Leo was a whirlwind of frustrated energy, pacing the length of the small, hastily erected war-room tent. He stabbed a finger at the crude map of the Goblin territories laid out on the table, the parchment creased from repeated analysis. "Think about it, Ryu! The elder confirmed it, and it all locks into place. Princess Guilia isn't just observing; she's manipulating King Drakheart's pride. She pressured him to make the Green Goblin Valley an independent territory. Why? So when the Purple Goblins inevitably launch a full-scale attack—and they will—the King won't lift a finger to help a sovereign nation! The Green Goblins will collapse, and her control over the entire region becomes absolute without a single royal troop being dispatched."
Leo finally stopped, running a hand through his hair, his brow furrowed with the political gravity of his discovery. But Ryu was staring past him, his eyes distant, fixed on a world only he could see.
He must be running complex contingency strategies, calculating how to counter Guilia's intricate scheme, Leo thought, impressed by his friend's apparent depth of focus.
Ryu's Mind: A Dream of Silver Hair
The soft, romantic music of a grand palace ballroom swelled in his ears. He was gliding across a polished floor, locked in a slow, intimate waltz with Princess Guilia. Her long, flowing silver hair, shimmering like moonlight, brushed gently against his cheek. They stopped, and she offered him a perfect, cream-laden piece of cake, holding it delicately to his lips.
*"Ryu,"* she whispered, her voice a siren song of honeyed temptation, "Open your mouth for me, my love."
Ryu instinctively obeyed, his mind completely surrendered to the fantasy, but the vision was instantly shattered.
"Ryu! Open your mouth and say something, dammit!" Leo's sharp voice cut through the magic. He was waving his hand frantically inches from Ryu's nose. "What are we going to do? Should we even involve ourselves in this nasty political game? We haven't even solved the bigger mystery—who attacked you on your wedding night? All I've found is vague resentment; apparently, many of these Goblin clans still deeply hate the royal family, which explains the occasional border skirmishes, but the real attacker is still a ghost!"
Ryu blinked, shaking off the sweet, intoxicating image of the princess. Before he could decide whether to formulate a cunning lie about deep strategic thought or a simple diplomatic answer, their debate was interrupted. A frantic, dust-caked Green Goblin soldier stumbled into the tent, breathless and shaking.
"Please, Great Hero! You must help us! You are the strongest here! Our leader, Gargi, has been captured by Zatana and her vile Purple Goblins!"
Ryu's thoughts instantly turned tactical, weighing the political risk against the moral necessity. Saving Gargi meant officially intruding into the inter-clan war—a move that could plunge him into the political deep end. If he went deeper, the consequences would be severe, potentially pitting him against his own older step-sister, Guilia.
He pushed past Leo and walked out of the tent, needing real air. His eyes fell on a newly erected, makeshift stone statue standing in the center of the camp, a tribute to the captured chieftain.
Ryu stared at the statue of Gargi, his gaze fixed upward at the carved details. Her chest... is absolutely glorious in stone, he mused, a slow, appreciative grin spreading across his face. The political quandaries faded; the choice was suddenly clear.
He returned to the tent, his face set in an expression of noble, resolute duty. "Leo," Ryu declared, his voice strong and unwavering. "We should save Gargi. For the sake of honor, justice, and all of humanity."
Leo just lowered his head and rubbed his temples. He had learned long ago that his friend's "humanity" was often dictated by his own extremely shallow, perverted instincts.
The Search and the Border Breach
After a few hours of rapid preparation, securing supplies and exchanging their large war-horses for two smaller, more agile trail ponies, Ryu and Leo began their journey. They spent the remainder of the daylight hours interrogating every Green Goblin soldier who had witnessed Gargi's capture, piecing together a crude map based on the witnesses' panic-driven descriptions. The intelligence pointed relentlessly towards the hostile border.
They traveled hard, pushing through the cool night. They crossed swift, icy rivers, scrambled up the loose gravel of rocky mountains, and navigated treacherous, root-choked terrains until the first gray light of dawn found them at the harsh, intimidating boundary of the Noisiop Territory—the domain of the Purple Goblins. The fence along the demarcation line was high, reinforced, and manned by patrols, making entry seem utterly impossible.
Leo dismounted immediately. He didn't check the gates; he checked the perimeter. He moved like a hunter, inspecting the shadows and the foliage until he found it: a recently dug, poorly concealed spot near the base of a large juniper bush. It was a crude tunnel, clearly created by the Purple Goblins to move their own scouts and small forces easily between the valleys.
"Found it," Leo whispered, his voice tight with focus. "They're arrogant enough to use their own path."
They abandoned the ponies, securing them to a hidden cluster of trees, and slipped through the breached fence, taking their first stealthy steps onto Noisiop soil.
Almost instantly, the shadows sprang to life. A group of heavily armed Purple Goblin scouts materialized from the dense tree line and attacked with vicious speed. Ryu and Leo, hardened by years of skirmishes and training, met the assault with ruthless efficiency, their weapons moving in fluid, powerful arcs, dealing with the troops effortlessly.
The fight was over almost before it began, but as the last scout fell, a sudden, blinding ribbon of malevolent purple flame lashed out from the deep thicket, hissing through the air straight for Ryu's exposed flank.
"Ryu! Dodge! Now!" Leo screamed, his eyes wide in absolute terror. "It's more than fire! It's poison flame! The flame will not only burn your skin to the bone, but the wound will immediately be infected by a paralyzing toxin!"
Ryu reacted on instinct, twisting his body with the speed of a striking viper, the purple fire searing the very air millimeters from his tunic. The heat was suffocating, and the smell was acrid, toxic smoke.
The Fourth Castle: A Desperate Discovery
Miles away, within the vast, silent, and forgotten library of the Fourth Castle, Flare sat hunched over ancient, dusty tomes. Her research into various magical elements had led her to a forbidden section, and her fingers traced a grotesque illustration of a dark, wicked fire. Her eyes frantically scanned the text. She read the entry in growing horror: the Purple Flame was not only a rare and catastrophic power, but it was held exclusively by creatures of immense malice—the Purple Dragons.
Back to Ryu: The Terror
Ryu's heart hammered against his ribs. The remaining Purple Goblins scattered into the darkness, fleeing from the source of the terrible flame. Ryu and Leo, stunned and defensive, stared past the spot where the fire originated, straining their eyes into the dense gloom of the ancient forest.
A low, subterranean sound rumbled through the earth, a vibration that shook their teeth. The shadows themselves seemed to solidify and coalesce, taking on a monstrous shape.
And then, it stepped forward.
Standing before them, framed by the noxious smoke of the purple fire, was a creature of immense and terrifying power. It was a gigantic Purple Dragon with dark, impenetrable, obsidian scales that shrugged off the limited light. Its eyes glowed with cold, devilish intent. It opened its massive maw, and the air crackled with raw, unstable magic.
To Be Continued