The Sorceress’s Concealed Garden Minigame

posted by on 28th February 2007, at 6:44pm

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FIRST, A WORD FROM JAGEX
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Osman, known for his peaceful, innocent life relaxing in Al Kharid, has of late been miserably staring into an empty glass of sq’irk juice. For years he was able to deal directly with the sorceress to provide his favourite tipple, before their disagreement over prices. Since then, Osman has tried desperately to find out how she grows them, but the secret is so well kept that not even he can find it.

Osman has thus been forced into adopting a more devious (though some might say lazy) approach, and for that he will need your help. Once you work out how to get into the sorceress’s concealed garden, it will be up to you to watch the routes of the patrolling guards and sneak past for the fruity rewards. Different seasons are rumoured to affect each of the gardens, and it can be assumed that more experienced thieves will have access to more bountiful sq’irk trees. Even if helping Osman is not to your taste, the gardens are also home to herb-beds, which could be plundered by those wary enough to avoid any guardians. So head to Al Kharid to help this thirsty gentleman of leisure or to stock up on ingredients – either way, there are profits to be had in this new minigame.

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AND NOW, ALEX 43!
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Greetings, fellow high-level thieves. As everyone now knows, a new mini-game has been created specially for those who specialize in thieving and herblore. The rewards themselves don’t seem too great, as there aren’t any special armors or anything. However, once you actually get into it, this may prove to be one of the best and fastest methods of thieving training in the whole of Runescape!
Players start this minigame by talking to Osman and asking him if he needs anything done. He will ask you for a glass of Sq’irk juice, which had been supplied to him by the sorceress near the Shanty Pass, but until recently, he lost the benefit and now requires you to get it by whatever means necessary.

Stock up on empty beer glasses and bring along a mortar and pestle (required), energy potions (optional), and cat-speak amulet (for advice and information). You will need to sweet-talk the Sorceresses apprentice before being able to access the garden. Once inside, you may choose one of 4 sections, each with its corresponding requirement thieving level. To exit, either teleport regularly or drink from the fountain in the center.

Once inside the garden, the trick is to get through to the sq’irt tree without being detected by any of the gardening elementals patrolling the area. The trick behind them is simple – they can NOT get you unless you are on a spot which they sooner or later walk on. Their field of vision is 2, which means that they can detect anything 2 squares ahead of them, but not behind or beside. They’re not very smart, and if you are caught, you are simply teleported just outside the garden and allowed to make another attempt. That’s the beauty of this mini-game: this is one of the only thieving training areas that does not involve you getting hurt.

If you fail, keep trying. There is a pattern of movements and timed clicking that you will sooner or later grow accustomed to. Once you figure it all out, it’s child’s play.

There are 2 areas which you can get to. The first and more focused area is the sq’irt tree. It’s unguarded, so once you make it there, you can stop, catch your breatrh, and clear some inventory space to make way for the fruit. Upon picking 1 fruit, you will be teleported back outside the garden for another go. It takes a number of fruits to make 1 glass of sq’irt juice, which you can either turn over to Osman or drink it yourself for an energy and thieving level boost (no exp upon drinking it). To make 1 glass of juice, you will need either 5 winter, 4 autumn, 3 spring, or 2 summer sq’irts per glass. This should motivate you to train your thieving level more, hopefully.
The other option is a large patch of herbs nearby. It’s usually closer to the entrance, so you don’t have to go in as far to access them. You will pick 2 already identified, though random herbs before getting teleported back to the entrance.

In return for any juice, Osman will reward you thieving exp. I took the liberty of trying the hardest level – the summer garden, and just bringing Osman a single glass of the good stuff yielded me 3000 exp points! That’s QUEST exp for 3 minutes in the orchard, and this may be repeated as many times as desired! Unbelievable, you may ask? I think not!


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