Jack

Once upon a time there a young and daring thief named Jack...

Jack knew nothing of his birth or early childhood. His first memories were of the the hustle and bustle of the of the streets. Jack was a slum kid in the metropolis of Varrock. Like the other street kids, Jack lived off what he could scavenge, beg, or steal. Jack had a talent both for picking pockets and climbing and crawling through places no other could reach, which combined with his incredible luck meant that Jack would never starve. Jack life continued in this manner for seven years until one day he decide to pick the wrong pocket...

The mark was an old man wearing well-worn robes, a staff in his hand. Jack noticed that the man's pockets seemed to be overflowing with a wide assortment of items, including what seemed to be jewels. While Jack realized that the man must be a wizard, he was unable to resist the lure of the shiny jewels. Jack sneaked up to the seemingly oblivious wizard and easily slipped his hand into the wizard's pocket and grabbed an especially large jewel. Suddenly, the fabric of the compresses around Jack's wrist like a vise...

Jack felt an impending sense of doom, the best outcome would be that he would be sent away to the dreaded work camps in Karamja to mine rocks for gems until the day he died. Jack didn't even want to think of what would happen if the wizard decided to take the law into his own hands.

Instead of the expected call for the for the watch, or the muttering of an incantation for a spell, Jack heard the wizard say with a kindly voice "Lad, its seems that you have misplace your hand in my pocket by mistake". Jack suddenly felt the fabric release his hand and the jewel disappeared with a fast sound. As Jack started edging towards the crowd the wizard suddenly said "Lad, why are you out on the streets now, you should be in school, and why do your parents let you run around in rags, its disgraceful." Jack replied that he had no parents and that he took care of himself and needed no one to do it for him. The wizard said with a worried expression on his face "You have no one that takes care of you? Then would you be willing to except a warm meal, a new set of clothes, and a bed for the night." Jack weighed the potential risks and rewards and decided to except the wizard offer of charity. The wizard smiled when Jack accepted, and said "My name is Alpher, what's yours, lad?"

Jack and the Wizard soon became fast friends, and not long after Jack became Alpher's apprentice. Alpher taught Jack about magic, astronomy, herbology, summoning and various other arcane subjects. While Jack enjoyed his lessons, he was still the daring street thief at heart. Jack with his friend Zeke, an apprentice chemist, would often perform magically augmented pranks, such as stink bombs that created a stink that could not be washed of or disguised, baldness potions, rains of frogs and various other amusing magics.

Jack's seemingly charmed life abruptly came to an end when one night Jack awoke to find the house on fire. When he and Alpher tried to escape the rapidly expanding flames, they were met with a hail of fire bolts from the darkness. Someone meant for them to burn! Jack managed to dodge the rain of deadly bolts, but Alpher was struck down by a bolt to the heart. Jack, being chased by the black clad mages, climbed to to the house's roof in a desperate attempt to escape both the flames and the mages' bolts. As the flames neared Jack's hiding place on the roof, he made a desperate magically assisted jump to the nearest houses roof and escape.

As Jack fled Varrock, he swore that he avenge Alpher's murder and find out who and why they had wanted him dead. Jack was 15 when he left Varrock, now he he has returned three years later, searching for answers. To be continued....