Gabil opened his eyes. It took a moment for him to recall what had happened. When he finally did, he shot out of bed, livid.
“Are you awake, my lord?!” the lizardman serving him said.
“Yes. I apologize for alarming you. I must have fallen into his trap…”
“His trap?”
“Indeed. That impudent fool and his clever tricks…”
“…Meaning, sir?”
“Meaning that fighter who defeated me was the true leader of the village.”
“What?!”
His men began nervously conversing with one another, digesting this devastating piece of news. It explained a lot, in their minds.
“The little sneak pretended that slime was their leader to distract my attention. He played the part of some foolish peon, then struck me right when my guard was down!”
“Of all the dirty tricks, my lord!”
“And to think the direwolves, of all the monsters, are willingly cooperating with such a small-minded weasel. So much for the so-called masters of the plains! Just a bunch of mangy dogs, in the end.”
“The work of a coward, through and through! Unworthy of ever crossing blades with a warrior such as yourself, Sir Gabil!”
“Quite, yes. I offered him a chance to duel with me, fair and square, and now I see how much of an error in judgment that was!”
“Ah, I…I see, sir. Indeed, there would be no other way I could imagine you tasting defeat otherwise.”
“Bah! Curse those wretched direwolf beasts and those conniving hobgoblins! Just because they happened to be blessed with a round of evolution, my lord, they walk around like they own the world! If they think they can measure up to the lizardmen, we had all best relieve them of that idea with haste!”
Gabil gave his men an appreciative nod. It was true. He couldn’t imagine any other reason why he lost that confrontation. That, and the direwolves proved to be a sore disappointment. All that talk of their pride, their flawless teamwork, and here they were sharing their fates with a bunch of underhanded lowlifes.
“Anyone who uses such cowardly tactics against me is worthless!” he spat out, still livid.
“Perhaps it was for the better we did not side with them, then.”
“I would say so, yes!”
“Indeed, indeed…”
Gabil basked in the ego-massaging from his men. Then he let out a hearty laugh. As far as he was concerned, he wasn’t defeated at all.
“Come to think of it,” another man said, “I do find it odd, Sir Gabil, that you have remained at the rank of warrior lord for all this time.”
“What?” Gabil replied, sneering at the lizardman.
“N-no, I…I do not mean you are unworthy of the post, my lord. Quite the opposite! I just feel it a wasted opportunity of sorts, you serving that feeble old man for all this time.”
“Keep going.”
Now Gabil was on his side. The lizardman straightened his posture, relief coursing over him.
“I feel, Sir Gabil, it is about time we allow our chief to go into retirement and establish you as the new lizardman chief. Ah, if only that were already the case! Then, perhaps, we would not be so thrown by the orcs as we are now.”
The others quickly stepped up to agree.
“Exactly! Once Sir Gabil shows his true strength, that stubborn old fool will soon take the hint and step aside. It will be a new era for the lizardman people, and nothing would make me happier than seeing it come to life!”
“Very true! It is time for a new wind to blow across our homeland!”
Gabil nodded at the shouted adulation. He felt, finally, that the time was ripe.
“Ah,” he said, “so you were all thinking the same thing? I was just considering that the time had come to act myself. Will you be willing to fight alongside me, then?”
He sized up his men. They were all looking at him, eyes full of passion. He liked what he saw. They were envisioning a new epoch in lizardman history, one they would have a direct part in engineering. Soon, Gabil felt, they would be his most trusted advisers, offering the support he would need as he led his species to a new generation of bountiful glory.
“We will, sir,” one said, “if you are willing to lead us.”
That was the chance Gabil was waiting for. He nodded sagely.
“Then the new era is here,” he proclaimed. “Very well! Let us all stand together!”
The echoes of the ensuing cheers lingered for what seemed like minutes afterward.
✦ ✦ ✦
The fool had finally climbed onstage. The farce was about to begin.