RuneScape Forum Archive | A Tale of Four Champions

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"Good. Go."

"Oh, one more thing, Drake?"

Drake raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"Get dressed." And he walked out.

Joshua smiled as he walked out of the Duel Arena Palace. He just loved getting under Drake's skin.

He walked out into the desert, where a camel and two guards on camels were waiting.

Joshua looked at the huge, stinky camel apprehensively. "Do I have to ride that thing?"

"Horses would die out here," one of the guards said. "And besides camels aren't that bad."

Joshua reached out his hand to touch it, and it spit on him. "Yeah, they are."

But Joshua was eventually persuaded to get on the camel, and he rode ungainly to the Gnome Glider Station.

Hundreds of gliders were flying around, landing, and lifting off. Gnomes, humans, elves, and more went to and fro in the huge glider port. Al-Kharid guards searched departees for weapons or sabotage tools, and a few people were hauled off to the Interrogation Room.

Joshua waited patiently in line to get a private glider, wearing a fake beard so as not to be seen as who he was. He didn't want such special treatment.

"Flight 912 to Yanille boarding now," droned a voice through some magical speakers.

"Excuse me, could I get one ticket for that flight?" Joshua asked in a deep voice to the guard.

"Hey, aren't you Joshua? You are Joshua!" the guard roared. "Here, take this private flight."

Joshua groaned. But he accepted the tickets, and soon he was sitting in a luxurious glider in a heated bath. Five women were on the plane. Apparently this glider was usually reserved for Drake.

Joshua had fun, but it was very unintentional.

Still, he had fun...

* * * * * *

Daren yawned and threw his legs out of bed. This was the first time in weeks that he had lain down to go to sleep, though he was still in his armor.

25-Jul-2007 14:47:47 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:32:19 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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He put too much weight into his left foot, however, and he slipped and fell into the floor with a clang. However he somehow managed to look dignified when one of his servants came in, followed by Rah.

"Wake up, lazy," Rah chided.

"I am awake!" Daren exclaimed innocently, getting up and brushing off his armor.

"Good. Apparently we have a visitor." And Rah walked out, followed soon after by a still very-much tired Daren. They walked, slipped, fell, slid, and ran through the hallways until they came to the great staircase leading down to the foyer.

"I still never get why you made your stairs so slippery and steep," Rah complained as they came close.

"It wakes me up in cold mornings," Daren replied matter-of-factly. Then he looked to the gate. Standing there was Joshua! "Joshua!" Daren yelled excitedly. "It's been so long..." he was cut off when he took the stairs too fast, slipped, and bounced all the way down. He landed ungainly at the Wilderness Champion's feet.

"Hi," Daren smiled. Joshua took one look at him, did a double take, and burst out laughing.

"What?" Daren said indignantly.

"Oh, Daren, such a klutz," Rah called. Joshua looked up.

"Who is this? A servant?" Joshua inquired.

"No, this is Rah," Daren said. "Rah, meet Joshua."

"Charmed," Rah said as he gracefully walked down the stairs to shake the Wilderness Champion's hand.

"So are you guys..." Joshua left it hanging. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course!"

"What?!" Daren exclaimed. "Of course not! We are tied for Championhood."

"Ah..." Joshua said. An awkward silence followed. Finally, Rah broke it.

"We heard about Carol. Horrible. I can't believe what Xhou did."

Daren looked up and smiled gratefully. "Of course! How, erm, horrible!"

25-Jul-2007 14:47:52 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:16:57 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"Come to Varrock for the feast," Joshua said curtly. Then he walked out, much to the surprise of Daren and Rah.

"That was a short visit," Daren said bluntly.

"He is going to tell Talmyr probably," Rah said thoughtfully.

"I heard that he found a girlfriend," Daren said to Rah as they walked towards the dining hall.

"Yeah, and he got lucky too."

"Really? Talmyr? No more baths, then."

"At least not with different women."

Then Daren walked into a priceless vase and knocked it over. A passing servant tutted softly and called a few more over to clean it up.

Joshua walked out of the palace of Castle Wars confused. Since when did Daren tie with anyone? Sure he was clumsy, but nobody came close to beating him. And making friends with first-timers wasn't his style.

Everything seemed to be out of focus. The only thing that wasn't weird now (hopefully) was Talmyr. So he met up with the mages that teleported him to Yanille with apprehensive thoughts at what he would find at Karamja.

He appeared in the glider airport, where he was ushered by two gnomes into a massive glider. The thing was easily one hundred feet long and the wingspan was probably a little wider.

"Am I going on a commercial flight?" Joshua inquired.

"No," one of the gnomes replied, "Daren likes his space."

Oh. Right.

As Joshua flew, he got another update on the current events of the world from one of his servants.

"Well, my Champion," the servant began, "Things are looking bad with Xhou. He told all the kings that you walked into his office and threatened to kill him. Steadily more people are flocking to Pest Control to watch Xhou and his team do the game. Apparently the Great Games are 'too overused' to be interesting. Also, Hans tried to assassinate the Duke, and was subsequently kicked out of Lumbridge. A race of goblins was discovered underneath Lumbridge, and H.A.M. is trying to eradicate them. That is what I have, sir."

25-Jul-2007 14:47:57 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:18:48 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"Xhou thinks he can pull that on ME after what he did?" Joshua roared. "He tried to KILL all of us!" He got up out of his comfortable sofa and drew a sword, then slashed a seat in front of him into pieces.

He sat down again, and leaned his forehead into the palm of his hand. "The Great Games are too old, eh?" Joshua asked of nobody in particular. "We'll see about THAT." And the beginnings of a plan began to form in his head...

That was when the pilot said frantically over the speakers, "We don't have clearance to land! We're going to have to crash in the jungle!"

Meanwhile, far away in Varrock, Elyssa had taken to sleeping in the Champion's Palace. Joshua had left a few days ago to tell the other Champions about the upcoming feast. That left her and the team alone in Varrock with nothing to do...

Except to crash the palace. So they each slept in different rooms, found and eradicated the fruit warriors, and trained each morning. However they didn't go into the Wilderness without Joshua. They couldn't afford to risk losing another member of their team to a plot.

She was currently sitting alone in the Champion's chair at the head of the massive table of the Varrock Champion's Palace, drinking out of a half-empty Vodka bottle.

That was when there was a banging sound, followed by some screamed curses. Seconds later the huge double doors of the Palace slammed open, and a tall, handsome man holding two servants by their collars burst in.

"I wish to speak with Joshua," the man enunciated gruffly. Elyssa got up. She walked over to him, eying his muscular build. The man was young, but he had shoulder-blade length gray hair, and silver eyes that seemed to bore into Elyssa's soul. She was inwardly creeped out, but he was so handsome...

"What is your name?" she asked, fluttering her eyelids.

"Kaiser Blaid," he replied, not noticing the advancing maneuvers at all. "I wish to replace Carol on the team."

25-Jul-2007 15:18:56 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:38:07 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"Well, you'll have to talk to Joshua about that, but since he isn't here," she said softly, each word coinciding with a step closer to him, "You can crash here until he comes."

"Good." Kaiser heaved the two servants onto the polished marble floor, and walked upstairs with a sweep of his black cloak.

"Who was that?" Jack asked Elyssa.

"Kaiser Blaid, new member of our Wilderness team," Elyssa said dreamily.

Jack snorted. "You gave up on Joshua ALREADY? Come on."

"How did you know?"

"It was obvious by you kissing him," Jack laughed. Then he walked away, grabbing a bottle of vodka.

Kaiser was lying in a sumptuous bed in one of Joshua's many bedrooms when Elyssa finally found him. She walked by, quickly looking in to see if he was there, then went to one side of the door. Kaiser saw her, of course; he was slightly intrigued by what she would do, however.

So he played stupid and continued to look at the ceiling. Elyssa walked in.

"Hey! I didn't notice you there," she lied. "I was looking for..." she stopped, unable to think of what to say. Instead she leaned against the door, acting like she was cool and controlled. Her heart was beating very fast in reality, however. "How are you?"

"Uh, great, you?" Kaiser said in that same dumb voice, still playing her game.

"Amazing. I trust you heard about Joshua and me?"

Kaiser could obviously tell that she was trying to make him get jealous. He WOULDN'T play that game. So again, he resorted to playing stupid.

"Nope."

"Well, he kissed me, but then he just runs off on me! That JERK!"

Kaiser suddenly stood up, his face angry. "Actually, YOU kissed HIM, and he 'Ran off' because he had to warn people about the person who was trying to kill him! And his teammate died! So when he leaves, you crash his palace, you eat his food, and you spread false rumors! You only think about yourself! And just so you know, I won't be the man you run to because Joshua wouldn't be yours."

25-Jul-2007 15:19:01 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:40:19 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"So if THAT is what you are looking for, which it probably is, then get out."

Elyssa stood there, speechless, as Kaiser gave her the lowdown. Then after a few moments, she drew herself together, looked skywards, and said haughtily, "Fine. I wasn't even THINKING about being with you." And she walked out.

Kaiser lay there on the bed for a few moments, just to make sure Elyssa was gone. Then- "You can come out now!"

All the other team came out of the closet, all snickering at Elyssa's obsessiveness.

Elyssa, with nowhere else to turn, took up the bottle of vodka and drank.

Later she went out of the palace and took a brisk walk about the city of Varrock. She went into a tavern to get a quick drink, and when she came out seventy people with big aviator glasses and notepads with pens were standing there staring at her.

"Um, can I help you?" she asked weakly.

"Trouble in paradise?" one of them said. Then they all swarmed around her, holding up their notepads and asking her all kinds of questions.

"Is it true you and Joshua kissed?"

"How did you find out about that?" she exclaimed.

"Did you and Joshua get intimate?"

"No, I -"

"What about Carol? What happened to her?"

"I -"

"Is it true you got kicked off the team?"

"WHAT?! N-no, I didn't..."

"Are you and Joshua getting married?"

Finally she delivered a side kick to the nearest inquirer and took off running back to the palace.

She looked back and they were all hot on her trail. She feinted going left and then ran to the right, diving into the moat. Then she swam to the other side and saw them floundering at the other side.

She laughed at them, but then the grin slid right off her face.

The inquirers all lined up in military formation, and marched straight into the river. They submerged completely, and then reappeared walking slowly, right at the other side.

"What ARE you?" She screamed, and ran away with renewed vigour.

25-Jul-2007 15:19:20 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:33:15 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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NOTE: I would just like to say that I harbor no grudges to the papparazzi, they keep me informed, but its always good to have a little fun with them, right?

Anyway.

* * * * * *

"Where is he?" Xhou fumed, looking at a series of maps.

"Right over here, sir," a gnome said, pointing at a place on the map.

"Good, good," Xhou smiled, sitting back. "Are you ready to fly?"

"Always."

"Good, good. And how are the 'others' doing?"

"They will be ready soon."

Xhou sat back, grinning evilly. "You just wait, Joshua," he said happily. "I am coming to get you."

Joshua felt his heart rate speed up, and he ran to the front of the glider. Sure enough, they were flying over the jungle, losing altitude quickly. The pilots were desperately trying to bring the glider up, and at the same time get clearance to land in the glider port.

"Can't you just LAND on one of the runways and say that I am a Champion?" Joshua roared with anger at one of the gnomes.

The gnome looked at him, sweating and grunting with frustration as he furiously wrestled the controls of the glider. "No- Joshua- because- we- will- be- arrested- and- AARG!" The gnome was clearly not in the state to answer. So Joshua grabbed his scimitar, put on some armor, held onto a table chair, and braced himself for the impending crash.

They were around three thousand feet above the jungles and descending at a speed of roughly 25 feet per second. At that rate, in two minutes they would crash. Since they couldn't slow down in midair for fear of dropping straight down, it was going to be a rough landing. Joshua was used to incredibly adrenaline-pumping situations, but someone usually died. It was fairly annoying.

Then, out of nowhere, another shadow was seen next to theirs. Joshua looked out a window, dreading what he would see.

It was exactly who he guessed it would be; and he hated it.

Xhou was striking again.

25-Jul-2007 15:19:25 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:41:33 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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Suddenly a fireball flew from the window of the glider, just missing the wing of Joshua's own. He swore and ran down into the cockpit again. "Where are we?" He demanded.

"Above the endless, uncharted jungles of Karamja, why?" One of the gnomes made a pointless attempt at humor.

"Cut the chitchat. Can you land in a lake or river? That glider over there plans to light us on fire." He pointed vaguely to the side. The gnome saw it and swore, praying fervently to Guthix.

"Uh, we won't be over a substantial body of water for another hundred or so miles!" The gnome's exclamation was dotted by an explosion, and a wave of heat.

"Uh, what was that?" A gnome woman asked fearfully.

"Xhou just hit us with something," Joshua assessed grimly. "Land now! I will try to reason with them." Then he walked into the back of the glider.

Things didn't look good. A fire had started, and whatever he had hit them with had destroyed the rudder and opened up a huge hole in it. As he came closer, he was almost lifted off his feet. Luckily he grabbed onto a support pole and resisted flying into space.

Behind them, Xhou's glider dove and twirled like a vulture hungry for prey. Fire blasts and arrows flew towards them, but fell pitifully short. One idiotic mage even attempted a wind blast, but it backfired and sent the glider reeling.

Joshua looked around for something to damage the enemy glider with. Meanwhile papers, little gusts of flame, metal hunks, and splinters of many wooden things flew past him at terrible speeds. He looked back into the glider, and saw one of the huge chairs flying towards him. He gulped.

It flew towards him incredibly fast, giving him little time to think. The hole in the back of the glider was getting larger, due to the air...

25-Jul-2007 15:19:30 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:35:06 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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And then Joshua had it. He jumped to the side, nudging the huge sofa a little bit. It worked perfectly; the couch blocked the hole. But the glider was beginning to fall apart, and it wouldn't last long. So Joshua grabbed a long wooden pole, dipped it in the flame, and managed to light the pole on fire. Then he hit the couch with it a few times, making it burst into flame.

Through the hole in the back of the glider, he could see that the enemy glider was directly behind him. Perfect. He made sure that the couch was blazing merrily, then he nudged it to the side, and the pole with it. Joshua watched in satisfaction as the couch tore through the enemy glider's wing and lit it on fire. It spiraled off to the side and crashed into the jungle.

However Joshua didn't get to watch long, as he too was torn out of the glider.

* * * * * *

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Varrock, the other members of Joshua's team explained to Kaiser why they had hidden in the closet.

"Well, we all felt bad about the whole thing, and we didn't want Elyssa to destroy herself with sadness," Jack explained. "The only reason we crashed the palace like Elyssa did is because we wanted to keep an eye on her."

"But that isn't all," Lyese cut in. "For a while now, we have wanted to set Joshua up with a nice woman. I mean, the guy spends every day killing people and getting out of near-death experiences, so he deserves a little comfort, wouldn't you say?"

Khard added, for the first time in a while, "It appeared that Elyssa was the only one who he really responded to, but he was in turmoil. She, of course, misunderstood. Now she's trying to claw her way back up. So when you came in, I think she saw a good opportunity to forget Joshua."

25-Jul-2007 15:19:35 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:48:36 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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Kaiser nodded and said "oh", but it was evident that he didn't really understand. They explained it again, taking time to go over what certain words and phrases meant. Finally Kaiser got the idea.

Suddenly Elyssa burst in again, her eyes red with stress and from anger. "What are YOU doing here!" she slurred to the team. "You’re been easdropp'ng on me again, haven’t you?!?"

Yaol gave her a dark look, like he did to pretty much everyone, and said in his slithery voice, "She's drunk. Let's sober her up."

They knocked her out and pressing on her stomach until she vomited up nearly two pints of alcohol on Kaiser's bed.

They, of course, never heard the terrified screams of the doomed gnome pilots, never saw the flaming glider smash into the jungle, and never felt the warm blood and fire wash over them as all the occupants of the glider were thrown out and killed in the explosion.

"I wonder where Joshua is?" Kaiser asked Elyssa one day. It had been nearly two weeks since he left, and he should have returned at least a week ago. All of the other Champions, save Talmyr, were present for the upcoming feast. It was in a month, but due to traffic, publicity, paperwork, politics, and money, it was safe to schedule an arrival at least a month in advance. Luckily the Champions and their teams all had waiting gliders for them.

"I don't know, nor do I care," Elyssa sniffed haughtily. But her eyes said otherwise. They were squinted with worry, and red from crying.

Then Drake walked in to the Wilderness section of the Varrock Palace through the massive, ornate doors that led to the Duel Arena section of the Palace. "Why on earth aren't there girls in my palace?" He roared unhappily. He was wearing only a brown leather tunic and short black pants.

"Maybe because Joshua isn't as obsessed as you," Rah replied. He and Daren also walked into the Wilderness section of the palace.

"And now we are three," Kaiser muttered.

25-Jul-2007 15:19:40 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:46:07 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

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A Tale of Four Champions