A/N: Deepest apologies for my long hiatus. I seriously had so much going on…the summer was a lot more busy than I thought it would be, with work and stuff, and as soon as I started school this year, stuff started piling up. That's what happens when you take three AP courses and apply for college at the same time. Anyway, back to the good stuff.
In this chapter, Geoff employs NPC tactics to obtain the first piece of the map, and a few old… friends… catch up. Also, I get around to replying to my reviewers.
Chapter Ten
A heavy hand dropped onto his shoulder, and the scent of stale beer permeated the air, almost making him gag. He stood, calmly removing the gloved hand.
"Wha're you doin' 'ere?"
"I was being chased by a thief. Jail seemed like a logical refuge."
The ginger guard shrugged. "Oh, arigh' then. You gotta reas'n fer bein' in Sarhim?" His breath felt disgustingly hot on Geoff's face, and he suppressed a shudder.
"Not really. Just passing through." He turned back to the ladder. "Take care, Joey."
The guard nodded as Geoff grabbed the ladder rung and swung himself down, neatly avoiding the pile of bones at the bottom of the trapdoor. The prisoners were still silent, and he wove around the random objects on the floor to the cell where a green-skinned goblin sat, sneering at him from the floor.
"Wormbrain?"
"Jeff-man know who Wormbrain be. What Jeff-man want?"
"I believe you stole something from a wizard, a while ago." Wormbrain nodded impassively. "I want it."
"Why should Wormbrain give Jeff-man teared map paper? Jeff-man on outside cell, Wormbrain safe." The goblin scooted over a few feet anyway, and Geoff grinned.
"You're not safe. Not even close."
Wormbrain squinted. "How Jeff-man mean that? Jeff-man need be to near Wormbrain to attack."
"Oh, that's what you think, is it?
"Yeah, it what me thinking."
Geoff grinned widely, showing his teeth, and stepped up close to the bars, fingering the heavy lock. "You don't know, do you?" Wormbrain shook his head, looking more and more nervous. Kind of. It's a bit hard to tell with goblins. "I can break this lock open. With ease. And get in, and get you. I don't even need to kill you – I can just leave you there to bleed while I run off with your map."
The goblin stood, slowly, and picked up the pan in the corner of his cell. "Jeff-man should try. Wormbrain him handle."
Geoff glanced towards the end of the long hall, where two guards watched out of the corners of their eyes—or so it was assumed. Normally, that wouldn't phase him, but with every criminal and half the players in Asgarnia on his tail, a low profile wasn't a bad idea. Damn – he could've used the blood right now, too.
"You've got me. How much do you want for it?"
Wormbrain grinned, and folded his arms ominously. "Two thousand gold."
Geoff sighed. "Two thousand?"
"Yeah. Wormbrain know Jeff-man can afford."
"…You little slime-ball." He turned and left; a glob of spit from the thief's cell barely missed his cape. The goblin's rasping laughter followed him out the door.
He stopped short of the door, peering out the window for a moment. The scene appeared deserted, but one really couldn't tell, there were always more players than you could see. He sighed, put one hand on the door, and then whirled, hurling his axe straight for the sitting goblin behind him. Dead on hit. A loud crack resounded through the jail, as the axe pinned Wormbrain to the stone wall behind him. Geoff shook his head and walked over to the cell door. It took him a moment to pick the lock, and he walked in. The map was under Wormbrain's armor, of course, and he vowed to sterilize his hands the first chance he got as he left the jail again.
There weren't any players around when he got out, but he stuck to the shores all the same. No point in taking unnecessary risk, and the only time players came to the shore was to fish. He walked south until he found the small island near the chapel. Not much more than a bit of rock, really, but players couldn't reach it. He swam out the ten feet, and pulled himself on shore with a heavy sigh. This place wasn't too far from Thurgo's hut, so he kept an eye out for Blurite carrying players, but the world was one of the fewer populated ones, so he might be safe for now.
His armor was relatively clean, but he was… well, less so. He stripped his armor, then down to the waist, and slipped into the relatively warm water. (Well, at least it was warmer than most of the shorelines—not as warm as Karamja, but still about as far South as you could get on Asgarnia.) The gulls cried overhead every now and then, but he mostly ignored them. When they started screaming in chorus, that was when he had to watch it. Players couldn't usually hear the animals, too busy killing or something. For the Nth time, he was exceedingly glad of his status.
Finally, feeling a lot better—and a lot stronger—he swam back into the island and pulled on his armor. It took him a second to register the gulls, and he swore under his breath as he girded his axe and helmet.
When he looked back up, there were two girls there, staring at him. One had a shock of pink hair that stuck out at all directions, and the other had a long green braid. They were both fairly low-level—twelve, for one, and fourteen for the other. He sighed with relief and swam back to shore.
"Lyk omg Kerry wat is that?" The pink-haired girl, Dimond128, examined him, and so did her friend Kerry26.
"I dont kno dim!!! Do u think hes a qest?"
Geoff winced. "I'm a Random Event, actually. I'm involved in a quest right now, but neither of you are high enough to touch me, so just be on your merry way, now." He grinned wolfishly and swung his axe off of his shoulder. They backed up.
"Lets just go" Dimond continued on to Thurgo's hut, and her friend followed suit.
Sighing again, Geoff walked down towards the fishing spot. He took out the map as he walked, looking carefully over it. This was an interesting quest indeed. It would've been useful, to be able to read maps… he sighed. Didn't help that it was a Krandor map, and one he'd only ever be able to learn from home. Of course. With a touch of resign, he strapped his axe back onto his back and set off in a brisk jog along the coast.
"Geoffrey!" As he passed Mudskipper Point he turned, hearing his name behind him, and saw Thurgo hurrying over, out of his hut.
"Thurgo, mate! How's the anvil treating you?"
The dwarf caught up and grinned at him through his heavy beard. "The anvil is as fiery and the steel as cold as ever, my friend. Where are you headed in such a hurry?"
He grimaced. "Rimmington. Haven't you heard? There's an immense bounty on my head. I'm looking for a little peace and quiet before I continue this quest, and—well. No one ever goes to Rimmington."
"Ah, Rimmington. What will you do there? Unless I'm much mistaken, the price will still be there when you go, and the Black Arms still out for your blood."
"Regroup, I guess." Geoff closed his eyes a moment, sighing. "And see Hetty. She might be able to help me out a bit, and she owes me a favor, from that last council."
Thurgo nodded, and turned to go, then paused. "I wish you well then, Geoff. You know, if ever you had the incline, I'd pay well for anyone willing to take a spell in the mines for me."
"Surely you jest, my friend," he grinned.
"Ha! As you must know, dwarves have no sense of humor whatsoever."
Geoff let out a roar of laughter. "Of course not! Folly, folly." He shook his head. "I thank you for the offer, Thurgo, but the mines are…eh. Mining is hard, backbreaking work, best left to skill-grinders and… well, dwarves. No offense."
Thurgo shook his head, chuckling. "None taken. You'd make a poor dwarf, Geoffrey. But as far as humans go, you're not so bad. Take care, and good luck with your quest."
"The same to you, mate." Geoff grinned down at his friend, saluted, and continued his run up to the small town of Rimmington.
The most dangerous part of the trip was the fishing points—always a lot of players around there. But he made it through alright, and by nightfall, found himself in Rimmington, the one-horse town with almost no purpose to most people. He passed Hetty's basement door, ignoring the loud moaning coming from beneath, and walked up to the well in the center of town. After a moment of indecision, he headed into the general store and climbed up the ladder. He selected one of the softer looking sacks and lay down on the table, falling asleep nearly as soon as he closed his eyes. Outside, the tree-frogs made their usual chorus heard; it was the only sound in the air as Geoff drifted off.
When he woke up early the next morning, things were considerably less quiet. Voices, growing angrier and angrier, drifted up from the street, and he only stayed for a moment to listen.
"Well, why didn't you just attack him while he was sleeping? You probably could've killed him right then!" The first voice, gruff and angry, he recognized as Thor's, an up and coming assassin when he'd been growing up, now vaguely known as a mercenary leader.
"I was alone! If I'd attacked him, he'd just have jumped up and killed me before I could take him out, and probably gotten away before you'd showed up!" The second voice was a lot younger, and he didn't recognize it.
"Whatever. The point is, we've got him now. There's only one door out, and there's enough of us to make this a more than even fight. We can go up in waves, like we'd planned, and take him out quickly."
Geoff groaned quietly and slipped off the table, creeping, bent double, over to the window. Outside, gathered between the well and the door, were about twelve people, mingled players and NPCs, all very high-level. Thor stood in the center of the group, in full rune armor, and the rest were gathered around. He recognized Lucas, who'd been a friend when they were street-rats, and several of the gang's high-ranking assassins. He listened carefully to the conversation and gathered that they'd been scouring every town and questioning every player and NPC to track him down. It had been the Customs Sergeant who'd seen him come in. They would have… Words… later, about that.
If, that is, he survived. He slipped away from the window and began to plan. Clearly, the first thing to do was block the windows—which he did, quickly, with the crates stacked in various places. Then, he got the idea to check the back windows… which were unguarded.
He shook his head in disbelief. Did they ever learn? But… Thor was hardly a fool. That would be his last resort, he decided. With any luck, he'd be able to handle them. He pulled the table over to the ladder, and began to stack boxes on it. As he pulled a torch off of the wall and sat down next to the trapdoor, a loud voice cut through the uneasy quiet in the attic.
"Take him out!" Geoff jumped up and tipped one crate to look out the window, and saw three players disappearing into the door of the store. Of course he'd use the players first. Two of them were in mithril armor, one wielding a two-handed rune sword, and the other a mithril scimitar, but that hardly mattered for the moment, since the first one headed up was the wizard of the wave, wearing full robes, of course. He grinned wickedly, lit the first box (Newcomer Maps), and dropped it down the hatch.
There was a loud whoosh kind of noise as the box hit, and the ladder caught fire as the wizard fell to the floor with a loud 'thud' and a lot of crackling. Geoff allowed himself a dark smile as the green-haired spell-caster sprinted out of the store, his robes afire.
"You'll pay for that!" Thor's loud voice cut through the two warriors' attempts to douse the ladder, but Geoff only laughed. He stopped laughing when the sound of a water strike came through, and glanced down to see the wizard, charred but alive, putting out the flames.
Soon after, the first warrior's head poked through the hatch. Geoff swung his axe, but unfortunately, the players couldn't be killed so simply. Fifteen hitpoints down, though, he finished the climb—and then twenty-three, as Geoff swung again. The fighter attacked back, the only way Players even could, and Geoff stopped it with his shield and countered with a downward chop, glancing off of his plate armor.
As he twisted the blow to the side, cutting into the warrior's rib-cage, and taking off another eight points, the second man climbed up. He quickly jumped into the fight with his scimitar, taking a good six hitpoints off of Geoff as he nicked the Random's shoulder-joint.
Unfortunately for him, he was then alone, as Geoff finished off the first warrior with a swinging arc, which he was too busy trying to eat to avoid.
Unfortunately for Geoff, as he turned his attention to the second man, the wizard's head poked out, next to the ladder.
Unfortunately for the wizard, Geoff had no qualms about fairness, especially not in a fight outnumbered this badly, and therefore didn't hesitate to take a step backwards and kick out like a mule, badly injuring her. He took a scimitar blow in the neck for it, thanking his luck that it didn't take his head off, and quickly turned back to the battle at hand, swinging down viciously with his axe on the man's scimitar-arm, while he pulled back from the last hit.
It was a direct hit, and, if he'd been an NPC, would've taken his arm off. As it stood, the blow merely injured the Player by fourteen hitpoints. The counter from the scimitar scratched against his shield, and Geoff swore loudly as the wizard appeared next to him, anger fueling his next stab, which actually knocked the man back a step, as well as taking off another eighteen hitpoints.
The first spell, a Fire Blast, left a scorched hole in his armor. Geoff roared with rage and whirled on the hapless wizard, easily deflecting the scimitar blow to his right with his axe. The wizard gulped, terrified, and fired again, this time scoring a hit on his left shoulder, the same that had already been injured.
Snarling, Geoff raised his axe and swung downward, easily tearing a nasty gash through the Combat Robes, down along her shoulder to her torso, and taking off nearly a third of her hitpoints. She cried out in pain, but still raised her staff and fired the next blast. Geoff swung again, and sliced through her right shoulder and upper arm. Seeing red, he didn't even feel the scimitar stab him in the arm, or the spell that failed, splashing harmlessly against his helmet. He only swung again, finishing the wizard.
As she crumpled to the floor, he turned again to the scimitar-wielding warrior, not sparing a second glance for Pixy1264, who faded from the floor even as he thrust his shield forward against the pain, blocking the scimitar and giving him an opening to slice the neck again, which he did. He followed it up with a kick, knocking DudeWestQ83 back a step and nearly killing him. The next blow from the axe did finish him, but Geoff was far from finished with the fight, as footsteps on the ladder sounded even before the man's body had faded.
The moment of calm, though, robbed him of his rage for a moment, and he felt quite suddenly the stabbing pain in his injured shoulder, and the sting where the spells had hit. This was not going to end well. He quickly grabbed the torch from the table and knocked another crate down with it, momentarily gratified by the yelp of pain and the crash. Unfortunately, he knew the trick wouldn't last forever—and neither would he.
With a resigned sigh, he grabbed the end of the table farthest from the hatch with his good arm, and thrust upwards, dumping the entire table full of boxes—all of rather flammable materials—down into the hatch, effectively blocking it, and dropped the torch onto the top of the pile, an open box of empty wooden buckets. Grimacing with pain, he walked over to the windows by both sides of the building, and, seeing no assassins, picked up a length of rope he'd found in the shelves and fastened bars of a window on the back wall of the attic. As he punched through the glass, as quietly as he could manage, Thor's voice echoed up into the warehouse.
"Trying to buy some time, Geoff? It won't help. Do yourself a favor and come on out, old friend." Geoff shook his head and tested the rope once before slipping out the window, feet first, and rappelling down the side of the building. Unfortunately, his left shoulder gave up, and he landed painfully on his back. It took him just a moment to get up, but that was a moment too long. He heard the whoosh of a water spell, and the crates being knocked aside, and turned, shouldering his axe, to run. He cleared the fence and took off. No use in the Chemist's—it was the first place Thor would look.
Clearing the fence on the other side, he saw the island. If he could make it with his arm, it was probably his best chance. He sighed, closed his eyes for a moment as he heard the shouts behind him, and leapt into the water. Fortunately for him, the riptide was fairly strong, and he was quickly pulled onto the island. He pulled ashore and sprinted across, throwing himself down on the other side of the bank—momentarily hidden.
It was a few hours, still, and fully high noon, before the sounds of the searchers disappeared, and all was silent at last. Geoff lay back, as his shoulder had finally stopped bleeding, and sighed. He needed to face this, clearly, somehow. Soon.
With a shiver, he crawled around the island, peering around carefully before coming into sight of the shore, and swam back to the mainland. It took a bit of time, against the tide, but he made it, and stood there for a moment, enjoying the warm sunlight, before turning North.
He passed Melzar's Maze along the shore, but was in no condition to even consider facing the place, and continued, rather disheartened. He was careful around the hobgoblin's peninsula, and headed briefly East, into the small field of cabbage and onions that was there. Never anyone's first choice for a meal really, but he really couldn't afford the pride right now, so he stuffed his face with the stuff, ignoring the grit that clung to the food, until the sting from the spells went away. Unfortunately, the wound in his shoulder was a bit too much to be cured by raw vegetables, so he left the field when it had at least subsided to a dull ache, and headed straight north, towards Falador.
The White City was a fairly uppity city, and thieves were… well, discouraged. Normally, Geoff stayed away if he didn't have business there; problems with the White Knights, years ago, had given him a bit of a reputation there. But chances were that, given the attitude, he wouldn't run into many thieves there, meaning he'd have a better chance to stay low for a while. Lots of crowds, too, which usually helped disappear.
By sunset, he could see the bright walls through the trees, and shivered slightly. He'd been lucky so far, no one around. He'd traveled the whole way off-road. Although he could take on the highwaymen fairly easily, he'd rather not deal with them and risk more wounds. It only cost him a few hours to make his way through the wood, avoiding the crossroads, and as far as he was concerned, it was time well-spent. The only person in sight was a lone backpacker, as he neared the city.
Geoff crept quietly, as close as possible—much easier in the gathering darkness—and then jumped the traveler. He was quick, neatly severing the man's head before he had the time to do much more than shout and swing wildly with his staff. He dropped a few coins, as an apology for when the man re-spawned, on the ground where the body had faded, before swinging himself up into a tree a little farther along the wall, out of sight of the battle. He disliked killing non-combatant civilians. Besides being messy and risky, well, it made him feel guilty. Weird, given none of the gods seemed to really care about murder one way or the other, but true.
It took him a while to find a niche that he was sure he wouldn't fall out of, and secure himself, but as soon as he'd found a spot with only a few uncomfortable knots, he fell asleep quickly. It had been a long, long day, and he wasn't promised another good rest any time soon.
As secure as he'd been the prior evening, Geoff nearly fell out of the tree when he awoke the next day, wakened by voices not too far off. He sighed and closed his eyes. Fortunately, it turned out to be just two players arguing—about the location of the nearest Elemental Temple, no less. When their voices had faded, he swung down out of the tree, wincing as his stiff and sore muscles hit the ground. It took him a few minutes to stretch out, feeling his body loosen up, and he turned back to the East, towards the gate.
---
So yeah, reviews. Thank you very much, guys! Your feedback is much appreciated.
cody: Thank you! I don't use real accounts in my stories, though; too much complication with character. If I used someone's account, I'd be worrying constantly that I hadn't been true to the person. Thanks anyway, though, and I'm really glad you liked the story!
mainiac: Thanks! I usually rely on word of mouth to get my stories out, because I feel like I'm encroaching on other people's stories if I advertise there. Also, it's not the number of reviews so much as if the people who -are- reviewing are enjoying the story, or how I'm feeling about the quality. I'd rather put out a good story that ten people like and review than a piece of crap that a thousand people gush over. It's a failing, but that's life, eh?
shocker: Yeah, Runescape is interesting-- there's no real plot or anything, it's entirely what you make of it. I haven't played WoW, I'm honestly really not into mmorpgs, just something about this story piqued my interest, and I like the characters enough to keep up with it. Good luck with WoW, though!
cazcat: Thanks. My account is level 50. I won't friend you, if you don't mind; I usually only play Runescape when I'm working on this story, as a reference. You might see me around, though, I usually dress in all skeleton armor (don't know how many people do that... heh. It just looks so cool!) Congratulations on being level 70, though, it's not easy to get that high. Good job.
tales of smash: Thank you! The battle scene, I think, was my favorite thing to write throughout this story so far. I'm looking forward to jumping back into battles soon; the action isn't always fun to write, but I think I've been a bit too plot-heavy lately. Thanks though! I do like to write, maybe someday when my life settles down and I trust my style a little more, I'll try and throw something published out there. *grin* But then, that's the goal of most of this website, I think. Thank you anyways, and I will try to keep the scenes in that vein a little more.