Hi everybody sorry for the delay I have been busy with my real world business which has grown faster than I had dreamed and left me short of good personnel. Chapter 4 is ready to be edited and should be ready by March. I am going to go with a monthly posting because of my work schedule.
I want to thank everybody for their comments and feedback, you all have been a great help in making this story better.
This tale would not be possible without the incredible team. My rough editor Anubismark who gets to see my awful rough drafts and makes them understandable. My continuity editor Traff who helps me keep to the story. My finishing editor BunLover who helps put the final and often embarrassing finish on my work.
Please Vote and Enjoy this episode of Disposable Hero.
This episode does some world building and doesn't have Henri in it.
Thank You
Bokhun
*****
The Gathering
Adjusting to the Surface
Demon Web demi-plane
Lloth watched, pleased with her handy work, as those who fell in the assault on the Hla'ath compound began to accept the demonic taint of the Demon Web, which happened because of the torture they had endured. As the physical forms of their souls were damaged it would be replaced by Abyssal taint marking them as Lloth's. Some fought, while others welcomed the power of the abyss. Mica was one of those who had fought hard to resist the power of the abyss that was growing in her. She knew if she submitted to this power she would never be able to leave and slowly she would be turn into a demon, a play thing for Lloth for the all eternity. While she hadn't fallen as far as the others, Mica had fallen far enough for what Lloth had in mind.
Shynta fought with everything she had and had even beaten the power that she would have grabbed prior to meeting Henri. She understood that giving in was what Lloth wanted and had even gone so far as to renounce Lloth three times to her face. If Shynta had done that before she died she wouldn't be in the Demon Web now. Lloth looked at Shynta and knew she had to act quickly as time was running out and she had to set her plan in motion. She ordered a fiend to collect those souls that were ready, as she stood over Shynta and prepared to make her threat reality. They watched as the demon shrank the souls down to the size of a softball and place them in a crucible that was shaped like a common sack.
Lloth savored the fear of what she was seeing on the face of Shynta as she began to understand that this fate would be hers as well.
Lloth's voice was thick with sarcasm as she says, "Ready to return to your love? He is waiting for you."
She shoved her hand into the heart of Shynta and began to fill it with the abyss itself. She enjoyed Shynta's screams as she began to shrink down to the same size of the others. Once she reached softball size Lloth held Shynta in her hand, she knew Shynta could see her and smiled at her, even going to far as to kiss the ball that was Shynta's soul before placing it in the sack. Lloth turned to the demon and left instructions for him to bring the sack when she summoned him, with that she left the demi-plane and began that plane walk to her toy Intra.
In Intra's dark chamber, Shyntaunlin was lying deceased on the altar. As Intra entered with her daughter followed closely by Dementia's play thing Yathrin looking dutifully at her love, well to be more accurate her everything, she fell to her knees and began worshiping Dementia's feet. Intra entered a trance-like state as Lloth took control of her thrall. Once in full control of Intra she began chanting in Demonic and summoned Dementia's father who held a sack that cries could be heard coming from. He handed the sack to Intra/Lloth who opened the sack and said the name Shyntaunlin. As the soul rose to the top she grabbed the twisted soul that was now half black and half red, Dementia told her lover to heal the woman when she tells her, Yathrin rose and stood waiting to fulfill her mistresses wish. Intra thrust the soul back into the lifeless corpse and Dementia told her slave to begin. Dementia watched her possessed mother and her toy bring life to Shyntaunlin making her hands twitch and her body heave as her glowing black eyes opened to look at Intra and seeing Lloth her mistress, as her body began to heal and return to life. Intra helped her up. The woman that was Shynta was no more, her soul destroyed in the torment of being faithful to Lloth. She was fused with the darkness and depravity that allowed her to return to this plane and completely loyal to Lloth.
Shynta fully synergized with her old body in a back chamber where all the new unmentionables were gathering and being equipped. She was handed a short sword that looked like something a Roman Legionnaire would use with runes etched into the blade, the only other difference besides the runes was the round pommel. Like all Drow Shynta had been trained in how to use such a weapon. However, she had studied magic and was not as good as Zilvra, most certainly not even close to Belar. She unsheathed the sword and felt the flow of demonic energy within the blade. She watched as the blade began to segment, doubling the length of the weapon, marveling as the blade split into three and began to take the shape of snake heads. Looking at the snakes writhing she understood why they were given such a weapon and seeing the same kind of demonic symbols on the leathers she was being handed, it was becoming clear to her that the leathers like the sword held a surprise.
Donning the armor she could feel her awareness of the world around her diminish. She could still see and hear, but her other senses were gone/ She tried to order her body to take the armor off but her body didn't respond. That is when she remembered Lloth's promise and understood just how twisted her goddess truly was. She was helpless to stop her own body as it went after her own family and Henri. If she didn't gain control of her own body and her family survived until Renewal how would Henri free her from the Demon Web, her body shivered at the thought of going back to such a place forever. Her anger boiled at how easily Lloth had played her. The odd thing was the angrier she got, the more her other senses returned, she could also feel her magical power growing as she saw the runes on the armor glow.
She watched as the others got up and moved towards another door across the room. Her own body began to move toward the same door and she swore that before her body moved she heard the word "come" in her mind. She tried again to fight her own body's movements, as she fought she felt her awareness fade and even noticed her ruins begin to fade and with it the boost to her power. She loathed feeling powerless in her own body, this anger was giving her power and she now understood that in order to control her body she needed to be angry, or filled with hate. Slowly she thought of things that made her angry, things she hated, and sure enough the more hate the more control she had. She could feel her leathers as her body stopped only 2m from the door in front of which the other Drowesses had formed ranks.
The door opened and in walked a Mind Flayer wearing robes with demonic runes on them, it stopped just inside the door. Shynta understood being this close to a Mind Flayer was well within his/her influence. From where she was standing she could see some of the others and wondered if a Mind Flayer could control all of them. She heard him/her give the order to move out in her head and wondered if it had been corrupted, or was it like her and the others? She knew of nothing that could be offered to get any of them to betray the hive. Walking through the doors she passed the Illithid, she saw it turn and follow her as she passed into the next room. This was huge room maybe 20m by 25m with 4m high ceilings and rich tapestries, soft light stones lit the room and hurt her to be in that much light.
In one corner was a full length mirror. Like all Drow she was vain and wondered what she looked like now, so as she headed to the mirror to check herself out. Standing before the mirror she looked at her resplendent curves, her eyes saw that her hair still had Henri's braid her pride soared at the sight. Her eyes finally came to her face. She saw her eyes, black flames coming from the sockets that flicked her eyebrows like a log on a fire. Her pride destroyed by the sight of her deformed beauty, she flew into a rage and struck the mirror fracturing it. Looking at her hand, which she had moved on her own, and reveling in the power that flowed through her, her eye caught her reflection. She saw as her face twisted with rage that the flames now cleared her head.