A strange mist, colored by flecks of red fire, arose from the ground, surrounding Tyler’s form.
The companions looked on in shock. Eira stared at him and immediately tightly hugged his body. Tyler hugged her back as the strange fog drew quickly brought both down into the ground.
A blackness encapsulated the two though the mage felt himself being drawn to a certain destination.
“Guys, what’s happening?”
“A sort of teleportation spell, sire. Though a bit crude. It’s not instantaneous,” answered Hal.
Leave it to Hal to be technologically discerning. And distracted, thought the mage.
“I am afraid that’s obvious to everyone, Hal. Where are we going and who is doing this?” asked Tyler, making clear he wanted to be answered.
“No idea, sire. Though it appears to be one of the underworld dimensions of myth. The taint in the energy used shows that fact. As to the perpetrator, it could be anyone ruling the many dimensions of the dead,” Hal replied.
“Just be ready. And don’t wait for any instructions from me if there’s an imminent danger to all of us. We’ll find out soon enough who is doing this,” instructed the mage as he clutched Eira tighter. The forest spirit stayed quiet, though Tyler could feel her gathering magical energy.
That’s my girl.
The darkness around them abruptly disappeared.
Tyler saw they were both flying at great speed and height above a blackened and devastated landscape torn by numerous flaming lava flows and angry volcanoes. The sky was darkened by multiple large columns of smoke coiling up into the ashen skies. He looked in the direction where they were flying. An enormous black crater, its sides ominously marked by fiery geysers and gushing sulfuric fumes, waited for them.
“Where are we, kerasti?” asked Eira, the fear in her voice palpable as she took in the desolate and frightening sight.
“If I am not mistaken, this must be Tartarus. No other underworld fits the scenes we are seeing. Way below Hades, the Greek underworld,” replied Tyler. And it appears we’re heading toward its darkest depths. But the last observation remained unuttered. He didn’t want Eira to be more frightened than she already was.
The pair dizzyingly dove down the black crater and again blackness surrounded them. Tyler could see a pinprick of light ahead.
“We are nearing our destination,” he told Eira.
“Good,” came the reply. “I am tired of being afraid.”
A flash of intense light engulfed them and the two suddenly found themselves in a brightly lit cavern. In front of them, seated in a chair made of stone, was a bearded old man, wearing a ragged and dirty chiton.
“Hail, First Mage. I would stand up, but the effort of bringing you here has exhausted me for the moment. But what is this? A beautiful forest spirit from Skaney? Quite powerful too, I may say. No wonder my power was tested! I was bringing two!” laughed the stranger who then bowed in the direction of Eira.
“Our greetings too, stranger,” replied Tyler. “You have the better of us as we do not know your name. Nor does a gracious host suddenly grab his guests without warning or permission.”
“My apologies, First Mage. You see, I can’t leave this place yet. But I believe that time might be nearing. And I wanted to see and talk to the mortal who had thwarted many of my plans, indirectly and directly.”
“Thwarted? I don’t even know you!” replied the mage sarcastically. The slightly condescending tone of the being was getting on his nerves.
“My name then. Once upon a time, mortals knew me. Praised me,” the seated figure mused, eyes taking a faraway look. “Loved me for what I and mine did for them. Now, I hear they curse my name. Ah, the lies the gods above would weave!”
“You still haven’t answered me, you know,” Tyler reminded him.
“You’ll know it eventually. But remember this, First Mage. My sons and I fought for mortals before and were punished for it. This… this deepest part of Tartarus was our reward. The fools! They only made it possible for us to meet beings who hated them more than we do!”
“Fought for mortals? And you say you’re the one responsible for those schemes resulting in the deaths of so many mortals?”
“Not all of those plots. Even I couldn’t manage the will of some powerful beings. Though I could, in some small way, guide their desires toward the results I seek.”
“And what would those be? Another attempt to rule Adar?”
“Nothing so mundane, First Mage. The liberation of mortals from the shackles of ignorance clamped on them by the so-called pantheons is a worthy goal, is it not?” smiled the entity.
“Yet you still haven’t answered me why so many died because of your scheming. I would guess that undead plague was your doing. Probably other troubles which had buffeted the world above. Even Loki’s plotting,” accused Tyler.
“Ah. Innocent casualties in war are a necessary consequence, First Mage. Especially when the stakes are high enough. The plague was a necessary diversion to assist Loki in his plans, without his knowledge, of course—though I believe he credits Echidna and her friends with the feat. It goes without saying, I have asked the Titan to play along. As to Loki, I wouldn’t touch that trickster with a dory. And the other schemes? Suffice it to say you’ve blunted most of them.”
“Then why am I here? Revenge?”
“And risk the wrath of the Ones who set the divine rules? No, I am not that foolhardy. But you were bound to find out later. What I want is for you to pick a side in this conflict – the
