Hello. It seems that I have lied; I'm posting a chapter for this story before posting Heart of the Hero (that story and I are having a rough time right now, so Arianna is getting all of my attention). That and I've been playing around with the shiny new updates on Runescape.
Not only that, but I have also started another story, set in a whole other world. But that will take some time because I want to post that one in its entirety (seven pages and 2,845 words and it's still in the introduction -_-)
So, this chapter contains Stolen Hearts quest content. While yes, this does rely heavily on dialogue from the quest (though parts have been changed to make things flow better and get rid of some unneeded information), a story is more than just the conversations (and yes, I wrote down all that was said while doing the quests). There are sights, sounds, smells, and tastes that we miss out in the game, and I've tried to bring that into this story. I have found that my 'formula' for these is two in game quests, then my own ideas. So, naturally, for Arianna the two quests are Stolen Hearts and Diamond in the Rough.
Read. Enjoy. Review. Thanks.
Before she could see the cellar below, she could smell it. Sweat and blood. The stink of lots of bodies in a closed off space. A stale citrusy smell mixed among the other scents. This was definitely an unsavory drinking establishment.
She descended further down into the cellar, now seeing into it. Half a dozen men sat around tables, drinking. Most were more interested in their conversations, two even in a heated arm wrestling match, and seemed less interesting than the newcomer, but some looked up at her with mild interest. But it wasn't long until their interest returned to their ales once more. She wondered which one of them was this 'Khnum'.
As she stepped off of the stairs, a man standing behind a long bar beckoned her over. She walked over to him.
The man was portly, and she was sure that he gained his portliness from years with a love for food. He was going bald and grey streaks of hair ran through his black beard. A crude, old scar cut down across the right side of his face, through his eyebrow and on to his cheek below. How he didn't lose his eye in the encounter baffled Arianna. This man definitely fit the description of the kind of people this gang would have.
"Hello, stranger," he said. "Welcome to the Skullery. The name's Khnum. I take it you're here to join the Skulls, not for the atmosphere. That is to say, you're surrounded by Skulls; one wrong word and your throat'll be cut before you've finished saying it. That clear?"
She nodded, getting the impression that he meant every word of that threat. And judging by the curved short sword that she noticed hanging on his belt, he had the means to carry out that threat. She'd have to watch herself, so she didn't end up in trouble with those in the drinking den.
Khnum smiled. "Good. In which case, my new friend, you'll be wanting to pass my little initiation." She didn't like the sound of that, but he continued on. "It's just a few...theoretical situations that you might find yourself in, IF you pass. And if you don't pass…well, use your imagination. Now that the formalities are out of the way, first question. You see a wealthy resident leaving Draynor Market, laden with goods. They stop and ask for your help carrying their goods home. Suppositionally, what do you do?"
Her imagination was still running with the possibilities of not passing and she almost missed the question. Her thief instincts came through and answered as such. "Well, I'd help them carry their goods to their home," she said. She saw that the answer wasn't what Khnum expected, but she explained herself. "While there, I'd be casing the house, seeing what would be worth taking, and how to get in and out easily."
Khnum chuckled a deep, hardy laugh. "Clever, very clever. You minimize the risk and maximize the loot- not too shabby. Okay, now for question two. A fellow gang member is wrongfully imprisoned. What method do you theoretically use to liberate them?"
She doubted that 'wrongfully imprisoned' was the correct term. She was quiet for a while, thinking. Khnum watched her closely. The few occupants that sat close to the bar took a slight interest in her 'initiation'. This wasn't what she was used to, but she tried to think of it as stealing a person instead of an item.
"Well," she finally said, "I guess I'd fake their death."
"Ah, the old cadava berry trick. If things went wrong, that gang member could wind up dead. But if it goes right, everyone will just THINK they're dead," he said. She was glad that he was reading much more into the answer she gave him. "Okay," he continued. "Final question. A stranger disrespects you in public. What do you do, hypothetically speaking?"
She hesitated, her mind running through a hundred options, but she didn't know what kind of answer this man would want. "Uh," she said, trying to pick an option. Khnum scratched his beard, waiting for her answer. She felt pressured. "Well, I'd, uh, make nice and walk away. Then I'd go and find out where he lives…" She was careful to keep question from her voice.
"Ah, the old unicorn head in the bed trick. You risk looking weak in the short term, but in the long term, people will grow to fear you."
'Unicorn head in the bed?' almost escaped her mouth, but she quickly stopped it, realizing that Khnum was once again pleased with her vague answer. She just nodded.
"You gave some good answers there," Khnum continued. "You've clearly got potential. You're a thinker and a risk-taker; a swindler. With your ideas and the Skulls' resources, we could be rolling in it. Well done! Welcome to the Skulls, recruit! Do you have any questions?"
She nodded. "Plenty of questions," she said, and Khnum nodded for her to continue. "What's your role in all of this?"
"My role?" he said and laughed. "Don't mistake me as a recruiter! I AM the Skulls. This is my gang. Let's just say I got fed up working for 'the man', so I struck it out on my own. And it turns out I've got a certain 'finesse' when it comes to crime."
She took a mental note, knowing Ozan would fine that bit of information interesting. "So, your Skulls, what kind of reputation do you have here in Draynor?"
"What of it? I've found that taking extreme measures is the only way to make a name for yourself. People around here know to fear us- they aren't going to put up a fight. It's not hard, though- the locals are scared of their own shadows. They're almost happy they're only being attacked by plain old humans. At least we leave them alive…mostly."
"Plain old humans?" she asked, curious by his odd choice of words.
"You're new around here?" he asked back and she nodded. "They say that the manor to the north houses a vampire the name of Count Draynor." He shook his head. "But that's just a load of superstition. Makes the people of this village easy targets."
She nodded, slowly growing curious about something else. "Do you know a man by the name Ozan?"
Khnum's demeanor changed in an instant. "Yeah, I know him…at least I thought I did. But then it seems everyone knows him these days. He might color himself as being on the wrong side of the law, but he's really just some jumped-up do-gooder these days. Why do you ask?" When she didn't answer right away, he shook his head. "Is he still skulking around Draynor? Never mind. Just stay clear of him, right? He'll pretend to be your friend until he gets what he wants, then he'll leave you behind without a second thought. Don't trust him- you're a Skull now."
She nodded. She could see in his eyes that thinking back to whatever happened hurt him. That and she could tell that he was suspicious of her after that question. "Well, what jobs are in the works here?" she asked, hoping to take his mind off Ozan.
"As a matter of fact, three of my best are out on a job right now- a kidnapping. It's our biggest job so far, plus I get the bonus of sticking it to my old employer," he said. There was an unpleasant glint in Khnum's eyes that she didn't like. He was enjoying this too much. "It's relatively risk-free; we're got some lady backer doing all the heavy lifting. Don't worry, I'm not gonna get you to kill anyone…yet. Just run some supplies to my guys. I'll fill you in when we're at our HQ- this place is just where we unwind from a long day's work. Thing is, I'm not gonna tell you WHERE our HQ is. Consider this one final test- a practical to follow the theory. But if you can't find it, well, I guess you aren't Skulls material after all."
"Any hints about this location?" she asked.
He smiled. "I'm sure you're crafty enough to figure it out on your own. Good luck."
And with that she was dismissed. He turned his back to her, attending to the kegs behind him. She decided to go back and talk to Ozan about what she had found out.
She ascended the stairs, and the bouncer at the trapdoor watched her as she left. Stepping out of the house and into the crisp, fresh air was very refreshing. She took a couple deep lung fulls before turning for the alley and Ozan.
He was sitting at the end of the alley on an old crate, mindlessly strumming the string of his bow. He looked up when she stepped into view and smiled. "Hey, so you made it back out alive. Are you in? What did you find out? Did you talk to Khnum?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm in," she said. "I was put through what was called their 'theory' test. Though I very much doubt these situations were simply theoretical."
"What were you asked?" Ozan asked, curious.
She recounted the theory test for him, going through each question that was asked of her, and the answers she had given.
"Haha! You gave them some good answers there. I'd hire you. Though we were just pretending, right?"
"Of course," she said. "Well, pretending with everything except with the first question."
He nodded. "That would be a clever way to get into someone's house, invited," he said, letting himself get distracted. He soon shook his head, refocusing on what was important. "Anyways, what about Khnum? Did you talk to him?"
"He was the one who gave me the initiation," she said. "But he hasn't just 'fallen in' with this new gang, he's the one heading this whole thing up. After being a guard for so many years, he seems to be using that knowledge to get ahead with his gang." She sighed. "I also brought your name up into the conversation and he was none too pleased to hear it. He made it seem as though you used him and left him in Al Kharid without a second thought."
Ozan leaned against one of the walls of the alley. He shook his head, absorbing the information she relayed to him. "I can't believe he's the gang leader," he finally said. "And none too fond of me anymore. No wonder he wouldn't talk to me about this. I mean, I may be more than just the world's greatest thief these days-" At this she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "-but he is still an old friend. I'd help him if I could. I wonder what happened to lead him to this. Did he say anything?"
She shook her head, thinking back. "No, but he did bring up a job that he had his Skulls doing."
He turned his brown eyes on her. "And what's that?"
"A kidnapping. He said it's been their biggest job yet. I guess some woman is backing it. He was particularly interested in it because it allowed him to…what was it? 'Stick it to his old employer' I believe his exact words were."
"Wait, what? He said that? Surely he can't mean from back when he was a palace guard in Al Kharid. I just can't see him doing something that serious," Ozan said, shaking his head. He looked at the house that contained the Skullery, as if he could see into it, and see Khnum below. "What are you up to, Khnum?" He was quiet for a while, processing all of her information. Finally, he looked back to her and said, "Anything else?"
"Well, right now I'm supposed to be doing the 'practical' portion of his test, finding out where their HQ is since the Skullery is just their drinking den. I'm to meet him at HQ once I've found it, but he gave me no clues about where I need to go."
Ozan just nodded, preoccupied by his thoughts. "Listen," he said. "This kidnapping he mentioned worries me- I want to ask him about it. He said he wants you to meet him at his gang's HQ? So, it sounds like he'll be making his own way there soon. We'll just wait for him to surface, then follow him- that's how we'll find the HQ. Once we're sure he's alone, I'll step in and we can find out more about what he's mixed up in here. There must be more going on- the Khnum I knew wouldn't do something like this. Think you can trail Khnum back to HQ?"
She nodded. "Of course, I've done it before in Varrock," she said. "Though, the city had many more people than here."
Ozan nodded. "True, but you'll do just fine. When Khnum comes out we'll just have to keep him in our sights, but not too close. I'll hang back behind you, we don't need him seeing me with you just yet."
Arianna nodded. "Now we just need to wait for Khnum to make his appearance."
"Yeah, and we might as well get comfortable," he said, sitting back down. "I've been watching him for a while now, I know he'll be down there for a few more hours."
She sighed and sat as well, and they began waiting.