QUEST 118 · MEMBERS

Cold War

At the Ardougne Zoo, one of the zookeepers has become a bit preoccupied by penguins. In fact, he's downright paranoid about them. He needs your help to observe their habits on the iceberg in the Lunar Sea. What begins as a peaceful bird-watching expedition opens a new world of espionage and bad musicians.

Cold War — OSRS Wiki quest image
OSRS Wiki image for Cold War. OSRS WikiGame image © Jagex Ltd
Difficulty
Intermediate
Length
Medium
Quest points
1
Released
29 January 2007
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Before you start

Where to start

Talk to Larry at Ardougne Zoo.

Enemies to defeat

1–3 Icelords (level 51)

STEP BY STEP

Walkthrough

Follow the chapters below. Click any screenshot or diagram to view it at full size.

Before you begin

  1. ^ 30 Crafting can be boosted to start the quest and to make the penguin suit, but crafting the drums requires unboosted 30 Crafting. The agility course can be unlocked before this is required.

Penguin spotting

Items needed: 10 oak planks, 10 steel nails, a hammer, and a spade.
Items recommended: Dramen or Lunar staff (as well as a teleport to access the Fairy ring network), Ardougne teleport runes or Ardougne cloak 1 or higher (to get to Ardougne and start the quest).
The finished bird hide structure.
The finished bird hide structure. Image source ↗

Speak to Larry at the south entrance of the Ardougne Zoo. He's a bit nutty about penguins. Larry hopes to build a lookout to observe the penguins. His instructions are to collect him 10 oak planks, 10 steel nails, a hammer and a spade. When you have your supplies, talk to him again and tell him that you have the materials to build the lookout (He also says to meet him north-east of Rellekka, but this is not necessary). He will now teleport you to the Iceberg. Accept the teleportation prompt (you can't have any pet following you, otherwise you won't be teleported).

If you opt out of Larry's offer or ever need to get to the meeting location without his teleport, you have to go to the north-east of the rock crabs, and can teleport very close to it with the fairy ring code DKS (just walk down the mountain and a small bit north-west to the dock). If you have completed The Giant Dwarf, you can use the Grand Exchange trapdoor to shortcut to Rellekka. You can also use the enchanted lyre to teleport to Rellekka and walk to the meeting spot. If no closer teleport is available to you, teleport to Camelot and walk north. If you leave an area during any point in the quest, Larry will not teleport you back and you'll need to make your way there yourself. Prepare for this if necessary.

Upon arrival, you'll see a firm snow patch next to the landing spot. Build the lookout here by using an oak plank on the patch. Then, use a spade on the lookout to cover it in snow. You can also use the dig option on the spade while standing near the lookout.

Spying on the penguins.
Spying on the penguins. Image source ↗

When the lookout is ready, speak to Larry. This will be followed by a rather strange cutscene. Keep note of the emotes the penguin does, as the emote greeting code is unique for every player and will need to be used, in order, for several later parts of the quest. There are eight different penguin emotes in all, similar to the normal character emotes, and the greeting will consist of three of those. If you need to see them again, click "Use Snowy bird hide" to watch the cutscene again. After the cutscene, speak to Larry and suggest to him that the behaviour of the penguins in the cutscene was suspicious.

Emote Image Animation
Shiver Shiver
Cheer Penguin cheer
Spin Penguin spin
Wave Penguin wave
Clap Penguin clap
Preen Preen
Bow Penguin Bow
Flap Penguin flap

Use the boat or the 'travel' option on Larry to return to the dock and speak to Larry again - now, here's where things get strange. Larry requests to now design a clockwork suit, which will be used to spy on the penguins. He gives a book filled with instructions.

The clockwork suit

Items needed: A plank, a piece of silk, and a clockwork or a steel bar to make one (access to a crafting table 3 or better is also required. It must either be built by the player in their own player-owned house (also requiring the prerequisites to do so, those being having a workshop and crafting table 2 to upgrade) or one must be accessed in another player's house).

Collect a regular wood plank (the games necklace teleport is handy here; just teleport to the Barbarian Outpost and head east a bit to find some planks. Or, go just south-east of the zoo to pick one up at Port Khazard), a piece of silk (steal one at the East Ardougne market place if you have level 20+ Thieving) and a clockwork (or a steel bar if you're making one).

If making one, use the clockmaker's bench (crafting table 3) at your house (or someone else's) to make a clockwork mechanism with the steel bar in your inventory. Then, use the clockmaker's bench again and select "clockwork toy" followed by "clockwork penguin" to make the clockwork suit with the plank, the piece of silk, and the clockwork mechanism in your inventory.

Back to the Iceberg

Items recommended: To avoid unnecessary banking, bring a Dramen or Lunar staff and teleport runes to access the Fairy ring network (Alternative: Varrock/GE teleport runes to take the Kelda mine cart back to Larry), a raw cod or Ring of Charos(a), and multiple teleportations to Lumbridge.

Return to Larry after finishing the suit (in the north-east of Rellekka or at the Ardougne Zoo) Then, return to the Iceberg with him to test it out.

After returning, you come to find out that the lookout has been completely destroyed and that all the penguins are missing. Speak to Larry, and to no surprise, he will blame the penguins. Now, since there are no penguins, it appears impossible to test the suit. However, being the clever adventurer, you will suggest that the suit be tested on the penguins at the zoo. Larry will kindly assist with a teleport back to the Ardougne Zoo, should you accept.

Meet the penguins

Items needed: Raw cod or Ring of Charos(a).
Items recommended: Teleportation methods to Lumbridge.
The player, disguised as a penguin.
The player, disguised as a penguin. Image source ↗

Free your hand and cape slots and talk to Larry. He will then cast a magic spell. The magic causes a player to shrink and enter the penguin suit! Now, test out the disguise. Head into the penguin enclosure and right click on the penguins until you find one with the talk option. Talk to that penguin, and you will be forced to give him a greeting before he shall speak to you; this is different for each player. Use the emote sequence that the earlier cutscene showed. If you do not know the sequence it is too late to go back and find out, but fortunately you can guess the emotes and will be told as soon as you make a mistake. This means a maximum of 24 guesses are needed, not 512! The penguin will start talking once you're successful, and will reveal that they're trying to learn how to fly in order to escape from the Ardougne Zoo. The penguin will give you a mission report to return to the outpost and ask you to speak to the penguins in Lumbridge. Note that the mission report received will be different depending on whether the player completed the quests Between a Rock... and/or Enlightened Journey. At this point, this will determine whether two Crazy penguin NPCs will appear in the game or not and the outcome will be permanent, even if the related quests are later completed.

Leave the cage and speak with Larry. You will discuss where penguins could be in Lumbridge. Now, head to Lumbridge.

In Lumbridge, head to Fred the Farmer's sheep pasture where you will find Larry; use the tuxedo time option with him (don't forget to remove everything from your hand and cape slots). Now, head off and find a "sheep" with flippers and a talk option (if you've done the quest Sheep Shearer, you may remember this "sheep" as the "Thing"). Talk to the "sheep" and perform the secret greeting (which remains the same as the previous step). The penguins in the sheep disguise will tell you to go away, demanding a secret phrase in addition to the secret greeting.

Speak to Larry, and he will help you both return to the Ardougne Zoo. When you have either the raw cod in your inventory or are wearing a Ring of Charos(a), re-tuxedo and enter the penguin enclosure once more and speak to the penguin again. If you are not wearing the ring, he will not give you the phrase, requesting a raw cod in exchange for it, the penguins' favourite food. If you are wearing the ring, he will simply provide it in the conversation, telling you that the secret phrase is do not trust the walrus.

Intelligence

Items needed: Swamp tar, five white feathers, (both can be obtained during this part, but the Swamp tar is some distance away), and the Mission Report.

Make your way to Lumbridge (Larry does not provide a teleport this time). If you don't have swamp tar yet, head south to the Lumbridge Swamp and pick some up. Then, head north to the farm again. If you need feathers, kill enough chickens to obtain five of them. If you can, grab the items (food if low combat level level or at the minimum agility requirement for the quest, Mahogany plank, Leather, and a cowbell) for the next steps as a bank will be far away. Go to Fred the Farmer's sheep pen and penguin suit up! Talk to the "sheep" again. Now, the penguins will tell you to talk to Fred the Farmer to see if he's an undercover agent for the humans.

Bullying Fred in order to obtain the information from the disguised penguins.
Bullying Fred in order to obtain the information from the disguised penguins. Image source ↗

Exit your penguin suit and speak to Fred the Farmer about penguins. Use either the bully option or warn option. Both work. When you are done talking to Fred, return and speak with the penguin again. Pick either option in the conversation with the penguin and then they will give you the location of the outpost - it is on the Iceberg you visited earlier under what appears to be an avalanche. They will also give you a password: cabbage.

It is advised you steal a cowbell now from a nearby dairy cow before proceeding to next section of the quest (one can be stolen to the north or east of the sheep pen).

It is also recommended to obtain the last remaining items for this quest now in order to save time later on (those items being a mahogany plank and leather. Optionally, Combat equipment and food if you have a low combat or agility level).

Speak to Larry, and he will teleport you to the Iceberg. Suit up to penguin again and head north-west until you see a KGP Agent penguin. Talk to him and use the emote greeting; then, tell him the password, and then he will ask you for an ID but, guess what, you don't have one!

Now, speak to Noodle. He's the black market merchant close to the KGP agent, and he'll trade you an ID and a report if you give him one swamp tar and five feathers.

Note: If you do not have space in your inventory, you will not gain the required 3rd report and will not be notified of it.

Being debriefed by the KGP Agent.
Being debriefed by the KGP Agent. Image source ↗

Exchange the materials with Noodle for the ID and another mission report. Speak to the KGP agent and he'll let you through; then, left click on the avalanche and you should see the option use avalanche and you will enter the outpost.

Note: Whenever you wish to leave the outpost, simply removing the penguin suit will have you teleported back to Larry.

Once inside, go into the first room on the left (West), and talk to the KGP agent to be debriefed there; once done, head into the corridor on the other side of the room; you will now have to complete an agility course.

The penguin army!
The penguin army! Image source ↗

Once you have exited the door at the end of the corridor, you shall see a small cutscene showing a penguin army! Suddenly, you realise their intentions are a little more devious than just flying! Follow the signs with arrows to the agility course, and when the path ends, just past some blue crates; turn past the crates to start the agility course.

Agility course

Items recommended: Food (if low combat level level or at the minimum agility requirement for the quest)

Climb down the steps and into the water. Avoid the moving ice in the water. Climb the stepping stone at the end.

Jump to the next stepping stone. Jump to the five next stones. (If you fail you will take minor damage). Then, jump to the land on the other side.

After you manage to cross, continue on the path until you come to a shelf with icicles on it. Use the tread softly option to get across. You will have to repeat this several times at each shelf. If you fail, you will be hit taking a small amount of damage.

Next, you will have to cross ice; this may prove a little annoying. You will take 2 damage each time you fail.

Crossing the agility course.
Crossing the agility course. Image source ↗

After that, you will see a small cutscene of you sliding down a hill.

Speak to the Agility Instructor, who will tell you that you have completed the agility arena and are free to return whenever you like.

Note: You may re-enter the agility course after completion of the quest if you have made another penguin suit.

Discover the penguin plan

Items needed: Mahogany plank, Leather, cowbell.
Items recommended: Combat equipment and food (if low level)

Return to Larry (take off your penguin suit to be thrown (teleported) out of the facility and right next to him, or go through the gate and walk back the way you came) and tell him about the army you saw! He will tell you he needs you to find where they are making their war plans.

If you haven't already, find a dairy cow and steal a cowbell. One is located in south-east Rellekka. Then, use your Mahogany Plank on the Leather to make Penguin Bongos. If you have access to the fairy ring network and are not equipped for the upcoming fight, you can quickly bank by taking the boat back to Rellekka, and using the fairy ring just east of the dock (D•K•S). There is also a dairy cow just on the other side of the field in Zanaris. Return to the Iceberg (This time, Larry will not teleport you from Ardougne Zoo or the Lumbridge sheep pen; you will need to take the boat east of Rellekka.)

Tuxedo up and return to the outpost (use avalanche), but instead of turning left this time, head straight until you come to a set of massive doors. Ask the KGP Agent in the booth to the left of the doors to let you in. He will ask you for your ID and say you do not have the clearance to go through the doors.

Ping and Pong, playing with their new instruments.
Ping and Pong, playing with their new instruments. Image source ↗
The Penguin Bards
The music played by Ping and Pong.

Head back down the hallway and enter the eastern room with Ping and Pong. They will ask you for a cowbell and a set of penguin bongos. Talk to them again to give them the items.

During a cutscene, the guard will become distracted by their harmonious vibes. Leave the room and use the controls where the KGP agent used to be standing to open the large doors. The war room is to the east.

Caught by Pescaling Pax

Penguin Plots
The music which plays during various cutscenes throughout the quest.

You will see a cutscene of the penguins planning to take over Gielinor! Due to an anti-magic system that was conveniently installed, you'll be compromised and the penguins will throw you into a cage full of icelords. To get out, you may have to kill up to three Icelords, though for some players it is possible to exit after killing just one or two Warning: Each icelord killed grants 40 Attack experience.

Note that should the player teleport out of the icelord cage, they will be sent back to the cage as soon as they arrive to the Iceberg.

Exit the cage through the fence door made of ice; then, exit through a chasm east of the Icelord cage.

Talk to Larry and inform him of your discovery. Larry will state that he has a lot to do with his other "contacts", telling you that he will call for you again when the time comes.

Congratulations, quest complete!

Quick checklist 78 instructions

Use this when you already know the route. The full walkthrough above includes explanations and diagrams.

Penguin spotting

  1. Talk to Larry by the penguin cage in the Ardougne Zoo. (If talking to Larry with all of the items in your inventory, Larry will automatically take you to the iceberg if you select you are ready)

    Say: Okay, why not?

  2. Talk to Larry again.

    Say: Yes, I have all the materials. → Yes

Hello world!

  1. Travel to the dock north-east of Rellekka and speak to Larry

    Say: to sail to the Iceberg.

  2. Use an oak plank on firm snow patch.

  3. Use your spade on, or dig next to, the newly built hut to cover it in snow.

  4. Talk to Larry to enter the bird hide and PAY ATTENTION to this cutscene.

    • Note: Take note of the 3 emotes the left penguin is doing (you will need this several times later, you can re-enter the snow bird hide to watch again before the next step if needed). If you moved onto next step, you cannot go back. You have to spend a lot of time guessing later.

    • See the full guide for a reference of emotes.

  5. Talk to Larry.

    Say: That's crazy!

  6. Left-click Travel back to Rellekka using the nearby boat.

    Say: Yes

  7. Talk to Larry on the dock.

  8. Read the clockwork book.

Clockwork penguin

  1. Go to your POH and use your Crafting table 3 to turn your steel bar into a clockwork mechanism.

    Say: Clockwork mechanism

  2. Click on the table again and select clockwork toy and then clockwork penguin.

    Say: Clockwork toy → Clockwork penguin

  3. Return to Ardougne and talk to Larry.

    Say: Yes, I have it. → Yes

  4. Talk to Larry once on the iceberg.

    Say: It looks like a warning message to keep us away. → Yes

Suit up!

  1. Return to Ardougne Zoo once again.

  2. Unequip both hands and cape slots and use the tuxedo-time option on Larry.

  3. Enter the penguin pen and talk to the penguin. (only one of them has the "talk-to" option)

    • Use the 3 greeting emotes from earlier. Check your quest journal if you have forgotten, the emotes are noted in there.

  4. Read the mission report and exit the pen.

  5. Talk to Larry to exit the suit.

  6. Talk to Larry about the mission report

Incognito

  1. Talk to Larry in Fred the Farmer's sheep pen in Lumbridge.

    • Use the tuxedo-time option on Larry.

  2. Talk to the penguins who are disguised as a sheep.

  3. Do the greeting emotes.

  4. Exit the penguin suit by talking to Larry.

  5. Talk to Larry again so he teleports you to the Zoo.

    Say: Yes

  6. Use the tuxedo-time option on Larry.

  7. Enter the penguin pen and talk to penguin. If using Ring of Charos(a), make sure it is equipped.

    Say: The penguins in Lumbridge refuse to talk to me. → I must have left the outpost before they gave out the phrase. → Sure! Otherwise, use raw cod on Penguin. → The penguins in Lumbridge refuse to talk to me. → Uh, I forgot what the phase was. → Sure!

  8. Exit the suit by talking to Larry.

  9. Talk to Larry again.

Intelligence

  1. Go back to Fred the Farmer's sheep pen.

  2. Use the tuxedo-time option on Larry.

  3. Talk to the sheep penguin.

  4. Talk to Larry to exit suit.

  5. Talk to Fred the Farmer.

    Say: I need to talk to you about penguins. → Bully Fred ( → I need to talk to you about penguins. → Bully Fred if you have not completed sheep shearer)

    • Run north between the first field of cows and the mill toward the dairy cow icon on the map, and steal a cowbell from a dairy cow (right click) for later.

    • Kill a chicken if you need 5 feathers.

  6. Get back into the Penguin suit and talk to the Sheep Penguin.

    Say: The Farmer is harmless.

    • If you do not have swamp tar already, run to the Lumbridge swamp to grab some.

  7. Talk to Larry again to get teleported to the iceberg.

    Say: Yes

  8. Talk to Larry once at the iceberg.

Surprise, surprise

  1. Use the tuxedo-time option on Larry

  2. Talk to KGP Agent north-west of Larry while in the penguin suit.

  3. Do the greeting emotes.

  4. Talk to Noodle.

  5. Talk to Noodle again to receive the ID card and a mission report.

    Say: Yeah, I got it.

  6. Talk to KGP Agent.

  7. Click on the avalanche.

  8. Enter the first room to the west and talk to KGP Agent.

  9. Exit room through the west door and then through the north door.

  10. Walk north once outside to the agility course.

Agility course

  1. Climb down the steps and into the water.

  2. Avoid the moving ice in the water.

  3. Climb the stepping stone at the end.

  4. Jump across the next stones until you reach an ice platform.

  5. After you manage to cross, continue on the path until you come to a shelf with icicles on it. Use the tread-softly option to get across. You have to repeat this several times at each shelf. If you fail, you will be hit taking a small amount of damage.

  6. Next, you have to climb up the ice using a 'Cross Ice' option. This can be very annoying, as you lose 2 hitpoints each time you fail, and the failure rate is surprisingly high. If you have only the minimal Agility — level 30, for example — a small amount of food may help.

  7. After that, you have a small cutscene of you sliding down a hill.

  8. Talk to Agility Instructor.

  9. Unequip the penguin suit and talk to Larry.

'Berg bards

  1. Use the tuxedo-time option on Larry and re-enter the outpost.

  2. Talk to the KGP Agent by the control panel at the end of the main hall.

  3. Talk to Ping or Pong in the east room.

  4. Leave the outpost and head back to Larry.

  5. Unequip the penguin suit.

  6. Use mahogany plank on the leather to make penguin bongos.

  7. Use the tuxedo-time option on Larry.

  8. Re-enter the outpost.

  9. Talk to Ping or Pong again.

    Say: Yes.

  10. Use the Control panel in the main hall.

  11. Enter the War Room to the east.

Conclusive evidence

  1. Kill an icicle-wielding Icelord (you will receive a bonus 40 Attack exp upon killing it.) and exit the pen using the door to the west.

  2. Use the chasm to the east of the room to return to the surface.

  3. Talk to Larry.

  4. Congratulations, quest complete!

QUEST COMPLETE

Rewards

  • 2,000 Crafting Crafting experience
  • 5,000 Agility Agility experience
  • 1,500 Construction Construction experience
  • The ability to make the penguin suit. To enter the suit again, you must talk to Larry again at the zoo, pier, or Iceberg
  • The ability to use the Penguin Agility Course
  • Players can also steal more cowbells and make more bongos. The cowbells or the bongos can only be played in a penguin suit

OSRS WIKI CONTRIBUTORS

Sources & credits

Walkthrough text and preparation lists are adapted from Old School RuneScape Wiki contributors under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Game imagery © Jagex Ltd; individual image sources are linked in their captions. This page is fan-made and not affiliated with Jagex.

Game icons © Jagex Ltd, via the OSRS Wiki. Interface icons by Lucide.