Yantos, Guardian of the Sand Diamond

°l||l° Yantos the Greater Strykewyrm (Sand Diamond) °l||l°

Requirements
Completion of:
Dealing with Scabaras
Tourist Trap

Have:
Level 77 Slayer
Level 67 Hunter
Level 45 Mining

Defeated:
Desert Strykewyrm (Level 130)

Enemies to Defeat:
Desert Strykewyrm (Level 130)
Yantos (Level 178)

Storyline
During his attack on the Kharidian Desert, Zamorak realized he needed to quickly end this campaign. He decided to raze the whole area to weaken the population in one fell swoop before directly attacking, so he implanted the Sand Diamond into a desert strykewyrm. This beast, Yantos, continued to burrow underground like strykewyrms do, but the potent magics leaking from him churned the ground and ruined the soil: the fertile lands became desert.

The Mission
If you look at through the Western mirror, you’ll see the desert just south of the Shantay Pass, but you can catch a glimpse of the Desert Strykewyrms. When you enter the area, you’ll be greeted by a cut-scene of two archaeologists excitedly talking to each other before they pay for a magic-carpet ride to the “south-east.” In order to talk the only one who heard their conversation, Irena, you have to have completed “Tourist Trap,” or she’ll be too distraught to talk. When you ask Irena about the conversation, she will say it had something to with finding underground caverns throughout the desert.

Since Irena doesn’t know much about the desert, you decide to talk to the archeologists yourself. Head to the Lead Archeologist Abigail in the southeast. When you arrive, you’ll see that an opening has been dug out south of the Agility Pyramid. Talk to the archeologists who are investigating the area, and they will say that there are signs that these tunnels were made by an animal, not by nature. When they prohibit you from entering the tunnels, you can use your Hunter skills to Investigate the area, and learn that the burrower is similar to a Desert Strykewyrm.

With this fact in mind, you decide to use the Desert Strykewyrms’ own mounds to head underground. Grab your battle gear and head off to strykewyrms east of Al Kharid. Fight one as you normally do, but when you kill it, you will grab onto it as it falls underground.

You find yourself in a maze-like web of tunnels (for those of you interested, they stretch to the Shantay Pass, Ruins of Uzer, Bedabin Camp, and Bandit Camp, and they come close to the Kalphite Hive and Pollnivneach Smoke Dungeon). However, Desert Sandwyrms are burrowing throughout these caves and they will attack you if you get to close. Wander the caverns until you enter a larger cavern, where a cut-scene begins.

You look around, expecting someone to attack you, but when you see no strykewyrms, you enter the room. However, a massive strykewyrm bursts from beneath your feet, knocking you back. You examine the beast, noticing that its shell seems to be rumbling as Sand magic seeps from the cracks. The Sand Diamond which you are after is embedded in its head and seems to be the source from its power. Of course, you have to kill it to get the diamond.

Boss Fight
Yantos – Level 178
Lifepoints: 2400
Max Hit: 240, 200, 120
Combat Style: Magic, Ranged, Melee
Yantos is similar to most Desert Strykewyrms, except he has 2 key differences: firstly, he can cast Sand Barrage, which will push you away from him and he will burrow underground every time he loses 800 Lp and retreat to another part of the burrows. When he does so, you will have to chase him to another large cavern and keep fighting him.

This fight is among the most annoying you will ever face. Because of the tunnels’ large size and the aggressive wyrms, you will need to keep your Run Energy high, the use of a Spirit Terrorbird is highly recommended. While you actually fight Yantos, his Sand Barrages will make Melee a hassle to use, otherwise this fight is straightforward.

When you finally kill Yantos, he drops to the floor. As you pull the diamond from the corpse, you notice that Yantos has interesting teeth and wonder if all Desert Strykewyrms have teeth like him. You can only return to the surface by teleporting. Grab the diamond and do so.
Congratulations, you have received the Sand Diamond!

If you kill more Desert Strykewyrms, you will find that they will always drop Desert Strykewyrm Teeth, a collection of teeth of various sizes. However, these can be used to make a new familiar, the Sandworm!

Sandworm – Level 71
1 Green Charm, Desert Strykewyrm Teeth, 220 Shards
Combat Level: 122 – Ranged Xp
Lifepoints: 1600
Combat Style: Ranged
Max Hit: 150
Time: 28 Minutes
Point Cost: 8
Hunter Boost (7) - invisible, Counts as two pieces of desert camouflage, can teleport you to Uzer Hunter Area.
Scroll Move: Dig – Teleports you to the entrance of the dungeon you are in (Costs 20 Points)

You can access the Strykewyrm Tunnels again by using a Spade on a Desert Strykewyrm as it dies. The Desert Strykewyrms still remain, but the Sandworm’s Scroll Move, Dig, has a special effect here: it will teleport you directly above where you are standing. Moreover, if you have Level 45 Mining, you can mine a hole through the wall separating the tunnels and the Kalphite Hive/Pollnivneach Smoke Dungeon. (Connecting the former will make a hole to the Kalphite Guardians on the upper level, the latter will make a hole to the northwest room on the upper floor of the Smoke Dungeon.)

Reserved

Reserved

Thumbs up!

Yay!

I was afraid that Sandworms and the Strykewyrm Tunnels could be a bit much, but hey. The tunnels are a bit useless for transportation.

Did you see what I did with the Scroll Move.

Hehe, yeah I saw.

I'm not sure how useful those tunnels will be. It makes for a fun battle, but perhaps their function is too... questionably useful.

It's really more Desert Styrkewyrm spawns. Linking the dungeons is more of a plus, but mrh.

Wow that was a rather fast mini-quest.

I think to make the player more satisfied is to add some obstacles other than the desert worms zooming about.

The Smoke Guardian isn't too difficult, Equip a Facemask, light beacons, kill the guy. This is similar to the Shadow Dungeon, but with a more annoying boss - who doesn't drain prayer.