The bartender put the beer glass that he was cleaning down, was about to pick up another one from the dirty stock, then stopped. He hurled the cleaning cloth back onto the counter and walked over to the only customer in the bar. The others had already left while the sun was still up, but this person had never left since arriving a few days ago. He claimed that he survived a disastrous wolf attack while journeying across White Wolf Mountain, and even fought off a gang of highwaymen who ambushed him.
"So, you've been here for two days already, but I still don't know your name. What is it?" the bartender asked curiously, plopping down on his chair behind the bar. The person looked up from the beer he was busy drinking and glanced briefly at the bartender.
No reply.
"I take it you're not from around these parts."
No reply.
"Well, do you want another beer?"
Still no reply.
The bartender sighed. "Well, I bet you could tell me a story a two. It's pretty boring nowadays with less customers in here due to the economy crash, but you certainly do look like the sort of person who has a story."
Joseph Dolciban rubbed his eyes and looked up from the Dwarven Stout that he was staring at. "You're right, I do."
"Ah really? Go on, tell me your story."
Joseph looked down, and then lifted his head. "All right then, but I'll tell you now, I really regret what I've done."
The bartender moved forward to hear Joseph's story…
Meanwhile, Zazime had just arrived back at Port Sarim, accompanied by his tutor Gerard Haelan. The two had come from the Void Knights' Outpost, where Zazime's parents were working in. To fully mark Zazime as an official adventurer, he had traveled to the Outpost for a special ceremony in which the Knights had blessed him with Guthixian spells. Gerard had watched all this proudly, standing right next to Zazime during the ceremony. It had been a good day for the kid; he had been reunited with his parents for the first time in almost a year, and he just became an adventurer, free to travel wherever he likes. As Zazime walked with Gerard to the ship reserved for them, calling good-byes to his parents, the tutor thought his student was really becoming a man now.
"Whereabouts now, Zazime?" Gerard asked. "I think I've taught you everything I know. You should be fine even if you travel by yourself."
"Wait," Zazime said quickly. "Let's just go to Falador for a quick celebration at their Rising Sun inn; I've heard that it's the best inn in all of Asgarnia. I haven't got time to properly thank you for all these years of training, Sir Haelan."
"There's no need to call me Sir, Zazime. Let's hurry up and head to Falador!"
Bar near Taverley
"All right, so you've managed to lose your companion on the mountain, now what?" the bartender asked.
Joseph slammed his hand on the bar heavily. "That wasn't my bloody fault!" he protested, breathing heavily.
The bartender raised an eyebrow, but he was wise enough not to anger Joseph any further. He knew the kid had gone through some hard times, and it was better to let him continue his story.
Joseph sat back in the bar pump and breathed deeply, closing his eyes. He then opened them wide and continued.
The young ranger had finally come to the base of the mountain after a long time of trekking. His back was splattered with cold snow, and his hands were numb from the temperature. His whole body shivered as he took a step forward, away from the snow, and onto the green grass. Gripping Victoros' Godsword tightly, he started limping away from the mountain towards the village of Taverley.
Joseph walked slowly, following the arching path towards the druidic village. He passed several wooden cottages, thinking about the horrible events he had just encountered. First, Victoros had fallen off the mountain by slipping, and is probably dead by now. Next, he had to fight his way through the tight blizzard and all those snow! Worse, just when he managed to climb his way down the mountain, a pack of five wolves had appeared out of nowhere and decided to make him their meal! They had pounced fiercely at his freezing body, extending razor sharp claws and opening their jaws to reveal gleaming white teeth of doom. Joseph, however, had managed to stay calm and without thinking, he had thrown Victoros' Godsword with all his might at the lead wolf. The wolf was impaled by the powerful sword, and as it died, the others skulked away, presumably scared by the Sword. Joseph had sighed in relief, and went to retrieve the Sword only to slip and fall again. The ranger sighed as he neared Taverley, seeing the druidic fountain in rising up into the air. He would never get over leaving Victoros' body to die under the pile of snow…
"Ah, such a sad story," the bartender commented. "Would you like another beer?"
Joseph nodded tiredly, and the bartender handed him a full beer glass. Joseph had drunk almost ten beers daily since his arrival at the inn, and the bartender guessed he was trying to drown out the bad memories. He started to leave the bar.
"Wait, there's more…" Joseph mumbled. The bartender sat back down.
He was in the middle of Taverley when a young girl stopped him. Joseph sat on a blue bench near the fountain, his head in his hands. The girl had plopped onto the bench next to him, and suddenly he was being accused.
"Are you a thief?"
Joseph looked up at the girl in surprise. "What the—no, of course not. I'm just wearing this bandit disguise to fool off unwelcome visitors, whoever they may be."
"Am I one of those unwelcome visitors?"
"Uh, I can't say. But, what were you thinking, suddenly sitting down next to me? Were you planning to assault me, perhaps in some inappropriate way?"
"Don't jump to those kinds of conclusions. Anyway, since you're not a thief, I guess I won't have to call the guards here. My name's Eliza."
"I'm Joseph Dolciban."
"What brings you here anyway, Joseph? If you're looking to trade then I'm afraid no one in this village can buy it off you. You know, lack of money and stuff."
"Just passing through, so don't worry."
"Well, what did you do before you came here?"
"None of yo~uh, nothing."
"You're a bad liar, your lip just twitched. Not very confident, eh, Joseph? Anyway, it seems that you might really be a rogue now. Might be a threat to my family, eh? Gonna commit murder and kill me right here?"
"What in the world do you want with me, Eliza? I'm just passing through, and so what if I'm not telling the whole truth! It's none of your business!"
"Ah but it is. You've done something quite bad, and you're probably regretting it right now. You're questioning your own hasty decisions, but that is expected of all vagabonds with no home~"
"Shut up!" Joseph lashed out a fist and punched Eliza on the shoulder, knocking her to the ground.
"Urgh!"
"I'm sorry, Eliza, are you all right?" Joseph exclaimed.
"Well, never you mind. You're not sorry anyways, I can tell from your hidden smile. Anyway, at least you're not one of those scrawny homeless weaklings; at least you defend yourself. There's more to you than meets the eye," Eliza muttered, glimpsing Victoros' Sword and the bow and quiver of arrows on Joseph's back.
"Well, I'll be going now. Probably won't see you again."
"Wait, where'd you get that sword? It looks quite nice."
Joseph opened his mouth, and then paused. "Well, I got it from a friend earlier today."
"No you didn't, that's one hundred percent a full-fledged lie," Eliza sneered.
"I don't care; like I said, I've got places to go, places to see. If you don't mind, I'm leaving!"
"Where are you going?"
"Falador, obviously."
"Where all the wealth is? Dream on, you'll never find a job there, so stop dreaming about Falador and all its wealth."
"And you're not?"
"Well, let me tell you, Dad's got a honest business selling herb-mixed potions, so I've got enough money to~"
"Watch out, Eliza!"
Before the girl could finish her sentence, a sword stabbed into the middle of her chest sharply. Blood instantly zoomed out of the wound, flowing steadily down Eliza's body. She yelped in pain and her body went weak; her shoulders slumped and her eyes lost their focus. Eliza stood there, impaled by the sword.
"Are you okay, Eliza? You will be!" Joseph shouted, hurrying to the girl's side.
"No I won't, because I'm going to die. Anyway, I wish you good luck, Joseph Dolciban, and please avenge my death by killing my killers." With that, Eliza died.
Joseph stared directly past Eliza's corpse and glared at her killer straight in the eye. It was a bandit, a real one, not just someone wearing a disguise. The man pulled out the sword which had claimed Eliza's life, and flipped back his long purple cape. His dark eyes narrowed as he glimpsed Victoros' sword in Joseph's sweaty hands.
"That sword shouldn't be with you, kid, now hand it over, unless you wish to die like this worthless girl," the bandit snarled, holding his sword out menacingly.
"Eliza may be annoying, and I've only known her for a few minutes. But it's not right to take away someone's life without asking!" Joseph hollered, and pulled his Magic Bow off his back. He latched an arrow to the bow and aimed it directly at the bandit's heart.
"Going to fight, eh, kid? Well, I'm going to have to take that precious sword of yours by force!" The bandit charged forward rapidly, swinging the sword high in tight circles. Joseph managed to keep his eyes on his enemy's nimble movements the whole time, and quickly released the arrow. His aim was true; the arrow buried itself in the bandit's chest just as he jumped in to slice Joseph's head off. The bandit groaned in pain as he crumpled onto the ground, dead.
"Well, I've avenged you, Eliza," Joseph said softly, glancing down at the girl's corpse sadly. He walked out of the fountain square, towards the village's gates.
"And that's when I headed here," Joseph said, finishing his story. The bartender clapped his hands.
"Quite a story you've got there!"
"Yes, and now I'm drinking myself to death to wash away those memories. I took away a life, left another to die and watch yet another die. It's not right, is it? One more beer, please." Joseph held out the empty beer glass, and the bartender took it, only to hurl it at the floor. The glass smashed into millions of pieces.
"That's all you're going to do? Keep drinking until you're insane?"
"Since you put it that way, yes."
"Well, I've got something to say to you. Go to Falador and make something of yourself. Leave the harsh times behind and get on with your life. You're still young, and unlike me, you've got a bright future. Think what your parents would say if they saw you here drinking ten beers a day."
Joseph thought about it. "You're right, mister. I've got to make myself something I can be proud of, in the name of Victoros and the Dolciban family. I've got to fight on."
With that, the archer stood up, paid for his stay at the inn, and left. The bartender looked at the door in which Joseph had left swinging wide open. He smiled slightly, and began cleaning the broken glass pieces with a dustpan.
Somewhere near, Zazime and Gerard were at the south entrance of Falador, arguing bitterly with the stubborn guards. Apparently no unwelcome outsiders could enter the city without proper identification!
"What's the meaning of this, guard?"
"Sorry, folks, but you have not been admitted in. Only those who are chosen can be admitted into our glorious city. I'm sorry, but it's the King's orders. Now kindly leave."
Gerard was about to fight some more, as he hands flew to his sword hilt, but Zazime stopped his tutor. The duo threw a dirty look at the guards, and headed away in the opposite direction…
"So, you're sure his appearance matched my description? A young man carrying a large Godsword and a Magic Bow?"
"Yes, sir. What a poor guy he was, leaving his friend for death and watching another die. He'd had to kill too, and now I'm almost out of stock because he drank up most of my beer supply."
"Thanks. I'll be going now, I've got to chase a certain bandit." The bartender reached out and took the money the man handed him, and watched him head out of the door.
"Oh yeah, he's heading to Falador!" the bartender called out loudly.
"Yes, I know." Victoros replied as he set off in pursuit of Joseph Dolciban.