vrachývia eínai polýtimes gia ti̱ neolaía

san éna óneiro pou érchetai

kai sýntoma i̱ epíponi̱

Jonathan didn't know what the hell the Greek women were saying, but he truly could care less as they danced and sang in their native tongue. He was being tossed about by such athletic, curvy dancers that he wasn't paying much attention to his comrades sitting about and watching him closely. The brunette chap didn't mind them really or mind the ancient civilization of Athens and its many hospitalities. He was on vacation away from mummies and the boring day-to-day life of old London, and he was on his own adventure. No more ancient Egypt, no more ancient burial grounds, no more ancient anything! With exception to Athens and its wonders, of course, but at least they had the decency not to place incantations on their dead. Boy, that Limnio wine was good!

"Hey!" Jonathan called, trying to get Canice or Fairbrook's attention. Both men were just sitting around anyways. He then called again after being led around by two women to join in the merriment of a circle, "I say, gents, you shou - whoa! You should have a go at this!"

"We'll be in Egypt pretty soon, mate," Canice responded, tilting his cap. "Save the surprise for later, aye."

While Canice was a handsome man, he was not interested in the women hopping about right now. He was watching over Jonathan and keeping an exceptionally close eye on Mr. Fairbrook. Said man was downing the last bits of his wine before chuckling at Jonathan and Canice's small conversation. He, too, had no interest in the Greek women right now. He came to this particular bar for a reason, and that was why he was seated away from the crowds and near an uncovered, small window. As the music became more rambunctious, a single man entered the establishment and smiled at the couple of greeters at the door. The tall man spoke to the welcoming committee member and pointed in Fairbrook's direction before walking towards him. As the mysterious man got closer, Fairbrook prepared a comfortable seat in a wicker chair next to him.

"How was your sail to Greece, my lord?" Fairbrook asked.

"I trust you have transportation ready for tomorrow afternoon," the man prompted, not particularly caring for his journey to Greece.

"I have a plane ready if you don't mind sharing a seat with my other two partrons, Mr. Torrente," Fairbrook replied, turning his eyes to the man without moving his head completely to the side. He then returned his gaze to Jonathan and said, "Might I also add that my two patrons can speak in ancient languages. Mr. Canice, the eagle's eye watching over the people in this wretched facility, can speak Latin; thus, he is capable of translating any romantic language. Carahan, the dancing fool, can speak ancient Egyptian."

Stella Torrente raised an eyebrow and smirked evilly. An ancient Egyptian speaker like his master? Interesting and valuable... Stella hummed in consideration and said, "This changes our plans significantly for the better. Have your patrons visit my shrine at the end of the street when the sun sets. We'll be having a little nighttime scavenger hunt."

Stella rose to his feet and disappeared into the crowds again to return outside next to his true, loyal companion, Gorgon. Gorgon was watching over his shoulder every time he moved, every time he didn't move, and every time he thought about moving. He hadn't been to his home country of Greece in years because of the incident with him and a loose woman, and the only reason why he was back now and not in his wife's arms was because of Stella. Said prophet was leading him to their temporary quarters that he somehow found via divine intervention. It was a brilliant spot to hide. Tall green grass and trees surrounding the house to provide shade and a great view of the village? You couldn't ask for a better place to stay. The best part was that the house was abandoned, so it had some age and antiquity to it that made the location beautiful. Gorgon missed things like this when it came to his birthplace - his home.

When Gorgon noticed that Stella had led him around the home, however, and, to an archway with grapes covering the white arch, he looked up at his taller companion and realized that his eyes were glowing. This usually happened when the snake god was speaking to him. As silent and strategic as a trained killer, a long dark snake stared Stella in the eyes and matched his glowing orbs as it hissed. This startled Gorgon and made him hope that Stella was talking to the beast telepathically. When the snake slithered away into the shadows, Gorgon developed enough courage to finally speak for the day.

"Master, what are we looking for?"

There is an underground passageway beneath the temple of Aphrodite Urania. Lift the stone nearest a green eye and descend into the bowels of a blackened lake. Swim to the silver pillar and I will protect you.

Whispers flooded his ears as an ancient language mixed with Italian tongue told him what to do. Stella closed his eyes to try to silence his master's voice streaming through his head and shook it a few times to clear his thoughts. He answered, "Gorgon, do you know where the temple of Aphrodite is located?"

"Of course," Gorgon answered. "It's in the ancient agora."

"That's where we need to go. Our transportation provider is traveling with an ancient Egyptian speaker and a Latin speaker. We'll be needing to bring them along with us," Stella answered, turning to Gorgon. "Until that time, we're going to the temple for the gauntlet of Deimos. There are ten pieces our lord needs: the helmet of Anuket, the breastplate of the Keres, the sword of Sekhmet, the shield of Erinyes, the spear of Anubis, and the broken armor of the Arae. Once these pieces are obtained, we must locate the Book of Two Ways. It will open a gateway between our world and his. From there, our true journey will be setting him free."

"If we need all those pieces, why do we need to know about the Temple of Ares when the items we need are scattered across the Mediterranean?" Gorgon asked.

"The master has shown me that Ares knows of someone or something that can stop us from resurrecting him. If push comes to shove, we may have to decimate the temple and sever the bonds between the Greek gods and the Egyptian gods," Stella replied, plucking a bunch of grapes from the archway. "He was the only god who could travel from Greece to Egypt in the ancient times, and the items we need in Egypt are closest to him."

"Why don't we need the Book of the Dead or Amun-ra? Why just this book?" Gorgon then inquired. He still wasn't so sure about this whole plan.

"We're bringing a god back to life not a person," Stella responded, chuckling and eating a grape with a childlike fervor not seen in a while.

"What if our adversary uses these books against us?" Gorgon then questions.

Stella stopped chewing grapes for a moment and then squinted one eye at his friend. He wagged a finger at him and hummed in thought. That was a very good point to make. He hadn't thought of that at all, and he was supposed to be the smart one! He has an excavation team ready in Egypt. All he has to do is make a phone call. However, he was not fully prepared for the chosen one meant to stop him from resurrecting his master.

Stella then said, "Our adversary is not a god. Those books are useless against them, but you could be on to something. Otherwise, our lord would have said to find the books, but he did express some concern that we would be stopped and that this person will seal him away for good for eternity. That means the person will defeat him with divine power." Stella lifted a hand not filled with grapes and concentrated a lump sum of energy into his hand to produce a proud flame in the palm of his hand. This startled Gorgon fiercely as Stella then said, "Perhaps we should find these books to fight fire with fire."

Ardeth was walking through the halls of the museum, eyeing different remnants of his country's history, and standing before generals of royal armies as they guided their men to battle on chariots. The stone walls of the museum sometimes reminded him of the oracle's dark cave. He wondered about the old man and his beautiful warrior... whose name he had yet to learn... and wanted desperately to know of their connection. The oracle knew her real name and wept when Ardeth carried the woman in his arms. She, in fact, was busying herself with some cleaning as she swept the floors a little to catch some rogue dust. He peeked at her every now and then to see if she was watching him, but she seemed to care very little about what he was doing. It hurt a little to admit that she doesn't seem to hold him in a high enough regard. When she completed her task with sweeping the floor, the sounds of bells flooded the hallway. Ardeth looked to his beauty as she turned to the sound and marveled at her smile as she placed her broom and pan down to snuggle with her cat. Then, surprisingly, Ardeth caught sight of the oracle holding a bouquet of white jasmine flowers.

Tallifu spoke in her native language, "Grandpapa, what are you doing in here?"

The oracle chuckled and then replied softly, "I am gifting my beautiful granddaughter and making sure her companion finds her safely."

Ardeth would kill to know how to speak to the woman he has come to desire. She has such a natural and confident way of speaking, but the only one who he could ask to teach him about the girl's language was the oracle and they were always arguing over something. Their former bantering has now come to full-on debates, especially when his beauty is involved. Why is that old man speaking to his queen anyway? He's even giving her presents! He's too old to be happy... or trying to have sex with someone that young! Ardeth visibly frowned in jealousy and then glared at the flowers, hoping they would catch fire under his gaze. As he continued to eavesdrop on the two's conversation, he began to form an idea.

Since my queen seems to like flowers, I could try to visit a flower shop this evening or... arrange for her to see a garden... Ardeth thought. He immediately shook his head and thought some more. No, that won't do... It's too soon to invite her to my quarters.

"You are very affectionate, Sphinx," Tallifu cooed, cuddling the cat as it mewed. "Your mistress must be worried sick."

The oracle then hummed and said, "If he is drawn to you that way, he must think you are his mistress."

Tallifu shook her head and then responded, "No, the woman... the goddess, Bastet, is her owner. She just likes following me. She reminds me of my brother."

The oracle perks up at this and says, "I have not seen your brothers and sister in years. How are they?"

Tallifu lifts her head and proudly says, "Elfad has married and is the father of three children. He is a warrior and a farmer like our father. Myug'o has also married into the Council of Elders and is the mother of a single child. She is a teacher to the village children. My little brother, Walei, is like our father: smart, swift, and strong. He wants to be a doctor when he becomes a man to help men like father and women like Myug'o. They, unfortunately, have become very ill. I wanted to wait until they felt better before I started school, but they both made me come here."

"Education is very important in this day and age," the oracle responded. "These white-faced men think we all are worthless savages because we are not like them, and, if we remain ignorant, we will succumb to this prejudiced view. Women are believed to be especially stupid because they are emotional, weak, and are considered nothing more than temptresses. Their view of our women is far worse. These men don't even respect their own women! It is a pitiable shame to be so blind to the importance of the woman and so evil to any and all honorable oppositions! For these reasons, you must do all that you can in school until you can do no more because even a strong woman like you, my girl, will be viewed as a stupid sex object so long as you let them think it."

Tallifu remained silent at her grandfather's wise words and looked into the flowers for some strength. In each of her classes, she was the darkest-skinned person and the brunt of much ridicule. Her math teacher, Vlad Jacobs, was very cruel to her. He gave her the hardest assignments, constantly used her as an example for statistically impossible problems, and asked her questions that no student could possibly answer. For every assignment, example, and question, however, she gave them her all and is now one of the most respected students among some of her peers. A few of them have arranged to visit her at the museum. If she and Professor Jacobs were in battle, she wouldn't be nearly as exhausted as she was now.

"I know, grandpapa... I know," Tallifu in an almost sad voice. She then turned to Ardeth to make sure he was okay but only saw an empty space where the man had been. She snapped her head about to find some remnant of where he had gone but saw nothing. She hissed as she spat, "That slippery - !"

"He did not steal anything, my child," the oracle reassured. "He merely left. You stopped paying attention to him."

"Did he want something?" Tallifu questioned, feeling terrible for ignoring a customer. "He didn't talk much, but that's no excuse for having him feel unimportant."

"Knowing him, he probably left to earn that certain something," the oracle said, rolling his eyes. He noticed Ardeth in the warriors' hall from the doorway a few feet away from Tallifu, and he could clearly see that the young chieftain was watching his granddaughter. Thankfully, Tallifu was clueless or at least he hoped so as he walked to her sleeping quarters.

"Must you speak in such riddles, grandpa?" Tallifu asked, feeling Sphinx suddenly squirming about. "Sphinx, what has gotten - ?"

The cat turned to Tallifu and meowed with widened eyes as though she was in a state of panic. Tallifu then turned to her grandfather but was met with a man floating in midair with his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his mouth agape. She called out to him twice before hearing Sphinx meow in panic again and saw the strangest creature at the end of the hallway. It was a tall, lithe female with long, spotted hind legs and long arms attached to thin claws. The ribs of the beast were showing proudly and only a breastplate protected the monster. Its tail was also an elongated feature but its tip was covered in sharp metal. The most striking detail on the demonic creature was its face stuck between trying to look like a lioness and a human. When Tallifu turned to her grandfather again, he was gone and left Tallifu in an immense state of shock. She then concluded that the man dressed in black, who was in her sights, summoned this monster. He, too, must have been some sort of god in the disguise of a young human male. The creature made a sharp, loud roar, gaining Tallifu's full attention, and then ran at breakneck speed towards her. It was coming at her too fast to get her weapons from her temporary chamber, so Tallifu ran down the hall at top speed herself and hoped she could reach the back door in time before this guardian of the gods tried to kill her.

Outside, a young boy was walking through the nearby marketplace. He was skipping school for the day because of the bullies in his class, so he chose to go shopping for lunch instead of practicing mathematics. A strange noise caught his attention as he walked toward a fruit stand. He turned around to see the British museum and a few houses a little ways away, but, when nothing came into his vision, he shrugged his shoulders and continued to speak to the vendor. The vendor picked out some fruit for the boy until the noise rose up again. This time some of the people in the street saw someone being chased and started to scream. The boy turned around himself and saw a woman running faster than any animal or human he had ever seen being chased by a monster. He threw his money at the vendor, snatched the fruit from him, and ran off to try to find a hiding place. The vendor, however, didn't see the money.

"Hey! That boy stole food!" he said, chasing the boy.

Tallifu was in a bad position. This creature was trying to kill her and she was headed towards a busy area in Cairo where the creature could easily kill other people. Seeing a nearby tent giving shade to jars of dust, the Ethiopian warrior slid to a stop in front of the tent and snapped a post holding the tent up in half. The vendor insulted her in Arabic but soon ran away when he saw the catty creature roaring at them. Twirling the post around, Tallifu used the post as a javelin and surprised herself and the beast when she delivered rib-breaking kick to its chest. The creature flipped to a 180-degree angle and tumbled about into some people who weren't fast enough to dodge. Tallifu waited for the creature to eye her again and then ran toward a nearby alleyway where no people could be hurt.

The fruit vendor was getting fed up with chasing this boy all the way to the end of the alley. He picked up enough speed to grab the boy by his collar and made him fall down to his butt. The vendor picked the young child up with little effort and chuckled when the boy tried to escape the large man's vice grip.

"No! Let go!" the child whimpered, trying his best to be released. "I didn't steal anything!"

"I'm gonna cut that tiny, little hand off you for stealing my produce, boy."

Abruptly, the vendor was shoved to the ground a few feet away with the boy still in his hands. When the man looked up, he was attacked by the cat creature with vicious bites in his neck and chest. Both the man and the boy screamed in terror from the strike, but the man's screams were soon dying out just as his strength was on the boy. The child released himself from the heartless vendor and managed to take a few steps back until he bumped into Tallifu. She picked him up quickly just as the cat creature turned around with flesh still in its jaws, and she placed him on her back to run in the opposite direction of the alleyway.

Ardeth had run back to the direction of the library after a woman ran to him screaming about a monster chasing after a woman. He had never been an irrational man before, but he was soon at the bridge between irrational and crazy. He didn't bring a weapon with him to Cairo since he mostly went to visit Omar and a few Medjai living in the city. The Ipet festival in Thebes will start soon. With the oracle in high spirits and having Ardeth's queen as a companion, he may end up leading the festivities with her by his side. Ardeth then realized that he crossed the bridge to crazy now.

Two British gunmen were in shooting position at the entrance to the alleyway in case the monster came back out, but Tallifu and the creature shot out of the alley in top speed. One of the gunmen managed to hit the cat creature's back and made the mistake of not running away. The creature turned to its attacker and immediately struck him with a few slashes from its claws and ripping off the flesh at the neck. Tallifu slid underneath a fallen tent cover and spotted a hole that the boy could fit through. Immediately, she stuck her feet to stop herself from running into the wall and placed the boy down.

She helped him crawl down the hole and told him, "Find someplace safe! Hurry!"

Ardeth had finally spotted the woman hustling toward a fallen man. Remembering that he also was unarmed, Ardeth looked around to see a nearby spike meant to support curtains. He grabbed that and ran to help the woman. While the creature lifted the other gunman off the ground, Tallifu snatched a combat knife from the dead gunman and leapt onto the creature's back. The tattoo on her hand began to glow and she drove the knife into the creature's neck. The creature roared in agony and abruptly a spear was plunged into the creature's ribs and ripped out by the man who was in the library earlier. She didn't have much time to acknowledge this fact when several more roars came from different places.

Both warriors looked to the their surroundings, hoping that a league of cat creatures wasn't coming for them, but were unfortunate enough to be faced with a monster larger than the sand scorpions. It was a vicious saber tooth cat standing before the city and street that seemed to be guarding the desert as it walked back and forth in slow steps. Ardeth tried to pull Tallifu away to run further into the city, but a cat creature held the oracle in its arms and stood next to the monster to call Tallifu out.

The woman turned to him and said in her accented Arabic, "Aren't you a god, too?"