The Horned King placed the Black Cauldron in the center of a circular balcony overlooking the castle gates right next to the crank used to open and close the gates. The balcony's location kept the cauldron away from the commotion of the rest of the castle but with a view of the gates so that the Horned King could keep an eye on anyone who was coming or going in the Forbidden Mountains.
From off in the distance, the Horned King could see Hades flying up on his chariot. Because of the precautionary enchantments that Maleficent had placed upon the castle, no one could teleport in or out of the Forbidden Mountains, and, as such, Hades had to fly up using his chariot. Hades arrived at the iron gates and called for someone to let him inside.
A fat, alligator like one of Maleficent's Goons hobbled over to the crank to let Hades in. The Horned King quickly leaped down from his balcony and landed directly behind the goon. The goon turned around in time to see the Horned King's glowing red eyes and the king's clawed hand knock him down to the ground below where he dissolved in a flurry of green flames.
"Now then," the Horned King said to himself as he turned around to walk back up to the cauldron, "I can get back to work peacefully."
"What are you doing?" asked a voice from behind him.
As the Horned King turned around, he found himself face to face with Queen Grimhilde.
"Your majesty," the Horned King said with a bow, "What are you doing out here? It's cold. You should be inside."
"Maleficent was feeling a bit tired and asked me to make sure that her guards were doing their duties," Grimhilde explained, "And, apparently, it's a good thing that I decided to check in on the gatekeeper first."
"Your majesty, I can explain," the Horned King said as Grimhilde walked past him and opened the iron gates, "You see, it was nothing more than a little joke on Hades. You're new around here and I fear that you don't understand our groups dynamics."
The gates opened and Hades flew his chariot in past the King and Queen.
"Maybe not," said Grimhilde as she turned back around to face the Horned King, "But I do know this: this operation is one of the most complex and risky military operations ever crafted and your childish behavior is jeopardizing it."
With that, the Queen whirled around and left the king standing furiously on the balcony.
Maleficent sat at her vanity wearing only a black nightgown as she combed her short black hair that she normally kept tucked inside her horned headdress.
"Knock. Knock," Hades said as he entered the room.
"Ah, Hades, so good to see you!" Maleficent proclaimed, "It's been almost a week."
"I know," Hades stated, "This whole army recruitment booga-booga has been almost as time consuming as the Odyssey."
"There's a bit of hyperbole in there, Hades," Maleficent said with a light laugh.
Hades shrugged, "Eh, maybe a bit."
"So how did the meeting with the Banshees go?" Maleficent inquired.
"Those ladies will be here within the week," Hades proudly reported.
"Excellent," Maleficent stated, "Now, I'd like to discuss military strategy with you, but I'd rather we do so in the morning as it is getting rather late and I'd like to turned in to bed early this evening."
"Of course," Hades said, "By all means. Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite."
Hades then proceeded to exited Maleficent's chambers.
Far away from the Forbidden Mountains in a castle somewhere in northern France, nine old sorceresses where sitting around a round table, sipping tea and watching the events transpire. In attendance at this meeting were three trios of witches: the Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), the Witches of Morva (Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch), and the Weird Sisters (Anstice, Euna, and Murdina).
"Ooh, this is all playing out to be quite interesting," Clotho said.
"Hmph, the only thing I find interesting about this story is the fact that I haven't been served dinner yet in it," Orgoch proclaimed.
"Hush, Orgoch," Orddu stated.
"But it is rather intriguing..." Anstice piped in.
"How large..." Euna added.
"This army is becoming!" Murdina finished.
"Do you three girls always have to finish each others sentences?" Lachesis complained.
"Do you three Fates..." Euna began.
"Always have to fight over..." Murdina added.
"One eye?" Anstice finished.
Lachesis was about to reply but Orwen chimed in first.
"Can we please not squabble like a bunch of birds?" Orwen requested, "We're here to talk about them, not ourselves."
"True," Atropos agreed, "I foresee internal conflict emerging within this unholy alliance."
"Indeed so," Orddu nodded in agreement, "And you can sure as well bet that someone is going to end up with an infernal retribution for all of this. The only question is: Who?"
"Ooh! Ooh! We know!" Clotho called out, "We know everything!"
"Let's not..." Murdina started.
"Spoil the secret..." Anstice continued.
"For everyone," Euna finished.
"Come now," Orwen stated, "Let's get back to the story."
This witches turned their attention back to the image glowing on the table in front of them.