Table of Contents
The Fall of Gielinor: Gods of War (Book 1)
~ Acknowledgements
~ Fun Facts
~ Chapter One to Ten
~ Chapter Eleven
~ Chapter Twelve
~ Chapter Thirteen
~ Chapter Fourteen
~ Chapter Fifteen
~ Chapter Sixteen
~ Chapter Seventeen
~ Chapter Eighteen
~ Chapter Nineteen
~ Chapter Twenty
~ Chapter Twenty One
~ Chapter Twenty Two
~ Chapter Twenty Three
~ Chapter Twenty Four
~ Chapter Twenty Five
~ Chapter Twenty Six
~ Chapter Twenty Seven
~ Chapter Twenty Eight
~ Chapter Twenty Nine
~ Chapter Thirty
Acknowledgements
Here are the few people I'd like to thank.
I thank Finway, for it was his Curse of Zamorak that had inspired me to actually write a story! Also, his reviews helped greatly!
I thank Sryen, for it was his reviews, although not on my story, that had given me great knowledge and improvement!
And lastly, I'd like to thank Fake, for it was his constant support and motivation that had me write more!
-Fun Facts-
Book: Book One.
Chapters: 30.
Longest Chapter: Chapter 28.
Total Words: 38,925 words.
~Fall of Gielinor: Gods of War~
It seems, while I was shifting my chapters to the first post, that Chapters 1 to 10 somehow got erased. Not to worry, as I have written a summary for any newcomers. I am greatly sorry for this inconvenience to any newcomer as they would find it rather absurd. Please, I'm really sorry!
From Chapter One all the way till Chapter Ten, Ken first of all encounters weird, tentacled demons who seek nothing but to destroy humanity. Failing his attempt at saving a damsel in distress, Ken flees to his home to take revenge on the demons. However, he finds that his grandparents had been killed by the demons. When he returns back to Varrock Square, he realises that the demons are gone and that the entire city has been totalled. No one was spared. Suddenly, King Roald arrives and, confusing Ken to be some Vampire, he captures him and locks him up in the Castle. Ken was humiliated in front of all the nobles back at the castle but was later rescued by some anonymous female figure, a bit older than him. She leads him inside a forest where she encounters an elf. The elf knew the woman, whose name turned out to be Melina, and they begin their battle. Melina loses quickly by being frozen by the elf's, Sin's, ice spell. Ken moves into the scene and, although at first scared at fighting, he quickly defeats the elf by unleashing wave after wave of fire upon him. Not realising his own power, Ken faints from having done too much.
He later finds himself injured and inside some cabin. He tries getting up but was too weak to do that even. Melina enters the room and brings him back to his bed. He also sees another woman beside Melina whom he finds pleasant to look at. Her name was Rose and she was trained in the art of stealth and killing silently, not fighting. Then, a young man with white-blonde hair enters the room and explains himself to be Wallance Scythe, or Wally for short. Wally used to be a Guthixian and lived peacefully among the Druids in Taverley. When the Chaos Druids attacked his home town, the Druids' leader, Kaqemeex, cowardly ran away from home with the rest of the children, including Wally, leaving their parents to die at the hands of the Chaos Druids. Wally realised the cowardliness of the Druid Leader and ran away, considering it a disgrace to be under his shelter. He ended up on a Highway which led to Falador to the north, Rimmington to the southeast and Port Sarim to the southwest. There, he met Melina who was not only an excellent archer but was also an amazing tracker. She led him back to her place in the very cabin Ken had found himself awake in and they live on.
Sin, an elf, used to live in a hostel at the Rangers' Guild in Hemenster. He used to be best friends with Melina. They both used to be great at archery. Some time later, a couple of Zamorakians bribed Sin and ordered him to find the three God Staffs for them. Sin, being the oldest student of Kolodian, kills his former master in the Mage Duel Arena and retrieves the three Staffs. But, Kolodian, before dying, hides the three Staffs and Sin wasn't able to find any. He was also gifted with the ability of sensing immense power close by and began using that power for finding the Staffs. He seems a bit shifty. Later on, his Magic skills improve to such an extent, that he was able to customize his spells into his liking and his archery skills dropped.
Suddenly, a Vampire named Roy kidnapped Wally. Ken and Sin quietly, not letting Rose and Melina know, go to the rescue. Upon seeing Ken, Roy proclaims Ken to be his brother, which was unbelievable as Ken was not a Vampire. Roy explains that Morytania, under the rule of Lord Drakan, banished all weak Vampires and only strong ones were allowed to live. Now, in a state of difficulty, they needed every recruit they could get their hands on and decided to bring the banished inhabitants. Roy set out on this purpose. Ken found it hard to believe and Sin and him kill the Vampire. Before dying, Roy warned the two that two other Vampires were arriving at Varrock and when they find him dead, they would be seeking revenge. Also, Wally led the two, Ken and Sin, into the battered and destroyed Grand Exchange and showed them the Saradomin Staff which Roy had with him upon his arrival.
And the story continues... read on!
Chapter Eleven
A Saradomin Staff!? How did Wally come into possession of a powerful staff like that!? I saw Sin's hand twitch as if he wanted to snatch the Saradomin Staff and run like he was originally destined to do. But he controlled himself, maybe because he thought that he would have too much trouble fighting two people when he was already so exhausted.
"So, is this it?" Sin asked, looked down at the ground.
"What do you mean?" Wally asked, astonished to hear that from Sin who always wanted all three of the God Staffs. "Are you even aware what this staff can possibly do?"
"I'm fully aware of its capabilities, it just... doesn't interest me now," Sin spoke.
"Forget him," I said. "Tell me, how did you find it?"
"I didn't find it," Wally stated. "I saw Roy carrying it and then hiding it here when he first arrived."
"How did a Vampire get possession of a Saradomin Staff?" Sin cried out. He was looking interested a bit. "Not that I care."
"Let me show you one of its powers," Wally closed his eyes and murmured something. It sounded like gibberish but it seemed to have some effect on the Saradomin Staff. The golden shuriken at its tip began to glow brighter and suddenly a beam of light touched my chest and then Sin's. It touched Wally's too since he was the one holding the staff. Soon, my body felt easier to move and the wounds which I had were completely healed. Sin's and Wally's wounds were healed as well. "I hope you guys now know how important this staff is for us. I just hope Sin can keep himself at bay or else things will be very ugly for you." He was talking to Sin.
"Heh, don't worry about me," Sin said. "Even if I did want the staff I could just take it from you and teleport."
He walked away from us and left for the cabin.
* * *
We crept quietly back at the cabin, making sure that we didn't wake the girls. Wally handed me the Saradomin Staff and quietly tried to open the front door. The door opened smoothly but as he opened it further it made a loud creak. Fortunately, none of the girls heard it and we made it to Wally's room without making any noise. But as we entered the room a worried Rose and an angry Melina awaited us.
"Where have you three been?" Melina asked strictly. "Don't ever leave this cabin without telling me."
"And where did you get that?" Rose gleamed at the shining Saradomin Staff in my hand. "Uh, what is it?"
"A Saradomin Staff!?" Melina yelled as she snatched the staff from my hands and stared at it greedily. "How'd you guys find it?"
"Its a long story," Wally stated and took the staff back from Melina.
"Its a long night," Melina said.
"Oh well," Wally then began telling her the entire story.
"Who would've thought a vampire could possess such a thing?" Melina wondered.
"I never knew Ken was a vampire?" Rose didn't look worried but in fact was surprised. "How cool is that!"
"Its not cool and I'm not a vampire," I spoke a bit loudly at her. "I don't know what that cabbage hole was thinking. Calling my parents and grandparents vampires!"
"How about we settle your family dispute later, eh?" Sin says. "We have bigger things to worry about."
"Like what?" Melina asked.
"In one month's time, two vampires stronger than Roy will arrive at Varrock to hunt us down," Sin explained. "They'll most probably be here for the staff too."
"What do we do now?" Rose asked, biting her lower lip.
"Get ready, obviously," Sin said, irritated by Rose's stupid question. "Well, I'm not going to waste any more time, every second counts. I want you to come with me Wally."
"What? Where?" Wally asked.
"To train. Your power was indisputable and I want to take it out of you," Sin remarked.
"Well thanks but no thanks," Wally said. "I think I'll stay here and train at my own pace, after all I am powerful."
"Heh, don't get too cocky, kid," Sin grunted. "You have no idea what you'll be up against."
"Oh? And I suppose you know more about these two vampires?" Wally got up.
"Oh yeah," Sin told. "Their names are Naw and Prince Ranis. You wouldn't want to get into a fight with these two. Well, at least when you're not prepared."
"Humph. I guess I'll tag along. But its just to show you that I don't need any special training!" Wally was getting too cocky.
"We'll just see about that," Sin said.
"Hey, what about me?" I asked. I also wanted to get some training.
"What about you?" Wally asked.
"I want to do the special training too."
"Believe me, you do not want to come train with me. I'm not the type to take this easily," Sin spoke. "But I do know someone who might train you without having to whip you." Sin reached out his pockets and produced some Water runes and Law runes. "Here take these runes and use them to teleport to East Ardougne. Once there head to its outskirts and from there go Northwest. A large wooden gate is the entrance to the Tree Gnome Stronghold. Oh, and take some money too. They allow all other races to enter their stronghold except for humans. Humans must pay a large toll."
And it was a large toll, Sin handed me around 2,300 gold coins.
"How much is the toll?" I asked.
"2000," Sin answered.
"Then why the extra 300?" I asked.
"It should cover your stay there at the Gnome Bar," Sin hurriedly spoke and left with Wally following him.
"Bye everyone, see you next month," Wally waved goodbye and I guessed it was my time to leave too.
"Well, Melina and Rose, I guess I'll be leaving," I said. "How will you two train?"
"Don't worry about us," Melina said. "We train all the time whether you boys know it or not." She got up from Wally's bed and gave me the Saradomin Staff. "Keep it safe."
"Why are you giving me this?" I asked, bewildered.
"The Saradomin Staff has the ability to allow the wielder to see things far away," Melina explained. "Use this to keep an eye on Sin and Wally, and us too just to make sure we are safe."
"Why can't you just take it?" I asked.
"Because I don't have any teleport runes to go where Sin and Wally are and even to East Ardougne," Melina clarified. "You not only have the East Ardougne teleport runes but you can also come here to Varrock."
"I don't have any Fire runes."
Melina put some Fire runes in my hand. "You do now. Now go and good luck."
"Thanks, you two take care," I said. I took out the Water runes and Law rune and whispered the East Ardougne teleport spell code and off I went!
The journey through the Abyssal Realm and to East Ardougne was fairly quick and I barely felt myself move. But as my vision cleared I saw the Sun shine brightly. It was night back at Varrock, but it was day here in East Ardougne. All the merchants were bellowing out their fairly cheap prices to sell their wares as the guards made sure that the pesky thieves didn't come around. East Ardougne seemed unaffected by the Demon wave that had struck Varrock. Everyone was happy and the children were playing in the square.
I was hungry and decided to go to the cake stall. I bought myself a loaf of bread for 10 coins and went over to the Inn. I sat at the dining table to rest and eat in peace. The bar was as lively as the outside. Drunkards laughing out loud and barmaids gossiping. The bartender was the only one who wasn't speaking and was busy cleaning the beer mugs. I was not into drinking alcohol and so sat there quietly hoping to be ignored and not catch anyone's attention. I slowly nibbled on my loaf of bread and wondered what the Tree Gnome Stronghold would look like. I also thought about why the Humans must pay a toll of 2000 coins just to enter.
As I was left into thinking I didn't realise a mature woman with a half full beer mug came and sat beside me.
"Hey there, handsome," She moved closer to me and I was beginning to sense the feeling of uneasiness.
"Uh, hi," I replied.
"What are you doing here all by yourself?" She rested her heavy arm on my shoulders.
"Nothing, I'm new to this city and am heading to the Tree Gnome Stronghold," I told her my reason.
"Oh, sounds excitin'," Her legs were now touching mine and I could smell her alcoholic smell. "Why don't I make you feel much better, huh?"
"No its OK, I.."
"Hey!" I was cut short by an obese drunkard whose big, brown moustache was wet with beer. "What the hell do you think you're doing with my girl?"
"Oh, sorry sir, I didn't do anything, she just came to me and..." I was punched across the face by that fat man and fell off my chair.
He took my loaf of bread and ate it whole in one bite and then spat out the chewed bits on my face. Everyone in the Inn began laughing at me and kept on provoking the large person to continue the fight with me. I had no intentions of fighting anyone and so apologised to him. He obviously didn't listen to me and tackled my chest hard with his fatty shoulder. My spine hit the walls on the other end of the Inn real hard. I got up now, fists clenched. It was too much humiliation and I couldn't handle it. I yelled and ran towards the drunkard and head butted his belly so hard that he nearly vomited. Next I pulled his moustache and kicked his groin. Lastly, I tripped him and stomped on his face causing some of his teeth to break and his mouth to bleed. Everyone was silent and shocked. I was relieved and relaxed. As I left the Inn, one of the drunkards cursed me and soon enough I was chased by an angry drunk mob. The Ardougne guards were confused and went after the mob to control it. I ran as fast as I could, grabbing my Saradomin Staff which I had left with the banker and quickly getting out of East Ardougne. I crossed some sickly looking sheep and came across a bridge. It was the only bridge across the river and I decided to cross it. I thought that the mob wouldn't chase me this far out but it actually did, so I was forced to do something really illegal. I took out my remaining Air and Mind Runes and cast an Air Strike to demolish the bridge, preventing anyone to cross the river.
Unfortunately, one of the Ardougne guards spotted me and called the others. Soon, the Ardougne guards - who were once on my side trying to control the mob - were after me and sided with the drunk mob. Archers from the high walls of East Ardougne shot arrows at me, fortunately none of them struck. I ran opposite the direction of East Ardougne and one of the archers managed to get his steel arrow to pierce the back of my left thigh. Luckily, it didn't completely cut through it. I took out the arrow and realised that I could no longer run away from the arrows. Thinking fast, I fell sideways and pretended to die. The arrows stopped and after a while I could see that the archers had dispersed. I had no time for relaxing, there was still the probability that the guards were coming for me. So I quickly got up and walked away.
I never considered travelling to be this hard...
Chapter Twelve
The Sun was about to set and it was beginning to get dark. I was feeling very hungry and almost fell over. If only that fat drunkard hadn't eaten my loaf of bread. If only I had walked out of the Inn as soon as that alcoholic woman sat beside me. But it already happened and I couldn't change the past. I still had my money, but there was no stall or travelling merchant in site from whom I could buy something to eat and maybe even a place to stay for the night. I didn't even feel the Saradomin Staff in my hand as I had it held for hours. I wondered what the others were up to? I lay down on the moist grass of the Kandarin plains and looked at the Saradomin Staff. I held it in front of me with both hands and closed my eyes. I started thinking about Melina and Rose. The Saradomin Staff started glowing and soon I was able to see Melina and Rose eating their breakfasts. I smiled. They were OK. Next I decided to check on Sin and Wally, to see whether Sin wasn't doing anything bad to him. Just as I was about to think of them, my train of thoughts was interrupted by drumbeats. I got up and quickly dug a hole to hide the Saradomin Staff in it. I tore a small piece of my sleeve and put a rock on it to indicate that the Saradomin Staff was buried there - just in case I forgot. I climbed up a nearby evergreen tree to get a clearer view of my guests. I made sure that no one could see me by covering myself entirely with leaves. It was a parade? I thought. The people wore purple hoods, purple robes, purple gowns, purple gloves, purple boots, purple capes, and some purple logo around their neck. Was it the latest fashion or something? The 'parade' consisted of both men and women and there were some with weaponry. I feared that they could be Zamorakians. There were some carrying torches to light the way, some reading scriptures, and others enchanting something in one rhythm. There were two people beating the drums and one of the 'purple people' led the way. He had a book different from others. His book was white with gold around the edges. I remembered a familiar book with grandpa once. He called it the Holy Book of Saradomin. Maybe the leader had the Holy Book, and maybe these people weren't evil. I hoped.
As they came within hearing range I heard all of them recite, "Go in peace in the name of Saradomin, may his glory shine upon you like the sun." Thank goodness it was only Saradominites. I hoped that they would accept the presence of a Guthixian - after all we are peaceful too. I jumped down the tree and went over to greet them. As I yelled to get their attention, the drums stopped, the people stopped reciting, and the leader glared at me with vicious suspicion.
"I come here in peace," I yelled. "Can I please join you guys? I need a place to sleep."
The leader gestured to one of his men and whispered something in his ear. Then he beckoned me. I walked carefully towards them.
"Who are you?" The leader asked me, his voice pierced the air.
"I am Ken Karomaz, sir, and I need a..." I was cut short by the purple people who started whispering and talking among themselves as if I said something wrong.
"Silence!" The leader yelled at them. "Who did you say you were?"
"Ken Karomaz," I reply. "Why? Is there a problem?"
He didn't answer, instead he gestured to one of his men behind me and the next I remember was an empty bag of potatoes being covered all over me.
"Hey!" I yelled, trying to break free. "What the hell? Are you guys deranged or something!?"
My insults didn't work and the next thing I knew was that I was tied inside the bag of potatoes. I felt the bag being carried and then thrown on some wooden platform which hurt my back. I assumed the wooden platform was on wheels because I felt it move. The night was long and I quickly fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
A mystical being approached me from a distance. He wore a red robe and a red gown. His hands were pale and sickly looking with long nails. He walked with a forward thrust and had a beak nose. His face resembled that of an old man - grandpa.
"Come to hell with me!" He sneered. "Come to hell!" He grinned and then laughed out loud. His voice faded away in the darkness and I was left alone to cry.
"Grandpa!" I screamed.
I woke up from my sleep. Sweating. That was one horrible nightmare. I missed my grandparents. Then, I was reminded of the purple people. I looked around. I was no longer in some bag of potatoes. Instead, I was in a cave-like prison. I saw through the iron bars, no one was outside and it was pitch dark. The only lighting came from the prison and it was a dimly lit lantern. Below it was somebody else. A red-haired boy who looked around 10 years old. He snored while sleeping and it was really annoying because the snores just got louder each time. There was a steel plate with minced meat and a half-eaten tortilla. A few ants crawled on the food. I thought of waking up the redhead but decided it be best if I get some rest.
* * *
"Hey," I heard some young boy's voice. "Wake up." He slapped my face lightly and I found that very annoying especially when I was sleeping.
"What?" I said abruptly. "Is it morning already?"
"I don't know," The redhead said. "Its almost always dark in this prison, so its hard to tell whether its day or night outside."
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Oh yeah, forgot to introduce myself," He made a silly face. "I'm Honnen."
"Honnen who?" I asked.
"I don't really know my surname," He looked confused but not sad. "So, why'd they lock you up?"
"I have absolutely no idea!" I exclaimed. "I just told them my full name - Ken Karomaz - and they started acting as if its a big deal and locked me up!"
"Wow, that is a very stupid reason," Honnen said.
"I know!" I was so infuriated at the purple people.
"Well, I got locked up because I'm a Zamorakian," Honnen looked down and was expecting an abrupt reply.
"Say what?" I was astonished to have a Zamorakian in my presence. "Seriously?"
"Yeah," He felt proud of his religion. "But don't take it the wrong way. I mean no harm. I didn't even mean any harm to the H.A.M. Cult."
"H.A.M. Cult?" I asked.
"These guys in purple," He replied. Oh, so that's what they're called. What a silly name.
"Is it an acronym for something?"
"Yeah, Humans Against Monsters," Honnen replied, looking out through the iron bars miserably.
"Then why'd they lock us humans in here?" I hoped that to be a reasonable question.
"Because they recently made a new goal to eliminate all Zamorakians from Gielinor as well," Honnen said. "They consider us to be inhumane. What are you?"
"I'm a Guthixian," I replied, also looking out through the iron bars like he was.
"Where you from?" He asked.
"Varrock."
"Oh, cool!" His expression turned from miserable to excited. "I haven't been there but I've heard its awesome!"
"It is," I looked down, my expression darkening. "But not any more. I wonder if it still exists on the maps."
"What do you mean?" Honnen looked really confused.
"Not too long ago, Varrock was assaulted by demons," I looked away. "Those vile beasts had left not a single soul alive. Everyone's dead there except for the military and the rulers. The demons killed everyone swiftly, including my grandparents who were my only relation." My eyes started watering but I made sure I didn't appear as a crybaby in front of a little kid.
"I'd say you're fortunate to have your family killed swiftly," Honnen's tears began to shed. "My family had been tormented by the Saradominites of Edgeville for a very long time. When I was five years old, we shifted to Lumbridge, where my parents believed would be safer because there were barely any religious intolerance there. But we were wrong. At the age of 6, my dad met a colleague whom he acquainted and worked with as a merchant. He shared many things with his new friend including the fact that he was a Zamorakian. The next day a large group of men wearing full purple raided our shack and aggressively tied my mother and older sister onto a log and carried them away. My dad and I were locked in a cage.
"We were brought into their hideout where they locked my sister and I in this very prison. My sister and I watched our parents being whipped by a heavy chain whip. After they were severely wounded my mother's face was forcefully kept underwater and within a matter of minutes she drowned and died. My dad was tied to a wooden pole and was set on fire. The fire slowly reached from his feet to his face. My sister and I cried and pleaded to the H.A.M. but they are inhumane monsters who wouldn't listen. My sister's eyes became sore of crying and her eyes bled. My throat ached by shouting and crying so much. My dad cried out that he loved my sister and me before the fire burnt him completely.
"We were waiting for our turn to be tortured, but the H.A.M. members stated that they do not harm children and that we will die once we reach our maturity. They provided us with dirty food with insects crawling on them and murky water. I don't know how I'm still alive, but its all thanks to my sister. She ate very little and gave me the food to eat first. After I finished there was very little for her to eat but she kept on going with the remains. A year later, my sister looked like a famine victim and she died peacefully in her sleep. Until that day I've lived in this prison alone for almost a year."
I didn't know what to say to the kid. His background was much worse than mine. And he was only a kid! To have survived and witnessed all that. It must've been hard for him. "Hey, do you want to get out of this prison?" I asked him, laying my hand on his shoulder.
"Of course!" Honnen replied enthusiastically. "But how do we do that? There's nothing in here to try with."
"The soil of this prison is soft, we can dig through," I told him. "Get me that steel plate over there." Honnen obeyed me and gave me the steel plate. I cleared the plate of its food and started digging. "How often is meal time?"
"Once in a day," Honnen stated. "But since I don't know whether its day or night I can't tell when they'll come."
"OK, I want you to take the lantern and place it near the iron bars so you can get a clear view of when someone's coming," I told him.
"Yes, sir!" Honnen joked but listened. And so our campaign of escaping began. For several hours I dug continuously and the hole had become as big as me. I took out my shirt and covered the hole whenever a H.A.M. member came to give us food. In a matter of days the hole had become a full fledged tunnel. We just needed two more days to uncover the ground above us on the other side of the tunnel. It was hard digging the tunnel now, because if I stayed too long inside the tunnel the H.A.M. members could find out, so I had to come up after every few minutes just to be safe. Progress was slow but it did make a difference and Honnen had stayed very cooperative and obedient throughout.
The tunnel was almost finished and it would be complete the next day, so Honnen and I slept the night or day away. The next day we had no time to lose and I told Honnen to come inside the tunnel with me because it was nearly done. After digging for many minutes we saw the first speck of light and I knew that with a few more digging it'll come through. It was then that we heard one of the H.A.M. members came in with our food and unlocked the gate. Now we knew we had to finish fast. But it was too late, the guard had already entered our small tunnel and shoved Honnen aside then pushed me against the hard and rugged cave walls. Honnen bravely smashed the lantern on the H.A.M. guard's back who was least affected by it. The guard punched Honnen to the ground who now started weeping and bleeding. The guard wielded his iron sword and lunged at me. Fortunately, it missed and I quickly grabbed hold of his hands. I pressed it so tightly that he had to let go of the sword, then I head butted his face and pinned him to the ground. I took the guard's iron sword and pierced the person's chest with it, killing him. I realized I had gotten carried away, and killing was something I never enjoyed.
Honnen understood my facial expression and said, "Its OK, you did it in self defence. He's the bad guy."
"Come on, we haven't much time," I struck the ground above us with my shoulder several times. Finally putting in some cracks, I then punched it a few times to make a hole big enough for Honnen to go through. I gave him a boost and he successfully climbed out of the hole. I tried making the hole bigger for me but was unsuccessful. Fortunately for me, Honnen smartly brought a shovel and dug me out. After so many days I had finally seen the light of day and lay on the ground exhausted.
"Thank you so much!" Honnen hugged me excitedly.
"No problem," I said, panting. "Come on, we need to get some real rest and food."
I still had the money which Sin gave me, and for the first time I actually appreciated him. Thank you Sin.
Chapter Thirteen
I surveyed my surroundings and it appeared that the so called "H.A.M's" hideout was just a few metres behind us.
"Lumbridge is just west of here," Honnen told me, gesturing to follow him. He was a smart kid and new his surroundings very well. When we encountered some wild Goblins he told me amazing hiding places which I doubt even the best explorer would have a hard time finding. Honnen was right, Lumbridge wasn't far and by sunset we had reached its outskirts.
"So, any Inn in mind?" I asked, rubbing my hands with delight that we were finally in civilisation.
"There are no Inns in Lumbridge," Honnen said. "But I know someone who can give us a place to stay for the night."
I followed Honnen across the town of Lumbridge. I had never seen a town like it before. Unlike Varrock, which was an industrial and metropolitan city, Lumbridge was completely different. It had lots of farms, cow fields, a warriors', archers', and wizards' schools, and lots of friendly people. The centre of attention, however, was the Lumbridge Castle. It wasn't big enough like the Varrock Castle, but it had a splendid courtyard with fountains and people chatting about the day's work. Honnen led me into a small house near the Saradomin Monastery, and a shop called "Bob's Axes". It was a fine house, with fine neighbours but one thing disturbed me; it had a graveyard nearby! Honnen knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Then, he tried opening the door and found it to be opened.
"Hello?" Honnen's voice slightly echoed in the emptiness of the one-story, one-room house. "Anybody home?"
It was obvious no one was there since the house was too small. I wondered where he slept? Honnen stepped inside and began preparing me a meal.
"I don't think we should barge in like this," I was feeling a bit uneasy.
"No, don't worry," Honnen said boldly. "Cordero is a nice person. He knows my family and me very well."
"Who's Cordero?" I asked.
"You haven't heard of him?" Honnen looked back from his cooking at me. "He's famous throughout Lumbridge and Al-Kharid."
"Never heard of him," I said.
"Well, he's a very good chef," Honnen said. "I bet he's the third best human chef in Gielinor, only to be topped by Lev and Lloyed."
After he finished his statement, someone unlocked the door and in came a chef with a white apron and a chef's hat.
"Cordero!" Honnen exclaimed, getting up to hug the chef.
"Oh, hello Honnen!" the chef put down his grocery. "This is an unexpected visit! How've you been? And whose this young gentlemen?"
"This is my friend, Ken Karomaz," Honnen introduced me.
"Hello," I shook hands with Cordero.
"Pleased to meet you," Cordero said. "So, what are you two doing here?"
"We wanted to a place to stay for the night, Mr. Cordero," Honnen pleaded.
"Sure thing!" Cordero was happy to let us stay. "But why one night?"
"One night's enough," Honnen said. "After that we'll be heading towards West Ardougne."
"That's quite far away, I hope one of you knows how to use magic," Cordero said.
"I do," I answered.
"Well, that's good news. Here take these runes, they'll teleport you to East Ardougne, and from there you can head to West Ardougne," Cordero handed me some law and water runes. "You guys came in the right time, dinner will be ready in a moment."
"Great!" Honnen exclaimed.
Cordero's house wasn't much to brag about. But it was a nice place. The house consisted of a stove, a small wooden dining table with four small wooden chairs and straw mattresses were neatly piled upon each other in one corner. There was also a sink. After a while, Cordero prepared us dinner. It was some sort of meat. Very tasty!
"This is very good," I remarked his delicious dish as I chomped it down.
"Why thank you," Cordero said. "Its my very own, I call it Fried Rat!"
Fried Rat!? What kind of food do these people of Lumbridge eat!? I suddenly lost my appetite.
"Um, may I please go outside and eat," I said. "I need some fresh air."
"Sure thing!" Cordero exclaimed.
I quickly went outside and dumped the food in the graveyard, making sure that Cordero didn't find out. Then I went back inside and pretended I liked it.
"Mm, mm, that was good!" I wiped my lips with a napkin.
"Glad you liked it!" Cordero said proudly. "There's more if you want seconds!"
"No thank you," I put my plate down. "It was so good that it already made me full. Where do we sleep?"
"On those straw mattresses over there by the corner," Cordero pointed out. He got up and placed the mattresses for Honnen and me to sleep in.
"Thank you Mr. Cordero!" Honnen exclaimed, putting his plate down and laying on his mattresses. I did too and we both fell instantly to sleep.
* * *
An old disfigured man appeared in front of me. His back was arched and he had a white staff with him. The staff had a golden shuriken at its tip. The old man had a long white beard, was partly bald and had brown monk robes on. He also wore the Holy Symbol of Saradomin around his neck.
"I warn you!" He cried. "Heed this warning! Stay away from him! Stay away from the son of the devil worshippers!"
"Who?" I asked him calmly.
"Stay away..." He faded away.
* * *
I woke up only to hear the sound of Honnen crying. It was early morning. He had his back to me with someone lying in front of him. His crying seized as he heard me yawn.
"What's wrong?" I asked. "Why is Cordero sleeping on the floor?"
He didn't reply. He looked at me with his tear-stained face and showed me a bleeding iron dagger. The iron dagger had red-crimson blood dripping from it. My heart beat really fast. I was in a state of half unconsciousness but I managed to hold myself together. Honnen stood up and now I could clearly see the bloody hole which was impaled by that dagger on Cordero's belly. The wound still had blood dripping out of it and looked fresh.
"When did this happen?" I questioned Honnen, getting a close up of Cordero.
"I don't know," Honnen cried. "As soon as I got up from bed I saw him dead with the dagger sticking out."
"Come Honnen," I helped him get up. "This place isn't safe any more. There's a murderer on the loose."
Honnen and I quickly packed up some food from Cordero's house and headed our way. As we left the house I saw that Bob's Axes was completely battered. The windows broken and the door was hanging loose. What the hell happened in here? I checked inside, only to find Bob's dead body lying on his counter. At first I thought that it was the same murderer who killed Cordero. But then I saw that Bob's face was all chewed up and his clothes torn to their limit. This was the work of some other powerful entity. But who? Or what? Suddenly, we heard screams from outside. Honnen and I headed outside only to find the citizens of Lumbridge were under attack by a familiar beast. I watched in horror as the demons, who had once ruined my entire home, were here in Lumbridge trying to ruin somebody else's. The demons of Varrock had returned to haunt me.
"What are those?" Honnen shrieked as he clutched my trousers and hid behind me.
"Stay here," I tell him. "These guys are tough."
I headed out without any weapon towards the demon. Fear and frustration trying to overcome each other. Eventually, frustration took the better of me and I was ready for a brawl. There were only a handful of demons this time. I targeted the one closest to me. I turned it around and punched it right at its little tentacles. It stood there. Staring at me. Not a single move. It was as if as soon as it saw me it wouldn't want to harm me.
"Come on!" I yelled at it, kicking its groin. "Fight me!" No response. I kept kicking and punching, but the demon looked blankly at my face. I could here Honnen's cries getting louder until finally he screamed in agony. His scream had drawn the attention of all the demons and then they completely ignored me and went for Honnen. "Honnen!"
I ran as fast as I could towards the child. Pushing aside the demons on my way. I grabbed hold of his hand and carried our bag, then headed on south towards the graveyard. I then remembered the runes Cordero gave me and so got ready to teleport. But I was too late. The demon had sprung on my back and stole Honnen away from me.
"Hey!" I shout, kicking the demon's spine. "Take me! Don't take the child!"
The demon again ignored me and continued tormenting Honnen. But before any serious damage could be done, I jumped at the beast and bit it at its shoulder. The demon laid out a high pitched scream which was painful to the ear. Happiness rushed through my heart as I had finally inflicted pain on the creatures who had hurt me so bad. The demon let go of the child and pointed to the sky, like it did in Varrock, while pointing its finger. The others did the same and Honnen quickly hid behind me. I let go of the demon and spat. The demon turned around, looked at me in the eye with its red eyes and then sank in the earth. For a reason unknown to me, they just wouldn't harm me. They went only after Honnen despite the fact that I would've made a tastier meal for them. This led me into thinking that what if these creatures were sent to kill people by some man? Or maybe it was the end of the world? As I thought this, Honnen pulled my shirt and I understood that the child was desperate to get out. I quickly teleported us to the safety of East Ardougne.
The Moon shone lightly over East Ardougne, covered partly with translucent clouds.
"Can you please drop me off to West Ardougne?" Honnen asked me.
"Sure," I tiredly replied.
Honnen looked at me for a while and then stated, "But first lets get some rest, OK?"
"All right," I agreed. "But lets not stay at the Flying Horse Inn."
"That's the only Inn in town," Honnen told me.
I guessed we had to stay there. I took some dirt and rubbed it on my face to give me a darker complexion. We headed towards the Inn and it was surprisingly silent. The bartender, however, was awake and we managed to get some lodgings. I was too tired to think and consider about the demons and I fell asleep immediately as I lay on the bed...
Chapter Fourteen
It was early in the morning. Surprisingly, I woke up before Honnen. I stretched my legs and arms and yawned. Honnen was sound asleep. Having his back turned to me and sleeping on his side. I head over to the window, just to see how the people were doing outside. Lively, as expected. The market area was filled with the hustle and bustle of shopaholics. As I gazed out the window, the sunlight reflected through something metallic which struck my eyes. I rubbed my eyes and then looked for the object that reflected the light. It was a shiny, metallic object from Honnen's bag pack. I quietly opened it and shockingly discovered a blood-laden iron dagger! What the hell was Honnen doing with it!? My shocking gaze shifted from the dagger and onto the sleeping Honnen. Horror filled me. Could it be? Did... Honnen really do it? I shook my head in disbelief and punished myself for thinking so bad about the child. After all, he was only a kid. The crimson-red blood on the dagger dripped slowly. I smelled the blood to find it was fresh. That put more doubt into me. And I was scared to my limit. Was I really travelling with a murderer? No! It can't be! I'll just have to ask Honnen the reason. He wouldn't do anything like it.
"Hey," Honnen woke up and rubbed his sleepy eyes. "What are you doing?"
"Honnen," I said. "I found this dagger in your bag pack. What's it doing there? And isn't this the very dagger which the murderer used to kill Cordero?"
"It is," Honnen got up from bed and took the dagger from my hand, not sparing the time to wipe that disgusting blood from it. "I kept it because it kind of reminds me of Cordero."
"I understand," I murmured. He is the weirdest child I've ever seen! "Shall we get going?"
"Sure," Honnen replied.
We hurriedly ate our breakfast and left for West Ardougne. As we left the Inn I overheard a couple talking about a recent murder last night. That brought a chill up my spine. The fresh blood from Honnen's dagger and the recent murder last night! I couldn't help but thinking about this child. Half of me said it must've been some coincidence, while the other wants to strangle the child for behaving this way! Was I really in the company of a serial killer who kills for fun? Or maybe he had a reason to do all that? Or maybe he didn't even kill anyone and it really was just a big coincidence? As these thoughts rushed in my head, Honnen broke my train of thought.
"Are you OK?" He asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "Its just the heat."
"Heat?" Honnen looked at me awkwardly. "Ardougne is never hot. Temperate is its hottest."
"Uh," I quickly think of something to change the topic. "I've heard that the entrance to West Ardougne has been blocked and that there is a plague there."
"Yeah," Honnen calmly said. "The entrance is blocked, but the plague is no more."
"How come?" I asked.
"Have you heard of Lionel Varze?" He asked me.
"No."
"Well, he is the son of the great White Knight, Sir Amik Varze," Honnen told me. "He helped remove the plague from West Ardougne. He is a great icon and I'm surprised as to how you haven't heard of him. He also slew Elvarg the dragon and saved Draynor Village from Count Draynor's terror. He has done many good things to give him the title of Lionel the Great. Telling you about his adventures will probably take me all day."
"I see," I said. "But what about the entrance, is it opened now that the plague is over?"
"No," Honnen said. "The citizens of East Ardougne still consider our atmosphere to be infected with the plague."
"Wasn't Lionel able to convince them?" I asked.
"No, he was murdered before he could do anything about this," Honnen replied.
This murder topic just seemed to follow me no matter which dumb topic I chose! "So, how are we going to get in?"
"Easy, there's this secret tunnel which my friends and I use to visit each other," Honnen answered with delight. "Come on!"
I followed him through the crowded streets of East Ardougne and across the bridge. This was the first time I had ever seen a castle bigger than King Roald's. The East Ardougne castle was huge! There was also something else that I had noticed. East Ardougne's streets and houses were much better in terms of decoration and size than the streets and houses of Varrock. Varrock might be larger, but East Ardougne was certainly wealthier.
We ran through the streets and alleyways until we finally reached a dead end - a huge wall about 12 feet high. "Where's the tunnel?" I asked.
"Right here," Honnen cleared some grass away to reveal a trapdoor. "Hurry get inside."
I quickly climbed down the tunnel through a sturdy and old rope. Honnen came in next. As he closed the trapdoor we were embraced with sudden darkness. Suddenly, I felt scared again. Was this a trick to murder me as well? I was going to retaliate and run but Honnen quickly lit a candle on the wall. Awkward. These kids come prepared.
"Come on," Honnen said. "What're you waiting for?"
"Nothing."
I followed him through the tunnel. There wasn't much to see except for arachnids scaling the ragged walls and ceiling and murky but shallow water on the ground. Not to mention the disgusting smell of the dead. The tunnel was quite small as we only had to walk for seconds before we reached the end of it. Honnen climbed up a steel ladder and opened the trapdoor. I followed him up the tunnel and into West Ardougne. I was hoping to be greeted with a beautiful aroma of a lively city but instead I found myself smelling a disgusting odour that was even greater in its stench than the one in the tunnel. I covered my nose with my hands.
"Whats wrong?" Honnen asked.
"Don't you smell anything?" I asked, speaking through my hand-covered mouth.
"No," Honnen giggled. He was indeed the weirdest kid I've ever seen!
I followed him through the streets of West Ardougne. It was creepy and almost seemed like the dead version of East Ardougne. We were heading north of the trapdoor and I could see many people coughing. Their skins were pale as if they were dead and all of them looked inactive. I didn't blame the East Ardougnians for blocking these people from entering their haven.
"I thought the plague was over?" I asked Honnen as we walked through the wet and muddy streets of West Ardougne.
"Not quite," Honnen answered. "The plague used to be infective, now it isn't. Lionel didn't remove it, he just made it non-infectious."
I still felt uneasy about that place. There was something about it that didn't make me want to feel sorry for the people, but to feel scared. Honnen seemed quite comfortable and smiled frequently. I was half scared and half delighted by his childish smile. After half hour of walking we finally reached a silent neighbourhood. All the houses were battered and almost ruined. The windows were broken, the doors crushed, and the streets cracked. Honnen lived in a small house behind the bigger ones. He opened his house's door and it smelled worse than the streets outside!
"This is the hideout which my friends and I from East Ardougne hung out in," Honnen said.
The house was one-story, had three rooms, and a small - but destroyed - toilet. I placed my bag in a corner and sat down on one of the wooden rocking chairs. They creaked each time I rocked it.
"Stay here," Honnen said. "I'll go get some food."
Oh no. Seeing the condition of this entire city, I couldn't even imagine how the food would be! But saying no would hurt his feelings so I let him get me food. He opened the door to the kitchen and shut it. I sat there, alone in his "lounge". Rocking the rocking chair. The creaking sounds were annoying, but I couldn't stop rocking the chair; it was fun. Then, I heard something as the rocking chair's feet slammed lightly against the floorboard. I rocked the chair again and heard the sound again. It sounded like someone knocking at a hollow wall. I looked down at the dusty brown floorboard and tapped it with my foot. Yes, it was hollow. But, why would the floor be hollow? Curious as I was, I decided to open the floorboard to see what was in it. But if I made too much noise Honnen would find out and scold me. I had to come up with a way to do it softly. I searched my bag pack and found some of the darts I had saved up. I pierced the floorboard several times and slowly a finger-sized hole was formed. I looked through the hole but couldn't see anything. The smell from the hole smelled exactly like the blood on Honnen's dagger! It was disgusting! But I had no time to be scared, because the entire city smelled like that. I fitted my index finger in the hole and slowly ripped it, giving small intervals after every ripping sound.
Soon enough, it opened and the hole was now as big as my head. I inserted my head inside the hole, holding my breath at the same time, to see what was inside. It was dark, but a little light from the lounge did manage to reach inside the hole. I spotted some clothes. A shirt. Covered in something brownish red. I couldn't clearly make out its colour, but was aware that it was a type of cloth. Then, I spotted what seemed to look like hair. Blond hair. Blond hair smeared with something brownish red. As I peered through the hole, letting some of the light in, I could see some girl's skirt and under garments covered with the same brownish red material as the cloth and the blond hair had been covered in. I was beginning to get goosebumps and was shivering heavily. Sweat dropped down my face and a chilly feeling covered my spine. I went back up to get some breath. Then, I put my head back in it, to get a last look at the place. Before going back up I saw something that froze me at the spot. It was a bare belly. My sight went up and I saw bare legs. And then, a terrified face of a small boy. The face was covered in dust and blood and I realized that the brownish red substance was indeed blood. Next, I saw the nude body of a young girl, probably not even older than Honnen. Was this my imagination? I pinched myself and it hurt. I wasn't able to put my head up, I was frozen. Horror and fear filled inside my belly. I thought I was going to vomit, but I managed to hold myself through. And then...
"So, I see you found out," I heard a child's voice coming from above. It was Honnen. I was exhausted as I slowly put my head back up. I was greeted with Honnen holding a platter of food and glass of green water. "Go on. Speak."
I was unable to utter a simple sound. I was shivering. "Say something. Curse me. Come on. I'm waiting."
"Ho...nn..." That was all I was able to say. He was standing behind me. He sneered and then laughed out loud. Son of a devil, that laugh was scary! I slowly got up, my legs just barely managing to hold me upright.
"Don't worry, Ken," This was the first time he called me by my name. "For being such a wonderful friend of mine, I'll make it fast and painless."
"You...you..." I tried speaking.
"Yes?" Honnen smiled at me.
"You... little..." I clenched my fists. "You little son of a nice doggy!!"
"Temper temper," Honnen said, with a lustful smile. "You wouldn't want to get on my wrong side. Oh, and about the bleeding dagger... I killed Cordero and I killed Harstle, the man who was talked about by the couple in East Ardougne, remember?"
I didn't reply. My heart was sinking in fear as my sweat continuously dropped on the floor. Honnen laughed. "I miss my friends. I remember how we used to play together. I see you've already met them." He looked down in the hole. "Hi Harry. Hi Diana!" He waved his crappy little hands at them, as if they were alive.
He was an insult! "Why'd you kill them?" I managed to speak properly.
"We were playing hide and seek," Honnen told me. "Harry was it. I hid with Diana in one of these large houses. We were hiding in a congested place and our bodies touched. She told me I stank and went to hide somewhere else. Well, that's why I killed her. Then, Harry found me and I was infuriated. I had never lost in a game of hide and seek. And Harry had to go too." He giggled after finishing.
He was a complete freak! A psychopath! A deranged devil! I had to get out! I ran for the door, but Honnen tackled me. He was surprisingly strong. I was laying on the floor with Honnen on top of me. His breath smelled like blood. He pointed the dagger at my neck. "Escape won't work here," He licked his lips. "You don't know me, Ken. Zamorak has ordered us Zamorakians to kill all Saradominites and Guthixians in Gielinor. And so, I'm only doing what my lord wants from me. He granted me power that a normal child can't have." He started laughing, and his soft childish laugh literally turned into a man's laughter.
"Get away from me!" I was terrified and shoved him off of me and ran for the door. He quickly got up and held my leg and hurled me at his side with ease.
"Like I said, escape won't work," His human-like eyes were replaced with empty black sockets. I shrieked and turned back. His skin was slowly turning pale. His entire figure changed. He looked like a famine-victim. He was as skinny as any skeleton and the hair on his head fell.
"What are you!?" I cried out loud. He walked slowly towards me. Dagger ready to stab me. I gave out a loud cry, hoping someone would hear me. But it was obvious in an empty neighbourhood like this, who's there that can hear me?
"Come to me!" He whispered through his dried, bleeding lips. Honnen's odour was similar to that of the dead bodies. He grabbed hold of my neck and his bony grip was tight. I was choking. He brought his dagger close to my face. Just as he was about to cut my eyes out, the ground started shaking. Honnen stopped and looked about to see what was happening. His body transformed back into his "alive" form. The ground was rumbling and suddenly, a demon emerged from the floor. It was the same demon which attacked Lumbridge and the one that attacked Varrock. Honnen's expression turned from deadly to fear. A murderer such as him was scared of demons like these. The demon glared at Honnen with its piercing red eyes and slowly walked towards him. The demon grabbed hold of both of Honnen's arms and in an instant pulled them out of their places. Honnen screamed and cried like a little child, his demonic appearance was clearly gone now. I let the demon do as it pleased, half because I wanted Honnen to die, and half because I was scared myself. Honnen's tears rushed down his cheek and his voice was now like that of a baby. The demon showed no mercy and slowly ate him alive.
In a matter of minutes, Honnen's belly was opened and eaten and Honnen was dead. The demon then looked at me and whispered something weird. I was ready to die. I closed me eyes and got ready, but as I did the demon had disappeared. What just happened? I was about to get killed by Honnen but here I found Honnen's belly opened right infront of me. Did the demon just... save my life?
I got up and hurriedly picked up my bag pack; I never wanted to see this horrible place ever again! As I reached for the door, I saw a journal in Honnen's bag. I was a bit fond of reading just about anything, and a journal inside Honnen's bag was very odd. It was his diary. I opened the last written page and it read:
I was delighted to have my friends over at my house to play hide and seek with me. I was waiting for them at our secret tunnel and after an hour they finally showed up! Diana looked really beautiful in her yellow dress and Harry, the silent type as always, looked like an innocent child with his hair neatly combed. We went to my house and started the game. I was it and started counting. After the 100th count I went to search for them. I knew this place inside out and there wasn't a single hiding place I didn't know of. I found Harry hiding under a large basket right outside my house. And Diana was behind the door of one of the large haunted house. Then, it was Harry's turn to seek since I found him first. Diana was so attractive that I wanted to hide with her! I showed her a very enclosed hiding spot and said that we both had to get in there. She agreed and we both went in. Our bodies were touching each others. After a moment of hiding, she stated that it was getting smelly in here. She went outside the hiding place and hid somewhere else. Obviously she indirectly was referring to my stench and so I took out a sharp wooden piece from the wall beside me and stabbed her back. What can I say, she called me stinky! Harry found me due to Diana's screams. Two things: I have never lost in a game of hide and seek and Harry found me which really made me mad, and, Harry knew I killed Diana, I can't let him tell anyone else. I chased him across the neighbourhood until I finally got hold of him and choked him to death. I brought the two dead bodies in my house and dropped Harry's body under the floorboard. I tore off Diana's dress and.... (this part was scribbled and burnt a little)... after that I dropped her bare, bloody body down the floorboard along with her ripped up dress.
13th October, Friday, 10th year of the Fifth Age.
The story ended here. I was surprised at the child's freaking mind. He was really the most deranged person in this world. Then, I recalled the date I read. 10th year of the Fifth Age! What was the date today? Today was 13th October, 169th year of the Fifth Age. The journal entry was made on 10 FA (Fifth Age) and the year today was 169 FA. This journal entry was made 159 years ago! My heart was beating fast as I had traveled not only with a deranged psychopath, but with the ghost of a deranged psychopath. Honnen has been dead for 159 years and today was the exact same day he killed his two friends. The same day in which I could've died, if it wasn't for that demon who "saved" me...
Chapter Fifteen
What was going on? An innocent child whom I had travelled with for so long had turned out to be evil. But the demons whom I despised so much have turned out to "save" me from Honnen. Or did they? Maybe they had a grudge with Honnen and his family? Or maybe they really did save me? Why would they do such a thing? I put those thoughts away and decided to leave this godforsaken place. I tried opening the door but it was sealed shut. I gave it a tackle but it didn't open. Then finally I kicked it several times and it opened. As I left the place I sensed that the streets of West Ardougne were now even more silent than ever. The haunted neighbourhood of Honnen was naturally silent, but as I left it I saw a bloody trail leading into the town square. All the inhabitants of West Ardougne were lying there, dead! The bodies bleeding and shredded! Some of them had parts removed, some had big holes made in, and some were cut severely. It was certainly the work of the demons. Those tentacled monsters might have saved me but this was just too much. As I walked towards the exit of West Ardougne I heard the scream of an old man.
"Wait!" I heard. "Stop! Please! You have to help me!"
I looked back and saw the gruesome sight of an old man who had lost both of his legs. He was dragging his body towards me, his arms just barely managing to lift his weight. His head was bald and his gray beard was smeared in blood. I was scared of the sight. Even though I was supposed to feel pity for the old man, I still felt scared of him. As he neared me he grabbed my legs with his bloodstained hands and pulled me. I lost balance and fell on my back. The man still had my legs held and kept pulling me as if he wanted to eat me. Well, that's what I thought.
"Please, help me!" He said softly this time. His grip was very tight and his long nails scratched through my skin as his grip tightened. I soon lost control and got so scared that I pulled my legs away from the horrid grip and kicked the old man's face. After that I heard no sound. Not even a moan or a whisper. I checked the old man's condition and to my horror he was dead.
"He was in pain anyways," I whispered to myself, trying my best to comfort myself from the murder. "I did a good thing. I put him in a better place; to rest." I got up and ran away from the scene. I reached the wall separating East Ardougne from West Ardougne. I couldn't find the tunnel Honnen and I entered through, so I tried climbing the wall. I found very few ragged sides of the wall so climbing wasn't the best option. I took out my dagger and used it to make the wall ragged. After several strikes most of the wall had become ragged and climbing wasn't easy but easier than before. I managed to climb across the wall and reach my destination.
I crossed the wall and saw that East Ardougne was no different. The houses were battered and the watchtowers destroyed. There were bodies lying everywhere. The demons had also terrorised East Ardougne while I was gone. The demons began to worry me to a great extent now. First Varrock, then Lumbridge, and now Ardougne. Three big cities have been destroyed. Hopefully, Falador and Al-Kharid haven't been effected. I calmed myself down of the exhaustion and faced the fact that everyone was dead in this city. Suddenly, something flashed back to my mind, The Saradomin Staff! I had completely forgotten about it! Ever since my run in with the H.A.M. Cult I had totally forgotten about the staff. The staff and my real destination: The Gnome Stronghold. I wasted no time at all and run to the town square. Seeing that everyone was dead I didn't feel guilty when I stole some bread loaves and cake pieces to fill my hunger and patches of fur to keep me warm just in case.
I packed up the remaining bread loaves and furs and headed out of East Ardougne. The sick-looking sheep were still alive; however, the farmer had been slain. Fortunately for me, the Gnome Stronghold was only a day's walk from the entrance of East Ardougne. I would be able to reach there by nightfall. This wasn't going to be such a hard trip after all. But it wasn't long until I realised that I had destroyed the bridge when I was trying to escape the mob. I looked at the map of Kandarin and saw that there was another bridge, but that was far north and it'll probably take me more than an hour. I had no other choice and had to take the other bridge. On my way to the other bridge I encountered many more sick-looking sheep with various colours. After what felt like an hour of endless walking, I realised that the Sun was setting. It seemed that my calculations were wrong about the trip. Now I'd probably reach there either during midnight or at dawn. I grew a bit hopeless and tired and wondered why I took this trip? Oh yeah, to get some melee training from the gnomes in order to defeat the two vampires heading to Varrock in about four weeks time. I laid down on the grass and looked up at the night sky. There were many stars and a few clouds. It was the night of the crescent moon. For some reason, night times had always been that part of the day when I felt most energised and active. Specifically, the night of the full moon.
My eyes slowly shut and I was almost asleep. I was disturbed by a rustling sound among the thick grass. It must've been an animal, I wondered. I shut my eyes again, but was again disturbed by the same rustling noise. This time, I sat up and looked alarmed. Wondering it must be the demons, I wielded my dagger and was prepared for an ambush. My expectations were wrong. Instead of ugly, tentacled demons with bloodthirsty, red eyes, I saw a group of lovely ladies with light brown to blond hair each holding a Steel spear and wearing light, Iron chain mail armour. Their feet were bare and covered in mud and their faces were weather-bitten. I wasn't ready for a bunch of humans to assault me and so the ladies got me by surprise and surrounded me with sharp spears ready to be lunged. They spoke to each other in an odd language. After a moment of talking to each other one of the ladies, the oldest one perhaps, spoke.
"Who are you?" she said.
"Why does it matter?" I questioned, learning from past experience that mentioning my name in these parts could mean trouble.
"I asked you your name," the elder woman pointed her spear close to my neck.
"Ken," I said, shoving the spear aside.
"Ken who?" She asked, while the other ladies stood by me with their spears pointed to my back.
"I don't know my full name," I said.
"He's lying," The elder woman said and gestured to one of her woman to kill me.
"OK OK, I'll talk, I'll talk!" I yelled. "My name is Ken. Ken Scythe (I had to use Wally's surname)."
"Where are you from?" The elder woman further questioned me.
"Varrock," I said.
"And why are you here?" She asked.
"I wanted to go to the Gnome Stronghold."
"Any specific reason?" She asked. Her questions really began to annoy me.
"No, just wanted to visit it," I replied. I hoped my answer was wise. "I'm a traveller."
"Very well 'traveller', we spare you," She said. "But travelling all by yourself in these parts can prove to be quite dangerous. Mind if we escort you there?"
"No, not at all," I exclaimed. I could use the extra protection and besides, I could learn a lot from them. "Be my guests."
"Good." That was all she said. After that she whistled and five more women came out from the bushes. They were eleven in total, including the elder woman.
"Now, care to give me some answers?" I said.
"What do you want?" The elder woman asked with impatience.
"Who are you?" I simply asked. "It's my only question and don't worry, I'm not going to be a threat to you in anyway."
"Are you sure?" She cautiously asked. "It is quite confidential but, seeing that you are nothing but a mere traveller, we'll tell you. We are the Warrior Women of Kandarin."
"Aren't there Warrior Women in Varrock Castle with King Roald?" I asked, bewildered.
"Yes there are," She replied. "We are just another branch. The Warrior Women were meant to serve no leader, we just stay in different locations just in case weary people need our help. Now, stop talking and lets hurry to the Stronghold or else we might not get there until tomorrow morning."
I picked my bag and followed the Warrior Women. Although the Warrior Women were reputable throughout Gielinor for their immense power and strength in numbers I, for one, felt very uneasy asking them for protection. First of all, they were women, they were supposed to be asking me for protection. And second of all, they are reputed for their strength in numbers, these women were only eleven which is clearly not a large group. I crossed my fingers and hoped that the H.A.M. or any other threat don't attack us. Though the night was cold, I was sweating a bit from the intense nervousness. We walked for hours on end with very few intervals. The Warrior Women didn't seem to tire at all! Whenever we stopped for a bit of rest I was the only one who sat or lay down panting, while the women just stood there waiting for me to get back up.
We finally made a stop just north of the Combat Training Camp. The elder woman stated that we were only an hour's walk away from the entrance of the Stronghold. The Warrior Women tore off some leaves from the trees and used them as mattresses. I was surprised to find out how primitive the life of the Warrior Women of Kandarin was. The women back in Varrock were much nobler. I didn't have any mattress or blanket so I took some leaves myself and slept, feeling itchy too. I didn't realise how tired I was and fell asleep as soon as I laid myself on the ground.
* * *
The morning was damp and cold. I woke up to find my clothes were wet and covered in mud. I saw that the Warrior Women were nowhere in sight. I began to worry that they must've dumped me or maybe I had been tricked into a trap.
"You slept well last night," I heard the elder woman speak as she came into view from the thick bushes.
"Where did you women go?" I asked.
"It rained last night," She explained. "As soon as we heard thunder we quickly got up and made for the trees seeking shelter under the branches. One of my women tried waking you up but you were knocked out!"
"So you left me to sleep in the cold?" I asked outrageously.
"I was hoping that the rain water would wake you up," She said. "But it seems not even mother nature can disturb your slumber."
"Humph."
"Come, we haven't any time to waste," She gestured for me to follow her and then whistled, summoning her few soldiers.
I followed the Warrior Women and within few minutes we reached a large, wooden fence around twelve feet tall. The elder woman told me that this was the southeastern wall of the Gnome Stronghold. She treated me like I really was a traveller, and at first I appreciated the information, but later on it began to bore me. From southeastern wall to south wall, we were walking faster than last night. There was dew on the leaves of the trees and I thought that it looked beautiful. The entrance of the Stronghold didn't seem any farther away to me now, but I was wrong. We reached the gate directly within an hour! I saw the magnificent, wooden gate, made out of the hardest Yew trees found in Kandarin and standing thirty feet tall. It was a sight to remember, despite it being just a mere gate. I was awed with admiration that I hardly noticed the Warrior Women. I turned around to see that they were out of sight and gone. Well, at least I reached my destination. But before I asked the Gnome guards to let me in, I suddenly remembered of the Saradomin Staff I had forgotten to retrieve during my trip. I remembered putting it somewhere south of the entrance of the Stronghold and southwest of the Combat Training Camp. I had to leave my destination and travel again to get the staff and then finally enter the Stronghold meeting up with my would-be tutor!
!" Ranis cried as he powerfully pulled himself up and shoved me off of him. He took his time in fixing his neck and then looked at me with blood lust. He roared and then ran toward me only to head butt me on the forehead. Soon after, he laid on me several blows to my chest and belly. He then pushed me to the ground and sat on top of me, having held my arms underneath his knees. He then gripped my neck and pressed it in violently, not letting me breath. I spat out a lot of blood from my mouth and was unable to breath. It seemed as if my world was ending. I closed my eyes and thought I had faded away. However, Ranis' gripped loosened immediately and air rushed in through my nostrils. I felt relieved.
