The Goddess of the Underworld
Chapter 1: The Backstory
Years ago I heard about the deep rumblings of change within the underworld, even 'under the underworld' as it were. Always one for making poor decisions I set out to see what might have changed since I last found myself slaughtering those denizens of evil in my earlier days.
I paid my fee to the greedy gatekeeper and the hallway to hell greeted me as it had long ago. I sat and had a lovely chat with the rather backwards firegod, and slowly explored those old chambers of demons trying to remark where any signs of change had stirred. Though I little remembered the structure of caverns from my youth, I could discern that the entirety of the chambers had expanded greatly, sprawling out from its center in all directions, however no matter how much I searched and dug in the brimstone rubble could I find the entrance to its lower depths as I knew had once existed. I met many demons and about a billion bats and every other hellspawn and degenerate soul seeking out the assured master of this realm, Satan, but I could find absolutely no sign of the path toward her chambers.
I set instincts to explore aside, and instead turned toward ridding the cavern of all such evils in a divine rage. Seeking what clues I could gather in the remains of the slain, I found a variety of odd things. Chiefly, keys. But alas, I could find no lock.
I set off back into the world of light, in search of another entrance, a backdoor perhaps, and querying some nefarious sorts began to suspect a connection of a more magical sort, through the rift of evil, and the onslaught of Sesuad'ra.
There I found, as expected, demons and imps that made the underworld of my youth seem tame and frivolous. After much despair traipsing about in the horrible seeping red mists expelled by every surface in that place I did eventually stumble into a bit of a rut, a steady path, and at its end... a hole. Climbing down, I found myself in a small chamber with only one exit. Peering inside, a giant demon sat brooding, and behind his frame I could just barely spy what I sought, a gate.
Chapter 2: The Trial of Heat
At this point, being no fool, I returned once again to the land of the living to seek assistance in gaining entry to that guarded gate.
With a giant man fond of battle and armor, and a brutish crew of savage fighters, we returned and having prepared ourselves for the worst rushed the demon unawares. His response was immediate, but we quickly overcame him. In his pocket we found a key to the mysterious guarded gate, and opening it before us found the first of what would become many tribulations in this god forsaken land of mist and confusion.
Our best scouts and navigators set out into the unknown void of hate and heat beyond, with careful and expert navigation they eventually avoided all of the cunning backtracks and false trails to arrive at a place that boded well, in my opinion, for our goal of reaching ever downward: another hole in the ground.
Within this pit we found the locks we sought, gateways into the realms of named evils: of hate, and destruction, and fire, and the hellborne. Beyond lay more madness, and sprawling confusion of territory. Our motivations were challenged, and our spirits sullen, and we staggered long in that place before we found the secret of its navigation. The keys and the gates and the maze beyond are of course all of the same design, and the key was in fact more than it seemed at first. A clumsy accident lead the happy discover of the way forward, and from the spirit void words came forth to guide us, and yet just as our enthusiasm had raised at our progression it was quickly quelled once more when we arrived at a stark dead end.
Paths were retrod and other gateways explored, and yet always the outworldly spirits guided our to another blunt end to the cavern.
We found our method of navigation offered an unexpected and peculiar result in those places, and again we sat long in consideration of our next move. At long last, we forsake that which we had relied upon to that point, and in the doing found ourselves suddenly shifted into yet another cavern, long and dark, but surely 'forward' in the least, and so we pressed on.
Chapter 3: Satan, the Ruler of Hell
A sudden ambush overtook us in the narrow chamber, and caught somewhat unawares we rushed forward into the lucky happenstance of an unforeseen escape. Yet in the escape from the frying pan we indeed found the fire, and before us rose the grand lord of the dark, the harbinger of murder, anger, and jealously: Satan, ruler of Hell.
She spied us calmly from her dias, as if waiting for us to submit before her, oh the ego of evil, but of course having no intentions toward anything of the sort we instead hastily prepared ourselves and beset her in an onslaught of fist and sword, whip and ax.
Her hellstorm rained upon us, and the crafty devil resisted our weapons this way and that, and yet we maintained, and eventually overcame her wrath with little to remark upon.
Her throne sat above a deep pit of despair, and her corpse fell away down and down into the depth below. Her minions swarmed about us and saboteurs waylaid us at every move. Cruel beasts of varying nature dwell in that dank abode, and our finest combat specialists addressed each in turn. Finally diving downwards and reaching the basin of the cavern we were met with Hurag, a ponderous demon. We found Satan's corpse and her armors and weaponry upon the ground and claimed it. In the general commotion we provoked the beast Hurag, and learned his true allegiance. He held his pitchfork to the end, but ultimately, it too was taken from his cold demon claws.
Within those bowels of hell we found three great spherical openings into voids unknown, mystical doorways, locked.
Chapter 4: The Path of Power
Those spheres stood fast for quite some time before we discovered their keys. Ultimately the spheres themselves provided the clues to their opening, and with a corresponding key of sorts discovered for each we were finally able to press onwards.
Deeper now into the paths of despair we eventually reached, at the conclusion of each path, yet another dead end. In fact, these ends were not just blunted walls, but cells of retribution, penitentiaries of pure black void and pulsating energy of sin.
A pattern of frustration was beginning to mount, we scoured the entire area for any hint of a clue. At long last we discovered an alter, but what to do at such a forsaken pedestal? This my friends I can tell you is no easy riddle to solve, and for the sake of others safety I will keep that secret of opening the way forward. It was only by embracing the madness, going against our instincts, that we found a path. Forget the easy and the pleasant ways of the world, banish the wisdom and harmony, and mercy, of the bright world of sun and joy from your mind. No my friends, no such hope can be found in this wretched place.
Suddenly in response to our desperate pleas we found ourselves in a new place, faced with a plain, black dais in the center of a circle of light with a singular chest, studded in gems, upon it.
From this we claimed rewards unforeseen, staves of this and of that, crafted by the Erinyes of legend, the Furies, whose spirits we now realized closely related to the trials we had passed. Retrieving what we could, and as quickly as we had arrived at that place we found ourselves once more gone, and within a dark portal of various paths. Choosing to push on, we found ourselves once more returned to the land of the living, and lo in fact standing at the very entrance to the Underworld of yore exactly where I had began my journey of dark discovery years ago. From thence we ran home to contemplate the madness, and numb the despair which pulsed in our minds.
We had delved deeply, and even found reward, and while a path homeward was indeed welcomed we struggled to see it as a true end of our quest. It had seemed the only path, and we saw not any other path to the hidden realms we knew still lay within that dark place. After long preparation, and perhaps foolishly, we sought to begin a second exposition to further explore those depths and seek yet another path. Having gathered a mass of supplies, we returned to the very start and collected all of the bits necessary, and then once more descended into the pit of the lower gate of hell.
Defeating Delphium the guardian, navigating the maze of heat and passing through the gateway toward the beast Satan we forged forward with great eagerness. Toward what, we did not know. We bested the great deceiver once more, and again diving that chasm below her into the literal serpentine bowels of hell we once more explored those paths guarded by Hurag for yet another route.
...To Be Continued