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Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
'Sup?
I figured I would try my hand at something different, and thus I produced this. It's a short of the horror variety, and I'll be pleased to read criticism.
And... you know I really just don't have much to say, enjoy the story.
Story posts count: 44.

02-Feb-2011 01:42:11 - Last edited on 27-Mar-2013 07:22:53 by Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“I think I found our man,” Brother Larw quietly mentioned to the High Priest of Entrana, who stood from his kneeling position. The other, lesser priests continued their morning prayers as the pair of men left through the heavy wooden doors. The sun hadn’t yet revealed itself, even so the population of the island was known well for devotion to labor and prayer. Glass blowers, furnace workers, craftsmen, and fishermen were already dressed, fed, and out the door.
“You could not find anymore?” The High Priest sighed, just one man stood on the docks, freshly arrived off the rickety old vessel which delivered visitors to the quiet and rather monotone island on which the priest colony existed.
“That’s not a very fine ship,* the man who looked as much a pirate as he did a thief commented. “The haul’s been damaged, and patched up with that swamp gunk, and some scrap wood. Sail’s got holes in it, can’t hardly catch wind, an-”
“The ship is not your concern, now come with me.” High Priest ordered in a rather moody way. The sailor’* expression changed to annoyance as he eyed the man who had brought him here. Brother Larw quickly bowed his head.
“He better not be like this all the time..” He threatened, walking past the humble man.
“Do you know why you’re here?”
“I’m supposed to go into a cave and find eight dumb blokes who got lost, right?” the sailor scoffed.
“No,* the priest shook his head, “You are to navigate a series of mining tunnels in order to locate a missing tunneling team. We suspect a cave in was the death of them, but the co- cautious men of this island feel it unwise to pursue or even continue digging, s-”

“Haha! You think? Well whatever buddy, give me some rope and maybe a teleport tablet and I’ll go in and find the corpses so your boys can haul’em out. Will that make you happy?”

02-Feb-2011 01:42:36

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The High Priest had to pause for a moment and take a deep breath, why this man of all men to negotiate with? “This bridge used to be well kept,” the priest commented, as they stepped over it, the boards whining and groaning with each footfall.
“Ha! I could build you a new one of REAL quality after I find your dead buddies, I built my own ship, don’t got no serious damage on it, and I’ve steered’er through hell!” He lightly bounced on the bridge - tempting several fates as he did. “Yeah see, this is just poor quality wood, me and my papa used t-”
“Are you coming?” his companion sighed from up ahead. The sailor muttered to himself, and jogged to catch up.
“What’s your name, anyway?” He questioned, if only to break the silence. The island had a strange air about he thought; the buildings were showing visible signs of decay, like no one could be bothered to keep the place up any longer.
“I have no name, for I am entirely devoted to Saradomin and his ways. Simply call me priest, father, brother, whatever suits you.” He explained quickly, his arms folded within his robes.
“Right, uh, brother. Well my name is Lear, nice to uh, meet you I guess?” He extended his large hand, which the priest reluctantly shook.

“Lear?” Thought the priest, in amusement. The name did*’t seem to fit the man.
“Mining operation? What’re you doin’ here anyway?” Lear curiously asked.
“I’m sure you saw the condition of most structures here. We’ve run low on funds, and as you pointed out, the quality of timber is poor in this location. But a clever priest began to dig, and we found veins of minerals.”
“Alright. So your lively hood depends on me.. Finding these dead guys so I can prove they’re dead, to all these miners who won’t go in until they’re sure the last team was killed? How long ago did they go in, anyway?”
“About two days ago. Have you ever been to church?” The priest asked seemingly at random.
“Uh, yeah. My mama used to take me to the one in Port Sarim, why?”

02-Feb-2011 01:43:08

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Did you ever see those people get excited, and claim they felt Saradomin’s grace or blessing upon them? The ones you know were feeling nothing but placebo as you watched confused from the corner?” Lear’s stubble covered face turned into amused surprise.
“Are you a wizard?” He grinned.
“It’s much of the same thing here, they claim they feel the grace of Saradomin telling them not to enter. I feel nothing. Now, speak with the head engineer for your instructions, I must be off.” He turned and began walking back without another word.
“Nice meeting you, brother,” Lear said, as he continued forward. The mining camp was located in the far corners of the island. It was as you’d expect. A series of tents, racks of tools, a system of carts, and ropes and buckets galore.
“These are dull as can be,” Lear rubbed his thumb over a shovel’s head.
“We’re not allowed to sharpen the tools,” a nervous young man mumbled to him.
“Is that so? Well lemme ask you, who’s in charge here?” he crouched in front of the boy who sat on the ground, starring into the dirt.
“Oh, that big bald guy over there,” he replied in monotone. Jogging to save time, he quickly reached the engineer on the opposite side of the camp.
“Hey, uh buddy. I’m Lear, I’m supposed to get them boys that went missing.” The tubby man sat in a folding chair, and starred blankly at him for several seconds.
“And?” He finally droned out.

“I figured you might wanna.. You know. Gimme some tools, lemme know where I should look..”
“Well, move'ere.” The man stood with great effort, and waddled towards a table, Lear directly behind him. “Ya can’t git lost,” he put his doughy finger on the map of the tunnels “Ya can go back ‘er forth, jus’ keep on goin’ forward till ya find’em, then we’ll come on in and drag’em out.” His hands never stopped moving as he spoke.

02-Feb-2011 01:43:29 - Last edited on 02-Feb-2011 01:43:54 by Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Now tell me… how will me finding the bodies make these boys willin’ to go back in?”
“Oh. They think if someone can go in an’ find’em, then they can go in and prove it was jus’ an accident, with no curses involved.” He snorted at the thought of divine punishment for menial labor.
“Curses?” Lear skeptically folded his arms.
“Ayup. They think Saradomin don’ like these men digging up the earth, since swingin’ tools is a ‘violent action’ an’ they breakin’ up rock and ground with every swing, ’stead of puttin’ things together with hammers an’ nails. They vowed eternal pacifism, an‘ somehow this makes‘um break ‘dem vows.”
“Thanks buddy, you’ve been helpful. Mind if I take a few of these tools?” The head engineer nodded, not wishing to exert himself further by speaking.
Grabbing the sturdiest looking pick on the rack, and a few other necessities, he approached the unremarkable cave entrance. There was an old man leaning against the support beam as he entered.
“Boy I’ve been starring in here just waiting, just waiting, till I can get back to work. Boy hurry up, I’ll be waiting here for you.” His encouragement was welcome.
“Yessir, I’ll hurry.” He smiled to the old man, and pushed forward.
“Better, young and strong, no excuse not to be quick! If I was your age… hey, wait!” He hollered out just as Lear was fading into darkness.
“You got yourself an escape tablet?”
“No sir, I did*’t see none in the crates.” The old man laughed.
“You got a rope, but not an escape tablet? Here take this one, it’s not helping me any. Good luck boy.” He was thankful for the gift, and feeling motivated, jogged down the mineshaft.

~ End of Chapter One.

02-Feb-2011 01:44:37

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Man it’s chilly in here. I’m wearin’ a jacket, what the hell.” Lear mentally complained as he continued down the rather nondescript corridor of black, brown, stone and dirt. He had a lantern, but there was a few torches still burning, so he decided to carry one until it died.
“How long does this tunnel go?” He wondered. It was probably five shoulder-lengths across. A glow up ahead meant another torch, though it burnt out shortly after he passed it.
The path he was on suddenly took a steep decline, and he felt as if he were walking down hill now. With no steps, guide rails, or proper lighting, he had to reduce his speed for fear of tumbling down. He nearly fell into the chasm below as he reached the end of the plummet. There was a very large hole, with a few ropes for him to shimmy down.
This whole place seemed to reflect the dwindling funds which the priest talked about. He noticed, or rather, did*’t notice any vents yet, no proper staircases, the tunnel had irregular support beams. He wasn’t so sure about going much deeper in these conditions. Furthermore, he hated heights.
Tossing the torch down the pit, he concluded it was around a twenty foot drop. “If I hurry, I won’t fall as far.” He reassured himself, as he closed his eyes and descended as quickly as he could. The rope, despite appearing dry rotted worked as intended.

The torch had fallen ahead of him. Lifting it back above his head, he realized he was now in what appeared to be the main mining shaft. It was a wide, semi-circular room, with the walls showing scars from various tools. A glimmer caught his eye, a pickaxe left behind. Strange, there were no other tools. But this one was broken in two pieces. He thought no more and moved on, but as he stood from leaning over the out of place tool, he noticed the puddle of dried up blood.

02-Feb-2011 01:45:11

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He looked at his own pick, great. The tools were faulty, he cringed as he noticed a small, but growing, pile of destroyed tools. He guessed a miner injured himself when the pick broke earlier.
He felt like the torch was laughably inadequate, the darkness so thick it reminded him of a pair of jaws closing around him. The chill wasn’t letting up, he had hoped it’d be warmer the deeper he went. Regardless of all of that, he searched the whole room for around thirty minutes, and found no sign of the crew here. Just another small entrance. Truth be told, he did*’t want to enter it.
His torch was nearly out, and he discarded it in favor of his lantern, turning it only bright enough to see a few feet ahead. Not wanting to run out of fuel at an inopportune moment.
“Damn.” He thought, upon seeing another steep drop, with only a peculiarly slime-coated rope with which to coast. Tying his lantern’s handle to the end of his rope, he lowered it. “This one’s a fifty foot drop.. I’ll have to squeeze my shoulders together to fit down this hole. What the hell is this one for?” He thought back to the main room he was just in. Coal and iron depots were plentiful, that’s where they would be focusing their efforts. This tunnel was for scouting ahead, for when the main mine expired.
He gently placed his lantern on the ground below him, and… “Damn! Damn! Damn!” the glossy rope refused to give him any sort of grip, and he slipped incredibly quickly downward. He squeezed tightly, and slowed to a halt just a few feet from the ground. Wiping his hands on his pants… he decided he could climb back up if he was patient and kept a death grip the whole way up.

The path ahead was going to be a tight fit, he wanted to run down this corridor; there were no support beams or torches anywhere. He did*’t want to spend any extra time in this section of the mine. But unless he walked carefully, his shoulders bumped into the rough rocky face of the wall.

02-Feb-2011 01:45:37

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
But then he reached a dead end. The wall was smooth, and he wasn’t sure why he noticed that of all things. Turning on his heel, he was perplexed. Where the hell were the bodies? Blood? Guts? Nothing? These men had disappeared from the face of Gielinor.
He stopped mid step. He saw a figure up ahead, and he quickly increased the power of his lantern to see.. It was gone. He swore he saw it move away, but where? “Stop for a minute, and think.” He advised himself. He continued forward, and noticed an outlet that he could’ve sworn did not exist before. The shadow must have been cast from this doorway, he thought.
This path turned into dirt almost instantly, and went on for nearly one hundred feet, and then..
He gasped, though not at corpses or any other such things. The cavern suddenly opened up into a massive room, and before him sat a fort; partially buried and looking as ancient as the darkened stone from which it was created.
End of Chapter Two.

02-Feb-2011 01:45:49

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The outline of the complex in the darkness was impressive enough, and Lear felt a compelling, primal urge to go and explore it. A sudden burst of excitement he wasn’t expecting in a place like this. What treasures would he find inside? What historical importance was this? Will he be made famous?
Running towards the building, he nearly tripped, and looking back he saw the perpetrator. “Oh look,” he mumbled aloud.
A group of dead priests, obscured by a pile of rubble that had collapsed upon them. Squatting down to check if any were alive, he noticed something that disturbed him. Some lacerations on one man’s throat seemed to be in a pattern, as if an animals teeth or claws had been racked against him. Surely this was merely coincidence, he systematically checked the other corpses. Inspecting all of them, a total of seven, revealed their deaths were murder. One man had been beaten repeatedly with a stone, others had similar claws marks. It looked like this was a poorly staged cover up, the earth put on the corpses to feign a cave in.
His blood raised, there were eight men to find, there was only seven in the pile. Stone shifted behind him, he stood, and poised his pick for combat, but…
A strong rumble, coming from the earth. It was as if the ground roared with the strain of a man lifting a boulder, and unsurprisingly the ceiling began to fall. Dashing to avoid the deadly debris, he reached the entrance of the fort, and, abruptly, so did the stones. Though not before blocking his exit. He hesitated not for a second, and smashed the teleport tablet on the ground.

The whistle of magic, he felt his legs being sucked into the temporary portal, his body turning into energy, and with a blink…

02-Feb-2011 01:46:26

Baron Ogre

Baron Ogre

Posts: 18,957 Opal Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
…the magic let out a hiss, and fizzled out with no effect. Panic filled Lear, he looked rapidly between the entrance to the fort, the stone-filled exit, and his pickaxe. He rationalized that, the eight man was alive, he must be. The two of them could unblock the… but what if he was responsible for the other seven, who were dead? But why?
His answers seemed to lurk inside the fort, and the unstable roof above made him uncomfortable. The earth shifted again, and another flurry of stones cascaded, though only for a moment. He’d wait for the debris to cease, and then dig out. He’d might as well explore the inside of the strange fort in the mean time. Stepping inside, he felt a gust of ice cold air hit him, and a sense of dread. He turned, and ran towards the exit, arriving safely.
He lifted the axe, and dug away slightly at the blockage. This wouldn’t take but a half hour or so. He worked for maybe ten minutes, and… “Ow!” the pick head went flying, and splinters struck his face. In a rage, he smashed the flimsy handle over his knee and tossed the broken bits into the darkness. “Goddammit all!” He raged.
He stormed his way back towards the entrance of the fort, and filled with anger, ignored his other senses as he entered what seemed almost like a lobby. He was going to find some tools in here, and exit. That was the plan.
Long dead flower arrangements, and long burned up incense were placed on a small, granite altar. There were statues of men praying on either side of it. Curiously, parts of the statues had been chiseled off. It looked as if the men had been wearing armbands, but now the symbols they bore were gone.

02-Feb-2011 01:46:48

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