RuneScape Forum Archive | ^+^ The Age of Nhur ^+^

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Prologue
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“Damn it, what gives? You’re going out tonight, again?!” Screamed Alya.

Veiz looked at her and frowned. “Sorry, sis, but I kinda need to, ya know? How else am I supposed to make a living without fighting and getting killed by the first holier-than-thou adventurer that’s passing through?”

Alya gave her brother a disgusted look and flopped down onto the couch in the corner of the rather luxurious apartment she happened to share with her brother. As Viez was about to leave, all she could say was “At least come back before sunrise, ok? We might be far from father, but even you know what the people are saying about the murders.”

He turned his head and said “Hey, don’t worry ‘bout that. It’s not like these Brotherhood guys know who I am anyway, right? I mean, why would they spend manpower to kill me when I’m not even a threat to them?”

“Whatever. Just…go.” She replied. Viez nodded and closed the door behind him.
~^+^~
After Viez left, Alya muttered an oath under her breath “I swear, one day he’s going to get us all killed.”

Danger wasn’t new to Alya or her brother. After all, they were half demons as it was, and Viez, with his red skin and stubs where demonic horns once resided on his head, was used to keeping himself under cover long enough to go out and do his business with the human merchants, whereas Alya could easily pass herself off as a full blooded human since her only distinguishing feature was her amber colored eyes.

And even though she relied on her brother for lodging, it wasn’t even a bad life. Sure, he might not be around as much as she liked, but they were living on the third floor in a nice apartment in Varrock, and even better was the fact that they got it for next to nothing after the whole incident with the Liberators blew over and most of the rich people fled towards the west for safer cities. And, of course, they weren’t living in the Infernal Dimension. That was always good.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:40:41 - Last edited on 01-Apr-2010 04:18:19 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

But unfortunately, shortly after they moved in, they realized that they needed money. That in itself wouldn’t have been so bad if the people of Varrock weren’t mostly homeless or approaching poverty, and on top of it all the Alliverion agency was cracking down on all kinds of crime since King Roald left the city. While being a half demon wasn’t illegal, it definitely wasn’t good in a city where anyone perceived as being allied with the more fouler powers could mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night.

That, and there was the matter with a cult only calling itself “The Brotherhood” going around and killing off some of the higher class citizens in their own homes. Nobody knew who they were or what they wanted, but when someone was found dead with a card imprinted with a symbol that consisted of an eye in the middle of a pentacle onto it; people knew who wanted the blame.

Alya sighed, and then started for her bedroom. She figured that if Viez could go out every night to do his rune deals with Aubury and come back safely, it wasn’t worth staying up all night just to make sure he came home alive.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:46:32

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

~^+^~
She woke up with a start, rubbing her eyes. Looking around, Alya couldn’t see where she was at first. Figuring that maybe it was because she just woke up in the middle of the night for some reason, she moved herself to get up from her bed, but all her hands found was some kind of stone where her bed would normally be, and a somewhat slimy one at that.

Startled, Alya jumped to her feet with a little yelp. She was used to waking up during the night in a sweat when it was summer time, but it always happened in her own bed……not to mention she could usually see pretty well in the dark once she was fully awake, which was definitely not happening now. Cautiously, she then proceeded to walk around what she could only guess was some kind of room or hallway, trying to find a wall so she could try to follow it and at least get a mental map of where the hell she was.

However, she was unsuccessful in that endeavor, so she decided to just pick a direction to walk towards, and hope that this was all just some bad dream. After what seemed like a few hours-how long it really took was anyone’s guess- Alya had noticed that the “room” was getting brighter bit by bit, and that she was in a hallway now.

The hallway itself looked like it was from a crypt, with the walls looking ancient and decrepit, and pillars that looked like they were about to collapse from holding the ceiling up for so long. Looking around, she had noticed that the walls were also covered in strange pictures. Some of them had forms which looked like humans with pointy ears holding what looked like a staff of some kind, others with dwarves fighting some kind of dog-man, and some even stranger ones depicted what could only be described as some kind of humanoid with a strangely shaped head, which was also dressed in some kind of elaborate robe and holding its hand over a kneeling human, pointy eared human, a dwarf, or one of the dog-men hybrid, or one representative from each of the four races.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:46:52

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The meanings of the pictures on the walls were lost on Alya, but seeing the mysterious humanoid made her shudder for some reason. She had the sudden feeling that she needed to get out of this place before something bad happened, and she also had the feeling that the Karambwan creature was somehow connected to whatever fate would befall her if she didn't.

Just as she started to hurry towards the brighter area of the hallway, she heard what sounded like voices. Nearing the end of the hall, Alya noticed that the reason it was getting brighter was because something was glowing in a room not too far from her position, which also happened to be where the voices were coming from as well. Deciding that being unnoticed would be a wiser choice in this unknown area, she had stopped right near the end of the hall and crouched behind one of the many pillars so she could try to determine if there was any danger around.

“I’m telling you, this is madness! Do you really expect me to believe that just killing someone in this place will help our cause?” she heard a male voice cry.

A voice that sounded female had rebuked the first one “I don’t expect you to believe anything, Marik. I just expect you to follow my orders, and those come from the Gentleman himself. If those orders involve taking that girl’s dream form and killing it, then so be it. You of all people should know that anything we do on his command only *furthers* the Returning, and I believe that you signed up for doing this for that exact reason, right?”

The voice that supposedly belonged to the one called Marik shot back “No, really? Don’t get me wrong, Mori, but I’d like to at least be sure that what we’re doing is assured to work. After all, you said it yourself back at HQ: we’re working with very powerful and ancient Magik here. The stuff isn’t only forbidden by the Circle, but it’s also *very* dangerous and unpredictable.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:47:19 - Last edited on 19-Jan-2011 21:46:08 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Enough, both of you,” a new voice, this one with an undistinguishable tone, had said, “Marik, she’s right. The Gentleman is a very powerful sorcerer, and he knows what he’s doing. Besides, when has he ever let us down?”

“I guess you’re right,” Marik had replied, “but don’t think for a second that I agree with this. Sacrifices are one thing, but this sort of Magik is another. Speaking of which, is the ritual ready? I’d like to get this over with as fast as possible.”

“Yes, go get the damn prisoner already. She’s in the room down the hall, so even you should be able to find her without getting lost this time,” retorted Mori.

Alya had heard enough. She was no super genius or anything, but even she knew that she was the most likely candidate for being sacrificed since she didn't see signs of anyone else in wherever the hell she was. She turned to run back the way she came, wondering how she was going to get out of this mess. That was, she was going to, until the man she assumed was Marik walked right into her as she turned. Falling into a roll, she had regained her footing and managed to get a quick glimpse of the guy who might kill her as she sprinted down the hall. The man had what could be described as silver hair that was in a crew cut, and his skin was somewhat pale, probably because he’s been hiding in this tomb for so long.

Marik, temporarily dazed by running into Alya, had gotten back up in the time it took her to catch her quick glimpse. Shaking some dust off of his black tunic, he started moving his hands in some kind of arcane motions while whispering some unintelligible syllables.

The last Alya heard was the phrase “Seporum Hilyta” before she was hit by a blast that tossed her body down the dark hall.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:47:27 - Last edited on 14-Sep-2010 19:34:41 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Alya woke up in a start…..again. The first thing she noticed was that she could see her own room after clearing away the blurriness in her eyes.

“Holy crap,” she muttered, “I knew I had some crazy dreams before, but that took the cake. It was so real….”

Then she heard a sound on the other side of her door. Crouching into a defensive position in front of her bed, Alya kept an eye on the door as it opened. A hooded man in black robes was about to come through it as she released a blast of hellfire…..that was then shortly reflected back at her and threw her through the bedroom window.

~^+^~

“I swear, I don’t get paid enough for this kind of thing.”

A shadowy form was crouched on the rooftop of the general store in Varrock center. Unbeknownst to the people milling about in the middle of the night below him, the man known as the Spider had been keeping an eye on some suspicious looking individuals who’ve been looking at some of the richer houses still left after the whole Liberators incident.

He still wasn’t sure what was going on, but as far as the Spider knew, Varrock was a kind of No Man’s Land after everything more or less blew up. After all, a private security force was now running what was left of the city after King Roald left in the ensuing scandals, there were rumors of a demon supplying the local rune shop with some evil magic, and on top of that there was the trouble with the Brotherhood cult killing people in expensive houses.

The last bit was the main reason why he was watching. So far there have been no known connections between the victims of the murders, so it was no surprise that numerous vigilantes and mercenaries had tried to set traps for the cultists doing the murders in hopes of getting a rich reward from those willing to end the slaughter. Most of them had failed miserably, of course, but then again the Spider was no mere mercenary.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:47:49 - Last edited on 19-Jan-2011 21:47:28 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

For starters, the Spider himself was a mystery even to those who had seen him outside of the shadows. Not only was his appearance concealed in a suit that was mostly black, save for a few white trimmings in the shape of webs covering the upper part of his armor as well as his cloak, he was also known and feared for some of the more supernatural powers he was rumored to posses, such as being able to jump great heights, an uncanny ability to appear and disappear at will, and more importantly, the local population knew that he posses some kind of control over the shadows themselves thanks to a botched encounter with a rogue mage in the slums.

But, it turned out that tonight was a pretty slow night for any crazy cultists. As the Spider turned away and prepared to teleport someplace else, a mighty boom that sounded like it came from the north had shaken the rooftops. The people below did*’t seem to notice much-they probably figured it was some magical mishap down in Aubury’s shop anyway-but he had decided that the least he could do was investigate it. Redirecting his teleport towards the source of the noise, the Spider had disappeared back into the shadows once more.
~^+^~
“Oh, for the love of…..more human idiots?” shrieked Alya.

She was now surrounded by at least 3 more men in black masks and armor in the middle of the street. She had no idea who they were, but it only stood to reason that they were waiting for her there just in case she happened to get out of the apartment building. Apparently they didn't expect her to come flying through a window while being on fire though, for she landed on one of the assassins shortly after getting hit and ended up killing the poor guy on the spot…..but she figured it didn't matter too much since right after and untangling herself from the corpse and getting up, she found herself in her current predicament.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:48:04 - Last edited on 14-Sep-2010 19:55:33 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The assassins didn't waste any time in starting their attack. With the grace of practiced dancers, the two on her sides rushed in with their twin short daggers swiping furiously at her, while the third attacker readied his crossbow as Alya had managed to duck below the blows.

As if the crossbowman was expecting her dodge, he fired a bolt that managed to pierce the leather dragonhide leggings that were hidden under her sleeping clothes. Letting out a yelp of pain, Alya had lost her balance and ended up sprawled prone on the ground. As the flames from her earlier hellfire blast died down at last, she tried to get up, but only succeeded in moving herself a few more inches away from the attackers.

"That’s far enough, dearie”, the crossbowman had said, “we already knew what we were getting into when we took the job, so these here bolts were specially made to take out your damn demon tricks. Just lie down and die already and save yourself the pain of fightin’”

As if on cue, the two dagger wielding men advanced to do their evil deeds. Alya tried to summon another surge of strength to incinerate the attackers, but it seemed that the crossbowman wasn’t lying when he said they took out the abilities she inherited from her demonic side. One of the men drew back to deliver the killing blow, but then froze and turned to look at his partner…..

…..who was turned around gawking at the crossbowman, who in turn was strung up unconsciously by what appeared to be the shadows themselves. Crouched on the wall of a nearby building was another man dressed in black, with what appeared to be white spider webs intertwining with themselves across the upper part of his outfit, along with a cape on the ground that was probably his.

The Spider turned and acknowledged the attackers. “And here I thought it was gonna be another slow night! So, what is it: ex boyfriend assault or the crazy evil cultist dude kind?”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:48:35 - Last edited on 14-Sep-2010 19:56:40 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Ah crap. I thought the guy was a myth,” one of the attackers had muttered as he turned to his partner, “this ain’t good at all. C’mon, we can just take the girl and kill her later, so le’s get outta here while we can.”

His partner replied “What do you mean? The Gentleman would probably double the pay if we kill the pest. I say we take ‘em!”

Then she blacked out.

~^+^~

In the time it took the assassins to reach the conclusion that double pay was better, the Spider had already leaped from his perch on the building and began throwing punches. One had connected with an attacker, making a cracking sound when it connected with his jaw. The other attacker had managed to duck out of the way, only to attempt to stab the Spider with his drawn daggers.

He missed. By the time the attack had almost reached its conclusion, the Spider had already flanked the two and prepared for another volley of attacks. A flurry of blows connected with both of the attackers, rendering them nearly unconscious, but then a blast of fire came from behind and connected with the Spider, sending him flying into a pile of debris.

As he attempted to shove the pile off of himself, a low, grumbling voice had pierced the ringing in the Spider’s ears "That’s enough. You won’t be bothering us again anytime soon.”

He lost consciousness not too long after that. Even he had to admit that being burned like that hurt like hell.

~^+^~

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:49:32 - Last edited on 19-Jan-2011 21:50:15 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The mage had landed softly on the ground, thanks to his slow fall enchantments. Surveying the scene of destruction before him, he could only smile. After all, not only did the assassins prove useful in eliminating their target, but they had also allowed him to kill the interloper who had managed to somehow sneak past his scrying enchantments and neutralize the two of the remaining assassins with astonishing ease.

Stepping over to the prone body of the she-demon, the mage bent over to examine her. From the looks of it, a special crossbow bolt meant especially for demon killing had pierced her thigh, and she seemed to have died from the resulting blood loss during the interloper’s attack.

The mage was satisfied, but he had to confirm a sneaking suspicion. Turning the corpse around and searching through the pockets in her dragonskin leggings, he had finally found it.

But what “it” was remained a mystery to him still. He knew that demonic hellfire was impossible to produce from half breeds, and how she had managed to hit him with a blast of the stuff was what prompted his suspicions that she had to have some form of magical aid.

But no matter, thought the mage. Taking and pocketing the object of his suspicion, a jeweled ring with both rubies and what appeared to be sapphires encrusted in the band of it while a black onyx dominated the center of the ring; he then strode towards where the Spider had landed. Shifting through the pile proved, beyond a doubt, that the mysterious man in black with webs had died thanks to the mage’s curse blast.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

25-Mar-2010 02:50:59 - Last edited on 19-Jan-2011 21:51:21 by A Mad Hatter

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