Holding green light lamps, Glax and Alexandre entered the second basement of the family's mausoleum. The Valosian would have stopped to admire the works of art of Before the Ascension, but they had little time.
"What if the Old Invisible God punishes us for this, Glax? How are we different from the body thief with a mechanical eye?" Alexandre murmured, even though he was going in front of his teacher. Glax murmured back.
"Alexandre, pay attention. We had little trouble getting in here, did we?" Glax looked closely around him, not because of the beautiful statues and vases, but because he was surrounded by remains. There were no soul orbs around. Still, it was not pleasant, and it smelled of dust, mold and death. There were many names, many mortal remains.
"Because I know the place?"
"No, Alexandre. Because the place is not protected as it should be. After a body thief did all that to get the general's body, why aren't there guards both outside and inside this family crypt?"
"Ahh. Got it. But don't you think the guard might be at the Mausoleum of Heroes, to deceive the thief? After all, that was where she should be. And, the thief may not know where our mausoleum is..." the boy argued. Coming from the people known for the Trojan Horse, it had some logic, Glax admitted.
"If you noticed, my colleague Ras, who is out there now on guard, easily discovered where the mausoleum was. Why wouldn't someone else find out?"
The younger man didn't retort this time, looking carefully at the signs on the thresholds between one room and another to decide where to go next. The place was much bigger than Glax imagined, by the way, expanding through the underground in antechambers, stairs, corridors, and more chambers. Above the porches were poetic quotes that seemed to indicate which room was which.
Then, finally, after descending a wide staircase, they arrived at the newest part of the subterranean building. The colors of the frescoes and fabrics were more vivid, the objects newer. The earthy smell was also stronger.
The new room was large and still relatively empty, except for a few tombs, statues, and recent offerings.
In the center, a tomb adorned with flowers and with farewell gifts for Chriseis attracted the eye of both. Without delay, they went there.
"We shouldn't be here, Glax. We shouldn't be here after the final rituals have been done..." there was a slight tremor in the younger man's voice.
"Are you not noticing that ... is it still possible to breathe in here?" Glax asked, running his hand over the edges of the marble coffin where his wife was supposed to be. But he had strong doubts about that.
"Yes, it's because... her body was prepared?"
"They did anything special to preserve the body. Several days have passed, Alexandre ... several days." This time Glax spoke with a hint of malice, as he caught out of the corner of his eye how the archigeos' son was sweating.
He realized that the stone coffin was sealed with mortar and several linen-made seals glued to it.
"This is normal?" he asked Alexander.
The boy looked over, and shook his head. "No. Not those seals. Well, if the thief had already come, the seals wouldn't be there, would they? Let's go, please. This is an affront to the gods of the underworld."
"Does that mean you are not going to help me?" Glax put the flashlight he was carrying on the floor, preparing for what he had to do.
"Are you going to open it?!" The boy's incredulous question would not prevent him from opening the sarcophagus. He hadn't left the ship where he was supposed to be for nothing.
With the tip of his sword, Glax started to remove the mortar.
Zhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
A strange noise caught his attention, followed by a louder sound.
"Tsc Tsc, grave robbers..." the familiar voice made Glax shiver. Alexander tripped over him, turning to look at the figure emerging from the shadows from the bottom of the crypt.
The valosian took the boy's lamp, illuminating the newcomer.
The god of the roads.
"Oh, this is the last place where I expected to see you," he tried to be relaxed and smile, although he wasn't sure it would affect the god's mood. The other guy had twinkling, mischievous eyes, and an ironic smile on his lips.
"I can say the same, Valosian."
"We meet each other in the most unusual situations… Alexandre, this is my friend…" Glax introduced the god, to fish out who the god was at last. He had a suspicion, but he was also not an expert on myths.
"Shame on you! Are you really going to teach young Kroton to be a grave robber?" The god ignored what Glax said.
Alexandre shook his head in vehement denial.
Glax frowned.
"That wasn't the lesson I intended. I don't want to take anything from here. Just make sure that... That my wife is fine, under the circumstances. You know. If she can really rest in peace, or reincarnate normally..."
"You don't even know what happens after death, and how do you really think about making sure of something?" The young god leaned against a column and crossed his arms.
"I should check if, to begin with, her body is here."
"What if it isn't?"
"So I have to find it, find out who got it out of here, and ... fix things," the Valosian replied calmly.
"I'm glad you think so. Because I didn't come to meet you. But to fetch this woman's soul away."
The answer, of course, shocked Glax. He shook his head in denial.
"Why?"
"I know who he is ..." Alexandre finally whispered, behind Glax.
"Shhhh… Glax did not have the excellent education you had, young Kroton. He doesn't know much about Hell." The whisper did not escape the god. Perhaps he was also the god of spies, because even Glax had had a hard time hearing Alexander.
"Sheesh. You can be a god, but you see, with no intention to offend, you said that everyone forgot you," he pondered.
"Isn't it ironic? Which doesn't mean that my work is over. It's one of the issues of being irreplaceable. They can change your name, even delete it, but there you are, being asked for again. So, here I am, I came to fetch this woman to her next destination… whatever it is."
"Hey, wait a sec. Since we're here, at least explain what's going on. Because I really don't understand. We are already in Hell, right? The Hell that Ascended. Where do you want to take it, anyway? "
The god thought for a moment, as if he wanted to speak out his mind. But then he gave an almost childlike smile.
"I'm not here to spoil the surprise of what death is! Let's say that, as part of this irrefutable job offer, I can't say anything about it. But now, please, let me through? Well, well..."
Only now, when the god approached and his body came out of the shadows, did Glax notice an impressive detail. The unknown god used a divine machine.
Under his sandals, he floated a few inches off the ground on two circular platforms made of, oh, galeon, decorated with small winged shields ... an air-powered hover shoes? The wonder was powered by ichor. He could see that the equipment was much more than a transport gadget, like those he knew in his old world. The mechanisms worked perfectly, and he was very curious to know how fast those hovers could perform.
But the identity of the god of the roads had finally been revealed, and it was no less important. Glax had his suspicions, but now he was sure.
"But I know your name, God of the Roads. You are Hermes. Or Mercury. Or..."
"OH! Oh! SHEEESH!" Hermes reacted like a roulette wheel, deciding emotion. First surprise, then joy, then worry. And finally, he shook his finger imperiously, but there was humor in it. "Don't speak up! Heavens! I haven't heard my name in a long time! Oh, it's so embarrassing!"
Alexandre spoke loudly this time, after clearing his throat!
"This simple-minded man just thinks my cousin's body was stolen before she got here, oh portentous god!" and completed, lowering his head under the penetrating gaze of the god "He's very zealous, actually. And a little slow _ he's a mountain man."
Glax gaped at him in shock. Where was the boy who said he was the coolest thing since they invented the Olympics?
"It comes as a surprise that he's so zealous! Or maybe not..." Hermes pretended to be thoughtful.
Glax didn't intend to become a joke, and said dryly, "You can see the orb is not here." He gestured to the tomb.
"Ahh, sure. It must be why I had to come." The god's brown eyes followed the movement.
"To be honest ..." Glax decided to reveal his cards, even in the presence of Alexandre. "I think Chriseis's soul is in the mechanical arm."
"UHHH ..." the young god moaned as if he had been kicked in the balls. "I wondered what happened in those cases! So that's it."
Glax stared at him, and the god looked back at him. Of course, Glax couldn't ask for empathy. they were clear to Mercury.
Glax stepped out of the sarcophagus. "Well, I don't want to disturb you. You can continue what you came to do. In fact, all I want is for Chriseis not to be...
"Not to be...?" The god motioned for him to finish what he was saying.
Well, he didn't know. He wanted her to have a decent rest, that was it.
"I thought you were the Messenger God." He changed the subject: "Did you take Charonte's place?"
"Tsk tsk. For a moment, I thought you knew a thing or two."
Glax looked at Alexandre, asking for a hint with his gaze, but the boy kept his eyes fixed on the god, without blinking.
Hermes advanced to the sarcophagus, sliding with his floating shoes on a half-circle. "I'll take the mechanical arm. I hope this solves everyone's problem."
"You are a god, you should know that ..."
"Think about what you are going to say, Glax. Our relationship could be shaken if you are rude..." Hermes put his hand on the slab, and turned to Glax with a frown. "She's not here."
"I said that from the beginning."
With an exacerbated sigh and a gesture, Hermes urged,
"Open this at once!!!"
Alexander and Glax obeyed the god. When the stone slab was removed, Glax didn't know what to expect.
Hermes and the two humans spied the contents of the sarcophagus.