Zalrodal looked at the demon he had summoned just moments before. He had imagined something bigger, something grander. Who would be afraid of a ferret on the battlefield? At least it was a well-dressed ferret, you couldn’t put that past him. Regardless of his desire for greater demons, he had run out of Visapis to summon the creature and it would be a waste to dismiss it now.

“Who did you say you were again?”

“I am Migaal the demon of presence,” the ferret bowed, “how can I be of service?”

Demons were usually divided into specialisations, the main ones, of course, referring to wrath, greed, gluttony, and the others but there were enough things to make demons out of. One of these specialisations was Migaal’s presence, the ability to be noticed, to be imposing to have presence wherever one went. With a lack of presence, one was nothing, one could at most dream to become a speck of dust on the wall and even that had some degree of presence as people whipped it away.

“What can you do then? I haven’t heard of a demon of presence, you can’t be very important?”

“You have probably heard about my cousins much more famous than I, that is true. But without me, none of them would be noticed. I am that which makes you stand out, that which others take notice of. With me by your side there won’t be any mistake that your Darknificence is the one in charge,” the ferret gave another deep bow taking some steps back.

“What will you do then, will people magically respect me for having you around. I am not quite sure what will make you useful.”

“May I give a demonstration of my abilities,” Zalrodal nodded, “I have been recently summoned so do not expect too much of me, but I have enough power to make some improvement,” Migaal waved his little paw in front of himself in a small circle pointed at the Dark Lord.

A magical fog surrounded Zalrodal moving up from his old shoes up to his head. As the fog advanced his old clothing disappeared exchanged for new attire. Old worn-out shoes, replaced by a set of black boots adding extra height to his already tall build. Brown pants replaced by new dark pants. The white cotton tunic transformed into a vest and a jacket lined with buttons on the right side of his body. Scraggly beard and unkempt hair suddenly styled to perfection. All the dirt of the road gone as the fog moved through him.

Migaal looked him up and down and gave a satisfied smile, “One of my finer works I’d say, there was an unprecedented amount of challenge involved, but a satisfying result nonetheless,” he gave another wave of his little paws and a large mirror appeared in front of Zalrodal. He looked at his reflection and down at his body, he didn’t feel like some poor bandit leader barely scraping by. Instead, he felt like a true ruler, at least he looked the part.

“Perhaps you aren’t as useless as I’d had taken you for.”

“It is good to see that my new master isn’t a complete fool?”

“So you are saying that I am somewhat of a fool?”

“Did you see what you were wearing?” the ferret said crossing its paws, “and that axe, are you a lumberjack or a Dark Lord? Make up your mind will you.”

“It was the best I could find!”

“Then fight barehanded, nobody will follow you for being a random peasant with an axe, but they will follow a dark lord. Do us a favour and drop that silly thing.”

Zalrodal looked at the ferret, Migaal returned the look and they stared at each other for what seemed like ages. Finally, Zalrodal dropped the axe, releasing a cloud of dust as it hit the floor.

“That’s better, come then, we must leave this place. It is too dirty for my liking,” Migaal said and waited at the entrance of the room. As Zalrodal passed through the door frame the ferret scampered up his body and perched itself on his shoulder. “Straighten your back, you are not some goblin,” Migaal commanded, “that’s better, now large steps, with purpose. But not too large, we don’t want to seem like we are in a hurry. That is much better.”

“You are starting to get on my nerves.”

“I will step on as many nerves as required for you to show proper presence. Unless you wish to dismiss me of my services,” Migaal spoke in a reprimanding tone, “Shall we continue, a Dark Lord shouldn’t stand around in dark corridors looking at nothing. Always do something, and when you are not, you must appear as if you are. A Dark Lord is a busy entity, your time must not be taken for granted.” The ferret continued his lecture.

“I think I know how to act like a Dark Lord, you don’t have to tell me these things.”

“My Darknificence, you do not think. You know, if you wish to say something say it and say it with conviction or don’t say it all. Sometimes silence is the best answer.”

“Silence!”

“As you wish,” the ferret gave a small bow of its tiny head, Migaal smiled to himself and remained silent as they continued their trip through the now cleared dungeon. Zalrodal’s dark figure moved through the empty halls till he returned to the throne room. Zalrodal went to sit down on the throne and continued thinking about what he should do next. It would take some time to fix up the castle and the dungeon, he had time to investigate the creatures observing his goblins and possible to commit to another raid on a village. Not only did he require treasure but also tools and weapons to equip his goblins. Most importantly they needed food for the winter, for an army could not run on an empty stomach and Zalrodal needed to attain an army if he wanted to do more than raid small villages.

As he pondered his next move the ferret scurried of his shoulders. He moved swiftly across the room and as he approached the old fire pits within the throne room he placed his hand inside and they were filled with new wood and coal. Migaal opened his mouth and out came a burst of fire, lighting the pits and illuminating the room. The shadows of great pillars now lined the way to the throne. As Migaal moved back towards Zalrodal he waved his hands around him and the tattered banners unfurled in a new state, a captivating black with the symbol of a white crown decorated by spikes and a great axe passing through it. “Now you must only ask for your servants to pass a broom around this place and I’d say it could be livable.”

“Did you not mention that you hadn’t the magical energy to amount to much at the moment?”

“What I have done is but a simple spell, your Darknifficence. To create small objects and frivolities is not a challenge for a higher demon. I simply refuse to do some things, it is below my station just as it was below your station to be dressed in peasants clothing.” Migaal said as a matter of fact, “I do however think that a nice warm fire is beneficial to not only the aesthetic of the throne room but also to my warmth. The added vision of course made the horrendous banners more obvious so that had to be changed as well. We must not look as if we live in a cave.”

Zalrodal and Migaal continued discussing the finer points of being a Dark Lord. Zalrodal sitting on his throne looking forward at his new throne room while Migaal was pacing in front of him as if giving a lecture. After they had spent a considerable amount of time in the dungeon, the talking stopped as they heard footsteps coming towards them. They weren’t coming from inside the dungeon but from the entrance. They were tiny steps barely unrecognisable unless someone had spent a considerable amount of time around goblins. There were worse things to be around but goblins truly shouldn’t be one's aim.

Shortly after a large shadow covered the hallway, as the torches illuminated the goblin from behind. It would have been a frightening sight if not for the knowledge of what the creature behind the shadow was. Guglak emerged from the tunnel, he looked around the throne room, his head spinning as he walked towards its centre. He had expected a dirty disgusting place but it seemed in good condition. Fires and new banners lined the walls. It was still very dirty but Guglak did not care. To be precise he wouldn’t have noticed. Guglak stopped in his tracks as he noticed Zalrodal and the ferret on his shoulders.

“Master, this place is wonderful,” Guglak said and bowed, “Who is the ferretz, can we eat it?” he eyed the ferret with desire, “our hunterz not great at, “Guglak seemed to think for a moment, “hunting! Yez not great”

“Welcome to my new throne room. It is good you came Guglak I will need you to send for some of the goblins to clean this place up,” Zalrodal said ignoring the comment about eating Migaal till he received a sour look, “and no, you may not eat, the ferret. In fact, he is a demon of, quite considerable talent.”

Guglak eyed the Migaal with distrust, “Very well Master. We have new sightings of the mountain creatures. Scouts say more are watching. Creatures the size of goblin and covered in fur. Should we attack?”

“We will attack soon enough, but for now you should worry about repairing the castle and getting the dungeon ready for operations. I shall take care of these furry observers.”