The party emerged from the tunnel they had been travelling through to be greeted by the warm breeze of their new environment. Unlike the tunnel's entrance in Cania, which had been in the side of a mountain stretching up into the sky, the entrance here was in what could only be charitably described as a mound of dirt. Before them lay a vast wasteland of emptiness. The land and the sky were hues of oxidized reds, and the landscape was void of pretty much everything save for the odd tree and pool of lava that dotted the land here and there.
Along the horizon, there were a few clusters of ruins. From the group's current position, it was hard to judge how far away these ruins were. They could be only a few hours of travel, or they could be days. The ruins looked like the burnt remains of villages, but with different architectural styles mingled together in some of the clusters. The smallest one looked like it could have been a shire for halflings at one time. All that was visible now however were the charred frames of the homes, with what would have been the earth and greenery stripped away. Part of another clusters, a slightly larger grouping, would have easily passed for a port town along a coast line or in the Vern Archipelago in the living world. But where the docks would have met the sea, they were greeted by barren and dried dirt. The other part looked to belong to what at one time might have been the market section of a goblin village.
Taking stock of their new environment, Dido flipped open the journal of Hupperdink to see if it contained any information about where they were. Thumbing the pages, she came to rest on a page and read it over quickly. Nodding that this was what she was looking for, she shared the passage with the group;
It took me too long to realize that I had left Malbolge and arrived in Maladomini, such are their similarities. I’m still unsure if I did so with intent. What finally alerted me to the change was the corrupted gardens—beautiful gardens being purposefully withered under the blood-red skies. Hopping across the craggy landscape—broken only infrequently by erupting lava pools—you’d never know that this is where devils came for amusement.
As the pleasure-centre of Baator, Maladomini pulls fiends from every caste to its craggy shores. The danger here is surprisingly lessened, though, as they have little interest in new capturing souls and more interest in exchanging the ones they have already acquired. From what I have deduced, Baalzebub is not the only player in this realm. Rumors tell of Lilith, Baalzebub’s former consort, making a push for dominance. I have yet to verify this with fact.
Baalzebub’s punishment has been well recorded within other annals, and I won’t go into it too much here, other than to validate it with my own experiences. The Great Slug has indeed completed his punishment and now works to rebuild that which he for so long destroyed. I am uncertain if the end of his punishment also marks the end of animosity between he and Asmodeus, or maybe of something more nefarious.
Notable Locations:
The Palace of Filth lies at the centre of Malagard, the largest city on this plane. There, Baalzebub’s former seat of Power lies collapsed and abandoned. It is my next destination. Under those condemned halls of dung and filth lie every bit of treasure that the Great Worm once claimed as his own.
I have not yet been within the Carnival Eternal—that place where so many devils work for so many years to finally find some amusement. But I have attempted it. There are barriers there that even my prowess cannot overcome. Navigating the area seems easier than expected. I have found a most helpful Road through Hell that seems to facilitate my travel. I have not yet divined the arcana behind it.
Rachel removes a curved bladed dagger from her belt and begins to carve a crescent moon on the side of the tunnel entrance. Satisfied with her work, she turned and addressed the group;
"There. Something to let us know that we've been here. Incase we get turned around."
Dido nodded and looked back out to the barren landscape.
"We'll need to find somewhere to take a reprieve before we resume our search for the Styx." Dido offered to the group. Pointing out to the ruins of the shire, she continued;
"That should serve us well. It's small and out of the way."
Rachel walked over beside her and nodded as she squinted to try and get a better look.
Tidal seemed visibly agitated.
"Why are you suggesting we waste time cowering like wet calves. We have taken Baator's measure and not been found wanting. We should begin looking for the Styx now!" Tidal boasted.
"In case you haven't noticed, we're not in peak shape to take on any other combats currently!" Dido retorted, indicating with a wave of her hand at the whole group. "We need to take time to regroup and plan out our strategy. We just cannot blindly wander off into the wilderness and fight every random beast and creature until one of them bleeds the information we need!"
Tidal snorted.
"I do not fear our on coming battles!" raged Tidal as he beat his chest, "I have lived my life battle to battle, hoping that when my time comes at the hand of a superior foe, that my reward would be endless battle to prepare for a rematch against the foe that took my life when they inevitably would join me in the afterlife!"
Dido walked right up to Tidal, her chest puffed out and stood toe to hoof in front of him, hand on her hilt, locking eyes with him.
"Do not mistake my tactical assessment as fear of combat." Dido said in a low menacing voice. "But we must be more selective about when we choose to engage in battle for we are without a source of supplies and deep within enemy territory. Blindly walking into engagements would threaten our chances of success on our quest for the Choir."
Tidal continued to stand his ground while growling in a low tone.
"We want to make sure we have every advantage against Fraz-Urb'luu when the time comes." chimed in Rachel. "If these vassals the Choir provided use somehow fail us or are damaged irrevocably in battle, we may fail in this quest." Rachel paused looking back out toward the ruined shire before continuing, "That's why I agree we should take a small repose. Those ruins might also be along the path to the Styx."
Tidal snorted again, but relented after a moment and begrudgingly agreed.
"What do we know anyways about this demon prince Fraz-Urb'luu any ways?" inquired Dido. "I'm not familiar with the name."
[Background and time difference discussion]
It was around this time that Rachel noticed a path had formed at her feet. The path was made up of interlocking bricks and stretched off into the distance towards the horizon. She noticed that almost all the bricks had some kind of writing on them. The language was not the same on each one, but she could pick out the ones written in common, halfling, and druidic scripts. Each one contained a different, but similar message. She read a few of them;
I meant it for the best. For our children. It will only be this one time.
They all seemed to be promises, each made by someone different. There were four blank bricks that were located at the edge of the path closest to them. They were the only blanks that Rachel could see. Waving the rest of the group over, they gathered around and began to examine the path. The path lead away from the ruins and past to somewhere beyond their view. Tidal took a moment to try and sense if the road was magical, closing his eyes and reaching out his hand. He could only sense the items on him and his companions. He shook his head back to the group and informed them of his lack of discovery.
There was a sense of dread about what this brick path could mean for the group. Did they have to some how commit themselves to the road to make it do something. And was that the only cost?
Deciding that there was nothing more to be learned from the brick road, the party began to walk towards the ruined shire. As they started walking, they noticed something strange. The brick road began to shift in the dirt. It rearranged itself to be heading towards the shire they were now walking towards. The bricks making up the path almost seem to flow through the ground as if it was made of water rather than dirt. Out of an abundance of caution, the group kept to the dirt and refrained from walking on the brick path.
As they continued to walk along side it, the four blank bricks broke from the path and began to move in the path of the party. Each empty brick stayed a few paces in front of each party member. The party did their best to ignore these bricks. After a while longer, seeming to sense the disinterest, the blank bricks descended into the ground like a sinking stone in a pond. The brick path did the same.
The group carried on towards the husk of the shire, trekking across the cracked and blasted landscape. At about a point which seemed half way to their destination, Caravaggio caught sight of some movement on the horizon. A group of four individuals were carrying something off roughly in the direction of the north west from the party. Signaling the group, they all stopped to look. Dido squinted and tried to make out the forms. There were two small green simian creatures, each covered in what looked like jagged barbs. There was a taller individual, clad in gold armor and donning a red cape. One the front of it's armored helmet, instead of a visor, was a mask. The mask appeared as the face of an impassive porcelain doll. The armored figure carried a halberd as equally exquisite as it's armor. The final figure was a small red imp creature laying across the top of what seemed like a chest, or possibly an ark.
Tidal grew excited as the group watched the other party of four carry their cargo.
"He is our chance! We can engage these creatures in glorious battle!" Tidal growled in a low tone.
Dido held up a hand at Tidal.
"We do not have the strength at present to go picking a fight with some random passerby's." Dido scalded back in a hushed voice. "We should let them pass and carry on to our rest site."
Tidal grew agitated, raising his voice.
"It will be all the more glorious when we crush them and see what treasures them posses!"
Dido grew more irritated with Tidal's bravado. She was not used to working with others whos very motivations were opposed to hers. She also raised her voice in frustration to argue back at Tidal.
"Our primary goal at present is to find the river Styx! Attacking anything that moves doe not bring us closer to our goal!"
Rachel chimed in which a calming voice to try and settle her party members.
"We need to keep our focus on Fraz-Urb'luu. These minor demons and imps are not our concern and we are not at odds with them at present. We are still not at full strength after our last two bouts in Cania. And we presently don't know if the Choir can do anything for us if these forms take too much damage."
Tidal snorted and shook his head, clearly still irritated but beginning to sense continued protest would not lead to his desired outcome. Looking back towards the group of four, he could see that they had been spotted and were making more effort to put distance between the groups.
"Well, I guess this group will get away. They're already beating a retreat from us." Tidal said disappointedly.
The rest of the group looked back and noticed what Tidal saw. The creatures were moving faster now with the gold armored individual seeming to be both prodding it's companions with it's halberd to make them move faster while keeping an eye on the party.
With one last sigh of disgusted, Tidal began to walk onwards to the ruined shire, leading the group back along their original path.
The rest of their journey remained uneventful. The ominous clouds in the sky swirled about, but never really moved anywhere. There was no discernable source of light either. Just a constant bright red glow in the sky, that neither dimmed nor brightened. Time felt like it was at a stand still as the party walked towards their destination. They finally arrived at the edge of the shire.
Before the group was a street. Though in practice it was little more than a slightly different colored dirt road, barely differentiating itself from the surrounding landscape. It lead down past the burnt husks of several homes before ending a sort of cull-de-sac. There were perhaps 10 definable dwellings lining the sides of the street. Each was similar in composition. The hills that they would have been built into were stripped away, as if some powerful blast had removed the grass and soil. Only a portion remained around each dwellings base. Then there were the charred wooden frames of each house. Some were completely disheveled shapes. Rachel took point and quickly identified one of the closer homes as their staging site.
As the group made their way behind Rachel to the building, Tidal drew his spear. He decided he was going to make sure nothing else was taking up residence where the party planned to rest. Taking a few paces down the street, he looked towards the cull-de-sac and bellowed;
"WE ARE HERE! FACE US IF YOU DARE!"
The rest of the group looked back at him with a mix or annoyance and irritation. But his plan had worked. Attempting to fly away like a spooked pigeon, was a little red imp. It took to the sky from some where down in the cull-de-sac.
Quickly drawing and then launching his spear, Tidal aimed for the diminutive target. His reflex aim had been true as the imp was struck clean by the spear's tip. Infuriatingly for Tidal however, the target vanished once his spear made contact. He watched as the spear fell back to the ground at the end of the street. In a bit of a huff, he started walking down to collect his weapon, muttering all the while about how cowardly his quarry had been.
When Tidal reached the resting place of the spear, he bent over to collect it. Grabbing the hilt and lifting it up, he immediately noticed that the weight was off. Listening closely, he could hear a faint whine coming from near the spear's tip. He quickly flipped the spear over, smacking the tip against the ground. As soon as the blade hit the ground, the previously invisible imp reappeared. Tidal plucked the spear out of the unconscious creature's chest, as a black oozing ichor dripped off of it. Securing his spear, Tidal then reached down at grabbed the imp by the scruff of it's neck. He could see through the hole in it's chest, but it was already beginning to seal itself up at a very slow rate. Giving the creature a shake, Tidal addressed it;
"Wake up imp. I have questions."
The imp let out a weak moan but barely moved. Tidal began to walk back to the camp with the small devil in his grip. The group looked up from what they were doing as he approached the camp with his captive. Dido stood up and walked over, barring Tidal's path form getting too much closer.
"Don't bring that thing in here." Dido sneered. "Rachel is almost done casting our hut. We do not want it to have permission to come and go from it."
Shrugging his shoulders, Tidal motioned for a coil of rope sitting on the ground not to far away with a lift of his chin.
"Then let's tie it up and then we can ask it questions after the ritual is done." Tidal replied in his gravelly voice.
Dido agreed and fetched the rope. The two tied up the imp and placed him on the ground near the edge of the home they were planning on using as their camp. They made sure to tie a loose end of the rope down forming a kind of leash to make sure that if the imp was able to get up that he wouldn't make it far.
Gathering back around Rachel, the ritual was completed and a moderate sized cube of magical energy expanded from the center of the spell's casting location. To an observer on the outside, it would look like an opaque maroon shaded cube. On the inside, it had a similar shade to the walls, but those who took shelter from inside could see outward.
The hut erected, the group took the opportunity to finally take a rest. They each took turns watching their imp captive, making sure it wouldn't escape. Once they felt rested up, they decided it was time to speak with their captive.
Walking through the hut's wall as if it wasn't there, Tidal went over to the imp's resting place and picked him up by the back of the neck. The imp was much more animated now.
"What do you think you're doing you big cow?" came the shrieking voice of the imp.
Tidal walked it over to the hut and pinned the imp against it. Rachel and Dido stood closer to the inner wall of the hut, examining the creature, but didn't leave the huts confines. With a quiet word of intonement, Dido tried to cast a small blast of radiant energy onto the imp, but nothing happened. Rachel looked it over, noting it's characteristics. Dido was the first to ask it a question.
"We are looking for the river Styx. Do you know how to find it?" she asked with a menacing voice.
The imp grunted while squirming in it's rope binds.
"The Styx? Eh, it finds you when you're ready." the imp replied in it's tiny voice.
"Can you take us to it?" Dido continued.
"Why don't you just take the path?" the imp quipped back in a squeaky retort.
"What do you mean, the path?" Rachel inquired with a more soothing, motherly tone.
"You know, the path! You just have to make it a promise and it'll take you where ever you want! Quick too!" the imp said in a irritated tone like it was explaining how to breath.
The group absorbed this information. The imp was clearly talking about the brick path they had encountered earlier.
"Look! I've told you what you want. Can I go now?" The imp pleaded.
"We will let you go once we've finished asking you our questions!" Dido replied coldly.
"Deal!" replied the imp as it's eyes glowed red for a moment.
The group seemed puzzled by the imp's sudden change of heart.
"Tell me, what is your name?" asked Rachel.
"The name's Des'e'geth!" replied the imp. "And I was enjoying a nice snack of fingers before you're hulking brute of a cow came in here with his attitude!"
Tidal pushed him a little harder against the hut's wall.
"Well Des'e'geth," Rachel interjected, "can you tell us more about this path and how it works?"
"Well, you think of where you want to go see?" Des'e'geth replied, "And the path shows up! You make it a promise and BOOM! The path takes you there. It's pretty straight forward." quipped Des'e'geth. "But don't break that promise! Hoho!" Des'e'geth chuckled. "It would be bad news for you!"
"So, how about we get you to make the path a promise and take us to the Styx?" Dido said still using her menacing tone.
"Because you can't make me?" Des'e'geth retorted, a smirk on his face.
Dido went to smack the hilt of her sword against the imp's face but found she couldn't make her body carry out the action.
"What trickery is this?" Dido called out.
"You made a deal with me. I answer your questions, you let me go. Pretty simple." Des'e'geth said matter of factly, the smirk still on it's face.
"Can you enchant any of our weapons to better fight in Baator?" inquired Tidal.
"Do I look like a spell caster to you Cow? No, I can't do those kinda things." Des'e'geth squeaked back at Tidal.
"Then I guess you have no purpose left for us then." Tidal said as he tightened his grip on Des'e'geth's neck and then with his other hand grabbed his feet. He then began to pull Des'e'geth from both ends to rip him in half.
"No! We made a promise!" Screamed Des'e'geth.
"No, the elf made one with you!" Tidal said with a smirk on his face.
"Stop this!" Des'e'geth yelled.
Dido felt compelled by Des'e'geth's words to act. Without thinking or seeming controlled of her actions, she drew her sword and swung it at Tidal, attempting to break his grip of the now stretching in half imp. Her attack merely clanged off Tidal's armor as he finished ripping the creature in half. Ichor sprayed everywhere and a flash of bright blinding white light exploded from within the imp, blinding everyone at the camp.
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