The ride down to Tartarus was a very slow one. Crius had no way of telling the time, but after brooding over the situation for a while, he finally fell asleep.
He woke up when he suddenly got the sensation that he was speeding up. Before he could do anything more than look down, he crashed into what he guessed was the floor of Tartarus.
As he got up, before he could even take a look at his surroundings, someone came out of the shadows to approach him.
Crius was so startled that he instantly backed away before he could get a good look at whatever it was that had crawled out of the shadows. He was sure that it was a Fury or some other monster that he had read about somewhere, but whatever had approached him seemed… human.
As Crius approached the figure, he noticed that he was carrying a small oil lantern. The guy was wearing this huge cloak that hid most of his body, and there was some odd portion protruding somewhere behind him, was he keeping wings furled using that cloak? Aside from that, all Crius could notice properly was his face, which was old and worn out. One of his eyes was green and the other brown, and he had an enormous wart on his nose that Crius just couldn't take his eyes off of even though it was absolutely revolting.
The figure was stopped, and he seemed to be constantly wiping his nose. Crius really hoped the guy wouldn't offer to shake hands.
"What're you up to?" the guy asked.
"Umm, who are you?" Crius asked.
"Me? I'm Nord, first demigod son of Dionysus ever. Accepted immortality, but I did a coupla' mistakes and winded up guarding this dungeon. I saw you though, and you was all floating down like… say, that means that you're one of Zeus' servants and whatnot, right? Whatcha' doing here?" the guy asked, and he had a weird way of talking. Each word seemed to hurt Crius' ears like fingernails on a chalkboard. He could see that this guy wouldn't have many friends.
Luckily though, he was able to improvise and after a few minutes decided to go with the flow of things.
"Yes, I'm a… an envoy of Zeus. I have to check up on Prometheus' prison, so please lead me there," Crius said. Along his long descent, he had figured out that if he was going to ask any of the Titans for help, it may as well be Prometheus. From what he knew, he had been the only one of the Titans who wasn't a bloodthirsty monster, and had helped create mankind. Not to mention he was considered wisest of the Titans.
Nord seemed to be overeager to take him to wherever it was that they were going. Strangely enough, Crius didn't encounter anyone else on his way. He was sure that there were supposed to be evil spirits or prisoners or something, but all around, wherever he looked, he saw only darkness. There were no sounds either, but before he could voice a complaint, he realized that they were approaching another source of light. Like an exit.
"So, here's beyond be the prison yer lookin' for," Nord said. "I'll be going now, but just do be sure to tell Zeus a bit about my helping, you hear?"
Crius then realized that Nord had been helping him in hope of a promotion or something. He just nodded without saying anything, and once Nord had vanished into the surrounding shadows, he walked towards whatever the source of light was.
The moment he walked towards it, he saw that he was suddenly standing outside. He was somehow now on a cliff, with sunlight pouring down all around him and with a blue sky, not the dark roof of Tartarus.
Crius walked out, and walked in again. He wasn't dreaming.
There didn't seem to be anything beyond the cliff. It just ended abruptly, and whatever was at the bottom was obscured from Crius' view. He wondered if there even was a bottom.
There was no vegetation on the cliff. The only thing besides bare rock was a central structure that was, what Crius guessed, the prison. And the prisoner was dressed up in a normal suit, like one you'd expect a banker to wear, oddly enough. Prometheus, if it was Prometheus, was asleep, both his arms and legs chained to the surrounding rock. He had strange markings near his eyes, they looked like scratches and then Crius remembered that Prometheus was supposed to be punished. He shuddered, wondering what it must feel like to be tortured every single day.
Crius crept closer to the prison; he wasn't really sure what he should do. Should he wake up Prometheus? And if so, how? From whatever he had heard, the Greek gods were pretty unforgiving of even the tiniest of mistakes.
He snuck closer to examine the chains. Maybe if he broke them somehow then the god might start listening to him.
But before he could do so, as soon as he approached the chain, the prisoner woke up suddenly, and apparently those chains weren't screwed to the rocks as tightly as they were supposed to.
With surprising strength, Crius was lifted into the air. He couldn't breathe, and the prisoner glared at him with undisguised hatred.
"So, come to mock me, have you? I certainly won't be-" but whatever it was that the guy wasn't going to do, Crius would never know. Prometheus suddenly released Crius.
"You're a human," Prometheus said. "Not even a demigod."
Crius didn't bother trying to interpret whatever Prometheus had said. He took the sensible course and walked away from the prison as fast as he could. This whole thing was a mistake, he should never have-
"Wait!" Prometheus suddenly called out behind him. "You have no need to fear me! I am a friend and have always been to your race! I merely assumed that you were one of the Olympian's minions and had come to insult me."
Crius still felt the burning sensation around his throat. There was no way he was going to trust this guy. But then a nagging part of his mind asked him what he was going to do if he didn't get any information.
"Fine. But I'm certainly not going any closer," Crius said. Though this was something else he had heard in Greek stories, that monsters and gods had a way of tricking you into doing what you didn't want to, he stood his ground, because he was sure that there wasn't any other way out of this mess.
After a pause, Crius asked, "What is this place?" He probably should have asked something more relevant, but that was all that his brain could get out in that kind of situation.
"This is my new prison," Prometheus said sourly.
"New prison?" Crius asked.
"Yes. You see, I managed to escape once, but of course, I chose the wrong side of action, and Zeus ultimately punished me again by putting me here. If you're wondering, this place is still in Tartarus, and there's no way out into your world from here. This place is little more than an illusion, a dream, you might say," Prometheus said with a tone that implied that he didn't want to continue this line of discussion.
Still, Crius pressed on. "What happens if you fall off the cliff?"
"You end up back on the floor of Tartarus," Prometheus said. "Now, isn't there something a bit more important that you would like to ask me? Why are you, a mortal, here in the first place?"
Crius told Prometheus almost everything, which wasn't much. Prometheus just looked up at the sky thoughtfully for a while before replying.
"It is odd. I am supposed to be the wisest of the Titans, and my visions often tell me much that I cannot learn otherwise. But it is strange with you," Prometheus said.
Crius didn't get anything the guy was saying at all, but he could make out that he had absolutely no clue on how to help him. So his entire plan was a waste.
Prometheus seemed to read Crius' expression. "While it is true that I cannot fathom why the Olympians would suddenly wish a mortal dead, or what this sword is that they seek, there is one thing I can tell you. Often, when I receive visions, I see the future as pristinely and clearly as reality, if only for a few seconds. But for some reason, my visions of you are blurred. They are clouded, as if I am looking at them through clouded glass."
"What does that mean?" Crius said with a hint of anger in his voice. Was this guy really going to tell him something useful?
"I cannot say for sure. I can only say this: Whenever my visions have been crystal clear, it meant that they were always sure to happen. Even Zeus tried to defy them, but he was unsuccessful. Perhaps, if they are unclear, it would mean that the future around you is uncertain? Merely a guess, but quite plausible," Prometheus said. "Though it makes no sense, for visions always come true. The Fates made it so. However, on to what you should do, I would say that you should seek out Erebos and Tartarus."
"Aren't we already in Tartarus?" Crius asked.
"No, boy, Tartarus is a place as well as a deity, much like Hades. He spends most of his time in deep slumber nowadays, but you might be able to wake him up. Erebos is also a primordial deity, that of darkness itself. Your quest involves something that occurred very long ago, and I believe only the oldest beings will remember it."
"And how do I find these guys?" Crius asked.
"An offering," Prometheus said. "No one offers anything to them anymore, and so they have almost faded entirely. But…" Using whatever small mobility he had with this left hand, he reached into his coat pocket and flung something in Crius' general direction.
Crius went over to pick it up, keeping a wary eye on Prometheus. It was a small coin, and it was colored a deep shade of emerald and glittered in the sunlight. There were no special markings on it at all; it was equally flat and plain on both sides.
"That, if you're wondering, is a coin that was used long ago. You won't see much in circulation nowadays, but that coin is pretty valuable to the gods. Some heroes would go on quest just to find them to offer it to their immortal parents," Prometheus said. "If that doesn't wake them up, I don't know what will. Just be sure to offer it at the right time and place. Don't ask me when that is, my vision was too obscured to tell, but I guess you'll know."
Crius wasn't sure what he should say. Thank you was a bit too much, as all that he had gotten was a coin after this guy tried to strangle him. Instead, he just decided to leave.
"I will tell you one more thing," Prometheus said. "I am often called the God of Crafty Counsel, and people often assume that I lie to gain what I want. But what I'm about to tell you is no lie, I wish you the best of luck in your quest. Also, I saw a vision of us meeting again, though it was foggy. Normally I would say 'We will meet again,' to a hero, but perhaps the more appropriate thing in this situation is to say, 'If you wish it, we will meet again,' It is odd, but I seem to be getting the feeling that strangely enough, you will end up choosing your own Fate."
Crius felt a thousand thoughts rebound inside his head as Prometheus said that, but he decided to work on them later, and walked towards the exit, back into the darkness. Back into Tartarus.