Well, another depressingl long break between chapters, eh? Yeah, those suck. What? I had one, no kidding!? I must suck! And that just about sums it up. But, I guess its time to come out with one of the more exciting free quests in Runescape:
Runescape Chronicles
The Shield of Arrav
The silence of the Varrock Palace Library was interrupted by three hard knocks on the library doors. Reldo, the librarian, let out an irritated sigh and straightened his glasses. He pulled the large doors open with a loud creak. "I'm sorry, the palace library is doing inventory to - Joe! " A man with black hair stood in the doorway with a stupid grin on his face. "How ya' dong, Reldo?" Since Reldo had helped Joe find Thurgo the Incamdo Dwarf, they had become something of friends, helping him find information on his current quests and passing around the rumors of new ones.
"I probably shouldn't do this, but.." Reldo leaned out in the corridor and looked around. "Come in, come in." Joe followed him inside the library and he slide the door shut. "So, what do you need?" Joe pulled out a chair from a desk and sat down. "Know anything about a guy named Robert the Strong?" Reldo raised an eyebrow, and appeared to be in thought for a moment, then told Joe all he wanted to know.
"And actually, Joe, before you leave.." Joe turned back from the door, but Reldo had already vanished into the shelves of books, and returned with a brown book which he handed to Joe. The title was The Shield of Arrav by A.R. Wright, and Joe raised an eyebrow. "Rumors going around town about the gangs in Varrock having some sort of ancient shield halves, sounds interesting." Joe shrugged with an educated "Huh." And set off.
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Joe entered back into Varrock, digging in his pack, he found the book Reldo had given him the previous day, he'd completely forgotten he had it. He sat down on the side of the fountain in Varrock Square and flipped it open, the pages were new, and it was about the two major gangs in Varrock, the Black Arm and Phoenix, and how the Shield of Arrav had been stolen and broken, and the two halves had ended up in possession of the respective gangs. The more Joe read, the more he was interested, perhaps he should pay Reldo another visit.
Reldo looked up a few minutes later as Joe entered through the now open library doors. "Ah, Joe, back already?" Joe smiled back at him. "Hey, do you remember that Shield of Arrav book you handed me yesterday?" Reldo blinked for a moment, and nodded in understanding. "Oh, yeah, I actually did some poking around about that, I knew you'd come back for it eventually." Joe nodded back. "So, how exactly do I go and start it?" Reldo laughed. "Lucky you I actually did some digging. There's a fur seller in Varrock Square who seems like he might know a thing or two about the gangs."
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Joe dove into the now-bustling crowd of merchants and people trying to sell all of their useless items. He looked around relentless over the heads of hopeless merchants, and finally find a man who claimed to be Baraek. "Yes, I am Baraek, the fur seller, who's asking?" He snorted, stroaking his brown goatee, even though his head was completely bald.
"Joe Player Killer, I hear you know about the gangs in this town." Baraek raised an eyebrow, though whether he recognized the name or if it was because he mentioned the gangs, he didn't care. "Shh, shh, my friend, they have eyes and ears in the streets. The Phoenix are swift and deadly, and the Black Arm have very unpleasant ways of helping anyone whose company they wouldn't want to, say, disappear."
Though Joe was undaunted by the fur seller, it still sent something of a chill down his spine. "Now, what you want to know?" Baraek said in a hushed voice, eyeing the square suspiciously. "I want to know where, and I want to know how." Baraek laughed. "To get in?" Joe nodded slowly. "Well, I see yous got a death wish."
Joe narrowed his eyes, leaning over the assorted furs spread on the merchant's cart. "Just tell me how." Baraek rolled his eyes." You'll have teh give me twenty gold first, son." Joe groaned, digging into his gold pouch and dropping them with a clatter on the stall.
"The Phoenix Gang, they hides out in the southeast slums of the city, where all the muggers hangs out. And the Black Arms are on the other side of the city, but they're equipped, too. Got a whole warehouse, and even thoughs their leader's a girl, she ain't nobody to be messed with." Joe leaned back out from under the cart.
"Nice doing business with you!" Joe yelled behind him, and added under his breath. "You cheap scum.."
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Joe had drawn his mythril schimitar as he headed into the alley behind the Sword Shop, and found a ragged tramp wondering around in the trash. "Hey, you there!" The tramp turned, revealing long, unkempt, gray hair with a beard to match, and his clothes were old, dirty, and filled with rips and holes. "You need Charlie?" He hobbled over. "Got any spare change?" Joe raised an eyebrow. "Do you know what this building is?" He motioned to the building behind Charlie, with two armed doormen.
"That the Black Arm place, that place bad, Charlie dun go there." Joe nodded slowly. "So the Black Arm Gang is there?" The tramp nodded furiously. "So, gots any change?" Joe groaned, dropping a gold piece in his palm. Charlie freaked out and hopped around in joy, until the Black Arm Gang doormen ran over and told him to shut up as Joe slinked out of sight.
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Joe began to realize, since there were two different gangs, he would have to bring in some help on this one, no matter how much he didn't like it. There were two gangs, and two people would need to be inside both gangs for this to work. So, Joe sent a message to the most qualified person he could think of:
Scotty Kill, Wilderness Legend
Though both he and Scotty had had quite a reputation for being ruthless in the Wilderness, since their last encounter in the Ice Giant Caves, Scotty had been busy living up to his nickname Kill. And it took almost a week for him to even read the message and come down to Varrock.
But now Joe had met up with Scotty at the north entrance to Varrock, and they were now walking, side-by-side, towards the southern gate of Varrock. "Okay, man, you read the letter, you ready?" Scotty laughed. "They don't call me Scotty Kill for nothing." Joe twitched. He's really going overboard with that title.. But, with one last parting nod, they both set off in different directions. Joe to the alleys, Scott to the west, to the Black Arm Warehouse.
Joe, during the days he spent waiting for Joe after his encounter with Charlie the Tramp, had followed several members, resulting in several near-deaths and close calls until he finally found the entrance to the Phoenix Gang Headquarters, hidden under a trap door in a house on the south wall of Varrock. With some careful maneuvering through the alleys, he slipped in through the door of the house and stared at the trap door intently.
"Well, here goes." And he swung it open and descended into the dungeon. Directly into a hundred crossbows pointed straight at him in a stone corridor with torches placed on the walls. He smiled weakly. "Can't we all just get along?"
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Scotty meanwhile, wound back behind the Sword Shop as Joe had several days before, though, this time, Charlie the Tramp was absent. The large Black Arm's Hideout loomed before him, trash piled up on its right-front side. The doormen were absent, but Joe had failed to inform Scotty that such guards even existed in the first place.
He crept up to the door silently, it was a double wooden door, the left half hung open slightly, and he peeked in, but then there was a footstep on gravel and his eyes widened. Scotty spun around, too late, as a muscular guard swung at him in the face and knocked him through the door. He felt a hinge snap on the right door as he slid a couple of feet inside.
"Oh, man.."
Scotty sat up, holding his side and bracing himself as dust on the hideout floor swirled around him. He coughed and fell back, two legs on either side of his head in army green pants. They led up to a woman in a loose, white shirt with a low, revealing collar that ended above her belly button. She had deep, tan skin and a nicely-curved bosom. But that was, unfortunately, set off by the arrow of a crossbow pointed at the tip of his nose.
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Joe was pushed forward by longswords to the back, and his scimitar was confiscated and thrown behind a gate at the opposite end of the corridor. "So, what's a punk like you doing in a place like this?" A man approached him who wore a full, grey-black suit complete with a red tie. "I'm hear to see Straven, I want to join the Phoenix Gang." The man laughed loudly. "What makes you think you're quite gang material?" The man had a distinctly educated accent for a member of a vicious gang.
"That's for Straven to decide, I guess." Joe swallowed, and the man raised an eyebrow and took a long breath, as if he could smell his fear. "Well, you're looking at him." He straightened his red bow-tie and walked all the way around Joe.
"So, you're serious?" He sounded amused. "So, you're seriously Straven?" Joe decided to try the tough-guy act, since the Gang certainly wasn't looking for wimps. "So I am. And I don't let just anybody into my precious little family. I mean, barging in here without an announcement, you probably usually be shoved full of crossbow bolts by now. But I've taken a liking to you, kid, almost like déjà vu, I guess." He stroked his chin.
"So, how do I get in?" Straven sucked in a breathe through his teeth, and spun around on his heel. "There's a Black Arms agent in the Blue Moon Inn at nine 'o clock tonight setting down a deal. They call him Jonny the Beard, real tough guy, I hear. Some sort of report, I hear it has something to do with strategic locations and the Gang's movements in Varrock." He walked forward, and a guard unlocked the gate at the other end of the corridor for him. "Perhaps you could go and get it for me, hmm?" And the gate shut behind him, and Joe was pushed back to the ladder, which he quickly climbed up.
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Scotty was hauled up by the two doorsman, and the woman backed up and pointed her crossbow down at the floor. "What are you doing in my hide-out?" It was of a command than a question. "I want to join your Gang!" He said it quickly and his voice cracked and he swallowed quickly. He had to get his famous Wilderness macho, he was Scotty Kill, so he said it again, more confidently. "I want to join your Gang."
The woman laughed. "Figures, a bunch of you scum, coming around these days. I should just shoot you know and dump you in the alley, maybe Charlie will find something useful in ya'." But she automatically seemed to be thinking about it. "What's yer name?" Scotty blinked. "I asked you a question!" Scotty responded loudly, "Scotty!" Despite his pride, he decided it was better not to draw unwanted attention.
"Name's Katrine, leader of the Black Arm Gang! And don't get into any of that sexist crap, I'll beat you from here to the Wildy!" She swung her crossbow as if in emphasis. "So, you say you want to join the Black Arm, eh, kid?" Katrine turned to him, taking a long hard, look at him. Then she leaned forward and sniffed him, a long hard, sniff, and she brushed herself up against him. Scott tried to look down and hide his blush.
"Tell you what, kid. There's something I like about you, and I don't say that to just about anyone, something in yer stink. Jonny, let go of 'em!" The bulky guard let go of his collar and he stumbled forward, but Katrine got him. "Stay out of my space, Scotty. I don't like to be touched. So, about that joining, I just have one little task for ya', I want two Phoenix Crossbows. Yeah, if you're joining this one, I'm sure you've heard of the other one. They have very specific crossbows, which makes them so quick in the streets. Now, we have a man making a deal in the Blue Moon Inn tonight, and those neat-o crossbows could really help us out, maybe even be a trophy, even." Scotty nodded over-enthusiastically. "Now, you have ten seconds to get the hell out of here." Scotty blinked. "9, 8. 7.."
And he turned and sprinted out through the double doors, leaving them swinging, Katrine's cackle echoed behind him. Charlie had returned from whatever errand he had been doing, and watched him pass with a shrug.
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Joe sat at a table on the ground floor of the Blue Moon Inn, and the night life began to bustle in, arousing a ruckus and noise to rebound on the silent night streets of Varrock.
Scotty returned to the table with two foamy glass mugs of beer and took a swig as he sat down and slid the other across to Joe. "So, why did you want to meet here?" Joe looked around the bar. "There's a guy here from the Black Arm Gang, I have to get some sort of report off of him." Scotty blinked in disbelief. "Then why am I here? What if he recognizes me, Katrine will be on me before you can even get back to the Phoenix."
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll do all the heavy-lifting, he probably won't see you or recognize you. How tough can the guy be?" Joe looked around. "He should be coming in any time -." There was a heavy swing of the door and a man with a long, bushy, brown beard with a totally bald head shuffled in and sat down at the bar."That's him!"
Scotty glanced over and his eyes widened, "That's one of the door guys!" Joe blinked. "Door guys?" Scotty sunk lower in his seat. "The door guys from the Hideout." Joe smiled wryly. "Well, maybe he will recognize you." Scotty leaned toward him to stop him, but Joe had already slipped out of his grasp and had taken a seat at the bar a few feet away from Jonny the Beard.
The bartender flipped open the nozzle on the beer keg and fresh beer poured out, foaming up to the rim. "Ere Jonny, compliments from the guy on the end." Jonny raised an eyebrow, and cocked his head to the side and saw Joe at the far end with a stupid grin on his face. "What are you lookin' at?" And in a split second Joe sprung forward and socked him in the eye.
Jonny sprawled backwards, his beer mug spinning and breaking on the floor. His arm dragged across the bar, sending beer mugs shattering onto the hardwood floor. "Okay, somebody's paying for that!" Joe ignored the bartender and drew his schimmy, waving it at Jonny tauntingly. But, he pulled a crossbow and he threw himself across a nearby table as the bolt embedded itself in the ceiling. Joe laughed as Jonny reloaded.
"Is that the best you got?" Jonny growled, aiming at Joe, he ran to the side, but not quite quick enough. Jonny pointed his crossbow downward and a bolt pierced through his leg, and he dove behind the bar with a yell. Scotty straightened up as he set down his beer glass, and with a sigh drew his sword and ran forward.
Jonny, meanwhile, walked around the counter and kicked Joe's scimitar across the floor and under a table. "It's time, me 'eartie!" He picked him up by the collar with a growl and trained his crossbow's tip at his heart. Then there was a surprised gasp and Jonny fell to the floor, taking Joe with him. Scotty stood above them with a half-broken bottle of wine in his hand, which he tossed to the side and gave Joe a hand up. They both turned to the bartender who had just now poked his head above the counter. "Can we borrow your cellar?"
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After carefully tying up Jonny the Beard in the basement of the Blue Moon Inn and taking the intelligence scroll from his pocket, Joe and Scotty again set off their separate ways to finally finish this quest after making final plans. "Okay, so you need two Phoenix Crossbows?" Scotty nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem, assuming I'm not maimed and/or killed before I can join." And Scotty nodded again. "And then we can get the Shield and finish this bugger once and for all." They saluted once more and set off.
A short minute later Joe entered into the doorway of the Phoenix Headquarters and climbed down, this time, they seemed almost to be expecting him. They kept him waiting around until Straven came through the gate at the end of the hall, hands behind his back, with a smirk on his face,
"I assume you have the scroll, nine has come and gone." He stretched out a stiff hand, and Joe quickly dug in his pack, trying not to sweat. Straven snatched back his hand as soon as the report was in it, and quickly rolled it open. Satisfied, he closed it with a smile before he stuffed it in one of the pockets of his suit. "This will surely help us defeat the Black Arm Gang, since by tomorrow, they'll realize their agent is missing." The Phoenix Leader paused, and finally, took a low bow to Joe, and when he rose back up, he was beaming maliciously.
"Welcome to the Phoenix Gang!"
There were some short "Huzzah!"s and scattered applause, but the gang quickly returned to whatever they were doing, which was, surely, illegal. But Straven beckoned to Joe and led him to the gate at the end. "Grunge, get this man a key, and quickly!" He snapped for emphasis, and the Gate Guard dug into a chest and pulled out a ring of keys, and took one of the less-rusty ones off and shoved it into Joe's hand.
"Go on, son, open it up!" Straven stared at him in amusement, and Joe fumbled with the key for a moment, but gripped it tight and inserted it into the lock, he turned it and with a click, the gate swung open of its own accord. Straven led him in and he followed, to his slight disappointment, the rest of the headquarters was more stone dungeon with torches mounted on the walls.
"Here's our treasure room, don't go in there without a senior gang member to accompany you, eventually, you'll be doing the same." Straven chuckled, but Joe didn't find it amusing, because he couldn't help but think that would probably be where the Shield half was. "These are the Gang quarters, but we mostly just use them to pass the day, they're cramped and you'd probably rather be off in some other part of the city. You'd be surprised what cowards most of these lugs are, afraid of busts and other pointless things." This raised a few growls from the rooms, but no one dared to attack Straven.
"Now, you over there, Snatch, show our new friend here to the armory, we need to get him some crossbows!" A short, blonde, spikey-haired kid darted up and nodded ecstatically at Straven. "C'mon man, let's get you all loaded up." Straven followed them out, and then turned back down the hallway as Grunge let them back out of the gate.
"Okay, now remember, when you're facing away from the door to the house, the armory is to the right. Right next to us, actually. Heh, get it?" Snatch was young and hyper, and the sooner Joe got this over with, the better. "Okay, Stryka doesn't actually like me going in the armory anymore, ever since I broke two of his ribs. Anyway, you'll have to go in alone." Joe blinked as Snatch led him to the door next-door to the house with the trap-door. Snatch knocked on the door six times rhythmically and there was the sound of logs sliding and clicking. "Heh, this place is sealed up a bit tighter since there's not a trap door under it, plus, Stryka's kind of obsessive."
The door flew open and a gruff looking man in iron armor with a black goatee stepped out, eyeing Joe carefully. "Snatch, get out of my sight, I want to keep my bones healthy this time around!" Snatch began to bound back towards the other house, giggling. "Your pelvis will be the next to go!" Stryka growled as Snatch went through the door, and turned back to Joe. "So, I guess you're the new guy Straven mentioned earlier? I knew I'd either hear screams or see you up here." He scratched his neck, and Joe gulped.
"Hurry in, and don't touch anything!" Joe walked in as Stryka quickly did all the locks back up on the door, and hurried back up in front of him. They preceded up the small stairs and into another room filled with cabinets and swords and crossbows and knives mounted on the walls. There was a sink on one wall with a few crossbows sitting in it, as soon as they entered, Stryka shuffled over and turned on the faucet. Then he took one and gave it to Joe after drying it up with a rag profusely.
"So, there you go, the sleekest crossbow in Runescape, no doubt. Now, get out of my sight." And he turned to a cabinet, and, quickly, Joe fished one more wet crossbow out of the sink, praying Stryka wouldn't notice until he was long gone. As he was walking away, Stryka turned back to him. "Why are you still here, get your ugly face out of my armory.!" And Joe shuffled down the stairs hurriedly, undid the tedious locks, and left. But he couldn't help but smile as he heard the Phoenix Weapon Master doing the locks back up behind him.
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"So, do you have 'em?" Scotty snuck out from behind the bushes on the corner, giving Joe a start. "Jeez, you don't have to be all mysterious about it, there's nobody around." Scotty laughed nervously. "Eyes and ears, mate. It's half-past midnight, the gangs are about." Joe laughed despite himself. "You sound like a pirate, now here." He dug into his pack and took out the two crossbows with the distinct Phoenix design on them.
"Good, now how about we shack up at the Blue Moon, eh? We probably owe that bloody bartender anyway." Scotty smiled back at Joe, and they went up the steps and opened the doors to the Inn with a jingle. But, unbeknownst to them, someone lurked in the bushes behind the fence..
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Scotty and Joe checked out in the mid-morning, and parted ways to get their respective halves of the Shield of Arrav once and for all, and, in Scott's case, to get into the Black Arm Gang.
He set off across Varrock and quickly came across the Black Arm's Hideout behind a small building. There was only one guard at the door, and he felt uncomfortably like he knew why. "So, did the other guy get a hernia?" He chuckled lightly, but the doormen punched him on the arm as he walked in, and he waited until he was out of sight to bend down and scream inside his head at the pain.
Katrine seemed to be almost waiting for him, by the time he'd walked into the second room, she came straight for him. She grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him off his feet. "You better have some crossbows, 'cause Katrine ain't in no good mood!" She dropped him and he smiled nervously. "Err, here.." He dug into his pack, accidentally dropping out a toy horse, which he picked up in embarrassment as amusement crossed Katrine's face.
"Here they are!" He pulled them out, holding them carefully in one hand, he brought the other up to steady them. Katrine snatched them from his hand, inspecting the Phoenix decals, she smiled, tossing them over to another Black Arm, who caught it and fumbled with them before he stumbled into the other room.
"Good, they may know our next move, but we have their crossbows, and Mulch can make more. And we're going to do something that ain't in the report, we're going to attack the Phoenix in the streets and get revenge no matter what we do. The Phoenix took down Jonny, and they ain't getting away with it!" Scotty simply swallowed.
"Welcome to the gang, bub! Looks like you'll be getting some action by the end of the week too." And she ended the conversation by storming off back towards the foyer, several Black Arm followed her, and they proceeded into the street. So, Scotty decided, what better time to steal the Shield than when the gang leader wasn't around? Katrine hadn't given him the tour, but he eventually found his way around by asking other members and investigating on his own. So he soon found himself on the second floor of the Gang House, which was nearly deserted at this time of day. Perfect for dropping in and taking a shield without anyone noticing, hopefully.
The last gang member on this floor passed by him on the stairs up, and they nodded in greeting to each other. It was time to search the floor, Scotty spent at least an hour looking for the shield until he came to the last room. It was always in the last room. He took a nervous glance down the hallway at the stairs back down below.
He took a chest out from under the bed, no dice, just a book about knitting, whatever that would have been for. He lifted up the mattress, and didn't find anything. He let out a groan of frustration, and turned his attention to the cabinet on the other side of the room. Scotty hopped over the bed, and opened the left door, which just revealed an old, cracked mug and a needle covered in dust. So, with rising tension, he flung open the right cupboard
"Hello, Shieldy-Shield!"
There was the right side of a shield, deep blue with a silver insignia in the center and a shiny, silver border. It still shined brilliantly despite the dust. Scotty pulled the cobwebs from it and took it off of the shelf. He backed up, simply admiring it, and stuffed it in his pack, taking a nervous look at the door.
Scotty strode casually out of the room and continued downstairs, he greeted a few more gang members, who didn't seem to notice anything particularly suspicious, and made it all the way into the foyer. But just then, Katrine brust through the doors with an angry look on her face, and Scotty couldn't guarantee anything right off the bat, but she seemed a couple men short. "Those scum Phoenix, they knew where we were, I knew it! I bloody knew it, now they have the report, and we'll l be stranded here in the Hideout for the next month if they don't find us. They took out Gruff and Nite, too, the wretched thieves!" She swore several more times and paced, and suddenly noticed Scotty.
"What're you doing?" She stared intently at him, as if she could sense something the slightest wrong with his composure, his person. As if she could sense the Shield itself. "What?" Scotty's voice cracked, and he winced, as Katrine smiled wryly. "Just.. get out of my sight!" She pushed him aside and continued farther into the Hideout. "I'll be upstairs!" Scotty blinked, and inched toward the door, sensing that he should probably go.
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Joe climbed back down the Phoenix Gang HQ Ladder for the third time in two days, hopefully for the last time. Ever. Straven was nowhere to be seen, but nobody paid him a second thought as he walked up to the gate where Grunge stood guard, and unlocked it and stepped through. The treasure room was down the hall, he had to get in, and get out.
Joe walked casually down the corridor and, quickly, as the space was vacant as a Phoenix member turned a corner, he quickly ran into the treasure room and hid next to the door. The room was filled with chests and sacks, and he quickly went forward to the first chest and opened it up with a creak. It was empty except for a few bags of gold, which should have interested him, but he just wanted to leave.
He turned to a nearby burlap sack and started to open it when there was a laugh at the door. "Taking a quick dig, eh?" It was Snatch, Joe turned around slowly and swallowed. He walked in and closed the door softly behind him. "What, afraid I'm going to bust you about digging in Straven's treasures? He doesn't give a goblin's skull about all this, his precious shield is in his chest in his quarters. This is just gold and trinkets fer gang purposes, all the newbies sneak in here." Snatch giggled. "I did too, I just remembered to close the door!" He burst out laughing and Joe looked around nervously.
Snatch walked forward and dug a few coins out of one of the bags in the chest and stuffed it in his pocket. "Heh, yay me." He smiled, and Joe in turn took a small fistful out of the burlap sack and stuck it in his money pouch. 'C'mon, get outta here." Snatch led him out and nodded him off. "We're going out on another Black Arm raid tonight, gotta get ready!" And he disappeared around a corner.
Joe walked back down the corridor and into where Straven had said were the bedrooms, and he looked for the one that belonged to Straven, accidentally peeking in on a female thief getting dressed. Which, unfortunately, he had been thoroughly beaten for. But, finally, he found Straven near the end of the hall. The reason that the gang leader had not been seen this morning yet is because he was still asleep in his quarters.
And, at the foot of his bed, according to Snatch, was a chest containing his half of the Shield. He snuck into the bedroom and slowly clicked the door behind him, and tried to slow his breathing. But it was like Joe's heart was deafening and Straven was sure to hear. But he still crept forward and knelt next to the chest, it had a lock, but it was unlocked, and clicked open easily. But then, he was startled by a low noise in the bedroom.
"Ah!"
Joe's head snapped back as he stared at the fully-awaken Straven staring with a bemused look as he held open the cover of the chest. He could just grab his half if the shield and run now, before Straven could get his henchman, but it was as if Straven could read his mind. "There'll be no running in my place, boy. You know, when I said there was something I liked about you, I wasn't kidding. You have, what's it called - charisma! And I never did catch your name, son!" Joe paused, not quite getting it, and he smiled a little. "Joe Player Killer," And Straven laughed.
"No bloody kidding! I knew I'd seen you somewhere, you're that quest guy, heh." Joe began to close the chest slowly, and Straven snorted. "Meh, take the bloody Shield, it's broken, and I'll just get my boys to steal it for me again." Joe nodded and quickly got the Shield half and put it into his pack. "Oh, yeah, and you can think your friend Snatch for reporting the Shield-stealing plot! Nice job infiltrating the Black Arm, too! May come in useful some day!" Straven lay back down as he was laughing and Joe left the room and hurried down the hallway as several Phoenix Gang Members stared at him on his way out.
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Scotty ran out into the middle of the street, and looked around nervously. "Joe?!" And, as if on cue, Joe walked out from the alleys and on to the sunny street filled with people going back and forth. "You got the Shield?!" Joe yelled from across the street, and Scotty gave him a thumbs up in the air. He pushed his way through the crowd and over to Joe.
"We should probably hurry, Katrine is bound to notice the Shield is gone any minute." Joe blinked. "And how is that?" Scotty smiled innocently. "Just cause, eh?" And they both laughed. "So, who should we be giving our loot to?" Joe looked around. "I was thinking the Curator, but then I thought about how this was a royal treasure, and we should atleast give it to the King first." Scotty blinked. "The King? In the Palace?" Joe laughed as they got lost in the crowd.
"You'll get used to him!"
Well, I kind of fabricated and guessed on a couple of things here, honestly. I'm too lazy to actually go out and repeat the quest, so Katrine and Straven's personalities may have been off. Along with a few layouts and other things, but I think it worked out pretty well, and I hoped that you liked it. :D