Inferno Ascended

Feeling like a complete idiot for being outsmarted by that idle, unscrupulous, arrogant, smart-ass god with that stupid badass look, Glax decided he wasn't going to let it go. And more than that, he was going to get his vselys clock back.

"Why does he want the clock?" he mumbled to himself. Alekos looked at him with concern. The young Kroton seemed in a good mood now that a few hours of rest after Zotikos's work had completely cured him.

"Has something happened, Master?"

"Both my to-do and ass-kicking list are getting too long. I had a simple plan that is getting farther and farther away. Why must it be this way?" He vented to his student as he descended the stairs. Alexander went down after him.

"The gods want it that way, Master! Isn't it exciting? Many Stygians at most might try to emulate the feats that once brought them here as heroes! But the gods pay special attention to everything you do!"

Glax dismissed the idea with disdain, "Hyperion, Theia and the other Ascended ones, busy with me? Pffff! If they had even seen what happened… But. What are you talking about?"

"Hm?"

"About heroes and such?"

"Ah, I'm talking about that old story... That all krios are reincarnations of heroes who inhabited Elysium and the Fortunate Isle..."

"So you mean that, not having been born krios, I'm not the reincarnation of a hero?"

"Nah. YOU OBVIOUSLY ARE, MASTER!!" Alekos hugged his master affectionately. Glax pushed him away with a sardonic smile.

"But according to your theory, I couldn't be. I just. Couldn't. Be."

"Nah. Many heroes had no glory in life, and died forgotten. Some were betrayed by their loved ones and left unburied or worse. Some simply didn't have the necessary rites and their tombs became anonymous… But that doesn't mean they weren't heroic and deserving. These naturally stand out in the population. But of course, only the Echelians pay attention to this. Lady Kalanthe! And you, Master! Lord Rasmus! Even my annoying prick-in-law Proctius! Elsewhere, my dad said, they don't give a shit who you are on the inside, if you're not a krios."

"Hm. From whom are we Echelians really descended?"

"Ajax, Amphiaraus, and Agamemnon! The 3 'As'!"

"Looks like you memorized something at the military academy. Come on, let's prepare everything! I don't want to think about what I lost last night."

"Master, speaking of the gods... Don't you think we should offer the gods something so they can provide our victory?"

Glax scratched his head. And then he whispered to his pupil, "Listen Alekos… I suspect I have an exclusivity contract and if I break it, I'll regret it bitterly."

"Exclusivity contract?"

"Yeah, it's like…if I agreed with the owner of the Nike sandals I can only wear Nike sandals and no other sandal."

"But… what's the reason?"

"Because I want the owner of the Nike sandals to pay me a lot of money so I can go around wearing the Nike sandals. Because they're very comfortable to wear when I'm out there slaying, chopping off opponents' heads and destroying metal monsters! They're stylish, too, and only cool guys use Nike sandals!" He flashed Alexander a beaming smile. At least on the outside he wanted to pretend he wasn't gnawing with frustration and fear of making business with Stygians or gods alike. "But of course, I couldn't wear another sandal while the contract lasted."

"Oh, of course! Because you are the champion of Armorion! He'd win more money than Minos!"

"Yes," Glax winked at his pupil. "You understand what an exclusive contract with a celebrity is. Congratulations!"

The rest of the squad were already on their feet and also getting ready. 

"But in the case of Herm…" the boy whispered again. "In the case of your patron, you can't talk about him around, can you?"

"I think not. Still, he gives me nice things and I think if I start asking other gods for help, he'll be mad. Like, like I don't trust him."

"It makes perfect sense, master. But, don't you think other gods might be intrigued to know who your patron is? Don't you think they might think you're being proud of not looking for them?"

The day before he had nearly died 3 times, and was saved by the power of the clock. What would happen when he had only pretty meager weapons? And his 'Lightning Summoner' artifact - in fact, was nothing more, nothing less, than a divine taser?

"I'm going to have to trust Hermes to cover my back on this one." He shrugged. "And I hope he helps today, too. Because last night, when I went to sleep, everything seemed so much easier. But now I'm not so confident."

::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thersos pointed to the muddy road they saw winding into a huge cavern.

The entire entrance was secured by poles and support columns. Semi-destroyed sheds and mounds of scrap covered with overgrown weeds showed the state of abandonment of the ore mine. There were no wagons and even the rebars on the rails were gone.

"Going up that ramp, we'll reach an underground entrance to the factory. Last time I tried to go past these gates, but I almost got caught by that sonofaputa centaur. But now we don't have that problem." Thersos explained.

"You told Glax he has 'workers' in there. Can they attack us?" Pydna questioned.

"I was attacked once. They are not prepared for fighting, but they can throw things and carry weapons."

"Let's not underestimate them," Glax spoke. 

All had refilled their cartridges or replaced their weapons with new options Thersos had provided. 

Glax now carried a carabiner that looked more like a blunderbuss. The weapon _ created by the steam man who had left the laboratory for Thersos_ had improved firepower because of an innovation in its loading. He enhanced the gunpowder with peat amber, a sort of small, greenish, and smelly grains.

According to Thersos, the effect was devastating.

"I discovered the peat amber here with Marcus. We've developed a weapon that withstands the impact of that shot. This substance will make the shot more powerful. It's second to none, but it requires an experienced marksman," the armorer had said proudly.

Glax didn't know what chemicals made up peat amber. After all, Stygia had things he had never seen. 

But watching Thersos use the weapon just once had already filled him with youthful excitement. The damage the lead pellets did to the door that was the target of the demonstration impressed all of them. Peat Amber was a potent additive and increased damage by several times! In addition, the muzzle of the gun spat out a long blaze of fire following the shot.

Unfortunately, the inconvenience of reloading the gunpowder and lead balls down the barrel through a type of funnel did not allow for quick action.

Alexander did not know how to shoot, as did Zotikos, and they kept to the same weapons as the day before. Pydna would go in the rear, for despite having all her wounds closed by the iatromancer's healing channel, she still felt weak from the loss of blood.

Looking at the group and seeing that everyone was ready to go in, he nodded and went ahead. 

There were no orbs floating around, even when they came across decomposed bodies closer to the mine. Glax could identify some signs that they were Aegeons, though nothing of metal was in sight.

When they reached the end of the ramp, and near the entrance to the tunnel that led to the factory, Glax saw strange writing on the columns. He couldn't decipher what was written this time. Zotikos stepped forward, adjusting his super thick glasses in front of his eyes.

Glax just knew it wasn't the language of Stygia and it wasn't the language of the vselys either.

"What is written there?"

"I don't know. But I've seen it before, I'm sure."

"It was Sarpedon who ordered this to be written. I told you, he's a Pharys necromancer and those are the damn symbols he uses to control everything." Thersos informed.

"If so, why didn't you just throw lime on these drawings?" Pydna rolled her eyes.

Thersos blinked, shocked at the idea. "I-I didn't think about that, Lady Damastios. I was very…"

"That's not a necromancer's scribbling or anything like that. This is the ancient language of the Infernal Court!" Tychos spoke with a condescending look. "Of course you all have forgotten about that. But my little tribe is descended from Queen Persephone's nymph handmaidens, and still holds this knowledge."

Everyone was impressed and looked at Tychos with respect. The warrior puffed out his chest, taking advantage of this moment when his small ethnicity got some stage time.

"And can you read this?" Alexander asked Tychos.

"Of course not. I can't read anything. Letters and dead spiders are all the same to me. Furthermore, this is a knowledge that only some women of my tribe possess."

"Ah, showed off for nothing," Zotikos grumbled. "We don't know what it means, Lord Glax. That's what matters. Shall we go in any way?"

Glax looked at the letters again, imagining that, yes, they were signs of some ancient and powerful magic. But he couldn't do anything about it.

"Maybe it's just the warning that the factory is under new management." Glax blinked. "Come on, we don't have to be intimidated by mere graffiti. We are Aegeons! Forward!"

"Lord Glax, that's not how it works with Aegeons," Pydna was sarcastic. "It goes something like this: 'We're already fucked up! What worse can happen?'

"Exactly. Move your fat asses.." He raised his blunderbuss as a signal to enter.