Elric sat in a dilapidated arm chair reading a book in front of his fire place. There was a dripping coming from above him, so he closed his book and moved his chair a few feet over. He decided that solved the problem and sat back down- A nearby shriek ripped Elric from his fantasies of home and he peered down into the canyon below where a line of souls marched towards a large gilded gateway which was guarded by a dark and intimidating winged figure. One soul had just been judged and thrown through the gateway. It was impossible to tell where the poor soul had ended up but judging from the shrieks he hadn't liked what he saw.

Death had been a rather humbling experience for Elric. When the once powerful mage had run off to join the rebellion in Brance he had thought he had nothing left to lose. However, when he had woken up in this desolate grey haze he had realized how wrong he had been. He had materialized near the gateway like everyone else but unlike the others he was not eager to queue up to be judged. He knew where he would end up. After walking for what seemed like several hours Elric realized the underworld had no discernible features. The ground was a consistent grey sand and the few dead trees he passed all had the same white bark. Time meant nothing here and as he walked the underworld seemed to bend around him. Finally he arrived back at the gateway and climbed up onto an overlooking cliff to watch the judging.

He was able to take solace in the judging at least. In a place where material possessions meant nothing, peasants and nobles waited side by side in the line. Day after day he watched the new souls arriving and each time he hoped it wasn't anyone he knew. He hoped it wasn't Aireaz.

He heard a rustling to his left and stood up brushing grey sand off his duster and straitening the brim of his hat. He appeared as he imagined himself to be. The only oddity being the return of his right hand which Elric decided might be the only perk of being dead. He slipped behind a large grey boulder just in time to see two reapers, hooded and cloaked, float by searching for rogue souls to cast into damnation.

Elric leaned his head back against the boulder and sighed in relief. That had been a pretty close call with the reapers who were constantly searching for lost souls. He honestly wasn't sure how he had managed to avoid them for so long. It was possibly due to the staff of Takeshi which he realized afterwards had been eating away at his very soul. A pang of longing shot through Elric as he remembered the staff. It was true he had been permanently damaged by the thing, but it had granted him powers far beyond his normal capabilities. He hadn't forgotten all of the awful things he had done when he had the staff or all the people he had hurt. A wave of guilt washed over him as he recalled that nasty business with the coliseum. He’d put Aireaz in terrible danger by setting that fire and what’s worse was he allowed her to believe he had rescued her.

Elric pulled himself out of his own thoughts and peered around the side of the boulder. There were no reapers to be seen so he fell back against the boulder to rest. As he turned he let out a quick gasp. The archivist now stared into the faceless void of a hooded reaper that floated above the canyon not three feet away. Shit. Elric pushed off the rocks and began running in the opposite directing. The shrouded creature made a terrible squawking noise as it flew after him much faster than Elric could run. He threw back his arm aiming a fireball at the reapers chest but he felt the spark go out before it left his fingertips. No magic in the underworld. The reaper flew right into him, knocking Elric to the ground. It began circling its fallen prey and despite its lack of facial features Elric felt it watching him like a vulture. Soon it was joined by the other reaper he had seen before.

Elric got to his knees and reached out gripping his fallen hat in one fist and shaking off the sand. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked up at the reapers. He had gotten out of a lot of tough scrapes in the past but this time he couldn't think of any way to escape. He supposed he always knew how this would end but now that the time came he wasn't ready for it. The reapers swept in on either side, each grabbing an arm, they pulled him back down into the canyon and towards the gate. He could hear shocked noises and rustling from the people in line as they passed and he knew he was making a childish scene. Still he dug his heels into the grey sand and thrashed about pathetically. “No, no! Please, this is some kind of mistake. Help!” he pleaded but the reapers showed no mercy. Elric was flung through the gateway and into a black abyss. All that existed was the heart wrenching sensation of falling for what seemed like a century.

Azazel stood atop a jagged stone within the brutal pits of hell, watching as souls poured from above into the realm from the underworld above them. Other demons of different shapes and sizes stood upon other stones as well, while many more were in the fields picking up souls and beginning to drag them off. This was one of several pits were mortal souls would first make their arrival within hell, but to Azazel it was little more than a day job.

“You look bored Azazel,” Glivia said in a mocking tone, she was one of the servants of the aspect of lust. A scantily clad creature with hellish looking fangs and a deceptive looking pretty face. She giggled a bit and Azazel rolled his eyes at her but returned a smug looking grin.

“I just havn’t found anyone interesting lately, it’s like the Aspozoch is just sending everyone down here these days, must be getting full up top,” Azazel said sarcastically. The succbi seemed to understand that he was joking, at least about the heavens being full.

Azazel looked back up into the sky as several more souls seemed to start tumbling down. He readied himself, it was quite the competition down here to grab a soul and get to work, and even the succubi was his opponent in this. If a demon came up empty handed by the end of a “work day” they would have to face the wrath of whichever pit boss was around, an unpleasant experience to say the least.

Several souls dropped onto the barren ground between Azazel, the Succubi, and several other demons. With a quickness Azazel lunged forward, whipping his chain around the first mortal that he saw and began dragging them away from the other demons. Other beasts grabbed at the other mortals, and he soon saw the demon woman chasing after him, no doubt intent on sealing his prey.

With a growl he barred his chest at her, clenching his teeth and threatening her with a dagger raised towards her.

“Back off, witch. This one is mine,” Azazel warned. With that the succubus seemed to turn away from him looking defeated, and Azazel threw his new play thing over his shoulder as he moved across the pits.

He came across a small hut building that stank of Brimstone. He smiled and kicked it open, throwing the new arrival inside and stepping into the barren room. Azazel smiled as he watched, waiting for the soul to regain consciousness. 

Aireaz was closer to Brance than she had been in nearly two years. She had promised herself after the last time she had fled from the place that she would never return. It had taken dire circumstances to get her this far, but she would not risk entering the gates. She would have to gather her information from afar, listening to the stories of passing travelers.

It had been nearly a year since she had heard a rumor of the death of her former mentor, Elric. They had parted on uncertain terms, but Aireaz knew that she must free her teacher from the underworld. The staff that he had used had eaten away at his soul and she knew that he would be judged harshly. Even if she had been upset with him, she could not leave him to an unknown fate. Aireaz was not comfortable striking up conversations with strangers, but she made a game of it. Useful information was a win, campfire gossip about nobility was a loss. She had far more losses than wins, but she had confirmed that a mage had died and was buried unceremoniously. All accounts had led to her believe that it must be Elric.

She approached a older gentleman, who seemed happy to have company on the road leading south. He seemed to be somewhat of a historian, telling tales of war. "Yes, but the mages must have a larger roll in the war?" she prodded. "Who would dare to go against such a powerful force?"

"Ah, child, there are folks out there who do not fear the might of Brance, because they think that they are more powerful." The man said with disdain. He clearly loved Brance, she would have to be careful.

"Who could be foolish enough to think they could defend against the might of a mage could send them to the underworld?" She asked the question casually, but if the traveler had not been so wrapped up in the telling of his story then he would have seen the intent in her eyes.

“The hidden mage in Espladar.” He began, “The student who abandoned his master and fled, I hear they still search for him but he is protected by many spells.” Aireaz listened for a short while longer, but the old man seemed out of information. It didn’t matter, if someone was in Espladar then Aireaz knew who could find them.
 She set out for Espladar immediately.

The body the Underworld had constructed for Elric was suddenly splattered across the jagged rocks as he landed in the pits of hell. He felt raw and exposed all over as his bare soul lay on the hot gravel. He could hear scurrying movements in the darkness nearby but the mage was too stunned to move. He closed his eyes and listened hard. Over the shrieks in the background he could hear two voices arguing, presumably over him. One was a husky female voice but the other was deeper. A shiver of fear rushed down his spine and he struggled to move but only managed to twitch his finger. Elric didn't want to go with either demon but he didn't seem to have much choice.

A metal chain coiled its way around Elric’s body which was beginning to feel surprisingly solid again. Sharp barbs dug into his soul as he was dragged across the hot rocks. The mage had never felt pain like this but he was beyond calling for help. A sputter escaped his lips as his eyes rolled back in his head and he lost all conscious thought.

When he awoke he was laying on the dirt floor of some sort of shack. He sat up and had to cover his nose. The place smelled like something had died in there. He felt his stomach tighten and before he could stop it he felt hot bile moving up his esophagus. He coughed and gagged before emptying the contents of his stomach into the corner of the shack. As he caught his breath he noticed a large demon watching him from the shadows. The man had dark grey skin with glowing gold tattoos and black flames atop its head. He wasn't sure what the demon wanted. Elric figured if the demon planned to eat him he would have already. Given his condition he thought it best to wait for the monster to make its move.

"Greetings stranger, how do you fair on this fine day?" Azazel asked with a snarky grin on his face as he looked down at the mage. He unfolded his arms from his chest and moved his right hand to his chin as he looked the mage over. He always enjoyed the opening pleasantries when he first met a mortal, he could usually tell how much fun their would be had with them with their initial responses. As Elric began vomiting Azazel let out a chuckle and stepped forward towards the soul with his hands now dangling at his sides. His bare feet splashing in the mortals bile.

"Weak stomach hmm? and by the looks of you a wizard," Azazel said as he lifted his foot up over Elric who was still hunched over the ground. He intended to press Elric's face into his own bile, holding it there with his foot psychotically. Whether Elric was quick enough to move out of Azazel's way the demon would let out another chuckle.

"Name is Azazel, I didn't catch your name?" the ashen-skinned Hellborn asked nonchalantly. Some demons really played up the drama that mortals seemed to expect about hell, but Azazel didn't have a need to over-inflate his ego.

Ixidor floated among the trees letting the branches pass through him with his eyes closed. "Eww very nasty stuff," he said as his eyes popped open. "This is why I don't like demons, so rude. Ohh well I'd better just follow her a bit longer I don't want to drop her off in front of a hellborn this early that's just not sporting," he said with practical, matter of fact tone.

He rolled in the air and noticed  that the elven girl was talking to an old man: he gazed down and listened. As she finished the conversation with the older gentleman and immediately moved on Ixidor smiled "Ooo yes, determination, conviction, resolve" he said in a rather shrill voice, trailing the last word for far to long. "Very good" he said with a clap of his hands, "I'll let her go a little while longer until they finish up or at least enough to give them a fair chance."

Ixidor phased back in and landed a few hundred feet behind the girl and began to match her pace. As he passed a tree he stopped and searched for just the right branch. After about 10 minutes he reached up and plucked a branch about the size of his chest that had a patchy covering of leaves, it was about the saddest, most unhealthy branch one could find. "I'll need you for later, can't go without camouflage when you're following someone" he smiled to himself at his own cleverness. Then noticing the girl was nowhere to be seen he dashed off in her direction.

Aireaz traveled lightly and quickly.  She knew that the quickest chance of getting to Espladar was to catch a ride on airship.  She thought that her best bet was Mallaston, so she began in that direction.  She didn't have much to offer as payment, but that had never stopped her before.  She needed to see the Bandit King, he would know if there was a powerful mage and he had been friendly with Elric.  She hoped that he would help.

As she traveled on the road to Mallaston she tried to avoid the large groups, but was friendly with travelers in groups of two or three.  She did notice a strange man behind her, she would see him occasionally but avoided his company.  He seemed to be using a tree branch as some kind of staff or walking stick.  Aireaz decided that her life was crazy enough right now and doubled her pace for a while. 

There was not much on the road but scenery, so she gathered berries and roots for food.  She knew how to survive out here.  She made camp for a few hours under a large tree, hoping to catch some sleep.  She knew the road was long ahead of her, but she had the most promising lead she had found so far and she didn't want to waste it.  She shouldered her pack, picked up her staff and checked to make sure her dagger was secure.  She could sleep on the airship, she wanted to keep moving.  

She could see the buildings is the distance, and strained to remember where she could go to find a ship.  She hated them and sworn never to need one again, but just because she didn't want one, didn't mean she didn't need one.  She turned off the path.

The demon laughed as the side of Elric’s face was shoved down into his own hot sick. The force pressing down on his ear helped the former wizard realize just how powerless he was against this foe in his own realm. Hot anger bubbled up inside of him at the indecency of it. He wanted to lash out like a wounded animal and tear at Azazel’s foot with his teeth but the demon spoke in a casual tone. He took a breath and tried to calm himself so he could think clearly. The demon wanted to talk and obviously found the situation amusing. Elric glanced towards the far side of the room where the door stood unlocked and unguarded. If he could keep Azazel interested, he might survive long enough to get away.

One eye was irritated by the bile and he kept it squished closed but he risked a glance up with the other and began to speak, “It doesn't matter who I was before but if you don’t kill me I can make it worth your while.” He wasn't sure what type of demon this was but he decided to take a chance. He spoke quickly, “I know the locations of some pretty rare artifacts and I have information on several important leaders in the Realm of the Living.” He barely took a breath before continuing, “I had the Staff of Takeshi, which enhances the powers of its owner and would fetch a hefty price to the right buyer. The Grand Magister of Brance had it after me. He probably still has it. If you hurry you might be able to get it for yourself.” It pained him to use the staff as leverage as Elric realized he had secretly hoped to one day reclaim it. He couldn't quite see the demon’s face so he added, “I also had the EnStone but that greedy bastard Zaan took it. He probably sold it to the highest bidder a long time ago.”

Azazel lifted his foot off of the mortal’s skull as he began grumbling something, begging the demon to ‘spare his life’. Azazel grinned at the mortal who must have not come to terms yet with the fact that his life was already over, and this would be the realm of his destruction. Then he began to speak of earthly artifacts of great magic, and Azazel raised an eyebrow with amusement. This mortal claimed to have some important connections, even verifiable information about a staff that had made its way back into the Aspect of Greed’s chambers recently.

“The staff is already back with us, but tell me more about where this stone might be,” Azazel said as he pondered. He hadn’t heard of the stone before and he needed to consult with others, he also wanted to see if there was any more information about this Zaan fellow that was mentioned. He wasn’t sure if the stone was valuable here in hell, but the mortal in possession of it might be the type that collects things of interest to the aspect of greed.

Azazel folded his arm as he waited for Elric to respond. He was amused out how quickly this one had begun dropping names and selling people out, it was no wonder why he had ended up in this place.

    Ixidor kept match with the girls pace; when she doubled he pace he groaned and kept with that. There were a few close calls as he followed her but every time she looked back he would freeze and hold his branch in front of him. "The perfect disguise" he half chuckled to himself "I bet we make it all the way to Espladar before she even notices" he finished with a grin. To the untrained eye Ixidor's disguise looked like a man holding a very thin spottily covered branch in front of himself that covered almost none of his body, to the trained eye... he pretty much looked exactly the same.


    Ixidor watched the girl turn down a different path at a fork in the road, it looked like she was headed for Mallaston. Ixidor started to worry he knew his disguise wouldn't hold up if he were forced inside the city. "Hmm, perhaps I could abscond with her prematurely and take her to Espladar... Yes!" he nearly shouted. "Wait, no, I'm trying not to spook her just yet. Wait what if when she went to sleep she woke up in Espladar... that might work... when I fall asleep I wake up in far away countries all the time!" he nodded his head with a smug grin on his face. "That's perfect... except I don't sleep and I'm pretty sure that's never happened. God why is this so difficult."


    Ixidor decided he needed more time, he sped up a bit and caught up with the girl. "Miss, I'm trying to decide how it would be best to keep following you without you noticing. Would you mind possibly taking a break for a moment it's positively arduous to think this hard while keeping up with your pace" and with that he nodded to himself pleased with his final strategy.

Aereaz turned to face the man as he started to speak. As she turned she twisted her staff into a defensive position. It was the same man that she had seen several times before. At this close range she tried to take in the details of his appearance but she fixated on his blue eyes and the strange markings he had. He was obviously powerful but he did not seem immediately threatening. He could have begun an attack on her from behind at any time, but he had chosen to approach her and speak.

She decided to proceed cautiously. The man seemed slightly less than stable. "Perhaps if you told me why you want to follow me, I could help you find the best way to suit your purpose." She continued, inching backward as she spoke "if you wish to hear me, well that would require a different set of skills than if you just wanted to discover where I was going. If that is the case, you could simply ask, I have no reason to lie to you. It would be an altogether different task if you wished to attack me, although I have nothing of value so an attack would be a waste of your energy."

She gripped her staff tightly and waited to hear what the stranger had to say.

    Ixidor smiled to himself at the girls proposal, "This is perfect," he thought "She's stopped and she's going to help solve my dilemma." "Well you see I'm attempting to shadow you: however, the problem is that as you near Mallaston my branch here that I've been using for camouflage isn't going to work any longer so I need a new plan," he said matter-of-factly. "That is the problem, as to why I'm following you... well..." he trailed off, "That's a rather long story and I don't really think we have the time to spare to go into all of that detail. Suffice to say it's in everyone's, especially your wizard friend's, best interest if we were to travel together."

    Ixidor sat down on the ground and closed his eyes as if meditating. He cast his vision a long way through space and into a small "rapey" shack in what appear to be the outskirts of hell. "Ooooo ya... that's just wrong," he mused out loud. "Ugh, his face in it, really? Who would do that?" His eyes snapped open and he rose to his feet, "Yes so it appears as though your friend is still... umm... engaged at the moment. Perhaps we should continue with your business on this realm until a more... 'opportune' time," he said emphasizing the word with air quotes. 

    He nodded to himself and smiled "Right then, we're off, you've made a good decision if I do say so myself, it'll be good working with you. My name is Ixidor," and with that he held out his hand as if to shake.

Elric’s heart fell as he heard that the demons already had the staff. The archivist hadn’t imagined his luck could have gotten worse but now he had to rely on the second most astounding find of his lifetime. He needed to be careful not to say anything that might endanger Aireaz. Setting her free from her cell in Brance was probably the only thing he had ever done right. He smiled a little to himself, despite his situation, as he recalled the dark haired elf. He hoped she had finally found somewhere to call home and that she at least had found happiness.

He realized his slip up in mentioning Zaan right away. He was an obnoxiously charismatic prince who cared more about floating around in his expensive airship playing pirate than he did about learning how to rule his own people but he was also Elric’s best friend. True, Zaan had abandoned him in the Skyfell Mountains and taken the stone but Elric knew he deserved that. Hadn’t he abandoned an unconscious Zaan in Rhaegora when he found the Staff? Elric knew his anger with Zaan was misplaced but he couldn’t let it go. Keira might not have died if he had been able to claim the stone.

The demon moved away from the mage and waited for him to speak. Elric figured he should tell Azazel everything he could remember and the longer he could keep talking the better chance he had of getting out of there in one piece. He imagined himself to be a pretty good storyteller, “I’ll tell you everything I know about the EnStone. I first heard rumors of it in the forests of Espladar. I was following some unusual tracks when I ran across a coven of Drow mages who claimed they had fallen ill after the stone had been stolen from them. Their leader, Keira, and I tracked the bandits to an old ruin not far from the Drow camp.

When we found the bandits they claimed they had been cursed with lycanthropy by pirates from the Sandspire and that the EnStone was long gone. We managed to escape from the werewolves with the help of the Bandit King and his men. The King was also looking for the stone. He explained that the stone would grant prosperity and health to the Kingdom that claimed it and sent me on my quest. I traveled to the Sandspire and spoke with Lord Baako. He said the pirates I spoke of had recently left his service and were hiding out in the Skyfell Mountains. He asked me to accompany some of his men on a mission to hunt down the traitors.

It took three weeks to travel to the Skyfell by airship. I didn’t much care for the crew but their captain, Hadvar, was a good man with a weakness for gambling. I spent a lot of my evenings playing…” Elric’s voice cracked as he recalled Hadvar’s horrific death. He’d been ambushed by the wolves and Elric had been forced to put him out of his misery before he could transform into a beast himself.

“Anyways, by the time we found the pirates they had lost the stone and I was forced to return to the Sandspire empty handed. The trail had gone cold but I couldn’t return home so I joined up with a mercenary named Zaan who had been appointed the new captain of the Baako I. We traveled together for several months raiding tombs and searching for valuable artifacts. I left his company when I found the staff on Rhaegora.” He worried that the demon would get irritated by his long winded explanation and decided to skip ahead to the end.

“A few months later I found out that the EnStone had been found by the elves of the Skyfell so I headed north again.” Elric was purposefully vague on the details for Aireaz’s sake. “I finally got my hand(s) on it: a smooth green stone with flecks of gold that fit comfortably in the palm of my hand. Zaan took it before I could claim the stone and unlock its power. He headed back to the Sandspire but I’m sure he didn’t keep it. He probably sold it to the first noble he could find.”

Azazel grinned as the mortal continued to divulge more and more information to him about the outside world. The mortal’s little bauble soon lost his interest as he began giving up more of his contacts. Licking his lips, Azazel moved closer to Elric.

“My my, it seems like this Zaan fellow you refer to has quite the resume. Collecting old artifacts for a Sandspirian Lord, and he must have had some sort of Mallastonian education as well if he is flying an airship… he must be quite the mercenary if he has been able to achieve all of this,” Azazel said as he moved in. He hadn’t put two and two together yet about Zaan being a Baako, but even without familial ties he had access to one of the wealthiest lords of the wealthiest nation.

“So I’ve decided even if he doesn’t have the stone you are talking about, I’d like to know a little more about Zaan… tell me everything you know!” Azazel said as the barbed chains around his arm began attempting to circle around Elric, if Elric didn’t attempt to slip out of it the chain would coil around his body without touching it, with the pointed tip at the end pointing at his forehead like a serpent ready to strike at his eyes.

Azazel had honed in on the information he wanted, if Elric attempted to circle around his demand then things were going to start getting uglier.