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SotD2: The Cycle Breaks

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Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Slowly, the adventurers filed after him. Zamorak stopped with a groan. “You really must move faster than that. The rooms jump around every time I think I’m close. And since we’re all together, he’ll be watching. We’ve got to get to it before it gets away!”

Zamorak kicked the door open and stepped inside. The others followed. When he shut the door with a bang, a horribly high-pitched cackle resounded through the room. All seven looked up in surprise. Two head-sized spheres rocketed through the air above them, shrieking and giggling. They were bright scarlet, with wings that were graded from crimson to black and bore tiny spikes along their length. Skinny, twig-like arms protruded from their middles and tiny black eyes glittered down at the intruders. One swooped low over Glevea. It spread its arms wide and caught her under the armpits, lifting her effortlessly into the air despite the gap in size.

“Help!” she screeched. She found her sword at her hip with one hand and slashed madly at the thing behind her head. Katherine leapt and grabbed her ankle, but was swept along too as the creature rose higher in the air. These tiny devils were of incredible strength. Zamorak leaned idly against the wall, trying in vain not to laugh at the sight.

Krystal howled, dropping to all fours, then sprung up at the beast as it swooped low once more, but missed and collapsed on the stones. The other devil grabbed Exile and swung his limp body around and around by one arm.

“Help them!” Lance pleaded with Zamorak.

“Why don’t you?” sneered the god with a gasp of laughter.

Lance knew Zamorak was trying to get under his skin and it irked him further that he succeeded. “Do you SEE my arm?” he growled. “HELP THEM! Remember, you need us!”

27-Jun-2011 20:21:05 - Last edited on 28-Jun-2011 01:09:58 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Zamorak mulled it over for a moment, then sighed and nodded. “Ah, well, you win, laddie.” He raised a hand and crooked a finger. Both devils exploded in a burst of blood and guts, and the three captives crashed to the stony floor. Katherine rose, brushing the gooey, slimy red-black blood over her clothes. It wouldn’t come off and she growled low in her throat with frustration.

Zamorak giggled again. Something seared Katherine’s skin with impossible heat and the goo suddenly evaporated with a hiss. She rolled her eyes. “Can we go?” she snapped.

Suddenly, Larvald let out a gasp. In the corner was a heap of bone and flesh, still decaying. It looked somewhat like Matthew, but having lain there for a while. Zamorak gestured. “This, my companions, is what remains of Neo.”

“Neo…” Krystal gasped as she remembered the carefree, brown-haired man. She had only spoken to him briefly the night before the ‘contest’ began, but she had liked him. He hadn’t deserved such a terrible death. None of them did.


High above the terrible dungeon, three men sat contemplating their next move. They all appeared young, perhaps middle-aged, yet anyone who looked into their eyes could see centuries of wisdom. One had gray eyes that showed no emotion and brown hair streaked with gray that fell to his shoulders. His beard was this same speckled color and grew about an inch past his chin. The man wore supple white robes over a barely visible white tunic and pants. He reclined back in one chair and gazed into the hazy pool before him, thick eyebrows furrowed in worry.

The second wore gray robes. His eyes were green, and his hair was a reddish-blond. He looked younger than the first man, a sad smile curling the thin mustache on his upper lip as he leaned forward to watch the misty waters.

27-Jun-2011 20:21:30 - Last edited on 28-Jun-2011 01:10:17 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The third wore pale jade robes. His twinkling blue eyes watched the pool with an air of satisfied amusement. His fingers were clasped and he seemed very relaxed. His chin was clean-shaven and lines creased his cheeks to make him seem the oldest of all; which, in fact, he was.

The floor beneath their chairs was firm and solid, though it appeared anything but that. It was like a cloud, swirling and moving constantly with no visible end. They sat in the center of a giant room. Many yards off glittering white walls rose up to form a structure and provide support for the shining, multicolored dome over their heads.

“They’re close,” noted the first man.

“What do we do?” asked the second. “If they get the staff, Zaros may take it. But I want this to end. These contests…it must stop. We have to help them get out.”

The image in the pool rippled to show seven people standing in a room. One, crimson haired, was gesturing emphatically to a mangled corpse.

“Zamorak is in there, Armadyl. We can’t let him escape,” chided the first.

“Saradomin, don’t be a fool,” snapped the third. “You know having him trapped there is unbalanced! We have to let him out too.”

“Will you shut up about the da(c)mned balance for once, Guthix?” growled Armadyl. “There are more important matters at hand! Such as Zaros having access to the Staff. I believe we could make it work,” he mused.

“What do you mean?” blurted Saradomin.

“We can help them, but end up with the staff. They’re close, which means the necromancer is going to make the rooms jump around to put dangers in front of them and turn them away. You know he can’t actually change the location of the staff, nor their location, so he’ll just put something more dangerous in the remaining gap. Guthix, you should go to stop him. Saradomin, you come with me. Together, we might be able to contain Zaros. Then we just have to wait."

27-Jun-2011 20:21:58 - Last edited on 28-Jun-2011 01:10:32 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
***

“Come now, let’s move along,” urged Zamorak. “I’m sure Neo wouldn’t appreciate you all staring at him.” He led the way through the door into the next room. It was a gargantuan chamber. It looked to the adventurers as though it spread for miles, although really it was simply a few hundred feet. It was definitely large enough to hold a castle. Or three, mused Exile. Odd torches ensconced on the walls allowed Exile to see the end of the hall, but anyplace out of the rings of light made by the flickering flames was cast in shadow.

The ceiling was too high up to be seen, and pillars rose high into the gloom. They were carved of marble and spiderwebbed with cracks. Some had broken and their ends were visible, jagged teeth with their other half crumbled on the ground beside them. They lined the middle of the room in two straight columns, as if marking a passageway. The passageway was a good fifty feet wide.

At the end of the passage, Zamorak saw, was a gigantic set of wooden double doors, at least four times the height of a man. A green aura surrounded them, made by the jade light that seeped through under and on the sides of the doors. He could barely contain his excitement. He remembered designing this room, and what exactly it was.

Suddenly, the ground shook. Four holes opened up as the stones vanished, this illusion caused by a mechanism that made them sink under one another. There were two inside the rectangle made by the pillars, and one on either side of the outside area. In place of the stones rose four wooden platforms. Each carried a different terrifying beast. One was a dragon, deep emerald scales glittering in the dim light. It roared and shot a jet of fire straight into the air. Smoke billowed from its nostrils to engulf the adventurers.

27-Jun-2011 20:22:21 - Last edited on 28-Jun-2011 01:10:45 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The second was towering demon. It rose as high as the doors at the far end. It was wide and scarlet, with legs as thick as tree trunks ending in black claws as long as Zamorak’s arms. It thinned at it’s middle, only to widen again with a broad, muscular chest. It’s shoulders were the widest of all, from which protruded arms akin to the legs. The head, however, was tiny, tucked into a dip in the shoulders. The skull was shaped like that of a dog, with a long snout and a snapping jaw. Its eyes were tiny, like little black beads.

The third was a gigantic wolf, larger than any of the adventurers had ever seen. Its back rose to the height of a man, with head the size of a pumpkin. The legs were long and limber, muscle rippling beneath the thick coat of sha(c)ggy snow-white fur. It opened its jaws to roar and displayed a maw full of sharp canines dripping spittle. The shining yellow eyes locked into Krystal’s and seemed to search her face.

The fourth was the most startling of all. It was very much like a man, but Lance doubted it was human. The head was horribly disfigured, with stringy white hair shadowing the weirdest eyes Lance had ever seen. There was no white to them, just black. Completely black. The nose was large and bulbous. The mouth was open in a lopsided grin and revealed only a few, misshapen teeth. Wrinkles creased this odd face to give it a sense of age. The rest of the body was covered in a navy blue robe. In one hand this creature clasped a tall oaken quarterstaff, with a sapphire orb resting at the top.

“A warlock,” supplied Zamorak. The four adventurers glanced imploringly at him for help. “It’s a puppet…likely of the necromancer. I remember helping to design this room. We’re close. Very close. Those doors at the end – they lead to the staff. This is a sort of final battle. I’m afraid I won’t be much help, they’re resistant to any types of magic.”

28-Jun-2011 01:11:02

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“Can you use a sword?” rasped Krystal.

“I’ve had training,” conceded the God.

“Good.” She unsheathed one of her golden blades and tossed it to him. He caught it neatly by the pommel and scrutinized the blade.

“Yeah, I can use this,” he said. Then the beasts began to advance.

“Do we split up?” Glevea asked. “Or do we take ‘em down one at a time?”

“One at a time,” Lance suggested. “It’ll probably become a big brawl, though, the others won’t leave us alone. So be careful. Dragon first?” The others responded by lunging toward the great white beast. Each adventurer drew their weapon as they attacked. For Krystal, her one remaining golden sword. For Lance, his slightly curved aquamarine blade, the onyx hilt clasped tightly in his sweaty palm. Katherine normally fought with magic, but that was useless against these beasts. Glevea realized this and tossed her one of her swords, then readied the remaining diamond blade in her own hands. Larvald freed his warhammer of his belt and held it in his one arm. Zamorak charged with the rest, Krystal’s blade in his hands. Exile stood off the side, preparing a handful of throwing knives in his belt.

He attacked first, flicking his wrist and sending the glass dagger toward the dragon’s scales. It clattered off harmlessly to the ground, but the dragon felt the bump and turned to its antagonist. Exile threw himself to the ground as the jet of fire blazed right over his head, singeing some of his hair.

Then the rest were upon the beast. Glevea and Larvald knew what to do right away, having previously fought two other dragons. Glevea sliced upward against the scales, ripping them away and leaving bloodied holes where they had been. The others quickly caught on to this style, each scratching away at the beasts hide until sufficient areas had been shredded away. The dragon howled in anger and pain.

28-Jun-2011 01:11:15

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The wolf suddenly bounded over. It leapt up into the air, claws outstretched, and landed on top of Lance. He went down under the weight and screamed. His injured arm had been crushed under his body. Krystal heard the yell and turned to see what had happened. She shoved her sword back into its sheath and fell to all fours. A change came over her. She opened her mouth and a long, screeching wail was emitted, breath whistling past her long fangs. Then she bounded forward to slam into the wolf. She clawed furiously at the snow-white fur until it felt the attack. The monster retreated and glared at her, eyes shining. It answered her yowl with one of its own and pounced once more.

She dove to the side just in time and talons scratched eerily on the stones as the beast skidded past her. She sprung upward at the same time that the wolf did and they collided in mid air. Her misshapen body seemed dwarfed by the gargantuan figure of the canine beast, and her strength was overpowered. She was pushed backward under it and landed hard on her back on the stones. The two commenced wrestling immediately, jaws snapping and claws scraping.

Zamorak had turned his attention the demon, which lumbered forward and swiped seconds too late as he darted around it. The golden sword flashed in the dim light as he stabbed repeatedly, always dancing just out of reach.

Lance followed in his wake. The demons were the cause of Amy’s death, for if they hadn’t injured him he would have been able to save her. His left arm flopped uselessly at his side, a reminder to fuel his hate and strength against these beasts.

The demon lashed out with one thick limb and he was forced to roll painfully on the stones. Zamorak was caught in the stomach, his body opened from the top of his leg nearly to his shoulder. He fell backward, thrusting his sword with a last burst of strength into the creature’s leg.

28-Jun-2011 01:11:36

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The demon howled in pain and wavered, nearly toppling. Lance danced around behind the beast. It turned, tiny squinty eyes following him, and lost its balance. He slashed once at the same leg. The blow was weakened, as he was using his weak arm, but he managed to pierce the thick skin enough to draw blood. It was thick and black as it dripped to the stones in an oozing pool.

The demon collapsed, unable to balance on one leg. Lance began to sprint away, dropping his sword and grabbing Zamorak’s shoulder to drag him out of harm’s way. He wasn’t sure what would happen if the God died, but he decided it would be better to leave him alive. Zamorak was hardly a threat to them now. The crimson-haired man was holding his guts in trembling, ashen hands. His blood pooled around him on the ground. As the beast hit the ground, Lance was caught underneath, hampered by the large burden of the immobile Zamorak. Somehow he flung the God free, but he was smashed under the bulk of the demon. He struggled against the black void that threatened his mind, finally losing the battle and fading into unconsciousness.

Krystal had been flung off the wolf into the wall. She slammed into the stones and slid downward in a bloody heap. Her body was a mangled mess of wounds. Her golden eyes had become dull with pain and injury. She heaved herself onto two feet and drew her sword once more. Her lips were pulled back in a defiant sneer as the wolf charged her again. Krystal sidestepped and slashed across its back, sending it slamming into the stones. It howled as she vaulted into the air and landed upon its back. It bucked and reared, but Krystal had wrapped her hands tight around a thick tuft of hair and held on.

28-Jun-2011 01:11:49

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