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

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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“Ah, good,” Arial said. “Then I guess I can make this quick.”

“You must if you wish to live,” Talon answered.

“Well,” Arial started. He explained their predicament quickly, and left out nothing. Not the fact that they needed a way into Ukrosha, nor the fact that their friend was locked in mortal combat against a rogue commander of his at that very moment, and even possibly dead because of it. The Jabberwocky listened with an intense interest, and once Arial was done, its eyes seemed to grow brighter than they had been since the conversation had started.

“So let me get this straight,” the Jabberwocky said. “You wish for me to call off Ur’Droj, and get you and your allies into the shade capital?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Arial said. “We’ll be willing to honor whatever you wish of us at this point.”

“Anything?”

Arial gulped. “Yeah,” he replied. “Anything. In particular, we know you were after our friend Koreth here for some reason.”

Koreth seemed angry as the Jabberwocky looked over to inspect him. “Ah, good old Koreth,” he said after a brief moment of silent tension. “I’ve been expecting you.”

“Lord Talon,” the Warlock said. “What he says is true. I hear you’ve wanted to see me.”

“Yes, this is true,” Lord Talon cooed. “But the reason can wait for the moment. General,” he addressed Arial. “I only have three conditions that you must accept if you want my aid.”

“Bring it on,” Joran said.

“I wasn’t talking to you, smart ass,” Talon retorted. “Anyway, the conditions are as follows. First, I want your boy Koreth to stay behind while we ride to Ukrosha.”

“We?” Arial asked.

“Yes, ‘we’. I say ‘we’, because that is my second condition: I wish to fly to Ukrosha with you and yours.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:11:45 - Last edited on 27-Jan-2011 02:05:40 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“So what’s the third?” Arial asked.

“Simple: I shall require your assistance in ending this battle at my doorstep.”

“So that’s it?” Arial asked. “I thought the price for your aid was supposed to be high, is it not?"

Lord Talon chuckled. “You’re stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth as well?” he asked.

“Well, no, but I’m suspicious,” Arial said.

“Then it’s your own doing,” Talon said. “But, I have stated my conditions. What say you?”

The answer was simple, and needed no discussion among the group. “We accept your terms, Lord Talon” Arial answered.

~^+^~

Ur’Droj knocked one of Rajh’s daggers out of his hands with a flick of the swordtip. Rajh tried to grab the dagger as it twisted and turned in the air, but his efforts were made futile by half-dragons who had taken it upon themselves to defend the Rakshasa chieftain.

Rajh managed to stick his remaining dagger into the eyes and throats of some of the half-dragons, but his efforts did little to stem the tide in the long run. Every fallen half-dragon seemed to be replaced immediately upon their death by another, and Droj wasn’t helping matters by getting up close with his borrowed sword as well.

“Just die already, traitor!” Droj cried as he lunged at Rajh. The large Rakshasa dropped his sword as he barreled into Rajh, and for good reason. His frame grew bigger, and his muscles rippled underneath his orange and black fur.

The half-dragons backed off as they saw their commander grow larger while ripping their enemies’ armor to shreds with sharpened claws, and it took everything Rajh had to avoid being shredded alive for his part.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:12:13 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 19:24:49 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“For gods’ sake, stop, Droj!” Rajh cried. Many Doomhounds had begun to scale their way onto the path which their confrontation was taking place. Those that had arrived had began to tear into the nearest prey, which consisted of half-dragons, but Rajh had a feeling that they’d be next if they didn't do something to get out of the way, anything!

“I vill not stop until you’re dead,” the chieftain snarled. “Your crimes…zey must be punished!”

“What crimes? Refusing a marriage suggested by a shaman as a political move? Don’t you realize that you were being played that whole time?”

“Rajh, repeating ze incident von’t save you now,* Droj said as he continued his attack. "Traditions are made for a reason! It vas because of zem zat ve have survived ze coming of ze shadow men for so long!”

“Traditions can be corrupted, you know,” Rajh said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned since my exile, it’s that simple fact. I’ve seen it with you, I’ve seen it with the Clansmeet in the past…and I’ve seen it happen with myself.”

“So you admit your failings,” Droj replied. “Good! Now die!”
Rajh felt a wave of pain wash over his arm as he twisted away from Droj at the last second, but he managed to keep from screaming.

“You’re right about one thing,” Rajh coughed. “I admit my failings. But I don’t think refusing your plans was one of them.”

“Zat is all zat matters to me!” Droj cried.

“That may be,” Rajh said as he continued twisting out of the way. “But it doesn’t matter to me. Not when I was the one who made the Koshir what he was. Not when I’ve hunted and betrayed my own kind out of anger. Not when I’ve faced the Demon Wolves and survived. Face it, refusing your plans was probably the only decision I haven’t regretted in my entire life!”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:12:49 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 19:26:35 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“Ha!” Droj said as he slashed Rajh’s side. The smaller Rakshasa was sent sprawling to the ground, howling in pain as he fell. “Face it, Rajh, you may very well regret zat choice soon ven you lie here among ze dead!”

Writhing in pain, Rajh had one last idea. Gripping his only dagger tightly, he waited until Droj was looming over him, his face wearing a twisted mask of a smile.

“I regret nothing,” Rajh said. “It has finally allowed me to realize what I really am.” Rajh lunged at Droj with his outstretched dagger, but the bigger Rakshasa was fast enough to catch the weapon before it reached his throat.

“Vat you are is dead,” Droj said as he pointed the blade at Rajh’s throat. With a small shove, the dagger slid into the exposed fur easily, and Rajh felt his breath being stolen that very moment. Pain flooded his senses, and it was all he could do to remain conscious as blood began flowing out of the dagger’s wound.

Droj drew himself up, and let loose a primal roar which stopped the nearest hounds from attacking, and distracted some half-dragons long enough to become the next victim of their attackers.

Rajh tried gripping the dagger, but to no avail. The blood covering him at that moment had made the handle too slippery to grasp, and his strength was fading rapidly with each passing second. He thought he saw his forefathers gather around him as his vision grew blurry, but he realized it was his old chieftain gloating over his defeat. It was to be expected, he knew, but even so he felt anger well up inside him.

No, he thought to himself sternly. To be killed in battle against the Demon Wolves was one thing. Hell, getting killed by another Rakshasa warrior in honorable combat would’ve been good for him too. Or maybe even death by Mahjarrat. But to be killed by a chieftain who most likely had no clan because of the legendary Grim Hunt? To be killed by a leader with no clan was a fate worse than actual death to many Rakshasa, and Rajh was no different in that respect.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:13:14 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 19:28:13 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

With a surge of unexpected energy, Rajh managed to push himself up just enough so he could see. Droj had turned his back to him, possibly thinking he was dead. That would be his last mistake, Rajh thought. The smaller of the two Rakshasas gripped the hilt of the dagger buried in his throat with both hands, and attempted to pull it free. The blade fell out easily this time, and his vision seemed to turn upside down as he lost more blood, but he held on to consciousness still.

Rajh dragged himself closer to Droj, and attempted to speak, though he could only manage a gurgle. Droj, hearing the sound, turned to see Rajh still alive, and a look of disgust and rage crossed his face. The chieftain’s form had shrunk considerably, though he was still stronger than Rajh at this point since he wasn’t wounded that badly.

Droj stalked closer to Rajh, and when he was a few feet away from him, Rajh summoned one last burst of strength, and hurled the dagger right at the chieftain. The act caught Droj off guard, and he fell to the ground with a resounding thud as the dagger pierced his left eye and split the side his skull wide open. The nearby half-dragons seemed stunned at the act, and Rajh descended into darkness as he heard the faint beating of approaching wings.

~^+^~

“Crap, there he is!” Joran screamed over the chaos. The group had found Rajh not far from where they had left him, and things looked bleak. He was lying on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood, and a group of Scaled Legionnaires were holding off a small and dwindling pack of hounds who were trying to get at the prone tiger-man.

Joran broke off from Arial’s party, and ran towards the grisly scene, all while screaming as he conjured orbs of light. He tore into the hounds relentlessly, and soon the attackers lay broken at his feet, much to the astonishment of the defending half-dragons.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:13:37 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 19:30:53 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Arial and Lukil stepped over to where Joran was kneeling, and saw that Rajh wasn’t in good shape. The tiger-man had his eyes closed, and he wasn’t breathing. Nearby lay the other Rakshasa who had accosted them earlier, and he was dead thanks to a dagger which was buried in his head. The tiger-man’s face was twisted with rage, and the expression was made all the more disturbing thanks to the blood which caked his fur at that moment alongside his somewhat mutilated face.

The beating of massive wings sounded overhead, and Arial looked up to see Lord Talon take a perch on a nearby rocky outcrop. “It appears we are too late,” he said. “Not only is my lone expert on these creatures dead, but it appears that your Rakshasa may very well die as well. Assuming he isn’t already dead, that is.”

“Can you help him?” Joran asked.

Lord Talon tilted his head to the side. “Unfortunately, such power is beyond me,” he lamented.

“Then to hell with it all,” Joran replied. Turning to Arial and Lukil, he said, “I dunno about you guys, but the tiger sort of grew on me as a friend. And if I can’t kick the ass of the guy who did this to him, then I’m going to do the next best thing and kick the ass of the things that made us come this way in the first place.”

“Calm down, Joran,” Lukil said. “Maybe we can get him stabilized or something with Psionics. Maybe Koreth knows something that can help…”

“Save it, fat ass!* Joran screamed. “Unless you can help revive him, I don’t want to hear anything out of you!”

“Joran, calm down!” Arial cried. “Look, I liked the guy too, but this isn’t the time to be fighting each other.”

“You’re right,” Joran admitted. “Like I said, that’s why I’m going to kill these damn hound things. If it wasn’t for them then we could be back at Ukrosha right now since we could actually get in. If it wasn’t for them, Lord Talon wouldn’t have needed the crazy jack ass that did this to Rajh…”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:14:04 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 19:32:44 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

“And we’d probably still be having this discussion once we confronted Nhur and he killed Rajh too,” Arial said.

Joran huffed. "I don’t care. He signed on to kill Nhur, not these things.” Despite Arial’s protests, he turned to Lord Talon and said, “We agreed to help you end this fight. Just point me to the nearest creature and I*ll do the rest.”

~^+^~

And so he did. The battle lasted until the late hours of the night, and it took a toll on everyone. After Lord Talon had ordered Rajh to be taken to a safe place, he and the Scaled Legion had used the assistance of Arial’s party to make a counter offensive as quickly as possible, which was no easy task. The hounds had made too much headway into the mountains, and the fact that they could easily scale the treacherous terrain made fighting them all the more difficult.

But despite the difficulty, the Scaled Legion and their allies had won. Just about all of the Hounds had been killed that day, and those which were still alive had been horribly maimed to the point where they no longer posed a threat.

Joran was in the thick of most of the fighting, and despite that he seemed to be in much better shape in comparison to his friends. V had his cloak torn to tatters, Koreth’s battle armor was shredded in spots, and the rest of the group was just tired, if not a little bloodied, from the fighting.

They were resting in a cavern dubbed ‘the guest quarters’ by Lord Talon when a green half-dragon had come to inform them that Lord Talon had wanted to see them. They were in no shape to argue the point, so they went quietly through the twisting passages until they reached his lair.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:14:22 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 19:34:30 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

Lord Talon was sitting on a relatively large pile of gold and gems as they entered his presence.

“Ah, good. You’re still awake,” he said. “I’m sorry if I had awakened you, but I thought it would be prudent for you to know what I have to say.”

“We’re all ears,” Arial said.

“Good,” the Jabberwocky replied. “First off, the tiger is dead from his wounds. He lost so much blood by the time my finest mages were free from the battle. That said, I’ve also just received word from my scouts in Ukrosha that it is currently under siege and burning as we speak. I’m afraid we shall have to leave at once if we are to make it before the city burns to the ground.”

“That’s bad news, but just one thing,” Koreth said. “We’re sort of underequipped to go to the capital at this point. We wouldn’t survive in our current conditions."

"That’s true,” Lord Talon replied. “That’s why you’ll be given new equipment once we get ready to depart. With that said, you won’t be going, Koreth.”

“Wait, why?” Arial asked. “We could really use his magic in Ukrosha!”

“Someone else requires his presence, unfortunately,” Lord Talon said. “Someone who is very eager to hear from him, obviously.”

“If that’s the case, then I have no choice,” Koreth said. “I’m sorry, Arial, but it’s something I’m obligated to do.”

“Any other objections?” Arial asked his friends. When nobody spoke up, he addressed the Jabberwocky. “Alright, when do we leave?”

~^+^~

Later that evening, Koreth stood before a glowing crimson portal, surrounded by those he had come to think of as his friends over the past couple of weeks. The entire group had gotten new gear thanks to Lord Talon. Joran had received a set of black fighting leathers which had resembled his old gear, Lukil was given a set of violet robes with crimson trimmings which were supposedly imbued with deadly amounts of Psionic energy, and he and V were given matching cloaks and battle robes which seemed to be a darker shade of red than their old armors were.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:14:45 - Last edited on 27-Jan-2011 02:06:31 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

For their part, Arial and Grim had received new items as well, though they paled in comparison to the others. Grim was given a set of crystals which were worked into his rocky skin, which gave him the appearance of a golem more than an earth elemental at that very moment, and Arial had received a cerulean cloak which seemed to be extremely light alongside a matching set of armor. The armor was said to be enchanted by Lord Talon’s right hand mage, who was a black half-dragon by the name of Phalarax. Just what the enchantments were, he knew not, but the Jabberwocky lord had promised that they would prove useful for surviving any more encounters with the Doomhounds.

“So, this is it then?” Arial asked. “Is this why you’ve joined up with us back in the forest?”

Koreth nodded. “Believe me when I say that I didn't plan on this,” he said. “But I felt my master’s call pulling me for quite some time now. I figured it was only a matter of time before he would request my presence back at the New World.”

“So just who is he anyway?” V asked.

“I’m not at liberty to say,” Koreth replied. Turning to Arial, he added, “Look, it’s been fun and all…it really was. But I can’t tarry any longer than I already have.”

“Well, don’ let us stop ya at all,” Grim said. “But you’ll be missing out on a helluva fight when we get back to Ukrosha.”

“Speaking of which, do me a favor,” the Warlock said. “Try to stay alive in the city. If all goes well, then I may be able to return with others who may wish to dethrone Nhur.”

“Well, if he’s the one responsible for the creatures running around, we may end up killing him sooner than you’d like,” Arial said. “But we’ll try. He’s gotten the upper hand with us once, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he has more tricks up his sleeve to stay alive at this point.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:15:07 - Last edited on 31-Jan-2011 19:35:59 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

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

The portal began dimming, and Koreth cursed. “I’m sorry, but time is running short,” he said. “Farewell, friends. And good luck on confronting the usurper. I think you’ll need it!” The Warlock disappeared into the portal and just in time too, for it vanished almost instantly.

The group stood in silence as Lord Talon watched over the proceedings. “Now that was a touching scene,” he said sarcastically. Before anyone could protest, he added, “Now, if you wish to galumph back to your city and confront the manxome foe, we must depart immediately. I can’t open a portal directly over the city since something’s interfering with my power, but I can get close enough!”

~^+^~

“Make way for the Emperor!”

Uthalion turned his attention to the entrance of the palace, and saw a massive Minotaur emerge from it. The creature was dressed in as much Ordinator regalia as was possible for him to wear, and he was flanked by three more people in Ordinator gear. He couldn’t make out any features on the other three figures, but he did see one had the curvy form of a woman, so he guessed that someone in the palace had gotten conscripted at some point since females in the royal army were a rare sight to see.

Nhur stepped out of the palace, flanked by his personal guard and Kaz. The Ordinators accompanying him wore dark red armor which put the silver of the Black Guard to shame, and their overall demeanor seemed more aggressive than any other type of Ordinator in existence. Which made sense, he thought, since the Red Hearts were handpicked by the Emperor himself to serve as his personal bodyguards. Anything less than total ferocity was simply unacceptable for those whose responsibilities included keeping the ruler of the nation alive at all costs.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

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

26-Jan-2011 20:15:30

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