Chapter 26: Burned
Thyker ground his teeth. He had to do something. He didn’t have his sword, but he wasn’t out of weapons. Thyker tried to reach around to grab his crossbow, but the gelatin was making movement very difficult. He could move a little, but there was no way he could reach around to grab his crossbow. Even if he could, he doubted that he could load an arrow like this.
Thyker looked back to Marik, who was flailing around. It was pretty hopeless though. If something was strong enough to pick up Marik with one arm, Marik wasn’t going to be able to free himself from the grip. Marik started to rock his head back and forth a little bit. Suddenly, his head lunged forward and took a bite out of the zombie’s wrist. The remainder of the wrist cracked under Marik’s weight, and he fell to the ground. He quickly grabbed his hammer and swung it at the zombie who, having no hands now, was rather unable to defend itself. The blow struck the zombie in the waste and it shattered to pieces.
“Good job Marik!” thought Thyker. “Well, I don’t want to miss out on the fun.” During the ordeal, Thyker had been working his hand to something that COULD be useful: his rune pouch. He managed to pull out a blood rune as well as several air and fire runes. No time to take things slow. Thyker would have to unleash his strongest magics, even if he could only do so a few times.
Thyker pulled his arm forward a little bit so that the spell would be directed away from himself. He channeled his magical energies not only through the runes, but through Bob as well. He had been right. He could feel a surge of power coming from Bob. So, food was power in this world, even if it wasn’t the Culinaromancer’s food. With the spell charged, Thyker unleashed the Fire Wave. An enormous blast of fire erupted from his hand, and the back half of the gelatin monster was instantly blown to bits. Thyker hit the ground and started running towards Marik.
“Don’t let them make fools of you, soldiers!” shouted the Culinaromancer. “It’s two humans against all of you! Finish them off!” And at that command, around a half dozen soldiers left the Culinaromancer’s side and started charging towards Marik, just as Thyker reached where he was standing.
“Marik, I lost my weapon. I need you to cover me for a minute.”
“What? I can’t take all of them!” Marik shouted.
“You don’t have to. Just cover me for a minute. I’ll handle the rest.” Thyker pulled out the appropriate the runes for a Fire Wave from his rune pouch again. Marik swung his hammer a little bit then took about ten steps forward, preparing to meet the rushing monsters. As before, Thyker began drawing power through the runes and Bob. He didn’t plan to release the wave as quickly this time, however.
The first monster to reach Marik was a little goblin-like creature made out of some strange food. It was only about half as tall as Marik. It was so fast that it outran most of the monsters by far. Marik pounded it once with his hammer and the monster was squished flat.
A stream of fire started to revolve around Thyker in a circular motion. A few seconds later, a second showed up, then a third, until it appeared that his body was being circled by flames. It wasn’t enough yet though, he had to draw more.
A strange chocolate creature resembling a large daggonath approached Marik. Marik took a swing with his hammer. It cracked one of the monster’s legs, but that didn’t seem to phase the monster much. It punched Marik with one of its hands and Marik stumbled back a few steps. He recovered his posture, however, and returned to a defensive stance. He seemed determined to hold his ground.
Thyker continued to draw more magical energy through Bob and the runes. The runes were starting to glow brightly, to the point you couldn’t recognize what runes they were anymore. A few flames jump out of the circle around Thyker and disintegrated in the air.
A few other monsters, on top of the chocolate creature, were no approaching Marik. He was swinging wildly, trying to keep them at bay, but he was clearly outnumbered. “Marik, move!” shouted Thyker. As soon as the words were said, Marik took a few steps towards Thyker then dove behind him. “If you can’t stand the heat, then you should get out of the kitchen.” Thyker launched the fire attack at the Culinaromancer.
“Ha,” replied the ghost, “it’s a nice shot, but it’ll never reach me.” Of course, the Culinaromancer was right. The monsters lined up to block the wave of fire, but the shot expanded outwards to a size that none would have expected. The Culinaromancer and all of the monsters he had summoned were engulfed in flames.
The fires burned on for a good ten seconds or so. When the flames cleared, the Culinaromancer was standing there, practically unharmed, save a few minor burns. “A valiant attempt, but as I said, my soldiers are willing to sacrifice themselves to shield me.”
“What about this time?” Thyker asked. The Culinaromancer gasped. Thyker was standing only a few steps away from the Culinaromancer, the runes for another Fire Wave already in his hand, burns on his body from dashing through the flames.
“Soldiers, converge on me!” shouted the ghost. It was a split second later before the Culinaromancer realized the order was pointless. They were all gone. The monsters had thrown themselves in the way of the attack, and they had all been eradicated by the flames.
Thyker drew in energy the same way as last time. He didn’t have the strength to perform another blast like he had just done, but given the circumstances, he probably didn’t need to. It didn’t take long to build up the magical power. Thyker released the Fire Wave for a third time, striking the Culinaromancer at almost point blank range, enhanced by the power of Bob the food. Thyker fell backwards to the ground. “Well, I think that’s about it for me,” he said.
After a few seconds, the flames from Thyker’s attack cleared, and the Culinaromancer’s body could be seen, standing awkwardly. He appeared hunched over and gasping, burns all over his body. “Really?... Tired?... That’s… a shame… Because…. I’m… just getting… started,” gasped the Culinaromancer.
“I’m not too tired to fight,” said Marik. The Culinaromancer turned to his right to see Marik swinging his hammer in at him. The ghost pulled up the giant cracker he had used to block Thyker’s attack back in the dining room in Lumbridge. That flimsy cracker might have worked well against Thyker’s magic attack, but against Marik’s heavy hammer, it might of well have been paper. The cracker shattered and the Culinaromancer took a blow to the chest from the hammer.
He staggered a few steps back. “Do you… think… that… you’ll beat… me… with… that hammer,” gasped the Culinaromancer. The Culinaromancer held out his hands and the mounds from which the monsters had sprung up emerged again. The began growing out of the ground then suddenly started popping one by one. “Oh no!” he shouted, trying to summon again, but with no avail.
Marik came in with another swing of his hammer. The swing was slow though, and the Culinaromancer barely stepped out of the way of it. However, Marik quickly recovered, drew the hammer up then swung the hammer down. The blow hit the Culinaromancer on the head, and he fell to the ground on his hands and knees, gasping. Marik pulled back the hammer for another blow. However, as he did that, the Culinaromancer’s hands were absorbed into the ground, and soon after, large strands of some taffy like substance popped out of the ground and grabbed Marik’s wrists, ankles, and hammer. Marik tried to swing his hammer but couldn’t budge against the taffy.
“Heh… heh,” said the Culinaromancer. It sounded more like a cough than a laugh. “I have… you… now…”
“I think I can take over from here,” said Thyker. The Culinaromancer looked over to Thyker. He was still lying on the ground, right where he had been moments before. However, now, he was holding Karil’s crossbow with a loaded bolt rack in one of his hands. The Culinaromancer tried to move, but his hands were still merged with the ground. Thyker let the shot ring through the air, and it hit into the Culinaromancer with an explosion. The Culinaromancer fell forward, hands still stuck in the ground.
His body started fading. “Can’t… be…” he said as he disappeared. At the same time, the food world was disappearing as well. A few moments later, they were back in the dining room, Thyker still lying on the ground.
Horacio looked at Marik and Thyker. “Where is he?” asked the duke. It took a few moments for him to realize what had happened. “You defeated the Culinaromancer?” he asked. His eyes seemed to burn with anger. “You defeated the Culinaromancer! After all that work I did! After all my planning! My plans for the invasions, gone!” Horacio reached to his belt and pulled out a simple dagger. “I’ll kill you!”
Horacio rushed towards Thyker, who was still almost paralyzed on the ground. Something’s rushed a few inches in front of Horacio’s face. Startled, Horacio took a few steps backward.
“The Culinaromancer, you say?” said a voice from the door near the castle gate. “So, that whole accident at the conference wasn’t an accident after all.” The people in the dining room looked over to the person.
Thyker’s eyes opened in fear. “Janrok! It’s you!”
“Relax, I’m not here for you… this time,” he replied.
Horacio, realizing the situation, bolted for the kitchen door. It opened right before he got there as the person at the door asked, “Trying to run off somewhere?”
“Tiffy!” shouted Marik.
“Horacio, Duke of Lumbridge,” stated the man at the door, “you are hereby under arrest by order of the Temple Knights of Runescape.”
Chapter 27: The Second Conspirator
Three guards stepped forward from behind Tiffy. Thyker recognized them as low-ranking Temple Knight soldiers. One grabbed the dagger from Horacio. The other two grabbed Horacio.
“Arrested?” asked Horacio. “Under what charges?”
“Oh please,” said Tiffy. “Don’t take me to be a fool. I’ve known about your plans for quite some time now. I was just waiting for the right moment to act. Besides, you admitted to the resurrection of the Culinaromancer and the attempted murders related to his previous resurrection when we walked in. Not to mention, someone was kind enough to inform me of the exact timing of your newest resurrection.”
Tiffy took a step to the side to allow space for the informant to walk into the room. Horacio’s eyes went cold. The Fairy Godfather. “You! You backstabber! What have you done!” shouted Horacio as he tried to lunge at the Godfather. The guards held his arms firmly though and little happened. Frustrated, Horacio turned towards Tiffy. “He’s one of us! I don’t know what his game is, but he’s one of the group.”
“I find that rather hard to believe, duke,” replied Tiffy. “Take him to the dungeons, men. We’ll deal with him, later.” The guards dragged Horacio to the stairs; all the while, he continued to scream.
As Horacio was being dragged away, Janrok walked up to Thyker, who was still lying on the ground. “Here, take this,” he said, throwing Thyker a package. He recognized it: a first aid pack. “I know some powerful people from Castle Wars…” Janrok continued, explaining how he got something that was never supposed to leave Castle Wars.
Thyker used the package on himself, instantly recovering his strength. Thyker stood up and looked at Janrok. “So what’s up with you? I never would have expected our second encounter to be like… this.”
“Tiffy explained some things to me. Apparently you had nothing to do with the Ansa that took my armor. Besides, you didn’t kill me last time, so in some way I owed you for that. But don’t think this is over. Some day, we’ll have our rematch. And we’ll settle who really owns Karil’s armor then.”
“Ansa you say?”
“Yeah…” replied Janrok. “So, it’s true after all. You have heard something about her.”
“It’s as I said,” said Tiffy. “This Ansa is up to something. And you two have been pulled into it somehow. But I think Ansa may be causing most of the troubles we’ve been seeing right now.”
“What do you mean?” asked Thyker.
“Right, Tiffy,” said Janrok. “No more secrets.”
“I’m kind of curious myself,” said Marik.
“Yeah, share it with us,” said Bob. Thyker punched Marik’s pouch. Janrok looked around trying to figure out where the voice came from, but no one bothered to explain.
Tiffy continued. “There’s been a lot of strange things in the world. Falador has been attacked twice in a very short time.”
“Wait, twice?” asked Thyker. “I was just there a few weeks ago and you only mentioned one attack.”
“Falador was attacked two days ago by an army of demons,” said Janrok.
“What?... Well, what happened?”
“You might say it was a draw,” said Tiffy. “We battled to a stalemate. We didn’t expect an attack from demons, but luckily, the defenses had been rebuilt after the battle against the undead. We managed to kill a lot of demons, but sadly, many Temple Knights died in the battle. The demons ended up retreating, but I’d hardly say it was out of defeat. It was almost a regrouping procedure. I think they found a more valuable target.”
“What could be more valuable than a city the size of Falador?” asked Thyker.
“The Legend’s Guild, sonny,” replied Tiffy.
“Why would demons be interested in the Legend’s Guild?”
“Because it’s Runescape’s primary source of Silverlights.”
“What do you mean, ‘source of Silverlights’? The Silverlight is a unique sword. Sir Prysin told me that himself. And I happen to have the Silverlight in my possession.”
Tiffy chuckled. “Oh, is old Prysin still telling random adventurer’s that story? Well, he always was on for a good practical joke. Silverlights are just a novelty item you can buy from the Legend’s Guild. Almost everyone who goes there picks up one. Anyway, the sword really DOES weaken demons, and as a result, I can see why they’re regrouping to attack there. I’ve sent all the Temple Knights I could muster to fight at the Legend’s Guild. We can’t afford to lose those swords if the demons are invading.”
“Hmmmm… so the Temple Knights are all in battle?” asked Thyker.
“Yes,” replied Tiffy, very seriously all of a sudden. “And from all the information I’ve gathered, Ansa is commanding the demons. Given what you’ve told me, I think she plans to teleport in a massive army of demons. I suspect she’s throwing her forces at us so that we won’t be able to stop her when her plans go forward. If that’s the case, this attack means that she must be moving forward soon.”
“Her distraction seemed to work,” said Marik. Everyone looked at him. They had forgotten he was there. “Well… it’s true. You said you sent most of your Temple Knights to stop the army. That means you have very little left to stop her… I just thought that should be pointed out…”
“I have to say,” said Janrok. “The timing of these events with Horacio seems fishy. All of these events this close together? I think he knows something.”
“There’s something very important we need to ask Horacio,” said Thyker.
“Well, we have him in the basement,” said Tiffy. “Let’s go ask.”
*****
Horacio sat in his cell. The guards had left the room immediately after putting him in the cell; they must be awfully busy to leave a high-value prisoner like himself unguarded. It was irrelevant though. He couldn’t escape this cell. Even if he could, his plans were finished.
A noise drew Horacio’s attention. Suddenly, the Fairy Godfather appeared outside his cell. “You,” Horacio growled. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh,” he replied, “just checking up on how you’re doing.”
“So, this was all a big joke to you? Why have you gone through all this effort then so far?”
“This is by no means a joke. I’m just not interested in the plans of your precious Council. Myself, I’m more interested in Ansa’s plans.”
“Ansa’s plans! But your interest was in keeping the humans out of the fairy’s world! We promised you as much!”
“Please,” said the Godfather with a hint of anger. “You’ve had years to keep the humans out of my world. You’ve failed utterly. More and more portals have been opening up, and they’ve been meddling more and more. You could never stop them from entering, even if you controlled all of Runescape.”
“What makes you think Ansa will be any better?”
The Godfather chuckled. “Because when Ansa’s plans come to fruition, humanity will cease to exist. Just relax; in a few weeks, everything you know will be destroyed. I wouldn’t worry about your future at this point. You have none. No human does.”
“So my plans were nothing to you…”
“Don’t feel bad. You were actually quite important. The Culinaromancer provided a great distraction for the Temple Knights. As a matter of fact, it might be the tipping point. Granted, I didn’t expect him to be defeated so easily here. I tried to bring Tiffy here so that the Temple Knights would know of his existence and be forced to try to stop him immediately. But even with his death, he was still useful. They still seem quite distracted by it. So much so that I doubt they’ll have any time at all to worry about Ansa.” The Godfather heard footsteps. “Sounds like it’s about time for me to go. But as you sit in your cell waiting for the end of your world, don’t feel bad. You weren’t insignificant after all. You played a crucial role in the end of humanity.”
Chapter 28: The Council Shatters
Thyker, Marik, Tiffy, and Janrok walked down the steps into the dungeon. There was only a single prisoner in the dungeon, but it was that prisoner they had come to see. As they approached him, however, they didn’t see what they expected. Horacio was standing near the door to the cell, and in a strangely-excited state. It seemed he was looking for something, but there was no evidence as to what. He briefly glanced at them. “What are you doing down here?”
“We’ve come to ask you a few questions, duke,” said Tiffy. “I do hope you’ll cooperate.”
“Yes,” said Thyker. “There’s been some weird things going on, and I think we all want an answer.” Everyone looked at him in silence, giving him the go ahead to ask his question. “Do you really have Verac’s armor or not!?!?”
The group with Thyker looked at him with shock. “Don’t you think there are some more important things to be worried about right now!” shouted Janrok.
“No, I do not,” said Horacio, answering Thyker’s question.
“So it was all a lie… This whole time, I’ve been running around for nothing. You even went out of your way to make Malak think you had it so he’d tell me.”
“Not exactly true,” said Horacio. “Malak was in on the whole thing. As a matter of fact, it was his idea all along. The servant who sent you to Canifis, the man in the bar who told you about the armor… it was all his idea. He thought he could make you do what we wanted if we dangled the right prize in front of you.”
“Well, it worked,” said Marik. Janrok and Tiffy shot him an angry look. “I’m just saying… he ended up doing everything they wanted.”
“When are people going to stop messing me around!” Thyker shouted, punching the wall. Nothing came out of it, except a sore hand, but he did it anyway. “Malak… it was all Malak! I’ll kill him!”
“I’m afraid that’s going to be difficult…” said Horacio. “Ansa killed him.”
“Ansa!” shouted everyone else in the room at the same time.
“How do you know Ansa?” asked Tiffy.
“Ansa… was one of the members of the Council of Oblivion. None of us knew much about her. To be honest, she wasn’t even originally a member of the Council. See, the members of the Council were all leaders of Runescape. We planned to use our influence change the maps of Runescape in a nearly-bloodless conflict. One day, Ansa showed up at one of our meetings and asked to join us. We of course rejected at first and denied her accusations. But there’s something strange about her. She seems to know almost everything. Furthermore, her magical powers seem to be incredible. We decided to let her help in our goals, assuming we could get rid of her later if we needed to. But… it seems she never had any intentions of helping us. She killed Malak; he was one of the members of the Council.”
“That opportunist vampire? Why’d she kill him?” asked Thyker.
“I don’t know,” replied Horacio. “Malak lead a siege on Falador. I’m not sure what happened, but I heard his armies lost, and a few days later, Ansa showed up and dropped off Malak’s corpse.”
“So, that was Malak leading the first assault on Falador?” asked Tiffy.
“What do you mean ‘first’ assault?” asked Horacio. “There was only one.”
“Seems like you missed out a little bit. There have been two attacks on Falador recently. The first was an assault by the undead. I assume that was Malak’s. Second was an assault of demons. Luckily, the first assault took place at the best time possible for us. Our guards were nearly at full strength and we repelled the attack easier than we normally would have.”
“That’s impossible!” shouted Horacio in shock.
“What’s impossible?” asked Janrok.
“Ansa gave intelligence information to Malak detailing when would be the easiest time to attack. Ansa’s information is never wrong.”
“Well, it seems that he was double-crossed then, I’d say,” replied Janrok.
Horacio stayed silent for a moment. “I guess that would make sense. Malak said something about demons making his army restless for an attack. Ansa’s been known to use demons as her minions. It seems she was luring Malak into a trap all along. Why, I do not know… You said that Falador was attacked later by an army of demons. It’s possible that Ansa was commanding them.”
“That’s what my intelligence seems to suggest,” replied Tiffy.
“Look, there’s something you need to know,” said Horacio, his voice suddenly becoming very cold. “I found out recently that the Fairy Godfather has been working with Ansa. Supposedly, he led you here because he though the Culinaromancer would be a distraction to you. I don’t know what Ansa’s strategy is, but I do know her goal. She’s going to wipe out humanity. Do not take her lightly, she is incredibly powerful.”
“What does she look like?” asked Thyker.
“I don’t know. She uses some kind of spell… I could see her face, but I couldn’t remember it after she left.”
“Tell me…” said Janrok. “Do you remember what she wore?”
“Yes,” replied Horacio. “That I do remember. She wore some strange grayish robes, and carried a crooked staff. I’m not sure what they are, but they look very old.”
Janrok looked over towards Tiffy and nodded. “Ahrim’s robes.”
“So what we’ve heard is true,” said Tiffy.
“We’re all dealing with the same Ansa after all. And if she really is using Ahrim’s robes, she’ll be that much harder to defeat.”
“Guys,” said Marik, stepping forward. The rest had almost forgotten he was there. “This is all well and good, but how are we going to stop her if we don’t even know where she is?”
“Good question,” said Tiffy. “Perhaps the kind duke could enlighten us.”
“Sorry, I don’t know,” replied Horacio. “She’s very secretive, as you can tell. The only information we’ve obtained about her base of operations of from Evil Dave, but it’s all kind of jibberish.”
“Evil Dave!” shouted Janrok. “What have you been doing with him?”
“Oh,” replied Horacio. “I probably should have mentioned that. Evil Dave is one of Ansa’s servants. She used him to relay messages to us often. Malak had the ability to gain information from him, but the information didn’t really help us find Ansa’s base.”
Janrok chuckled briefly. “Well, if there was any doubt before that Ansa lured Malak into a trap, it’s all gone now. I saw Evil Dave at the first battle of Falador… battling AGAINST the undead.”
“So,” replied Horacio with a sigh, “it appears the Council truly has been shattered.”
No one spoke for a few moments. “Well,” said Tiffy, “I think we’ve exhausted all the information we’ll get from the duke for now. Oh, and don’t worry duke… I’ll be in touch with you later.”
The group started walking towards the step. “Wait,” said Thyker. “There’s something else I need to ask.”
“Heh,” replied Horacio with a shrug. “Go for it, I have nothing to lose now.”
“Horacio, I’d like to see Malak’s body. Me and him have some... history… together. You said Ansa gave you the body. Do you still have it?”
“Yes, I do,” replied Horacio. “It’s stored a little into the goblin caverns underneath the castle. I know that you’re familiar with them. Go have a look and I think you’ll find him.”
Thyker nodded, turned around, and started walking towards the steps. The rest of the groups followed suit. “Oh, yes,” said Horacio. “I forgot something important.”
“You suddenly seem very informative,” said Tiffy. “Are you hoping to get a lighter punishment for your cooperation.”
“Well, the thought had crossed my mind…” said Horacio. “But to be fair, if humanity is extinct, my punishment hardly matters. Anyway, myself, Ansa, the Godfather, Malak. You know about those four members of the Council. But there’s one more member.”
“Yes, I had been under the impression that there was a fourth leader in the Council,” said Tiffy. “So who is it?”
“Ah, yes, the fifth member,” replied Horacio. “You know him Thyker. And trust me, he has by no means forgotten you. The fifth member if a gnome by the name of Glough.”
*****
Evil Dave lay on the ground, staring up at the dark sky. Nearby, Minoxo stood and punched at the same of a cliff for no apparent reason. The rustle of cloaks drew both of their attentions. Of course, they knew who it was.
“Did I feel that disturbance correctly, Master Ansa?”
Ansa nodded her head. “Very good, Dave. Your powers have indeed grown strong under my tutelage. You have much potential. The Culinaromancer means we must speed up our plans slightly.”
“Why is that?” asked Minoxo in a growling voice. He wouldn’t have the powers to sense the ghost’s death, but he was well aware of the plans and understood quickly what had happened.
“I had planned for the demon armies to create a little more of a distraction while the transformation began. However, the Culinaromancer’s demise is a double blow to us.” Ansa held up two fingers. “First, we lost his ability to create another distraction,” she said, pulling down one finger. “Second, his death means that warriors must have killed him. Strong warriors. That means that the Temple Knights may still have a few pieces open on the board to use against us. The more time we give them, the more likely they are to act. We’ve obtained everything I need to begin. I’m making the final preparations now.”
“What do you need me to do?” asked Evil Dave.
“I don’t know how soon they will get here, or if they’ll know where to look, but I suspect that the Temple Knights will dispatch warriors to try to stop us. They don’t know everything, but they seem to have gained some idea of our plans. I’ve dispatched the few remaining demons to patrol the area for any oncoming attack. Hopefully, they’ll stop them before they can reach the island. However, should they get past the demon patrol, you two will be my last line of defense.”
“Sounds like fun,” said Evil Dave.
“Dave,” replied Ansa, “I know how much stronger you’ve become, and I know how much you like to show it. Few can stand up to you. But if they send warriors, they will be strong. Should enemies reach the island, I want you to take things seriously. No toying around like you did with Malak. And no going it alone. You and Minoxo are to work together. You should be more than a match for anything they can send, but this is not the time to take stupid risks.”
Dave nodded. “I understand. I’ll take it… seriously… I like forward to it.”
Minoxo grinned. Or, he grinned as much as a demon could. He held up one of his claws. “It’s been too long since my claws have been stained with human blood. I look forward to it, as well.”
Chapter 29: Going on the Offensive
Tiffy, Marik, and Janrok waited around the Lumbridge kitchen. They had to plan their next move, and they had to plan fast. However, Thyker had gone into the caverns below Lumbridge to find Malak’s body. They didn’t want to start planning without Thyker. And thus, they waited for him to return.
The three wandered around somewhat aimlessly. Finally, Thyker emerged from the basement. At the time, Tiffy was in the kitchen, but the other two had wander into the dining room. Thyker had wanted to ask something of Tiffy in private; now was his chance.
“Did you find the body?” asked Tiffy.
“Yes,” said Thyker. “It’s returning to ash, but there’s little doubt that it’s Malak. Tiffy, there’ something else I needed to ask you.”
“What is it sonny?”
“You mentioned to Horacio that you knew there was a fourth leader in the Council. Does that mean… does that mean that you knew what was going on all along.”
“Thyker, I know a lot of things.”
“Yes, but did you know about THIS.”
Tiffy nodded. “I had some idea of what was going on. I didn’t know the full extent of their plans or their members, but I knew that Horacio was part of a group of leaders that were trying to change the maps of Runescape.”
“Well… did you know about the Culinaromancer?”
“See, sonny, when I heard about the first instance of the Culinaromancer coincidentally showing up at the exact moment that many of the leaders of Runescape were in Horacio’s castle, I was suspicious. I didn’t know for sure if it had been an accident or not, but given Horacio’s goals, I thought it might be his doing. Then, you came to me with a list of strange ingredients that, frankly, would make a terrible dish. Yet, those exotic foods were all quite powerful. Knowing that was from Horacio, and that he had offered you a great reward for it, I suspected he was trying to revive the Culinaromancer.”
“So why didn’t you tell me? Or try to stop me?” asked Thyker.
“The Culinaromancer was a great threat to everyone. Unfortunately, only Horacio knew how to revive him. Unless he was revived, he would always remain dormant, and the threat would remain. I needed a way to lure him out so he could be defeated once and for all. I’d seen your abilities and had faith you could defeat him.”
“So… I risked life and limb all across the world of Runescape so I could do the Temple Knights dirty work. Not to mention, you must have known all along that Horacio didn’t have Verac’s armor. So, in other words, you used me.”
“Doesn’t it feel good to save the world?” asked Tiffy.
“I’d rather have Verac’s armor…” replied Thyker.
It was just at that time that Janrok and Marik casually strolled back into the kitchen. They seemed to have no clue that a conversation had been going on. “Oh, Thyker, you’re back,” said Marik. “By the way, I found this in the kitchen,” said Marik, tossing Thyker the shield that had been eaten by the food dragon. Thyker had actually forgotten about it. “Did you find the body.”
“Yeah, I found it. It’s Malak. He’s dead.”
“That’s not our concern right now, though,” said Tiffy. “Let’s review the situation, since I’ve only gathered this information from some of you. From what I can tell, Ansa is a powerful mage. At her disposal is an army of demons. She herself uses Ahrim’s armor, which might magnify her powers incredibly. Also, there’s no telling what other minions she’s enlisted. At the very least, she’s controlling Evil Dave.”
“Yeah, but who cares about that bumbling fool?” asked Thyker.
“Ah, you aren’t aware of Evil Dave’s past,” said Tiffy. He went on to describe the same story he had told Janrok.
“No kidding, so Evil Dave isn’t worthless…” said Thyker.
“Indeed,” replied Tiffy. “Probably not as threatening as Ansa herself, but he could become a problem at some point. Anyway, we suspect that Ansa has been stealing rune talismans across the world. She intends to perform some kind of mass demon teleportation. It would require a lot of power, but if she’s truly figured out some way of creating a Law Staff, then she would have all the power she required. Of course, throughout history, no one has ever discovered how to create a non-elemental staff, but given that she controls Ahrim’s powers and given the extent of her own, it’s possible that she’s somehow devised a way. As to why she’s planning to teleport in the army of demon’s, I’m not sure yet. But, what we do know is, if she succeeds, that could completely destroy humanity. If what Horacio told us is true, then we know she is indeed planning to wipe out humanity, for whatever reason. We aren’t sure when she’s going to start or how long it’s going to take. However, she seems to be trying to distract us, such as with the Culinaromancer and the army of demons.”
“Good,” said Thyker. “Just send a bunch of your Temple Knights after her.”
“Thyker… there are no Temple Knights to send. Ansa’s distractions have worked. I’m depending on the people in this room to take down Ansa for now.”
“Well, that’s well and good,” said Janrok. “But we don’t even know where she is.”
“I do,” said Thyker.
“You do?” asked Tiffy. “But how do you know?”
“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out, Tiffy. You’re good at putting pieces together. Here, look at what I found on Malak’s body.” Thyker held out his hands and pinched out a little dirt he was holding, which Tiffy grabbed in his own hand.
Tiffy examined the dirt closely. “Why, this is mixed with essence dust.”
“Exactly. Think about it. Even if Ansa does know how to create a Law Staff, she’ll still need elemental runes to power the spell. That means she needs access to a large supply of essence. You also said that you were attacked by a rather large army of demons. Ansa must have teleported them in. But, you would think a spell of that magnitude would have created a disturbance that would have been noticed by some of the stronger wizards of the world. Finally, Ansa must be hiding somewhere that she wouldn’t be noticed. Not only does she have to hide all of the items she’s been gathering, but the demons as well. That’s not easily done. Most of the uninhabited areas of Runescape are still explored by adventurers from time to time. And if you connect the dots, there’s only one logical place that she’d be.”
Tiffy grinned and nodded. “Ah, I see what you’re talking about. Very good work Thyker. Very good indeed.”
“Wait, I don’t get it,” said Janrok. “Where are you talking about?”
“It’s a place,” said Thyker, “called Moonclan Island. They have an old abandoned essence mine there. It’s in the middle of nowhere, and the inhabitants of the island have enough runes to last for generations, so they never go to the mine. Also, random adventurers can’t go to the island, so no one’s going to accidentally find her. And the inhabitants of the island are constantly using strong magics. Being that she’s far away from most wizards, even a strong spell cast by her would never be noticed, mixed in with all the other magic that goes on there. It’s the perfect place. A nearly limitless supply of rune essence, a place no one would ever look, and a place that no one could sense her.”
“Well, that’s all fine and good,” said Janrok. “But you said random adventurers can’t go to the island. So how are we supposed to get there quickly.”
“I may have the solution to that,” said Tiffy. “See, the Temple Knights keep supplies in most major areas of the world. It just so happens that we have a small boat in the Fremenik area. You could take it to Moonclan Island.”
“Great!” shouted Marik. “Let’s go.”
“I’m afraid I have some bad news, Marik. See, it’s a very small boat. It’ll only seat two people.”
“That means you’re out, Marik,” said Janrok. “It’s definitely got to be me and Thyker. Besides, this is a little too dangerous for a rooky.”
“You can go, Marik,” said Thyker. “I’m done with this. You and Janrok can handle it.”
“Don’t be preposterous!” shouted Tiffy. “The world’s at stake here. What do you mean you won’t help?”
“Look,” said Thyker. “I was in this for the reward. There was a good reward, I did a lot of work. Now, there’s no reward. Thus, I see no reason to risk my life on something this dangerous for nothing. I wish you good luck though.” Thyker turned around and started walking out of the room.
“Wait!” shouted Tiffy. Thyker stopped but didn’t turn around. “I… may be able to offer you something. Verac’s armor.”
Thyker turned around fast. “You’ve had it all this time!?”
“No no,” said Tiffy. “But as you know, I have information. To be honest, the information I have isn’t much. But certainly you’d agree that a little information I can give you will make things a lot easier than randomly searching the world for an armor you weren’t even sure existed a few months ago. Besides… if the world is over-run by demons, chances are you’ll never get a chance to find it. So… what do you say Thyker? Help out the Temple Knights again?”
Thyker stood there for a minute, thinking about the decision. “Tiffy… you have a deal. Sorry Marik, but Janrok is right; it’s got to be me and him. Let’s save the world.”
“Well, if we’re going to do this,” said Janrok, “then let’s do this now. By the sounds of it, we don’t have much time.”
Chapter 30: Respect of an Ally
Thyker looked out across the sea looking for familiar landmarks. Janrok lay lazily in the small boat. He was unfamiliar with the area, so there was little he could do as a look-out. It had not been more than several hours ago that they had secured the boat. Tiffy had given the two a certificate which showed that they were to be given access to the boat. Brundt, Chieftan of Fremenik village, had been keeping the boat in a secret storage location. Thyker still didn’t know where the boat had been hidden, but not too long after giving Brundt the certificate, the boat was waiting for them on the water. At the same time, he had given them each a seal of passage, marking them as an official ambassador from Fremenik village. The certificate must have told Brundt that there mission was one of diplomacy.
Still, it didn’t seem the like boat would be hard to hide. It was very small. It seated two people comfortably, but would have been a cramped fit for three. However, even if they had brought Marik along, the boat seemed like it wouldn’t have supported the weight of a third person. Brundt must have known that only two could sit in the boat, because he warned them to limit the boat to two people at a time. The boat was strangely powered. There seemed to be some kind of magical machine in the back. It propelled the boat through the water quietly without wind or paddles. The boat wasn’t extremely fast (probably comparable to larger wind-powered ships), but it was quiet and very hard to notice, due to its size. Perfect for missions such as these where stealth was important. Not surprising that the Temple Knights would control a boat such as this. Even with the boat’s only-normal speed, the two were still making good time. Luckily, both had had magical lyres in their bank, which they accessed from the top of Lumbridge castle (it had to be a scam…). Playing the magical lyres had teleported them to Fremenik, and only an hour or so later, they were out to sea. Add a few hours of sailing the waters and that’s where they were up to now.
“Janrok, I’ve been meaning to ask you. From what I gathered, when you first saw me, you had once owned this armor I’m wearing, and you thought I stole it.”
“Yeah,” Janrok replied. “Apparently it wasn’t you. Ansa must have taken it. For now, consider it yours. Once Ansa’s gone… then we’ll settle the issue.”
“Why did she take it, though?” asked Thyker. “As far as I know, I’ve never even seen Ansa before. I got this from Karil’s tomb. Since she’s still alive, I assume she put it there. Why did she do that?”
“Honestly, I haven’t the faintest idea. I was in the wilderness, killing person-killers, when she suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She asked for the armor. When I said no, she tried to kill me and took it from me. I think the only reason I survived is because she thought I was dead; a redemption prayer actually saved my life, though barely.”
“And she was using magic?”
“Yes.”
“But Janrok… you’re a skilled ranger, are you not? Shouldn’t you have had the upper hand on her?”
“That’s the scary part,” Janrok said, surprisingly calm. “You would have thought that. I shot her with a crossbow bolt. I’m sure you’ve seen those by now; those can rip a person to pieces. She wasn’t even fazed by it. She put it some kind of barrier. It completely negated the attack.”
“That’s impossible!” shouted Thyker with a start. “Barriers can’t completely negate attacks. Not serious ones, at least. Certainly not something that strong.”
“I know it’s impossible, but she did it. The thing hit directly, and she completely blocked it. That’s not the only weird thing, though. She was using ancient magics.”
Ancient magics… Thyker had had a run in with those kinds of magics before. Deep in the desert was an altar that could teach a person some of those old magics. They were incredibly powerful, but very difficult to wield. Thyker had used them a few times in the past, but he preferred not to. The altar was actually one of an ancient god named Zaros. Thyker didn’t know much about the god. Zaros had existed a long time ago and was incredibly powerful. Stronger than any god. However, Zamorak had managed to take Zaros by surprise and kill him.
Fear of Zaros’s power, combined with how long it had been since he lived, had erased him almost completely from the history known by modern man. However, a few traces of Zaros still existed, the special altar being a notable one. A person using the altar could fill its defiling presence; almost as if the spirituality were being drained from your body. Thyker cringed. While the altar was near-impossible to reach due to being located in a complex pyramid, there was always the chance that someone COULD potentially access it. At least, Thyker had, so it wasn’t impossible.
If Ansa were wielding ancient magics, it was likely that she had somehow reached that altar. That was troublesome, if true. Her ability to access it meant that potentially she could allow others to access it, as well. The ancient magics were almost entirely used for combat purposes. An entire army of such power could be disastrous. Thyker clung onto the good news that, even if an army had access to such power, it would require high magical talent to use. Thus, without enough time to train the army, few people could wield such power. And even fewer could wield it successfully.
“Ancient magics you say… are you sure about that?” asked Thyker.
“Almost positive,” said Janrok. “More specifically, an ice barrage. Something like that would be hard to mistake. Thyker, Ansa is dangerous. Do not rush in combat with her lightly, or she’ll obliterate you.”
Thyker nodded, then turned around and looked back out to the sea. Several hours later, Thyker caught sight of and island.
“Janrok, I recognize that island. A band of pirates uses it has a hideout. I’m on good terms tough, and other than them, the island’s almost deserted. We should rest on the island for a few hours.”
“Wait, why would we stop?” asked Janrok.
“You yourself said that Ansa wasn’t to be taken lightly, right? Well, we’re not going to receive a warm welcome on Moonclan Island. And I’m not talking about Ansa; even the normal inhabitants won’t offer us much shelter. However, Moonclan isn’t very far from here. We should spend a few hours to rest up and eat on the island before going into combat.”
“Yeah…” replied Janrok cautiously. “That’s probably true. Ok, let’s rest up for a few hours then. We can’t wait too long, but I don’t think a few hours will be the difference between stopping her and not.”
Thyker steered the boat to the island of the pirate’s hideout. He landed the boat on shore, and the two walked onto the island. After searching for a little bit, they found a shallow cave. It wasn’t too deep, but it would provide shelter. As an added bonus, it provided a view of the sea in the direction of Moonclan Island.
“Wait here,” said Janrok.
“Huh? Where are you going?” Thyker asked.
“I’m gonna go get a little meat. It’ll be good target practice for me. If I don’t practice often, my abilities get kind of dull. Besides, you were recently in a fight with that ghost… chef… mancer… thing. You should really rest up a little bit.” As much as he hated to admit it, Janrok was right. Janrok left the cave.
Thyker stared up at the wall. Ansa… he had heard so much about her, but wasn’t really sure what to expect. This was the worst. Thyker liked being in the middle of a fight, thinking on his feet. Planning out in advance wasn’t his style. He preferred to improvise. Besides, it was one thing to plan when you knew the situation. However, with someone like Ansa who he only knew a little about, there were two many unknowns, too many things that couldn’t be predicted. It made planning almost impossible.
Thyker heard running footsteps. He quickly grabbed his sword and jumped to the entrance of the cave, only to end up face to face with Janrok. Janrok jumped back and grabbed a few knives. “Geeze, put your sword away man! It’s just me!”
“Uh… natural reflexes I guess,” said Thyker. “So, did you get the food?”
“We’ve got problems. Look out over there,” said Janrok, pointing to the sea.
Thyker looked out towards Moonclan. He could see dots on the water, but couldn’t quite make out what they were. “I can’t tell what they are… they’re really far away,” said Thyker.
“I can see them clearly,” said Janrok.
“Wow, you must have really sharp vision.”
“You… might say that. Anyway, it’s demons. And it looks like they’re flying across the water. Well, more like hovering a few inches above it.”
“Demons? That means Ansa.” Thyker suddenly thought back to the incident on Miscellania with the floatroots. Of course! That island wasn’t too far from Moonclan. And if Ansa needed to patrol the waters, then you’d need the demons to hover a little above. “And if they’re hear, then Ansa must be on Moonclan after all.”
“Exactly what I was thinking,” said Janrok. “No time to rest, we have to get back to the boat now. If we hurry up, we might be able to dodge them.”
Janrok and Thyker started to run towards the boat. The boat was several minutes away. Technically, that wasn’t too far, but that was farther than Thyker would have liked. About halfway back to the boat, they found a demon walking on the island. It seemed startled; it probably hadn’t expected to actually find any humans. It let out a loud yell. The demon was quickly taken down by a barrage of knives from Janrok, but the damage had already been done. Any nearby demons would have heard the yellow.
“We have to hurry,” said Thyker. “They’ll be on us any minute.” The two continued sprinting back to the boat. Without further incident, they finally caught sight of the boat. Thyker jumped in and began trying to activate the magical propulsion system.
“Looks like we’ve got company,” said Janrok, pointing towards the interior of the island. At that point, Thyker got the propulsion on the boat working. He looked to the island to see a massive gathering of demons. Definitely at least thirty. Maybe more.
Thyker grabbed his sword. “We’ll never outrun them on the sea. We have to fight them here.”
Janrok was silent for a minute. “You’re right. We’ll never outrun them on the sea. They’d just catch up to us, and we’d have much more difficulty fighting back.” Janrok turned around and kicked the boat with Thyker still in it. It started floating in the water. “Go NOW. I’ll hold them off to give you a chance to sail. We can’t waste all this time fighting these demons. I’ve shown in the past I can’t beat Ansa alone, so it’s got to be you. Besides… I can handle these guys alone. You’d just slow me down.”
By the time Thyker realized what was happening, the propulsion had carried him many feet into the water. At this point, he would have had to swim a little bit to get back to the island, and in his heavy armor, that would have been impossible. Not being to instinctively fight the demons, he had time to think for a moment. He could still steer the boat back to the island. However, the time to think made him realize Janrok was right. Even if they could defeat that many demons together, they would be much too exhausted to fight Ansa. “I understand, Janrok,” said Thyker. He took control of the boat and started sailing to Moonclan. He watched as much of the fight as he could, but the fight quickly left his vision. At the last moment he could see, Janrok was still standing, but so were most of the demons.
Thyker lost himself deep in thought. If Janrok died fighting the demons, it would probably be good for him. Janrok wouldn’t be hunting him anymore for Karil’s armor, then. Still, for some reason, Thyker was hoping Janrok didn’t die. It wasn’t really so much of a caring sort of thing as it was… respect for him. Thyker knew that Janrok couldn’t beat that many demons alone, and he was pretty sure Janrok knew it too. Despite that, Janrok stayed behind so that Thyker would have a chance of beating Ansa. Thyker wouldn’t have done that; he wouldn’t even be here now if there wasn’t a reward in it for him. Janrok, on the other hand, not only sacrificed himself for the cause, he wasn’t even fighting for a reward. Even if you didn’t like the person, the certainly deserved some respect.
He moved a little bit in the boat, and something jabbed his side. He grabbed it and gasped. The Darklight… With that, Janrok could have actually stood a chance…
Chapter 31: A Reason to Fight
Thyker took his first step onto the shores of the island. He had finally reached Moonclan. Darklight still in hand, he surveyed the landscape. For some reason he didn’t remember the region well. But there was one thing he did remember. Wild creatures roamed the island. The suqahs. These creatures used both magical and melee abilities to attack passerby. They weren’t necessarily incredibly dangerous, but if you didn’t pay attention, a pack could easily take you out.
Thyker’s prediction as to Ansa being on the island seemed to have been right; the demons patrolling near the island seemed to verify that. If she was here, she would likely be in the essence mine. There was a problem though. Thyker didn’t remember the layout of the island well. While he knew there was an essence mine on the island, he couldn’t remember where. And it’s unlikely the magical inhabitants of Moonclan would help. Well, only one thing to do. Start exploring.
Thyker started walking around the island. Things looked familiar here and there, but he still couldn’t remember the layout of the island. It was possible that inhabitants had placed some kind of spell on him to make him forget. They were powerful enough to do as much, and hateful enough of outsiders, as well.
While exploring the island, there was something Thyker couldn’t get out of his mind. After about an hour of exploring without luck, he stopped for a minute. “I can’t do this…” Janrok had said himself that he had been soundly defeated by Ansa. That was as a skilled ranger wielding Karil’s armor. If he couldn’t do it, how could Thyker do it alone? When the demon found them on the island, it had been Janrok that reflexively slashed the demon to pieces. Thyker didn’t have the instincts he thought he did. It had been Janrok who had stayed behind to fight and unbeatable army of demons. All the while, Thyker had the ability to take the demons down and had forgotten about it. He squeezed the Darklight’s handle. He didn’t have the instincts.
Thyker was surprised to realize what he had been thinking just then. For some reason he felt guilty. He wasn’t even sure if it was for Janrok, though it clearly had something to do with him. Janrok was hardly a friend of Thyker’s; at best he was an ally, and at worst, he was a future enemy. Yet, the situation still made Thyker feel… guilty. He shook his head. Nothing he could do about it now. No reason regretting what couldn’t be changed. Besides, he was being paid for this. Paid with information, but paid nonetheless. Thyker kept walking.
Thyker lost track of time as he wandered the island. However, while exploring the northwest part of the island, he finally saw what he had been looking for. The essence cave. It was time to finish the mission. Thyker ran towards the cave. As Thyker got closer, he noticed that the Suqahs were nowhere near the cave. He couldn’t remember for sure, but he thought that there had been some here the last he had visited. Most likely, Ansa had scared them off somehow.
A loud bang caught Thyker’s attention. He realized after hearing the sound that a fireball had crashed right in front of him. He hadn’t even seen it coming! He didn’t have the instincts…
Thyker looked around for the source of the blast. “Well, Minoxo, looks like they sent someone after all,” said a voice. Thyker recognized it. He turned to his right to see a human and a demon with a missing horn sitting on nearby rocks. Not just any human though. It was Evil Dave.
“Just one human? Not much of an assault, is it?” continued Evil Dave.
“Remember, Ansa said to be careful,” said the demon. Given that there was no one else around, Thyker gathered that this must be Minoxo.
Evil Dave stood up from the rock and walked towards Thyker. Minoxo wasn’t far behind. “Wait a minute, I recognize this person,” said Dave. “You’re Thyker, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” said Thyker warily. “You’re Evil Dave, I believe? I’ve run into you a few times before.”
“You…” said Dave bitterly. “I despise you. You don’t stand for good, you don’t stand for darkness. What do you stand for?”
“I stand for my own path, Dave. It’s neither good, nor evil. It is simply my own. Choices in life aren’t always so clear cut. There is no single answer for everything.”
“Hmmph, your own path? Sounds like an excuse to me. And excuse for not knowing what you want.”
“I know your history Dave. A single bad encounter with those who claim to be of the light doesn’t destroy the whole concept of light. It just goes to show what I’m saying. You can’t simply follow one path. I know that’s why you wanted to become evil, but this isn’t some game Dave. There are serious consequences to what you’re doing. To what Ansa is doing.”
“Hah!” said Dave in an amused way. “You think I don’t know what I’m doing. I needed someone to teach me to use the full extents of my power. I needed someone to teach me the ways of darkness. Ansa was that teacher. I know full well what she’s planning. I’m well aware of the consequences.”
“But… but how could you participate in this! In the destruction of humanity!”
“Darkness is the path I’ve freely chosen. I’d say it’s time to put your ideology to the test. The idea of choosing your own path doing battle with the power of darkness.” Dave turned to face the demon. “Minoxo, I want you to stay out of this.”
“Master Ansa said we were to take this fight seriously, Dave.”
“I know what she said. But do you see that sword over there? That sword can severely weaken demons. One hit and you could be finished. Don’t worry, I’ll handle him.”
“Is this just an excuse to fight him yourself?” asked the Minoxo.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s an excuse or not. The fact is, as long as he has that sword, there’s nothing you can do to help.”
Dave turned back around and started walking towards Thyker slowly. Thyker held up the Darklight. He wasn’t sure what to expect from Dave, but he knew as long as he was holding the Darklight, the demon wouldn’t help him. Good. At least that would help to keep the fight fair. Dave continued walking towards Thyker. Suddenly, he pulled out one hand full of runes. A fireball leapt from the hand towards Thyker. Thyker jumped out of the way of the fireball.
Thyker started to run towards Dave. He was kind of far away for a charge, but he needed to get closer to use his sword. As he ran in, Dave let off a second fireball, which Thyker charged. Dave then let off a third, fourth, and fifth attack, each of which Thyker dodged but lost ground in the process. It was hopeless this way. Dave wasn’t going to let him get close easily. It looked like he would have to try something other than melee attacks.
Dave set off another fireball at Thyker. Thyker had already grabbed several runes out of his pouch though, and set off a hurricane spells at Dave. The two attacks collided. However, the fireball quickly destroyed Thyker’s spell and continued on his course. Not expecting this to happen, Thyker was caught off guard and got hit directly by the fireball. It felt like he was being hit by an explosion. The spell knocked his off his feet. Luckily, Karil’s armor was strong against magical attacks. Otherwise, he could have been hurt a lot worse.
“Is that the best you can do?” asked Dave. “It’s almost like you’re not even trying.” Thyker eyes bulged. Dave hardly seemed inconvenienced by Thyker’s spell. Was Dave really that much stronger? Thyker felt an itch on his back. He looked down to see an imp standing on the ground by him. It quickly scurried off in the direction of Minoxo. Minoxo picked up the imp and seemed to be listening to it, even though the imp couldn’t be heard saying anything.
“Well, this seems interesting…” said the demon. “It appears Thyker had an accomplice with him when he came here. But one of the demon squads found them, and he ran away to leave his ally to fight alone.” Thyker grasped the Darklight tighter.
“Ah, well that explains it,” said Dave. “Poor Thyker must feel helpless. Inadequate. Of course, that’s not his fault. It’s just that he really is helpless. He may have thought he was some great warrior, but he’s playing in the big leagues now.”
Thyker grasped the Darklight even tighter. He thought back to Janrok. To Marik. To Tiffy. Even random people he had met before. What would they have done in this situation? Marik, who despite lacking severely in fighting ability, had always wanted to help. Never for any reward. No matter what the danger. Janrok, who had jumped into combat without any reward either. For what he believed was right. And here was Thyker, who was actually in a position to help. Yet, why was he here? So he could get enough information to steal armor from someone. Humanity was on the brink of destruction, and he was in it for the reward. Essentially, he was a coward. That’s why he had felt so guilty. He had been a coward. He knew it. Minoxo and Dave seemed to know it. No more, though. It was time to fight for something more important.
Thyker stood back up. “Shut it. Janrok may have died, but he died for a purpose. I’ll make sure it wasn’t in vain!” Thyker reached into his pouch for another set of hurricane runes. At the same time, Dave released another fireball spell. However, Thyker’s hurricane wasn’t far behind. This one was much stronger, however. This one quickly extinguished Dave’s fireball attacked. Dave held up his arms to shield himself from the blowing winds, but he was unable to resist the power in the attack and he was knocked off his feet.
Dave started to stand back up only to realize that Thyker had closed the gap and was swinging the Darklight at Dave. Dave rolled out of the way of the attack. However, it was followed by another swing of the Darklight. Dave quickly released a burst of wind. The wind stopped the Darklight in place for a few second, and Dave jumped back up to his feet.
Thyker wasn’t finished yet, though. He swung at Dave again with the Darklight. Dave was unable to get out of the way in time. The slash came in from the top and hit Dave in his left shoulder. It was only afterward that Thyker realized that Dave had put up an anti-melee prayer barrier. Still, Thyker could see that while the cut wasn’t severe, it had drawn blood. Dave quickly took a handful of runes in his right hand and punched the Darklight. Upon contact, some kind of hurricane spell similar to Thyker’s was unleashed, and the sword went flying out of his hands. Thyker watched it sail through the air and land somewhere into the sea.
When Thyker turned back around, Dave was no longer directly in front of him. He had retreated away, and now Minoxo was right next to him. Dave was holding out his hand holding a bunch of soul runes. For some weird reason, Minoxo was mimicking the position but without any soul runes.
http://www.runevillage.net/ThePub/viewt ... 15#3046315
Marik is my favorite character because he has Bob.
