Chapter 20 Part 1

UNDERWORLD

The land was flat and open. Prairie grass blew idly in the morning breeze. The sky was clear and deep blue with only a few scattered clouds on the horizon.

Gage took note that they had materialized in the center of a circle of upright stones. There were dozens of the monoliths, each weighing several tons.

"Where are we?" Crystal asked.

"This is the Stone Circle," Avery told her. "We don't know if it has another name or what it was originally used for, but we do know that it is a natural portal to the outer planes."

"It is probably a relic left from an ancient time and a long dead mage. It will allow you to pass to the Nine Hells without the use of a spell."

"Prepare yourselves," Avery urged. "Rest and eat. Make sure your packs. I'll conjure water and food for your provisions. You are about to take a trip to a very inhospitable place."

"But we still don't know where we are going," Coran protested. "We can't take the time to search out the whole of all nine planes. That would take hundreds of years."

"I'll attend to that," Ultrecht said and he turned and walked away from them for a bit and began going through his shoulder bag. While Avery and Armegon helped the younger adults prepare for the journey, Ultrecht turned his attention to the task at hand. It was a distasteful thing to do, but he was far more able to deal with it than Armegon or Avery.

Ultrecht took the components from his bag. He used his foot to clear away some debris and using powdered silver, he drew a circle on the ground and added a few controlling symbols to the structure. Then he places a few other spell components at the ready in case they were needed. Finally he began his incantation. The spell was not overly difficult for him, but it was tricky and in the hands of an amateur or even a veteran of magic who was not familiar with the spell, it could be deadly.

The gate opened. It was as if a hole in the ground opened and flames shot dozens of feet into the air. Ultrecht reached his hand out and felt for what he was looking for in the empty space. When he found what he wanted, he clenched his fist and yanked hard. The flames died down to only a few feet and in their midst stood a devil. Ultrecht had searched this one out in particular. He knew it and he knew it's name.

"Why hast thou summoned me Elementalist?"

"Ah, Gelaviniya," Ultrecht whispered quietly. The devil shuddered at the mention of its name. "I need information," Ultrecht continued more loudly.

The devil looked at Ultrecht with a mixture of fear and hatred. It feared Ultrecht, because the archmage knew its name. With that knowledge, Ultrecht could force it do do whatever he wished and he could also destroy the devil completely.

"Thou hast enslaved me far too often," the devil objected. "By the knowledge that thou hast in thy possession I am bound to serve. But know that the ancient law which binds me may soon be undone."

Ultrecht understood. If the devils conquered the realm of men and it became the tenth hell, then mages would lose the ability to summon and control devils, and the knowledge of its name would become useless.

"I am not interested in such matters," Ultrecht lied. "A human woman child was taken from us only a few hours ago. Where is she?"

"How should I know? Am I privy to what others do?"

Ultrecht tightened his fist. The sympathetic magic constricted the spell holding the devil, causing discomfort. "You are one of the Hellbarons," Ultrecht answered, "a lieutenant of Geryon. I swear on my own secret name that if you do not tell me what I want to know, I'll incant your name backwards and erase you from existence!"

The devil glared at Ultrecht, trying to divine if the archmage was serious in his threat. After a moment the devil conceded. "I submit to thy will. I shall return in but moments."

There was a puff of air and the devil was gone. The flames remained, though. Ultrecht considered for a moment that the devil may intentionally delay the task letting the gate spell drain Ultrecht to weakness so that he might break the spells wards and attack, but with Avery and Armegon close by, it was not a likely to happen.

Peripherally, Ultrecht was aware that Armegon stood next to him. The sorcerer did not interrupt the spell. That would be dangerous. He simply held a cup of water to Ultrecht's lips and allowed the elementalist to drink, then he was gone.

Ultrecht held the gate open for almost an hour before the devil reappeared. There was a moment of struggle as the creature tested the wards of the gate, but Ultrecht was far too strong, even after an hour of effort.

"Speak," he commanded the devil.

"Thy command hath been fulfilled," the devil growled. "The woman child hath been taken to Nessus, to the Citadel of Despair itself. She is held, unspoiled against thy interference. It was Asmodeus who commanded it."

"How did the Duke of Nessus know she was of interest to us?"

The devil smiled broadly. "I told him. Thou placed no onus upon me to withhold such information."

Ultrecht cursed softly. "Who holds the Ebony Staff?"

"The seed of Blackheart," the devil answered obediently.

"Of his own free will?" Ultrecht asked.

"No, the seed of Blackheart is enslaved."

Ultrecht nodded. "Your task is fulfilled. I charge you to reveal no more of this summoning than you already have. Begone!"

There was another pop in the air and the devil and flames were gone.

Ultrecht sank to the ground and sat. The spell was very draining, and he needed to rest for a few moments.

"Well?" Armegon asked as he knelt next to Ultrecht with another cup of water.

"I know roughly where she is. Of course, they know we are looking for her. That is a mixed blessing."

"It is?"

"She is being held hostage to make sure we don't get in their way. As long as we don't get too close to victory, she won't be harmed."

"So where is she?"

"Nessus," Ultrecht answered, "in the Citadel of Despair."

“Storming the palace of the most powerful of the Dukes of Hell," Armegon posed, "and we thought this would be too easy."

"That's not all," Ultrecht continued. “Asmodeus has the Ebony Staff and he has the son of Blackpuss enslaved to wield it. We have a chance to kill two birds with one stone. We can save the girl and take the staff. Without the staff, Asmodeus will lose his advantage over the other Dukes and they will turn against him.”

"How do you know that?" Coran asked.

"It's in their nature. But even if they don't, their power over the undead will be broken and without guidance, the undead will be nothing more than small pockets of trouble that can be easily put down with local militia."

"Okay, so how do we get there?"

"That is why we are here," Armegon answered. "A natural conduit to the outer planes is here. You will be able to go straight to Nessus, but you must be careful. It may be quite a voyage to reach the Citadel and you do not want to attract attention. The Citadel is at the bottom of a massive chasm. Once there, you will have to find the girl and if possible the Ebony Staff."

"Don't pick a fight," Avery cut in. "Asmodeus is an arch devil, one of the Dukes of Hell; perhaps the most powerful of the lot. Avoid any altercation with him."

"Suppose we can't avoid it?" Rathe spoke up. He had been quietly listening until that moment. "I mean it's easy enough to say don't tangle with him, but he may take a fancy to tangle with us."

"We'll give you a couple of days once you get to Nessus before we pay a little visit to some of the other Hells and maybe even a corner of Nessus itself. We'll raise enough of a ruckus that the Dukes will know we are around. That will help get Asmodeus' attention, but if he does take note of you, try to get away. If you can't, then call us. We can come to you the hard way," Armegon urged.

"I've met Asmodeus," Ultrecht told them. "He is very powerful and wise. Don't underestimate him."

"You met him?" Coran asked incredulously. "When, why?"

"It was business," Ultrecht answered shortly. It was apparent he did not want to take it further. "Suffice it to say that even though they are extremely evil, devils are very efficient and thorough."

"I think the time has come to start," Avery interrupted with a venomous glare at the elementalist. He certainly did not approve of fraternization with the devils.

"We go to Nessus and make our way to the Citadel as quietly as possible," Gage reviewed. "We infiltrate the Citadel and find Cindy and the Ebony staff. If we run into trouble, we call you."

Armegon nodded. "Once you have what you went for, just plane shift back to our world. They won't be able to follow you, and the faster you get back the better. And then contact us so we can beat feet out of there."

Gage sighed. He let his eyes fall guiltily on his apprentice. He really was loathe to take the boy to such a place and expose him to such dangers, but Dylan was his pupil and his ward. He could not up and leave the boy.

"So let us get underway, then" Gage decided. Who is going and who is staying?"

"I am going," Coran stepped forth, with Rathe right behind him.

"So am I," Dylan took a place at the giant's side. Crystal put a hand on his shoulder and she stepped forward.

"It is with great regret that I can not participate," Velar informed them. "My powers are tied to this realm. Should I venture forth to wicked Nessus, I could not conceal my true self. Such would prove detrimental to our cause. Mayhap I can assist in another capacity?"

"We would be honored to have you with us," Ultrecht laughed. "The sight of you would at the very least assist in grabbing the attention of a good number of the lesser devils we will face."

"We understand," Coran assured his friend. "But if we survive, you must purchase the next round at the pub."

Velar laughed lightly. Then he stepped back away from those who were gathered for the journey.

"Are you ready?" Ultrecht asked as he and the others stood clear of Gage and his entourage.

Dylan felt his stomach turning over. There was a knot of cold in his gut as what he was about to do truly washed over him. He was nauseous, but he fought down the urge to retch and instead focused on the mental image of Cindy. He had to remind himself of why he was about follow his master into the very depths of the Ninth Hell, Nessus.

Avery, Armegon and Ultrecht backed away and left the circle of stones, Velar followed. Then those who were staying behind began walking around the circle in opposite directions, striking each stone as they passed. When struck, the stone rang out with a reverberating tone that lingered and blended with the tones of the other stones that were struck.

One after another, each stone rang out. Then when the final stone was struck, all of the stones went silent. Dylan watched as the landscape faded from view. He had a brief vision of being surrounded by stars and then he was standing on a rocky and ugly crag. To his left, no more than twenty feet away, a cleanly lined cliff dropped off in a smooth incline down and away. Overhead was a sunless sky deep red in color with violently churning clouds. It looked almost artificial.

"Dylan, come here quickly," Gage called urgently.

Dylan obeyed, joining the others and Gage quickly cast a spell. A few seconds later, a wave of flame washed over and around them. The spell protected them from injury and death. They watched, transfixed, as the wave of fire passed them by and moved onward.

"There are some very inhospitable things in this realm," Gage cautioned. "Stay close. There is no telling how much time I will have to erect another shield. Be wary of where you step."

"Do you know which way we should go?" Rathe asked. He hefted his axe and looked about.

"I think so," Crystal answered. "While Ultrecht was finding out where Cindy was, Avery gave me a map of Nessus. He said he had never been here, but got the map from the Archives in Tycho." She unrolled a piece of parchment.

Looking around critically, she compared the diagrams on the map with what she could see. "The first step is to find out which direction we need to go. This chasm is fairly deep, but I'm sure it's not the right one. The Citadel is at the bottom of the deepest rift. Each rift gets deeper as you get loser to the center of Nessus. All we have to do is determine if the next rift in that direction," she pointed to a point about a mile away, "is deeper than this one. If it is, then that is the right direction. If it isn't then we go the other way."

"How do we measure the depth," Rathe asked.

"Simple," Gage explained. "We just time how long it takes a pebble to reach the bottom when thrown over the edge." He picked up a small rock, cast a small cantrip to make the rock glow and tossed it over the side. They all silently counted to themselves. When the stone hit the bottom, Gage nodded. "I counted fifteen seconds."

"That's about right," Coran agreed. "Now let's go and find out about the next one." He led the way and they all followed.

Gage walked next to his apprentice. "Can you tell me how deep that chasm was?" he asked the boy.

"Fifteen seconds," Dylan replied.

"No," Gage elaborated, "I mean how many feet."

Dylan took on a puzzled look. Then he admitted, "I'm sorry. I can't remember the formula for that kind of calculation. Is it important?"

Gage's expression was unreadable. "No," he told his pupil. "The amount of time will be good enough as long as the gravity does not change. Do not let it concern you. I do not expect you to memorize everything." He reached into his shoulder bag and pulled forth Dylan's spellbook. "You still have not displayed responsibility enough to have this again, but considering the danger we will be in for the time being, I think it is best if you have it." He fixed the apprentice with a serious eye. "I do not need to remind you how dangerous this journey is. I will not tolerate any disobedience or carelessness. A misstep at this time could cost your life or the life of a friend. Are we clear on this?"

"Yes master," Dylan answered stiffly.

"Watch your step" Coran called over his shoulder. He changed direction slightly to walk around a small fire that was creeping across the stone like a living creature.

"That's weird," Rathe observed.

"This is a realm of Hell," Gage explained. "Fire runs rampant here. It burns without consuming. It will still kill, though."

"Gage," Coran called to his brother. "Another wave of flames is coming.

"Everyone gather close," Gage ordered. Again they all did as the mage bade them and again his magic protected them as a wall of searing flames washed over and past them.

"How often does that happen?" Crystal asked.

"It is probably random," Gage answered. "Let us hope it does not happen too often. Each time we do that I will lose a little more strength. It is not a difficult spell, but if I have to cast the spell every ten minutes, I will be worn out in short order."

"Is there another spell you can use?"

"Yes, but it requires much more energy. The control is time instead of thought. I would rather save that for when we stop to rest. That way I can get some sleep while the spell is active."

It took almost half an hour for them to cross to the other side of the ridge. Then again they were looking down into a chasm. At the bottom Dylan could see a vast river with what appeared to be floating plates of ice, even though it did not seem cold to him.

They repeated the experiment with the pebble and determined that the new rift was indeed much deeper than the previous one. According to what they had been told and the description on the map, they were headed in the right direction.

"Is the Citadel down there?" Dylan asked. He peered over the edge.

"No," Crystal answered. "That's either the Lethe or the Styx. Both rivers run through this realm of Hell. We need to avoid any contact with the water. If the water touches you, you'll lose your memory."

"The Citadel is near a delta where the Styx empties into a lake," she continued, "so, we can follow this river to that lake. But if this isn't the Styx, we'll eventually have to cross to the other side."

"Watch for unusual things," Gage added.

"Everything here is unusual," Coran advised. "I think you'd better be a bit more clear on what you mean."

Gage shot a look of irritability at his sibling. "You have seen the waves of fire. Watch out for other things like that. The clouds are deadly. There are pockets drifting around where the temperatures swing wildly back and forth from freezing to burning. So watch for frost or smoking ground."

Crystal and Coran led. Dylan followed with Gage and Rathe bringing up the rear. Crystal had the map. She had been trained in maps and terrain following. Coran was with her for vanguard protection. Dylan realized that he was in the middle for his own protection.

They followed the ridge line for a couple of hours. Dylan wished they had horses or at least a wagon so that the walking would not be so tiring, but horses were not to be found, and considering where he was, he was not sure that he would trust one if he found it.

At one point, they were passing an outcropping of hard rock when Crystal urged them all to take cover. No one needed telling twice. They hid among the rocks and became silent. A moment later a horrible creature flew overhead. It was easily three times the size of Rathe with deep maroon colored flesh and huge black bat-like wings. It had a long tail which looked like a snake as it whipped around in the air. It was naked over most of its body except around its waist, where it wore thick fur. Its hands were clawed and its face jagged with teeth and horns. Two long tentacles hung from its forehead. The thing was, to say the least, ugly.

"What was that?" Coran asked quietly as the thing passed, unaware of their presence.

"A sentry," Gage guessed.

"No, I mean what was it?"

"A minor devil I would say," Gage answered. "I am not familiar with the lower forms."

"Could you have beaten it?" Rathe asked. There was some worry. If Gage could not handle a minor devil, then what would happen if he fought a greater devil.

"Maybe, maybe not," the mage answered. "I would not know until I tried."

"Can you handle a major devil?" Rathe asked the question, though others were thinking it.

"I hope. But there is a difference with fighting a devil here and one back home."

"And that is?" Coran invited his brother to continue.

"Devils we fight back home are more aggressive and less cautious, because if they are killed, then their souls come back here and are reconstituted and reborn. But if they fight here and die here, they are forever dead. So they tend to be a little more cowardly here."

"What if we die," Rathe asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if we die, do our souls go back home and we get reborn?"

"No. If you die here, your soul goes on to the afterlife."

It was a sobering thing to be speaking so matter-of-factly about their deaths. Dylan was really beginning to wonder if coming along had been the right thing to do. But then he thought of Cindy and how terrified she must be. He put those worries and wonderings behind him. He had a responsibility to her and his own heart.

"That devil is flying in the direction we are headed. That's a pretty good indication that we are going the right way," Crystal told them as she emerged from the rocks. "Let's get on with it. I want to try to find a nice place before it gets dark."

"Master," Dylan asked.

"Yes?"

"There's no sun; how can it be light and then dark?"

"That's a good question," Coran added. "Do we know if it will turn dark?"

"There is dark," Gage informed them. I've read about it. I confess that I do not know what makes it happen, or the light for that matter. I know that the days and nights are very long though."

"So how do we know when it will get dark?" Rathe wondered aloud. "There's no sun to watch."

"We'll just have to deal with that when it happens," Gage offered. "We can not just sit around and wait for dark to arrive. Let us hope that there will be some kind of warning."

Crystal led them for another hour. They had to stop twice to ride out passing waves of flame. Dylan almost stepped into a pool of what looked like red water before Rathe could point it out to him. It might have been harmless, but in Nessus, who wanted to take the chance?

Night did come. It was not an immediate change, but a gradual darkening. To find shelter out of the open, they descended about fifty feet down the side of a rocky slope and holed up among a set of very large boulders.

Then the temperature dropped. It went from comfortably warm to seeing each other's breath in the space of a few heartbeats. Before long they were huddled together in blankets and almost climbing on top of each other. Gage had to work hard to prepare the wards and spells that would protect them from the waves of fire and poison clouds. His fingers were losing their feeling as he cast the spell. It was fortunate that the spell protected them from the extreme cold. It was still cold in the protected area, but not as bad as it was outside.

Dylan had trouble falling to sleep at first. It was uncomfortably cold and it was not until he was seated comfortably between Crystal and Rathe that he felt warm enough to nod off.
When he woke, it was still dark. He was not tired in the least and looked around. It was too dark to see anything, so instead he listened. Rathe was breathing very slow and steady. Crystal, to his astonishment, was snoring.

"Is anyone awake?" he whispered.

"I am," Coran's voice sounded behind him.

Reflexively Dylan turned even though he could not see anything. "How long have we been here?"

"Can't be sure," Coran answered. "No sun, and no stars. I'd guess that we've been here for about ten hours. Rathe took the first watch and Gage took the second."

"Well, I've had all the sleep I can stand for a while," Dylan said. "I'll take watch if you want to catch some sleep."

"Thanks," Coran told the boy. "Good night."

Dylan felt a certain pride that Coran trusted him enough to let him keep watch. He was resolved to keep watch well.

Coran relaxed. He was not really all that tired. Before Gage had waken him, he had slept what he estimated was about eight hours. He decided to let the boy take the watch, but he too would sit awake. It would do the boy good to take an active part in the responsibility."

Dylan spent the time in the darkness thinking of songs and meditating on his spells. He lost all track of time and was really not sure how long he had been awake when he felt Crystal stirring.

"I'd like to say 'good morning'," he told her, "but I really don't know what time it is."

"Dylan?" Crystal yawned. "How long have you been up?"

"I really don't know. I took over the watch from Coran and he took over from Gage and Gage took over from Rathe."

"You're really beginning to pull your weight, aren't you?" Crystal praised. She felt the top of the boy's head and scrubbed his hair playfully.

"I'm just trying to do my part."

"Well it sounds like you're doing your part pretty well," she praised. "If you want to get some more rest, I'll take over."

"Okay," Dylan agreed. He did not know how long he had been awake, but the long hours in the darkness had worn him quite a bit, and he was actually quite fatigued. It did not take long before he was asleep again.