Last night on Daevenfell

Last night on Daevenfell was the 50th and final session of the Daevenfell campaign.

## Summary

Edith and the Morass materialize on the battlefield. Everything is strangely quiet. The Resistance have beaten the Drow, but the losses are painful. The old members of the Village Council are reunited with Wolfram, yet Narrow lies dead on the ground. Pilgrim refuses to hear that his brother was a good man.

The reunion/mourning period is interrupted as the Baron (now glowing with Water of Life energy) attempts to escape. Edith, however, can see through his cloud of darkness, and stops him with magic. He is tied up and stripped of his gear. Wolfram gets Edith's blessing to execute him, but he hesistates to attack a defenseless prisoner. As Teft and Lhoris offer to do it for him, the ground rumbles.

The horizon is torn open, and Gyevroo's grinning face appears on the other side. A black tidal wave announces the coming of the demon horde from the north. Everyone runs, and in the confusion, the Baron is left to escape his bonds.

All the survivors stream through the doors of the main tower, and Lhoris, holding his flaming sword, is first to jump down the chasm into the corpse mountain, now crawling with thawing demons. He is soon joined by Teft, and they begin to slay foes left and right. Their bravery enables the rest of the survivors to dare the jump themselves, heading for the portal.

Outside, Minnow cheerfully runs to greet the demons, only to be consumed by them. The Baron steals the clothing off one of the corpses, disguising himself as an old lady. He is picked up by Rolf-Kårfu, who promises "her" everything will be okay. The back troop barely has time to see the first of the Coterie appear on the horizon – Leonhardt Danci – before Omako barricades the door behind them with a magical stone wall.

Listening to the chaos from the staircase above, Quintillion tries to get an almost catatonic Ycaron to join the others in escape. He manages to feed the king a potion of heroism, and the paladin's eyes once again glow with determination. He decides they will join the battle, to go out in a blaze of glory – a last dance with Satia. They both jump the chasm, and fight side by side with Wolfram and Edith, as Teft and Lhoris go on ahead. As the survivors reach the blocked passage from earlier, Teft summons all his strength and blasts a way through with a disintegration ray. Once through they encounter the massive demon sighted earlier. They do battle, but surprisingly, the demon flees - squealing in common.

More demons are constantly crawling up from the abyss below, and Edith, Wolfram and the rest hack down a few more before joining Teft and Lhoris toward the portal. Ycaron, however, insists on staying. He's here to die like a man, not to escape. But the demons do not attack. They adress him as King, and kneel before him, asking for his commands. Gyevroo's offer stands.

Quintillion has Omako (still holding the wall in place) toss down some reagents, and casts Truesight on Ycaron. The demons reveal themselves as high elves.

This is when Leonhardt Danci teleports past Omako's wall, and tells him to run. Shocked at the demon's apparent benevolence, Omako listens, and they both jump down the chasm toward the portal, as Ycaron stands there deciding what to do. Right behind them, the demon horde from outside breaks through Omako's wall and come pouring through the doorway.

Down in the portal room, the survivors shut the stone doors, and the bow group aim their bows, shooting ropes to strengthen the makeshift bridge across the water. Edith tries to interpret the symbols on the bronze disc behind the portal, but can't make out much apart from them being numbers. Wolfram, however, a seasoned runesmith, recognizes a hidden thirteenth number. He channels his bond with the door (through the cipher) to twist the disc to 13, and the door starts glowing. But it's covered in ice, and the necrotic water around it seems to hold it closed.

Edith has an idea. She grabbed the baron's bottomless Water of Life chalice while stripping him of gear earlier, and she starts pouring the contents into the lake. The baron screams in Rolf-Kårfu's arms, his hand starting to turn to dust. Revealing himself, he desperately heads for the Water of Life, throwing himself beneath the steaming goblet, falling into the necrotic sea. He is consumed by it. The chalice runs out. The runes behind the door begin to glow. It's opening. But it needs to go all the way from 1 to 13 to reach what appears to be the furthest, 13th world. Bearil and Wolfram share a moment, where the young girl speaks for the first time since her mother died. It looks like this is it – they might actually make it.

On top of Corpse Mountain, Ycaron looks at the kneeling elves, and remembers a day long past, when he and his friends, including Quintillion and Yllaria, dreamt of conquering the surface elves after taking Kingship of the Drow. He asks if Quintillion remembers, and his old friend says he does. Ycaron says he remembers too – *everything*. He orders the demons to dispose of his traitorous advisor. Quintillion realizes his king will never forgive him, and tells him he loves him, he always has, and just asks for the honor of having Ycaron be the one to swing the sword. Ycaron hardens his heart and tells Quintillion he's had it his way for long enough. Turning away, a single tear running down his cheek, Ycaron does not look as the demons tear Quintillion to shreds.

Gyevroo appears, grinning at the spectacle, and asks Ycaron if he ever doubted him. Their deal is still on. All he has to do is follow him, and he can have Yllaria back. Ycaron kneels before the evil god. Pleased, Gyevroo pushes his massive black haired body down the tunnel after the rest of them.

As he reaches the survivors, the door is about halfway from opening. A cataclysmic battle breaks out. Gyevroo tears through soldiers and survivors alike, and Cocktail the Warlock is soon to join him, along with a massive host of demons. Arrows fly, swords slash, magic explodes in colorful bursts. Allarielle is killed. Edith and Lhoris injured. Wolfram too, but his sheer grit seems actually to strike fear into Gyevroo's heart – for just a moment. Even with the powerful Leonhardt on their side, it still looks bad. Even as they heroically strike down tons of demons, the wave seems endless, and 98 joins the battle, then Haldrahin. Rolf-Kårfu is overrun by demons and torn apart. Harrion too.

However, Edith has an ace up her sleeve. Drawing on all the energy she has, she attempts a banishment spell on Gyevroo. They might not be able to kill the God, but she sure as shit can send him back where he came from. Gyevroo looks confused for a moment, then angry, then POOF! He's gone.

The survivors' spirits are rallied. They just need to hold out for a little more time. Lhoris, bloodied but still standing, cuts down Cocktail, roaring atop the demon demigod's corpse. Haldrahin attempts to rain the same type of meteor shower on the survivors that killed the Fey Gods, but the New Dasos elves manage to counterspell him.

Leonhardt Danci sees his chance to atone for all the evil he's done as part of the Coterie, and throws himself in the lake to be consumed by the portal, hastening its opening. Lillebror, seeing his friends fight, and the demon's sacrifice, decides to do the same thing – perhaps his own atonement for his crimes in the war, in a world far away. He shouts to Teft, asking him to remember him for this, before jumping into the lake, his body annihilated – and the portal clicks open.

A small black door opens. They cannot see what's on the other side. No matter. Everyone immediately heads inside, as the warriors hold the demons off long enough for the civilians to escape first. Edith goes through. And Omako. Jess Howl. Valzmar, right behind her, is killed on the doorstep. Pilgrim is grievously injured, but slips through the portal in one piece. Ereth Flotsam follows.

Eventually, there's just a few warriors holding the horde back. Lhoris has a chance to escape, but refuses to leave without his brother, joining his flank. Kaine summons a few more apes to battle the demons in his place as he too leaves through the black door. Teft follows him. Wolfram tells Lhoris to go with his brother – he needs to stay behind and close the portal – and asks the blood hunter to tell Bearil he's sorry he couldn't make it. They share a respectful yet awkward bro hug, and Lhoris steps through – or he would, if not for 98. The monstrous monk paralyzes Lhoris on the threshold with a swift blow to the back, as Haldrahin releases a Prismatic Ray that hurts Lhoris and blinds Wolfram.

Wolfram tries to push Lhoris through, but he can't find him! He has no choice. He slams the door shut, a massive sigh resounding through the chamber as they are trapped in the dead world. They give the demons a hell of a fight, side by side, and finally die, atop a small corpse mountain of their own.

The demons slam up against the closed door. But the portal is shut.

The survivors have escaped.

## Epilogue

The survivors find themselves in a lush, green world. Behind them, no door. The sun is shining upon a land of peace. Two suns, in fact.

Teft looks anxiously for his brother, but no Lhoris appears. Lilgo asks him to stop hiding. Jess asks around for Valzmar. Bearil can't find her father. The losses are palpable. But they are here. They made it. They're safe.

Edith walks down the hill into a small sunlit clearing, where a young boy is waiting for her. Gealach, or Moon. He tells her he always hoped she'd be one of the ones who made it. And explains that this is the one world – forever lit by sunlight – that Gyevroo has not found. He will find it eventually, sure, he always does. But that will be long in the future. The survivors will live out their lives here, unbothered by the evil God. Though, he's not a God, is he? He asks Edith – somehow he can't say it himself. But eventually she understands what he's getting at. Gyevroo is not a god. He is an elf. And elves, though long lived, are mortal. He asks her to make sure they remember it, for the day he finally appears.

Edith looks upon the new world. She's no longer a tiefling. The Bateratu are extinct. She can be whoever she wants.

\*

The clearing becomes the site for New Woodrope, the first settlement in The Thirteenth World – location of the Amethyst Tower, a hotel and casino in one (but no brothel). Edith is mayor, and eventually, with time, Pilgrim joins her as advisor. When told he reminds her of Narrow, surprisingly, the cynical elf cries.

Jess Howl is made leader of the militia – thankfully, not a difficult job in this new peaceful world. She never remarries, but strikes up a strong friendship with Edith.

Kaine finally gets Lazo, and they have many children together, making sure the Morass clan lives on – flourishing in the new world.

Teft never really gets over the loss of his second brother, and stays on the outskirts of the community. He spends most of his time with Lilgo, who learns some of Omako's old druid teachings before the old man passes away about ten years from their arrival. Teft eventually falls victim to a self-inflicted magic surge, turning himself into a beautiful potted plant.

The Thirteenth World is a free world, but one thing is made law: On Edith's command, every newborn child will have tattooed on the soles of their feet the following statement: Gyevroo is mortal.

\*

Back in Daevenfell, Ycaron is informed by Haldrahin and 98 that there's been a hitch. Edith Ra has banished Gyevroo from their world. He'll be unable to fulfil his final part of the bargain. Furious, desperate, Ycaron hammers on the portal, Yllaria torn away from him yet again, screaming Edith's name in vain.

The demons carry him on their back, place the crown back on his head, and seat King Ycaron back on Gilwynn's old throne. The desolate fields around The Domed City are filled with kneeling elves, as Ycaron's truesight runs out, revealing his horde of loyal followers as what they now are: twisted, horrifying demons.

King Ycaron sits expressionless on his throne, the undisputed ruler of an empire of ashes.