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Dawn719

Dawn719

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Chapter 20 Into the Wilderness

Reunions are great. Well, for family reunions, it depends…Of course, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a family reunion. Either way, this reunion was great. Wolfbane’s face lit up like a light bulb at the sight of Lady Lore. I had never seen such a vibrant smile on her face. I don’t understand her love for Blondie, but if it makes her happy, then it’s okay with me. Oh fine, I’m still the tiniest bit bitter.

Even so, Dawn’s relief at seeing me alive eased that bitterness. She knows at least how much courage I needed to go to Lumbridge. She’s standing next to me as Fireheart holds what seems like the final meeting before the war. We’re outside the Varrock Palace walls because there’s no room inside the castle that will hold us all.

Fireheart and Redseed each have fifty-one relatively high levels under their command. Dawn has her two-hundred woodcutting pals lined up in their neat rows. My unit of eighteen is huddled next to Cheesecracker and Hamlet’s units of eighteen. My fellow commanders are situated next to me. It’s so nice to see them again, but they don’t have time for mawkish greetings. They’re focused on Lady Lore, Wolfbane, his newly arrived crew and Fireheart, who’s watching the newcomers with wariness.

Catgirl and her forty mages are lined up too, right next to Lady Lore’s thirty-one rangers. Right beside Catgirl stands Bluestar, looking brave, handsome and yet demure. Kenshin, who revealed cheerfully that he was level eighty, is lingering at Bluestar’s side.

“We don’t mind fighting Lord Luxon,” Wolfbane is saying earnestly to Fireheart. Even so, Redseed, with his grave common sense, looks troubled.

“Don’t make trust an issue,” Lady Lore pleads. Her arm is wrapped around Wolfbane’s. I look away from this intimacy with the faintest smidgeon of resent. Oh whatever.

Fireheart glances at Redseed, who only shrugs. “It’s too dangerous. In this war, we can’t afford--”

26-Aug-2010 00:57:42

Dawn719

Dawn719

Posts: 111 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
GAH! Why can’t we all get along? I break away from the audience into the center, nearly knocking into a fountain. Not this time! I would not fall in this time!

“Let them fight! If they betray us, then we’ll pay the price. But they won’t! I know they won’t!” I look for reassurance from Wolfbane. Getting none, I look pleadingly at Voldmort and the rest of the level sixties who had been in league with Lord Luxon.

“Freak, calm down!” Someone pokes me. The lethal poke at my back makes me gasp. But it doesn’t calm me down! No, something has my blood boiling! It must be the air I breathe…huh, pollution or something. I push the Pokey Lady away (although it is against my principles to harm a lady) and march towards the road that leads to the wilderness.

“I’m going to fight Lord Luxon! I won’t stand for any more bickering! Who’s with me?” I notice the Pokey…Dawn’s hurt look (I haven’t thought of Dawn as the Pokey Lady for a while now) and then turn to my rapt audience. “Who’s with me?” I repeat.

Bluestar steps away. “I am.” He then glances nervously at Fireheart, who looks too stunned to say a word. “Fire, he’s right. We can’t afford to bicker. If we wait, Lord Luxon will have more time to prepare himself. I trust Freak, and if they--” Bluestar gestures towards Wolfbane and Lady Lore “--betray us…then we can blame Freak.”

Hey! While I fume, Fireheart is thinking. Apparently, the argument works for Redseed because he nods and gives me a fond smile. “We can blame Freak.”

Laughing (and making Bluestar flush a deep crimson), Fireheart says, “Then let’s go, but I won’t blame Freak for anything. Whether we win or lose is not his fault.” She gazes for one long moment at Lady Lore and Wolfbane, who are still disturbingly clinging to each other.

Thus, with a great cheering, our army sets out. When we pass the church in Varrock, I fall behind to walk beside Cheesecracker and Hamlet. Surprising me, Hamlet says, “Those were motivating words.”

26-Aug-2010 00:58:41

Dawn719

Dawn719

Posts: 111 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Words of a true leader,” Cheesecracker puts in. I can tell he rarely praises people, so I’m all bubbly with pride when another compliment comes my way. From Gorgonwrath this time.

“After you left to meet Wolfbane, I felt guilty, so I told them all.” He gestures to Hamlet, Cheesecracker, Aurora, Saint Loren, Rosegarden, Marigold, Hammockhead…ah, so many familiar faces. “Going to Lumbridge took real guts.”

“But, if you go off like that again, Freak, I’m going to kill you myself,” growls a new voice. Bluestar! Making threats…

Feeling my ego drain, I solemnly promise Bluestar never to go off on my own to meet dangerous high levels. By the time the others have stopped laughing at my oath, we reach the wilderness ditch. I eye the distance. It looks farther than my legs can stretch. There’s no helping it. I have to jump.

Dawn is already on the other side of the ditch, watching me with a smile that (I think) is dangerously close to a smirk. “C’mon, Freak. Jump. I’ll help you if you fall in.”

How reassuring…

“Facing Lord Luxon is a lot worse than leaping a ditch,” Dawn continues, taunting me so cruelly. “Are you the coward I think you are?”

“No,” I mutter. “Maybe…”

Dawn gives me her full-fledged smirk. “So, you really are a cowardly noob. How sad.”

How dare she! Cowardly I may be! And I’m definitely a noob! But I am not a cowardly noob! That doesn’t make sense…even in my mind. I leap the ditch just to startle the Pokey Lady, who appears to think that I won’t jump.

“That works, Freak.” She grins at me and sprints to catch up with her army, which is slowly traversing deeper into the wilderness along with the others. She tricked me!

This journey into the wilderness reminds me of our previous ill-fated mission to spy on Lord Luxon. This time I’m not as afraid…since I have a back-up of four hundred and forty four Runescapians. Hamlet counted on our way to the ditch.

26-Aug-2010 00:59:31

Dawn719

Dawn719

Posts: 111 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Our voyage is quiet. The occasional giant rat that came to harass us was slaughtered immediately. As a group, we make a formidable force. Even so, the gray earth, the dead trees, the gloomy landscape makes it hard to be cheerful. Redseed, at least, is trying.

“If you go a bit west from here, you’ll find a fort filled with Dark Warriors. They’re spiteful, attacking anything that moves, but pathetic,” he’s saying to Catgirl. “It‘s a good place to find free runes.*

*What else is there out here?” Catgirl asks. As for me, I can’t imagine what might be out here. Not normal Runescapians, I’m sure. They couldn’t possibly live among this perpetual gloominess.

“Bandits have a large town out here. There are graveyards with ghosts and zombies. And demons…much further in,” Redseed says with a baffling grin. “Fireheart, remember that greater demon?”

Our leader looks wary. “Yes. But I’d rather not." Fireheart is lingering behind our huge army with us and letting Wolfbane lead the way. I can tell she’s not happy about the prospect, but Lady Lore had talked her into it.

“What happened?” Cheesecracker asks, ignoring Fireheart’s scowl.

“I ran across the demon, and it killed me. End of story,” mutters Fireheart. She quickens her stride to walk side by side with Bluestar.

Redseed shakes his head. “Not quite. You walked into it. Then you ran away…straight into a LESSER demon…”

Making an indiscernible sound of anger, Fireheart covers her ears. “I’m not listening.”

“Bad luck,” says Bluestar with a sympathy that earns him a smile from Fireheart.

With gusto, Redseed finishes the tale. “After being mauled by that demon, she ran to take refuge behind a wall, where there was a greater demon, who finished her off with one nasty blow. …I ran for my life.”

“You could have helped,” Fireheart says with a dignified air.

“And gotten myself killed?” Redseed gets no answer because our army has come to an abrupt halt. “Is that…a noob?”

26-Aug-2010 01:00:31

Dawn719

Dawn719

Posts: 111 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I’m wondering what could have possessed Redseed to call anyone a noob when I realize that there’s no other word to describe the guy standing in front of our army.

“Hello there, noobs,” the noob says gallantly, bowing to our astounded army. He’s bald but sports a brown beard that covers his chin. His T-shirt is the yellow of moldy cheese, and his green pants look out of place in the midst of the gloomy gray of the wilderness.

“Who are you?” Wolfbane looks appalled.

“I’m Bob. His Greatness, Lord Luxon’s pet noob.” Bob turns an accusing eyes towards us. “He’ll own you all.”

I appreciate a good pun every now and then, but this pun was almost unbearable. If we lost, our lives WOULD belong to Luxon. “Where is he?” Ugh, pet noob. How demeaning.

Ignoring me, Bob gestures for us to keep walking. “Follow me, NOOBS, to the Clan Wars arena. That is where you’ll fight my master.”

Fireheart breaks the ranks suddenly to confront Wolfbane and Lady Lore. “Did either of you know about this?”

Shaking her magnificent head, Lady Lore looks at Wolfbane. “I know nothing.”

“He was talking about building an arena for some friendly sparring. We thought he was crazy because that would be changing all the rules of death in the wilderness. He can change them and build a Clan Wars arena because Zamorak probably gave him permission.” Wolfbane shrugs and then glances at Bob, who is tapping his foot. “We might as well follow the noob…and play Luxon’s game.”

Play his stupid game? I’m annoyed as we follow the noob deeper into the wild.

“Hey, how did you become his pet noob anyway?” someone in Dawn’s army calls out.

Bob pauses and turns to glare at us all. For a noob, he is utterly fearless in the face of a four-hundred person army. “Don’t ask questions, noobs.”

26-Aug-2010 01:01:24

Dawn719

Dawn719

Posts: 111 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
For the rest of our trek, no one says a word: whispered or otherwise. Every face I look to is painted with anxiety. Even Fireheart is looking almost queasy. Dawn has dropped behind a bit to walk at my side. She’s the first to speak as a building appears out of the dark gloom.

“Is that the arena?”

Her question goes unanswered until Bob enters the place. It’s an enormous, rectangular room with four walls. Arches are in the walls, so that people can actually get into the room of benches and chairs. A purple portal is throbbing at one end of the room. Our army fills what appears to be a waiting-room.

Bob’s eyes are thin slits as he surveys us with disapproval. “Enter through the portal. His Greatness is waiting.”

At this command (from a pet noob…), our leaders immediately form a huddle. Hamlet pulls me over to join the group.

“Should we go in?” is the most obvious question. The question comes from Redseed who is grimacing at the thought.

“Otherwise, we won’t find Luxon,” replies Wolfbane with a smirk. “How typical of him to want things his way, on the battlefield of his choosing.”

Fireheart breaks the circle first. “If we can’t lure Luxon out, then we’ll go in.” She smiles sweetly at the pet noob. “Bob, is there any way to contact…your master?” The last two words come reluctantly to her tongue, but she knows as well as anyone in this room that Bob wouldn’t tolerate any disrespect towards “His Greatness.”

Bob shakes his bald head. “Nope. In the portal.” So saying, Bob disappears into the purple portal. Redseed sighs.

“In the portal it is.”

Only Bluestar moves toward the portal and considers it. His blue gaze is as steady as ever until it strays to Fireheart. Then he blinks and turns pink. “I’ll go first. If I don’t come back…then save the battle for another day.”

26-Aug-2010 01:02:10

Dawn719

Dawn719

Posts: 111 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I finally realize that Lord Luxon could have a trap lying for us behind that portal. We’d have to enter one or two people at a time; those few people would be targeted by Luxon’s lackeys and slaughtered. Bit by bit, our army would disappear. And Bluestar might be first…but I wouldn’t allow it!

“No, Bluestar! I’ll go first; you’re more…” What was the word? Useful?

Bluestar’s anger is truly terrible. The glower on his face is so akin to Lord Luxon’s that I choke. His blue eyes are like ice. “I’m not more important than you are, Freak.”

“You’re more useful,” I insist, and I flinch as Bluestar draws closer. It’s Dawn who interferes.

Stepping between us, she puts her hands on her hips. Then I notice her lovely rune plate skirt with green trimming. Underneath the skirt are lovely, tanned legs that lead to two small, black-booted feet. I’m blinking like an idiot when Dawn declares, “I’ll go first.”

“Ow!” I say as a black boot meets my shin.

As Dawn passes me, she mutters, “Don’t stare at a girl’s legs. It’s not polite.”

Uh…She had noticed. Before I can apologize, she’s disappeared into the portal. Many of the others are smirking. Fireheart only glances at Redseed; they exchange lovely conspiratorial smiles.

“Why’d she kick you?” asks Catgirl in honest confusion.

Sneering, Wolfbane comes up to me and jeers. “Love troubles, huh?”

“No."

They forget me as Dawn pops back into the room. With one quick glance, I take in that she’s still in one piece and smiling beautifully. I’m not in love with the Pokey Lady! Am I?

“It’s an arena. With lava,” Dawn says with delight. What kind of girl likes lava? Within minutes, most of our great army is through the purple portal. The last few are Fireheart, Redseed, Dawn (who I can’t look in the eyes anymore), Hamlet and Cheesecracker.

26-Aug-2010 01:03:01

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