AN: I've had this story floating around on my computer for a while and I actually submitted it and won a little clan competition on Runescape with it. Figured that now chapter 9 of AHU is done, I ought to put it up here. I meant it to be more casual but it hope you guys like it anyways. Enjoy!

In the days of Gods and Heroes and Dragons, many a mighty being strode the land but in the small village of Lumbridge, it was also the age of lumberjacks… maybe…

Riku stared wistfully out across the river towards Varrock where guards underwent strict training to become warrior knights that pledged their lives in the defense of the realm. Why couldn't his life have something important and meaningful going on in it? Instead he was left to wander the streets, eventually ending up at Bob's Axe Shop. "Good morning! Can I help you today? I've got a great selection of axes," Bob called with a hearty grin but Riku just sighed and shook his head.

"No, sorry. I've got no money. I'm just looking around for something to do in this one-horse town" he mumbled.

Tapping his chin in thought, Bob headed into the back storeroom and emerged a moment later with a plain bronze hatchet. "Here, I'll let you have this for free. It isn't anything special but maybe you could sell some logs to the general store. It's better than doing nothing."

Cutting down trees for money? Riku stared down at the hatchet, imagining the wild and adventurous life of a woodcutter. Or not. Still, it had to be better than the wild and adventurous life of a lay about, so he took the hatchet, gave his thanks and set off with Bob wishing him luck as he went. Soon after he was out of sight of the axe shop, a white haired woman walked in. "Do you think he'll do, Xenia?"

"I think he's got potential but we'll have to wait and see."

~F~E~N~

Every day Riku woke up and went out to the woods behind Lumbridge Castle and chopped trees until his arms ached and a stack of logs waited to be sold later on at the market. Sure they didn't sell for much and the harsh labor made it both difficult and time consuming to collect them. Still, by the end of the week found Riku sauntering down the street and back into Bob's Axe Shop. "Hello again, how's the hatchet treating you?"

"It's been working great. Now I want something a little stronger," he replied cheerfully and Bob took an iron hatchet out of the display case and started going on about the better features on an Iron hatchet. Grinning, Riku slapped down 2000 gold coins on the counter. "I want that Steel Battleaxe"

Blinking in surprise, Bob brought out the requested ax and took his money. "You do know you can't chop down trees with that thing, right?"

"Oh I know. I just needed a way to make money so I could go out and do other things. I want so much more than this provincial life."

Chuckling under his breath, Bob nodded his understanding. "If that's the case then I suggest you go see my friend Xenia in the graveyard. She has a little job that you should maybe be able to help with. Good luck!

~F~E~N~

"Hello Riku. I'm glad to see you decided to try for a more adventurous lifestyle." An old woman greeted him, leaned up against one of the many weathered gravestones. Curls of white hair lay bundled back behind the hood of a cloak; a very expensive looking cloak too. Obviously this lady was someone of importance.

Still, he was slightly put out that she felt she could just jump to conclusions. "Sorry ma'am. I'm just here to visit my granny before I head off to train in Varrock. In fact, you're sitting on gran. Would you mind moving?" he asked in the best affectation of cluelessness he could manage but Xenia only laughed.

"Come now Riku, how many other men are there living in Lumbridge that have blue hair?" she asked and he sighed. None, indeed, his deathly pale skin and windswept blue hair had gotten Riku into more than one fight as a child. "So, since you're here, perhaps you can help me" Xenia continued. "I'm looking for a set of jeweled statues down in the catacombs here. They belonged to a necromancer named Dragith Nurn. I'd like you to go find them for me."

"What's in it for m-" Riku began.

"For every statuette you bring me, I'll teach you some magic."

"Oh. Ok, you've got yourself a deal." And with no further encouragement, he climbed down the crypt and into the catacombs. Immediately a musty smell assaulted the boy's nose; the smell of death that slowly grew stronger as he headed deeper, droves of cockroaches and then spiders moved lethargically over the skeletons that littered the floor. The insects didn't seem to pay much mind to this intruder but in the third chamber, a swarm of giant flies circled around a statuette carved of jade resting on a plinth in the middle of the room. "Well… Time to put this thing to use," Riku said, more to encourage himself than anything else, hefting his battleax.

As soon as he stepped through the open doorway into the chamber holding the statuette, one of the flies turned and flew right at him. Hefting his axe into the air he brought it straight back down, cleanly chopping the warped fly in half. "That… was easy?" but there was no time to celebrate the small victory as now the swarm was alerted to his presence and a pair of flies, then five more pulled away from the statuette until it seemed like the entire swarm was after him. Jumping into battle, Riku swung his axe back and forth but no matter how many he knocked from the air, another two appeared and darted in, leaving the boy sweating and covered head to foot in shallow scratches.

One thing he hadn't considered was the fact that in spite of the hard work he'd grown used to, a steel battle ax was a lot heavier than his hatchet and it wasn't long before his arms burned with the effort of swinging the heavy metal back and forth even as the infernal buzzing of the swarm grew louder and louder in his ears until it drowned out all other noise, even the sound of the dying warped flies that twitched on the ground only to be crushed beneath hiss boots. His many wounds burned from the sweat dripping into the cuts and bites that coated his body and he could feel his strength failing but still he refused to give up, pushing himself harder and harder until the only sound was the blood pounding in his ears.

And just like that it was over. The only movement in the room was Riku's labored breathing and the muted buzzing of flies that hadn't succumbed to their wounds. Holding onto the haft of his axe was all that kept Riku from collapsing right then and there. "It's almost over… almost…" he coughed, forcing himself to move. The Jade statuette glittered ominously on its plinth, as though trying to seduce the mind of the weak adventurer coming to claim it. Riku snatched it and stuffed it into his backpack irritably. "Hell if I lose to lump of rock," he muttered.

As soon as the statuette was removed, a section of the brick wall slid open to reveal a small treasure trove of items; stacks of coins, pairs of leather boots and gloves and other small bits of paraphernalia. Claiming the spoils of his victory, Riku cleaned out the vault. Most of it was just ordinary goods but at the very back was a shard of blackish grey metal with rounded edges that looked as though it had come from some larger whole.

Back outside, Xenia turned towards the catacomb entrance as Riku stumbled back out into the sunlight world, "Goodness child, you look terrible. Come, you need to get some rest,"

"I got it. I got your statue thing," Riku panted but Xenia shook her head and led him off.

Upstairs in the training area, Riku sat cross legged on the bed with his shirt on the floor as Xenia bandaged the many wounds he'd sustained. "It's a good thing none of them are too deep. Once you're feeling better I'll teach you a spell or two." She paused, thinking, before adding. "I know plenty of spells that I might be willing to pass on and there are still five statuettes down there.

"What!" Riku yelled, almost jumping to his feet were it not for the unusually strong grip the old woman had on his shoulder.

"Get used to this feeling dear. It happens quite often in the life of an adventurer."

Riku nodded, sitting back and looking over at his battleaxe sitting in the corner "Me… an adventurer… wow… Oh, hey Xenia? What's this?" he asked, taking the smooth shard of metal out of his pocket.

Xenia took the metal and turned it over in her fingers. "Where did you get this?" Sighing, Riku explained about the secret chamber that housed the loot that he'd plundered. Xenia laughed at that part. "My, aren't you growing into quite the little mercenary?" Smiling a little she handed the metal shard back. "This is a piece of the mask that Dragith Nurn wore when he was alive. I haven't seen this sine I shattered the mask in the first place. I never knew what happened to the pieces. I guess he held onto them."

Tilting his head, Riku tucked the metal shard back into his pocket. "Why did you destroy the mask? What did it do?"

"He used the mask for his necromantic arts to force his minions to obey… But since it's broken, I doubt it'll work. I suggest you forget about it."

But he couldn't. That mask fragment stayed in his pocket.

~One week later~

"Very good Riku. You've mastered your third spell. I think that's about everything for now"

Nodding, he walked over to the corner where his axe waited and strapped it to his back. "I think I'm going back down in the catacombs. More statues equals more spells right?" he asked, eying his mentor skeptically. When he received an exasperated nod, he smiled and set off out of the remodeled stables that served as their training base. "Just making sure."

It didn't seem like just a week had passed since he was walking this same street with no purpose in life. Now he felt like a totally different person. This time, he had a goal and dropped into the underground catacombs without hesitation, but as soon as his boots hit the ground he was on guard. The cockroaches and spiders still scuttled through the damp moldy corridors and left the adventurer to go about his business.

The mass of dead flies that had previously littered the floor of the third chamber were gone, presumably cannibalized by one of the other creatures lurking down here in the darkness. Beyond the flies, a room filled with small goblin looking creatures watched Riku's passing with hateful eyes but otherwise did nothing to interfere. The same thing happened with the giant rats; they watched him walk through their territory but the gleaming steel battleaxe hanging from his back deterred them from attacking. The next chamber after that held another plinth sitting in the middle of the room and surrounding it was a a group of skeletons; bleached white bone of empty eye sockets watched him enter and they moved in unison, keeping a protective blockade in front of the statuette.

Curious about something, Riku skirted the edge of the room, making no attempt to approach the topaz statuette and he made it to the other end of the room with the skeletons making no attempt to pursue. "Hmm, interesting. They're protecting the statuettes." Riku noted, continuing deeper into the catacombs. On the way, the theme of skeletons grew more and more prevalent, with first skeletal archers and then mages. He passed a few other statuettes but like the Topaz, so long as he made no attempt to approach it, the creatures guarding it let him pass all the way to the final chamber. Undead corpse mages milled around a small dog shaped statuette encrusted with rubies. Grinning, he headed back to snag the Topaz counterpart.

And so he started a pattern. Days he spent practicing magic with Xenia or training his muscles by slaying creatures down in the catacombs and slowly but surely, he grew to know battle…

~Three weeks later~

With his trusty battleaxe in hand, Riku jumped down the ladder into the catacombs, confidently jogging down the corridors towards the last chamber. On the way there, he noted the empty plinths where each previous statue had rested, safe guarding a small pile of treasure hidden in the walls. Those treasure troves were the spoils of war and he plundered them of gold and goods to sell but what he'd been especially interested in at each vault was the fragment of Dragith Nurn's ceremonial mask hidden at the back. Over the course of the last weeks he'd collected 4 pieces and now only one was left. Part of him wanted to see it completed as a kind of trophy.

Often times, at the end of his combat training, he'd come to the ending chamber and look wistfully at the ruby coated statuette and now it was time to take it. Only… today he wasn't alone.

Trotting into the ending chamber, most of the corpse mages were already already slain. In the corner of the room lay their bones gathered into a pile with another adventurer kneeling before them, hands clasped together in prayer, "…and consecrate these bones to Lord Zamorak."

The worn cobblestones rumbled and split apart as the earth opened to accept the offering of bones.

"Wow… What was that?" Riku asked, leaning on his axe like a cane."

The other man looked up and smiled, a wave of brown hair obscuring one of his eyes but the other was a cheery blue, "Prayer ritual. Sorry, I didn't think anyone else would be down here."

"Oh no it's alright, I didn't mean to interrupt your…. whatever. I just came for the statuette over there. You don't need it for anything, do you?" Riku asked, gesturing to the sparkling ruby idol.

The brunette blinked and shook his head, then started searching through the robes of the mages he'd presumably killed. "No, I didn't feel any kind of power in it I'd be interested in. I'm looking for… something else," he mumbled then made a face. "Since you don't seem to know about prayer, you can have this. It's a good start and I have no use for it."

The adventurer tossed a four pointed Silver Star necklace into the air for Riku to catch and drop around his neck. "Thanks um….."

"Oath."

"Thanks Oath. I'm Riku. And what you're looking for. I might know where it is."

Oath stopped what he was doing and stood up to watch Riku dethrone the ruby statuette and depress the button on the plinth that would open up the secret wall. As with every other time, a section of stone blocks slid back to reveal a secret compartment but this time, instead of treasures there lay what looked like a sarcophagus and behind that, another statuette, this one coated in diamonds. "Ahh… Dragith Nurn. I've found you," Oath whispered, slowly approaching the coffin with Riku close behind. Honestly, he was more interested in the statuette as it would mean more magic training and Oath hadn't given it a second glance, so, assuming it was ok, Riku headed to the back of the small chamber and went to lift the statuette up with the lid of the coffin exploded and out climbed the undead remains of the lord of the catacombs, Dragith Nurn.

Immediately, Riku was on guard as the necromancer advanced on him. To the side, Oath looked somewhat depressed. "So, he is only a shadow of what he once was. I don't think I'll be able to use him. Pity…"

Riku was too busy to pay attention to the things Oath was mumbling, as he rolled out of the way of a fireball that exploded right where his head had been a second earlier. Getting right to his feet he jumped forward with a diagonal slash of his ax and though he felt it connect, the steel failed to crush the necromancer like it had his minions. Growling, Riku jumped back and to the side, narrowly avoiding another fireball. Just like the first time, his counter attack hit full on but didn't have much of an effect. Seeing the strength of his attacks, Dragith Nurn laughed, a dry rasping sound as he walked towards the cornered blue haired warrior. "Come on, this can't be the end for me. I can't lose here"

Gripping the haft of his axe harder, Riku took a deep breath and the Silver Star on his chest began to glow with a soft white light. Putting all his strength into one more attack he swung again. This time, his axe sliced right through the rotting flesh and the necromancer collapsed. "I… did it?"

Frowning, Riku edged forward, nudging the fallen necromancer with his foot and, after being convinced that it was indeed dead… again… he shrugged and claimed his prize of the diamond statuette. As soon as he took it, a small square shaped hole opened in the wall, revealing the final piece of the mask. Heart thumping in his chest, Riku took out the other pieces. Now that they were all together again they seemed to call to each other, fusing back together into a single, whole mask. Slowly, Riku lifted the mask, took a deep breath and put the mask. As soon as he put it on, something in his mind shifted and opened his eyes to the souls interred in the catacombs, twisted into unnatural shapes like the spiders that wandered by the entrance. He could see their warped forms, feel the suffering the trapped spirits felt and it tugged at his heart. "This is… terrible…" he breathed, determined to do something about it.

Back outside, as he climbed up the ladder, he came face to face with an arrow, with the business end less than an inch from his left eye and Xenia on the other side of the bow. "I knew as soon as you put that mask back together what you'd done. I will not let you back out into the world again!"

With his breath caught in his throat, Riku leaned back a little, "Erm, yeah. I was gonna ask you if you can teach me how to release the spirits he twisted. Can we help them?" he asked, careful to make no sudden movements.

"Riku? Is that you?" Xenia eased the tension on her bow.

Coughing, Riku heaved a small sigh of relief. "Yeah, who else would I be?"

"Oh, only the deranged spirit of Dragith Nurn reincarnated in a new, living body and ready to wreck havoc on the world again."

Snorting, Riku finished climbing the ladder and brushed off his clothes, "Well you could've asked. As is, Dragith Nurn was just a shadow of his former self. Oh speaking of which, did you see a guy with shaggy brown hair come out?"

Xenia frowned and shook her head. "I've been here all morning waiting for you and no one else has gone in or come out. Maybe he teleported? Whatever it is, no-"

"Wait, you can teleport? That sounds cool; you should teach me that Xenia!" Riku chimed in; taking out the two statuettes he'd claimed on his last run."

Laughing, Xenia took her statuettes and pointed towards the church right next door," Alright, alright, but first you should go ask a priest about Prayer."

The priest next door looked up at the newcomer and immediately his eyes locked onto the silver star hanging from Riku's neck," Ahh, welcome to the church of holy Saradomin. I see you are a follower as well?"

"Erm… Yes? Actually I don't know. I was hoping you could teach me about prayer and… start at the beginning please?"

~One month later~

Heading down the streets of Lumbridge, Riku walked into Bob's Axe shop and tossed his trusty steel battleaxe down on the table. "G'morning Bob. Just here for a routine sharpening."

Bob grinned and got to work," One axe sharpening coming up. And, when I finish, I've got something for you."

Sparks flew as the large burly man struck a whetstone across the blade of the axe, honing it down to a razors edge. "Your work on the catacombs has caught the eye of some important people like Explorer Jack, Ned and myself. We wanted to award you with an Explorer's ring as well as these lamps we had. Riku blinked, reaching down into the crate at took out a battered red lamp that emitted a puff of blue smoke that formed into the shape of a genie.

Having been kidnapped by random events before, Riku knew the drill. "I want favor with the gods for them to heed my prayers."

The genie blinked and nodded slowly," Alright, which god did you want favor with?"

"All of them." Riku stated resolutely, "You're a genie. You can do it can't you?" Grumbling irritably, the genie nodded, leaving Riku to repeat the process several more times. "Alright, so what's the ring for?" Riku asked and listened carefully as Bob explained about the built in enchantments in the ring, like the ability to teleport at will to the cabbage patch south of Falador.

A ring that would take him to Faldor… But Riku had never left Lumbridge in his life… Then again… "Well, I've got an Explorer's Ring, I'd better get to exploring. Wish me luck~"

A quick prayer to the ring and the next second he was sitting in the middle of a farming patch. Though he'd wanted to head to the gleaming white walls of Falador, a commotion in the opposite direction drew him to the small dingy village of Draynor where a group of villagers argued in the village square," Hey, what's going on here?" Riku asked, and one of the villagers turned to face him, taking in the axe and armor with the faintest glimmer of hope.

"It's an adventurer! Please, you have to save us from the vampire!"

~Two months later~

Coughing, Riku stumbled his way out of the mouth of the Karamja volcano and staggered, exhausted down into the humid jungle terrain when an amused voice called out to him. "Hey Riku. You don't look too good."

Looking up with a groan, he saw Oath leaned up against a banana tree and watching with an amused smirk. "Oh, hey… Where did you come from? And where did you go?" he asked wearily, their previous encounter in the catacombs coming to mind. "You left me behind…"

"Heh. Are you pouting? Well, I had business to do in Ardougne and it looks like you made it out of that little mess with Dragith Nurn just fine. See you put his mask back together."

Riku nodded, reaching up to rub a thumb across the red jewel embedded in his forehead."Yeah… It's a nice prayer tool," he mumbled, staggering his way to Musa Point and Oath pushed off his tree to follow along.

Oath smiled, rubbing one of the several rings on his fingers. "So, you use the mask for prayer. Whose side are you on then? You go with Saradomin or Zamorak?"

"Both," Riku mumbled, heading into the bar at Musa Point, sitting back and wincing as he tried to unbuckle his chest plate. "Listen, I just killed a dragon, I'm not really feeling the best right now."

Not feeling the best, Riku's entire chest plate had been crushed to his body when Elvarg the dragon closed its massive jaws around him. Sharp bits of metal bit into his skin making him gasp at each pained movement. Clicking his tongue, Oath pulled a knife from his pack and started slicing away the straps that held the armor together. It was rough work since the metal had been so compacted, making some of the straps inaccessible but several minutes later the steel plate drop to the floor with a loud clang revealing the body underneath, just a giant burn except for the few places where his hunter shirt had somehow managed to survive. "Well, that doesn't look good. Bartender! Get him a beer. In fact, get him two," Oath called, tossing some coins on the counter before pulling some medical supplies out of his pack.

A good forty five minutes later when the worse of the injuries were treated, Oath set down the beer he'd been working on and pulled a Law Rune out of his pocket."Hang out here for a minute. I've got something for you" Oath said, taking Riku's noncommittal grunt as affirmative and teleported off to parts unknown. Another fifteen minutes passed before Oath walked back through the door with a large bag slung over his shoulder. "Well, I've got some things to do, but I thought you could use this since yours isn't really functional anymore." He said, setting the bag down on the floor with a metallic clank.

Curious, Riku slid off his bar stool and went over to the bag and when he saw what was inside, he went even paler than usual as he pulled out a Rune Plate mail, Rune Plate legs and a Rune Full Helm to match with the Rune Long sword that Riku had saved up for months to get. "Oath! I can't accept this it's too…"

But again, Oath had vanished into the night.

~Four months later~

Stomping through the fields irritably, Riku cursed the cold weather not for the first time that day. "… and I swear that if I don't find it soon, I'm going to ignite the whole stupid forest. Maybe that'll get someone's attention," he snarled, pushing his way through the undergrowth. Taking out his map again, he grumbled, more curses at stupid cold weather and stupid hidden cities when the sound of snapping twigs alerted him to an incoming presence. Closing his map he spun around, drawing his sword, only to relax when he saw another group of six adventurers. "Oh hi!" one of them called. "Are you hunting the Hati wolf too?"

Riku frowned and shook his head. "No, I don't know what the Hati Wolf is, I'm actually lost. I'm looking for Keldagrim, I dunno if anyone knows where that is," he ended a little sheepishly.

"You don't know what the Hati wolf is! It's the Fremmenik wolf god! He's only here for a month or two and the legend says that anyone who slays him will gain incredible power!"

Nodding slowly, Riku checked his pack. A few swordfish, some backup runes and a staff as well as a crossbow waited neatly tucked away. He nodded again, wondering whether or not to give up the search for the elusive dwarven city to hunt this wolf thing.

A sudden thundering crash sounded through the clearing followed by a bone chilling howl and a split second later the Hati Wolf appeared, thrusting its gargantuan head through a gap in the trees to snap his jaws shut on one of the adventurers and tossing him aside to leave the man to bleed out. With that second to prepare, the other five got into formation with three rushing in with their Dragon weapons while the mage and ranger stayed a safe distance back. Snarling, Hati slashed with his huge paws, knocking one of the warriors away even as arrows and bolts of magic crashed into the sparkling blue pelt of the wolf God.

Throwing back its head again, Hati howled, gathering concentrated magic in its mouth to unleash a swirling saw blade of magic that pierced right through a warrior's armor and tearing him apart from the inside out, leaving a hole in their defenses for Hati to pounce and lock his jaws around the mage and, with a with a vicious shake of his head, snapped the mages neck.

In the back, while the others kept it distracted Riku was preparing the most power spell he was capable of casting. 'It wasn't for nothing I spent all that time all that time training magic' he thought, setting out his Death Runes and Fire Staff. "Blast and Hellfire!"

A bolt of fire launched off of each fingertip to spread though the air only to converge again, smashing into the wolf's flank and sending it staggering sideways. Faster and faster Riku launched his fireballs to explode against the Hati wolf and just when he thought he might have it down, a feral howl as the giant wolf barreled into him, sending Riku stumbling backwards to trip over his pack and spilling its contents across the ground while Hati pinned him to the ground, snapping and gnashing its teeth so close that Riku could smell the fresh blood on its rank breath and the only thing that kept it from ripping his throat out was his Falador shield getting in the way. Unable to get at a vital spot, Hati's teeth sank into his right shoulder, crushing bone like a vice.

Screaming to the heavens, Riku reached around desperately for anything to help and his fingers closed around his crossbow. Turning it up and aiming as best as he could, he pulled the trigger and the pressure abated as the mithril bolt that was loaded tore through Hati's throat leaving Riku panting as its hot blood sprayed across his face and the wolf fell to the side with a thud. Groaning and getting to his feet, Riku picked up his Rune Long sword with his left hand when the wolf stirred, and even spoke.

"Tell me Human, do you really think you can kill a god?"

"I don't know, but I can try to," he answered then brought his sword down, decapitating the Fremmenik wolf God, Hati.

Panting, he dropped to his knees. The other members of the group were nowhere to be seen. "Cowards," Riku mumbled then screamed when Hati moved once again, its decapitated head shooting off the ground to once more sink its teeth into this shoulder. With its final act of defiance done, Hati ceased to breathe, dragging Riku into unconsciousness. As blackness closed in, the last thing Riku saw was Oath standing over him and shaking his head. "You idiot…"

~Two days later~

The veils of darkness slowly drew back, and it took about half an hour for Riku to realize that he was still alive. Ten minutes after that, he realized that this wasn't the hard cold field outside the Fremmenik village. It was warm, and he smelled… curry? Forcing himself to sit up, as soon as he opened his eyes he knew something was different. His vision; he could see furniture; the bed he was laying in, a dresser and a coat stand but everything was in a mix of blues and reds, washing the world in purplish hues. "Guthix help me, what happened?" he groaned, rubbing at his eyes and not expecting an answer but an answer he received.

"It seems that the Hati wolf has bonded to you. Take a look in the mirror." The response came from a demon that appeared in the doorway wearing a butler's outfit of all things. "Master has instructed I take care of anything you might ask for, within reason of course."

Riku nodded slowly, "Ok… I'd like some food if you have any, my clothes, armor and weapon. Not necessarily in that order," he asked, still trying to get use to the new vision. Bowing, the butler left leaving Riku alone to ponder the situation. His ears twitched, picking up the small sounds of the butler finishing the curry from several rooms away and he could pick out the individual spices going into it. Taking a few deep breaths, Riku tried to get accustomed to his new senses by picking out the different smells floating around the house. There was the harsh spicy aroma of the curry, a dry smell of animal fur and another scent he couldn't make out; a salted, almost fishy smell. Perking his ears, there wasn't anything sounding remotely close to a fish and the cat that wandered the halls didn't have the same scent, though he didn't have time to ponder it; his stomach would allow no interruption after the butler brought the food.

~4 bowls of curry later~

Riku sighed and sat up out of bed. The food had restored some of his energy so he got up to go get dressed when he passed in front of the mirror and froze. The top part of his face closely resembled that of Hati, with fur running up his cheeks to a pair of beady black eyes and a snout. The bottom part of his face had remained the same and his fur moved in a clean line, almost like a helmet were it not for the fact that he could feel the fur poking through his skin

Once he'd gotten dressed and suited up, he headed out into the hall, pausing to sniff the air every so often. He followed the fishy smell to a chamber of portals. "Hmmm… I wonder…"

~2 and a half hours later~

Oath sighed, getting more than a little frustrated as he carved the willow idol into a more accurate representation of the queen. "I don't think I would have started this if I'd known what a hassle it would be. See if I do good deeds anymore," he muttered, whittling the wood away.

"Then I'm gonna be in trouble sooner or later" Riku said quietly, entering the royal burial chamber and looking around. The place had been trashed but it looked like Oath was trying to clean up. "Something going on?"

Snorting, Oath gestured around the chamber. "Yeah. I've been working on this for the past few hours fixing furniture but I have no idea what I'm going to do about the statues," he said, noting the piles of rubble that had presumably once been statues.

Tilting his head, Riku walked up to one of the piles of rubble and shifted his focus. The Mask of Dragith Nurn that was apparently still attached beneath Hati's fur allowed him to see the residual spiritual energy around the statue fragments. "You know… "Riku started, getting to his knees, "I might be able to fix this" And with that he prayed, focusing on the god that that particular statue had been dedicated. "This one is Crondus... Scabaras...

From the background, Oath watched in amazement as the pieces of rubble rose together, forming back in the statue it had once been. "How did you do that?"

"Guthix doesn't favor one god over another and neither do I so I guess the others are more inclined to respect my prayers. Though I am kind of partial to Icthlarin."

"I see. How did you find me here anyways?"

Riku shrugged," I followed your scent. You smell like fish. A lot."

Oath laughed and shook his head. Together they fixed the queens burial chamber and when it was finished, Oath dropped a leather pouch at Riku's feet. "You might find those useful"

Opening the bag, Riku sighed. "Oath, there has to be at least a hundred Law Runes in he- Oath? … Damn it."

~Three weeks later~

It was some time before Riku came across that scent again. Deep in Morytania he'd just finished worshiping with bones at the Ectofuntus and was headed back towards Port Phasmatys when that unmistakable smell hit him and on a whim he turned and plunged into the swamps, running and leaping over stagnant pools of water with Oath's scent growing stronger. Ever since taking on part of Hati, Riku was much more apt to just plunge into the undergrowth knowing that the wolf's instincts would keep him safe. Getting closer to the source of the smell he was tracking, he saw Oath, standing in a clearing with an Ivandis Flail hanging limp in his hand, staring down a winged vampire. "Sorry Vyrewatch, you get nothing from me," he stated coolly, eyeing the vampire with a detached air.

"You insolent wretch, you will pay for your attitude."

Curious, Riku stayed hidden for he'd never seen Oath fight before. The Vyrewatch dove, slashing with long talons that Oath dodged nimbly each time. A flick of his wrist and the flail caught the vampire around the ankle and forcing it to the ground so he could go on the offense. Oath fought with no wasted movement, each strike precise and flowing together in a nonstop chain of attacks that had even the mighty Vyrewatch couldn't keep up. One thing he couldn't have seen, though, was a second Vyrewatch hurtling out of the sky and tackling Oath from behind to knock onto his hands and knees.

Jumping out of hiding, Riku pulled out his crossbow and fired. The vampires shrieked in fury as the blessed silver bolts punched holes in their leathery wings, baring their fangs at this intrusion. Drawing his sword, Riku snarled and bared his fangs right back.

Double teaming the first Vyrewatch, Riku attacked the first Vyre, forcing it to defend, letting Oath lay the killing stoke by chopping off its head but the second was already too close, slashing the wolf-boy, leaving bloody furrows down his face and sending his sword flying into the air. From there it grabbed Oath by the throat and started squeezing. Without even thinking, Riku jumped forward and brought his jaws crunching down on the Vyrewatches wrist and holding on with all his strength even as it raked those talons down any bit of exposed flesh it could get it. Fueled by adrenaline, Riku increased the pressure on his jaws and felt his teeth click together, the bone in between crushed and with another savage wrench of his head, he tore the hand right off, leaving Oath to deliver the finishing blow.

After the battle Riku emptied both of their canteens trying to wash the taste of vampire flesh form his mouth. "You know… I heard a legend about a wolf named Fenrir that bit the hand off a god." Oath mused while Riku gargled water, then spit it into the swamp.

"Riku the Fenrir huh? I don't know… And ugh, I taste terrible," he groaned and Oath smirked.

"No you don't. I'm sure you taste fine."

"How do you know?" Riku started to mumble when suddenly he was on his back, Oath's lips pressed against his own. Once the initial shock wore off, he shut his eyes and kissed back until Oath pulled away.

"Riku the Fenrir… I changed my mind, I think I like it."

"Hah. I thought you might."

AN: One more thing, Obviously Fen is my character and Oath is used with permission. In fact, Oath wrote his own story to follow up this one and I'm planning on writing a sequel to that. The next piece of the story is 'Everything Dies' by TheaterAndrew since Fanfic won't let me post the whole link