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| - Veedi packed the last item into her bag, a jar of king worms. As she looked around the Tree Gnome Stronghold she saw fellow gnome Ithacer running towards her. "Veedi, Veedi! I'm ready now, I just had to pack some toad's legs in case I get really hungry on the journey," Ithacer said. "But you have everything now I take it? Because we must be moving on, for it'll be night before we know it and the wolves will catch on to us," Veedi stated. "Yes I have everything, and I'm ready to go now." "Good, now we'll head in the direction of Catherby shall we?" "Fine, you lead the way, I have little knowledge of the geography east of the Castle of Camelot." "Well then Ithacer, maybe you'll learn something." As Ithacer followed Veedi towards the Stronghold's gate, a cute creature bounded past them. It then chased after a blue butterfly which was fluttering among the flax. "Where are you going?" Asked a gnome guard. "Why, we are travelling to find our brothers and sisters who traveled to the mountains of Burthorpe," Veedi said. "That is not a good idea, for goodness sake they probably died up there, for it is far too cold and dangerous to travel through, not to mention all those wretched wolves and bears I've heard about." "Veedi? Are you leading me into the lairs of wolves, bears and other hungry beasts? I wish not to be eaten! Why did you not warn me of the dangers ahead?" Ithacer asked angrily. "If there is any danger, we'll turn back. And I promise that we will be back here alive and well before you know it," Veedi replied. "Alright, but if I do not feel safe then I'm turning back immediately. Now, come on guards, let us through." "As you wish," the gnome guard replied, opening the large wooden gates of the stronghold. Veedi and Ithacer headed east, and passed the training camp once controlled by King Lathas, but was now under the control of King Harmon. Veedi and Ithacer began to reach Seer's Village, with the trees becoming further apart, making way for structures made from strong grey stone. A few Seers were walking up and down the path, some near the bank, others around the Courthouse. "Can we stop for a rest, please Veedi? I'm not the kind of a gnome adapted to long walks, the furthest I walk is to the gnomeball pitch for a quick game with Paula," Ithacer said. "Well alright then, it has been quite a long walk, especially due to avoiding those lumbering moss giants," Veedi replied. "Well we couldn't have walked past them, could we? They would have slaughtered us in seconds!" "Yes, yes, you're right. At least we know where the other crossing is now, and we won't have to walk all the way to the Baxtorian Falls next time." "Is this the village of Seer's?" "It would seem so, they're in Seer clothing, but I can't be completely sure for I've never been here before." "But you know the route to Burthorpe, don't you?" "Yes, yes, well, I think I do." "Maybe we should ask for directions, we don't want to end up amidst those barbarian warriors who rule lands not far from here, do we?" "No, I'll ask this Seer for a swift and safe route." The Seer was standing on the other side of the pathway next to the Forester's Arms. He was gazing up at the sky, watching the clouds shift and change. "Excuse me," Veedi inquired, going towards the Seer. "Why hello there my gnomic friend, how may I be of help?" The Seer asked. "Well might I ask how we would reach Burthorpe? And what would be the quickest and safest way of doing so?" "Burthorpe? That's not the nicest of places you know, the mountains are full of ravenous trolls you know! But to get there you'll have to pass White Wolf Mountain and Catherby which is next to it. And to reach Catherby, just follow this path past Camelot Castle and keep going until you reach the sea." "Thank you," Veedi said as she turned to head off. "One moment, one moment please," the Seer said. Veedi stopped and turned to the Seer who looked right into her, as if he could see her soul. "Oh my, you're an interesting individual aren't you? A knowledge of spices, an expert of your own cuisine. Ah, but there's more. You've traveled so far, to the town where the strongest wizards walk the streets, and to the depths of brutal lands guarded by firebreathing monsters! The war, the war, oh it came and it changed you forever. You saw so much, didn't you? The fighters of Zamorak himself, and the prophet who ruled with an iron fist. You saw so much death, fellow fighters fell and yet you lived. There's so much to come though, the churning waters swallowing up the ground we stand on, the monsters of the deep and the mountains that trap you and shatter your mind into a million pieces!" The Seer shrieked. Veedi stood stunned, she was shaking in fear and turned and ran to Ithacer, and they both made their way east as quick as possible. "And then there was one," the Seer whispered. Stopping at Catherby, Veedi and Ithacer sat down on the beach. It was afternoon now, and the Sun was shining brightly on the small coastal town. A fisherman pulled his fishing net tightly and pulled out a tuna which wriggled angrily trying to break free. "These wretched fish! I'm sure they're getting stronger," the fisherman grumbled before putting his net back in the water. "I think I shall have some toad legs," Ithacer said as he retrieved a jar of them from his backpack. "Ithacer, you should save your food for the climb up the mountains, don't devour them all now!" Veedi snapped. "I'll eat when I wish, thank you." "Fine, but don't expect any king worms when you get hungry you ravenous idiot." "You seem to be eating your food sparingly, is that so you don't waste it seeing as you are an expert of gnomic cuisine." "Stop it. Don't say that." "Why? Is this because of the Seer?" "Yes, you know very well it's because of that flaming Seer!" "What did he mean when he said about you fighting a war?" "Stop it! Stop asking questions!" "Did he mean you were in Ardoug-" "Shut up! Don't even think of asking me about what happened then!" "I was only ask-" "Well don't. I saw so much death and destruction, I never want to speak of that again." "I'm sorry." "Forget it, now we'd better hurry before it gets too late, we've got to cross this mountain to get to Burthorpe." Veedi and Ithacer glanced at the looming White Wolf Mountain, that sent a strong feeling of fear into them. They heard the sound of a wolf howling out among the icy grounds of the mountain, waiting for something to eat. The climb had not been easy, and so far Veedi and Ithacer had encountered two hungry white wolves and had ended up clinging on to dead trees which were nothing more than rotting bark now. "The snow seems to be a lot deeper up here!" Ithacer called out to Veedi as he climbed gradually up the snow covered path. "It certainly is!" Veedi called back, brushing the branches of a dead tree out of her way. "How much further is it to the end?" "Not much further, round this corner the path starts heading downwards!" "Any signs of wolves?" "I can see a few near the bottom but I don't think we're going anywhere near them!" "Veedi! Isn't this the place where that gnome glider crashed back in 169?" "I think so! It was up here for months until it was finally cleared away!" "Can you see Burthorpe from here?" "Just about! It's surrounded by mountains but I can make out the tops of buildings!" "I can just about see Camelot now! The eastern wall is just about visible up here!" "Right Ithacer! After we pass this rock, we start heading downwards!" "Okay! Is it a difficult descent?" "Not too bad! There are a few steep parts though, and I don't like the look of those wolves near the bottom! They seem to be getting closer!" "We'll just throw some food at them if they come too close!" "Good idea! I had a friend who did that and he managed to live!" "Gnome?" "No, human! He's gone back to Varrock now!" "Right." Veedi and Ithacer passed round the large rock and were now descending the path to the bottom of the mountain. It was bumpy due to the vicious jagged rocks that stood out on the path. A wolf howled out at the sky, and a chill ran down Veedi and Ithacer, and they decided to look away from the pack of wolves gathering at the bottom of the mountain. As they began to head down, Veedi tripped and began to slide down the path, as did Ithacer who tripped over the same rocky outcrop. They saw the wolves getting closer and closer, so Veedi delved into her backpack frantically and retrieved a jar of king worms, which she threw towards the bottom of the mountain, which shattered upon hitting the ground. The wolves left the path to see what they had heard land nearby. Veedi and Ithacer stumbled as they hit the bottom of the path and then sprinted away from the mountain, leaving the wolves to ponder over what they had found. The Sun was warm in the late afternoon, and a breeze had picked up. Evergreen trees grew along the path to Burthorpe, and butterflies fluttered about in the air. Veedi and Ithacer had passed the stone circle in Taverley and could now see the Warriors' Guild. "This is Burthorpe I think, I've seen illustrations of it before and the structures look similar," Veedi noted. The grass was darker here, and the sound of fighting could be heard from the Warriors' Guild, where many powerful swordsmen from Misthalin, Asgarnia and Kandarin were duelling with various captured and caged creatures in hopes of becoming stronger warriors and maybe even Slayers that many aspired to be. "It's a very violent place here, isn't it?" Ithacer asked, looking around the town. Soldiers armed with vicious looking blades trained on a battlefield nestled among the buildings. Veedi watched soldiers charging at dummies and various other objects, it made her sick. "It's certainly a violent town. And to think, after all that happened in Ardougne, no peace could ever come out of it, and no stupid humans could ever realize that wars and fighting are a waste of life," Veedi said. "And what if a great big horde of demons attacked us? Then we'd need an army to fight them off!" Ithacer said. "But-" A rock from up in the mountains crashed down on the floor, narrowly missing Veedi and Ithacer. They stopped in their tracks and looked upwards, and saw the dark rocky mountains towering over the tiny structures of Burthorpe. "It would seem the mountains are equally as violent," Ithacer noted. "Well come on Ithacer, let's make a start at climbing, we can rest there while one keeps watch for tonight, but hopefully we'll find some of the gnomes before nightfall," Veedi said. "We don't even know if they're alive." "There have been plenty of gnome sightings up here, and some of my cousins went up to the mountains, and Uncle Burllegord hasn't been able to rest since his children went off all those years ago." "Alright then." Veedi and Ithacer reached the path up into the mountains and began to climb. There were trolls up in the western mountains, so the gnomes had to be carefully where they trod. Large rocks scattered the long twisting path, and the air was much cooler up there; or maybe it was just their fear. "It's certainly secluded," Ithacer said, his eyes darting around to see if any type of beast was waiting to pounce. Without any warning, a seemingly stray arrow shot out from above them and went straight into Ithacer's back. "Oh my-" Veedi shrieked, before being hit in the arm by another arrow. "Help me," Ithacer groaned as he felt the arrow piercing through his chest. "No, no!" Another arrow hit Ithacer, once again through the chest, causing him to collapse on the floor in pain, his life slowly fading away. Veedi looked up to a rocky ridge where she saw an angry looking bearded man with grubby clothing with a woman of equally filthy standards. The man had a shortbow and a set of arrows in his hand. Veedi was horrified, and as she turned to see Ithacer die in her arms, she felt a thud as a rock hit her in the back of her head, immediately rendering her unconscious. "Get them up here Gwendoline," the man grunted, "They can go with the others." "Yes husband," Gwendoline, the woman, replied. "I'll do it at once husband."
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