WotR Post-Secret Ending 2

I whistled cheerfully as I strolled through my realm. I loved the sound of that, and I hoped the words “my realm” never got old or mundane. Still, I gave a cheerful whistle as I strolled along, the demons that called it home scrambling to stay out of my way. Ah, fear and respect in equal measure, isn’t it wonderful?

Anyway, I came to a stop at the edge of my realm, a friendly smile on my face as my neighbor approached, the Abyss twisting and warping until the space between our realms was miniscule. Standing with a full honor guard compliment, Nocticula gave me a nod in greeting, her face cold.

“Crolozar, to what do I owe this… honor?” she asked.

“Relax, I’m not looking to add to my realm,” I told her, hands up in a placating gesture.

“You went from a no-name mortal to a low-level deity, after consuming the essences and domains of two demon lords in a mere handful of years. Everyone is wary of you.”

I gave a shrug, “Fair enough. Just wanted to let you know, I’ll be out for a bit. After everything involving the Worldwound and mother dearest, I thought I deserved a vacation. I’ll be in and out, so don’t think that my being on vacation means that my realm is undefended.”

She gave me a flat look, “Considering you have the corpses of both Deskari and Baphomet as guards, I don’t think any except for the suicidal would think your realm ‘undefended’.”

“Fair enough. Thanks again for your help during the whole mess a while back.”

She didn’t answer, the space between our realms snapping back to their normal distance. I snorted in amusement, before turning around and heading back to my palace. Think I’ll have another session with Areelu before I tear reality a new asshole and give it a good hard bit of painal before… I think this metaphor got away from me.

[hr][/hr]

Smile on my face, I stepped through the portal to whatever new world this was. I looked around as the portal snapped shut. I’d bring Wenduag and the others through once I knew more, for now I wanted to make sure there weren’t any unexpected surprises.

I could tell that wherever I’d ended up, it was dwarven. Only one race made elaborate architecture like this while being underground. Well, it was once dwarven, because there’s no way dwarves would let a pile of gold just sit in the middle of a hallway like this. Ah, so that’s where I was, nice. The sheer weight of the dwarves that died here was practically tangible, and I reached out with my power, gathering the souls into something more useful in preparation for the fight that was inevitably going to happen.

“Yoo-hoo! Anyone home?!” I shouted, my voice echoing through the empty halls. I waited patiently, before there was the sound of coins shifting as a mass under the pile of gold began to move.

“Who dares intrude in my lair?” the dragon Smaugh’s voice rumbled through the air, laced with magic and power. The way he used the magic was cute, for want of a better word.

“Hello, my name is Crolozar, I’m a visitor from a few planes over. Might I inquire as to where I am?” I already knew (thanks Tolkein) but it’d give me a reason to know when I eventually started interacting with the rest of the world here.

“You stand in Erebor, the lair of the dragon Smaugh, King Under the Mountain. What brings a Man here, alone and without tribute?”

At first it was cute, but the constant attempts at mental subversion was starting to get annoying, “You can stop with the magic, I know more and have more power in my pinky than you could stuff inside this entire mountain.”

“You think highly of yourself, but you…”

The dragon trailed off as I finished the spell I’d been holding, sending a wave of energy from my body and sweeping through the mountain. I’d be surprised if the overgrown handbag could recognize what the spell did offhand, but he’d realize it soon.

“Let me make this clear, lizard,” I began, making Smaugh growl in an attempt to be intimidating. “You will submit to me, one way or another. What will it be? Will you serve in life, or as a corpse?”

Smaugh’s chest began to glow, in preparation to utilize his infamous fire breath, only for the results of my earlier spell to make themselves apparent. Legions of undead dwarves began pouring into the hall, making Smaugh’s eyes widen in shock (and I think there was also some horror there, but I wasn’t overly familiar with the facial expressions and body language of dragons). Ten, dozens, soon the hall was filled with hundreds, if not thousands of dwarf corpses, risen from where they’d fallen in death and more than willing to throw themselves at their murderer.

“The choice is yours,” I said with a smirk, staring down the Chiefest and Greatest Calamity of the Age.

Smaugh’s eyes danced, taking in what I’d done with a single spell. His mind raced, clearly calculating his odds and measuring them against his pride. I was curious which aspect of his pride would win out: kneeling before and serving a Man, or dying and having his body defiled and forced to serve as an undead beast.

“You are no Man…” Smaugh whispered as he turned his fiery gaze to look at me, a look of contemplation in them.

“Not anymore,” I agreed. “Once I was, now I am something far more. I was a leader of armies, against endless legions of demons from another plane of existence. I won, killed two demon lords, and gained more power than the mortal mind can comprehend.”

There was definitely fear in his eyes now, but also a grim determination. I bit back a sigh of disappointment. I’d have liked a living dragon mount, but a dracolich/ravener would have to suffice. Oh well.