Hello, hello, hello, what's happenin' readers?

A happy Easter 2012 to everyone. Hope you enjoyed. I apologise for not being able to write a 'proper' Easter chapter for you this Easter, based off any Jagex event; it, unfortunately, wasn't convenient. Instead, I've based this chapter and the next chapter on Easter day. No events and rewards, however.

Competition results in the author notes below.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jagex, RuneScape, or any of the RuneScape characters. All I own is the plot of this fanfiction and some of the characters in the story. I am not making a financial profit from this story.

Chapter 13: White Wolf Mountain Part 1

Where are they? I thought to myself impatiently. I was currently by the large stone wall that separated the Falador area from the Taverley area. I was waiting for Osrie1, Amy11 and Aaron to arrive. We'd planned to meet by the entrance to Taverley, and then we would travel to Catherby, where Aaron's werewolf tribe lived. However, to get to Catherby we would have to traverse the large, perilous and cold White Wolf Mountain, a mountain that was famous for being a deathtrap. I found it ironic that a clan of werewolves lived right next to a mountain that was named after the white wolves that lived on it.

Saying goodbye to my friends in Falador and Varrock was a difficult process, but they accepted why I wished to travel and they wished me the best of luck. I was feeling bored and I had an itch to go to new places, experience new sensations and defeat new foes. I wanted a challenge. I wanted to feel the tingling excitement of questing again. This opportunity offered me the chance to do all of those things.

I was anxious about meeting Aaron's clan. The little experience I'd had with werewolves had proven to me that they were powerful and dangerous in certain situations, and although I knew that friends of Aaron were also friends of mine, I still felt slightly uncomfortable, knowing that I would be spending time with people that were more than capable of crushing me.

I reflected briefly over the prophecy of the High Priest on Entrana. Some bits were more meaningful than others, while some bits merely confused me. I could only nurse suspicions and ideas; I knew nothing about the true nature of the prophecy, but it occurred to me that I would in good time. The object on my back was now giving me nightmares. I always had awful dreams involving me falling, me drowning, me suffocating, and in every dream I felt the awful object on my back. The incessant clicking and the odd weight would haunt me to my dying day.

Today was Easter, and I had several chocolate eggs stored in my house, ready for this evening, when we would have a celebratory feast, celebrating not just Easter, but also our (hopeful) success in crossing the dreaded White Wolf Mountain and arriving at Catherby. We'd debated the possibility of re-organizing our travelling date so we wouldn't have to traverse dangerous mountains on Easter, but we all agreed that it would be fruitless and the hike would make the evening feast all the more enjoyable.

I'd seen the Easter bunny already; I'd offered him some help, but he politely declined, thanking me for my generosity and offering me a few free Easter eggs to thank me for helping in previous years. I shuddered as memories, both pleasant and unpleasant, filled my mind. Easter reminded me of chocolate, buns and celebrations, but it reminded me of wicked wizards, power-hungry leprechauns and holly and hawthorn trees.

Eventually, Osrie1 arrived, his bag strapped to his back and a bottle full of water in his hand. He patted me on the back and we began chatting contentedly, chuckling and laughing at jokes that only we truly understood. Aaron soon arrived, his blade-on-a-chain weapon strapped to his waist. He joined the conversation and we reminisced over old and fond memories. Soon Amy11 arrived, and we were ready to go.

We entered Taverley and we surveyed the buildings around us curiously. They were odd buildings; they appeared to be made from the same materials as average cottages, yet they appeared stronger than average cottages, as if they'd been constructed with stronger materials that were more effective but still gave the outward appearance of a cottage. They were painted white, and druids clothed in white walked around. We passed a stone circle that seemed very similar to the stone circle near Varrock, except there were different runes and symbols carved on it, it was surrounded by druids, and it didn't strike fear into my heart. We walked through the relatively small village until we were standing in the fearsome shadow of White Wolf Mountain.

The mountain was taller than any other mountain I'd seen, including the mountain near Barbarian Village and the Karamja volcano. It was completely covered with snow and even the rock of the mountain itself seemed to be frozen to the core. Ominous sounds echoed around the mountain. We followed a foreboding path that trailed off in the distance. We passed a cliff of sorts, and towards the bottom of the cliff I could see sand and spiky rocks.

"Why don't we go this way?" I asked Aaron, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the cliff.

"That cliff is practically impossible to scale," he growled. "We, as a clan, can barely combat the cliff, even in our werewolf forms. Only people who have mastered the agility skill can manage to climb up or down that cliff without injuring themselves. You could try, but you'd potentially die trying. It's not a risk I would suggest taking. I'd be better for us to go through the mountain." I nodded, feeling very uneasy about trying to make our way through such a gigantic mountain that (as the name suggested) was the home to ferocious wolves. But I felt an odd sense of security when I was with Aaron, because I knew that he could transform and destroy enemies at will.

We began our trek across the White Wolf Mountain, all (apart from Aaron) feeling the same mutual anxiousness. A cold wind picked up and bean tearing at our bare hands and uncovered noses. We passed the occasional white wolf, and they sometimes growled angrily at us. We walked deeper and deeper into the wandering paths of the mountain, the wind blew harder and harder, and the snow fell thicker and thicker. Aaron, however, was clearly used to the environment, because he appeared utterly unfazed by the occasional wolf and the unpleasant weather.

We passed yet another white wolf (however, this one seemed larger, bulkier, and more ferocious) and, like we'd done with the previous wolves, we ignored it. This wolf, however, seemed considerably angrier than the other wolves we'd passed, and it snarled at us as we passed it. It pounced after us, causing us to react quickly and spin around, weapons in hand. The wolf snapped in Osrie1's direction, but he cast a water spell and the wolf was forced back several feet, yelping slightly. Amy11 stabbed the wolf in the back with her dagger. The wolf backed off from her, but was instead met with Aaron and his blade. Several slashes of the blade resulted in a very injured and upset wolf. I finally defeated the wolf with one strike of Silverlight. Feeling slightly deflated, we moved on.

"We'll never get out of here," Amy11 sobbed, shivering slightly.

"Yes, we will," Aaron groaned. "It seems like a never-ending trek, I understand that, but we will eventually get there, and it will be great when we get there."

After another twenty minute's worth of walking, we passed a decently large cave. The cave was pitch-black, as if merely looking at it would swallow one up for eternity. We heard a loud growl from inside the cave, a growl unlike any other we'd heard. Aaron sniffed the air suspiciously, growling quietly under his breath as well. We were rooted to the spot; we knew something unusual was happening. Several other growls joined the original growl, creating an awful orchestra of bloodlust and fear. It occurred to me that there must have been at least a dozen wolves hiding in the blanket of darkness the cave offered. The growling grew louder and louder, until all of the wolves were practically roaring simultaneously at us. They pranced from the cave slowly, glaring at us with watery eyes. They were the largest wolves we'd seen so far, and the one in the front was the largest of them all, with an astounding combat level of 104.

"I think this might be a clan of wolves," Aaron whispered. "The one in the front must be the dominant, alpha wolf. Perhaps we've angered them by killing the large wolf we killed earlier. Either way, I can tell that we're not going to be able to escape unscathed. There's no point in running; be prepared to fight." Aaron removed his bag and closed his eyes for a few seconds, before pouncing in the air. Fur burst from every pore of his body and his teeth transformed into fangs. When he landed, he was a fully transformed werewolf. He surveyed the wolves in front of us with a calm that I wouldn't expect him to have in his werewolf form. I felt intimidated by him, but I knew he was in control of his transformations. The clan of white wolves seemed to reel backwards in fright before gathering their wits and baring their teeth, snarling.

We charged towards the wolves, bellowing. The wolves pounced towards us with equal gusto. I collided painfully with a particular wolf, which almost succeeded in sinking its fangs into my side, leaving me with several small scars. Hissing slightly, I wrestled with the wolf for a while, trying my best to find a weakness in the beast's defenses so I could strike a killing blow. I stabbed the wolf in the neck with Silverlight, trying to regain my balance. The wolf howled with pain and rage, tiring considerably. This presented me with the opportunity to stand up and gather myself. The wolf swatted at me with as much energy as it could muster, losing cupfuls of blood by the second. It only took a few more gashes of Silverlight to end the wolf's life.

The battle continued for another fifteen or so minutes, and eventually there were only five or so wolves remaining. Osrie1 succeeded in killing yet another wolf. Meanwhile, Aaron was fighting the alpha wolf in his werewolf form, and it was a rather intense fight. We knew that Aaron was going to eventually win because he had the upper hand in all aspects, but the three other remaining wolves abandoned their fights with us, joined the fray and stacked the odds up against Aaron. He was on the verge of being overpowered and killed, so we joined together and fought against the alpha wolf and the three other wolves. Aaron gave us a bark of thanks and retreated temporarily to treat his wounds before they worsened.

We, as a trio, succeeded in holding our own in the fight, killing one of the wolves along the way. Aaron soon rejoined the battle, claiming the life of another wolf. The alpha wolf was now proving to be the only remaining serious problem, so Aaron targeted the other wolf so it would no longer prove an inconvenience.

The alpha wolf succeeded in finding a loophole in our defenses, biting Osrie1 violently on the arm and causing him to yell in alarm, rendering him incapacitated. The wolf then proceeded to chip away at us, forcing us backwards into the cave, where fighting was much more difficult due to the heavy darkness and sheer cold. I stepped backwards, and found my foot going through thin air. My heart skipped a beat as I realized that I'd just stepped into a hole. I tried regaining my balance, but it was a feeble attempt. Amy11, the wolf and I fell into the hole, plunging into seemingly eternal darkness and screaming in vain for help that was never going to come.

..and so concludes the first of two White Wolf Mountain chapters. My question to you is, what do you think will come of Mainiac, Amy and the alpha wolf falling into the hole? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

The competition. I recieved four great entries in total, but I did say that only three would be chosen, so I had to eliminate one choice. So, in no particular order, the chosen characters are:

Orion (by Lasair97)

Lilith (by Ohfortheloveofpete)

Drake Fortune (by Snowskeeper)

Thanks to the four who did submit characters. The other character that was submitted to me was submitted to me by Ninjamouse1, but, despite how excellent the character was and how much the character would contribute to the story, I didn't choose to include that character because Ninjamouse1 already has one brilliant character in the story, whereas Lasair97, Ohfortheloveofpete and Snowskeeper do not have any characters in the story.

Next chapter... unpleasant circumstances can sometimes cause pleasant things.

Until next time, toodles!