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RS Story Contest - Survivor 2

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Old Gnomish
Jul Member 2023

Old Gnomish

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And it was at this point that the officer lowered his tone to that of a more serious, informative one.

“These “thugs” are supposedly from Acqua Tempo, a twenty-strong group of civilians who have been renowned for identifying supplies of rationed water. They are dangerous; therefore if you have an easy shot, do not hesitate to take it.”

The officer nodded his head towards the other six men stood alongside him. A trumpet was blown, a gunshot fired, soldiers saluted, before they set afoot to seeking the mayor’s son.

* * *

Not so far away, in a tower slightly south of the Palazzo Vecchio, an elderly man wearing glasses with squared lenses pricked his ears up like that of a fox as he listened to the sound of a trumpet calling. He recognised the sound as he stepped away from the open window he had been intently watching from before lifting a bottle from the opulent table positioned in the left corner of the large room he stood in. He drank a large swig of the gin, made a refreshed “Aah” sound with his breath before he carefully placed the drink back onto the table. He turned around and his mouth fell to that of a smirk as he looked upon the bruised and bloodied half-clothed man tethered to the wooden support of a large, king-sized bed.

“And so it begins. The battle to retrieve you from my clutches has begun. They’ll find you, although...” the old man held a small pistol in his hand and aimed it towards his captive, “perhaps not quite in the condition they were hoping for.”

He pulled the trigger: the sound of bullet meeting body was followed by the slumping of the captive to the floor.

“But this is only the beginning,” he lit up a cigar and puffed on it “of the end.”
Snow
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Guildmaster - The Novelists' Guild

11-Dec-2011 20:38:35 - Last edited on 11-Dec-2011 20:39:09 by Old Gnomish

Old Gnomish
Jul Member 2023

Old Gnomish

Posts: 2,569 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
"Why should the authors vote for me as winner of this contest?"

Firstly, I would like to say it is an honour to have competed against each of the authors. The amount of quality in this contest has been incredible, and I feel lucky to have survived all this way.

There are several reasons why I believe I deserve to win the Survivor 2 contest.

Firstly, I think it is worth noting that of all the finalists, I am the only one to have not received a single vote for elimination. I believe this was due to my strategy: I aimed to keep my "head down" and to not cause any actions that may inflict votes against me. To remain untargeted from the beginning has proved successful and I am grateful that whatever the scenario, I have not caused too much disruption to lead to votes thrown against me.

Secondly, I believe that I have experienced my fair share of success in earlier rounds of this contest. In round two, I did not win yet definitely increased the standard of my writing. I was then thrilled to win round four with my "acrophobia" story -- beating both of the fellow finalists.
This also leads on to my next point: my attitude. I think that throughout the contest, I have done my best to show a positive attitude and to fully support other contestants. The proof of this is in the aforementioned round (round two) -- Lebbeh won, but it was from help on philosophy given to him by me that he won. Of course he credited me for it but I would like to add I believe this is a nice thing to do to a fellow competitor and finalist.

I am going to end by appealing directly to my attentive authors. I ask of you to put yourselves in my shoes: this is my FIRST contest and despite not being a part of the Stories forum for a year yet, I have already made it to the final against two strong, well-known writers. To win this contest would mean so much to me, and it would only add to the smile I'm already beaming at making it this far. Thank you for giving me this fantastic opportunity. :)
Snow
| Runescape Stories Forum |
Guildmaster - The Novelists' Guild

11-Dec-2011 20:55:25

Borna Coric

Borna Coric

Posts: 3,785 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Great work, Snow. I have to write mine sometime today.

Wait, did I get votes against me? I don't think I did.

Good luck. :)


EDIT: Wait, I missed the deadline? My goodness, all of these dates confused me. All of this hospitalisation and whatnot. All I needed was a few more hours too. Well, where do we go from here? If you'd be so kind, I can have mine in today.

11-Dec-2011 23:00:06 - Last edited on 11-Dec-2011 23:08:08 by Borna Coric

Borna Coric

Borna Coric

Posts: 3,785 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
-Dilution of the Clan-


Waves pounded the wooden vessel as a storm raged above, casting thick sheets of mist onto the undulating surface. Deftly flicked bolts of lightning sounded out in boisterous bangs from the distance. In amongst it all, piercing screams were projected from the ship as the voyagers were tossed like salad leaves, calls for help in a world with closed ears.

“There! In the distance!”

The group collectively gazed over the bow of the boat, allowing their eyes to drift from either side of the horizon to pinpoint an island. As they began to rejoice, another forceful wave smashed the ship, sending them towards the water at starboard. Before they had time to recuperate, they were again punched by the ocean, this time in the opposite direction.

The ship began to bleed as air bubbled from her swollen hull, accommodating the malicious water that now tainted her veins.

“She’s going down. Abandon ship!*

The shrieks disappeared and were replaced with modified splashes as, one by one, the voyagers threw themselves out into the deep and started to swim toward the single mass of land in their hindered sight.

* * *

The storm had subsided and the survivors slowly regrouped themselves as they reached the island. They were sobbing silent songs as they lay exhausted on the sand, which gripped their flesh with sharpened talons. Not a word was said.

12-Dec-2011 14:04:47

Borna Coric

Borna Coric

Posts: 3,785 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
A gentle breeze caressed the jungle which tickled the beach ten or so metres above the water. It was, of course, high tide, and the distance would grow as the ocean cycled. Apart from the eventual call of a bird, the island seemed to hold little regard for the hospitality of animals, and was certainly not the place for any mammal, save the occasional whale.

A sea-hardened man limped up the beach as his greying beard dripped water, collapsing clumsily onto the sand with a heave. Through consistent pants, he attempted to speak.

“I think...that’s all...of them...”

The ten other humans turned their heads to acknowledge the man before noticing the significance of his features. A woman stood.

“You’re the captain, aren’t you? You’ve doomed us all. You disgust me. My daughter,” upon which she pointed back to a girl that was sitting on the sand, “and I are going to die here. It’s all your fault.”

The man, now known as the captain of the ship, merely gazed out at sea as he positioned himself in an upright sit.

“Calm down, ma’am. It wasn’t intentional,” a man stated cleanly, edging towards the woman to hold her back from the captain. He looked about thirty and had features comparable to a bodybuilder.

“Don’t you see? He’s killed us all,” the woman repeated, adjusting her position to direct the comment at both the captain and the man.

“Execute me for it,” the captain spoke, the words soft. He remained in great composition whilst his gaze did*’t falter.

A surge of incredulous wind permeated the group and the situation suddenly became very real. The woman attempted to speak again.

“It’s not that you should—“

“I said kill me,” the captain stated again, cutting off her rushed words.

*That’s enough,” the man ejected. “We may be here for a while. We need fresh water and we need a shelter.”

12-Dec-2011 14:05:01

Borna Coric

Borna Coric

Posts: 3,785 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The woman nodded her head and resumed her place in the sand as the others wriggled closer together to form a modified circle. The captain remained where he was, staring out to the horizon as an outcast from the immediate tribe.

“What are your names?” the woman began to ask.

“We’ll have time for that later. What we need to do is find water and start building a shelter.”

The man scanned the others in a short pause of speech.

“You,” he began, pointing to the woman that had continued to cause conflict. “Go with your daughter and try to find some fresh water. A lagoon. Maybe a spring. Something.”

She nodded briskly and pulled her daughter to her feet. They made for the jungle.

“The rest of you scan the beach with me. We’ll try to collect some branches and vines.”

They gathered themselves to their feet and began to disperse in various directions along the length of the beach. A second woman turned around momentarily.

“What’s your name?”

“Get to work.”

The air filled with the sound of snapping and scraping, like an orchestra of the trees. The captain, who hadn’t moved, pulled himself to his feet and walked to the far end of the beach. Alone.

12-Dec-2011 14:05:11

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