Despair's Stomach

‘Those who venture into the Abyss are said to be mad. The ones who wander into Despair’s Stomach risk running madder still.’

Despair’s Stomach makes up the fourth layer of the Abyss- the domain of Gluth, The Insatiable Prince, The Demon Lord of Consumption. It is a twisted wilderness, disorienting the senses of all who enter and full of dangers to threaten even the most capable of adventurers. The whole of the realm appears to reside within a massive cave, but one may travel great distances and never find evidence of walls or a ceiling. The higher up one goes, the darker their surroundings become, seeming to vanish into the gloom until flying entities cannot even tell if they are still ascending. At ground level there is ambient light - sourceless, casting no shadows and producing no heat, it nevertheless keeps the entire layer at a consistent comfortable temperature and humidity for each individual. This light waxes and wanes to approximate a cycle of night and day, dimming until it reaches pitch dark. Accounts of survivors indicate that this darkness is not magical, being easily pierced by even mundane sources of light. Scholars opine that it is then the light which must be magical, though no origin point has ever been found. Perhaps it is not so strange to ascribe a kind of sentience to the domain of a Demon Lord - it seems as if Despair’s Stomach intentionally creates a level playing field for all who enter it, balancing comfort and challenge to better test the hunting capabilities of each.
And a vast hunting ground it is, populated by all manner of horrors that rove and stalk. Those who pay homage to Gluth roam singly or in packs. More numerous still are the various demons: barlgura and hezrou, maw demons and shoosuva, chasme and nabassu. The more bestial orders of demons dominate, but the particularly unlucky might encounter a Sire of Insanity or Master of Cruelties. Few natives of Despair’s Stomach can be reasoned with. There is only the hunger.
A handful of more civilised demons also call Despair’s Stomach home, even ruling over macabre parodies of small towns. Travellers lucky enough to traverse the Stomach and live have told tales of one such place: Ulc’ahr. A veritable ghost town, it boasts a number of buildings without any residents. Indeed the sole occupant of the place seems to be a nalfeshnee known as Ulathoad, or Goretusk to those who would shun the Abyssal tongue. This Goretusk is rumoured to have a business relationship with a rakshasa medicine-maker in High Keldan. This shopkeeper sends their lackeys in search of ingredients from various beasts, and they may exchange a portion of their kills with Goretusk for a more protected place to stay in Gluth’s domain. Travellers may make a similar deal, a measure of safety at the cost of satisfying Goretusk’s hunger.
Any safety is relative, of course, as the whole of Despair’s Stomach is the hunting ground of Gluth itself. The demon lord could destroy any of the townships easily if it decided the denizens thereof would satiate its hunger. All who walk in its domain would do well to remember: the Lord of Consumption usually favours more challenging prey.