Hell's Gate

Many of our modern card and other games started in the parlours of Europe as a means to explore the occult, the Tarot deck being a well-known example. These were often based on the works and beliefs of alchemists and wizards from early centuries, men who believed, amongst other things, that demons could be summoned from Hell and forced to reveal the secrets of either unlimited knowledge or unlimited power. Parallel beliefs existed throughout the centuries, beliefs carrying a warning to the unwary. Demons, some believed, could not leave Hell of their own volition, and instead must be summoned to our plane. These same games and ceremonies were seen by some as snares that corrupted and seduced the innocent, creating a portal through the Seals of Hell. Five kids from a small town stumble upon one such game in a Goth bible – a cross between a ceremony and a drunken scavenger hunt. Throughout high school they dream of escaping small town life and finding enough players for the Grand Game, and when all five move to the big city to attend university they carry that dream with them. Froth week in a big city, with its new friends and new haunts to explore, soon consumed four of the five players, and it begins to look as if the game would be forgotten and left behind with so many other childhood activities. And then Todd discovered a gameboard etched into the floor of the attic of the house they had rented. Thirteen players were found amongst old and new friends… Thirteen to summon the beast, And thirteen to bind it. Thirteen will seek the beast And only one will find it.

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