I hardly ever slay monsters for their rare dragon drops, worthwhile equipment, or their extremely rare multi-million coin visages. Nor do I do it for the experience, for combat or for the skill itself. Bones can be buried, and hides can be tanned, but there’s no real worth in that. I know I’m getting bones and coins, but isn’t it more exciting to get something you don’t anticipate?

That’s why I fight them. For the ever-popular clue scroll. Evasive, but not impossible, they appear either rarely when I least expect it, or on my very first kill sending my fully prepared self out of the cavern early to complete its trials.

Very few people actually like doing them. Sure, some will do them for the rewards, and some will just do them to prove a point, but so many clue scrolls are either dropped or lost in a bank for all eternity, never to be solved unless they offered something new. Once you have a clue scroll, you can’t get another until you lose it one way or the other.

Clue scrolls … treasure trails … they’re not just a mini-game. They’re a way of life.

Slaying is one of the better ways to get a clue scroll. When you train your slayer, you are focused. You want to finish the task in as little trips and distractions as possible, so you focus on killing enemies fast while taking low damage. Using prayer potions, super sets, and full Guthans is one definite way of doing this. This way, they’re more worthwhile using, and therefore, you get more clue scrolls faster. A win-win situation, for numerous reasons.

Level 3 clues are my favorite. Not only do they pose the greater chance of receiving extreme wealth in a matter of minutes, but the challenges presented also leave one with a sense of accomplishment. Sure, anyone can take directions and solve a couple of math problems, but when it comes to riddles, anagrams, dangerous travels, and puzzle boxes, there is more of a distinct … what’s a good word … harshness to the trail. Plus, the majority of slayer assignments for one of my level drop them, so I figure I might as well take advantage of it.

Riddles are fun; sometimes incredibly obsolete and impossible if you don’t know what you’re looking for. I’ll admit, there are a number of times where I didn’t know the answer and had to get help, but just looking at that new, haven’t-seen-it-before riddle and thinking gave me the insight as to how well I knew Runescape itself. This sentence regards something that exists that I should know about, being an avid explorer and treasure trailer, so why can’t I figure it out? Either I don’t quite truly know everything in Runescape, or there’s always something I miss. They test my analytical skill, and I’m glad they do. There’s nothing worse then thinking you’re something that you’re not.

Anagrams, like riddles, are challenging and test your knowledge of the Runescape world. However, unlike riddles, there’s no real excuse for not being able to solve it without help. I own a quest cape – I have talked to every single existence, deity, and whatever else majiya can conjure up into the world, and so I should definitely be able to solve them. When I do, accomplishment. When I don’t, disbelief towards myself. Either way, it makes me just a bit better each time.

Coordinate clues aren’t a challenge anymore. I’ve been through so many of them that I nearly know where everything is now. 25, 03 north, 16- ah, agility arena in the wilderness. 19 north, 12 east- yup, Trollheim. Because of the wilderness update, I no longer have to fear the savage PKer; the ambitious clan; the unavoidable death and loss of all that progress when I enter the cruel abyss. But now, a half-inventory of shark and a spirit terrorbird by my side guarantees escape from anything the wilderness can dish out to me. Zamorak mages are easily taken on with Saradomin’s Protection of Magic, and with the casket finally in hand, a mad break to Edgeville and the revelation of my long deserved reward. How can anything be more thrilling?

When coordinate clues don’t take me to the wilderness, they take me to some obscure location hidden in inaccessibility and shadows. Then they unleash my own brethren, a Saradomin mage, against me to challenge for the reward. Where do these magi even come from, and why do they shun Saradomin’s own in his name? Either way, like fighting Zamorak magi, protect from magic is a must. However, Saradomin magi also wield poisoned dragon daggers (thankfully, they don’t use the special), so some heavy armor and a good weapon is a must. Usually I ignore the poison, because the fight only lasts enough to lose less than 18 health from it, so grab the casket, teleport to your house, and let the poison die off there.

Lastly, the puzzle box. Anagram and riddle clues lead you to NPCs, who in turn hand over a 5×5 puzzle box to complete. Like many puzzles like rubric’s cube, juggling, minesweeper, and sudoku, you learn all the tricks the more you do them blindly. It comes almost instinctively, and with practice and repetition, you infuse them into your mind and turn them into a work of art. Not everybody does this or even knows that they can do such a thing, so by learning these puzzles, you can do something others can’t, and therefore feel (however small) a sense of pride. I can do them! I can do them quickly, effortlessly, and while humming a catchy tune to myself. How many out there can too?

The rest are hardly even worth mentioning. World map locations – memorized. Challenge scrolls – easy. No need to worry about them until Jagex comes out with some new ones; although I do wish they’d start incorporating the more annoying dungeons in some like the Underground Pass, Miscellania’s slayer cave, and Keldagrim a bit more, just for the aim of adventure.

Finally, the reward. After completing 4-6 rounds of problem solving, traversing, and teleportation, I am given an array of free gifts supposedly buried and lost for thousands of years. I no longer expect or hope for something rare, like Third Age and Robin Hood Hats, but instead just accept that it’ll be a poor drop. This way, I’m never disappointed, for when it is a poor drop, I’ve expected it and am willing to accept it. However, in the occasion I do get something worthwhile, it comes as a pleasant surprise. It’s something I’ve adapted to over the course of performing so many treasure trails.

That’s all that can be said. One can’t be taught to enjoy the art of treasure hunting, so grab a clue scroll and have at it!