User:Arrow Quivershaft/Gathering the Team

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{{#ifeq: User |User| Gathering the Team | Arrow Quivershaft/Gathering the Team}}[[Title::{{#ifeq: User |User| Gathering the Team | Arrow Quivershaft/Gathering the Team}}| ]]
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It was the morning of the 20th. Dawn and I’d made good time from Corinth, even pushing a bit after dark during the night, using some stealth. Just being by myself really helped in a few ways. We were coming down the mountain, approaching the edge of the grove by now. I had the data from the archives tucked down deep in my pack to protect it, and was carrying two copies. I’d also tried to memorize some of it when I had time.

I had spoken to Dawn of my dream the night of the 18th, and she had listened, and offered her opinion that it sounded like a vision...that it might be Nick’s soul going to the Underworld. But she admitted it was a total guess, and neither of us could really do anything without getting to the grove. It still ate at me in the back of my mind, what I’d seen, but that was all it could really do. I just hoped it wasn’t true what I’d seen...but I had a nagging feeling that it was all too real.

As we reached the edge of the grove, Blossom was there waiting for us. Dawn saw her from her orbit above, and swooped down to land next to me. I didn’t like the feel of this, but I didn’t have much option. I waved to Blossom as I approached, feeling suitably grim.

Blossom’s expression was as dark as my thoughts. “Welcome back,” she greeted us, but without her customary enthusiasm.

"Hello, Blossom. Are you well?" I said. I waited for her answer, expecting fears to be confirmed.

"Well enough." she said, clearly trying to dismiss the question. "Did you find anything?" she asked bluntly. She was...all business. Very direct and to the point.

"We didn't hire any mercenaries, no.” I stumbled a bit, taken aback by Blossom’s directness. “We got some news that we figure was a bit more important..." I went straight to the point. "Is Nick alright?"

Blossom shook her head. "No, he is not, His fate is trying to be decided right now."

"I expected about as much..." I said, trying to sound confident; if I sounded uncertain, Blossom would be completely deflated. So that was his soul I’d seen...he would be in the Underworld. Fate being decided...what did that mean?

"That is why we must leave very promptly if we are to get to him in time." Blossom said with a nod. All business, indeed.

"That's the same that I thought.” Another bluff. “I got some extra supplies for the trip." That was true.

"Do you have guide to Hades?" Blossom asked, again, very directly.

I took a deep breath. "I took the liberty of getting one, yes."

"Which is to say, me." Dawn said to Blossom. I nodded in agreement.

Blossom looked at Dawn, quirking a brow but just shook her head without saying anything. "Then, should we get ready to go?" she asked.

"We should, yes.” I agreed. “Need to get there before they make a decision."

"They won't." Dawn said.

I looked to Dawn. "Explain, please?"

Blossom nodded in agreement with Dawn. "They are confused by him.”

"I mean it. Time gets stretched and folded down there, and they take longer to decide anything than is comprehensible." Dawn elaborated. "That's why you don't ask them for anything. By the time the fates decide that you can borrow a toy, you already need dentures."

I nodded slowly, understanding. Somewhat. I’m used to time being a fairly constant thing, I guess. Luxuries.

"I still want him out of there soon, he does not deserve such a place as that." Blossom said.

"We've got a body, we've got a decision snarl... We might just have a real shot to make this happen." Dawn sounded...maybe just a touch enthusiastic.

"I am still troubled by something...I have been thinking about it since yesterday." Blossom said.

"Ok...what is it?" I asked.

"If Nick is down in Hades realm, where is Nkosi?" Blossom asked.

"That, I can answer...he's dead." I confirmed.

"I know that,” Blossom said, somehow politely. “I meant his half of Nicks soul...is it back where it belongs?"

"Oh...I don't know that." I said, looking to Dawn. She wingshrugged.

"Then perhaps we will have to ask, once we go there." Blossom resolved.

"He might be in the Egyptian Realm, they might be together; that's a good idea." I said. What else could I say?

Blossom shook her head. "No, my dream told me where to find Nick, he is under Greece."

"The Underworld." I stated.

Blossom nodded. "Yes."

"Dream?" Dawn asked, eyeing me.

"Yes, from Selene." Blossom nodded.

"I don't quite follow." Dawn said.

"My dream showed Nick standing in a room with a bunch of others, as his fate was being decided by these fates and another person." Blossom explained.

I browquirked. "That matches up with what I've heard sometimes..." And seen in the archives.

Dawn was the realist. "Alright... So what do we /do/ now that we know this?"

"We collect our things and head for the Hades realm." Blossom stated simply.

"Easier said than done, Blossom." I said, a bit edgily.

"Why is that?" Blossom asked.

I looked to Dawn, hoping she’d back me up a bit. "Monsters, for one. There will most likely be fighting."

"Yes, and I do not foresee a problem with that. You have been there before, yes?" she asked me.

The confidence was cute, but worrying. "No. I have not been to the Underworld yet. Dawn has, though."

"You don't see a problem with fighting for your life?" Dawn asked seriously.

"My life isn't important, Nicks is.” Blossom stated. “Is there not a way we can go around the monsters or be granted an audience?"

"You don't want an audience with them." Dawn said. "By the time they decided whether to grant us an audience, we'll all be dead of old age."

"Alright, can we go around the monsters?" Blossom pressed.

"Not really." Dawn said, shaking her head.

"Then there is no alternative." Blossom said, crossing her arms.

"One stormwing might not cut it." Dawn noted, seeing where Blossom was going.

"Then we shall bring Alex with us." Blossom nodded.

"That's the stormwing that won't cut it." Dawn explained patiently.

"Then why did you not hire mercenaries?" Blossom asked.

"There's just as many available in Corinth or Sparta as Lecci.” Dawn said, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Then we shall hire some there. Can we not discuss this on the way?" Blossom said, clearly impatient.

Dawn looked at me. It was nice to still have her in my corner.

I paused, considering it. "We can. If you desire to go." I said.

"I do desire that, yes. I will not stand by and do nothing if i can help." Blossom resolved.

I nodded. I couldn’t blame her...I’d have done the same if it was my parents or Dawn. "Then we shall pack and leave either today or tomorrow.” I said. “We’ll get Alex and get ready.” I started deeper into the glade, looking for the resident stormwing. Dawn nodded to Blossom, and followed along with me.

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After finding and catching Alex up, Dawn had gone off to hunt some food outside of the grove. The vegetarian fare in the grove really didn’t sustain her properly. It can’t have been good for Alex either, but he seemed to have already eaten for now. I was just resting on a rock, recovering. I’d pushed myself hard the last few days and it was catching up with me. And I was gonna be pushing myself more for the foreseeable future, so I should rest now while I had a chance. Alex was brooding nearby on another rock, but for the moment, he wasn’t saying anything.

After a while, Blossom came in on us. She looked a bit calmer than she was when we’d met her this morning, but she still had somewhat of a ragged appearance. “Hello.” She said.

“Good afternoon, Blossom.” I said cordially.

Alex looked up as well. "Hey Blossom."

"How are you all?" Blossom asked.

"I'm ok." I said.

"Okay." Alex said.

Blossom nodded. "Good, i thought we could talk a bit about what we’re going to do."

Alex ruffled his feathers, seeming to wake up a bit. "Oh yeah..."

"We need a plan, yes." I agreed.

"Well, where do we have to go to get access to the underworld?” Blossom asked. “Which places are close enough to hire people to come with us?"

I’d discussed this with Dawn a bit. Turns out that one of the known reflection points was in Athens, in an Athene temple, so it’d be easier for us to use. We’d have to get better directions once there. "You need to visit a specialized oracle, who will reflect you into the alternate realm of the Underworld. Once down there, navigation down the Styx is difficult and hazardous.” I took a breath. “But we'd be near Athens, which means that yes, we'd be able to hire mercenaries. Although for this job, they probably won't run cheap."

"What's this reflecting?" Alex asked.

"I will hire as many as we can." Blossom said.

Alex looked to Blossom. "Don't we want to hang onto our money?"

"Nick is more important than our money." Blossom said. When she set a goal, she meant it.

"Okay." Alex said with a nod. He seemed to agree, based on his tone. In either case, he decided to change the subject. “What’s this reflecting?” he asked.

“...I don't know much about the reflecting, that's what Dawn said they have to do. She's been down there, I haven't." I said, a bit sheepishly.

"Where is Dawn by the way?" Alex inquired.

"Off perhaps flying, or eating?" Blossom guessed with a shrug.

"Out getting some food, yes." I confirmed. Alex nodded unconsciously.

"So, we can make preparations to go to Athens then?" Blossom said, a bit excitedly.

"We can. Although I have a few warnings and issues to bring up." I cautioned.

"What is that?" Blossom asked. Alex made a thoughtful noise, but said nothing.

"First. I'll remind you again before we enter, but while in the Underworld, you are NOT to eat or drink ANYTHING without mine or Dawn's express permission." I said. My tone of voice was clear that there wasn’t any debate allowed on this. “Preferably both of us.”

Blossom tilted her head a bit. “Why, what could happen?"

"You could be forced to stay down there, or other bad things might happen." I explained. Alex nodded to that.

Blossom re-aligned her head and nodded. "Alright...anything else?"

"This werewolf. I got a name while I was out of the realms..."

"Aaron?" Alex interjected.

"Aaron Dawrey, yes." I confirmed. "He's being sponsored by 3R."

"What is that?" Blossom asked, as Alex groaned. Seemed he didn’t like the guy.

"Reuters Realms Report. The Realms news division of the news media conglomerate Reuters. Basically, they fund his travels in exchange for rights to his stories." I explained.

"What does that have to do with us?" Blossom asked.

"You know him, right?" I said.

Blossom nodded "Yes, I believe so...why is that an issue?"

"Well, meant to mention it in case you wanted to meet up with him or somesuch." I said.

"We do." Alex nodded.

"Yes, we could use his help." Blossom said.

I nodded. "Well, we'll have to see what we can do. He kinda fell off the radar.”

"If he happens to find us then i will ask for his help, but i believe we should leave promptly." Blossom said. Man, was she ever in a hurry.

"I agree." I said, not sure what else to say.

"Okay." Alex said. Seems he was in the same spot.

Blossom seemed to take that as an invitation to continue. "I will make my preparations tonight, so that we can leave tomorrow. But I have one more thing to ask."

"Shoot." I said.

"What do we do with Nicks' body?” Blossom asked.

"Well, he should be safe enough here." Alex mused.

I honestly didn’t know. "We may need to bring it with us. I’ll ask Dawn.”

Alex nodded. "Ah, okay."

Suddenly, a shadow passed over us. I looked up and saw Dawn circling lower, just having come through the canopy of the grove. She was coming in for a landing.

“Speak of the devil,” I said. I waved to her with my left hand.

Blossom tilted her head again. "Speak of who?"

"It's a saying, Blossom.” I explained. “‘Speak of the devil, and he'll appear.’ In this case, we were mentioning Dawn, and here she is.”

"Oh...I see." Blossom said.

Dawn dropped down, taking up a spot a few yards from Alex. There was a bit of blood on her chest, but I doubted it was hers. "Hey...What'd I miss?"

"A bit of planning for the trip." I said.

"Good hunting?" Alex asked. Blossom stared a bit at the blood, but didn’t say anything.

"Got what I needed.” Dawn said to Alex. “Ah, so where are we at?"

"What to do with the body." I said.

"Umm ... what to do with /Nick/. He's not quite dead." Alex said, sounding a bit offended.

That had been a crass way of putting it. "Apologies."

"It's alright...but yes we do need to discuss this." Blossom said.

"Leave it here." Dawn said. "You need to bring the soul /out/."

"Well, i suppose that would be best then we would not have to protect him..." Blossom posited.

"And haul him around the place the whole time." Alex added.

"Dawn's the expert now, not me." I said, nodding to her.

"Don't worry, we won't fire you yet." Alex said with a weak smile.

"Then we shall leave him here. How fast can we get to Athens?" Blossom asked.

"Two days with you and me, Blossom. Here's my suggestion...Alex and Dawn leave and start screening mercenaries in Athens while we travel." I said, looking around to see what people thought.

"Travel to where?" Blossom asked.

"Athens." I reminded her.

“Then why split up, if we’re both going to Athens?"

"Because Alex and Dawn can get there in a few hours, Blossom."

"Oh..right..wings." Blossom nodded, getting my point.

"Exactly. They could probably make it tonight." I confirmed, then looked back. Blossom fell silent.

Alex seized the opening, turning to Dawn and asking, "Nate talked about an oracle Reflecting us. What's that?"

"A reflection is..." Dawn paused. "Well... Hard to explain. The underworld is...It's like stepping through the mirror."

"Ummm, like here but not quite?" Alex queried.

Blossom nodded at the answer. "If you could leave before us, it would be greatly appreciated; I must go and make preparations now." she stood

"That's it, then? We're going?" Dawn said. I nodded to Dawn.

Blossom nodded. "Yes...thank you for doing so." Then she hurried off like someone had just lit a fire under her tail.

“So, do you need to rest a bit?” Alex asked Dawn.

"Not really... Bloods kinda still up." she replied.

"Okay, then shall we leave right now?" Alex asked.

"No.” Dawn answered, looking to me. “Wait for morning. Nate’ll have instructions for us."

"Aah, okay." Alex nodded. He sighed. “I'll go catch some sleep then..."

• Dawn nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

"Good luck." Alex said, and headed off to find a nice quiet place to sleep.

Dawn looked at me after they both left. “Gods, Nate. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Me too,” I said.

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We left the following morning. Alex and Dawn went ahead as Sprout and I travelled the roads. It took us some time, since the roads were washed out, but we managed to make it to Athens in four days, after accounting for some delays. We then spent a few days gathering supplies and getting info, and getting the final approval on the merc.

Timmy was a British human merc we hired, bearing a Zeus mark. Judging from his accent, you would’ve thought he was from New England, but his parents apparently had emigrated from the US some time before he was born. He was a big guy, bigger than me, and knew his way around blades. He had some solid credentials as a bodyguard and escort, and critically had done underworld runs before. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, he was DEFINITELY quite full of himself (Dawn nicknamed him “Hot Shit”), and he wasn’t exactly cheap either. That said, he filled the role we needed of a combat specialist and meatshield, so in the end he got the nod.

I’d also picked up a hauberk and a sword from the local RI outpost on loan, since I figured I might need the extra protection. The hauberk fit me fairly well given it was a standard model. It was made of anodized aluminum, 2-in-8 chain mail. It would’ve been nice to have had custom, but it was the best I could ask for on such short notice. The sword, on the other hand, was a sword. It was actually a pretty high quality item, but I wasn’t worried about the sword as much as the skill of it’s wielder. Swordplay was never a high-study area of mine.

So after we’d gotten everything situated, made an agreement(Tim wanted half up front!), and got all the packing done, it happened that on the morning of August 29th, two humans, a fox, a harpy, and a stormwing headed into an Athene temple...in fact, the same one in which I was originally marked in. The former three of us had a great deal of supplies loaded onto us; by now I was quite a bit more buff than when I’d started. Normally my runs didn’t last this long and the constant workout was good for my body. Dawn had a small satchel on her as well, but it only held a very small amount of gear.

Once we got in, we got asked our business. I was the frontman for our group’s communications, as I was the Athene mark. After I made my intentions clear, we got herded down below into the underground levels of the temple. I’d never been down here, so I glanced around as I was down there. We were escorted the whole way, though, so I didn’t get to take that good of a look at anything. Eventually, after going down a LONG way, we emerged into a room that was pretty much stark empty. There was just some (magical) lighting on the walls, and a pair of large marble Athene statues. Between the two statues and held up between them was a massive polished sheet of silver.

We stood there for a few minutes, before what I recognized as a local high priest came down, accompanied by another man. After they got in and got to the front of our group, the high priest spoke...in Greek. So the other man was a translator. We exchanged pleasantries and were asked about our mission, and then we got down to business.

“He requests that all five of you stand before the mirror.” the translator said, interpreting in real-time.

I went over and stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection. I can see why they called it a mirror, the silver was polished perfectly and flawlessly. I was shortly joined by the rest of my party, as I watched them in the mirror. I looked back to the translator once I saw them all, and nodded.

"Now, stare directly into the eyes of your reflections, and do not look away." he instructed.

I looked into ‘my’ eyes, staring. I blinked occasionally, but kept the focus staring ahead, feeling...a bit silly, to be honest. I counted mentally in my head, hoping that nothing had gone wrong. It was maybe a minute or so later that I got a feeling of what seemed to be freefall. Like the ground had just dropped out from under me. My hands shot up reflexively, but the feeling was over before they even moved.

Suddenly, the mirror background changed to pitch black. My eyes got wide as I saw that. There was still light coming from behind us, but none from the mirror. I felt that freefall sensation again, and the darkness in the mirror shimmered, then took on the appearance of the temple room. But now it was... different. Reversed. Like I was looking through a window at a copy of myself (and my companions, for that matter), rather than a mirror. My peripheral vision indicated it was totally dark around me.

The translator who had been off to the side still looked like himself. He gave me a thumbs-up, and then the mirror shimmered again, the window fading, leaving the mirror nothing more than another immaculate polished sheet of silver.

Preceded by: Foreboding Dreams

Three Pantheons{{#if:| (First: {{{first}}})}}

Succeeded by: Enter the Underworld