Chapter 53: Two Rivers
"You see," Hades said, "he hasn't been very cooperative in the past few hours, so he needs to be punished."
"What do you want me to do?" Mendanbar asked.
"I want you to do what you do best."
"And if I refuse?"
"Let's just say, if I were you, I wouldn't." He grabbed the bleeding man off the floor, seized Mendanbar's arm, and guided them both to a green river where a canoe was waiting for them. "Now, listen carefully. This is the River of Lost Souls. Touch it, and you will be lost, reducing you to a mindless, tortured husk. So please, keep your arms," he looked at Killian and added, "and hand, inside the boat at all times." Then he shoved Killian into the canoe.
Mendanbar moved to get in, but Hades wouldn't let go of his arm. "Just in case you are wondering, no, this is not Styx, so I wouldn't dip any cursed blades into the water unless you want it to be worse. And also, just FYI, many of those 'lost souls' in there," he whispered into Mendanbar's ear, "suicides." Mendanbar gasped at looked at the waters closer. "Not all of them, of course. In fact, most of them . . . well, you don't wanna know." Then he let go of Mendanbar's arm and gestured to the canoe. "I'll be waiting for you on the other side of the river, where I'll give you more instructions." Mendanbar glared at him one time, then he got in.
Rumpelstiltskin held the crystal ball over the potion. "Show me," he whispered. "Show me who I wish to seek." The crystal ball glowed for a second, then turned milky-white, and then he saw Belle at the shop going in to talk to Telemain. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but the vision first confused him and then, as he understood more of what it was telling him, he became frightened. At that moment—
"Hello?" a woman's voice called from the pawnshop. The sudden interruption jumped on Rumpelstiltskin's already jumpy nerves, and he dropped the ball. The person who came in ran to the back. "Herman?"
He looked up. "Cimorene? Where did you come from? You weren't with the entourage."
"Telemain sent me down here. Do you need help?"
"I got it. Thank you."
"You sure? That's a lot of broken glass. I know some methods for cleaning broken goods quickly to avoid getting cut."
"This is my business. Could you please just leave me alone to it?"
"Alright, fine, I'll go look for help elsewhere."
She started to walk out, but he wanted to know what she was doing and what Telemain wanted her to do, so he got up and followed her. "Wait, you're down here looking for your son, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah, but I have some other reasons. Look, I'm not gonna waste your time because you're obviously very busy and I certainly don't wanna make the mistake of being in your debt, but do you happen know where Phlegethon is?"
"What again?"
"You know, the river of fire?"
The Dark One rolled his eyes a bit. "Ah, Telemain would call it the long, Greek name."
"Right. Well, the head honcho down here said that four of the five rivers of the Underworld are in his throne room, and everybody knows where the other one is. I assume that one is Phlegethon, and I need to get a sample from it."
"Telemain wants it?" She nodded. "Why?"
"I don't know. He said to Mendanbar that he needed it for a spell."
"So he sends you down instead of coming himself?"
"Well, I still got the fireproof spell, and I hear he's not anxious about coming down here."
"I suppose you're just the messenger. If there is any price, I'll ask him to pay it. Mortals cannot go there unassisted, and I will be happy to assist you. But first, I have some other matters I must tend to."
"Fine, but don't take too long. I wanna get these waters so I can move on to finding my son."
Mendanbar looked at the other side of the boat at the pirate. "I don't think we've been formerly introduced."
"I know who you are, your majesty," Hook answered hoarsely.
"Yes. I've wanted to talk to you for a while, ever since Daystar told me he wanted a pirate to do the honors of officiating the wedding. I guess I've been putting it off, waiting for the rehearsal."
"He told me you agreed to it as long as I read something from the Bible."
"Well, he spoke out of context. What he said was true, but I still wanted to talk to you."
"You came down here looking for him?"
Mendanbar sighed and slightly shook his head. "Never mind why I am here." But then he had a thought. He got out of his jacket a folded piece of paper. "Telemain gave me some information about what he researched regarding the Underworld. If this isn't the Styx, I wonder what this river is. Let's see, River of Lost Souls, River of Lost Souls . . . well, it's not on here. Maybe it's this one, Co-sy-tus. Or maybe it's Cox-it-us. I don't know; I never took Greek. I probably should've. Anyway, he called it the River of Wailing. He says it's dark blue; this is more of a turquois, but I guess that's close enough. It's fed by tears of the condemned, one who comes near its banks can hear the cries of tortured souls, and touching it causes lifelong depression. Yeah, that all seems to fit. I guess that's what we got to look forward to."
"Surely you didn't just come down to torture me?"
Mendanbar came closer and whispered, "I'm gonna get you out of here. I may have to act against my conscience, and I may do some things that will harm you, but know that it's a ruse. I'm going to help you. Do you understand?"
Hood nodded and breathed out, "I . . . understand, but you're not going to help me. Emma is."
"Oh, but I did my part. To get down this deep, I had to hold the hand of the devil. I had no other choice, but he didn't realize something." He looked around and said even quieter, "I left the door open. Now, they can get in."
Hook didn't look like he understood, but his lips cured into a bit of a smile. The boat sailed into a stone archway which had engraved on it that ominous quote from Dante's Inferno, "ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE." Hades seized Hook and took him to a platform just above the Cocytus, and there he bound the pirate in chains and rebuked him and threatened him. Then he turned to Mendanbar.
"As for you," he said with a sneer, "preacher man, you're gonna save his soul, or at least try. I want you to baptize him. Oh, and by 'baptize' I mean baptizo, you know, 'fully immerse.' Not a few drops on his head; that won't do it. I know you know that, but some people, you just need clarification."
"In . . . that?" Mendanbar said pointing to the river.
"No, in the Danube," Hades answered rolling his eyes. "Of course, in that! Why do you think I took you out all this way? But there's no reason for you to get in the water, unless you want to be reunited with your son. So, I want you to monitor this little machine I have devised. Every minute, I want you to lower down one more link in the chain, give him time to think, like I told him. By the end of the hour, he should be all the way in."
"That's not baptizing; it's drowning, and in this river that will cause unending sorrow?"
"Trust me, Mendanbar, this is the least dangerous thing I can do. I mean, we could go down to the Acheron, which will cause him unending pain."
"No."
"That's what I thought. I'll leave you to it. Once he's under, I'll take you to the Styx, and you can go." He then disappeared in a blaze of blue flame.
Cimorene was passing the time at the pawnshop waiting, until she heard the door open. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," Rumpelstiltskin said as he came in.
"Really? What made it easy?" she asked.
"I was to lead Emma down into the depths of the Underworld to find her pirate, and I was expecting a magic barrier blocking our path. Yet when we reached the entrance, the door was wide open, and all the barriers were disabled."
"Good."
"I'm not so sure. It can't be that easy, not down here. Anyhow, to your task." He flipped his wrist, and in a puff of purple smoke, they suddenly appeared in a hot cave with a blazing fire on its floor. There was a stone bridge that didn't seem to be finished. Cimorene looked all around that bridge. "What do you expect to find, dearie?"
"What do you think? A way down!"
"Do you expect to find steps? Most people fall off that bridge."
"I don't think I wanna go that deep. I'm gonna have to climb."
"Here." Two spikes appeared in his hands. "These will help."
She gave him a bit of an offended look. "I used to live in a series of mountain caves. I know how to climb."
He nodded. "Very well. I'll stand guard."
She turned back to the bridge, looked for a spot to climb down, and started making her decent. In every breath, she whispered, "Power of fire, wind, and earth, turn the flame back to its birth." The rocks in her hand seemed to feel cooler, and the climbing flames curled away from her as she kept whispering the couplet. Rumpelstiltskin watched, marveling at how strong that draconian spell continued to be after so much time.
"I'm very sorry about this, captain," Mendanbar said as he let another chain link down. "I know I had never felt certain about you, but I must admit I find this punishment extreme."
"It's alright," Hook gasped. "It's not like it's your fault."
Mendanbar was a bit surprised by that. "That's very generous of your to say."
The pirate looked straight at him. "You have a good son," Hook said weakly. "A little annoying, perhaps, but he has a good heart."
Mendanbar turned away and shook his head. "My son killed himself. I . . . I don't even know him."
"That had nothing to do with you. He told me he died for the same reason I died, to destroy the darkness. He believed he was doing the right thing."
Mendanbar nodded. "I'd like to believe you. I just . . . don't know."
They heard crying and screaming from the souls in Cocytus for those past several minutes they were left alone that the noise was starting to become commonplace. But then one scream cut through Mendanbar's mind like a chainsaw. "DAYSTAR?" he yelled.
"FATHER!" a voice yelled back. "HELP ME!"
Mendanbar leaned forward, still holding the chain, and looked into the waters. "Where are you?"
"Who are you talking to?" Hook asked.
But Mendanbar didn't hear him. "Where are you?" he yelled louder.
"He's not down there!"
"He's down there; I hear him!" He learned forward even further, squinting, trying to see the faces of the souls in the water. "WHERE, ARE, YOU?"
And then, without thinking, he let go of the chain and started to fall.
And someone caught him by the collar and pulled him back up. It was Emma. "Let me go! I have to get my son! He's in trouble!"
"Mr. Reed—" she started to say.
"No, he's down there! He need my help!"
"He's not down there." Hook repeated as Emma got the chains off him. "Your son was here with me. He ran off before I got messed up with Hades."
"He is down there! He, the man, the enemy, said the suicides are in that river!"
"If he's the enemy, why are you listening to him?" Emma asked.
"But I heard him! I heard my son!"
"He tricked you, mate," Hook said solemnly. "I didn't hear him."
"How could you not hear him? It echoed through the whole place!"
"I just got in here, and I didn't hear him either," Emma said. "Hades did this to you. He wanted you to fall into the river. Think about it."
Mendanbar did. He considered the whole situation, and then he fell to his knees. "Oh, God help me! What did I do?"
Rumpel continued to watch Cimorene who was near the base of the cave, when he heard another voice. "Well, well, well." He turned and saw a sight of someone who was not unfamiliar to him. "Rumpelstiltskin, the Dark One, the man, the myth, the legend. Big fan, by the way." Rumpelstiltskin responded by drawing his dagger. "Get your hands off that squiggly little thing! I'm not here to fight."
"Perhaps I am."
"I'm here to talk, and I think you'll wanna hear what I have to say." Hades came closer and saw Cimorene dangling off another ledge. "Impressive. I've certainly never seen a mortal get this far. She is fearless!" Then he looked at Rumpelstiltskin. "Do you know why she's doing this? Do you know why she wants that water so bad?"
"She doesn't; Telemain does."
"Oh yes, your dear friend Telemain. Very well, do you know why he wants it?"
"We've been working on a difficult spell for a long time. I assumed it had something to do with that."
"Yes, he has been working on difficult magic. In fact, I understand he made an impossible vow."
Rumpelstiltskin stared at him. "He was released from that vow!"
"Doesn't mean he doesn't still wanna do it. Since you pulled that trick, he's been thinking about it again, and the fires of Phlegethon will fulfill it."
"What?"
"It can melt any metal, even enchanted. One drop of the flame, and you're left with a puddle of silver instead of a dagger. No more Dark One, no more dark magic." He came closer and whispered, "I think you know what to do."
He nodded. He walked up closer to the bridge, looked down at Cimorene, and make a big cutting motion with his dagger. She slipped and fell, and then . . . she caught herself. She pulled herself back onto the ledge and just stood there for a moment, breathing deeply. By the time she calmed down, the fireproof spell was starting to wear off, so she recited it again, and continued to descend.
"I don't understand," Rumpelstiltskin whispered. "She was supposed to fall in."
"Oh, you didn't know about this either," Hades said chuckling as he went up to join him. He put his arm on Rumpel's shoulder and said, "Have you ever done a, for lack of a better word, herculean task with ease, no magic involved, and said to yourself, 'Oh, I don't know my own strength'? This is the exact opposite of that. You're overestimating your strength. You don't know your own weakness."
"What do you mean?"
"Not all the darkness of the Dark Ones was captured by Excalibur, therefore a significant amount of their power was not transferred back to you. In fact, that sword that the prince had absorbed most of the Dark Ones' energy that night. You are not nearly as strong as you think you are."
"Is there a way for me to get that power back?"
"Hmmm, could be. I mean, that sword is in my realm now. But there are so many other things I need to discuss with you, things you don't even know about. You know where to find me, Rumpel. When you're ready, let's have a chat." He then vanished in a blue flame.
It still took a while for Mendanbar to recover from what Hades did. He was still shaken, and he did not completely believe what happened was not real. But he followed the others to the stone archway. The boat was still there waiting for them, but as the Emma and Hook went, he stayed behind.
"Mr. Reed, come on!" Emma said.
"I can't," he answered. "I have to stay here. I still have to find Styx."
She laughed. "Sticks? You came all the way down here to find sticks?"
"No, not wood sticks. Styx, with a y, and an x."
"Oh, like that cheesy rock band from the '70s."
"Well, that's a matter of opinion, but it's not the band, it's the actually river they're named after."
"What for?"
He tried to tell her the reason, but he couldn't get it out. All he said was, "It's important!"
"Look, now that we got Hook with us, we're gonna look for your son. We'll find Daystar for real! Don't you wanna come with us for that?"
"Maybe later, and my wife will definitely join you. First, I got to find Styx."
"Alright. Well, if it's that important to you, good luck."
Hook looked at him from the canoe. "Thank you, mate. I owe you one."
"Considered the debt cancelled," he answered as he turned away.
About twenty minutes later, Cimorene climbed up sweaty, singed, and smelling like smoke. She took a little while to catch her breath, then she said, "Well, I wished for a moment there that I took you up on your offer for those spikes. That was difficult, a lot more slippery than it looks. I nearly lost myself there."
"But you got it?" Rumpel asked.
Cimorene smiled and held up the vial, which now had within it a dancing, liquid flame. "Even with the fireproof spell, it was hard to get. Felt like dipping my hand in acid, but it doesn't look like it."
Rumpel smiled. "Good." Then, he flicked his wrist, and they appeared outside.
"Now, I don't need, or really want, your help to find Daystar. This is something a mother needs to do herself."
"I understand, but there is a firewitch who will be very glad to have your help."
She looked at him. "Shiara? She's here?"
"She broke off from the rest of the group when they made getting Hook their priority. You'll probably find her in the graveyard on the edge of town."
Cimorene nodded. "Alright. Well, thank you for everything, Herman." Then she started to walk away.
"Cimorene!" he called after her. "One thing more." She stopped and turned back. "The waters of the River of Fire, you don't need them, and fireproofed or not, they'll become a cumbersome burden to bear." He held out his hand. "Would you like for me to hold onto them?"
She hesitated. "Uh . . ."
"I'll put them in my shop, in one of my hidden lockers. You can pick them up before we leave. You don't have to worry about it going cold; this flame never dies."
"Thank you for the offer, but . . . I'm not sure I trust you."
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Well, I've heard about you. Mendanbar's told me some about you. In fact, it wasn't too long after I met you that you were not the humble imp you appeared to be. Your name wasn't even Herman."
"Then why do you keep calling me-?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's my naiveté, my wish that you were something more innocent, my wanting to look the other way. The point is, I've heard more about you, and I know you are not to be trusted, especially with something dangerous."
He came closer and looked hard at her. "Telemain knows me, and he knows that I am a man of my word. What I say, I do. I keep my deals. And I give you my word, I will make certain that Telemain will get this sample." She still didn't look convinced. He was tempted to get out his dagger and make a blood oath, but he did not want her to see that he had it. So he thought of the next most binding oath. He said it quickly, almost mumbling it, "I swear on the River Styx."
There suddenly seem to come a woosh out of nowhere, like a sudden wave of heat that crossed over them. Cimorene then looked like she understood how serious he was. "OK." She handed him the vial. "Keep it safe. Don't let me forget it."
"I won't. Good luck." He watched as she walked away, and then he went back to his pawnshop.
Mendanbar tried to make his way walking on the stone pathways on the water's edge, but they were narrow and crumbling. Suddenly, Hades appeared, and before he could say anything, Mendanbar got in his face. "You tricked me."
Hades just grinned. "See? It's not that easy to resist me. You don't know all my wiles, preacher man."
"How could you do that? You convinced me my son was in that river—"
"Well, what I said was true. Many souls in the River of Lost Souls are suicides, but I never specifically said your son was one of them."
"Yes, you did! You said—"
"I implied it. So much can be done when an implication is made."
"And then you made me hear his voice. You wanted me to fall into the Co . . . whatever it is!"
"That's right. A fitting punishment for someone who left the door open!"
"You knew about that?"
"Of course I did. Furthermore, since you did not succeed in dunking the pirate, in fact, you didn't even get his feet wet, the deal is off. I'm not going to show you where the Styx is. You're on your own."
"At least I'm in the right place."
"Oh, no argument there. You are in the right place." He looked straight into Mendanbar's face. "Good luck getting out of it." Then with a smile, he vanished again.
A few hours later, Rumpelstiltskin went to the library, down the elevator, into Hades' throne room. Once the Lord of the Dead saw him, he made a tsk, tsk, tsk sound with his tongue. "Made a vow on the River Styx. I thought you knew better than that. I know better than that. But then again I've been burned a couple of times on that very rash vow. There are no ways out of that oath, Rumpel, no loopholes. When you vow on the River Styx, you better mean what you say and say what you mean, or you die."
"I know all about it, and I did mean what I said. Every word. Telemain will get it."
Hades suddenly laughed hard as he caught Rumpel's harsh tone. "Atta boy! I can't wait to see that."
"Enough of this. You said you had other things to tell me."
"Indeed, I do." He made appear in his hand a crystal ball, and Rumpel suddenly felt the anxiety from earlier in the day return. "Let's take a look at your dear Belle. I've actually been watching her for hours. She's just darling! And . . . well, I happened to come across something. She said . . . well, you should hear the news for yourself." Rumpel was a bit amazed that he was able to do the spell with sound, but Hades just smiled, waved his hand again, the crystal filled with misty smoke, and . . .
