"No, I'm quite sure they have essence trees. How else would they come up with those runes"
I rolled my eyes. Zarcon had a unique talent for arguing on the most pointless things. Usually I don't care enough to argue back, but I do strange things when I'm sleep deprived.
"Aw, stop being such a fool. Zamorak has better things to do then planting trees all day"
We continued to trek through the thick forest. It was dark, dank, and I admit, rather scary. I was contemplating why our commanders always stationed us at the most terrorizing forests in Gielinor when my friend spoke up.
"Well, I wasn't sure if you were aware of this, but there have been rumors floating around that Zamorak isn't actually the creator of runes"
As we traversed down the hill, the sharp snaps of crunching leaves occupied the frigid air. We finally arrived at a smooth, clear river. The sounds of the water splashing on the rocks accompanied the wind whistling through the trees so well that it took every bit of my inner strength to prevent me from falling asleep right there.
Zarcon looked lazily over at me. "No comment?" he asked.
"Nah," I confirmed, dipping my toes in the water. It was freezing, but the water still felt great on my roughed-up feet. Zarcon sat besides me and decided to do the same.
"Wonder when the sun is going to come up?" Zarcon asked, attempting idle conversation.
"Dunno," I replied. "But we should start heading back. Not sure how much longer I'll last without some sleep"
Suddenly I heard a distinct whizzing sound accompanied with a yelp from my companion. Instinctively I dived beneath a huge rock that was besides me. While I recovered from my jump, I saw Zarcon shifting in the sand in pain with an arrow in his shoulder and two Saradomin rangers sniping us from the forest on the other side.
I frenziedly yanked out my crossbow, slammed in a runite bolt, and shot several times near where they were. I carefully listened and heard the cowards retreat back into the forest. By this time Zarcon had stopped squirming, and was showing nearly no movement at all.
I rushed towards him and placed my hand on his chest. I felt his heart pump slower and slower... until it eventually stopped.