[Underworld, Tartarus]
A well made of uneven grey stone sits to the east. A line of women streams from it, walking with jugs in their hands to the ebon waters of the river running beyond it. Each moans a soft litany, the words too quiet for you to make out. The fence cuts off any travel to the south, despite the fact that it bows under the weight of a fallen stalagmite.
Tartarus is quite literally the lowest place in our ancient world, it being as far from the gods in heaven as physically possible. The Greek poet Hesiod even asserts that an anvil falling from the heavens would take nine days to reach the earth and then another nine to reach Tartarus. Homer concurs, saying in the Iliad that Tartarus is as far beneath Hades as heaven is about earth. Due to its being so far from the sun, Tartarus is hemmed by three layers of night and then further encompassed by a bronze wall that blocks out any light, engulfing the region in a gloom only lit by the fiery rivers that run through it.
Tartarus is the punishment side of Hades… not that the other realms aren't (except for the Elysian Fields of course). This is where the murderers and thieves and all others who have committed sins or otherwise angered the gods are sent. It is said the gate out of Tartarus is made of adamantine and guarded by a black fifty-headed hydra.
This region in our underworld is the most straight forward route out, in terms of it being the one that does not require you to enter any other areas. It is a pretty straight forward maze with a lot of false leads and looping rooms that can make getting lost pretty easy. Just learn to peer before you leap and you'll be an old pro at it in no time.