RuneScape Forum Archive | Desert Monarchs

Stallionrage

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In the heart of the Kharidian Desert, between the squabbling nations of men, there lies a tremendously powerful creature, a true emperor among kings...

This short story tells the tale of a battle against a much stronger and fiercer Kalphite King and mixes in some worldbuilding for the desert nations of Al-Kharid and Menaphos. Inspired by elements of Monster Hunter.

DESERT MONARCHS

A/N: I quite like the Kalphite King. It's a fun fight, and I really like the music during the battle. One thing I feel is lackluster, however, is that the King's animations are not very good, and don't really seem to mesh well with the creature's design - the blue orb attack and green attack in particular. This story was born from daydreams about fighting a stronger, fiercer Kalphite King, with a large helping of worldbuilding mixed in. My story doesn't mesh perfectly well with existing RuneScape lore, but that is somewhat the point.

Anyway, I hope you like it.

30-Oct-2017 21:29:32 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 22:13:46 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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A dozen warriors, mounted on camels, tread across the desolate desert. The sun gleams off of the tips of their lances, their curved scimitars, and their round shields. The camels are laden with packs of supplies - water, food, and camping equipment to sustain the men during their trek. The men have olive-brown skin, tanned and well adjusted to life in the desert. Every man covers himself in light, white clothing - suitable equipment to staving off the brutal heat of the desert. One man, wearing the same desert robes and head coverings as all the others, but still obviously a foreigner, judging from the different outline of the armor beneath his robes, as well as the light color of his skin, has his camel pace up and down the sides of the convoy. He holds out his hand, and a cool mist generates out of thin air. It's a costly use of water runes, but their convoy is well-supplied, and all the men give their heartfelt thanks to the mage. Even one of the camels grunts in appreciation, before it spits onto the sand.

At the rear of the convoy, the only woman in the group rides atop her camel a moderate gap away from the one in front of her. She has fair skin and short, black hair, and surveys the landscape around her. There is little but sand dunes in any direction, and the merciless sun above. Luna knows that she does not need to steer the camel directly, as it merely follows the line in front of its eyes. Satisfied with the pace of their expedition, and the safety of their immediate surroundings, Luna allows herself to fall deep into her own musings...

30-Oct-2017 21:29:45 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:31:32 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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The politics of the desert-faring nations of Gielinor are an odd thing.

For all the deceit and manipulations of the many who selfishly seek to further their own ends at the expense of others, there is in equal measure a sense of honesty and fairness among the desert peoples, and a willingness to work together. Herself being no stranger to a tense environment, Luna found herself with a strengthened respect for the people of the desert. There was a great potential in this land, for better or worse.

Her mission - the reason she was here today, was itself a promising sign of cooperation between the two large nations of the desert, Al-Kharid and Menaphos. With Menaphos having just recently reopened itself to the world at large after a century of isolation, merchants on both sides were extremely eager to establish trade routes. While most would sail along the relatively safe and easy route along the coast, a land route was still desirable to some. Oddly, there were self-contradictory policies regarding foreign traders in Menaphos. Merchants coming in through the docks suffered high tariffs and required strict paperwork, while the rare trader coming in through the sands did not seem to be restricted to such a degree.

30-Oct-2017 21:29:49 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:32:24 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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Division within the upper echelons of Menaphos, perhaps. Maybe the Pharaoh was having difficulty controlling his subjects? Either way, he was still willing to put political tension aside and work together with his neighboring nation on the other side of the desert. Half of the soldiers on the expedition were from Menaphos, a welcome bolstering of their forces. Their mission was a dangerous one, and each soldier would be rewarded handsomely for their service, not to mention the prestigious honor of the experience. And while Menaphos did not officially endorse mercenaries or freelancers, the Pharaoh had promised Luna and Vitus - the mage who was creating mists - a generous compensation regardless. Luna was not familiar with Menaphos or its Pharaoh, but she believed that he would keep his word.

Then again, this wasn't really about the money for her in the first place.

The most efficient and direct trade route would carve a line right through the center of the Kharidian desert. All things considered, it was actually quite a good route - the terrain was largely flat, there was an oasis around the halfway point to refill water supplies, and the area was largely devoid of natural threats like jackals, wolves, or ugthanki.

...but that safety came at a price. There were no common predators in the center of the desert because they had all been driven out by an aggressive and highly territorial species of insect - the kalphites. Akin to scarab beetles, but far larger and more dangerous, the creatures had six legs, a hard shell of either green or orange chitin, purple, compound eyes that bulged out from their heads, and a pair of powerful mandibles that protruded from the jaw.

30-Oct-2017 21:29:56 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:32:55 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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Kalphites had a hierarchal system of living - worker drones, the smallest and most common kalphites, dug their underground hives and tunnels, tended to the larva, and scoured the surface for food. Workers were small, about the size of a Labrador, and were not dangerous. They were skittish things, generally running away at signs of danger unless desperately threatened.

Next came the soldiers. All kalphite soldiers defend the hive and workers and drive away threats, but there were several variants of them. The variants had varying size, speed, and approaches to combat. Standard soldiers were basically workers, but about twice as big, and did little more than charge and snap at the enemy.

Sentinel kalphites were unique among the species in that their chitin exteriors were scaled, rather than smooth. Sentinels had control over their scales, and could rattle them to produce distinct vibrations that other kalphites would listen to. That was how the sentinels earned their name - they rarely left their hives, serving as lookouts and defenders. Sentinels were smaller than standard soldiers, but could walk on vertical surfaces and even cling to the ceilings of their tunnels. This was especially dangerous when combined with the fact that sentinels could discharge scales from their body, using them as projectile weapons. It was inaccurate, but their scales were sharp, and launched with enough force to embed themselves in flesh and armor.

30-Oct-2017 21:30:00 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:33:12 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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After the sentinels came the guardians, among the largest of the kalphites. Physically, they were almost identical to standard soldiers, save the fact that they stood nearly six feet high and weighed some four hundred pounds. Their charges held enough force to easily knock an adult man over, their mandibles strong enough to crush bone and rend flesh. And if that wasn't enough, a pair of glands near their mouths secreted a venomous substance over their mandibles, offering them the ability to poison enemies that they didn't kill outright. Thankfully, guardians were rare, and never left their hives. The sole responsibility of the guardians was to protect their King and Queen - at least two guardians accompanied each at all times.

The last of the soldier variants, and arguably the most dangerous, were the marauders. Marauders were smaller and more fragile than even standard soldiers, their black chitin exoskeleton relatively weak. The tradeoff, however, was that marauders were very nimble, and made excellent tunnelers. Marauders were capable of burrowing under the sand and lunging up at an enemy from below, making them ideal ambushers. Furthermore, marauders possessed a pair of enlarged antennae, each tipped in a bulb that faintly glowed blue - an indication of their natural affinity to magic. Marauders could 'spit' bolts of fire at their enemies. As it was magic cast without runes, it was rather weak, but few soldiers wore equipment resistant to magical attacks, wild animals even less so, and marauders attacked in swarms. When they were part of a group of composed of several other variants of kalphites, marauders became exceptionally dangerous. Marauders were, in a sense, the King's elite soldiers, often following him around, and they were the kalphites that most frequently left the hive to fight enemies.

30-Oct-2017 21:30:03 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:33:32 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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Finally, there was the King and Queen of the hive. The queen was essentially just a female guardian kalphite that could lay eggs, with the intriguing ability of being able to shed her chitinous exoskeleton when threatened. Her form beneath her natural green armor had wings, and was capable of flight. Her true body was similar in design to an enormous, orange wasp, flying above any attackers and launching empowered versions of the marauder's fire attacks. It was imperative that the Queen be slain before the King, or else she could fly away and establish a new hive, rendering the point of their assault moot.

And then there was the King...

"-una? Hello?" A man in a white desert robe, carefully draped over his armor, was looking up at her from the ground and looking vaguely concerned. His robe was faded by the sun, and slightly flecked with sand.

Luna's eyes shot up, taking in her surroundings. She recognized this area - the sand was beginning to turn to sandstone. The kalphites must have set up their new hive near one of the granite quarries. Their convoy had stopped - they were close, then. They would have to dismount the camels and walk the rest of the way on foot.

But just how long was I daydreaming?

Luna shook her head and dismounted her camel in a single, efficient motion. "Sorry, Vitus. I was pretty deep in thought."

"Hm, I'll say," Vitus said with a shrug, his concern placated. "Must have been something important, then. Not like you to get so lost in yourself."

"There's a lot to think about lately," Luna agreed with a nod. "But actually, I was just reviewing all the types of kalphites. Preparing myself."

Vitus frowned. "About that."

"What is it?"

Vitus cocked his head towards the majority of the convoy, further ahead of the two. The men were dismounting and gathering their weapons and supplies.

30-Oct-2017 21:30:06 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:49:11 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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"The soldiers from Menaphos," Vitus started. "Should they really be here? I get that we've kind of come up with a routine for taking out hives, but they're an unknown. I'm not sure if we should rely on them."

"Then don't," Luna shrugged. "You and I both know we could clear a hive without them. But they're a sign of good faith from the Pharaoh. A demonstration of a desire to help maintain stability over the region. It would have been remiss of me to refuse their presence."

Vitus shrugged again. "If you say so. You always were pretty good at politics...balancing interests for the greater good, and all that."

Luna raised and eyebrow and smiled a little. "A proper stateswoman, am I?"

"Heh, I doubt it. You don't seem anywhere near corrupt or greedy enough."

"Glad to see that optimism of yours is still going strong."

Vitus turned his palms over and began to walk towards the remainder of the convoy, who were finishing up their preparations.

"I prefer to think of myself as a realist. But let's save the rest of the chat for our victory drinks, yeah?"

As Vitus walked away, he muttered something about wanting to try all the new drinks Menaphos had to offer. Luna smiled and shook her head, reaching around her back and shrugging off her desert robe, and then gently placing her backpack onto the sand. It was a surprisingly elegant thing - made of a soothing blue fabric, with stripes of gold.

Luna had no need for her camel to hold her equipment - her backpack was a magical construct. Sturdy spiritbloom cloth, magically conductive and interwoven with a teleportation spell. The cloth itself was resistant to sharp objects, temperature, and water. The interior of the backpack was obscured by a black void - items placed into the backpack did not reside in the container itself, but were sent to a pocket dimension, stored safely until Luna had need of them.

30-Oct-2017 21:30:10 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:34:15 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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The storage wasn't infinite. She had calculated it precisely when she created the spell - it held enough cubic space for exactly one hundred times of the interior of the backpack. And for why she only had the one? Well, spiritbloom was an immensely difficult plant to cultivate, not to mention the fact that the supply outside of Daemonheim was still very small. The fibers died quickly when cut from the plant, unless fed with magical energy. It had taken years for the Meilyr's farms to grow to a sufficiently sustainable size, and it had taken Luna a few tries to properly create the darned thing.

Still, despite the expenses and difficulties involved, spiritbloom was an incredible substance to work with. Luna hoped to experiment with it again in the future.

When it came to her equipment, Luna favored adaptability and mobility above all else. She may have lacked the raw power of big, heavy weapons, but she was capable of fighting with all three styles of combat, both up close and at a distance. She was already wearing her armor - a dark red, leathery material, with brown padding to offer additional protection, and white trim to add decorative style. It was made from a substance from the Far East called Laquer, making a lightweight and flexible armor, yet still acceptably sturdy. The assassins guild in the area, the Death Lotus, used it as their armor of choice. Luna had used their design as the base, but had made several modifications - extra armor reinforcements, room for a quiver, slots to embed runes in, and additional pockets for her more ammunition, potions, and more...specialized weapons. Although she wouldn't be needing any of them today.

30-Oct-2017 21:30:13 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:34:33 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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Luna double checked her belt, ensuring that her melee weapons were holstered at her side. She had her chaotic longsword - another artifact from Daemonheim, although she didn't create this one herself. It was an exceptionally sharp and reliable blade, but did not have any other remarkable properties. Her Keris dagger, a gift from the Al-Kharidian spymaster, was there as well. A small weapon, jagged in a shape that loosely resembled a lightning bolt, the Keris was generally ineffective against any target but kalphites. Luna had done some research on the weapon, and confirmed her suspicions that it was, in fact, made of bane metal. How the Kharidians had come to possess a material that had only been found in the frozen north was unknown to her, let alone how someone had managed to tune it against kalphites.

Luna held her left wrist out parallel to the ground to check her next weapon, a peculiar device mounted onto her armor with a brace made of blue, almost ghostly material. It was a pistol crossbow, albeit a heavily modified and unique one. Luna had made the weapon herself, using Ascension material from the bodies of deceased Rorarii from the cult hidden near Oo'Glog. Law and air runes embedded in the brace allowed her to telekinetically manipulate the trigger, allowing her to fire bolts even if her hands were full. The mechanisms accurately fired the bolts with tremendous force, and if she fired bolts also made of Ascension material, the projectiles had enough power to embed themselves in solid rock. Furthermore, she had been inspired by the weapon of Karil, one of the Barrows Brothers, and her device loaded in bolt racks instead of single projectiles, allowing her up to ten shots before needing to swap racks.

30-Oct-2017 21:30:29 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 21:34:53 by Stallionrage

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Desert Monarchs