"Hermes, draw near, and to my prayer incline, messenger of Zeus, and Maia's son divine; prefect of contests, ruler of mankind, with heart almighty, and a prudent mind. With winged feet 'tis thine through air to course, O friend of man, and prophet of discourse; great life-supporter, to rejoice is thine, in arts gymnastic, and in fraud divine." - Orphic Hymn 28 to Hermes (trans. Taylor)
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As Alex approached the entrance to the druid village, he stopped to consider something. He looked at the raven-haired beauty on his shoulder and couldn't help but appreciate her fine curves showing through her dress. 'Now that we've almost arrived...should I get a quick feel to pay for the taxi ride?'
He looked at his hand, practicing squeezing motions while considering it. 'A man should never pass up on opportunities.' His face morphed into a lecherous expression.
Suddenly, he felt a dark atmosphere surround him, like he was being pricked by needles all over. He looked up to see two black eyes looking at him coldly like they were looking at a corpse. Alex showed a bright smile and started turning his hand in circles like he was only just stretching it earlier.
Hecate jumped down from his shoulder and created some distance. She started chanting to prepare an ice spear against that dirty horse she just woke up on. Then she realized he was gone. "Where are you? Show yourself!"
Alex was sweating. "Is this how you treat your saviors? I just rescued you from the werewolves and brought you back to your village!"
'Would a savior have a face like that?' Hecate sneered internally. "Oh really? I appreciate that. Show yourself so I can thank you properly."
Alex was watching the 5th ice spear form. 'Scott, do something...'
'Don't worry, Sir. I'll handle this.' Alex summoned Scott to talk peace.
"Hecate, long time no se-" Scott didn't finish his sentence before turning into an ice porcupine and disintegrating into light.
"Hermes, of course it's you. If there's a scheme, leave it to you to be at the center of it."
'...Hermes? Wtf Scott, why do you have so many aliases? Dude...your vibe is 100% international criminal,' Alex accused.
Scott was not having the best day.
'Lord, let me handle this,' Hades declared. Alex summoned Hades to diffuse the situation.
"Hecate, hey girl, it's Hades baby!"
*Fwoosh*
The forest became a beautiful ice garden.
"Damn pervert! Each one is worse than the last!"
That was about what Alex expected actually, so he wasn't disappointed this time. 'Houdini, you're a magician, right? Maybe she'll reason with you if you impress her with your magic skills.' Alex summoned Houdini to give it a try.
Hecate was forming more ice spears behind her. Houdini watched as they dazzled under the sunlight, floating in the air while slowly rotating, showcasing the impressive power of her magic. He looked down at his deck of playing cards, considering his best move of reply. Several seconds later, his eyes shined and he knew what to do. With graceful posture, he fanned out the cards in front of him, pointing them in Hecate's direction, "Pick a card, my lad—"
*Fwoosh* *Fwoosh* *Fwoosh*
Another failure. 'What the hell was that Houdini? That's your magic? What are you 5?!?' Alex berated him.
Houdini was curled up in a ball in a corner of Cardopolis.
The noise had finally attracted people from the village. A group of druids and witches ran out. When they saw Hecate, they expressed great joy and relief. "My lady!" they shouted as they bowed their heads.
Devana came out soon after. She saw the field of ice spears and knitted her brows. "Hecate, are you alright? What happened?"
"...I'm not sure. I woke up being carried by some pervert. Then he turned invisible and brought out a freakshow of scumbags to harass me," Hecate responded.
'Did you guys hear that? Our image is ruined. Is this what I'm paying you for?' Alex scolded his Generals.
'...It was your hand though...We also haven't received any wages,' his Generals thought but forcefully buried their frustration deep down.
"Alex, are you here?" Devana asked.
"I'll come out when you disarm psycho Lindsey Lohan over there," Alex replied.
A vein throbbed on Hecate's smooth forehead as she summoned more ice spears.
"Hecate, that's enough. I gave Alex a mission to rescue you from the werewolves. To be honest, I thought it was hopeless. The fact that he actually brought you back means he probably went through no small danger. Don't be ungrateful," Devana rebuked.
Snort. Hecate reluctantly unsummoned the ice spears. A few moments later, Alex undid his invisibility and came out. "Please enter the village, we should talk," Devana requested. The group walked into the settlement. Along the way, all the villagers greeted Hecate respectfully, especially the witches.
When they finally arrived inside the house where they spoke last time, the three of them took a seat. Alex summoned Scott to join them, then explained what happened in the werewolf compound, as well as what he heard the guards discussing.
"They kidnapped me because some chosen wanted me?" Hecate gnashed her teeth. "I heard the Chiva family has a chosen nearby that likes to collect magicians..." She sneered. "Still, I'm the Greek Goddess of witchcraft. Do they really think I would stoop so low as to submit to a mortal?" At this moment she looked at Scott, not hiding the disdain in her eyes.
Scott saw that and said, "While it may have been unlikely for Gods to submit to mortals before, things are different now..."
Hecate frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Poseidon and Zeus are dead. The apocalypse approaches," Scott answered.
Hecate instantly turned as pale as a ghost. "Hermes, you can't be serious..."
"Whether it's true or not...I think you can judge for yourself. They would never have tried to kidnap you if they didn't think they had a chance of getting you to submit. With what's coming, it won't be strange for many Gods and Goddesses to choose to serve as Generals instead of falling to become mortals."
The room fell silent for a long time. The quiet was only interrupted by a shout from outside.
"Attack! The werewolves are coming!"