RuneScape Forum Archive | ~~The Priceless~~

Englishkid62

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It was the golden age of the game when all sorts of underhand and criminal activities were raging in the realms of RuneScape, long before the updates on the 10th December and 2nd January 2008 that respectively removed the unbalanced trade and the wilderness. Before then, bots and scammers were roaming on the land and spoiling the game for its players. There were complaints and rumours that the whole RuneScape economy was going to collapse if something wasn't done about them soon...

But why RuneScape? Why work so hard to spoil the game for others? What is it so priceless that they are trying to obtain?

~~The Priceless~~

QFC: 49-50-890-60645640

This story is 32 posts long.

Please skip ahead to post 6 for the actual story.

25-Mar-2010 23:18:17 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:01 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

Posts: 9,782 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Hello, everyone. Please call me English

. This was my first story on the Stories Forum, but I locked the original version about 8 months ago and left this community, in search for a new experience, travelling around different writing communities and generally learning about writing. Now I’m back!

One or two of you have asked me to repost this. I am flattered, because this means it meant something to you all, right?

For those of you who have never met me, never fear, because if you post on here, I will guarantee a reply. Since quite a number of my readers messaged me in game (my private chat is always on), I have a slight inkling that some of you are reluctant to be associated with such story O_o

I am not going to tell you what to think of my writing, or what I think it is. Good writing means something different to everyone. In this story you will find no adventure, no heroes, no blood, gore, or violence. But surely you can still write a good story without all those elements? That’s for you to decide too.

Now redrafted, I believe The Priceless is now better than ever before. I’m not going to mention the changes on here, though I am sure those of you who have read it, or haven’t, would still enjoy this piece of work, and probably glad that I have spent time rewriting it

.

Finally, some rules. Behave yourself, and by posting, you’re permitting your comments to be posted on the Quotes section.

25-Mar-2010 23:18:26 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:10 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

Posts: 9,782 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

~Praises for this rewrite of The Priceless~

'Wow... truly stupendous. This is by far the most powerful piece of literature I have ever read on these forums.' --Sira

'After careful deliberation, I have come to the conclusion that I like the rewrite...The deepness of this story is astounding. It truly gives you the blatant truth of our world on a platter, whether you want to see it or not.' --Level

'I just finished this, and I must say it's absolutely wonderful...I could truly feel the emotions of the characters, and I love what you've put into this story. It's quite possibly one of the best works (if not THE best) that I've read thus far.' --Cheeze

'This story still strikes a chord deep in my heart, still causes me to shiver, still makes me feel...more alive than when I began. It inspires me to love the unloved, step out and help the helpless. You have penned a masterpiece of literature, English, and hopefully this one will live on, and inspire, longer than the last. Marvelously done! Bravo!' --Caydock

'Utterly impressive in scope, style and meaning. It was an utter pleasure to read this.' --Amoraten

'It is truly a masterpiece...One of the best stories I have ever read (out of even professional authors), and I'm not just trying to flatter you. It really engrossed me!' --Beast

'It truly brings out the sadness of both real life and Runescape...Truly well written...How many times has such things gone unnoticed?' --Ruben

'By far the best story I have read on the RuneScape Stories forum...The words tell absolute truth of our real lives.' --Elvl0 B0y

'This is absolutely sublime...Dare I say it, this work is easily the magnum opus of the forum as a whole.' --Crocefisso

'A masterpiece, a jewel...Great ending, English.' --Prefix, the reader who laughed.

'What a captivating story! I never once had the urge to click away.' --Shady Ikov

'Ahhhh, so wonderful!!' --Khearts

25-Mar-2010 23:18:35 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:17 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

Posts: 9,782 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

~~~Recommended Stories

If you enjoyed this story, you’ll love…

"Brotherly Love"
QFC: 49-50-971-61533231

"Desire & Demand"
QFC: 49-50-133-59514434

"Chilled Arrows"
QFC: 49-50-74-61093904

~~~Good Reads

"Nildi of Keldagrim"
QFC: 49-50-957-32282822

"Sandstone"
QFC: 49-50-725-57741491

"DEATH"
QFC: 49-50-255-58364524

~~~Recommended places to visit

"Story Discussions"
QFC: 49-50-727-60717806

"The Word"
QFC: 90-91-160-55671383

"The Novelists’ Guild"
QFC: 49-50-512-62337215

"Adopt a Writer Program"
QFC: 49-50-575-61673636

25-Mar-2010 23:18:41 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:24 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

Posts: 9,782 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

Dedication:

I am forever indebted to the following people for their continuous support and encouragement, pulling me through the worst of times, yet asking for nothing in return. I will thank them here now, for tolerating, and enduring my presence for my time here on the Stories Forum.

I am grateful to Elementsky21, or NovelistElly, for his invaluable advice not only on writing, but on life as well. Elly, although no longer with us now, has been a great friend to me, who at heart, I believed, deserved better.

I am grateful to Cicobe1, or Ciao, or variants of the name, for his formidable proofreading, not afraid to give honest criticisms, and his continued support as a friend has been a great asset. He, more than he would be willing to admit, has made enormous contribution to this story today. As one of those who vaguely remembered the mediocrity of the previous version, he asked me to repost, and I gladly rewrote this in his honour.

I am grateful to Cund8, or Caydock, for his infinite kindness and acceptance, from the first day he stumbled across my story, he gave me the will to continue writing. Without his eager readership, and his tolerance, I will not be where I am today. I am forever indebted and I will repost this too, remembering his friendship and forgiveness, to express my gratitude.

For Thranon, who wished to see her favourite story on this forum again.

For those who never got to read this story, or were still to discover it, and come to love it.

And last but not least of all, my sister, Evilgirl1049, who has been my reader since my first ever story, given me feedback and watched me grow into the writer today, who at heart deserved, more than anything, a better brother.

25-Mar-2010 23:18:47 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:33 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

Posts: 9,782 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

~~The Priceless~~

‘To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.’ ~ C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves, 1960.

‘What a noob,’ David muttered, perhaps to himself as he scrolled down the Hiscores, examining each skill closely, frowning at the screen as one would an unpleasant and miserable sight, thoroughly disgusted by it all. ‘My GOD, will he still play when the rest of us are dead?’

I remembered turning, and scowling at him, unable to believe my association with such person. Shocked, and in complete disbelief, for that moment I could not even breathe – his cold words blasted the last trickle of my hope into oblivion. I couldn’t believe this was happening. This couldn’t be happening. It was as if my heart was burning in hell’s fury, incinerated, fell into pieces, and rained down before my eyes. Then when it cooled, when I finally accepted this was the reality and thus the undisputable truth, there was a rising bitterness, heightened by the sourness felt when paying somebody twice the price for nothing at all, it was almost acidic, a feeling that could never be fully described, and the chilled, sorry sensation that haunted me for days to come could not be expressed.

25-Mar-2010 23:18:53 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:41 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

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It has not moved him. All these beautiful skills have earned no more respect, or admiration, than those who played RuneScape for barely two minutes, those screaming individuals causing trouble and disrupting the Lumbridge castle, begging for free items who, when refused, shout long, censored phrases. I looked at the screen again, trying to derive from it some form of hope, in vain, but not giving up, still trying to impress him with skills I could only have hoped to be mine. Something caught my eyes and I stared blankly at the skill, 99 farming. It was a surprise, for I could not recall seeing it before. 99 farming. It was a skill at the sight of which David laughed immediately, oblivious to its meaning, or its significance. I knew very well what it meant.

‘It’s finished, then,’ I said to myself. Just like when a play, or a good story, came to an end, I didn't want to bid farewell to its characters, not just yet. But there was nothing else to see here. There was nothing left. The whole matter, everything we have been through, was sealed forever, finished. This has been his message, 99 farming.

He had done everything and he had given everything. He proved, though he never needed to, his unbeatable perseverance and he invested his all. He had even given up what he could’ve been.

25-Mar-2010 23:18:58 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:49 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

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‘It’s not your fault,’ I whispered to the Hiscores, as though it were alive and the person on the other side of the screen could hear me. A pang of guilt was all that remained now. Had I not done enough? I did my best, just like he did, and our best wasn’t enough. It was never enough. But the way the events turned out, and the things David were saying now, were completely wrong, surely?

Some time later, I practically threw David out of my room, never wanting to speak with him again. He didn't know what he had done, but he was a criminal, and his crime unforgivable. Yet even with this conviction in mind, it was not David who was defeated, in the end. We were. He was invincible. When I was alone again, I looked out through the window into Christmas Eve, appalled and disgusted with what the reality had to offer. It was a strange feeling. I no longer looked forward to Christmas, the festival of love, warmth, passion and reunion. Beneath the ashen sky and the glistening snow on our front garden was nothing but perished leaves and animals, frozen to death, and nothing beautiful about them at all. It occurred to me how animals dreaded Christmas, be that they were slaughtered in their thousands because it was their turn, their purpose of existence, or red squirrels foraging on a barren land searching, and finding hardly any food, unaware that the effort it put in would never yield the desired result. And how many people must starve tonight? Do we want to think about the sufferings in the world? Despite being indoors, in the safety of my own room with a radiator turned to its full power, I could feel the chill of death around me. And the silence. I could feel him, and a part of me dying already. It was as if the love of God has turned its back on mankind forever.

* * * * *

25-Mar-2010 23:19:05 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:18:57 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

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It was a few months ago, in October, when I started playing RuneScape. I guess it was just one of those browser games you came across on the internet, and simply play without a particular cause, or motive, or any idea what you were hoping to accomplish by committing yourself to it. Why do we play games anyway? To spend a few hours perhaps, killing goblins, and derive from it a sense of purpose and achievement. RuneScape was the enemy, nevertheless a welcomed distraction, of productive afternoons. Anything was better than doing homework. And before the screen, time vanished, like magic, though I never cared about it much. It did not occur to me to make the most out of my time. It was always there, like a renewable resource, respawned like rocks, trees and monsters. When most school work nowadays required almost immediate attention, for me it was all the more exciting to leave them until the last possible moment, and still get good grades. Besides, nothing was ever set in stone. I could always postpone the deadline, one way or the other. The hideous burden would miraculously resolve itself and all I have to do is wait.

My question was never fully answered: ‘Why bother?’

Why work so hard, when there was evidently little to be gained? Why work so hard, when an alternative, and a by far easier option, was readily available? Why spend my whole life wondering if the sky would collapse on me because it appeared to have no structural support? There was only one bus that could get me to college on time, and I could never catch it. Maybe I would’ve caught it if I had known, and run all the way from home for two minutes non-stop. Who knew? But nothing was the end of the world, not even getting late. Nothing ever was, really.

25-Mar-2010 23:19:11 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:19:07 by Englishkid62

Englishkid62

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Unlike the dry, A-Level coursework now plagued my timetable, RuneScape provided an ethereal, fantasy world in which no one would ever tell me what to do. It was freedom for me, but it was the opposite for some. Above all else, I was needed in that world. I was this hero amongst millions who was appointed the task to complete quests and change the lives around me. But everybody was a hero, everybody believed they were unique, special, and that the fantasy world, and its storylines, revolved around them. This was the simple truth: we were a part of everybody’s lives, and their experiences, as much as they were a part of ours. We could alter events, and therefore the outcome, by making minor decisions that at first seemed insignificant. Lives could have been saved from ruins, had coincidence been on our side. Maybe it was better that way, better that I did not exist, or say a certain thing, or take up a certain role, or make an obscene suggestion. The story, this story, was never about me, not really. I witnessed, leapt in, and made it all possible.

David was my best friend in college. There had always been a feeling in me that we were identical, in an unspoken manner, and he knew it too. Since the first day, we roamed around the college like a pair of twins up to no good. He had trimmed blond hair, an innocent face, and baby blue eyes that would inspire trust and faith, almost instantly, in those who held his gaze. He would tell you, with his eyes, of his respect for you, and his adoration. David, with his infinite and irresistible charm, could produce a convincing alibi or excuse in no time at all, when usually I would be cowering in the face of trouble. Sometimes he threw me strange looks in lessons, and I pretended I did not see, because he was trying to get me to burst out laughing, which would no doubt result in an instant detention. His eyes alone could provide me a whole afternoon of amusement. But sadly, things changed.

25-Mar-2010 23:19:17 - Last edited on 11-Jan-2014 00:19:15 by Englishkid62

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~~The Priceless~~

The Priceless