¶ First Expedition to The Abyss
As a passage to The Burrow beneath The Church of Her open, 21 travelers venture within to seek The Nameless Serpent.
¶ The Burrow Opens
Within the ruins of The Church of Her, an entryway to a orld beneath is found and a call is made to The Lost Pilgrim to venture into its depths and explore The Burrow that had been hidden below.
20 brave souls gather their strength and head into the depths:
- Jep of Nox
- Dark Lucius
- Haunter Elend
- Varis Amakiir
- Gell Marsk the Blind Worm
- Agora's Bush
- Blaz3
- Warryn Garrick
- Dark Avian
- Mival
- Jalana Buckman
- Guelyre Chernin
- Vastum the Vermin
- Lord Donté Freedrick-Wulf
- Mershiah the Gift
- Aryae the Apostate
- Ulfgar Ungart
- Bald Denier
- Soul #3965
¶ First Descent
As the 20 descend into The Burrow, the entrance to it closes behind them.
The travelers are welcomed, The Nameless Serpent has been waiting for them.
They are told that the depths beneath the church are stratified by three zones, with its deepest being closest to The Serpent and the power of its Scales; a proximity which few can survive.
The Burrow is a place for all who wish to follow The Nameless Serpent, including Darkblades, members of Detriti's Coven, and the Jesters of Nox.
It is revealed that the manifestation of The Nameless Serpent is personal, unique to each who come to witness its face. The Serpent binds itself with those before it, as it does not reign from above — it is internal to us all.
The Nameless Void is the furthest depths beneath The Forsaken Lands, and few have ever reached it without becoming a fertilizing decay in death. Though, the Nameless Devotees, be they Leeched or Transformed, were the only to find themselves without reaction to The Serpent's Scales that are embedded within the walls of The Abyss. Instead, they found The Serpent speaking through them.
Wormlord Kuul is one of the few who could ever live amidst the face of The Serpent without perishing.
The travelers are warned one final time that they must discuss amongst themselves, and prepare for certain death as they descend beyond the threshold of The Burrow.
¶ Warm Welcome
The 20 travelers soon find themselves in a bustling marketplace, populated by a variety of nefarious looking individuals.
As they scan the crowd, a particular Darkblade stands out, and the group debates amongst themselves whether or not he should be approached.
They soon realize they have been accompanied by Zell, the Cartographer, who has left the safety of Stalwart Fortress in search of map making supplies. In particular, he is seeking excretions from the worms that dwell within The Burrow, which can be used to produce superb cloth maps.
Despite the plea from Zell to seek some supplies, the group decides to approach the Darkblade.
He immediately grabs Jep of Nox by the arm and stabs him to death.
The Pilgrim has learned a valuable lesson.
¶ Down The Rabbit Hole
Pulling away from the violent stranger, the remaining party look around the marketplace.
They see a hooded figure moving through the crowd to a space in the distance. They seem familiar, and so The Pilgrim elects to pursue them beyond the confines of the market, collecting a torch along the way.
Pursuit of the hooded figure leads them down an ancient entryway, and into a dark abyss. After hours of descent, they arrive at the end of the staircase, and a darkness ahead. The depths of the void seemingly sucking the light out of their torch.
The Abyss was upon them.
¶ Stumbling in the Dark
Unable to see, and uncertain of what's ahead of them, the travelers come to an extinguished beacon and attempt to light it.
As they fumble in the darkness trying to light the beacon, creatures descend upon them from the darkness and slaughter Dark Lucius, Haunter Elend, and Varis Amakiir before the light can stave off the beasts.
The torch used to light the beacon extinguishes as the beacon is lit, and as darkness consumes their surroundings hope begins to fade. Then, suddenly, a spark within the beacon ignites and spreads light along the length of the cavern's walls.
An ascending staircase reveals itself, but the travelers opt to check the sides of the construct housing the staircase and beacon before climbing it. As they do this, the beacon begins to rapidly spew noxious gas, killing Gell Marsk the Blind Worm, Agora's Bush, Blaz3, Warryn Garrick, Dark Avian, Mival, Jalana Buckman, Guelyre Chernin, Vastum the Vermin, and Soul #3965 instantly.
Half of the descending travelers wiped out in an instant.
¶ Unopened Doors
As the few remaining travelers climb the staircase to escape the noxious gas, they are confronted with a sealed door.
There is a puzzle on the door face, entreating the travelers to discover a secret passphrase from a set of scrambled letters. Slowly, one by one, they are felled each minute as they desperately try to unravel the mystery that will grant them access through the portal.
Lord Donté Freedrick-Wulf, Mershiah the Gift, and Aryae the Apostate fall one by one before Zell himself falls to the fumes; cursing The Lost Pilgrim for ever leading him down there.
Although Ulfgar Ungart and Bald Denier discover the key word is SNAKE, they are too late to unlock the door and are consumed by the poison. They leave what signal they can for those who will come after them.
All of the challengers to The Burrow are perished, and become food for the worms in the underground. Their bodies become part of the Burrow Worms that writhe to the surface and are collected by those who were close to them.