It was a dark morning when he finally awoke. He was on the floor of a dark stuffy cave. He could not remember anything. Nothing. Only one word floated in his mind. Jake. As gnomes are a very smart race, he discerned that this was his name. He was hungry, not to mention thirsty. He got up and rubbed his head. There was a bump, and a slash across his eye and upon his breast. As he looked about, he saw a glint amidst the gloom. He crawled over to discover a bloodied dagger, hastily thrown as if someone was running as they threw it. He found a hilt for it and strapped it about his waist. He stuck the dagger into it and rushed toward what he thought was the exit to this god-forsaken cave.

'Damn this thrice accursed hellhole,' he muttered as he walked through the darkness, 'who, or what,' he added looking at his wounds 'dumped me in this cave.' He minded that he was very deprived of food and drink, as if he hadn't had any in years. He decided to escape this cave, and escape he did.


















***

He shielded his eyes as he walked into the sunlight. He looked far off into the distance, focusing on a tower that rose up from the horizon.
'If that is a clock tower,' he muttered 'then it is '''. Ten o'clock in the morning,' Jake decided to make his way toward the clock tower, as a clock tower means town, and town means . . .food. His stomach growled at the thought of a nice meal.









***

As Jake arrived at the town, he noticed that the cobblestone streets were deserted. As he looked about, he noticed that people, tall people, nearly four times his size, were peeking out of windows between curtains. He read all the signs as he walked through the streets. As he read he came across a sign Shire-town Inn is what the sign read.
Jake walked through the door and saw a rather stout man. He had a long beard, almost down to the man's knees. The beard was black, black as the pitch left after a bonfire. His eyes were a soft light blue, and looking at them made Jake feel a sense of compassion. He was wearing two weapons at his belt, a dagger and an axe. There was a pouch at his side, and a gun on his back. He was walking about with much haste, with plates and mugs all stacked in his hand. This stack went up to twice the man's height, yet the stack neither tilted nor fell. The only disturbance was when he lifted off a plate to give it to a customer.
'Excuse me,' asked Jake. The man did not respond. As Jake was about to ask again, the stout man (whom Jake supposed to be the innkeeper, based on what he was doing) replied
'My assistant will be right with you,' replied the man. Before he even finished the sentence a short green man appeared before Jake.
'What can I do for you,' the green man asked.
'I would like some breakfast and a room, please,' replied Jake
'What do you want?' asked the man.
'I would like the softest bed you have,' requested the gnome 'and a bit of orange juice with some fried toast, and a bit of bacon, no fat,'
'Can do,' replied the short green man, who then held out his hand.
'Um,'
'Pay up,'
The gnome searched the pockets of his robe and found a slip of paper and a few coins.
'Is this enough?' asked the Jake.
'Yep,' said the little green man.






***

Jake noticed a shadow in the corner as he entered the large room. Everything was purple. The wall, the drapes, the bedspread, and even the pillows. That may be why he didn't notice her as he walked in.
'Ah. Finally, a nice comfy bed to lie down on,' he sighed as he sat on the side of the bed. He removed his robes and a small pink shard fell out of the pocket. He picked it up and admired it. It gleamed as he held it up to the light filtering through the drapes. As he admired it, he noticed a figure in the corner. No sooner than he had noticed it, the figure of a dark purple woman stepped out from the shadows. She was tall, almost 9 feet, and had long pointed ears. Her skin glowed with purple, as if she was a creature born from the night itself.
'I am a being that most call Elune,' she said, with the softest voice that Hake would ever hear. It was like she had compassion for all things, wandering organisms, predators, and even the plant life. From that point on, whenever Jake was stressed, he thought of that voice. It calmed him. She walked up to him and handed him a book. The words that came with it Jake would always remember.
'Take care of this book; it is a most precious artifact, created by the gods themselves. I will unlock your memories so that you know how to use it.' As she said the words, Jake felt as if he had finally found the key to the door in his head. His past life's memories now flowed through his head. His brother had killed his wife, and came at him out of jealousy. He had dumped his body in a cave, but he had only beaten Jake into a coma. Jake had also remembered what the shard was. It was a soul shard. These shards were used in summoning rituals, commonly use by what Jake was, a commander of the shadows, the demons, and the damned. He was a warlock. He put the shard in his pocket, and as he looked up, he saw that the shadow, Elune, had disappeared. Jake was just about to perform a dark ritual, but the green man, a goblin, burst in.
'What are you doing in here,' he asked.
'Nothing important,'
'Good,' he said. Whew Jake thought, I must be more careful. He then performed a dark ritual. The ritual of summoning. As he completed this ritual he found himself at a strange farmhouse. As he came inside, bursting with anger, he walked through the hall. His wife stared at him in disbelief. He walked out to the back, where his brother was branding cattle.
'Hello, James,' Jake said
'I've been waiting,' James said with a sneer.
At that moment, a dark bolt flew from Jakes fingers. This was a shadow bolt, a warlock's main weapon. James shot the same kind of bolt at Jake. They fought for an hour, shooting shadow bolts. Then James did something. He summoned an Imp. That ghastly creature had bright yellow eyes, dark grey skin, and was very short, even to a gnome. He shot fire from his hands, which hit Jake in the arm. Damn, thought Jake, I must do something better. At that moment, Jake got an idea.
'You must've gotten worse since our last fight James,'
'YOU SHALL NOT INSULT MY DARK SKILL,' James screamed. James was so angry that he charged at Jake. This was all to buy Jake time to perform an evil ritual, thought evil not just by the public, but even by the warlocks. Jake summoned a dark monster, a Doomwalker. This demon was made of huge boulders, hung together by a green fire. This ritual took time to summon. That is why Jake got James to charge him. Jake finished the ritual just as James got to him. This behemoth of a demon merely stepped on James, and killed him. Jake sent the Doomwalker back to the nether, and he was home again.
Jakes wife rushed to him, and kissed him. Jake was now happy again. He discovered from his wife that he had been in a coma for three years. Jake had gotten his wish, he had his wife back, had taken revenge on his good-for-nothing brother. He was finally happy.