A Helping Hand

It was a beautiful morning in Hemenster. The town was almost completely restored to its former glory after the storm that had occurred only the day before. At the Master's shop, Dancus Frumac had just awoken and was staring out at the village. He watched as townsfolk were hauling up shingles for new rooves, installing new siding, and securing foundations. Dancus, barely able to walk, limped out the door and outside. All the flowers and most of the grass were done in by the storm, but besides that it looked as if nothing had happened. Dancus was squinting into the distance. He saw two figures entering the town. One was wearing armour, with a gecko on his shoulder. The other was wearing a typical town person's clothes, but with a whip in his hand. As they came closer, Dancus suddenly realised who they were. Could it be?

Tarqinder and Tony had been bickering for much of the walk from Ardougne Palace to Hemenster.

"Stop telling me what to do! If you can carry your flaming sword then I can carry my whip!" Tony snapped, whipping it at a fly which had been tormenting him.

"Whips are seen as danger, but with my new sword people recognise me as a valiant protector-" Tarqinder was interrupted.

"Just because your sword is shiny and my whip is all rough!"

"Tony, if I was a regular citizen and I saw you with such a whip-"

A man stood in the distance, he was staring at Tarqinder and Tony.

"Who's this then?" Tony asked, confused.

"No idea, but he seems to be looking at us," Tarqinder noticed.

"Tarqinder! Tony de Fillo!" Shouted the man, running towards them.

"That voice, that's Dancus!" Tony exclaimed.

"It's me! Dancus James Frumac!" Dancus exclaimed, coming into full view.

"You were a ghost," Tarqinder said.

"How things change, huh?" Dancus grinned before reaching out to tickle Meep's chin.

I was so happy to see my friends again, I could just explode! "So, what brings you here, Tarqinder? Tony?" I asked.

"Not very good news in the slightest." Tarqinder's smile turned to a frown. "We've been sent by Harmon to inform you of something: a sea slug attack. We're expecting it to hit everything south of Hemenster." At that moment, Raiah had come running down the hill, her Master at her heels.

"Who're these chaps?" Raiah asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Old friends. The one with the whip is Tony, and the other's Tarqinder," I replied coolly.

"And might we ask who you're friends are, Dancus?" Tony asked.

"Well, this is Raiah Gestoff." I pointed at her. "She's the apprentice of this man." I then pointed at the Master.

Raiah walked up to Tony and Tarqinder and shook their hands. "Charmed," she said.

"So... Are they your hosts?" Tarqinder looked puzzled.

"Yes. My house got eaten and such..." I stammered.

"Yes, we know," interjected Tony. "Might we be able to stop by your abode for a midmorning snack?" His stomach rumbled.

"You may," said the Master. We all began walking across town towards the shop.

Tarqinder was staring at all the construction work being done. "What happened here?" he asked. His lizard squeaked for emphasis.

"Bad storm," I replied, "Horrible stuff."

"Oh, so you know about Harmon's speech?"

"Yea, we read it in the paper yesterday." We had just arrived at the shop's front door. Tony and Tarqinder were staring at the sign hanging overhead. They mumbled something to each other. "Come on then!" I pulled them inside, and closed the door behind me. The Master had already walked into the kitchen, and was coming back with a platter of biscuits and cheese. Tony had sat down on a large armchair in the parlour, and Tarqinder was staring at a blood-red potion in the shop window, whilst his lizard was exploring the shelves.

"Here, Meep!" he said. He clicked his tongue twice and Meep jumped from the top shelf and onto his shoulder. Tarqinder was now holding the potion as he stared at it. The Master's face turned pale. The phial began to shake.

"No!" The Master jumped up and grabbed the potion from Tarqinder's hands. He chucked it out the window. It landed in a neighbour's house. The phial exploded with a large bang, and released a ton of purple smoke. The Master shut the blinds. "Nothing to see there, friends!" The Master picked up a biscuit and began to eat.

"So, Dancus," Tarqinder asked, "How are you human again?"

"The magic that is Necromancy," I replied. Tony and Tarqinder looked at eachother again.

Raiah suddenly interjected. "So... what brings you to Hemenster, Tony and Tarqinder?" she asked.

"Well," Tony replied, "as Dancus now knows, there will be a sea slug attack tonight; it's going to hit everything south of Hemenster."

"Oh my."

"So Harmon used a Seer to discover your arrival?" Dancus asked.

"Yes, he saw us coming," Tarqinder answered.

"I don't agree with him forcing Seers into reading the future; the ability of precognition is a gift from the gods, and does not come when you feel like it, it comes when it needs to!"

"Well at least we can save a few lives now; I'm glad half of Ardougne didn't launch an assault, for they would probably have been slaughtered immediately."

"You've left a bit late to tell us haven't you? Seeing as you arrived in Ardougne yesterday," the Master noted.

"Well in case you hadn't noticed, your village was being pulled apart by a nasty storm."

"Oh, we noticed alright," Dancus murmured, chuckling to himself.

"So Frumac, how was it being a ghost?" Tony asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Well, quite unusual. It was rather lonely: limited interaction with anyone or anything, and a tendency to drift about without a home; so it's good to be flesh and bone again."

"Now, I'm no expert on Necromancy, but I do know that it usually means bringing the dead back as undead, but the thing is, you're no zombie, or shade, or vampyre, you're 100% human. How can this be?"

"Let's just say I have some very powerful friends."

"It appears that these two are Zamorakian; what did they do?"

"We are very skilled in the dark arts," Raiah stated.

"Was your resurrection a gift from Zamorak himself? Are they still doing his bidding even after the events in Ardougne?"

"Enough!" The Master snapped. "Now, did anyone see the eclipse the other day?"

"No, not really. You see, I've had a busy week, it starts off with me being chased out of my city by Red Mist, then I become a refugee in Falador, then I meet up with Tarqinder, then I ended up sailing here with him and his freaky friends. During the journey my life was threatened by a giant squid and some nasty eels; then we had to barge through a crowd to hear Harmon's speech and then get told that the world is in danger from a bunch of hurricanes and thunderstorms! And to top it all off I end up sleeping in the Palace's cellar amongst the wine because my window in the guest room is blown out by the storm which, just by chance, had a knock-back effect on the exact spot I was sleeping. Oh, and then they mistook me as a peasant trying to steal the wine but, luckily, Harmon told them otherwise," Tony announced, barely stopping for a breath.

Tony was panting for breath after his long explanation. I quickly chimed in again and took my turn in the conversation. "Well, that eclipse my Master mentioned..." I stammered.

"Continue, Ms. Gestoff." Tarqinder made a hand gesture to me, as if to say more!

"That was the Atra Nox." Tony looked puzzled, but Tarqinder began to nod his head.

"That weird eclipse that happens once every thousand years and amplifies magical potential? I've heard of it."

"Yes. It would seem that has permanent effects."

"Interesting... But, Ms. Gestoff, what does that have to do with this conversation?"

"Oh, nothing. Just wanted to say. That could very well come in handy if we must battle those slugs you mentioned earlier."

Tarqinder's expression lightened. "Oh, so you'd like to help us in our crusade against those foul creatures tonight?"

"Yes," we three said unanimously.

"So, how're the others doing, Tarqinder? Veedi, Mark..." Dancus asked.

"Well, I haven't seen of Veedi in a bit, but Mark's with our good friend Sir Raef in Falador, to campaign against the Falador Parade," Tarqinder replied.

"What's wrong with the Falador Parade?" my Master asked.

"Well, Harmon seems to think that all the smoke from the fires is causing this hurricane pandemic," Tarqinder explained, "and there are going to be a hell of a lot of fires burning in Falador once the parade starts."

"Really? I think I might be able to help there... a few choice spells and a couple potions and I think we could have this scenario under our control."

"That would be fantastic!"

"Raiah's Master, are you sure you know how to teleport?" Dancus asked.

"Of course I do! I bet I can teleport right next to this Mark Theobald!" Master exclaimed.

"You do not know what he looks like," Tarqinder said.

"Then I shall ask of him when I arrive!"

"Right; Dancus, Raiah, this is not going to be the easiest of battles, far from it, in fact. I take it you have enough potion to revive us if we are killed?" Tarqinder asked.

"Tarqinder, I can revive Dancus but I don't know about you. It's as if Dancus is blessed, by Saradomin himself," Raiah said.

"Meep! Come here!" Tarqinder called to his gecko, who jumped on to his shoulder from the table.

"Meep meep," Meep muttered.

"You should find someone to translate his words, an expert summoner I'd suggest," Raiah said.

"There aren't many trained summoners around these days, and those that are lock themselves away with what they have summoned," Tarqinder said.

"Right then, Ardougne it is!" Dancus stated. "I haven't been there since I was a ghost..."

"Sea slugs are capable of possession, are they not?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, and once you're possessed you're like a puppet to them, and you're doomed," Master said.

"Hold on, fighting off a group of large blithering slugs isn't that difficult, is it?" Raiah asked.

"Hush, hush. My dear Raiah, don't underestimate them, and don't go charging in with explosive potions, you'll end up dead."

"I think we can handle a few slugs."

"Well then, everyone, shall we be heading onwards?" Tarqinder asked.

"Off I go," the Master said as he lifted a teleport tablet and broke it, and then disappeared in a flash of purple light.

"Does he know where he's going?" Tony asked.

"I expect so, he has been involved in magic for a number of decades you know," Raiah said.

"Come on, it's almost evening now, for all we know the attack could be under an hour away," Tarqinder said.

And on that note, the group made their way out of the building and headed in the direction of Ardougne, as the light began to fade. The day was not over though, as they had a long battle ahead.

Witchaven sat quietly in the evening breeze, a sunset was visible over the Southern Sea. The sea slug shrine next to the large church sat crumbling away slowly, and the light was glinting off the large stained glass windows of the church. The water began to ripple slightly, and then it parted to reveal a human hand which was distinctly yellow. A male rose from the water, with a sea slug latched on to his neck. He climbed on to the dry ground, dripping water all over the rocky ground. The man turned his face to the direction of Ardougne, and looked at it as day began to fade above it, for possibly the last time...