Yo, DJ Mainiac in da house!

I apologise for the late update. I've been very busy recently. I'll be writing a lot more when things settle down for the summer. Have patience; a few people have been bugging me for this chapter. It's up when it's up.

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 74: Deadly Discoveries

I walked through the streets of Falador quickly, feeling apprehensive. I stared up into the cloudy sky, worried thoughts running through my mind like a stream.

Aaron had returned, but for how long? He always seemed edgy, and refused to talk to anyone about his disappearance. He seemed to be going insane. He spent most of his time pacing around Capablanca's house, muttering to himself and shooting everyone odd looks. I was very concerned for him. I wanted to help, but how could I if he wouldn't let me help?

Life wasn't going too well for me at the moment. Ever since the occurrences in ScapeRune, Ilookgood99's prophecy constantly plagued me. I was on full alert wherever I went. There had been several new murders recently, and now over thirty people were dead because of the mystery Falador murderer. It was easy to recognise a Falador murderer murder. The body was, in most cases, torn apart, with body parts spread out nearby.

Also, recently, the Noob Exterminators had been put on trial in front of Sir Armik Varze and several other white knight commanders. But, with the assistance of a smoke spell by Phantom, they managed to escape. I was fuming; I seriously wanted the pieces of scum that were called the Noob Exterminators to rot in prison for what they'd done.

As I was walking along, I saw Jamie running towards me frantically. Someone running towards me never meant anything good. Jamie stopped, panting.

"Sir Amik Varze would like to see you," he gasped. I nodded, and followed him as he spun around and ran back to the castle.

We finally arrived at the door of Sir Amik Varze's office. We knocked, and his booming voice told us to come in. We obliged.

Practically everyone was packed into Sir Amik Varze's office. The atmosphere was so depressing I felt like kneeling down and crying. Everyone from our gang was there, including Aaron, who looked as edgy as ever. Several white knight commanders stood together next to Sir Amik Varze's desk, looking very sombre. Sir Amik Varze sat by the desk itself. As soon as we walked in, Jamie closed the door behind us.

"Hello," he greeted us. "I wouldn't normally call you and your friends here in a situation such as the one we're facing now, but you've proven yourself trustworthy in my eyes.

"Well, the reason I summoned you is…" he hesitated for a second, before sighing. "There's been another murder." There was a ripple of groans that spread through the room. "But this time, the murderer left behind a clue. When our team of white knight detectives investigated the scene, they saw a trail of blood. They followed the blood, and it took them to a manhole leading to the Falador sewers."

"That entrance in particular is abandoned. Nobody uses it any more. It's starting to collapse, so nobody wants to go down there because it's so dangerous. It was meant to be an emergency exit, but there has never been an emergency, so that exit has never been used. It leads to the main underground sewage water reservoir, which is where all of the sewage in Falador goes. That reservoir is sometimes emptied and used for compost.

"Because it has never been used and people have forgotten about it, it would make a suitable hideout for a murderer. That's why we're sending a team of white knights down there to investigate late this night. There will be ten white knights in total going down. Jamie, I summoned you here to inform you that you are among those ten. So are you, Capablanca." Jamie and Capablanca nodded seriously.

"The rest of you are free to accompany them if you wish, but if you do go down, you must realise how dangerous it could be. At 11'o'clock tonight, anyone who is going down will meet by the manhole. It is behind the castle, near the Falador wall, for those who do not know where it is. That is all."

We left the office in groups, muttering to each other about it. Amy11 caught up with me and walked with me.

"Are you going with the white knights?" she asked casually.

"Yes," I replied, without thinking. I was very eager to find out who the murderer really was. The murderer had caused so much fear and unrest among the community in Falador. "What about you?"

"Me? No," she replied. "I hate sewers. As a matter of fact, I hate anything that's underground, since what happened in the Stronghold of Security. I was very reluctant to enter the dwarf mines for the first time." I nodded sympathetically.

I teleported to my house and spent at least an hour pacing around nervously. My material pile had grown so large I needed to keep it outside. I'd gotten the pile enchanted by Capablanca, because he knew a spell that could waterproof anything, including people. With the weather being so unstable at the moment, you never knew when it was going to be sunny and when it was going to be rainy.

I decided to gather some supplies. I teleported back to Falador, and walked towards the forest. I walked under the shadow of the trees. A cool breeze blew through the forest, and I finally felt at peace for a moment. I walked a bit deeper, and I heard a shuffling sound, I turned around, and I saw Aaron. He jumped a foot in the air before shooting me a suspicious look.

"Hello," I greeted cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm OK, thanks," Aaron replied. He sounded a little uncomfortable. There was an awkward pause.

"So, are you going on this little adventure in the sewers tonight?" I asked. Aaron nodded. He backed off, and ran into the shadows. I shrugged his odd behaviour off, and began cutting wood.

After half an hour at the very least, I had a bag full of logs. I wiped the sweat off my forehead. Fireworks burst around me. I decided to check my book. It told me I was level 27 in woodcutting. I wasn't entirely surprised; I'd been doing so much supply gathering and general training my level had grown very quickly. I gave Doric a quick visit and I got him to turn my logs into planks in exchange for some coins. He normally accepted silver ore as payment but he occasionally made exceptions. I dropped the planks off in my house.

I repeated the process a few times. By then, it was about 7:00pm. Pretty soon, I'd have to go to the manhole. I was in my house at the moment. I clutched my teleport tablet, and wished myself to teleport to Falador square. I disappeared, but instead of feeling the usual crushing sensation of teleporting, I found myself being blasted into a blindingly bright light. I was forced to shut my eyes. Once the light cleared, I opened my eyes hesitantly.

I was floating in purple fog. That was all I could see for miles; loads and loads of purple fog. I looked down. I was standing on something solid, yet it looked like I was floating in thin air.

I was panicking; where was I? I didn't understand my current situation. I was supposed to re-appear in the Falador square, not this bizarre place.

"Don't worry," a voice behind me laughed. "You're safe." I spun around frantically, and I was faced with Gypsy Aris. She hadn't changed much since the last time I saw her. She was even wearing the same clothes! She held her crystal ball under her arm.

"Where am I?" I demanded. "Why did you bring me here? Why are you wanted for treason by the law?" She put her hand up, and I stopped throwingquestions her way.

"Quiet, my friend," she said soothingly. "All will become clear soon. Allow me to explain. You see, right now we are in a random forest on the outskirts of Ardougne. This mist hides us from explorers that happen to pass us. This crystal ball can do many amazing things when used correctly.

"The reason I summoned you is… I'm in danger. Greedy people are after my crystal ball to use its mist for their own evil benefit. They've somehow convinced King David that I'm a menace to society, so I'm wanted in every big city in RuneScape. It's really annoying.

"Recently, I was using my crystal ball to gaze into the future, and I saw myself being captured and killed by guards. The mist is telling me that it is going to happen soon. I must protect the crystal ball from harm. The crystal ball will prove beneficial to you in the future, so I've decided to give it to you. Please look after it, and keep it safe. I will die very soon, and I can't let it fall into the wrong hands."

Before I could say anything, I felt myself falling into the purple mist. The blinding light came back, and I was forced to screw my eyes shut. When the light was gone, I opened my eyes, and I was back in Falador square. I was clutching the crystal ball. The mist inside floated around in a very relaxed way that was almost eerie. Suddenly, the mist disappeared. In the ball, I could see several white knights beating Gypsy Aris to death. I gasped, a tear springing to my eye. I could see the laughing face of King David. Then I could see the shadow of a man. He seemed to be shouting at someone. As quickly as they came, the images were gone, and the mist floated around inside the glass globe again.

I was very worried for Gypsy Aris. I hoped she would be OK. But why did she have to trust me with something as valuable as her crystal ball? How exactly could I use it? I was very confused. The sky was pretty dark by now, so I decided to make my way to the manhole we were meant to meet by.

I stopped at the bank to store the crystal ball and withdraw some food, and jogged towards the manhole. I finally got there. Altogether, ten white knights (including Capablanca and Jamie), Aaron and Slinky had shown up. I went over to them to greet them.

"What time is it?" I asked Capablanca. He showed me his pocket watch, which told me that it was 9:30pm.

I chatted with the white knights for a while. Osrie1 showed up soon after. The sun was gone completely now. It was pitch dark in the sky, with only a few stars dotting it. Capablanca checked his pocket watch.

"It's time to go," he announced seriously. I felt my heart thumping like a drum as Capablanca opened the manhole. I looked down, and all I could see was darkness. A disgusting stench hit my nose like an anvil. I stepped inside the manhole. My foot hit a ladder, and I climbed down.

I stood inside a massive rusting iron tunnel. A small river of filthy brown water ran underneath my feet, and rats scuttled around. Sir Amik Varze wasn't exaggerating when he said the emergency tunnel was in bad condition. Massive chunks of the pipe were missing, and several parts of the roof were collapsing, and some had already collapsed. The overpowering stench hung around like a toxic gas. You could practically taste the sewage. I walked down the pipe reluctantly, pinching my nose. The white knights, Slinky, Osrie1 and Aaron followed me.

We walked down this pipe for ten minutes, at the very least. I was starting to hear strange whispers. I heard a small, quiet hiss which seemed to come from behind us. I swung around, and everyone stopped to stare at me, alarmed. I could hear a rasping voice in my ear. I tried to ignore it, and we continued on our way.

We finally reached the end of the pipe. We stepped out of the pipe onto a balcony. We were in a massive circular room. The balcony led right around this room. There were other pipe openings nearby that were big enough for me to walk through. I looked over the edge of the balcony, and I saw a lake of filthy brown water. I retched. The stench was so overwhelming I couldn't describe it.

"This must be the reservoir of sewage Sir Amik Varze was talking about," Slinky murmured quietly. "I don't see any murderer though. Where is he/she?"

"Right here," a voice snickered. I swung around, and Mort stood there with a leer on his face. He was backed by at least a dozen other vampires.

He hadn't changed much. His skin was still as pale as snow. He seemed to have grown more muscular compared to the last time I saw him. He wore a rather tattered pinstriped suit which was stained with blood.

"You're the murderer!" I gasped. He gave me a wicked grin.

"Well, yes," he replied coldly. "But, technically, I'm only helping a certain someone by doing their dirty work. Allow me to explain.

"You see, Master Samuel expelled me from his little gang sometime last year. I was forced to return to my old home in the Stronghold of Security. We were literally starving. We'd grown accustomed to the taste of blood and because there was a lack of human life in our home we were craving it. We decided in the end to go to Falador to search for blood."

"But how did you manage to get into Falador without anyone noticing? How did you know to hide here?" I interrogated. I was frightened for my life, but curiosity was overpowering the fear. Mort gave me another one of his famous evil grins.

"We had a little help, so to speak." he told me. The crowd of vampires behind Mort parted, revealing the mastermind behind the murders. Standing there, smirking at us triumphantly was Cedric.

Dun dun duuuun! The Noob Exterminators are loose! Gypsy Aris is in trouble! Cedric, Mort and the vampires are the murderers! Mainiac and his friends are cornered! I'm shouting out the obvious for dramatic effect!

I hope this chapter was to your liking, considering that this is the introduction to 'the final fight' arc. So, were you expecting Cedric and Mort to be the murderers? If not, who were you expecting? Tell me in a review!

Just a quick note, I've edited chapter 1 and re-uploaded it (removed mistakes, etc, etc). For every new chapter that i write, I'll re-upload an old chapter or two with mistakes fixed, bits added, bits taken away, etc.

Next time- Aaron's secret is revealed!

Until next time, toodles!