Happy Christmas 2008!
Chapter 24: Jack Frost
Over the next few days I kept a schedule. I would wake up in the morning in the hotel, meet Capablanca and Osrie1 in the courtyard, and we would have breakfast in the restaurant, courtesy of Capablanca. We would then go across the bridge and train on goblins. My strength raised to 4, my defence raised to 3, my attack raised to 4, and my prayer raised to 3 from burying the goblin's bones. Best yet, my combat rose to 5. One goblin dropped a bronze kite shield, which I tried out, and discovered that it was much more solid and powerful then my wooden shield. I stored the wooden one in my bank.
Because the goblins robbed and pick pocketed the innocent people, they carried quite a bit of money. I had made over 50gp from killing goblins, which I stored in the bank also. I decided I would save up for some proper armour, instead of my kite shield, helmet, and scythe.
I also used ranged to kill ducks in the lake. Naturally, Capablanca used telekinetic grab to scoop up the dead duck, which we either sold, or ate for supper. My ranged level rose to 4, pleasing me a lot.
After we killed for a few hours, we went and visited people. We visited the duke quite often, who, surprisingly, knew Capablanca. He said he'd wait when we repeated what Sedridor said to us. We also visited Father Aereck in the church. The same day we visited the wizard's tower, we went to the restless ghost, placed the skull back in his coffin, and he thanked us, and rested in peace. Father Aereck thanked us, so in gratitude, he blessed us with prayer experience, blessed our beginner amulets so they worked more powerfully, and changed our gravestones into marble tombs. We kept the ghost speak amulets, and put them in the bank. I also went and visited the wizard's tower. Sedridor had nothing to report.
Slowly, RuneScape grew colder. In people's houses, Christmas trees were put up. Snow covered Lumbridge like a white blanket, making the town look like it had jumped right out of a Christmas card. Some travelled to an island out at sea so they could chop down Arctic Pines to put up, and others got previously existing, festive 'Wintumber trees'. Little lights powered by magic were hung up all across Lumbridge, which now felt like home.
The newspaper was getting more and more sinister. Stories of death, disappearances, and animals growing wilder spattered the front page like blood. The paper, as promised, mentioned the minty sweet. I had already eaten the candy, but I kept the minty sweet. I hadn't heard the sentence 'there is something on your back!' for a while now. The doomsayer's eyes filled with tears every time he saw me, though. I had come to the conclusion that he was an attention-seeking fraud.
I had taken up the task that Mizgog from the tower had left me. I had killed every single imp that I had seen. They dropped wizard's hats, ashes, burnt bread, silver shapes, and several other bits and bobs, but no beads.
One morning I woke up as usual, left the hotel, and met Osrie1 and Capablanca in the courtyard. Capablanca had a house in Falador already, while Osrie1 lived with Farmer Fred. They had been close friends for a while, and Farmer Fred had happily let him sleep in the spare bed. Capablanca liked to keep his strength, so he woke up very early in the morning, and ran all the way to Lumbridge. He then went to the training gym, and beat up a combat dummy for ten minutes. They waved at me, and greeted me with usual enthusiasm and wished me a merry Christmas.
We went to the restaurant and had a breakfast of meat sandwiches and eggs (yum!). Capablanca paid for it, and we went across the bridge.
Something was different today. People usually helped out the Duke by killing the goblins, but today was an absolute war. And no wonder, I thought, because all the goblins had red eyes. I hadn't come off looking good the last time I fought possessed goblins, so of course I was reluctant to join in the fighting. I ducked as a rune arrow flew above me and through the neck of a surprised goblin.
The screaming, furious goblins were putting up a good defence. A large group of them jumped on an unsuspecting level 5, and tore him to shreds with their filthy claws, yellowing teeth, or rusty daggers. I ran forward, and hit a level 4 goblin in the side. He had a mark, but he turned around, his teeth bared. I summoned my trick power, and scared the living daylights out of him with a cloud of flapping bats. While he was jumping around in fear, I smashed my scythe into his skull. He collapsed onto the floor, blood seeping out of the crack in his skull. Another goblin rushed forward, but slipped on the ice, and fell in the river. Laughing, I scooped up some bones, several coins, and a useless goblin mail that had appeared on the floor. Dropping the mail, I went to help Osrie1, who was being beaten up by a level 7 goblin who had a club. After we disposed of the goblin, I spotted something coming across the bridge.
An imp was crossing the stone bridge. But this imp was blue. He looked like he had been carved out of ice and turned alive. I rushed forwards with my scythe, wondering if this imp had any beads. The imp talked, in a grumpy, icy voice.
"You want to kill me? I am not a normal imp. I wasn't summoned. I was carved and created, by the ice queen. Every Christmas, the plane between RuneScape and the ice universe get close. That is why it snows, and turns cold. But I am here not to steal, or cause mischief. I am on a mission to look for the prince of ice, Jack Frost," the imp said coldly, looking quite scared at the furious war going on behind me. I hesitated, still suspicious.
"Who is this Jack Frost?" I asked. The imp snorted, water vapour coming from his nose.
"He is a very cold-hearted and rebellious ice prince," the imp replied. "He was curious about this world, so he crossed the plane into RuneScape. The ice queen, unfortunately, told him that under no circumstances was he to go to this universe. The ice world is small, and harmless. This world, however, is merciless, gory, and violent. Just look over there to see what I mean. Jack has already done his fair share of damage to our world," the imp then said.
"Maybe I can help," I said. The imp looked at me reluctantly.
"Maybe you can, but you stand no chance against Jack Frost if it comes to aggression," he pointed out. I bared my fists.
"I'm ready for him!" I shouted.
"If you feel confident enough," the imp sighed. "We snow imps were created so we could play with, work with, and help the ice queen. If you ever need us, you need to communicate with us using this ice amulet." He then picked up a lump of ice next to him. He waved his hands, and it formed into a solid ice necklace. He blew on it, and it loosened up.
The amulet shone with a wintery energy. It was rather shiny, and very pretty. It made the air around it cold. Shards of ice produced from the heart. I took it from the imp, and it felt ice-cold to the touch. It filled me with shivery happiness to wear it.
"Blow on it and it will summon an imp," the snow imp said. "Now, I'd better be off to look for Jack Frost. A hint to help you find him-the amulet will get colder the nearer you are to him." With a puff of freezing air that raised goose bumps on my skin, the snow imp was gone.
I stood there, feeling rather elated. I then noticed that Osrie1 and Capablanca were talking to a snow imp. They wore ice amulets too.
When the imp was gone, I walked towards them. "Where should we start looking?" I asked. Osrie1 just shrugged, while Capablanca yelped excitedly.
"Good noobs, we have been set a mission! We must finish this mission, even if we die in the process!" he yelled. I jumped.
"Do you have any ideas?" I asked.
"Maybe we could ask the Duke," Osrie1 suggested. "He has a lot of power; he could whip up an army to search for Jack at any time."
"That isn't a bad idea, actually," I said thoughtfully. "Let's go and see him."
Less then ten minutes later, we were seated with Duke Horacio in his room. Sigmund sat nearby, glancing at my blood-stained warlock clothes every now and then.
"So, my friends, how may I help you?" the Duke asked cheerfully. I repeated what the imp told us to him, and when I was finished, he was rubbing his beard thoughtfully.
"I have heard of the land of snow, since I met the ice queen myself one day," the Duke said. "She is wife to Santa Claus, who I am friends with. When he came over to visit, he brought her with him, and their cute little baby son, Jack. Of course, that was over 16 years ago, so he would be a rebellious teenager by now. But, if he has run away from home, the ice queen must be worried sick. She doesn't want to lose another member of family, since Santa left her to do his job of delivering presents. Say, could you summon a snow imp?" the Duke said. I obliged by blowing on the amulet. There was a puff of icy steam, and a blue imp stood there.
The imp looked at us expectantly. "What do you want?" he snapped. The Duke looked taken aback.
"I just wanted to ask you about Jack Frost," the Duke muttered, rather angrily. The imp sighed with impatience. He explained the story of Jack's disappearance to him again. The Duke stood up.
"I am going to contact Santa now," he declared. He opened his drawers, and pulled out what looked like a candy cane. The duke muttered some words, holding the cane tightly. Then, suddenly, I felt a pull around my shoulders, and I was lifted up into snowy oblivion.
I flew through snowy whiteness. I had never experienced anything like it before. It felt like I was flying through a snowy morning. Suddenly, I fell onto snow. I felt thuds around me, signalling that Osrie1, Duke Horacio, Capablanca, and the snow imp had arrived safely too. I noticed that the amulet had dropped in temperature. I looked up, and what I saw shocked me quite badly.
There, frozen solid, was Santa's sleigh. It was frozen. There was a frozen look of shock on Santa's face. His reindeers looked comical, suspended in mid air.
"Oh my lord, what has happened to Santa? Who did this to him?" the Duke gasped.
"Why not ask me?" a sinister voice came from behind us. I looked more clearly at our surroundings.
We were on a frozen island. Icicles surrounded us, and the sea was frozen as far as we could see. But, out of the shadows, came the most sinister person I had ever seen in my life.
Jack Frost was a tall, gangly teenager. His clothes were black, all covered in ice and snow. His long, black hair was frozen solid. From his blue skin there were small icicles producing. He had misty, dark blue eyes that reminded you of large icy caves. His mouth had a sneer plastered on it.
"Welcome to my hideout. We, as far as I know, are in the middle of the sea, where no man, woman, or snow imp would bother look. I have made it more homely. You see my fat father over there? He discovered my location, so to stop him blabbing, I froze him. I plan to take control of this world. I will turn RuneScape into IceScape, which will be my home world. I will freeze the planet, and anybody who resists will be frozen too. Now you know my location, I'm afraid I will have to stop you," Jack sneered.
"I must summon the Ice Queen!" The imp yelled. He was about to summon her, when there was a sound similar to glass smashing. A perfect ice model, the imp stood there, a look of anger stuck on his frozen face. Jack laughed. With a flick of his hand, the ice amulets and the Duke's candy cane froze, and collapsed into icy shards.
Jack, with a flick of his hands, froze the Duke. He froze Osrie1, but before he could freeze anyone else, I pounced at him, and hit him with my scythe. He yelled, as blue blood trickled from the cut I made. Anger replaced the sneering indifference on his face. Capablanca then cast a fire bolt, which hit Jack Frost in the face. He yelled again, freezing the flames that were in his hair. With a flick of his hand, I froze.
Every pore in my body screamed in protest; the very air in my lungs seemed to freeze. The cold was agony. Even my brain seemed to have frozen. I couldn't think. Coldness engulfed me like flames. I felt a painful numbness spread through my body. I couldn't move. This coldness kept me rooted to the spot.
I watched in terror as Jack Frost tried, and failed, to freeze Capablanca, since Capablanca was throwing fire bolts everywhere. The ice that Jack was creating to freeze Capablanca melted instantly as it came in contact with a fire bolt. Capablanca, in desperation, sent one at me. The flames hit me in the stomach. The ice protected me from burns. The ice around me began to melt. But Jack yelled, and he tried again to freeze me. Instead, I turned back into myself, and the ice around me shattered.
A very angry Jack got hit, again, by a fire bolt. He yelled, and tried to stop the flames from spreading. As a last-ditch attempt, I got out my woodcutting axe and my tinderbox. I cut down a frozen tree, quickly getting icy logs. Capablanca understood. He hit Jack with another fire bolt, making him yell with frustration. I ran up to him, and lit a fire at his feet. Fireworks told me I had risen to fire making level 3. Thrashing around from the flames in his hair, he stepped into the fire.
Screaming in agony, he froze the fire, extinguished the flames in his hair and feet, and stood up.
He froze Capablanca, but it was too late. Capablanca had defrosted Santa, who stood up, and shook remaining ice off himself. He turned around, and glared at Jack.
"You very bad boy, Jack!" he bellowed. He blew on a necklace tied around his neck. I realised it was the same necklace I used to have. There was a flash of snow, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen appeared.
She wore white furs around her body. She wore a very revealing white dress, and white gloves and boots. She wore another amulet. She was a woman of breathtaking beauty. The air around her seemed to turn cold. I found myself staring at her figure. She was so wonderful, and I blushed as I looked at her. She turned on the spot, and screamed as she saw the frozen figures around her. She spotted Jack, who was cowering on the spot as her mother gave him an icy glare.
"JACK!!" she screamed. With a wave of her hand, the figures of the imp, Osrie1, the Duke, Capablanca, and the sleigh defrosted. She waved her hand again, and dozens of imps stood at her side.
"YOU NAUGHTY LITTLE BEAST, JACK FROST!!!" she bawled, her beautiful face livid. "YOU DISSAPPEAR TO RUNESCAPE, YOU WORRY ME SICK, YOU FREEZE YOUR FATHER, AND NOW YOU FREEZE THESE INNOCENT PEOPLE!!! YOU ARE SO GROUNDED!!" With another wave of her hand, Jack was on the floor, frozen solid. She calmed down, and then turned to us.
"Thank you very much for finding my son," she said throatily. She rushed forward, and kissed me once on both cheeks. The place where her lips came in contact with me stung with coldness. I blushed again, and she smiled, and winked. She ran forward and kissed Capablanca and Osrie1 and the Duke on the cheeks too. They blushed simultaneously, as she laughed.
"I have rewards for you all!" she announced. She clapped her hands, and we all froze. But this freezing didn't hurt, like Jack made it. This felt friendly, but still cold. Then, suddenly, we melted into a puddle.
I panicked. We had melted! I couldn't move. I was just water, what was I going to do? Then, suddenly, I solidified back into ice, and the ice around me shattered.
"I just taught you the freeze emote," she informed me. "If anybody touches you while you perform it, they will temporarily turn to ice. It won't work on beings of fire of course, such as demons or dragons, but it is effective if you need a distraction. Now here is something else I can give all of you." With a wave of her hand, a large pile of snow appeared on the floor. She picked up a pile of snow, and fashioned another amulet out of it. She handed that to a speechless Duke. She made another three amulets, and handed one to Capablanca, one to Osrie1, and one to me. She then cleared her throat, and Santa walked forward.
"Ho ho ho! merry Christmas!!" Santa said joyfully. I grinned at him.
He looked exactly like the decorations made him look. He was large, fat, and jolly. His red clothes looked furry and comfortable, and he had a bushy white beard. He grinned back at me.
"So, what do you want for Christmas?" Santa asked me, still grinning with joy. I shrugged. He laughed again, and winked.
"I insist on giving you something!" he cried. "Let me teach you a funky dance I learned in my youth. The snowman dance it is called!" He did a wobbly, comical little dance. I suddenly had a strong urge to dance too. I wobbled around in the snowman dance, laughing as I saw Capablanca, the Duke and Osrie1 dance too. Santa laughed again.
"I have another little gift for you," Santa announced. He pulled out several red piles from his robes. He handed one to each of us. I unravelled the red pile, and found out it was parts of a red robe.
It was a Santa suit. It was fluffy, warm, and red. It contained trousers, shirt, a black belt, gloves, and black boots. I smiled, thanked Santa, and took off my warlock clothes. I took off my boots and gloves, and slipped on my Santa kit. It was very warm and comfy. I jumped around in it, to try it out for size.
"You'll get something else on Christmas day," Santa laughed, winking. I thanked him again, and he jumped into his sleigh. The imps disappeared, and the ice queen, dragging the frozen Jack Frost behind her, jumped in next to Santa.
I took out my wand, and I read the Lumbridge home teleport diagram. I said the correct spell ("Magicus Homicus!"), and a magic bubble surrounded me. I saw Osrie1 and Capablanca doing the same thing, while the Duke used his now repaired candy cane to go home. The bubble popped, and I was dragged through suffocating darkness.
I fell on the ground in Lumbridge. I heard thumps around me, and I saw that Osrie1 and Capablanca had arrived safely too. I sat up, and dusted myself off. I walked back towards the bridge, planning to re-enter the war.
A few days later, I woke up to a cry of "Wake up! Presents!" I sat up, and saw Osrie1 nd Capablanca standing by my bed. I looked at the clock on my drawers and I saw it was 7:30am, 25th of December.
"Merry Christmas, Mainiac97, my dear noob!" Capablanca grinned. "Also, thank you for that ring, it is very pretty." Osrie1 smiled at me.
"I like that golden pie dish with a meat pie in it, thank you!" Osrie1 said. I nodded, and spotted a small pile of presents at the foot of my bed. I sat up, and picked up a present. It was wrapped up in very ornate golden packaging. I felt it. It felt like a small box. I carefully took of the golden wrapping, and a small velvet purple box fell in my lap.
I opened the box, and inside a small diamond ring gleamed. A note fell from the box. It said on it, To Mainiac97, from Duke Horacio. This is a ring of life, a very rare and powerful ring that is enchanted to heal you when you are weak from battle. Keeping a mental note to thank the Duke the next time I saw him, I put the ring on. It sparkled innocently on my finger. I picked up another package.
This was a brown, dirty parcel. A piece of parchment on it read To Mainiac97, From Farmer Fred. I felt it. It felt rather lumpy. I opened the package, and a large number of watermelons fell in my lap. Licking my lips, I put them to one side. I picked up another package. I read the label and found out it was from Sedridor. I opened it, and a bag full of runes fell out.
Osrie1 gave me a book about the history of Lumbridge. Capablanca gave me an amulet of defence ("Dear noob, it will protect you from the most fatal blows!"). Diango sent me a strange package. It was round. I ripped off the paper, and a snow globe fell on my lap. A note accompanied it. To Mainiac97, from Diango. This is a snow globe that will surround the area around it with snow when shaken. Consider this a Christmas present, since I will give you another two previous Christmas event rewards the next time I see you. I stood up, and shook the globe. Snow flew around inside, then, suddenly, a hole opened up in the top and snow came pouring out. I stood there, covered in thick, frosty white snow, while Osrie1 and Capablanca howled with laughter. Shaking the snow off me, I picked up a handful that was on the floor, fashioned it into a ball, and tossed it into Osrie1's laughing mouth. He chocked and spluttered, while I and Capablanca roared with mirth. Osrie1 made a snowball, and threw it at me. I dodged, and a furious snowball fight broke out. Laughing, and still covered in snow, I picked up another parcel while Capablanca continued the fight with Osrie1.
This parcel was very small, and wriggly. The label told me it was from Madrey1. Curiously, I opened it, and several wriggling maggots fell on the floor. In disgust, I threw them out the window. There were only three parcels left. One was big, lumpy, with shiny silver packaging, while the other had shiny pink packaging. There was also one at the bottom, in black paper. I picked up the large one, and pulled off the paper.
It was from Santa and the ice queen. There were several things here. First, there was a large box which was tied up with shiny wrapping. I pulled off the wrapping, to see a wonderful thing.
The box was full of sweets. Gingerbread cookies in the shape of Santa, snow cones, candy canes, cookies, nut brittle, Christmas cake, and mince pies filled the box. My mouth watered at the luscious sight. I looked further on, and found what looked like an ice ornament of a snow imp. A note attached to the ornament said 'if you tap your ice amulet on the imp, it will come to life'. Curiously, I got my amulet from the cabinet next to me. I tapped the ornament with the amulet, and it shook. Capablanca and Osrie1 stopped fighting to watch.
The snow imp shuddered, and then sprang to life. It leaped off the bed, and bowed to me.
"Hello, I am your snow imp friend, and I will now help you whenever you need help," he announced. "If you breathe on your amulet it will summon me." He leaped back on the bed, and sat there obediently.
I took the pink-wrapped present. The note read To Mainiac97, love from Amy11. If you don't remember me, I am the person who you saved from that big bully, Madrey1. I wish for you to meet me in the Lumbridge Restaurant for breakfast. I looked at what she had gotten me.
It was a silver bracelet. It shone beautifully, and my face gleamed on every opal. Capablanca gasped, getting a face full of snow from osrie1.
"That is a rare, exquisite opal bracelet! It is very complicated to make, and even more expensive to buy! Whoever made this went to a lot of trouble to get it for you, lucky noob," Capablanca explained. I nodded, and put it on. Inside there was also a small mirror. I looked at my reflection.
I had changed a bit since I saw myself on my very first day on RuneScape. My cheeks were still rosy, and my hair was still smooth and black. My hair had grown a bit. I put my helmet back on, and my hair was hidden by a thick layer of bronze. I wore a prayer amulet, my defence amulet, and my ice amulet. I wore my Santa gloves, shirt, trousers, and boots. I had put my leather gloves and boots, and my warlock outfit in the bank. I unwrapped the last present.
It was from Ilookgood99. It was a small orb with a button on it. I pushed the button, and suddenly my eyes misted over. I fell to the floor, twitching. The orb had blown up in my hand. I remembered……the rosy-cheeked boy…wearing that jumper…..he was saying something….but what was he saying? He was sitting on a chair……there was a strange device in front of him. He appeared to be screaming…..I shook my head and I came back to life.
Capablanca and Osrie1 hadn't noticed this sudden breakdown. They were still snowball fighting. I sat there, thinking. This person looked a lot like me. But both of these visions that I had experienced seemed to contain strange devices I had never seen before. Ilookgood99 was behind quite a bit of this, I thought. He was the one who delivered the minty candy, according to Diango. He was the one who seemed to know me, and kept passing unreadable hints. For example, the object on my back, and he popped up everywhere, as if he knew this place by heart. I shook this thought out of my head. The next time I met him, I thought, I would ask questions. I told the imp I wanted him to go to everyone that had given me a present and thank them for me. I also gave him a candy cane, and thanked him for helping me. He disappeared in a puff of cold steam. For now, I was going to enjoy Christmas. I snatched the snow globe out of Osrie1's hands, scooped up my presents, and left the hotel.
I climbed up the ladder, and a guard with some tinsel wrapped over his shoulder wished me a merry Christmas as I passed. I joined the queue into a bank booth, and I put my presents (except the bracelet, the globe and the defence amulet) in the huge box. I went downstairs, and left the castle. Osrie1 had already put his gifts in the bank, and had run ahead to have breakfast. Capablanca had already had breakfast, and had gone to practice with a new sword his uncle sent him. I went into the restaurant, and scanned the tables for Amy11.
I spotted her in a secluded corner of the restaurant. She looked very pretty in a pink dress. Her blonde hair fell around her shoulders like spun gold. When she saw me, she waved at me to join her. I sat opposite her, feeling uncomfortable. She smiled.
"Hello. How are you?" she asked.
"I'm okay. How are you?" I asked, turning red.
"I'm okay. I invited you because after you saved me I wanted to get to know you better," she said. I nodded.
We chatted for a while about our Christmas. She had spent it with her relatives, helping around with the chicken. She even managed to wangle a turkey to cook and sell. She explained to me that turkeys don't usually come until thanksgiving, so she was lucky to catch one. I gaped wordlessly at her when I realised that I had missed thanksgiving entirely while training with the goblins.
I explained my action-packed Christmas with Jack Frost. She listened patiently, and asked me to show her my little ice trick. I smiled, and willed for my body to freeze up entirely. I turned to ice. It felt cool, unlike the painful transformation I suffered when Jack Frost froze me. I melted, and she screamed for a waiter to come. I solidified, and the ice smashed. A waiter rushed forward, and when he saw that calm had been restored, he took our orders. Instead of a meat sandwich breakfast, I had a turkey sandwich. It was quite delicious, I thought, as I munched on it. Amy11 ordered a turkey salad. When the pile of wet leaves, berries, and turnkey came, I wondered how women managed to eat that rabbit food.
When I rummaged in my bag to pay the waiter, he laughed and told me that Christmas food on Christmas was free.
After breakfast, we said goodbye, and I blushed beetroot red when she gave me a peck on the cheek. I left the restaurant, feeling light-headed. It was easy to talk to Amy11, almost as easy as it is to talk to Osrie1, or Capablanca. I found Osrie1 nearby munching on a piece of chicken. He finished it, and we found Capablanca using his new sword to disembowel some goblins. He looked up, and smiled as he saw us. He went to join us.
We spent the rest of the morning having a huge snowball fight in the courtyard. We returned to the restaurant, gasping for air. The waiter cooked up a huge Christmas dinner to share. The turkey was huge and sizzling, the gravy was thick and delicious, the potatoes were moist and soft, and even the vegetables were scrumptious. We ate ravenously, like starving dogs. When the plate was completely clean, we were so full we couldn't do much more then lay on the icy grass, watching the clouds.
That evening we visited Farmer Fred. He welcomed us in, and gave us several home-made gingerbread cookies and a special drink he bought especially for the occasion, something called Chef's Delight. It was a very tasty-looking orange, and when I tasted it, it fizzed on my tongue, filling it with crazy flavours. The alcohol wasn't even strong. I quickly visited Diango, where I chose a yo-yo and reindeer antlers as my two previous Christmas event gifts. I put them in the bank, and returned to my hotel room, filled with food and happiness.