The stronghold itself was far more accessible than any of the outlying fortifications - a wide dirt road wound up the mountain face to it, and there was ample room on the plateau to encircle the walls.
Prometheus considered going outside the walls to confront the army head-on. Kasios's pride was wounded - if Prometheus challenged him to a one-on-one battle, he might stand down his army to face him, buying time for Kronos to show up with reinforcements from Knossos.
He was considering this option out loud as he stood on the parapet with the citadel's steward, a goat-like Titan named Amalthea, when glowing orange projectiles began arcing up the mountainside to pound the fortress walls - Kasios had pulled something new out of his arsenal and begun the siege with a volley of suppressing fire to cover his troops' advance.
"That's more range than I thought he had," Prometheus said, "he's practically firing from tree-line. Not much way to reach him for a one-on-one fight now."
Amalthea studied the slope below between impacts, "He's firing from near the falls at the foot of the mountain."
"What of it?" Prometheus asked.
"Well..." Amalthea hesitated for a moment, "I am not supposed to discuss this, but there is a void beneath this plateau, Dictaeon Antron, where Corybant warriors used to worship Cybele. Rhea, had cause to send me into that cave on one occasion. There is a passageway that leads from her old bed chamber down to the cave, and the cave itself exits, discretely, from behind the waterfall."
"That would give me the advantage of surprise," Prometheus said. He wondered what circumstances had compelled Kronos's wife to send the woman down a secret passage, but it wasn't germane to the situation. He left standing orders to defend the stronghold as long as possible, and had Amalthea show him the passageway. It was discrete to be sure - concealed behind a tapestry that looked like it had seldom been changed, even when the room was in use. Prometheus illuminated the spiraling stone steps behind the secret door with a fireball and descended into the darkness.
It wasn't a short hike - Prometheus was worried what might have unfolded in the time that he was inside the mountain, but it did as Amalthea promised - the path leveled out, and descended more gently to an opening that filtered moonlight through running water. It would have been serene if not for the sound of Kasios's artillery firing outside. At this point, Prometheus had no idea what to expect when he stepped through the curtain of flowing water - hopefully, Kasios's offensive mentality meant he'd sent almost his entire force up the mountain. Prometheus stepped out into the shallow pool at the foot of the waterfall.
Kasios was gleefully firing up the mountainside, surrounded by no more than a handful of his elite troops, and still chomping on one of his conjured inhalant devices. Prometheus thought about jumping the man while he was distracted, but half the point was to distract his army away from the fortress. He strode through the falls out onto the wet rocks and bellowed a challenge to Kasios.
Kasios dropped his inhalant in surprise, but then grinned, "I'll be damned, a secret passage into the fort right? Thanks for showing me, my troops will make good use of it."
"Yeah, no problem," Prometheus said glibly, "Please send your troops blindly into the long, dark, twisting cavern that I've had over a year to prepare for this moment."
Kasios pursed his lips, "Well, when you put it that way..." he said sarcastically with a cavalier laugh,, "so why come down here? Going to assassinate me?"
"Those tactics aren't my forte," Prometheus said, "but if that had been my aim, I would have attacked first, bantered later. I'm here to challenge you to mortal combat - alpha to alpha."
Kasios laughed, "You think you can take me, one on one?"
"Last time we were this close," Prometheus said, "I took off both your hands and your wife had to save you."
"Yeah, I remember that. I've gotten a lot stronger since then."
Prometheus noticed the blood on Kasios's leg - the man was wounded, and he hadn't used his abilities to heal it. That probably meant he couldn't shape shift either.
"My powers have grown as well," Prometheus said, "Tell your troops to stand down for a few moments, and we'll give them a show."
"A one-v-one brawl?" Kasios nodded, "A few moments is all it will take." He shouted for his troops on the mountainside above to hold their position, and passed his cannon off to his retinue; the soldiers began to cheer for him and chant, as if they were sitting court side at some sporting event. Kasios stomped into the pool; it splashed on his spiked black armor, washing his blood into the clear water.
The two combatants circled the pool for a moment - Kasios was half again Prometheus's size, and though his armor was heavily damaged, it still offered plenty of protection. It also looked hot though. Prometheus focused on the rocks beneath the pool and began to heat them.
Kasios could tell Prometheus was doing something with his powers, and decided to charge. He created a glaive like the one he'd killed Thanatos with, and swung it in a wide arc at Prometheus. Prometheus took his attention away from the rocks and tried a new trick he'd been working on. His powers included controlling stone and metal, and the glaive was certainly metal of some form. Prometheus superheated it with his mind, turned the blade white hot, and when it struck him it simply splattered like a club made of wet clay. Kasios summoned a number of blades, but Prometheus did the same to each, frustrating his foe. Kasios backed away and began crafting something bigger, a long deliberate, focused exercise to create some complex, specific weapon. That didn't bode well for Prometheus, but it gave him breathing room.
Prometheus focused on the rocks beneath them again, heating them up. The water at their feet began to bubble. Kasios's human groupies leaped out of the scalding water, but being a formidable titan, Kasios didn't deign to acknowledge the rolling boil that had started around his ankles. When he at last created his rifle-like weapon and took aim, however, the boiling water exploded into a thick cloud of sizzling steam. Kasios fired blindly, missing Prometheus entirely in the dense wide cloud. The scalding steam didn't burn Kasios's tough Titan skin, but the hot air enveloping him, filled his lungs, elevating his core temperature so rapidly that it threatened to boil his blood. Staggering about in the steam, Kasios began stripping off his burning-hot armor.
Prometheus summoned an iron chain and began whipping Kasios with it, scorching his bare skin with burning orange lacerations. Kasios fired wildly more, but one of Prometheus's swings wrapped the chain around the barrel of Kasios's gun, and with a jerk he yanked the weapon away from his enemy. Kasios tried to roar in frustration, but coughed on the hot steam.
"I saw the shrapnel in your leg," Prometheus said, "You can't shape shift. Order a surrender, and I will be merciful."
"Mercy? What mercy would you show me? A quick death? Or would you throw me back in the Tartarus's virtual world?"
"The latter," Prometheus said honestly, "But we could treat it as a house arrest. I'd let you program the scenario however you want. You can keep fighting your war, trying to up your score, or you can retire to a tropical island, hunting dangerous game. Imagination's the limit, Kasios. That has to be better than dying here in front of your men, right?"
Kasios grunted and manifested another weapon - this time a sword that glowed with incandescent energy. Before Prometheus could react, Kasios swept it down and cut off his wounded leg just below the knee. He toppled down onto the hot rocks and dropped the sword, but he'd barely hit the ground when he began to grow and transform. Powerful leather wings batted away the hot air and revealed three leering reptilian heads on long, snake-like necks.
Prometheus lashed at one of the heads with his chain, but the other two struck at him, hissing. He dodged backwards and saw that his arm was bleeding where one of the maws' fangs had grazed him. Like Tiamat, Kasios could somehow manage to shape-shift natural weapons strong and sharp enough cut through his nearly indestructible skin. Prometheus dodged, rolled across the rocks to dodge again, and grabbed the rifle he'd taken from Kasios. He practically danced across the rocks, dodging a barrage of teeth, claws, and spikes while trying to figure out the weapon. He finally managed to fire it once, but the recoil knocked him flat on his back. Kasios prepared to rend him to shreds, stalking forward slowly to savor his victory and revel in the cheers of his men.
Just as Kasios was about to strike his killing blow, a bright flash of lightning cleaved the sky with a deafening roll of thunder. Kronos and his titan warriors descended from the clouds and began striking the human soldiers on the exposed slopes. Hekate's cultists tried to defend themselves, but their bronze weapons and wooden arrows were harmless to the airborne attackers. Kasios tried to finish Prometheus off quickly, but the smaller titan grabbed one of the rocks below him, melted it, and lobbed the hot, viscous molten projectile into one of Kasios's faces. Kasios reeled back and Prometheus slipped from his grasp, pelting him with fireballs.
The larger titan decided that, strategically, Kronos's forces were both the greater threat to his army and the easier quarry. He launched into the air on his leather wings and began snatching Titans from the air, tearing them apart. To his surprise, though, Kronos's warriors continued attacking Kasios's soldiers, ignoring their commander. The soldiers panicked and ran back down the mountainside into the cover of the trees. Kasios faltered as his soldiers admiration for him was replaced by fear of Kronos. Kronos descended and landed next to Prometheus, helping him to his feet. He was obviously reveling in the power.
"Do we have more troops at the mouth of the valley?" Prometheus asked, "We can box them in, crush Kasios's force."
"Pfft," Kronos answered, "I think it's time I show them what a Sky-Father can really do." Kronos reached to the sky and shouted unintelligibly. His body shook, his skin crawled with electricity, and thunderbolts began to rain down on the dry forest. Within moments, the forest was engulfed in wildfire. Prometheus suddenly felt sick and weak. He collapsed at Kronos's feet.
He was considering this option out loud as he stood on the parapet with the citadel's steward, a goat-like Titan named Amalthea, when glowing orange projectiles began arcing up the mountainside to pound the fortress walls - Kasios had pulled something new out of his arsenal and begun the siege with a volley of suppressing fire to cover his troops' advance.
"That's more range than I thought he had," Prometheus said, "he's practically firing from tree-line. Not much way to reach him for a one-on-one fight now."
Amalthea studied the slope below between impacts, "He's firing from near the falls at the foot of the mountain."
"What of it?" Prometheus asked.
"Well..." Amalthea hesitated for a moment, "I am not supposed to discuss this, but there is a void beneath this plateau, Dictaeon Antron, where Corybant warriors used to worship Cybele. Rhea, had cause to send me into that cave on one occasion. There is a passageway that leads from her old bed chamber down to the cave, and the cave itself exits, discretely, from behind the waterfall."
"That would give me the advantage of surprise," Prometheus said. He wondered what circumstances had compelled Kronos's wife to send the woman down a secret passage, but it wasn't germane to the situation. He left standing orders to defend the stronghold as long as possible, and had Amalthea show him the passageway. It was discrete to be sure - concealed behind a tapestry that looked like it had seldom been changed, even when the room was in use. Prometheus illuminated the spiraling stone steps behind the secret door with a fireball and descended into the darkness.
It wasn't a short hike - Prometheus was worried what might have unfolded in the time that he was inside the mountain, but it did as Amalthea promised - the path leveled out, and descended more gently to an opening that filtered moonlight through running water. It would have been serene if not for the sound of Kasios's artillery firing outside. At this point, Prometheus had no idea what to expect when he stepped through the curtain of flowing water - hopefully, Kasios's offensive mentality meant he'd sent almost his entire force up the mountain. Prometheus stepped out into the shallow pool at the foot of the waterfall.
Kasios was gleefully firing up the mountainside, surrounded by no more than a handful of his elite troops, and still chomping on one of his conjured inhalant devices. Prometheus thought about jumping the man while he was distracted, but half the point was to distract his army away from the fortress. He strode through the falls out onto the wet rocks and bellowed a challenge to Kasios.
Kasios dropped his inhalant in surprise, but then grinned, "I'll be damned, a secret passage into the fort right? Thanks for showing me, my troops will make good use of it."
"Yeah, no problem," Prometheus said glibly, "Please send your troops blindly into the long, dark, twisting cavern that I've had over a year to prepare for this moment."
Kasios pursed his lips, "Well, when you put it that way..." he said sarcastically with a cavalier laugh,, "so why come down here? Going to assassinate me?"
"Those tactics aren't my forte," Prometheus said, "but if that had been my aim, I would have attacked first, bantered later. I'm here to challenge you to mortal combat - alpha to alpha."
Kasios laughed, "You think you can take me, one on one?"
"Last time we were this close," Prometheus said, "I took off both your hands and your wife had to save you."
"Yeah, I remember that. I've gotten a lot stronger since then."
Prometheus noticed the blood on Kasios's leg - the man was wounded, and he hadn't used his abilities to heal it. That probably meant he couldn't shape shift either.
"My powers have grown as well," Prometheus said, "Tell your troops to stand down for a few moments, and we'll give them a show."
"A one-v-one brawl?" Kasios nodded, "A few moments is all it will take." He shouted for his troops on the mountainside above to hold their position, and passed his cannon off to his retinue; the soldiers began to cheer for him and chant, as if they were sitting court side at some sporting event. Kasios stomped into the pool; it splashed on his spiked black armor, washing his blood into the clear water.
The two combatants circled the pool for a moment - Kasios was half again Prometheus's size, and though his armor was heavily damaged, it still offered plenty of protection. It also looked hot though. Prometheus focused on the rocks beneath the pool and began to heat them.
Kasios could tell Prometheus was doing something with his powers, and decided to charge. He created a glaive like the one he'd killed Thanatos with, and swung it in a wide arc at Prometheus. Prometheus took his attention away from the rocks and tried a new trick he'd been working on. His powers included controlling stone and metal, and the glaive was certainly metal of some form. Prometheus superheated it with his mind, turned the blade white hot, and when it struck him it simply splattered like a club made of wet clay. Kasios summoned a number of blades, but Prometheus did the same to each, frustrating his foe. Kasios backed away and began crafting something bigger, a long deliberate, focused exercise to create some complex, specific weapon. That didn't bode well for Prometheus, but it gave him breathing room.
Prometheus focused on the rocks beneath them again, heating them up. The water at their feet began to bubble. Kasios's human groupies leaped out of the scalding water, but being a formidable titan, Kasios didn't deign to acknowledge the rolling boil that had started around his ankles. When he at last created his rifle-like weapon and took aim, however, the boiling water exploded into a thick cloud of sizzling steam. Kasios fired blindly, missing Prometheus entirely in the dense wide cloud. The scalding steam didn't burn Kasios's tough Titan skin, but the hot air enveloping him, filled his lungs, elevating his core temperature so rapidly that it threatened to boil his blood. Staggering about in the steam, Kasios began stripping off his burning-hot armor.
Prometheus summoned an iron chain and began whipping Kasios with it, scorching his bare skin with burning orange lacerations. Kasios fired wildly more, but one of Prometheus's swings wrapped the chain around the barrel of Kasios's gun, and with a jerk he yanked the weapon away from his enemy. Kasios tried to roar in frustration, but coughed on the hot steam.
"I saw the shrapnel in your leg," Prometheus said, "You can't shape shift. Order a surrender, and I will be merciful."
"Mercy? What mercy would you show me? A quick death? Or would you throw me back in the Tartarus's virtual world?"
"The latter," Prometheus said honestly, "But we could treat it as a house arrest. I'd let you program the scenario however you want. You can keep fighting your war, trying to up your score, or you can retire to a tropical island, hunting dangerous game. Imagination's the limit, Kasios. That has to be better than dying here in front of your men, right?"
Kasios grunted and manifested another weapon - this time a sword that glowed with incandescent energy. Before Prometheus could react, Kasios swept it down and cut off his wounded leg just below the knee. He toppled down onto the hot rocks and dropped the sword, but he'd barely hit the ground when he began to grow and transform. Powerful leather wings batted away the hot air and revealed three leering reptilian heads on long, snake-like necks.
Prometheus lashed at one of the heads with his chain, but the other two struck at him, hissing. He dodged backwards and saw that his arm was bleeding where one of the maws' fangs had grazed him. Like Tiamat, Kasios could somehow manage to shape-shift natural weapons strong and sharp enough cut through his nearly indestructible skin. Prometheus dodged, rolled across the rocks to dodge again, and grabbed the rifle he'd taken from Kasios. He practically danced across the rocks, dodging a barrage of teeth, claws, and spikes while trying to figure out the weapon. He finally managed to fire it once, but the recoil knocked him flat on his back. Kasios prepared to rend him to shreds, stalking forward slowly to savor his victory and revel in the cheers of his men.
Just as Kasios was about to strike his killing blow, a bright flash of lightning cleaved the sky with a deafening roll of thunder. Kronos and his titan warriors descended from the clouds and began striking the human soldiers on the exposed slopes. Hekate's cultists tried to defend themselves, but their bronze weapons and wooden arrows were harmless to the airborne attackers. Kasios tried to finish Prometheus off quickly, but the smaller titan grabbed one of the rocks below him, melted it, and lobbed the hot, viscous molten projectile into one of Kasios's faces. Kasios reeled back and Prometheus slipped from his grasp, pelting him with fireballs.
The larger titan decided that, strategically, Kronos's forces were both the greater threat to his army and the easier quarry. He launched into the air on his leather wings and began snatching Titans from the air, tearing them apart. To his surprise, though, Kronos's warriors continued attacking Kasios's soldiers, ignoring their commander. The soldiers panicked and ran back down the mountainside into the cover of the trees. Kasios faltered as his soldiers admiration for him was replaced by fear of Kronos. Kronos descended and landed next to Prometheus, helping him to his feet. He was obviously reveling in the power.
"Do we have more troops at the mouth of the valley?" Prometheus asked, "We can box them in, crush Kasios's force."
"Pfft," Kronos answered, "I think it's time I show them what a Sky-Father can really do." Kronos reached to the sky and shouted unintelligibly. His body shook, his skin crawled with electricity, and thunderbolts began to rain down on the dry forest. Within moments, the forest was engulfed in wildfire. Prometheus suddenly felt sick and weak. He collapsed at Kronos's feet.
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