The LoST 16

The Lone Shadow Templar

16: Day One

The sun cast its brilliant morning rays upon the morning dews. Vibrant colors reflected off the crystal clear River Lum to the east. In the distance, the first cries of the marketers started the hustle and bustle of the city. Lumbridge was coming to life before my eyes.

I turned back from the balcony and walked back into the bedroom. Wolfe’s eyes fluttered open from the ground. He had slept on the floor after the ordeal yesterday. “Good morning sunshine,” Wolfe grinned sleepily. I gave him a sarcastic smile and stepped over him to the bathroom. The castle had running water, which I was VERY thankful for. As Wolfe tried to figure out how to use the medieval razor they gave him, I washed my hair in the massive marble bathtub.

Drying the blonde strands as best I could, I returned to the balcony to ponder on how the hell we would get back to our time. It’s not like we could stay here forever…

The door suddenly knocked and Wolfe sauntered to the door, nursing a cut on his face. He twisted the golden handle and Horacio stepped in, flanked by two guards clad in steel armor.

“Good morning my lord and lady,” he grinned broadly, “Tis a big day for us here at Lumbridge!” His eyes drifted to my rifle and submachine gun that lying at the foot of the bed. “Trade of knowledge indeed…” he whispered excitedly.

“Off we go now!” The Duke motioned for us to follow him. With no roads left but one, we had no choice but to pick up our gear and follow him through the castle.

After too many twists and turns past a countless number of guards and knights and servants, Horacio finally entered a large room that smelled musty of old water. Light flickered from a single dilapidated chandelier, the candles in its holders about to burn out. My eyes scanned the chamber and saw what seemed like an old fashioned obstacle course, as well as archery targets and punching bags.

“Let’s begin!” The duke’s voice sounded magnified in the cavern / dungeon.

“Uh…” Wolfe began, “Well I guess we can start with this,” he raised MK-9 and held it out in front of him. “It’s kind of like a bow and arrow, but much, much faster.” His words started out slow, but quickened up as he felt more at home just explaining a piece of modern weaponry. “You just pull this trigger,” he motioned at it with his index finger, “Aim,” he held the weapon to his shoulder, “and fire.” He pulled the trigger.

A bullet sped down the archery range, hitting the target square in the middle. It then proceeded to tear through the wood and imbed itself into the wall behind it.

“Our weapons are far deadlier than any bow and arrow,” Wolfe exclaimed, “As you can see by its penetrating power.”

As Wolfe continued to demonstrate, I noticed that the Cook was standing by the wall behind Horacio. I walked over and he humbly bowed to me, saying, “Can I help you my lady?”

“How loyal are you to your lord?” I asked.

“To the death, my lady,” The Cook replied sincerely. “He has been like a second father to me after Guthix took my own. He has been my master for many, many years.”

“Ok, well I’m going to try something, something dangerous,” I explained. Behind me, I could hear Wolfe’s voice get drowned out by a burst of gunfire. His laugh was almost discernable amidst the fiery hot bullets loudly chattering away. “Think of it as an experimental teleportation device.”

“Did you say teleportation?” The Duke suddenly turned his head and directed his attention to me. Wolfe followed suit and strode up to my side, casting me a quizzical look.

“We’re going to need something to hide behind,” I said, looking around the chamber for some adequate protection.

“Ah I know just the place!” The Duke roared heartedly. He clapped his hands and immediately a string of servants rushed into the chamber, each stepping in front of us, holding out a golden necklace with a beautiful purple gem fitted perfectly in the middle.

“To Draynor Village!” he yelled and rubbed his amulet. In an instant, he disappeared as a swirling green light lifted him off of the ground and disapparated him. His guards raised their own necklaces up and we followed suit.

As my fingers ran across the gorgeous piece of jewelry, I felt an immense force lift me up from the shoulders, as if an angel were carrying me. My body felt lighter and lighter as I soared up into the heavens. Speeding through the air now, I could see the pasture where Bob’s cows and sheep grazed go by with a blur. A windmill spun lackadaisically in the soft breeze, but it all disappeared in an instant.

The next moment, my feet touched solid ground once more, and I was surrounded by a completely different town. Brushing myself off, I glanced to the north and saw a brief outline of a large, dilapidated manor surrounded by numerous dead trees.

“Ned!” Horacio’s voice called out from behind me. I turned around just in time to see a bearded old man dressed in a blue sailors outfit emerge from within a house. “Ned we need to borrow the Lady of Lumbridge,” the Duke demanded in a somewhat friendly tone.

“Huh wut?” Ned yawned while stretching his arms out above him. “You want some ropes?”

“NO Ned, we need your damn boat!” The Duke yelled. His guards stepped forwards menacingly. I looked over at Wolfe who returned with a slight shrug, signaling a best-not-to-ask mood.

“Alright alright,” Ned spat, “No need to get angry, my Duke. You can take it. It’s anchored on the southern most dock at the Port.”

A mast rose proudly in the distance, the flag of the Lady ruffling gloriously in the morning breeze. As the sun rose higher, the brilliant shimmer of the water reflected upon the white cloth, creating a mystical aura that surrounded the ship.

Our convoy marched aboard the ship, led by the blatantly overdressed Duke. He raised his staff as if he were a god as the rest of us walked onto the main deck. Clearly, he was enjoying this way too much.

“All aboard!” Ned’s voice roared from the helm as some of the Duke’s men pulled the gangplank in. “Hold on to your lunches boys and girls, we’re setting off. Please keep your hands and feet in the vessel at all times, this will get bumpy.” With that, the ship lurched forwards with the wind and I heard a crack. I looked behind to a rope still tied to a broken mooring that was now trailing in the water behind us. Up above at the helm, Ned gave us a sheepish smile.

“How long is this trip?” I asked the Duke as he marched around the deck.

“We should be there when the sun is the highest,” he declared, “Hope you’re as prepared as we are!”

“I think you’d be mildly surprised,” I replied with a slight grin. His smile broadened as he continued his parade up and down the ship. Looking around, I motioned to Wolfe.

“Come with me downstairs.” The sea breeze was magnificent; I could feel the tiny mist of brine that showered the deck as the Lady plowed through the waves. Each droplet of water tingled my skin pleasantly. There was something about the open ocean that was just indescribable.

Wolfe shut the wooden door behind us and I immediately whipped around. “So do you have a plan to get us out of here? We have… about two hours.”

“Well actually, I kind of like it here, the attention and…”

“Shut up,” I interjected, “This is not our world. This doesn’t even seem like our time. We need to get back.” His eyes looked down dejectedly. “I’m thinking, that green orb got us here, so it should be able to bring us back right?” He opened his mouth to say something, but I continued, “So if everything works, hopefully we’ll be teleported out of here before we get into any more trouble.”

Right as I said that, I heard a muffled explosion. Someone above deck yelled out to take cover, and suddenly, the entire ship was rocked with a deafening explosion. I felt my body being flung backwards onto the floor; Wolfe’s body crashed over a table, breaking it cleanly in two. “The fu…”

I another sharp crack, and instantly felt something whiz by my face. With a loud crunch, it embedded itself into a shelf, completely shattering everything it held. Wolfe groaned loudly as I pulled myself up, my ears ringing from the blast. Amidst the shouting from above and the smell of smoke that had crept into the cabin, I found my way to the foreign object. Only a fraction of it remained visible, but it was clear that a cannonball had just penetrated the hull of the Lady.

“Let’s go!” Wolfe shouted as he kicked down the doors leading up to the main deck. As we emerged from below, the ringing of steel reverberated in the sea air. A roaring fire started to consume the bow of the ship. I saw the final moments of the bowsprit as it cracked from the heat and gave way, tumbling into the black depths of the ocean below.

Ducking under an arcing sword, I unslung my rifle and lined it up between a pair of eyes. In a crimson spray, his head snapped back as his body tumbled over the Lady’s railing and into the waters below.

“My Lady!” The Duke shouted over the metallic ringing of battle, “Sorry for the… TAKE THAT YOU CUR… inconvenience! We shall be… HAVE AT YOU… on our way shortly!” Horacio was insufferable.

A glint of steel caught my eye, and I raised my rifle up to parry a blow. The pirate jumped down and faced me, his eyes darting between mine and the barrel of my rifle. I could smell his musty breath foul the air around him. As he raised his sword, I squeezed the trigger and watched his face contort in agony as the bullet tore through his chest. Before his body hit the floor however, Wolfe charged into him, throwing the pirate’s body like a ragdoll into the ocean.

“Damn he was mine!” Wolfe yelled; he whipped around and caught another pirate’s arm and disarmed him in one fluid motion. His hands wrapped craftily around the assailant’s head and cleanly snapped it from the spine.

Without warning, another cannonball impacted the ship, tearing one of the Lady’s own mounted cannons clean off its foundation. I watched, as if in slow motion, the debris and the cold steel barrel of the cannon slam into me, throwing me backwards over the railing. As my back hit the frigid water, I looked up and realized the broken cannon had followed me.