Chapter Two – The Axe Merchant

The sky was a clam blue. The smell of morning dew filled the air. The view of the woods was excellent. Julia. She was by his side. She smiled at the picnic he had set down, a smile that melted his heart. There was a sound in the distance; hoof beats. It was coming towards their direction. The sound grew in intensity. A man slumped over a horse. Was he alive? Multiple arrow shafts pierced his body. The stranger moaned. The cabin. Julia cared for the wounds. The stranger tried to say something. Darkness. He awoke, the pain exploding in the back of his skull. Julia was gone, and the stranger as well. The cabin door stood ajar. It was night outside, the moon hung pregnant in the dark sky. Her shoe, it was at the edge of the forest. Footsteps, where was it coming from? Oh god, a trail of blood. Her engagement ring glittered by a patch of grass. A crude alter up ahead. A body on the stone surface. Oh god, it was Julia. The blood, it was everywhere. Her throat, it was still bleeding. His vision grew blurry, his knees felt weak. Darkness.

The scream filled the small, musty room. Jason awoke to the sound of his own terror. He sat straight up in bed, feeling the sweat that drenched his entire body. His stomach rolled like waves in the sea, and his lungs seemed to be blocked by an invisible force. The panicked adventurer grappled blindly for the small table by the bed, finally finding the empty pie-tin he had set there the previous night. Leaning over the bed, he heaved what remained of his dinner into the empty dish. The smell of sickness filled the room, which caused Jason’s stomach even more havoc. Finally, after several minutes, his stomach emptied, yet Jason continued to heave dryly; unable to control the convulsions from his belly. The nightmare playing over and over in his mind did not help getting himself under control. When he was finished, he set aside the now half full pie-tin and fell backwards onto the bed exhausted. The nightmares were coming to him more frequently, and each became more vivid as the days passed.

When he felt he could stand, Jason got up and exited the room, carefully avoiding looking at the pie-tin for that may cause his stomach to churn again. He found the wash a few doors down from his room; a small, clustered chamber with a rancid porthole and a dirty sink. Jason imagined this to be where the first year guards came to relieve themselves, thus the horrid condition it was in. Nevertheless, it was the best he could get at the moment, and he was grateful for that. Jason took one of jugs stacked along the single shelf in the wash and filled it with water from the sink Again, he was amazed at the technology in RuneScape. He poured the contents of the jug over his head and washed out his mouth with what remained. Despite doing this several times, Jason could still taste the bitterness of his stomach’s content. He headed back into his room and brought back the pie-dish with him; the contents turning a putrid yellow. He quickly disposed of it in the porthole.

Back in his room, the young adventurer dried himself with the bed sheet. He quickly dressed, wishing to leave the room as soon as possible, hoping to leave the nightmare with it as well. Back downstairs, he decided to bid farewells with the cook. Jason headed into the kitchen, only to find the master chef snoring in the far corner of the kitchen, his face covered with flour. Jason smiled at the scene before turning and departing from Lumbridge Castle. The first hints of dawn shown in the sky as Jason advanced past the gates. To his left, he saw Hans tending to the flowers while humming a merry tune to himself. Even this early in the day, the streets were already filled with travelers from all over the world, most were newer ones fresh off Tutorial Island. Jason started walking among the crowd, hoping to find a tavern nearby for information only to be stopped by a tug on his sleeve. He looked down to find a child no older than twelve leading him to an alley. Before they went any further into the deserted alley, Jason tore free of the child’s grasp with a hard jerk of his hand, causing the child to go fumbling towards the ground. The child didn’t seem to mind his harsh fall and simply rose from the ground and patted the dirt off the rags he wore.

“What do you want?” demanded Jason in a stern tone.

With a big smile of his face, the child replied, “Trim yer weapon for ye sire?”

The child’s Misthalin accent was so thick that it took a few seconds for Jason’s mind to register what he had just been asked. For the first time, Jason noticed how thin the child was. His hands seemed nothing more than skeletal claws and his cheekbones sunk in so much that Jason swore he could count the teeth in the child’s mouth. The child wore nothing but dusty rags which have been patched over so many times that it was impossible to tell what color the cloth had originally been.

“Well?” the child asked impatiently. “What about it?”

Curious about the offer and wishing to learn more of it, Jason decided to see inquire more on the matter. “What’s your name, child?” Jason asked.

“Dansky sire.” replied the child. “Me name’s Dansky.”

“Alright then Dansky,” Jason said. “Now tell me, what’s trim?”

The child stared at Jason as if he had grown a second head. “Why, it’s what yer weapon needs in order to slay those monsters that dwell in those swamps and mountains. Sure you can kill a goblin or two with that weapon of yers,” the child said while eyeing Jason’s bronze long sword, “But if ye want to slay the big monsters, yer weapons needs to be trimmed.”

“How is it that a squirt like you knows how to trim weapons?” asked Jason suspiciously. None of the instructors on Tutorial Island had said anything about trimmed weapons.

“My uncle taught me” replied the child. “I lived with him until a month ago when a fire started in his house while he was a sleeping. It was a quick death for him, bless his soul, but the fire left me homeless so I’m saving up to buy a cabin by trimming weapons for people. I’m awfully cheerful today, so I’m only charging twenty gold a trim. How bout it?” A big, friendly grin spread across Dansky’s face.

“Twenty gold?” Jason laughed. “No thanks kid, I had thought that it was for free. Besides, I hardly believe that story you told on trimmed weapons; it has more holes than that shirt you’re wearing.” Jason began to leave the alley only to have the child step in his way.

“Alright, since you seem like a nice enough guy and I’m in such a great mood, I’ll trim it for free. Just hand me that weapon yer carrying.”

Still very suspicious about the offer, Jason posed to stop the child if he tried anything funny as he unlaced the sheath containing his bronze long sword and handed it to the child. Jason had heard too many stories on Tutorial Island about situations like this one that left the unsuspicious looted of their hard earned gold.

The child looked over the sword; holding it at eye level and then feeling its balance. “I’ll be needing me tools.” the child announced as he reached into his pocket.

With grim satisfaction, Jason pulled the thief closer to him. He held onto the collar with one hand while he wrestled for his weapon with the other. Without warning, pain exploded in Jason’s shins. He had expected the brat to try something like this, but hadn’t believed he could kick with such force. Jason released his grip, bending down to tend to his injured leg. Not only had Dansky damaged his leg, but he had also left a deep gash on it as well.

“Hahaha noob” the child shouted over his shoulder as he ran deeper into the alley.

Looking up, Jason saw Dansky disappearing around a corner, at the same time noticed the spurs on the back of the child’s boots. No wonder the wound on his shin had been so deep; the brat probably wore spurs just for situations like this one. Cursing himself for being such a fool, Jason tore a piece of his shirt off to wrap around his injury. Upon further inspection, the gash had not been as deep as he first believed. Already, the blood flow was slowing and the pain had reduced to a dull throb. Nonetheless, he now needed a new shirt, a pair of new pants, and a new weapon. Thinking of the last made Jason very uneasy. It was definitely not wise to travel in a new land unarmed. Even more, Jason finally noticed how dark it was in the alley. He quickly scrambled outside into the safety of daylight, knowing that many have perished behind alleys on dark days. He winced at the pain with each step he took, yet he didn’t want to waste what remained of his gold on a healer. Checking his pack, the only weapons the young adventurer now had was a woodcutter’s axe and a small dagger; definitely not the appropriate protection one should have in this new land. Even so, Jason quickly strapped the dagger to his wrist and then the axe to his back.

Jason thought of reporting what had transpired in the alley to one of the castle guards, but then thought against it for the chances of them finding the brat was slim to nil and he didn’t want to be humiliated again. Instead, Jason rummaged through his pack until he found the newcomer’s map he had bough the previous day. He hoped to find a weapons merchant someplace nearby as he began to unroll the scroll. But instead of the map, he had found a new document that had not been there before. It appeared to be a certificate of some sort.

Under the light morning sun, Jason read the parchment. “Thank you, young man, for helping the cook of Lumbridge in a quest for the cake’s ingredients. Feel free to use my kitchen for any of your cooking needs. I am forever in your debt. Sincerely, Alford LeBret. Head Cook of Lumbridge.” In the lower-right hand corner, a red ribbon was pinned onto to parchment.

Jason smiled as he rolled up the certificate; returning it to his pack and withdrawing the newcomer’s map. Hans must have snuck in the scroll while he was sleeping. Chuckling to himself, Jason unrolled the newcomer’s map and studied the surroundings of his location. He noticed there was no sword shop nearby, but there was an axe shop positioned not far from where he was. Lowering the map, Jason could actually see the building directly ahead of him. He began walking towards the shop as he returned the map to his pack, wondering how he could have missed it earlier when it was only a few scant meters away from him. He would have much preferred a sword as he barely had any training with a battleaxe on Tutorial Island, but it’ll do for now.

Jason quickly made his way to the shop. It was a simple building built of oak and maple. A large sign with the picture of a fearsome battleaxe hung loosely above an open door. Upon entry, Jason was greeted by the owner of the shop; a huge, dark skinned man who introduced himself as Bob. Battleaxes were carefully strapped to the walls of the building; some were even behind glass in fancy display cases. The words “Break glass in case of emergency” was carved into the frame of one of the cases. The shop was empty save Jason and Bob, which caused Jason to question the quality of the shopkeeper’s wares. Surely many adventurers would come seeking new weaponry at Bob’s Axes since it is located so close to Lumbridge Castle; the location where all who finished their training on Tutorial Island is teleported to by the Magic Instructor. But what other choice did he have? He couldn’t travel all the way to Varrock just to purchase a sword.

“I’m in need of a weapon,” Jason told Bob, “Something sturdy and effective but not too expensive.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place my friend,” replied the huge man, “Here at Bob’s Axes, you’ll get the best merchandise at the lowest price. Let’s try this one shall we?” Bob went over to one of the walls and took down a huge battleaxe made of some blue metal.

“Mithril, won’t find many metals stronger than this,” Bob chuckled as he handed the weapon to Jason. The young adventurer took the handle, and fell over at the weight of the axe. Luckily, Bob caught him and quickly removed the weapon from his hands. Jason turned red with humiliation, but the vendor didn’t seem to notice.

With a frown on his face, Bob replaced the weapon back onto the wall. “Hrm, looks like that was a little too advanced for you. Here, take this one.” The dark skinned man moved to the opposite wall and took down a much lighter looking axe. He offered the handle to Jason.

“If this is still too heavy for you, then I’m afraid I can’t help you with your battleaxe needs. In fact, I doubt anyone in the realm can.”

Ignoring the statement, Jason wielded the weapon with both hands. He found it to be heavy, but balanced for its size. He took a firm grip and swung it in a downward arc to his left as the Combat Instructor had taught him, feeling the weapon travel smoothly through the air.

“Well, looks like the pup likes it,” Bob said with a satisfied grin on his face. “Iron’s about five times lighter than mithril.”

Jason marveled at the craftsmanship. The flat sides of the axe were so smooth and polished that he could see his reflection in them. The edges seemed razor sharp as if they had just been freshly forged. The handle was wrapped with leather that seemed to have been tanned only yesterday.

“I’ll take it,” Jason exclaimed with a big smile on his face. “How much?”

Now there was an equally large smile on Bob’s face. “Two hundred gold pieces, a real bargain for such an exquisite weapon.”

Jason was shocked at the price. In Hillsfert, two hundred gold pieces was enough to purchase the best plot of land in the small town. Yet here he was, hearing that a piece of weaponry costs as much as what his family made in a year.

“Two hundred gold? I’m sorry, but it looks like I will not be able to afford it at that price.” Jason said with a disappointed look on his face. “But perhaps I can trade in some of my other items for the weapon.”

“Hrm.” The shopkeeper’s face tightened to a deep frown. “Well, I doubt you’ll have anything I’m interested in, but let’s have a look anyways.”

Jason opened up his sack, but found nothing very much of value in there. But then he remembered the dagger he had strapped to his wrist, and quickly brought it out for Bob to see. “How much will you give me for this?” asked Jason hopefully. If he could strike up enough money and perhaps haggle the price down some more, he might actually be able to afford the battleaxe. He certainly did not want to leave empty handed after having felt the magnificent power of the weapon.

But to Jason’s dismay, Bob simply laughed at the offer. “A bronze dagger,” the axe merchant chuckled, “Not even worth the metal its smithed from.”

“Well, what about this?” Jason asked as he removed the woodcutter’s axe from his back.

“I have no need for those, as you can see.” Bob replied while gesturing to a section of the wall to Jason’s left which was filled with bronze axes.

Heaving a sigh of defeat, the young adventurer began to head out the door when he was stopped by the shopkeeper.

“Wait,” Bob demanded. “I have an offer for you.”

That captured Jason’s attention once more. He quickly turned to learn more of this offer.

“If you haven’t noticed, my shop is very empty” the vendor began in a dismal tone. “This is because some trouble’s been brewing over at the church across the road. There’s been rumors going around that the graveyard is haunted by a ghoul who terrorizes anyone that comes close. At first, I thought it was just some hoodlums trying to scare up some fun, but then the Duke’s own nephew said he saw the ghost himself while praying in the church. He swore that the spirit of some long forgotten ripper had come back, demanding the souls of the innocent. Since then, six others believe they’ve seen the specter and the church’s gravedigger has gone missing.”

“Hmm, do you believe that the church is haunted?” asked Jason

“Not for a second” replied the dark skinned merchant. “It’s been six weeks since the rumors started and I haven’t seen anything at all. But that doesn’t matter, because others do believe and now they stay as far as possible from that church, and since my shop is just next door, people have stopped coming for my wares. Of course, the different rumors that have spread since that day six weeks ago doesn’t help either. I actually heard someone say that the Duke’s nephew saw the legendary demon Delrith rising from one of the graves. It’s nothing but dragonspit, and just between you and me, I’d bet my finest axe that the Duke’s nephew was drunk that day he saw the ghost. Psh, as if the dead can rise up and live again.”

Bob finished his story with a sneer of contempt, as if the Duke’s nephew purposely started the rumor to turn customers away from him.

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Jason inquired. The story wasn’t sitting well with the young adventurer, especially after hearing a demon could involved. But after all, hadn’t he himself come to Misthalin in search of what could very well be a demon?

“I need you to investigate and find the truth behind these rumors.” Bob answered. “If you somehow end these rumors and have people returned to my shop once more, I’ll give you that battleaxe you wanted at no charge.”

The thought of that battleaxe in his hands removed all fears of the ghost. “Great, I won’t let you down.” Jason replied eagerly.

“Excellent.” Bob exclaimed. “You’ll want to see Father Urhney first. He’s the top Friar at the church. I’m sure he’ll have more recent information on the ghost. He’ll help you start off your investigation.”

The pair exchanged farewells as Jason exited the shop. It was nearly noon now, he had been chatting with the axe merchant for quite some time. Surveying his surroundings, Jason spotted the holy church across the road to his right. Without hesitation, the young adventurer set off quickly for his destination.