RuneScape Forum Archive | The Quantum Floors

Myra Patata

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Part 6 – Extremus Prolium

Fin had less than a few seconds to survey the chamber. He looked around to see if there was anything he could use to his advantage. When Moia entered combat mode, she created a deep chasm that split the room into two sides. Fin, Keith and Dionysius were trapped on one side, while Thok, Ash, Kuradal and the Divine Skinweaver were on the other. The chasm was impassable by any physical means.

Fin looked around the room to see four pillars; two of them by each wall. There was enough space behind each pillar for them to squeeze behind. Looking quickly at the rest of the team while Moia was in the air and then at the pillars, the message was relayed rapidly. Moia began to glow with blazing red light with ever-increasing intensity. This was enough of a cue to make everyone run behind the pillars in the nick of time. Moia discharged a magical blast of energy, but thanks to the pillars, nobody was injured.

“Argh!” she screamed, landing on Thok’s side of the room. Almost immediately, she raised her hand which glowed in a deadly purple. Caught completely by surprise, everyone was dragged out from their hiding spots by a powerful force. Thok got up just in time to dodge a magical blast of heat. At this point, everyone was up again and targeting Moia. Thok, Ash and Kuradal wielded their blades and began slashing at Moia, who was mostly protected by a sort of energy field.

30-Nov-2012 12:41:31 - Last edited on 30-Nov-2012 16:06:28 by Myra Patata

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The other side wasn’t helpless either. Fin and Keith began attacking with their bows while Dionysius summoned the power of lightning. Moia was somehow able to attack everyone at once, with either magic, melee, or ranged. Even with their Energy Suits on, she was packing quite a punch. The Divine Skinweaver was kept constantly busy healing every hit Moia dealt.

“Take this!” she yelled, as she launched a quick poison dart attack which hit him squarely in the chest. He pulled it out immediately, but the poison was already in his system. He continued fighting, but he knew he would slowly get weaker. “Nothing the Divine Skinweaver can’t handle,” he thought to himself confidently.

“Your senses will betray you!” she exclaimed, aiming her right hand at Keith and her left at Fin. Two beams of white light shot out of them and went into their eyes. Fin and Keith had to stop attacking as they were temporary blinded by the glare.

“...and for you,” she said, turning to Thok, Kuradal and Ash who were still attacking with their swords. She then raised her hands in the air, causing a strange, black liquid to rain on them. Kuradal and Ash immediately felt less agile, causing their defences against her attacks to weaken. Thok seemed to be unaffected, however, and soon enough he landed a blow which sent her *tumbling back slightly.

For a moment, she stopped her attack and looked at Thok, and then she said, “I can smell your fear!” She then summoned a ferret which appeared in front of Thok.

30-Nov-2012 12:41:45 - Last edited on 30-Nov-2012 16:07:04 by Myra Patata

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Ha! You think Thok is scared of that puny ferret?” Thok replied confidently.
Just as he finished, the ferret stood on its back legs and launched a fire surge attack which sent Thok flying back and landing on the ground with a thud. He got up quickly and ran behind one of the pillars screaming, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

The ferret followed him, and continued to stand in front of Thok, watching him. Thok did nothing but panic and close his eyes.

With Thok out of the way, Moia continued her fight. With a mighty leap, she landed on the other side of the chasm, placing the team in a tactical disadvantage. At the same time, two white orbs floated up from each side of the chasm. Upon seeing them, Fin shouted, “Swap!” Ash and Kuradal ran to touch their orb, while Fin, Keith and Dionysius ran to touch theirs. Immediately, they switch sides, and resumed their tactical advantage.

Keith and Kuradal turned on Soul Split, while Ash and Dionysius turned on their deflect curses, but just as they did, Moia blasted them each with a surge of dark energy, disabling their curses and injuring them heavily. The Divine Skinweaver began to sweat. Her task was daunting.

After countless shots, strikes, casts and dodging her powerful blast attack, Moia turned on her deflect curses. The team realised they were beginning to tire, so whenever she prayed against a specific combat style, whoever used that would stop attacking and regain as much energy as they could.

30-Nov-2012 12:42:01 - Last edited on 30-Nov-2012 16:07:50 by Myra Patata

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Then Moia, getting desperate, turned on soul split and swapped sides rapidly. Her attacks were much more fierce, but at the cost of her defences. Timing their attacks perfectly, the team managed to exploit her weaknesses as she continued to rage.

Suddenly, Moia shouted, “Enough!” and without warning, she blasted a time-stopping beam all around the room. Everyone was still. They could not move at all. Moia slowly floated to the ground. She was the only one in the room who was not frozen in time, or so she thought.

Thok opened his eyes to see that the ferret was completely frozen. In fact, so was everything else. He peeked around the corner of the pillar to see Moia trying to regain her stability. The fight had made her extremely weak, but now it seemed she had everything under control.

Moia walked over to the frozen Divine Skinweaver, with her back facing Thok. “So you’re the Gorajo who was out of place,” Moia started weakly, “Bilr*** told me all about you.”

Jerking her right hand, the purple glow around it returned. “Don’t worry. You’ll be joining your lost team very soon.” She raised her arm, ready to strike.

Then she felt a tap on her shoulder, followed by an angry voice saying, “Hey you!”

Surprised, she turned around just in time to encounter Thok’s mighty fist.

30-Nov-2012 12:42:20 - Last edited on 30-Nov-2012 16:09:07 by Myra Patata

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Part 7 – Power in Knowledge

Moia collapsed onto the floor with a thud, bleeding heavily. Time restarted, and the team was surprised to find that what was in the air was now suddenly on the ground. They knew that even if she was not dead yet, she would be soon enough. They were just glad that the battle was won. As it ended, their weapons disintegrated completely into dust. The ferret disappeared, while the chasm closed on its own.

As she remained motionless in the centre, five pressure pads came up from the ground around her. Thok gestured to Fin, who already knew what to do. The team slowly took their positions on the pads to see what the floor had to finally show them. With a final bright flash of white light, Fin opened his eyes to see that he was in...the same room.

Moia’s body was nowhere to be found. “This must have taken place in this very room,” Dionysius whispered, as always, “and by the looks of it, it happened quite recently.” Fin turned around to see Guthix, in his mortal form, sitting comfortably in a chair with a blank look on his face. He was contemplating something.

Suddenly, a quarrel was heard outside. It did not last very long, but it ended with a sound somewhere between a zap and a bang. It was quite clear that there was only one person outside now. Then, the doors blasted open, revealing the highly frustrated Moia, who upon setting her eyes upon Guthix, froze in her tracks.

Guthix propped his eyebrows up as he examined her. “Interesting...” he started, “I sense a Mahjarrat side of you, but also a human side...”

“Oh, shut up!” she screamed, “I’ve been called a half-breed long enough!”

30-Nov-2012 12:43:06 - Last edited on 30-Nov-2012 16:05:18 by Myra Patata

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Moia prepared to attack, but Guthix had already seen this. With a quick swish of his hands, he binded her in place and stunned her temporarily. He proceeded to walk casually out of the room as Moia swore at him with all the insults she could think of. Another bright flash of light occurred, and Fin now found himself looking at the scene from outside the room. The Stone of Jas was nowhere to be found. Guthix walked through the door, closed it, and then locked it with a Gold Shield key.

Suddenly, the centre of the room was filled with light, and the Stone of Jas appeared along with a member of the Dragonkin. Guthix hastily thrust the key into his robe pocket, which hung onto it dangerously.

“We have recovered the stone from those pesky Mahjarrat,” the creature started, “and now we return the gift of Jas into your capable hands.”

“Thank you,” Guthix replied, almost with a sigh.

“I’m just curious,” the creature started again, “I can sense something behind that door. What is it?”

Guthix slowly smiled as he replied, “The solution.”

Looking at Guthix with a hint of uneasiness in its face, the creature nodded silently, then without warning, took off into the ceiling. It phased straight through it. Fin noticed that the gust of wind it caused knocked the dangling key out of Guthix’s pocket. As it dropped on the floor, it phased right through it as well. It was quite evident that Guthix still thought that the key was in his pocket. He walked slowly over to the newly deceased Bilrach, and though knowing he would not be heard, he said, “Thank you for bringing her to me.”

Then the flashback ended. Fin looked back down to see that Moia’s body was still there.

“That made no sense at all,” Ash remarked.

30-Nov-2012 12:43:48

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Now you know how Thok feels,” Thok replied.

They did not have much time to think. Almost immediately, tremors were felt within the ground. “This is going to be a big one,” the Divine Skinweaver said hurriedly, “We have to get out now!*

Almost as if on cue, a small door at the opposite end of the room slid open, but it did*’t lead to a ladder, but instead to an ascending power beam. An explosion was heard from a distance. They only had a few seconds before the shockwave got to them.

In a rush, the team squeezed through the door and into the power beam, which carried them up at an amazing speed. Fin looked down to see clouds of smoke come through the door below them. It too was ascending up the shaft at an alarming rate.

“Look!” Keith shouted, pointing at a light above them, “That’s it! That’s the surface!”
The smoke cloud was still on the pursuit, and very soon the team found the air very difficult to breathe. The heat was coming next; they could feel it warming up their feet.

“Almost...there...” Ash whispered.

It was getting u*bearably hot. The light seemed so close to them yet it never seemed to come any closer.

“Come on...” Fin thought to himself. He was barely able to breathe, and the team coughed and spluttered in the thick black smoke. Even Thok was starting to weaken. Their Energy Suits was protecting them as much as it could from the immense heat, but even those were starting to wear away.

“Cover your heads!” Kuradal shouted as she choked. The heat rose up to their heads, but they held their arms up to protect themselves for a while longer.
The Divine Skinweaver, who was used to these levels of smoke and heat, focused on healing Thok’s burns as they were inflicted.

30-Nov-2012 12:44:42

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Then, suddenly, light came from all sides. They had reached the surface. The beam threw them a distance away from where they came from, and the smoke dissipated into the air above on its own accord. They were back in the castle, and the beam continued emanating strongly from the centre.

“What a harrowing experience,” Kuradal remarked, after they had some time to recover. The beam shot up into the sky, visible from miles around. The sun was just beginning to rise, bringing new warmth to the day ahead.

Fin stood up and looked at his Energy Suit. It was torn and tattered by the heat. It no longer had its blue glow. Fin noticed the same for the other four. “We won’t be using these anymore,” Fin said. “Well, it was fun while it lasted,” Ash replied. “Very interesting too...” Dionysius added. He seemed to be in deep thought.

Thok stood up just in time to see the Divine Skinweaver heading back down the tunnel into Daemonheim. “Wait!” Thok yelled, “Where Pretty Lass going?”

She looked back sadly for a while, and then replied, “I belong down there, Thok Bloodrager. We may have found what’s at the bottom, but that won’t make this place any less dangerous. I have to go and aid others in battle.” Thok seemed rather despaired.

“Don’t worry, we will meet again,” she continued, “and besides, you’ll be busy spending time with someone I’ve fixed.”

Just as she ended her sentence, another excited voice came in from the distance, “Thok! You’re back!” It was Marmaros, and he was healthier than ever.

“Marm!?” Thok exclaimed, running towards him, *Thok’s Marm is back! Bryll will be so happy!”

With a faint smile, the Divine Skinweaver turned back and continued her descent into the tunnels.

30-Nov-2012 12:45:28

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Thok does not believe this!” he exclaimed, overexcitedly, “Come Marm, we go back home for a while.” The two brothers continued chatting excitedly as they made their way to the boat. They were joined by a whole other group of Fremmeniks who too were excited to see Marmaros up and about and also wanted to know about Thok’s journey.

As they disappeared into the distance, Ash, curious as she was, asked Dionysius, “Dion, remember that flashback when Guthix said that Moia was ‘The Solution’? What did he mean?”

Fin, Keith and Kuradal also tuned in to hear his reply. It was the only question they had had on their minds. Dionysius placed a faint smile on his face as he heaved a heavy sigh. He was going back home to see Zenny; he had enough adventures for one lifetime. As the sky brightened and a new day began, Dionysius took his time to reply, “That’s really anyone’s guess, but what I can be quite sure of...” he paused, making sure everyone was listening, then went down to a whisper, “...is that we have not seen the last of Moia.”

30-Nov-2012 12:46:25

Myra Patata

Posts: 147 Iron Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Epilogue

Thick black smoke engulfed the room. There was no form of visibility; just jet black smoke. The shape of a woman’s body could be made out, but only faintly. *he lay still, in the centre, undoubtedly dead.

Soft, shuffling feet could be heard at the doorway. The power of the explosion blasted it open. It was the entity, Guthix. With a graceful movement of his hands, he cleared all the smoke out of the room, stepped in, and closed the door. He then clapped his hands, and the room reactivated as the lights turned on.

Walking slowly to the body, he chanted an inaudible chant. He crouched down in front of her and laid his hand gently on her head. A few seconds later, she began to breathe again. Opening her watery eyes, she asked in a weak voice, “Why did you? I was enjoying my death. Why would you bring me back into a world where I am nothing but a tool?”

Guthix brought his face closer to hers. She could see the wrinkles and the signs of despair. It seemed as though she wasn’t the only one filled with sadness. Slowly, he replied, “You are not a tool. You have a much grander purpose than you can possibly imagine.”

A mix of energy and anger surged through Moia. She jerked her head up and got on her feet in less than a second. “How can you say that? You know what my parents did to me, and then you imprisoned me! We’re both better off with me dead.”

“You were not ready to listen at that point,” he replied, addressing her, “but now you are.”

Moia calmed down slightly as she hatefully asked, “Listen to what?”

Guthix sighed, “You think that having a human-side makes you weak, when actually it makes you strong.” Moia’s eyes widened. Now she was ready to listen.

30-Nov-2012 12:47:16

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