1. Talk to Death in the Um town square, just East of the lodestone. He will tell you its time to learn from another prior apprentice of Rasial's, Orcus, the demon duke. Accept the quest and, after some chatter, Death will suggest speaking to Dr. Nabanik about Orcus at the Kharid-et Dig Site.
   
   
   
   
2. Travel to the Kharid-et Dig Site and speak with Dr. Nabanik about the quest. He will suggest bringing a Necromantic focus to the Head of Research (Engelbert, apparently) at the Archaeology Guild.
   
   Note: The fastest ways to Kharid-et are the Master archaeology outfit, an Archaeology teleport, or teleporting to the Archaeology Guild using the Archaeology journal and then using the map table.
   
   
   
   
3. Head to the Archaeology Guild's exam center and talk to the Head of Research about the quest. You will request a special research team regarding the Necromantic focus artefact. Give him the artefact to him when prompted. He will tell you that there is a series of books related to Orcus. Ask about each book in any order (Blood, Ice, Shadow, and Smoke).
   
   
   
   
4. After asking about each book, it's time to hunt them down (the order doesn't matter).
   
   

   Blood and Smoke

   
   
   1. For both the Smoke and Blood books, you will need to speak to Aubury in the Varrock magic shop and ask about them. He will inform you that he doesn't have them, but Wizard Borann of the Wizards' Tower has them.
      
      
      
      Note: the fastest way to reach Wizard Borann is by teleporting to the Varrock lodestone and running NorthEast. Since you are already in Varrock, it's recommended to visit Reldo in the Varrock palace library for the Ice book while you're in the area.
      
      
   2. Head to the Wizards' Tower and speak with Borann, who is on the ground floor on the West side. He will hand you The Book of Smoke (damaged) rather fast but is hesitant with The Book of Blood (damaged). As it turns out, he doesn't have that one. He will tell you it was loaned to a wizard in the Wizards' Guild (but he cannot remember who) and will give you his Tower mindspike (air) as a bribe to not tell Aubury.
      
      Note: the fastest way to reach the Wizards' Tower is by using the Wicked hood's Runecrafting Guild teleport option and descend the beam to the bottom floor.
      
      
      
      
   3. Head to Yanille and try and track down who has the book. Speak with Wizard Frumscone in the basement of the Wizards' Guild and he will give you The Book of Blood (damaged).
      
      Note: The fastest way to reach the Wizards' Guild is by using the Yanille lodestone and running East or using the Watchtower teleport if you've completed the Ardougne Hard Tasks and toggled the destination to the Yanille town center.
      
      
      
      

   Ice

   
   
   1. Make your way to the Varrock palace library and speak to Reldo about Tomes of the Warlock. After some dialog, he will give you The Book of Ice (damaged).
      
      
      
      

   Shadow

   
   
   1. Head to the Menaphos Grand Library and speak to Kohnen the librarian, he will tell you that book has no place inside the library: "If ever such a book were found here, well, you can stick it where the sun doesn't shine."
      
      Note: the fastest way to reach the Menaphos Grand Library is by teleporting to the Menaphos lodestone or using an Imperial district teleport.
      
      
      
      
   2. Go to the bottom floor of the library and inspect the sundial. You will receive The Book of Shadow (damaged).
      
      
      
      
5. Once you have retrieved all the books, take them to any archaeology bench and restore each of them. Return to the Head of Research and talk about the quest again, choosing to hand in all the restored tomes when prompted. He will tell you about these strange symbols in the books, you will recognize them as glyphs but cannot read them. Thankfully, you know someone who can.
   
   Note: This step will also unlock the special research "Nom-Nom-Nom-Nom," which you will need to do to access post-quest rewards, so it's recommended to send it out right away.
   
   
   
   
6. Head back to Death in the City of Um and speak with him. He will read the transcripts you have and will tell us Orcus was the fist so-called apprentice of Rasial, but Death can't read the Necromancy glyphs, so he recommends talking to Ted at the Well of Souls.
   
   
   
   
7. Make your way over to the Well of Souls, talk to Ted, and he will determine that they are incantations.
   
   
   
   

Congratulations! Quest Complete!

Post-Quest Rewards

After completing the quest and the special research "Nom-Nom-Nom-Nom," grab a Spade and make your way to the Necromancer's tower (South of Ardougne). SouthEast of the tower is a dead tree. Stand directly North of the tree (as shown in the image) and Rasial will appear. Talk to him and complete the dialog to receive 15,000 Necromancy experience and complete the "Resting Lich Place" achievement, which is a requirement for the Master Quest Cape.