Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord, or any related series or titles, this is solely a work of fanfiction written for the enjoyment of myself and others.

EORP: Evil Overlord Retirement Plan

Chapter 3

Exodus of Evil

Sayron yawned, looked around sleepily, and rubbed his eyes. A glance out the window showed the moon was high in the sky. There was a dull pain in his stomach. He yawned again. "Guess mom was right about the candy," he mumbled. A few minutes of fumbling produced the fur slippers Rose insisted he wear in the house; her excuse being that she was not going to let him, or his father, track snow through the house, and she didn't want him to freeze his toes on the cold floor.

He stumbled to the door of his room, hoping a drink of water would help his upset stomach. A dim light shone from just under the door. The dull voices of his parents could be heard. He cracked the door, and peered out into the lit room. Vessp and Rose sat at opposite ends of the table, a pot of tea between them, and the candle burning low.

"The Empire is recovering quickly from the blow you delivered them," Rose whispered. "They've already got a new fleet in the works." She let out a long, hard sigh. "If it was just you and me, I would suggest we slip right through their lines and into the empire. But that's risky, and I don't want to put Sayron in danger."

"We'll have to hid then," Vessp stated, taking a drink from his tea. He paused as if thinking. "What's Velvet been up to anyway?" He finally asked.

Rose choked on her tea. "Out of the question." She snapped. "The last I heard of her, which came from a very nasty letter, she was living with some rich sucker in the Imperial City."

"Maybe we could bribe her into smuggling us in," Vessp suggested. "She does seem to like her presents after all."

"No," Rose stated. "You don't know her like I do. You hurt her pride when you refused her, and she is never going to forget it. She would turn us in the moment she had the chance, and book a front row seat at our executions while she was at it."

Vessp growled. "There are precious few places to hide. I thought Nordberg was far enough away no outsiders would ever come. Yet here is the empire."

"What about the elves," Rose suggested. "I have heard word they were forming a resistance, and they have certainly turned back worst enemies then the Empire in the past."

"In the past," Vessp reminded her. "The Dreaming and the War with the Dwarves pushed them to the drink of extinction, and Great Cataclysm set back their recovery by almost four years. No, they are in no shape to keep the Empire at bay."

Rose glared into her tea cup. "I know what you're going to suggest, and I am not going to like it."

"From what I heard from the minions, Gnarl found what he calls the Minion Burrows, hidden in the Netherworld deep within the earth. I don't trust the little bugger any more then you. But, the Empire doesn't even have a clue such a place might even exist, let alone where they might find it. Plus, we would have a horde of minions at our call if things go wrong."

"Gnarl is going to try and turn Sayron into the next Overlord," Rose finally said. "I doubt those browns just happened by right when the Empire attacked. The scum sucker obviously sent them."

"Gnarl knows an opportunity when he sees one." Vessp confirmed. "And beside's Sayron becoming an Overlord is not that bad. At the very least, he'll have the means to defend himself; and no Overlord has ever had to beg for his meals."

"And no Overlord has yet died a natural death." Rose reminded him. "Gnarl told me about the giant weasel, among other things. You're the only one, who actually lived to retire, and you've danced out of death's embrace more times then I can remember." Her hands shook as she took a long breath. "It always happens, good falls, evil rises to power, but good rises again and defeats the evil. It's a cycle, one I had hoped we had broken out of."

The former Overlord let out a breath. "I know how you feel. But it might be the only choice we have. Nordberg is simply not safe anymore. We have to leave."

Sayron backed away from the door. "Leave Nordberg!" The though both thrilled him and scared him to death. His mind whirled with questions as he made him way back to his bed, his ache forgotten. Sleep would not come easy for him tonight.

xXx

Sayron woke with a yawn and looked bleakly around. His few possessions were packed into crates and which where scattered around the room. He climbed out of bed and began to get dressed. A week of packing and supposedly they were leaving today. He pushed open the door and wormed his way into the main hall. Crates were piled as high as the ceiling, some Sayron knew contained things like the furniture, or Rose's good tea set. Other's he didn't know. His mother said they were full of junk, his father said they contained old trophies.

"You going out today?" he heard his mother ask. He turned around and nearly jumped out of his skin. Rose wore a pair of dark lens goggles, and had a dust cloth covering her mouth. A large brass box with two bellows on top was strapped to her back, which was connected to the large hose she carried in her hands.

"Mom, what's with that?" He asked.

"This? Going to clean out the attic," Rose announced. "Your father finally moved all his magic junk out, so now I can get rid of the gnomes."

"Umm… okay… I'm going to see Kelda…"

"Have fun!" Rose called out. She flicked a few switches, the devices emitted a whirr, and the two bellows began pumping, blue lighting emitted from the hose. "Make my attic disorganized will they," she muttered. "Guess they will need a little lesson."

Sayron ignored her and headed outside. The sun was shining, fresh snow covered the ground, the air smelled like fresh ash and he could see flames darkening the horizon. He saw his father stomping up the path. "Morning dad," he said numbly. "What happened?"

"I heard Emma from down the road calling your mother a witch. So I burned her house down on the way home." He paused at the door. "What's your mother doing?"

"She said something about cleaning out the gnomes," Sayron answered.

Vessp turned right around and headed back into town. "I just remembered. Jack still owes me five gold. I better break his knees so he remembers to pay it back."

"Have a good time," Sayron muttered as he headed in the direction of the gates. He found Kelda sitting on a ledge overlooking a wolf den. "Hey Kelda," he muttered as he sat down beside her.

"Hey," she mumbled back. They both sat in silence for a minutes, mutely watching the wolves bellow dismember some unfortunate creature. "You're going today," She finally stated.

"Yeah," Sayron answered. "Dad says the Glorious Empire is too much of a pain to deal with right now."

"I hate the Empire," Kelda muttered. "It's no fair. You get to leave Nordberg, and I don't. I hate it here, it's too cold."

"Well we're supposedly moving underground," Sayron told her. "Dad told me it gets colder the deeper you get underground."

"And it doesn't snow underground either. Bummer," Kelda remarked. "You can't throw snow-balls at rabbits either."

"Dad did say when we got there he would teach me how to be an Overlord," Sayron stated. "Said I would get a horde of minions to command, and a large dark tower to myself."

"Wow," Kelda breathed. They both looked back into the valley. The wolves had caught a hunter and were currently dragging him through the snow back to the den. "Sayron, do you think you'll ever come back?"

"Probably," Sayron shrugged. "Dad says I'll likely have to face the Empire when I do."

Kelda smiled. "Yeah, you'll make them regret coming here."

xXx

Crates were stacked high in the village square. Villagers milled around, trying to not to look like they were watching, and failing miserably. Some sported black-eyes, or walked with a limp, after Vessp had convinced them of their sudden need to do all the heavy lifting for him. Some were just curious to see what would happen. There was a running bet on whether a giant gate to the Abyss would appear to welcome them back, or they would vanish in a giant burst of flames.

Vessp paced back and forth, casting dark glares at the gathered villagers, secretly begging for a reason that would let him give them a good smiting. Rose smiled lightly, looked at the pile of crates that contained Vessp's old trophies, and wondered why men insisted on taking all their old crap with them whenever they moved. Sayron sat in the snow with Kelda and One-Eye, and played "What vicious animal am I thinking of?"

"What did Gnarl say he would send to pick us up?" Rose hissed to Vessp. "It better not be a giant troll, they stink up everything they touch."

"No clue," Vessp shrugged. "He said I would know it when I saw it." Suddenly the ground jumped, tremors rocked the earth as the ground shook. Villagers ran screaming in all directions. Vessp's face began twitching oddly. "This better not be a sandworm…"

The portal burst from the frozen ground. Nearby houses were blown apart and villagers were thrown into the air. Spires opened up around the portal entrance like a giant mouth, magic crackled in the air as several browns climbed out of the portal. They ran to the luggage and hefted it towards the portal, dropping it in before going back for more.

"That's our ticket out," Vessp stated, heading for the portal. "Remember to say your goodbyes Sayron."

Sayron turned around to look at Kelda and One-Eye. "Well… Goodbye. I'll be back I guess."

"Yeah… see you," Kelda said glumly. "Come back soon."

"Buh Buy," the yeti said, and he scooped Sayron up into a large hug. Sayron was sure he heard his ribs crack. He put Sayron back on the ground and gave him a pat on the head. Sayron nodded to both of them, and ran off to join his parents on the portal.

"Alright you fuckers!" Vessp yelled as the portal closed around them. "Just remember, you haven't seen the last of us!" The spires closed up, and with an earth-shaking groan, the portal vanished back into the earth.

xXx

Sayron felt like he was falling, tumbling down at speeds beyond his imagining. Then everything slowed. He, along with his family floated down from the ceiling, amidst the giant spires of the teleporter and a rolling cloud of fire.

Minions crowded around the portal, cheering wildly in celebration.

"Master has escaped from retirement!" cheered one enthusiastic brown.

Sayron merely gazed in wonder at the giant cavern. Never had he imagined anything like this, no matter how detailed Vessp was in his stories, it paled in comparison to the real thing. Then the sea of minions parted, and Gnarl approached the group.

"Greetings Milord, it is good to have you back in safe hands. I realize the new tower is not quiet ready yet. We've had to make a few adjustments to account for the abnormalities of the netherworld."

"This place is full of rats," Rose remarked dryly, watching one of the furry pests darting out of the stone, and being clubbed to death by the minions.

"Err… yes we are currently working on that as well," Gnarl added.

"The Dark Tower looked better then this, even after the hero's trashed it," Vessp remarked.

"Yes, times without an Overlord can be tough for us minions. But, I have a feeling things will be picking up now. Evil always finds a way, after all."

AU: Whew another chapter done, soon we'll move ahead to the second part of the saga…

Thank you to all that reviewed, such things inspire me.