Part 57: Separate Paths

Jaron's group, upon arriving in Al Kharid via Amulet of Glory, took a little hike to the south. In no time at all, they reached Shantay Pass, the gate into the (hotter part of the) desert. There was a Bank Chest nearby, and they each withdrew some money and walked over to the Shantay General Store. "Get your Shantay Passes here! And free Shantay Disclaimers! And desert gear!" Deciding that they would need to be best equipped in the desert, each bought a full set of Desert Robes and a Shantay Pass. Now dressed from head to toe in white garb, (except Jaron, who, of course, had a light blue pointy hat) they walked through the stone gate and into the heat. "The sun seems hotter here, on the other side of the gate," Tai pointed out. "There's a sudden rise in temperature within a few feet in this area. That's why the pass is built exactly here. So, where to?" Andrey answered and inquired. Jaron scanned the horizon, but could see nothing except the wavy lines of heat in the distance. "The Druid spoke of a slave camp built over the spring. I think I've heard about it...this way." They moved onward.

Omega's group faced a slightly different, yet not any less dangerous situation. In the safety of Edgeville Bank, each grabbed their second-best armors and weapons (so as not to lose their own in an emergency) and a bunch of food. Also, each person, mages and rangers and warriors alike, equipped their own Anti-Dragonfire Shield. "This shield's saved my life quite a few times," Brandon said aloud, noting the black charring around the edges of it. Finally ready to go, they walked north into the danger of the wilderness. Not too long later, Bustergod stopped. "Ah, shoot, I forgot something. I'll be right back." Bustergod ran back to Edgeville Bank, just out of sight because of some large rocks. The rest waited for his return. A minute later, he came running full-speed around the rock, a fireball right behind him! Seeing the situation, they all jumped up, and when the enemy mage moved past the rock, he was taken down in an instant by Omega's and Bebitwinnie's arrows. "Thanks...*huff*...I forgot...*puff*...the Antipoison..." "Oh yeah, Antipoison. Good thing you remembered," Omega said, smiling. Then he stopped smiling and stared straight ahead, unaware of anything around him...

Got the branch. Wait--where is he? "Quick, behind this rock!" "Aaaaaaaahhhh!!!" Two people run past the rock. The mage punches the enemy warrior, saving the ranger's life. "Thank...*gasp*...you...*gasp*..." Back to Draynor...

"Omega?" Omega looked around. "Oh, uh, sorry. Let's move on." Further north they went, towards the lair of the King Black Dragon.

Part 58: 103 Degrees in the Shade

It didn't take long for Jaron and the rest to be tired of walking in the extreme desert heat. They had brought waterskins--two full ones for each person--but by now they had drunk nearly all of their water reserves. "If we don't find the spring, we'll have to teleport out and start again," Ultima Cow said to Jaron. Jaron said nothing as he stared at his moving feet, but he knew it was true. Both of them were sweating, as was everyone else. Walking through a desert is hard work indeed, and the farther in you get, the worse you do. 911 was drinking the last of his water as EaglesFan spoke up. "I see something!" "Are you sure it's not another mirage?" muttered Blackhairtp. "No, I see it too!" Andrey replied. Jaron looked up. That was it! The slave camp! ...Of course, one wouldn't usually be this happy to see a slave camp, but at least they had found their destination.

Ten people, dressed head to toe in white desert robes, approached the gates of the slave camp. A Guard, one of several, stepped over and blocked their path. "Going somewhere?" he asked. "We're here to see whoever's in charge," Jaron replied, in as much as a business-like tone as he could muster. "And what business exactly do you have with him?" the Guard sneered. Ultima Cow stepped up, his pointy hat right in the Guard's face. "It's none of your business. But since you're so stubborn to know, we've got a shipment of slaves and wanted to see if your boss would be interested," he said in a tone that blatantly stated the Guard wasn't in charge. The Guard gave them a mean look, then walked over to the gate and unlocked it. "Just go. And no talking to the slaves."

Once inside the camp, they ducked into the main building. The bottom floor was deserted. "That was close, eh?" asked Coran. "Nice going, Ultima Cow," Jaron said, slightly surprised. "Thanks. So now what do we do?" asked Ultima Cow. An unknown voice gave the answer: "How about go to jail?" They turned around to find the boss at the foot of a nearby ladder. Jaron rolled his eyes. "Crud."

The Guard locked the cell and left. "So now what do we do?" asked Ultima Cow, smiling. "Find a way out, of course," Jaron said, already checking the walls. It didn't take long to find that one of the window bars was loose. The protruding bars cut a couple of people, but overall they were able to get out of the prison. Now, however, they were stuck between a cliff and the prison--there was no way to get around it back into the camp. Andrey pointed to a rock wall. "There's little rocks there we could use to climb out of here." "Better than nothing," Tai agreed. The rock climbing exercise led them back into the heat of the desert.

Ten people, dressed head to toe in white desert robes, approached the gates of the slave camp. A Guard, one of several, stepped over and blocked their path. "Going somewhere?" he asked. "Wait--didn't I just let you in?" Jaron promptly punched the Guard straight in the face. He fell over, unconscious. The nearby Guards readied their weapons, but Jaron's group produced their weapons faster. The Guards were outnumbered, and slowly stood down. "It's hot, I'm thirsty, and for today I'm sick of this non-violence stuff," Jaron said. He grabbed the unconscious Guard's keychain and walked over, opening the gate. None of the other Guards made a move to stop him. The rest entered the camp. Jaron walked back and locked the gate, looking at the Guards on the other side. "Don't say a word. I'm not in a good mood today," he threatened them.

Omega's group, deep in the wilderness, was actually having an uneventful time. The trek to the King Black Dragon's Lair was met with little to no resistance. There was still the paranoia of a large attack at any moment, but nothing of that sort happened. They did, however, see an oddity...as they got closer to the KBD's Lair, they caught up with two people heading in the same direction. Both had strange brown clothing on, and one wielded some sort of prod. "Baa!" "Oh no, it's turning around!" "Catch it!" ...And a sheep. "Oh, hey guys," one of them said. Omegaman could barely mask his surprise. "Euph? Applequest? What are you guys doing here?" "Call me Sheepquest," Euph grinned from behind his protective mask. "We're trying to prod a sheep all over Runescape," Applequest explained. "Then you might want to go catch it," Brandon said. The two turned to see the sheep getting away as fast as its little legs could go. "Aah! Come back!" the two yelled as they ran after it. Omega just rolled his eyes, and they continued on. They finally made it to a gate, and on the other side were several Lesser Demons, who were hungrily looking at the group. "I wonder how Jaron's doing," Omegaman muttered as he readied his weapon and opened the gate.

Part 59: Summer, Autumn, Winter, Nemardia Spring

Jaron and the others stood in the middle of the slave camp. Luckily, no ranking authority member knew they were there. So it was just them and the nearby slaves. "Well, should we head for the cave over there?" asked EaglesFan. "There's probably meaner Guards down there," Coran pointed out. "That's true;" 911 added, "if we go down there, we'd better find a way around those Guards." They all looked around for a solution, and then it dawned on them. Mostly all at once, as they smiled at each other. They walked over to a bunch of slaves who where busily mining away at some above-ground rocks. The slaves risked a glance at the group, and then hastily looked away, knowing they could be punished for the slightest thing. "Excuse me," Jaron said. The slave turned away and continued his mining of a rock. "Um, hello?" Jaron said again. "We're not supposed to talk," one slave whispered as quietly as he could. A look of realization hit Jaron's face. He didn't seem to know what to say. "Oh. Um, well, we were just wondering, if, by any chance, we could, uh, have your robes?" One slave looked around, and seeing no Guards, stood up. "(Have our robes? Are you crazy? What would we wear?)" he whispered. Jaron looked around. "You could have our desert robes, I suppose. And there's a way out into the desert through the jail cell window if you feel like getting out of here." All the slaves looked at Jaron as soon as he said that. "Are you serious?" one slave said at a normal voice level, which must have seemed like yelling to them. Jaron nodded. Obviously, the slaves agreed. Jaron's group had a new set of (smelly and somewhat disgusting) robes, and ten slaves had their freedom. With that, they went into the nearby cave.

It was dark down there, and there were many twists and turns. It seemed there was ore to mine everywhere, and many slaves were mining it. At last, they came to two Guards, stationed near a narrow passage. "Halt! What is your business here?" ordered one Guard, who had a strange light green pointed hat on his head instead of a helmet. "We've been ordered deeper into the cave," Jaron said. One Guard narrowed his eyes. "I'll go check with the boss and confirm that," he said to the other, leaving. The Guard turned a corner back down the path, and that left the other Guard. Ultima Cow looked around, and then looked at Jaron and tilted his head, as if asking something. Jaron saw Ultima Cow's look and looked around himself. There was no one nearby. He rolled his eyes and smiled, gently nodding. Ultima Cow pulled out his Staff of Guthix before the Guard could realize what was going on. "ENTANGLE!"

Now deeper into the cave, it was a race against time. "Eventually, they'll find that Guard on the floor," Tai said. "Agreed. We've got a lot of time until then, but we've got to get going," Jaron replied. They rushed through the tunnels, which were sparsely populated now-until they came to a Guard. Who would have been easy to defeat, had he not whistled and brought ten more. Now outnumbered, and fearing a fight would bring more Guards, the group let themselves be captured.

After a short walk even deeper into the cave, they were put again in a sort of prison cell. "How'd they even get down here?" asked one Guard to another. "Dunno, let's go check," he replied. The eleven Guards left in the direction of the entrance of the tunnel. "Shoot," Andrey said. "Now what'll we do?" Toxic asked. Deathstorm stepped forward. "Leave that to me."

Indeed, in no time at all, Deathstorm had picked the jail cell's lock--from the inside. Then a Guard's voice was heard in the distance, talking to another. "The boss didn't know anything about them. They could be spies. Let's kill 'em." The group, realizing the Guards were closing in on them, ran deeper down the tunnel as fast as they could. It actually wasn't that far to a strange puddle of orange liquid, which was as far as the cave went. "Finally!" Ultima Cow said. Jaron's eyes widened, and with a look of shock on his face he muttered, "Oh, shoot..." Blackhairtp stepped up. "Are you needing this?" he asked, holding out an empty glass vial he had brought. Jaron sighed with relief. "Thanks." He quickly collected the liquid in the vial. "There they are!" yelled a Guard who ran around the corner farther up the tunnel. "No time to lose!" said Coran. The Guard ran at them--but with the help of Ultima Cow's Amulet of Glory, they were already in Edgeville.

Part 60: The Only Monster Whose Name is an Acronym

Omega opened the gate to the Lesser Demon cage, and then shut it again after a moment. He turned around and addressed the group. "Wait, has everyone been down here before?" Some shook their heads. "Oh, okay. Well, let's see. Down that ladder are some poisonous spiders, so try to avoid them. There's a lever, and when you pull it, you'll be teleported to another part of the land, where the King Black Dragon resides. Be on your guard at all times. Is everyone ready?" Everyone nodded. With that, they ran past the Lesser Demons and down the ladder.

Omegaman, first to go down the ladder, stopped a few rungs short of the bottom. He looked down, only to see at least five Poison Spiders gathering at the bottom. Bebitwinnie, who stopped when Omega did, noticed the same thing. Omega had a look of fear in his eyes for a moment. After all, who would want to go up against a bunch of Poison Spiders, when the first bite meant you would be poisoned? Omega's look turned to determination as he brought his head up. "Hey, guys! All these spiders are gathering at the bottom of the ladder! I'll distract them, and you all hurry up, get down here, and pull the lever!" With that, he jumped from the ladder, landing on one of the Spiders. The others scuttled over to him, and he leaped as far away from the ladder as he could. He landed next to a wall, with nowhere to go. Luckily, his plan worked, and the other Spiders followed him. Bebitwinnie, Brandon, and Bulldog got to the bottom and pulled the lever in this amount of time. The room was quite small, however, and by now, one of the Spiders had already sunk its fangs into Omega's leg. Almost instantly, he started getting dizzy. He pulled out several arrows and immediately started firing them off at the Spiders next to him. He killed one or two, but in his dizziness, he completely missed some as well. Magicana, Cowseatalot, Bnjy and Petrenks had made it to the lever at this point as well. Omega's vision started to fade, and he couldn't think straight, yet he still firing away arrows around his feet. (Shoot...there's too...many of...many of them...shoot my feet...no, the spiders...too...) He started to faint and fall forward. The Spiders, expecting his demise, moved away so as not to be crushed. Just then, Bustergod and Low Scorer were next to him, kicking the spiders away and helping the drunken-like Omega to the lever. The Spiders took a bite out of Bustergod and Low Scorer's legs, too, but not as many as they did Omegaman's.

Omega was only a moment away from losing consciousness! Bustergod stuck the antipoison vial in his mouth, and Omega's eyes popped open. "Wow...that thing works fast," he said weakly. Bustergod and Low Scorer both drank the remaining two doses of the antipoison, but it didn't really matter since no one else was poisoned.

There were in a small room of a cave. Except that it wasn't fully a cave, since there was a small hole in the ceiling where a night sky and stars could be seen. And before them was the KBD-the King Black Dragon. Actually, it was sleeping, which was why they hadn't been attacked earlier, but it awoke soon enough, sensing prey. "Is it sleeping?" asked Bnjy. The KBD gave a mighty roar and stood. "Uh, no," Cowseatalot replied. They readied their weapons for the fight. True to its name, the KBD was large, evil, black, and king of all Dragons. Being the only non-melee fighter types, Omegaman and Bebitwinnie stood back. Everyone else readied their weapon of choice, be it Rune or Dragon, Scimitar or Long Sword, and rushed at the Dragon. The KBD blew a large breath of fire at the group, and luckily they all rose their Antidragonfire shields in time to ward off the blow. Brandon had the most trouble getting his shield up, as he wielded his Halberd, and his pointy hat was torched to a cinder. "Dang! Now I have to go buy a new one!" Omegaman shot Adamantite arrows at the KBD from the back, and Bebitwinnie fired Air Blasts. It noticed this and sent a large fireball in their general direction. Omegaman saw the fireball, and quickly dropped his bow, holding up his own Antidragonfire shield, as did Bebitwinnie. The KBD realized that his fiery breath wasn't getting it very far, so it resorted to melee attacks. Raising a large claw, it knocked Magicana to one side of the room, who was barely able to stay out of the lava nearby. Petrenks was hit and flew to the back of the room, hitting Omega and Bebitwinnie and knocking them over.

It was a drawn-out fight, but not as eventful as most. There was a strategy to it. Whenever the KBD opened its mouth, they all dropped what they were doing at readied their Antidragonfire shields. And when it raised a claw, they knew to duck. Even though the KBD's fiery breath sometimes leaked around the edges of their shields, it didn't do much damage. Not enough, anyway, with their supply of food. As the battle progressed, they could see the KBD getting weaker and weaker, as its fireballs seemed to lower in temperature. Finally, as a team movement, all of the warriors moved in at once and dealt the final blow. With a loud roar, the King Black Dragon fell over, dead. There was a great cheer. "Way to go, everyone!" Low Scorer exclaimed. Brandon walked up to the KBD and pulled two scales off of it. They only needed one, but you could never be too cautious. As a team, they moved together, ready to teleport back to Edgeville via Bebitwinnie's Amulet of Glory. They were just about to depart when they heard a noise, like a foot hitting the ground. Turning, they saw none other than the Monk standing next to the KBD! He pulled a scale off of it as well, glanced at the group, and vaulted high through the hole in the ceiling, getting away. "Why would he need a scale?" wondered Magicana aloud. Omega narrowed his eyes, planning on asking Jaron the same question once he got back.

Part 61: It's About Time

The Monk entered his laboratory under Lumbridge via one of the many tunnels. "It's a good thing those fools didn't mess with my potions," he muttered as he approached his table of vials. He looked the table over, grabbed one vial in particular, and ran back into the tunnel.

Jaron's group and Omega's group practically arrived in Edgeville at about the same time. They found each other waiting in the Bank; Jaron was looking through his account at his various colored hats. Seeing the others, Jaron held up the vial of Nemardia Juice, while Omega raised the KBD scale, each indicating a success. "Nice job," Jaron smiled. "Same to you," Omega replied, uneasy, "but I have some news. After we killed the King Black Dragon, that jumping guy came along and took a scale, too. Then he left before we could do anything." Jaron's smile faded. "...Why would he need a scale?" Jaron asked. "That's what I was wondering," Magicana said. "We'll ask the Druid when we get there," Ultima Cow said. "Twisas is waiting on us."

The Monk ran through the dark tunnel. He knew the way...these tunnels spanned the land, though nearly no one knew of them. It was an easy way to get from place to place. His thoughts drifted back to when he had taken up Herblore. The mixing of ingredients, the power of the results...all of his experience was going to come into use soon enough.

Taverly isn't a terribly far distance from Edgeville, and it didn't take long for the now twenty-member group to walk there. Finally, all at once, they arrived at the Druid's house. Walking inside, everything was as they left it. Twisas was asleep on the bed, the Druid reading some sort of book. "Aha, you are back," the Druid smiled. Jaron handed over the last two ingredients. "Perfect!" The Druid poured the Nemardia Juice into another half-readied vial of liquid, turning the mixture reddish. Finally, adding the KBD scale to the mix, the dark red potion was complete. Careful not to spill any of it, the Druid placed the vial in Twisas' mouth, as the contents slowly ran out of the vial. A few seconds later, Twisas sat up, coughing. "Ack!" Her coughing subsided, and she looked around. Finally seeing the group, she blinked. "Um...am I seeing double?" Jaron laughed. "No, we've had...a few additions. Good to see you're awake." She didn't understand. "Why...how long was I asleep?" she asked. "It's been a while," Brandon replied. They explained what had happened, from the Monk's sleeping poison to their quest for the ingredients. "We were hoping you could tell us something," Jaron said. Twisas thought about it. Finally, she shook her head. "Sorry. The only thing I know is that the guy said he's responsible for taking away your memories." "Ah, that reminds me!" Jaron said, turning to the Druid. "Did you come across a recipe for a Memory Restore Potion?" The Druid nodded. "I did, in one of the old books, yet it has not been used for generations. I am not sure of its effects. Luckily, I do have all the ingredients. I will fetch them." "Thanks," Jaron replied. Magicana spoke up. "Uh, before you go get the potion, I want to know one thing."

The Monk ran through the underground tunnel.

"Certainly, ask away," the Druid replied.

The Monk surfaced, not far from Seers Village. He ran southwest, into the forest.

"What other potions can be made with a King Black Dragon scale?" Magicana asked the Druid.

The Monk slowed, near a spot of freshly dug earth. It hadn't been that long ago.

The Druid cocked his head and thought about an answer to Magicana's question.

The Monk placed the KBD scale in his other vial he had brought, and mixed them together.

"Well," the Druid began, "there are only a few, to my knowledge. There's a really weak Restore Energy Potion..."

The Monk uttered some words, and poured the contents of his vial into the ground.

"...there's also a potion that makes Dragonfire hurt you more than usual, but that one's useless, of course..."

The ground beneath the Monk began to smoke, the same color as the liquid had been in the vial. Very thick smoke. It was working.

"...and there's also rumors that it can be used to restore someone from the dead, but no one knows how."

When the smoke cleared, there he was. Very much alive, yet very much mortal--CrazyArcher.

Jaron's eyes narrowed at that third potion. Restore someone from the dead? But who? And did the jumping guy know the secret of how to do it? Maybe with the Druid's Restore Memory Potion, he might find out. "Thanks," Magicana said. The Druid nodded, and went outside to gather the ingredients.

Part 62: Blast From the Past

In the forest southwest of Seers Village, the Monk bowed down to CrazyArcher. "Master; ever since the others killed you, I have spent my life preparing for this day." CrazyArcher smiled. "Thank you, my friend, I am glad to be back. This time around, I shall have my revenge. But first things first--it seems I have none of my god Zamorak's powers. That will need to be remedied right away. Come, let us go." The Monk stood and joined in step with CrazyArcher as they walked to the east.

The Druid walked back into the house. "Well, I have the ingredients." He grabbed a nearby book which looked extremely old. Looking back and forth from the book to his ingredients as if making a cake, he finished the potion a minute later. It turned out to be a light green color. The Druid turned to the group. "According to the book, the entire vial is a single dose. Also, I have no clue how powerful it may be. For all we know, it is a very weak potion. Who will drink it?" Jaron stepped forward, as usual. If there were any risk-taking to be done, he usually tried to put himself in front of his friends. "Are you sure? It may be dangerous," the Druid said in response. Jaron nodded. "If we're going to figure out what's going on, we need as much information as possible." The Druid thought for a minute. "Sit on the bed." Twisas, who had been sitting up on the bed, jumped off, while a puzzled Jaron walked over and sat down. "Um, if you don't mind my asking, why am I sitting here?" asked Jaron. The Druid grabbed the vial and walked over. "When testing a new potion, you must always be prepared. You never know what may happen." Jaron, expecting simply to have his memories return, shrugged. The Druid handed him the vial, and Jaron drank it down. After a few seconds, his eyes seemed to lose their focus, and he fainted. His head fell back on the soft bed as his colored pointy hat fell off--good thinking on the Druid's part.

(Where am I?) Everything around was black, and Jaron was there, except he wasn't there. It was like...like seeing something, yet not being there to see it. At any rate, the memories started flooding back, starting with the most recent. He was helpless to stop them, and suddenly he was in a vast desert. Nine of his friends were near him, and the Shantay Pass lay behind him. "So, where to?" asked Andrey. Jaron was helpless to do or say anything, while his body responded. "The Druid spoke of a slave camp built over the spring. I think I've heard about it...this way." He was able to think, though. (This was just a couple of hours ago! Way too recent...) Without warning, it all faded to black again.

It was like a train ride you couldn't control. Suddenly he was back in the Monk's cavern south of Lumbridge. Twisas was there, chained to a wall, head down. "Twisas!" The Monk, also nearby, turned. "What?? How did you find this place?" (This is earlier, but not that long ago, either,) he thought as the Monk ran down into the tunnel.

Other memories came to him, too. Such as facing Euph and Applequest in Castle Wars.

And beating Ultima Cow in Runelink.

The next memory took place in the wilderness. (That's strange, wasn't I in Falador right before I went to play Runelink?) He was running as fast as he could to Edgeville, holding a sealed envelope. Out of the corner of the eye, he saw someone. He reached a building in Edgeville and turned around to face his attacker--but no one was there. (Hmm. I thought there was someone there,) he thought. His body in the memory must have been thinking the same thing, too, because he looked over the horizon. But seeing no one, he turned to run to Falador. And there he was--someone on the roof. His body stopped running, and he felt the look of shock on his face. (It's the jumping guy!) Quickly, he tossed the envelope into the weeds next to the building, but the Monk didn't seem to notice. He was aiming his Dragon dagger, dripping with poison. Only a minute later, Jaron was on the ground, knocked out from the poison, as the Monk left to find another victim.

Jaron sat straight up in the bed, alarmed. The others looked surprised to see him wake up with such a start. Ultima Cow pulled out some sort of hand-held clock he had gotten from a Monk of Saradomin and looked at it. "You were out for nearly 30 minutes," he said, pocketing the watch. "Did you learn anything?" Jaron shrugged. "It was weird. I didn't learn too much--it only went back to right before I was poisoned. But I have a feeling there's something in Edgeville we might need to go pick up."

Part 63: The Sealed Envelope

The Monk and CrazyArcher were walking eastward. They were just outside the north gate of Falador, and continuing on. CrazyArcher was looking around, admiring the changes in the world he had left behind. (Not intentionally left behind, of course.) Just as he looked behind him at something, he saw a sight that caught him off-guard. It was a group of people--and some of them, he knew. (The pointy hats were kind of a dead giveaway.) "That adventurer again, of all places..." CrazyArcher led the Monk to a safe hiding place behind a rock nearby. The group of 21 passed with much commotion, and when they finally turned north to Edgeville, the other two emerged. "I wonder where they're going," CrazyArcher muttered. With that, they continued east.

Jaron and the others walking north into Edgeville, just outside the bank. "Man, I'm serious!" came a voice from within. "I don't believe you. I've been training Fletching for the last three days," another responded. "I'm not going to pursue this further, ACher. You've lost it. It's like you don't remember a thing." The speaker stormed out of the bank and past the group, apparently leaving ACher there alone. The group walked in, and Jaron walked over to ACher, unsure of what to say. "Um...hi. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Jaron began. "Yeah, he's kinda loud," ACher grinned. Jaron spoke again. "Well, what I wanted to say, was...it's kind of hard to explain. Did it ever occur to you that you may have actually lost your memories?" He was met with a blank stare from Acher.

After explaining the entire ordeal, ACher seemed really enthusiastic. "So, we probably know each other, and fought alongside for some reason or other?" asked ACher. "That's what it seems like," Jaron grinned. "Can I tag along, then?" ACher asked again. Jaron shrugged and looked to the group, as ever. Blackhairtp smiled and rolled his eyes. "Join the other 574," he muttered. Jaron laughed. "Sure. I don't think we're accepting applications after this, though."

The new group walked over to the edge of the wilderness, as Jaron looked around. "There--that's the building I saw in my vision," he said, pointing to the back of one. They walked over to it, and Jaron started searching the weeds growing alongside the building. Giving a shout of joy, his hands came up with a sealed envelope. Upon trying to open it, though, he realized he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a way to open the envelope. Omega grinned. "Having trouble?" "You do it," Jaron said, tossing the envelope to Omega. Omega couldn't open it either. Nor Twisas, Bnjy, Magicana, or Coran. Finally Ultima Cow took it and looked it over. "You know, I think I've seen these. Only a high ranking wizard of the envelope's destination can open it. But the problem is, where's it heading?" They all looked at Jaron, who stared back. "Oh. Uh, let me think. Hmm..." A few seconds later, he nodded. "I remember in my vision, I was going to run to Falador. Maybe we've got to go there." "Good as anything," Twisas agreed. They set off for Falador, each of them having their own turn at trying to open the envelope as they went. Of course, none succeeded.

Part 64: Contents of a Magically Sealed Envelope

Jaron and the others strolled into Falador, looking around. Low Scorer was trying his hand at prying the envelope open. "Ergh..." he grunted. "You wouldn't think it would be that hard to open an envelope," Bulldog said. "Well, it is," Low Scorer muttered, giving up. Looking around, they decided the best course of action would be to go to the White Knight's Castle. They had no clue exactly where to go in Falador, they just knew it was in Falador itself. They walked across the drawbridge into the courtyard of the White Knight's castle. They entered the building, and deciding a more professional approach was at hand, 19 of the 22 stayed downstairs.

Jaron, Omega, and Ultima Cow walked up the stairs of the castle to the head White Knight's office. There, there was, of course, the head Knights and a mage. The head Knight saw Jaron and walked over to him at once. He saw the other two as well, but paid no attention. Jaron chose his friends however he wanted to. "It's about time! You're never this late." Jaron, sort of confused yet used to it, handed over the sealed envelope. The mage walked over, and pulling out an Air Battlestaff, pointed it at the envelope. A blast of air came from the battlestaff, blowing the seal of the envelope open and exposing a piece of paper. The head Knight took out the piece of paper and read it to himself, eyes narrowing. "Dang. Well, it's about time you knew." The head Knight set the letter down on a table nearby, took off his pointy hat, and then sat on the table, facing Jaron. He looked at the other two and raised an eyebrow. "It's...fine, you can talk in front of them," Jaron said. The head Knight nodded. "Well, anyway, let me explain. Let's see here...you remember how you helped Falador in fending off the Black Knights a while back?" Jaron thought for a moment, then decided to nod. "The attack was the work of CrazyArcher, as said your report. Of course, you killed him." "Of course," Jaron said, yet still unknowing. The head Knight continued. "We have intelligence reports that say a follower of CrazyArcher is trying to revive him." Jaron simply waited for him to continue. "To be truthful, I expected you to be surprised, Jaron. This is dire news." "Oh, indeed it is, and I am surprised," Jaron said, "but what should we do about it?" The head Knight sighed. "Oh, I don't know, I'll leave it up to you. But now you know, and we know for sure. I'll start preparing Falador for any sort of random attack, and you do whatever you have to. If you'll excuse me, I have to notify the other cities of Runescape." Jaron nodded, and he, Omega, and Ultima Cow walked down the stairs. "Were you actually surprised?" whispered Omega. "Nah, I have no clue what he was talking about," Jaron replied. "It has to do with that jumping guy, though, I'm sure of it. He must be the one trying to revive CrazyArcher," Ultima Cow interjected. "Then we have to stop him," Jaron agreed.

The Monk and CrazyArcher entered Varrock, looking around. Promptly heading for the Castle to the north, they entered without trouble. The Guards usually let people come and go, as long as they weren't hostile. The two walked into the Varrock Castle Library, to find Reldo alone, alphabetizing the books. "Can I help you?" asked Reldo. "You can't, no. I suggest you leave," the Monk said, brandishing a Dragon dagger. Reldo's eyes darted to the dagger. "Uh, sure, whatever," he said, backing away and leaving the library through another door. CrazyArcher looked around as the Monk shut the doors. "My god! I wish to speak to you!" CrazyArcher yelled. Suddenly an intense heat filled the room, signaling Zamorak's presence. "Speak," came a demonic voice. "I have returned from the dead with the help of this Monk, and I wish to exact revenge on Jaron and his crew," CrazyArcher said, bowing in the direction of the heat, yet seeing no one. There came laughter. "Yes, yes. You failed me last time, remember? I usually wouldn't even hear of such a request. But since you did do such a great job of causing chaos last time, I'll give you another chance." "Thank you, my lord!" praised CrazyArcher. A blast of heat again filled the room. It was so hot, the Monk fainted. Yet CrazyArcher stood there, absorbing all of it. And when it was over, CrazyArcher was no longer powerless. And he yelled his famous words, for all of Runescape to hear. "This isn't over!"