The young warrior made his way through the wild landscape, struggling through twisted undergrowth and more than one menacing goblinoid. They were stronger here but his skill with weapons easily won through. He rested for a bit under the shade of some ancient stones. They were carved with peculiar runes and arranged at mad angles. No mason he knew of could have, or would have arranged such a bizarre edifice. They all seemed to be pointing towards something but try as he might, thinking it a strange road sign, he could see nothing of note in the directions they tilted.

Quite by accident he saw a curious Amulet on the ground. He had learned that if such a thing were discovered that showed no signs of age or wear that they held arcane power. His Talisman was such a thing. At first glance it appeared to be a mere trinket, its gold plate peeling away. When one looked beneath the façade it was shown to be made of a strange sort of greenish stone unlike anything he had heard of. The gold plating was someone’s notion of disguise or decoration. The Talisman needed no protection from the elements and neither did the Amulet he had picked up.

He gleaned at once that the Amulet was some form of protection but that was all he could gather for now. He ventured onward over rough terrain and he took care too totally by pass the realm of the Black Knight. He had learnt of this extortioner from Escobar the Alchemist, his one time companion. The Black Knight was said to have armour that was proof against any weapon or conjuration and if you could not pay his ransom of gold he would ride you down on his unnatural steed and not care if you lived or died.

The detour delayed him but he at last came to the Portal of Power. He and Celestia surveyed the area. Someone had been here before! His eyes narrowed, so he lagged behind in the race. If it were the Prophetess than he would do his best to keep to his bargain, if it were the Ghoul then it meant that the young woman had succumbed to the creature’s power and all bets were off. First, however, was the matter of the Portal.

They examined it and could not fathom the intricate locking mechanism. He shrugged, grasped the enormous handle and turned with all of his might. The Maiden was not sure which would give way first, the Portal or the warrior’s shoulders, and then there was a snap and a mighty groan as if something had been broken deep inside some living thing. The Portal swung open.

The view beyond nearly caused him to surrender all notions of continuing. The place was a blasted and bleak landscape. He had seen depictions of Hell in holy manuscript and other books but this made them look like pleasant garden playgrounds.

The sky looked odd as well, too close. In fact all perspective was distorted to such a degree that he could not be sure if it would take days or minutes to reach his goal and he knew that there were several obstacles still in his path.

He motioned towards a crumbling structure in the distance. “Yonder Crypt seems as good a place to start as any.” And they plodded on, feeling the weary weeks on their backs more than ever.