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Stallionrage

Stallionrage

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Luna panted heavily as she observed it, pulling out her spear and leaning on it for support.

...the enormous kalphite did not move.

"The King is dead," Luna said, breathed. "Finally..."

The few remaining kalphites in the chamber began to flee, instinctively recognizing its final screech as its death throes. They would not be aggressive any longer - they would burrow deeper into their tunnels and avoid contact.

Vitus stumbled over to her side, clutching a wound - a sentinel's scale had managed to puncture his armor.

"Hellfire," he muttered. "What in the name of Zamorak was that? That was no ordinary King!"

"I've no idea," Luna admitted, standing up as the healing brew began to take effect. "It was so much stronger than the ones before it."

Then, she remembered, and Luna swore loudly. "We never took out the Queen! She's going to escape!"

Luna readied her spear with a twirl, and started to move, but Vitus stopped her by firmly planting a hand on her shoulder.

"We can't go after her," he said neutrally.

"But the entire expedition is pointless if we don't take out both monarchs!" Luna protested.

"Look at the state we're in!" Vitus said firmly, emotion breaking through his voice. "Five men are dead, two are hurt so badly that they can't even stand. You and I could probably take out the Queen on our own, definitely if we had Perseus, but we don't even know where she is! Besides, she might be crazy strong, too, more dangerous than any of the other Queens!"

Luna gritted her teeth and glared at him, fingers turning white as her grip on the spear tightened.

"We have to retreat," he finished, calming down. "None of us are as strong as you."

"Damn it all," Luna sighed, finally relenting. "Fine. I've got some extra brew in my backpack, I'll tend to the wounded. Watch for any more kalphites."

"Alright."

30-Oct-2017 21:43:46 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 22:02:19 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Posts: 1,107 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
With the wounded bandaged and healed to the best of Luna's ability, the survivors of the expedition made their way back to the camels and supplies that they had left. The entire affair had barely taken an hour, but it felt like they had spent a lifetime down in those dark tunnels.

I suppose that's correct, for those who didn't survive the encounter...

In truth, the expedition was not a total failure. Yes, the Queen had escaped, and would establish a new hive. But it would still take time for the kalphites to breed a new King - certainly one as terrifying powerful as the one that they had slain today. And they had survived to tell the tale, of course. There would be no grim tale of an expeditionary force being completely wiped out, overwhelmed by the unexpected power of the Kalphite Emperor. A fairly apt naming upgrade, Luna thought, christening the new foe with a proper title.

Before leaving, Luna had carved off several of the King's body parts. Gruesome work, but she had good reasons - the King's serrated mandibles could make outstanding scimitars, if given a handle and a few necessary modifications. She took several of his armored scales, interested in experimenting with their durability, and to see if they had any weaknesses. And finally, after a suggestion from Vitus, she took a few of his back-spikes, as they were long and sturdy enough to possibly form weapons out of, as well. Luna had deemed them too large to be useful for bolts or arrows, but they were just the right shape and size to serve as the tip of a spear, or perhaps a rapier...

30-Oct-2017 21:43:51 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 22:09:17 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Posts: 1,107 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"So, any idea what that magical attack was?" Vitus asked from atop his camel, riding beside Luna at the head of the convoy.

"Afraid not," Luna admitted wearily. "I've seen similar attacks from certain Saradominists. Non-elemental lighting attacks. But...nothing exactly like what the Emperor did. And we've never seen kalphites uses magic on a scale like that, which I find extremely concerning."

"I have a theory," Vitus started.

"I think I know what it is," Luna sighed tiredly. "But go ahead."

"The kalphites are evolving," Vitus explained. "Adapting to our presence, in response to us wiping out their hives. It's not just that they're getting stronger - that entire situation was proof of them adapting. It was a trap - they used their own nursery as a way to ambush us."

"Agreed. The Emperor was incredibly strong - that can't be a coincidence. This hive took longer to spring up, right? That extra time was probably spent developing his changes. On top of that, it might even be affecting the other kalphites. Back during the fight, I had to kill a worker that was trying to gnaw off my leg."

"And I can only see two solutions to this," Luna grimaced. "If Al-Kharid and Menaphos really want this route across the central desert, they're going to have to fight for it. It would take a proper army - to root out the kalphites for good. You'd have to exterminate the entire hive, not just the monarchs."

"And the other option?" Vitus asked.

"Give up," Luna said plainly. "I don't know if either of them are going to want to contribute the time or resources to that endeavor. They could try going along the eastern side of the desert, but that's quite the detour."

"Yeah," Vitus sighed. "Or maybe just get Menaphos to actually open up their ports, or whatever is going on with that."

30-Oct-2017 21:43:54 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 22:12:49 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Posts: 1,107 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"Hard to say. I could see the Pharaohs taking this any number of ways."

The pair were silent for a minute, simply watching their sandy dunes around them as their camels steadily tread through the desert.

"Two questions," Vitus said after a while.

"Go for it."

"First, why haven't you teleported back?"

"There's no teleport spell to Menaphos, yet."

"True, but I know for a fact that you have some secret means of teleporting to Sophanem."

Luna raised an eyebrow at him. And just how did he know about the ancient scepter, that allowed teleportation between the various pyramids scattered across the desert?

Vitus shrugged, reading her expression. "You can move around way too quickly for there not to be a way. Not sure what it is, won't pry either, but don't try to tell me there isn't."

"There's a way," Luna admitted. "All I'll say is, maybe next time you're in Sophanem, have a good look around the central pyramid."

"Huh. Noted. Anyway, you still haven't answered the question."

30-Oct-2017 21:43:57 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 22:10:22 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Posts: 1,107 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"Fine," Luna sighed, rolling her shoulders to relieve some soreness. Her wound from the King's spike was still healing. "The job isn't over. I wouldn't get paid if I showed up alone, days before everyone else. Besides, I've come this far with all of these soldiers. It would ruin my impression if I just left now. Besides, I could use the peace and quiet. It's a chance to just...think."

Vitus looked at her suspiciously.

"I believe you," he started. "But I also believe that's not the whole truth, which leads into my second question. Why are you even doing this in the first place? I know it isn't for the money; you're not exactly poor."

Luna did not immediately answer, and cast her eyes towards the horizon. Vitus waited patiently, allowing her time to come up with the proper words.

"The experience," Luna finally admitted. "Guthix entrusted me with a task. If I'm going to carry it out...I need to be as strong as I possibly can. I nee"I wouldn't say you're lacking in that regard," Vitus frowned. "All things considered, you didn't really seem to have too much difficulty with the Emperor."

"It isn't enough," Luna said quietly, almost whispering.

Vitus couldn't think of anything to say to counter that.

"I guess I'll take your word for it, since I don't know what you're really up against. Just..."

Luna looked at him hesitantly.

"Don't end up like the Raptor, alright?" Vitus pleaded. "I don't want to see you fall into some obsessive cycle of obtaining power."

"I'll try my hardest," Luna promised with a faint smile. "But I'll need people like you to remind me of that."

"Heh. Sure, you can count on me to nag you every now and then. What else are friends for?"

"Slaying giant bug monsters?" Luna suggested.

And despite the heat, the exhaustion, and the sorrow they felt from the loss of their allies, the pair laughed.

30-Oct-2017 21:44:00 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 22:08:29 by Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Stallionrage

Posts: 1,107 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
A/N: The idea for the Kalphite Emperor's lightning attack came from my ideas about how weird his animations are. Consider the blue mage attack. The king somehow launches these blue-orange balls that stun you - somehow - and then they levitate and float upwards before exploding and doing a ton of damage. Like, what? The animation of the attack and the actual effects don't really have any relevance to each other, so I tried to make some. It was the stun that was the defining link - you get stunned before you even take damage. So what if the blue magic was electricity? You can't move when you get seriously electrocuted, your muscles convulse and freeze up. And then the magic detonates, doing serious damage if you couldn't avoid it.

What did you think of this story? I'm always eager to read feedback and constructive criticism. Also, if you did like this story, check out my author profile on Fanfiction or Archive of Our Own, as I've written a few other shorts for RuneScape that you may find interesting.

30-Oct-2017 21:44:03 - Last edited on 30-Oct-2017 22:11:16 by Stallionrage

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