Gabe was in a dream. He was facing the hobgoblin army, and he was decimating them. Gabe sparred with many goblins until facing the ghoul itself, a disappointingly easy opponent. His victory propelled him to the throne, and he became the new King of the dracaena, but he thought the dream ended too soon. Just when the crown was being placed on his head, everything turned black, and he opened his eyes. "Noo! The throne was right there! The victory was mine!"
"Sir Gabe!" Gabe soon found himself surrounded by soldiers. "Thank goodness you're all right," they said.
"I thought you died!" Gabe laughed. "Hah! Don't be ridiculous - wait, why are we here? We were recruiting elves, were we not?" The blue-skinned dracaena bowed. "About that, we were driven out by a village after you lost a duel."
"Driven out? Wait, I lost a duel?" Memories flew in his head, and he remembered. He remembered the vampire girl who had snickered at him and the pretty black-haired girl who punched the snot out of him. "That damm vampire! I'll get her back for lying to me! That other girl was the real boss of that village, not that sentinel!"
"Pardon, my Lord?" The orange-skinned dracaena asked. "How did you know that the vampire was lying?"
"Simple! That black-haired girl told her to so that I would let my guard down! It was all a plan to make sure I would lose!"
"Those bastards! How could they cheat us in such a manner?" The soldiers agreed. "We must make them pay for humiliating Sir Gabe!"
"Be at ease, men." Gabe waved his hand. "Only cowards who have no honor would resort to such tactics. They must have been so intimidated by my incredible aura that they had no choice!" The soldiers roared. "That's our Sir Gabe!" Gabe nodded. "Now, to the matter at hand. Who are you?" He pointed to a tall, fat man wearing yellow-green clothing, sandals, and a silver clown mask that covered his face. The man bowed. "Greeting, Sir Gabe, I am Hope, a servant of Lord Alnod Marsh. He has sent me here to pass a warning."
Gabe's eyes widened. "Lord Alnod Marsh sent you here! Well, make yourself at home!" The other dracaena were confused, wondering who Alnod Marsh was. "He's the jinn who gave Sir Gabe his name," the blue-skinned dracaena said. The other soldiers approvingly nodded, saying Alnod Marsh must be a good man for helping Gabe reach his full potential.
Gabe shook Hope's hand. "Pleased to meet you, Hope. Now, inform me of this warning." Hope nodded, spinning around in a circle as he hopped around. "A ghoul is leading the charge towards Glouvons Clove!"
"Seriously?"
"Indeed. It won't be long before it reaches your home! Could dear mommy handle such a monster? I'm quite worried about her!" Gabe jumped on his Komodo. "I was planning to take the throne after I had driven away those goblins, but it seems I'll have to revise that!" Hope nodded. "I apologize for being the bearer of grim news; I wish you good luck on saving your kin."
"And I apologize for leaving so soon. I promise to be back quickly. Come, men!" Gabe and his troops hurried towards Glouvons Clove as Alnod Marsh smiled smugly. "Yes, Gabe, overthrow your mother and dash bravely into the ranks of the hobgoblin army, where the ghoul will be waiting to devour you. I can't wait to see the look on your face when that happens."
Three of Medusa's guards had found a hobgoblin near the entrance to their cave and managed to kill him. "My god," one of them huffed, "that felt more like we were fighting an ogre than a goblin."
"Yeah," another one chimed. "To think we'll have to deal with three hundred thousand of these disgusting green pigs in two days."
"Why are we hiding in our cave? Playing defense will only exhaust our strength." The guards turned around and saw Gabe. "You're back!"
"Yes, and I need to speak with Mother immediately. Is she in her throne room?"
Medusa thought something was erring. She felt something particularly odd about her son. He seemed to be hiding something. "Well, you're back. So, how'd it go?" Gabe bowed. "Excellently. I have eight thousand elves on standby, waiting for further instructions." Medusa nodded with a satisfied grin. "Good work, my son."
"Mother, might I ask as to why we haven't attacked the goblins yet? Your guards are already exhausted keeping goblins from the entrance. Staying here will just tire the army and waste resources."
"Ah, while you visited the various elf villages for assistance, an envoy came to us, saying that his master wishes to join forces for us. We will wait for them to arrive before we make our move."
"I see. Then I have no choice."
Medusa cocked her head. "What?" Suddenly, soldiers sprang from the shadows, holding their spears at Medusa's throat. Euryale was pinned to the ground. "Brother, what is the meaning of this?"
Gabe looked away. He felt guilty for using violence against his own family. "I apologize for my actions. I promise to compensate in any way I can, but for now, I'll take Mother's place and defeat the hobgoblins." Gabe looked at the ground, ashamed as his mother and sister pleaded for him to reconsider. He wasn't proud of his actions, but he thought they had to be taken, for their future in Silverlake was at stake. He saw the holy spear, Spiral, anchored to the floor next to the throne. For generations, the royal family had passed it to their most promising descendants, hoping they would lead the army to greater heights. Gabe thought it was high time for the spear to be his.
He pulled, but it took all his strength to get the spear out of the ground. The spear shined when he grabbed it, and he felt its energy flowing inside of him. The spear had acknowledged him as its new owner, something that further boosted his arrogance. The blue-skinned dracaena came to him. "Lord Gabe, your family has been jailed safely."
"Good." The orange-skinned dracaena walked up to Gabe, followed by the majority of the army. "Additionally, your assumptions were correct. Many of our young troops were dissatisfied with Lord Medusa's commands, and they saw her as incompetent and weak-willed. They have agreed to accept you as their new King." The soldiers all knelt before Gabe. "We pledge fealty to you, Lord Gabe." Gabe nodded. "Very well. Then prepare for battle! We will destroy those nasty goblins!"
"Yes, Sir Gabe!"
A man looked outside the window of his palace, drinking a glass of liquor. He was handsome, with white hair, red eyes, broad shoulders, and a pale white suit that matched his skin tone, complete with a red tie, giving him a princely appearance. He was a vampire, one that recently evolved into a Dracul, and the strongest of the demon lords, which granted him the status of a demon emperor. However, he had not awakened as one, not yet. He was known throughout Tenebris as demon emperor Karem.
Karem grabbed hold of a white orb. "Connect me with Rubrum Deus." The white sphere showed an image identical to the one Gil found in Tempestas's drawer. A horrible specter-like figure with a scarlet crown on his head. "You have called me, Karem?"
"Yes, Lord Rubrum Deus. My pet ghoul is marching towards Glouvons Clove as we speak. At this rate, it won't be long before your will is met, and Silverlake falls into my hands."
"Is that so? I warn you of making such a declaration so hastily, Karem. It's too soon to say such things."
"But, my lord, those pathetic creatures in the forest could not hope to stand up to a ghoul. They will be devoured."
"You might want to double-check. On that note, I must speak to Blanes Asphodel. Till next time, Karem."
Karem laughed. Rubrum Deus said his plan might fail? He doubted that, but it would make things more entertaining. "Things are going to get interesting. I cannot afford to miss this."