Tarina: Hekate, the One-time Dragonslayer (Englanniksi)

[Hekate]

(( Elikkäs, tuli hetken mielijohteesta kirjoitettua RuneScape-tarina ja vieläpä kaiken lisäksi englanniksi. Vähän lyhyeksi se (eka osa siis) jäi, mutta se on kirjoitettu alle tunnissa jotenka no... Enjoy. ))

Somewhere in Crandor

”How about explaining me why we’re shipwrecked?” Hekate exclaimed to the drunken captain in anger, holding him by the chest.

“ ‘shlike this, lass… ah’m tha cap’n, aye? So ah’m roight ‘boot these ‘ere things, aye? ‘slike thish… HIC!” He passed out. Hekate sighed loudly and dropped him to the sand, gritting her teeth. Guess it can’t be helped. She picked up her blade and walked towards the mountain ahead of her. It was a difficult thing to believe that her, a mere daughter of a blacksmith in Falador, would one day rise up against a dragon. She was never a friend of combat. Even though she knew how to craft a weapon, she hardly knew how to effectively swing one. She glanced at her blade, a longsword made by her father. Adamantium, one of the strongest metals in the known world. Then she looked down at the armour she wore. Most of it was Adamantium part the chainmail, which was made of Runite. She didn’t exactly trust the orange shield attached to her left arm. Who made this? How is it made? Will it really protect me against the dragon’s fiery breath? Putting this aside, she walked forth. There were daemons on her way, but she ignored them only to be attacked by one. Slamming the foul thing over the head with her shield, she ran off as quickly as her heavy armour allowed her. The chase lasted too long for comfort, even though it was over almost as quickly as it started. Taking a deep breath, Hekate walked on. It was hot. It was too hot. All of the remaining journey, she was nearly overwhelmed by the desire to tear off her armour, seeing that it was only making it worse. She saw a small hole in the rock with a rope. I assume this is it. She firmly grabbed the rope with one hand and jumped into the hole, allowing herself to glide down rather quickly. Landing with a slam, she looked around. I can’t see a bloody thing! By Guthix, is this really where the dragon dwells? As soon as her eyes got used to the darkness, she looked to her left. Skeletons, and further a few daemons, and behind them a large door. That’s it! She took a deep breath and dashed to the door, ignoring the creatures that tried to assault her.

Once she was inside and the door was safely closed, she looked around her shoulder. There it was. A green dragon, evidently a majestic sight to hold. Hekate watched in amazement as the slumbering creature let out a yawn, stretched its wings… and attacked. Leaping to her left, Hekate braced her legs and jumped towards the dragon. It missed her slim frame by mere inches, while she swung the sword right across the dragon’s chest with very little effect. She leapt back to reconsider her tactic. Allright, that thing must have a weak spot! Not giving her more time to think, the dragon opened it’s large mouth and spat a wave of fire towards the young woman. Hekate swiftly raised her shield and kneeled behind it, praying that it wouldn’t melt. Fire streamed by her from both sides and the heat was unbearable, but the shield stood strong. Relieved (and a little surprised), Hekate ran towards the dragon. As it tried to claw her, she leapt on top of the huge paw and then jumped on top of the dragon’s head to stab its neck. As expected, the sword impaled right through the thick scales. Jumping behind the falling dragon’s back, Hekate nearly collapsed. Jumping with all that armour was not a good idea, it had nearly exhausted her to death. The dragon, however, was not finished. It slowly raised its wounded body back up and turned. Hekate gasped. How is that possible? Turning around nearly as slowly as the dragon did, Hekate was barely able to raise her shield as another wave of flame was sent in her direction. The shield held, but the woman holding it didn’t. Hekate fell down on her back in utter exhaustion. Finishing its belch of fire, the dragon reached a claw towards Hekate, but was overwhelmed by the wound. Coughing, it fell dead to the ground. Hekate raised her head and looked at the dead dragon, her eyes widened. Did I really do that? Is it really dead?

She tried to get up, but as soon as she was back on her feet, she fell back down on her back and fainted.

Two hours later

It was dark. It was hot. There was fire and smoke everywhere.

Hekate coughed weakly, she’d been out cold for a long time. Am I still alive? She rolled over and pushed herself up, barely being able to do so. I have inhaled a lot of smoke, this is definitely not good. As soon as she was up she wiped her brow and looked around. Noticing the dead dragon and her sword on the ground, she slowly realized what happened. She was still too exhausted to even walk properly and her vision blurred, but nonetheless she grabbed the blade, sheathed it and walked to the huge door.

Panting heavily, she looked through the keyhole. Two or three large red figures, a lot of lava and what seemed to be some sort of a trail. She turned around and leaned against the door, trying desperately to catch her breath. She placed a hand on her chest, which hurt. It hurt even more than she thought it did. Two or three greater daemons and a lot of lava. I should be able to… who am I kidding? I’ve never done things like this before! How am I supposed to pull off a crazy stunt like that in this condition? If my gear was all runite it wouldn’t be this heavy. Okay, girl… time to make the biggest mistake in your life. Slowly, she opened the door, took a deep breath, and…

“Guthix, give me strength!” she exclaimed as she ran past the daemons as fast as the heavy Adamantite and her tired legs allowed her. Barely avoiding them, she tried to leap over a large rock but her foot hit it and she fell flat on her stomach. As her breasts hit the solid ground she groaned out in pain. Pushing herself up with newfound strength, she dashed for what appeared to be stairs. Climbing them, Hekate looked behind her. The daemons had already given up the chase but the frightened woman refused to slow down.

There was a bright light in the end of the stairway, which was an indescribable relief. Hekate kept running even though every single cell in her very being was telling her to stop and rest. She pressed on, ignoring both the overwhelming exhaustion and the unbearable pain…

Roughly three hundred steps later.

Hekate stepped out of the cave and collapsed to the grass, gasping for breath. Fresh air filled her lungs and her vision cleared a little. So, this is the glorious life of a Dragonslayer, eh? Groaning, she got up and slowly travelled to the local village.

“Halt!” the local guard insisted. Hekate ignored him only to be stopped by force. “Name and hometown, sir.”

“Ma’am,” Hekate corrected tiredly, “Hekate Stormsword, Falador.”

The guard nodded, “Where are you heading, my lady?”

“Home… I’m tired and I need a bath, so could you please let me take that boat to Port Sarim before it leaves? I don’t feel like waiting two hours for the next one.”

The guard nodded hastily and offered Hekate a shoulder to lean against, which she gratefully accepted. As she was nearly carried to the boat at the last minute before departure, she staggered to the closest bag full of wheat (or it could be anything, not like she cared), turned back and allowed herself to fall on the bag. She fell asleep in an instant.

The following morning.

The armoured woman opened her eyes and saw a young boy, roughly twelve years old. He was examining her gear admiringly, paying special attention to her sword. Realizing that she was awake, he swiftly jumped up and scratched his head. “Me sorry, no mean to wake up pretty missus,” he said in an embarrassed tone.

Hekate shook her head, “Don’t worry about it, kid.” She looked over her shoulder and saw nothing but open sea. Still not there, eh? She looked at the young boy again, “Tell me… are we close to Port Sarim?”

“Yes. Yes we are, pretty missus. Only two hours away.” Smiling broadly, the boy pointed at Hekate’s sword. “Can pretty missus show Del that nice weapon?” Nodding, Hekate pulled the green sword from its sheath and offered it to the boy. “Be careful, it’s quite heavy.”

“No worry, pretty missus! Del strong, Del can handle big sword.” The boy raised the sword, seemingly having some difficulties doing so. At least I told him it’s heavy…

“So… I suppose your name is Del,” Hekate said with a little smile. She was still tired, but a little sleep had more than helped her. She sat up, straightened the large sack she slept on and leaned against it, watching the young boy swing the Adamantium sword clumsily. Soon, a nobly dressed woman, probably in her early thirties, walked to the deck and looked at the boy. “Be careful, honey, “ she said calmly before looking at Hekate. “My, my… what happened to you, sir?”

I understand that I’m wearing armour, but am I really THAT dirty?

“Ma’am,” Hekate corrected, “And… well, it was nothing.”

The noblewoman frowned, “You’re obviously hurt and so dirty that you can’t even be recognised as a woman, don’t tell me nothing caused that.”

Hekate sighed, “Okay, it was a dragon.”

The noblewoman gasped and her eyes widened, “A dragon? You stood against a dragon?!”

“Well… yeah…”

“You poor, poor girl! Are you hungry? Thirsty? In need of medical attention?”

“All of the above…” Hekate coughed a little, placing a hand on her chest. It still hurts…

“I’ll see to it personally, dear. Wait here,” the noblewoman marched off, Hekate snerked a little. “Is she your mother?” she asked the boy.

“Yes, pretty missus. Victoria is mommy’s name.” Hekate nodded, “Lucky you…”

Soon, Victoria walked back onto the deck carrying a pint of beer and a plate that had a neatly sliced, cooked tuna with garlic sauce and mashed potatoes on it. Gratefully, she accepted the plate and the silver fork that came with it. Victoria placed the pint right next to her for easy access.

“So, what is it like?” she asked Hekate after a minute or so.

“What’s what like?” Hekate asked after swallowing another forkful of tuna.

“Dragonslaying, is it really as glorious as they say?”

“… not really.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Well, take one good look at me. First you have to put on gear that’s horribly heavy and doesn’t really give you a lot of manoeuvrability, then you have to drag yourself to some cave where you can barely see two meters ahead of yourself, you fight a foe that could break your body like a twig and end up in a condition such as mine. And on top of it all, you have to do it all alone.”

Soon, Hekate gave Victoria an empty plate and took a sip from the pint.

“I’ve always been a little… attracted to dragonslayers myself. Every night, I dream of them. Brave warriors who are afraid of nothing…” Victoria let out a dreamy sigh, and then looked at Hekate, “Brave men and women such as yourself.”

Hekate blinked, “I don’t understa-“

Giving her no time to respond, Victoria jumped on top of her and wrapped her arms around her in a rather intimate manner. “So brave…” she cooed to the armoured woman’s ear before kissing her on the cheek, giggling like a little girl. Hekate blinked a few times at this rather odd behaviour.

“Umm, ma’am…”

Victoria quickly jumped off, just like Del had done before. Both women blushed brightly, “I-I’m sorry, lady dragonslayer. I didn’t mean t-“

“Hekate.”

“Wha?”

“It’s Hekate, Hekate Stormsword. And I’m not a dragonslayer, I’m just a blacksmith’s daughter.“

“I… erm… I-uhh… I’m sorry!” Victoria whimpered and walked off. “Come on, Del…”

Del nodded and ran to give Hekate’s sword back before running after her mother. “Pretty missus has nice sword!”

“Thanks, kid.”

Hekate took another sip from her pint. Well, that was weird. Giving it no more thought, she took a more comfortable position and allowed her head to fall on her shoulder. Soon, she fell asleep.

One and a half hours later.

“Wake up! Pretty missus wake up!”

Hekate opened her eyes and saw Del preparing to leave the ship, finally…

Taking a deep breath, Hekate got up and walked out of the boat, then out of Port Sarim. Falador was already within her sight when a masked man appeared before him on the road.

“Stand and deliver!” he yelled, slashing his sword in Hekate’s general direction. She drew her sword as the steel blade ran across her chainmail without doing even the slightest damage. With a simple manoeuvre, she riposted the sword off of the man’s hand. “Bugger off, I’m not exactly in the mood for this.”

The man screamed and ran to the woods. Hekate sheathed her sword and walked on. A bull walked past her on the way, unaccompanied.

At the gates of Falador she was once again stopped by a guard, but he recognised the woman soon.

“Hekate? That you?” he asked, tilting his head.

“… Stu?”

The guard nodded, then simply grabbed Hekate by the wrist and began leading her into the city.

Ten minutes later

As soon as they reached the local tavern, Stu quickly let go of Hekate and marched in, “Lemme buy you a drink, you look like you’ve been to hell and back - thrice.”

Hekate nodded as she followed him, not saying a word. “Two pints of dwarven stout, and make it fast!” Stu demanded loudly while leading Hekate to a table in the corner. The barmaid delivered the drinks rather quickly, and Hekate immediately grabbed it and took a sip.

“So, where the hell have you been and what’ve you been doing?” Stu asked, leaning back on his chair.

“Killing an overgrown lizard,” was Hekate’s rather sarcastic response.

“And by ‘overgrown lizard’ you mean… ?”

“A dragon”

“A dragon?!”

“A dragon.”

“Bloody hell! How, and more importantly WHY did you do that?”

“I don’t know, and…” there was a pause, “I don’t know.”

“Interesting… well, are you proud?”

“Somewhat, though I’m tempted to say ‘no’.”

“Why would that be?”

Hekate took a long swig from her drink, “Because my victory was more luck than skill, and because I nearly died about a dozen times on my way back aswell.”

“Well, glad you didn’t. Falador needs women like you.”

“Eh?” Hekate blinked, looking somewhat confused.

The guard smiled, “Not too many fine ladies in this city can proudly announce that they know how to mine Adamantite, am I right? And not too many have been killing dragons lately either.” Hekate hummed thoughtfully, and for the first time in a while, she smiled a little.

“… and none of them have that.”

Hekate blinked, “Have what?”

“That smile. You’re aware of it, aren’t you? Every time you smile, everyone around you feels more positive about… well, whatever they’re thinking. It’s kind of… magical, in a way.”

“You’re not trying to charm me, are you?”

“Maybe.”

“You are aware of the fact that I’m not in the mood for that, right?”

“Yes. How about I escort you to where ever you want and then leave you alone?”

“I’d like to go home now. I’m tired and I’m gonna kill somebody if I won’t get to take a bath soon.”

Nodding, the two finished their stouts and headed outside the tavern. Soon, they reached a rather small house with an anvil outside. After saying farewells Hekate simply walked inside, wandered straight into the bathroom and began stripping off her armour. About bloody time I get to take this off! Apparently the bath had recently been used, seeing that it was still full of hot water. Shrugging, Hekate simply lowered herself into the bath, letting a relaxed and content sigh escape her lips. Taking her time, she carefully washed herself, letting out another pleased sigh as the soft sponge caressed her skin. She lied in the hot water enjoying herself for what could have been hours. Eventually she got up and dried herself. She quickly put on her black, all-covering dress, ran to her room, leapt on her bed and fell asleep in an instant.

In the morning

Hekate walked to the tavern and ordered a dwarven stout. Looking around, he noticed three men clad in platemail looking her way. Soon, one of them walked next to her with a smug grin on his face.

“Say, what is a fine lady such as yourself doing in a dirty tavern?” he asked, leaning against the bar table.

“Having a drink and expressing pity to the likes of you,” Hekate answered with a slight frown.

The young warrior raised an eyebrow, “Pity? Pity the likes of me? My lady, I have slain many dragons during my career. I have slain giants, demons and I have even challenged a kalphite queen! How dare you say that you pity me?!”

“I’ve slain a dragon too, and in my opinion one must be extremely stupid to do such things for a living.”

Enraged by the comment, the warrior drew and raised his sword. Hekate eyed the blade. Mithril? Tsk tsk…

”It appears that little miss Perfect needs a lesson!” the warrior exclaimed as he swung the blade. Just as swiftly, Hekate leapt back. She then pounced the armoured man, having them both fall on the dirty floor. With that, she pulled a light blue dagger from her left sleeve and held it against the man’s throat. The man gulped and dropped his sword in an instant. Hekate laughed bitterly, “A great warrior like you can’t handle a mere woman? Pathetic.”

The warrior looked down and his eyes widened. “That dagger…”

“Yes, it’s Runite.”

“B-but how can a common woman… how?!”

“None of your concern, you pathetic excuse for a dragonslayer.”

The two other warriors had backed away in shock. They pressed themselves against the wall as Hekate stoop up, took what remained of her stout in one quick swig and marched out muttering. Soon, she was where she was originally heading: the marketplace. Salesmen and dealers, shady and not, were yelling out their bargains. Jewelry, weapons, metal bars, clothing, everything. Hekate was just about to turn and continue her search for the local hammersmith, but…

In her way, there was a bull. It contently munched on the grass, ignoring the people around it. Shrugging, Hekate simply walked forward and tried to find a way to circle around the bull. She didn’t find one, so she tried to push the bull away. The bull glared at the young woman, and she backed away in an instant. Still taking distance, Hekate grinned smugly. Finally, the bull straightened itself, lowered its head and charged. The event had already drawn quite the crowd around. Hekate dashed towards the bull and jumped towards it. She placed her hands between the bull’s sharp horns and pushed herself up, stopping the bull to its tracks while the woman flipped in the air with both her skirt and her long, blonde hair fluttering in the wind. She landed gracefully behind the massive mammal and walked away while the crowd applauded loudly.

Finally, she found the hammersmith’s stall. She tossed a handful of coins on the table in a carefree manner and simply grabbed the one that pleased her the most. In truth, the price she paid was probably enough to buy at least three hammers. Oh well, even hammersmiths have to eat.

As she was walking back home, the bull walked past Hekate, grunting angrily as it passed her. At home, Hekate placed the hammer on the anvil outside and walked in. She heard giggling from the kitchen. About time they’re home. She walked to the room and saw a man and a woman clung to each other. The woman, wearing a green dress, stroked her raven black hair, batting her eyelashes at the man. The man, with a rugged look and an old, brown apron, smiled in return. Hekate grinned as she spoke, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

There was a silence.

The two looked at her and gasped. The woman immediately pounced Hekate, hugging her tightly. Hekate smiled at the gesture, "Hello there… mom."

"It's good to see you, Hekate. So, what's it like?" the woman asked with a broad smile, obviously talking about dragonslaying.

Snerking, Hekate answered, "It's… stupid. I'd rather not talk about it."

Letting go of Hekate, Gicciolina Nicole Stormsword sat down at the table and observed her husband's turn. With a proud smile, Benjamin Stormsword approached his daughter and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Congratulations, girl. I'm proud of ya. Ye're the first Stormsword to kill a dragon."

Hekate looked down, flattered. "Thank you, father." Finally, some recognition…

Patting Hekate on the shoulder again, Benjamin walked out and went back to work. Gicciolina took a sip from her tea, "Hekate, don't forget what we agreed you'd do tomorrow." Hekate nodded at her mother and went to bed.

The next day, at Edgeville.

Hekate leant against the bank's doorway, her shade robes fluttering in the wind. She had been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes now, firmly holding the object soon to be traded in her pocket. She saw a man wearing a priest's gown walk towards her, carrying a large, heavy looking sack. He had a slight frown on his face and his general appearance was… rugged.

"Ye're the Stormsword lass, aye? Ye got what ah came 'ere ta buy?" the man asked, taking a quick look around. As if he was making sure the two were not watched.

"Yes. And I presume you are Jarzki LeVance?"

"Dun' say me name, girl! 'tcan get ye into trouble." Jarzki hissed quickly, taking another quick look around.

"So… it looks like you have your end of the bargain."

"Oh, aye. Two million of 'em coins, roight? An' ye, lass? Got me stuff?"

"Yes," Hekate said while pulling a black note with a number on it from her pocket, "Bank note, good for ten thousand units of coal. They've already been transferred from my bank account to yours, waiting for you to officially accept them.”

“Ye already did tha’? ‘twas kinda stupid ta be ‘onest wit’ ye, lass.”

“Maybe, but I believe I can trust a priest.”

Jarzki grinned, “Ah personally would’nae count on tha’.” He gave Hekate the bag and took the note. “Thanks, lass. Ye’re sellin’ ‘em coals fer a good purpose.” Honestly, I think that was sarcasm.

“Well, ah’ll be goin’ ta claim these ‘ere coals. ‘domin be wit’ ya, lass.” Jarzki said hastily before walking off with a faint grin on his lips. Hekate carried the large sack full of gold coins to the bank and simply lobbed it to the banker. “Get these delivered to the Stormsword family account in Falador as soon as possible.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the banker said with a nod.

With that, Hekate simply began walking back to Falador.

In a tavern in Falador, four hours later.

Guard Stu Proudblade nodded politely at Hekate as she walked past him. Nodding in return, she walked to the bar, ordered a stout and then walked to Stu’s table.

“So, it’s back to ore business and learning to smith stuff again?”

“Yup.” Hekate smiled brightly as her stout was delivered. Happily, she took a sip.

“No more dragonslaying? You’d be the cutest dragonslayer in the lands.”

“Nah.” Hekate took a long swig from the pint, letting out a relaxed sigh afterwards, “It’s too much trouble, and what I’m currently doing is probably more profitable than killing overgrown lizards for a living.”

Soon, she was finished with her stout. She looked over her shoulder and snerked. She saw the dragonslayers from before. She turned back and looked at Stu, “I’ll get going now, it’s been a long day.”

“Take care of yourself, girl. I’d hate to see you get… I don’t know, scorched or something.” Stu yelled to her, grinning.

“Oi! Are ye gunnae pay fer tha’?!” the bartender screamed in anger at Hekate, “I’ll pay it, don’t worry,” was Stu’s quick response.

Hekate walked out of the tavern with a smile, and, at the same time, out of the lifestyle of a dragonslayer, only one adamant opinion in her mind.

Dragonslaying… is highly overrated.

[Muzuzu]

Jepjep, tämän tuolla vanhalla foorumilla jo luin, ja vieläkin pidän. Englanti on sujuvaa ja kerronta luistaa, eikä juonikaan ole hassumpi, joten mikäs sen parempaa. Henkilöt ovat persoonallisia, ja pidän tavasta kuinka eri hahmot puhuvat hieman eri tavalla. Tuo yhden ulottuvuuden lisää tähänkin stooriin. Kuitenkin jos ruvetaan vertaamaan, Knows No Boundaries vie tämän. Mistäköhän syystä... 8) Ai niin, sarjakuvasovitus on tähän asti loistava, ja niin tulee varmasti olemaan vastaava KNBstä. \o/

[Lahis]

Ai niin, sarjakuvasovitus on tähän asti loistava, ja niin tulee varmasti olemaan vastaava KNBstä. \o/

OTDS joutuu leikkuupöydälle sen jälkeen kun on laivakohtaus selvitetty. Tiivistellään ja "turhuuksia" jätetään pois ettei tarvitsisi KNBtä odottaa ensi vuosikymmenelle

[dyyz]

hekata,the muuurdeer. aikooko hän mennä tappamaan king black dragonia? siitä voisit seuraavan tarinan tehä jos haluut.

[Lahis]

hekata,the muuurdeer. aikooko hän mennä tappamaan king black dragonia? siitä voisit seuraavan tarinan tehä jos haluut.

Seuraava tarina on tehty jostain paaljon paremmasta kuin lohharinlahtauksesta :F

[Country]

Loistava tarina! Tämä on niin sujuvaa tekstiä, että sitä on ihan ilo lukea. Englannin kieli on tietenkin plussaa ja henkilöiden persoonat ovat hyvin keksittyjä ja toteutettuja. Olen lukenut tämän jo kauan sitten, mutta vasta nyt muistin tulla kommentoimaankin.

[Hawkolf]

Sitä saa mitä tilaa.
Kommenttia nimittäin.
Luin nyt tämän tarinan aivan kokonaan ja kuten odotinkin hyvää luettavaahan se oli. Juoni olisi voinut olla vähän monimutkaisempi, mutta tämähän taisi olla sellainen Hekaten ja muutaman hahmon esittely eikä mikään eepos.
Hyvä äänen tämä ansaitsee toden totta.

“Thanks, lass. Ye’re writin' ‘em stories fer a good purpose.”

[Lahis]

Totaalisen turha bumppi, mutta sarjakuvasovitus on valmis. :p