Katabasis - Level 06 "The Serpents' Snair"

 

So, you've made it through the 5th level (hopefully bereft of any nasty STDs or strange fetishes). and now find yourself descending to the 6th level of the City Underground. This level is known as The Serpents Snair. (Yes, we know that snare is spelt wrong but that's the way it's spelled in the various pamphlets available throughout the City Underground. We blame it on the lack of competant educators within Katabasis.)

The first thing you'll notice about this level is that it's very warm. Blood warm. But it's a dry heat so that's good. The second thing you'll notice, probably, is the preponderance of Serpents who inhabit this level. Most are benign, but not all.

Also, be advised that this level is currently afflicted with a contagious disease known as the Blight. We do not recommend intimate or even close contact with anyone from this level. 

In addition to the Blight and the large talking Serpents, this level has a few interesting oddities: an empty lighthouse(???), a Snowy Cavern where one can go to avoid the Serpents and enjoy some downhill sledding, and the  Gallery of Plague Art hosting art dealing with the Blight and sometimes art created by Blighted artistes.

Avoid the Angels. They can be rather tedious.

Katabasis - Level 05 "Lust & Fishes"

 

The fifth level of Katabasis, the City Underground, is known as 'Lust & Fishes.'

I can hear you all out there right now, thinking, Finally! We're getting to the good stuff!

Well, that depends entirely on your definition of good.

The first thing you'll encounter when entering the fitth level is an Evil Tome. It's your traditional evil book bound in flayed skin. Don't read it. Trust us on this. No matter how much it begs.

The two big draws for visitors to the 5th, are the Carnal Shrine and the Shrine of the Blessed Fish.

The Carnal Shrine is a nondenominational shrine to lust and sex. Only those who are nude or wearing sexual fetish gear may enter. Everyone else will be turned away. Photography is permitted, as long as you promise to share the pics. If you decide to visit the Carnal Shrine, it's a good idea to have penicillin or some other potent broadspectrum antibiotic on hand. If you get involved in any of the 'acts of worship' ahem use protection. And then wash your bits as soon as possible afterwards.

The Shrine of the Blessed Fish is a truly holy site devoted to the Blessed Fish and its faith, which has spread quite rapidly through Katabasis. No one seems to know, exactly, what the Blessed Fish offers the faithful, but its shrines and temples are generally considered quite nice and its priests can perform divine spells. Some will even do it for free. The truly faithful have begun to sprout gills and scales, and its not uncommon to encounter fish-eyed priests of this faith. Unfortunately, they and the Shrine tend to smell a bit like raw seafood left out for a bit too long. They seem unaware of this, so don't comment on it. That would be rude.

If you're feeling adventurous you could tour the Fallen Hive. If you're feeling homicidal/suicidal, check out The Murder Hole. Enjoy the Blood Murals and the Art Gallery, but we recommend avoiding The Blessed Fish restaurant, mainly because of its tacky name. Also, you enter The Lusty Goblin at your own risk.

When exiting this level, DO NOT partake of the waters from the Fountain of Unsetteling Desires. Unless you're in the market for a very niche and very weird fetish.

Katabasis - Level 04 "The Farmlands"

 

It's hard to imagine anyone growing anything under the earth, but the fourth level of Katabasis, the City Underground, proves that its entirely possible.

Known simply as 'The Farmlands' the fourth level of Katabasis is dominated by huge caverns. The environment of the Farmlands varies from the temperate to the deadly cold, and its residents prefer to be left alone to pursue their interests, whether they be raising crops or reanimating the dead.

If you do reach the fourth level, do try to take in the natural majesty of the Emperor's Cavern and wander by the Crystal Academy. It's probably best to avoid the Reliquery and, whatever you do, don't go near the Farm-in-the-Fog!

Also, the Child Necromancer is very fond of peppermints.

Katabasis - Level 03 "The Boring Bit"

 

After 'The Taste' the third level of Katabasis can be a bit of a letdown to the traveler hoping for some special weirdness.

The third level doesn't really have a proper, definitive name. Most folks just call it 'The Boring Bit' even though it has some interesting locations, such as the Insane Cathedral and a Zombie Insect Hive.  We won't even mention the Mechanical Brothel because it is a distinctly downmarket sort of establishment, patronized mainly by Machine-fetishists and the truly desperate.

Honestly, once you've seen the Cathedral, and maybe the Church of the Sacred Ichor, there isn't much more on this level to hold one's attention.

KATABASIS - Level 02 "The Taste"

So, you've criss-crossed the Threshold and still want more from Katabasis, the City Underground. So you have made your way down to the next level. Perhaps you're just curious? Perhaps you want to see some of the things you heard about in the Sky Market or on the streets of Threshold. So you proceed down, to the second level, to 'The Taste' of Katabasis.

'The Taste' is where you start to get a real sense of just how 'different' Katabasis and its residents are from your ordinary city-dwellers. In the Taste you'll rub shoulders with Vampires and Insects, Necromancers and Troglodytes, Ghouls and Scientists. There's a Monastery and an Optometry School, as well as a Vampire Church and the Fountain of Madness.

The Taste is where about 90% of the casual visitors realize what they may be heading into, and decided they've seen enough. They hightail it back up to the Sky Market and are grateful to be beneath open sky again.

But the 10% that push on? That descend deeper into the City Underground? Well, they've got some interesting sights to look forward to seeing.

If they survive long enough. 

Poetry: A Trumpet Sounded....

Between bouts of domesticity today, there is art and poetry....

A TRUMPET SOUNDED

A trumpet sounded.

The heavens cracked like an egg,

spilling wild angels,

all across the world.

And those who thought themselves saved,

found that they were lost.

While those who were lost,

were lifted up, into glory.

The earth became a dream

the damned were doomed to endure

over and over,

banal and joyless,

without a hope of waking.

But it was not hell.

Hell was a story,

a viral idea gone wrong,

infecting the world.

God was not so cruel,

to burn a soul forever,

just for eating shrimp.

Katabasis - Level 01 "The Threshold"

Before you step foot into Katabasis, you pass through the Sky Market.

Technically, the Sky Market isn't part of the City Underground, as it exists on the surface and sprawls in great confusion around the Gates of Katabasis. The Sky Market occupies the ruins of the city that Katabasis grew from, and it runs all the hours of the day and night. If you just want to buy oddities or see strange sights, the Sky Market might be as far as you want to go.  However, if you want to actually venture into the City Underground, you must proceed through the Gates of Katabasis.

The Gates of Katabasis are made of a greenish-gray metal, eighteen feet tall and ten feet wide. They are flung open and have been open for as long as anyone can remember. The hinges are rusted and if anyone tried to close the gates, they would fail. At worst, the gates would probably fall off of their hinges.

The road into Katabasis is wide enough for two carts to pass one another. The stone is worn smooth by countless feet. There is plently of light from the open Gates, but as the road turns, the light dims and you find yourself walking in twilight. Nervous newcomers can be easily spotted at this juncture, because they will usually produce a torch or a lantern or a light-spell.

The air is cool and somewhat musty. It smells of dust and earth. Tangles of petrified roots emerge, at random points, from the walls and ceiling of the corridor. Vulgar graffiti glows on the tunnel walls, painted in bioluminescent substances that you probably don't want to think too much about.

You turn another corner, and now you are in the dark. Sounds take on a weird echoing quality. If this is your first time venturing into Katabasis, taking the Downward Road, your palms might get clammy. You might start wondering. What things lurk in the dark? Who would choose to live down here? Why am I going to this place?  Your stomach might be full of butterflies.

And then you turn the third corner and the Downward Road widens and you see the glow of lights and hear the familiar sounds of a city: traffic, voices, the thump of industrial machinery, music blaring from the darkness. 

The road open, suddenly, surprisingly, into a wide subterranean cavern. Carts move along the stone streets, laden with all manner of wares, and the sidewalks are crowded with all manner of creatures. Some you recognize. Some you don't.

Welcome to the First Level of Katabasis, the City Underground.

Welcome to the Threshold.

The Threshold is the oldest, most staid, level of Katabasis. The paths depicted above are not the only paths through the Theshold. There are tons of sidestreets and alleys, lesser avenues and streets. However, they are mainly filled with the same kind of things you'd find in your average city or town. The "E" marks the entrance to the level, while the "X" marks the exit/descent to the next level.

Please note the presence of graves and monuments at intersections. This is a common theme in the oldest levels of Katabasis.

Also, please note that there is usually some kind of interesting situation/individual you can encounter at a level's exit point.

Katabasis

The city of Katabasis corkscrews into the earth, diving down and spreading out, akin in some ways to an ant farm or, perhaps, a termite mound. The oldest, most staid parts of the city, are close to the surface.  However, the deeper one goes into Katabasis the stranger things can become.

There is no central city government. Each level of Katabasis is run by its residents, and travel between the city's levels can be frought with peril and, in general, is somewhat inconvenient. Katabasis is home to a wide range of races and individuals, those who embrace arcane magics and advanced sciences. As such, the dimensions of some of the city levels are perverse. There are caverns so large that they should not be possible, and places where time seems to flow in various directions. Violence is common on some levels, and one level is embroiled in an ugly war.

However, Katabasis is not inherantly evil. There are wonders within the city and residents who are as friendly and kind as anyone you might meet on the surface.  

Over the next few weeks, I will be presenting some of the levels of the City Underground for your education and amusement.  I hope you enjoy.