The mansion was bigger than anything Georgia had ever seen. The stone building seemed to stretch on forever, completely covering the horizon when coming upon it. She followed Drusilla and Virgil inside into a large foyer. It reminded her of fancy hotel lobby. Extraordinary artwork and statues lined the walls. There was a fire pit in the middle of the marbled room with a great winged humanoid creature larger than a mighty oak as the centerpiece. Much like the village area they passed through, it was filled with people coming and going.

They ascended the stairs and through several hallways before reaching a small room. Drusilla used a key to let them in. “Thank the gods there’s at least some privacy in Hell.” She joked as she moved aside to let her guests in.

The room wasn’t quite what Georgia expected. It was a simple room with a small bed pressed against the wall a few feet from the window. There was a rocking chair directly in front of the window and a vanity on the opposite wall. There were two doors: one leading to a closet and the other a bathroom.

Drusilla left Georgia and Virgil there for Georgia to freshen up while she gathered some materials to the trip. They agreed to meet in the foyer when Georgia and Virgil were ready. Drusilla’s clothes were far too willowy for Georgia to borrow so she just cleaned her wounds before slipping into Drusilla’s bed. It wasn’t very comfortable considering it was just a very thin mattress on wicker, but it would do for a quick rest. She was already so tired.

Georgia turned her attention to Virgil who was rocking contentedly in the chair. “Pretty nice of her to let us rest here, huh?”

Virgil snorted causing Georgia to laugh.

“Why don’t you like her? She seems nice enough.”

“Plenty folk seem nice enough when you got something they want. You’re her travel pass.”

Georgia shrugged. “I don’t mind. It’s not like I’m not using her too in a way. You’re not allowed to help me out.”

“You’re being more rational about this then I thought.” Virgil replied.

“I’m sure that’ll lessen as time goes on. This is the easy part. I was never good under pressure, so we’ll see how this goes. But I’ll do everything I can to get out of here.”

There was a beat of silence before Georgia spoke again. “Thanks for everything so far, by the way. I’m not sure how long I would have lasted out there without your jacket and lighter. I should probably give those back.”

“I’ll take the jacket but keep the lighter for now. Just don’t lose it. Sentimental value.”

Georgia wanted to ask more but she heard light snoring from the chair. She chuckled before closing her eyes to get some rest of her own.

***

It was cold but bright. Blindingly bright. Georgia opened her eyes to find herself in the middle of a forest naked in a bathtub. She couldn’t see anyone, but there were whispers, strange mutterings all around. However, Georgia couldn’t make out what they were saying.

“Who’s there?” she called out as she tried to cover herself.

There was no response.

“I can’t see you. I can barely hear you.”

“Find me. Kill me.” A voice much clearer than the rest husked.

“What?”

“Find. Me. Kill. Me. Find me. Kill me. Find me. Kill me. FIND ME KILL ME FINDMEKILL MEFINDMEKILLME!!!

The roots of the trees creeped from the ground and began to surround the tub. She tried to run but the roots grabbed her and pulled her back into it. They began to bind her body and pull her down into the water. The same voice continued to scream.

***

Georgia woke up in a cold sweat gasping for breath. Had it all been-? No, sadly it wasn’t a dream. The trappings of Drusilla’s room confirmed it. She was dead and in Hell. With a sigh she trudged to the bathroom to splash some water on her face.

***

“Hey, before we go down to meet Drusilla, would be cool if I searched some of the open rooms in here? They may be a good place to hide.” Georgia asked Virgil.

“Fine by me. But there’s a lot of rooms.”

Georgia shrugged. “It would probably be impossible to search them all, but a few for good measure couldn’t hurt.”

“I’ll lead the way.”

***

As expected, there were far too many rooms for one person to search on their own and no sign of Luci. Feeling a little dejected, Georgia and Virgil began to make their way back to the foyer. However, the sound of a piano playing stopped Georgia in her tracks. Like a moth drawn to a flame, she followed the music to a large room with nothing but musical instruments. In the center was a wild haired man intensely playing the piano. Georgia waited for the man to finish his piece before applauding. He smiled awkwardly.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb, but that was wonderful.” Georgia said.

“Ah, thank you. Do you play?” he asked in a thick, German accent.

Georgia shook her head. “Not anymore.”

“Try.”

“No, I shouldn’t.”

“No, please. We can play together. It’s been so long since someone has played with me.”

When asked so pitifully, Georgia couldn’t deny the request. With shaking hands, she sat down next to the man and played a few simple chords. The man joined in complicating the piece. Georgia began adding some more advanced chords with the stranger matching her pace and intensity. It had been so long since she played, so long since she felt comfortable in front of piano. She almost felt sad when it was over.

The man got up, bowed, and smiled at her. “Thank you. That was wonderful! If you get out of here, you should get back to playing.” He said before leaving the room.

***

After the unexpected jam session, Georgia and Virgil finally made their way back to the foyer. There was no sign of Drusilla, but an old man flagged them down. It was clear he used to be tall, but time had bent his spine, so he was crooked over like a question mark. His face was sharp and angular, but it seemed to hold no malice. His smiled seemed kind, reaching large, brown eyes.

“Virgil! Hello! Is this our contender?” He asked jovially.

“Yes, she is. Georgia, meet Old Verge. Verge, this is Georgia.”

“Nice to meet you.” Georgia said sheepishly.

“Drusilla went out to the orchard. Could I accompany you there?” Old Verge asked.

Virgil looked to Georgia. “Sure.”

As the three made their way through additional hallways in the mansion, Old Verge engaged them in conversation.

“Everyone is very excited about your game, young lady. I’m surprised Drusilla is the only one who approached you to help.”

“Are you putting in a bid?” Virgil teased.

Old Verge laughed. “I would probably be a liability now. Retirement has made me slow.”

“You had a job?” Georgia asked.

“Yes, I used to be guide like Virgil here. One could say the very first.”

“So, you must have some pretty extensive knowledge of the place.”

Old Verge laughed again. “Am I being recruited?”

“Maybe.”

“I may not make it all the way.” He warned.

“You can bow out any time.” Georgia offered.

“Well, how I can refuse. You have a companion.”

They finally reached the orchard where Drusilla had been gathering some fruit for the journey onward. Inhabitants of Hell didn’t need to eat. However, most did anyway to keep up with the habit.

As they were walking around, Georgia’s attention was drawn to an archway by an old greenhouse. It didn’t seem special. Just an old thing covered in vines. But maybe….

She carefully felt around through the vines until she grabbed a snake. She yelped and threw it on the ground.

“Well done. See you in the next circle.”