RuneScape Forum Archive | ^+^ Onslaught ^+^

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Whatever it was thinking, the stranger must have decided that it couldn’t afford to lose any help it came across. It muttered something in a strange, unintelligible language, and Aiden felt himself growing queasy as unearthly energy flowed into his body. But that must have been a side effect of the spell it cast, because once the feeling passed, the stranger too Aiden and slammed him into the stone monstrosity’s skin, only to find himself clinging to it despite not having his hands or feet bracing against anything, let alone having anything to even hang onto in the first place.

“I don’t know your aims, but I intend to get this creature under control,” the red garbed stranger said. “Come along if you want to do the same. Otherwise, get away and stay as far away from this as humanly possible.”

“I’m not leaving without a friend of mine,” Aiden said. “He looks similar to me, but maybe shorter and stockier. And he’s 100% more of a jackass.”

The stranger did*’t reply as he continued climbing up the creature’s chest. Aiden, seeing no better alternative, followed suit. “So do you have a name?” he asked as the creature’s head began getting peppered with blessed arrows.

“V,” the stranger shouted over the creature’s angry roar. “And this little beauty here is Grim. Just trust me when I say he’s usually not like this. We’re usually more discreet, but circumstances beyond our control may have caused this to happen.”
“Wait, this thing’s your friend?!” Aiden screamed.

“In a way,” V replied. “Long story. All you need to know is he’s an elemental of sorts. He can become one with nearly any of the elements, but right now Saradomin’s divine power is messing with his own natural talents! So we need to find and destroy any holy artifacts we come across to free him and get him back down to size!”
“How are we going to do that?”

V shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Just be sure to catch me if I start to fall, ok?”

~^+^~

^+^ 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 03:18:50

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

It took what seemed like hours, but eventually Aiden and V managed to reach the first Saradominist artifact. It seemed inconspicuous at first, but V said that he felt divine energy coming from what appeared to be a simple Star of Saradomin hanging from a gold chain which was embedded in Grim’s rocky chest.

“How do we get rid of the enchantment?” Aiden asked, secretly wishing Azura was there with him. She was smart when it came to magic and prayers, so maybe she’d have a better handle on countering these damned things than this V would.
His doubts were confirmed when V shrugged and said, “I have no idea. My best guess would be to destroy it, but using my own magic would likely kill the both of us if it reacts badly to the holy power here.”

“So can’t we just yank it out?”

“Sure, why not,* V said. “Maybe it’s the artifacts being on the surface that bothers him, so if you were to hold them, we could get you out of dodge and maybe he’ll go back to normal.”

Aiden looked at the chain. It seemed harmless, and the rock it was embedded in looked real weak as well. All it would take was just one yank, and they’d be one step closer to ending this. Maybe.

“Well, here goes nothing,” Aiden said, and sure enough the artifact ripped free of its earthen prison easily. Whatever power was contained in the thing was lost on Aiden, though he did feel a sort of tingle emanating from the medallion under his armor as he wrapped the artifact** chain around his arm tightly. The star symbol fit perfectly under the wrist portion of his gauntlet, and it proved a safe hiding spot once Grim’s body started to shift from under him.

^+^ 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 03:19:19

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Aiden tried to climb higher as whistles of the blessed arrows came closer, but Grim’s body had other ideas. The chest portion heaved to and fro, causing a relatively small chunk to break off of the giant man and begin orbiting slowly towards its massive, ever shifting face.

“Guuu,” Grim moaned deeply. “I…can…work….some….parts. But…not…all.”

“I don’t know who you are, but hold tight!” Aiden called to the stone goliath while his floating platform passed by the elemental’s face from a short distance. “Me and V are trying to help you, so sit still will ya?!” He had the feeling that Grim did*’t hear him, which was a major loss. The giant merely groaned as he strained his body awkwardly in futile attempts to regain control, which only served to make the maelstrom of grime and stone building around his form even worse while his attempts grew more and more desperate.

Aiden clutched his floating patch of stone tightly as it began to spin around Grim faster and faster. Wind began to make moving his head harder as the rock gained speed, and because of that he did*’t exactly see Grim’s shoulder approaching the rock before it was too late. The rock collided with the elemental violently, causing the shoulder to explode in a puff of dust, though somehow Aiden still held tight.

He also made a mental note to thank this ‘V’ (whatever he was) later for the magic that was the only thing keeping him still attached to the giant stone man at that point. Coughing, Aiden turned around to face Grim’s skin, and braced himself with his hands and knees while concentrating on his surroundings. He couldn’t make much out over the growing vortex of dust and dirt, and it was only a short climb to the real top of Grim’s shoulder, so he figured he could get a better view from there if the dust hadn’t reached that high yet.

^+^ 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 03:19:51

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Aiden progressed steadily through the thick grime shedding off in droves from the elemental’s breaking body. Every now and then he had to stop just to clear his eyes of thickening dust, but nonetheless he managed to make it to the shoulder proper in time to breathe in a sigh of relief which was filled with fresh, clean air.

He found himself wishing that the air wasn’t the only thing that was clean. Aiden found that he was high above the battle, and from his vantage point he could see that things were looking dire. What he could see of the remaining White Knights around the castle’s vicinity was limited by Grim’s aura of dirt and decay, but he was able to see the rest of the City of White’s eastern half clearly beyond the strange maelstrom around the elemental mutant.

Many homesteads and smaller buildings were either completely demolished under the goblin’s onslaught, or beginning to burn as their monstrosities worked some sort of foul magic at critical points in the streets. The few buildings that remained standing defiantly against the goblin’s and their monster’s rampage throughout the city showed signs of wear and tear, with doors broken in and windows completely shattered by the stones used by the goblin invaders.

He saw no sign of the goblins, but he heard their cries faintly over the din of battle and the surging storm around Grim, and that was more than enough to fill his heart with the resolve to end this thing as quickly as possible. Even if bringing V’s friend down to size wouldn’t end the battle completely, it would surely limit the devastation of the city, and on top of that he figured that V and Grim might even be able to help turn the tide of the fight with whatever strange magiks they could use.

^+^ 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 03:20:04

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Aiden’s train of thought was interrupted by the ‘ground’ suddenly shifting underneath him once more. He saw faint orbs of light streaking towards Grim’s arms, but he did*’t hear the sound of arrows flying through the air. Instead, the orbs made a sort of chiming sound, and actually turned upwards at the last moment and began heading towards Aiden.

In fact, if he hadn’t moved, the strange projectiles might have hit him. He wasn’t sure what exactly they were, but once they connected with Grim, a deep groan filled the air followed by an unearthly shriek of pain. The projectiles tore a gaping hole in the spot connecting Grim’s shoulder to what passed for his ‘neck’, and Aiden saw something gleam brightly beneath the dust which was kicked up by the missiles.

He edged over to the gleam carefully, taking care to steady himself whenever V’s magic seemed as if it was about to fade while Grim shook violently thanks to the barrages of arrows and water blasts that surged towards him from all directions. The stone man showed no signs of falling though, so he pressed on until he reached the source of the light. He did*’t expect to see what he found in the hole.

While Aiden was by no means a man of faith to the extent where he knew religious facts regarding the Gods and their symbols and artifacts, he was at the very least well learned enough to know that a rolled up scroll emblazoned with red Zamorakian runes definitely wasn’t a Saradominist artifact by any stretch of the imagination. He had also seen more than enough of his fair share of holy enchantments to know that if he touched the thing at all without taking the proper precautions, he’d either end up dead or severely hurt at worst, or knocked out cold at best.

^+^ 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 03:20:31

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Aiden scratched his head while Grim continued to shift and turn under the assault of…whoever was still trying to kill him at this rate. As much as he hated to admit it, Aiden more or less lost track of who was fighting who now that the entirety of the White Knight’s castle is in some state of ruin thanks to Grim’s unexpected arrival, though he understood that the White Knights and their allies were certainly fighting anything that wasn’t in their shining uniforms of purity and righteousness, and he was pretty certain that the Raven Knights were possibly the only thing in the battlefield that could send missiles of coagulated blood streaming towards the elemental man.

It was during a barrage of light-blessed arrows and bloody missiles that Aiden noticed a strange feeling around his chest. He quickly took the artifact he had hidden out from under his armor, and felt it was strangely cool to the touch (how he managed to feel that through his gauntlets was still a mystery to him) yet somehow brimming with an aura that seemed strangely peaceful and reassuring. The feeling enveloped him like a reassuring blanket, and he suddenly found himself encased in a blaze of blue fire that seemed to cover every inch of his body and equipment.

The strange event happened just in time too, for no sooner than the fire had appeared, a volley of light-blessed arrows actually attained enough height to come raining down right on top of Aiden. If it had been any other day, he most likely would have perished under the onslaught of the knight’s blessed ammunition, but he did*’t. In fact, he did*’t feel any discomfort whatsoever as the arrows bounced harmlessly off of his body, and he saw that the holy light emanating from the arrows quickly dissipated in a quick flare as soon as they made contact with his body.

^+^ 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 03:20:46

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

The arrows clattered uselessly to the ‘ground’, and some rolled right off of Grim. Aiden managed to catch one before it went over the edge, and saw the arrow’s light come back as soon as his hand closed around it. However, this time the light was a pale blue color instead of the blazing white that the White Knights had originally blessed it with, and Aiden started forming an idea in his head. It was a long shot by any means considering that a Zamorakian artifact might be warded to kill Saradominist magic users trying to displace it, but he had to wonder if the magic in his borrowed artifact would keep whatever magic the scroll had at bay long enough for him to get it out of Grim’s body.

Edging closer to the scroll, Aiden braced himself. “Well, here goes nothing,” he said. With a quick stab, he tried to impale the scroll on the arrow tip with his best effort. He barely managed to get it stuck on what he thought was a red sigil at first, but it turned out to be a mere decorated ribbon holding the paper closed tightly instead.

The red runes flared up briefly, but they were quickly overtaken by the blue magic from Aiden’s artifact-enchanted arrow and died down to a muted brown color. The paper itself seemed unaffected, but Aiden did*’t feel like pushing his luck while he slowly pulled the scroll out from the crater in Grim’s body. It came out a little too easily for his taste, but nothing exploded or transformed him into a frog so far. So that had to count for something, right?

Aiden heard the sound of ruffled feathers behind him. Given the nature of the invading force, he knew a Raven Knight was most likely behind him, and so he was not surprised to find himself to be correct when he turned around to face the source of the noise.

^+^ 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 03:21:23

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

The Raven Knight seemed immediately different from the rest of the invading force in appearance alone, Aiden noticed. Where most of the Raven Knights currently locked in battle against the defenders wore helmets that resembled an unnatural mix of wolfish and bat-like facial features complete with blood red plumage, the knight standing before him simply wore a mask that had a twisted expression of sorrow enscribed onto the visage of a predatory demon wolf. There was no plumage present on the ‘helmet’, though he noticed that a mass of dreadlocked hair hung freely from the strange gear, and Aiden wasn’t sure if it was decoration or actual hair at all.

What’s more, the knight seemed to be bigger in stature. Not just bulky, but physically taller and more imposing than the average knight he had seen that day, thanks in small part to a massive pair of black feathered wings that resembled those of a decadent bird that prowled many graveyards over the course of its short life.

“So it appears my initial assessment was wrong,” the knight said in a hurried voice full of genuine surprise. *I thought this thing was only created by Saradominist artifacts, but yet his power drew me to this spot to find a Zamorakian weapon instead.”

“Do you happen to know just how to end this thing’s state, then?” Aiden asked cautiously. He felt his amulet grow cooler and starting to vibrate at the vampyric creature’s presence, though he managed to hide his annoyance at the feeling pretty well.

“I only know what an old…friend…told me,” the knight said. “And that is, if we get the artifacts off of this creature, we can bring it down to size. Destruction is the preferred method, of course.*

^+^ 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 03:21:50

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“So what’s keeping you guys from doing it then?” Aiden asked. His suspicion was growing by the moment, partly because he knew that vampyres were generally creatures of a Zamorakian bent who would have no qualms about preserving the foul magic in any of Zamorak’s artifacts if they felt there was a use for it.

“I won’t lie to you, boy,* the knight said as it stepped closer to Aiden. “That scroll is Zamorakian in origin, obviously. And I can sense its potent magic from a long distance away. I can’t tell what it does without reading the damned thing, but I do know I would rather take the artifact in one piece so the Witch Queen can guard it safely until she has need of it.”

“Then I can’t allow that,” Aiden said. “If this is truly an artifact created by Zamorak, there’s no telling what it can do if it falls into the wrong hands.”

The knight merely nodded. “Understandable. But you seem to forget, I wasn’t asking for your permission.”

Aiden barely had time to blink before the knight was upon him. The Raven Knight simply shoved him to the ground without any effort at all, and grabbed hold of the artifact impaled on the arrow. Aiden held on tightly as the knight attempted to pull it free of his grasp, but was surprised to see the knight release his grip and recoil in pain when his gauntlet barely brushed the blue shrouded arrow.

Aiden’s amulet was vibrating fiercely now. Raising to his feet, and arrow still in hand, Aiden advanced on the knight. “Don’t like the blue stuff, eh?” he asked mockingly. “Well, let’s see how you handle a full on contact sport!”

Aiden tackled the knight to the ground, and the vampyre hissed as steam began to rise through small openings forming in his armor. The steam quickly formed into bat-like shapes and flocked around Aiden like crazed animals, somehow passing completely through his divine protection to sear his skin with unbearable heat.

^+^ 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 03:22:25

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

The vampyre took advantage of Aiden’s distraction long enough to beat his wings against the ground, sending the pair into the air. Aiden barely managed to grab a hold of the knight’s boot with his free hand, and still held the Zamorakian scroll in his other hand through what he guessed was a miracle.

“The power of Saradomin may pain me, but it can’t protect you from everything!” the Raven Knight screamed over the growing howl of the wind surrounding Grim. Aiden did*’t bother responding, and instead tried climbing up the knight’s leg by stabbing the arrow containing the scroll into the vampyre’s armored knee. The arrow did*’t pierce the protection, however, and the knight noticed that little fact.

The Raven Knight folded his wings, and completely flipped his body around so he was facing the ground. Aiden lost his grip on the boot, and started to fall. The knight was keeping pace on his descent from right above his position.

“You should’ve just given me the scroll!” the knight screamed over the howling wind. Dust began to obscure Aiden’s vision, and the wind deafened him a bit. But for some reason he could still hear the Raven Knight clearly, as if the thing was right there in his thoughts.

Aiden’s amulet continued to quicken its vibrations the closer he got to the ground. He was rapidly approaching landfall, and saw no other choice but to offer his most sincere prayers to any god that would have been paying attention to him at that moment. The knight was still in his head, taunting his apparent inability to survive such a fall, and for a brief moment he considered that the thing was most likely right.

But yet, the amulet continued to vibrate. Strange, he thought. The damned thing never stopped once the Raven Knight appeared, and he still wasn’t sure just what exactly it was vibrating for. He figured he’d never know, for now he was mere inches away from Grim’s very feet, and the violent earth surrounding it.

^+^ 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 03:22:45

Forums

^+^ Onslaught ^+^