Underworld Quest Did Not Meet Death

Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:00 pm

[OOC: Reposted because it does not show up in the Unseen Observer section.]

Twelfth Day, Eighth Moon,
Twenty-First Year of Recent Awakenings

In accordance with the will of Her Majesty and in upholding the duties charged to me as Junior Chronicler, I hereby submit the account of Underworld Quest Did Not Meet Death.

From future Dame Zaedra, we learned that future Queen Maeve required fifty each of asphodel flowers and soulstones to save Princess Maeveen (see chronicle Queen Maeve Requests Aid to Save Princess). On the the thirty-first day of the seventh moon, a group of Marrach's adventurers meet in the cupola to set forth on a journey to the Underworld. At half past the seventh late bell, sera Lith, assistant to the Royal Necromancer, arrived to give the group a briefing about the mission.

Sera Lith informed the group that asphodel flowers and soulstones could only be harvested with tools made from the bones found in the Underworld. She informed them of the risk of entering down below that all going must be ready for any and all consequences, injuries, and pay the price for their actions. She gave a final warning that no Fae on the Mountain would aid them in their time of danger.

The adventurers were then instructed to take a vial each. This was to prevent harm from Hypnos and the Sandman in the Underworld. With out the aid of the vial, one could fall into endless slumber and never awaken. Sera Lith said the sandmen, also called Oneiroi, were responsible for one's personage while in slumber. There are one hundred and one of them and they cover many realms. They also have say on one's dreams and the absence of a Sandman is believe to be the reason why sometimes a person does not dream.

Ser Cordon from the Under Bailey led the group through the tunnels to a small cave with smoke hanging in the air and a crack in the floor; that was the entrance they sought. As they passed through the crack, endless darkness surrounded them. Unnerving sounds like teeth through flesh and bone echoed in the silken whispers of the bleakness that pulled at their minds. Once drifting downward what would seem to be the worst nightmare one could encounter, they found themselves tumbling down a stone stairwell onto a plateau overlooking a fathomless, desolate landscape.

After collecting themselves, the group decided to split up to harvest the materials faster. Lady-Captain Galatea lead a group eastward towards the fields of asphodel flowers, while Dame Umichan lead a group to the south for mining of the soulstones. Lady-Captain Galatea's group come upon a river that blocked their path. The river, while looking like a pool of pale blue ether, actually was formed from souls from the Underworld, thousands upon thousands of wispy bodies with serene, sleeping faces, a collection of dreamers and unsung names.

As the group moved forward, they came upon a grand staircase of iridescent blue-green stone leading up to a large stone dais, hovering above the river itself. In the center of this disk was massive leaf-less oak tree which had an ophidian guardian, Ranjani, sitting next to it. This guardian was half-woman, half serpent in appearance with a shimmering white complexion and abundant translucent silver hair. She asked the adventurers why they were there, and they explained about gathering the asphodel flowers to help a friend in need. She responded that they needed to cross the river via the Boat of the Dead with Charon the Ferryman.

After departing from the guardian, they arrived at the dock. Charon offered to take them across the sea of souls for a price of two coins of any currency or a song. After crossing the river, Charon directed the party to go south to the garden to harvest the flowers. The party then split again to gather the flowers and soulstones. Dame Umichans group ventured to the Cavern of Sorrows for the soulstones. As Lady Galateas group arrived at the garden, they found only two trowels made of bone. Some began harvest while the rest went to a nearby tower to seek supplies. They eventually found some spare trowels in the tower and returned back to the harvesting group. Once the group collected enough flowers they joined up with the other group and completed the mining for soulstones and they expedition then traveled onwards.

At a vast landscape of rolling hills with occasional spires, they came across one which had a tablet at the base, reading:

~ Tisiphone ~

Daughter of the Night, Daughter of Darkness

She who punished the sins of man
Whose song wrought both love and horror
Whose rage was matched only by her beauty

Rest eternal, and never forgive

Traveling onwards through the desolate area, they came across an elaborately-woven spiraling trellis, as if for a garden. Entering the arch, the group navigated a maze of bone arches and trellises until they found in the center, an immense, ossified tree of bone. Beside the tree was a large chair and in front of the tree was a glass sarcophagus

A story of a man and woman from different worlds, one above and one below, was carved into the black stone. It depicted the girl above, tending to flowers, with an older woman nearby. The image progressed to her meeting a man, his features shadowed and vague, a sense of darkness was imparted to the visage of the man. Gradually, the images made way to the man 'stealing' the woman to beneath the ground, and ended with her sitting, poised and regal on a throne next to him. The sarcophagus contained the body of a tall, voluptuous woman who appeared to be sleeping peacefuly. She wore a gold and bone crown.

Every skeletal element seemed to be fused into one grotesque masterpiece to create the chair; it was both magnificent and horrifying. Seated on the chair was a man identified as Mictlan, who chews on the bones of the dead until they are quite clean.

A tall, dark man wearing a black embossed velvet cassock and an iron chain introduced himself, "I am steward of the Garden and the Queen, but would not give his name. He explained that The Queen was once from the Realm above. The daughter of a High Fae, before such divisions of Seelie and Unseelie existed. In her own right, the Queen was the representative of Spring. Life. Joy. Color. He went on to say that, "The Sun has dimmed, as you can see. My purpose is to see it restored. I will not be fulfilled until that happens. The story of the woman in the coffin was that She would bring Death spring flowers when she would come to see him, and though they would wither at his touch, he would bring them here anyway and bury them in the ground. Their 'essences' would blossom in the place of the physical flower. And so the asphodel meadows were created. Death can not bring her back to life, because her essence now forms part of another.

When he was informed of the purpose of the quest, to save Princess Maeveen, the tall, dark man said he knew Her, that She was the only bolt of color that the place had seen in quite some time. There was further conversation, during which it was revealed that Tisiphone was one of Megaeras sisters and they were known as the Furies. Eventually the party took their leave.

The group then made their way back to the tower and discovered a hidden exit. After an arduous journey which involved a lot of falling and a lot of climbing, they eventually stumbled out of the mountain to find themselves on a narrow dangerous path surrounded by skeletons and zombies. Fortunately Dame Azure appeared and teleported everyone back to their rooms. The flowers and soulstones gathered were given to the Conclave so they could be delivered to Queen Maeve.

Those who went on the journey were: Lady Galatea, Dame Umichan, Sir Pete, Mistresses Calamity, Heulyn, Isadora and Tine, seras Aleysia, Alyndra, Auriela, Filusae, Kireena, Nekane, Pruul, Shanna, Taite, Tamiko and Trenna, and sers Ammanas, Conal, Cordon and Leodegrance. Residents of all three bailies worked well together in support of Princess Maeveen.

This chronicle will be subject to changes and corrections. I humbly ask all readers to please indicate to me discreetly, any falsehoods I may have mistakenly communicated. It is by means of the conservation of the Past that we continue to serve Her Majesty and give substance to those that follow.

In service to Her Majesty Queen Vivienne, The Office of the Chronicler, and the Denizenry of Her Majesty's Realm.

Caedus Bane
Junior Chronicler