There Be Dragons Here, Part 1

The mist cleared before them like cloudy gates giving way to a landscape that seemed far removed from anything one would discover in the mortal world.

Sam found himself staring at a grove of strange, red-leaved trees whose tips reached up to a sky tinged in twilight’s orange glow. Even the grass seemed dyed in red. As if this small corner of the cosmos had missed the memo that autumn had already given way to winter. Peppered all over this sacred grove were wooden stakes that pierced the ground at various spots. Plumes of flame exploded out of the earth at random, enforcing Sam’s view that they’d somehow found themselves in one of the Underworld’s hellish landscapes.

“The blessed folds of War’s embrace,” Jackboot recited. “Seems like we’re in the right place.”

The smiling skulls perched atop their stakes stood like ancient warning signs for those foolish enough to trespass in War’s domain.

“Yep, we’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy,” Sam agreed.