The Malebolge Gateway is a location in Classic II: Dominique's Curse. It is an icy valley that forms the foundation of Bael's palace, the Pandemonium.[1] It connects the Pandemonium at the top to the Descent to Wrath and the town of Paulina on the ground below.
Description[]
The Malebolge Gateway is an icy valley that lies under Limbo's northeastern plateau. Dominique reaches it through the Descent to Wrath on her way to the town of Paulina.
On ground level, Dominique will need to jump on wooden platforms under bottomless pits that Seamas frequently jump out of; these may come from the lake seen in the background of the Descent to Wrath. There is little more to see here on ground level, but thanks to a combination of moving platforms, scaffolding, and natural offshoots of the mountain, Dominique can also ascend to the top. This requires precise platforming which is made harder by the enemies in the way; during the New Moon, these include fast-moving Mortes, Cannon Mortes, Bats, and Scythe Mites. The Dead Moon replaces the Cannon Mortes and Scythe Mites with Bone Mortes, Dullahammers, and Ghosts.
If she makes it to the heights of Malebolge and proceeds right, Dominique will initially find a Stone Formation with the icons of Bathin, Valefar, Focalor, and Gremory, the four Dukes of Hell. After she defeats these in their respective dungeons and returns to the stone, an enormous building will rise from the ground: the Pandemonium. The opposide side at the top of Malebolge can only be reached by creating platforms, but if she does so, Dominique will find a chest containing a Fancy Bag. This bag is needed to make the field Merchant who sells the Riga Dohin appear in Golgotha.
Trivia[]
- This area is named after Malebolge, the eight circle of hell in Dante's narrative poem The Divine Comedy. In Inferno, Malebolge is explained as the place of punishment for those guilty of simple fraud, which includes but is not limited to seduction, flattery, false sorcery, hypocrisy, and falsification. Malebolge surrounds Cocytus, the ninth and deepest circle of hell.
- The aesthetic and layout of the Central Well are similar to the Malebolge Gateway, although the areas are located very far from each other.