RuneScape Forum Archive | ^+^ Onslaught ^+^

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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Chapter 4
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“What came next was the sickness. It rode in to our world on the lightning, and infected our heroes first. This is when I believe I have stumbled onto the second secret of surviving the coming tragedy. Send the sickness back to its source with the same method that had brought it to the world in the first place.”

~Skarjil Datashade Glyph [Lore]: Survival III
<><>

Dionysius saw the blinding effects of Augustus’ teleport spell begin to wear off as he felt solid ground beneath his feet once more. As things came into focus, he found himself in a small room that was dimly lit. A desk sat against a nearby wall, but other than that nothing else was even in the area save for a door.

He heard Augustus moan to his left, and looked over to see the red haired knight knocked to the ground and apparently groggy for some reason.

“Come on,” Dionysius said as he helped the Inquisitor to his feet. “It couldn’t have been that straining to teleport.”

“It wasn’t the teleport,” the knight replied as he finally found steady footing on the stone floor. “Didn't you feel that…odd power in the air as we left?”

Dionysius rubbed his forehead as he remembered the odd sight of an alien landscape during the teleporting process. He couldn’t really remember many details save for some kind of bone-metal trees here and there, but it did strike him as odd to see such things in the first place.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:12:47 - Last edited on 09-Mar-2011 20:23:06 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“In all honesty I did,” the Wise Old Man replied. “But before you mentioned it I thought it was some sort of security measure on the teleport to clear them for entry.”

“No, we don’t do that,” Augustus said. “The only way anybody’s getting in this place is either if they’re employed by this part of the Temple Knights, or if they’re accompanying an employee. You fit in the second one, so you’re cleared for entry by association.”

“Wait a minute. Isn’t Sir Tiffy usually the one who does all the teleporting to your base?”

Augustus bellowed a hearty laugh as he approached the door. “I’m sorry sir, but we’re not exactly at the main Temple Knight base,” he said. He motioned for Dionysius to step closer, which the old man did.

"So where are we then?” he asked.

Augustus opened the door and entered a room which was significantly bigger than the tiny room the pair had teleported into, and Dionysius followed. The room was still dimly lit, but was filled with the buzz of white robed mages lost in conversation over some kind of eye engraved stone pillar which dominated the center of the area. Tables were moved aside to accommodate the massive structure, which had cast the room in an eerie red hue thanks to the odd crackling energies surrounding it.

Dionysius was staring at the object in wide eyed wonder. "Just…what is it?” he asked.

Augustus shrugged. “That’s what we were hoping you’d be able to tell us,” he admitted.

“Wait,” Dionysius said. Walking towards it, he began shouting at the wizards to scatter so he could get a closer look, which Augustus was only too happy to back up with an official order. “I think…it can’t be…” he whispered as he began circling the structure.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:12:49 - Last edited on 09-Mar-2011 20:23:30 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“So I take it you know what these things are?” Augustus asked.

“There’s more?” Dionysius replied with an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

Augustus nodded, and ordered a nearby wizard to dispel a nearby wall which had turned out to be an illusion. The wall melted away at the wizard’s command to reveal a set of floating scrying mirrors which had revealed several scenes showing the pillars in various places across the known continent.

“As of the beginning of this week,” Augustus began. “A tremor went was felt throughout the land. At first we had thought it to be an earthquake that just happened out of nowhere, but then these…pillar…things…started showing up.”

Dionysius approached the mirrors, studying them intently. One mirror showed the Lumbridge cow pen, and the farmers and commonfolk alike were gathered around a pillar that had somehow killed an unlucky cow which lay at its base in a broken and bloodied heap. Another showed the swamps of Morytania, where a group of Vampyres were studying the object with an uncanny interest, each seeming to cast their spells on it to no effect whatsoever.

And yet another showed the lands of the elves, and it appeared that the crystal city had sent some warriors forth to secure the strange pillar. Closer inspection revealed the elf soldiers as members of Clan Iorwerth thanks to the dark green capes which were draped around their shoulders.

“And these appeared…all over the world?” Dionysius asked.

“As far as we know,” Augustus confirmed. “But they could just as easily be only on our continent. We’re not sure yet.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:14:49

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Well I’ll be,” Dionysius muttered.

“Hey, get away from that!” he heard a female wizard cry. Dionysius and Augustus turned to see a male wizard standing a little close to the pillar, and his frame was glowing with the same crackling energy that surrounded the pillar.

“Ah hell,” Dionysius said. “Everyone get back! We have no idea if it’s a turret or not yet!”

The wizard surrounded by the energy muttered a curse as he began floating in the air, and his eyes filled with enough red energy to the point where he could easily pass off as a demon possessed mage. The remaining wizards backed away from the pillar quickly, and Dionysius readied his starred staff as he prepared his runes.

“I…come…with…a…warning…” the mage rasped.

~^+^~

“Um…is Pikkupstix supposed to sound like an evil guy or something?” Aiden asked as the summoner began speaking.
Azura shushed him as Pikkupstix continued his ravings.

“Code…Red…Danger…Comes…To…Your…World,” he said.

“Again?” Caden asked. “Seriously, that seems to happen almost everyday now for some reason.”

“Shut up,” Azura retorted as she stared at the obviously possessed summoner.

“If…anyone can…hear this, my name…is Arain Cadarn,” Pikkupstix said. “I send this message because…something terrible has befallen the Watcher citadel of Nethraka.”

“What’s a Watcher?” Aiden asked.

“Maybe if you’d stop talking we’ll find out,” Azura admonished him.

“We had come into possession of an ancient talisman belonging to a fell demon lord,” Pikkupstix said. “We had intended to take it to a safe haven. But we were deceived by a demon by the name of Delrith.”

“Wait, isn’t that the same idiot who got killed by the one kid with the magical sword?” Caden whispered.

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:15:44

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“So if anybody hears this message, I beg of you,” the mage said as Dionysius and the others looked on in confusion. “Rally together and confront the threat. The demon cannot be allowed to bring about the return of the Primordials.”

“So it’s true,” Dionysius said as the mage finished his ramblings and fell uselessly to the floor.

“So *now* do you know what these are?” Augustus asked.

“Sadly enough, I think I do,” Dionysius said. “But I fear that more people shall need to hear what I know.”

“So…who exactly needs to hear this besides the Temple Knights?” Augustus asked with no small amount of suspicion.

“Everyone who has ties to your group,” Dionysius said. “Send out the word to everyone who has either worked for you in the past, or is currently working with you. Send the word to representatives of the major governments of this world, and bring in any special agents who may be operating in the field immediately.”

“Are you sure that’s necessary? I mean, it would take so much time to get things in order...”

“I’m deathly serious when I say that it’s necessary,” Dionysius interrupted. “This thing and others like it have only shown up very few times in the history of this world. From my knowledge, the last time these showed up was right around the time the God Wars had begun!”

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:16:52

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Spider emerged from the shadows of his teleport spell to find himself on a rooftop overlooking Aurbury’s rune shop. The black-clad mercenary watched as passerby filed in and out of the shop periodically before deciding to take his chances with someone recognizing him once he figured that it would probably be a while before the streets below emptied of civilians.

Bringing his magic forth, the Spider slid back into the shadows, and emerged in a nearby ally opposite of his current position. The alley was littered with trash as well as an old sleeping beggar, and for that he was grateful. The last thing he needed was teleporting right into the middle of a gang meeting or crime of sorts, and time was of the essence.

The Spider invoked a small masking spell which he had woven into his armor as he left the ally behind him, and assumed the form of a scrawny brown haired mage who looked like he belonged at the Wizard’s Tower more than the mean streets of Varrock. Nobody took an interest in him as he entered the shop, and he saw that Aubury was busy serving a steady line of customers.

Sighing, the Spider leaned against a nearby wall as the elderly merchant carried on with his business until well into the early hours of the evening. By that time the mercenary was bored out of his mind, but he figured he had very little leads to follow up with as far as the enigmatic “Gentleman” was concerned, and the rumor that he was being supplied with demonic magic only made his shop the first logical choice out of a very short list of others which had little to no magical connections in the slightest.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:17:16 - Last edited on 09-Mar-2011 20:25:01 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Can I help you?” Aubury asked, obviously taking the Spider by surprised. The disguised mercenary jumped at his voice, and beheld the elderly rune merchant with an amused expression once he realized that he had been taken by surprise. Of course, it didn't really matter to him that much since Layte Aubury was a man clearly in his elderly years, with wispy white hair and an equally white beard decorating his face alongside an almost gentlemanly monocle. His gray shirt did*’t help his appearance either, for it hung on his old frame like a thick cloak would hang on a skeleton and his breeches seemed to cling to his bony legs.

“Oh..umm,” the Spider stuttered. “Actually, yeah. You can.”

“Then what can I help you with?” Aubury asked suspiciously.

“I actually had a few questions for you,” the Spider said. “I’m doing research for the Mage’s Guild in Yanille about…a certain kind of magic.”

Aubury rubbed his chin as he looked at the Spider suspiciously. “Well, you have the appearance of a young wizard,” he said. “But I know an illusion when I see it.”

“What?” the Spider asked innocently, trying not to sound flustered at the accusation.

“Please, boy, I’m not stupid,” he said. “There’s a certain charge in the air around you, and I’ve been around different kinds of mages long enough to know the feeling of a charge that only illusion magic could produce.”

“I have no clue wha…”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:18:00 - Last edited on 09-Mar-2011 20:25:22 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Silventi Antejato!” Aubury cried as he thrust his hands out to produce a purple spark of magic. The spark flew at the Spider, and he couldn’t dodge it thanks to his proximity to the rune merchant in the first place. The illusion began to waver and give way to reveal the Spider in his full glory, which was a suit of some kind of hide armor which was entirely black save for an odd webbing design across his chest, a matching cloak with the same webbing design that his armor bore, and a mask which only had what appeared to be two individual designs in the form of some kind of fang or tooth for “eyes”.

“Ah crap,” the Spider muttered as he realized that his illusion obviously didn't hold up against the counterspell.

“So it’s you,” Aubury said. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Wait…why’s that?” the Spider asked.

Aubury chuckled as he sat down in a chair behind one of his sales tables. “I figured that you might show up sometime after that little incident with the mage a few months back. After all, I’m always under suspicion when people start asking how someone gets their hands on the materials to cast destructive magic.”

“The Dagon-Hai cultist incident wasn’t why I came here,” the Spider admitted. “On the other hand, I’ve been hearing rumors about you being supplied with demonic magic for a while.”

“They’re just rumors,” Aubury chuckled.

“That’s what I thought…until I ran across some kind of demon a few nights back,” the Spider replied.

“How do you know it’s not the work of some sort of dark wizard?”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:18:38 - Last edited on 09-Mar-2011 20:27:05 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Just call it a hunch,” the Spider said. “I bet if it was just a random dark wizard who called it here, it would’ve just rampaged across the city killing indiscriminately. But it didn't

Aubury raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Alright, now you have my interest.”

“I first came across it in the new guard station,” the Spider explained. “Like I said, at first I chalked it up to a random dark wizard, but a few things caught my eye.”

“Go on.”

“Well, my first red flag was a paper I found,” the Spider said. “It was in the same drawer as my cloak was, and it had a list of victims on it and their descriptions.*

*That’s not new,” Aubury said. “That sounds like standard guard procedure.”

“It’s not new,” the Spider agreed. “But what caught my eye was one regarding a young woman named 'Alya'. Her description matched that of a corpse that I saw the demon creature do something to.”

“Ah…that makes things more clear,” Aubury said.

“It was also the same woman I remember being attacked a few nights earlier,” the Spider said. “So I confronted the demon after it did whatever it did to her corpse, and ended up losing.”

“You’re very lucky to be alive then,” Aubury said. “You see, the rumors are partially true. I *am* getting supplied with magic, but not of the demonic kind. Rather, a half-demon was delivering runes to me in exchange for gold.”

The Spider slammed his palms on the table and stared the rune merchant in the eyes. “Tell me everything you know,” he demanded. “That half-demon did something to that woman’s corpse, and I’m willing to bet this ‘Gentleman’ fellow is behind it.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:19:40 - Last edited on 09-Mar-2011 20:27:43 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Alright,” Aubury said as he motioned to a chair on the opposite side of the table. “Take a seat then.” The Spider complied, and Aubury lit a pipe as he began his tale.

“As I’ve said,” he began. “I employed a half-demon to deliver runes to me from various sources.*

*What sort of sources?”

“The usual,” Aubury said. “The Wizard’s Tower…Mage’s Guild…freelance Runecrafters who’ve found alternative materials to Runecraft with…people like that.”

“But why buy them if you can make runes yourself? I mean, it’s not really a secret that you can do that you know.”

“Thing is,” Aubury replied. “The Rune Essence mines have been rather…dry, as of late. Normally the rocks magically replicate enough of themselves to supply tons of essence, but they’ve been slowing down for some reason recently. It’s gotten so bad that anyone who knows the phrase to teleport others to the mines up north had to stop their services in order to protect the rocks from becoming depleted entirely.”

“So what do you know of the half-demon?”

Aubury shrugged. “Not much, really,” he admitted. “I know that he and his sister had left their father for some reason, but he wouldn’t tell me much more than that. Not that I cared, mind you.”

“Wait…did his sister happen to be…”

“Alya?” the elderly rune merchant interrupted. “Yes, I believe that was her name. A raven haired lass with the oddest eyes I’ve ever seen, that one.”

The Spider recoiled as he remembered the demon’s words from the guard station that fateful night. “So he wasn’t lying,” the Spider muttered.

“I take it your suspicions are at ease?” Aubury asked.

The Spider nodded. “Yeah, I think they are,” he replied.

“Then I just have one question…who’s this ‘Gentleman’ you mentioned earlier?”

The Spider shrugged. “I’m not sure, but I overheard his name being dropped by the murderers who took Alya’s life the night she died. I figured that maybe you’d know, but apparently not."

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

09-Mar-2011 20:20:30 - Last edited on 09-Mar-2011 20:28:20 by A Mad Hatter

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