RuneScape Forum Archive | A Tale of Four Champions

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"What?" Daren inquired.

"Nothing."

Jack walked down the stairs, holding a cinnamon bun that dripped chocolate syrup. "Drake, you can order... company quite easily from one of the butlers. And anyway, does anyone here like cinnamon buns? I kinda overdosed on them." He looked down apprehensively at his bulging stomach. "Uhoh."

"I'll get right on that," Drake said quickly. "But wait a minute; how do you know?"

Jack was saved from explanation by a short man and a taller woman bursting in through the front doors. "Talmyr!" Daren shouted in surprise. "Why are you-"

"Listen, I've got some bad news," Talmyr gasped, out of breath. After a while, with some help from the tall woman, he continued. "This is Sigea, my fiancé. But anyway, Joshua set out from Yanille a week ago on a glider. We lost contact with him while he was over a jungle. I'm sorry, but I think Joshua died."

"WHAT?" all the Champions cried in unison. "You're joking!"

Sigea sadly shook her head. "No," she said glumly. "We found the wreckage of his plane. All the gnomes and servants were dead. There is no way he survived."

The news had mixed impacts. Drake stopped running to the door, and stood there, open-mouthed. Kaiser muttered curses under his breath, and Jack dropped his cinnamon bun. Rah shook his head mournfully, Daren fainted and crashed into a chair, breaking it, and Elyssa began to sob.

"It- it-" Elyssa cried out in between heaving sobs, "It can't be true!"

Jack hugged Elyssa then, his eyes beginning to stream with tears. Drake walked back slowly, and though he tried to act macho, he too began to sniffle.

"I never even got to meet him," Kaiser said softly. He bowed his head and put his right hand over his eyes. Rah went over and put his arm around Kaiser, mumbling feverishly in Elvish. Daren was unconscious with surprise. Talmyr began to cry too, even though he already knew the news. Sigea put her arms around him, sadly singing to herself.

25-Jul-2007 15:19:46 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:50:42 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The others in the palace soon heard the news, and they, too, raised up their various mourning*. Soon, one long, sad note was heard from a trumpet. And all around, as the news spread like wildfire, there were the cries of unhappiness and mourning.

When Daren woke up a few minutes later, he didn't know what everyone was so sad about. But when he heard Elyssa sob something about Joshua, he remembered, and he suddenly burst into tears. His helmet was soon dripping wet inside.

-----------------------------------------

However, there was one person in the Palace of King Roald that wasn't sad. No, he wasn't even mourning. He was happy.

"Good, good," Xhou smiled. "Now, gentlemen, get back to work." And he waved his hands, and three men walked away quickly. Xhou turned around to face the twilight, and smiled. "I won, Joshua," he whispered, eyes gleaming.

-----------------------------------------

A week had passed. A funeral had been held for Joshua, and rites were read. More dukes, kings, princes, queens, warriors, and other rulers drifted into Varrock. All of them paid their respects to Joshua's ornate tombstone. Written on it were the important parts of his life, I.E. his Championhood.

Xhou had been to the tomb, but he had only smirked and walked away. Elyssa, on the other hand, visited it every day, sometimes 5 times a day. She just sat in front of it for hours, silently mourning.

After a while of this, Jack began to get worried. "I think Elyssa is depressed," he mentioned off-handedly to Kaiser.

"So?" Kaiser asked him. They were sitting at the dining table. It was early morning, and Kaiser was mad about being awake so early. He grabbed at an extra-chocolate cinnamon bun and munched into it, sighing with pleasure.

"Well, she DID think you were attractive," Jack said lamely.

"You think that I am here to solve all of your problems?"

Well, no, but-"

"Sure, I'll help! What is she depressed about?"

25-Jul-2007 15:19:51 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:37:04 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"I think that she thinks that Joshua's death is her fault."

"Was it?"

Jack dropped his fork, which clattered loudly on the silver plate. He gave Kaiser a long, hard look.

"What?" Kaiser asked.

"NO! It was, it was," Jack couldn't find an answer.

"I'll help you out, just give me some time to eat breakfast."

Luckily, breakfast for him was fast. Unluckily, breakfast also entailed a half-hour training session in the gym.

But eventually Kaiser came out, sweaty and strong, and stalked off to the Royal Cemetery.

Nobody, of course, paid any heed to the beaten up, cloaked traveler that walked in through the city gates. Nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary when the man walked on the path to the palace. And nobody seemed to care when he turned back and rented a room for the night.

"So, how is being married?" Drake asked Talmyr.

Talmyr looked around and shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "We aren't actually..." he searched for the right word, "MARRIED yet. Only betrothed. We get married within the month."

"Huh. That means, obviously, no more baths?"

"Well, not with other women. But Sigea is still mine."

"I don't think I could live with that."

At that moment, there was a loud scuffling sound outside, followed by a series of thumps, and a dull moan of agony. Then the doors to the Wilderness Palace slammed open, and in walked a bruised, cut-up man with wild eyes.

"Who are you?" Talmyr inquired pleasantly.

"That is not of importance right now. Where is Elyssa?" the man barked.

"Cool down, man. She's right over there, with Lyese and Yaol." Drake pointed over to her.

"Thank you," the man grunted, before running towards them.

"What do you think that was about?" Talmyr asked Drake.

"I don't know," he sighed impatiently. "Though he DID seem to be a bit familiar."

25-Jul-2007 15:19:55 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:37:50 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"Yeah, I noticed that too." The two of them contemplated it thoughtfully, then both on the same instant ran to the grave of Joshua.

When they got there, the man was standing in front of it, head bowed. He muttered something under his breath. Then he reached into his torn, unkempt clothes and pulled out a single, withered flower.

"It was sad for all of us," Elyssa said softly. Then tears streamed down her cheeks, and she quietly sobbed.

The man suddenly turned to Elyssa. "Why are you crying?" he asked bluntly.

"Because Jo- Joshua- he DIED!" she sobbed. She wiped her eyes. “And a bunch of inquirers ambushed me! You know how that is!”

The man took one look at her, then at the gravestone. Then, the last thing they expected occurred.

His face broke into a large smile, and he began to laugh. He looked around and laughed hysterically, almost falling on the ground with mirth.

"WHAT is so funny?" Elyssa demanded.

"I don't understand why you are crying," the man laughed, "Because I am Joshua."

Everybody stopped what they were doing. Daren, who had just walked in with a glass of wine, suddenly lost control of his arms, dropped the glass on the floor, and stared ahead blankly. Elyssa stopped crying and just stared quizzically. Everything froze.

After about a minute and a half, Elyssa finally whimpered softly, and said happily, "It's him!"

Then Daren snapped out of it and grabbed Joshua in a massive bear hug. And, for the fourth time in these few posts, the characters began to sob hysterically, though not for grief.

After everyone was reasonably calm, Joshua stopped smiling. "I'm afraid I have some bad news, however," he said, looking around uneasily.

"What?" Yaol asked slowly. "About what?"

"Xhou." As Joshua said it, he felt the air go from happy to tense. "I suppose I better start from the beginning..."

25-Jul-2007 15:19:59 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:39:06 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

-----------

Screams. Fire. Pain.

CRASH!

Joshua moaned as he came to. He was lying in the middle of a newly-created clearing in the middle of the jungle. All around him lay pieces of the glider. Small fires came up randomly, setting trees aflame and making small explosions.

Joshua struggled to get up, to help his friends, but it was no use. There was a huge chunk of metal on top of his legs.

Then his vision grew focused, and he saw himself. He was nearly covered in blood, and there were thousands of little scratches and wounds on him. He felt very weak, and despairing.

His throat was parched. He tried to lick his lips, but when he did he came back with a mouth full of blood. Eventually he managed to make his windpipe work. "Anyone?" he croaked painfully. "Somebody help me!"

Gradually, as his voice grew stronger, he continued to yell at the top of his lungs. But nobody came, and he had lost a lot of blood. He also hadn't eaten in a long time.

Finally, just when his vision grew blurry, he saw the dim shapes of humans coming out of the jungle, pointing at him, and taking him.

Joshua woke up in a brightly lit room. As his eyes grew accustomed to the light, he saw where he was: He was sitting at a black table, and across from him was... Xhou.

"I see you are awake. You should thank me; without my men, you would be dead." Xhou seemed enormously pleased that Joshua's life was in his hands.

"Thanks," Joshua replied with as much disgust and hatred as possible. "I REALLY am in your debt."

"A little more sarcasm would be nice," Xhou smiled, "But ah well. Soon enough, you will be under me."

"What?" Joshua roared, standing up. "What have you done?"

"Trade secret," Xhou grinned infuriatingly. "But I will tell you this: killing YOU doesn't matter anymore. Soon enough, the opinions of the people will win out."

25-Jul-2007 15:20:03 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:39:22 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"Ah, Xhou, I understand," Joshua suddenly grinned back at him. "You want to make new Games, so that people will watch you instead of me. Guess what: nobody will want to watch you run around, slashing at portals like you do in Pest Control."

"Now that is too far!" Xhou yelled in anger, standing up also. "You are in my debt. You cannot insult ME!"

Now Joshua was in control, though he was in Xhou's home. "I don't know," he said casually, weighing the options. "But I think that it will come to a fight between you and me for killing people for the sake of games!" And with that, Joshua ran up to Xhou and smashed him across the face with his fist. Xhou fell to the floor, spitting blood. As he struggled to get up to fight, Joshua kicked him in the face. Xhou's face was covered in blood. Then he grabbed him and stood him up on his feet.

Xhou's face contorted with anger, and he charged at Joshua, fists swinging. Joshua watched him with slight interest, then at the last minute swiveled to the side and kicked him hard in the stomach. Xhou fell backwards again, coughing and clutching his stomach. Joshua smashed him again in the mouth, then said, "Bye," and walked out.

For the next week or so, Joshua wandered across RuneScape, looking for civilization. Apparently the room Xhou had been with him in was in the middle of the jungle, so by the time he reached Talmyr's palace, he was already gone, presumably to tell the bad news to the others. He swore with anger, and found a boat leaving for Port Sarim. He snuck onto it, and hid in a crate full of bananas.

Suddenly flashes of memory hit him from his younger life.

"I have been here before," he said. Then the horrible memories flooded back, and he grimaced.

After a while, the banana crates were loaded into the back of the Port Sarim Food Store. Joshua climbed out, opened the door...

25-Jul-2007 15:39:33 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:56:08 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

And walked straight into the Shop Owner, who quickly drew out a loaded crossbow and pointed it at him. "Get away, thief!" he said angrily, but a little scaredly.

Joshua made quick work of him, and left a senseless Shop Owner and an empty crossbow behind him.

---

"And that is how I got back," Joshua summarized. "But I think that Xhou IS trying to take away the people. Let's watch out for him in the upcoming feast. Be sure to stay on the peoples' good sides."

"Wow," Elyssa said sympathetically. "That must have been a lot to go through."

Joshua felt that turmoil again, though this time he felt more angry than anything else. Then he looked into her eyes, and everything was different.

After all, he was tired, and he needed some companionship. "After what happens in the Wilderness every day, that was nothing," he said, smiling.

"Shall we," Elyssa began, shifting her foot around and looking puppy-eyed at him, "go catch up?"

"Sure," Joshua played along. "I'll be right up." Then he winked at them, waved his hand, and walked out.

Drake wasn't the only one who had fun that night.

25-Jul-2007 15:39:40 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 20:58:41 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

*On a total side note to the story*

Joshua woke up one morning to find Drake, Talmyr, Daren, Sigea, Rah, and even Xhou sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Wake up! Jubelion is about to get 1k posts!" Xhou shouted.

"Aren't you supposed to be my enemy?" Joshua groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, ordinarily yes, but I mean, come on, this is a cause to celebrate!"

"Now GET UP!" Sigea cried happily, ripping off the covers. Joshua mumbled something unintelligible and got up out of bed. He slipped on some slippers and took off a table a wooden sword.

"No fruit warriors today, Joshua," Elyssa said sweetly, "Today is a day to celebrate!"

And so, the group of main characters followed Joshua through the hallways, which had been adorned with signs like "Congratulations, Jubelion!" and "Mission Accomplished!" Joshua smiled inwardly at them, and threw on some good clothes.

"Hey Drake, why aren't you back at the Duel Arena?" Joshua asked suddenly.

"Well, it was too special of an occasion to spend in bed... so to speak."

They all laughed at that, and Rah punched him in the shoulder.

They made their way down to the dining hall, which was filled with people they had never seen before. Among them were Sigurdur130, Joppi J, Wanderereau, Haru Glory68, Macemaster, and many other faces, and a surprise guest in the Champion's chair...
"JUBELION?!?" Xhou, Sigea, Joshua, Daren, Drake, Talmyr, and Elyssa cried in amazement.

Jubelion was a tall, slightly bearded man of around 25. His eyes twinkled with a blue light, and his long black hair fell around his head. His handsome features had a look of knowing in them, which he obviously did. His arms were laden with bulging muscles. He had a slight tan. In a sheath he held a long quill, and buckled to his back was a large writing pad.

25-Jul-2007 15:39:46 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:43:32 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

He smiled, and flicked his hand to the right. Instantly a troupe of gnomes with instruments popped up and started to rock. With another flick, the table was laden with delicious food, and with a casual smile, the lights went dim and a large dance floor was set up.

Then he turned to the stunned Champions. "Well?" he asked happily, eyes twinkling. "Aren't you going to party?"

Sigea and Talmyr ran off to the dance floor, along with Drake and a random woman. Sigurdur130 looked at the dance floor, laughed, and said something in Icelandic.

"You know, Siig, I still can't understand that," Jubelion grumbled.

"I know," he replied. "I thought you were taking classes?"

"Uh, of course I was..."

"Wait a minute, Jubelion, how on earth are you here? Or any of you?" Joshua asked, breaking the pointless conversation.

"Well, in celebration of this most magnificent landmark, I decided to bend the rules of space-time a little. Joppi helped me out there," Jubelion said. Then he flicked his hand, and a fruit warrior in a lulu skirt and a banjo appeared. Joshua ran at it, grabbed the banjo, and crashed it down on the fruit warrior's head.

"Nice! Now gear up for the BEST PARTY EVER!" Jubelion roared at the top of his voice, and instantly hundreds of dancers, partiers, and more appeared.

"Now, Joshua, come sit. We have to talk."

Haru Glory68 wandered off the dance floor in a half-drunken daze, making straight for Drake.

"Ever been to any elf tree houses?" he asked the Champion.

"Duh," Drake laughed. "Hey Jube! Care to show a video!"

"No, it would scare little children!" Jubelion shouted back.

"Uhg, he is such a ninny," Drake rolled his eyes. Then, suddenly, he was in nothing except his underwear, lying on the ceiling.

"Teaches you not to mess with your creator!" Jubelion snickered.

"Let me down and give me clothes!" Drake whined.

25-Jul-2007 15:39:52 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:44:14 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

Posts: 10,884 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"Talmyr, get him down," Jubelion sighed. Talmyr climbed up the columns and grabbed Drake, then jumped down, oddly not sustaining any injuries.

"So, Joshua, I want to give you some heads-up. Be a little more lax. Like me! The world doesn't revolve around the games!" Jubelion turned back to the Wilderness Champion.

"But, Carol..."

"Yeah, YOU don't have to tell ME, I know everything you think..."

"Well, are you gonna join the dancing?" Macemaster cried.

"Be right there!" Jubelion called back. "Have some fun! This party is for you."

Then Jubelion ran off, dancing with Wanderereau and Macemaster.

After around six hours, many of the guests had gone, but oddly, the new visitors weren't tired at all. Joshua was lying on top of a couch, a glass of beer in his shaking hand.

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but I must be off," Jubelion said sadly. "I will be back on 2k." Then, to the disappointment of all, the players disappeared in a purple vortex. The people got to cleaning up the mess, and the Champions discussed what had occurred.

Nobody noticed the note left on the floor. Xhou picked it up and read it. "This was only the beginning," the note said.

And signed, on the bottom, was: "Jubelion".

25-Jul-2007 15:40:02 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:44:56 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

Forums

A Tale of Four Champions