Chapter II
Without a word, the group left the ruins of Avarrocka and prepared for the trip to Fallandorn, the White Citadel of Armadyl. The vast plains around them were riddled with hoofprints and trails of blood, reminders of the carnage caused by the legions of Zaros only the night before. Zaros' armies could still be around, so Aarkan and his guides needed to watch their backs. Aarkan looked at the guides, they were soldiers in Avarrocka's militia, and they bore the insignia of Avarrocka, a small orange crescent, on their breastplates.
Aarkan cleared his throat and asked, 'What are your names?' The soldier at the head of the group replied, 'My name is Ulgo, general in the Avarrockan militia, and these are my men, William and Wallace.' The other men saluted accordingly. Ulgo continued, 'Our mission is to safely escort you, son of Gaol, to the citadel of Fallandorn safely.' 'How long until we arrive?' asked Aarkan, but Ulgo didn't answer. They continued to walk down the road, until they reached a wide river, the ancient River Lum. Standing guard at the bridge was a local hunter, from the Avid tribe that lived around the river. 'Halt!' he said, holding his sharp spear in the traveller's faces. 'You may not pass!'
'Why not!' asked Ulgo. The hunter replied, 'There are many stories of black and red armored soldiers attacking villages around here, and he can't risk them coming into our village! Guthix knows, you might be one of them!' Aarkan yelled, 'We are not soldiers of Zaros! Our village was attacked by them!'
With that, a loud rumbling noise could be heard in the distance. A short while later, screams could be heard as well. 'THE LEGIONS OF ZAROS ARE APPROACHING!' yelled one of the hunters. 'Defend the village!' The hunters all pulled out their bows, and fired into the cavalry of soldiers that galloped towards them. It didn't seem to do much damage, because most of the arrows were merely deflected from the Black and Red armor the Zaros Cavalry wore. The Avid Hunters fired again, barely doing any damage. They pulled out torches and lit their arrows with flame, and once again fired a volley of arrows into the approaching enemies. Aarkan, Ulgo, William, and Wallace drew their bows, and aided the Huntsmen. A few Cavalrymen lay dead, but more still approached.
A Huntsman blew his hunting horn, and more huntsmen sprang from the forests across the river. They yelled, 'FOR GUTHIX!' and they fired more fiery arrows into the cavalry. The Cavalrymen were coming closer and closer to the village, and they began firing fiery arrows of their own into the tribal huts, burning them to the ground. They then hurled spears into the Huntsmen, thinning their numbers. Aarkan drew his sword, and began to fight the mounted warriors. He decapitated one, and then killed his horse. The Huntsmen and Ulgo provided support. The Cavalrymen turned back before they could lose anymore men, and hurled burning arrows behind them.
The lead Huntsman thanked Aarkan for his help, and blessed him in the name of Guthix. Aarkan wondered who Guthix was, and the Huntsman told him the tale...