Chapter XXIV
The first thing that hit me was the cold, the damp warm air of the Underworld was swept away by a powerful blast of frosty wind as we moved further upstream on the Styx.
Usually cold didn't bother me, being used to the extreme temperatures of the ocean floor, but this was something else. The land on both edges of the Styx here was barren and empty, even compared to the rest of the underworld.
There was no grass, no trees, not even rocks, only gray soil, which looked more like ash than earth. It was an unsettling, alien sight, looking more like the surface of a moon-like desert than anything.
"Where are we?" Eleanor asked with lightly chattering teeth.
"The waste of Limos," Charon answered, clearly unbothered by the cold. "my sister reigns here, she should not harm you in any way, at least as long as you don't leave my boat."
"Your sister?" Bianca asked with interest.
"It is named after her, Limos, the goddess of hunger," Charon stated. "you should have heard of her."
"Ah," Bianca breathed out, her breath well visible in the intense cold. "So how long till we pass it?"
"I cannot say for certain," The ferryman answered. "But it should not be long, though it'll still be quite a while till we reach our destination."
Bianca nodded as she settled down beside me on the floor of the boat, before huddling slightly closer to me, just barely touching, but still... I felt myself blush and grow hot despite the cold as thoughts of the last evening returned to me.
"Ahem," Eleanor cleared her throat as she lightly tapped the wood of the boat. "it is your turn, blueyes."
I scowled, Eleanor knew I utterly detested that nickname and she used to have the decency not to use it. Well, perhaps detested was too strong of a word, I just found it a stupid nickname, considering her eyes were just as blue as mine.
But I knew well enough why she was using it as I looked at the poker game before us, she was trying to provoke and annoy me. Well, I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.
"I'm going all in," I declared nonchalantly and pushed my stack of drachmas towards the pot.
"Oh, you think you're so good at bluffing, don't you?" Eleanor asked with a smirk. "But I am not falling for that, I am going all in as well."
With a grin I slammed my cards down and watched Eleanor do the same.
"Four of a kind, there is no way-" Eleanor started before stopping with a frown.
"That I have a royal flush?" I asked and heard her groan.
"Lucky bastard," She muttered and I smirked.
"You see Ell," I said smugly as I gathered the pot. "there is no need for deception when you are in such an overwhelming position that you cannot be beaten anymore."
"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to rub it in you, bastard."
"Well you started it," I replied. "if I wasn't a good liar, then all my mentoring from big K would have been a total waste. Now shut up you damn sore loser."
"You both are pathetic, you know that?" Bianca asked, sounding amused. "The fact you gambling addicts are playing poker with two people, in the middle of a quest shows that well enough."
"Hey," I protested, lightly jabbing her side. "that's not fair, there isn't really that much else to do. Besides, I asked whether you wanted to play and you said no, if anyone's it's your fault we are only two people."
Bianca laughed and I smiled at that. I could watch her all day like that. Though again Eleanor cleared her throat and I turned back to her.
"Not to mention," Eleanor interjected. "it's not like we are only gambling, we are here for the talk after all."
"Speaking of," I said, turning to her. "we've made enough small talk these last rounds, there's one thing I want to know. What is it you want after this quest? On our trip to Camp you said you were unsure whether you could truly come back. What do you mean by that?"
Eleanor sighed and her eyes turned dark.
"What do you think?" She asked with sudden annoyance. "I was there before, I mean I even was head counselor of cabin seven for some months, before I left that is…"
Admittedly I never knew she was, as stated, most demigods don't like talking about their past. But still, she was particularily sensitive about it.
"You were?" asked. "But weren't you a little young back then for that? I mean you have plenty of siblings don't you?"
"What do you mean young? I am the oldest one of us," Eleanor stated. "I mean I am turning sixteen in June."
"Which doesn't change the fact Bianca is right, that would still make you only thirteen or so back then, there surely were older cabin mates."
"Course there were, but before Luke botched his quest, it wasn't uncommon for Campers to go on quests just for the sake of it." Eleanor said. "I went along with an older camper, it wasn't worth it looking back, but back then it seemed oh so great and glorious."
"I didn't know you went on a quest?" I asked, surprised. "What for?"
"It doesn't matter, nor do I want to remember all too much of it." Eleanor said bitterly. "What I am trying to say is, I got overeager, our old head counselor left and the new one was only a few years older than me. I challenged him and he left the position to me without a fight."
"So are you going to become a counselor again once we are back?" Bianca asked and Eleanor shook her head with a frown.
"No, absolutely not," She said quickly. "I mean sure I am the oldest by now I think, at least of the year rounders, and this'll be my second quest, I more than have the right to, but I just couldn't."
"Why not?" I asked, surprised.
"When I left, I abandoned not just that responsibility, but my siblings with it." Eleanor's voice got even more bitter. "A good few of them, at least of the older ones I already knew back then, hate me for it, I am sure of that."
Bianca looked to the ground with a scowl, and I felt uncomfortable at even having started this talk.
Clearly this was not a good topic for either of them, with Eleanor it was obvious and I guessed Bianca could relate all too well to the current topic, considering how her relation to Nico was.
"If will you excuse me," Eleanor said suddenly, snatching the cards from my hands. "I am not in the mood for further games anymore."
She pushed herself up from the floor and walked to the prow of the boat, as far away from me as she could get. I leaned my head back and sighed, I should have seen it wouldn't end well from how she behaved the days before, but nonetheless I still couldn't resist asking, trying to figure her out better.
Over these last days and nights Kronos' warning still didn't leave me any rest. I knew it was stupid to dwell on it, but Kronos usually didn't just spew random bullshit, it simply didn't fit his personality and twisted sense of humor. There probably was some obscure core of truth to what he told me.
And frankly I still didn't quite fully trust Eleanor, something was gnawing at me. Perhaps Kronos was right about us being not so different, because damn near above all he was a paranoid bastard.
I closed my eyes for a few seconds, I should probably just let it go. It wasn't fair towards Eleanor to keep pestering her about it, she had given me little reason for distrust, so it wasn't exactly fair how I was acting, I mean she had saved my life and she had sworn an oath on the Styx already, what more did I need?
With another sigh, I opened my eyes again. I glanced in Eleanor's direction again, who suddenly turned around with a panicked look.
Quickly I saw why she wore that look, before us rose a wall of pure white swirling mist, taller than I could see and seeming incredibly dense, heavy and utterly impenetrable to my eyes.
I shot up as two fateful memories came into my mind. This mist instantly reminded me of the one on Othrys, which made my skin crawl. Usually I liked mist, or rather fog. What I did not like was when the Mist itself manifested, and this seemed all too familiar.
Though there was another memory, when I had spoken to the Oracle I had seen visions of white mist, this here seemed all too fitting. I wasn't sure whether that was good, but at least it probably meant we were on the right course.
With hurried steps I walked towards Charon.
"What is that?" I called to him, worried.
"Our destination," He answered calmly, his oar not slowing as we pushed on.
"What?" I asked, confused and worried. "I thought you said it would still take a while."
"It has been a couple of millennia since I visited the home of my brother.." Charon said with an uncaring shrug. "Besides, things never stay the same, especially with them, we could have found them in a couple of hours, or maybe never."
I was about to ask more, but we had already reached the wall of mist, which engulfed us in seconds, swallowing the boat and us with it.
My vision was flooded white, and I couldn't even see my hands anymore. The only thing now allowing me some sense of orientation was the waters of the Styx I felt flowing beneath us, enabling me to at least guess where I was walking.
Carefully I made my way along the boat's edge. At least it wasn't cold anymore, I thought, before realizing it didn't feel warm either, nor damp, nor dry, just neutral, empty even.
The acidic smell of the Styx which I had grown used to was gone as well and the loud sounds of rushing water were muffled at most, if even audible.
It was a suffocating, uncomfortable feeling, my mind and body felt disconnected from one another, and few things were worse than the feeling of not being in control of yourself if you asked me.
With stumbling steps I moved across the boat, before almost bumping into Eleanor, only avoiding it due to her catching my wrist.
"Are you feeling it as well?" I asked her, though I felt like even my voice was swallowed by the mist.
"Yes," Eleanor answered, though I barely heard her. "I hate it."
I couldn't help but share that notion, I liked having my senses intact.
"Can you see anything?" I asked her..
"No, not more than I assume you can," She answered before adding. "which is nothing."
"Ah," I said before looking around, not that it did much. "Do you know where Bianca is?"
I could swear Eleanor rolled her eyes, despite the fact I couldn't see it, but I didn't care at that moment.
"I have no idea, but there doesn't seem to be any imminent danger," Eleanor said as she let go of my wrist. "I am sure Charon would have warned us if there was."
She raised a fair point, but still it didn't make me like this anymore.
"So what now?" I asked her.
At that moment the mist cleared, and I snapped straight with a jolt as my senses returned for the most part.
For a moment I looked around in confusion as the mist cleared slightly, sinking down and now only reaching below my knees.
I still couldn't see much, it was dark, far too dark to see anything really. I let my sword appear in my hand and I lifted it, though the faint light it shed was barely enough to somewhat light up the boat.
"Well if that wasn't fun…" Bianca muttered as she came out of the dark.
"I don't like this place any better." Eleanor said and rubbed her arms.
"That is no surprise girl," Charon told us with a chuckle. "my sister, Hemera, passes through the Underworld every night, but here truly no light or sun reaches, no wonder you feel unwelcome."
"Well, I am sure at least one of us doesn't mind," I said with a glance at Bianca.
"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked with slight annoyance. "I felt far more at home back in the Underworld proper as well."
"Still, at least you can see something unlike us," I told her and she shook her head.
"Not really," Bianca said and I raised a brow, which she caught. "I mean, I can see alright, but there's just not much here except for this mist, it just goes on as far as my eyes can see. Perhaps we are yet to get there…"
At that moment, I felt the boat hit the shore of the Styx.
"Well, it seems we have arrived ," I remarked as I turned to Charon. "I guess then that we will have to go on foot from here?"
"That you will," He said nonchalantly. "Be careful with stepping off, it would be difficult to explain to Lord Hades that his daughter accidently dropped into the Styx on my watch."
"Thank you for your concern, Charon," Bianca said, rolling her eyes, before turning to me. "I hope you have a plan, Thee."
"Does intuition count?" I asked with a stupid grin, though she didn't seem amused. "Fine, fine, I do, more or less at least."
"Well then let's hear it?" Bianca demanded.
"Let's get going first," I told her and jumped over the boat's edge.
Her and Eleanor begrudgingly followed me and Charon quickly cast off, saying a few words of good luck and goodbye for courtesy's sake, but mostly muttering about traffic pileup and unpaid overtime.
"So, how about you finally tell us what your plan is?" Eleanor asked, no less impatient than Bianca.
"Well, there is not really much we know about this place, is there?" I asked, before continuing. "I've been thinking on the way here, we actually got a clear destination here, the gates, they are the way out of here."
"The gates?" Eleanor asked and cocked her head. "You meant the gate of ivory and the gate of horn? Are those even real? I mean, has anyone ever seen them."
"Well if Virgil is to be believed, Aeneas returned to the world of the living through one of them, though he has used a different way, along the Lethe if I am not mistaken." I said, with a shrug. "While that has to be taken with a grain of salt, I think finding them is our best bet nonetheless."
"And how do you intend to do that?" Eleanor asked and I bit my lip.
"Well… that's the hard part." I admitted. "Originally I meant to ask Morpheus, he is the Oneiroi's leader after all,"
"I am not sure that is such a good idea from what father said,'' Bianca stated with a frown and I nodded.
"Precisely," I affirmed. "But there is an alternative I can think of, that being his father."
"Hypnos?" Eleanor asked skeptically. "What makes you think he will be any more cooperative?"
"Well, it's much more his wife I am betting on." I told them. "He's married to Pasithea after all, she's one of the graces, a daughter of Zeus, I hope that she will be more willing to help, even if he is not."
"So how do we find him?" Bianca asked, looking around again.
"Well, I doubt we have much choice for now except to keep on marching till we find something or someone." I replied unsurely.
"That's hardly a plan," Bianca protested and I gave her an apologetic smile.
With some complaints we pushed on further inland, and as we did the mist retreated further and was now only a soft layer on the ground. The air was filled with the sweet lulling scent of flowers and a gentle breeze started blowing.
I couldn't help but yawn and stretch, sleep seemed incredibly inviting right now. To just lay down in the soft mist and close my eyes. I shook myself, I had only woken up a few hours ago or so, there was no reason to be tired.
"Yes, that is how I suspected mortals to react to our realm, though that is a bad idea, you might never wake." An unnerving voice said somewhere near us.
I whirled around and leveled my sword at the origin of the voice. As undiplomatic as my reaction was, there simply was something about his voice which made me incredibly uneasy and his appearance didn't help lift that distrust.
The man, if you wanted to call him that, was tall and lanky, on his back sat a pair of large dark shimmering wings. He wore a dark cloak reaching below his knees and its hood was pulled over his head and deep into his face.
There the troubles, however, truly began. I would describe his face, but all I could see there was void-like black, without eyes or mouth. I took a step back and felt my skin crawl as he stepped closer, restoring the distance.
"There is no need for such hostilities," He told me and I gripped my sword tighter.
"Who are you? And what do you want?" Eleanor asked, placing a hand on the pommel of her sword.
"Who I am?" The man mused and let his wings flutter. "One of the Oneiroi, a dream spirit, as is evident. As to what I want, why I want to offer you our hospitality, Lord Morpheus wants to speak to you."
"We were told you weren't answering my father's summons," Bianca interjected. "why do you want to speak to us?"
"Lord Hades' daughter, yes?" The Oneiroi said. "Well, it is true, we have had some troubles with your father, but I can assure you it is all merely a misunderstanding."
"Really?" I asked, raising a brow. "A misunderstanding, what kind of misunderstanding could be a good explanation for that?"
"Please, just come with me," He turned to Bianca. "Lord Morpheus really wants to put this mess behind us, and who better to help him do so than Lord Hades' daughter, I am sure your father will be delighted once you return."
I was about to tell him off, I didn't like the feel of this at all, not to mention we hardly had the time to talk and lounge at the court of some god, we had wasted enough precious time as it was. But before I could answer him, Bianca spoke up.
"Very well," She said. "We shall come with you for now, I am sure Morpheus had good reason for how he acted."
I looked at her quizzically, what was she doing? This seemed foolish, but Bianca was no fool, so I seriously hoped she had some good reasoning, because even just attacking him here and now seemed safer than following him.
"Now hold up a moment," Eleanor interjected. "Don't you think this a little risky, I mean-"
"What I think you mean to say is that you are not sure whether we have the time to spare," I interrupted her, deciding to trust Bianca for now. "Yes, it is a bit risky, but I am sure we'll manage."
"Wonderful," The dream spirit said, folding his hands. "Just follow me then, I am sure we can resolve the situation swiftly and help you in your endeavor after it."
He turned and with soundless steps started walking away. I let out a breath of relief when he stopped facing us and with a good distance followed after him.
After we walked a good few minutes I slowly let myself fall back to Bianca.
"What was that?" I asked her in a hushed voice. "Didn't you listen to your father? Why are we following him, you don't truly trust him do you?"
"No," Bianca answered after a while. "but unless you can think of any other option currently? Besides, if he is telling the truth and there is a chance to actually resolve this, father would probably want me to."
"He would also want you to stay alive," I said worriedly.
"So what should we have done instead?" Bianca asked me. "Wander around aimlessly for a few more hours, or days perhaps? It probably is a trap, you are right, but you wanted to talk to Morpheus originally anyways, didn't you? And we are in his domain either way, I doubt there really is a way around him since he clearly knows we are here."
She raised some fair points, I had to admit that, but I got the feeling she was doing this more in hopes of impressing her father than anything. I shook my head, hopefully I was wrong and this would go without trouble, but I didn't think so.
We marched on for a couple more hours… or perhaps it was only minutes? I wasn't sure, there was something very strange about this place. It wasn't as bad as in that strange mist, but something was clouding my mind, though less literally so.
However, something changed, the land started gaining proper substance, slightly rising above the mist and we could now actually see the ground and in the distance mountains rose. The entire floor was covered in red and purple flowers, poppies.
I couldn't help but think how fitting it was, because besides their tragic association with the first World War, there was one much more prominent, Opium.
And intoxicated or drugged was precisely how I felt, my mind numbed and slowed. I could even swear I started seeing images in the mist, though they went as quickly as they came.
In the distance I started hearing voices and sounds, and I was sure it was just another figment of my imagination, but as we walked on they got louder and louder.
When we got closer to them I realized something obvious, those were no mountains, they were the walls of the enormous cavern.
As we got even closer the landscape suddenly dropped off sharply, opening an entrance to another large cave, from which the sounds and voices came. I recognized the sounds as music, strange ethereal songs and the voices seemed joyful, celebrating.
We descended into the cave as it opened up far further and we were greeted by a festive scene. Lounging around on reclining couches, cups of ambrosia in hand, or standing around in joyous groups happily chatting were hundreds of people.
Well, if you wanted to call them so, just as the one that had brought us here, they hardly resembled humans in anything but shape. Though that quickly changed as I looked at them, and they started shifting shapes, assuming human forms.
They kept shifting whenever I looked at them, never staying in one form, it was just as unsettling as our companion. I glanced at him, he still hadn't assumed any human form, and there was one other in the room who did not change his shape.
At the end of the cave a plateau rose above the crowds, into the dark rock stairs were chiseled leading up to a trio of thrones, two smaller black thrones, carved out of the same rock that formed the ground. In the middle of them a larger throne stood, gleaming white, carved of ivory and the only one actually occupied.
Tall and pale with curly black hair a young man sat there, dressed in purple blue robes with a dark metal crown adorning his head, his eyes were dark and he looked at us with interest.
"Ah, welcome to our symposium, I didn't think you would come so quickly." He greeted us as he rose. "I do not believe I need to introduce myself, after all you would hardly come hard without knowing who I am."
"Certainly not, my lord," The Oneiroi accompanying us said and strode forward before kicking himself off the ground.
With a few gentle beats of his wings he landed on the plateau and came to stand beside the throne. The man, whom I presumed to be Morpheus, turned to him.
"Well done, Epiales," Morpheus said with a smirk.
"I believe they were more or less searching for you anyways my lord," Said hooded spirit told Morpheus. "They are looking for the gates if I am not mistaken."
"Were they now?" Morpheus asked, his eyes glinting as he turned to us. "Ah, isn't this tragic, to get so close, only a few leaps away, then to fail?"
"And why should we fail, Lord Morpheus?" I asked him, stepping forward.
"Well, that is rather obvious isn't it?" He asked mockingly. "You have already come here without a fight, you might as well just surrender without one now. I am sure Lord Kronos will be happy that everything went so well."
I think I have often enough stated that I hated being right in such cases, but of course I was again. Not that it was a hard guess, I had been certain from the beginning Kronos was involved here as well.
"Lord Morpheus," I addressed him. "I am sure we could reach an alternative arrangement, couldn't we?"
"An alternative arrangement?" Morpheus chuckled. "I do not think so, but go ahead, entertain me, there's nothing else you can do at this point."
"May I first ask, what is it that you gain from working with him?" I asked..
I wasn't even sure what I was aiming for myself quite frankly. I had nothing to offer him, at best I could stall him and think of some plan or if that didn't work hopefully lure some information from him.
"Look around, what do you see here?" Morpheus asked before frowning. "Actually, I'll answer that myself, what you have seen here is my domain, my kingdom. I am the lord of dreams and yet ever since the Olympians rule I have been relegated to nothing more than a messenger."
"But Lord Morpheus, you carry messages only to the most important of humanity, do you not?" I asked, trying to flatter him. "you carried them to great kings and chiefs, surely you are no common messenger?"
"Pah, kings, nobles, mortals all the same," Morpheus said. "What difference does it make, in the end, whether I shape the dream of a swineherd or an emperor? In the end when they wished for it the gods saw me as nothing but a servant as they did my brothers."
"Your brothers?" I asked him and looked around and watched all the Oneiroi.
"Yes, the two with whom I shared my rule," Morpheus said and gestured to the thrones with anger. "Ikelos and Phantasos, they were long forgotten by humanity and faded. I do not intend to meet a similar fate and I cannot count on the Olympians to ensure that."
"But why do you think that will be any better under Kronos?" I asked him. "Why should he care for you anymore, especially if you no longer serve as a messenger, what use are you to him?"
"Hah, Lord Kronos know well enough of what importance I have to humanity and in controlling them," Morpheus said. "make no mistake, I like you humans and I understand you far better than most gods do, this will be better, even for you."
"I take you couldn't simply let us use the gates then?" I asked and he laughed.
"As sorry as I am for you, we both are well aware that is no possibility," Morpheus said amused before musing on. "though it would be quite easy at this point, to simply let you pass through my cave, not to mention quite amusing, Kronos would certainly not expect it. But no, I think not, I know what is best for me, you will stay right here under my watchful eye."
"So what if we do not stay without a struggle?" I asked and summoned my sword. "Will you then fight us?"
"Me?" Morpheus chuckled. "No, I think not, Epiales will, however, while I shall go and inform Lord Kronos of this success in person, but do not fret, I shall be back soon enough. Hopefully you are still intact by then, body and mind, Kronos wants you alive ideally."
Morpheus disappeared from his throne in a swirl of darkness and Epiales as he had called him, walked forward.
"Now then," His voice sounded pleased, though no less troubling. "You all have such fruitful fears and terrible memories, I can't wait to play with them, so go ahead, don't keep me waiting."
"Who are you?" I asked again as I readied myself.
"Oh, I thought I did that already? I am an Oneiroi, a dream spirit, my name is Epiales," He pulled away his hood, revealing his dark, void-like body. "I am the oldest of the dreams, born from mighty Nyx herself, I am even older than Hypnos, I am your very nightmares."
Another saturday, another update.
Thank you all for reading as always, I'd greatly appreaciate a follow, favorite or especially a review.