gone to hell

Eyes closed, Arialla sang: "Oh great Apollo, lord of the silver bow, god of -- "

She broke off: something was wrong. The acoustics around her had suddenly changed, no longer the perfectly harmonious echo of the temple chamber. She opened her eyes and found herself looking not at the great golden statue of Apollo, but at a huge, ugly black spike thrusting into the sky, hideous and unnatural. She stood not on beautifully-inlaid polished marble but in sooty dust and ash, a wasteland already stamping its mark on her pale golden robes and ceremonial sandals.

She shrieked, any semblance of thought overtaken by pure horror and confusion.

After his rather odd meeting with Loren at this very spot the day prior, Sam found himself wanting to return to the Spire and think; he certainly had plenty to ponder over between his latest string of romantic mishaps and the new batch of rising tensions between the Ascended and well, everyone else. He was just approaching the Spire, hand outreached to touch the smooth surface as had become his custom, when suddenly there was a shriek that made his fingers freeze. Looking out to where he'd heard it, into the wasteland...oh. A woman in odd clothing, in the middle of nowhere, clearly distressed: another Outlander had arrived. As bizarre as the whole situation was, it really had become quite routine. As there was no one else around, Sam supposed it was his duty to inform her of her new life, as unsure as he was of how to do that. Approaching he waved, making sure he ran in the shadow of the Spire (he'd found he could do better with the sun nowadays but still covered up and used the shade when he could) as he called out: "Hello? Are you alright?? Can I help you?" She was rather obviously not, but he wasn't sure how else to start: Hi, welcome to your new life away from all your loved ones! was hardly a comforting greeting. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Seeing Samuel approach her, Arialla screamed again and danced back. "Don't -- I -- "

She'd spent her life in a small town where almost the entire population had grown up together, where a stranger could barely get two feet down the main street without the entire town hearing about it -- unless they came with ill purpose and actively tried to hide their arrival. Thus, meeting a man she'd never seen before instantly put Arialla on edge. Her mind did an automatic inventory of her valuables: her necklace, a talisman of Apollo, was the big one -- that and the young, healthy woman herself.

"Don't come any closer!" she managed, holding up a hand. "I'll have you know that I am personally blessed by Apollo, and harming me will bring his wrath upon you!"

It was a stupid thing to say, she realized even as she said it. She sounded desperate and scared and, worse, like a liar, even though it was true. Well -- the "personally blessed" part was true. She didn't know if Apollo would actually lift a finger to defend her. Gods were often more inclined to avenge their priests than to help them while they lived.

Sam stopped dead at Arialla's obvious distress, though he was clearly surprised by it. Most Outlanders were pleased to see someone to talk to and ask about their sudden turn of fate; her immediate suspicion towards him was odd indeed, especially as he usually intimidated no one with his small stature and well, nerdy appearance. He held up his hands, trying to show he meant no harm. He had no weapons him, that much was true, though of course she would not know of the abilities he possessed. "I'm not going to harm you, I promise. My name is Samuel. I've...I've helped lots of people like you who have found themselves here." Really, he thought, they needed to have some kind of official Outlander greeting committee trained to deal with these things, rather than random social awkward bookbinders finding women in the middle of fields...but this was Caido, and they often made the best of what was at hand. "Could you tell me your name..?" Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Arialla took a couple deep breaths as her brain started working again. All right, he wasn't going to immediately attack her. Excellent. Now that she was starting to move out of complete panic, she did note Samuel's less-than-intimidating appearance and felt a little more at ease for it. He was no taller than she was and didn't exactly look like a hardened bandit.

"Samuel." Before answering his question, she took a good look around. Not a pleasant place she'd ended up, with the brutal spire and blasted earth: she came to the only logical conclusion. "This is hell, isn't it? What have I done to end up here? How have I so displeased the gods?"

Her eyes actually filled with tears at the thought. She'd believed she was doing so well, that Apollo loved her -- to suddenly wind up here, in such total disfavor, felt devastating.

Struggling not to cry, she turned her attention to Samuel's question: "Arialla. My name is Arialla."

Unless, of course, she'd suddenly become someone else ... She looked down at herself. Nope, same flat chest and toned, slightly gangly limbs: she was still Arialla.

It seemed Arialla really was catastrophising the entire situation, something Sam recognised well from his own behaviour. He was not intimately familiar with the concept of 'Hell', but from what he'd heard from other Outlanders, he knew it was some kind of punishment. Shaking his head, he stepped a little closer. "It isn't hell. I can explain anything you'd like to you, but firstly I promise you'll be alright. It's not a bad place." Chaotic, dangerous, but as good as any other world, he thought. "Arialla is a nice name." He smiled, clasping his hands together in front of him to try and keep up his non-threatening appearance. "If you want, I could take you somewhere for a warm drink and I'll explain it all on the way...? There's not much to see around here and I'd advise you stay away from the Spire." Sam glanced back up to the ominous structure, one he wished he'd had the good sense to avoid. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

Frowning, Arialla stared at Samuel with undisguised doubt and suspicion.

"This is not a bad place, you say?" She waved at the area around them as if its badness were self-evident -- which, in her eyes, it most certainly was. "I can't imagine where else this could possibly be, except hell. And if this is hell, then I suppose you must be a demon."

The idea only renewed her hostility, but then she thought about it a moment and relented: "Or a fellow lost soul. How did you end up in hell, I wonder? What did you do?"

The idea that Samuel might have deserved imprisonment in hell -- as she most certainly did not, in her own opinion -- made her wary again.

"I'm not exactly here to sight-see," she added, though to be honest the idea of getting away from this terrible place to another, less terrible place sounded quite appealing. She just didn't trust the idea that there were less terrible places available. Presumably everywhere in hell would be terrible, wouldn't it? Some even worse than this one, although, as she glanced at the Spire, she knew she didn't need the warning to stay away.

Sam followed Arialla's gesture to look about the area, which he supposed from an outsider's eyes would look rather bleak. He'd grown used to the dry and often depressing landscape of the Hollowed Ground, having spent his whole life in it, struggled to see the 'hell' that Arialla spoke of (and that apparently, was have direct negative effects on his reputation). "It's...where I live, so I suppose I have to like it. I'm not a demon." He insisted, now frowning, rather irritated even though he was aware Arialla likely knew no better. "I didn't do anything, either. I was born here as were plenty of other people. It's not a bad place - it's just different to the one you were in." Sam didn't know if any of this would comfort him if he'd just arrived, but all he had was the truth. "I know, but...a warm drink can be comforting and I think when you know the full extent of things...well. You might need it." Sam chewed at his lip for a moment then looked up at her, figuring he may as well get this out right away: "You can't leave here." Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

"I can't leave -- what do you mean by 'here'?" Arialla gestured to the area around her in a circle. She had an inkling of what Samuel meant, of course, but she didn't want to believe it, so she would make him clarify. "I thought you said we could go somewhere better ... which, I admit, does appeal. I can't say I really trust you -- no offense -- but I suppose there's no point in hanging around here, either."

She didn't want to say so, but she could really use that drink, actually. And maybe a change of clothes -- something more practical for the environment, if she were going to be stuck here. As soon as she had that thought, she rejected it. No, she was not going to be stuck here. She needed to be home in time for evening prayers. Her family would be worried about her ...

Taking a deep breath, she ran back over Samuel's words. She could see that she'd irritated him a bit, and she could understand why; calling him a demon or deserving of hell wasn't exactly a compliment.

"I'll go with you," she declared, and then, a little more shyly, "If you're still willing, of course."

"Oh, sorry -- I mean...Caido. This...world...it's a little hard to explain right away." At least she was becoming more amenable to the idea of going somewhere else within the Ground to get a drink: Sam knew few ways to comfort someone, but a hot cup of tea was the best tool at hand. As she asked if he'd still be willing to take her, he gently sighed out any frustration then smiled to her and nodded. "Of course. You've had a terrible shock. Plenty of people are upset when they arrive here. Follow me...I can show you somewhere for you stay too, if you'd like." While Sam had decided never to take in another Outlander himself after the Nate fiasco, he knew the old Launceleyn manor had bedrooms for those in need; then if Arialla eventually wanted to she could choose a house in the domiciles. Walking with his face turned away from the sun, choosing to remain in shade cast by trees or walls when he could, he was aware he probably looked odd to her, but there was no changing it. "If...you want to ask me questions one by one, I can give you answers." Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

"This hell," Arialla supplied as a description, rather bitterly, but without her prior panic. "It's called Caido? I've never heard the name before."

She followed Sam, too wrapped up in her own problems to notice his avoidance of the sun. If she had noticed, maybe she would have asked if the sun in Caido was cursed.

"I ... " She bit back the answer that she had no intention of staying anywhere in Caido. It sounded as if she had no choice. "Thank you. You're kind. But I can hardly believe ... Is there truly no way for me to get home? I have a family -- they'll be panicking. Surely there has to be something I can do."

That was her only question, really. How she got here, what this place was, what it was like -- all of those would be come irrelevant if she could only find a way home.

"Yes, Caido. I can assure you it's really not Hell...I don't know that much about Hell, but from what I've heard, it's not very much like here at all." Those he had spoken to had mentioned firey pits or eternal torment and as much as Sam was prone to dramatics, he could hardly say that Caido provided him with either of those. She did not seem ready to accept what he was telling her about not being able to go home - he supposed it might take a while. "As far as I know, and I've been here since I was born...there isn't a way to go back. You were brought here by a Goddess. The Voice." For the moment he left out that he was a devout follower of this particular deity, thinking it was best to be neutral. "She began to bring people here to help her with something a time ago, and now...they still come." Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child

"This goddess, this Voice, brought me here to ... help her?" Arialla supposed she should be flattered. It sounded like the beginning of a godly quest. Except she already had a god, and a life, and she'd been happy. And if the Voice wanted her help so badly, why hadn't she actually spoken to Arialla? Arialla knew that the gods did not typically request things -- they ordered. But still, the Voice could have at least given Arialla some warning. "Help her how?"

She was a priestess, not a hero, and she didn't know that she wanted to turn her worship to this Voice anyway -- she found that she had no desire to raise songs of praise to a goddess who had ripped her from her life. Besides, Lord Apollo would be jealous, and he might even retract his blessing from her. That would be even worse.

The details of the domiciles began to become more clear as they approached the edge of the area that surrounded the Spire and the buildings and ruins now appearing around them gave Sam enough shade to feel more secure walking along. Unfortunately, he wasn't sure he really had an answer for Arialla's question. As far as he knew, there wasn't really a purpose for the Outlanders anymore; he did not know why they continued to come (his only thought was that perhaps the Voice was trying to increase her ranks?). Still, he would try give her the best answer he could while still working with the truth. "The Voice is...a new God, in our pantheon, well...she's over three hundred years old, but...the Old Gods are older. The Voice is trying to do new things with the world and the Old Gods...are not supportive. She wants to bring new people here to...help her in her mission." Hopefully he was being neutral enough. While Sam was very keen on helping his Goddess and increasing the size of his Ascended family, he didn't want to leap down the throat of anyone just arrived with dogma; it seemed like a sure way to turn them away. Samuel He took a step but then felt tired He said, I'll rest a little while But when he tried to walk again He wasn't a child