Dragonstone 50

Chapter 50
Alos is terrified by the howl and wants to turn back, but is overruled. Delon says the Maze looks like a vision of Hell - excuse me, "Hél" - which leads to my next rant.
Just because the words look similar does not mean they mean the same thing, McKiernan.
The popular concept of Hell as a place of fire and eternal torment comes primarily from Christianity, and is itself a permutation of older writings wherein hell was simply being cut off from God's love. Hél, on the other hand, is the name of a Scandinavian goddess, the daughter of Loki, who presided over an underworld called Hél, Hélheim and Niflheim. Hél (the place) was an underworld, an abode of the dead, but not depicted as a place of punishment. Depending on the source, it may have been seen as the afterlife of those who died of disease or old age, and thus could not go on to Valhalla. Hél (the deity) was not seen as a Satanic figure, but simply as the ruler of the place.
Back around the campfire, Our Heroes share their beliefs on what Hell is like. Delon thinks it's an endless maze of broken rock where there are no living things and no comfort to be found. Egil sees it as a place of bitter cold, Ferai as a place of scouring winds, and Arin as a void, a place of complete emptiness save only onesself (no relation to Tolkien's Void, I'm sure). Samurai Chick is an atheist, which strikes me as implausible at the least in a medieval world, especially one where the gods are absolutely, undeniably real. She also doesn't believe in ghosts or spirits, which seems bizarre for a world with magic. She does apparently believe in demons, but considers them living things which can therefore be killed - so I guess she thinks demons are just really unpleasant mortal creatures.
Egil has a nightmare, and Arin tries to soothe him. Next morning we have Arin trying to use her nonsense powers to see - excuse me, "<see>" - a way through the maze. Because her power does whatever the plot demands, she is able to detect both an obvious path and a second, more obscure path. This causes her to ponder the words of the scholar from last chapter, "Not all paths are what they seem. Search well; choose wisely." I skipped over it, and I hope you can see why: it is useless and meaningless gibberish masquerading as wisdom. Our Heroes spend a while debating this, and ultimately decide to take the more well-hidden path, because duh.
Arin insists on going first because of her Sparkly Nonsense Vision Magic, Delon says something dramatic, and the chapter ends.
Drinks: None.
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