The Strangler

The Strangler is a parasitic organism that has infected a forest in Zeah, now known as The Stranglewood.

The Strangler was accidentally created by the Old Ones in their attempts to learn soul transference to avoid extinction.^[1] According to the stone tablets left behind in what appears to be various Old One ruins, the Old Ones referred to a plant integral to the transference ritual^[2] as "death poison".^[3] They successfully grew the plant in the "death garden" beneath the Ruins of Morra and sent it back to their home in what is now The Stranglewood, but the ritual they performed with it failed, instead creating "dark death", destroying both their home and something named "Zema-Tal".^[4]

Over time, the parasite spread across the area, "strangling" it to death with its own biomass. Very little life survives in the woods to this day, namely flora which had developed resistance to the Strangler parasite such as Argian bushes and Korbal herbs.

At some point after the fall of the Zarosian Empire, the vampyre executioner Vardorvis was tasked with hunting down Yonrith Lovakengj for being an enemy of Zaros,^[5] though some suspected it was rather out of damaged pride.^[6] Yonrith's men fled westward to Zeah, which Vardorvis correctly anticipated, arriving at the Stranglewood to set up camp there. Vardorvis' venators were sent to look for the dwarves, while some of his other subordinates set up camp.^[7] One of his men took interest in the strange plants in the woods, which were actually the Strangler itself.^[8] Their curiosity with the plant resulted in Vardorvis being infected with the parasite, though he believed it to be a parasite on the plant. While he did not initially care about the infection, he did become concerned when he was informed that it was lethal.^[9] Nonetheless, he decided to press on with his task of hunting the dwarves, but they were discovered by their targets who attacked the camp prematurely. In the ensuing battle, Vardorvis himself was killed by the dwarves, and his head was chopped clean off; in spite of his being a vampyre, this was achieved without the use of a Silver weapon.^[10] Following the battle, the survivors retreated, but not before one of them spotted what he thought to be Vardorvis' body moving by itself.^[11] The author of the Tatty pages scattered throughout the Stranglewood believed it to be nonsense, unaware of the parasite's true capabilities, as he thought it only to be lethal, but not able to reanimate the dead.

The Strangler was relatively known to the people of Great Kourend, mostly the dwarves of Lovakengj who celebrated the Burning Man, which represented a great evil to the south-west now known as the Stranglewood. A few people went into the forest for reasons unknown, but were infected and reanimated, adding to the parasite's numbers. Some among these were Shayzien guards. Since those who ventured there never returned, the forest was considered to be a cursed place.

During Year 169 of the Fifth Age, an adventurer who discovered and opened the Ancient Vault in the Kharidian Desert was directed to search for Vardorvis as his medallion was needed to open the seal therein. At the ruins of Senntisten, they came upon a golem which informed them that he had gone to the far west, correctly deducing he had travelled to Zeah. In Lovakengj, the adventurer learned of Vardorvis' role in the origin story of the Burning Man, which told of a "great evil" originating in the Stranglewood.^[12] When they arrived there, they found a large horde of Strangled and Kasonde, who had also discovered the truth about the Old Ones' attempts at soul transference - the parasite itself was the direct result of their experiments with it. They managed to fight through the Strangler hordes and drank an improved serum which prevented the parasite from infecting them, though this did not stop the Strangled from trying to attack, and they were also forced to put down Kasonde after he tried to return to Great Kourend despite his infection by the Strangler.

Apart from a large horde of infected humans, the Strangler parasite has also been seen to infect a number of predatory animals, namely a boar, lynx, and bear.

A variant of the Strangler plant can be found within Stalker Den, given that the corpses found within have a similar appearance to the infected found in the Stranglewood and the antlers of Custodian stalkers resemble the tendrils of the Strangler. The strain is noticeably weaker than the one found in the Stranglewood, as live humans exposed to it do not appear to become infected.

The Strangler parasite appears to put the infected into a state of life and death, with various stages of decay exhibited in all those it infects. The parasite also gives its hosts unnatural strength and durability; some hosts, like Vardorvis, have their heads missing, yet are still able to retain most of their motor functions, such as attacking and running at great speeds. The ultor ring is a product of the Strangler, providing its host with strength that surpasses a berserker ring. The parasite is also implied to have a hive mind of some sort, as stepping on a tendril causes infected in a wide area to investigate the disturbance.

It can weaken and/or override natural immunities, as the infected Vardorvis was slain by non-silver, non-blisterwood weaponry. However, it does not appear to be potent enough to infect Mahjarrat, as evidenced by Sliske not contracting it whilst disguised as Kasonde. A "cure" of sorts exists by mixing argian berries and korbal herbs, which prevents the Strangler from infecting a potential host.

The hosts appear to lack self-preservation and seek to infect non-infected via bites, scratches, and spores rather than weapons if the host has them. While the parasite makes use of Vardorvis' axes, Vardorvis' body still attacks the player with the infection.

• The Strangler's origins could be very similar to that of Croesus in RuneScape 3; both are novel life forms resulting from experimentation gone awry, capable of infecting other living beings.

v t e Desert Treasure II - The Fallen Empire
NPCs	Golem Mysterious Figure Kasonde Catalytic Guardian Wizard Persten Assassin Ketla Mysterious Bandit Ancient Guardian Crawling hand Lost Soul Me? Shadow Keeper Strangled Archaeologists/Historians Asgarnia Smith Barus Dr Banikan Elissa Helena Prescott Terry Balando The Forgotten Four Perseriya (The Leviathan) The Whisperer Vardorvis Duke Sucellus The Scar Abyssal antibody Abyssal axon Abyssal leech Abyssal Tether Abyssal Walker Catalyst Cerebral pathfinder Cerebral pathbreaker Crimson sanguisphera Lesser demon The Leviathan? Light leech Radiant sanguisphera Scarred hellhound Scarred imp Scarred black demon Scarred greater demon Scarred lesser demon Mahjarrat Jhallan Azzanadra Hazeel Enakhra Akthanakos Sliske Wights The Forsaken Assassin Ketla the Unworthy Kasonde the Craven Persten the Deceitful (Wighted Leech) (Portal) Ahrim the Blighted Dharok the Wretched Guthan the Infested Karil the Tainted Torag the Corrupted Verac the Defiled
Items	The Stranglewood Potion note Tatty page Stink bomb Mucky note Temple key Vardorvis' medallion Horde defence Barricade Detonator Satchel Potions/ingredients Strange potion Argian berries Korbal herb Unfinished serum Strangler serum The Scar Illuminating lure Crimson fibre Radiant fibre Scarred scraps Slimy key Gunpowder Perseriya's medallion Notes/tablets Abyssal observations Damp tablet Gooey note Slimy tablet Old tablet Withered note Runic nerves Elemental Air Water Earth Fire Catalytic Mind Cosmic Astral Nature Law Blood Soul Wrath Combination Dust Smoke Steam Lava Ghorrock Prison Chisel Knife Lockpick Rations Magic lantern Strange slider Sucellus' medallion Keys Sapphire Emerald Ruby Diamond Odd Texts Code converter Evacuation note Grid note Library note Orders note Prayer note Prisoner's letter Protest note Refugees note Request note Requisition note Thank you note Warning letter Potion/ingredients Arder-musca poison Salax salt Arder mushroom Arder powder Musca mushroom Musca powder Lassar Undercity Very long rope Blackstone fragment Shadow key Icon segment Strange icon Whisperer's medallion Schematics Anima portal Revitalising idol Shadow blocker Basic shadow torch Superior shadow torch Perfected shadow torch Devices Anima portal Revitalising idol Shadow blocker Basic shadow torch Superior shadow torch Perfected shadow torch Other Uncharged cell Charged cell Hair clip Unused items Dragonstone key Onyx key Mushrooms Holos mushroom Holos powder Resper mushroom Resper powder Mushroom poisons Arder-resper Holos-arder Musca-holos Musca-resper Resper-holos
Locations	Ancient Vault The Stranglewood The Scar Ghorrock Prison Lassar Undercity
Music	The Vault Unturned Stones Strangled Blood Rush Scar Tissue Colossus of the Deep Prison Break Eye See You The Fallen Empire Song of the Silent Choir A Worthy Foe Tick Tock Master of Puppets His Faithful Servants
Related	Quick guide Transcript Elder Horn Frostenhorn Remnant Ancient lamp Ring of shadows Dr banikan