RuneHQ Index News Archives April '04 issue
Help - At Last He was falling. Something had pushed him from the mountain, his hands flailed endlessly, trying to grasp something, anything to stop him from falling. The ground was getting closer by the moment. The wind was rushing through his face, stinging his eyes and making him squint. The ground was only a few feet away, it was all over. Casey awoke with a start, his hand throbbing with pain. Squinting through the bright light of the sun he noticed his hand was cut and bleeding. He looked around, still groggy from the sleep. He found it hard to look at anything because of the bright light and the strange blue tint everything bore from the eyes being suddenly bathed in bright light. As everything slowly came into focus he figured he must have hit his hand on a rock, he had really been flailing. Slowly he staggered to his feet, his breathing still heavy and it didn't feel as if he had any legs. Looking around he thought for a few moments. He had no clue where he was, and for a few moments longer, why he was here. Like a floodgate being released on a stagnant pond the memory's slammed full force into his mind. His house is going up in flames, his father fighting for the safety of Casey and his mother. Casey did not know how long he aimlessly wandered for. He wasn't thinking of what might be around the next corner. For all he knew he might very well be going in a big circle. He didn't care about the strange green beings that took the life of his father, or the larger one that took his mother. He didn't care about any of them; all he could think about was his mother and father. He wept, and wept. Sometimes he would stop and his eyes would be itchy and irritated, a mild headache thumping just above his left eye. For those brief moments he figured he was done crying. He didn't want anyone to see him crying like this, he was being a baby he thought aloud to himself. As he thought this, a vivid picture of the flames just above the tree tops, his father being overrun, or his mother falling in pain to the ground would come back to him and he would start to weep again. His head pounded and he just wanted it to end, but the end wouldn't come. The sun slowly made its way along the sky; everyone else went on with his or her lives for the day. After a while, He had no clue how long, he had stumbled across a patch of red berries. He suddenly realized how hungry he was and ate them until he felt like he would burst. And then he continued wandering. He fell countless times in his blind turmoil. His knees and elbows where scraped and gave a dull burning sensation every time they bent and moved, following the endless orders from the brain. The day felt like an entire century spent in a dreamlike state of disbelief and grief. Night crept silently upon Casey, and came to him as a surprise. "Oh, It's dark." He said aloud, for a moment hoping that someone or something would answer, so he wouldn't feel as if he was the only person left alive. What if the green things had killed everybody? And he was the only person left alive? As he thought these things he started to panic, he nearly jumped through his skin as a twig snapped behind him. He whirred around on his heels, eyes widened. Before him stood a fairly tall man, his legs were covered in black plates, his torso covered by a series of interlocking chains. His arms where covered in brown fabric, a silver star hung against his chest, a thin silver chain strung through it. A slender wooden bow was strung across his back and a few arrows where visible over his shoulder. He had untidy brown hair and a few scars on his left cheek, and deep blue oculars looking at Casey with a quizzical expression. The stranger was carrying a blade in both of his hands, one longer than the other, but both were forged of the same strange metal Casey had never seen before. Cautiously Casey stepped backwards, thoroughly distrusting this man. He started to panic even more when the man took a step forwards, even though he lowered his weapons. "Stay - Stay away from me.." Casey mustered in his strongest voice, something he found very difficult to do in the wake of last night. The man looked at him for another moment, One of his eyebrows arching up, "Just take it easy little man, I'm not going to hurt you," As he said this he slid the weapons into sheathes on opposite sides of his waist, "See?" Casey stopped backing up, but didn't stop frowning at the man. "Why don't you tell me what you're doing out here by yourself? It isn't very safe you know." The man knelt down and started to search around in a bag slung over his shoulder. "Err.." Casey said, thinking. "I'm - I'm running an - an errand for my - my Mom." He lied to the man, his face screwing up as he said the first person that came to mind. It hurt. Shaking his head the man pulled out a piece of cooked and salted meat, "Here, eat this. You look like your starving," He held the fragrant food to Casey, and after Casey took it he ate one himself, "So what kind of errand are you running?" Casey looked at the meat for a while, not sure if it was safe. The man was eating one, so it must be good. And he was so hungry. He took a bite out of it, and was surprised at how good it actually tasted, much better than the bland berries he had earlier. After finishing it he looked up, "I'm supposed to - to go to - Err, Varrock." The man nodded, "Well, You know your pretty far off course. Varrock is way up north, your closer to Lumbridge, little buddy." After a short pause, he continued. "I don't think any mother in her right mind would send a kid off alone at a time like this, I think your lying," Casey gulped and tried to put on a puzzled face, the man knew he was lying, what if he got mad and tried to hurt him? "I- I.." he stopped and stared at the man, he felt tears welling up inside of himself and he couldn't stop them. They burst out as he tried to stop them; the man was looking at him surprised. "Whoa, don't cry buddy," The man patted Casey on the shoulder, thinking for a bit. "Look, how about I take you up to my place, we'll get some food in you, then get you back to your family," He stood up and motioned the way he had come from. "What's your name, anyway?" Casey stared at him for a while. His tears had stopped again, and he suddenly felt like he could trust this man. Somebody actually wanted to help him. Everyone hadn't died, he wasn't the only person left! He walked up to the man and over to the way he motioned, "My names Casey, who're you?" "The name's Isaac, Isaac McKenzie." He held out his hand to Casey and, after a second of consideration, Casey shook it. "Ready to go?" "Yeah, Let's go." Casey replied. They walked for about half an hour, Isaac using the natural cover of night to his advantage. It was obvious that he was seasoned at moving with stealth and silence. The talked sometimes, their voices hushed. Isaac telling Casey about the basic dangers of the forest, and how to avoid them, and then about his girlfriend Katie. "Oh, you'll love her. She's great with kids. She knows her stuff when it comes to first aid too.." And with this he pulled up the sleeve on his shirt, showing Casey a large scar running up his arm. "Got that from a goblin, wasn't paying enough attention to him," "What's a goblin?" Casey replied, his eyebrows moving up in a questioning look. "Ah, easy to tell a goblin, they're small; they've got green skin. And they stink, that's how you know. The smell, downright nasty, heh, and they're dumb to boot, also. "Oh," Casey replied simply. He decided to keep quiet about his father. So goblins were responsible for this. They definitely fit Isaac's description - Green, Smelly, and not too smart. "Have you ever fought with one?" "Oh, yeah, plenty. They're not too tough. More scared of you than anything. But get them in a large group, and they can be pretty nasty." Isaac replied calmly. Goblins seemed to be the least of his worries presently. After another ten minutes of walking, mostly in silence, they came to a small clearing. Casey noticed a small hut up ahead, nestled in the roots of a large oak tree. It looked centuries old. Its base was wider than Casey was tall, and its boughs reached higher than most of the trees in the forest. Warm yellow lights came from the windows of the home, a thin line of smoke rising out of the chimney. As they approaches Casey caught the scent of what smelled like stew coming from the building, as they came to the door Isaac spoke, "Well, welcome to my house. Not much, but we like it." "It's cool," Casey replied, "Like a big tree fort." The idea of a house that was part of a tree awed Casey. It was simply cool. It made his feel safe. Isaac swung the wooden door inwards, "Hey Katie! I'm back, and I brought a little visitor with me, His name's Casey." After a moment a young woman entered the room. She reminded Casey if his mother, Her brown hair hung halfway down her back and was tied in one long braid. She wore a simple red robe, held together at the waist by a cord of rope. The cuffs were covered in a series of strange pictures, set in silver thread that Casey couldn't make heads or tails of. A few pouches were attached to her waist. She was elegant, but looked as if she had seen her fair share of action in her short life. Casey looked at her as she knelt down in front of him, ruffling his hair. "Nice to meet you, Casey." "Hi," He replied simply, still looking at her. "Well, pull up a seat. You look hungry; Wait till you try some of my stew." She said back, standing up and motioning to a wooden chair. As he sat down he looked around the kitchen. There weren't many things, but the basics were there. Cooking utensils and such. Leaning over he could see into their living room. A set of wooden steps that looked like they were set into the tree led upwards. There was a sofa and some more chairs in the living room set around a warm fire. Animal skins where on the floor and a few were on the wall. But the thing that stuck out the most to Casey was the collection of weapons set above the fireplace. Casey knew the little one was a dagger, but as for the rest, he had no clue. They seemed to glow in the light and he was caught staring at them. Isaac and Katie had moved over to the side, talking in whispers so that Casey couldn't hear them. "Where did you find him?" Katie whispered, looking over at Casey briefly. "He was sitting in the forest, no one else was around. Who would let a kid go out alone at a time like this?" Isaac replied, his brow slightly furrowed. "I dunno, what did you tell him?" "Just that I would bring him here, get some food in him, and then take him back to his parents." "Sounds like a plan, the kid looks like he's been through hell." "Yeah, I thought he was about to drop dead when I found him…" Katie nodded her head then walked over to Casey, he looked quickly up at her, not wanting her to know he had been staring at their collection. "Want some stew there, Casey?" Casey replied quickly, still a little embarrassed for staring at the weapons, but not too sure why, "Yes, please." Katie nodded and went over to the cooking fire. Casey had just noticed the large metal pot in the corner, the thick stew bubbling in it. She grabbed a bowl and filled it, stuck a spoon in it, and handed it to him. "Thanks," He said, setting it on the table and setting into it. It tasted better than anything he could remember eating, even the salted meat. "Damn, he must of been pretty hungry," Isaac said, looking to Casey. He and Katie went over to the pot to get some for themselves, and by the time they sat down, Casey was already finished. After a moment Katie spoke up, "So Casey, where can we find your parents? We were thinking of bringing you back to them tonight." Casey fell silent; it looked like he would finally have to tell them the truth, "Err…They…" He stopped for a minute. He forced back the tears he could feel behind his eyes, and tore into the story for them to hear. He barely stopped to breathe, and the words came faster than usual. If he said it quickly it wouldn't hurt as much and it would be easier. Throughout his story Katie gasped a few times, Isaac's frown simply got deeper and deeper. As his story ended, where Isaac found him, Katie got up and hugged Casey; Isaac sat staring into his hands, which where folded right in front of his face. "We're so sorry…" Katie whispered into Casey's ear, "Don't worry, it'll be alright…" Casey stayed silent, putting his arms around Katie, trying hard not to cry, but a few tears leaked out. After a few minutes, Kate and Isaac went into the back room. Casey sat down and stared into the cooking pot. "What should we do?" Katie said to Isaac, "We sure as hell cant leave him on his own.." "I know…He probably doesn't have anywhere to go, or else he would have went there…" "It's just sad…How they could do that." "I know, We'll get them back…" "And this is all that accursed Lucien's fault, warring on Varrock, the hell's he trying to prove?!" Katie's voice rose a bit with that last part, Casey caught the word prove. "I don't know, but he needs to be stopped, and he will be. The kid's lucky they were just goblins. Lucien has far smarter and deadlier things at his disposal…If it had been a mage, he wouldn't be here today…" "Isaac, Let's take him under our wings. We can teach him to survive, he doesn't have anywhere else to go…" "Yeah, I was thinking something along those lines… And with that, Katie and Isaac returned to the kitchen, Casey looking up at them, wondering what they where talking about. After a quick look at Casey, Isaac looked down at Casey, "What would you say to stay with us?" By Morrowson	Monthly... Fake pic fanatics dont miss this months Humour
This Months Feature Signature Graphic By ph33r7h15 Credits