As the group ran towards the Wizards' Tower, Victoros killed several attacking Black Knights with his Sword. When more Knights came charging, screaming and shrieking insults, Lance also joined the fun. By the time they reached the door of the majestic Tower, there were many knights lying dead on the bloodstained ground. Many of the knights were headless, bloody, and crushed. The remaining Knights were now terrified and had fled back to their cave to regroup. Even the ones occupying the Wizards' Tower ran off when they saw Victoros' group marching by.
"The Tower is saved!" Victoros exclaimed. "And all thanks to me!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Nicolas muttered, although he couldn't help grinning as well.
Kondaz, Johan and the other wizards rushed down to greet the group as they finally stepped onto the fountain square. Rosheil had become tired from his long run, so Kondaz escorted him upstairs to the Head Wizard's study room and tried to make him as relaxed as possible. Victoros, Alexandros, Nicolas and Lance followed the wizards upstairs.
"I must thank you guys dearly for rescuing Master Rosheil," Kondaz mumbled, bowing down deeply at Victoros' feet.
"Alexandros, I never did believe you'd get me out of there, but you did. I owe you my life, as well as other three of you. True courage and strength, two things I feel I must develop on," Rosheil said.
"All you need is faith and trust, something which we all need to improve on," Alexandros told the wizard. The wizards all thanked the group one by one for saving Rosheil from being burnt.
"I'll be off then," Nicolas said as the wizards finished thanking them.
"Where are you going?" Alexandros asked, turning to the young mage.
"Probably Falador, I'm gonna get myself some money."
"I'm coming with you," Victoros said. "I could do with the work there. Plus, I still haven't forgiven those stubborn guards for kicking me out."
"And me, even if I have to leave the Imperial Guards," Alexandros said. "With the Warrior's Guild nearby, Commander Joxcaite should be fine."
"I'll stay here for a while to rehab, and then catch up with you guys later at Falador," Lance stated. He bumped fists with Victoros, and then went downstairs to rest, followed by some wizards, who were big fans of his days in the Ardougne Slayer Force.
"Well if any of you ever need us, just call on us, and we shall be there instantly. And now we have control of the Tower again we can begin to sort out the problems with the essence mines. If we're quick they'll be partially functioning again by tomorrow evening, we might even get a few chaos runes or death runes out of it if we're lucky," Rosheil said happily. He leaned back in his chair and Kondaz rushed forward to bring him a cup of steaming coffee. The wizards all saluted the group as they left the room.
And with that, Victoros, Alexandros and Nicolas made their way off, in the direction of Falador...until…
"Damn! I've completely forgot about Joseph Dolciban! That poor lad is probably still in the rented room, waiting for me. I've got to go back and get him."
Nicolas rolled his eyes, but Alexandros intervened. "It's all right, Mr. Paladine, we'll go with you. We're a team now, right?"
"Right!" Victoros declared as the three of them turned back towards Draynor Village.
Falador South Gate
Vincent Jamison woke up. Another boring day in his little outpost to the south of the majestic city. He was an experienced guard, but never left the building he was stationed in. He would only be permitted into Falador when asked to be or in a dire emergency when the White Knights need more reinforcements. Everyday, Vincent looked out the dusty window on the side of his outpost, looking at Falador longingly. The guard sighed, walked over to the stove to make some food to eat, when he heard footsteps outside the oak door.
Today, a dire emergency knocked on his door. Actually, to be correct, five of them did.
As soon as Vincent opened the door, he stepped back in horror at the surprise visitors. He continued to retreat until he tripped over a wooden stool and collapsed onto the soft red carpet he had bought ages ago.
"Vincent Jamison, I presume. My grand name is Allen Hawkins, and my accomplices are Takrinqer, Darko, Kettok, and Crantus, four very awesome guys. We are giving you an offer which you can't refuse. Seriously, if you refuse, your life is at stake. Got that, hot shot?"
The man who said that had said it very aggressively, and due to his appearance Vincent thought he looked like an adventurer. The others, however, looked like a bunch of no-good wanderers, except for that Kettok. He was clearly a powerful Tzhaar. Vincent shivered just looking at the creature.
The guard stood up. "Well, you might as well come in. Grab a seat, and I'll make you all tea while we talk this over."
"I'll have at least two sugars."
The gang entered the small outpost and sat around a wooden table. Allen bowed his head as the others glanced uneasily at each other.
"So what is this offer?" Vincent demanded curiously as he walked back to the table, holding a tray lined with steaming mugs of tea. He sat down and offered each one of his guests the drinks, and put the tray underneath the table. He then leaned back in his chair while he waited for Allen to answer. That adventurer was clearly the leader of this strange troupe.
"I'll try to make this as simple as possible. Basically, you got to find a way to smuggle all five of us into Falador." Allen explained.
"I don't think it's possible. How in the world can I fit two adventurers, two thieves, and a burly Tzhaar into one parcel?"
"Then make it possible, Einstein!" Darko shouted aggressively, pounding a fist on the table. His mug of tea spilled all over the carpet at the vibration. Vincent flinched.
"When there's a will, there's a way. Ever heard of that?" Crantus smirked.
"All right, let me think. I suppose I can fit you into some very big parcels due to go into Falador. You'll fit, I suppose," Vincent stammered weakly.
"Best news I've heard all day," Allen muttered darkly.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Get us into Falador!" Takrinqer bellowed, suddenly impatient. This whole smuggling thing was getting him angry.
"Course, Course," Vincent stammered again as he stood up. "Follow me, if you please."
The guard led the other five into the post room at the back of the outpost. The room was very big and dark, filled with crates and parcels of various sizes. Allen strode around until he saw an extremely large crate in the back of the room, and pointed a finger at it.
"This one will do, Vincent, but what's inside?" Allen enquired.
"Mostly weapons. Tons of it. The White Knights asked for it specifically. If you hide in it, be careful, as the weapons are very sharp," Vincent warned them.
But Kettok had already pulled the lid off, and was already climbing in. Everybody else followed, with Takrinqer, being the smallest, settling in last. He gave Vincent thumbs up, and the guard shut the lid tightly on them. There were a few small holes on the side of the large crate, and Allen spoke through them. The five were in a very uncomfortable position.
"Stop moving, Crantus! And, Vincent Jamison, if you betray us, we'll make sure you die very slowly and painfully in ways you can't imagine."
"Trust us, we're experienced at that," Darko grunted.
Vincent gulped and nodded slowly. He sounded the horn on the wall, and a few minutes later, some guards came in. They helped Vincent drag the crate out of the outpost to the southern gates of Falador.
"I'm Vincent Jamison, guardian of the outpost. Here's my ID and the White Knights' order."
The gate guards nodded, and the crate was let in. Vincent followed. The crate was then dragged into a small hut, with Vincent carefully following. A few guards walked into the hut after Vincent, and told him that they were going to search it.
"It's only weapons though!" Vincent protested.
The other guards looked at him strangely. "How can you be sure, terrorists and criminal organizations have ways of disguising menaces as weapons. The crate's much heavier than we thought, but we're still gonna search it."
Vincent had no choice but to stand back and watch as the guards stepped forward, strapping on thick gloves. The biggest guard reached out a muscle-bound hand and opened the crate easily. It was then that all hell broke loose.
An abyssal whip shot out of the crate and, grabbed the guard's neck, and strangled him. As his body crumpled onto the floor, the other guards distinctly attacked the crate valiantly, brandishing their swords and maces. There was a whistle, and Allen's group jumped out to confront their enemies.
Kettok easily ripped the sword of a guard, and hurled him into a wall. Two other guards charged at the Tzhaar, but Kettok punched them onto the ground, where their heads got stuck in a hole on the floor.
Crantus dodged a guard's swinging mace and took out his Darklight sword; he sliced the guard's hair completely off, and started to stab crazily at his enemy's bald head. The guard eventually collapsed, blood pouring out of his cut head.
Allen used his whip to tie up two guards and hurl them against a wall. He then marched over to their collapsed forms and started to whip them hard for no apparent reason.
Darko was an ace at throwing weaponry. He took out a poisoned rune knife, a sharp dart and a large throwing axe from his pouch, and prepared to attack. Three guards leapt at him, their eyes burning with hatred, but they all fell just as fast, when Darko's weapons slit their throats quickly.
There were only two guards left. They started to run away, but Takrinqer pulled out his Dragon Dagger. He stabbed the first guard in the back, killing him, and jumped over to the remaining guard, who cowered in fear. Takrinqer grinned mercilessly and punched the guard heavily in the stomach, sending him flying into a window, smashing it open. The group had defeated the guards, and Vincent was deeply impressed at their skill.
"This has certainly been a confusing, yet interesting day," Vincent murmured quietly.
"Vincent, you're coming with us on an adventure of a lifetime. By coming with us, we can make sure you don't run off and tell the Knights, also it'd be useful to have a guard aiding us."
The six of them ran out of the hut after locking it, just as an alarm sounded somewhere. Guards were running everywhere, as they had just discovered the bodies of their dead comrades in the hut. Also, the guardian of the outpost was missing. Kidnapping was not ruled out by official PIs.
Outside of Falador, Zazime and Gerard took this chance to sneak into Falador. The guards were completely confused by this sudden turn of events, so the duo was able to sneak in quite effortlessly. They ran along the towering wall towards the direction of the Castle.
"Where do we go now, Gerard?" Zazime asked his tutor.
"The Castle, of course," Gerard answered. Just then, a stray arrow flew over and impaled Gerard directly in the throat. He gasped and collapsed onto the ground. As the arrow zoomed out from the other side, its tip stained with blood. Zazime looked around in horror and quickly headed for his tutor's side. Gerard was losing a lot of blood; red liquid poured out from the fatal wound.
"Out you go intruders!" a guard wielding a longbow yelled, striding towards them. This must be the one who shot Gerard.
Zazime screamed and rushed over to the shocked guard, who let loose another arrow. This time, Zazime was ready, and he deflected the arrow with a slash of his Dragon Longsword. The guard was killed quickly as Zazime stabbed him through the chest with his Longsword.
"Zazime…come here," Gerard groaned. Zazime spat on the guard's corpse, and hurried back to his dying tutor.
"I'm gonna die soon, but I have one last request," Gerard whispered weakly. He struggled to stand up, and fell over again. Zazime bowed his head, tears cascading down his cheeks.
"Be sure to find out all you can about Falador. I think it might've been corrupted; I'll never know. My guess is that some other force has taken over Falador from the outside, and now the economy crisis is affecting the whole world except this city. It may be that Falador is the true culprit. However, Zazime, as you investigate this, I want you to be safe; don't attempt risky things. It may be that war will break out soon…" With that, Gerard closed his eyes for the final time. His body went limp.
Zazime stood up and brushed away his tears. Don't worry, Gerard. I'll make you proud and get to the bottom of this. The young adventurer quickly found a spade and buried his dead tutor under a pile of flowers. He uttered a quick prayer and ran off.
Volstagh Abumei watched all this without emotion, from high atop the wall. As soon as Zazime disappeared from sight, the bounty hunter jumped down from the wall in one huge leap and hurried over to where Gerard was buried. Grinning like a maniac, he grabbed the spade nearby and set to work.
"This'll fetch quite a bit of money from the bounty station," Volstagh grinned as he prepared to dig up Gerard's body.
It was a very sunny day. The gang of six walked out of a house near the large park, having robbed it of all its food, and headed for the newly-established Falador market. The guards were absent. The traders were present, as was bustling customers. Apparently there was still plenty of money to go around here.
"The guards have probably been summoned by the king to continue their man hunt or whatever," Crantus muttered darkly.
"D'you think we should buy supplies or steal 'em?" Darko smirked.
"I don't really care," Vincent declared. He was finally seeing all the grand buildings and sights of Falador!
"Without any guards around, you could easily get away with it," Allen told his greedy comrade. Darko rubbed his hands in anticipation.
They could see two entrances to the city. They looked at the left, and saw a terrible sight. The Socialists. They had been stopped by the councilors at the gate. But they wouldn't say no.
The six ran to a nearby house, and hid in it. They stared out of the window, and they could hear loud voices.
"Don't use such vulgar language!" bellowed an angry councilor to General Vaarku. The market suddenly became silent as everyone turned to watch.
Socialist soldiers were raising their weapons, but Vaarku gestured for them to lower their weapons.
"If you don't let us in right now, I'll have the rest of my army storm the city from all sides of the border!" snapped General Vaarku.
"By the order of the King and Order of the White Knights-"
"That's the last straw. Your king can shove this up his ass!"
Vaarku shoved a sword through the councilor's chest brutally. The councilor gasped and collapsed instantly, while the others stood stunned.
"Finish 'em off, Zaseke," Vaarku ordered a soldier standing right beside him. The soldier raced at the remaining councilors and quickly finished them off. Suddenly, Vaarku grabbed a trumpet from a nearby Socialist soldier and blew into it loudly.
Then the gates all over the city suddenly burst, and the Socialists were storming the streets.
The citizens paused, and stuck their hands in the air, surrendering. The soldiers brushed past them and rammed down all the doors. Families were terrified. The marketplace was suddenly chaotic as customers and traders alike tried to escape to their homes.
But suddenly, the soldiers withdrew, and they all marched to the Castle, on orders by General Vaarku.
Several White Knights and guards emerged, but they retreated into the castle as soon as they saw the upcoming army. Captain Leodon quickly knocked down a retreating knight and pulled him over to General Vaarku by the hair.
"I request an audience with your king..." grinned Vaarku manically.
*********************************************************************The six stepped back into the market. All the citizens quickly ran outside, and constantly chattered with each other. Others stood still, waiting for something big to happen. Falador was in chaos.
"Right, we are not going to surrender! We tried so hard and got so far! We've gone too far to loose it all!" Allen roared at his team.
"We shall stick by you like glue, whatever the situation!" Crantus announced, and slapped his chest with one hand. The rest repeated.
"I shall scout for us! There are some people around the corner!" Kettok said, as he stomped off. He came back two minutes later.
"They are not our enemies, but we better make ourselves scarce, just in case."
"Who were they?" Vincent enquired fearfully. "Not allies of the Socialists?"
"An archer, a mage, an Imperial Guard soldier, and a warrior with a pretty nice sword. The warrior said his name was Victoros or something."
Allen, Takrinqer and Darko stared at each other in disbelief. They then walked off, to find another hiding place, with the other three following them closely, before Victoros could come by.
"Well, that weirded me out," Joseph screeched loudly. "First the Socialists came barging in, and then a Tzhaar came by!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Victoros grumbled absentmindedly. "We'll discover our next move soon enough." He motioned for his group to follow, and they headed back into the marketplace.
As General Vaarku explained their next move to the rest of his army, Zaseke wasn't listening. He was looking down at a small enchanted jewel in his palm. The jewel allowed communication between him and the Serkotzul leader.
"Zaseke, when you get the chance, finish off the Socialists," the leader rasped. "Although I suppose the Knights would've finished them off by then. Falador is already under my complete control, and you did a good job getting them inside. I'm currently in the Castle; meet me when you have the chance. Next, some annoying pests have also entered the city. My spies tell me that yet another is coming, by the name of Mathis Vendai. I'll have Sliske finish him off. Out."
Zaseke nodded shortly and put the jewel back inside a pocket…