Clue 2/8).

       

    2. Return to the Town hall and investigate the burnt parchment to the West of the fireplace. It turns out to be Duke Hoarse's will and testament. Someone was trying to destroy evidence. (Clue 3/8)

       

    3. Go to the Workshop and talk with Rodney about Ellamaria. He will admit that they were once lovers, but her ego was unbearable. He will then inform you about Ellamaria’s and Bianca’s past friendship. After the conversation, link the Burnt parchment with him and he’ll reveal why he tried to destroy it. (Clue 4/8)

       

    4. Return to Queen Ellamaria in the courtyard and ask her about Bianca, revealing they were close friends once, but they left on bad terms. Bianca believes Ellamaria became Queen by chance and, had Roald seen her first, she could have been Queen instead. (Clue 5/8)

       

    5. Walk to the North West side of the Chapel and investigate the Wax seal on the ground. Neither you nor Aster will recognize the iconography. Someone has been receiving letters secretly. (Clue 6/8)

       

    6. Return to the Workshop and speak with Iris. She will tell you that she has figured out who is responsible for killing the duke. Apparently she believes Princess is a shapeshifting witch who murdered the Duke... ok. Link the Wax seal with her, revealing she has been sending letters to her friends on the outside, informing them of all the gossip happening inside the Fort. To make up for her defiance, she will lend you an Amulet of Spanielspeak to communicate with Princess. (Clue 7/8)

       

    7. Head East to Princess, just outside the Workshop, and link the Amulet of Spanielspeak with her. Princess will be confused and anxious about her father, but will show you to more clues.

       

    8. Click on Princess to reveal which direction she would like you to go. First, she will take you to the North West, heading towards the ladder near the rear gate. Click on Princess once again, uncovering some Miscellaneous items that are unimportant.

       

    9. Click Princess again to reveal the next direction she wants you to go. The next direction is South East to Ellamaria, which is another misdirection.

       

    10. Click Princess yet again, revealing the next direction to be North East. Head into the Chapel near the altar and click Princess to reveal a hidden cache under the floor. Investigating the coffer, you will find a badge bearing the symbol of Zamorak and a Sealed letter that shows the banquet was targeted long before it happened. (Clue 8/8)

        

15. Once you have all the clues, everyone will gather in the courtyard again; you now have all the evidence to accuse the murderer. Speak with King Roald to start a cutscene, during which you will go over all the evidence with everyone.

    Note: If you choose any of the wrong chat options, Aster will correct you.

    

16. After all the evidence, you will have to determine who the murderer is. The murderer is Bianca Dunnet (DUN DUN DUNNN)! She killed over jealousy and will be tried for treason.

    

17. After all the commotion, speak with King Roald to end the banquet.

    

18. Head to the Town hall and speak with Aster. She will say she is sad about the outcome, but not to worry about her. She’ll also tell you that Lord Rodney would like a word with you.

    

19. Head East into the Kitchen and speak with Rodney. He will inform you that he and Princess have been banished from Edgeville until further notice. Lucky for him, Aster offered him the Chef position at the Fort.

    

Congratulations, Quest Complete!