At the gates of the Keep

The journey to the keep was quite challenging. The path Esau and his companions walked gradually thinned, until it was barely two feet wide and still getting narrower, a sheer straight drop into red mist on both sides. Esau walked carefully yet briskly, Naamah close behind with no fear of falling. Belial walked in the rear, complaining.

"...I'm just sayin', if anyone told me before we were going to the keep, I would've shown you a few shortcuts! We wouldn't even had to talk to those assholes! Now my legs are getting chafe. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to walk with a bunch of tentacles between your legs? I mean, our master has one," she chuckles boorishly, before quickly regaining her complaining tone, "but yeah! I have to apply a special cream sometimes! And do you know how hard it is to get evil anti-chafing cream that won't give me a rash? It's not easy let me tell you, and not cheap either!"

"Belial, I could make you jump off the edge if I wanted to."

"Psh, master wouldn't do that to me. Not to his favourite demon." Naamah squinted at her words.

"You know, we don't really need her anymore..."

"Naamah, I don't really need you either," he said annoyed, to which she frowned, "but as long as I'm trapped in hell, I'll need all the help I can get."

"Yeah, you'll need help to get through the front gate, that's for sure!" The imp could barely contain her grin.

"What? What's at the front gate, what kind of dog and pony show do I have to go through this time?! Another Ghagiel?"

"Oh no, worse than that! The worst demon of all; a giant three headed dog of pure evil! It consumes the most sinful of sinners, and a friend of mine says that it likes to go to the pits of agony and take a piss on all the poor souls, just for fun! It's thirty feet tall and twice as long, with fire breath and claws the size of swords, and when you get near it it'll ask a riddle, and then eat you whether you answered correctly or not! It'll take all our cunning and guile to outsmart and defeat it!"

Both Esau and Naamah stood there, looking at the imp. A few seconds passed before Naamah turned to her master.

"Yeah, she's pulling your leg."

"You don't say."

"Man, you sure are very perceptive, that's for sure. Won't take my deal, can't fall for a jest... doesn't even realise we're already at the keep."

Esau took a double take in surprise; he wasn't expecting them to get there so quickly. The keep always looked to be far on the horizon, and to then see it up close...

"Gah! How did I not notice it coming?" He looked back at the path they took, and was amazed that it was no longer there. Or rather, it was there, but one had to look very closely; the path connected to the small plateau they were standing on was the width of a hair. "Wait, did we really walk on that?"

"Sure, the imp was just keeping you distracted so you wouldn't notice."

"Ayup, the moment you notice that you're walking on a tightrope is the moment it crumbles into dust and you fall down," Belial shrugged, "you're welcome."

"Huh, thanks I guess." He looked over the front gate. It was tall and wide, and the gnarled planks it was made of were coloured black. Gargoyles sat on pedestals, covered in unnatural spikes and horns, and their eyes burned fiery red. Their gaze pointed at the gatekeeper, a demon of giant proportions, with wings that could cover a whole village. It spoke in a slow, deep voice.

"Ah, the human prince. She is expecting you," with just a thought the gate opens up, "do not keep the king waiting..." The demon bowed, it's hands pointing the way inside.

"Huh, I was expecting it to be a little more difficult," Esau stepped towards the gate.

"She? Last time I heard our king was a he."

"Now that she mentions it, that is a little strange."

Naamah shrugged. "King is just a title; the person in charge. If I remember correctly, your world had a few female Kings."

"Hm, I suppose you're right."