RuneScape Forum Archive | ^+^ Onslaught ^+^

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“All undead were mortal at one point,” V said to the hawkish man. “Just because blood no longer pumps through our hearts doesn’t mean our minds have atrophied at all.”

The man smiled a crooked smile that showed off a small collection of surprisingly straight and clean teeth. “I meant no offense, of course,” he replied. “It’s just that I’ve always been taught that all undead were soulless monstrosities to be exterminated from the rational world.”

“And yet you allow me to live,” V retorted.

“After seeing what you did during your friend’s…outburst…we figured that killing you would be counterproductive to a degree. It’s not every day that a man such as yourself makes his presence known in such a grandiose manner.”

“It’s not every day you also have your own castle just get up and walk around either,” V replied. “Drastic times and all that.”

The man nodded in agreement, only to extend a bony hand as he approached V. “Maybe we can talk this through a bit. My name’s Jethro, Interrogator of the Temple Knights.”

“Then you already know who I am,” V said, taking the man’s hand and shaking it in the traditional human greeting gesture. “And if you’re here to talk about my account of things, I fear you already have it through the filtered minds of your predecessors who tried the same thing.”

Jethro guffawed. “By all means, I am far from stupid. Come, follow me. If I wanted to try to beat you physically, I sure as hell won’t do it here. Or alone, for that matter.”

Not that numbers did his friends any good, V thought. Having nothing better to do, the red garbed man followed the interrogator to a small cell that was furnished with a decently sized table, some rickety chairs, and two oil lamps hanging from the walls. A blonde haired woman wearing the armor of the Temple Knight Proselytes was waiting for them in the cell, and she regarded both men with a silent salute.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:39:06

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“At ease, Lady Kael,” Jethro said. The woman seemed visibly relieved, but tensed up again as the interrogator added, “Now be a good lass and fetch us some wine and bread. We’re going to be here a while.”

The Proselyte nodded and set off into the halls beyond the cell. Jethro motioned towards a chair, and V seated himself. The Interrogator ****** his head to the side, and as soon as the footsteps of Lady Kael were gone, he locked the door and made some obviously arcane motions in the dust coating the walls.

“There,” Jethro said as he took a seat. “That should keep prying eyes away from us for the time being.”

“I take it you don’t trust the woman?” V asked.

“It’s not that I have trust issues,” Jethro said. “This matter is simply above her pay grade for the time being, and quite frankly, there’s nothing she can do to help us sort through this mess.”

“And I take it you’re going to solve the mystery of the red stranger who took out your own castle?”

“Not at all,” Jethro replied. “I simply wish to collect the account from your own mouth. Then, I shall collect the accounts from others we have taken in that are persons of interest in this whole mess, and I shall have the dubious honor of sorting through it to confirm which parts are fabrications, and which parts are truth.”

“Well, I guess we should start at the beginning,” V said.

“We shall. And I expect that maybe you’ll tell us just *why* you came after our order like you did.”

It was V’s turn to chuckle. “I’ll discuss that when we get to it,” he said. “Now, I believe I came into the incident right around the same time the magical phenomenon started to happen…”

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:40:07

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

~A few days ago~

The air was thick with smoke and magic as V waded through the debris of what had once been a part of Falador’s outer wall. He did*’t know how, but sometime during his encounter with the armored goliath that had talked to no end about knowing its intentions and his past, the structure had begun to crumble and either fall to the ground or levitate towards a massive form on the horizon of the city.

The fact that the city seemed to be falling apart or on fire in the distance wasn’t lost on him either. In fact, if the city were any darker, and its attackers more animalistic, he would have believed that he was somehow reliving the events of Ukrosha all over again. But yet, despite the chaos ringing in the air, the howls of He’rkhine’s servants were notably absent, which in turn made the all too familiar feral growls of what had to have been a demon not too far away all the more startling.

V gripped his crossbow tightly and pressed forward into a grassy (if torn up) field of various flowers and exotic trees that he had recognized as a garden or park of sorts. Many of the plants seemed to have been trampled or burned completely by magic, and the ones which were still standing seemed to be sinking into the ground out of fear of ending up like their friends. It was then that he had realized the flowers weren’t reacting on their own accord, but the ground was literally collapsing in on itself!

V scanned his immediate surroundings and saw a massive, black and horned form that was vaguely humanoid in shape not too far away locked in mortal combat against a stout warrior clad in white armor. Nearby were a few other figures, one with a feminine yet elfish curve to its figure that too was clad in white who wielded a crossbow in each hand, a bear that seemed to be much larger than normal, and a dark skinned woman robed in cerulean garments of some sort of arcane order.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:40:41

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“Godsdammit, I thought y’all froze that thing solid!” the short warrior screamed as he attempted to bring his battleaxe down with a crushing force. The weapon bit deep, and caused the black demon-esque figure to falter in its step long enough for the mage woman to bathe it in fire. The magic seemed to have little effect on the creature, which only shrugged off the fire to reveal only a small handful of blisters scattered around its infernal body.

“I did!” the woman yelled back. “But I think that spell only works for so long in the first place.”

“How long does it usually last?” the stout warrior bellowed as he rolled out of the way of the demon’s slashing claws.

*I thought it was supposed to be at least a few minutes, but apparently the spell changed its parameters overnight!” the mage screamed over the sound of a rushing bolt made entirely of arcane water. This time the magic seemed more effective, as the demon recoiled with a hellish scream when the attack slammed into it and coated it in water from head to toe.

“How’s that possible?” the dual-wielding archer asked as she unleashed a volley of pure iron bolts into the demonic-humanoid creature. Each bolt barely scratched the thing’s skin, yet a few still struck true and lodged themselves in deep enough to visibly slow the thing’s actions by a considerable amount. Blood and demonic ichor began to leak from its wounds, and it seemed to shrink in size by a little bit as it started to clutch its head in agony.

Deciding that now was as good a time as any to both make his presence known and remove a potential threat to his mission in one swift move, he readied his weapon and hit the rune which depicted a snowflake. He felt the chilled energy building up in the device, and as it started to hum with esoteric power, pressed the trigger. The resulting bolt of energy raced past the people fighting the demonic creature and slammed right into its intended target, causing icy crystals to form over its body rapidly.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:41:26

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

But the creature did*’t stop at all. Instead, it only staggered forward and took on a more man-like appearance as its horns disappeared and its frame grew lankier. Soon enough it was a kneeling on the ground screaming “Enough already! I’ve had enough of this, you hear me Skin?!”
~^+^~

~Now*

*So, you too fought against the demon in our park?” Jethro asked curiously as the lights flickered and shadows danced across his hawkish features. “Pray tell, how was the demon a threat to you at that point?”

V shrugged. “My initial intention was simply to aid the humans fighting against it. It wasn’t a threat to me personally at the time, but it did pose a unique problem if I left it unchallenged.”

“Which would be….what, exactly?”

“That information’s strictly for your order’s leader,” V replied tensely. “But trust me when I say I was well intentioned at the time.”

Jethro grimaced at the obvious affront to his station, but said nothing further on the matter. Instead, the man simply pressed on. “How exactly did the Nightblades and their unwitting allies react to your intervention, then?”

“Pretty well, all things considered. I think the dwarf and bear were suspicious of me though,” V answered. “But the desert woman seemed…distracted. Like she knew something about me that she was holding back.”

“Hmm, interesting. Would she have any reason to know anything about you in the first place?”

“I’ve never met her before, but I’ve interacted with her kind in the past,” V said. “Mages in the desert are curious about my…unique condition. It wouldn’t be the first time I gave off strange magical signatures to a rookie mage who had mistaken me for something like a Vampyre or Zombie.”

“Are you one though?”

“Not at all,” V replied tersely. “But that has no bearing on anything anyway outside of simply allowing me to take more punishment than mortal men.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:42:04

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“So….mage reaction aside, let’s skip ahead shall we? I know for a fact that you did*’t spend all day in the park, so what happened next?”

“I walked through the city with those…Nightblades, was it? We encountered little to no resistance at all, actually, not counting a Bloodbound Guardian that tried to harass us…and I ended up at your castle eventually.”

“Now that’s the stuff I need to know about,” Jethro said. “Spare me your journey, for I have no interest in what happened on the streets during the attack. I have many reports on that, but none concerning your side of the events at the White Knight Castle.”

V tapped his fingers lightly against the rickety wooden desk as he trudged through his memories of that eventful day. “Alright, so I came across the castle around….let’s say no more than three hours after midday….”

~^+^~

~Then~

The pristine bridge connecting Falador Castle to the rest of the White City drew V’s gaze to a more intense scene than would be expected of the current situation on any given day, even by the chaotic standards that humans were prone to holding.
It was also at that point where he started to wish that he hadn’t parted ways with the small group of knights he had encountered in the park when a massive black armored golem appeared to impede their advance in the city square. He had a feeling that their talents might have at least offered some recourse should his tactics fail against….whatever it is that was currently standing in the middle of what he assumed was the ‘castle’.

The form in the middle of what appeared to be a twisting and violent maelstrom of dust, debris, and bodies from every faction in the siege looked as if it belonged to one of the fabled Colossi, though exact details shifted as the seconds raced by. It only took him a second to realize what had happened to Grim at long last during the ambush outside the city.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:42:56

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Nevertheless, V decided that this had to end soon before it spiraled even more out of control, and began running across the bridge (which he was glad to find wasn’t under any danger of collapsing anytime soon despite the stress inflicted upon it by the many arrows which pinned goblin and beastly corpses to it) while muttering to himself, “I seriously can’t leave that guy alone for long can I?” He was surprised he could hear himself over the howling wind that had accompanied the massive figure in the distance, but that was of no concern to him right now.

A chunk of white stone slammed to the ground in front of him, causing tremors to shift the bridge to and fro as the stonework was put to a test its builders did*’t originally plan for. The bridge began to crack as more chunks of similar stature assailed it, and the section V was standing on began to tilt backwards as it aimed towards the strangely clear water below.

The red clad adventurer attempted to focus long enough to gather some necromantic energy from his surroundings, but was surprised to find that there was nothing there at all. It struck him as strange since even the most holiest of places were prone to holding at least a small particle of necromantic energy during times of war, and the bodies of the fallen invaders did teem with some form of energy that was arcane in nature. But yet, his undead body was simply incapable of channeling it, so V had to improvise as he scrambled to the highest point of his section of bridge.

The ground was almost completely vertical now, as the dead bodies sliding into the moat could attest to. V managed to grab a small pair of iron knives off of a dead goblin, and gripped them tightly as he began to channel energy of a more divine nature.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:43:22

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“

Dona mihi potestam, animum et fortitudinem bestiae firmissimae,

” he intoned fiercely. A dark energy poked into the deepest recesses of his being, and he felt himself grow stronger despite his body remaining unchanged in appearance. Using his newfound blessing, V pushed himself off of the bridge section and leapt up onto a passing piece of what had to have been a table at one point, if the smell of pork on the wooden boards was anything to go by.

The smell of food stirred something inside V, although he managed to have enough of his senses to push the reaction to the side. He was well aware of the side effects of using the Empty Lord’s offerings in his state, and now was simply not a time to indulge in the side perks such power offered his kind. But yet, the proverbial beast inside which lent him its strength insisted on finding the food that caused the smell, and it tried imposing its will on his own.

The mental backlash caused V’s head to start aching in reaction to his attempts to keep things under control, and it continued to grow until he had enough and let the power leave his body as he pushed off one last time in a half hearted attempt to jump to a nearby battlement which was still standing somehow. He wasn’t sure just how he managed to land on his feet, but V was just glad that he managed the feat as soon as he saw just how bad Grim’s situation was.

The stone man was only half formed somehow. He managed to use a collection of white stone from Falador’s castle and dirt and mud from the ground in its immediate vicinity to keep his core body together, but despite his colossal size, the castle proper was still standing. It just had less walls and floors now.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:43:58

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

That little fact drew attention to the fact that Grim did*’t seem to be made just from building materials from the castle proper, but parts of the entire city itself! He saw hints of roof shingles, random house wares which were caught in the ensuing wreckage, and even pets that had passed away years ago dotting the elemental’s colossal form here and there.

His vantage point allowed him a decent view of the chaos as well. What remained of the White Knights and their vampyric foes seemed both scattered and confused about what to do. Some were attempting to take shots at Grim with crossbows from the relative safety of the castle, while others were locked in brutal duels of speed and finesse over a ground that shifted and churned to accommodate the stone man’s movements. More than one White Knight had crumpled to the ground thanks to the turmoil as the last of his life slipped away to meet a vampyre’s throat, and even more vampyric knights in black had gone down in blazes of short lived glory as multiple crossbow bolts and arrows made jet black feathers flutter lazily through the air and bodies turn to dust.

V shifted his attention to Grim as the fights raged on. The elemental man seemed confused and frustrated by his predicament, for each time he attempted to gather enough materials to form a proper foot, something seemed to make it melt back into the ground (or fall, depending on whatever he was trying to use at the time). Needless to say, the deafening noise of steel on steel over the roars of frustration from Grim made simply shouting out to the elemental a pointless task. V knew he’d have to improvise, but first he needed to get closer to his companion if he was to have any hope of getting this thing under control.

The battlement began to buck and sway underneath V’s feet, and it was then he had decided that a ground level approach might be more appropriate despite the inherent danger of approaching a massive earth elemental from the very source of its being.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:44:58

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

V kicked a loosening brick off of the battlement, and jumped off after it. The undead channeled infernal energy into his body, and he felt it work over his form quickly enough to cover him in a purple glow as he neared the ground. His descent slowed as he was about to land, but despite the spell, he barely had enough time to evade a growing spike of dirt leaping straight towards him from below. The red clothed man somehow slipped his airborne form slightly to his right, and gripped the earthen hazard tightly. Letting go of the magic, he used the spike to slide slowly towards relative safety while he figured out his next move.

His answer came from a source most unexpected at that time. He spied an elderly human in tattered robes wielding a star-tipped staff being supported by a knight with reddish hair clad in the ornate white armor of what he assumed was the main defending forces of the city. The skirmishes seemed to leave the odd pair alone even though mages and their bodyguards were targets of great importance during any battle, and that fact made V curious enough to slowly wade his way through the ever shifting tides of ground and battle in an attempt to get to them in one piece.

Of course, as luck would have it he did*’t go unnoticed among the two factions doing battle in the courtyard. Every now and then a stray arrow or sword swipe would come his way, though it wasn’t too much trouble for V to simply deflect the attack with a simple charm or two. On the other hand, there were also a fair number of knights who attempted to engage him in direct combat, but they never got further than a single sword stroke before an opportunistic foe would attack from behind and derail the short lived fight completely.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

02-Oct-2013 02:45:35

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