A man dressed in loose, black clothing ran steadily across the road. He pulled out a crumpled piece of parchment and read it through once before stuffing it back into his pocket. Pulling out a sword whose blade is covered completely in some sort of black ink, the man ran forward again. "Note to self: Crantus, read instructions more carefully next time," the man known as Crantus muttered.

"Your mission, Volstagh, is to assassinate the people matching these descriptions."

Volstagh Abumei was a feared bounty hunter. He had recently joined the Serkotzul, but instead of carrying out missions, he still bounty hunted people instead, to collect the gold due to him. He glanced up at the hooded Serkotzul leader, and nodded. Volstagh was always prepared for any kind of mission, and he wore thick Black Dragonhide armor under his Serkotzul robes. Also, he always hid a few throwing knives and darts dipped with super poison in his robe sleeves; you never know when you might need one. He stood up, and the Serkotzul leader turned to address another member.

"Zaseke, I know you've already got a spy in the Socialist organization, but I fear that's not enough. I think you need to show them that we still exist. Why don't you pretend to join them, and assassinate General Vaarku at the last second?"

"Yes, leader," Zaseke said in an expressionless voice. "My Dragon Halberd is aching to be dipped with blood." The leader smiled slightly. Zaseke was his best subordinate; swift, efficient, and obedient. Perhaps he should take over as his second in command instead of Sliske. At any rate, the leader waved a hand to signal the dismissal of the meeting, and Zaseke and Volstagh walked out of a door to the rear, prepared to carry out their missions. Zaseke grinned; the Socialists won't know what hit them.

***********************************************************

Varrock

"What are you doing, Darko?" Takrinqer hissed at his comrade.

"Just sit back and watch the show," Darko snapped, grinning.

"What the hell~"

At that moment, Darko signaled to Takrinqer and the two of them leapt back just as a huge explosion engulfed Varrock East Bank.

"Just trying out an explosive potion I picked up somewhere. Now let's dive in and get their cash!" Darko laughed.

Money started raining down in pools from the secure vault it was kept in. The two men started grabbing and stuffing the money into huge sacks they carried. But then, Takrinqer pointed at ten guards charging towards them, waving swords wildly. Darko did not notice as he was still stuffing money into his pocket; his sack was completely full to the top already.

"Freeze, thieves!"

"Holy crap, let's get out of here, mate!" Darko screeched.

They ran as fast as they could into the night, chased closely by the pursuing guards.

24 Hours Later

"Darko, that stupid stunt of yours earned us the front page on the Varrock Herald! The manager was already pissed at me, no wonder he gave us the honor…" Takrinqer bellowed.

"Wow really? There's even a photograph! Ain't I handsome, Tak?"

"Whatever. The fact is, all of Misthalin is looking for us. We've got to get out of this hellhole Varrock now!"

"All right, man, don't get yourself into an uproar. We may even need to leave the kingdom eventually, even with our stealthy hiding skills."

"You're right; I think Asgarnia would be a good choice, no? With all the cash they have even in the midst of this economy crisis. I bet that place is a thieves' haven now," Takrinqer moaned.

"It's gonna be risky, but let's do it. With the financial breakdown, they probably can't afford to keep us in prison even if they capture us."

"I doubt they can capture us, but we'd better keep our profiles low. Our heads down. Blend in with no rash actions."

"Got your supplies?"

"Yep."

Darko nodded, and put up his black facemask, completely covering his face. Takrinqer pulled up his long hood over his head. The two gave each other thumbs up, slung their backpacks over their shoulders, and they headed out of their hideout in a dark alley, towards Varrock central.

***********************************************************

After walking for a couple of days, the two had arrived at Edgeville. They followed the riverbank south, having decided to take the longer detour around the small village. They stood on the south of Edgeville after a while, panting. It was then that Takrinqer noticed something strange. He turned to his companion, who was busy fishing in the river with a long rod.

"Darko! Where is everybody? The village is strangely deserted!" Takrinqer gasped, suddenly nervous.

"Maybe they've decided to go to Falador! Those cheapos, the friggin' hobos, the pathetic noobs~" Darko then started to swear, until Takrinqer shushed him.

"The buildings are wrecked. There has been an attack, I'm sure of it. We missed the battle, thankfully."

"Aw, we missed violence? At least it's better than fishing all day!" Darko groaned, as he pulled a salmon from the end of his fishing line.

"You were hyper and annoying in school, remember, you got detentions every day for beating up others."

"Naturally. School was crap; I'd rather fight all day."

"Well there was one guy you couldn't beat up no matter what, his name was Victoros or something, I forget."

"Damn, don't remind me of him. He got me expelled by tattling on the teacher! If I were to meet him again…" Darko flexed his muscles as he slammed another salmon into a red bucket.

Just then, a man dressed in black emerged from a wrecked building and headed over to the duo's camp.

"Excuse me, sirs, but would you two be Takrinqer Gaiko and Darko Alcindor?"

"Why yes, but why's my name read out second?" Darko snarled suspiciously.

"Shut up, Darko, you're annoying," Takrinqer ordered. "Continue, sir," he said to the man.

"I've been sent to find you two, by your friend."

"Woah, woah, slow down. Which friend? And, why has Edgeville turned into a no-mans land?"

"Haven't you heard? The Socialists stormed Edgeville and completely destroyed it. The men either died fighting or were recruited forcefully into the Socialists army, and the others…well, let's not talk about that. Anyway, according to my sources, they were looking for you two."

"What the bloody hell?" Darko shouted. "No way, you must be a spy!"

"No, I'm not. The Socialists' leader, General Vaarku, was looking for an adventurer known as Allen Hawkins. He knew that you two are friends of Hawkins, so he tried to find you in order to gain information about Allen."

"Thank goodness we arrived late, then. We don't know where Allen went, but I know he's heading for Falador."

"Who are you? You haven't introduced yourself, or the 'friend' you said who sent you."

"My name is Crantus Typan. I'm a fully-fledged adventurer, and the friend who sent me was Allen himself. I've actually known him since seventh grade, you know."

"What? And he never told us? My apologies, Crantus, but where is Allen right now? I'd like to see him again."

"Ah, follow me and you'll see. We're going to Falador," Crantus said broadly. The two thieves nodded, gathered up their possessions, and followed Crantus away from Edgeville.

One day later, the three had arrived at the gates of Falador. They had hidden and ran the whole way, so naturally they were all tired and worn out. Crantus was the only one standing; the two others were slumped on the ground, breathing heavily.

"We'll have to find someone to smuggle as into Falador, I'm afraid." Crantus announced.

"What do you mean?" Takrinqer asked.

"If you read the newspapers, which I doubt you do, you would know that the Misthalin, Kandarin, and Asgarnia police forces are hunting for you as highly-ranked criminals. Plus, there's been a new law passed recently in Falador. Only people admitted by the council may enter, they say it's for security reasons, but I expect that's all bullshit. The population of the city is growing steadily, mainly because the economic plague hasn't affected Falador yet."

"I expect it will, soon," Darko sneered. "We'll just have to find someone to smuggle us in."

Just then, two figures started walking towards them from the north. On closer inspection, it was Allen and a burly Tzhaar-Ket.

"Allen!"

"Long time no see, guys! And I see you've met Crantus! This powerful Tzhaar here is Kettok."

"With you guys here, we may be able to sneak into Ardougne. That's why I sent for you; me, Crantus and Kettok kept getting chucked out."

"Well dude, sorry to disappoint, but we're heavily wanted criminals now. Right, Tak?"

"He's right, Allen." Takrinqer confirmed grimly.

"Whatever. You guys can still help."

Suddenly, Kettok tensed and slammed all four humans into a large bush with one smack of his arm. He dived in after them.

"What the hell, Kettok!" Darko growled.

"Shush, Jalyt! Our enemies are here, eh, Jalyt Allen?"

"Indeed," Allen mumbled, rubbing his sore elbow which had hit the ground.

They all peered out, and saw an army marching past. The banners some of the soldiers held confirmed it. They were no doubt the Socialists.

"Ah, the Socialists," Crantus noted. "They're here at last."

"Nope, they're the Troublesomes!" Takrinqer snapped. "That's their official name!"

"Jalyt, please be quiet," Kettok whispered, edging in and squeezing Darko, who was hiding next to the Tzhaar.

"Who's that?" Crantus asked quietly, pointing at the man standing in front of the army.

"It's General Vaarku," Allen moaned. "And look, Captain Leodon is next to him. They both want me dead."

General Vaarku stopped in his tracks and paused. He waved a hand high up in the air and the army subsequently stopped. The soldiers all saluted their general.

"Takrinqer and Darko are wanted criminals. I know we failed to find them at Edgeville; it seems we arrived too early. I was impatient, I know. Anyway, they are connected to the man known as Allen Hawkins. They were last sighted somewhere in Misthalin, but I expect they're near Falador now. Also, if you see Crantus Typan or a Tzhaar-Ket known as Kettok, be sure to capture them as well; they're friends of Hawkins. This is a man-hunt men, we can't afford to fail if we want to continue on to dominate Falador!" The General paused again.

"If you see Hawkins, shoot on sight. Otherwise, bring the others alive to General Vaarku. Is that understood, men?" Captain Leodon barked.

"Yes sirs!" the soldiers all said in monotone. They saluted again, and followed General Vaarku forward. The army was heading steadily towards the western Falador gate.

"Time for a new plan team, we can't make hasty moves with these guys around," Allen commanded dementedly.

"There are five of us, and the Troublesomes have more than a thousand. They've got more units coming, according to reports," Crantus explained.

"Damn it," Darko swore angrily. "I'm pissed!"

"We'll get into Falador no matter what Jalyt; if we don't, we'll die trying!" Kettok howled, beating his chest.

"You're right, Kettok," Allen agreed, his face brightening. "We can't fail if we want to defeat the Troublesomes!" With that, the five stepped out from their hiding spots behind the bushes and stared up at the skies, thinking of tomorrow.