Destined for Greatness
Chapter 10
"Your arm feeling better?" asked Hercules.
"Much better," Iolaus answered. "Another week and it should be fully healed."
The group had just woken up from their deep slumber. They had been trailing behind Alexander's army for almost three weeks or so after the fall of the Egyptian gods and Alexander's ascension to godhood.
Unfortunately for Hercules and his group, they were still far behind. The best they could hope for was to catch Alexander in the middle of a siege. And even then that would potentially involve a lot of lives lost.
"Where's Sal?" Autolycus rubbed his eyes.
"I think he said something about going out to hunt early," Jason replied.
"We're out in the middle of a freakin' desert," Autolycus frowned. "What's he going to find all the way out here?"
"He's going to find a gaggle of beautiful girls waiting for him near an oasis," joked Iolaus, "only to find out that it's a mirage!"
The rest of the group began chuckling.
"Hah!" laughed Autolycus. "I like the way you think, blondie."
"He'd better get back soon," Hercules began tending the horses. "We have to head out as quickly as possible. Alexander's probably on the march again and we need to speed things up."
oooo
"Man oh man," moaned Salmoneus as he roamed the jagged cliffs in front of him. "I never thought finding a decent meal would be this hard!"
Due to his current geographic location, food had been extremely difficult to find. The rations that he shared with Hercules and the others were filling only to some extent. But what Salmoneus wanted was some meat. Whether it was rabbit or grouse, he was in the mood for something a bit more protein-rich than bread.
"Guess there's nothing to do now except head back," Salmoneus hung his head low. "Not much edibles to be found out here…"
Just as Salmoneus turned around, he heard a small rumbling sound behind him, as if something was rolling down the canyons.
Turning around, the travelling salesman saw the largest and perhaps the most beautiful egg he had ever seen. It was about the size of a human torso and covered in an opaque blue color that shown off rather magnificently under the sun.
Immediately, Salmoneus gave off a goofy grin.
"Where have you been all my life?" he smiled.
Picking up the egg, he hurried back to his horse. The egg in his possession was big enough to feed the whole gang.
"You are a sight for sore eyes," Salmoneus told the egg. "And I'm sure you'll also be a sensation for our stomachs!"
Unfortunately, Salmoneus did not see a massive shadow behind him.
oooo
"Would you look at that," Autolycus put both arms to his waist. "The Prodigal Sal has returned!"
As Salmoneus entered back to their campsite, he dismounted the horse and took the egg with him.
"What do we have here?" Autolycus eyed the egg hungrily.
"Breakfast!" Salmoneus declared.
"Look at the size of this thing!" Iolaus stared in awe. "It looks like it weighs 30 pounds!"
"It's up there!" Salmoneus agreed.
"Herc, we gotta give this a chance," Iolaus looked at his friend pleadingly.
Reluctantly, Hercules looked at the pleading group. He had wanted to leave earlier to catch up with Alexander. And cooking an egg of that size could potentially take a while.
"Please big guy!" Autolycus pleaded. "It's not often we get to have an omelet the size of a shield!"
"Oh alright," Hercules finally relented. "But we leave as soon as breakfast is done."
"Awesome!" Salmoneus cried.
"Want me to fry the egg?" asked Falafel.
"Falalel my friend," Iolaus put a hand on the cook's shoulder. "You are still on Sabbatical, remember? That means we'll do all the cooking and cleaning for you!"
"Oh, that's right!" Falafel smiled.
"This is a dream come true!" Salmoneus gave the egg a kiss.
Just as he spoke those words, a massive shadow passed over the entire gang, causing them all to pause.
"Herc, what the heck was that?" Iolaus suddenly became frozen with fear.
From the skies, an enormous eagle swooped down towards Salmoneus. Reacting quickly, Hercules grabbed Salmoneus and yanked him away just as the massive raptor picked up their horse and flew it away.
As the group looked up, they saw several more over-sized eagles flying in the skies.
"Horses!" Hercules yelled. "Now!"
Unfortunately for them, the horses had already gone wild, having sensed how dangerous these aerial predators really were. In their unruly and frightened state, they ran off in several different directions, only to be picked off one by one by the raptors.
Hercules looked towards some canyons a short distance away. They were narrow enough that he giant eagles would not be able to penetrate.
"Let's get to those canyons!" shouted Hercules. "Move!"
At once, everyone began sprinting towards the canyons as fast as they could while the monstrosities above circled them. Soon, everybody entered into the narrow canyons as the massive eagles closed in on them.
"What are those things?" Salmoneus gasped for breath.
"I've heard stories of these monsters during the quest for the golden fleece," Jason explained. "This legendary creature is called the roc, a giant bird of prey. I thought they were pure myth… until now."
From the narrow opening of the cavern one of the giant rocs landed and stuck his head inside, attempting to strike at the group of men with its massive beak. Sensing danger, Hercules and the others immediately went further into the canyons.
Thankfully, the canyons were also narrow enough from above that the rocs could not swoop down to get to them.
"Why are these things after us?" asked Falafel.
"More important question!" Salmoneus posed. "How do we get out of this alive?"
"One thing at a time," Hercules told them. "First we need to—"
Without warning, a giant rock crashed near them. From up above, several of the massive raptors were using their beaks to break off chunks of rocks from the top cliffs with the intent of smashing the humans down below.
"Seek shelter," Hercules quickly motioned for the group to follow him.
They ran forward as several more rocks came crashing down at them until finally, Hercules discovered the opening of a cave.
"In here!" Hercules motioned, allowing the others to enter before him.
Just as Hercules entered, a boulder came crashing down and blocked the entrance, effectively trapping them all inside.
Fortunately for them, however, the cave glowed with several blue crystals, illuminating the caverns and providing them with enough light to walk through the area.
"Great," Autolycus sat down. "We're trapped between a rock and a hard place. In this case, that hard place happens to be a clan of steel-beaked flying behemoths."
"There's a way out of this," Hercules beckoned the group to follow him. "We'll find it."
"Think we'll be able to shake this roc clan?" asked Iolaus.
"Maybe, but I think those creatures attacked us for a reason," Hercules replied as he continued walking.
"Maybe Ares sent them?" Iolaus theorized.
"That could be true," acknowledged Hercules. "But I had another possibility in mind."
"What possibility is that?" asked Salmoneus.
Hercules stopped and looked directly at the egg Salmoneus held around his chest.
"That egg didn't just conveniently drop from the heavens, did it?" asked Herc.
Salmoneus looked at Hercules quizzically for a moment before realization dawned on him.
"Oh dear…" Salmoneus gulped.
"Hmph, cradle thief," Autolycus shot Salmoneus a humorous look.
"You know what that means," Hercules told the travelling merchant. "Looks like omelet is off the menu today."
oooo
"Alexander…" Ares appeared before the young conqueror in a flash of light.
"Ares, what a surprise to see you," Alexander replied nonchalantly.
The young conqueror was in his tent with Seleucus, his infantry general. Unlike before, the two men did not gaze at Ares with the reverence they would normally show to a Greek god.
"You haven't made any offerings to me in your recent conquests," Ares pointed out with an edge to his voice.
"Really now?" Alexander looked away.
"In fact, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're intentionally being insubordinate," Ares snarled.
"What gave that away?" Alexander turned around, revealing the Eye of Horus carved into his crown.
At once, the Eye of Horus enveloped Alexander in a blinding light and covered him from head to toe with his golden scarab armor.
In times past, he had been much more reverent towards Ares. But recently, Alexander simply hadn't felt like giving the Greek god his dues. His admiration for Ares was steadily drawing to a close, as had his admiration for Hercules. Ares was too set in his ways while he, Alexander, was destined for bigger and better things.
Realization dawned upon Ares as his eyes widened.
"You ungrateful little—" Ares snarled.
Not giving Ares a chance to take action, Alexander blasted Ares with a bolt of lightning, knocking the god of war out of his tent.
As Alexander strode out, Ares stood up in front of the entire army.
"So it's come down to this, eh?" Ares grimaced. "The master and student coming to blows…"
"Your time is over, Ares," Seleucus told the god of war. "We don't need you from here on out."
"I'm not your pupil anymore," Alexander told the war god. "I've found someone more worthy of showing me the true path."
"Who the hell would that be?" Ares demanded, not noticing Ahriman right behind him.
"You'll find out soon enough," Alexander charged up his scarab suit to do battle.
oooo
"We're near the entrance," Hercules pointed out. "After this, there are no more high canyons to protect us."
"Think those oversized turkeys are still on our trail?" asked Iolaus.
"If they are, I think I know what we need to do," Hercules replied. "Salmoneus, the egg if you please…"
Salmoneus walked over and handed the egg to Herc.
"Parting is such sweet sorrow," Salmoneus sighed.
At the front of the entrance, the massive head of an eagle appeared, its eyes glaring at all the men present.
"We know you are in there," the roc told them. "Do not think for one moment that escape is a possibility!"
"So you can talk," Hercules held is group back from getting too close.
"Did you take us for dumb beasts?" the roc demanded. "I am Talos. Together with my roc clan, we rule the skies! And I am their king!"
"No, I don't consider you to be savage beasts," Hercules replied, "which is why we want to talk."
Hercules walked forth with the egg and set it down at the entrance of the cave.
"We did no harm to your egg," Hercules took a step back. "Take it and leave us be. We want no more trouble with you."
Stretching out his massive claw, Talos took the egg from the front of the cave and delivered it into the claws of a fellow roc nearby.
"You do not understand," Talos hissed. "The one who stole our egg must suffer the consequences!"
Inside the cavern, Salmoneus turned cold with fear.
"Seriously?" Salmoneus frowned. "He still wants my head after he gets his egg back?"
"Well Sal," Autolycus put a hand on the merchant's shoulder, "it was nice knowing you."
"You're not getting Salmoneus," Hercules told the leader of the roc clan. "He took your egg in ignorance and it's been returned to you unharmed. Please allow us to leave in peace."
"You do not understand," Talos glared at Hercules through the cave's opening. "That fat mortal must pay the price for kidnapping our offspring!"
"Would it help if I said I'm sorry?" Salmoneus called out.
"No!" roared Talos. "Either you turn the thief over to us or my clan shall bury you alive in this cave!"
"Geez, you really stepped in it this time, Sal," Autolycus shook his head.
"Isn't there some other way?" demanded Hercules.
"There is…" Talos said with cunning in his voice. "One of you may do battle with me to save the life of this man."
"Done," Hercules stepped outside.
To his left was a small tree. Grabbing one of its branches, Hercules tore it off to use as a makeshift staff.
As Talos took a few steps back, the other rocs around them formed a circle around the two. From the caves, the rest of the gang peered out nervously to witness the battle.
"This battle shall be to the death," Talos spread his wings wide.
Hercules answered but flipping the staff around his body a few times in preparation.
Shrieking loudly, Talos dove down with his neck and attempted to kill Hercules on the spot with his razor-sharp beak. Hercules quickly rolled aside to avoid the strike and then turned around just as Talos raised both his wings.
With a massive clap, Talos unleashed a powerful gust of wind that struck Hercules and knocked the demi-god back several feet.
"With our wings, we rocs can summon hurricanes!" boasted Talos.
Hercules held his staff and waited as Talos came in again. Talos drove his beak down again but this time Hercules swung his staff and hit Talos with a powerful blow that sent the large raptor's head snapping back.
In anger, Talos struck down once more but again, Hercules struck him across the beak and this time knocked him back further.
Taking advantage of the situation, Hercules rolled forward as Talos struck at him with his powerful talons. Rolling right underneath Talos, Hercules used his makeshift staff to strike Talos' right leg, drawing a cry from the oversized eagle. With that staff, he struck Talos across the other leg, this time nearly causing the roc to fall over.
Fortunately for Talos, he caught himself and with one push of his wings, launched himself into the air, grabbing the staff Hercules held by both ends and lifting the demi-god up in the process.
"I will drop you to your death!" promised Talos as he flew higher.
Hercules reacted quickly and swung upwards using his staff as a starting base, launching his own body up and kicking Talos square in the stomach, sending the large roc crashing to the ground.
As Talos crashed on his back, Hercules was on top of him. The demi-god pressed his staff against Talos, putting pressure on his windpipe.
"F-Finish me!" Talos demanded.
At the last second, before Talos could lose his breath and fall unconscious, Hercules relented and let go.
"No, I'm not going to finish it like this," Hercules declared.
"What?" Talos was shocked.
"I don't want to kill you," Hercules told the king of the roc clan. "In fact, I don't even want conflict with you or your people. We've returned the egg to you and all we want is to be left in peace."
To prove his point, Hercules leaped off of the roc and dropped his weapon.
"Even after all this, you would still throw yourself at our mercy?" the roc king looked at Hercules with a glimmer of compassion in his eyes.
"You know these lands better than we do," Hercules conceded. "We would very much appreciate your blessings to cross them."
"It's safe to come out now, right?" Salmoneus called out from the cave.
"Indeed," promised Talos and looked at the rest of his clan. "This feud is at an end."
Slowly, Iolaus, Salmoneus, and the rest stepped out of their hiding place as the rocs formed a line, allowing them safe passage towards Hercules.
"Hey, uh, sorry about what I did earlier," Salmoneus looked up at the towering bird of prey before him. "I didn't know the egg belonged to you."
"For Hercules' sake, you are forgiven," Talos promised Salmoneus. "However, should this happen again, I will feed you to our chicks."
Salmoneus gulped after hearing that.
"Gotcha," he promised.
"If you do not mind me asking, why do you cross these lands?" asked Talos.
"We're on a quest to stop a madman," Hercules told the roc king. "He's already taken many lands and he's looking to make Persia his next conquest."
"We have seen this conqueror's caravan ahead of you," Talos told the demi-god. "You are already far behind him…"
"This isn't good," Iolaus looked at Hercules.
"Guess we'd better hurry," Hercules shook his head. "Talos, if you don't mind me asking, could we have our horses back?"
"Um…" Talos shifted nervously as if he was concealing something.
The other roc looked around anxiously. It was then that Hercules noticed a few of the rocs had fuller stomachs than the others.
"Okay, guess this answers that question," Hercules groaned.
"How are we gonna get there?" Iolaus asked Herc. "At this point without horses, we'll never reach Alexander."
"Do not despair," Talos promised Hercules and Iolaus. "I believe I have the solution to your problems."
oooo
"Whooo!" Autolycus yelled as he felt the wind blow across his face. "Now this is what I call riding first class!"
Soaring through the air, the roc clan carried Hercules and the rest of his travelling companions.
Autolycus and Salmoneus rode on one of the rocs while Jason and Falafel rode on another. As for Talos, he himself carried Hercules and Iolaus.
"Did I ever mention I'm afraid of heights?" Salmoneus held on to Autolycus tightly from behind.
"Oh give it a rest you big baby!" Autolycus scoffed. "Enjoy the view!"
"At this point we should definitely reach Persepolis before Alexander's army does," Iolaus told Herc.
"We need to make our stand there," Hercules declared resolutely. "One way or another, Alexander's ambitions come to an end."
"Enjoying the ride?" Talos asked the two.
"Definitely!" Iolaus agreed. "I think I can see my house from here!"
"Iolaus, your house is all the way back in Greece," Hercules pointed out.
"I know but hey, from this view at least I know I was proven right," Iolaus shrugged.
"Right on what?" asked Hercules.
"Right that the world is round," Iolaus answered matter-of-factly.
"Iolaus," Hercules frowned. "Up until now, you always thought the world was flat."
"Did not" insisted Iolaus.
"Did too!" Hercules pointed out.
Soon, the two friends began bickering back and forth again as the sun began to set. And at that point, the last thing on their minds before nightfall was their game of who could one up the other.