Samuel Scourduel
- This article is about the explorer. For his writings, see The Excellent Log of the Journeys and Tribulations of Samuel Scourduel, Part II.
Samuel Scourduel was once a famed explorer and businessman. The exact date of his death is unknown, although it is known it was in the late Fourth or early Fifth Age.
Much of Samuel Scourdel's life is a mystery. A tome detailing his travels suggests that he was once a wealthy businessman and landowner from the capital of Misthalin, Varrock. Here, despite his wealth and power, he found that his life was unfulfilling.
Exploration
Having dreamed of exploring since a young age, Samuel Scourdel left Varrock. At the time, many of the races were still in conflict over land and power, and although these battles were nowhere near as violent as the God Wars, it was a difficult time. Because survival was so important, exploration was not common amongst humans, although by the later parts of the age humans were generally settled and organised. Perhaps it is because of this that Samuel Scourduel is as famous as he is today.
Part 1
In the year 1957, he eventually came to Port Lina, a trading community located in roughly the same area as modern-day Port Sarim<ref name="lore1">Jagex. "The Excellent Log of the Journeys and Tribulations of Samuel Scourduel, Part I." RuneScape Lores and Histories. *</ref>. Here he was accepted aboard The Glass, a well-known vessel, by Captain Stephens. Unfortunately, not far out to sea, the ship was beset by corsairs, and nearly all of the crew was killed. Samuel narrowly escaped on a barrel, where he floated for an unknown length of time.
Eventually, he arrived on land, where he was met by a number of gnomes from the Tree Gnome Village<ref name="lore1"></ref>. Using his height to his advantage, he removed an infected branch from the gnome's tree, saving it from death. The gnomes then befriended him, but he was eventually driven out by a group of anti-human gnomes; one of which may have been Glouphrie. He soon returned to Varrock.
Part 2
Samuel Scourduel's adventurous spirit is once again rekindled and he joins a voyage as the ship's doctor to the exotic land of Karamja<ref name="lore2">Jagex. "The Excellent Log of the Journeys and Tribulations of Samuel Scourduel, Part II." RuneScape Lores and Histories. *</ref>. During the voyage, the crew mutinies and Samuel wakes up finding himself on the mountainside of a volcano. Driven to cover by the hot temperatures and lava, our protagonist hides in a cave he finds under the volcano. Hungry and weak, Samuel goes deeper into the cave in search of food.
However, the hot temperatures and his weak physical state makes him lose consciousness just as he discovers giant statues. When he awakens, he discovers the giant statues are actually a noble species called the TzHaar. However, Samuel comes to realise he is treated merely as the pet of TzHaar-Hur-Ix and yearns for the freedom of the surface. Furthermore, he realises death awaits him as he physically weakens everyday due to his diet which consists only of mangy rats. With his strength running out, he reflects on his position and the culture of the TzHaar and concedes that he cannot enlist the help of any of the giant inhabitants to lift him to the surface. He also deduces he cannot escape via rope as the TzHaar have no such item. He eventually gathers enough obsidian tools and weapons to construct a ladder which he uses to escape from the volcanic civilisation<ref name="lore2"></ref>.
Trivia
- Samuel Scourduel is an adaptation of Lemuel Gulliver, the protagonist of Jonathan Swift's novel, Gulliver's Travels. It can be seen that the gnomes in Part I are an adaptation of the Lilliputians, the tiny, traitorous and violent inhabitants Gulliver discovered on the land of Lilliput. Similarly in Part II, the TzHaar can be likened to the Brobdingnags both in noble, yet apathetic nature and giant size.