RuneScape Forum Archive | A Tale of Four Champions

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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*Sidenote Ended*

A few weeks passed with nothing eventful happening. More and more people drifted in to Varrock.

It was the day before the feast, and Joshua was happy. For the first time ever, he had found all of the fruit warriors! For that, he gave himself the day off to do as he pleased.

Elyssa found him sitting on a bench next to a massive, gold fountain, with his hands behind his head. She walked over to him quietly.

"Hi," Joshua said before she came close.

"How did you-"

"Water reflects light." Joshua looked up at Elyssa, and beamed. "How's it going?"

"Not bad." She walked over to him. "May I sit next to the Champion?" she inquired formally.

"Sure," Joshua smiled. He was really happy that day.

Then Daren suddenly came outside, no armor on, and jumped on Joshua, tackling him. Joshua roared and jumped back up, and the two of them were in fighting stance. They circled around each other warily for a while, then Joshua suddenly leaped forward and caught Daren in a bear hug.

"How's it going?!" Joshua roared happily.

"I was better before that," Daren admitted, clutching his hurt ribs. Then they laughed again.

"I think I am going to go train. Want to come?" Joshua invited Daren.

"Sure!" and the two of them walked off, leaving Elyssa sitting alone by the fountain.

Time flies when people are having a good time, and before Joshua knew it, he was back in a king-sized bed again, falling asleep.

Then he heard his closet door creak slightly. He sat up quickly, eyes darting back and forth. He heard a faint padding sound, like feet. He jumped out of bed and very quietly went over to the closet. He opened it up, and...

A big, burly man jumped out at him silently. Joshua skidded to a halt and jumped sideways in mid-air, and then turned and smashed the man's neck with a swinging kick. The man lay on the floor, gasping and panting.

25-Jul-2007 15:40:07 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:45:44 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"Why did Xhou send you?" Joshua asked boredly. The man didn't answer, but instead ran for the window and jumped.

Joshua growled and ran over to the open window. He looked down.

The drop was fifty feet. On the ground was the dim form of a man, and some dark stuff surrounding him. Joshua shuddered and went back to his bed, where he slept with a sword next to him.

In the morning he was cruelly woken up by Elyssa. She jumped on his bed and shook him vigorously. "Wake up!" She yelled. "Wake up! Wake up! We have to get ready for the feast!"

"I'm up, and the feast doesn't even start until four in the afternoon," Joshua groaned. It was obvious that he was indeed still tired.

"Well first you have to pick out a good outfit, and then you have to bathe, and then you have to train, and THEN you have to make and practice a speech, and THEN you have to-"

"But why did you have to wake me up at seven?" Joshua cut her off.

Elyssa paused in mid-rant and searched for an answer. When she found none, she quickly changed tactic. "Have a good sleep." And she left him, fully awake now, sitting in his bed, shaking his head in bewilderment.

Joshua came downstairs to the dining hall at around ten and found all of the others there: Drake, Daren, Rah, Talmyr, Sigea, and his team.

He sat down in his chair and ravenously grabbed the nearest plate with food. On it were three cinnamon buns smothered in chocolate, two croissants full of chocolate, and a bowl of cream, syrup, bananas, and chocolate. He grabbed a cinnamon bun and the bowl of cream. He smiled happily at his plate, took the dripping cinnamon bun, and stuffed half of it into his mouth, soon followed by some bananas and cream, and a sip of wine. His face dribbled with chocolate and cream as he stuffed his face, sighing with genuine pleasure with every bite.

25-Jul-2007 15:40:13 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:46:02 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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Everyone watched him with faint amusement as he ate nearly all of the things on the plate. Then he sat back, holding his over-full stomach.

"Great. Now I'm going to get cramps when I train," he whined.

It was three in the afternoon, and Joshua was just finished training. He walked through the maze of hallways to the wardrobe room.

Inside was Drake, Talmyr, Daren, and Rah, all with servants helping them out. Joshua walked in and a servant quickly ushered him to a mirror. Two other servants evaluated him and measured him. Soon, he was brought a suit. When he put it on, he laughed at it. His shirt was orange, and his shorts were green.

Those servants soon found that Joshua was VERY hard to please.

In the woman’s' wardrobe, all of the women were trying on clothes.

"I have a confession to make," Elyssa sighed as she zipped up a frilly blue dress, shook her head, and took it off.

Sigea looked over at her as she buttoned up a short, green dress. "Oh?"

"I love Joshua."

Lyese looked at her curiously. "You mean to say that you think we didn't KNOW?"

"What gave me away?" Elyssa asked anxiously.

"Maybe when you kissed, or when you cried because he left, or when you seduced him into going all the way with you," Sigea said sarcastically.

"So? Drake does it all the time!"

"That is because Drake is disgusting," Sigea growled with uncharacteristic coldness. "He doesn't understand true love."

"So how is Talmyr?" Lyese asked Sigea.

"Amazing," she murmured happily. "He is so sweet, and clever, and very agile."

"You don't mind that he has all of those animals in his palace?"

"Most certainly not. In fact, I like them a lot."

Back in the men’s' wardrobe room, they were talking roughly about the same thing.

25-Jul-2007 15:40:17 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:47:23 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"So how is Sigea?" Rah asked Talmyr.

"She is amazing. She is tall, beautiful, and she has SUCH an amazing accent-"

"No, I mean how is it living with her?"

"Great. She insists on cooking, which she excels at, and she is so sweet. "

Drake sighed, a bit mournfully. "I never knew love," he said unhappily, shaking his head.

Everybody stared at him. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing," Joshua sighed, rolling his eyes.

"ANYWAY," Daren cut in, "I have been talking with one of the women on my team lately."

"Nice job!" Drake congratulated him. "Has anything happened?"

"Not really," Daren slumped his shoulders. "I haven't built up the courage to ask her out. I mean she is tall and pretty and nice, and she is a great, strong fighter, and I..."

"You are a Champion, Daren!" Talmyr said encouragingly. "Come on! You are the best fighter in the world! You are awesome! She can't say no!"

"Yeah," Rah added, "she can't refuse you!"

"Well, we have talked about everybody now," Drake said, "Except Joshua. Eh?"

"What?" Joshua asked him.

"Who are YOU eyeing?"

"Nobody."

"Oh, come on, man, you MUST like someone! I mean, who are you going to the feast with?"

Joshua took a long, hard look at Drake. "Who are YOU going with?" he asked pointedly.

"Touché. But really!"

"Well, I HAVE sort of been keeping my eye out for Elyssa lately, and I am going with her," Joshua conceded, "But still!"

"She IS pretty. I wouldn't mind having HER with me."

"You are so shallow, Drake."

"Never let anyone tell you that I am different."

Finally, it was close to the feast, and all of them emerged. Joshua was wearing a tan button-up shirt with frills, and he had dark black pants on. His hair was parted in the front, and it flowed gracefully down his shoulders.

Talmyr wore a blue vest that was folded back in the middle, and a white shirt underneath. He also wore long green pants.

25-Jul-2007 15:40:22 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:48:18 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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Drake wore a black jacket, and he wore a fedora on his head. "Put some spice into the world," he explained.

Daren wore a brown shirt with a folded collar and dull red pants, and Rah wore green Elvish robes and a golden amulet.

The men watched as the women emerged. Sigea was wearing a long, elegant green dress and her hair was tied back in a cute bun. Her eyes were heavily lined with faint blue liner, and her eye-lashes were slicked so that they stood out straight. Talmyr and Sigea stood there, admiring each other.

Lyese wore just a simple black dress, and some golden earrings.

Then, Elyssa emerged. Joshua gasped when he saw her. She was wearing a low-cut scarlet dress and a diamond amulet. She had hoop earrings with diamonds implanted in the bottoms, and her hair was parted. Her cheeks were faintly scarlet, as were her perfect lips. Her eye-lashes were perfectly straight out.

Joshua looked at his own clothes with some embarrassment. "You look, uh," he fumbled for the right word, "Beautiful."

Elyssa laughed, and touched his cheek softly. "You are quite handsome," she said, her red lips turning up to form a perfect, un-blemished smile.

Together, all of them walked out of the Palace, walking through the gardens towards King Roald's palace.

As they walked, Joshua and Elyssa went slowly, their eyes only for each other. Sigea and Talmyr smiled when they saw them. "Young love," Talmyr murmured.

Then, someone shouted, "Daren!" Everybody turned, and saw a young woman with very long golden hair running towards Daren. She had her arms outstretched. She almost tripped on her ravishing white dress, but she managed to stay up long enough to throw herself into Daren's arms. "I'm sorry I didn't come earlier," she said. "But I have to tell you something. I love you."

Apparently, this was the woman that Daren had been eyeing. He beamed with pleasure. This was probably the happiest moment of his life. "I love you too, Annie," he said happily.

25-Jul-2007 15:40:27 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:48:36 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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Then he tripped and almost fell, but caught himself. The two of them laughed.

The gates to the Palace were wide open, with two guards in shining steel armor standing at attention. They carried white halberd* that, though looked deadly, were for ceremonial use only. Joshua and Elyssa went through the gateway first, hand in hand, followed by Talmyr and Sigea, Daren and Annie, and Drake. They walked through, into the courtyard. There were dazzling apple trees and crystal fountains surrounded by green hedges. The pathway they were on was shaded by overhanging chestnut trees, and the occasional fountain placed in regular intervals. The pathway was made of smooth white marble stones.

At the double doors to the Palace itself, King Roald and Queen Ellimaria stood, welcoming visitors. King Roald wore a set of red robes, and his solid gold crown hung somewhat lopsided on his head. Queen Ellimaria was constantly fixing it, all the while looking pretty. Her crown looked more like a halo, with some silver flowers with ruby, amethyst, and emerald petals. She wore a red robe with a green dress under.

"Ah, the Champions!" King Roald exclaimed happily. "Good day to you, Champions." He bowed to them.

Joshua nodded his head at Roald, and turned to Ellimaria. "Gracious day, Ellimaria," he said ostentatiously. He knelt and kissed her outstretched hand. She giggled.

"Joshua, you don't have to do that," she laughed. Elyssa curtsied formally, and nodded her head at Roald.

"One would think that you were in love with the Queen," Elyssa murmured into Joshua's ear after they passed the royal couple.

"You're just jealous," Joshua whispered back. She laughed.

25-Jul-2007 15:40:31 - Last edited on 15-Apr-2008 21:05:22 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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The inside of the Palace was magnificent. Even Drake's couldn't compare. Suits of shining armor stood at the entryway, holding swords, axes, staffs, and bows. There were statues of past heroes, and even some fountains. All of the torches were hung with colorful string, making the place look like a beautiful and immense spider web.

Joshua, Elyssa, and the others walked through the hallways of the Palace, looking at the sights. Hundreds of huffy-looking servants and knights strode around, acting superior to everyone around them. Joshua didn't approve of such behavior, but they pretty much ran day-to-day politics in Varrock and Lumbridge, so he didn't complain.

As they walked, they saw many other couples, but Joshua recognized one of them.

It was King Aldoran and Queen Katherine of Miscellania. They had recently rose to the throne after King Vargas and Queen Sigrid died. Aldoran and Katherine had united Miscellania and Etceteria, for the first time in hundreds of years. King Aldoran was a middle-aged man with silvery hair, iron muscles, and a constant twinkle in his eye. He wore a black suit with a golden robe underneath. Katherine wore a ravishing scarlet dress cut low in the front and even lower in the back. Her brown hair was in a cute bun, and her smiling features lit up at the sight of the Champions.

"Joshua! Drake! Daren! Talmyr!" she yelled giddily, running across the polished floor to them.

"Greetings, Queen of Miscellania and Etceteria," Talmyr said formally, bowing. "This is my wife-to-be, Sigea." He waved his hand at Sigea, who winked at her happily. Katherine smiled and tittered, fondly tapping Talmyr on the cheek. "Great choice, my dear," she said.

"And Daren, what a surprise! A woman of your own!" Aldoran roared, embracing Daren in a bear hug. "She's a pretty one, but watch out, she looks fiery!" he winked good-naturedly at her.

25-Jul-2007 15:40:36 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 15:49:25 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"And Joshua, what of Elyssa?" Katherine turned to the Wilderness Champion.

"Ah, we are just... going together," he said tentatively. "She really is quite pretty, however." He said it with such a straight face that it took Aldoran and Katherine almost a minute to catch on. They roared with laughter, patted him on the shoulder, and moved on.

"No surprise, Katherine," Drake bowed, putting his fedora over his heart, "I go alone, again."

"Poor Drake," she murmured, a tear coming to her eye. "He is so alone."

She was interrupted by a cough. She turned. Joshua was roaring with laughter, beating on a nearby marble table and holding his chest.

"What is so funny?" Katherine asked, a trifle annoyed.

"It appears that you don't know about Drake's nightly occupation," Sigea said coldly, casting a dark look at the Duel Arena Champion.

"Oh? What is it?" Katherine inquired sincerely.

"Let's..." Drake jumped in, "Move on, shall we?" He was very red-faced.

They walked on, meeting various nobles and kings. They were chatting with the Duke of Lumbridge and his wife-to-be when Joshua heard someone he never wanted to hear again.

"Hello, Joshua," Xhou grinned evilly. He was wearing a black suit, with a black shirt under it. "I was going to announce your death, but it appears you have avoided the reaper again."

"What are you doing here, scum?!" Joshua gritted between clenched teeth. He tried to run at his enemy, fists clenched, but Talmyr and Drake held his arms.

"Let's be civil, shall we?" Xhou smiled. "We don't want the body of the Wilderness Champion splattered all over the polished marble." Then he snapped his fingers, and three other people came over.

The first two were Tzhars. They had held their bottom arms to their top arms and wore long shirts and hoods to be inconspicuous, but now they showed themselves.

25-Jul-2007 15:49:38 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 16:13:49 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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They were over seven feet tall, with four muscular arms, black skin with cracks of orange and red, and each had an obsidian sword in their belt.

The third was a thin, tall man with slimy hair and deathly pale skin. He had a chilling look in his eye, and he constantly looked apprehensively at the torches.

"You consort with monsters, now, Xhou?" Joshua managed to stay cool. "I didn't know you would go so low as to do that."

Xhou looked faintly irritated, but he brushed it away. "Be warned, Joshua," he said dryly, "That your days of glory are soon to be over." And he walked away, with his eerie companions.

Joshua's eyes were wild, and his mouth was half-open. Daren and Aldoran had to go over and help Talmyr and Drake hold him.

"I'll KILL HIM!" Joshua hissed. "I will. He can't possibly defeat me."

"Calm down, Joshua," Elyssa said soothingly. "You will get your chance to-"

"NO! I-MUST-GET-HIM-NOW!!!" He fell on the ground, sobbing softly.

Elyssa bent down, and looked at him sincerely. "I promise that you will get your revenge," she whispered. Then she slowly lowered her head to reach his, and clutched his head. She softly pulled it towards hers, and she kissed him. Her lips brushed his, and he leaned forwards, kissing back.

Talmyr kissed Sigea on the cheek, Anna kissed Daren, and soon everyone was kissing someone else.

Drake looked around, made a show of sighing, and walked over to a statue of a queen. "Well?" he asked it. "Shall we?"

Everyone laughed at that. It was too ridiculous.

* * * * *

A few hours later, everyone was seated at an immensely long mahogany table, eating delicacies out of silver plates and utensils.

"So, then I realized that Sigea was ahead of me," Talmyr continued a story to the Duke of Lumbridge, his wife-to-be, and the King of Ardougne, "So I jumped for the rope swing, and just somehow managed to grab it and throw myself over onto the platform."

25-Jul-2007 15:49:43 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 16:14:36 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

[#9PE5KKJ52]

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"Sigea was still ahead, so I ran as fast as I could, dodging darts and jumping over swinging ax-blades. Just by luck, Sigea tripped, and I managed to get the pillar before her."

His audience oo-ed and aa-ed, casting somewhat regretful looks at Sigea.

Meanwhile, Joshua and Elyssa were mingling with Wizard Harren, the ruler of Yanille, and some dukes and duchesses from Asgarnia.

All the while Xhou waited for his chance to tell his speech.

Finally Queen Ellimaria stood up and softly tapped her golden goblet with a silver fork. Everyone went silent at the ringing sound that was produced.

"I believe that some speeches are in order," she announced clearly. "I, for one, am immensely happy with all of you. We are paving the path to world peace, and each year, this feast attracts more members. I believe I speak for both my husband and I when I say that I sincerely hope that you come back."

There was some polite clapping, and then she sat down. The current Count of Draynor stepped up to the dais, and cleared his throat. He was a short, very man with a long white beard and round blue glasses. He was so aged that he could barely hear, much less speak, but everyone listened anyway.

"I just have to say," he wheezed, "That I hope that the Vampires come next time."

Everyone laughed. Not only was his statement funny, but the innocent way he said it set everyone off.

Then Joshua decided that it was his time. He walked over slowly, and stood on the slightly elevated part of the floor, looking at the hundreds of eager faces.

"You know who I am," he began finally, "I am Joshua of the Wilderness."

Cheers and clapping followed. Joshua raised his hands, and people went silent.

"However, I wish to know all of you, too," he continued. "As Ellimaria so deftly put, I am proud that so many people have shown."

More clapping and cheering.

25-Jul-2007 15:49:48 - Last edited on 25-Jul-2007 16:15:36 by [#9PE5KKJ52]

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A Tale of Four Champions