Wednesday, April 17, 2019

3.37: The Judgment of Paris

Location: Larissa, Aeolia 

Time Remaining: 0


Odysseus and Adresteia had made their departure none too soon; Zeus and Hera had finally made their appearance, and Athena didn’t want her agents to directly cross paths with them – not yet. Zeus and Hera had taken over Peleus and Thetis’s throne room. Hephaestus had made them special thrones for the occasion, towering, intimidating things. The smaller, more humble seats of Aeolian power had been pushed to one side, Thetis within arms-reach of Zeus and her husband nearly seated next to the wall. It was a petty display of power, which Athena looked upon with nothing but contempt.

3.36: The Celebration of Life

Location: City of Ephyra, Epirus

Time Remaining: 18 Hours


Penelope found the three companions a modest tavern with a beautiful roof garden, where they enjoyed a nice meal. Odysseus dipped a piece of flatbread in olive oil and sprinkled some salt on it, “I’ll come out and ask the obvious question,” Odysseus said, “What was that place?”

3.35: The Duplicity of Athena

Location: City of Ephyra, Epirus

Time Remaining: 20 Hours


Out of respect for their friendship with Adresteia, the rulers of the underworld had been more than willing to forgive and forget the trespassing, tampering, and property destruction. Hades and Persephone had invited the others to dine with them, but (just as Persephone expected) everyone declined. Before they left, though, Penelope did express her genuine gratitude and suggest that the King and Queen of the Underworld visit them in Ithaca someday.

3.34: The Mercy of Hades

Location: Tartarus, High Security Chamber

Time Remaining: 1 Day, 16 Hours


Odysseus screamed, startled by the massive angry face filling his vision. Heracles threw himself backward, crushing Adresteia against one of the sarcophagi, but Odysseus popped the seal on his own and forced it open violently, clipping Heracles's jaw with the rising door. The move stunned the demigod long enough for Odysseus to scramble out of his sarcophagus and regroup with Penelope, who'd slipped out of her own. Heracles recovered quickly though and resumed his brawl with Adresteia. Both were looking tired, but in the tight confines of the chamber, Adresteia was at a distinct disadvantage. 

3.33: The Liberation of Prometheus

Location: Tartarus, High Security Chamber, Server Theta Twelve

Time Remaining: 1 Day, 17 Hours


Penelope was just as confused by the transition to the dreamscape as Odysseus had been, but had no time to adjust to the hellish environment or the giant blue version of Adresteia with the magic sword squaring off with her husband.

3.32: The Wrath of Night

Location: Tartarus, High Security Chamber, Server Theta Twelve

Time Remaining: 1 Day, 17 Hours


Odysseus rolled away as a powerful black beak struck the ground, flinging rocks and dirt. The beak snapped at him again and again, but Odysseus protected himself with the glowing blue shield as he scrambled across the rocks, trying to get back on his feet. Fool, Odysseus thought to himself, one shot with that weapon and you wasted it on a rock. Odysseus didn't think it was likely he'd find more projectiles for the weapon, or figure out how to loud one into it before the bird killed him, so he threw it at the bird's head. The heavy device struck the bird across the bridge of its beak, stopping its advance. He thought at first he'd stunned it with the blow, but then realized the bird was just standing there looking at him like he was an idiot.

3.31: The Betrayal of Heracles

Location: Tartarus, High Security Chamber

Time Remaining: 1 Day, 17 Hours


Penelope hovered over Odysseus's sarcophagus, watching his eyes dart back and forth under their lids. How long should this take? How long was too long?

Heracles was wondering the same thing, "I don't understand - what did he mean, 'go in after him'?"

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

3.30: The Weapons of the Game

Location: Tartarus, High Security Chamber, Server Theta Twelve

Time Remaining: 1 Day, 18 Hours


Odysseus had experienced many strange and nearly incomprehensible things in the past year, but what he saw now was still exceptional in terms of weirdness. The instant Penelope activated the sarcophagus the world went black. Odysseus could no longer feel the bed beneath him - in fact, he could no longer feel anything, not even any sense of up or down. Within a heartbeat, ephemeral white lines appeared around him, tracing away and back to create shapes, like a tapestry being woven impossibly quickly. He regained his sense of direction when the lines filled in around his feet, establishing a clear 'floor', before creating little frames that formed the shapes of rocks and grass. As he watched, the shapes filled in with color, the patterns at first looking like broken mosaics, but then coming together to form recognizable textures. 

3.29: The Depths of Tartarus

Location: Tartarus

Time Remaining: 1 Day, 23 hours


Hades’s Kingdom was not remotely what Penelope expected. The large door led to a gently sloping road made of a – as far as she could see – seamless black stone lined with red-orange light on either side. That road descended into a vast, round cavern, with five other roads visible in the distance, all traveling to the center of the cave like spokes on a wheel. Much of the cavern was flooded, rippling water pooled in the wedges between the roads. As nearly incomprehensible as the scale of the place was, more remarkable was the ceiling - six inverted rivers flowed from the edges of the round ceiling to the center, matching the roads beneath.

3.28: The Grudge of Cerberus

Location: Banks of the River Acheron

Time Remaining: 2 Days


Zeus had many sons - Apollo and Hermes had been infants during the Titanomachy, the result of flings with the titans Leto and Maia, respectively, before Zeus betrayed and imprisoned their families. Ares and Hephaestus had been the fruit of Zeus's marriage to his sister, Hera, after the Titanomachy. After them, Zeus had begun siring children by mortals, often dipping multiple times into the same gene pool. Heracles' mother, Alcmene, had been one of Zeus's countless great grandchildren. Alcmene's demigod grandfather, Perseus, had certainly done Zeus proud, and her father Electryon had even born some of Zeus's more remarkable traits, but Alcmene herself had been unremarkably mortal. Despite that, when Zeus decided to revisit Perseus's bloodline one night, the result had been the powerful demigod Heracles.

3.27: The Devotion of Penelope

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 8 Days


Odysseus and Penelope were debating the ten best ways to consummate their marriage when Adresteia appeared at their door. Penelope questioned whether the timing was a coincidence, which plainly confused Adresteia. Odysseus started to go along with the teasing, but realized Adresteia’s demeanor was one of business.

3.26: The Goddess of Wisdom

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 9 Days

Adresteia perched on the roof of Peleus and Thetis's palace, looking at the sun rising over the sea to its east. She sat on the roof in human form - she could certainly have seen further in one of her raptor forms, but the colors of the sunrise were richer when viewed through human eyes and the ocean breeze was more exciting on bare, human skin. Adresteia still avoided spending too much time in her god-form simply to avoid drawing the wrong attention, but she was becoming increasingly comfortable in and appreciative of her human form.

Friday, April 12, 2019

3.25: The Conspiracy of Agamemnon

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 15 Days


Odysseus had been keeping score, and the final result of the contest placed him in a tie with Menelaus and – surprisingly – Paris. Apparently, Agamemnon had been keeping score as well, because the night before the winner was to be announced, he approached Odysseus with concern.

3.24: The Hunt of Artemis (Part IV)

Location: Forest North of Larissa

Time Remaining: 23 Days 


While Odysseus and his friends had been dealing with Artemis’s handiwork, it had fallen to Adresteia to deal with the goddess herself. They squared off for a moment before Artemis broke her stance, “This fight is senseless – there will be plenty of other prey in the forest tonight.” She turned and ran into woods.

3.23: The Hunt of Artemis (Part III)

Location: Forest North of Larissa

Time Remaining: 23 Days


Odysseus and Achilles ran toward the next camp. Unlike Achilles and many of his fellow princes, Odysseus’s blood was only 1/8th Olympian, but, fortunately, that 1/8th came from Hermes. Odysseus was sure that without that slight edge, he’d be lagging far behind Achilles. Unfortunately, Hector, Paris, and Menelaus, were all five or six generations removed from their divine heritage. Odysseus looked back and could see Hector and Paris struggling to keep up, and Menelaus, of all things, trying to drag Apollo to safety.

3.22: The Hunt of Artemis (Part II)

Location: Forest North of Larissa

Time Remaining: 23 Days 


After many hours of hiking they reached the lake. Fortunately, the fish hadn’t fled their approach the way the rest of the wildlife seemed to have. Achilles took Menelaus’s spear, jumped in the lake, and came back with enough for their little group. Menelaus set about lighting the campfire Odysseus built, but Apollo stopped him, “I’ve got this.”

Thursday, April 11, 2019

3.21: The Hunt of Artemis (Part I)

Location: Forest North of Larissa

Time Remaining: 23 Days


The time for Aphrodite’s final challenge had arrived. The intention had been to add up all of the suitors’ scores at the end of the five challenges to determine the final winner, and the man who would be Princess Helen’s husband (and potentially King of Sparta), but going into the final challenge – a hunt organized by the goddess, Artemis – there were only a handful of real contenders. Most of the men had stayed in the game only because it was expected of them, or because they were having fun. Ironically, few of the real contenders were serious about winning.

3.20: The Arena of Ares

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 1 month, 8 days


The fourth challenge was combat. Ares tried to recuse himself again, but Aphrodite brought to bear the full force of her pouty charms. Reluctantly, Ares agreed, but only on one condition – all of the contestants would fight him, together, and they would be armed, whilst he would fight barehanded. The last man to tap out would win the combat challenge.

3.19: The Challenge of Dionysus

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 1 Month, 12 Days


The next contests were the test of reasoning and ‘aesthetic sensibility’. The first of these was a puzzle designed by Athena and crafted by Hephaestus. It was a colorful cube made of six pyramids, each constructed from 18 numbered triangular tiles that came apart and spun around. The goal of the puzzle was to rearrange the pieces so that each side of each pyramid had only one color of tile, with the numbers adding up to the same value on each side. Each contestant was given one of these contraptions, and one night to solve it.

3.18: The Aim of Apollo

Location: Archery Range, Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 1 Month, 22 Days


Archery, being easily scored and therefore the least subjective of the pursuits was the first challenge undertaken by the suitors, both those competing enthusiastically, and those conscripted into the contest. Apollo went first, looked down range at the target, and asked the servants to move it further down range. At 300 yards he seemed satisfied, and he took a moment to observe the wind’s stirring of his golden locks and the curvature of the earth between himself and the target. He raised his bow and fired one, two, three times in quick succession.

3.17: The Games of Aphrodite

Location: City of Larissa, Odysseus’s Lodging

Time Remaining: 1 Month, 26 Days

The ensuing debate had itself lasted, literally, days. The question that was ultimately put forth was simply, “What qualities are most essential to a good husband?” Helen had said that she should like to hear the suitors’ answers to the question, as it seemed likely to be very informative, but Aphrodite had dominated the ongoing conversation, primarily giving the other deities the floor. Answers were widely varied.

3.16: The Plight of Helen

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 2 Months


Helen was nearly inclined to go back to her room. She understood her father leveraging her marriage as a way to choose a good king for Sparta, and she reckoned that being a good king and a good husband should go hand-in-hand, so it should work out well for her. Except, so far most of her suitors were appealing to her father’s avarice, trying to impress him with gifts and dowries. As a result, she felt decidedly like a cow being sold at an especially expensive auction. In the mass of men packed around her, she could only discern two that were sincere – her long time best friend Menelaus, who was practically penniless – and a fourteen year old Trojan boy, who was making implausible but novel promises like personally bringing her breakfast in bed every day.

3.15: The Politics of Sparta

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 2 Months


With the altercation between Paris and Teucer over, everyone went back to enjoying their relaxing day in the sun. Achilles popped up out of the pool – apparently he’d been at the bottom of it for close to a half hour – and started telling Paris about the armor Odysseus had gotten him. Being the closest to each other in age, the two boys were becoming vacation buddies for life.

3.14: The Bath of Teucer

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 2 Months


Odysseus and Penelope were enjoying a nice breakfast on one of the palace’s verandas when the table shook with the clang of metal being set down, hard. Odysseus looked first at the source of the noise – the severed head of his mechanical enemy – and his eyes went wide when he turned them to the enormous man who’d brought it to their table. Between his darkened, hairless skin, and the elaborate mechanical brace on his right leg, he was unmistakable.

3.13: The Welcome of Larissa

Location: Larissa, Aeolia

Time Remaining: 2 Months


When Odysseus arrived in Larissa, the celebration was already under way. Zeus and many of his kin were fashionably late, but Dionysus, Apollo, and Hermes were already in attendance, drawing large crowds of people to hear them speak or play music. Odysseus went straight to Peleus’s palace, with Alecto baring their tribute, and Acrysius their trophy.

3.12: The Love of Adresteia

Location: Ithaca, Odysseus's Bedroom

Time Remaining: 7 Months, 29 Days 


Morning came too soon. They’d enjoyed their time together for as long as possible – mortal men had only so many rounds in them – and then curled up together. At first Adresteia had rolled over and pulled Odysseus’s arms around her, but she’d barely drifted off when a nightmare nearly caused an anxiety attack. Odysseus – tired and sleepy – had been confused, but hadn’t argued when she asked him to switch positions.

3.11: The Trust of Adresteia

[This chapter includes explicit descriptions of sexual activity between consenting adults.]  

Location: Ithaca, Temple of Athena

Time Remaining: 8 Months 


Athena disappeared in the darkness, but Adresteia remained, shifting into her bare human form but maintaining the enveloping darkness around them.

“Did you know?” Odysseus asked.

3.10: The Machinations of Athena

Location: Ithaca

Time Remaining: 8 Months 


Odysseus returned to the Temple of Athena with the largest of the second rate apples he could scrounge. It was a paltry offering compared to what he’d been asked to retrieve, but he thought it better than appearing empty-handed after months at sea. In truth, he was angry – they might have escaped Thálassas if the ship hadn’t betrayed them. Except for commending the lost men to the deep, the rest of their voyage had been uneventful. If not for the bitter taste of defeat and loss, it might even have been pleasant.

3.09: The Desires of Adresteia

Location: Eastern Mediterranean, Nearing the Peloponnese

Time Remaining: 8 Months, 18 days


Odysseus looked up at the stars. They were the best part of sailing. During a new moon, like this, with nothing but water on every horizon, it seemed as if you could see every detail, every point of light pricked in the tapestry of the heavens. The only obstruction to Odysseus’s view was the billowing sail of the Aegis of Wisdom. He thought about it for a while, and eventually decided there was no good reason to let the sail get in his way. Odysseus went down to the main deck, did one last check with the men running the rigging, and then clambered up the lines on the mast. Odysseus did not exactly have the agility of a cat, but being a lifelong sailor, he had less trouble scaling the rigging than he'd had ascending the tree in Africa.

3.08: The Duel of Thalassas

Location: The Southwestern Mediterranean Sea

Time Remaining: 9 Months, 1 Day


Odysseus moved fast enough to catch up to his men two days from the ship. They were disappointed to see him return alone, but didn’t press the somber man for information about what had happened. He simply warned them not to follow any voices into the wilderness, even if they heard their name called.

3.07: The Trap of the Kishi

Location: Northwest Africa Coast

Time Remaining: 9 Months, 21 Days


Adresteia resumed her eagle form to follow the adventurers. Shadowing from above, she was first to see that the way-point camp they’d left behind was abandoned. Odysseus and his men were perplexed – the gear and supplies had been left behind, even some of the men’s clothing – but there was no sign of violence. Odysseus debated for a time, what to do. He had his prize, and the Aegis would be waiting for them in a few days. Hypothetically, it would wait another two weeks before returning to Greece without them, but Odysseus wasn’t sure he could count on that – if nothing else, he wasn’t sure if Acrysius could count to fourteen. Returning to the ship would be the easy and safe course of action.

3.06: The Lament of Ladon

Location: The Garden of the Hesperides, Western Africa

Time Remaining: 9 Months, 25 Days


The monastery wasn’t the only thing in the garden that had been allowed to fall into disrepair. Many beautiful exotic plants still flourished in the area, but all maintenance had been long since abandoned, and many of the flower beds were all but erased by overgrowth and weeds. The topiaries had grown into ordinary trees, and the statues had been covered over in heavy vines. He led the men into the monastery and, indeed, found a few skeletons – one of which appeared to have simply been crushed by a single blow from a massive object. The monastery was largely stripped of valuables – a display that Odysseus imagined once held some of the famous golden apples was bare of all save dust.

3.05: The Footsteps of Herakles

Location: The Pillars of Herakles, Western Mediterranean Sea

Time Remaining: 10 Months, 3 Days


The Aegis of Wisdom continued her voyage west with the men in good spirits. After the run in with the automaton, no one wanted to return for more loot than Odysseus had taken, but everyone was excited that they’d encountered an adversary straight out of mythology and had left with a trophy of its defeat. Many of Jason’s exploits had been taken to be tall tales, but now the men chattered excitedly about what might be real and what might not.

3.04: The First Voyage of the Aegis (Part III)

Location: Several Floors above Hephaestus's Modest Workshop

Time Remaining: 10 Months, 24 Days

Adresteia decided to indulge Odysseus. Tampering with the gods' belongings was always risky, but the reverence she once had for them had dropped to nearly nil, while her tactical appreciation for weaponry remained stronger than ever.

3.03: The First Voyage of the Aegis (Part II)

Location: The Mediterranean Sea

Time Remaining: 10 Months, Twenty Four Days


The men went ashore in two shifts – Odysseus had heard cautionary tales about pirates and mutinies, and had decided that – if he wasn’t on board the ship – there needed to be enough men to defend the ship, but not enough to sail away with it. The galley had a shallow enough draft that they were able to moor within swimming distance, so most of the sailors simply jumped overboard into the clear blue sea. Odysseus loaded their rowboat with some hunting supplies and empty casks for fruit and drinking water, and took it to shore.

3.02: The First Voyage of the Aegis (Part I)

Location: The Mediterranean Sea

Time Remaining: 10 Months, Twenty Four Days

Convincing his father to let him take six dozen men to sea had been easier than Odysseus anticipated. The young man had bemoaned the hopelessness of marrying Penelope, and had carefully baited his father into reassuring him that, “There’s more to the world than one woman.” From there it had been relatively easy to convince his father that he needed to get away from Aegean waters for a while. He’d argued it would not only take his mind off of Penelope, it’d test his skill as a sailor and a leader, and when he returned he’d be in the right frame of mind to fulfill his duties as future king of Ithaca.