Rushed footsteps could be heard throughout the walls of the inner palace and it was impossible to escape the worried murmurs of the guards and servants. Eventually, there was a hurried knock on a massive set of wooden doors.
"Enter and explain yourself," a feminine voice called out from the other side.
Quickly, the doors were pulled open from the inside and a goblin guard in studded leather armor entered the main hall. "Your highness, problems continue to escalate beyond our control."
"What do you mean, 'beyond our control?' Just send more troops to face the invaders," barked the queen.
"Another problem has arisen, my queen," replied the guard, shrinking back like he was begging for mercy. "We've found many dead guards within the inner palace."
"What!?"
"Please, have mercy with this servant and his inability to serve you properly." The guard dropped to his knees and bowed his head as he pled. "We are beginning to investigate the dead bodies immediately but we've yet to find who it was that killed them."
The queen's breathing was growing heavy, whether it was from worry or rage it was unclear. "Tell me, how did they die?"
Hearing the queen calm down, the guard let out a deep sigh. "They were all slain by a knife, either a slit across the throat or through the back of the neck."
"Hmm, it was probably that hunter. I was wondering where the rest had gone," deduced the queen. "So that hunter wants to play… It's been a while since I've had a worthy playmate."
"Please my queen, just remain in here for the remainder of the investigation. We're shorthanded due to the battle with the samurais, but we'll soon scour the palace and find him. That we can guarantee."
"Oh, you can guarantee?" The queen started to chuckle lightly when she heard the guard's promise. "If you can guarantee his capture so easily, then why aren't you bringing him to me right now?"
"Your highness, we were so focused on preparing reinforcements against the samurai that we were careless and—"
"You've already promised it, so I expect to see you drag that hunter through these doors within the day. If you can't fulfill your promise, then you'll face the consequences," said the queen, who was devilishly smiling behind the canopy.
"I—"
"Thank you for your bravery; I can't wait to see how that hunter begs for mercy after you drag him to me."
The guard coughed and swallowed some saliva before he finally muttered, "Y-yes my queen." Shaky and nervous, that goblin guard turned and started to exit.
Suddenly, more footsteps were heard from the other side of the large wooden doors. Before the guards by the doors could react, the doors were swung open by what looked to be two goblin captains who immediately spoke up, "Pardon the intrusion your highness, but this is—"
"Never enter my throne room uninvited!" The lullaby, feminine voice somehow became hoarse and gravelly.
"Please your highness, this matter is very—"
"On your knees!" commanded the queen. "You are goblin captains but that is worth nothing before me. Rules are rules; on your knees!"
One captain quickly dropped to his knees and bowed his head, fully willing to submit at the drop of a hat. The other captain stepped forward to try and calm the enraged queen, "Please, we must hurry—"
"Hmph!" grunted the queen, interrupting the captain. "I said kneel, you worthless servant! At least one of you has a brain. You, you may speak." The queen didn't point but everyone understood that she wanted the one standing to shut up and listen to the other obedient captain.
"Yes, your highness," said the second captain, still keeping his head to the floor in respect for the queen. "Another problem has presented itself within the city."
"I already know about the deaths in the outer palace," said the queen.
"Yes, but there is a third issue that has presented itself, and it's by far the worst of them all," clarified the captain.
"The worst of them all? How so?" the queen had a trace of unease in her voice.
"A Hell-flame Fox has been spotted within the city."
That sentence brought a heavy silence to the room. The goblin captain waited a few seconds before he continued, "Currently, the large firefox is rampaging through the city. We have no way of deciphering its strength or its origin."
"Just like the legends…" whimpered the guard from before. He was shaken by the sudden entrance of the captains and even more so by the news they carried. "No one has ever survived hell's flames…"
"My queen, we ask permission to leave the palace and confront this beast," the first captain spoke up, taking advantage of the silence.
The queen remained silent, pondering the situation heavily. She faced three very serious threats that seemed to escalate every time. Cursing her bad luck, she was reluctant to say anything.
"My queen, may we confront this beast?" repeated the first captain.
"Call for him," muttered the queen with reluctance.
"Him!?" Both captains were surprised to hear the queen asking for aid so quickly.
"Yes, call for him. We've underestimated these adventurers and we must do everything to defeat them. But facing Hell's flames at the same time, our only chance at victory is to accept their aid. Contact him and hurry to the fox. Now hurry and begone. I have something I must do," commanded the queen, returning to her voice of a feminine dominatrix.
"Yes, your highness!"
The guard and the captains hurried off to their new duties, not so much as looking back into the main hall.
Behind the canopy, the queen anxiously twiddled her fingers on the throne's arm. She barked, "Guards, bring me the contact crystal."
Without a word, the guards by the door hurried to the side of the room. There they each grabbed a side of this podium-like structure. It was similar to the stat analysis podium within the association building, but the gemstone was smoother, and the podium was intricately carved around the large, sapphire-like gem. It took a minute for them to carry it up to the throne, but it wasn't too difficult for the guards.
"Thank you, now return to your posts. And face the wall; you are not allowed to see my beauty unveiled," commanded the queen.
The guards hurried back to their posts and did as the queen demanded, turning to face the cold wall.
Satisfied with their obedience, the queen stood up from her throne and walked towards the veil surrounding her. She parted it and revealed herself to the light in the room.
The queen was a shade lighter than the other goblins, and her skin was much smoother and softer than the rest. She had the same beady red eyes, but her face was slender and easy to fit in someone's hand. Adorned with a black leather skirt, a loose crop top from the same leather, and a beautiful necklace of gold and jewels, the queen's slim, tight body was the envy of every goblin woman; many goblin women also found her attractive and were unable to admit otherwise.
With a regretful sigh, the queen placed her hands on the podium and spoke aloud in Common. "My city is in danger and we request assistance."
There was no response at first, but after a couple of minutes a pained, masculine voice sounded in her head. "What's the problem? It must be bad if you're contacting me."
"We're being invaded, but too much is happening at once and we may not hold out till the end," replied the queen.
"Why so negative? It sounds like you've already accepted defeat."
The queen paused involuntarily as she forced herself to admit the situation more fully. "A party of adventurers is causing us problems. They've split up to attack the main gate and infiltrate my palace at the same time."
"Why not just call those ugly guests of yours? They should offer plenty of help to handle a single party," said the man.
"Most of them are gone to bring back more of their brethren, we've only got two with us right now," answered the queen.
"So, what else is there? For you to call the busy me, you better be facing a natural disaster or hell's flames," stated the man, letting her hear his annoyance in his voice.
"That's exactly what's happening."
"What?" responded the man, caught off guard by her immediate answer.
"At this critical moment, a Hell-flame Fox has appeared within the walls of the city," explained the queen. "We're already stretched thin to face these adventurers but facing hell's flames might lead to our end. I beg for your assistance."
No answer came for some time as the queen waited patiently, staring intently at the crystal embedded in the podium. Finally, the man answered, "Sorry, but I can't help you."
"What!?"
"I told you before that you grew too aggressive too fast and it would lead to your downfall, did I not?" said the man.
Struggling to keep herself from shouting back in anger, the queen was unable to reject the man's statement. Not hearing a rejection, the man continued, "You got too aggressive before we were in a situation to better help you. Of course, this is simply due to how dire a situation you're in. Are you sure it's a Hell-flame Fox? They haven't been spotted for so long."
"They say it's a fox made of fire running rampant through my city, what else could that be?"
"How big is it, exactly?" asked the man.
"No clue, they just said it was a crazy firefox with an unknown level," answered the man, hoping her politeness could soften the man's heart and change his decision.
"Oh," sighed the man. "Either way, you're without our help for this one. If you can survive this, then we'll be ready to move forward in about a month. If you don't, well, then this is goodbye."
As the message cut out, the queen barked back at the man but could tell that the man's contact crystal was no longer responding.
In her fury, she finally looked away from the crystal and noticed the guards' peeking eyes whip around to return to the wall. "Was I not clear that you were unworthy of beholding my beauty?"
"Y-your highness, please have—"
Making use of the guards as an outlet for her sudden rise in anger, the queen lifted a hand as a ball of red flames began to dance in her palms. With a flick of her wrist, the flames split and blasted into the bodies of the goblin guards, staining the wall with soot and ash.