The knowledge that the ashen-skinned lunatic was out there had quite an effect on Zagreus. He spent less and less time lounging around the House of Hades or annoying his father by deliberately buying new drapes for the halls and changing them whenever he got bored. Instead, he threw himself headlong out into the twisting maze-like underworld, hoping to defeat the man who had killed him so many times. And who promptly killed him a few times more.
Though it must be said, the knowledge that his infernal armaments were thirsty for the blood of the titans and his father was offering some of that still-liquid relic blood as a bounty upon the Ghost of Sparta might just have been contributing to his rashness.
"Actually, a thought," Zagreus called out to the massively oversized floating gorgon head that was battered and had lost sight in one eye from his punches. "Time out, time out - hey! Stop that! I said time out!"
The monster did not listen to his imploring plees, perhaps because he had beaten it brutally with bronze-clad fists empowered by Dionysus and thus the phrase 'punch-drunk' was rather more literal than usual.
Throwing himself to the left of a hissing serpent's strike, nimble Zagreus ducked onto the gorgon's guard, and with a terrible leap he throw a devastating uppercut into the jaw of the floating head. The blow struck with the force of the ocean, and just as Poseidon's domain can toss a trimere around like a child's toy, so too did Zagreus's fist send the gorgon's head into the lava of the ever-burning phlegethon.
"I want you to think about what you've done," he called after it, as it sank into the molten rock. "Honestly. You're embarrassing Dusa!"
There was no response, save for a few bubbles. But Zagreus's attention was drawn to the violet pillar of light that fell from the far-above ceiling. From that light appeared the figure of Dionysus. He would have been towering had he not been sprawled out on the ground, and his easy grin and affable nature was always a welcome relief in these times.
"Whoa, Zag, just caught glimpses of that through all these damn shadows, but you rock, man. You gotta show that floating head what for! I tell you, when you make your way to the surface, you won't have to fight any more of these things. It'll be nothing but parties and fun."
"Dionysus mate, can you hear me?" Zagreus called out, though his hopes were none too high.
"Let me tell you this, I know some girls, and man, they're crazy in bed. Also, crazy out of bed. But you're not like Orpheus, so I'm sure you've got nothing to worry about. How about I hook you up with some of them?" He blinked. "Did you say something? Sorry, the connection down to the Underworld is just plain awful at the best of times."
"Yes! Yes, I did! Dio mate, do you know anything about the Ghost of Sparta?"
Dionysus screwed his features up. "Part of what, Zag?"
"I said Sparta! Ghost of Sparta!"
"I'm sorry, this line is just too bad and I'm too hungover to try to improve the signal. But hey, Zag, keep it up, and remember to spare some time for you-time, right? You gotta take better care of yourself. You've been asking us all for more boons recently and while we're all rooting for our favourite cousin, you gotta think about yourself. And to that end, I offer you a boon of strength renewed. You know, so you get to stay strong and don't let all the ghosts and monsters down there wear you down. Hoping I see you soon!"
"Yeah, yeah," Zagreus muttered, as the glowing light sank into him bringing with it a heady brief euphoria like he was two drinks into the evening. The power of the god of wine numbed his aches and pains, closing his wounds and getting him ready for another night on the town. "Thanks!" he called out to the darkness, just in case Dionysus might catch him.
Damn. So close. Sometimes there were just these moments when the Olypmians seemed to be able to catch a glimpse of him, and even catch fragments of conversation - but the fragments were seemingly almost maliciously chosen to prevent any true conversation. He wasn't paranoid; he just knew Nyx. She - bless her - was protecting him, but that protection was getting in the way of trying to fix this current issue. And he knew for certain that he wouldn't be able to change her mind about it, and so he hadn't even bothered to say anything about it to her. It'd only hurt her feelings if he seemed not to appreciate everything that Mother Night had done and was doing for him.
He found a skull barge that helped carry him further across the burning lake, but as he stepped foot on the next isle the air suddenly stilled and despite the sweltering heat a heavy chill settled upon him. In a flash of light a figure was before him, dark-robed and scythe-bearing who had not been there before.
"Death comes," intoned the arrival.
"Zagreus shows up too," quoth the imputent son of Hades.
The shoulders of the chthonic god of death slumped. "That's rude. I'm making time to help you and that's how you greet me."
"Well, actually, I think you can help me, Than."
"Of course I can. That's why I'm here." He spun his scythe. "And here come the wretches."
"That's not what I…" Well, Thanatos wasn't exactly wrong. The servants of his father were upon them, and so Zagreus threw himself into the fray; a dashing, flitting figure empowered by wine and the wine-dark sea while beside him Death slowly and deliberately reaped his toll. And when all was said and done, Zagreus had twelve kills to Thanatos's nine, making him the winner in their little recurring contest.
"They never seem to learn, do they?" Thanatos said gravely.
"That they don't." Zagreus stretched, his arms above his head. "But actually, Than, that wasn't the help I was looking for.
"I can't spend much longer here. You'll get us both in trouble with your father. And you might be fine with that, but I'm not."
"Actually, Than, I'm working for the House at the moment."
"You. Working for the House." Death crossed his arms. "Don't make me laugh. Am I supposed to believe that you've given up on this escaping nonsense?"
"I can do work for the House at the same time as I break out and plunder my father's treasuries. Honestly, given pretty much everything I plunder goes back into the House - well, or into your brother's pockets…"
Thanatos scowled. "My brother's greed knows no limits. I'm going to need to have words with him."
"Well, as he said last time we spoke, 'Ghhhhhhhhh', I don't think you're going to have much luck there." Zagreus rolled his shoulders. "Like I was saying, Than, pretty much everything I plunder goes back into the House. Making it a more liveable place for the rest of us. Did you notice there's a bust of some philosopher or something in the east wing now? I bought it."
"I saw it. You don't even know who it is?"
"Look, having statues of old philosophers around the place makes everything more cultured."
"You don't have any culture. I'm surprised you even know the word."
"I do too! If you don't know who he actually was, then that's something that makes you think." Zagreus placed his hand on his chest, tilting back his head so he could try to look down his nose at the notably-taller Thanatos. "And when it comes down to it, isn't that really honouring the philosopher bloke in the most meaningful way?"
"... I can't even start to explain how you're wrong there. You're a fool."
"Words from a man who can't defeat my logic."
"There is no logic, Zagreus, you're just making mouth noises." Thanatos shook his head, a lock of grey hair escaping from his hood. "Whatever."
Bouncing on his toes, Zagreus looked the other man - his friend, too, for all Than denied it and called him stupid - up and down. "Actually, I do have a question. It's related to the important work I'm doing by tracking down a dangerous prisoner who's trying to escape."
"You mean there's one other than you?"
"See, that's the difference between you and Meg, Than. She'd have made some hurtful comment like 'oh, so not like you, because you're not dangerous'. But you offered me some respect. And for that, I thank you."
"Zagreus, did you have a point?"
"Okay. Bat in the dark here, but you wouldn't happen to know anything about the Ghost of Sparta, would you?"
And wouldn't you know it, but Thanatos shuffled and looked faintly guilty. Or possibly concerned, but it was usually hard to tell with him. In the prince's quite certain opinion, Thanatos was not an emotionally open bloke. "Why are you asking?"
"So you do know something."
"I… heard some things about him when working up on the surface, okay. Nothing more. He used to work for your friend," oh, there was an edge of bitterness, "Ares."
"Achilles says that from what I've seen of him, he's probably got some divine parentage."
Thanatos gave a shrug. "The man would know. You're too young to remember the Trojan War, but the various progeny of the Olympians were much more common back then. A lot of them died then. It's how Achilles wound up in the service of the House."
"I… don't suppose you could ask Ares about that for me?"
"I don't see Ares very often. Not since that whole business with Sisyphus."
"Look, Than, it's… it's kind of a problem," Zagreus said, lowering his voice. "He keeps beating me. And of course I'm going to keep on trying, but he's nearly out of Asphodel. And once he's into Elysium, he's nearly out. It won't help the House if someone escapes. That's why you're all trying to stop me, right? And the problem here is that this Ghost of Sparta bloke is a murderous psychopath who's a lot better at killing people than I am. I just need something to work with."
"No promises." Thanatos paused. "I'll see if there's something I can do."
"Thanks, Than. You're the best."
"Not for you, you fool. I'm doing it for the House." But there was a faint colouring on death's cheeks as he vanished.
Zagreus was grinning as he headed up through Asphodel. The grin didn't last as the Ghost of Sparta proved to only be angered by being knocked back into lava, and nearly the last thing that Zagreus heard as he died was the man screaming about how he tired of the trickery of the gods.
The last thing followed shortly afterwards, after Zagreus had made a perhaps ill-advised remark about having heard that before and asking if he wanted to expand on the reasons for his grudge.
"You know," Zageus said, as he pulled himself out of the Stryx, "no one ever says how loud a broken skull is."
"Maybe you should get a helmet! At least that way he'd hurt his hands as he kills you," Hypnos contributed helpfully.
Yes, in many ways Thanatos was much more helpful than his younger brother.