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Duty By Armond "...the deep-breasted mountain nymphs who inhabit this great and holy mountain, neither man nor god are they: long lived, eating ambrosial food, and with the immortals, tread the graceful Dance..." - From the Homeric Hymns "PriestESS! The low voice boomed throughout the temple "Where are you, Priestess? She is dying! Already it is hard for her to draw breath!" The weary, armor and helmet-clad man, still sweaty and blood-soaked from battle, looked mournfully upon the woman that he held so lightly in his massive arms. Gently, he placed her at the foot of the altar step. "I've failed you, Iambe." "If only my Champion could battle poison with his sword, then I would be cured," the young queen smiled back weakly. "I should have been here to prevent this treachery!" "You are too hard on yourself, Siproites. Was it not I that ordered you to travel the length of my kingdom with your old battle brigade? Our people so love their champion and wished to see him one last time before he hung up his mighty sword." "Still I should have..." "And did not ..." She held up an unsteady hand to quiet him; he saw her grimace in pain from even so simple an act. "...And did not the traitorous duke lay in ambush for you in the highlands with his cutthroat army of mercenaries? Yet still you routed him! Gods I would have loved to have seen you in that battle, fighting as of old!" "No, it is not you that failed me, my Champion. Good though you are, you cannot be in two places at once. Your duty extends only so far, great battle bear." "My charge to you has no bounds! If you die then will I follow. Rest easy my queen, after I run to ground the mad dog that did this evil, and kill him - slowly - with my bare hands, I will walk the path of my ancestors. I fear they will not greet me with honor." "You speak as if Iambe is dead, Siproites, yet she lives." The white- haired priestess admonished, appearing suddenly from behind the temple altar with her ceremonial staff in hand. "And so your charge to protect her life yet remains," "Then you can heal her Rhea?" Siproites asked, a glimmer of hope spreading across his broad-bearded face, these days more gray than black. "Heal her?" A bitter laugh escaped Rhea's lips. "Would that I could. I have come just now from the dining hall where I examined the plate the queen used in her midday meal. Some assassin has worked their evil well indeed; I believe the poison to be the Red Death." "And what do we know of this 'Red Death,' Priestess?" "None good at all! It brings a hideous ending, a slow, agonizing paralysis followed by asphyxiation, and there is no antidote in this world." With a moan Iambe doubled over in pain, and the massive warrior roared in frustration: "Then is all hope is gone? Would that I had some foe to strike!" Siproites smashed his fist upon the stone floor, which shuddered under the blow. "Cannot you do something, Rhea? Work some magic to banish this evil from her body?" "I have no magic against this wickedness, Siproites," Rhea answered in strained voice. "Fire and ruin, Priestess, you speak in riddles! You hint of actions to be taken, yet plainly state there is nothing to be done!" "Contain your wrath, Siproites, and I will explain. I have said there is nothing of this world that may help. But there is a healing to be found ...elsewhere ...which may save Iambe." Siproites furrowed his brow in exasperation and started to speak, but the elderly woman raised her hand to silence him. "Please, let me finish before you start mauling me with more questions, bear. Deep in the dark forest, where cypress grows thick, there is a valley called Gargaphie. Where this vale narrows sits a grove, which the goddess of the wild wood calls home." "In the center of her grove lies a crystal spring, a pool called Nymphaios. It is said that the water of life itself feeds the spring, and its qualities are ... wondrous strange. The goddess often refreshes there and works divine magic using its miraculous properties." "And you think," Siproites had contained himself for as long as he could, "that this ...this water, will counteract this Red Death poison?" "I hope so. If anything could do it..." "But how do you get this water of life? Do you pray to the goddess for help? Is there some ceremony that must be conducted? This all seems so ...uncertain and indirect. Forgive me. I am unskilled in these spiritual matters; I am a plain man and need to see a clear path forward." Rhea laughed "Don't try your 'simple man' routine on me, Siproites. You have as sharp a mind for intrigue as any in the land." "There is a plain way forward, though. The gods have little interest in our petty affairs. As high priestess, I have found that they most appreciate those who help themselves. We must fetch the water. Would you agree to take on this quest, Champion?" "A quest? You would send me to the grove of the goddess? But ...that is in the realm of the gods! How is such a thing possible? And would it not be forbidden for any but priestesses to visit her sacred grove? Surely it is you that must go to the goddess for this water? " "As to the how of it, you shall see how in a moment. You are right though, it is a place of deadly peril, and I should never think of sending a man to her sacred place... but we are in need of someone with strength and speed. I have neither." "You won your post as Queen's Champion and have held it for these many years by besting all challengers throughout the kingdom. You are our defender supreme; it is you, or none at all. Be our Champion one last time! And, if you are careful and cunning, you may gather the water and return without being seen." "I'm to ...steal this water? From the goddess? Why? Why not just ask?" "She would not be ...pleased ...to find a man in her grove." "And so what would happen if I am discovered?" The old priestess looked Siproites directly in the eye. "I will not lie to you, Siproites, if you are lucky, she will kill you swiftly." "And if I am not?" "The goddess can sometimes be ...cruel." "Then I forbid it, Siproites!" Iambe had somehow raised her head, her voice feebly calling out: "You have done enough! Your entire life has been spent in service to me and my mother before me! You've sacrificed any chance for love and family... And just as you are to finally receive your reward and rest, we call upon you to undertake this impossible deed?" "NO! You should not now be made to die for me...or worse! I forbid this!" "But my queen," Rhea implored, "it is your only hope!" "But he is..." Iambe could hold herself up no longer, "weary already from battle..." "Rest, my queen. Worry not of my stamina... You know me, I am ever ready for a fair fight or the thrill of the hunt." The truth was that he was very weary, not so much from this latest battle, but from all his many battles over the years. There could be no rest now, though, there were actions to be taken. He turned again to the priestess: "I am unsure of this, Rhea. You have been friend to me since I came to the palace as page some twenty-five years ago. So, old friend, if you tell me there is a chance, however unlikely, then I will do it. I would march down to the underworld if it would save this queen." "Where I would send you is not far at all from the underworld, Siproites. But I tell you truly, there is a chance, there is hope." Without hesitation Siproites replied: "I accept the quest." "Excellent! I knew you would! Time is precious; every second brings Iambe closer to death." Rhea handed Siproites a leather waterskin. "You must leave immediately; now! Be swift. Call upon all of your courage and strength and journey to the heart of the realm of the gods. Fight your way through where there is no way. Bring back the life- giving water to me." Rhea's voice echoed in the vaulted temple chamber. The high priestess then removed a fist sized crystal stone from a black velvet cloth bag that hung by her side. The stone pulsed with green energy. Rhea placed the stone within the clawed tip of her staff. "As high priestess to the goddess, this is my most sacred ...and secret... possession, none but my successor was to know of its existence. But necessity dictates otherwise..." "Gods! What is that?" Siproites had never seen actual magic at work. "It is an orb made of purest moldavite, and is not of this world. Its energy seeks to return to its own land, the realm I am sending you to - if properly used it can cut a passage way through, like so: Rhea raised her dark cypress staff overhead and a look of tight concentration passed across her face. Light shot from the staff's tip and began to form a green ball of sparkling energy in front of them. Soon the ball grew, elongating into a large green ellipsis, a doorway portal. "Speed of the wing-footed one, Champion. The portal shall await your return. Now hurry, for life slips quickly from the queen, and all depends upon you..." "... and may the goddess bless you ...my Champion," Iambe whispered. Siproites felt his throat constrict as he looked upon both ailing queen and frail priestess. Then, holding the leather bag tightly, he leaped through the portal, through the green glow... *** ...and into a forest. There were no signs of sunlight through the canopy of leaves, except for a dim emerald glow from high above. Siproites had a hard time determining the kind of forest this was, for there appeared many different kinds of trees - pine, oak, ash, gum and fern. "This makes no sense," he murmured. "Forests are either evergreen or broadleaf. They are not every tree jumbled together." Concentrating was difficult - everything shimmered and shifted in the shadows, and as he tried to focus on one tree, it changed from pine to ash to oak. As with the trees, the forest sounds perplexed him; there were too many to identify. Like a chorus, it was, but a strange one, blending somehow a sense of serenity and danger. A roar from something nearby startled him, a roar followed by a crashing sound of wood splitting. Something dark and enormous was moving his way. Siproites searched quickly for a path to take him away from the crashing sound, but there were no paths, so he strode directly into the thick of the forest. He began to jog. As he picked his way through the underbrush, he heard another roaring, and saw a bright flash of fire, followed by a long scream of a wounded animal that abruptly cut off. 'Dragons!' Further along, he heard the resonant laugh of a man and the scream of a woman. He glimpsed a flash of golden light in the distance, followed closely by the incongruous sound of melancholy panpipes. "This is indeed the realm of the gods," he whispered in awe. He picked up his pace. Soon, he stumbled over what he thought a log. As he looked at it more closely, though, it moved. An enormous bright green snake with black-hatched stripes quickly coiled round Siproites, and immediately began its death squeeze. Siproites tensed his massive muscles to counteract the constriction, and with his stout hands grabbed the neck of the snake to mount a desperate counterattack. Just as he thought his own body would burst, he felt the serpent's neck go limp, and the coils unwind from his body. Repulsed now, he kicked free of the snake. He backed away crab-like and pushed his way up through thick vines and sharp bushes. Siproites began to run. He scrambled past a laurel tree that at first he swore was a maiden running, and began to climb a steep rising embankment. As Siproites climbed, the earth moved under him suddenly, and he struggled to remain on his feet. "What vermin walks upon me thus, a mouse?" boomed a voice. Siproites tumbled back down the moving landscape. When he recovered his feet, he saw a massive head crowned with a fig leaf laurels peering down upon him, yawning as it did. 'Mother goddess herself! A titan! For cert I am dead,' He cleared his voice and spoke as loudly and deeply as he could: "Good sir, I am called Siproites, and I have come here on an errand of great urgency! I mean you no harm. Can you direct me to the pool called Nymphaios?" The giant laughed outright and the ground shook as if rattled by thunder. "Mean me know harm? You are lucky I have recently supped or you would already be on your way to my stomach." The giant slowly stood, and when erect, Siproites, tallest of men, did not even reach the giant's knees. "I will let you go, mouse, if you promise to provide me with a fitting meal another day..." "...I will," He started to respond, then stopped. Siproites was tempted to say anything to be able to run from the mountainous being and continue on his quest, but he could not lie. "...I will try, oh great..." "Sykeus... you look upon Sykeus, tiny speck." "I will try great Sykeus, to somehow fulfill your request. It is all I can promise." "Hmm." the giant regarded Siproites critically and pondered. "A warrior ...You look somewhat tough and chewy. I think you might be more trouble than you are worth to eat and ... as I have said ...I am not that hungry..." "Very well, I accept your promise." Sykeus peered off into the distance, and then pointed. "Her holy pool is that way, little man, although I would think you should be running from rather than to it. Not even I dare to drink from its sweet waters for fear of her." "I have no choice; thank you, great Sykeus!" Siproites replied and headed off in the direction Sykeus had pointed. "Good look, brave mouse," Sykeus chuckled after him, "although I would not wager good nectar that you will fulfill your promise." Siproites continued his grueling urgent pace for a long clip, and soon fatigue began to set in. It was then that, Siproites tripped on a tree root and tumbled into a ravine thick with thorny underbrush. As he picked himself up, he blinked as he saw what was strewn about the ground: gold nuggets piled high around what looked like a giant nest. Peering into the nest, he saw four foot long oval chunks of magnificent blue agate. Siproites felt an urge to gather the gold and agate, but fought it sternly. 'I have not come to this place for treasure!' he gruffed. Before he could move on, though, a terrible screeching made him look up. There, above him on the edge of the ravine, stood a terrible creature: twice as large as an ox, it had the head of an eagle, the body of a lion, and at the end of its fore and hind legs, large razor sharp talons. "Gods! First a giant, now a gryphon!" he dismayed. Siproites had heard only legends about the mythical beast, but from those tales, he knew he was in deep trouble. The beast screeched again and leaped closer to Siproites. Siproites looked around in desperation for a something to defend himself with, and spied only brush and trees. He grasped an enormous limb and with a mighty heave, ripped it from its tree. The gryphon closed now on Siproites and swiped at him with its talon. Siproites parried with the branch, then thrust into the beast, pushing it back. The gryphon was surprised, and backed a pace to observe its prey. It attacked again, and Siproites defended as best he could. Over the following minutes a strange frenzied bout unfolded, the fabulous beast attacking with razor talons and Siproites using his renowned fencing skill to defend and counter. Even for all his famed ability, even as the best swordsman of his land, Siproites could barely manage a stalemate with the gryphon. Soon he was bathed in sweat and breathing heavily. The gryphon, too, was panting hard. Siproites wiped the sweat from his eyes and called out: "Great beast, I swear by the gods I am here to steal neither your gold nor wondrous stones. Allow me to pass, mighty enemy!" The gryphon backed away to again regard its foe. It seemed to understand, and in a saluting gesture, backed much further away. Siproites saluted in return, saying "Be at peace, worthy foe. You show great heart! Would that we could fight together as friends!" The gryphon screeched loudly in reply. Siproites scrambled out of the ravine and quickly left the beast behind. 'Time! I've wasted too much time!' He began to sprint now, near mindless, through a sea of green folding in upon green. Deeper and deeper he ran, deeper into green dark that seemed without end. Branches ripped his face. His arms were covered with cuts and welts and Siproites began to develop the eerie feeling that the very trees themselves were attacking him, barring his way. Still he struggled forward and though his chest felt as if it would burst soon and blood pounded hard in his ears, with one last colossal effort, Siproites smashed his way through a writhing knot of trees. And stumbled into a clearing, where saw he... a pool of crystal water, reflecting, ...a glowing golden crescent moon, ...a midnight black night, ...and stars that gleamed like jewels. The pool's soft waves lapped gently upon a shoreline covered by soft white sand and spring green grasses, dotted, here, there, with a kingdom's fortune of radiant, shining, sparkling sapphires, rubies, emeralds, diamonds. "The stars themselves have fallen to this place," he whispered in reverence. Near the shore stood a group of female figures, their voices echoing round in laughter and sweet song. His eyes were drawn to the center of the spring, where stood another, bathing, a beauty, or rather Beauty itself, so luminous: his mouth could form no words, his heart stopped beating time stopped moving. She ...strode now to the shore and the sight of her was too much for mortal to bear. 'LOOK AWAY!' Something deep inside him instinctively warned, screamed, and with a mighty wrenching of will, he turned his head. Dazedly, he burrowed back into the brush next to the shore. At that moment another man suddenly burst through the brush nearby and tumbled onto the shore. He was a hunter, bow still in hand and a dozen or so hunting dogs came crashing through with him. After picking himself up off the sand, the man looked out into the pool and stared openly at the goddess. The hunter became transfixed by the nakedness of the goddess; he could not tear his eyes from her body, could not mask his rising...lust. Shrieking in alarm, the other female figures rushed swiftly to shield the goddess with their bodies. She, with eyes flashing fire, pushed through them, walking straight towards the hunter. Her anger seared the air into waves of heat. Siproites could feel, hear, see, smell and taste the energy, the raw wrath, building around her. The terror of the forest, so palpable moments ago, seemed as nothing to this... "Do you enjoy the sight, Actaeon?" Her keen voice knifed through the grove. The young man said nothing, only continuing to basely stare. "Then tell the world what you have seen, if you can!" With cupped hand she swept water from the spring upon the man. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, the man's feet and legs began to sprout fur, and turned to hoofs and hind legs. Actaeon doubled over in pain as his torso changed to an animal's belly, and arms and hands became front legs and hoofs. Last to change was his head, where great horns grew from his temples, his nose began stretching, browning, elongating, his eyes dimming large and black. Throughout this bizarre metamorphosis, Actaeon's eyes were wide with horror, his mouth open in silent scream. Then, the changes were complete, and a great brown stag stood pawing and trembling before her. "You'd better run, my stag," she cooed, "I fear your hounds have picked up your scent." The only sign of human recognition left was a further widening of eyes by the stag, and with a great bound, he raced away towards the forest dark. His hounds, his own hounds, which had been whining and sniffling about, perked up their ears and began barking. Then all raced after the stag, howling, blood running, teeth bared, smelling the kill. Their barks slowly faded into the dark green. Laughing, she walked to where Siproites lay hidden in the brush. "Come!" Compelled, he knelt before her, with lowered head. "Why have you come to my holiest of places, mortal man? Do you seek to steal my pretty baubles you see strewn about as countless others, or are you here as Actaeon in simple lust?" "Neither," he pleaded, still using all of his mighty strength of will not to turn his eyes towards her. Yet his entire being desperately yearned to look upon her face! "My queen lies dying from a poison. Your water is her only hope. Please help me save her, goddess." "Save her? But that is your task, hero, not mine." "...I ...will give you," he struggled, "...my life in exchange for hers, goddess ...if you will save her." It was hard, perhaps the hardest task he had ever been charged with, so hard not to simply lift his eyes to her glory. "You bargain with what you do not possess, for your life is already mine. No man leaves my grove alive." He could resist no longer, and in anguish raised his head upward to gaze full upon the face of the deity... ...and saw the sun. No! A thousand suns! And million moons! And stars? More stars than exist numbers! She smiled. "Be at ease, my poor brave Siproites. Unlike Acteon, your purpose is pure. You are welcome to take from my pool. You may fill your vessel, and bring it to your queen...I grant you safe and swift passage out of the forest. When you reach her, sprinkle the water upon her face, and she shall be saved." "Thank you great Lady!" Siproite's heart leaped to the sky with joy. "But first ...you have a choice to make, for you may not leave here as you are...alive." "B-but why, Lady? He asked unevenly, for after looking upon her, he was dizzy, and felt as if his very being was beginning to dissolve in her presence. "This is my holy grove, here my essence is purest. Regardless of you motives, man, you cannot be here. The fire demon does not last long in the home of the water spirit. It is the way of things, Siproites," she said softly. "I can either change your nature so that you may live, or grant you painless death." He labored to understand her meaning. "How would you ...change me?" "You must become of my nature, to live...." Siproites' soul whirled. "Would ...would I ...be able to return to my land?" His voice was from far away. "For a time." Hesitation held him, for he had witnessed Actaeon's terrible fate. Siproites yearned to choose a clean death. Indeed, he was not far from it: a final blackness had begun to edge his consciousness. But, duty demanded he live, that he leave this place alive to save Iambe. So, in lowest of whispers: "Change me, as you will, oh my goddess." "As I will?" She laughed mirthfully. "So be it!" Once again she swept her hand into the pool. Compassionately, she baptized his head with the sacred water. "So be it!" *** "'ave ye seen 'im this way afore?" the scruffy and odorous body guard asked in muted tone. "He's been pace 'n back n' forth for near 'alf a day." "Duke Gyges ne'er takes defeat well," answered the second guard, whose own odor battled the first's for foul supremacy, "at the moment, he wants t' kill someun real bad, he does. Instead he's 'avin to hole up like a rat and it's not set'n well with 'im" "Would you two SHUT UP? Or shall I kill you both to relieve my distress?" "Sorry m'lord!" was the quick dual response. 'They're right, of course,' he considered, 'my need to kill something is so obvious that even these imbeciles can discern it.' "Siproites!" the Duke spat. "Oh, how the man must be made to suffer! I hate the very letters that sound his name!" "My plan was masterful! To kill both the legendary 'Champion' and the queen herself in the same day would have created chaos in the kingdom, giving me my opening to seize power! Yet at every turn he foiled me, humiliating me upon the battlefield, and then somehow finding a way to avert the queen's death!" "How? How how how," howled the duke. "I can answer that, my love," a voice from a shadow in the abandoned warehouse replied. "And I know you will enjoy immensely the telling of it." "Arachne! How long have you been here? Were you followed?" The wiry, dark complexioned woman did not deign to answer; both knew she was for too skilled to have been detected by the Queen's Guards. "It seems your sovereign has ordered her guards to have you killed on sight, dearest. Is that why you have taken up residence in this charming residence with your pungent friends?" "But they have no proof that I was involved in the assassination attempt. And I have hundreds of witnesses that saw me at the battlefield ...ah..." "...getting your ducal posterior whipped?" Duke Gyges glared at her as she continued, "And of course, no one could determine who, or even how the queen was poisoned, so there was absolutely no evidence that tied you to it." "Yes, exactly! So it is completely unfair...uh, by the way, how DID you do it?" "It was really too easy. I placed the poison in the stuffing of the queen's small hen. The tasters only tasted the hen meat." "Ah! What wonderful simplicity. I adore your patient deviousness, Arachne. But as I was saying, without proof of my involvement in the attempt, it is ...unjust that the queen has summarily marked me for death." "I do not believe the queen is concerned about fairness or evidence, Duke. She determined that you alone had motive, and called for your execution." "She has not been known for swift action before. What has charged? It is a bold move to call for my death without trial. It was Siproites that was behind this, I am certain of it!" "I would agree Siproites is the cause of it, but indirectly so. She is angry about what has, um, befallen her Champion." "I don't understand, Arachne. And why are you smiling like a predator waiting to strike? What do you know?" "I know something that will please my lord to no end. But before I relay it, please ...tell me again of our future together." Internally he rolled his eyes. She often did this, it was so tedious! He would have to humor her again. But if she were to outlive that usefulness? "Yes, lovvve. I would rule a kingdom and you would govern by my side ...as my queen. Our enemies ...would be laid low before us ...and the people ...would tremble at our name." Arachne closed her eyes as she imagined it, which was convenient for him, because it meant that only his voice need sound sincere. "But Siproites has yet again obstructed our plans. It is he that keeps us apart. I loathe him with every fiber of my being, may the gods strike him down!" The duke spoke these last words with true sincerity. "Then take heart, my Duke, your prayers have been answered!" "Eh, how so? Siproites is dead?" "Better! Much better! After the queen recovered, I hid again in the secret closet next to her chambers, to learn how it could be so. For Red Death brings certain death, there is no cure." "There, though the peep hole, I spied the queen, the high priestess, and one I took to be a new lady-in-waiting for the queen. I listened and to my wonder learned the how of the queens' cure and of Siproites fate." "Go on," the duke urged, intrigued. "Though there is indeed no earthly cure for the Red Death, Rhea knew of a healing spring in the realm of the gods. With magic she sent the Champion there to bring back this water. He found the healing spring and ... mark this... found it surrounded by fabulous jewels, then returned to save the queen with its magical properties." "So what is good about this? Another legendary feat for the great hero?" "But wait and hear the best part, my lord! The fickle goddess of the wildwood ensnared him there and must have been angered greatly because..." "Yes! Out with it! Because what?" "Because before she let him return, she transformed him into a woman! My Duke, your terrible dread foe is now smaller and weaker than me!" "Bah! You seek to make me the fool with such a tale. It cannot be, Arachne. Why are you vexing me thus? I have killed - you have killed for me - for less affront." "By the gods I swear it is so! 'Mighty' Siproites would now be powerless before you." "Truly? If only it were only so! Ah how I would love to make him... suffer! But...what bitter irony is at work? My army is destroyed, my coffers bare and my followers in hiding! Cursed I am, that have no means to press my advantage," the duke wailed. "My Duke, I have prepared a plan. Strike now, while your enemies are in disarray and surprise is on our side! "Now?" "Yes! We shall turn your disgrace into triumphant victory! Gather, say, a dozen of your hiding guards, and have them gather up provisions I have prepared." "Under darkness we make our way to the palace. I know secret ways to bring us undetected to the Queen's Chamber. There we quietly thread, to surprise the queen and force Siproites to guide us back to the spring to gather the jewels that await us there. " "With that wealth, we can buy an army and a fleet... buy a kingdom! ...and our dreams shall come to pass!" The image of the larger than life man he had feared and despised for so long now as a defenseless woman, submissive before him, had utterly captured the duke's mind: "Yessss. All will be as you say ...I must know if this thing is true. The things that I would do to bring suffering and pain ...to her." "Then follow me," Arachne said with some hesitation, for she did not quite know what to make of the strange expression the duke now wore: savage, almost lustful... *** "Siproites sleeps still, my queen." Rhea whispered low. "It is no wonder; I cannot imagine the toll of such a ...thing. It was through strength of will alone that our Champion could return at all. Surely this ranks foremost among Siproites' many wondrous deeds! "Tell me again, Rhea." Iambe briskly ordered. "Tell me the sacrifice was worth it." "Listen, my queen, he did what he knew had to be done; Siproites was a not hero only when it was convenient, his was a life anchored by commitment to duty." "And where did that get him? Where? The hero of Hundred Mile March, the brilliant general of the Battle of Leto's Plain, the slayer of the Black Bull, is now an exotic little 'she' curled up in my bed!" "Please, my queen, keep your voice low ...we cannot imagine all that he, ...no no, she ...she is most definitely that now... endured to bring the healing water to you. "I had hoped to reward the greatest hero of our land by granting him a duchy and giving him the hand of some pretty nobleman's daughter. But what do I do with 'her' now? Marry her off to some handsome lord?" "I do not know either, my queen! She is most disoriented, and there is an aura about her that is like unto my stone from the gods' realm! There is mighty magic working within her still. I do not even know..." Rhea whispered even lower, "I do not even know if she is ...human ...anymore." "It was so sad, so sad!" The queen was pacing now, agitated. "It took all I had to not breakdown in front of her, when this pretty little sprite insisted that she must protect me until a new Champion is found." "...But when Siproites' unconquerable broadsword 'Dharma' was brought, she could barely lift it, BARELY LIFT IT! I could see the shame and utter loss on her face when she asked for a lighter sword." "So, was it truly worth it, Rhea?" The queen asked, nearly shouted, again. "Answer me now, Priestess! Better I should have died, than to see Siproites reduced to this!" The sound of laughter and wooden panel sliding open startled the queen and the high priestess. Rhea raised her staff defensively as Duke Gyges stepped into the queen's chamber. "Wouldn't it be funny, wouldn't it be delicious, if after all the noble Siproites has sacrificed, yet still you died? How terribly anticlimactic!" The duke raised his sword and advanced towards Iambe. "The we should strive to ensure that such a tragedy does not occur, shouldn't we?" A small lithe being, with creamy brown skin, short black pageboy hair and oriental-hazel eyes had charged into the room to interpose between duke and queen. Her loose-fitting short white tunic revealed much of the creature's silky smooth legs, and did little to conceal her healthy feminine chest. Her face was set with purpose and her upheld hand gripped a gleaning thin saber. "But you are lovely! Can this be truly you, great Siproites? Let's see!" The duke suddenly thrust his broadsword towards the girl. She deftly parried. The duke thrust again, again she parried. The duke thrust a third time, and this time as his body moved forward, she counter thrust attacked. Abruptly, the duke hopped backwards, tightly holding his right shoulder. "First blood!" the girl cheerfully claimed in musical contralto voice. The duke's face burned red with anger. He raised his sword and for a second time advanced on the girl. Again his thrust, her parry, his feint left, thrust right, her parry - riposte, his parry - riposte and as his body moved forward in the riposte, once more she counter thrust attacked. The duke retreated this time holding his left shoulder, which began to seep red. "You do seem to possess Siproites' celebrated skill with blade. But there is one thing of his that you clearly do not possess... well...um ...two things. But I speak of his legendary strength. With that the duke let out a war cry and swung his sword as hard as he could at the girl. Although she parried, the force of the blow sent shock waves up her arm and caused her to stagger back. Already his second hammer blow arced towards her, and its smashing force upon her parry brought her to one knee. The thought quickly occurred to her that the duke was using his superior 'brute' force to simply hack her into submission. With a heavy grunt, the duke swung a third crushing blow, but instead of parrying, the girl shifted her weight at the last moment, causing the duke to stumble forward when his sword whistled through the air unchecked. She whip-kicked with her right leg, knocking the duke's legs out from under him. As he clattered to the floor, she sprang up, and instantly her saber was at his throat. "Yield," she said, simply. "Yield or die." "Ah, so it IS you, Siproites! What is it like to be trapped in such a fetchingly soft body? It fights well, granted, but do not you wish me to personally show you what it truly designed for?" "You do not sound as if you are yielding, Duke Gyges, so you must be choosing death." She pressed her saber's tip into the duke's throat, drawing a thin trickle of blood. "Hold!" He gurgled. "Hold...gentlemen, show the ...the lady ...the true reality of the situation." The duke's men quickly filed into the Queen's Chamber from the hidden room. Six held bows, which they drew with nocked arrows and leveled at the girl. "They will not kill me before I open your cursed throat, duke!" "No, I know this, of course." The duke then yelled in annoyance. "Please aim at the person I instructed you to, you idiots!" The six turned and aimed then at the queen, who stepped back a pace. Rhea started to move in front of Iambe, but Lady Arachne had also slipped into the room during the fight and blocked her way with a long thin black dagger. "Now, drop your weapon, or she dies." The duke sneered. The girl blinked apprehensively, but answered coolly, "If I do, then you will certainly kill her. The moment I hear a bowstring pop, you will be dead." The duke snorted. "It appears we have a Persian standoff. But you are mistaken if you think I am here to kill the queen. My army is destroyed, my lands are forfeit, and I am a hunted man, all thanks to you. So I now only wish to leave this miserable place ...I came to present a proposition ...to you." "Proposition? Your propositions invariably involve deception and treachery, Duke Gyges." "Yes, you know me too well, FAIR Siproites," he goaded. "Still, listen and see if further bloodshed may be averted. I have been made to understand that the place where your wondrous transformation occurred is also littered with a king's ransom of jewels. If you agree to take me there, I shall allow the queen to leave here unharmed." "What madness is this? You wish me to take you to the place of the gods?" the girl said in a whisper. "Do you not see what it has done to me? You have no idea what it is like, the dangers that await!" "It is my offer. Either accept it, or let the bloodshed begin." "Oh? And just how would I accept it? I say 'yes' and everyone would smile and lower their weapons? Please!" "Yes, I do have a poor record of keeping my word, don't I? But ...you are a man of, er ...were a man of your word. If you promise that you will surrender to me and take me to your bejeweled pool, I shall let the queen leave this room ...at once." Iambe became dismayed when she saw the girl considering the duke's offer. "No Siproites! It is a trap!" "Yes. I am sure it is a trap within a trap, even. But if he lets you leave alive...then I must..." "...I accept. Let the queen leave now and I shall do as you say." "Say it! I must hear Siproites' oath!" She sighed, then drew herself up: "On my honor, I swear, that if you let my queen leave freely and unharmed, I shall ...surrender to you ... and lead you to the pool of the goddess. May I be eternally exiled from the halls of my ancestors ...if I break this oath." A malignant smile spread across the duke's face. "Then let the queen freely depart, gentlemen, we have Siproite's word. Do not obstruct our queen; Queen Iambe, you may move without fear." The queen walked hesitantly to the chamber entrance. She opened the dark oaken door, looking back uncertainly on first Rhea, then the girl. She saw the girl silently mouth 'run' and at that the queen stepped through the door and closed it. The sound of 'Guards! Guards!' echoed down the hallway. The girl breathed a sigh of relief and moved the sword from the duke's throat. The duke quickly stood, "We haven't much time before the entire Guard is here. Please proceed with your part of the bargain, beautiful Siproites." "Rhea?" the girl asked resignedly, "please use your magic to ...open the way once more." "But Siproites..." "Please, Rhea, I gave my word. You must!" Rhea shook her head sadly, quickly reattached the green crystal to her staff and concentrated. Soon another portal glowed before them. "What wondrous magic! Remarkable! ...And now, Siproites, give me your sword." Slowly, the girl handed the shiny saber, hilt first to the duke. With a slow chilling grin, he took the weapon, and without warning, backhanded the girl, sending her reeling. "That felt...wonderful! The first of sooo many to come! Quickly, Arachne, bind her arms tight. We must hurry!" Arachne produced a long thin silk cord and, while two guards held the girl, Arachne tied the girl's arms tightly behind her back. "Why do you treat her thus?" Rhea cried. "She gave you her word!" The duke grinned, "Fool that she is! Listen to me well, Priestess. If you wish to see her alive again, then have this ... this magic door ...waiting for us when we finish our little errand. I shall have my dagger to her throat as we return. If we are not granted safe passage away, then your pretty hero's blood will be upon your hands." The girl looked up at Rhea sadly: "Good bye, Rhea. And protect the queen while I am gone." Rhea nodded sadly in return. "Goodbye... Champion" "Taking care of queen, even in face of death?" The duke laughed aloud. "Duty to the last, eh Siproites? I shall so enjoy what is to transpire next!" He roughly grabbed the girl by her hair and pulled her into the green glow of the portal. Arachne followed closely, and the duke's guards, stepped hesitantly, one by one, into the mysterious door. Several minutes later, a heavily armed contingent of the Queen's Guard burst into the room, followed by an anxious Queen Iambe. "Rhea, where...?" "They have gone through, my queen." The portal still glowed vibrant green before them. "Then we shall follow! Guards!" "No! Hold, my queen! The realm of the gods is perilous to mortals! I only relented to sending Siproites because it was life or death ...your life... and because as our people's greatest hero in memory, he stood a chance if any did. Return he did, but, well, you know what befell...no, my queen, do not go through to the gods' realm. I fear it will mean the death of all who enter." "But Rhea, Siproites needs our help now! It is she that must be saved. There is no knowing the depths of sadism Duke Gyges shall visit upon her..." "I owe her my life. This kingdom owes her. Countless times over. Cannot just this once we forget about responsibility and be selfish and ...just save her?" "No. NO! I too wish to leap into the void to save my dearest friend. But if I did it would show gravest dishonor. To risk and lose all he gave would hurt him far more than anything Duke Gyges could do to...her." The queen was quiet for a time, as she considered Rhea's words. "Then, what do we do?" She took a deep breath, "we wait. We hope. And if she returns, we help, help her live, help her as fiercely as she has helped us all! "...and if she never returns?" Rhea looked away out the window, at a rising crescent moon. "Listen, my queen. When Siproites was but a pageboy and I just a priestess, we would talk long into the night about the infinite power that upholds and sustains the world and the heavens. Was it the gods' designs, or simply random chance, we would wonder?" "He told me that for him, the kingdom, the world and the stars in the sky, all were upheld by one very simple thing: each rock, tree, animal, person, or god, must fulfill its function in life, its duty." "So, to honor Siproites' life and his sacrifice, we must do OUR duty. Her back stiffened, "I, to serve the goddess to my utmost and pass her teachings and love to the people. You, to being the wisest and best queen our people have known, as Siproites said you would." Tears streamed down Iambe's face, "I will try. The goddess knows I will try. But Siproites ever acted selflessly, and this was the reward?" The queen gave out a long sigh, "...do you ... do you think she may ever know ...peace, or happiness? There was never one who deserved it more. And I so yearn for it to be!" Rheas' eyes watered as well, "We will pray, my queen. Oh, will we pray!" *** "Well, which way?" the duke had grabbed a handful of Siproites' hair, twisting and bringing her close to his face in one motion. He released his hold and shoved her roughly forward. "Speak, HEro." She stumbled and fell hard upon the ground. The duke's men laughed and catcalled as Siproites struggled to her feet with tied hands. She longed to lead them straight to their much deserved deaths, but she had given her word, so she looked about the otherworldly forest to find the way to the pool. Though she could not explain it, the forest seemed familiar to her, with the feeling of return. This time, she found the way not by picking the darkest part of the forest, but by an intuition, a tug. She wondered at this. "That way," she motioned with her head. The duke grabbed her face and wrenched it around to his once more. "Do not lead us astray Siproites, for I can do things to that new body of yours that will make you beg me for death." The duke moved away a pace as he organized his men, and Arachne slipped up to whisper in her ear: "You would not believe what he is capable of! If you're nice, I may try to spare you the worst of it. After all," she smiled wickedly, " we girls need to stick together." After they had traveled for many minutes, their column abruptly stopped. "What is it, Eryx?" the duke called forward. "Something is headed this way, m'lord," the point guard's worried call came back from the heavy bush ahead, "and it is big!" Suddenly there was a roar, a flash of fire and a scream. Then trees were smashed down as a giant green scaly dragon, with roasted Eryx dangling in its mouth, came crashing upon them. Everyone scattered in the chaos. Two of the duke's guards grabbed the bound girl and carried her away from the rest of the group and into a dense thicket. After running with her for several moments they dropped her to the ground, where one guard quickly covered her mouth with his hand while the other stood and searched in a 360 degree radius. "I don't sees no ones, Adelphos," the standing guard advised in a low tone. "That there's good news, Orrin," Adelphos replied, as he sat atop the struggling girl. "I spect we should 'ave enough time to get proply introduced to the lady." The girl bit Adelphos' hand, which he withdrew with a yelp. "Get off me, worm!! Ggullll," the hand had been replaced over her mouth. "You'll see my worm soon enough my pretty little 'arlot. My friend 'n I 'ave been admirn' yer assets since we laid eyes on ye. And now we'll takes our reward for sav'n ya from the 'orrible monster. Shall I take first honors, Orrin, or will it be both agether?" Before Orrin could reply, the girl managed to swing her leg over Adelphos' chest and flipped him off of her in a precise wrestling move. He tumbled into Orrin, knocking him to the ground as well. Hesitating not an instant, the girl tottered to her feet and flew off into the trees, with the lustful guards stumbling and cursing after. When she had run some distance, she stopped to get her bearings, and spied a mound ahead that looked very familiar. "Sykeus?!" Suddenly the mound stirred and a gigantic sleepy head raised. "Eh? What's this? A nymph with tethered arms has roused old Sykeus from his sleep?" "I... its me, um ...Siproites," the name seemed hard to say. "The one who came here earlier and promised to return again when you were hungry." The giant's eyes squinted as he tried to fathom the girl's words. Then he let out a long rumble of a laugh. "Ahhh, the thick-hided warrior, I remember! I see you found the goddess' pool after all. But I cannot eat you now, for you are one of hers; she would have my head for it." She wondered at this, but shrugged when its meaning escaped her. "Well, that is good to hear, but I can still fulfill my promise, for close behind me are two who you may wish to... ingest." "Truly?" He raised his head higher in interest. "Ah! It is so, there they are!" The massive titan jumped to his feet surprisingly quickly, and bounded a couple of large paces. Just as quickly he returned with screaming Orrin in his left hand, and terrified Adelphos in his right. "You fulfill your promises most excellently, little nymph. Is there any way I may thank you for this fine meal?" "Could you cut these bonds that bind my hands?" "Hmm." Sykeus considered. " My own hands are awfully large to snap such a tiny thread. I may accidentally remove one of your arms in the attempt. If that is acceptable, I will try at once." "N- no thanks, Sykeus, I may have need of my arms. Perhaps if you could point me to where the other mortal men are in the forest, I shall go to rejoin them." The titan cocked his head to listen to the forest sounds. Then he waved Orrin in a direction. "They lie that way, perhaps twenty paces." "Twenty of your paces?" "Yes, and from the sound of things they are battling something." "A dragon?" "No, I smell no fire. It is something else, a very angry something else." The girl began walking in the direction the titan had indicated, but turned her head back to Sykeus for a moment. "Fare you well great Sykeus." "Farb wuklg tof youg, liltgle nymphms" The titan was already vigorously chewing Orrin; only a booted foot still protruded from the titan's lips. Adelphos had fainted in his other hand. "Noble Sykeus! Surely you have heard that it is rude to speak with food in your mouth?" she called from a distance. A hearty belch was his reply. A disconcerting sense fell over the girl as she wandered through the forest in the direction the giant had pointed. She was feeling more and more at home in this strange land and less and less that she knew who she was, or what she was becoming still. She tried to speak a mantra of reassurance: "Siproites I was, ...Siproites I am ...and Siproites I shall ever be." The words didn't sound right, spoken in her new high musical voice. She tried again, though, hoping that its repetition would make the odd feeling pass. "Siproites I was, Sipro ...Si ...I am ... I am Sip ... I ..." Something prevented her from speaking her own name! She huffed in frustration, then blurted out: "and ...Dianthe...I shall be !" 'Dianthe! What name is this?' A loud screeching interrupted her meditations, a screeching followed by agitated shouts of men. She ran as best she could towards the noise and came upon the duke's men in a clearing. They had just cast several ropes over a magnificent gryphon and were trying to subdue it. "Where have you been?" Arachne snapped, grabbing the girl by her bound arms. "I was um ...separated when the dragon came through and have just now found my way back. What are they doing with the beast?" "Denes the Lessor wandered into yonder ravine," she answered. "He came out yelling of piles of gold, then that creature rose up behind him and slashed him in two." The girl quickly glanced to see a head and torso of a man lying in a bloody pool nearby, and a pair of legs further on. "Rather than simply kill it," Arachne continued, "the duke has devised another plan. He wishes to capture the beast alive and bring it with us when we return to our land. It will be a surprise gift he will unleash upon the Queen's Guard that most surely shall be waiting to ambush us on our return." "My love is ingenious is he not?" she added, smiling in admiration. 'She actually believes that that ...vicious animal could love something other than himself, that ...that he loves ...her!' the girl stared at Arachne in disbelieving wonder. Arachne mistook the look, "Too late you realize the true magnificence of Duke Gyges." She then painfully twisted the girl to bring her close. "Always remember that he is mine!" she hissed into the girl's ear. She stepped away a pace. "But come. The duke must know that his favorite guide has returned." Arachne led the girl to where the duke stood coordinating the attack upon the gryphon. "No, you fools, you must throw the ropes together and pull at the same time!" "How goes it my lord?" "Not now, woman, cannot you see..." he barked as he glanced quickly at Arachne in disgust, but a look of momentary surprise flashed across his face when he saw the girl. "Ah, Siproites! The men grumbled that their pretty guide had deserted them, but I told them that like a bad drachma you always turn up. After all," he laughed, "you gave me your word..." "...Hey Melancton, you dolt, you've gotten too close!" One of his guards had tried to loop a rope around a fore-talon of the gryphon. The beast swiftly sliced the man's arm off with a free hind- talon. Melancton lay writhing and screaming on the ground, the blood pouring from the stump. Another of the guards left the attack to help bleeding man. "You! Aristo! Back to position! Melancton will tend to himself. I must have this beast!" Turning to the girl again he said, "What good fortune has befallen us already on this journey! There is a river of gold in the ravine! And Lady Arachne has informed you of my plans for the beast and the Queen's Guard? Clever no?" "I think it folly to possess a weapon that cannot distinguish friend from foe." "Ha! What a very Siproites-like thing to say. It truly highlights your weakness: you actually care what happens to your men." The girl shot a look to Arachne as if to say, 'this is the man that you think loves you?' Arachne caught her glance and quickly looked away. It took nearly an hour, and many severe lacerations to the duke's men, but they eventually won the upper hand in the struggle and immobilized and tightly tied together the talons of the screeching beast. When they finally had time to aid Melancton, they found that he had not tended to himself very well, having, in fact, bled to death. The duke took the loss in his typically compassionate fashion: "Gods' cruelty! Another man down! At this rate I shall have none left to carry my treasure save myself! ...Has anyone seen Adelphos or Orrin?" He thought a moment then turned to the girl. "Siproites, I seem to recall them following after you when the dragon charged our troop. Have you done something with them, perhaps?" She laughed, "look at me! Do I look as though I could ...dispose of your guards with this body, bound as it is? Or do you suppose I have a giant at my call, that has snatched them away at my command?" The duke looked at her for a long moment and an expression passed over his face that made her uneasy. "No, I suppose not. You look ...helpless ...to me, and I freely admit that I find it very ...stimulating." Darkly he smiled, and ran his hands through her hair, whispering "Oh the plans I have for you, my pretty little hero." She tried to pull her head away but he grasped her hair tightly to pull it close to his. The thought occurred to her that he was trying to kiss. "Duke Gyges?" Arachne called out. Gyges released the girl and stepped back a pace. As Arachne approached, she saw the duke's face bore the same strange look it had when first he learned of Siproites' transformation. "I have stitched and woven your men's wounds together as best I can. But they must rest before we move on." "Yes, yes, I suppose so," the duke replied, irritated at the interruption. "We'll make camp here. We shall eat what food you packed and sleep for some hours before pushing on. I'll set up a rotating watch for the gryphon." The duke had further inspiration "...and take our pretty guide with you. Secure her also so that she may be watched with the beast. Place her ...just ...barely ...out of its claws reach." Arachne's eyes were lit with delight, "immediately, my lord!" "Why?" the girl asked Arachne in confusion as she shoved the girl her forward. "I've given him promise ... I could have run away, but didn't. Why?" "Because he can. Because it pleases him. You should learn to accept this, slave, for it is your future. You are no different to him than the beast we captured or treasure we collect. You are his to do with as he wishes. And" she grinned, "you are also mine!" "Lady Arachne, please heed me! He will betray you too. He betrays everyone. He is evil itself..." Arachne slapped the girl as hard as she could, once, twice, and a third time, finally knocking the girl down. "Silence! Don't ever speak those words to me again!" The girl looked up through stinging pain, "I was only trying to..." Arachne slapped her again. "I see that I shall have to silence you myself." She quickly removed some cloth and rope from one of the packs the guards carried. Stuffing the cloth in the girl's mouth, she wound the rope tightly around her head to keep the cloth in place. "There. Any more advice for me? No? Then move!" She shoved the girl forward again. Later, much later, the girl stewed as she worked against the ropes that bound her hands and legs. Arachne had gone to great effort to utterly degrade her. She asked if the girl needed to relieve herself before she was secured, and the girl at first thought it the smallest of kindnesses. But when Arachne insisted on watching the bound girl struggle to perform the unfamiliar act, or rather a familiar act delivered in an unfamiliar way, the real goal became clear. The girl had needed relief badly, and turned beet red, when, as she awkwardly managed to squat, Arachne burst into harsh laughter: "Oh great Siproites, where has thy manhood fled?" She stripped the girl of her clothing, and tied her in a way that caused pain to burn through over-stretched joints. Her final cruel touch was to blindfold the girl. So there she lay, unable to talk or move or see or do anything but think, on Arachne's question that still rang in her ears. Deeper even than her loss of male-ness, she wondered: 'Where has my humanity fled?' Had she not always been true? Had she not always fulfilled her duty? Her honor? Then why had she come to this? Why this her reward: humiliated, helpless, and naked before her enemies, trapped in an alien body, lost in an alien land? For the first time in her long, storied life, despair welled up in her, a bile taste coming to her mouth. 'This must be exactly what the duke had intended,' she bitterly thought. So she tried instead to think of past memories of battle, or hardships, where resolve had seen her through. To drink courage from those memories. But they would not come, save as hollow-eyed ghosts. 'Is there nothing then? Is it all nothing? All I was, all I did, all meaningless?' Then, a true image did form in her mind, she saw again, saw for the first time: the face of the goddess, as it smiled upon her at her the spring, smiled on her now: "Come to me... Come to me... Come to me..." Tears of sorrow mixed equally with tears of ecstasy, and she gave herself, at that moment, gave herself completely, to simply, feeling. Her tears streamed from her blindfolded eyes, down off of her cheeks, and where they dropped, delicate white-scented flowers sprang from the ground. * Little nymph! Do not cry, I will help you.* Her weeping softened as she turned her head to hear who had spoken. *Over here, little one.* The words formed in her head rather than coming to her through her ears! An image of the fierce regal face of the gryphon staring at her in concern appeared in her mind. *Y-yes? * *I will help you, we can help each other escape these dreadful mortals.* She could talk with the creature by thinking! How odd! *Y-you called me nymph. Why?* It was what Sykeus had called her as well. The gryphon sounded amused, *You play with me now, little nymph. Only nymphs and gods can speak to all things living, as you speak to me now.* The girl puzzled over that response for a moment. *What is your name, noble gryphon?* *I am swift-footed Ava,* she answered proudly. *Which nymph are you?* No name would come to her! She knew who she had been, but could not even think its sound as applying to her now. *I don't know!* she replied miserably. *Don't fret, beautiful one. Surely these men have worked some evil upon you to make you forget. But listen now, for I see the man guard has fallen asleep!* The girl reasoned that the sentry... Erasmus was it? ...must be exhausted from the fight with Ava and the wounds he received. *If you will come closer, I can cut your bonds with my talons.* In a way she could not understand, much less explain, the girl knew she could trust the powerful beast. But Arachne had bound her well. *I cannot move! The bonds are too tight!* *Try, little one, I do not know how long the man guard shall sleep. You must be free and I must save my eggs! * 'The agate stones are her eggs!' She knew this, but how? *Okay, I'll try.* With intense focus and patience and force of sheer will, the girl scotched and wiggled and moved first a hair's width closer towards the gryphon, then another, and another... She could not help but smile at the ridiculous image she must present, a naked girl wiggling in the dust. 'I wonder how the ballads would sing of this...the Slayer of Black Bull, the Hunter of the Winter Solstice Chase, the Wiggler of the Four Inches...' *Good! There! Now hold still.* She felt a slight tug at her arms, and then they were free. She stretched them out in relief, then quickly removed the blindfold and gag and untied her legs. Moving swiftly, she removed the ropes from Ava as well. *Thank you little one.* The gryphon nuzzled the girl's face. *What shall we do now? The men have my eggs, and they have taken all my gold.* *We shall save your eggs, but ...why do you need to save your gold?* Ava shrugged her lioness shoulders, *It is what gryphons do...we guard gold. It is our duty.* The girl understood that completely. She thought a moment, then intuition came to her. *The pool of the goddess is close by isn't it?* *I think so. You would know better then I.* *Yes! I feel it calling me! It is just over there!* *Through the thrashing trees. Perhaps so, yes! * *Wait here but a few more minutes, Ava. I have a thought to draw them away to the pool of the goddess. When I do, you will be free of them.* *No! It is too dangerous for a little one such as you. Instead, let me slash them all with my talons!* *But if you should become hurt, then what of you eggs? * Worry crossed the gryphon's ferocious face, *It is true they soon hatch! And if I am hurt or killed, they die. But you cannot do this alone! We fight together!* *Patience fearless Ava! Trust me. For the fates have decreed ... it is my fate, I think ...I don't know how to explain this ...it is fated that I ...lead them to ...the goddess' pool. Something awaits them there, and also me, although I know not whether it be good or ill.* She loosely wrapped the ropes around Ava to give the appearance she was still secure. *When I draw them away from here, they may leave one to guard you. If so, I am sure you will introduce yourself to him.* The powerful creature looked at the girl with a fierce gleam in her eye. *That conversation will be brief...* The girl smiled mischievously in reply, and hurried off into the green dark. Her approach to the sacred pool of the goddess differed markedly from her last. This time, the trees brushed lightly against her, caressingly... She stopped once to touch a mighty oak and felt its pulsing sap, heard its strange sentience speak to her in her mind, in the same manner as her speech with the gryphon. Its language was of tones and colors, and when she pulled her hand away, she had learned that through the rustling of leaves, and branches, the trees whispered to each other. Further on, she stopped among cool vining plants, that gently curled their shoots around her body, wrapping her in exotic leafy clothing. When she arrived at the spring of Nymphaios this second time, she found it empty and quiet, save for a gentle wind across the grassy shore. Even empty, she could feel the hum of its power, the power of the goddess of the wild wood. A voice called from deep in her soul, a sweet fluting voice that sang to her,: 'you are home.' Gingerly, she walked to the magical water's edge and knelt down, where she saw the smooth erotic face of a woman, staring back at her with mysterious oval hazel eyes. "Have we met? What is your name?" she asked the reflection. *Dianthe* the reflection answered. 'That name again!' Sighing, she turned away, and began examining the jewels that lay upon the beach. After a moment, she found what she needed, a large, almost ostrich sized emerald that glowed with mesmerizing green light. With jewel in hand, she darted back into the forest, dancing towards where the duke and his men lay sleeping. *** The duke grumbled in his fitful slumber. Every so often he was awakened by some strange noise of this accused place. Returning to sleep was a chore; Arachne had not anticipated that they would be gone from their land for more than a few hours and so had included neither tents nor bedding in the provisions she had prepared. The duke was forced to find what comfort he could with leaves and soft ground. 'Cursed woman!' He knew it was not her fault, but it made him feel better to say so. He blinked in disbelief when he saw a green glowing orb floating towards him. As he focused, he saw that the object was an enormous emerald held by small hands. It was, by far, the largest jewel he had ever seen. "Duke! Duke Gyges! Look! See! Your reward is near! You