Disclaimer: I don't own Overlord or Dungeons & Dragons
The Greater Apotheosis of Ainz Ooal Gown
Book : Dusk War
Chapter 5: Epilogue
Beta:
It was about a month after the end of the Voidharrow Incursions and the party was gathered in a private booth in a tavern in Waterdeep after a day of gathering supplies for the trip to their newest destination.
"So did we get everything we need?" Drau asked as everyone finished settling into their seats.
"We're fully stocked up on all the food, water and beer we'll need." Kuro who gone out as a human so as not to raise undue attention said.
"Beer?" Neia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Kuro insisted." Yorha said with a shrug while she absently ran a hand down Grimfal's spine as he dozed whilst coiled up on her shoulders like a shawl. "Said we'd need it if we ever wanted to celebrate something."
"It's only a few skins." Kuro said with a smile. "Besides, I'm sure we'd want some variety in our drinks once in a while."
The others exchanged looks before everyone just shrugged.
"I guess it's not a problem. Gaul, you got us the potions we needed?"
"Had to pay through the nose for some of it and had to Gate to Felmid to buy a few others, but I managed." The armored Wizard said with a nod.
I hope he didn't overspend that much. Drau thought. Money wasn't exactly tight but overspending on anything was offensive to her Dragonic sensibilities.
"I kept to the budget though, Drau, so don't worry about it." Gaul reassured her, having picked up on her apprehension.
"Speaking of our budget," Taana said cutting in with a smile. "I got us some good deals when exchanging our money for some trade goods. Especially on the gold and gems. Dunno if it'll make up for the increased prices on the potions but it should help at least."
"Did you manage to deliver our mail too?"
"Yup," Taana answered Neia's question. "It was the first thing I did this morning. All our friends back in Skelkor will be fully informed of our plans to visit Sigil and that we might be out of touch for a while until we find a reliable way to communicate from the City of Doors."
"First thing in the morning?" Kuro asked with a teasing smirk. "Did that rush have anything to do with the long letter you wrote Arche?"
"You mean the love letter?" Yorha added, jumping in on the tease.
"It wasn't a love letter." Taana insisted with a pout. "Arche and I are just friends! Friends dammit! We both like men!"
"Yet you've never even had a boyfriend." Neia teased.
"Neither have you!" Taana retorted.
"I'm a Saint." Neia reminded her with a grin. "I'm supposed to be celibate."
"I know that's not a tenet in our dogma!"
"Is it?" Neia said, looking confused. "But I'm also our Founder ain't I? And Pope too? Doesn't that mean I can make it so it is?"
Taana just threw her hands up in exasperation and everyone laughed at her expense.
"So Taana's love letter aside," Gaul said, ignoring the Shadar-kai's exasperated huff. "Drau, since we've heard from everyone else. What about your end? Got us anything useful about Sigil?"
"I've managed to gather some useful stuff on the various factions operating out of the city but nothing pressing." Drau said with a shrug. "Mostly all I got were reassurances that all the prep we're going is overboard. Apparently so long as we don't go there looking for or expecting trouble we'll be fine. Sigil is a city with all the accompanying services so we should be good for food, lodging and what not. Plus since it has constant access to Toril our money will likely be good as well, though I heard the exchange rate for the local coin can be a little steep."
"Well better overprepared now than sorry that we underprepared later." Neia argued. "To that end, I've informed the relevant contacts that we'll be gone for a while so won't be around to take up their usual exploration and extermination contracts. Also managed to pass along a message to the Lords of Waterdeep that we would be moving on. Amusingly, when I told the Lords' contact that, the man actually slumped in relief."
This earned a round of chuckles from everyone.
"Not surprised there." Taana said with a grin. "We have caused the Lords a lot of headaches since we got here."
She's not wrong there. Drau concluded. We might have been busy fighting the Voidharrows out in the surrounding countryside lately and stayed mostly out of the Lords' hair but before that we'd caused them no amount of problems with our enthusiastic destruction of the city's admittedly relatively small criminal underworld.
Speaking of the Voidharrow…
"Guys, so while I was getting that intel on Sigil I also asked around if there were any more Voidharrow around. To cover our bases, you know?"
Everyone nodded in understanding. They all knew the value of checking to make sure an enemy was truly gone before moving on. Having to deal with Bert Saxer popping up every so often hellbent on killing them had taught them that lesson.
"So word has it that with the Bone Father killing Tharizdun, the Voidharrow lost its anchor to the world and either faded away or got mopped up by the powers of Realmspace."
"Why do I think the mopping up likely wasn't as through as we'd like?" Gauldoth noted with a resigned sigh.
He was a nihilistic bastard most times but even he hated having to fight the same foe over and over again, though as he once famously put it that was mostly because 'they always come back better equipped with knowledge and tools to kill us with.'
Which he isn't wrong about.
"Because some of the Realm's powers are assholes and will keep some of the Voidharrow around to use against their enemies?" Neia offered.
"I'd say that's them being reckless rather than being contemptible." Yorha countered. "Though I suppose the end result is the same."
"Yeah, you would think that after the utter devastation left in the wake of the invasion, with large chunks of the Elemental Chaos, the Astral Sea, and Realmspace simply ceasing to exist along with Voidharrow after Tharizdun's demise, they'd learn their lesson." Kuro noted.
"We shouldn't worry so much," Taana reassured everyone. "If the Voidharrow rears its ugly head, I'm sure Lord Ainz will be ready for it."
This was met with general agreement from everyone.
"Okay, looks like we're all ready for tomorrow." Drau declared. "So let's call it a night for now. We want to be well rested for the trip."
This was met with a round of affirmatives and soon the party was dispersing to their rooms for the night. Drau brought up the rear to make sure everyone obeyed. What they did do in their rooms wasn't her business of course, but well a leader could only do so much.
Let's just hope that if Yorha and Kuro decided to go at it tonight they keep it down. Drau decided as she made it into her room next to the couple's. These walls are thin and I'd like a good night's sleep, thank you very much.
They next day, and after a rather exhausting night of babysitting Grimfal and very little sleep thanks to his very enthusiastic parents, Drau stood just behind Yorha as the party formed up in front of the naturally occuring portal to Sigil that had been recently discovered while a tunnel was dug between Undercliff and the rest of Waterdeep.
"Everyone ready?" She asked one last time.
A series of affirmatives reached her ears and she smiled and turned to Yorha and a human form Kuro at the head of their formation.
"Guys, lead the way."
"Gladly," Yorha said with a smile as she and her lover stepped through the portal, her son riding on her shoulders as always.
Drau followed a moment later with Neia, Taana and Gaul bringing up the rear.
The other side of the portal was a narrow cobblestoned street flanked on either side by tightly packed houses with the strange sight of more city in place of a sky. That odd sight paled in comparison however to the being in the shape of a Human woman ensconced in sparkling blades, the infamous Lady of Pain herself standing next to the portal.
"Welcome," the ruler of Sigil greeted in a surprisingly pleasant voice. "Chosen of Ainz Ooal Gown to my city."
"Thank you for the gracious welcome, my Lady." Drau said diplomatically ignoring the shocked looks the natives were shooting her and her family or the worried ones her party wore. "To what do we owe the honor of such a welcome?"
"You are my Brother's Chosen," the Lady of Pain said with a shrug. "Welcoming you is the least I can do."
Brother? Father is her brother? This is the first I heard of this.
"Though if you would be so kind, might you do your Aunt a favor?" The Lady said with a smile.
"It would be my pleasure," Drau said with a hesitant smile.
If the Lady of Pain saw her unease, she chose to ignore it and continued in the same sweet welcoming voice she'd maintained thus far.
"Please do invite your Father to visit me." The Lady of Pain said with an almost shy smile. "I would very much like to know my newest Brother."
Drau was thoroughly confused by what the enigmatic being before her meant so she simply nodded.
"I'll contact him right away."
"Oh, there's no rush. Do it on your own time. In the meantime, please enjoy your time here in Sigil and if you need anything I am but a thought away."
With that the Lady of Pain disappeared, leaving Drau and her party to look at each other in confusion.
A day after receiving an invitation supposedly from the Lady of Pain herself via a confused Drau, Ainz stepped through a portal to the City of Doors. As he stepped out into the plaza on the other side however, he could only blink in shock at seeing not only his hostess but also Lord Ao. That and a massive crowd of confused and awed onlookers which included Ainz's own Chosen.
"Welcome, Brother." The Lady of Pain said with a welcoming bow before she nudged Lord Ao.
The Overgod rolled his eyes but nevertheless stepped forward. "Welcome to the rank of Overgod, Ainz."
Lord Ao's statement caused gasps and other demonstrations of shock to escape from the crowd. Ainz almost joined them but thankfully his undead emotional limiter and an odd sense of the rightness of those words dispelled his shock.
Instead, he just sighed as he finally realized what the power he gained when he defeated Tharizdun meant.
"Must you be so dramatic Ao?" Ainz asked. "Couldn't we have done this by you simply visiting me in Nazarick?"
"Then I couldn't offer you my congratulations, Brother." The Lady of Pain chimed in. "I can't leave Sigil."
"That and I wanted to return the favour." Ao said with a smirk. "When I attained the rank Yog Sothoth threw the grandest feast in a thousand multiverses to celebrate the occasion. Compared to that this is tame."
"He's right you know." The Lady of Pain agreed. "When it was my turn, Azathoth herself threw a celebration in my honor."
Ainz didn't know who those two other Overgods were beyond some dim recollections about some horror writer from the early twentieth century but the way Ao and the Lady of Pain was talking about them was already giving him a headache.
Dealing with them will be a pain. This whole thing is going to a pain, isn't it?
Clearly having read his thoughts, the two other Overgods just smirked at him and all Ainz Ooal Gown could do was groan.
Done!
Hope you guys liked the story.
In hindsight, I'm too sure I really liked how this story turned out. It just sounded so much better in my head than it is now. That said, I'm not completely unhappy with it. I very much enjoyed writing most of it. It's just that I think it could be better. Mayhaps if it was in the hands of a better writer? Shrug.
Well, that's it from me. Till my next project ha det!
