Amdirlain's PoV - Hades - Crete

Amdirlain waited near the closed gate, aware of the throbbing sour notes from her destroyed arm. Only when the sour notes eased did she move to the open floor area of the amphitheatre, checking for signs among the benches of where Medusa and Damon had gone. Dried blood stains, the same greenish hue as the Colchian dragon, were the only signs of their departure, so Amdirlain settled on a bench.

Medusa asked Damon about making knives from the Colchian Dragon's fangs.

As she relaxed on the bench, an inland breeze swirled in the amphitheatre, the ocean scent mixed with wood smoke and faint hints of cooking food. Those and other assorted odours from the city almost drowned out the ocean.

"Hestia."

The silvery pane appeared again and showed the goddess sitting at a polished marble table. Hestia stared at Amdirlain in relief, though her Mediterranean skin tone paled as she examined Amdirlain. "What have you been fighting? I can sense your recent injuries. You lost an arm, plus how much skin and flesh?"

"A bit," Amdirlain shrugged. "I heal fast and got stronger from the fun."

"Am?!" chided Hestia. "Do you have to joke about such injuries?"

"A few things happened, and I don't feel the injuries. I pushed my Protean up a hundred and thirty-seven levels between the preparations and the actual fighting itself, so I'm much tougher."

"That's not a comfort. Do you have privacy?"

"As far as I can tell."

"Would you entrust me to secure your vicinity?"

"If you can do so from Laurelin without endangering yourself on Hades's traps."

Her detection spell array showed silvery threads extending from the pane and keeping clear of Amdirlain. In a blur, they wove a dome twenty metres across.

"Nothing should see or hear you now; the dome's exterior is just projecting an image of your sitting here alone." Hestia leaned forward, and her voice softened as if sharing confidences. "I got your messages to Sarah. She was relieved to get news from you and will investigate the situation on Qil Tris."

"Thanks for relaying the messages. Did she say anything about blue dragons?"

"Yes, they're all dead, but only those on the border that got involved. Your injuries aside, how are things progressing?"

"I'm over halfway there. I've got five more trials to complete."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Worry lines formed around Hestia's eyes.

"Not unless you know how to get the trials to send me somewhere easy." A teasing smile flitted across Amdirlain's lips. "Is there anywhere I can get magical texts around here?"

Hestia frowned in confusion. "Only in Hecate's library, but I thought you had a massive library."

"I wasn't expecting to be cut off from it so effectively," admitted Amdirlain. "I've some crystals with me, but they're not as extensive as I'd like."

"Is it possible for Thea to come in through the siege lines? If Sarah can prepare more crystals, Thea could bring them to you."

"I'm not sure I want her here." Precognition stirred icily along Amdirlain's spine.

"She wouldn't act against you," reassured Hestia. "She feels obligated to you for your help in the Maze."

Amdirlain raised a hand for her to stop. "I freed Medusa. If they clash, you know whose side I'll take."

"A shameful act. That makes things harder, and I'm unsure who else I could send or contact who would know Hades so well," sighed Hestia.

I still need to study all the memory crystals Eleftherios provided, but that's information for the Abyss.

"It's not your issue, Hestia." Amdirlain spun a crystal in her fingers. "I have some with me, just not much compared to what I have elsewhere. Is there anything you can tell me about the trials of King Minos?"

Hestia straightened. "In a moment, Am. I've been thinking since we last spoke. You've no reason to pry into Hades when your greatest priority should be the plinth. You know so much about this realm's rules, and so many have changed with your involvement that questions and possibilities have churned in my mind for years. Will you answer a question?"

"Do you need to know this right now?"

"If you are who I believe you are, there is so much I need to do to make amends, including some help that would ease your departing Hades. This isn't the sort of help that I can give lightly. Indeed, some aid is so costly that I can give it only once, so I'd reserve it for particular individuals."

"I'm not asking you to do anything, Hestia."

"If you are who I believe you to be, I'd ask it of myself. The pieces I've considered these last years only add up if you're Nicholaus's daughter. Are you his daughter and not simply a loyal servant?"

At least she's being very careful; the people who know the Titan's real name already know who I am.

"A reincarnation of his daughter."

Hestia froze as understanding, grief, and disbelief warred on her face. "So much about you remains hidden, yet I heard the truth in your words just then. Here I was, sure you'd deny it. I last saw you in his arms. Did one of the family kill you as well?"

"No, I lived long after you apologised to Patér. I died aeons after we'd left that village behind."

"You've accomplished your revenge."

I just inflicted a similar blow on someone else, destroying their home like the village's destruction. I won't explain that part of it was her father's manipulations.

Amdirlain choked back the ironic laughter that threatened to bubble forth. "From the start, it wasn't about revenge, but accountability."

"Accountability? That's an oddly mature goal for the young child I recall. Still, they met their ends at the hands of the family they rejected." Hestia laughed bitterly. "Could they have avoided the fate of mantles?"

Amdirlain shared a tight smile. "The rules I told you about apply to them as well. They just had to show they'd mended their ways and built a sturdy trust with other pantheons. I saw the gods murdering people, and no one would or could call them to account."

"How did you end up back in our old realm?"

"It's a long story. I never wanted to be an Immortal, Hestia. Things happened, and eventually I died, and my Soul left to wander many realms. Then, after some lifetimes, I ended up in our old realm, where Nicholaus had left a token to allow the bearer to ask for aid. When my Soul returned there, a distant descendant of his eldest son cursed me with the token. That curse sent me here."

"Reunited by a curse. How ironic when curses invariably caused so many of the conflicts between the Greek gods," sighed Hestia.

"While I trust you did your best to secure our conversation, can we return to speaking of the trials?"

"Sorry. I'd like to speak of many things, but you're right. This isn't the time now that I have the answer I needed. My whole family took part in setting up the original trials, though some of that occurred in roundabout ways. Promise me you'll treat the next trials with paranoid care."

"I won't promise anything, but I'll do my best to be paranoid. Do you know something about the eighth trial?"

"Not what it will be without tampering, yet of those trials I know of in Hades, most you'd crush through your physical strength alone."

"You can tamper?"

Hestia flicked her fingers towards the corridor behind Amdirlain. "I could influence the selection of a single trial, but that's all I can do."

She hoped I wouldn't find evidence of what happened in Hades. Should I tell her?

"I'll let you know if I want an easy trial." Amdirlain met her gaze. "In the last trial, I saw Echidna's corpse."

Though there was no accusation in Amdirlain's gaze, Hestia swallowed. "I had hoped you wouldn't come across her. I'm glad I told you about them in advance. Would you have hated me if you'd found her without warning?"

"I could sense the desperation. I've survived desperate times and don't hold it against you."

The Goddess leaned back from the pane, fingers rubbing against her neck. "It doesn't make the deed any fairer. What else did you make of her death?"

"The only thing I'd say about it is: try to do better and follow your own words. Sometimes, the only choice is who will die. I sensed the desperation in all those draining strength from her, but there wasn't time to examine her body properly. Her lingering death energy allowed for the birth of a Primordial in the volcano after Hades's demise."

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Her hand dropped from her neck, and Hestia's gaze widened. "You continually come up with a new level of accomplishment. How did you kill a Primordial?"

"Fortunately, I didn't need to fight to the death. It turned out that destroying his home completed the trial."

"Allowing one's enemies no haven." Hestia huffed in disgust. "That sounds like something Hera would create."

"I hope you can help clarify something. If I fail any of these twelve trials, do you know if I can start over?"

The silvery pane rippled, and Amdirlain felt energy reach past her. More silvery strands showed to her detection spells, this time extended from the pane and across the gates. Amdirlain let her attention drift and study the distant city noises while Hestia's investigation continued.

When the strands vanished, Hestia's gaze turned grim. "It's expected that those who fail a challenge die, and hundreds have perished. No mechanism is necessary to prevent anyone from reattempting it since the dead can't start any trial. I can tell these gates are based on the twelve labours of Hercules, so you don't have to pass all twelve. Though the more you pass, the easier challenges in the maze become."

"Because Hercules failed the labour related to the stables?"

"You remember the old tales properly." Sadness welled within Hestia's gaze.

"The current custodian of the trials warned that access to the trial vanishes if I fail."

"If you fail and don't die, the journey back here is a mammoth labour added to the rest. I can also tell you that the last chamber doesn't require Hades to grant you passage past the seal."

I can fly faster, so getting stranded on the other side of the Domain is less of an issue.

"That's a comfort. The worst case is I get back here and restart. How is your new world treating you?"

"It's going well. The autumn fey are still wary of us, but there has been cooperation. I notice you didn't ask me to provide a message to Livia."

Amdirlain coughed sheepishly. "I didn't want her to worry about what I was up to in Hades."

"Well, that's your choice. I'll not mention it to her until you do."

"Thank you, Hestia."

"I'll leave you to your endeavours," said Hestia. "The last trial should now be simple for you and give you access to something useful in the maze."

Amdirlain nodded farewell, and Hestia closed down the silvery pane.

A shift in position drew Amdirlain's attention to her form, and she switched from her elven form to the Grecian appearance she'd assumed before first greeting Damon.

With an illusion in place to disguise the glow of her sigil, Amdirlain cycled mana through it to boost her Mana Font further.

I hope Damon and Medusa are aware of the passing of time, but I can recharge my Mana Pool and inject more Ki into my Soul while I wait.

Perched cross-legged on a nearby bench, she waited for the others.

The next day, once her Mana Pool refilled, she tried a simple Spell, scrying to show only regular details. It revealed Medusa freely moving within the city, Damon beside her. With the pair safe and active, it was clear they weren't drifting idly unaware of time, so Amdirlain settled to wait and cycle Ki alone. Though she caught some shifts in her Soul during the healing meditation, Amdirlain didn't risk peering within her Soul at her past lives.

On the third day after the gate had closed, the pair crested the steps to reach the amphitheatre. Damon's gaze came alight at her presence, and he called out an excited greeting, skipping ahead of Medusa. Though the boy's Soul was old, the bright smile on his face matched the innocent joy Amdirlain wished every child could share. His Grecian tunic and sandals were grey with road dust that Amdirlain imagined was only present because he expected travel stains, given how she'd seen him leap between locations. The garb that Amdirlain had created for Medusa showed no sign of dust or other stains, and she walked along in Damon's wake. The blond braid Protean had allowed her to assume fluttered in the wind that swirled within the amphitheatre.

Amdirlain returned his wave but waited for him to reach her before she spoke. "Hello, Damon."

"Welcome back. Where did that trial take you?"

"Into the belly of a volcano. You've not asked about any of the past trials," noted Amdirlain.

Damon waved vaguely towards his house. "A device records each trial's events, but I've not looked at it since you started. I'll read through and add my comments once the maze reseals."

Hopefully, the records will never be needed at that point.

Medusa, having followed on his heels, offered an uncertain smile. "I'm glad you were successful. Damon was worried since you'd rushed through the first six so speedily and then failed to return."

I'll have to ensure she makes it out of here before Damon sees those records. I can imagine what he'd tell others.

"We waited three days and then checked if you'd returned every fourth day. It's a bit of a trek to the city," explained Damon. "We've been down in the city arranging weaponry for you."

"You didn't have to do that, especially since I've provided you with no coin."

"The Smith believes the fangs have potential, but they won't be ready for some time," continued Damon. "They know my role here and aren't charging for the work."

"Damon, is there a timeline for moving on to the next trial?" asked Amdirlain.

Damon straightened. "There isn't a restriction, to my knowledge. Will you stop rushing them, or are you concerned the daggers won't be ready before you've unsealed the maze?"

I won't tell him that Protean can duplicate the fangs and that beast's poison.

"I've recovered from the last one, but I thought I'd check with you before trying another."

"What did you fight in that last one to prompt you to slow down?" His gaze was still bright from his unfaded smile.

"A powerful entity. I didn't beat it so much as succeeded by accident," admitted Amdirlain.

I don't know if pure logic or Precognition tipped me towards destroying the volcano.

Medusa's lips thinned at their exchange, and Amdirlain caught past deaths weaving an ugly tapestry in the Gorgon's mind. She forced herself to move closer to Amdirlain, body tense as if she expected sudden death.

"Maybe you should rest here a while. You have unlimited time between trials, so how fast you move on is up to you."

"Taking the time to recover is one thing, but outside, there are things I need to deal with," said Amdirlain.

"I hope we didn't delay you," offered Medusa.

Amdirlain clasped Medusa's shoulder with gentle reassurance. "The plan you followed worked out well. It gave me time to recover from the last trial."

Medusa returned her gesture with a tight nod, and Damon sighed in relief.

"Shall I open the next gate?"

"I might as well proceed." Amdirlain motioned for Damon to lead the way. "Do you know where Aetos Kaukasios got off to?"

"He didn't even wait as long as we did. He flew off after maybe a day."

Damon started to walk ahead, and Medusa fell in beside her, blinking in surprise when Amdirlain looped arms with her.

"Have you been enjoying the sunshine?"

"I have." Medusa squeezed her forearm. "Thank you for this gift."

"It's the least that was owed to you. I hope being among people hasn't been overwhelming."

The pair's gentle pace prompted Damon to return, and he walked beside Amdirlain and shyly took her hand.

She gave him a wink and kept hold until he had to release her to open the stone gates. With the white pane before her, she hugged them both and stepped forward into the churning conduit beyond.

When she exited the wormhole, the weight of the air felt like she was deep underground.

A massive cavern opened before her, containing a sprawling complex. Its blocky, Egyptian-style architecture extended for kilometres, dwarfing any she'd ever seen. The front doors of the structure had collapsed with dry rot and, from her vantage point, parts of the roof showed jagged ends of collapsed stonework. Despite the styling of the stonework, the external stones displayed no hieroglyphics nor any faded traces they'd once been present.

A single dusty path led from the white pane to the building's wide front steps, which attracted Precognition. With no other sign to guide her, Amdirlain started forward. Its vastness held a suffocating void of silence, and Amdirlain's floating approach didn't offer so much as a muffled footstep to dispel the eerie quiet.

As she approached the front door warily, she looked over the broad steps, but varied detection spells didn't reveal any traps or energies lying in wait. Abrasive winds looked to have sanded back the outer stones of the building, leaving gouges and deep grooves. Beyond the threshold, massive patches of mildew across the antechamber's ceiling showed where some unpleasant odours originated.

She ascended the stairs carefully and came eye level with the large temple doors now ruined and sprawled across a small portion of the antechamber. The far side comprised three open archways, each four metres across. To her right, a large owl bas-relief decorated the wall. On the left wall was a similarly styled decoration of an olive tree, engraved with two intertwined serpents. With nothing else to see but dust, dry shards of wood, and fractured stone, Amdirlain turned her attention to the open-air courtyard beyond the archways.

Identical in size to the antechamber, in the middle sat a dried-up fountain that hosted an armoured and helmed statue of Athena standing on a plinth. Instead of weapons, she held out a furled scroll in each hand. Years of exposure had softened the statue's features. In the centre of the three remaining walls of that chamber, large, oxidised bronze doors blocked the view of what was beyond. Detection spells showed no Mana or traps within.

Amdirlain drifted over the dust and fractured wood and through the central archway. Though there had been no sign of magic ahead of her, when she crossed the chamber's threshold, temporal energies crawled across Amdirlain's skin.

The dusty chamber before her suddenly comprised surfaces of glistening polished marble. The dried fountain came alive with bubbling water, fed by spouts at Athena's feet, while behind her, the front door was whole and standing—all without a sound. A fresh breeze circulated, and the scent of clean water, parchment, and acidic inks replaced the stench of dry rot and mildew. The previously closed doorways along the exterior were wide open and possessed an amber hue of gleaming bronze. Beyond the gleaming doors, she saw three matching square rooms cluttered with shelving and desks, equally covered in scrolls and clay tablets.

Amdirlain's detection spells now showed a barrier of temporal energy between herself and the cavern room, and her Analysis revealed an unusual situation.

[Time bubble

Details: Within the limits of this expanding temporal pocket, these rooms are on a loop, returning to their original state every twenty-four hours. This entire pocket occurs within one second of external time, regardless of whether a person spends a day or a million years inside. The temporal bubble blocks external Mana absorption and requests to deities for channelled blessings.

Note: A reverse Rip Van Winkle. What an odd opportunity for you.]

Is Kairos playing around, or is this an olive branch over Rachel?

A dozen quick detection spells showed various energies crawling across the chambers beyond the now-open doorways. Even as she finished casting the last Spell, her Mana Font had already restored the energy spent.

A Fabricate Spell created a small pencil, which she tossed into the room to the right. It spun end over end for a metre past the shadow created by the doors when the chamber filled with silvery flames. The Celestial spells formed a precisely constructed network of fire within the room, but Amdirlain caught hints of gaps in their coverage. When they faded, the manuscripts spread across the shelves inside were unaffected, but the ashes from the pencil drifted on a lingering heated updraft.

Experimentally, she drifted back into the antechamber, and a message in golden lettering hovered in the air, even as she heard Athena's voice. Her intonations dripped with the confidence of a God speaking to a plebeian Mortal.

"Mortal, this trial of wisdom requires you to balance the gains from the chambers against the days of life you'll spend. You can leave only at the same time each day but may never return once you go. No matter how long you dare linger, less than a breath will have passed to those you left outside. The knowledge and wisdom you can gain in my halls will arm and shield you. It is up to you to leave while your body and mind still possess the strength to wield them. Grasp the handles when the sands stop moving to leave."

Mortal? That's such a flawed assumption.

An illusion of a large hourglass showed on the intact doors, and the first grains trickled through its neck.

Amdirlain laughed gleefully.

Do I explore this place or start studying the materials I have on me?

She tried to draw in ectoplasm to form a stick and found nothing formed.

What's my priority? Do I want whatever knowledge Athena has prepared here or something else?

Amdirlain knelt by the bubbling fountain and started cycling, sending Ki down the conduits to her Soul, curious how the loop's reset would affect the Soul healing technique.

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