The imp gnomes were gathered around the fire. Those who had survived Peter and Asmodeos attack knew that their time was limited.
If they didn't actually manage to get the snakes, the gold of which was going to make sure they had enough food for the winter, then they weren't going to survive the snow.
They couldn't survive the horror that was the cold weather. For they could turn into humans, but that didn't mean they could turn into humans for longer than 24 hours.
No, they had to march. They had to search for treasure in the worst possible places.
That was why those gnomes were gathered. That was why they were going to ask for the ultimate sacrifice from one of them.
They were going to send him, the prince of the imp gnomes.
Back when he had been only five years of age, he had managed to solve the riddle of the Sphinx.
The creature had, as promised, spared his life. Lady Luck had blessed him.
Lady Luck has watched over him ever since.
But this was no Sphinx, no noble creature. This was a goblin shaman, more or less. If the creature didn't eat him, the prince knew, then he would be selling his soul to the worst possible beast.
He was walking into the flames, trying to unravel the mysteries of the universe, trying to glimpse an answer to the question which kept him up at night.
Did Lady Luck play him, truly play him? Why was he forced to settle all the problems of the imp gnomes?
He wasn't the first prince. He wasn't going to inherit.
And yet, in times of crisis, this gnome was always sent to solve problems, always sent to risk his life.
He smiled.
There was, as always, only one solution.
A solution which the imp gnomes would expect of him. But he, as an imp gnome who actually valued his life, was reserved.
He knew that most of them didn't have a truth pendant. Those trinkets were too expensive and if he had to be honest, he didn't see much use of it.
After all, if the truth pendant malfunctioned, then a person could still lie, and there were ways to game it after all.
"We will never forget you should you fail, but you will not fail as you never have before."
The elder said, looking at the young prince, a twisted smile on his lips.
If the young prince didn't survive, if the young prince actually got killed, then the older prince would finally rest easy.
He would finally, finally ascend the throne.
But that was not all. After all, the imp elder also wanted a piece of the crown, also wanted his own place under the sun.
And so, as the imp gnome elder looked at the young gnome, the young imp who was going to sacrifice his life, for the imp gnome elder was sure that the imp was not going to make it back, he decided that sacrifices had to be made.
Soon, he could negotiate a deal with the dragon grandmother, and then the world would be at their feet!
"Oh, I'll do my best," the prince knew he was being lied to.
After all, he didn't need a truth pendant to know that someone who actually wanted to take over the world wanted to see him dead.
"I will need to take a couple of things if we have time. Just small things. Something to eat, something to drink. A little something for the road. You know, the standard backpack."
The imp gnome elder nodded. Oh, the standard backpack. That had enough stuff in it to last the prince for three days.
And even if he didn't last him for three days, he could still forage. But one thing did not give him any rest.
What if, and that was a big if, what if the gnome prince ran away?
What if he turned his back on his family, his crown, his tribe? The gnome elder smiled.
If the known prince ran away, then the gnome elder was going to create a voodoo doll of him and stick it full of needles!
"If that is your wish, then you will have the standard backpack. Would you like a guard to come with you?" it was a weak attempt, as attempts to try to trick someone went.
But the imp gnome elder didn't much care. He was going to send someone to look after the prince anyway. Just to be on the safe side.
"Oh, that would be lovely," the prince showed his pearly whites at the elder. Knowing full well who the imp gnome elder had in mind.
This could work in his favor...
The man's son was a nice young person. And not only that, but he was wounded. The man had tried to heal himself, with little to no success.
The prince had the solution to his problems. He just needed to be convincing.
"I would love for Nick to come with me. For moral support, I can't imagine anyone who would better guard my back than him. He's one of our top fighters," The elder imp gnome smiled.
Oh, he loved it when someone congratulated his son!
After all, he had given the boy his best. Training him on his own as if the boy were a berserker. Not just a berserker, but the best berserker.
"Nick, come over here," the imp gnome elder commanded.
Nick stood from his place near the fire. He had bags under his eyes. His hair was oily.
The heart of the imp prince went out to him. He didn't want for Nick to suffer. He didn't want for Nick to slave away under his father's tyrannical rule for the rest of his life.
They had a past together. A past which promised a future.
"Nick, will you adventure with me? Will you be by my side as I fight for a better world? A world where the gnomes are not mistaken for garden ornaments?"
He didn't know how to make it obvious that Nick's life was going to turn around.
They were going to be happy, together, on a farm somewhere, tending to the soil, tending to their animals.
But Nick didn't need so many words to understand something so basic.
He didn't need so many words to understand the promise of forever.
He smiled.
The imp gnome elder didn't need a translator to understand what had just happened, either.
Yes, if his son managed to get the crown this way, through marriage, he could use a regent.
The gnome elder had no intention of ever losing the title, once he got it.
And so, the gnome prince, and the gnome warrior picked up a backpack each, bottomless backpacks, both of them, and hit the road.
They took the first step together, then the gnome warrior, Nick, jumped over a stone. It was something he would have never dared to do, had he still been his father's heir, still his father's weapon.
And yet, as he gifted an easy smile to his friend and the person who freed him, both of them decided to run the rest of the way.
Away from the gnome village, away from their shackles.
To paradise, to the border and its border control tower.
To Asmodeos and Peter.