RuneScape Forum Archive | A Lone Boy's Journey

Aug

2004

Lost King

Posts: 1,925 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Surely enough, Tash jumped out of the bed with a killer's instinct until he noticed Magenta sitting on the bed grinning at him. He rubbed his side as he eased up. "Did you have to be so violent?"
"You wouldn't get up, so I had to revert to drastic measures."
Tash shook his head. "I guess I should thank you for waking me up anyway, I'll need to start early today if I want to find this guy quick."
Magenta nodded. "I'll go and get dressed and then meet you downstairs." Tash acknowledged it and left the room already dressed since he had slept in his clothing.
The ground floor was empty aside from a note resting on the table in the main room. Tash picked it up and read it aloud. "I've got some early morning shopping to do, don't worry about me. I hope you slept well. Love, Milburn." He dropped the note back down. "I guess that could be a good thing. Don’t really want him around for this."
Magenta entered the room in the same dress she was given the day before. "Where's Mil at?"
"He's out doing some shopping."
"Well that's nice, now we can spend the whole day together," she said slyly.
"As fun as that sounds, I do have business to attend to, so why don't you go shopping or something?" Tash recalled how he had found her with hardly any clothing and doubted she would have any money. "Or perhaps you could check out the local sights."
"If that's how you want to do things, just know that you'll be missing out." Magenta winked at him.
"I'll make sure to remember that."
The posh looking girl strutted past Tash towards the front door. "Try not to get yourself killed." She waved back as she left through the doorway.
Tash sighed as he followed her to the door and where his weapons were lying against the wall. He plucked Daskal from the ground and slung him around his back and put his axe and satchel on his newly acquired belt. Feeling ready to take on the world he walked out of the house and into the streets of Ardougne.

16-Sep-2008 05:49:01

Aug

2004

Lost King

Posts: 1,925 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

After deciding to take a different approach, Tash found himself wandering around the residential district of Ardougne city. He had already passed the more noble looking area and was now in the more subtle section of close knit homes of mediocre quality. A majority of the people he passed in the streets were just children running around playing and fawning over the sword and axe hung on Tash’s body. He came upon a small intersection with a fountain in the middle.
"Geez, I really think I'm lost." Tash waltzed over to the fountain and sat down on the edge of the stone structure to gather his thoughts. After a minute or two another man approached him and sat down.
This new man was dressed in a faded black, sleeveless shirt and matching pants. His hair was blonde but his eyes were closed. His hands were ruffling around inside his pockets like he was anxious about something.
"Hey there." The man's greeting caught Tash by surprise as he had not even detected him sitting down right beside him. "Don't recall ever seeing you around these parts." He looked him over from head to toe. "Awfully spiffy get up you have on, but it doesn’t quite match up with those weapons you've got with you."
"Do you have a problem with my sense of fashion?" asked Tash solemnly.
"Of course not, I was just saying I don't see many fashionable folk like you prancing around with swords and axes."
Tash turned his head to look at the man eye to eye. He matched the height and age description and his ice blue eyes starred back at him coldly, but he did not seem to be the man from the past. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the local street killer, would you?"
"That lunatic?" The man tipped his head back with a smile. "I might. What's it to ya'?"
"I'm here to kill him."
"Oh are you now? I wouldn't act so proud if I were you."

16-Sep-2008 06:00:10

Aug

2004

Lost King

Posts: 1,925 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

As the man finished his sentence, Tash unsheathed Daskal in a flash and swung him overtop the man to his side with the edge aimed down. "What's your name?"
The man kept his cool with a slightly reluctant look on his face. "It's Jeros. I think you've got the wrong guy though. I'm not the killer you're looking for."
Tash took a second to think, then eased up with his sword and returned it to its sheath. "I didn't think so, but your appearance caught me by surprise. Mind if I ask you another question, Jeros." The man nodded. "This murderer, is his name Tash by any chance?"
"Huh?" Jeros had a thought come to him. "No, it's not, but I know I've heard that name before."
Tash's interest was peaked. "Where? Where have you heard the name before? I need to know!"
"Shut up and let me think." Jeros paused for a second. "Oh! That's right! He's in charge of magical research in Ardougne castle!"
"He's working in the castle?" Tash asked hurriedly. "Like some sort of official or something?"
"Uhh, yeah, something like that," replied Jeros with a quiet tone.
"That sly fox. Now I just need to find the castle." Tash looked over to Jeros as he stood up. "Thanks, Jeros."
"You had me at the blade of your sword, what was I supposed to do?" Tash grinned. "But before you dash off," said Jeros, "What's your name?"
Tash hesitated. "Well this is kind of awkward, but it's also Tash."
"Ahh! There we are!" Tash was cutoff as a third man joined the conversation. "I didn't think I'd ever find you, and I was beginning to assume I killed this other man too early."
Tash flipped around to glare at the newest fellow. His blonde hair and glistening blue eyes matched those of Jeros' but his body was much more muscular and worn. The wind made his loose, red t-shirt flap in the wind along with his baggy black pants. On both hands were blood red gloves, and clutched in the right one was the lifeless corpse of a man.

16-Sep-2008 06:08:43

Aug

2004

Lost King

Posts: 1,925 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

"This guy said you were out to kill me, are you the Tash I'm looking for?"
This man was certainly not the one from the past either, but that was not the case at the moment. Hanging from his hand was Milburn's body, which helped to hype up Tash.
"You're the murderer then?" The man nodded with a wide smile over his face. "And you killed the man in your hand." He nodded again with the same twisted smile. "Then yes, I am the Tash you're looking for."
"You can call me Aldford." The killer lifted Milburn's body into the air, and let it free then followed up by pressing his open palm against his back. The body flew towards Tash with a burst of speed behind it. Blood was dripping from the chest were a vicious hole was present.
Tash unsheathed his sword and took off at Aldford. While dodging to the right of the incoming body he turned his sword around with the blade behind him and crouched lower to the ground. When he was in range, Aldford took a step to his right and raised his left hand. Tash followed through with an upward slash aimed at his foe's arm. Realizing the lack of fear in his enemy's eyes and the approaching hand he changed the course of his strike from vertical to horizontal. Aldford responded by pulling back his arm and leaping backwards.
Tash straightened up and held his sword before him in his right hand. He scanned over the man in front of him and focused in on his gloves. A glint of gray caught his attention in the palm of the hand. Clutters of runes were imbedded into the glove. Without looking Tash assumed it was the same in the opposite hand. The reason as to why Aldford was planning on taking the hit from the sword must have been from the fact that he could counteract it with a burst of magic from his hand. His method of killing also became clear in this moment. He would gather up runes in his palm and then force it against someone's body to force a blast of magic through their flesh. The element of choice was fire.

16-Sep-2008 06:11:53

Aug

2004

Lost King

Posts: 1,925 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The battlers were frozen. Tash was analyzing a plan of attack and Aldford was waiting for an opening to appear to land a blow. The stillness was broken as Tash slowly slid Daskal back into his sheath. He reached a hand into his rune satchel and pulled out a few water, air, and chaos runes.
Aldford made the first move while Tash was still fumbling with his runes. It was a straightforward attack leaving Tash the option to fall to either side of him. Choosing the left he dove sideways, but Aldford had anticipated the action and smacked the ground with his right hand causing an explosion and propelling his body over in the air to bring his left hand up to Tash. The blow was close, but Tash collapsed to the ground before he was touched. A single touch could be enough to blow a hole through him.
The advantage was now on Tash's side as he crushed the runes in his right hand and released the bolt out to race at Aldford. The still hovering man contorted his arm to catch the bolt in his right hand and nullify the blow.
"Nice try, but these gloves are sewn from dragon hide." Aldford landed rather gracefully on his right hand and leg and stood back up. "It was certainly a challenge to get my hands on some, but they're oh so worth it. But I'm assuming you've already figured out my tactics?" He placed his hands into his pockets, and as he drew them back out he pulled up a string from inside both pockets. "I place runes inside these little indents on the gloves, and then smack them against a target, anything really, and release a burst of a magical energy that's not only pointblank but also enhanced by the dragon hide."
Tash snatched out more runes from his pouch. "Do you have any reasoning behind all this? The whole killing rampage?"

16-Sep-2008 06:13:54

Aug

2004

Lost King

Posts: 1,925 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Aldford smirked. "We've been living with these runes ever since we came to this. I'm rather astonished that these sorts of things haven't happened more often. The world of magic is only limited by the number of runes one possesses and your imagination. We shouldn't let morals interfere with experimentation." He loosened up. "You seem like a very talented mage, you should know the feeling when you stumble upon something knew. You just want to keep testing, keep perfecting it, and balance out just the right amount of runes for maximum effectiveness. You've just not found something worth testing on other humans yet."
Tash clenched his fist. "So you're placing this all on testing magic? Couldn't you try this trees or something? You don't need to waste human lives to experiment with magic."
"Don't throw your morals on me! You've killed others before, in fact, you're trying to kill me right now." Aldford's voice was overcome with a serious tone. "Killing people is killing people, whatever your reason is. I've just managed to kill more than you and merited myself a bounty. But it doesn’t matter whether or not you accept this, either way I still plan to fight you, and if I get the chance, I'll kill you. I hope you'll still do the same."
"I see your reasoning, and you're right, I've been killing people like you have, but I won't degrade myself as far as you." Tash looked over the runes in his hand. "But that doesn't matter right now!"

16-Sep-2008 06:16:38

Aug

2004