Chapter Text
Far across the Southern Sea, beyond the tide that washed away the world and its divine problems, sat the quiet village of Ashdale. It towered high over the water on marbled rocks, topped with strawberry pink houses like a masterfully sculpted cake. It was the kind of place where the biggest stressors for its inhabitants were boredom and inactivity.
And that was absolutely perfect for Mavrick, the World Guardian.
The decision to retire to Ashdale wasn’t an easy one for him to make given the state of the world after Sliske’s death. Ironically, the shadow of armageddon had grown larger in the aftermath. Still, the picturesque calm of the island was exactly what was needed to prepare him for the coming storm.
And if the world really needed him, they knew exactly where to find him — sharing a bench overlooking the town with his girlfriend.
Sarah, a lanky, fresh-faced young woman, was laid out along the bench, resting her head on Mavrick’s lap. Her face was partitioned by a book she held a few centimeters from her nose, and her sky blue dress dangled down, nearly touching the ground. Orbiting the duo was a ghostly green hand, ready to attend to the needs of the man who conjured it.
Mavrick closed his eyes and let out a sigh from deep within his core. As he inhaled, a spring breeze carried the scent of freshly baked bread from below.
“Marguerite’s just pulled something out of the oven,” Mavrick noted.
Sarah turned a page in the book. “It’s about that time,” she noted. “You want to go pick some up for dinner?”
Mavrick nodded slowly. “That’s not a bad idea…”
The green hand stood at attention.
“I tend to have those once in a while,” Sarah teased.
“But no,” Mavrick continued. “I’d rather stay here.”
Sarah peeked over her book, her cheeks betraying the soft smile she was hiding. “I know,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. “I don’t really want to move, either.”
The green hand went limp and continued its patrol.
Mavrick locked his shimmering green eyes with her. He ran his hand through her amber hair, then gently caressed the nape of her neck.
“Although,” Sarah continued, turning a page in her book. “If we did, we could have some freshly baked bread, maybe pick up some fine cheese, maybe open that bottle of Avarrocken Estella. It’d be a very cosmopolitan dinner.”
Mavrick raised a finger, his familiar joining in the gesture. “Now hold on just a moment,” he said with a smile. “The last thing I would call Asgarnian cheese is ‘fine’.”
“ Ugh, for Saradomin’s sake, that’s not the point,” Sarah said.
“Look, all I’m saying,” Mavrick continued, “is if Saradomin tried the cheese in Falador, he never would have come back.”
Sarah shook her head. “We’re an awfully long way from Falador, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, but the owner’s for sure Asgarnian,” Mavrick added. “And besides, I don’t think she’d be too happy to see me, either.”
Sarah lowered the book, staring at Mavrick with a scrunched brow. “Who, Charlotte?” she asked. “You two got beef, or something?”
“No, no, she sells cheese .”
Sarah closed her eyes and sighed, her face slowly filling with begrudging acceptance. “You know what I mean, funny guy.”
Mavrick’s familiar scratched the back of his head. “But no, call it a hunch,” he said. “You’re going to have to trust me on this.”
Sarah resumed reading her book. “You knew her from before, didn’t you?”
Mavrick shrugged. “I just think she had a reason to come to Ashdale," he said, "and I don’t think I should be the one to remind her of those reasons.”
“So it's a World Guardian thing?”
Mavrick nodded. “It's a World Guardian thing.”
Sarah turned another page. “You know,” she said softly, “just because you have to protect the world for us, doesn’t mean you always have to protect the world from us.”
Mavrick simply stared at the twin statues of Saradomin flanking the church in the distance.
With a clap, Sarah closed her book. She handed it off to Mavrick’s familiar and it stashed it away in her bag. “You can feel free to share a secret or two with me, you know?”
“You’re just looking for gossip,” Mavrick chuckled.
“And so what if I am!?” Sarah pouted as she sat up.
Mavrick pointed at Sarah, “I’m not going to sit here and slander the good name of a cheesemonger.”
Sarah brushed the finger aside and sat up. “Even if they make stinky Asgarnian cheese?” she teased.
Mavrick laid an arm over her shoulder, and she nestled closer to him. "That's right," he said.
A distant clattering sounded from behind, and Mavrick turned around. He spotted a cart stacked with boxes and furniture parked in front of the last house on the block.
"Hey," he said. "Have you noticed those boxes outside the General's old house?"
Sarah nodded her head against his shoulder. "Mhm."
"Are they finally moving his things out?" he asked. "It's been over a month since he passed."
"No, you goof," Sarah derided. "Someone's finally moving in. "
Mavrick’s eyes widened. "Oh, really?"
"You haven't seen the girl going in and out all day?"
Mavrick scanned the windows to no avail. "No, I haven't," he admitted. "Is it his daughter, or something?"
Sarah followed his gaze. "Mmm… I'm not too sure," she said. "It'd be his granddaughter if anything. She looks about our age."
"Huh."
As Sarah and Mavrick turned back in their seats, she tugged on his sleeve. "Hey, I have another one of those ‘not bad ideas’ I was talking about.”
Mavrick tilted his head. “Oh?” he said. “Two in one day?”
“Yeah!” Sarah announced. “We should—” she smacked Mavrick on the arm. “Shut up, you— we should go visit her! Bring over a housewarming gift, make her feel welcome."
Mavrick raised a brow. "Do people still do that?"
"I don't see why not!" Sarah pouted.
"We don't have anything to give," Mavrick said, looking skyward.
"Sure we do," Sarah said. "Give her one of those trinkets you're always working on." She brought her hands together into an orb shape and wiggled her fingers. "Or some of those thingies you're always weaving."
"Those thingies and those trinkets aren't gifts," Mavrick said heavily. "They're really powerful divine objects that are too dangerous for people who don't know how to handle them."
Sarah glanced at Mavrick coyly. "Must be awfully important, considering the way you toss them about on your desk."
"Now hold on–"
"Alright, fine," Sarah interrupted. "Why don’t we make something edible, then we can bring it over tomorrow! We could make her one of your favorite pizzas. Pick up some dough from Marguerite’s, some cheese, some sausage..."
Mavrick rested his head on his free fist. "Okay, but we circle back to the same problem as before."
Sarah blinked. "The same– tch, is this about the cheese again!?"
"Asgarnian cheese isn't a gift, it's a punishment."
Sarah stood up with a sigh. “Seems like you have a lot in common with the cheese, then.”
Mavrick laughed. “Hey, come on, I’m only kidding.”
Sarah grabbed her bag and turned to Mavrick, giving him a sardonic smile. “I know,” she said. “Here, why don’t you go get your gourmet ingredients, and we’ll bake it fresh tomorrow morning? How does that sound?”
Mavrick’s eyes drifted to the ground. "I mean, I dunno, we're already going out tomorrow, and…" his voice trailed off as he looked away.
With a sigh, he stood. He shoved his hands into his pockets as his familiar brought his hood up over his head.
Sarah grabbed a hold of the straps of her bag. "Mav…" she said. "You promised–"
"I know," he said, unable to meet her gaze. "I know, I–"
"I just don't want you hiding away in your workshop again," Sarah interrupted. "I mean, you tried that for a whole year – a whole year locked in that dark room with those little wispy things and your thoughts – and look where you were a few months ago."
Mavrick stared at the sea with macabre memories of the anniversary of the eclipse in his chest.
"Getting some fresh air, meeting with the others," Sarah continued, "it's doing you a lot better than those machines ever did, and getting to know your new neighbors is a part of that."
Mavrick and Sarah stood at the cliffside, with nothing but distant waves and seagulls to break the silence.
"You want me to walk you to work?" Mavrick said finally.
Sarah smiled. "I'd like that very much."
***
The remnants of an overnight shower caused the stone architecture of Varrock to glisten under the overcast sky. Songbirds performed to the percussion of rainwater dropping off the eaves of the buildings, busking for the throngs of early morning risers darting about.
Mavrick smiled as he saw his breath in the wet, chilly air. It's been so long since it rained on Ashdale, he almost forgot how much he missed it. He'd missed a lot of things about Varrock this past year, really. In a way, the road was paved with just as many bittersweet memories as there were cobblestones.
Still, the last thing he wanted to do was stick around and get dragged into something too involved — especially when pizza was on the line.
With his head down and his hood up, Mavrick stepped quickly through the Varrock market, moving upstream against a crowd of morning shoppers. His target: a decently sized wedge of Varrockan Mozzarella — recommended to him ages ago by an associate from the Varrock museum.
He arrived at the cheesemonger's stall, thankful that no one had recognized him yet, as far as he could tell. While he scanned the selection for mozzarella, he conjured his familiar and instructed it to grab his coin purse.
A portly woman with a prominent pair of front teeth and an apron peeked out from behind the stall. “Good morning, sir! Need help finding anything?” she asked sweetly.
“No, thank you, though,” Mavrick said as he continued his search. “Er, actually, do you have any mozzarella in stock? I can’t seem to find any.”
“Do we not have any?” The lady mumbled to herself as she took a look. After a beat, she brought a palm to her forehead. “Oh, you know what? That last boy bought the whole wheel, didn’t he?” She splayed her hands. “Well, if you just wait here, honey, I’ll get you one from the back, how does that sound?”
Mavrick nodded impatiently. “That’d be great, thanks.”
“Mhm” the woman said with a nod as she moseyed into the tent behind the stall.
Mavrick took a quick glance past either corner of his hood, and blissfully didn't spot anyone he knew. His familiar quickly snagged a handful of free samples while he was alone.
“Well, as I live and breath!” announced a voice from the crowd. “Is that who I think it is?”
Mavrick kept his head down, hoping and praying that, whoever that was, they weren't referring to him. His familiar tapped on his shoulder, and pointed to his right. Mavrick closed his eyes and sighed.
He glanced to his right and confirmed his suspicions. Associate Professor Lottie Reiniger, an acquaintance from the Archeology Guild, was swiftly closing the distance between the two of them. Though usually she was dressed in work-ready, down-in-the-dirt clothing, something about her outfit today had an aura of formality to it.
“Professor Reiniger,” Mavrick said with a nod. “How are you this morning?”
Reiniger flashed a smile, leaning on her closed umbrella like a cane. “I was doing pretty well before, but now I’m doing fantastic. ” She looked up into Mavrick’s hood. “Now which rock, temple, or tomb have you been squirreled away in for the past year, hmm?”
“I’ve been offworld,” Mavrick lied. “There’ve been a few things that’ve needed settling since the eclipse last year.”
Reiniger grinned. “ Riiight , after you put that bastard in the dirt, huh? What was his name again? Sick-say?”
Memories of that night roiled sickeningly in Mavrick’s chest. “Sliske,” he corrected.
“Right, right…” Reiniger said with a nod. “Well, I'm not sure if you've been home since you came back, but have you seen the invitation we sent out?”
He tried to recall if he had his mail put on hold at his normal residence.
Reiniger deflated. “Guess not,” she said. “Well, we’re having a luncheon later today at the big house, and you’re welcome to join us.”
One of Mavrick’s brows raised. “A luncheon?” he repeated. “Since when could we afford a luncheon?”
“ We ?” Reiniger said with a smirk.
Mavrick remained silent.
Reiniger stood up straight, twirling her umbrella on her wrist. “It’s looking like we might be getting a few new benefactors coming in,” she explained. She snatched the umbrella mid-spin and pointed it at Mavrick. “The possibility of reaching Fossil Island’s on the line, so Tony ’n’ the rest of them decided to get everyone together to discuss it.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Professor Pazel and I were out picking up the food for it. Dunno where he scurried off to, though.”
“Surprised you got him awake this early,” Mavrick remarked, to which Reiniger shrugged. “Thanks for the invitation, but, uh, I’m on a mission. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”
Reiniger’s face lit up. “A mission, huh?” she said while staring at the cheese stall. “What sort of business are you getting up to that brought you back to Gielinor, then? Breakfast?”
Mavrick felt his shoulders tense. He wondered why talking to Reiniger always felt like such an interrogation. “It’s a World Guardian thing,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
Reiniger splayed her hands back. "Fair enough, it's none of my business." she said. "Well, I don't want to distract you. The boys back at the guild will be happy to hear you're around again."
"I'm not, though," Mavrick said. "You shouldn't tell them that."
Reiniger popped her umbrella open and turned away. "It was nice seeing you again, World Guardian, and you know you're always welcome back when you're done with your vacation ." she said as she departed.
Mavrick let out a sigh.
He felt his left shoulder being tapped by his familiar. It was only then that he noticed the shopkeeper out of the corner of his eye. “Oh, sorry!” he exclaimed as he turned to face her. “Did you have any in the back?”
The woman put a hand to her cheek. “Oh, yessie I did, deary,” she said. “Your little green friend already went and paid for it.”
Mavrick’s familiar flew into view, triumphantly displaying the wedge of mozzarella.
“I didn’t mean to listen in,” she piped up. “But did I hear that lady right, that you’re the World Guardian?”
With his core slowly filling with dread, Mavrick nodded slowly. “You did, yeah,” he mumbled.
The woman’s brows raised. "A young thing like you…" she muttered under her breath.
Before Mavrick could respond, the woman grabbed onto her skirt and curtseyed low. “I know it don’t mean much, coming from someone like me,” she began, “but thank you, for what you’re doing to keep this world safe.”
Mavrick stared sadly at the woman. How could anyone think he's done anything to keep this world safe? What has he accomplished that has fulfilled Guthix’s vision? And more pressingly, what has he done to deserve someone bowing at his feet?
“Thank you,” Mavrick said quietly. “But you don’t need to do that.”
The woman raised from her bow. Silently, they waved to each other as he departed to Ashdale.
***
Sarah knocked on the door, then took a step back. The Empire with Cheese was a piping hot, gooey-and-delicious success, and the time had finally come for her and Mavrick to meet the neighbor.
As they waited, Sarah put on a bright smile. She nudged Mavrick with her elbow.
"What?" Mavrick said.
"Smile, won't you?" she said through her teeth.
Mavrick’s eyes narrowed. "She won't be able to see it through my gorget…"
"She'll be able to tell!"
A light crashing sound came through the door, followed by voice shouting "Shut up, already!" Sarah's smile slowly drooped into a grimace, but she hurriedly fixed it when the door cracked open.
A short young woman peeked out from within, her long, ginger hair framing her pale face and freckled features. Her doleful eyes, outlined by thick, red eyeliner, scanned her neighbors warily.
"Ah, hello," the woman said. "Can I help you?"
"Hiii!~" Sarah said songedly. "We're your new neighbors!" She put a hand on Mavrick. "Well, he's your actual neighbor, but we saw you moving in yesterday and wanted to welcome you to the island!"
Mavrick noticed the woman's eyes narrowed subtly as she took in the information.
"Aw, that's sweet of you, thanks!" the woman said, before glancing back into her house. "Uh, sorry, I'd invite you in for tea, but the place is such a mess right now and—"
Sarah waved her hand. "Oh, that's fine, really. It sounds like you're already entertaining guests, as is."
The woman's pink blush brightened to a more saturated hue. "R-right, yeh, you're right!" she stammered. "Ahaha, don't want to get it too crowded, right? Fire… safety an' all…"
Sarah and the woman shared an awkward laugh as Mavrick waited for the opportunity to present the pizza. He tried to see if he could hear anyone inside the house, to no avail.
The woman nervously glanced back again. "But, uh, thank you, uh, again, for the visit, but I should really get back–"
Mavrick was about to interject, but Sarah spoke ahead of him. "Ah, before you go, I just wanted to say; if you get the chance, you should come down to The Long Shoreman – that's the pub across from the church. It's Sunday, so the whole town'll be there! We could introduce you to who’s who and the like and—”
"Right, thanks!" the woman said, trying to close the door. "I-I'll, er, I’ll definitely think about it!"
"You should! It'll be a great chance to see the sun–"
Slam, click!
"–set…"
"Smooth,” Mavrick noted.
“Oh, get off it,” Sarah grumbled. She started to turn to leave, but noticed the pizza box in Mavrick’s hand. “Oh, shoot, we didn’t give her the pizza!”
The door swung open. "Oi, hold up!" the woman said. "Did you say that’s a pizza?"
Mavrick’s familiar swirled out from behind him to proudly present the pizza.
"Yup, just for you!" Sarah announced, clasping her hands together. "Made fresh and local!"
"Not entirely true," Mavrick added. "We only have Asgarnian cheese in town, so I got the mozzarella from Varrock."
The woman let out a sigh of relief, and Mavrick could have sworn she mumbled "Oh thank the gods…"
It all happened in the span of a moment. As she reached for the pizza box, she locked eyes with Mavrick, and he noticed something behind her eyes that stirred a memory, something out of place.
He scanned the woman once more. She was slim, but more toned than he noticed at first glance. Her face had many hidden scars then the ones on her brow, and a chunk of her left ear was missing. It wasn't too uncommon a sight for him to see, but he’d travelled with a lot of mercenaries in his time.
"Um…" the woman said as she tugged on the pizza box Mavrick was gripping tight.
Mavrick blinked as he returned to reality. "Huh? Oh, sorry, I…" His thoughts trailed off as he released the pizza into the woman's custody.
She opened the box and took a peek through the savoury steam. "Aw yeah, that looks amazing!" she cried. "I'll have to get you guys back, somehow."
Sarah put her hands on her hips. "You don't have to do that!" she said. "It's our gift to you, after all!"
The woman stepped back into the shadow of her door frame. "Naw, I'd feel bad if I didn't pay you back."
"Naw, think nothing of it, love," Sarah said with her hands together. "You just really think about joining us tonight, okay?"
The woman's eyes bounced between Sarah and Mavrick. "I'll… yeah, I'll, uh, I'll think about it," she mumbled again. "For sure…"
The woman and Sarah waved at each other before the door was shut and locked.
Sarah and Mavrick turned to leave, with the latter shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's a shame she didn't invite us in," he sighed.
Sarah glanced at him. "Oh?"
"I really nailed it with that pizza," Mavrick explained. "I was hoping to try it for myself."
Sarah rolled her eyes with a grin. "You could've saved yourself a slice."
"Who gives someone a partially eaten pizza?"
"That's true," Sarah mused. "Well, hopefully tonight when uh… when, uh…" She brought a finger to her lips. "Wait, what was her name, again?"
Mavrick shrugged. "I dunno, you never asked."
"Sar' darnit!" Sarah fumed. "Why didn't you remind me!?"
She looked away with a pout. "Well, either way," she continued, "I guess we'll just have to ask her tonight, then."
Mavrick nodded slowly. He definitely had a few things to ask the new neighbor.