A World Without Heroes

A World Without Heroes was the 44th session of the Daevenfell campaign, and the fifth session of Chapter 8: Apotheosis.

## Summary

Little Brother finds himself dreaming. Everything seems covered in a pink fog, as he's on a battlefield, watching child soldiers leading a suicidal attack on an army of hobgoblins. A grown man adresses him as Corporal, telling him to wait: "Slaves first". Little Brother tries attacking him with his axe, but even as it cleaves his head, it grows back together like jelly.

He awakes, as does Kaine, and they realize their room in The Domed City is filling with pink fog for real. They wake up the rest, as Little Brother insists everyone calls him Corporal Little Brother. When Teft asks him why, he says the jelly man told him. Teft prods him more, and as he hears Little Brother repeat "Slaves first" he understands: Little Brother was a corporal in the army that sent his slave brother to his death.

As Teft is reeling from the revelation, Serval Locke angrily suggests they follow up on their plan instead of waiting in the gas filled room. Omako nods, turning them into clouds again, and they escape through the vents. They sneak past the robotic guards and follow a long spiraling staircase all the way to the top of the main tower – Lady Gilwyn's Throne Room, with a view of the entire city, and directly underneath a shining sun – or a portal? Stairs lead up to it, but between the portal and them is Lady Gilwyn and 20 construct guards. And she recognizes their trick.

Teft, Omako and Kaine materialize in front of her, and Teft tells her she shouldn't expect them to stay in a room filling with unknown gases, when they're supposedly her guests. She agrees, claiming it was just a safety measure, that it's just sleeping gas with a side effect of bringing up traumatic memories. When Teft pushes it, however, trying to pull on her heartstrings, saying they just want to go home, she gets brisker with him. They should feel lucky to stay in the world that's closest to the Prince himself, she says, insanely. Nobody ever leaves. She has them return to a less foggy room, warning them not to try any more funny business.

\*

Back on Kee's ship, Bryan kicks Lhoris awake. Ycaron interrogates him, learning about their alliance with the elves. Thinking about his options, the king declares they will push on and find a new world for the Drow on the other side of the portal. If La Luna was a lie, that means the power was inside him all along. He is all the god he needs. Lhoris will help them, or die trying.

And Ycaron has a god damn plan:

Lhoris will present the corpses of Edith and Ridqeck to the elves, and deliver the rest as "prisoners", thus getting them inside the Dome. When the elves' guard is down, they will strike. A Trojan Spider if you will, as his father once used to claim the Crimson Caves as his own.

They will rue the day they ever tried to cross King Ycaron and the Drow.

\*

In the camp on the mountains, Narrow calls a meeting to deal with the loss of Edith and Ridqeck (proved by his greybowl fading), and is forced to realize he is the leader of The Resistance now. Bringing with him Wolfram, they go to see Quintillion, to figure out if there's any way to cement a closer alliance, and perhaps push past the demons.

Quintillion is open to help them. However, he wants them to do something for him. Something murderous. Wolfram doesn't trust him, and tells the scheming Drow to find someone else to do their dirty work. He leaves in disgust. Not before, however, he receives a psychic message from Eddy, confirming both their leaders are dead, and that Ycaron is pushing on alone. There will be no help from anywhere else.

As Narrow and Wolfram leave, Yorick happily agrees to do what Quintillion needs. Thus, he approaches Queen Yllaria's tent, telling the guards he has a message from King Ycaron. As she approaches, he induces nightmaric visions in her head, strong enough to kill her. The last thing she sees is a mirage of the King telling her he never loved her.

Yorick parades her shambling corpse out on a leash, as the other Drow take note. There's been a power play, and that's the kind of thing that makes Drow feel alive. Quintillion insists, however, he only has his king's best interests at heart.

\*

Oleg, still in dragon form, flies across the continent, with the Coterie in hot pursuit. For nine days straight he flies, fighting off exhaustion through tremendous force of will. Eventually, though, above the black ocean, he starts to slow down. The demons catch up with him, and Haldrahin traps him in a cage, breaks his mind, and disintegrates what's left. He just barely has time to look at them all and say "Remember what we were", before everything he ever was is turned to dust.

Shockingly, implausibly – Leonhardt Danci remembers.

\*

Teft is breaking down. Back where they started, taunted by Little Brother's revelations, missing his brother, he is finally made to admit he never had a plan. That he's in over his head. That he has no idea what he's doing.

Fighting through terrible brain fog, visions of slaves and battles, something finally falls back into place for Little Brother. He remembers. He is Corporal Viralius, his head is fucking aching, and somehow he's going to reconcile his kind Little Brother persona with the war criminal he used to be. And this wailing half elf isn't making things any easier. He tells him to man up, or he will take over as leader.

Teft rages at him, distrustful, while Corporal Little Brother only shows him disdain. They're about to come to blows, when Omako steps in, telling Little Brother he is still a Morass, and nothing can change that.

Eventually they decide on a last hail mary push through the Throne room. They escape as clouds again, and at the top of the stairs, Kaine and Omako summon a distraction of wild apes. As the guards and the Lady are dealing with them, they race cloudily towards the shining sun-portal. An anti magic field stops them short however, and they just barely manage to land on the stairs. It starts pulling back, but Omako summons all his energy to dispel the field. On the third try he manages.

A door opens in the middle of the portal. A staircase descends towards them. As they start hurrying inside, Omako sees a small ship in the distance, approaching the gates. The ship Lhoris was supposed to stop. He keeps silent, and follows them through.

They enter pure whiteness.

They are greeted by an elf.