The Corsair Curse

This quest has a quick guide. It briefly summarises the steps needed to complete the quest.

The Corsair Curse is the second new free-to-play quest released with Old School RuneScape. In the quest, players help a captain resolve the mystery of his cursed crew.

Start point	Talk to Captain Tock at the crossroads north of Port Sarim. Show on map
Official difficulty	Intermediate
Official length	Short
Description	From the newly revealed town of Corsair Cove, deep in the south of Feldip Hills, the captain of the Corsairs has sailed to Port Sarim seeking help. His crew is sick, and he suspects that a curse has been laid upon them. If you can unravel the fearful and conflicting tales of ogre relics, vengeful mermaids and demonic possession, maybe you can help his ailing crew overcome The Corsair Curse.
Requirements	None
Items required	Spade (obtainable during quest) Tinderbox (obtainable during quest)
Recommended	20 Combat level Energy potions or (members only) stamina potions Weapon, armour and some food
Enemies to defeat	Ithoi the Navigator (level 35)
League notes	Asgarnia✓ — location requirement Kandarin✓ — location requirement

Be aware that the bank (run by Yusuf) will not be accessible until this quest is completed; ensure you have all items needed before starting the quest.

Speak to Captain Tock at the crossroads north of Port Sarim. He explains that his crew of corsairs has been inflicted with a curse and requests your help. After the player agrees to help him, a brief cutscene shows the location of his boat at the western Rimmington dock. Speak to him there to sail to Corsair Cove.

Visit Ithoi first in his hut, south-west of the Corsair Cove. He will claim there is a curse, and that there are many things that can cause them.

After talking to Ithoi, investigate what may have caused the curse by speaking to Arsen, Colin, and Gnocci in any order. Refer to the map for their exact locations. Note that they are each upstairs in their huts, and you need to climb the stairs to reach them. Each will tell you they caused the curse with various events that occurred to each respectively. Arsen and Colin are upstairs in the large hut found immediately west of the dock, and Gnocci is upstairs in the smaller hut slightly further to the west. Each crew member's claim will need to be investigated further.

Arsen the Thief will explain that he was asked by Captain Tock to explore some caves west of the cove. On entering, he was immediately spotted by the ogres in the cave, and in a panic, grabbed some loot and quickly fled. He believes he may have stolen a sacred relic, and says the shamans have cursed his crew for stealing it.

Speak to Captain Tock, located on the ship, and ask him for the relic. As he has no use for it, he will give you the ogre artefact.

Head west of the cove and down the hole into the Corsair Cove Dungeon. Speak to Chief Tess at the entrance, and she will tell you that he simply grabbed one of her many tooth-picks, and that her shamans have not cursed the crew.

Return to Arsen to explain what actually happened. Arsen is now assured that the curse was not his fault.

Cabin Boy Colin believes he may have offended a mermaid after he saw one using Ithoi's telescope. He thinks that perhaps the mermaid didn't like strangers shouting about her appearance and blowing kisses at her, and that she cursed the crew as a result.

Use the telescope in Ithoi's hut and discover that the mermaid Colin was referring to is an ogre named Bugs. If you have completed Big Chompy Bird Hunting, you will recognise him as Rantz's son.

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Bug:

Since the Sailing update, the ogre is barely in the frame of the camera, likely due to changes in ocean visuals.

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Return to Colin to explain what actually happened. Colin is now assured that the curse was not his fault.

• Colin uses Ithoi's telescope
• Colin sees a mermaid
• Colin speaks to a mermaid
• It must be a curse!
• It is actually Bugs

Gnocci the Cook will tell you that while fishing for food, he discovered a doll possessed by a demon and buried it next to the tree where he was fishing. He believes that this demon cursed the crew, and asks you to kill it.

If you did not bring a tinderbox, pick up the one next to Gnocci. If you did not bring a spade, one can be found planted in the sand under the big Tropical Tree south of Gnocci the Cook's hut, near the rocks.

Dig by the lump of sand to the far west of Ithoi's hut (just west of the fishing spot) where he buried the doll during the cutscene. You will discover it is a clockwork toy doll. If you have at least level 18 Crafting, you will also say that you know how to make a doll just like it.

Return to Gnocci to explain what actually happened. Gnocci is assured that the curse was not his fault.

• Gnocci was fishing for lobsters
• Gnocci discovers the doll while fishing
• It must be a curse!

At this point your quest log should end with, "I had ruled out all the corsairs' theories about how they had become cursed;" if not, repeat your conversations with each corsair as needed.

After debunking Arsen, Colin, and Gnocci's "curses," return to Captain Tock on the boat. He will explain to you that the curse began when he and Ithoi went away for a parlay and returned to find their crew sickly after eating dinner, with Ithoi soon falling ill as well. As Ithoi was with Captain Tock at the time, he rules out the food as the cause of the curse.

Speak to Gnocci to discover that he didn't cook dinner that night, as he was still traumatised from the "possessed" doll. Gnocci will tell you that Ithoi cooked dinner that night, before leaving for his parlay with Captain Tock. He will also rule out the food as the cause of the curse.

Next, speak to Arsen. He will reveal that his brother, Francois, told him that Ithoi may be dismissed from Tock's crew, as they have settled in the Cove and no longer need a navigator.

Speak to Ithoi, and tell him that you heard he cooked the meal that made the crew sick. He will believe you are accusing him of poisoning his crew, and asks why you would think so. Mention that you know the Captain is thinking of firing him and he will confess to the crime, saying that he hoped if the crew believed they were cursed, they would want Ithoi to stay on the crew.

Speak to Ithoi again and tell him you know the curse is fake. He will tell you he will not get up, thus making you unable to prove he is faking his illness. Leave the hut and use the tinderbox on the driftwood beneath Ithoi's hut, prompting him to get up and run outside to douse the flame with magic.

Return to Captain Tock, and tell him Ithoi is behind the curse. Outraged, Captain Tock will ask you to kill Ithoi.

This fight takes place in an instance. On death, all unprotected items will be moved to a grave outside the instance. Any items left on the ground will be lost.

Return to Ithoi's hut, and climb the stairs to begin the final fight.

Upon climbing up, Ithoi will attack you immediately. He is level 35 and uses elemental strike spells. He can also use the Curse spell. Lower-leveled players should bring food for this fight, as while he does splash quite often, he can still deal considerable damage. Make sure that if you are using ranged attacks, you are comfortable losing the arrows or bolts that you use during the fight, as they will disappear at the end of the fight.

It is possible to flinch Ithoi if you have low stats and gear by running to the nearby telescope; he will become trapped on one side of the hut entrance, allowing you to attack him and run back to the safespot until he is dead.

After killing Ithoi, leave his hut and return to Captain Tock, who will ask what is happening now. Explain to him that Ithoi was killed for poisoning his crew. He will thank you and say that he plans to let the crew members rest and get better. He will also mention that he will speak to Yusuf, located in the bank north of the ship, allowing access to bank on the cove.

Congratulations, quest complete!

• 2 Quest points
• Access to Yusuf's bank in the Corsair Cove.
• The ability to dock your Boat at the Corsair Cove Port

Unlocks:

• Corsair Traitor accessible in the Nightmare Zone.

• During the cutscene of Gnocci the Cook fishing for lobsters, he chants "Obby-lobby Obby-lobby oi oi oi". This is likely a reference to the "Oggy Oggy Oggy! Oi Oi Oi!" chant that is popular among crowds at rugby matches in Wales.
• In Cornwall, oggy is a Pasty (meat, potatoes, and vegetables baked in a pie without a dish, with the shortcut pastry shaped in a "D", with crimping along the side curve.
• The chant "Oggy Oggy Oggy" originated from Wales. Both Wales and Cornwall are also historically famous for pirates.
• In response to the debunked clockwork doll, Captain Tock says, "Arr, any sufficiently advanced technology be indistinguishable from demonic possession, that it be". This is a reference to Clarke's three laws, the third of which states, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".
• Captain Tock used to appear as a red dot on the minimap while aboard the ship, instead of a yellow dot. This was a bug that has been fixed.
• Prior to an update, Captain Tock's boat was located in Port Sarim, where Veos's boat currently is. This made the Corsair Cove bank one of the closest banks to Entrana with the lowest requirements. Since the update, it has been replaced by the Land's End bank.
• When the quest is completed, Captain Tock is replaced by Cabin Boy Colin, who provides the option to travel between Corsair Cove and Rimmington.
• The cook's name, Gnocci, is likely a reference to the food Gnocchi. The "gn" is simply pronounced as an "n," like in the word "gnome."
• The thief named Arsen is a reference to the fictional character Arsène Lupin.
• If you talk to Madame Caldarium and respond to her statement "I guess so", your character will make a reference to Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, where Anakin says, "I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere".
• The quest was released on the 7th of December 2017 as part of a teaser update for Dragon Slayer II.
• Since the Sailing update, a mermaid can be found swimming right in front of the telescope. This causes the player's observation that it must have been Bugs more dubious.