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[Digital Hellhound]

We hardly need a bow, and it would just get the Greek God of War and his daughter pissed at us. Plus I'd feel bed for the next unlucky soul to figure out the puzzle only to find the treasure is gone.

I say leave it. Go on to the next soul or file our paperwork.

+1

+1

Indeed, +1!

You make your decision and withdraw from this world. The treasure chamber fades from view, replaced by the luminous storm of primordial power of the Stream. You don't follow the call of any soul, this time. You know where you're headed - home, the Underworld, the stronghold of the Bureaucracy and the source of much of your power. The millions who tend to mortal souls find their way here when they are not at work, though some more often than others. There are Guides too old and proud to care for the company or orders of their fellows.

When the Accord that ended the last war was made and the Bureaucracy formed, this dead, bare world was granted to them. The first Guides and the remaining pantheons built here a place of power, and like all power, it has only grown with time. Still, while no-one questions their skill, the first creators were a dour, serious lot, and for certain made the Underworld in their image.

You stand on a dark cliff overlooking the home of the Guides. The sprawl of the stronghold is in an uneven cross shape, made up of clustered buildings rising from rough-hewn black slabs of rock. On the outskirts of the city-fortress jut out towering, windowless cathedrals of gothic arches and vast spaces, their roofs lined with statues of faceless watching figures. Towards the centre, they give way to a forest of equally intimidating towers - and in the center of it all is a vast, perfect black pyramid, the largest construction in the Underworld and the heart of Guide power. It reaches heights well above the towers and cathedrals of the dead, its top disappearing into faint clouds.

You take your time going down into the city. There is nothing particularily inviting about the Underworld, but there is comfort in the presence of hundreds of thousands of your brothers and sisters. They arrive and leave and move about in a continuous background field of supernatural energy. Monitoring so many arrivals and exits is bound to be a difficult task.

You walk the streets in the shadow of the cathedrals. You are not really expected to file paperwork, as long as you show up here from time to time so they see you're not dead, but if you wish to, there are overseers who would take such reports deeper ahead. Some familiar Guides greet you when you pass them.

Closer to the black pyramid, it seems that the gates are closed, a sign that the senior Guides are in private meeting or holding a tribunal. You can't recall the last time they felt the need to confine a meeting to just their select few. The others might know, if you don't feel in any hurry. By the towers ahead are repositories of knowledge, arms and creations from across worlds you could see or barter for, though information, power and favors are worth more than gold and mortal treasures here.

>?

[Harry Baldman]

Do we have any friends worth noting in the Underworld? If yes, might want to visit them if we have nothing overly important to do at the moment.

[sjm9876]

Head to the tower markets (?) and see if there is anyone who can tell us why the seniors are meeting. Also browse whilst we are there - we have a favour, after all.

((Also, this is giving me Gaiman kinda impressions. Keep up the good work ))

[High tyrol]

Head to the tower markets (?) and see if there is anyone who can tell us why the seniors are meeting. Also browse whilst we are there - we have a favour, after all.

((Also, this is giving me Gaiman kinda impressions. Keep up the good work ))

1+

[Cheesecake]

Do we have any friends worth noting in the Underworld? If yes, might want to visit them if we have nothing overly important to do at the moment.

+1

[LuckyKobold]

BUMP.

[Digital Hellhound]

Impromptu hiatus due to misjudged amount of internet access on holiday. We return to our regularly scheduled updates tomorrow.

[Digital Hellhound]

Head to the tower markets (?) and see if there is anyone who can tell us why the seniors are meeting. Also browse whilst we are there - we have a favour, after all.

((Also, this is giving me Gaiman kinda impressions. Keep up the good work ))

1+

Do we have any friends worth noting in the Underworld? If yes, might want to visit them if we have nothing overly important to do at the moment.

+1

You head on, towards the unstructured mass of the marketplaces. Stalls and mausoleum-stone shops crowd the feet of the narrow towers surrounding the center of the Underworld, like something organic growing from the even, narrow spires. There is no bustle; there are thousands of markets across worlds greater and more impressive than this. The tastes of Guides are limited - most items are practical, tools, weapons, what supplies an immortal needs - though there are those who cater to the tastes of Guides who crave mortal sensations and wealth.

You approach the Silk Spire, the most central of the tower markets. The silver gates of the pyramid are close ahead, the approach visible from the market. The towers here are linked by vast strands of silk, bringing color from across the spectrum to the bleakness. They flutter above as if blown by a gentle wind - though there is no such thing in the Underworld.

Few Guides deign to be merchants. Others, trusted associates, are allowed to stay here and peddle their goods, within limits. You recognize the small mountain of the Malefer, an uneven, hollow mound of dirt, rocks and whatever the creature has found, all gathered into one structure. The creature's pinprick eyes stare out from inside, steady and watching. On its walls you see weapons of various makes, some glowing faintly with power, sets of armor, magical foci and tools, devices of both technological and arcane origin, and countless things you cannot guess the purpose of - little bags of seeds or powders, smooth stones rippling with impossible color, asymmetric masks or possibly cut-off faces, as well as a shaky shelf of scrolls, papers, little reading machines and other, stranger means of storing knowledge.

Other merchants call out from their stalls, their voices seemingly reluctant to break the grave-silence of the Underworld. Guides meander through, pausing occasionally. You search them for familiar faces, or forms, anyway, but you are found before you find them.

A towering, muscular man with skin the color of dead flesh approaches you with a jovial smile. His form is his usual one, evoking death by drowning; his speciality. He hums a macabre little tune as he comes near. Rough, broad features look down on you - the Whaler's eyes are perfect black orbs, but you have seen far stranger sights among your brethren.

'Well met, Janitor,' he breathes, with a voice like grinding stone. 'What news from the filth and the grime?'

He is accompanied by another Guide, stepping softly in his wake. [Will 5: 2+4=6, Success] Her beauty is striking, and right away you know supernaturally so. You do not let her glamour trick your eyes and senses, seeing only a set of features, simply a face like any other - a pity, perhaps. Lush black hair flows down like spring water, tossed over to one side, complemented by rich dark skin. The Guide wears a gold-trimmed dress, with a belt holding a scale and a narrow dagger. She says nothing, only bowing her head in greeting.

>?

[Ghazkull]

The Usual, i always get the shit details...should have picked another speciality...say, still space in the drowning business? But more seriously what brings your glamour-ridden, make-up caked, jewelry-laden friend among the likes of us?

[Harry Baldman]

Is "what do you do with a drunken sailor" really macabre, though? It probably just sounds goofy if you hum it. Especially if one tries to make it sound sinister, unless they hum like a broken string instrument, which, when you consider it, might also be kind of funny.

"Oh, there's just something about this job. It's like I always say, I might get fewer deaths than some, but virtually all of them are traumatized, in complete denial or just plain obstinate. Keeps me on my toes, it does, which can only be a good thing. Never a dull moment during work hours."

"But that's work talk, of course, and while I would love to regale you with the tale of the intrepid wizard in the tomb of horrors, I am somewhat afraid I may bore your rather charming lady friend. Would you care to introduce us, perhaps?"

Keep up that sense of decorum that only a man with the filthiest job in the universe could possess.

[Digital Hellhound]

Is "what do you do with a drunken sailor" really macabre, though? It probably just sounds goofy if you hum it. Especially if one tries to make it sound sinister, unless they hum like a broken string instrument, which, when you consider it, might also be kind of funny.

Fair enough. Just imagine it was a really ominous-sounding version. Terror humming. It's his supernatural power.

[heydude6]

Is "what do you do with a drunken sailor" really macabre, though? It probably just sounds goofy if you hum it. Especially if one tries to make it sound sinister, unless they hum like a broken string instrument, which, when you consider it, might also be kind of funny.

"Oh, there's just something about this job. It's like I always say, I might get fewer deaths than some, but virtually all of them are traumatized, in complete denial or just plain obstinate. Keeps me on my toes, it does, which can only be a good thing. Never a dull moment during work hours."

"But that's work talk, of course, and while I would love to regale you with the tale of the intrepid wizard in the tomb of horrors, I am somewhat afraid I may bore your rather charming lady friend. Would you care to introduce us, perhaps?"

Keep up that sense of decorum that only a man with the filthiest job in the universe could possess.

+1

Also small question, how does the wizard's death relate to our sphere?

[Xantalos]

He was a bloody mess all over the floor.

[sjm9876]

Is "what do you do with a drunken sailor" really macabre, though? It probably just sounds goofy if you hum it. Especially if one tries to make it sound sinister, unless they hum like a broken string instrument, which, when you consider it, might also be kind of funny.

"Oh, there's just something about this job. It's like I always say, I might get fewer deaths than some, but virtually all of them are traumatized, in complete denial or just plain obstinate. Keeps me on my toes, it does, which can only be a good thing. Never a dull moment during work hours."

"But that's work talk, of course, and while I would love to regale you with the tale of the intrepid wizard in the tomb of horrors, I am somewhat afraid I may bore your rather charming lady friend. Would you care to introduce us, perhaps?"

Keep up that sense of decorum that only a man with the filthiest job in the universe could possess.

+1

[LuckyKobold]

Buy/Steal a Shiny Killing Tool.