While we stood in the wavering heat of hell, with several living buildings turning to approach and probably eat us up, a mixture of different emotions went over Ren’s face in seeing the approaching horde.
I wasn’t too sure whether to feel confused or elated… but leaned toward the latter.
An estimated fifty hellhounds were bounding across the desolate rocky expanse towards us. Most of them were the smaller and slimmer build, but some were the larger upgraded kind I could now summon.
“Perhaps we actually went to heaven,” the elf murmured, a sheen of awe now in her bright blue eyes.
“Depends on their intent.” Despite saying this, I could feel it - see it in their happy little flaming dog faces. I relaxed.
The tidal wave of demonic hounds washed over us, and we were surrounded by wagging tails, happy yips, and requests for pets.
Ren lifted one out of the pile, clasping it to her body as she wielded it awkwardly toward me. “Look, trickster!”
I raised my eyebrows and smiled. The positioning of the scars across the body of the wriggling beast couldn’t hide the identity of who they were. He had fallen in battle against the dire boar, all the way back on the starter island. “I was right, all demon-dogs go to hell.”
“This must be all the little pups you’ve summoned before. There’s… a lot more than I remember.”
I gave her a shrug, but she was too distracted by the friendly hounds to dig into my non-answer any more. It wasn’t the biggest secret that I often summoned demons just out of sight and knowledge of my Party, even skirting the expert perception of the elf. It always paid to have options and contingencies in place. Of course, I had noted that she had started doing the same with her own summons - so she was bound to make the connection, eventually.
Ren sunk down to the floor, melting amongst the affection rendered. “Just leave me. I can die happy here,” she announced, between several of the hounds trying to lick her face.
“Tempting.” I looked over at the buildings to see that most of them were… running away? Maybe not running, but they were turning away from us. Over to the side, Wolf thrashed through wooden walls before seeing that we what we were doing.
He and Roger paused their onslaught as the living buildings retreated and moved back over to us.
The rabbit had a bemused look on his face, and plenty of wooden shards in his fur. “Turn my back on you for one minute, and you’ve already raised a fucking army, Boss.”
“Yeah.” My brow furrowed, and I looked at my hands. Pretty normal, considering. Yet… hmm.
Ren was completely prone on the ground now, drowning under the affection of our hellhounds. Well, not really ‘our’ but… close enough. If there were a horde of dogs that I had summoned previously, then there was likely to be Imps somewhere too. A couple of Shades, and… a whole lot of hell-doves that might have a grudge against me.
Cannons too? No, unlikely, as I had been able to summon one here just fine. It was inanimate, so was probably just the same one every time. I should mark it to find out.
“You okay, Wolf?” I stepped past some of the dogs as they went to join the cyclone of flaming fur, burying the elf.
“Normally I am accepting of the situations you drag us into, but I’m having trouble understanding this.” His amber eyes looked out at the barren scenery.
It was a bit much. We’d spent the majority of our adventures in forest or woodland-adjacent terrain. Even the towns or small villages had been as close to nature as you could get. For a former average grizzly bear, this hellscape would be a stark difference to what he’d known all his long life.
“It is equally as strange for me,” I admitted, partially truthful. “We will have to persist, but escape as soon as we can.”
“As always, you can rely on me.” His glance was one of earnest loyalty - in this for the long ride after what we’d been through already.
I smiled. “Well, let me get this show in order, then.”
Clicked my fingers and the hellhounds paused the suffocation of the elf and turned to face me. They each took a few steps over and then sat down, at full attention for my next order.
No longer accosted, Ren sat up and gave me a scowl before getting her outfit back in order. She stood and crossed her arms, almost able to hide the excitement of seeing me command authority over the demons.
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“Roger?” I asked, and gestured him over. “Demons come back here after they die topside, but what happens if they die in hell?”
He rubbed at his chin and narrowed his purple eyes. “I guess we just vanish for good, Boss.”
Just as I thought. I put my hands on my hips and looked over the sea of patient faces awaiting my order, some of them tilting their heads to the side. They were System-created, but I had some attachment to them.
Ren walked around to stand beside me, so she could pretend the dogs were all looking at her - I was certain. “You’re deciding if you want to send our children off to war, aren’t you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Not that I would have used all of those specific words in that manner, but yes.”
“Conflicting.” She pulled a face. “Do they have an option to deny such a request?”
“Does anyone?”
Ren turned to me and narrowed her eyes. “Your ego is already inflated enough. If this is leading up to you turning into a demon prince and ruling over all the denizens in hell, then count me out.”
“You wouldn’t want to be my queen?”
“Not of hell.” She rolled her eyes.
“We could make it a vassal state and be rulers of the main world?” I attempted a convincing grin.
“Ugh, fine.” With a sigh, she brought a hand up to rub at her eyes. “If only so I can visit the pups every so often.”
A done deal, pretty much. I’d leave her to regret meeting in the middle later on, and turned my attention to the large rabbit instead.
“Roger, do you know where I’d find my Imps? Or any clue as to where we should head to next?”
His nose twitched in thought. “There’s… a route. Would be too dangerous normally, but with all these rat things we could get through closer to the inner circle of hell.”
“You expect violence then?”
“Crave it, Boss.” He licked at his lips. “But it’ll be better than wandering around the wastes here, where there will also be other assholes to fight.”
I sighed and looked to my equal for her view of the proposition, but she was already crouched down and petting two of the hounds that were doing their best to ignore her advances and focus on me. A little guaranteed violence and shorter walk, compared to the unknown on a longer trip.
“Very well, Roger. Make the necessary preparations… or however this works?”
“On it, Boss.”
While he placed his mace down and stretched out, I tried to decide if I was a fan of this new development in our adventure. Part of me was worried about Quinn and Tanya. They were capable, of course, but being only a duo made them an easier target for any potential trouble topside. If they were smart, they’d be hiding out until we could join back up.
There was the option that they could go to the Wardens ahead of us… but I didn’t like that. While our time in hell had no obvious end at present, it would be even worse knowing the pair got into something terrible and we couldn’t assist. After her recent revelation, I’m sure they could find something to busy themselves with - and hopefully Tanya’s mind would be at peace no longer being in this dreadful place.
I didn’t mind the change of scenery personally, although I can see why it might not be to the tastes of the rest of the Party. A distraction from our goals, certainly, one that we had to gather what advantages we could from the situation… but ensure it didn’t cause problems for our true target. We needed to reach the Eternal Wardens, and then prepare to march on Candlekeep and the Lady.
Simple on the surface. Not so easy while we resided in hell.
Roger gripped at the air in front of him, and tore through reality, opening up a passageway as if it had been paper obscuring a secret entrance. In this split, I could see a village or town of dark hues beyond, but little else.
“I’ll hold it open so you and all the little turds can scurry through, Boss.” He grinned as his hands held the top corners of the hole through the air.
Neither Wolf nor Ren looked particularly pleased about being the first to pass through this unknown portal to somewhere else - we hadn’t exactly been having good luck with that sort of thing so far. So, as the most demon-prince adjacent among us, I took the mantle and the first steps toward our new destination.
Expecting some kind of energy or vertigo to pass over me as I stepped through, I was almost underwhelmed, as the process was no different from passing through a normal doorway.
A slight change in atmospheric temperature, and some darker tones to the scenery, but otherwise relatively the same. We were amongst a small gathering of rocks just beside a road that led through the small town ahead. There were figures moving around, but I couldn't pick out much detail amongst the faux gloom. I stepped aside so that Ren, Wolf, and the multitude of hellhounds could join me - before finally Roger stepped in.
“Just have to pass through this town, Boss, and we shouldn’t be too far from where your Imps could be.”
I nodded, but wasn’t too convinced. “We have to go through. Can’t go around?”
“No, there’s like…” He waved a fluffy paw at the inert backdrop of our current locale. “Gas clouds and fire shit.”
Ren crossed her arms. “I don’t see anything.”
“That's how it gets you.” He shrugged. “I’ve lived here my whole existence, so it you want to-”
“Okay, Roger.” I held up my hand. “I’m more worried about us gathering undue attention from powerful demons now that we have a squadron of pups loyal to me.”
“I’m more worried about dining opportunities,” Wolf murmured.
The rabbit shrugged again and hoisted the mace up over his shoulder. “We’ll burn those bridges when we cross them.”
After exchanging a glance with the elf, I decided to lead us onward. Day wasn’t getting any younger, although there wasn’t really much chance of guessing what stage of the day we were actually at - even ignoring the time dilation that may be between here and the world that at least had a sun.
I flexed my fingers as the horde of hounds fell into step behind the four of us, striding abreast of each other. A terrible and odd sight for anyone, even in the hells. Stone road took up right up to the town’s edge, where the first inhabitant sitting on the porch of their abode turned a yellow eye toward us.
A crocodile-demon, if I had to dissolve them into basic descriptions. Something that itched the back of my mind and put me on edge. Still, other than the long-snouted row of sharp teeth and dirtied dungarees he was wearing, there was nothing overtly threatening about the demon.
At least, until he clocked our guide.
“You ain’t welcome here, Roger,” he hissed, standing himself up from the wooden chair. Other eyes in the nearby vicinity turned to meet us. “Thought you’d learned the last time, but seems we have to teach you a more permanent lesson.”
The sounds of metal weapons being drawn drowned out the long sigh escaping me.