Author's Note

Kept you waiting, huh?

I will check word by word for any typos later.

For now. I feel like I owe you guys big time (those who waited and waited for this story to continue)

So, after all this time, enjoy the chapter, and I will check for typos later don't worry. Feel free to point them out though. Will make the process faster.

VI - The First of Many

[You use the rope to climb down the hole.]

.
.
.

"Woah! What a mess!"

My thoughts exactly, Eek.

(Optional BGM: https://youtu.be/rytupZ99jUY?si=O42kiOhle6Cr1ZFz - feel free to use the 'loop' option if you want)

There was no transition like in the game. I had to climb down here, although strangely enough, I did it perfectly, even when I have no IRL experience doing it. My avatar's knowledge maybe?

I saw claw marks all around me while doing it, so the terror dogs must have climbed through sheer brute force and reshaped that hole up there.

But this place... I assume it was some kind of room for meetings, but now it's completely destroyed. Tons of claw marks on the walls, ceiling, and the ground. A lot of destroyed furniture, along with destroyed objects and some purple liquid stains on the ground.

Considering the terror dogs came from here... something must have happened. Maybe a fight? Or maybe an unexpected situation that went out of control?

It has to be, considering there is stained blood on the ground as well...

The fact that 'Gaol' is playing here tells me that this might get ugly real quick... or not. The only place I remember hearing this was in the Wilderness God War Dungeon's entrance. And Gu'Tanoth.

Wait, I see an item!

Take [Severed hand]
Examine [Severed hand]
[It has a few fingers missing. Looks like it belonged to a diamond dog.]

This is a quest, and the dream considers it an item, so...

Eyup, to the inventory you go.

"Something got out of control here. Considering the huge amount of terror dogs we fought moments ago, I'm sure they are responsible for this."

"There is a single path ahead!" said my little spider friend. "Be careful, Euris."

"Always."

As Eek said, there is a path ahead that is pretty much a simple hallway, except it has no windows, and just like this room, it has claw marks on the walls. Surprisingly, the minimap works here, but only the small version. I tried to click on the global map but nothing happened.

Looks like the hand was the only important item, so let's keep going.

"Why did you take that hand?" asked Eek, mostly out of curiosity.

"It's a diamond dog hand. We'll need to investigate this place."

As we kept walking, something got our attention.

There was something up ahead, and it was slowly getting closer. Let's try to...

[Examine Vile dog (level-90)]
[This terror dog has evolved for the worse.]

Now that is an interesting word. Evolution.

An evolved terror dog, huh? I don't remember these guys having a superior variant in the game, so this is completely new. One more mystery to the mix, I guess.

Suddenly, that vile dog changed its speed, coming real fast.

Yeah, not happening.

Evolved or not, I have the power of Gielinor and prayer by my side! My turn now.

Wait what the...

[65/80]
[Vile dog]

Alright, it looks like a more powerful version of the terror dog. It's bigger, stronger, and one heck of a nasty face. It also has a purplish color compared to normal terror dogs. Kinda reminds me of the nightmarish flesh crawler.

But above all, What is that? A protection prayer? It looks like the 'Protect from Magic' prayer, but the icon is a bit different, and it also has a... is that the icon of a cut gem? What does that mean? Protection from gems?

"Watch out!"

Eek's warning made me realize the vile dog started some weird movement, kinda like the animation of an attack.

Shit it's throwing some purplish thing from its mouth!

[You have been poisoned!]

Poison damage as well! Aren't you a dirty bag of tricks? You poisoned me even without damaging me. Let's take some antipoison real quick, and then...

[52/80]

And the prayer protection icon is still there. To think THIS is the first monster that managed to damage me... now I really want to know what's going on here. Why does this place have some influence from Gielinor?

So it's a protection from magic and gems?

[33/80]

Wait a minute. Gems...

Maybe the terror dogs and this thing were artificially created after all. If that prayer protection has a gem icon...

[17/80]

"Not so feisty now, aren't you?"

And one 'Shatter' right into your skull!

With a final, succesful hit of my dragon mace, the vile dog's eyes lost their color, and then its body began to literally fall apart, as if I destroyed a stone figure. As the pieces of the vile dog fell to the ground, these pieces began to desintegrate, leaving no trace of the body in a matter of seconds.

"I still don't know what is going on, but I am sure of one thing... this 'vile dog' is definitely an artificial creation. They are not from Gielinor, and that prayer protection..."

"Prayer protection?" asked Eek. Oh, right. He's an 'npc' so he can't see it.

"That creature had a special protection against magical attacks, and if my new theory is right... it was also protected from the special magic that the diamond dogs use."

"The magic with the gems?" asked Eek.

"That one. I assume that whoever created this monster, it was with the purpose of defeating the diamond dogs gemstone magic, and overwhelm them."

"But who?" asked Eek, moving his tiny head slightly.

"We may find out soon."

With the monster out of the way, we kept moving through this hallway. There were a lot of scattered papers and more stains of different colors. I assume those were potions at some point. Since none of the papers are being considered an 'item', I'm not going to look at them.

After a few minutes of walking and looking around, we stumbled upon a simple wooden door. The minimap was not showing the other side, so it must be special.

"This might or might not get intense after we open this door Eek. Don't leave my side."

"Will never do, partner! We are heroes who stick together!" was my little spider friend's answer.

I do appreciate this little guy's big energy. Makes this experience even more enjoyable.

As I open the door, we noticed that...

Well, that there are no enemies. Yet.

But also, this room is in a state similar to the previous one, but at least this one is more interesting because it's bigger, and there are a few sections with tables and furniture not destroyed.

"Let's look for clues, shall we?"

"Will do, partner!"

Surprisingly, Eek got out of my helmet and jumped to a nearby table that had some papers on it. The papers are not items according to my 'OSRS vision', but who knows? Maybe Eek gets lucky.

"Alright, let's what we can find..."

And so we begin our search. Many of the 'items' are just torn papers, destroyed potions, and... an eyeball. It definitely looks like a diamond dog's eye.

"Oh? What do we have here?"

Take [Stained book]
Examine [Stained book]
[It looks like a diary. There are blood stains on the cover and some pages as well.]

Let's take a look...

[Page 1]

"Those insufferable fools! Do they truly not realize the potential of our precious gems?
We hear the tales of prisoners regarding the unicorns of the surface, and their 'amazing magic'.
The pride of our species, the gemstone magic, could rival their magic, and even go beyond!
Why are the King and Queen so against further experimentation? It baffles me!
We have managed to use the energy of the gemstones for our everyday lives and battle purposes.
But we could go beyond that! If only they had the guts..."

[Page 2]

"It's no use. They don't hear me. So what if it's dangerous?
Every achievement and improvement comes with uncertainty! Trial and error! Can't they see?
We could improve our society even further!
It's no secret that the only diamond dogs the surface might know are the criminal scum that flees from our capital and might do despicable acts. We must persevere and hunt them.
We must show the surface that we can control the evil seed of our species.
They might think of us as savages in the future, and any hope for a friendly relationship with the surface will be cut off!"

[Page 3]

"In the end, I had to leave.
They won't listen, so I will do what any being in my place would do: Do it myself.
I took a few gems with me and found a hidden place for me to transform into an experimental room."

[Page 4]

So far, there is progress, but it's small. I have no issues buying more gems and weapons to experiment, but the gems lack... something. If I push their magical power further, they break easily. I need to find a 'support'. Something that aids the gem's integrity when releasing their power..."

[Page 5]

"I found something.
It's a crystal shard. It is one of a kind. Like I have never seen before...
It is... mysterious. And yet... it was fate's answer to my problem.
This single crystal shard works as a stabilizer for my magical gems.
I managed to create a stronger blast of magical energy using multiple gems.
Thanks to the crystal, they didn't get destroyed.
Further experimentation is needed."

[Page 6]

"This is amazing! Not only did it work with most gems, but I was also able to recreate basic elemental magic!
Fireballs, water spheres, chunks of rock and stone, and even air manipulation!
How is it that the royal mages and their fancy, expensive equipment weren't able to find this rarity?
Once again, it baffles me how utterly useless they are.
I wonder if I could use the crystal shard itself to create brand new magic?"

[Page 7]

"After a lot of trial and error, I managed to create a 'summoning' spell.
I summoned a magical creature with features similar to our species, but this creature is feral.
It was a mix between a dog and a wolf. A very curious and intriguing creature.
It began following me, and I soon learned that this creature was able to do a 'summon' of its own.
It was able to call minions-

The rest of this page is torn, and the next pages are missing.

"Yeah... I should have seen that coming..."

"Pal! Look at this!"

Eek got my attention. He was looking at some scattered papers on the ground. As I approach him, I can see that the papers are a bunch of drawings. All of them seemed to be of the same creature: a black and purplish dog-like creature, very big and with a very mysterious body composition as if it was a shadow.

Yup. It's the creature mentioned in that book. Probably.

"I can sort of guess where this is going."

I'm going to fight this creature soon, am I?

Well, before that, we need to figure out how to proceed. This kind of room always has some hidden mechanism or a particular switch to open a new door.

Let's see...

...

Aha!

[Inspect wall]

"Call it a hunch Eek, but this particular wall here feels... odd."

And it was true. I didn't notice before, but this segment of the wall looks a bit darker than the rest. Let's see...

Eeyup. A fake tile.

And a hidden lever inside the wall. I'm no Sherlock, but I am glad I found it like this and-

"Oi! You there! Who are you?"

I just heard someone talk. Is there someone else here?

"I'm talking to you, odd fellow! I'm in front of you."

In front of me? But there is no one in front of me. Just the wall...

Oh. Wait a minute. This is Runescape logic. Magic and stuff. So...

"Who is talking, pal?" asked my little spider friend.
"If I had to guess... it's either the wall or the lever."

"Indeed! I am Lex the secret lever."

In hindsight, I fought a wizard whose power revolves around cooking before. I should have expected 'living objects' as well.

"Well hello there, Lex the secret lever. I am Euris of Gielinor. I take it you guard a hidden door or something like that?"

"You're a sharp one! Indeed. My master gave me the absolute orders of protecting the hidden door and keep the dangerous monsters inside." said the lever.

"Was your master a mage diamond dog?"

"Yes! He gave me life with his mighty magic! Then, he gave me absolute orders."

I'm pretty sure his 'master' is the one who wrote those notes in the diary. This might be a problem.

"About your master..."

"I must keep this door closed. Master said it was important!"

"Then we have a problem, Lex."

Even when I know the circumstances, it sure feels weird to talk to a lever that is not even moving.

"I am helping the friends of your master right now, because hordes of terror dogs were attacking their capital. We recently got rid of them, and a bit of investigation led me here."

"Master's friends were attacked!? How?"

"Considering the fact that I fought another monster before reaching this room, my guess is that the creatures found a way out. Probably with brute strength."

"N-no way! That means I... I failed... my master's orders..."

"Fret not, Lex. I am here to help you. I can defeat the monster inside if you allow me access."

"Well... master's orders included that if the diamond dogs were to arrive here, they would take care of the monsters inside. You are helping the diamond dogs. Can I trust you? Are you absolutely sure you can defeat the monsters inside? If I let you in, I won't open the door until you take care of them."

[Are you sure you want to enter the hidden door?]

There it is. Progress.

[Yes]

"Yes. I am sure Lex. Don't worry. I'll take care of the monsters inside. You have my word."

"My pal is very strong, so don't worry!" added Eek.

"...Alright. I'll open the door. Just this once! I trust that you are capable enough to deal with whatever's inside." was the lever's answer.

"You have my word."

Slowly, the lever began to move, activating its mechanism. A series of sounds were heard. Some cogs surely, but also some... enigmatic, yet calming sounds. Probably magical stuff.

After a few seconds, a section of the wall began to disappear in a very magical fashion. Not surprising, considering who was hiding here.

"There! It's open. Be careful inside, odd fellow Euris."

"Thanks. Once I'm done, I'll come here again from the other side, ok?"

And so I look into the unknown.

"Let's go Eek."

"Ready!"

BGM -OFF-

Talk about dark.

I had to take the firemaking skillcape from the bank. It's honestly cool to see the effect of it being an inextinguishable light source. This time we arrived at a large, circular room.

Since this is a hidden room, it's obvious that the area would be rather simple, with basic stone walls around and even dirt on the ground.

But the walls were severely damaged. Claw marks all over. Both on the walls and even on the ground.

But the weird thing is that I don't see any monster. However, I can see several yellow dots around me on the minimap. Those are pillars.

[Examine crude pillar]
[A very crude pillar with a small colored rock on it]

And a red dot in the middle. There is some kind of crystal shard lying there.

[Examine crystal shard]
[A mysterious crystal shard...]

Yeah right. I'm not stupid. Following Runescape's logic, as soon as I get near the crystal shard, a scripted event will happen and a fight will start.

But this is not a computer. I'm free to do things in more than one way.

And I value quests. Enough to use good items in order to clear them.

"Please give me a rune throwing axe from the bank Eek. Then get ready. There will be some action."

"Will do, partner!" said Eek as I retrieved the rune throwing axe and equipped it.

The next move was pretty obvious.

I prepare for a moment... then throw it.

It looks way cooler than the game, I have to admit.

As the throwing axe was about to hit the crystal shard... a shadow figure emerged from the ground, almost as if it came from the crystal shard itself. This thing deflected the throwing axe away.

Or not! It actually hurt whatever is that shadowy thing. On closer inspection, it looks like a big claw.

Aaand now the claw went back to the ground. But it looks like it's boss time.

Eeyup! I was right. The crystal shard was absorbed by that shadow thingie. And now it's changing forms, slowly forming the figure of what it looks like to be a wolf, but since I've been fighting terror dogs, I'm inclined to believe this thing is also a dog.

Ah, right on cue.

[Examine Nightmarish terror dog. (level-100)]
[When terror and nightmare collide.]

This is the strongest monster I've faced so far on this land. I know this is only a warm-up for things to come, but...

"Let's do this!"

"Ah! They are here!"

"Eeyup!"

Rarity and Big Macintosh were able to see not only Twilight, but also Princess Celestia, and a bunch of royal guards coming as fast as they can.

"I hope it's not too late. At least your friend was doing ok last time I heard before coming here."

Rarity looked at her right side: It was a diamond dog guard who said that.

"I believe Euris will try to help in any way possible." said Rarity with a hint of hope. "He is a strong adventurer after all!"

When Twilight heard what was happening from Rarity, she immediately teleported to Canterlot. As for Rarity, she was feeling a bit worried about the holes as well, so she requested Mayor Mare for help. She also spoke with Appleack's brother. Even if he is a farmer, he knows how to defend himself and others. At least, he will do his best, and Rarity wanted to go back to the place where everything happened.

That's when they met the diamond dog guard, named Geo. He came to the surface by orders of the royal family to assist Princess Celestia once she arrives there.

"Rarity! We are here!"

Twilight called out to her friends, while Princess Celestia and her royal guards focused on the diamond dog guard, who immediately bowed at her presence.

"I wish these were better circumstances, Princess of Equestria. I am Geo. Just a soldier and messenger sent by my King and Queen in order to help you and your soldiers reach our capital."

"It is understandable." was Princess Celestia's answer, with her ever royal, yet caring attitude. "Formalities are not needed right now. My guards and I are ready to travel and help."

The diamond dog guard nodded, and took something from one of his pockets.

A small green round gem. It was emitting a faint light.

"This gem has magic imbued by our best mage in the capital." said the soldier. "I need all of you to get closer. The magic inside the gem will teleport us all to a room inside the castle. It has only one use, but we can prepare another for your return to the surface later."

Princess Celestia nodded, then focused on Twilight, Rarity and Big Macintosh.

"You must be Applejack's older brother. I need you to stay here and watch the area. If there is any creature nearby, you MUST go back to Ponyville and tell Mayor Mare. I have a second squad of royal guards ready to protect Ponyville."

Big Macintosh nodded solemnly in response. The Princess then focused on Twilight and Rarity.

"My faithful Student. Would you like to accompany me? It would be a great chance for you to meet a species we don't usually encounter."

"Of course Princess!" was Twilight's immediate response. "Even if you didn't ask me, I would have asked you to go. Besides, Euris is already down there. He needs our support."

"Under normal circumstances, I would just stay here... but I am worried about Euris. So... this time, I wish to go as well." added Rarity. "Please..."

"Very well." was Princess Celestia's answer. She then looked at her soldiers. "Get ready, guards. And remember: This is also a meeting with another royal family. Show respect and exemplary behavior."

"Understood!"

(Optional BGM: https://youtu.be/IDwDyxxV-kI?si=VhogvMIcklIFoYrX - feel free to use the 'loop' option if you want)

[40/130]
[Nightmarish terror dog]

"Getting desperate, are we!"

"Partner, watch out!"

I admit that this Nightmarish dog is sturdier than I thought. In fact, I was getting a tiny bit worried because my attacks weren't working at first. So, in proper Runescape fashion, I guessed that this boss surely has a unique weakness. Kinda like Chronozon. That boss was a blood demon from a quest, and it needed to be damaged with one air, water, earth, and fire spell to be defeated. So the question was there: What was this thing's weakness?

And then I remembered the yellow dots around in the minimap.

[Examine crude pillar]
[Attack crude pillar]

I had to take a mental note: Keep an eye on the environment around me at all times. Anything can change from 'examine' to something else.

And so I attacked the pillars. Specifically the central area, which had some sort of gemstones. Breaking these gemstones was the right choice.

[The nightmarish terror dog has been slightly weakened!]

Bingo.

And so, after destroying all the gemstones on the pillars, I discovered two things:

One: Destroying all the gemstones effectively weakens the monster's defenses, and can receive damage.

Two: After twenty seconds, the gemstones are automatically repaired. Clearly, it must be some magical mechanism.

"Pal! The gemstones!"

"I'm on it, Eek!"

Looks like this will take a few minutes to finish. Don't underestimate a player immersed into his character!

Oh...

Oh the sneaky bastard he's spawning terror dogs and vile dogs as well!

"Once again: It is an honor to meet you, Princess Celestia. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"The honor is mine, King Rhastros. How is the current situation?"

"Honestly, it is better than what I expected. Thanks to our efforts, and especially thanks to warrior Euris."

The King of the diamond dogs was busy figthing the remaining terror dogs around the area where Euris went down to investigate. His personal guards and diamond dogs of trust decided to make a temporary base of operations there. The King arrived soon after.

During one specific moment, several terror dogs began to crawl to the surface using some cracks on the ground that they opened further by force, with more of them appearing at random intervals.

And thus, they have been periodically defeating them.

When Celestia and her guards arrived, her royal guards quickly joined the fight, and right now, Celestia and Rhastros are discussing inside a tent.

"I know it sounds like a joke, but an hour ago, the whole capital was swarmed by these fiends. I know I saw him fight but..." King Rhastros had a smile of satisfaction. "He's incredible. He ran without fear, then jumped right into the fray. His movements were swift, yet powerful. Little by little, the fiends were lowering in numbers, while they tried to attack him... yet he didn't get damaged at all. Not a single scratch on his armor. Thanks to him, the tide of the battle went to our favor and we managed to repel them."

Celestia was caught off-guard by this. Euris has proven to be a skilled mage and a trustworthy human from the land of Gielinor, no doubt about that.

But to hear from a King of another species that he was witness to his skills and feats as a warrior, adds another layer of wonder and mystery to him. A skilled mage and warrior? And a Lord on his land as well. Celestia truly believes that meeting him was akin to a fated meeting, and she is certain that this is only the beginning.

My King! Princess Celestia!" one of the diamond dog soldiers quickly approached the two rulers. "The terror dogs we were fighting... they suddenly disappeared!"

BGM -OFF-

"What? Just like that?" asked King Rhastros, focusing on his soldier. "How is that possible?"

"We don't know, my King." was the soldier's response, as he was a bit confused as well. "We were in the middle of the fight, and then... they became dust. All of them. Princess Celestia's royal guards were witnesses as well."

Both Rhastros and Celestia nodded at each other and went outside to check the situation themselves. What was waiting outside was the sight of both pony and diamond dog royal guards talking to each other. Confused, yet in high spirits because of what happened. some unicorns and diamond dog mages were examining the dust from the previous terror dogs in order to look for clues and answers.

"I am not sure of what is going on, but we can't lower our guard yet." said Rhastros. "Keep your eyes open!"

After a few moments of quiet...

The ground began to shake. It was not violently, but enough to caught anyone off-guard.

"Tremor!"

"Activate the shields!"

A bunch of barrier spells were cast, both from Celestia's royal guards and Rhastros' soldiers.

"It's the first one in almost a year! Why now?" asked the King, while looking around in case of a sudden attack.

"My King!"

Shobel, Roger, and Silvain appeared immediately to shield their liege.

"Any sign of Euris since going down there?" asked Rhastros.

"Not yet, my King." said Shobel. "But Silvan thinks that the fiends becoming dust might be his doing."

"I believe he encountered the source of all this." said Silvan, a bit worried. "I should have followed him after all."

"His actions were the best course of action, Silvan." said Roger. "He knew the risks. Besides, he is not some weakling fool. I think he'll emerge victorious."

"Yes. Euris is an exceptional individual. I believe in him." added Princes Celestia, taking their attention for a moment. "If what your King told me about him is true, then this situation will not stop him from getting answers and finding the culprit."

After several seconds, the tremor slowly started to lose strength, until stopping completely.

"Seems like it's over." said the King, looking around, this time to make sure no one is hurt.

"King Rhastros! Princess Celestia!" this time, it was a pony royal guard who was running towards them.

"What is it? Any updates to report?" asked Celestia, getting everyone's attention.

The guard nodded, and even smiled.

"Indeed Princess! We found Euris. Or rather, it seems like he appeared out of nowhere. We suspect that it was due to a teleport spell."

"Guide us." Commanded Celestia.

"We owe you a great debt, Lord Euris."

"Indeed. Thanks to you, and the efforts of Princess Celestia's royal guard who aided us, we have protected our capital from this bizarre threat."

"What my daughter and wife say is the truth. Our capital can recover and rest, thanks to you."

"All in a day's work. It was my pleasure."

Man, several things happened too fast for me here.

I was able to defeat that boss without any complications after a couple of minutes. The problem, was what happened after that.

Aaand there we go.

The last hit.

The nightmarish dog, just like his lesser counterparts, that by the way, constantly spawned but somehow a few of them instead of attacking me, went out of the 'room' crawling inside some small hole I didn't notice before...

Where was I?

Ah yes.

This boss variant also had the death animation of falling appart like stone, except this one was bigger, and had more drama on it because it was boss, screech of death included.

"We did it pal!"

"Eeyup. Score for Gielinor's visitors."

And as the death animation finishes... a familiar item lays on the ground.

[take Nightmare stellar shard]

Hello there. We meet again, key item. I guess it's one more to give it to-

...

"Luna."

I immediately went on guard again.

I didn't even notice!

"Pal! What happened?" asked my small spider companion.

"I don't know Eek, but stay on guard."

A dark room.

Heck, is it even a room? I don't see any walls nor any kind of ground or floor. No ceiling either...

Just... nothing. A void. Or darkness, I don't know. The point is, that I'm in this place, obviously not floating because I'm touching something akin to floor. I just can't see it.

Is this a cutscene maybe?

*YOU...*

I heard a voice. A very powerful, female voice. With a small echo effect. Where are you?

*WHO ARE YOU?*

Not telling you, duh.

*WHAT ARE YOU?*

A very persistent dude, but you don't need to know that.

So where are you hiding, huh? I can't see any-

...

"...one."

I was back on the boss room. I had the shard in my inventory. What just happened? Was that supposed to happen? I feel like it was a cutscene, or my brain adding the weird factor to the dream again.

"Pal... what was that? We were both there!" said Eek.

"That's true..."

And that's weird, because if it was some kind of vision thingie, then why was Eek with me? I really don't understand what exactly happened there... but I guess time will give me an answer.

Sooner or later.

Sadly, I didn't have more time to ponder about this, as a small rock hit my shoulder.

And then, the whole ground began to shake.

And more pebbles and rocks of bigger sizes began to fall.

"We need to get out here, Eek! Don't leave my helmet because you could get hurt!"

"Roger that!"

I ran as fast as I could. I'm not going to take my chances and I'll assume the falling debris will hurt me.

"Lex! You there?" I shouted after reaching the same entrance I used earlier.

"Yes! I'm here! What's going on?" asked the secret lever.

"I think the whole place might collapse! I need you to open the door so I can make my way out!"

"But if what you say is true, then you won't make it in time!" replied Lex.

That... might be true, but-

"I have an idea! Trust me!" said the lever.

"Will do."

"Then place your hands on the wall and don't let go!"

I'm trusting you, lever on the wall. I hope you prove me right.

As soon as I placed both hands on the wall, some blinding light surrounded me. I know I saw several colors at superspeed as well!

The next moment...

"Huh..." I began to look around, with a recent and familiar sight on every direction I focused on: the city of Threshure.

And Lex the secret lever was somehow in my hand.

"How did you..."

"Emergency protocol. Created by my deceased master." was Lex's response. "In case of extreme emergencies. Like this one!"

"That was cool!" said Eek in response, getting out of the armor.

Gotta give it to that diamond dog. He may had the wrong approach on his work, but he had a good mindset regarding security. A shame his 'creation' turned against him.

"Look! Over there!"

"I see it!"

"Call Princess Celestia. Quickly!"

I heard a few voices in the distance. I saw two diamond dogs and a pony. Looks like Celestia managed to come down here with reinforcements.

I simply waved at them as I began to walk in their direction.

I guess what happened next is everything the game rushes without a proper cutscene.

I was guided to the area where King Rhastros and Princess Celestia were located, which was the same area with the hole I used to go further below and investigate. There was a lot of fanfares and cheers from both ponies and diamond dogs. It was there where I requested a private audience during or after the celebrations.

We went back to the castle, and we were greeted with the good news that every terror dog around disappeared, becoming dust. Must be because I defeated the nightmarish terror dog. There was a whole celebration inside the castle, and a lot of residents of Threshure thanked me for saving them, their friends and families. It was a bit tiring, but I understand their happiness.

King Rhastros gathered everyone and proclaimed me a hero of Threshure, telling my valiant efforts in battle and my contributions on this crisis. You know, the usual in Runescape.

After also proclaiming that I would always be welcome on Threshure, and properly recognizing the pony's contributions to subdue the terror dogs, the main celebration begun.

And that lead us to... right now.

(Optional BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux6JmtLJqMQ - feel free to use the 'loop' option if you want)

I was guided to a private room where I was able to be with only King Rhastros, Queen Grandhessa, Princess Richessa, and also Princess Celestia.

"For someone so mighty, you sure are humble." said King Rhastros, chuckling a bit. "Despite being the star of this celebration, you wanted to stay quiet and let everyone enjoy themselves."

"I do know my strength. Boasting about it won't do much."

"We are dignified, proper heroes!" added Eek.

"To think that your words stayed true until the very end..." said Grandhessa, with a sigh of happiness. "Goodness, Lord Euris. At first I thought you were just buying time for Princess Celestia. I'm so glad that I was wrong."

"Mother. I saw his prowess as a mage. He saved me! How can you doubt him?" asked Richessa. She's looking at me now. "And now he saved me again. He saved all of us."

"All right, I get it. I did something great. While I would love to just celebrate, the reason I asked for all of you to be here, is because of the culprit."

I showed them the severed hand, along with the diary.

"I have reasons to believe this hand belonged to the one who wrote those entries, and the main culprit of this whole situation."

"This handwritting... I do recognize it." said King Rasthros.

"Indeed. It is mage Rhemur's handwritting." said Queen Grandhessa, looking a bit conflicted. "Former mage squad leader. A bright mind, but his search for power and his envy of the ponies' magic made him reckless. He was not like this before..."

"He ended up stealing valuable magical gems and vanished. No one saw him after that." added Richessa, with a serious face. "To think that he was behind all of this..."

"Devoured by his own creation..." said the King, looking somewhat sad. "I thought he would become part of my personal guards..."

I took out the shard I obtained from the nightmarish creature. Celestia's focus went immediately to me.

"Second shard... and it did all of this."

"What is that?" Richessa got a step closer, but stopped. As if something made her stop. "That energy on that small shard... it's powerful, yet... wrong."

"Euris. If one of these shards was involved, then they deserve to know." said Celestia, looking at me with sincerity and seriousness.

"Yeah... you're right. Might as well tell them."

And tell them I did.

About Gielinor, the Guardians of Guthix, and the reason I came to Equestria.

"There is still so much we don't know, but I will travel through Equestria soon and retrieve all the fragments I can."

"To think such a dark power was lurking around... it must be stopped before it hurts this land even more."

Those are wise words, King. I'll do my best.

"The land of the diamond dogs will help with anything that might be required in order to stop this foul scheming." added Rhastros.

"Queen Grandhessa." Princess Celestia took the Queen's attention. "I would like to discuss our potential friendship between our species. I believe we can benefit from each other, and aid each other when needed."

"My! I must say, I had the same thoughts as you, Princess Celestia." said the Queen of the diamond dogs with a smile on her face. "Should we discuss this after the celebrations?"

"Oh. Since we're talking about celebrations.. "

I asked Eek to take certain items from my bank.

"Oho! So it's jewelry from your land." looks like the King like it.

"And the gemstones... such exquisite work of art." the Queen as well!

"They are gorgeous!" Richessa took a step closer to see them. "Yet I still don't get how that 'inventory magic' of yours work."

"Well, I don't know how common they are here, but these are...'

The items in my hand are: A jade ring, a ruby amulet, and a diamond necklace.

"Gifts from Gielinor. I hope you like them."

I handed the jade ring to Princess Richessa, the ruby amulet to Rhastros, and the diamond necklace to Grandhessa. They didn't waste time and decided to put them on.

"Do I look good?" asked the King, admiring the amulet. "Because that necklace looks wonderful on you, my sweet Grandhessa."

"You look radiant, my King." the Queen flirted back.

"I love it. Thank you, Euris." was Richessa's reaction.

"Good that you like your gifts, because I need to explain their properties."

They looked at me a bit confused.

"What? You thought that I was going to give purely cosmetic jewelry to the species that specializes on using gems for magic and quality of life?"

I made a negation motion with the index finger of my left hand.

"That won't do. My gifts are enchanted jewelry, by yours truly." I winked at them. "Princess Richessa's jade ring is a ring of returning. When rubbed, it will teleport the wearer to a safe location." technically, it teleports to a spawn point, but... "The location depends on the wearer. It could be your bedroom, your living room, etc. What matters is that it will teleport you to a safe location. Use it wisely, because after five uses, the ring will degrade and become dust."

"You are giving me such a valuable gift?" Richessa once again admired the ring. "Thank you, Lord Euris. I will make good use of it. I promise."

"Now, Queen Grandhessa's diamond necklace is a phoenix necklace. If by any reason she sustains serious injuries, the necklace will heal her wounds partially. It is of one use only, and it will become dust once the effect is triggered. I figured you would need an extra emergency item for you, just in case."

"Jewelry that heals the user..." Grandhessa gently touched her new necklace. "We are currently unable to create such a desired and sought effect on our gems. Normally I would not believe such claims, but if it's you, Lord Euris, then it must certainly be true. I appreciate this valuable gift of yours. I will never forget this."

"And last, but not least, what King Rhastros is wearing is an amulet of strength. This one is rather simple. As the name implies, it increases your raw strength. I figured you would prefer something that would make you stand out as a warrior King that fights alongside his subjects."

"And you certainly nailed it, my friend." said King Rhastros with confidence, as he walks to a near wall. "I do feel stronger, so it works as intended." he then punched the wall, with enough force to leave a crack and a clear imprint of his punch. He was not hurt at all from this. "Perhaps a bit too well, but that's even better!"

"Please accept these gifts in the name of the alliance between Gielinor and Equestria. For a prosperous and better future."

Nailed it. And I see that Celestia is also interested in the enchanted jewelry.

The door opened, revealing to be Roger and Shobel. They are holding some unique items on their claws.

"Glad to see you two ok."

"All thanks to you, Lord Euris." said Roger. Both him and Shobel did a small bow.

"Your contribution on the battlefield was astounding!" added Shobel.

"Where is Silvan?"

"He... was forcefully dragged somewhere by miss Twilight Sparkle and miss Rarity of Ponyville." said Shobel, chuckling for a moment.

"Something about the exchange of information regarding magical and jewelry expertise." added Roger.

"Oh."

My condolences, Silvan.

"Anyways! Our King, Queen and Princess told us to bring your rewards to you."

I looked at the royal family a bit confused.

"You know that my actions were in the name of both Gielinor and Equestria. No need to reward me like this."

"Nonsense! You think we will accept your gifts without giving ours to you?" asked Rhastros, raising one of his eyebrows. "Your actions both as a diplomat and a warrior saved us, Lord Euris. You earned them."

Roger and Shobel offered the items to me. One is a very interesting staff. The other is a gem. A very rare-looking gem.

The staff has a very particular design: Since there is pretty much no way to get wood down here, the staff is made of metal. Which one? I'm not sure. It look sturdy though. And it's a beautiful design as well, with the small gems attached to it. Surprisingly, there is no gem attached on the top, but instead it has what it looks like to be a portion of a warhammer. Pretty sick, to be honest.

The gem is actually a surprise. It's not one of Gielinor's gems, so the design is obviously different. The colors and pattens makes me think that there is a fire inside. A very beautiful gem overall.

"Lord Euris of Gielinor. I present to you... the staff of treasures." said the King with an obvious hint of pride. "It is the best magical staff we can offer to you. With it, you can perform a unique magical attack! Since you can use magic as well, I think you will master it in no time. It does consume a charge per attack, though. If it runs out of charges, you can always come back here to fully recharge it."

"Which brings my reward to the discussion." said the Queen. "With my authority as the Queen of the diamond dogs, I, Queen Grandhessa Diamandis V, grant Lord Euris of Gielinor complete and unrestricted access to the royal family's Mystic Gem field. It is a special area where only us, and those authorized by us, can enter. You can recharge the staff of treasures at the field's entrance, as well as explore further to your heart's content."

So it's like an area to gather resources and train combat maybe? I'll have to check it later.

"The gem is my reward to you, Lord Euris." said Princess Richessa, getting a bit closer. "This is a 'fiery garnet'. Among the diamond dogs, it is a very valuable and rare gem. It is said that it has fire properties due to its design and elements inside of it. It may prove useful to you in the future."

"Then I shall keep it as a sign of trust. One that I bow to reciprocate."

I do feel that this gem might be useful in a future quest or something. Especially since there is no 'cut' options. It means that it's an important item.

"Alright! Enough formalities." King Rhastros grabbed my arm. "Our soldiers and citizens want to see our hero of the day. So... let the powerful ladies talk about a possible alliance, and come with me."

"Guess I'll see you later, Celestia." I managed to say as I was being forcefully dragged out of the room.

"Have fun!" said the Princess of the day, waving as if nothing wrong was happening.

BGM -OFF-

"Euris... it's perfect!"

"I'll gladly accept those compliments."

Rarity and I were looking at her creation for the fashion design contest she plans to participate next month. She did all her magic regarding the attire, and I just helped a little crafting some fancy jewelry she designed for the dress. I convinced her to use gems from both Equestria and Gielinor. A few diamonds and emeralds won't hurt. I miiiight have planted a small dragonstone jewel as a personal touch.

I have to say, she does a wonderful job making clothes from zero. Must be the reason her home has the makeover icon for clothes, like Thessalia in Varrock.

"To think that yesterday's request would turn into such a big situation..." said Rarity, looking at me with a tiny hint of pity. "I am sorry that it turned out like that, Euris... but I believe it was for the best."

"Totally. I don't regret a single moment of it: Saving Richessa, making contact with the diamond dogs, helping them during their crisis, and managing to create an alliance between them and Equestria! Not bad for a day of adventures. Plus, both Twilight and you loved the visit to Threshure."

"It was wonderful! So many gems! Even some that I didn't know that existed! I also received a couple souvenirs from very generous traders there. Even Princess Richessa wanted to stay in touch." Rarity was giving the attire the final touches while talking. Seriously, this mare knows her job.

"Perhaps with the friendship bewtween Equestria and Threshure, there might be a way for everyone to travel back and forth soon. You might get diamond dog customers in the future!"

"And I have you to thank for, Euris. Your chivalrous and heroic nature shone through, and made it possible to help and achieve something wonderful."

"Well... there was a mare that asked for my help." I winked at her for extra measure.

"Oh, you sly human. Now... what do you think this attire is missing? I am open to all suggestions."

This is not so bad. This dream. These experiences.

"Well, if you look at this purple jewel over here..."