OSRS Secrets of the North Guide: Requirements and Walkthrough

Overview

Secrets of the North is Master difficulty and Medium length, but it packs dense investigation steps before you ever see snow. It continues the Mahjarrat thread and unlocks the Phantom Muspah as repeatable content.

You start at Carnillean Mansion, track Evelot, revisit the Hazeel Cult hideout, then move into Weiss for chest codes, brazier order and an assassin fight that disables prayer on a timer.

The Strange Creature finale is the real supply sink. Bring a two-style plan and treat it like a boss learn — the quest is short enough that a wipe mostly costs potions, not an hour of re-walking.

Requirements and Prerequisites

Skill and quest gates below are taken from the OSRS Wiki quest-details block for this quest. Boostability notes follow the Wiki markers — if a level is unboostable, train it before you start.

Quest prerequisites (chains can be longer than this summary):

• Making Friends with My Arm — verify chain on the Wiki
• My Arm's Big Adventure — verify chain on the Wiki
• Eadgar's Ruse — verify chain on the Wiki
• Druidic Ritual — verify chain on the Wiki
• Troll Stronghold — verify chain on the Wiki
• Death Plateau — verify chain on the Wiki
• The Feud — verify chain on the Wiki
• Jungle Potion — verify chain on the Wiki
• Swan Song — verify chain on the Wiki
• One Small Favour — verify chain on the Wiki
• Rune Mysteries — verify chain on the Wiki
• Shilo Village — verify chain on the Wiki
• Garden of Tranquillity — verify chain on the Wiki
• Creature of Fenkenstrain — verify chain on the Wiki
• Priest in Peril — verify chain on the Wiki
• The Restless Ghost — verify chain on the Wiki
• Cold War — verify chain on the Wiki
• Romeo & Juliet — verify chain on the Wiki
• The General's Shadow — verify chain on the Wiki
• Curse of the Empty Lord, for full ghostly robes — verify chain on the Wiki
• Started Desert Treasure I, for the ring of visibility — verify chain on the Wiki
• Fight Arena — verify chain on the Wiki
• Devious Minds — verify chain on the Wiki
• Wanted! — verify chain on the Wiki
• Recruitment Drive — verify chain on the Wiki
• Black Knights' Fortress — verify chain on the Wiki
• Druidic Ritual — verify chain on the Wiki
• The Lost Tribe — verify chain on the Wiki
• Goblin Diplomacy — verify chain on the Wiki
• Rune Mysteries — verify chain on the Wiki
• Priest in Peril — verify chain on the Wiki
• Doric's Quest — verify chain on the Wiki
• Enter the Abyss — verify chain on the Wiki
• Hazeel Cult — verify chain on the Wiki

If the Wiki lists alternate item unlocks instead of a skill (for example a gas mask instead of Slayer), either option is valid.

Items to Bring

Pack required items before the first travel segment. Recommended gear is comfort, not a hard gate, unless a fight forces a specific style.

Required

• 100 Coins
• Lockpick (Strange Old Lockpick does NOT work)
• Tinderbox (obtainable during the quest)

Recommended

• Combat 85
• Antipoison or other form of poison protection
• Any Ardougne cloak to teleport near several quest locations
• Icy basalt to teleport to Weiss

Ultimate Ironmen should split heavy deliveries across trips where the Wiki notes that is allowed.

Where to Start

Starting location: Talk to the guard outside of the Carnillean Mansion in the south-western corner of East Ardougne.

Use the travel method that fits your unlocks — games necklace, fairy rings, spirit trees, carpets, or spellbook teleports — and keep a teleport out for deaths during combat sections.

Quest List blurb (paraphrased intent): Our story begins - as all good murder mysteries do - with a mysterious murder, and there's no shortage of suspects - in fact, you're one of them! Be prepared to form an uneasy alliance, dig up secrets best left buried deep, and walk away with more questions than answers...

Walkthrough, Stage by Stage

Numbered steps follow the Wiki quick-guide order, rewritten for BILS readers. Dialogue choices that gate progress are called out inline. For puzzle tiles or randomised layouts, use the dedicated puzzles section and the Wiki map if a step still feels unclear.

1. A Death in the Family. Make your way to the Carnillean Mansion and speak to the guard. (dialogue: Yes.)
2. Climb up the stairs and speak to the guard again.
3. Inspect Ceril's corpse and the broken window.
4. Knock on the false wall, then climb up the ladder and inspect the chest in the hidden room up the ladder.
5. Speak to the guard again. (dialogue: The window was broken from the outside. → Ceril was stabbed from behind. → A hidden room above us was broken into. → I think that's everything.)
6. On the Trail. Head to the Fight Arena Bar, and speak to the Khazard Barman. (dialogue: Do you know anyone called Evelot?)
7. Track down Evelot by inspecting the following during each track revealed:
8. Barrels just outside the bar entrance
9. North-west boulder
10. North bush
11. Tree stump
12. Another boulder
13. East bush
14. Approach Evelot to begin the fight. Every few attacks, she will use a special attack that disables protection prayers and drains your prayer.
15. Finish the conversation with Evelot after defeating her.
16. The Mysterious Benefactor. Head to the Hazeel Cult's hideout by way of the entrance to the Ardougne Sewers slightly east of the Clock Tower. Board the raft.
17. If the raft will not move, make sure all sewer valves outside the cave are in the correct position. See the Hazeel Cult guide for details.
18. Speak with Alomone (if you sided with Hazeel) or Clivet if you didn't .
19. Speak with Hazeel.
20. Return to Carnillean Mansion and talk to the guard.
21. Climb down the ladder inside the house and talk to Claus the Chef.
22. Search the south-western cooking shelves and press the button. (dialogue: Yes.)
23. Inspect the wall next to the noticeboard and enter the passage. (dialogue: Yes.)
24. Pick the lock on the chest by moving the pins along to specific positions. They will appear blue if the number is correct but in the wrong position, and green if that pin is at the correct position. The ordering does not change attempt to attempt.
25. Inspect the dusty scroll.
26. Bring the dusty scroll to Hazeel.
27. In the North. Head to the northern entrance of Weiss and speak to Big Fish.
28. Head to the main building and speak to Snowflake. (dialogue: Have you seen anything odd around here recently?) (Chat option 2 if you don't have the Weiss fire notes)
29. Head to the northern entrance of Weiss and speak to Big Fish. (dialogue: Why would the killer come here? → What is this ritual you keep talking about? → Okay, I'm done asking questions. What now?)
30. Head down the stairs in the main building, and go through the southern cave entrance. (dialogue: Yes.)
31. After the cutscene, fight the assassin. He will attack with melee or ranged, whichever style the player is not praying protection against.
32. The assassin will continually throw 1x1 tile smoke bombs around the room, which you then need to lure him inside to be able to deal damage.
33. The assassin will also occasionally throw vials of poison, which can deal up to 30 poison damage and inflict poison starting at 6 damage.
34. Speak with Hazeel located just south-west at the cave's entrance.(dialogue: I'll get going.)
35. Search the barrel south of the centre room to find a lever handle.
36. Enter the centre room, using the code BLOOD to unlock the gate.
37. Open the northern chest using code 7402 to obtain an icy chest.
38. Light the braziers in the following order: NW, SE, NE, SW (a tinderbox can be found by searching the crate in the room)
39. Open the western chest to find a jewel shard and a settlements note.
40. Head to the northern room, pressing the LEFT - UP - LEFT - DOWN arrows in that order to unlock the gate.
41. Use the handle on the lever mechanism, and pull it.
42. Inspect the south-western pillar in the room where you fought the assassin for the other jewel shard.
43. Use the jewel shards on one another, and use the ancient jewel on the icy chest.
44. Open the gate south of the centre room with the icy key.
45. Strange Creature. Resupply with ranged and magic gear for a fairly difficult boss fight.
46. Enter the crevice to battle the Strange Creature. See here for details of the fight.
47. After the cutscene, accept Hazeel's teleport. (dialogue: Yes.)
48. Return to the guard at the Carnillean Mansion.
49. Finish the closing dialogue — the quest is complete.

If a mid-quest fight sends you to your respawn, return with the same key items — several quests do not store progress for partially completed combat.

Puzzles and How They Work

Puzzle sections in modern quests are often randomised per account. The table below covers the puzzle types you should expect; exact tile solutions belong on the Wiki when they change per player.

Skip this section emotionally if the quest is combat-only — still skim for any mid-quest door puzzles.

Boss Fights

Combat encounters listed on the Wiki quest-details block. Death usually means a run-back with lost unprotected items outside safe instances — check each fight before you commit expensive gear.

Item-loss risk: standard death rules apply unless the quest instance is a safe minigame-style fight. Do not bring items you cannot afford to lose into dangerous multi-combat areas.

Rewards and Unlocks

Rewards below summarise the Wiki reward scroll. Experience amounts and unlock text can change with updates — re-check before you plan a grind around them.

What it opens up

• Agility 60,000 experience
• Thieving 50,000 experience
• Hunter 40,000 experience
• Ability to mine ancient essence crystals in the Ghorrock Dungeon
• Access to a stronger version of the Strange Creature, the Phantom Muspah

Fact checked 2026-08-04 against the OSRS Wiki quest page and quick guide.

Common Mistakes and Warnings

Weiss code rooms are where people stall after a clean Ardougne half.

• Misreading the Carnillean crime scene questions and looping the guard dialogue.
• Forgetting a lockpick or hair clip for the dusty scroll chest.
• Entering the assassin fight without antipoison after seeing the smoke-bomb pattern once.
• Lighting Weiss braziers in the wrong order and assuming the chest is bugged.
• Bringing only one combat style into the Strange Creature.
• Skipping Hazeel Cult valve setup so the raft will not move.
• Under-levelled Agility — 69 is an unboostable start requirement.

Ironman Notes

Hazeel Cult alignment changes a few talk targets; follow your own prior choice rather than a guide's default name.

Tinderbox can be grabbed in the Weiss puzzle room if you forget one.

Muspah unlock is the iron prize — quest completion is the gate, not a lengthy post-quest minigame.

FAQ

What does Secrets of the North unlock?

The Phantom Muspah boss and the next Mahjarrat progression step toward Desert Treasure II.

Is 69 Agility boostable?

No. It is required to start.

How hard is the Strange Creature?

Harder than the quest's Medium length suggests. Bring ranged and magic options.

Do I need Desert Treasure I?

The Mahjarrat chain expectations are real — check the full prerequisite list before you pack for Weiss.

Does Hazeel Cult side matter?

Dialogue targets shift; the quest remains completable either way.

Related Guides

• OSRS Quests hub
• Optimal quest order
• Desert Treasure II Quest Guide
• Desert Treasure I Guide
• OSRS Quests Guide
• OSRS Optimal Quest Order

Bottom Line

Clear the detective half carefully, then respect Weiss codes and the two-style finale.

Muspah money is the reason most accounts are here — quest services can unlock the cave if the assassin loop is eating your night.