D&D 3.5 Epic Adventure: Through the Bowels of Hell [IC]

Death, during the height of your power it was something you laughed at. Who could even dream of killing you? You were the most powerful mortals who ever lived. Then it happened. Whether some villain/ hero got lucky, through a stroke of bad luck, maybe even old age, you are dead, permanently this time. Or so you thought.

Suddenly you are pulled from your respective Afterlives and are brought to a place you hadn't seen since your death. You are in The Tribunal, the domain of Sheoreth, the god of judgement and death fully armed and armored with what you had in the peak of your career.

Sheoreth, that name means a lot to you. It was He who assigned you to your afterlife, measuring your devotion to your god, to your ideal, and weighing your deeds upon your heart. The last time you were here, Sheoreth laid all of your sins and heroic deeds before you and alone decided where you belong.

Before you, you see the god of the dead. A blindfolded old man, with scales in his hand. A white flame burning in one end and a black flame burning in the other. He turns away from you, "As promised Lords and Lady, these are the most powerful."

Following his gaze you see three beings sitting where the throne of Judgement usually is. They are Lucia goddess of Good and Life, Oraculus god of Balance and Magic, and Omegrin god of Evil and Greed. Lucia appearing as a golden light, Oraculus as a gray flame, and Omegrin as a great darkness.

Lucia as eldest speaks first, "Thank you Sheoreth," Then to you, "The gods would request a service of you."

Omegrin interrupts, "And by request, she means demand."

The three greater gods, the three most powerful beings in existence, have overcome their mutual hatred to work together. And now, they're asking for your help.

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All right, so begins Through the Bowels of Hell. Give me a brief description of what your character looks like and what you were doing in the afterlife before you were pulled to Sheoreth's realm.

And then of course reactions to the sight before you.

Arkhan materializes in mid-stride, transported fresh from the parade grounds in the ninth circle where he had been inspecting the newest muster of the Legions. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden change of surroundings - while it was hardly rare to receive a sudden summons, usually his lord deigned to inform him in advance.

He listened to the pronouncement in silence, waiting to be sure the dark form of his master was done speaking before replying. "I am, as always, yours to command, my lord. What would you have your General do?"

Slowly, he turned to regard the others summoned alongside him, taking in their appearances with narrowed eyes and a thoughtful expression, and allowing them to assess him in turn.

Arkhan is a pale human man, clad entirely in plate armour the color of old blood. His head is exposed, allowing onlookers to see the perpetually malicious gleam in his cold eyes, and a cape of liquid darkness hangs from his shoulders. A pair of short swords are sheathed at his waist. Perhaps most distinctive, however, are the pair of great wings that project from his back, leathery like a bats. There is an almost tangible aura of hostility and evil hanging around his armored form.

Karith appears behind a grimace of pain that swiftly vanishes behind a grin. As he looks around at the assembled personages the grin does not vanish, but certainly turns harder, more bitter and poisoned.

He is cut straight from his own legend, a monster of a man standing over seven feet tall with corded muscles in his forearm that speak to great strong. His hair is long and dark, while his eyes are the yellow of sulfur with the diamond-like irises of a cat. Those so distinctive eyes seem to take in everything at once, resting on no one person in particular. He is well dressed in robes of black and gold, and carries a black staff. His very presence oozes power and authority.

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He takes a moment to stretch in place, drawing himself up to his full height and letting in and out a deep breath. "You mean beg." he replies to the assembled gods, "Or alternatively, perhaps with more success.... bargain.". His grin slips into a vicious smile at the assembled gods.

Arkhan's eyes narrow as he spies Karith.

"You. I confess I am surprised to see you again. The Dukes are rarely keen to relinquish their captives." he said softly. He looked back over at his lord.

" What task is so vital that it requires the Betrayer freed from his reward?"

Azilya appears mid gallop with an ivory bow in hand, she clatters to a stop at the teleportation and lets her strung arrow fall lamely to the ground, clearly surprised to be snatched away from whatever vigorous hunt she was involved in.

She takes in what is said by the gods and nods a reply before looking at the assembled champions, her breathing still heavy from exertion.

She herself is a spry looking female centaur decked out in elaborate red robes and a tall black felt cap. Long brown hair is tied loosely back where it falls from her cap and her plain youthful face is set with deep brown eyes.

"Quietly now...", the woman said, signalling to her companions, "Wait for it, wait for it... NOW!"

She spoke to her friends, her allies. The Swiftblades. Each of them knew they were dead, that they had died several thousand years ago, but the Gods it seems had been kind to them. Or perhaps they had been kind to their leader, for the rest of the Relic Hunters knew she had died doing something rather uncharacteristically benevolent. Had they given her the chance to spend eternity with her friends, doing what they had spent their entire lives doing before things began turning sour?

The Swiftblades leapt forth, circling and surrounding their quarry from within the shadows. It was a group of bandits this time, eager to claim their next prize and, going by their apparel and reaction to the intruders, they were the kind of people who preferred to get other Relic Hunters to do their dirty work for them.

"Who are you?!" the leader of the bandits shouted, "Show yourselves or we'll gut you like fish!"

"We're the Swiftblades, acquirers of priceless artifacts - for the right price, of course - and you've got our current request in your mitts."

The woman stepped forward, lowering her hood. Her amber eyes seemed to penetrate the man, see everything of him. There was something unerring about her appearance. The pale skin, the small fangs, the strange way the shadows seemed to cling to her... She wasn't human. Or if she was once, she wasn't any more.

He took a step back. And another, tripping up against a lose rock. Brushing her shoulder length brown hair aside, the woman rested her foot against the bandit's crotch.

"It's nice of you to have cleaned the Sylvan Chronogram for us, but-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the world around her seemed to disappear. Not just the world, but the bandits and even her friends. Where was she? Where did everything go?

Then a voice said, "The gods would request a service of you."

Omegrin interrupts, "And by request, she means demand."

Seeing that she wasn't alone any more, Leif surveyed the others. A centaur, a man that smelled of self-importance and a another in armour so heavy Leif wondered how he could even move. Turning to the Gods, however, she eyed them wearily...

"Haven't I given you enough? Do even the dead know no respite?"

A flare of white light marks Jena's arrival, in her form as Saint of the Lost Dawn. She blinks at the sudden transition - no stranger to teleportation, but still slightly confused by the sudden displacement. And a part of her mind wonders what Sol had been about to say.

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Her eyes sweep across the assembled group as the gods speak, an alluring sparkle dancing in the depths. Then as the Gods finish, she drops to the ground, her weapon dissipating into the air. Her skin seems to flow like liquid for a moment, the wings vanishing at the same time as her weapon, before recollecting into the form of an apparently young, light blonde haired human.

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Even then, the sparkle remains, light seeming to caress her skin and inexplicably draw one's gaze. She looks up at the manifestations of the gods, blue eyes curious, and tilts her head to one side. "Why?" She asks simply. "And to what end?"

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I have the public history piece almost ready, but I'm posting this now so we can move as Yeshon wishes. As a note, the angelic form is the one she took during her time fighting in the Emerald Crusade.

The Black Flame that represented Omegrin tilted down towards Karith, pure malice dripping from his every word, "Or I could hand you off to Yaljorn*, he's been asking for a chance to get at you."

Words in ancient script appeared above the gray flame that was Oraculus. And a disembodied voice read the words, "Come brother, we can spare a favor for this service. Perhaps we could pay his debt with the dukes. Provided they are successful of course."

Omegrin leaned back, "And if they fail?"

"It won't matter then now will it?"

Lucia looked at Leif and Jena at the same time, "I am sorry children, but you five are the only mortals with any chance to succeed. And as you all well know, there are places gods cannot go and things we cannot do."

Oraculus looked at Omegrin, "Tell them brother."

The Black flame crackled for a brief moment then calmed, "Fine, recently something was taken from me... something incredibly dangerous."

"When we were created Lucia was put in charge of beginnings, I was put in charge of the present, and Omegrin-"

"Was given dominion over the end."

"A tablet was stolen from one of my servants entrusted with its safe keeping. The LeShay" He spits that last word, "May know him as the Elder Titan Hades. The tablet entrusted to him contained the true word for death."

"In other words, if someone manages to read this tablet, he could achieve absolute dominion over death itself."

"And by ancient truce, no god can go near it."

"Getting the picture?"

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*Yaljorn is the Archduke of torture (in this world archduke = demigod), it is said that no mortal lasts more than five minutes counting the time he takes sharpening his knives.

Karith laughs at the threat, a mirthless chuckle. "While Yaljorn's reputation proceeds him, you should know all too well I have both no fear of your tortures and no reason to cooperate if at the end I am simply to be thrown back into the pit for another eternity of torture. If the choice is assisting you only to be returned to hell, or allowing someone to end creation - and both of us with it - you know which I would choose."

His gaze settles on Oraculus. "A task for three gods, I think it fair to ask three rewards." He pauses for a moment, seemingly thinking, his gaze seems to shift between the gods, "I care little for 'settling' my debt with Omegrin's dukes. There will be more than enough settling of accounts - done my way - when this is all done. No, I think Lucia will restore me to full life and vigor on the material plane, with all of my powers and possessions, in a location of my choosing."

His gaze shifts to the god of knowledge, balance, and magic. "You will provide me with what her angels did not. You know the spell I seek. I think perhaps you alone out of these three might be trusted to keep your word."

Finally his gaze settles on the lord of lies, and a vicious petty grin settles on his face. "And you will apologize for the treatment I endured within Hell, and you will ask that I save you from what you hath wrought."

Jena's right eyebrow rises at the response from the three. Child, she calls me, she thinks to herself. Ah, no matter.

"Ah, so this is a Titan's," her tone freezes around the word, "fault." She shrugs. "Figures. Why you even thought to trust one of those who betrayed your creator before you even existed, I will never understand." She turns her attention to the golden light of Lucia. "Regardless. If I am to do this, you know what I ask of you in return for its completion."

"And if those requests were granted, I would ask with the others of mine for the power to stop you." She interjects after Karith. "If you were willing to set the quest that destroyed you aside, then I would have no quarrel with you, Karith." A soft shimmer of gold swirls around her hands as she speaks, each gentle word undercut by adamant will. "But if you intend to try again what was your undoing in life, then I will oppose you." The sparkle in her eyes compresses to a glittering point. "We both know that I brought only a fraction of my allies to our last encounter. And I rather doubt your favour in the eyes of...well...anyone has improved over the last few millennia."

"And they called me demanding," Leif laughed at Karith's laundry list of "requests", "While you're at it, why don't you ask them to kiss your feet or stroke your ego?"

Her eyes then met Lucia. "You asked me for my life once and I gave it. I understood then, as I still do, that there is power some should never reach for. So I will help you on but one condition - my friends did not deserve to have their lives cut so short by Fate's hand. They have, and always will, mean everything to me. Give them back their lives. Let them have died old, surrounded by those they love. Let them have seen their children and their grandchildren rise, fall and rise again. Let them have achieved their dreams, like Lucas and his tavern or Maria and her cabbages..."

"Give them the lives they should have led and I'll find your thief and either take the tablet from him or beat him in ways that'd make Yaljorn himself blush until he tells me where it is."

"Okay, that is it! I say we send this bastard back to Hell. The four of them are more than en-"

"Agreed."

"What?!"

Oraculus leaned close to Karith, no words floated over his head this time, he spoke in his true voice, only a few mortals could hear it. "You have already been returned to life, or did you fail to notice the heart beating in your chest? But you have my word that we will not kill you when this is done. When you have completed your service and if you survive, I will bring you the spell myself. But we will not serve as your transport, if someone of your power can't get where he pleases, then you are much less intellegent than I gave you credit for. And do not presume to make a god ask for forgiveness, especially when your fate was your fault and yours alone. To traffic with dukes of Hell was the action of a boy unwilling to gain his power through careful study. It was not Omegrin who took you from the material plane, nor was it he who freed them. And do not mistake apathy for impotence, he would have been within his rights to do so. If you refuse this deal, I will no longer advocate for you and you may go to whomever Omegrin wishes to send you."

He rose again saying nothing more. Omegrin growled, but said nothing in the way of human speech.

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Only those with a 45 or above INT can understand the italisized speech.

Lucia nodded to Jena but to all save her silence greeted the request, "I... will try. There's much about the cataclysm that we still do not understand, but you are alive again and you will have my support to continue in your search, after this cataclysm is averted.

"As for the Titans... understand there is much they know that we do not. Including how the cataclysm came about and your own people, are unwilling to share this knowledge."

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Mental Communication to Jena.

But to Leif she sighed, "You have asked something beyond our power. Only Alphaerion can change the past and we would never know it if He did. I can grant your friends another life and guarantee they will be happy. But understand, they will not remember you, or their past lives."

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Everyone: you have been resurrected, you are alive again.

Standing out of Karith's eyeline, Arkhan pointedly glances at the wizard and then looks back at the representation of his god, one eyebrow raised. He has served his lord for millennia now, and he has full confidence that experience and deific insight will allow the god to interpret the implied question.

It would not be the first time he had disposed of a pawn once it's usefulness was outlived, after all.

A moment or so later, he spoke out loud for all to hear. "I take it we are to speak with Hades, or whoever else was guarding the tablet? Or do we have a lead on its location already?"

Karith barely pays the leshay any attention when she beings to speak to him, but as she continues in her monologue he rolls his eyes. "Didn't I already kill you once, and when I had half a dozen dukes attacking me, half of my power expended, and a legion of fiends to contain? Bring all the friends you want, they can die with you. Realize though that the next time you interfere I will have contingency ready, and even if my some miracle you and your friends overcome me, I will see all you love turned to ash even from the grave. Alternatively realize that discretion is the better part of wisdom, and find some happy corner to live out your life if you survive this task."

When Oraculus speaks however he is silent, taking in all the god has to offer. "He may have been within his rights, but I wonder, would it have been within his power? You and I both know the might of the cage I built. Had any of his servants crossed it..." He smiles at Omegrin. "That of course is why he had to dupe the leshay into breaking a hole in the wall. I do confess, I wonder, might it have held even a god? A discussion for another time perhaps."

He gives a soft laugh, then speaks plainly, "Yes is my answer Oraculus, assuming you are dealing in good faith. In truth I don't trust either of the others to keep any promise in any case. Yours was the word I desired. And if I'm wrong and you are deceiving me... it's not as though I have anything to lose."

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The cage Karith is speaking of was, in effect, almost the whole of his Empire. If one were to carefully remove extraneous cities, roads, and fortifications, and examine a map of the Empire, they would find an enormous binding diagram overlain across the Empire. The roads formed boundaries, and the cities nexuses of power. Built into the proper roads were silver and iron lines that served to further reinforce the diagram, and of course the living creatures that followed throughout it also helped.

Omegrin spoke to his general, "Yeah, Hades is the best lead we have so far. We'll send you outside his sanctum, any closer and you run into some of the teleportation wards I put in place."

The flame tilted to regard Karith... this time his voice dripped with amusement, "If I wanted to act against you, you'd have known it. You held the Dukes for what? 50 years? What do I care about 50 years? Besides why would I have tossed you aside? You vastly overestimate the importance of a few Dukes of Hell to me. Hell you brought about a new age of greed, decadence, and corruption.... Indirectly mind you, didn't come about for a thousand years after you died (think you were occupied at the time with something hot stuck up your a$$ but I didn't pay attention). Still if you hadn't established the roads and raw infrastructure, it would have never happened. Heh, one of my favorite eras was created by you, Karith. Congratulations, you proved no matter what structure you present the mortals with, they'll always swing straight to greed."

"Are you quite finished?"

"Hit a sore spot? Yeah I'm done pointing out how limited the scope of his plans are."

Oraculus flickers and goes on pretending Omegrin's speech never happened, "Your agreement is acceptable. Are there any other questions or requests before we send you to Hell?"

"You're speaking to a crusader, Karith. You can hardly expect them to simply roll over and do nothing in those sort of situations. Very proactive lot." Arkhan comments drily. "And for the record, as a matter of professional pride, I sent precisely one legion to deal with you."

"In any case, a formal pass or badge of authority would be appreciated. Something to hasten our way past obstructive individuals or checkpoints. Besides murdering them all, naturally."

After a moment, he turns to regard the rest of the impromtou team. "Oh, yes, formal introductions. Arkhan Dragonblooded, General of the Infernal Legions, at your service." he gives a mocking salute. "We're going to Hell, apparently, so for your own sakes watch your step, don't annoy the locals and try not to be exceptionally pious in front of the pit fiends. They hate that. Oh, and don't sign anything."

"One of your legions, not one legion in total... but I suppose they don't bother to tell a pawn the details." Karith replies.

"What kind of reception should we expect from Hades?"

"From Hades? Pride, posturing, an utter unwillingness to tolerate anything resembling insult." Arkhan responds after a moment's thought. He made no response to the 'pawn' comment - if he was to work with this preening fool, he could hardly respond to every insult from his mouth and still have hours left in the day.

"He might not know exactly what it was he was guarding - for safety reasons - but he's intelligent enough, and our arrival will confirm that it was exceptionally important. He can't afford to appear weak or indecisive, now more than ever. Likewise, most of his lieutenants and the like will probably be going out of their way to appear competent and helpful, just in case Hades' failure signals an impending change of leadership. Watch what you say."

He glanced at Jena, remembering her reputation. "He also has a number of necromancers and their creations in his service. Is that likely to be a problem?"

Jena chuckles at Karith's response to her, then laughs outright at Arkhan's crusader statement.
"Ah, that one at least seems to understand - if only in part." She says, gesturing at the armoured figure before focusing on him as he speaks further. "If they don't get in our way, then there will be no problem." She replies to the comment on necromancers. "And if they do happen to get in our way..." She shrugs. "Shouldn't be a problem either."

"And as for introductions, well, it seems most of you already know me." She shrugs. "And I would agree with Arkhan on the matter of some sort of badge of authority that will allow us to pass freely - or as freely as one does there - through Hell in our investigations. I would be tempted, in fact, to ask for that to extend everywhere."

"Omegrin?"

A hand forms from the Black Flame and comes close to each of you, so close you begin to sweat from the profane heat.

"Done."

A Small Eight Spoked Wheel with a Skull in the middle forms on your wrist. "This should be enough to get you past any border guards or patrols, no promises if you're caught inside a Stronghold. More than enough to get you an audience with Hades though."

"Could Hades not be a traitor?"

"Yeah, it's possible, but I don't think he has the balls to attack them outright."

Jena shivers as Omegrin's mark forms on her wrist, grimacing in distaste but understanding the necessity. "And what of the other realms?" She asks, her gaze taking in Lucia and Oraculus. "It seems unlikely that the one who took this tablet would remain in Hell, where the theft took place. And it is indeed possible that our search could take us into both Limbo and Heaven in following the trail of the thief." She gestures at Arkhan, then Karith. "And I find it unlikely that either of these two would be exactly welcome in either of those places. Limbo perhaps - for Karith at least. But Heaven?" She shakes her head. "So I would ask for each of you to give us the same as your brother, a way to guarantee free passage throughout your realms for the duration of our work for you, to aid in the ease of our search."

"Him escaping is not exactly a concern."

Lucia's voice suddenly becomes grave, "Sheoreth, show them."

Sheoreth steps from the side of the chamber and nods. The floor beneath the gathered mortals becomes transparent. Hundreds of souls can be seen languishing in the Astral Plane, awaiting entry to Hell.

"Ten minutes ago, seconds after when we think the theft took place, Lord Omegrin noticed what had happened to the tablet. Eight minutes ago, he determined the tablet had not left Hell. So, he closed the gates of Hell and blocked all planar travel. At the moment the only way in or out of Hell, is through the gate in Pandemonium, you will be allowed to utilize the gate, but the souls destined for Hell"

He gestures beneath him, "Will continue to build up until the restriction is lifted. Eventually they will spill over into Terra and the laws of death suddenly have no meaning.... It is unfortunate that there are currently eight wars taking place on Terra."

"In other words, whoever stole the tablet is still in Hell and I believe he is using the buildup of souls on the astral plane to blackmail the gods into letting him leave Hell."

"Won't work, I'm not letting it down until you get the tablet back. Not even if the souls of the dead spill over into Terra."

"There is another far more disturbing possibility."

Lucia sighed, "Given the lapse in time between Omegrin raising the barrier and the theft. It is possible that he doesn't want to leave, yet."

"Which is another reason we need you to talk to Hades, if there's something else someone who'd steal the Tablet would want, I-We need to know what it is. And since Hades has had the last couple aeons to study the tablet, he probably knows."

Arkhan looks down on the languishing souls and frowns to himself. "That's going to mess with the economy. And everyone in hell will know something drastic has happened. Well, nothing to be done about that, I suppose."

He looks back up at the gods. "Well, I'm ready to depart. The longer we delay, the more of my lieutenants will start getting ambitious. I hate having to deal with that sort of thing."

That said, he waits, ready to be teleported back into Hell. Despite himself, Arkhan couldn't help but smile a little. It had been quite some time since he'd enjoyed a proper hunt.

Karith arches an eyebrow at the description of the potential problems associated with the lockdown of Hell. "I suppose you've got a difficult choice to make with regard to the time traits. Either you accelerate time in Hell and potentially allow the thief more time with his prize, along with more internal problems, or you decelerate it and expand the problems presented on a multi-planar level by the backup of souls."

"We're dipping into the reserves to pay the legions, should be good for a month or so Hell's time. But yeah, the lack of the ability to plane shift has them talking. Right now time's almost stopped in Hell, as soon as you get there, I'm speeding it up so that a second on Terra adds up to about an hour there. You should have time, so no pressure... y'know beyond some power mad psycho getting a hold of the only thing that can enslave death itself. Possibly using it to destroy entire nations and possibly commit genocide on a grand scale. But again, no pressure."

Oraculus's flame flickers, "Are there any other questions?"

"I have one" the centaur says "Do you expect me to trust that?" as she points at the eladrin and spits on the ground.

"Nope! But that's the fun."

Oraculus sighs, "I understand your reservations, but this is bigger than your mortal conflicts. Even if the elves had destroyed your entire race, I would still be asking you to fight alongside her. You are not required to trust each other, merely obtain the tablet and ensure no one being has complete mastery over death."

"You were all selected, because you were all necessary. Your power together is enough to overcome any force and given our lack of information on the forces you will face, that is exactly what we need. Understand child, we cannot let one being have absolute power over who lives and dies. Or we could very well see entire races disappear from the face of Terra."

"Which reminds me! You may not have noticed, but that mark I gave you? Well a curse has worked into your soul by now. Yeah, it prevents you from using, selling, droping, or giving away the tablet (along with any variation thereof). Just in case you were getting ideas of blackmailing the gods."

"Sorry Arkhan, would've excluded you from the curse, but the others don't trust you for some reason."

"It couldn't have to do with the fact that he's loyal to you now could it?"

"Details."

The Flame of Oraculus bows slightly, "My deepest apologies to all of you for the deception, but there are some things I would not trust myself with. Thus why I took the oath against seeking this knowledge."

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So if no one else has any questions let's begin.

"All right," The Black Form that is Omegrin stretches out his hand and a red gate forms before you.

"Once you step through this gate, I'll teleport you a little ways from Tartarus, you should be able to see the citadel from there. From then on, you are on your own."

And so the gate and the beginning of your journey lays open before you.

Arkhan smiles thinly. "My lord, if this is the first piece of insurance you've laid on me after all this time, I would be greatly surprised. It's a sensible enough precaution."

That said, he calmly walks into the portal.

"Then I'll keep you to your word," Leif said, giving Lucia a backwards glance as she walked through the portal, "Maybe one day I'll be able to see how they're fitting in."