Jinx in Hell, Part 3
The Road to Dis
Jim Vassilakos (jimv@uia.net) & Kurt Olson (playing Jinx)
Jinx awakens after a broken sleep—
various images from the land of dreams
still cluttering her mind, from herself
being stretched on one of “pink eyes”
inventions to having to swallow a pint
of Mephisto; none of them seem
particularly appetizing. Sprawled out on
a nearby couch lays Kyna. She’s asleep,
but in her face reads exhaustion.
“Homeless,” Jinx thinks to herself. “I
also tire of it.”
She walks to the window and out on
the balcony to observe her
surroundings. Laertes seems to be doing
the same and takes notice of Jinx as she
comes out.
“It is an interesting place,” he sends
telepathically while shifting his view
from the lava lake to Jinx. “Is it
temporary?”
“Would you like it to be?”
“A steed to one who has conversed
with the ruler of Baator1…and lived to
tell of it…” his eyebrows raise slightly.
“For now,” she returns.
“Your past must run deep. I’ve never
questioned your plans…until now.”
“What makes you think I have any?”
“You wouldn’t have approached him
without plans. I know you better than
that. Always planning. Always working
toward something.”
“Is ambition so wrong?”
“Not if it’s obtainable, but you’ve
moved awfully quick in such a short
time. Why the urgency? Was Broken
Reach2 unsatisfactory?”
“Actually, I like it there. They have
politics, games, amusement…”
“I can assure you, the same exists
here.”
“Very true,” she says while leaning
her cheek into Laertes’ shoulder. “But
here, for now anyway, I’m the game. At
1 to give female devils a different
Baator, of course, is another name for
the Hells. TSR came up with it for 2nd
edition AD&D so as to avoid using the
dreaded H-word which might incite the
wrath of various religious groups.
2
Broken Reach is a city in Pazunia, the
first layer of the Abyss, where Jinx stayed
for a time, simply for purposes of getting
away from it all. I may relate the tale of
that episode at a later date, although it does
get a bit silly at certain points.
An AD&D Campaign Report
Broken Reach, I’m just a part of the
game.”
“Easier to hide from trouble in
Pazunia than Nessus,” he replies.
“When does the hiding stop? Does it
ever stop?”
“That, my friend, is the plan.”
“I figured as much. Take refuge in a
power untouchable by your pursuer.”
“Yes, but more than that, for that
means I am still hiding. No, my pursuer
must be destroyed, or at least brought
down and made ineffective. Then will
my plan begin.”
A door opens, Calpurnia walking in
somewhat hesitantly. “Please excuse the
interruption, my lady,” she says while
Kyna begins to awake and stretch. “I
bring you a message from Lord
Chancellor Adramalech.”
She hands Jinx a scroll case,
Adramalech’s sigil imprinted upon the
glowing red seal. Inside are three
messages:
Dear “Princess” Jinx,
About the quote marks, I heard from a
little birdy that you came to Hell calling
yourself a princess. I find that amusing,
for you are nothing but a perpetrator of
deeds beyond your station, which is to
say that you are far more worthy than
any princess, as you have earned your
place and, we hope, will continue to do
so. Our Lord finds your peculiarities
most pleasing and worthy of reward.
Hence, we invite you to continue to
occupy these palace accommodations
for as long as you might require them.
Likewise, the erinye which we have
learned now occupies your chamber is
to be considered a gift. You may do with
her as you please. I anticipate that
many more gifts shall be forthcoming,
as our Lord is both wise and generous,
wise to note the value of those who
serve him, and generous to see that they
are thusly appreciated.
The two enclosed letters should serve
you well in establishing contacts in Dis.
We are placing you in the service of
Baalzephon, who in our Lord’s rightful
determination, will see to your proper
instruction in the ways of the Hells,
provide you with tasks which will best
serve our needs, and keep the promise
which Mephisto gave to you.
-Adramalech
Dear Provost Biffant,
You are hereby instructed to find
worthy accommodations for the bearer
of this letter and to submit her to
Baalzephon3 at the Lady Minister’s
pleasure. -Adramalech
3
Baalzephon is given brief mention in
Dragon #75, p21, as being a pit fiend as
well as the prime minister of Dis. She’s
mentioned again in Faces of Evil: The
Fiends, p29 and in Hellbound: The Blood
War, The Dark of the War, p18 as being a
member of the Dark Eight and the supply
master of the Blood War. Since I decided
promotional path than males, it didn’t
make sense to maintain that she was a pit
fiend. Rather, for the purposes of this
campaign, she is simply a powerful noble
whose administrative rank surpasses her
birth rank. Since Dispater had entrusted
her with the overall administration of Dis,
and since he is no longer in the picture, she
is essentially the interim Archduke until
another should be appointed. This puts her
in a powerful if precarious position.
Dear Lady Minister Baalzephon,
The bearer of this letter is one Jinx,
the daughter of Malarea who,
according to your report, Nethrys4
spoke of in the on-going interrogations.
As fortune would have it, she came to us
of her own free will, and she has chosen
to serve us against her personal
enemies as well as ours. To this end,
she has been allotted the task of
inquisitor regarding a certain demon in
your custody. Concurrent with this
assignment, you are hereby selected to
enlighten her in the ways of Hell and to
manage her as you see fit. The one
caveat is that she is not to be used as
one might use…say…an erinye.
Knowing you as I do, I did not think it
necessary to state these terms, but here
they are for your abiding amusement.
May all your battles be fought with
strength and honor, -Adramalech
Tesga
While Jinx reads the letters of passage
with which Adramalech has furnished
her, Calpurnia brings in a breakfast tray
consisting of a giant eagle egg omelette
with meats of the bird spread
throughout along with a host of other
ingredients. Likewise, there is a pot of
piping hot liquid resembling coffee, but
thicker and tasting more like salty
licorice.
“What are these?” Jinx picks out a
small, oddly colored mushroom from a
portion of the omelette.
“A local fungi which grows along the
banks of the Lethe.”
“Safe to eat?”
“That one is,” Calpurnia nods. “If you
need anything else…”
“Have you ever been to Dis?”
Calpurnia shakes her head, “No.
Never.”
“I will need to speak with someone
who knows about Dis as well as ways
of getting there unnoticed. Perhaps
Adramalech may know something of
this?”
“The Lord Chancellor is not easily
4 6
Nethrys was once Jinx’s master in
terms of her Necromantic studies.
Likewise, he was also a friend of her
father’s…and later an enemy of her
father’s…then a friend again. Suffice it to
say that he goes back a ways. He also has a
penchant for pissing people off. It’s no
wonder he’s dead (well, actually undead…
he’s a drow lich).
seen, but I will be happy to show you to
the Tower of Records. I’m sure there
will be someone there who will be able
to assist you.”
They end up going after Jinx finishes
a cup of Hell’s java, the Tower of
Records being a vast edifice which rises
from near the center of Malsheem and
disappears into the clouds overhead. As
to be expected of such a gargantuan
structure, there are several entrances,
and Jinx soon finds herself at the
bottom floor of a huge chamber which
rises on all sides, dozens of levels tall
with a spider web network of bridges
running throughout, all of these floors
apparently containing shelves upon
shelves of books.
Perhaps several hundred librarians
work here, most of them she-devils, but
not like any she-devils Jinx has ever
seen before. Although similar in size
and shape to erinyes, they are
completely bald and have only vacant
holes where their eyes used to be, about
half of them wearing metallic caps,
which may indeed be part of their
skulls, covering the top third of their
face down to their nose. Likewise, their
fingers are more like claws, all of these
women apparently having fashioned
one of their long nails into an
implement for writing.5 Jinx watches,
awestruck by the immensity of the
place, as they move about from shelf to
shelf and floor to floor, apparently
capable of sight, examining the
collection, writing and updating in
various alcoves. What they are keeping
records of, she can only imagine.
Perhaps everything.
Eventually she is introduced to one of
these she-devils, a woman by the name
of Tesga who, apparently, is an expert
on Dis. From her, Jinx learns of various
ways to reach Dis from Avernus6, but
there is also another question on her
mind, one which she did not want to
mention in the presence of Calpurnia or
Kyna.
5 known as Armaros and can be found under
They’re modified Striga from Legions
of Hell: Book of Fiends, Volume 1, p46.
Avernus, of course, is the first layer of
Hell. Dis is the second. In any planar
chain, there are typically many ways to get
from layer n to layer n+1 and vice-versa.
Interplanar teleportation should even do
the trick, but since Jinx has never been to
Dis, this method might pose a problem.
Furthermore, it could easily attract
unwanted attention.
“Do you know of Malarea?”
Tesga stares back, eyeless but
seemingly observant. “I know you are
her daughter.”
“News travels fast,” Jinx half-smiles,
half-grimaces. “Have you people
already made a note of that in your
books?”
“In here, there are no exceptions.”
“Just doing your job,” Jinx surmises.
“I can appreciate that. What else do you
know?”
“What else do you know?” Tesga
fires back.
Jinx smiles, “Well, since she is my
mother, you can presume that I know
quite a bit.”
“What about your mother’s mother?”
Jinx blinks at her for a long moment,
silently surmising that the cat truly must
have leapt from the bag. “You must
mean Lolth7,” she finally states. “Or her
father, Aramaros8…yes, I know these
things. But I did not come here to
7
Yes, you heard right. Did I not mention
that this is a powergame?
8
Aramaros was for most of his existence
that name in Dragon #91, p19. After
Asmodeus was slain, he undertook a self-
transformation in order to free himself
from Avernus, and it was this magic which
necessitated him taking on a new name.
For the purposes of this campaign, he is
the father of both Ahriman & Malarea,
although they were born by different
mothers. That makes Jinx Ahriman’s
niece, or at least his half-niece. Confusing
enough for you?
discuss my family tree.”
“You came here to discuss your
mother,” Tesga states.
“Right,” Jinx nods slowly. “What I
want to know is how she got caught.”
“Has Ahriman9 been wondering?”
“I wouldn’t know. I don’t speak to
him.”
“Hmm…” Tesga leans back, as
though evaluating the tenor of Jinx’s
statement for any hint of deception.
“I come here with the trust of
Adramalech10, your boss.”
“Correction,” Tesga glances toward
the ring on Jinx’s finger. “He is my
master, and you come here by his
leave.”
“Whatever. Are you going to answer
my questions, or is evasion all you do
here?”
The librarian takes a moment to chew
on this last question, wondering perhaps
if Jinx really wants to know the truth.
Finally, she leans forward again, and in
a slightly hushed tone, begins her reply.
“Malarea had been doing very well in
the Blood War, commanding the 2nd
legion of the 8th army which had been
assigned to her by Baalzephon. Duke
Alocer11 was in command of the 1st
legion. Hence, they were to fight
together as well as separately, for the
Emperor decreed that fate and honor
should decide who should fill the
vacancy left by Dispater12.”
“So what you’re saying is that
9
I discussed Ahriman to some extent in
the previous installment of this campaign
report. Nonetheless, I should probably
clarify that he is not (or, at least, is not yet)
the same being who appears in The
Encyclopedia of Demons & Devils, p16,
published by Fast Forward Entertainment.
Although, I could see him being interested
in adopting that sort of image for himself,
particularly if his quest for ultimate power
in the lower planes should prove
successful.
10
Some might find it interesting to note
that Adramalech once undertook a
transformation similar to that taken by
Aramaros. He was previously known as
Adramelech. Such name changes among
the greater devils are very rare but not
altogether unknown. The 2nd most famous
example is of Baalzebul who was known
during his reign in Nessus as Emperor
Beelzebub. More information on this is
available in Dragon #28.
11
Alocer can be found in Dragon #75,
p24.
12
Former Archduke of Dis, the 2nd plane
of Hell.
Malarea and this Duke Alocer were in
competition over brownie points.”
“Brownie points?” Tesga queries.
“They were not fighting brownies. They
were fighting demons. But yes…they
were in a sort of competition.
Unfortunately for Duke Alocer, his
force fell into an ambush. Not only did
the demons seem to know his location
when they should not have, but Malarea
seemed to know the location of the
demons, the time and place of the
ambush, when she could have had no
knowledge of that either. She explained
it, after the fact, as being part luck and
part instinct, but there was some
skepticism in higher circles.”
“So her rival, this Duke Alocer, was
slain?”
“No, much worse. She came to his
rescue.”
Jinx takes a moment to smile at this
statement. Indeed, if Mephisto had put
them into a competition with one
another involving personal honor, it
would certainly be more dishonorable
for the male to be rescued by the
female, rather than to simply be churned
through the meat grinder of combat. His
colleagues must have had a good laugh,
and Malarea’s prestige must have hit an
all-time high.
“So you’re saying that she was
convicted on suspicion?”
“Not exactly,” Tesga replies. “While
the two legions were regrouping their
strength and planning their next move,
Baalzephon paid the 8th army a visit. It
was she who discovered Malarea’s
treachery.”
“I should be very interested to meet
this Baalzephon. Just one more
question. I will be needing access to
some necromantic spells and perhaps
training. Since I will be in Dis…”
“You should go to Furcas,” Tesga
interrupts.
“Who’s Furcas?”
“My former master,” she smiles.
“Well, that tells me a great deal. Aside
from being your former master, what is
he?”
“He runs a small library in Dis. I think
you will find the spells you need there.”
“I may be needing some high level
spells.”
“I have no doubt that you will find
them. Be so bold to mention me when
you see him. Tell him Tesga says
hello.”
Jinx nods, getting up. “You think it’ll
earn me any brownie points?”
“I don’t know. Furcas does not like
brownies. But he does like halflings,”
Tesga smiles maliciously. “He likes
halflings very much.”
Malgrin
After leaving the Tower of Records,
Calpurnia escorts Jinx back to her guest
quarters, where Jinx gives the word to
Kyna that it’s time to saddle-up and
leave. For her own part, Kyna somehow
gains permission to abscond with a
nightmare from the emperor’s own
stables, and soon they are on their way,
heading through an interplanar gate to
the Dragon Caves of Avernus. Being
that Jinx bears a medallion with the seal
of Hell’s Lord Chancellor, she finds no
trouble negotiating security, and soon
they are outside of the mountain which
was formerly the capital of Avernus
during the long reigns of Yem and
Tiamat.
“I don’t understand why we couldn’t
just go to Dis directly,” Kyna
complains, taking advantage of the
occasional fireball high overhead to
survey the vast landscape of living flesh
with a mild air of distaste.13
13
The first time Jinx visited Hell, it was
only to Avernus, and that time she was
with a group of adventurers/pin-cushions.
Here’s how I described the scene upon
their arrival:
Looking around, you will note that the
landscape is hilly and littered with dark
caves and small streams which leak
haphazardly into the Styx. The ground
itself, meanwhile, is somewhat mushy and
clay-like, squishing a bit and occasionally
gurgling slightly as you walk upon it. In
the distance, you hear the low moaning of
the wind as well as the bursting noise of
fireballs exploding here and there along
the horizon, each time preceded by a
shooting star falling from the black sky
above. Each time it happens, which is
about once every few seconds, a part of the
landscape lights up in misty red contours,
like a snapshot, but then once again all is
dark except for whatever light source you
are carrying.
In the far distance, however, you can see
a mountain rising from the landscape, its
slopes bristling with fortifications. Twelve
concentric walls ring the summit, and the
entirety is ringed by a moat of lava as long
shimmering rivers of lava extend from it
into the surrounding hills like the legs of a
giant insect. How far away it is, you
cannot tell with much certainty, but you’d
guess it to be at least 30-40 miles, and it is
the only source of steady light in your
 “I have my reasons,” Jinx answers
cryptically, motioning for Laertes to fly
in the direction of the Bone Citadel of
Duke Malgrin.14
Fortunately, Kyna seems to have no
idea where they’re going, or she might
complain more loudly. Malgrin is not
well-known for his
hospitality, even to
Hell’s elite.
Rather, he
was a student of Furcas for quite some
time, eventually establishing himself in
Avernus with a small cadre of
necromancers and an army of undead.
From time to time, he would be called
upon to aid in the Blood War, but for
the most part he preferred to be left
alone and made no secret to Bel15 of
that fact. It is quite possible that without
the political support of Furcas, and by
extension, that of Baalzephon, Bel
would simply have brought his armies
to bear on Malgrin and steamrolled the
errant Duke into complete submission.
range of vision.
Setting off, the party keeps a tight
formation, heading over the strange,
spongy ground in a column of twos. The
dim, almost moonlike illumination of the
castle serves as a nice beacon, however,
the voracious gnats are becoming more
than merely annoying (everyone takes a
point of damage after ten minutes). The
buzzing noise, likewise, is maddening, in a
way even more so than the howling winds
of Pandemonium since you are all aware
that you are slowly being eaten alive.
Just then a fireball explodes about 200
feet away, momentarily outlining your
surroundings in a stark orange light. You
all notice that on the ground, surrounding
you in all directions, are occasional eyes,
ears, and noses, even mouths with tongues
and broken teeth, as though embedded into
the earth, a part of it. Likewise, there are
various orifices which are better not
described. It is then that it finally occurs to
you that the feeling of the ground is
decidedly “fleshy”.
14
Malgrin can be found in Legions of
Hell: Book of Fiends, Volume 1, p36. As
to be expected, I’ve done a little bit of
tweaking to the politics as stated in this
Green Ronin publication, but I don’t think
that its author, Chris Pramas, will mind.
By the way, I highly recommend this work
for GMs who wish to run campaigns or
adventures based in the Hells.
15
Bel is the latest ruler of Avernus and
somewhat of a hero in the Blood War.
He/it has a long history which I won’t get
into presently, but suffice it to say that his
current incarnation is rather war-bent.
However, as Jinx could reason from her
conversation with Tesga as well her
earlier conversation with Inquisitor
Phongor, it seemed to be
Mephistopheles’ policy to balance
opposing powers into an uneasy
stalemate, a clear
carry-over
from the policies of Asmodeus
who ruled so effectively before him.
In this way, the Hells were much like a
house of cards kept precariously in
balance by the delicate palpations of the
emperor.
It was with this fact lodged securely in
mind that Jinx wondered what
Mephistopheles would end up doing
with her now that she had fallen so
conveniently into his lap. After she
resolved the questions pertaining to her
mother, Jinx was certain she would find
out, and that in itself also made her
uneasy, for she still had no clue how far
she could trust Hell’s emperor.
Nonetheless, at least for the moment,
she was his to command.
“Looks like we have some company,”
Jinx hears Laertes’ voice in her mind.
As she scans the pitch black skies, a
sudden fireburst gives her a momentary
view of a squadron of giant reptilian
birds, their flesh hanging like tattered
rags off their wings.
“Undead pterodactyls,” Jinx takes a
moment to point them out to Kyna.
“They must be here to greet us.”
“I have no desires to greet them,”
Kyna replies, tugging the reign of her
steed.
“Stay your course. I did not give you
permission to flee,” Jinx menacingly
retorts, a fireball streaming through the
skies just close enough for Kyna to bear
witness to her scolding glare.
For a minute the undead flyers simply
take up a parallel heading, probably
communicating telepathically with
Malgrin or one of his underlings as to
the nature of their visitors. Then, one of
them dives down, stretching out its
claws as its eyes glow red.
“Oh shit,” Kyna’s face goes white.
“We’re being tested. Hold your
course.” And with that, Jinx waits until
the last moment before interception,
finally waving her hand with a nearly
silent utterance as both her and Kyna
are about to be raked by the
pterodactyl’s razor sharp claws. Rather
than attacking, the winged decay simply
swoops past them and then flies back
toward its brethren, engaging one of
them in a mid-air collision. Within
scarce moments, the battle is over, two
of the necromantically manipulated
birds falling to the living flesh that
welcomes them below.
“What did you do?” Kyna looks
toward Jinx with undisguised wonder.
“Passed the test, I hope.”
The pterodactyls hold their
course, for whatever reason not
sending another to attack the
she-devils, and before long
there emerges from the
darkness ahead a huge
castle seemingly composed of the skulls
and bones of thousands of dead. Its
outer walls are a weird web of
humanoid bones fused together like
some unholy junkyard, sword-wielding
arms sprouting out here and there as
though to fend off potential climbers,
skulls jabbering in a mad cacophony,
each of them hurling insults at their
fellows in ceaseless abandon. Then, of
course, there is the moat, a great river of
blood which parts just long enough to
create an island for the entire structure.
As they approach closer, a drawbridge
begins to descend, and noting the
hundreds of skeletal combatants atop
the battlements, Jinx decides to land at
the river’s outer bank, dismounting
Laertes and motioning for Kyna to
follow as the drawbridge finally comes
to rest in front of her, and a cloaked
figure appears at the other end.
“I’ll do the talking,” Jinx informs
Kyna, heading across the bridge toward
the cloaked skeleton. Rather than
meeting her halfway, it simply lets her
close the entire distance, perhaps more
secure in its own safety while on the
island itself.
“Who are you?” it asks in a whispery
tone as soon as Jinx and Kyna are
finally before it, “And why do you
plague us with your presence?”
“We’re travelers from afar. We wish
to speak with Malgrin.”
“Why should he wish to speak with
you?”
“I should think that is for him to
decide, don’t you?”
“If your desire is death, then please
avoid just one more question.”
Jinx holds her tongue for a moment,
glancing again toward the battlements.
Of course, this close to the main gate,
she also has a clear view of the grand
house itself and can see a tall figure
standing at one of the third story
windows, his massive horns jutting
from his forehead like two giant
fishhooks.
“I think I should rather avoid them
all,” she finally replies to the skeleton,
looking up toward the horned figure,
and telepathically opening a channel. “I
have information concerning Nethrys. I
know he has been soliciting you for
troops on behalf of Malarea.”
“What concern is that of yours?” the
hooded skeleton fires back.
Jinx turns and glares at him. “I would
rather to speak with Malgrin face to
face. Such matters are not for scrying
eyes.” Then she shows him the amulet
with Adramalech’s seal.
“Come,” a strange voice finally opens
in her mind. “Alone.”
“You stay here with the steeds,” Jinx
says to Kyna before striding past the
unwelcoming committee and into the
grand house beyond. Its massive
double-doors are built from skulls fused
together by some form of binding
magic. They chatter furiously about “a
live one, and shapely too” as she enters
and proceeds up a long winding
staircase.
She soon finds the figure at the
window, the Duke of Unlife as he is
known on Avernus, his towering form
grotesque and yet fascinating. His
height and stature reminds her of a pit
fiend or fire giant, but his skeletal
features, hook-like horns, and pale skin
give him away as something quite
different.
“You have been granted an audience,”
he says. “Now speak.”
“I come from Malsheem,” Jinx
replies. “My purpose here is to cross
into Dis. I know you have a portal.”
“There are many ways to Dis from
Avernus.”
“But few are as covert. In case you
have doubts as to my mission, your
minion already saw the amulet that I
bear.” Jinx offers it to him for his
inspection, and after a moment he hands
it back to her, apparently satisfied with
its authenticity.
“What is this news of Nethrys and
Malarea of which you spoke?”
“How much do you know about
Malarea?”
“She is being honored at the Palace of
Dis for her conduct in the Blood War.”
“So it has been said,” Jinx nods.
Malgrin regards her with a cold stare,
perhaps waiting to see if Jinx intends to
continue. Finally, with curiosity
gnawing at him, he circles slowly.
“What does this have to do with me?”
“You know of Nethrys?”
“Malarea’s diplomatic messenger,
personal advisor, and domesticated
lapdog? Yes, I know of him.”
“You sound like you know him well.”
“He approached me,” Malgrin nods.
“Told me that as a fellow necromancer,
it would be in my interests to forge an
early alliance with his mistress, the
Blood War’s latest rising star.”
“Did Malarea pay you a visit
personally?”
“Perhaps.”
Jinx nods, “I’ll take that as a yes. I
suppose she made you promises.”
“Everyone makes promises,” Malgrin
replies, “so many that they occasionally
can’t even keep track of them all. Why
else do you think I protect my
solitude?”
“Believe me…I can understand why
more than you might realize.”
“Pray tell.”
“I used to have one better than
solitude. I used to have anonymity.”
“Since you still have not told me your
name, one might suppose that you still
have it.”
Jinx smiles at him for a long moment,
at once appreciating Malgrin’s intellect
as well as his awkward position:
entertaining so secretive a guest who
asks all sorts of pesky questions and
bears the sigil of Hell’s Lord
Chancellor. “My name is Jinx,” she
finally responds. “Do us both a favor
and keep it to yourself.”
“Why the secrecy?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you. We
wouldn’t want that, now would we?”
“You presume much,” Malgrin
growls.
“My apology. A poor attempt at
humor on my part. Tell me more about
Nethrys. Did he ever speak of me?”
“You know him?”
“I used to.”
“He did not mention you,” Duke
Malgrin shakes his head. “I asked him
about his existence before he came to
serve Malarea, as well as how they met
and the manner in which he was bound
to her…that is, whether or not he might
be bought.”
“At least you’re honest. What did he
say?”
“He wouldn’t…except to say that all
these matters were better left
undiscussed. Of course, I told him that I
could not possibly donate my resources
to Malarea’s legion given those
circumstances. He responded that if
Alocer should win the throne of Dis, I
might find myself in a bit of trouble.”
“Why is that?”
“Alocer would very likely be a
powerful voice in support of Bel’s
contention that my undead forces, due
to their freewalking abilities, ought to
be used in their entirety as a massive
forward strike force into the Abyss
itself. In such an instance, it is not
improbable that I would be ordered to
personally command them in battle.”
“For the greater glory of Hell,” Jinx
smirks. “You must be honored.”
“To be perfectly honest, that wasn’t
the first thought that crossed my mind.”
“You and I think very much alike,
Malgrin.”
“Perhaps. Nonetheless, I refused the
bait. Aside from not knowing them well
enough to commit my hand, I also see
no need to become embroiled in the
politics of Dis. It would be imprudent.
In any case, you still haven’t told me
what this is all about.”
Jinx pauses for a moment, uncertain
as to how much she wants to spill.
Finally, she takes an enormous breath.
“This information is very highly
privileged. If you tell anyone, I can just
about guarantee that your bones will be
added to that wall outside. That isn’t a
threat…just a fact. The truth is, Malarea
may not be all that she appears to be. I
have been sent to investigate, but of this
subject, this is absolutely all that I can
say.”
“And who are you, Jinx, that I should
believe anything that you say?”
“Her daughter,” Jinx replies, watching
the look of surprise registering in
Malgrin’s eyes. “I chose this route to
Dis because it was imperative that I
learn of a secret way into the 2nd
Hell…one that I might have been able
to find myself had I known nobody in
Avernus.”
“You amuse me,” Malgrin smiles.
“Do you really think you could have
penetrated my defenses?”
“Yes,” Jinx replies again in a rather
flat tone. “I will not pretend that it
would have been without challenge, but
yes…I could have gotten in without you
ever being the wiser.”
“Then why didn’t you? It would have
saved us both the unpleasantness of
ever meeting one another.”
Jinx grins, suddenly liking this Duke.
“It would have been an unnecessary
risk. Besides, I try not to make a
practice of angering powerful
necromancers, particularly when they
might be able to help me in my own
studies. I too am a necromancer of sorts.
That was another reason I wanted to
speak to you. Very soon I will need
access to a library, and since I’m
somewhat new to the Hells…”
“Since you’re on your way to Dis, you
might have considered the Necrology,”
Malgrin interjects.
“The Necrology?”
“The Forbidden Library of Furcas.
You really are new, aren’t you?”
“Ah yes…while I was at Malsheem, I
learnt that you were one of his
students.”
“Long ago,” Malgrin retorts. “Furcas
is not my master.”
“I did not mean to suggest that he
was. But since it seems I will eventually
need to meet with him…what’s he
like?”
Malgrin pauses for a moment, turning
the question over in his mind a few
times as though it were of some
confusing shape or substance.
“Furcas is Furcas,” he finally states, as
though that says it all.16
16
For more on Furcas, see Legions of
Hell: Book of Fiends, Volume 1, p21.
Furcas is also mentioned as being a pit
fiend general in Dragon #75, p21
(although he doesn’t appear as a pit fiend
in Legions of Hell). Likewise, he’s
mentioned in Faces of Evil: The Fiends,
p29, as being a member of the Dark Eight
and the Minister of Mortal Relations.
Hellbound: The Blood War, The Dark of
“I see,” Jinx nods, rather puzzled.
“Would he help me in my training?”
“Perhaps. I will write you a letter of
introduction, but for me to do this, and
provide you passage to Dis…it seems to
me that I should gain something for all
my assistance.”
Jinx pulls from her bag of holding a
bottle with a large gemstone. It is a
smoky yellow agate, glowing eerily like
the eye of a feral cat. She looks at it for
a long moment through the clear glass,
then hands the bottle to Malgrin.
“A glowing gem in a bottle,” Malgrin
shrugs. “I shall call a press conference.”
“It’s the eye of a great lich-
necromancer who, some say, has
become demon.”
“Vecna?”
“I would not use his name so
carelessly, but yes.”
Malgrin stares into the bottle, a
mixture of inquisitiveness and
skepticism composing his features.
Finally, he speaks a brief incantation,
then turns back to Jinx.
“You’d offer such a treasure as this
for so small a service?”
“No,” Jinx replies, her eyes glinting in
the dim light.
“So you mean to put me in your
debt?”
“Do not think of it as debt. Think of
this gift merely as a symbol of my hope
that we will one day work together for
each other’s benefit…as allies if not
friends.”
“You are far more diplomatic than
your mother,” he replies, looking again
at the gem and then glancing toward a
spectre in the corner of the room. “Take
her and her companions to the blood
gate.”
“Um…aren’t you forgetting
something?”
Dear Furcas,
I present you with Jinx who you might
find a worthy student despite that thing
she wears about her neck. Note that she
bribed me to write this, so any undue
pleasantness has been well paid for.
Oh, and I now have a certain
optometric artifact in my personal
the War, p19, goes on to state that he’s
only one of two original members of the
Dark Eight, the other original member
being Baalzephon, and it indicates that he
plays his rivals against each other as “a
mortal toys with ants.” For the purposes of
this campaign, he’s definitely a noble, and
a powerful one at that.
possession. Perhaps we can now do that
trade we were so recently discussing?
In your dreams…. -Malgrin
After writing this letter of introduction,
Malgrin has Jinx, Kyna, and their steeds
taken to the castle’s basement where
there exists a shallow pool of blood as
well as a large bell which hangs from
the chamber’s roof directly over the
center of the pool.
“Is this pool fed from the river?”
“Yes,” the spectre replies. “There’s a
series of conduits which run underneath
the castle.”
“Doesn’t that present a security risk?”
“Do you have any idea what lives in
the moat?”
“Something big and nasty, I assume?”
“Next time you stop by, you can go
for a swim.”
Jinx gives him a look like that wasn’t
very funny, however, before she can
compose a decent comeback, he
informs her of the way to Dis.
Apparently, all she has to do is ring the
bell.
Jinx and Kyna walk their steeds into
the shallow blood and do just that, the
bell’s reverberations at first making
small circular ripples over the entire
surface of the pool. Rather than settling
back down, however, these little
wavelets continue to grow, rising along
the pool’s circumference like a curtain
and swirling about, until the two she-
devils and their nightmares find
themselves standing on the pool’s tile
flooring, not a drop of blood touching
either one of them. A moment later,
there’s a noise like a clap of thunder,
and the curtain of blood sweeps past
them as though dashed apart by a gale-
force wind, leaving them crimson
soaked atop a small hill under a murky
green sky, the wind so fierce neither
one of them can stand upright, but must
rather kneel against their nightmares for
protection.
As Jinx looks around, she can see that
the landscape is nearly flat for as far as
the eye can see, its barren surface
fractured by a mazelike web of stagnant
rivers belching white vapors to the
chaos winds which seem to blow from
every direction all at once. Off in the
distance, a huge walled city surrounded
by water rises from this desolation, its
gleaming spired palace reaching
through the murky clouds and standing
fast against the howling tempest.