hlow

nostalgia my good man

dope comic, dude.

When I have nothing better to do, I like to continue works I haven't touched for ages. Enjoy the fourteenth chapter if any of you still exist. Chapter Fourteen: Recovery Synit strolled through the corridor of the white knight castle, as Father Awkel followed him at his side. They continued past the glass of the shattered window, revealing the bright Faladorian morning outside. They stopped as they reached the ravaged cell, both of their faces grim and disheveled. Blood was splattered along the white-bricked walls and the floors of the area. Synit gripped the pendant around his neck tightly, as he gazed at the aftermath of Seth's escape. Father Awkel's eyes were shut and his fingers were clamped together in a silent prayer. "He killed two of them," Synit said. His eyes were gravely fixated on the blood that was stained onto the floor. "He took the dagger and lunged at both of them before leaping out of a castle window." "A Zamorakian symbol, you say?" Father Awkel's eyes were still shut. His words remained tense, suitably with the atmosphere of their surroundings. "A black 'W' carved right into his forehead," Synit said. "It came out of no where." "It's a possibility that this criminal may be suffering from demonic possession." Father Awkel's eyes opened. "His body has been possessed by a Zamorakian entity or some sort." He took a handkerchief out from a pocket within his robes, dabbing it against each eye. "Father Awkel," Synit interrupted. "Seth is no criminal. I told you stories of his heroism." "Yes," Father Awkel answered, ashamed. "The man who killed Zen, of course." He rubbed his beard in deep thought. "As well as many of your aqcuaintances," he added bluntly, drawing his face closer to Synit's. "You two may share history together, but this is the present... You are the captain, Synit." He took a brief moment to sigh heavily. "Well, anyway - Zen, I believe, was not affiliated with Zamorak in any way. Perhaps something happened to him after settling down in... Varrock, was it? Was he fine when you encountered him?" The two shared a silent look. Synit clenched his fist, and nodded his head slightly. "Well, I wouldn't say he was fine...," he said, examining the bloody scene. "But he was giving me coherent answers, and not breathing like a savage. He underwent some kind of change, Father. Something had to have triggered it." He glanced at his feet, squinting in deep thought. "He's been living with his brother for the past years?" Father Awkel said, turning his head towards Synit, who then nodded. "As far as I am concerned, yes," he answered. "Him and his brother Derek live in Varrock." "A majority of the Zamorakian temples have been wiped out - many of their believers have gone into hiding." Father Awkel grabbed his staff, which was leaning against the left side of his torso. He tapped the bottom end onto the floor, as he coughed. "Derek is our most reliable source of information then. If anything unusual has happened to Seth, his brother must know about it." "Are you suggesting we travel to Varrock?" "Of course," Father Awkel said. "If we are going to stop the Fraternity, we are going to have to save this man. Have you sent the letter to Queen Ellamaria?" "Yes," Synit began. "Our couriers are relaying the messages as we speak." "Very well, then. Gather the information we need to find this 'Derek,' and we will prepare to leave for Varrock as soon as possible." *** The midday sun gazed upon the city of Varrock; the enormous architecture of the Grand Exchange basking in its sunlight - the grand Varrockian Palace overseeing its populated surroundings under an elegant brightness. Seth glared at the guards that stood along the path, preventing him access from the manhole ahead. Multiple other Varrockian guards surrounded the circular entrance into the Fraternity's HQ, as a trail of smoke could be seen rising from it, even at a distance. He stood amongst a crowd of onlookers, adjusting their necks to get a better view of the blocked pathway. "What's going on here?" Seth said with concern, as he pushed his way to be face-to-face with a Varrockian knight. A line of guards prohibited anyone from passing. "This area is off-limits," the guard proclaimed. "Only Varrockian officials are permitted to enter." He surveyed Seth's appearance with bitter eyes. "Why is there smoke coming from the manhole?" Seth's voice was beginning to sound shaky. He leaned over the guard's armor, struggling for a clearer view. The Varrockian guard shook him off, giving an intimidating stare back. The guard glanced at Seth's bloodied clothes. "There was an explosion in the sewers." Seth's eyes widened in horror at the man's words. He felt his stomach beginning to get heavy. "An explosion...?" "Yes- an explosion," the guard replied in a blunt manner. "Why does this concern you so much?" "No reason," Seth muttered under his breath as he glared into the guard's eyes. He took a few steps back, glancing left to right and away from the crowd. "I should try the other entrances." "There's no way in. They've blocked them all," a man said from behind him, as if he had been listening on their conversation. Seth recognized him as a member of the Fraternity. He'd seen him in the HQ occasionally. "The HQ was bombed by the Moonlighters' Cult," he mumbled closer to Seth. "It's all rubble now, thanks to those explosive potions - most of us made it out alive though." Seth's eyes became fierce, and he felt his hands tightening themselves into fists. "You should get out of here though," the man said, before leaving in closer towards Seth. "Whatever you did in Falador - their messengers are making sure it catches up to you here." Seth only blinked at the man, before turning around and casually walking away with an angry look in his eyes. He hurried along the path, eager to reach his destination. *** "Come on," Seth whispered as he knocked on the door with utter force. His knocks became more frequent, as he began to grow impatient. "Open the damn door." He grunted bitterly, beginning to breathe more heavily as his eyes grew worried. He tightened his fist once again, and raised it. "Derek"! he screamed desperately. Seth threw his fist against the wooden door, but before he could knock again, the entrance swung open. Derek blinked and rubbed his eyes. He then gazed at Seth, seemingly surprised. "Seth...," he uttered. "Where have you been...?" "Derek," Seth mouthed. He stared at his brother, taking a moment to calm the relief he felt from within him. "You're alive." He threw his arms around Derek's shoulders. "You're alive. Damn it, Derek. You're alive," he said through subtle tears. Derek embraced his brother calmly, but had an uneasy look on his face. He pulled away, examining the crimson stains on Seth's robes. "Oh god," he whispered, pulling Seth into the house. He shut the door immediately, and gazed at Seth worriedly. "Your... your clothes, Seth. Where have you been?" Seth glanced at his torso. He ran his fingers across the dried blood on his robes, and furrowed his brow. His eyes pointed back at his brother. "Look, Derek, I thought you were dead. Did you see what happened?" "Yeah," Derek interrupted emotionlessly. "The Fraternity's HQ was blown to bits- I got out two days ago." He gazed at the stains on Seth's clothing. "But, I won't ask again, Seth. Where the hell were you?" Seth shook his head slowly. The burning hell from Melzar's Maze appeared in his mind, along with the atrocities he committed to the people of Rimmington - but he did not flinch. The aftermath of his escape from Falador was only a hazy memory, although he could recognize the bloodshed and the cries of the numerous knights he had already murdered. "It doesn't matter, okay - do you know where Royius is?" "No I don't know where Royius is, and I don't care where Royius is. I care where you've been." Seth sighed for a moment. He fidgeted with his fingers while frequently glancing around the room. "I've been doing work for the Fraternity. Royius' been paying me - but we're getting close to destroying the Moonlighters' Cult, Derek," he explained, almost as if he was in a hurry. "Seth..." "I just came back from destroying one of their compounds. It was in the basement of Melzar's Maze - I destroyed it, Derek, and I saw the Sawmill Operator there." Seth paused, staring blankly at the wall. "He told me to meet him at that warehouse in Edgeville. We have to go. We have to go now." He turned around, and began walking towards the door. "We're not going anywhere," Derek said bluntly as he grabbed onto Seth's wrist. "You just got here and your damn clothes are covered in blood. You look as if you haven't slept for days, Seth." Seth shook his arm, freeing himself from the grip of Derek's fingers. "Let go of me," he said, glaring at his brother. "I can change on our way there. Let's go." He started towards the exit again. "I said we're not going anywhere," Derek said fiercely, as Seth placed his hand onto the doorknob. "I'm not going anywhere." Seth laid his grip on the door, resting his palm around the circular knob. He eyed the wooden frame of the doorway, with a grave expression across his face. "I couldn't even find you, Seth," Derek said through unsteady breaths. His voice was sounding audibly helpless. "I looked everywhere for you in Varrock. I tried to get to you, but I couldn't find you after they let me out." He swallowed tensely. "Now you're here - damn it, Seth, you're about to leave to kill more people and set fire to more buildings in robes covered in blood - you're here standing right in front of me, and I still can't find you! What the hell is going on with you?" Seth's eyes narrowed. His grip on the door tightened, as Derek stared powerlessly at the back of Seth's head. "If you're not going to come," he said. "Then I will destroy the Moonlighters myself." He twisted the doorknob and lightly pushed the door open. "Our parents were murdered by them. It's disappointing to see that not even my own twin brother can understand when justice needs to be served." Derek looked onwards as Seth shut the door behind him. He sighed heavily, before covering his face with both his hands. He stood there - alone in the middle of the room - silently mouthing curses to himself. *** Although Brimhaven was left in ruins at the hands of Zen, the Karamjan jungle, along with its habiting villages, were left virtually untouched. The tall trees of the land grew abundantly, obscuring the sights of those who dared to travel through the vast area. There were wooden decks built on the Eastern portion of the island, with numerous men working on building the boats that were left unfinished. These men were all members of the Fraternity. Deeper into the jungle, past a long fence that ran down the island, stood a building at the side of a running river. The complex was constructed in the middle of the jungle's trees, as the plantlife surrounded and masked the building in seclusion. The structure stood large - at three floors - but still seemed miniscule compared to the trees that circled it. Members of the Fraternity mingled around the complex. Towards the back of the building, atop the second floor was a balcony that outlooked the river that ran through Karamja, and the countless trees that established the collosal jungle before the wooden railings. A hole, structured out of stone and previously where a well used to have been, was dug into the ground nearby the building. It was relatively large, and had metal barring at the top to prevent anyone from falling in, or from leaving the hole itself. The hole was surrounded by disheveled stone tiles. A rusty lock was armed to the door of the metal bars, clanging itself against the steel whenever anyone walked over it. Royius stood atop the balcony, his nose pointed towards the nightsky and his eyes aimed at the glowing moon. He heard the door open from over his shoulder, followed by the sound of light footsteps. "How was the trip here, boys?" Rapid and Talent stepped onto the balcony. Their robes bore burnt marks from the incident at Melzar's Maze, and tears from the fighting they were involved in. Their faces were visibly tired, and their eyes displayed their anguish. "It was fine. The tides weren't too bad," Talent replied uneasily. "It's good to finally see this place complete." "Years of rebuilding," Royius said, throwing his hands into the air. His chin was pointing at the kingdom of trees that lay before him. "It certainly pays off." He spun around, glancing at Talent and Rapid, who stood at the doorway of the balcony. "It really sucks though, you know," Rapid muttered. "How the HQ at Varrock blew up and stuff. We're definitely going to do something about the guy that did it - right? We need to catch this guy." "It was unfortunate." Talent nodded his head slowly. "Do you know how many casualties, sir?" "A lot? I don't know for sure," Royius said bluntly without a hint of emotion in his voice. "We will deal with it accordingly. Back to business, though. How did your expedition - hold on..." He squinted at the two boys. "Where's Seth?" "Well sir," Talent began. "Seth didn't make it back with us." Royius blinked frequently in disbelief. He casually strolled towards the two boys, staring them down in intimidation. Rapid and Talent upheld their stance, albeit finding difficulty to do so. "What?" he whispered. "We were being pursued... sir," Rapid explained. "I want the story," Royius said, as he halted in front of the two. "From the top, please." "We took care of Rimmington," Talent said, his eyes bouncing between the floor and the man before him. "They were infact workers for the Moonlighters' Cult, and revealed to us the location of where they handled the shipments. The basement of Melzar's Maze was a central point in the transportation of their illegal goods." "Melzar's Maze," Royius repeated softly to himself while nodding. "The place was filled with Moonlighters and their shipments, sir," Talent continued. "We infiltrated it, and our efforts resulted in the destruction of the complex. The place is nothing but ash at the moment. We barely made it out alive." "Seth didn't make it out alive?" Royius questioned. "He did," Rapid added, his voice a bit hoarse after breaking his own silence. "The white knights came after they heard the explosions. We made it out - all of us - but we were forced to run away from the knights." His eyes were grave as he spoke. "Seth stayed back to fight one of 'em chasing us, but we didn't see him after that." Royius paused for a moment, before turning around and strolling back towards the end of the balcony. He leaned against the wooden railings, sighing softly to himself. "Well, boys, if it is any concern to either of you, Seth is probably alive - one of our informants tell us that according to a letter sent out of Falador, he escaped that white castle." "What should we do, sir?" The two brothers looked helplessly at Royius. "Nothing," he answered, his grip around the handrail tightening. Rapid and Talent exchanged looks, both understanding the tension between the three. "The man has made quite a name for himself in the Kingdom of Asgarnia." Royius surveyed the trees with a mischievous and eerie gaze. "I will try my best to get him to Rimmington. However, whether or not he returns to our establishment, I want both of you to know this clearly - as of now, we no longer require his assistance."

Chapter 13: Guilty Darkness surrounded the two opponents under the dimly-lit night sky, staging an eerie and grim battlefield that seemed to be pleading for a hidden bloodshed between the two. The shadows almost urged for the fight to begin as its obscurities encircled the area around them. The stench of the underground facility's fiery despair was clearly emitting from Seth. His face and clothing were littered with dirt and ash. His breath was loud and heavy, as he fiercely glared at his opponent, Synit. He gripped his dagger, tightly and ready to pounce once the altercation began. Synit, although still slightly in dismay that it had to result in such hostility, readied his weapons in skillful fashion as he held a firm stance. He stared at Seth with watchful eyes as the two shared a brief moment of silence and tension. The tension rose, and with unbelievable speed, Seth darted towards his opponent. "Stay out of my way!" Seth grunted as their blades collided with one another. He swung his dagger viciously, but Synit parried the attack using one of his own weapons. With his second dagger, Synit lunged it towards Seth's stomach. Seth skillfully dodged the attack - his opponent's blade edging his tattered clothing as it only slightly teared a mark in its stitching. "You're in white knight territory, Seth!" Synit yelled as the two's matching proficiencies in combat resulted in multiple ricocheting parries and dodges. "I cannot let you go!" "Why can't you just understand?" Seth muttered in spite as he lowered his head in efforts to dodge an attack from Synit. "I need to stop the Moonlighters' Cult!" "By helping the Fraternity?!" Synit questioned angrily as the two took a step away from each other, but darted back into combat instantaneously. "You're a criminal, Seth!" With great agility, Synit slashed his white-metal daggers towards his opposition. Seth maneuvered his body, narrowly evading the first swipe and then parrying the other. With that, Seth tightened the grip around his dagger and swung towards Synit, who predicted the attack and lowered his head to avoid it. Seth clenched his fist and threw a punch at Synit, who took a few steps back from the impact. The two peered at one another for a brief moment, both of the fierce warriors panting in sweat. Synit turned his head slowly towards Seth's direction, his eyes complete with determination. Seth immediately sprinted towards his opponent with his dagger raised. He grunted as the blade of his dagger grazed itself against that of Synit's two weapons. Synit parried an attack from Seth, who had attempted to slash him vertically. Synit then spun around and using his other dagger, he lunged his arm forward. The blade narrowly pierced Seth's skin, marking another tear in his clothes. Seth evaded the move from Synit, and maneuvered his body to the side in doing so. Synit spun around once again with astonishing speed, striking Seth in the back with the hilt of his dagger. Seth lost his breath for a second, as the force had driven the oxygen out of his mouth. His eyes widened as Synit readied his fist and drove a punch straight into Seth's cheek. Seth was thrown a couple feet back as he dropped to the floor. He could taste the blood in his mouth. "Are we really doing this, Seth?" Synit questioned cautiously as Seth slowly struggled to stand up. His opponent spit into the ground beside him and once again, darkness covered the area around the two fighters. "Yes." Seth grimaced as he leaped into the air, attempting to strike Synit with a vertical slash. Synit countered the attack quickly, almost being caught off guard as he skilfully parried the attack away with both of his daggers. He then moved his two daggers horizontally, in efforts to lacerate Seth, who shortly after jumped backwards to evade the attack. Seth seized the moment to strike as he twirled his dagger upside-down and prepared to lung at his opponent. Using his freehand, Seth quickly gripped Synit's wrist in a fashion that intended to break it. However, Synit swiftly raised his other hand, tightly grasping his dagger and putting it up against the skin on Seth's neck. Seth's blade was also resting itself in the area under Synit's chin. Their surroundings were only that of darkness and abyss. The silence was only broken by their heavy breathing. The two stared at each other, both believing to have reached a mutual stalemate. "You need to understand," Seth said softly between breaths, "This is something I need to do." "Why is this something you need to do?" Synit responded, also while gasping to catch his breath, "There are other ways you can tackle this, Seth..." "No, there aren't," Seth replied bluntly, "This is for revenge. This is for what they done." "How can you even trust them, Seth?" Synit asked curiously, "How do you know what they are saying is true? You're putting your trust into a group based on deception and fraud..." "Shut up!" Seth exclaimed in anger. "You're coming back from saving the world, just to help burn it down again, Seth," Synit warned. "This is what my father would have wanted," Seth interrupted and then paused for a brief moment, "Vengeance." Their positions were frozen in place, with both weapons placed against both of their necks. "That is what you want, Seth," Synit spoke with a hint of disgust, "You don't know what your father would have wanted." "I do...," Seth muttered in disbelief as his eyes widened and he began to breathe even heavier. "Tell me, Seth," Synit said with fearlessness, "What does Derek want?" Seth did not speak a word in response, but only began to breathe even heavier. He could feel his head pulsing in discomfort, and Synit could tell Seth's grip around his wrist was loosening, not to mention the hilt of his dagger as well. Seth shut his eyes briefly before opening them again and staring straight into Synit's eyes. At once, Synit pushed Seth away from him, leaping backwards cautiously as he witnessed Seth's crimson eyes. "Oh goodness...," Synit muttered under his breath with vigilance, "Seth...?" Seth screamed ferociously as he dashed towards Synit. He rapidly slashed his dagger at Seth with unbelievable quickness that had caught Synit off guard, and left him with a wound on his stomach while he attempted to avoid the attacks. Synit leaped backwards as he surveyed Seth carefully, his opponent breathing wildly and his eyes savagely fixated on Synit. Synit could feel the control of his mind shifting away from him - his body would soon also do the same. He could feel blood running over his fingers as he placed his hand over the gash on his stomach. He felt himself drifting away from the sight of the battlefield, and at once he knew. Tysin would be taking his place. Tysin - Synit's alter ego - was faster, stronger, and much more headstrong than Synit himself. His eyes were cautiously examining Seth's stance, although he was eager to fight. "You've certainly changed, haven't you?" Tysin said quietly to himself while smirking. Once again, Seth unleashed a barrage of slashes and attacks using his dagger. Tysin, almost like he had predicted where all the strikes were going, masterfully dodged every single attack. His eyes were fierce as he spotted a moment to strike. Tysin tightened the grip around his dagger, and swung it at Seth's torso. Seth spotted the attack, and with increased dexterity, evaded the attack with success. As he successfully dodged the attack from Tysin by stepping backwards, Seth twirled his dagger upside-down once again, and sliced it at Tysin. A slit of blood was carved into Tysin's arm - just below the shoulder as it hid itself under the tear in his clothing that had just formed. Tysin cautiously took a few steps back, clutching his wound and staring back at his hand that was stained with blood. He glanced back at Seth with a startled look on his face. "You've definitely gotten quicker," he muttered under his breath. Seth bolted towards his enemy, raising his blade to attack. He drove his dagger sideways, hoping to slash Tysin's chest. Tysin withdrew away from the swipe, the edge narrowly missing his tunic. Another attack; Tysin maneuvered his body to avoid it. Seth continued to throw aggressive slices and stabs towards his opponent, but Tysin's concentration failed to be broken. He skillfully dodged Seth's moves, hoping to find a weak point in his overly-combative strikes. In a split-second, he stopped. He prepared to fight back. Tysin threw a hand down, grabbing Seth by the wrist and locking it. Seth loosened the grip around his dagger as his eyes grew larger in surprise, allowing it to fall to the ground. Tysin twirled around, bringing Seth's arm behind his own back as Seth screamed in pain. With his other arm, Tysin wrapped Seth's neck, hoping to render him unconscious as Seth began struggling to catch a glimpse of oxygen. Tysin knew Synit would not want Seth dead. Seth was beginning to feel as if earthquakes had been occurring in his head as he stared helplessly into the abyssal night sky. Clouds had covered much of the stars in the night, emitting a dragging darkness that shrouded him in. He could feel his mind beginning to blank out, struggling to breathe with Tysin's tight hold around his neck. He grimaced, attempting to break free from the position he had been put in, but it was no use. Seth was beginning to lose energy, and his crimson eyes were beginning to fade to normal. "Have you lost your sense of defense, fool...?" Tysin asked wittingly as he clutched Seth's neck tightly with his arm, "Next time you try to hurt me with such idiotic attacks, I will tear you apart." Seth could feel himself tensing up. For a moment, he observed the few stars uncovered by the dark clouds in the night - but then his eyes widened once again as he witnessed the darkness from around them, finally enclosing. His eyes shut as he could almost feel the black abyss envelope him. *** The capital of Asgarnia was silent, as much of Falador's residents were in bed, and at rest. The streets were completely empty with only dimly-lit lanterns hanging from the exteriors of buildings seemed to be the only distinct objects in sight of the city. The sky was completely dark except for the tranquil moon had finally shone its light through the murky clouds. A couple of guards stood, seemingly half-asleep, at the capital's gates. It seemed as if the entire city itself was asleep. However, the only area that wasn't dozing, was the White Knight Castle. It was a fortress that stood tall in the middle of Falador, surrounded by a moat and displaying its aura of omniscience in its stature. The castle was never completely empty, as white knights had taken refuge in the fortress' barracks in order to defend the city from any attackers or evildoers during the night. Its structure had been repaired greatly after the fall of Zen. In fact, the entire city of Falador had gone through - not just repairs - but improvements. "Don't you need to get home?" Seth asked bluntly as he stared at Synit walking through the cell door, and then closing it. A couple white knights stood near the entrance of the cell. "I was told you were awake," Synit answered casually, taking a seat in front of Seth, across a wooden table. He dropped a paper folder and a brown pouch onto the table as well. "I was waiting for you." Metal bars of solitude surrounded the two. "Are these really necessary?" Seth questioned defiantly, raising his wrists which were surrounded by metal rings that were chained to the floor. "Yes," Synit replied as he nodded his head, "You'll see why later, but for now, I was wondering if I could speak to you." "It seems I have no choice, captain," Seth mumbled through the metal barring of the door at a torch mounted on the white brick wall. Synit stared down at the table, pausing for a brief moment before opening his mouth to speak, "How have you been, Seth? I mean, how has Varrock been treating you two?" He chuckled quietly to himself. "I really wished you and Derek decided to move to the capital - you know - stay with me and Sherry..." "It's been treating us fine, Synit," he interrupted in response, "We've been comfortable. We were comfortable." "Then, why, Seth?" Synit said softly, a feeling of concern evident in his tone, "Why get involved?" "I don't want to have to explain this again, Synit...," Seth muttered in annoyance. Synit sighed for a second. "What were you doing at Melzar's Maze then?" "Infiltrating it," Seth replied quickly, "It ended up burning down in the process." "And the other running with you?" Synit interrogated curiously. "My accomplices," Seth replied expressionlessly. "Names, Seth," Synit stated, "I'm going to need names." Seth only glared at Synit in disinterest. "I'm afraid I cannot reveal that information to you, Synit." Synit nervously glanced around the room for a moment, before leaning in and opening his mouth to speak once again. "Look, Seth, you don't have to do this," he whispered as if it was a warning, "I just need you to tell me everything you know about the Fraternity, please. I promise they will not touch you, nor your brother if you do so." Seth blinked - his eyes carefully watching Synit yet filled with a slight hint of apathy. "I know you want to do the right thing, Seth," Synit said softly. An awkward yet deafening silence emerged between the two men. "I don't know what you are talking about," Seth finally answered, emotionless, "What I do know is that if I reveal even an ounce of information, it may jeopardize how far I've gotten - what I have achieved." Synit sighed distastefully, and looked once again at the table, almost forgetting about the folder he had brought into the cell. "You've been targeting the Moonlighters' Cult, right?" He began, as he opened up he folder and laid out its contents on the table. 'DECEASED' was clearly visible on each sheet of paper. Synit then dug his hand into the pouch and pulled out Seth's dagger - the one with his last name engraved into the blade. "One of them was impersonating a Moonlighter. He was ordered to meet up with a member of the Fraternity, and bring him in," he spoke with a solemn and grim voice, "Along with nine other white knights, they were to apprehend this member if they needed help." Seth well understood the situation in which Synit was speaking of. He only glared at Synit with no sense of remorse nor guilt. "Apparently, next thing you know," Synit started quietly, "They're all dead from wounds delivered from a small blade." He looked at Seth with puzzled eyes. "That is ten families, Seth. I was wondering if you had anything to do with it?" He shoved the dagger across the table. Seth watched as the blade slid across the wood and halted just before the edge in front of him. For some strange reason, he could almost feel the guilt screaming from his lungs, yet a sudden emptiness had taken over his brain and erased any trace of compassion from him. He glanced back at Synit with dispassion and unconcern. "He shouldn't have impersonated a Moonlighter," he said bluntly. At that moment, the atmosphere had shifted and the tension had risen. The shattering of the moderate silence had alerted the guards outside the cell also. "What the hell is going on with you?!" Synit suddenly screamed through clenching teeth, "I don't understand what is going through your mind!" "Revenge, Synit!" Seth barked angrily, "What the hell do you think?!" His eyes were fiery and he began tugging on his chains. "I am helping the Fraternity so I can watch the Moonlighters fall! I want to them to pay for what they did to my parents!" "Morals, Seth!" Synit exclaimed furiously as he slammed the table with his fists, "Where have your morals gone?!" He stood up with an enraged look on his face. "Those were ten loyal white knights who only fought to keep laws in order!" "I couldn't just leave this chapter of my life untouched, do you understand?!" Seth grunted loudly in response, "I need to do what it takes before I can let it go! I want answers, and more importantly - I want revenge." He pulled on the chains locked to his wrists that prevented from allowing to escape. "You better let me go because I have done nothing wrong, Synit!" he yelled angrily as he struggled to break free from the restraints. "Let me go! I'm after the goddamn Moonlighters, not your precious white knights!" His voice boomed over the sound of rustling chains. Synit only stared at Seth in silence, breathing heavily from the utter resentment he felt. Seth began to get even angrier as his breathing was also becoming loud and savage. He attempted to break free from the chains, grimacing as he jerked around in his chair. "Take these foolish restraints off me!" he snarled. He began to feel it again - his head was pulsing painfully, as he struggled in his position. The white knights cautiously raised their weapons, watching Seth carefully. His eyes began to slowly convert to a shade of crimson. Seth shut his eyes tightly and grunted as he could feel his canines sharpening themselves into fangs. A symbol - marked in black - began to carve itself onto Seth's forehead again, the one representing the letter 'W.' He clenched his fists tightly, using all his strength to pull against the metal chains that prevented him from escaping. Synit cautiously stepped backwards, his eyes widened at the sight of his companion's demonic transformation. He continued backwards until he stood in front of the cell entrance. At that, he threw the door shut and locked it immediately - its metal bars seperating Seth from the white knights. Seth grimaced as he used all of his strength to tear the chains off its positions from being mounted to the ground. The shattering of the chains shook the faces of the white knights as they stared at Seth in utter horror, especially at the dark symbol of Zamorak etched into Seth's forehead. Seth glared at the men that stood in front of him. They eyed him in return, horrified, as he bore chains connected to the metal restraints around his wrists. He gripped the side of the wooden table in front of him, tossing it over as the contents atop it fell to the floor - including his father's dagger. Synit was shaking, yet still determined to subdue the altered version of his own friend, Seth. "Zamorak...," he uttered, referring to the black 'W' engraved under Seth's hairline. The white knights stood, frozen and frightened in place, as they watched Seth breathe unusually loudly and snarl with his newly-mutated fangs. "Sir...," a white knight began nervously, his weapon raised, "What... do we do?" "Father Awkel...," Synit whispered to himself before pausing for a brief moment. His eyes flickered towards the end of the corridor. "I must get Father Awkel." He paced away from the scene, half-running and leaving the other white knights to supervise their infernal captive. Seth peered menacingly at the white knights that stood before him, as if he was ready to pounce onto them despite the metal bars that contained him. They only stared at him back with their blades ready to strike, yet bearing a hesitant and uneasy stature. The crazed savage continued to examine his opponents carefully under a light growl and heavy breathing. Seth's eyes narrowed and his lips broke into a mischevious smirk.

my name is hlow

It's not that Synit puts the White Knights before Seth - it's that he holds his duty as a White Knight (whom he also leads) higher than Seth's foolish actions. Synit understands that Seth has tread into the wrong side of morality and Seth has left him with no choice, but to turn him in. Before the two fought, I tried to explain that it was too dark for either of them to see each other's faces. Synit wouldn't have known it was Seth when he asked for him to comply with the arrest but upon revealing their identities to each other, you can see Synit is hesitant on whether or not he wants to take him in. Seth also wishes to fight Synit, leaving him no choice but to fight back and ultimately, attempt to stop or arrest him. I know it's a little disappointing to see them turn on each other. I'm sorry but you'll have to wait to read about the fate of their relationship. :) I also was looking to recreate their fight scene from the first book, and I referenced the "Bring it on" and the "Is that all you got?" from the first book. ^_^

Then I hope you enjoy this chapter. Chapter Twelve: Justice The stars above Gielinor shimmered beautifully, casting an array of lights that lay across the night sky in graceful coordination. There were a couple clouds of darkness that had casted itself, refusing a number of stars from shining upon the land. The moon was nowhere to be found, as if it were a judge unable to settle the conflict between the menacing clouds and the shining stars. "Sir," a voice spoke in the silencing blackness, "Sir! Sir!" Again, it repeated itself. "Sir, wake up!" Seth now felt his body being shaken. His eyes peered open, glancing drowsily at the two boys that stood before him. "We need to get you out of here!" Talent whispered loudly. "What are you doing?" Seth mumbled, his voice hoarse. "We came back for ya, old man," Rapid muttered, placing a hand behind Seth's back in an attempt to help him up. "Now get up, will ya?" "Alright, alright," Seth sighed heavily, coughing roughly. He slowly - with only slight struggle - made it up to his feet. "You came back? I told you to go on without me." "That's not what we were taught to do," Talent replied, holding out Seth's dagger towards him, "Your dagger." Seth retrieved it from Talent's hands, placing it in his sheath and nodding in thanks. "You were taught not to leave those above you behind?" "That," Talent responded, smirking, "And we've taught ourselves not to give up on those whom we respect - whether or not it is our obligation to do so." He glanced at Rapid for a moment. Seth raised a brow. "If you guys are done," Rapid interrupted, annoyed, "I'd like to get the hell out of here." Voices and footsteps sounded from outside the building, until abruptly, a door swung open. A group of men in white armor and a couple in clothing stepped through, whom - at first - did not notice the three members of the Fraternity in the corner of the room. Seth, Rapid and Talent swung their heads in the direction of the door, their eyes alert. "White Knights," Seth whispered to his companions before they swiftly darted through a crevice in the wall. "There!" a man in white armor exclaimed as they started towards the crevice. A figure - dressed in regular clothing - pushed his way through the men in armor. "I'll get them," he proclaimed before darting through the crevice as well, in pursuit of the three. "Shall we help him?" an investigator questioned amongst the men. "It is not to worry about," a white knight explained, removing his helmet and sighing, "The Captain will take care of them. *** The four figures scrambled along the coastline under the dimly-lit night sky. Their feet hurriedly crushed into the dirt between the grass, mixed in with the sand from nearby beaches. Seth, Rapid and Talent were only ahead of their pursuer, who seemed to be radiating clouds of determination. "How much longer can this idiot run?!" Rapid shouted angrily amongst the three. "Just keep going," Seth answered, beginning to pant as they rushed forward. The figure behind them continued after they leaped over the small fence. "I don't think I can run for any longer...!" Rapid warned as he and his brother, Talent, began breathing heavily. They hurdled themselves over another fence, as the man tailing them followed their actions with great skill and agility. The night was nearly an abyss, and the four bodies were barely even visible towards each other. Seth grunted loudly before stopping in his tracks. Rapid and Talent looked over their shoulders and stopped ahead of him. The darkness separated themselves from each other; masking the unknown pursuer with an eerie presence. "What are you doing, sir?!" Talent hollered to Seth, attempting to catch his breath at the same time. "Keep going!" Seth answered loudly between breaths. "This again?" Rapid said sheepishly. "There will be more coming," Seth explained boldly, without looking at the boys, "You need to leave now." "Come on," Talent said, grabbing his brother's arm. "Don't touch me," Rapid barked, as the two brothers darted away from the scene and escaping into the night. Seth could not catch a good view of the man's identity as he had stopped a couple metres away. Darkness surrounded the two men with a grim ambiance. "The explosions at Melzar's Maze," a familiar voice spoke as the voice of justice, "Are you responsible for it?" "I have no idea what you are talking about," Seth answered emotionlessly. "You are going to be put under arrest, anyways," the man replied, sighing heavily, "I need you to comply with me, please." "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Seth said in defiance, "The Fraternity will prevail." As the words exited his mouth, Seth darted towards his opponent, unsheathing his dagger in preparation to attack. "Take this!" he cried angrily. At that moment - as he swung his dagger towards his opponent - Seth froze in his position. His attack had been halted by the grasp between two weapons that his opposition wielded - dual daggers crafted beautifully with white-metal. Then, he took a glance into the man's eyes, and upon seeing his identity, Seth's eyes widened. He threw himself away from the man in front of him, startled by his sudden appearance. "Seth," Synit said with a surprised expression appearing on his face. "Synit," Seth responded grimly, yet cautiously. The two stood there, not knowing of what to do; of what to say. Their weapons were readied and they were in a stance, almost waiting for one another to pounce first. For a good amount of time, silence drifted between the two as the darkness of the night shielded them from a view of the environment around them. What a way it was to reunite with an old friend - a fight to the death. "This is quite surprising," Synit laughed, easing himself from the tension, "What were you doing in Melzar's Maze? With the Fraternity?" Seth's blade was waiting to strike, but he was not eager to commence. "I'm doing it for the family, Synit." "You just attempted to kill me, Seth," Synit explained gravely, "Where is Derek?" "Not here at the moment," Seth muttered in response, lowering his blade slightly, "Look - the basement of Melzar's Maze was being used by the Moonlighters' Cult to transport illegal goods, Synit. I left that place up in flames, so you can sleep a bit easier tonight." "You do not know how wrong you are, Seth," Synit snarled angrily at his hostile acquaintance, "I heard the words 'the Fraternity will prevail' leave your goddamn mouth." His face grew concerned with a slight hint of desperation in his eyes. "Now if you needed money, you could have let me know. You didn't have to resort to this..." "I'm doing it for revenge," Seth explained with the sound of his voice radiating determination, "My brother was lucky the Moonlighters left him in a hospital bed, because they left both my parents in their deathbed. Whatever it takes - violence, bloodshed - I am doing it for my family." "No, Seth. I highly doubt that," Synit snapped harshly, "You're doing it for yourself. Derek would be here otherwise." "Shut up!" Seth shouted in rancor, "It's for my family!" "We are family, Seth!" Synit yelled in return, "And this is not how you greet famliy." "I'm sorry, Synit," Seth said, gripping his weapon tightly, "But it is a lot more complicated than that. I need you to understand. I don't want to fight you. Just let me go." Synit's eyes became serious and fierce. "Like you said earlier," he grunted, "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." "You leave me no choice," Seth said, sighing. "You're setting yourself on a dangerous path, Seth," Synit warned, "A dangerous, dangerous path. I hope after this, you realize what you are doing or what you have already done." "Are we going to fight, or what?" Seth muttered bitterly to his opponent. "It is not something I want to do," Synit answered, "I just want to talk. You need to stop this." "My parents, Synit! Do you not understand? I was robbed of a proper family!" Seth roared furiously, "I'm doing this for revenge!" "We are all robbed of something, Seth, but we cannot go around searching to compensate for our misfortunes at the expense of others!" Synit responded gravely, as he shook his head, ashamed, "A group of undercover knights were brutalized two weeks ago. Do you understand that, Seth? I can't just let you go knowing you may have been a part of it! That dagger...," Synit gazed at Seth's weapon as he held it tightly around his fingers. "No more!" Seth bellowed, realizing he had been the one that had murdered those knights, "I'm finished talking already!" He darted towards his opponent, raising his dagger to strike. "We're really going to do this again, huh?" Synit mumbled to himself as he readied his two blades, "You're really going to fight me, aren't you?" he said softly as Seth continued towards him, "It's really happening like this...?" Seth grasped his dagger with two hands, swiping it towards Synit, who dodged it immediately. He then flipped one of his weapons upside-down, slashing it towards his opposition. Seth stepped back - the blade narrowly missing his chest. Synit attacked again with his other dagger, but Seth parried it skilfully, the impact throwing both men a couple steps backwards. "It didn't have to escalate to this, Seth," Synit scolded as he upheld a serious expression across his face, "It's you that has left me with no choice. The revenge you're seeking isn't set on the right path..." "Enough!" Seth interrupted, charging towards Synit once again. "No choice," Synit muttered, once again, as he used both of his daggers to clamp and hold the blade of Seth's weapon. His eyes widened, feeling the enormous strength Seth had put into his attack. He was struggling to hold the weapon in place as the two stared viciously at each other. For a moment, there was silence. Synit shut his eyes, and using his daggers, he threw Seth's attack off him and took a couple steps behind. Seth smirked as he stared at Synit, who had his eyes completely shut and both of his daggers gripped tightly between both his hands. "Is that all you got?" "I never thought you'd ask me that again," Synit replied, smiling in return with his eyes closed calmly. He held the hilt of both his daggers upside-down in his fingers. "Bring it on."

Chapter 11: Depths The atmosphere between Seth and his opponents were crisp, with nobody making any sudden movements. The members of the Moonlighters' Cult stood frozen in their places, as the Sawmill Operator leaned over the balcony railing, his arms resting casually against the wooden bar of the scaffolding. The air sniffed of sweat and dirt, and Seth - with the scratches and bruises he had attained from the fall - seemed to be affecting him with little significance. He was bleeding from a bloodied cut that had been carved disgustingly across his forehead. The eerie, crimson-coloured liquid from his body was running down his arm, with droplets rhythmically dispersing from his fingertips. "The symbol... on his forehead...," a man warned with a frightened voice. "What do we do?" another voice shouted cautiously. The Sawmill Operator grunted angrily, lowering his head in preparation to yell. "What the hell do you mean 'what do we do?!' He is an enemy of the Cult. Kill him!" Seth was a mannequin, staring blankly at the horrified faces of his prey. Slowly, he placed his finger against the hilt of his dagger, which was tucked comfortably in its sheath to the side. For a brief moment, there was no movement, no sound, no breath - just a second of tension that had surrounded the area. Then, one of the men darted unexpectedly towards Seth, who seemed to be unaware of the man's attack. Suddenly, as the man stabbed his blade forward, aiming for Seth's stomach, Seth drew his dagger with lightning-speed, dodging the attack and cutting a gash into the man's neck. With that, the other men commenced themselves into the brawl. Seth - with great speed - parried the swipes and the jabs from the men's blades that had approached his body. He spun his dagger around, stabbing an opponent in the chest. Elegantly, he threw his arm around the wounded man and upon seeing another thrust from a blade being thrown at him, Seth held the man's body around him like a shield. The attacking opponent's blade collided with his companion's skin, and the edge of the blade went through the body, nearly prickling Seth's torso. Moving with such a high degree of agility, Seth dodged a swipe from another long-sword as he ducked down, cutting a gash in the leg of the opponent in front of him with his dagger. He thrust his blade forward into the stomach of another man, using his free-hand to elbow another man in the nose before finally removing his dagger from the body it had occupied and stabbing it into the enemy he had slugged with his elbow. The coordination of the attacks the men had attempted to deliver to Seth seemed almost messy, but Seth had took the affray and made a beauty out of it. He was surrounded by men with blades attempted to hurt him, but with outstanding speed, his enemies were dropping to the floor one-by-one. The Sawmill Operator had a clear view of the altercation, disgusted by his men's efforts that had proven to be insufficient. Seth grinned mischievously as he parried another attack, skilfully grabbing an opponent's weapon and delivered the dreadful fate of death back against him. The Sawmill Operator could only gaze at the man that was literally murdering each and every one of his men even if they could be overwhelmingly large in quantity in comparison to Seth himself. Chaos had risen from the cold, hard ground that was littered with unmanned swords and dead bodies. Seth feasted upon his final contender, sticking the dagger violently into the back of the man's neck multiple times, before letting him drop to the ground in a puddle of blood. Seth - with the black symbol on his forehead covered in the blood of his fallen enemies - stood hunched over with his back contracting as he breathed heavily. Motionless, bloodied bodies surrounded the floor around him. Suddenly, he looked up at the scaffolding, realizing he was ready to relieve his hunger for vengeance. However, there was nobody there. From the corner of his eye, Seth then spotted something being tossed towards him. He reacted immediately by jumping out of the way - but not nearly in time enough to dodge the attack. Seth felt his fingers lose grip of the dagger's hilt, as if attempting its best in pulling away from the savage warrior. The blast from the explosive potion threw him higher off his feet, grunting loudly with a hurtful wince, his back shaking the wooden box behind him. Seth slowly opened his eyes, his ears still buzzing and his vision blurry as his head was knocked violently against the wood. He could see the silhouette of someone familiar - someone he was hoping to find standing directly in front of him. He could sniff the strong scent of that the potions gave off. He must've been laying against a box filled with them. "Don't move," the Sawmill Operator spoke with his palm raised directly at Seth, "You do know what you are leaning against, do you?" Seth - finally recovering from the minor explosion - gazed cleverly at the man standing in his direction. "Do it," he said with a smirk, "I dare you to." The Sawmill Operator raised a brow, but didn't move an inch. There was a deafening silence between the two figures. "You'll kill both of us," Seth continued, in a bold, raspy voice. He was not hesitant with his words. Although dared to move, the Sawmill Operator stood in his place, his eyes fixed on Seth's with such a empowering concentration. A door from above swung open. Rapid and Talent darted through the entrance, stopping on the scaffolding and examining their surroundings. "Sir!" one of the boys hollered. The Sawmill Operator took a quick glance at the two boys upon the scaffolding - but it was just enough time for a quick-reacting Seth to attack. "Mr. Skyer!" Talent shouted. As the Sawmill Operator's eyes flickered back at Seth, he was pummeled in the face by a fist. Then another - an uppercut right across the chin - throwing the Sawmill Operator off his feet and onto the ground with great force. "Stop! Wait!" Seth leaned over, picking up his dagger and grasping it with both hands. All with such amazing speed, he leaped into the air, tightening his grip around his blade. He landed atop the Sawmill Operator, his bloodthirsty eyes gazing at the torso of his fallen opponent. He drove his dagger down towards the man's chest. "Sir, we're not here to kill him!" The dagger halted its path to the Sawmill Operator's chest. Seth was grasping the dagger with a strengthened grip. His eyes were wide open and once again, he was panting, grimacing as his thirst for blood was finally beginning to frighten him. "We need him, Mr. Skyer," Talent explained from atop the scaffolding, "This isn't about killing him." Seth could feel himself loosening his fingers that wrapped around the hilt of his dagger. His heavy breathing had faded away slightly, and his eyes were returning to normal. The chaos that had overcome his brain was finally beginning to be at peace. However , his eyes were still angrily blinking at the man he faced. "If you're gonna have him at knifepoint," Rapid said obnoxiously as he stood on the scaffolding with his brother, "At least hurry it up and get what we came for so we can leave already!" "They sent you here to question me, didn't they?" the Sawmill Operator mumbled cleverly. The end of Seth's blade was resting against the skin of his opposition. "They might have," he said with no hint of expression. "I know what you're really here for, though," the Sawmill Operator chuckled, "You're here to kill me. You're here to bring justice to the person that hurt your brother. Aren't you?" Again, Seth tightened his grip. "I should kill you right now." "But you can't," he responded with a witty voice, "You're not allowed to. You feel like the Fraternity would not forgive you if you did, but you also feel like you wouldn't forgive yourself if you didn't kill me now - correct?" Seth did not reply with words, but grimaced his response to the contrast between brutality and honesty that came out of the man's mouth. "Correct, or not correct?" "I just need you to tell me where the HQ is," Seth muttered angrily through gritted teeth. The Sawmill Operator chuckled once again. "Now that - Seth - that is a different story, but I'll be happy to give you the endings." He paused for a brief moment. "Sadly, I cannot reveal them to you yet." The Sawmill Operator placed his hand on Seth's arm, and with no time to react, placed a bind spell on his opponent. Seth felt his body lock in position as green rings of magic arose from around him. The Sawmill Operator threw the limp body off him. Rapid and Talent were beginning to climb down the scaffolding until the man shot a fire blast towards a box of explosive potions from underneath the wooden structure. Seth's body was thrown off the floor, landing violently on the floor, separating the grip between his fingers and the dagger. An explosion so powerful - almost like a demonic fireball - erupted from the box, setting a part of the scaffolding on fire and collapsing most of it. Seth's eyes were blinded by the blaze and his ears were stinging heavily. He still was not able to move as much of the room had been engulfed in flame and the other potions in the room were beginning to explode as well. The Sawmill Operator stood in his view, looking down upon Seth like an empowering figure from a nightmare. The Zamorakian symbol painted in black that had once occupied the space on his forehead had now faded away from his skin. "I commend you for your determination!" The Sawmill Operator shouted between blasts and fire, "And for that, I will wait for you at the warehouse in Edgeville!" He walked casually over to a the tracks of the mine cart, many of which, the tunnels had collapsed due to the explosions. "I better get out quick! I've got a mine cart to catch!" With that, the man pushed the mine cart along its track, running through the tunnel as the explosions caused the entrance to collapse from behind him. Seth lay there, frustrated. Suddenly, just as he was beginning to recover from the spell, he felt his body being dragged away through the fiery depths of the room. "Get up, Seth!" His ears still ringing a bit, a faint voice sounding from behind him as he was being dragged from the neck of his bloodied shirt. He placed his hands onto the floor and brought himself up to his feet. "Goodness!" Talent exclaimed, "Let's get the hell out of here!" "Up the damn stairs!" Rapid yelled, beginning to climb up the unsteady positioning of the wooden stairs. "There's fire everywhere!" Talent cried helplessly, "This is dangerous! The bottom of the structure is on fire!" "Keep climbing," Seth spoke courageously, "Don't stop!" Suddenly, he had realized he forgot something. He stopped in his tracks - a surprised expression across his face. "What is it?!" Rapid barked, looking over his shoulder at Seth. "My dagger," he muttered under his breath, "Go on without me!" "Sir, you are out of your mind!" Rapid exclaimed, annoyed. "Rapid, please," Talent argued, "Do what you need to do, but do it quickly!" "Just go," Seth insisted, a hint of boldness existing within his voice. Rapid grunted as Talent urged his brother to continue. They made their ways up the stairs, parting ways with Seth as he instead, climbed back down the wooden steps to the fiery hell. Seth leaped off the staircase, narrowly dodging a wooden plank that nearly fell upon his head. The room was engulfed in a thick, black smoke, stinging the eyes of Seth and also poisoning his lungs. He knew he had to find the dagger fast. He treaded through the dark abyss of fog that surrounded his every point of direction. He covered his mouth, coughing softly to himself as he struggled to keep his eyes open from the burning of the evil mist. Seth's eyes were facing the floor, glancing upon every object he was able encounter close to his feet. "Come on...," Seth mumbled under his breath, his hand covering his mouth, "Where are you...?" As he walked, his feet suddenly kicked against something he recognized. The dagger was just at his feet. He leaned over, the top of his head fully embracing the heat of the fire around him. Quickly, he snatched the dagger from off the floor, running back towards the unstable, wooden staircase. Seth was beginning to feel his brain becoming light and his vision becoming woozy. He needed to get out fast. Although deeply affected by the smoke within his lungs, he struggled to climb up the staircase, yet made it to the top while dodging the holes and gaps that existed in the steps. He felt a rush of adrenaline from within him - his fear of death overcoming his body. Seth darted across the top of the scaffolding, coming towards a gap in the structure. He leaped - with great power - soaring across the crevice and above the fiery depths of the large room. He landed on the other side with success, exiting the room as he began to feel dizzy. Seth removed his hand from his mouth, coughing harshly as he stormed towards the exit, exhausted. Just a couple more steps, he thought to himself. A couple more steps and I will be out of here. Seth stumbled through another door, stopping in front of the ladder that led to a heat-oppressed night-time. He was blinking slowly, and his movements were fatigued. Upon placing his hand on the bar of the ladder, he slipped the first time, but tightened his grip the second time. Seth climbed up the ladder, still coughing from the poison within his lungs, and finally exiting the basement of the maze. He crawled away from the entrance, his hands moving against the rubble that made up the ruins of Melzar's Maze. Seth could feel his head rising to an extent where he began to feel like he was floating. He rolled onto his back, staring at the dirtied ceiling of the ruins he was in. Seth gripped his fingers around the hilt of his dagger, and raised his hand into the air. He examined the dagger carefully, with slow, slumbered movements that his fingers performed. Suddenly, his vision began to fade away as his eyes were beginning to slowly shut. His mind was running into a dark abyss that he felt he could not escape. Seth's fingers slipped away from the clutch of his dagger. His eyes went shut and his head went adrift. The blade of his dagger dropped to the floor, dodging Seth's forehead by an inch. His motionless body lay silently as his dagger - now carrying burnt markings along the blade - as the engraving of his last name had narrowly pierced the skin upon his head.

Thanks, Fake. :) So will I be seeing that new chapter on ROD soon?

Here's another chapter, just for the hell of it. Chapter Ten: Chaos "Stop right there!" a man shouted as a group of men formed in the middle of Rimmington's square. Many of them - dressed in ragged clothing - appeared to be armed with weapons. Rapid and Talent both unveiled their blades, preparing for battle. Seth raised a hand, ordering the two boys to halt for a moment. He opened his mouth to speak, "I will give you another chance." He approached the group closer and closer until they were a small distance away. Rapid and Talent followed behind him. The tension in the air was stiff under the night sky in Rimmington. The disarrayed buildings surrounded the group, with the fires from inside acting as a source of light for the square. The scent of smoke was apparent, as black clouds of powder arose from the roofs of the ruffled houses. The men all carried alerted eyes that carefully examined the three members of the Fraternity as they neared closer and closer. "You know what we are here for," Seth explained, twirling his dagger around his fingers casually, "I suggest you give us the information we need." "Get outta here!" the man yelled, enraged, "We don't know nothin' about some Moonlighters' Cult gang!" "Funny," Seth replied, a clever smirk stretching across his face, "I never mentioned anything about the Moonlighters' Cult." He turned his head to Rapid and Talent, motioning with his eyes for them to attack. It began. "Remember, let them suffer," Seth muttered to his comrades as the enemies darted in their direction. Rapid moved aggressively as he swiped and slashed his enemies with the dagger that he gripped tightly around his fingers. It seems as if he could only focus on one target as he moved onto the other. Nonetheless, his attacks were efficient and well-placed. Rapid dodged an attack from a man with a wooden sword. He swung his dagger powerfully at the sword's blade, severing it in two. He caught the top half of the wooden blade, slicing the edge against the man's chest, and throwing the wood aside as his opponent fell on the floor. Moving on to another target, Rapid parried an attack from another man's sword. He threw his dagger forward, in hopes of stabbing his opponent, but the man swerved to the side to avoid the attack. Rapid grasped his dagger tightly once again, swiping his blade diagonally, but the attack was parried. The man was thrown off his feet a little bit, leaving his chest open for attack. Rapid lunged forward but stabbed as his blade barely touched the man's torso. Turning his blade upside down, he slashed sideways, leaving a large, bleeding gash in his prey's chest. "That all you guys got?!" Rapid taunted, laughing as more enemies approached him with caution. Much like his brother, Talent harmed his opponents skilfully but instead of choosing one target to deal with at a time, he dealt with multiple opponents. He struck them with amazing speed, all at once, equally delivering his group of opponents a share of the pain. Talent swung his blade sideways, carving a wound in one man's chest. He gripped his scimitar with both hands and sliced diagonally upwards at another enemy. As his blade rose high into the air, he turned around - bringing his weapon down - and lunged forward into an enemy's stomach. "Oops," Talent said, startled, taking the blade out the man's flesh and continuing his fighting. He swung his scimitar with one hand at one man's torso, leaving a red line of blood on the man's chest. With the momentum of the swing, he skilfully allowed the blade to swing around his wrist before catching it again. He turned around, his weapon gripped tightly in his hand and swiped it at another opponent, he fell to the floor quickly after. "You have no idea what you've got yourselves into," Seth intimidated, chuckling as he fought his enemies. His eyes were straight crimson as he delivered slashes to his enemies with proficiency. His speed was overwhelming as his opponents fell to the floor, crippled. Seth spun counterclockwise, his dagger held upside down by the hilt. The blade threw itself into the back of a man, who cried out in pain. He spun the other way around, and used his dagger to slice the same man's torso, kicking him onto the floor afterwards. The swordsman ducked, narrowly dodging the swipe from a halberd, wielded by a larger opponent. He charged forward towards the big man, slashing his dagger as he continued to carry it upside down. The broad target dropped to the floor, a gash forming on his stomach. "When will you men give up?" Seth shouted angrily, swinging his dagger around with such swiftness - dropping several opponents to the ground, clutching their wounds in agony. It was almost impossible for his opponents to catch his movements. His dagger dealt pain to his opponents with a high level of elegance and smoothness, it seemed like a beauty to be witness to his attacks. Seth delivered a tear in one man's flesh, before hearing the voice, requesting the Fraternity members to stop. "Please, stop," a man said weakly, as he lay on the floor, his hand raised on the air as if he were raising an imaginary white flag, "No more, please." Seth had just punctured through the skin of an opponent as he heard the voice. "That's enough," he commanded in the direction of Rapid and Talent. He pulled out his dagger from the man's stomach and took a step towards the injured enemy on the floor. "What did you say?" he said, smirking. "Stop, no more," the man, who was bleeding from a wound on his stomach, spoke in a flimsy manner, "We'll tell you! We'll tell you everything! Please, do not hurt us anymore!" The battle had ceased to continue. The remaining men from Rimmington pulled their weapons down, panting to catch their breath. Seth continued towards the man on the ground as everyone in the village stared. "Say it again," he said proudly. The injured man maneuvered himself uncomfortably, moving slightly away from Seth, who stood in front of him. "No more, please!" "Now," Seth began, turning around to survey the tormented enemies on the floor, "Was that so hard to say?" He turned to the man on the floor again, and said, "Tell me what we need to know." "The maze...," the man answered softly, and seemed to be stuttering as well, "They're using that maze! That's where it's coming from!" "That place is destroyed though...," Rapid interrupted. "No," another man in pain on the floor spoke, "It's underground. They're working underground." "Of course...," Talent said, "Using the basement of a shunned building in an isolated area - how clever." "I hope you're telling the truth," Seth warned, "Otherwise you should be praying to Saradomin we don't come back here if we figure out you're all liars." "It's the truth," the man spoke with sincerity, "We swear. We all do." Seth, Rapid and Talent glanced at each other. *** Melzar's Maze was no longer much of a structure. Once a beautiful work of architecture, now bore a resemblance to that of a burnt piece of paper. The second floor to the maze was no longer present, with ash surrounding the entire base. Only a few walls stood up that acted as the first floor, but burnt marks were located all over the bricks as if someone had decided to paint the entire place with a large piece of charcoal. It was almost startling that this place could hold a safe enough basement to run the transportation of illegal products. "It's time we find out where their real headquarters are located," Seth mumbled, as he examined the ruins of the building from a distance. "I thought we're here just to wreck the insides of that place," Rapid muttered back. "We're here to bring down the Moonlighters' Cult," Seth explained, "So we're going to need to know where to go to do exactly that." It was clear his intentions were still to destroy the Moonlighters' Cult, and hopefully deliver justice to the people that killed his parents and hospitalized his brother, Derek. They cautiously stepped onto the ruins of Melzar's Maze, carefully examining their surroundings. Burnt furniture sat casually in the middle of the large room - a table surrounded by a line of chairs. The floor was littered in black ash, and the interior was more burnt than that of the exterior walls. They searched the rooms, hoping to found some sort of entrance downstairs. "A ladder!" Talent hollered from inside one room. Seth and Rapid joined him as he lifted the wooden trapdoor off the floor, revealing a wooden ladder leading to the basement. He glanced at his two companions. "What's the plan?" "Hurt everyone," Seth responded boldly, as they climbed down the ladder. The three members of the Fraternity surveyed their environment. They appeared to be in a small room, with a single door on one side. The floor was stone and the walls were cold. It was surprisingly quiet, and a certain hostility lingered in the air.They opened the door, and walked through. "Who the hell are you three?!" a voice questioned angrily. Seth, Rapid and Talent stood, unfazed by the group of men that were casually sitting at the tables in the room. It seems as if the room acted as a lounge to the members of the Moonlighters' Cult. Now they all had their eyes laid upon the trespassers that had just entered. "We just want to know where your HQ is," Seth asked naturally, "If you comply, no one will get hurt." "This again...?" Rapid said, sighing and shaking his head. "You've just entered Moonlighters' territory, my friends," the man said, motioning for his fellow members to attack. "You will not be getting out too easy." "You asked for it...," Seth muttered under his breath as he impaled a man in the head with his dagger with astonishing quickness, "This is Fraternity territory - for now." The remaining enemies stood in their tracks, startled at Seth's masterful attack. One of them cursed. "Out! Out!" another one shouted, and the group began to disperse. Seth, Rapid and Talent stopped their enemies in their tracks. In only a couple of seconds, they skilfully killed their unmatched opponents, leaving their lifeless bodies on the ground in the room. "Well," Talent began, lowering his scimitar, "That ended faster than I thought it would." "Talent, take your brother and clear everything through that door," Seth ordered, pointing to the door on the right, "I will take the other door. Meet back here when you are finished, understood?" "Understood," Talent acknowledged before leaving the room with Rapid. Seth walked through the door on the left, and examined the area he had just entered. He was now standing on a wooden scaffolding, overlooking a large room to the right, filled with dozens of wooden boxes - the merchandise. There were rail tracks that ran through the middle of the vast room, providing transport through the carts that rode atop them. On the opposite end of the scaffolding were the stairs that took you down into the area littered in boxes. Seth spotted at least a dozen men working down below him, carrying boxes and placing them in their corresponding sections of the room. He squinted his eyes, seeing a box, stacked with explosive potions. He was in the right place. Seth silently crept forward, seeing a doorway to the left of the scaffolding that was placed against the cold walls of the basement. Slowly, he placed his hand on the doorknob, twisting it and pushing it open with caution. His clutched the hilt of his dagger tightly, readied to attack... In a heartbeat, Seth felt the air being knocked out of him by, what seemed to feel like, hard object, delivering a blow right into his stomach. His eyes widened in astonishment as he was thrown backwards - away from the door - and over top the scaffolding railing. As he fell, he groggily glanced at his stomach. Rocks - with glowing green energy shining from its cracks - were dropping with Seth. The door had also been blasted open; the power of the attack threw the door off its hinges and over the scaffolding. There was a burning feeling of agony that Seth's stomach was engulfed in. The dreadful pain was obviously created by an earth spell, and he had an idea of exactly who delivered it to him. Seth was hit by an earth wave. His fall finally ended as his back impacted with the top of a box of teleportation tablets. He crashed through the lid, causing the entire box to tumble over spill its contents. Seth fell once again onto his back, submerged in the tablets, before finally flipping over and landing hard onto his stomach. His body was limp, his face was flat on the floor, and his eyes were shut. Blood, coming from a cut on his head, spilled onto the ground near Seth. The members of the Moonlighters' Cult froze in their footsteps, alarmed at Seth's arrival. They then gazed back up at the scaffolding where a bald man with goggles leaned against the railing, eying Seth's motionless body. It was the sawmill operator. "Pathetic," he started, "Absolutely pathetic. I'm not sure if that box of tablets is coming out of my payment!" Seth definitely recognized the man's voice, even through his faint hearing. "Hey, wait a minute, I know you! You're the guy... from the sawmill." the sawmill operator, hollered, snickering to himself, "How is your brother doing? Poison doesn't seem to be too healthy these days..." Seth struggled to pick himself up for a moment, but he was able to stand up. He staggered in his posture, as his back was hunched forward and his head facing towards the ground. He gripped his dagger tightly, breathing unusually heavy. He came to a point of realization - the man who put his brother in that infirmary bed was standing in plain sight. This would be Seth's time to strike; revenge was only a couple meters above his head. He could taste it already; the sweetness of victory, the power in bloodshed, the strength in slaying. Aside from the eagerness to avenge his brother - and in turn, his family - Seth was angry to the roots of his bones. He could feel the fury inside of him, trembling, as if it wanted to burst out of his own mouth and scream. Seth felt the change at that time. Once he realized that his anger, and his hunger for revenge, acted along the same lines that brought him determination and power, he changed. "I was...," the sawmill operator paused for a moment, yawning sarcastically for a few seconds, "Expecting a nice brawl here... but all you seem to be doing is breathing like you're insane?" Seth simply laughed, startling everyone in the room, including the sawmill operator. Then, he laughed even more loudly, and slowly, it progressed into maniacal laughter. He raised his head, with fully crimson eyes staring into the soul of the sawmill operator. "Insanity...," he said, through mischievously grinning teeth, "Is what makes people tick. It gives people the courage - the freedom - to do things they are too afraid to do in the first place." His voice was exceptionally raspy. "A little chaos in the brain is healthy, for everyone. Even for all of you." Seth turned around, examining the members of the Moonlighters' Cult that surrounded him. At once, the men backed away in horror, with their weapons drawn cautiously. Some gasped in terror while some cursed at the sight of Seth's appearance. Fangs had grown upon Seth's teeth, the iris of his eye was entirely crimson, and the most frightening feature was present on Seth's forehead - a symbol in black, bearing much resemblance to the shape of a 'W.' It was the symbol of Zamorak.

Not much action in this one, but I assure you, there will be tons of fighting in the upcoming chapters! Chapter Nine: 14 Days Later The sky above Gielinor was clouded, but sun managed to shine through the white clusters of mist. Rays of light gleamed powerfully, slicing through the clouds as if they were being punctured by tiny needles that seemed to have dropped down from the heavens above. There was a scent of tranquility in nature that lingered through the air, bringing cheerfulness to Gielinor's many inhabitants. The city of Falador was peaceful on this bright morning, with the White Knights' Castle in utter beauty due to the sheer brightness of the sunlight. The architecture seemed almost unearthly, with white bricks placed in such exquisiteness that seemed to give off a dignified ambiance, surrounded by an illustrious moat - a clean one, at that. Falador seemed to have displayed itself as an honorable society, providing visitors with sights of its wonderful white buildings and houses. It was a long and successful road of recovery that this city had propelled on. The captain of the order of the white knights - Synit - sat at his desk in the second floor of the castle, which seemed to overlook the courtyard in which the walls of the fortress surrounded. He was dressed in a casual attire but bore the symbol of the white knights - a sapphire cut in the shape of a rhombus - in the form of a pendant around his neck. He was the only person that was able to wear this necklace; it was exclusive and only to be worn by the man that served as captain of the white knights. There were two white-metal daggers that acted as Synit's weaponry, on the desk in front of him, atop the clusters of paper. Synit glanced at the white knights, casually strolling, yet patrolling through the quadrangle of this stronghold. The White knight captain looked down, back at the papers on his desk. Ten names were written down one of the papers, with descriptions of each person beside each alias. 'Deceased,' was written in red over all the descriptions. These were the white knights that had been undercover at the Jolly Boar Inn. Seth had murdered all ten of them, but that was something Synit did not know. "May they rest in peace," the voice of an aged man mumbled from behind, "They died serving the duty of the white knights." The elder was a priest, with an extraordinarily wrinkled face and small traces of grey hair that remained on the side of the man's scalp. He wore black robes, with the symbol of prayer stitched on the torso of the robes. He wore a necklace of Saradomin around his neck and wielded an air staff, which he mostly used to support himself when walking. Synit was not startled by the interruption, but instead, he sighed as he picked up another sheet of paper. It contained the accumulated information the undercover white knight had gathered upon working with the Moonlighters' Cult. It seems as if the gang's explosive potion and illegal teleportation tablet business had been targeted by the Fraternity of Lost Thieves, according to the intelligence written on the paper. "It's a shame," Synit muttered. His face was emotionless, but there was a hint of fury in his voice. "It seems as if the Fraternity has unleashed some sort of secret weapon against the Moonlighters' Cult - and it's working too." "We will stop them both," the old man said, determination existing in his aging voice, "You will stop them both. You are the best captain these white knights ever had the honour to work under." The compliment made Synit crack a smile. "Thank you, Father Awkel," he said, gazing at a different sheet of paper, containing information on the Fraternity of Lost Thieves. "They may be paving their way through Moonlighters' Cult territory, but they're edging nearer to southern Falador. It'll be a dangerous route, indeed, for them." "I guess that's the spirit," Father Awkel chuckled, "The moment they attempt to strike Faladorian territory, we bite them like a cobra!" Synit's eyes became serious as he listened to the words of the priest. He looked onwards at the courtyard of the castle. With determination abiding in even the deepest sides of himself, he spoke, "And that's exactly what I intend to do." *** "I have been in awe these past two weeks," Royius said as he sat in the chair of his office, leaning against both elbows on his desk, "Your work for the Fraternity has been phenomenal." "Thank you," Seth answered simply, nodding slightly as he stared at Royius, "It's been no sweat." "We've broken into the tablet business greatly, and even the explosive potion trade," Royius explained proudly, "We've set fire to the base of their establishment, and it looks like the supports have just burnt to a crisp." He nudged a bag of gold pieces that was sitting on his desk towards Seth's direction. "I missed your payment for yesterday's work. You've earned this." "What's next?" Seth inquired, slowly grabbing the bag of coins and slipping it into his pockets. He yawned, leaning back in his chair and resting his head against his left hand. Royius paused for a brief moment, smiling at the amount of eagerness he could hear in Seth's question. "Rimmington," he said loudly, enunciating the name of the village thoroughly, "Do you know what makes of that town right now?" Seth shook his head. "It's filled with scum," Royius replied, a disgusted look on his face, "An asylum for the people that transport Moonlighters' Cult merchandise - we've managed to beat some information out of the men you've recently apprehended." "What do you want me to do with them?" Seth asked casually. "It's time we've kicked the Moonlighters' Cult out of their own territory near south Falador," Royius continued, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a teleportation tablet. The tablet had a 'V' on it, surrounded by two light-blue circles. "Have a chat with our friends in Rimmington," he laughed, "Have them tell you where the Moonlighers' product is coming from, and then I want you to go there," the leader of the Fraternity paused for a few seconds, "I want you to destroy it." Seth, unaffected by the brief moment of dramatic silence between the two, simply nodded his head. "That sounds delightful to me. The bloodshed seems inevitable," he said, before standing up from his chair. "But wait," Royius interrupted, also rising from his seat, "I understand you are quite hostile about having my members working with you, but I assure you, these particular members will work to your liking. They are waiting outside, you see. They will be joining you with your task." Seth, although bothered by the thought of working with someone that wasn't a friend or his own brother, accepted Royius statement. "Oh, you must be scared," Royius spoke with sarcasm, "Only two people? I trust you these boys will be all the help you need." Seth nodded once again, already having an idea of the two members that would be supporting him. "I'm sure they will." "Are you ready?" the voice of a youth said, as Seth exited Royius' office. He turned around and saw a teeange boy, tossing a dagger in the air and catching it by the hilt repeatedly as he leaned against the wall beside the door. He had a disgruntled look on his face. Seth knew exactly who this boy was. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by another boy leaning against the wall on other side of the door. It was clear the two boys bore a resemblance with each other. He closed his book and held it in both hands as he spoke, "Yes, his name is Rapid, and my name is Talent. We are pleased to meet you." "You don't have to tell him my name!" Rapid shouted, spitting saliva as he yelled at his brother. "I can do what I want," Talent answered, opening the back again, and digging his eyes into the pages, "I am older than you." "That is no excuse," Rapid argued, angrily, slapping the book out of his brother's hands. Talent calmly turned in Rapid's direction, placing his hands on his hips. "That was uncalled for, brother." Rapid imitated the boy, mimicking his words in a high voice. These were the two boys that fought in the ring a couple years ago, Seth thought for a moment, These two have killed people. He was a little disturbed by the thought as he examined the casualness of the two. They acted much like teenagers, in the fact that they hoped to assert their own dominance and independence. They had murdered people, yet they acted normal despite that fact. They acted like how they were supposed to. They were in fact, teenagers. "Stop," Seth said boldly, and at once, the two brothers were silent. Talent picked up his novel from the ground as Rapid crossed his arms and grunted. "Let's just go already," Rapid spoke in annoyance. "There's an item I need to leave at my brother's house," Seth explained, as the three walked through the halls of the Fraternity headquarters. He was referring to the bag of gold pieces. "After that, we will travel to Rimmington. Do you have everything you need?" The young brothers nodded their heads. "Excellent," Seth mumbled. *** Despite the night sky being lit in beautiful stars and the luminous glow that the moon reflected upon Gielinor, much of the moon's radiance ignored the small town of Rimmington. The houses in the village were rundown and the only visible paths were disheveled. It seems as if the most of the homes were burnt down to ashes, but repaired by mediocre carpenters a long while afterwards. TThere was smoke coming from the tops of the houses, but there was no need for a chimney - many of the structures contained damaged roofs. The battered windows were dimly lit by the hazardous bonfires forged in the buildings. There was a chainlink fence that was built, surrounding the entire village with a gateway that led to the town's square - the entrance. Even the fence was grubby with rust, ruptures and rifts. The enclosure acted greatly as an invisible sign, however, a sign telling visitors to keep out. The thought of people living in these conditions almost disgusted Seth enough to cringe as he stared at his surroundings. He turned his head to survey the area around the village. He was able to spot the remains of Melzar's Maze in the distance to his right. The structure had been burnt down after Melzar was killed, which was done at the hands of Seth himself. "Rimmington," Talent began as he stood beside Rapid and Seth on the stone path, "Settled by Crandorians after Elvarg was awakened." He chuckled to himself as he spoke, "Now it's settled by the poor after Zen was awakened." "Do we climb over?" Rapid asked, through the sound of crickets, chirping in the night. "No," Seth answered simply, "We're tackling this maturely - we ask them the question right at the front door." "What happens if they don't tell us anything?" Rapid questioned, doubtful. "We burst right through the door and kill them," Talent replied, his eyes set on the town. *** "Excuse me?" Seth hollered as he stepped towards the tall, metal gates. There was a clearer view of the establishment, and he could see the smaller details of the buildings now - much uglier than he thought. He placed both of his hands on the bars and shook them twice, until he caught the attention of a group of men conversing in the town square. They were dressed in dirty and ripped clothing as they approached the three Fraternity members with a hostile look on their faces. "What do ya want?" one of the men questioned in an irritated voice. Seth motioned the man to lean closer, as he brought his face closer to the metal bars of the fence. The man's ear came closer, and then Seth muttered, "I know you are all transporting Moonlighters' Cult goods. Tell me where they're coming from and you won't have to face any trouble." The man sighed heavily before taking his head away from Seth. "Who do ya think you are?" he questioned, a clever look on his face. He glanced at Rapid and Talent before speaking again, "I don't even know anything about transporting goods." Seth laughed, casually leaning away from the fence. "I don't know anything, he says," he imitated. Suddenly, Seth threw his hand through the fence, grabbing the man by the wrist and pulling his arm through the grills of the enclosure. With his other hand, he unsheathed his dagger skilfully and stuck it into the neck of the man on the other side of the fence. As the other men retreated backwards, shouting for help, Seth kicked the door and it slowly swung open as the limp body leaning against it dropped to the floor. "Don't kill them straight away." He took a step forward into the village, as Rapid and Talent walked in with him. "Let them suffer."

Fake- Awesome :D I've been rereading the entire story just to freshen my memory. Delred- Thanks a lot. :) This section may not be active, but I'm still determined to finish this book. Expect a new chapter out by the end of this week!

Thanks. :) Yeah, I can see that now. It's quite depressing, seeing how active it was a couple years ago.

Fake- Thanks for the feedback. I just finished making the outline for this story and since I have nothing better to do, I might as well finish it. Don't you fret, Synit will eventually be introduced in this story and he's cooler than ever. :) Chapter Eight: Proposition The day was bright, as the sun's gaze shone down onto the Varrockian buildings on a beautiful morning. A small breeze blew through the blades of the grass as the very few clouds in the sky, slid across the blueness of the above. "You did a wonderful job yesterday, Seth, " Royius complimented, sitting across the desk in his chair as he stared at Seth, "For the Fraternity. That was good." He chuckled to himself. Seth nodded in appreciation, but his head seemed to only make a subtle movement. His eyes were sharp, and his face remained emotionless. He sat straight up in his chair, as if he were waiting patiently for something. "Ah," Royius began again, "I see. You're waiting for me to give you something to do?" Seth blinked in Royius' direction and tilted his head to the side a little. His mouth did not tremble one bit. Royius picked up a couple papers from his desk before revealing another one in his hands, his eyes thoroughly reading the text on the sheet. "You have somewhere to go, my friend. There is a man, he will be sitting in the table to the right of the entrance of the Jolly Boar Inn. He will be expecting you, and will have pouch of teleportation tablets. He will also be expecting you to give him money, but I want you to hand him his fate. Bring the tablets back to me. Is that clear?" "I understand," Seth replied, acknowledging and accepting the task from Royius, "Does this man have to do with the Moonlighters' Cult?" He was eager for an answer although his expression did not display it. "Of course," Royius answered, smiling, "Take care of him for me, will you?" Seth nodded silently before standing up and leaving the room. *** What...? Seth muttered in annoyance, "How...?" Honold removed his gloves and took off the apron from around his neck, placing it on the counter before washing his hands in the infirmary sink. "The infection has spread to the rest of his body, causing him to become very sick." Seth paused for a brief moment, watching as Honold shut off the water, grabbing his apron before beginning to walk away again. Seth stopped him, wrapping his arm tightly around Honold's wrist. "What do you think-" "What do you mean the infection has spread to the rest of his body?" Seth yelled angrily, his eyes widening in fury. The atmosphere intensified as Honold felt Seth's glare staring into his soul, but he did not flinch. "The infection must have spread before I applied the medication. My timing was wrong, but he'll be fine in at least two weeks." Honold's voice was at its utmost calmest. Seth took a deep breath, losing his grip of Honold's wrist. His eyes shut for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts, but they were clear, he was not happy. Then he took a glance at his brother again, with the rush of anger come through him again. The eeriness of the infirmary added to the density of the air between the two men. Seth felt his fingers curl up into a fist, his wrists trembling with animosity. Suddenly, he threw a fist into Honold's cheek, knocking the unaware doctor to the floor, grasping his face in forsake. Seth was breathing heavily, glaring down at Honold as he lay on the floor, conscious, but intimidated. He felt his message was thoroughly exhibited, and therefore, calmly took towards the door. Honold lay sideways on the floor, and upon hearing the door shut behind him, he removed his hand from his bruised cheek. Then, as he left his eyes examining the ground of the infirmary, he smirked. *** The Jolly Boar Inn was quiet, as it regularly was. The inn remained along the ditch that acted as the borderline, separating the safe salvation of Gielinor, and the terrifying abyss known as the wilderness that existed North of it. The interior of the inn was built beautifully, with carefully cut tiles aligning each other on the ground. There was a bar at the back of the room, with a long wooden counter containing a few empty glasses and a single bartender speaking to the two customers that sat on the stools in front of him. There were tables neatly placed along the walls, with the chairs tucked under. It seems as if this inn didn't receive many customers. There was a certain serenity that existed in the ambiance of the inn as Seth stepped through the entrance. He surveyed his surroundings; two customers at the bar, one bartender, two men and a woman sitting at the table from across the room. He then glanced on the right side of the room and a man sat alone, sipping calmly from a glass of ale while reading an issue of the Varrock Herald. Seth took a seat at the table where the man sat. He stared at the man from across the table, and so he put down his newspaper. "Glad you could make it," the unknown man said, smiling, "I think we both know I'm not here to read this boring newspaper." There was an unusual strangeness associated with this man. His voice was rough, a scruffy beard covering below and around his mouth and extremely short hair atop his noggin. "Are you from the Moonlighters' Cult?" Seth questioned, his voice softer than usual so his dialogue would be unaudible to the others in the inn. The man nodded, and at that action, Seth could feel his hunger for this man's blood growing. A Moonlighters' Cult member? Seth thought. Just another enemy. He did not care for the environment he was in; he was going to kill this man whether or not the other people in the room would freak out. Seth felt his eyes draw a line across the man's neck, and imagining the blood pouring out like a waterfall. He hungered for this man's death even more. He hungered for revenge again. "Do you have the gold?" the man asked, bringing a pouch out from under the table and displaying the contents of it; teleportation tablets. "No," Seth answered slowly, stuck in a trance that was brought on by the insanity that currently existed in his brain. "Why not?" "Because," Seth regained his self-control and glared directly into the man's eyes, "I'm here to kill you." Upon hearing this intimidating statement, the man did not even blink at Seth's response. He bit his lip once, looking away and then back into the direction of Seth. "Well, sir, I'm afraid I cannot let you do that." Seth could hear a group of footsteps climbing down from the stairs from over his shoulder, but he did not move a bit. He had a feeling that even the other people in the room were also aware of the meeting occuring in the inn. "A set up, huh?" he spoke, with no hint of fear in his voice, "Who do you think you are?" The man that sat in front of him stood up from his seat, grabbing the pouch and unveiling a sword with a bright shade of grey as material for the blade. "White knights," he said boldly, before motioning the other knight behind Seth to apprehend him. Seth reacted by swiftly unsheathing his dagger and spinning around, driving his blade into the side of the man's stomach that stood behind him. With one hand still on the hilt of his dagger, he clenched his fists and drove his fist into another knight's face. After removing his dagger from the flesh of his first opponent, he lunged it back into the stomach of another knight before spinning around and backing away, allowing the body of the knight he just stabbed to fall off his blade and onto the floor. Seth took a couple steps backwards, until he stood under the exit. He examined his remaining opposition; everyone in the room had their weapons out at Seth, along with the man he was supposed to meet. They were all undercover white knights. No, they were all enemies. "Purchasing teleportation tablets from an unauthorized merchant is illegal," the man proclaimed, "I suggest you give up before we have to subdue yourselves." "Well," Seth began, in a casual tone of voice, excited from the inevitability of bloodshed, "I'm not going anywhere. So I suggest you try me." The white knights in the inn charged in Seth's direction, and a grin stretched across his face. He dodged a lunge by one knight, narrowly avoiding the sword that nearly pierced his skin. Instead, he grabbed the sword by its blade, spinning around until he faced his opposition. Using the momentum from his spin, he tossed the blade into his other hand and then maneuvered his body backwards, a sword nearly slashing his stomach area. Another attack came towards Seth's right shoulder, but using his quick reaction skills, he parried the attack with the white sword. With graceful movements, he spun counter-clockwise, his left arm extended, carrying the white metal blade managed to slash the throats of two opponents. The remaining four white knights took a couple steps away from Seth, who was virtually unharmed. "By the order of the white knight... I order you to halt!" one of them stuttered to shout. Seth lowered his weapons, dropping the white sword onto the floor. He casually strolled over to the body of the man he was told to meet and picked up the pouch of teleportation tablets. One of the white knights inadvertently darted in Seth's direction, his sword grasped in two hands and readied to strike. Seth immediately reacted to the attack, and struck the man in the chest with his dagger with a high degree of speed. He pushed the man off the blade of his dagger, and abruptly engaged another one in battle. He slashed at one knight, who dodged it by moving backwards. Swiftly, spinning his dagger upside down, Seth drove it into the heck of the woman knight. He dodged an attack from another knight, bending backwards to avoid a swipe from a white knight sword. His hand was still placed on the hilt of his dagger, and finally removed its previous position from inside the flesh of the woman's neck. The skilful swordsman tightened his grip around the hilt of his dagger and easily parried an attack from another white knight, throwing the man off balance. He dodged another lunge from a white sword, elbowing the man who delivered the attack and stealing his weapon for Seth's own use. He all performed these actions with such swift and elegant movements, displays such a level of skill unmatched by many others. Seth diced the white sword backwards, slicing the neck of the man he took the weapon from, and then stabbing the man to the right of him with his dagger, right through the chest. He spun around again and pointed the white sword in the direction of his final opponent, and launching the sword from his hands. The white knight managed to dodge the throw, but gave Seth time to attack once again with his trusty dagger. Grasping the hilt with both hands, Seth threw his dagger forward with great power, nearing its tip towards the man's stomach. The white knight attempted to stop the attack forcefully by wrapping his fingers around Seth's wrists. He was thrown a couple steps back until his back neared the wall. Seth still had his eyes on his prey's stomach as he was still attempting to stab the last opponent. As the white knight felt his back touch the wall of the inn, Seth's eyes widened as he could feel his dagger slowly pierce the skin of the man he just attacked. The white knight cried out in pain as blood spurted out of the new wound that Seth had just remitted. The hands around Seth's wrists slowly loosened and dropped, limp. Seth smiled, removing his dagger from the man's stomach and staring at the product of the inn. The white knights were dead. Seth glanced at the pouch of teleportation tablets before exiting the building, and then one last look over his shoulder. His enemies were dead. *** "White knights?" Royius said, carefully examining the teleportation tablet as he twirled it around in his fingers. He and Seth sat lonesome in the office. "Yes," Seth simply answered, "It was a set up. I killed them all and took the tablets." "They are straying far from their territory...," Royius mumbled, "That undercover white knight must've really been a member of the Moonlighters' Cult. I guess you could say we did a humble favor for them, getting rid of that man." He put the tablet down onto the desk, and opened his mouth to speak again, "But you did a great job, Seth. With these, we'll be able to pave our way into the illegal tablet distribution. Do you know what that means, Seth?" he spoke with an unusual eagerness, picking up a small bag and dropping it onto his desk, right in front of Seth. The bag shook, and Seth could hear the rustle of gold pieces in it. "This is for you." They were gold pieces; tiny, little gold pieces but Seth felt an unusual attraction to them. Gladly, he grabbed the pouch of gold pieces for his own. They were gold pieces, but he knew they ran the lives of almost everyone in Gielinor. They were powerful. "Thank you," he said, before standing up and walking towards the door. "No need to, but wait," Royius said, raising his palm as if notifying Seth to stop, "I've got lots of more things for you to do, Seth, all of which involving the collapse of the Moonlighters' Cult. Must you complete these tasks for me, I will provide you with gold pieces. Does that sound good?" More gold pieces, Seth thought, And it's all for my family. "Sounds great." Seth exited through the door of Royius office. Honold was standing calmly outside the room, and did not look even glance at Seth, who glared disheartenedly at the doctor as the two briefly passed by each other. Honold waited until Seth left the premises before entering Royius' office. "How is Derek?" Royius asked, sorting out the contents of the pouch. He did not look up at Honold as he replied, "The kid is suffering from the infection the poison dagger gave off. It has spread to his brain, causing him to be very sick at the moment. He'll recover though." "Good," Royius said, and then finally his eyes rose in the direction of Honold, examining the bruise on Honold's cheek, "And how did Seth take it?" "Well, sir," Honold started, "I'm sure you can tell he did not take it well." Royius stared back down at the tablets, which had been sorted completely by the designated spot it teleported its user to. "Just as I predicted." *** The moon shone down on the land of Gielinor, with the creatures of the night roaming the lands, shady men strolling through the streets of Varrock, weary guards standing by the gates of cities and a cool wind, but refreshing wind continued to blow. Seth unlocked the door to Derek's home and stepped through. He was taking quiet steps, as if someone were sleeping and he wanted to do the polite thing and not wake them up. Nobody was in the house but him though. Seth removed the pouch containing the gold pieces from his pocket, and carefully placed it on the table in the room. "A gift," Seth whispered to himself, before leaving the house and shutting the door behind him.

Chapter Seven: Glory The sun illuminated a subtle brightness as it narrowly approached its midday position. The wind blew briskly through the trees, with the sound of leaves rustling against the other branches. Seth sat at his brother's bedside in the infirmary of the Fraternity headquarters. There was a deafening silence that lingered in the air with the only sound in the room being made by the droplets of water that fell from the sink's tap. Liquid dropping on the surface of steel was only what was heard at the moment, accompanied by the smell of medical potions that stood along the wooden shelves of the entirely-cemented room. "Seth...," Derek's voice whimpered, signaling his awakening from his deep sleep, "Hey, Seth." His eyes were still closed, and he tried to get up but Seth prevented him from any further movement as Derek grunted loudly. "What are you doing?!" Seth exclaimed as he calmly kept his hand on his brother's shoulder to keep him from standing up, "Don't move." He was surprised, but relieved that Derek had finally woken up. He hadn't spoken to him since he was slashed by the poisonous dagger that had put him in this position. "How bad as it...?" Derek's eyes peered open as Seth stared at his disgusted expression, "I'm not ready to die." Seth's lip tremble, but he didn't feel like crying. Crying was for the weak, he thought. He was angry, not upset. "The doctor said the wound is quite deep; said your insides might be poisoned." "Oh, god," Derek spoke while cringing, "I'm starving." His brother's words made him strike a smile. Starving, Seth thought, Only my brother would say something like that after being cut by a poisonous dagger. "Where am I anyways?" Derek turned his head back and forth, scanning his surroundings, "This does not look like a hospital-" "That's because it isn't," Royius interrupted as he pushed the door open and entered the room with Honold, the doctor, "You're in the infirmary of the Fraternity HQ." Seth and Derek stared at the two men. "How are you feeling, kid?" Honold questioned. He wasn't wearing his apron and gloves. "His name is Derek," Seth answered boldly as he glared at Honold. Derek raised a brow and spoke with wit, "Terrible. Take me to a real doctor." "Well, Derek," Honold chuckled with his semi-worn out voice, "I am a real doctor." Derek examined Honold as he put on his apron and a new pair of white gloves. "Now let's check out that wound of yours." His head slowly dropped in the direction of the white cloths bandaged on his stomach as Honold carefully removed them. Derek's eyes went shut as he spoke, "It hurts...," he winced in pain. Blood splattered on the patch that covered Derek's wound and the area around the gash was still a bit dark. "You're a doctor... can't you make... it stop... hurting?!" he struggled to shout. Seth felt an overwhelming sadness come across him. It was miserable to see his brother like this, and even worse to think that the man who had done this had escaped. He felt stupid, and he felt hurt. Just like Derek. Seth did not like this. He did not like to see his brother in pain. *** Royius' office was grim and the atmosphere was crisp. Seth was confused at his feelings the more he examined them. He did not know if there was a word that existed for what he was feeling at the moment. It was like an anger so deep that he had not intentions of displaying it. A confusing anger that did not shake you up on the outside, but rather on the inside, in your head. He knew what he wanted to do though. Seth wanted to kill the man who had put his brother in that bed, but he knew for sure that it wasn't as simple as that. That's why it was confusing to him. It was an anger that he did not know how to approach, and therefore it frustrated him to a point of breakage. A point of ruthlessness. A point of desperation. "Your brother will be fine, Seth," Royius assured with a serious look on his face, "Honold is a great doctor that has treated many, many members well." Seth did not say a word. His eyes were drawn downwards and were expressionless. "Your brother's a fighter; I'm sure he will recover quickly. He will not have to suffer anymore." The air was still in Royius' office when Seth finally spoke, "I want to kill him. I want to kill the Sawmill Operator." Royius could tell his words were true, as Seth's eyes were engulfed in anger. "I understand," Royius said, sighing at the same, "The Sawmill Operator is a high-ranking officer in the Moonlighters' Cult. Normally, it'd be a lot tougher to confront him like that - a lot tougher." He glanced down at the sheath attached to Seth's hip. "You will have your revenge, Seth," the leader of the Fraternity said with a quieter, sincerer voice, "For your family's sake, I want to set fire to the Moonlighters' Cult and watch them crash and burn. I want you to help me with that." Seth's eyes arose and stared through to the back of Royius' head. "I understand," he said fiercely. "Now... Seth, I have a small tas for you," Royius said cheerfully, halting the tension in the air. He stood up, leaning on both of his hands that were placed on the papers on his desk. "We have got..." "Wait," Seth's words had broken Royius' sentence, "My father, my mother... I want you to tell me their names." "You do not know your parents' names?" Royius questioned, taking his hands of his desk. "I need you to tell me," Seth muttered. "Vincent and Rose," Royius replied with a bold expression. Seth did not respond. "Vincent and Rose Skyer." *** Seth stood silently in the centre of the ring he had previously fought at, unfazed by the loud chantings and cheers of his fellow members that surrounded him on the outside. His eyes were fixed on the people that were being pushed into the ring through the chainlink entrance. Five men had entered. They all carried unpleasant looks on their faces. Fear, Seth thought. He backed away from the five men, but with no intentions of fleeing from the inevitable fight he was about to take part in. He stepped backwards until he reached the rusty fence that surrounded them; Royius stood right on the other side, his hands resting in the comfort of his pockets. "These men chose to defy the order of the Fraternity, Seth. They chose to betray us," Royius whispered to Seth, "I want you to make sure they do not commit these intentions again." "Frighten them..?" "Kill them...," Royius simply answered, "For the Fraternity." "For my family...," Seth said as he approached the centre of the ring again, his face in the direction of his opponents. The five men, thinking they had the advantage over Seth, charged in his direction. Seth did not move, and watched silently as they came closer towards him. Royius had told him to kill these men for betraying the Fraternity, and that's exactly what he had planned to do. The cheers only grew louder has Seth swung his father's dagger at the man in the middle, slashing through his neck and cutting open in one swift action. The man dropped to his knees, his own hands around his neck as if he were trying to suppress himself from his own horrific fate. Seth delivered a fast kick to the man's cheek, knocking him from his knees to the ground, unconcious, as blood spilled onto the ring's floor. Using the momentum of his kick, Seth also ducked to narrowly avoid a punch from one of the men, and stabbed him into the stomach before throwing him into the direction of another man. Seth took a couple steps back, narrowly dodging a barrage of fists from another slightly larger opponent. His eyes stayed focused as he caught the man's fist in his own hand. With his free hand, he drew his dagger across his opponent's chest before turning it upside down and driving it through the flesh of the man that stood in front of him. Seth intimidatingly pushed the man slowly of his dagger with his foot and looked onto his remaining opposition. The two men that were left were terrified and were not looking to fight Seth anymore. "He's a wonderful work of art, isn't he?" Blake said bluntly, arriving at Royius' side. "Definitely," Royius replied through smiling teeth, "He's about to make these men a wonderful work of art too, my assistant." "And we are all witnesses," Blake added, smirking alongside with Royius. The Moonlighters' Cult killed my family, Seth thought in his head as he slowly approached his awaiting opponents. My father was a member of the Fraternity. His eyes were fierce, carrying a slight crimson colour and were fixed on his horrified prey. Therefore, any enemy of the Fraternity... the men backed away as Seth came closer to them... is an enemy of mine. The cheers from Seth's fellow members had only increased, powered by the level of brutality he had delivered to the betrayers of the Fraternity of Lost Thieves. He treated them as if they may or may not have been members of the Moonlighters' Cult. It didn't matter to him right now though. As long as they opposed the Fraternity, they deserved to die. He would make sure of it. For his brother, for his family, for his revenge. Suddenly, Seth had whipped his dagger at one of the men - a puncture right through the chest. Before the man fell, he grabbed his dagger with lightning-speed, letting his dead opponent fall of his blade. "Please...," the last man whimpered, as the crowd taunted, but encouraged Seth's actions forward. Seth placed his hand around the man's neck, gripping it tightly. The skilful swordsman brought his blade closer to his face, examining his father's dagger covered in blood. He twirled it around, almost as if he was showcasing his bloodied trophy to his own eyes. He smirked. With that, Seth stabbed the man in the stomach repeatedly before releasing his neck and letting him drop to the floor, dead. He looked up after admiring the work he had just done - he had felt no shame this time. Seth simply raised a fist, and the crowd of thieves cheered him onwards. At that moment, he shouted the words that he'd never thought would exit his mouth. "For the Fraternity!"