Chapter 8: The Golden Fleece

Ares was sleeping when he heard a noise coming from outside the cave. He sprang to his feet, turning into a wolf and crouching down, ready to fight. It growled angrily but then relaxed as it saw the white Cerberus. The creature walked inside, followed by Athena and the avatar.

"What are you three doing here?" The wolf asked as it looked at them.

The Avatar of Mars looked at the wolf. It walked up to the god and spoke. "Asclepius had nothing, but there is a way to help her. And we thought you would have come up with something. You have anything?" the avatar asked.

Ares nodded. "The Golden Fleece. It will not bring Flamma out of her coma or heal her wounds but it can stop her from dying."

"The Golden Fleece?" Argentum asked, who had come out of his Cerberus form.

"It's the wool of a golden-hair winged ram, located in Colchis. It's in a grove there that is sacred to me," Ares said as it paced the cave.

Articulos nodded and it turned to Argentum. "If we find that, then at least she'll be alive," it said. Argentum nodded. That would be great. He looked at the avatar, who closed its eyes and concentrated, trying to find out where Colchis was. it opened its eyes and looked at the others. "Colchis is located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea," it said. "I can teleport us there."

They all nodded, and the avatar closed its eyes. With a bright flash of light, everyone, including the griffin, disappeared. A few minutes later, they appeared in Colchis.

"So, where's the Fleece?" Argentum asked the avatar. It looked at him.

"Up ahead. There will be monsters guarding it so be careful."

Argentum nodded and became a Cerberus. It growled and walked forwards as Ares, in his true form, followed it. The avatar did also as Athena stayed behind with the griffin.

So, Ares...you never told me that you were married and had a child, the Cerberus said as it looked at the wolf.

The wolf growled a little and it nodded. "I didn't want to tell you, because I was afraid news of our son would soon leak out. We needed to announce it when we thought the time was right" it said. The Cerberus nodded. It continued to walk as the wolf followed it. The two creatures eventually came to a cave, and walked inside. "Careful," Ares said. It sniffed the air and looked around. "There are many creatures here guarding the Fleece."

The Cerberus nodded, and took a step forward. At once, two wolves jumped out of the dark, snarling. Ares growled. It lunged at them and howled, clawing at the two animals. The wolf fell under his attacks. The two advanced through the cave, taking out the monsters that faced them. Mars' avatar prevented any ambushes that came from behind them.

"Let's go," the avatar said. It looked at the Cerberus and wolf, then drew its sword and advanced through the caves. They finally reached a dead end. They looked around, but there was nothing there. "I sense it...but I don't see it!" the avatar said, frustrated.

Ares growled. It looked at the avatar, who sighed and closed its eyes. A bright aura appeared around the avatar as it concentrated. Suddenly, a bright light appeared on the wall.

What the hell? he heard the Cerberus yell.

The wolf walked up to the door and sniffed. "There's a secret room in here," it said, and walked through the door. The Cerberus followed him, as did the avatar. They all gasped in shock as they were transported to a garden. A statue of Ares, in his human form, stood in the center. Ares closed its eyes and walked up to it. The statue shown brightly, and split. As it opened, showing that the inside was hollow, something fell out of it, landing on the wolf's snout. The fleece faded into its body. Ares grew to its full size and looked at the others, its voice booming. "We have the Fleece," it said. "Come; let's get back to the griffin and Athena."

They ran back as fast as they could. "Please don't be dead yet, please don't be dead," Argentum was saying to himself. Once they got there, the griffin was breathing even more slowly. Ares closed its eyes as it glowed brightly. A light shone from the wolf and hit the griffin. Its wounds healed instantly, but it was still in a coma; the Fleece couldn't bring it out of that. Argentum sighed; at least Flamma wouldn't die.

"What now?" Argentum asked.

"The griffin will be fine," Ares said as it looked at the Cerberus. "Flamma will come out of a coma within a month."

"Well thank the gods it's a month. So, next up. Maybe we should try to save Caudus now," Articulos suggested.

Ares looked at the Avatar. "That's going to be tough," the wolf told it. "We don't even know where they are or what they're doing."

"Well let's just hope it's nothing bad," Athena said.