The Fiasco at Scala

The Damned, part three

3. Ilaria and the team skirted the side of a downward hole along stone staircases along its rim, with Nonna being carried by her more able grandson. The same trick was tried by Vico, who was instantly kicked back by his annoyed older sister. They cut out onto a lower tunnel of Hell to begin their epic trek anew, only to come to the feet of a giant, skinned from bronze and sporting the tunic of a classical Greek. The behemoth meant no harm to the mortals who stared at him in awe, introducing himself as Julian. 

He was a sentinel giant, who was meant to guard Hell and prevent any souls from escaping, even those who seemed desperate to live again. Ilaria pleaded with Julian to let them continue their journey, ultimately being persuaded by the queen's charismatic nature to assist the ever-growing group in getting back to Earth. The giant of fifty feet did know of a secret way in which souls could escape Hell back to the mortal world, by way of collecting one of a treasured series of items for each of the humans. These were known as the Tools of the Trade, symbolic of other mortals having made past deals with the Devil himself for their own personal gain and paying the price for their greed with residence in the mysterious caverns of Hell. 

No other resident of the underworld had managed to retrieve even one of the Tools of the Trade, but Julian knew where they were kept on specific levels and in specific tunnels of Hell, precious information that would serve the team well in the long run. During Julian's winded speech, Vico was grabbed by the leg and dragged off by a small red demon to a darker and smaller tunnel where other red eyes were waiting in anticipation for their next meal. Ilaria noticed the transgression and managed to save her brother by stoning the demon back into the shadows. When Ilaria and Vico reunited with their group, they all climbed onto the shoulders and hands of Julian while he took great strides through the tunnels.