The Journey

“Just a telephone wire and a railroad track,
Keep on walkin’ and don’t look back”
- Wait for Me, Hadestown¹⁾

When a person dies, their soul is transported on an old steam train that runs into the depths of the Underworld. It is strictly a one way journey; there’s no returning on this train. But its tracks run like a guiding path all through the Underworld, and it is this path which player characters will follow, on foot, on their journey out of the Underworld. The locations listed on this page and on the map are key milestones player characters should expect to pass on this journey.

“On the road to hell, there was a railroad station,
And a man with feathers on his feet”
- Road to Hell, Hadestown²⁾

A lonely station out in the desolate prairie, many miles from any sign of life, this is the place where all shades are left to fend for themselves when they first enter the Underworld. The residents of the Underworld never linger here for long, but that makes it a good place for those wishing to leave to meet up and find one another before setting off to make the journey as a group. You will begin the game in this location.

“It’s either blazing hot or freezing cold,
Any way the wind blows”
- Any Way The Wind Blows, Hadestown³⁾

Two rivers of very different kinds form the first obstacles on the road. The first is composed of molten lava and lies at the bottom of a steep ravine along which the railroad winds a treacherous and narrow path. As you walk this stretch, you are never far from the precipice, below which the Phlegethon rages with fiery rapids.

The second is shrouded in a thick mist and runs perpendicular to the railroad, but there is no bridge, as the steam train ploughs right through its waters. Crossing the Acheron requires great faith and determination, as water obscures the tracks and the mist plays tricks on both the eyes and the mind.

“Show the way the world could be,
Show the way so we believe”
- Wait for Me (Reprise), Hadestown⁴⁾

A much rumoured attraction wandering the wastes of the Underworld, this travelling band of entertainers has pitched their big top tent beside the railway tracks to cheer on those making the journey out of the Underworld. In a world of neverending toil, the circus brings passing levity and respite to outposts and shanty towns across the Underworld, offering their residents a fleeting yet memorable night of ragtag performances and lovingly cobbled together spectacles to dazzle the senses and transport the viewer to a realm of hope and possibility.

“I can give you what it is you crave,
A little something from the good old days”
- Our Lady of the Underground, Hadestown⁵⁾

Overlooking the masses of the dead, the rising spires of Elysium stand out from a mile away. A gated community living in a state of perpetual ease and overflowing art deco opulence, Elysium is open only to a select few - those lucky enough to know someone on the inside, and willing to make the deals required to join their ranks. Ticket holders are just about the only thing more elite around these parts, and those journeying to exit the Underworld have sparked the interest of Elysium’s residents. As such, Elysium has plans to open its pearly gates to these precocious travellers, offering them a once in an afterlife opportunity to step inside and see how much greener the grass could be.

“Doubt comes in and meets a stranger,
Walking on a road alone”
- Doubt Comes In, Hadestown⁶⁾

Eventually, the tracks run into a tunnel, where all light and sound is swallowed up, leaving you alone with nothing but your own thoughts, and a choice: to keep on moving forwards in the stifling nothingness of Limbo, or to turn back, so close to your goal. Though you may have travelled as a group up to this point, you came into this world alone, and to exit it, you must stand alone once more, at least until you see a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Hades gave her a choice to make,
A ticket”
- When The Chips Are Down [Intro], Hadestown⁷⁾

What lies on the other side of Limbo is beyond the knowledge of almost anyone in the Underworld. Even more so than the place where your journey began, the place where it ends is not one often frequented, as those who enter The Underworld so rarely ever leave. Will you make it to the other side with ticket in hand? And what will you do when you get there?