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| - Mark and Sir Raef walked around Falador, amongst a bustling crowd of people all wearing smart clothing, getting ready for the Parade. "Oh it can't be long now!" A woman in purple dress exclaimed. "No, it's only about an hour until it begins!" A man in blue robes replied. "We've been standing around for hours," Mark grumbled. "Patience, I must learn more about these treacherous fires they wish to burn and how extravagant this shall be," Raef replied. "Shouldn't you just go and tell Sir Amik?" "And look like an idiot? I need to know all I can first, and the best way to do so is to listen on these citizens talking." "And then you'll go and tell Sir Amik?" "Yes, and I am a good friend of his." Raef and Mark could see a formation of White Knights marching up and down from the Party Room in the east to the main square in the west. Large piles of logs were being assembled by other Knights and placed on to the pathways so that they could soon be burnt, while more Knights carried crates full of gnomish firelighters. "Well Sir Raef, I think that does, to an extent, confirm that this might be quite the epic event," Mark said as he viewed yet another crate being dragged along. "Well then my good man, shall we tell the guards? It is getting a bit dark now don't you think?" Raef asked, making his way towards the White Knight's Castle. The crowds had got bigger, and the amount of Knights marching about did not help the volume of the crowding decrease at all. Raef and Mark weaved through the crowds, and dodged the Knights carrying crates or assembling bonfires. As evening drew in, Raef worriedly looked up at the sky, which was now a strong shade of orange. "Maybe we should have done this a bit earlier," Raef murmured. "It's about to get dark..." "Are you sure they'll let us through, Raef? They seem to be very stern, and they're blocking off the Castle very well," Mark said. "Don't worry, the spoken word is my tool, and they'll recognize me. I'll tell them you are my younger cousin, I'm sure they'll believe me." Raef marched straight towards the group of White Knights who stood blocking off the path. Their faces were not visible beneath their helmets and their large white swords were clenched firmly, ready to defend the Castle from anyone they deemed not worthy to enter. "Stand aside gents, I wish to speak with Sir Amik Varze," Raef announced. "You are not permitted to enter!" Exclaimed the Knight. "What do you mean? It is me Sir Raef!" "We do not recognize you, and Sir Amik will not speak to you! Now leave at once!" "This is out of the question!" "This is your final warning, do you want to be arrested?" "Come on Raef, they're not going to let us through," Mark said, pulling Raef back towards the main square. I, the Master of Necromancy, landed in Falador as the purple light of teleportation receded. By now, I had donned my Saradominist disguise from Ardougne. I still turned heads though, my dreadlocked hair and long beard attracted attention. Luckily, my robes had a hood sewn in. I covered my head and scolded the people who stared. "Come on! Just an old man coming to watch the Parade!" I hurried the people along and looked around. I was in Falador's North Square, right next to the Saradomin Statue. A White Knight passed by, and I turned away. I didn't want my identity to get out; after all, I was imprisoned here only 3 days ago, and this time there were no Dancus and Rai to come and save me; they were off in Ardougne fighting of those putrid slugs. Ugh. I was wasting time; the entire city was ready to explode into celebration, and I had to find this Mark Theobald and help him stop this tragedy. The acrid smell of burning fire was already beginning to saturate the air. Suely the citizens were preparing the floats. Only a couple hundred meters away, a man with shaggy hair was walking around with a rather more stately man. That Tarqinder person had said Mark's friend had a rather elegant dress sense. Could this be them? I walked slowly to the two men. The elegant man started to talk to me. "Why hello! I'm Sir Raef; are you here for the parade?" he asked. He was obviously putting on a shoddy facade. "No, I'm here to stop it," I replied grimly. "Oh. So you know." The party arrived at the huge gates. "Falador," Bruce sighed. A guard walked up to them. "Can I help you, sir?" he asked. "Yes. I'm Bruce Brysworth and I'm escorting these people to Falador." "Falador's a bit full, thanks to all the refugees and the Parade - we're only accepting families or groups who can be useful." Bruce rapidly invented. "This is my wife's sister's family. I was taking them on a cruise around Karamja but we had to take a detour here." "Marriage? I didn't hear about you getting married." "You soon will be," Bruce said. "Uh-huh," replied the guard, mystified. "Let 'em in!" He called to a few other guards. The gates opened slightly, and the party walked through. Sir Raef sat in his home with Mark and the Master. He watched out of the window as night fell, with the final bonfires being prepared. "So, Mister..." Mark stumbled. "Just call me the Master." "Okay, the Master, how'd you find out about all this?" "From a man whose name I only vaguely remember... something like Terkthinder?" "Tarqinder?!" The two said aloud. "Yeah, that was it. He came to my village to warn my apprentice and her friend about a sea slug attack." "Who's your apprentice?" Raef asked. "Raiah Gestoff, and her friend's name is Dancus." "Dancus? Dancus Frumac? He's human again?" Mark yelled. "Yes. Long story," I replied, hushing him. "So... what's our plan of attack?" "We can't tell Amik, his Knights won't let us enter, and they claim not to know me! Strange behaviour indeed," Raef said. "Yes, there's something very strange going on here!" Master exclaimed as he looked out of a window facing the North Square. "I said so! I told you there was something wrong with the Knights!" Raef exclaimed. "Fine then, but what's so odd about them?" Mark asked. "They're using their swords to cut down trees for firewood in the Park," Master said. "And Knights are only allowed to use their swords in combat!" Raef stated. "Isn't that Tiffy Cashien? The recruiter?" "Yes, I believe it is," Raef noted as he looked out as well. Out of the window, the small figures of Sir Tiffy and two White Knights could be seen in a very secluded part of Falador Park. Tiffy marched over to the two Knights cutting a tree with a sword and began to shout at them, but then one of them hit him around the head with the sword's handle, rendering him unconscious. They then heaved him towards the gardener's lodge where they left him to lay for the duration of the Parade. "Oh my Saradomin," Raef murmured. "Oh my Zamorak," the Master murmured. "What is it?" Mark asked hurrying over to look as well. "They've just assaulted Sir Tiffy and locked him in a lodge in the Park!" Raef exclaimed. "I think that's not our only problem now," the Master said as he looked at a bonfire which was being lit in the North Square by two Knights carrying burning torches. Gnomish firelighters were then added to make it flicker purple and then green, while the crowd converged on the Square. "Let's stop it!" Mark exclaimed, dashing off with Raef and the Master following. As the group reached Falador Park, one of the Knights turned to them and marched over. "If you're here for the Parade please do not enter the Park," the Knight insisted. "Oh but we're not here for the Parade, now what the Hell are you up to?" Raef asked angrily. "Nothing that you need to know about." "We already do though Knighty, we saw what you did to Cashien," Master said. "Then you know too much," the Knight said severely raising his sword. "What the?" Mark asked. Raef pulled the Master and Mark by their arms and they broke into a run, fleeing the Park. All around them were bonfires burning incredible oranges, greens and purples, with the haunting smoke rising high up into the sky. "Oh no," Raef murmured as the smoke billowed upwards, becoming denser by the minute. There were now a number of White Knights pursuing the group who were now nearing the North Square. They dissolved into the vast crowd and watched in horror realising there was nothing they could do. Then, across the Square they saw a familiar face. "Bruce?" Mark mouthed, looking at Bruce Brysworth who stood watching the flames. Bruce turned to him, and his expression suddenly changed to surprise. "Mark? Mark Theobald?" Bruce asked. As Bruce strolled towards Mark a Knight grabbed at Sir Raef and looked straight at him, lifting his helmet up to reveal sickly yellow skin. "Sea slug!" Raef exclaimed before being grabbed and dragged out of the City Gate. "Shut it you, the Parade shall not be stopped," the Knight said sternly, gripping tighter at Raef's arms. "They're sea slugs! All the Knights are being controlled by sea slugs!" Raef shouted, but his cries were drowned out by the cheers of the crowd as a formation began to form near the City Gate. Town criers, musicians, Knights, jesters and actors dressed in royal clothing began to march up and down the pathways through Falador, while travellers, citizens, refugees and families, including the Carter family, watched and applauded the spectacle while tens of bonfires were lit along every pathway. Raef was thrown outside of the city in the cold dark night, and he knew that disaster was about to strike. "Watch out, a purple light!" Adverted one White Knight to another one. One of them rose his sword and quietly walked to the place, turned around the corner and saw two figures cleaning their suits, and other two people sitting in the ground. "Misthalin Officers?! You will not interfere with the Parade!" Said the Knight, before charging at them. "This is why I didn't join the White Knights, they are too selfish" Said the manly figure while dodging the attack. The Knight turned and slashed again, the Misthalin Officer drew an sword and defended himself. "Damn Officer!" "Colonel, If you please" The Colonel hit the Knight on the head with the hilt of the sword, removing the Knight's helmet and hitting him again to knock him down. "I don't wish to stain the floor with your blood, yellow guy" The Colonel said. "I heard something!" The other Knight said, he rushed to the place, he found nothing else than his colleague unconscious on the floor. The Misthalinians walked away from the scene, they saw many logs being burnt and Knight's everywhere. "I'd rather be up there with the Void Knights than here" The tallest of the group exclaimed. "Calm Down, we will just take off our uniforms and everything will be fine" The Woman officer told him, while patting him in the back. They took out their uniform shirts and then their chainmail, they took out some commoner clothes from their backpacks and put them on. "Still worried, Jake?" "Well, at least I don't look like a clown" He answered. They walked towards the crowd, they managed to see some fires, huge logs being burnt to ashes and releasing toxic gases to the atmosphere. "This is not right, the trees were made by Guthix to preserve balance between the toxic gases and the air we breathe, and they are burning them!" Mr. Rottham said, notably angry. "I'm sure this imbalance caused those huge storms we saw from the boat, and the melting of the White Wolf Mountain, too!" Mrs. Rottham added, she was worried about what was next. "This must be stopped then! Grab a bucket of water and turn off those fires" Iyla said, and starting going towards the general store to buy a bucket, but Jake grabbed her arm. "Wait, those Knights would behead you if they get to see what you are doing, it would be wiser to make the people realize their error" Jake said, he then looked at the crowd, cheering and dancing, giving thanks to Saradomin for that day. "Well, nobody said it was going to be easy". Bruce and Mark stood watching as a Knight pushed a lady out of his way to reach a bonfire, she fell to the ground hurt. Bruce walked up to the knight. “Bruce! Don’t – he’s...” Mark began, but Bruce was already at the knight’s side. “Excuse me, sir,” he asked the knight, “But what is going on?” The knight turned to look at him. Although the whole world it seemed was shadowed, the immense multitude of lanterns and fires kept it in a yellow twilight. Any normal person would have dismissed the knight’s strange appearance as part of the ambience –but Bruce could tell that not only was his skin tone wrong, but the sunken eyes that were nearly all white were sufficient enough to warn him of the danger. “None of your business,” the possessed knight rasped. “Oh dear,” Bruce sighed. Suddenly he produced a small sword from his hilt and rammed it up into a gap in the knight’s armour. The knight’s eyes widened (although they were over an inch wide already), before staggering. Bruce withdrew his sword and slashed across the knight’s pale yellow face. He fell to the ground, dead. As his helmet came off, a tiny sea slug lay dying on the floor. “Sea slug,” Bruce said. Then to Mark, “Good to see you.” “Good to see you too,” Mark replied. “What have you been up to these past few months?” “A week-long trip of Kandarin, then a couple of visits to family and friends. Pretty laid back.” “So how come you’re here?” “Well, did you hear about the curfew in Rimmington?” “Yes. What happened?” “Zombies, of all things.” “Zombies?” Mark asked, perplexed. “Yep. I infiltrated their lair, where I met a necromanceress, Hecate. She’s a Reformist Zamorakian. Anyway, her catacombs flooded, we escaped in a boat to the Dark Wizard’s tower, came to my house to pick up a family who had been lodging there, and now we’ve all come to Falador.” “This necromanceress... you said that you escaped together?” “Yep.” “Are you insane?” Mark exploded. “Helping a Zamorakian?” “She’s better than you’d think,” Bruce replied. At this moment, Hecate and the Carters walked up. “Who's ‘she’?” Hecate asked. Bruce stood up. “Hecate, this is an old friend Mark Theobald, and a new friend Sir Raef.” “Nice to meet you,” she said. Mark looked at her coldly. “Guys, can we put aside the fact she’s a Zamorakian for a moment so we can actually get some work done? If we don’t stop this parade...” There was a silence. Then Mark said loudly, “Alright then. Remember Tarqinder? We’re with him right now.” “Let’s go, Raef is still out there, and this Parade is about to go into epic proportions.” The surrounding crowd were all staring at the dead Knight and the sea slug; horrified. "Was it something I said?" Bruce asked as all eyes fell on him. The Knights began to march on the crowd and were now pursuing Bruce, Mark and Hecate. The Carters cowered in fear as Knights began assaulting the crowd. "Here! Carter family! Take these! It's the home just above the shield shop!" Mark exclaimed throwing a set of keys to them. The Carters took the keys and hurried off. "Where did you get them?" Bruce asked. "Sir Raef, that man who was just thrown out of the city," Mark replied. Raef had a pain in his leg where he had hit the ground, but that was not going to stop him. As he got to his feet he glimpsed creatures in the distance, near the lake which backed on to Taverley. "What in Saradomin's name?" Raef stated as he walked closer to glimpse a horde of sea slugs the size of daggers slithering along the waterfront. "Oh my." One of the sea slugs turned to him and pounced, attempting to latch on to him. "Oh no you don't you foul pest!" Raef exclaimed as he pulled out a rune dart from his pocket and threw it at the sea slug killing it instantly. Raef then looked out across the sea in the distance at the billowing smoke from a faraway volcano, and felt a chill run down his spine in terror as he looked at the thick clouds covering the sky above Crandor. "The Sea Slugs, they're going to get us all!" Raef shrieked as he glimpsed tens of them beginning to crawl towards the city...
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