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Infinity A8

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"Evan Edgevil huh? He was the son of Ivan Edgevil; Edgeville'* founder, and Eve Edgevil; Ivan's wife," Robert explained. "I remember doing a history report on it. He and his family were killed not long after settling Edgeville by the invasion of black demons from the dungeon. If I'm not mistaken Evan was twelve at the time."
While the kids and their families had been severely underfunded, Robert's family had been able to afford a home tutor for him which lead to his extensive intelligence. He often went on to school the other children and thanks to him they were all capable of basic to intermediate literacy skills. When it came to subjects such as history and geography however, Robert's knowledge went unparalleled.
"So do you think that Evan's ghost has been haunting us because his remains were disturbed?"
"Maybe. But that doesn't explain what's happened here. Ghosts aren't supposed to be able to cause this much damage in such short a time."
"Not to mention the lack of people around..."
"That is strange," Robert sat down on one of the crates and glanced at the mess around him. "There's enough blood here to fill the River Lum, but no trace of any bodies. Any bodily organs either for that matter, just blood."
"Are you sure it's blood? What if an army came by, evacuated everyone, demolished the town and splashed red paint everywhere just for kicks?"
"I can't imagine an army doing that," Robert laughed. "No, it's blood. It smells different to paint and also feels different. You should know, seeing as you're covered in it..."
Jaden ran his eyes down his drenched clothing and cursed himself for fighting with Georgia.
"You think I could go back to my house and change? I'm not exactly comfortable at the moment."
"Assuming your house is still mostly intact. I imagine your clothes would be as well if that were the case."
"Right, be back soon then."
Jaden abandoned his discussion and search for provisions and left the general store for what was his house.

29-Nov-2008 08:59:53 - Last edited on 27-Oct-2009 06:49:07 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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Robert also left his deep thinking by the wayside and went to check on the traumatised trio, starting with Veronica.
She was still blissfully asleep, snoring very lightly and lying as still as the sacks she slept on. Robert had planned to wake her, but the sight of her sleeping so peacefully; so immune to the catastrophe around her, he changed his mind. The purpose for waking her was so that they all may leave and seek aid from another town hopefully ending their dilemma, but that would have to wait now.
He approached Edward who still squatted motionless with his face to the wall. The youngest member of the group was surely suffering some form of mental distress and required comfort. Robert opened his mouth to soothe the child but before he could think of the words to come, Edward started to cry again.
"Why did this have to happen? Where's my mummy? Where's daddy...?"
He erupted into a bout of sobs and wails and planted his face into one of the nearby sacks so as to muffle his sorrow for Veronica's sake. Robert shuffled away, realising that he would need more time before he would be able to help. He turned towards Tristan, but seeing him with his face buried in his folded arms made him give up.
There was nothing he could do. He could check on Natalie and Georgia, but the two seemed alright so Robert decided not to bother. There was nothing left for him to do but reflect on the circumstances; why and how they'd occurred. He leant up against the wall away from his three friends and let himself relax. He'd been tense for the past few minutes, struggling to absorb everything that had passed and decipher it whilst anxious about his own family. To any onlooker, he appeared calm and unaffected like Georgia or Natalie but in truth was valiantly fighting back tears of his own.
That was one primary thought that perplexed him: how are the two of them REALLY reacting to this and how are they hiding it so well?

29-Nov-2008 08:59:55 - Last edited on 27-Oct-2009 06:50:14 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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Georgia was rifling through the bank deposit box, pulling out all sorts of expensive goods. Natalie watched with curiosity, inspecting anything Georgia threw away in case it was something valuable to their situation. She'd accumulated an assortment of handy items Georgia had carelessly chucked away and stacked them neatly beside her.
Georgia commented quietly on the things she'd pick up, seemingly oblivious to everything else around her. Only that which interested her would hold her attention and the crumbled structures and splats of blood only did so briefly.
"You're not afraid?" Natalie questioned.
"Nah, I'm sure we'll be fine."
"Oh."
Any normal person would have pressed for answers but Natalie was far too shy to continue questioning. That and she was also shaking too much to think straight and collecting items seemed to be the only thing she was capable of.
Unlike Jaden, Georgia didn't feel the need to change her clothes. She hadn't covered herself as much as him and the added colours were barely noticeable among the rainbow of her clothing. Her hair and face was in need of a wash however and as Georgia chucked aside another worthy item she stood.
"I'm going to the river to wash myself. Wait here." she announced to Natalie who merely nodded in response. Georgia cavorted out of the bank and towards the River Lum and came rather close to carelessly dipping her face into the tainted water. To her dismay, the blood from the town had managed to seep into the river dying it a light shade of red. Fish were floating lifelessly atop the water too, making it even more unsanitary to wash in.
"Aw geez. Maybe it'll be cleaner further downstream." Georgia muttered as she began her walk south. Natalie, troubled by Georgia's sudden change of direction decided that she would follow. She worried for her friend and also of what she was doing in these times of uncertainty.
Georgia was nearing the edge of Edgeville when a strange thing happened.

29-Nov-2008 09:00:08 - Last edited on 27-Oct-2009 06:51:41 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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She began to feel an abnormal heat in the air around her.
"Huh? It wasn't this hot a minute ago..." she mumbled as Natalie caught up. Natalie too felt the effects of the air around them but said nothing on it. As the two went progressively south in hopes of finding clean water, it became increasingly temperate.
"This is weird." Georgia was fanning herself with her hand whilst staring down the still stained river.
"Georgia, look." Natalie pointed in the direction of the Barbarian Village to which Georgia immediately flipped her head up to see. It was strangely blurred, as if looking at it through a shield of distorted glass. The village was hardly recognisable as for the other landmarks around it. Increasingly curious, Georgia sought to get a closer look only to have the air heat to an unbearable temperature as she did.
Georgia struggled to brave the incredible heat but was suddenly pulled back by Natalie, whose reasoning was simply "It's too hot."
"We should go tell Robert, maybe he'll know what this is," Georgia suggested before adding excitedly "If he doesn't then maybe we'll get a chance to investigate!"
Natalie nodded and hurriedly returned to Edgeville with Georgia to inform Robert of a new, just as troubling occurrence.

29-Nov-2008 09:02:00 - Last edited on 25-Apr-2009 08:29:41 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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~Chapter XI~
"Jaden should have been back by now..." Robert murmured as he surveyed the approaching night-sky. He then switched his attention to Veronica, hoping she was at least stirring. Unfortunately, it seemed that she was quite comfortable with sleeping and would need to be woken up if they were to go anywhere.
"Robert!" cried Georgia as she scampered over to Robert. Natalie trailed her several metres behind.
"What is it Georgia?" he inquired as the two caught up.
"I was walking, going to go and wash my face, but the river was all bloody. So I went downstream trying to find clean water, but then it got really hot, so hot that I couldn't go past the edge of town!" Georgia blurted, then paused for breath.
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, when we tried to look towards the Barbarian Village, everything was blurry! Do you know what this means?"
"It's possible that a creature capable of exerting extreme heat is around. But I've never heard of such things before, so that seems unlikely."
"You do not know what it is?" Natalie asked.
"I'm afraid not, which isn't good. If it is in fact a creature making that heat, then there's no telling what else it can do. I think we should get out of here as soon as Jaden returns. Please wait here un-"
"No way! Back in a minute!" Georgia interjected before running off as fast as she was capable. It seemed that she was headed for the remains of her house.
Robert just sat there with a stunned expression and then slapped his face with his palm whilst sighing.
"Can you look after her, Natalie?"
Without even reacting, Natalie strolled off to supervise her hyperactive friend. It was just as she left that a freshly-clothed Jaden, carrying a bundle of items in his arms, returned. As he got closer, Robert discovered that it was clothes he was carrying, different sets for everyone.
"I brought everyone a change. That's why I took so long." he announced.

29-Nov-2008 09:02:03 - Last edited on 01-May-2009 12:19:30 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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"Thanks. Just leave Georgia's and Natalie's on top of that box next to you."
Jaden did so and proceeded to pass Robert his change of clothing: a clean, grey jacket; a white undershirt; a pair of grey trousers and a simple, red tie. Shortly after, he handed Tristan his golden, button-up shirt and red shorts then gave Edward his clothes. They were exactly the same as the set he wore, but cleaner. Finally, he lay Veronica's favourite, white dress over her like a blanket.
Robert declared that he was going into the bank next door to change. Without saying a word, Edward and Tristan got up simultaneously and went behind the general store. They returned moments later, dressed in their clean clothes but still as dispirited as before. Robert returned, neatly clothed in his attire to assume his analytical state of thought atop his crate. Before he could even get started, he addressed Jaden.
"We'll have to wake up Veronica and get out of here soon. Georgia and Natalie said they experienced something weird down by the river," he explained. "Something about the temperature increasing as they went further south. Whatever it is, it can't be good and we need to leave ASAP."
"Should I do it now?" Jaden knew full well that Robert didn't want to be the one to rouse her and was saying this in the hopes that Jaden would do it.
"Might as well. We'll leave when Natalie and Georgia return. Thank you, by the way." Robert responded, aware that Jaden knew of Robert's reluctance to wake her.
Jaden crept over to the sleeping girl and gently prodded her in the ribs. She stirred but remained asleep, so Jaden shook her head roughly. She screamed so loud that Georgia and Natalie heard it all the way from Georgia's wrecked house.
Natalie whipped her head in the direction of the sound and then back to Georgia to see how she was reacting. She'd barely reacted at all however, curiously glancing upwards and then resuming her work when all was quiet again.

29-Nov-2008 09:02:47 - Last edited on 26-Apr-2009 12:38:09 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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She was digging through the remains of her house, looking for something she hadn't yet disclosed to Natalie.
"Should we...?" Natalie questioned softly, troubled by the scream.
"Nah, she's probably just woken up and remembered what happened. She'll be fi-Aha! Here it is!"
Georgia pulled the object from under a pile of broken tiles and held it above her head triumphantly. It was her father's steel longsword, perfectly unscathed and gleaming in the light of the setting sun. It was such a flawless blade, even after years of combat it hadn't even chipped or scratched. It had been forged of the finest steel available and extremely valuable to former adventurer Daniel Reid: Georgia's father. With her father gone and a mysterious force about, Georgia felt it was time to inherit the blade she so dearly desired.
When no one was around, Georgia would often take the blade from it's display cabinet in her father's room and practise long and hard with it. Bows and magic never interested her, the elegance of the sword, the skill and training required to properly wield such a weapon enticed her into using it.
Now she finally had a use for it.
"Okay Natalie! Let's go back. Oh!" she stopped, suddenly remembering something. "Robert and Jaden are armed with runes and Edward and Tristan can't fight anyway. But Veronica will need a weapon! Let's stop off at her house and get her bow and arrows. Oh wait, do you need a weapon too, Natalie?"
She nodded, then proclaimed that she would get it herself and walked off without another sound. Georgia hopped about the devastation until finding Veronica's home. The bow and arrows were rather easy to find, Veronica kept them on her desk whenever not in use. The magnificent, maple short-bow had also managed to miraculously survive the destruction of the town. Some of her mithril arrows had been bent but at least fifteen of them were intact.
She sheathed her sword into her belt loop and then carried the bow and arrows in her hands.

29-Nov-2008 09:02:54 - Last edited on 14-Jul-2009 13:13:28 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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As she commenced her return to the bank, Natalie came back from her house with bare hands.
"Huh? Where's your weapon? You don't have any pockets so you can't be using magic..."
Natalie flicked her wrist and suddenly an iron dagger was in her hand, seemingly materialising from her sleeves.
"Oh wow, that was cool! You should be a stage magician Natalie."
Predictably, Natalie didn't change expression but when Georgia turned away, her face reddened a little from pride. She replaced the dagger up her jacket sleeve and followed her to the bank where the rest of the group waited.

29-Nov-2008 09:02:55 - Last edited on 26-Apr-2009 13:23:23 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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~Chapter XII~
Even though she was awake, Veronica had yet to open her eyes.
"Veronica we can't go anywhere unless you can see," Robert elaborated. "We need to get out of here."
"So it wasn't a dream? It's real...?" she whispered fearfully. As she had only seen the town for only a brief moment before passing out, Veronica had assumed it was an illusion or something.
"We don't have any answers yet." Jaden stated.
"What we do know is that it probably isn't safe here. Please Veronica we've been waiting for you to wake so we can go and get help," Robert continued. "Could you please open your eyes?"
Veronica inhaled deeply then slowly opened her eyes. She calmly looked around the house they were in and nothing more, not wishing to faint a second time.
"I brought your bow and some arrows!" Georgia announced, handing the equipment to her.
"But-" she was about to protest but Georgia interrupted.
"Just in case! If Robert doesn't know what it is then we can't be too careful, right?"
Veronica rose to her feet, almost losing the pristine white dress on top of her to the dirty floor below but caught it moments before it would have been soiled.
"It's a change of clothes," Jaden explained. "Just go behind the wall, you won't see anything."
Veronica nodded and went behind one of the remaining walls of the store to change, never lifting her head away from her shoes the entire time. When she returned, the group had assembled together in the centre of the decimated shop. Robert and Jaden had something to say.
"I'll start by being honest," Robert began. "I don't know exactly what's happened but from the looks of things it's not good. The destruction of the town, the blood...it's just coincidence that we weren't here when it happened. What I do know is that we should stick together, no wandering off. At all."
He finished the last phrase firmly and primarily directing it at Georgia. It was then Jaden's turn to speak.

29-Nov-2008 09:02:57 - Last edited on 03-May-2009 12:00:48 by Infinity A8

Infinity A8

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"As much as I hate to say it, everyone's probably taken away or dead," he said bluntly, eliciting shocked gasps from Robert and Veronica. Jaden saw this but did nothing to correct it. "Once we get to Varrock, we'll tell the guards what happened and go with them so we can find someone who can help us."
Tristan and Edward had both started crying. The two clustered behind Veronica, their regular beacon of hope. Sadly, Veronica needed to be comforted as much as they did. The only one who was truly unfazed was the overly confident Georgia. An air of unease and fear poisoned the emotions of the others.
"Come on, let's move. We'll go east, across the river and along the ditch." Robert explained.
The group walked in troubled silence, trying to avoid seeing any of the ruined town; their home. Veronica was holding her bow limply, the quiver strung loosely over her back. She didn't practice archery for any violent purposes, just for recreation. She wasn't that experienced but her aim was admirable for her age.
Jaden was a novice in the ways of magic. He could wield all spells of the 'strike' level and two of the 'bolt': air and water. The spellbook he and Robert studied was the only one in the town but given Jaden's lazy attitudes Robert had increased his skill up to mastering the 'blast' level of spells. The amount of runes they kept on hand varied too, where Robert had a plentiful supply spread neatly throughout his jackets while Jaden stuffed as many as he could into each of his two pockets. They were all jumbled as well which made casting spells difficult.
Despite this, Jaden was adept at hand-to-hand combat. He didn't primarily use magic as many believed but used them to confuse and confound his opponents so he could strike with his fists.
Edward and Tristan had never practiced any form of combat. Their mother was a nurse which had inspired the two of them to help, not hinder in fights. Each of them carried a first aid kit at all times, strapped around their waists.

29-Nov-2008 09:03:05 - Last edited on 14-Jul-2009 11:22:34 by Infinity A8

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