Vainqueur Knightsbane, greatest of all dragon adventurers, checked his travel bag, in case he had forgotten anything.

The map, to find his targets.

Three sheeps, for breakfast.

Enough coins to build a makeshift bed, on which he could sleep.

There would be enough space within to gather treasures he collected, alongside princesses, if he caught one on his journey. From his spot near the Devil District, the dragon glanced at his beautiful city, which his minions were busy restoring after the damage the fairy caused; it irked him to leave it and his hoard behind, even for a few days.

The thought of that cursed Icefang getting the lead on him infuriated him more, however. What if that silver lover caught the Blue Rose Legion before Vainqueur did? He wouldn’t stand another humiliation, especially not after the fairy fiasco.

But he would leave tomorrow. Tonight, he would be busy commanding his elite minions for a sensitive operation, the most important since the War of the Hoard. He observed the small crowd gathered in front of him, each aware that their life would be forfeited should they fail Vainqueur today.

“Scrap golem?” Vainqueur began to check his lackeys.

“The feast is ready,” Rolo the golem nodded, having put on a white chef hat. “I have brought out my most precious vegetable and wine from storage, Savoureuse supplied us with the best cheese this side of Outremonde, and I can finally cook that Black Rabbit.”

“I spared no expense,” Savoureuse boasted. “My adorable Victor needs to settle down with the right, caring girl.”

“I still think we should have gone with a vegetarian dinner, or at least stick to fish,” Allison the dryad said, who had assisted the chef with the presentation.

“You cannot have dinner without meat,” Vainqueur replied, incensed by the woman’s lack of culture. “Even if my minion is obsessed with that apple vegetable, his dragon half will demand raw sheep meat. Where is Chocolatine?”

“Already inside,” Allison replied. “Malfy is coaching her on the proper script.”

Vainqueur suddenly realized he should have done the same with his chief of staff. Too late.

As a reward for reimbursing his debt to his dragon master, and dealing with that damn fairy, Vainqueur had decided to personally make sure the minion’s mating ritual would go well. Manling Victor had proven helpless at reproducing on his own, but the dragon had been an excellent goblin breeder in his youth. He knew how a minion’s mind worked.

Sometimes, it hadn't worked out so well, resulting in minion wars and Vainqueur's policy against minion harassment. However, Manling Victor had proven himself the best minion he ever had. The dragon knew his friend would be responsible; and if helping him breed with Chocolatine was the only way his lackey to pass on his genes, then so be it.

“Kobold Rangers, are you all ready?” the dragon asked his favorite servants; even though they no longer counted as Kobolds, the name stuck.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Red Ranger nodded, a banjo in his hands; each of the five carrying a different musical instrument. “Pink made us practice the songs.”

“She wasn’t very enthusiastic about it though,” Yellow said.

“Because… because…” Pink seemed to hesitate with the plan, much to Vainqueur’s confusion. “Because Lord Victor belongs with the Emperor!”

“Of course he does, he is my chief of staff,” Vainqueur replied, confused by the ambient embarrassment among the Rangers.

“Don’t listen to her, Your Majesty,” Ranger Black said, putting his foot on Pink’s. “She didn’t mean it that way!”

“I can’t silence the truth…” Pink struggled to find her words. “I… I even… I even wrote a book about it!”

She brought out a scroll, too fast for the other Rangers to steal from her hands. “Pink, you lied to us!” Red glared at her. “You said you would burn it!”

“I couldn’t! His Majesty must know!”

“I must know what?” Vainqueur wondered angrily. “Are you hiding things from me, minions?”

“Your Majesty, please do not read this!” Red panicked, as everyone looked at the scene in confusion. “This is… this is a cursed work, that should never have been committed to paper…”

“Minion Red, I am Emperor of all I see. I can handle any hard truth of my territories. Pink, tell me of this book, but be short. My minion will arrive soon.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Pink Ranger opened the scroll, while the other rangers recoiled. “My Immortal Dragon, Chapter One: The Minion’s Wish.”

From the first sentence on, Vainqueur started to feel odd. The world began to chill like the frozen heart of winter, and he sensed a sinister force crawling on his back with every paragraph detailing Manling Victor’s forbidden love for his master. The other minions shivered in dread, perhaps none more than Allison the dryad.

Charisma check successful! [Terror] and [Madness] negated!