Victoros Paladine walked along the dark passage, his heart beating loudly from the prospect of seeing his old comrades again. The walls were lined with flickering torches, lighting the long path ahead. Victoros turned a corner and walked slowly into a spacious room flanked by towering pillars. Five other figures sat around a large stone table, talking quietly amongst themselves. Victoros made a move to join them, and one of the figures noticed him, raising a hand in greeting.
"Hey, Victoros," the man called out. "You've finally arrived."
"Good to see you again, Dirk," Victoros replied, smiling slightly.
Victoros Paladine is part of an organization called the Ardougne Slayer Force, otherwise known as the ASF. Their job has always been to fight off menaces threatening the grand city of Ardougne, and see to the city's well-being. After all, being the capital of the Kandarin kingdom, Ardougne has warranted such protection. The Slayers weren't a public group; rather, the ASF work in the dark, silently guarding over Ardougne. Victoros himself was one of the most efficient Slayers in the organization even though he had just joined one year ago; Dirk was the leader, a veteran of ten years, and the man who has over 200 Black Demon kills to his name. In his late-20s, Varrock-born Victoros had been recruited when he saved a Slayer who was on duty tailing an escaped convict to the capital city of Asgarnia. There were currently eleven members in the organization; five of them were out doing, and completing their missions.
"Well, guys," Dirk said casually, as Victoros took a seat next to him. "It's time to discuss some important matters. Sloane, the hellhounds near Ardougne are being very active again, I think it's time for you to set things right in their lair."
Sloane nodded, and Dirk moved on. "Chonalin, you should check out the Khazard warriors south of the city. Ever since their general's defeat, they've been very disorganized, and I fear it might be a matter of time before some of them launch an assault on Ardougne."
"Sure thing, Dirk," Chonalin replied. Dirk moved on until he had finished assigning tasks to all the members. He then stood up and sighed. This was the first time the Slayer leader truly looked his age in a long while.
"Listen up, fellow members," Dirk said quietly. "I've been monitoring the Serkotzul group's actions, and I fear they are once again at large."
Sloane groaned in annoyance and Victoros grunted. The Serkotzul are an organization of ten powerful warriors skilled, to be it bluntly, in the act of being evil. If they're active again, that means the ASF would have to take on them some time in the future. Taking on the Serkotzul means tough business, and even some of the most proficient warriors in Gielinor would not want to face a Serkotzul member one-on-one. This included most of the Slayers, who are among the most elite fighters the land has to offer. After all that was why they got recruited in the first place.
Dirk proceeded to warn the members of the dangers of encountering the Serkotzul, and he rounded up the meeting by telling Victoros of his task. "Listen up, Victoros. I've got a dangerous task for you, which involves heading into the wilderness. I've received a report that the Serkotzul are hiding a red dragon in the wilderness; a dragon by the name of Dracenios. I've heard that it's far stronger than any of its breed, so please take extra caution."
Victoros grinned and rested his hand on his sword hilt. "Don't worry, Dirk, I'm sure I can handle it, Dracenios or not!" With that, the Slayer stood up, bowed to his comrades, and headed out of the ASF hideout to the applause of the others.
A few hours later, he had arrived at the border of the Wilderness ditch north of Varrock. By foot it would have taken several days, but he had ridden a Gnome Glider specially reserved for the ASF, piloted by skilled gnome pilot Gardo. Victoros jumped over the Wilderness ditch with a powerful spring, and he instantly felt the ashy air of the wretched land. Danger lies everywhere in this forsaken place, but Victoros was prepared for it. He had even brought his Dragonfire Shield, crafted for combating winged wyverns, and had it securely latched on the back of his platemail.
Victoros journeyed north from the Varrock entrance and he eventually reached the cave entrance where Dracenios was supposed to be living in. Thankfully, he didn't manage to encounter any bandits, who are prone to set up camp in the wild waiting for travellers to pass by. Just then, two Revenant Dragons appeared out of nowhere and growled angrily at Victoros. Although not as big as regular chromatic dragons, these spirits were much more bloodthirsty than their counterparts.
"We're not going to let you into Master Dracenios' lair!" one of the Rev Dragons growled.
"Not without a fight, anyway!" the other Rev Dragon added, baring its fangs.
Victoros pulled out his gleaming Saradomin Godsword and grinned at the two Dragons. He released his Dragonfire Shield, letting it hit the ground, as it would only hinder him in such a fight against scrubs. "Bring it on, uglies! I promise it won't take long before I kill you both!"
The two Revenants glided rapidly towards Victoros, who quickly dodged their charge with a dive. Leaping up, he plunged the Saradomin Godsword into one of the Rev's head, driving the dragon onto the ground. The other dragon quickly glided towards Victoros again, mouth wide open; however, Victoros pulled his Sword from the first dragon's head and lopped the second Rev's head off swiftly with one stroke.
"Curse you, warrior," the first dragon croaked weakly as it died. Victoros ignored its ghostly voice, gathering his shield and sheathing his sword before hurrying into the dark grasp of Dracenios' cave.
Meanwhile, in an old building located in the other side of the Wilderness, a hooded man dressed in black robes walked up to another man who was wearing full armor.
"Sir," the hooded man drawled. "According to our spies, the ASF have sent a Slayer to battle against Dracenios in the Wilderness."
The armored man was not surprised or worried. In fact, he sat down on a chair and replied, "I don't really give a damn, Sliske. Dracenios is nothing but a ruse; something to distract the ASF while my plan goes into effect. If that big brute gets slain, nothing will be lost. My plan for world domination is much more important; it must succeed, with the interference of ASF or not."
The hooded man, Sliske, nodded once. "All right, sir," Sliske hissed. "Just to tell you, every member in the Serkotzul has gathered, and we are ready to carry out your plan to dominate Gielinor."
The armored man smiled, staring intensely into a map that he rolled out. "Thank goodness for that. Bring me a cup of coffee and rally the members, all right?" Sliske nodded again and walked out of the door.
Meanwhile, in the murky depths of the cavern, Victoros approached the magnificent dragon slowly. He took no notice of the scattered, rotting corpses around the creature. Dracenios loomed tall and strong in front of him, and the dragon's large red eyes glared down at him with hatred. Victoros gripped his Sword more tightly than ever and quickly braced himself for sudden action. Dracenios let out a huge roar and lashed out its tail directly at Victoros, who jumped into the air quickly, dodging the blow.
"Why are you here, human?" Dracenios snarled, smoke bursting out of its nostrils.
"I'm here to slay you," Victoros answered confusedly. "Isn't it obvious, seeing that you're a dragon?"
Dracenios roared in anger. First the Serkotzul had captured him and put him in this dark cave, and now more humans than ever are invading his lair. Can't he have peace for once? "I'll finish you off quickly, human," the dragon sneered, and lurched forward. Victoros quickly got into combat stance once more. Glancing briefly at his Saradomin Godsword, he had faith that he would finish the job quickly.
Dracenios let out a huge stream of blazing fire to eradicate the puny intruder, but Victoros lifted his Dragonfire Shield in time to block the fiery breath. The fire slammed onto his shield, sending Victoros crashing back onto the ground. His Shield had absorbed the worst of the scorching flames, but it was still strong enough to hurl him onto the ground.
Wincing, Victoros managed to stand upright again. "It's going to be a long, long day," he sighed as he watched Dracenios prepare to send another blast of fire zooming his way.