RuneScape Forum Archive | The Cult of Zamorak

Learth

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A dark cloud loomed over Varrock, produced by the great furnace. The Zamorakians had to make their timing absolutely precice, or Lord Drakan would discover what they were doing. The werewolves had agreed to Vorlon’s terms, and together, they planned to create a distraction. When the vampyres showed signs of weakening, the werewolves were to signal to Shadow by having an uprising, demanding more rights from Drakan for their service. Shadow would report to the headquarters at Daemonheim, and hopefully Vorlon’s forces could attack before Drakan discovered and remedied the situation.
The Zamorak Cult** Covert Operations Division was successfully intercepting and switching the cargo of Drakan’s Daeyalt shipments with Blurite ore, infused with Nature Runes to look just like the Daeyalt it replaced. Averthil had more than forgiven the Zamorakians once he was granted access to Daeyalt, and developed an interest in exploring the dungeons of Daemonheim below.
The plan was still somewhat dangerous, because reinforcements from Drakan’s castle who had not been affected by the Blurite might come to his aid. Vorlon summoned all great Zamorakian warriors from throughout the land to rendezvous at Daemonheim and await Shadow’s signal.
______

Maximus slipped out of the little bed Sylas had given him, and quietly packed up his things. He was almost sorry to leave the kind, generous people of Taverly. He was getting used to the communal dinners, and growing fond of their attention. Stories of the generosity of Guthix echoed through his mind. He took the little key from his pocket and unlocked the storehouse door. The druids and their families were surprisingly resourceful people for how casual their culture was. He saw kits of powerful looking potions and crates full of supplies, but those were none of his concern.

27-Feb-2011 15:39:17 - Last edited on 27-Feb-2011 16:09:19 by Learth

Learth

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The chest of valuables looked ordinary enough. It was made of plain wood, fastened by a steel lock, but it was enchanted to be force and fire resistant. He slid the key gently into the lock, and it clicked open. Inside the chest he found an uncut dragonstone, 2 cut rubies, and 2 cut diamonds. He had never seen a dragonstone before, but he instantly knew what it was, and that he could live well when he sold these along with his Falador treasures.
He put them in his pockets and closed and locked the chest. He walked out of the building and to the West, but stopped when he saw Kaquemeex standing in the middle of the road.
“Hello, Maximus,” He greeted him. “What wakes you up so early?” the herb master asked.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he lied. “All of this pressure about being Guthix’s chosen guy is really getting to me, I guess.” Maximus looked rather convincing.
“I could make you some special tea, if you’d like. My own recipe.”
“What time is it?” asked Maximus
“Nearly three,” Kaquemeex said, looking at the stars.
“Perhaps I should just stay up. I don’t know. I think I’ll walk for awhile. If you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone. I get enough attention during the day.”
“That’s alright. Just get some rest tonight… we are really counting on you.”

27-Feb-2011 16:09:42 - Last edited on 27-Feb-2011 19:18:32 by Learth

Learth

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Maximus walked a few more steps, and then stopped.
“Kaquemeex, I can’t do this. I’m so sorry. I have not been honest with you, or the people of Taverly. I’m not the chosen one of Guthix. I can’t understand what that thing in the fire is saying, it just sounds like a bunch of mumbling to me. I wanted to trick you into letting me steal your treasures. That’s why I proposed the idea about helping Falador.” Maximus took the gems out of his pockets, handed them to the green-caped elder, and began to walk west again.
Kaquemeex smiled. “What made you change your mind?” he asked.
*I* I don’t know. I like this town. Sure, you are all really stupid and gullible, but … more than that. You’re just so kind to me. I’m a total stranger, and you believed every word that I said, and treated me like a king. Now you’re not even angry or trying to arrest me for stealing from you. I just… don’t get you people.”
“You may not have known it, Maximus, but you did truly impart the words of Guthix to us last night,” Kaquemix said. “You may not have understood what the creature said, but I’ll let you in on a little secret… nobody does. Speaking with nature is not about understanding some beast’s noises, it’s about speaking what you know. You are as much a part of nature as the fire or the beast. Guthix can speak through you, even when you don’t think that’s what he’s doing.”
Maximus shrugged, “As much as I appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better, Kaquemeex, it was just a stupid lie. Everyone’s gonna find out in the morning, so I’d better get out of here before I cause any more trouble. You can still do that whole ‘Save Falador’ routine if you think it’s what Guthix wants. Just tell them I transferred my powers to you or something like that. They’ll believe it… I have a guy I know in Falador. I hope he’ll be alright. I planned to get as far away from all this crazy stuff as possible.”

27-Feb-2011 19:33:49 - Last edited on 27-Feb-2011 19:55:17 by Learth

Learth

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“Why don’t you stay,” Kaquemeex suggested. “When the people ask what Guthix has told you, answer them with your heart. Tell them what you know, because the words of Guthix are your words, too. We can keep this little incident between us. The truth is, Maximus, Taverly needs a new leader. They need someone to rally around in the times ahead. I’m an old man, and although I function pretty well as an Elder, I don’t think the youth of this town can really get behind me like they’d get behind you. And if you ever need any help, I’m always here for advice.”
Maximus thought about it. Ever since Varrock was captured, he hadn’t really had a home. He was running from something, he thought it was from the war, but perhaps he was wrong. Where would he go when war came to the West?
“Alright. I’ll stay and be your prophet,” he decided. “Just please, for the love of Guthix, can we have something for dinner tomorrow night besides bread and tea?”
Kaquemeex just laughed. When Maximus thought about it, perhaps … No, it wasn’t likely, but perhaps this wise old man knew about his plan all along.

27-Feb-2011 19:55:57 - Last edited on 27-Feb-2011 19:59:22 by Learth

Learth

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The distraction had been successful. When the Zamorakian forces had reached the wall of the city, Drakan was still inside the palace struggling against the werewolf rebellion. This was partially due to the fact that he noticed his deteriorating condition, and that of his vyrewatch. He panicked when he realized that something was wrong with them, but tried to remain calm in the face of the rebellion. If the werewolves wanted a few rights, he would make negotiations. He did not want them to notice his weakness, or for the protest to escalate to violence, because he did not know how vulnerable he had become.
When they first vyrewatch guards noticed the advancing army, they were brutally destroyed by the blazing fire attacks of the mages on the front lines. The primary objective of the Zamorakian army was to reach the furnace in the middle of Varrock. Daeth skillfully shot his way through the advancing vampyres with fire arrows, covered by Para’s melee attacks.
The hot weapons of the Zamorakians sliced through vyrewatch and Juvenile flesh like butter. The werewolves joined the Zamorak Cult against to fight them, armed with torches.
Zamorakian fighters were releasing the slaves from their chains, handing them torches. “Burn everything you can before the signal to retreat,” they said, “And you are free to go.” In the confusion, most of them did as they were told, thankful for their liberation.
The most ecstatic fighter of them all was Blaze Sharpeye. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” He laughed wildly, melting the vyrewatch and scorching everything in his wake with the fire magic Lightning had taught him since the last fight. He was enthralled with it, and the other mages had a difficult time controlling him from burning them all to a crisp.

28-Feb-2011 15:52:12

Learth

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The vampires who had no access to the Blurite actually fared better than their icy counterparts. They were able to kill a few of the slaves, at least, before falling to a Zamorakian blade. The fight seemed too easy, but Vorlon knew that if Drakan felt directly threatened, he would flee. Cult members lined the castle with kindling wood, and covered it in kerosene.
Drakan was covered in sweat… at least, he thought it was sweat. He had underestimated Zamorak’s forces. He did not consider them much of a threat, because they would not used blessed silver weapons—the only thing that could harm them through the protection of their Daeyalt. The secret of their power was carefully guarded, only given to vampyres who were members of their order. How could these infadels have known of it? But they must have found out, for he felt poisoned somehow, and his body had become a strange color.
When Daeth reached the furnace, a call of “Fall back!” echoed through the Zamorakian ranks. It seemed as if there had been a turn of the tide, and the vyrewatch looked about them to see what was going on. In mere minutes, the giant furnace in the center square exploded with such a forceful blast that flaming debris flew in every direction. Blaze Sharpeye, though commanded to take cover, was unable to part himself with the fire’s power over him. He was blown to pieces, still laughing even as his flesh went up in flames.
The shrapnel from the explosion ignited the kindling and kerosene around the castle, and it became like a giant stone oven.
Drakan could not stay on his feet. He slumped in a puddle against King Roald’s throne. He had been careless, and foolish, and regretted the decisions that led to this end. There was nothing left for him.
“I’m melting!” He shouted at the ceiling, perhaps speaking to Zamorak himself. “I’m melting! … and I was invincible! Oh, what a despicable world I leave behind! May Chaos take it!”

28-Feb-2011 16:17:49

Learth

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After Drakan’s death, the remaining vampires and ghouls stationed at Varrock who were loyal to him fled to the South. The slaves who were strong enough returned to their homelands, though many were weak and dying. Bweer, Ralex, and the old soldier were heading back to Falador together with nothing to show for their service but the wounds of battle and slavery.
“We return to our city as failures,” said Ralex, “But at least we get to return. Who knows how long Falador will last? Saradomin has done nothing to protect us. We cannot defeat so many enimies by ourselves.”
Bweer said nothing. He did not understand what had happened to the vyrewatch. One moment they were invulnerable, and the next, they melted like ice. He suspected that the secret to their power had something to do with that furnace, but the furnace was still burning even once they had been weakened. Was some powerful, unseen force really working against them?
The old man looked at Ralex with sadness in his eyes, “I’m afraid you are right, son. Saradomin has not done much for his Kingdom of Falador, but I do not think it is because he does not care for it. He cares for his people very much, as the priests teach, but sometimes other forces prevent him from coming to Falador’s aid.”
“Either Saradomin is not our protector, as we thought he was, or he’s not powerful enough to do a good job at it.” Ralex said. They were just outside the walls of the city now. He could see the beautiful towers of the castle.
The old man sighed. Perhaps Saradomin had some more work to do after all…

28-Feb-2011 19:18:11 - Last edited on 02-Mar-2011 00:16:06 by Learth

Learth

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The burning had subsided, and the dust cleared. Vorlon lead the Zamorakians back into the destroyed city.
“This,” he began, “Is the beginning of a glorious age. For many years, we have planned and dreamed of a time when we would be free to follow Zamorak and decimate the world. It is in our blood, in our very being, to wish for this day, for this destruction. No longer will we live among those who deny this desire within. We have been chosen for greatness. We will settle for nothing less than victory. We will slaughter the opposition and revel in the bloodshed. May Zamorak Conquer!”
They all raised their weapons in a salute.
This was by no means the end of the Zamorak Cult** work that day. The city still needed to be fortified, and the prisoners of the vampyres who were too weak to return to their homelands needed to be dealt with. Many such prisoners were dead or on the brink of death. There were many of them, and Vorlon let the generals decide individually how to deal with these men.
A certain void knight had lost a leg, but otherwise was doing very well. He resented his capture, of course, and his unfortunate loss of limb, but took it all in stride as an experienced warrior. He struck up a conversation with Bob and Learth, trying to bargain with them to send him back to the Outpost.
“And there used to be a fellow there, a squire, who kept accusing me of wanting to steal his cake. Well the guys and I got together one night and actually baked him some cake. He was so surprised, he did*’t know what to say to us then! Later of course, he claimed it was his all along…”
Bob was intrigued with his stories, especially those about the pests. Strange creatures fascinated him.

02-Mar-2011 00:17:59

Learth

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“Once, one of the pests even escaped onto the mainland. You can ask your black knights about that. I don’t know the details, just that it caused a lot of problems for us. A ship full of our knights died because of it.” The knight was careful not to place the blame on the Kinishra, due to his present company.
Since Bob was amused by his stories, and liked his personality, he decided to arrange for him to be taken back to the outpost as he requested. He asked Learth to give him some medical attention and walked off, which was thoughtful but not very helpful, because Learth had no medical training. Before anything else, though, he wanted to ask about what the black knights were doing with a pest creature.
The black knights had already returned to their fortress, but Daquarius was still discussing matters with Vorlon in the wreckage of the castle.When the conversation was over, bob approached him.
“Lord Daquarius,” Bob asked, “One of our captives, a Void Knight named Porthos, told me an interesting story about a creature that your organization captured. What was that all about?”
“Oh yes,” Daquarius replied, “I remember the plan well. We were to harness the substance secreted by the void leech, I believe it was called ‘foodgoo.’ My men discovered by accident that this foodgoo has immense power. The substance could drain energy; I believe the leech used it as a type of emergency food source. Unfortunately, our operation was discovered, and the plan failed. The Void Knights confiscated the majority of the substance, but we had a few boxes in an adjacent room that they did not find. We plan to use these in the future, but at present, it would be unwise. People would recognize the symptoms of the foodgoo and they would immediately suspect us.*
*What was the creature like?” Bob asked.
“It was a weak, dependant thing by itself,” Said Daquarius, “with no impressive physical power. It was articulate, but unintelligent.”

02-Mar-2011 00:18:43 - Last edited on 02-Mar-2011 13:01:25 by Learth

Learth

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“You mean to say that it could speak?” Bob was surprised.
“It could speak a little. It was nothing remarkable,” Daquarius said. Bob wanted to see for himself.
It was not time yet for any Zamorakians to go out gallivanting to tropical islands. The city still needed to be fortified, and they still needed to deal with the vampyres at Drakan’s castle… who were still at full strength. Thankfully, they were not completely without a plan, thanks to the quick thinking of Averthil.
His plan began with a small ambassadorship, namely himself, Ambassador Burns, and Vorlon disguised as another knight. Vorlon liked the idea, though it was a little risky, because it would be by far the easiest way to capture the castle.
When they arrived at Drakan’s palace, the steward treated them with contempt. It was clear that the vampyres in the East were unaware of the fate of Lord Drakan and his Western army. Burnsy was eager to speak with whoever was now in charge of the vampyre castle… and for the sake of his life, he hoped they still could not read his thoughts.
The steward was surprised by the Zamorakians* expressions. They betrayed neither fear nor disappointment. He lead them to Malak, who was put in charge of the castle by Drakan.
“Have you come to surrender yourselves to us?” he asked, looking down on them from a much taller chair than the one Drakan had sat in, presumably brought to the first floor just for a situation like this.
“No.* Said Burns, stepping forward, “We have come to accept your surrender.”

02-Mar-2011 13:02:30 - Last edited on 02-Mar-2011 13:27:55 by Learth

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The Cult of Zamorak