The Unbinding of Zaros

Under The Digsite
If, and only if, you have the quest requirements(not the needed items), and you stand on the center of the Zarosian design under the Digsite, then, and only then, will the quest begin. This is what happens when you stand on the proper spot.

Abruptly, a cutscene begins. The camera spirals upward, showing you stand there, then suddenly clutch your heart and collapse. Everything goes black.

You stand up, and talking as though hypnotized, you say to yourself, "Must...Find...Stone...And...Symbol. Must...Find...Stone...And...Symbol." You walk awkwardly out, into the Digsite. You crash through the fence and stagger into the Varrock Museum. You smash open the cases containing the Tablet of Zaros and the Symbol of Zaros. You crash back to the underground chamber and, strangely carefully, unite the Tablet and Symbol. A wisp of what seems like smoke, but more black, more deliberate, and more evil-seeming begins to lazily wind its way out of the stone and begins to solidify little by little. Suddenly you come back to yourself and realize than you have done something bad. You are very weak, but you manage to drag yourself out, and up into the Digsite. The last thing you see if a group of workmen crowding around you.

You wake up in jail.

In Jail
Enter Saradomin priest and Guthix druid.

Exit the pair, still arguing.
 * Both: DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?
 * You: Um... Something bad?
 * SP: "Something bad" is right! You have done worse than bad! You have UNBOUND ZAROS!!!! And what's more, Zaros isn't bound by the same treaty of the gods that binds Zamorak, so he is free to wreak havoc!
 * You: But... I thought that Zaros had lost his power?
 * GD: We managed to... well... let's say "gain access" to the Zamorakian Chief Monk, and we learned a different story.
 * SP: Apparently, Zamorak had everything planned out ahead of time and just made the transfer of power seem to be an accident.
 * GD: However, he knew that if he used the Staff to absorb all of Zaros' power, it would kill him. So he made the tablet that you found.
 * SP: He bound the Staff to the tablet so that nine-tenths of all the power flowing through it would go to the stone, knowing that once he had followers he would obtain the same amount of power as Zaros had.
 * GD: It required all the power of the Staff and its wielder's complete focus to force the god-essence to stay in the tablet, which Zamorak didn't have. So, to keep it from flowing out, he broke it in two, with the second piece being the Symbol.
 * SP: He kept the two pieces under the very best guard, for he feared them being reunited more than anything else. However, they were both stolen by raids carried out by still-faithful Zarosians.
 * GD: By two different ones however, so the pieces were never reunited. The inscription was carved into the tablet by the raiders, by the way.
 * SP: So, to sum it up, Zaros has been unbound, and it's up to you to rebind him. Oh, and you'll need to find the Staff of Armadyl first, because it's the only thing with enough power to force Zaros' god-essence back into the tablet.
 * You: But...But...But why doesn't Saradomin, or Guthix, or someone take care of him? How am I supposed to rebind a god?
 * SP: Well, apparently Saradomin is bound not to interfere by Guthix's ancient treaty. And Guthix thinks it would be more balanced if the person who unbinds an ancient evil rebinds it too.
 * GD: Are you implying that Guthix is wrong?!?!?!?!?!? Guthix is never wrong! Guthix created Gielinor, after all.
 * SP: No Guthix did not! Saradomin did!
 * GD: Guthix!
 * SP: Saradomin!

If you sided with Lucien in Temple of Ikov
Visit Lucien in his house near Edgeville. Talk to him.
 * You: Lucien, can I have back the Staff? Zaros has been unbound and I need it to put him back in his place.
 * Lucien: Zaros?! This is serious indeed. I would lend the Staff to you, but during my investigations of it after you gave it to me, I made an awful discovery.
 * You: What?
 * Lucien: I have tested the power of the Staff and compared it with the historical records of its power. The staff that you gave me is powerful indeed, but it is not half as charged as the true Staff should be. It is not the Staff of Armadyl!
 * You: But then... How am I supposed to find the true Staff?
 * Lucien: If it were me, I would make contact with a powerful representative of Armadyl. They might know something.
 * You: A powerful representative of Armadyl, eh?

If you sided with the Guardians in Temple of Ikov
Go to the Temple of Ikov and enter it. Go downstairs, cross the bridge, and chat with one of the Guardians of the Staff.
 * You: Zaros has been unbound! I need the Staff to rebind him! Please will you let me borrow it?
 * Guardian: I honestly would, but the truth is, we are guarding a fake, though powerful staff. It is to throw off anyone who would seek the true Staff.
 * You: So where is the real Staff?
 * Guardian: I do not know. I believe that the full truth was not entrusted to anyone, that only Armadyl Himself knows, although I think that his general may know something.
 * You: Thanks! Bye.

Armadyl's General and the Crystal Ball
Go to the God Wars Dungeon and enter Armadyl's Eyrie. Continue through the area until you reach the area with Kree'arra, Armadyl's General. Go to the boss door and choose the option to continue the quest.

A cutscene will start where you talk to him (this will only happen while you are doing the quest).

The cutscene ends. Kree'arra will attack you. You must defeat him with any means possible. If you die, you can come back and face him. Be warned though, the cutscene will not repeat, he will attack you as soon as you are through the door. Besides the normal drops, there will also be a crystal ball. When you pick it up your character will say: "What's this? A crystal ball? Hmmm..... Maybe I should talk to someone who knows about crystal balls."
 * You: Zaros has been unbound! Will you please give me the location of the true Staff? It's vital to keeping the world the way it is!
 * Kree'arra: Never! Armadyl has instructed me to protect it with my life no matter what happens!
 * You: Please! You don't understand! ZAROS IS LOOSE!
 * Kree'arra: You speak lies! You wish only to have the Staff's power for yourself.
 * You: No I don't, I need it to re-
 * Kree'arra: I have been instructed to protect this information with my life! If I must kill you to do so, though I would rather not, I will.
 * Kree'arra: DIE!

With Gypsy Aris
Go to Gypsy Aris' tent in Varrock. Talk to her.


 * You: Hi! Can you take a look at this crystal ball here?
 * GA: Sure.
 * Gypsy Aris inspects the crystal ball.
 * GA: This is a very odd crystal ball. It seems that when one would attempt to scry with it, they would see a message instead of what they tried to view.
 * You: Could you look at it and tell me what the message is?
 * GA: Absolutely.
 * Gypsy Aris stares into the crystal ball. Her eyes glaze over. Several minutes pass, then her eyes return to normal and she looks up.
 * GA: According to the ball, the whole of Armadyl's Eyrie is a front for the protection of the Staff. It says that the three greatest champions of the god were given special crystal balls that, when united, would guide a person to the Staff and act as a key. You have happened to serendipitously stumble upon one of the three.
 * You: But why didn't Armadyl just lock the Staff away without a key? Why make one? It just increases the chances that someone will get it again!
 * GA: Because as you probably don't know, any truly powerful binding or magical lock must have a key, for this is one of the fundamental laws of binding magic. Even a god cannot overcome it. The lock or spell would fall to pieces soon after its creation if it did not have a way to be undone.
 * You: O...K...
 * You: Anyway, who were the other two champions of Armadyl?
 * GA: It does not say. An knowledgeable follower of Armadyl would most likely know.
 * You: But there aren't any left! Other than in the God Wars dungeon, and most of the creatures there are only good for fighting, not smarts.
 * GA: Well, as an alternative, a person who has dedicated his life to Saradominism may know, though it is less likely. It it possible, however, as Saradomin and Armadyl were good friends, that a Saradominist might know something about Armadyl.
 * You: I guess I'll just have to look for one, won't I?

Armadyl's Three Champions
Go to the WOM and talk to him. Head over to the Varrock library and talk to Reldo. (If you say no, you can come back later to repeat the conversation.) Go away for roughly 20 minutes, if you try to talk to him in the meantime: After the 20 minutes are up: (You must complete the next part before talking to him again, or he will only say the normal things he does outside the quest.)
 * You: Do you know anything about Armadyl's three greatest champions?
 * WOM: Hmmm... Actually, I do! While I was studying Saradomin and Armadyl, I ran across a book that mentioned something about "Kree'arra, Largail, and Silvare" being deployed to take down one of the greater elder-demons of Zamorak. I don't know anything else about them though, your best bet would be a historian.
 * You: Thanks!
 * You: Do you know anything about anyone by the names of Largail and Silvare?
 * Reldo: No, though I could do some research through the major libraries in RuneScape. You'd have to pay me 7,000 coins, though, just for expenses, you understand.
 * Pay him?
 * Yes
 * Does the character have 7,000 coins?
 * Yes
 * You: Here you go.
 * Reldo: I'll be back in a while, why don't you do something else in the meantime?
 * No
 * Reldo: You don't have the money!
 * You: Oops. I'd better get it. See you later!
 * No
 * You: Sorry, I don't want to pay that kind of money just for you to do me some research!
 * Reldo: I'm sorry, I'm not done with my research yet. Why don't you come back later?
 * You: So, have you found anything out yet?
 * Reldo: Yes. Only Largail, though. I can't find mention of Silvare anywhere!
 * Reldo opens an ancient looking book.
 * Reldo: It says here that Largail gained most of her power from Armadyl, so when he withdrew, she lost most of her strength and abilities. She may have taken on a false identity later in life so that it would be quieter. She led a very, very, very long life anyway, so she did not necessarily die at the beginning of the Fourth Age, it may well have been late in it. It also says that she had a curious fondness for anagrams, though I can't see how that could help you.
 * You: Thanks anyway. This could be a big help.
 * Reldo: Maybe I'll find out something about Silvare while you're gone. You should talk to me when you're back.

Largail
Get Glarial's Pebble out of the bank and reenter her tomb. Get the amulet back by searching the chest again, as in Roving Elves. Put in on and enter the Waterfall Dungeon. Go back into the room with the statues. There will be a new option on the statue: inspect. Inspect the statue, it is the last option excepting cancel when you right click. It will say:

As you examine the statue, you notice that there is a small indentation at the back.

Use the pebble on the statue and:

The statue swings open silently, revealing a crystal ball. You take the ball and it swings shut again.

Go back to Reldo and talk to him again.

Silvare

 * You: So, have you found out anything about Silvare?
 * Reldo: Actually, I have! Silvare was a little known shapeshifter, though it could only swap between two forms. One was a miniature black dragon with awesome magical powers. The other was an old woman, as a disguise. And what's really a coincidence is that while in that form he went by the name of... Aris.
 * You: Actually, I'm not so sure that that's a coincidence...
 * Reldo: Oh, I also found out that some time after the God Wars, while in the form of Aris it hit its head and suffered amnesia, so it never turned back to its normal form because it couldn't remember how.
 * Reldo: It didn't even know that it was Silvare!

Go and talk to Gypsy Aris.


 * You: I know that you're Silvare! Give me your crystal ball!
 * Aris: I don't know what you're talking about!
 * You: Stop lying! Do you want Zaros rebound or not?
 * Aris: But I don't know what you're talking about! Honest!
 * You: Can I have your crystal ball, then?
 * Aris: Why?
 * You: Because I need to borrow it.
 * Aris: That's no reason! I'm NOT letting you have my delicate crystal ball!
 * You: Okay then. I guess I'll just have to find some other way of getting it...

A new option will be available on the crystal ball, Take. However, if you try it, it will result in:
 * Aris: I told you, you can't have my crystal ball! It was made for me by Fritz the Glassblower, and it's very high quality!
 * You: Hmm... Maybe if I had something to switch it with...

Fritz the Glassblower
Go and talk to Fritz the Glassblower on Entrana. You will get the normal options, but there will be an additional one: Ask about crystal balls. Choose it.


 * You: Gypsy Aris told me that you created her crystal ball for her.
 * Fritz: I didn't, actually, but I'm familiar with the technique.
 * You: So exactly how would you do it?
 * Fritz: Why?
 * You: Um... Just wondering.
 * Fritz: Okay then. Well, crystal is basically just glass with some added lead. So you mix a ground-up lead bar with your molten glass, blow it into an orb, and that's that!
 * You: Where could you get lead?
 * Fritz: I recently obtained some from a dwarf, he visited Entrana a while ago. Said he was from Keldagrim. But I've already used up all of mine.
 * You: Did he say anything else?
 * Fritz: Yes, apparently he was planning to take a train to someplace called Dorgesh-Kaan as soon as he got back to Keldagrim.
 * You: Okay. Bye!

Dorgesh-Kaan
Take any method of transportation you like to Dorgesh-Kaan and go to the train station. Find a dwarf called "Ore Seller" (as in the dwarf who sells ores in Keldagrim). Talk to him.


 * You: Hi! I understand that you once sold Fritz the Glassblower a bar of lead?
 * Dwarf: Yes, I did indeed. Why do you ask?
 * You: I was wondering if you could sell me one too.
 * Dwarf: I'm afraid that I'm out of stock. But you could mine some yourself!
 * You: I've never seen any lead ore! Where do I find it?
 * Dwarf: Well, it was a one-time discovery in Keldagrim, you don't normally see lead around there. But it turns out that there are a couple of lead rocks in the dungeon south of here. Here, have a map.(gives you a map)
 * You: Thanks! See you.

Open up the map he gives you. It will show you that directly south of the entrance to the Kalphite Lair are a couple of lead rocks. Head down there and mine a few ores, as you require five per bar. Go to the furnace north of there, and smelt your bar of lead. Hit it with your hammer to break it up, then grind it to pieces with your mortar and pestle (just like rune essence). Use the bucket of sand on the furnace, and choose to make molten crystal instead of molten glass. Blow your molten crystal into an orb, and head back to Gypsy Aris'

Gypsy Aris'
Use the crystal ball in your inventory on the crystal ball on Gypsy Aris' table. If you fail, Gypsy Aris will throw you out of her tent, and she won't let you back in until you pay her 2,000 coins or the next day, whichever is sooner. If you succeed, you swap them and you have all three crystal balls.

The Staff
Use one of the crystal balls on one of the other ones, and a cutscene will start. The three crystal balls levitate out of your hands and start glowing bright blue. Then they form a triangle in the air, rush toward the center, and collide with a flash. The screen goes white, and when it clears, a single, larger crystal ball is levitating where the other three were. It stops glowing, then gently drops into your hands.

Finding the Staff
If you right-click the large crystal ball, there will be an option labeled "Locate". If you use it outside of Armadyl's Eyrie, it will create a message in the chat window saying "You cannot locate outside of Armadyl's Eyrie." Go to Armadyl's Eyrie, and Locate with it. It will pull in a direction, much like a runecrafting talisman. Once you get close enough, if you try to locate, a cutscene starts. The crystal ball again levitates out of your hands and flashes. The screen goes white. When it turns back to normal, you are in a largish hallway and the ball is gone.

In the Hall
At the end of the hallway is the Staff of Armadyl on a beautifully decorated pedestal. Around it are ten level 400 Aviantese Staff Guards. Like revenants, they can attack from all three points of the combat triangle, and do a lot of damage for their level. They have 600 hp. You do not need to defeat them, just get the staff. However, there is no way out. You are not teleblocked. If you die, no matter if you have no other items in your inventory, you do not keep the staff. You can, however, get a new crystal ball at no cost from Gypsy Aris. (I know, I know, cheap.)

The Rebinding
Once you have the staff, go back to the room under the Digsite. In it will be a monster called Unbelievably weak Zaros that looks like a giant ball of shadow. Contrary to the name, it is level 1000, can hit up to 98 (therefore you will need LOTS of food), and has 10,000 hp. (It is possible to group it, but only people who have done the quest up to this point can see it.) It is impossible to kill it, if it would be killed it only goes to 1 hp. Once it is reduced to under 10 hp, regardless of who did the damage, a cutscene will start where you spear Zaros with one end of the Staff, the Binding Stone with the other, and Zaros slowly shrinks. When he is gone, the stone breaks in half.

Go talk to Gypsy Aris to complete the quest and get your rewards.

Rewards

 * Ten Energy lamps
 * Amulet of loste magicks
 * Loste runecrafting notes
 * Access to Loste Runecrafting
 * Access to Loste Magicks
 * Access to Loste Magicks