The World's Cold

Juna and Madphibian pressed on. It was the middle of the night in Varrock square, and there was no one around. The big snake and the big frog felt right at home, with Madphibian clutching a bag of runes on his back.

"Here... this spot is perfect!" Juna hissed softly, as Madphibian grabbed a rune from his bag made of swampweed. It was an extremely rare time rune, which would allow the user to see the past of an individual simply by thinking it. Sometimes the rune would require a specific location or ritual for it to work. In this case, it needed to be in Varrock square.

"Have you mind-linked?" Madphibian whispered hoarsely.

Juna nodded, as they both shouted "Tony de Fillo", and the rune started to glow red. The eyes of Juna and Madphibian turned extremely white, as they both passed out. Now they can see a random day in the life of Tony de Fillo in their minds.

Year 169, Northern Wilderness

Tony looked away as he saw Duradel fall to his demise. Everyone else kept fighting, for the fate of the planet was in their hands. Lucien had proved to be an impossible foe, but he was still drawing power. Tony lifted his axe and swung it at Lucien. Lucien used his magic powers to send the axe hurtling towards Ghommal, cutting his head clean off. Hazelmere used this moment to smash his legs with a scimitar. Lucien stumbled back, but then smiled. He grabbed the gnome with his hand and crushed his skull in his very fingers. Tony saw red, and twisted Lucien's head round, and gave him a good punch. Lucien fell to the floor, but was soon up.

"Nice. I like your style... so direct, yet simple. But I can't let people like you linger around" Lucien smiled nastily, as he waved his hand and used telekinesis. Tony was thrown into a spiked pit, where a spike impaled his heart.

It was his mystery recruiter that saved him. He yanked Tony from the spike, and used his healing powers very quickly. Tony got up and saw Lucien opening up a vortex of power above his head.

"What about the rest?" Tony gasped, out of breath.

"I can't... my powers are limited, and it's too late" the man said sadly, as both men ran back into battle. After a combined effort of the survivors, Lucien was thrown off balance and the vortex had disappeared. His godly powers were dissipating, as he screamed in anger.

Before Tony could deliver the final blow, Lucien teleported away. Tony swore, and immediately stalked off. The mysterious adventurer never noticed, for he was too busy moving the bodies.

Tony got out his tracking talisman. He could trace Lucien through this rune, for his magical essence wasn't hard to find. A day later, he ended up in Varrock, his home town. Lucien must be nearby, somewhere near the castle.

But something very unfortunate happened. He was tripped up by a guard, and he fell to the floor. The talisman smashed, and stopped glowing. It started to crumble into dust, and the guard was just laughing.

"You idiot! That was the only tracking talisman in existence!" Tony snarled, drawing his whip.

"I'm sorry sir, but this is Varrock, not your crazy institution" the guard laughed, with his fellow guardsmen joining in.

Tony was not in the mood. He was stabbed, Lucien escaped and claimed many lives, and now this. He shouted the worse swear words on the planet known, and used his whip to strangle the guard. The guard was about to die if his comrades hadn't stopped Tony and threw him into a jail cell.

That same guard grinned evilly as he walked pass his cell. Tony knew something was up, for the guard purposely destroyed his talisman.

Varrock Castle

King Roald smiled at his new garments. They were very expensive, and it was obvious that Roald had some cash to splash out. His advisors walked in.

"The new armanent and upgraded weapons for Varrock's soldiers are here, your majesty. When do you plan on paying the Pyrak?" Aeonisig asked.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I will. I only accepted because Varrock desperately needs those weapons, and that attack from the undead a week ago really put me on edge. Did you hear their demands? They wanted our sewers converted into a massive mine for them! I maybe king, but I don't think we have enough to do that! And on another note, where will the wastes of my people go?"

"They barely spoke any english, your highness, maybe you misheard them"

"Nope, I know what they're demanding, and they ain't getting it!" Roald said coldly.

It was only an hour later until Roald regretted that decision. Suddenly, the lower floor of the castle had been pierced, and hundreds of Pyrak emerged from the debris. They were informed of Roald's decision, and have come to settle the agreement. The guards around the castle raised their swords, but the Pyrak merely charged and were like a tidal wave.

Any guards that didn't retreat were knocked unconscious, as the Pyrak army raged up the stairs to Roald's chamber. The leader of the Pyrak, who was nine thousand years old and was half-crystalised, approached Roald. He started squeaking and clicking. Roald simply shook his head and explained why he won't do it.

"Things...back!" the Pyrak squeaked slowly.

"No, it's too late! My soldiers are being equipped with those at this precise moment!" Roald replied.

The Pyrak leader nodded, as every single Pyrak he had brought with him spread around in every room and corner in the castle. The castle was under siege, and Roald understood that. Many slashers surrounded Roald, and threatened him with their sharp single-talons.

Any person or guard within the castle were getting tied up to chairs, as the Pyrak caused chaos. King Roald opened a window before he was tied down. One of his personal bodyguards suddenly lunged out of the window and landed in a tree. The Pyrak quickly closed the window, and the Pyrak leader left the room.

The Pyrak that guarded Roald were very young, only 600 years of age. They started poking Roald, and ripping his fine clothing in the process.

"Watch it! That is very expensive!" Roald snarled. The Pyrak looked blankly at him, and started pulling on the cloth. They seemed to want it now. It finally ripped in two, with Roald screaming. The young Pyrak were so scared they ran under the tables and cowered.

Meanwhile downstairs, the Pyrak in the library were pushing down the book shelves and ripping up books for their own amusement.

"No, don't chew that - that's the only book of Zamorakology in existence!" Reldo exclaimed, as the little Pyrak started to eat it, and then spat it out. Reldo almost fainted.

The bodyguard stumbled into the nearby prison. He had five minutes to find his man, the one who can save the king. He stared in disgust at them all. None of them looked like a hero. He came to the cell of a man, who was just staring out the window, hands behind his back.

"Prison guard, who is this man?"

"Tony de Fillo, the known ex-criminal and adventurer"

"He's the perfect man! I'm taking him out!" the bodyguard said, flashing his ID tablet.

The guard nodded and Tony's chains were removed. He walked out with the bodyguard.

"Suicide mission, you say? I've been on a few of those in my lifetime. If I'm well paid, then I'll solve your pest problem" Tony said.

"He's a king, most likely you'll be rewarded with a house!"

"A house, eh? I could do with one of those"

"I've heard stories about you, and in one you joined the Slayer's Union. Is that true?"

"Hardly. I was wandering the Wilderness once, and I saved a slayer from three dozen Revenants. He recommended me to the union, but they rejected me, saw me as a 'loose cannon'. I got kicked out after I attacked their leader, but I'll never forget that day. I saw someone who I never thought I would see again, and he was the one with the boot up my ass!" Tony laughed.

"Well, I considered contacting the Union about the problem, but I figured you're better than them."

"Who exactly have invaded the castle?"

"The Pyrak. Heard of them?"

"I've visited one of their cities. I thought they were friendly"

"The king refused to pay the Pyrak for the latest shipment. This didn't go down well, and they've decided to lay siege to the castle until he pays up. They've managed to overpower the guards, and are considered highly dangerous. Up to the challenge?"

"No little rock monsters are a match for me!" Tony snapped.

"Prove it then" the guard replied, as he stood outside the castle doors, as Tony walked in. He merely climbed the staircase and hid behind a bookcase. He saw lots of Pyrak running around, knocking over expensive vases and busts of former kings and legendary heroes. He stealthily rolled over to a nearby plant pot and made for the nearby door. He saw the king tied up and surrounded.

"Who the blazers are you?" the king asked.

"Tony de Fillo, y'know, the guy who's gonna fix your problems!"

"Oh yeah, that's right. Well, what are you waiting for?"

The slashers advanced on him, as Tony jumped over them and in one stroke, had them all tied up in his whip. He then released them quickly, and they were sent spinning out of the room. He then untied the king.

"Why don't you just give them what you want?" Tony hissed.

"Because I need those sewers! Think of the money wasted!"

"All you care about is money. You don't love your kingdom, you love its money!"

"I advise you to shut your face before I exile you to the wastes of the Wilderness!"

Tony rolled his eyes and grabbed the king's arm. As they got out of the door, all the Pyrak trembled.

"The king has offered you som,ething else than the sewers of Varrock, my rocky friends!" Tony announced to the Pyrak leader, as he got out a map of Varrock and pointed to two local mines outside the city gates.

"These mines have valuable ores, and are worth more than the sewers. So, what do you think?"

Strangely enough, the Pyrak leader nodded. It seemed to understand, somehow. The Pyrak started waddling away.

"I never said that! How dare you speak on my behalf!" Roald growled angrily.

"I just saved your sorry ass. I think that merits a knighthood!" Tony chuckled. Roald was shaking angrily, as his advisors approahced him. Tony slipped away silently out of the castle.

"Hey, wait a minute! Where's all my stuff!" the king shrieked, wandering around his castle.

"I believe baby rock creatures came and took them. Fascinating, the Pyrak are kleptomaniacs..." Aenisig trailed off.

"Fascinating? Are you insane?! Most of those things were family heirlooms! For all I know, they would use my solid gold sceptre to scratch their backs!" Roald fumed.

Present Day

The three Pyrak quickly waddled under the table and hid. Tarqinder had just entered his house, having nooticed that someone had broken in. He grabbed his sword, and bounded through the rooms. The youngest Pyrak started chewing on one of his daggers nervously.

The slasher had taken one of Tarqinder's books, ripped out the pages and used it as a disguise. The oter two copied him and quickly waddled out the door. Tarqinder heard his door open and rushed to his front room, to find the door open. He ran outside his house to find no one in plain sight.

The world's cold Tarqinder thought to himself.