My body began to pull back to reality. I was woke flailing about in the pool. I felt for the sides of the pool and was only met with more water. I tried to calm my mind, but I could feel my lack of oxygen drowning my own thoughts. I finally felt the stone sides under the water with my foot. I calmed myself for a single moment, lifted my feet to the side, and pushed upwards with all my strength. I breached the surface and gasped for air. I grabbed the side and with little energy, I had left, I pulled myself out. The cold stone floor was a gift of the gods at this moment. I rested for a moment, catching my breath. My body ached from nearly drowning, but my mind was in a never-ending cycle of thoughts. I had to assume the first vision with War allowed him feasible time to let Zeus know, that I know.
I slowly crawled to my clothes, climbed to my feet, and dried myself off a bit. I then put my armor back on and sat for a moment. I understood the severity of needing to get to Fjorn right now, but the mental exhaustion was getting to me physically. I walked towards the big wooden doors and shoved them open. They once again creaked and cracked under the strain of being here for centuries.
Outside, it was still dark and the two oracles stood watch. Did they know? I walked out and nodded to them. One greeted me with a nod and the other just stared.
"Excuse me, Hercules, Zeus requested that one of us joined you in the journey back down the mountain." One of the oracles said.
"Fine, let us go," I said hesitantly.
He has to know. Which means I have to do what I have to do.
We began our slow pace down the mountain steps. He followed closely behind, silent as most oracles were.
"How do you wanna do this?" I asked.
"Sir, what do you mean?" The oracles spoke.
"I know you are delivering me to him. So, we can either do this the way where you don't get hurt or..."
"Sir, I was just told to escort you to the base of the mountain, and then return to my post." He said.
"That's quite the journey in one day's time. How would that work?" I asked.
He followed, continuing his silence. I stopped. Oracles were special guards that took watch over specific places like temples, spiritual places, and such. They were armed with a medium-sized spear and a metal shield. But even a hundred oracles were no match for me. Even in this physical state. I heard him unclip his shield from his back. I turned and faced him. But, he had no face! He was one of those things I saw in the marketplace. He jabbed his spear at the center of my chest. He had no mouth but I could hear a weird clicking sound come from him. I swatted the spear to the side and threw a punch, slamming into the center of the shield and still knocking the creature to the ground. It climbed back to its feet.
"What are you, foul creature?" I asked.
"We are known as shapeshifters. We come from the dark side of Tumall. Captured and given a purpose by Zeus himself." It spoke with clicks breaking every other word.
It threw another jab with its spear, I caught the middle of the pole and pulled him towards me. I grabbed the edge of the shield, pulled it away, and tossed it off the side of the mountain. I then broke the spear in half with my right arm. It lunged once again but with a broken wood stick. I let it jab over my shoulder, I placed my back to the creature and tossed him over me. He fell hard on the ice and began to slide from the momentum. He grabbed for anything he could but it was too slippery and too late. He slid right over the side with a low screech calling back. I was slightly breathless but that was more from being exhausted from the pool than this encounter.
I continued a faster pace down the mountain steps, I needed to get to the city before the sun rose. I ignored the cold winds that breezed over my damp hair. There were ice crystals forming on the ends. As I neared the base of the mountain, I could see the path towards the Citadel. But there had to be an easier way for me to get back into the city. I saw the heavily thick tree line on each side. The tops of the trees held the ground beneath in shadows. This was the only way, I needed to squeeze in there and find my way to the wall. I reached the base and quickly ran away from the open path towards the tree line. There was a very small opening and hoped that the darkness concealed me from anyone seeing me on the path. I pushed against the tree bark, it was extremely uncomfortable and I felt a sense of claustrophobia. There was some kind of vibration here. The moon scarcely came through the tops of the trees but I could make out the forest floors. There were these small beings that lined just about every inch of the ground. It then came to my realization, these creatures were gray-skinned shapeshifters. They were sleeping, their bodies were huddled into little balls. They breathed heavily and their bodies vibrated. There were easily hundreds of them, maybe even thousands. I didn't see any possible way to traverse this way. I had only one option, and that was unfortunately the open path to the gate.
I climbed back through the small opening in the trees. A pit filled the space where my stomach once was. Why were there so many shapeshifters here? How can I possibly get through the open path without being caught? These questions flooded my mind and I began to have an anxiety attack. I crouched and began a very slow pace down the open path, keeping close to the tree line. I turned the corner and was in view of the gate, but the guard who was here a couple of days ago seemed to not be on post. Maybe this was my chance to sneak in and get to Fjorn. I crept up to the gate and pulled the lever slowly, as if that was going to make it lift without any noise. The gate creaked once and went up smoothly. I sprinted to the nearest building. I knew Fjorns house was on the other side of the city, I just need to stick to the shadows and I will be there in no time. I followed the path that led the backway through the marketplace. I hid behind objects and buildings every time I heard someone passing by. There's no telling who's an Olympian, and who is a shapeshifter.
I could see Fjorns house just a block away. Steam rose from the chimney. I just hoped that Fjorn would remember anything and actually be able to help. We were both at risk of being caught if we didn't hurry. I ran up to the door and pulled it open, I skipped the urge to knock considering the dire situation we were in. As I pulled the door open, someone put a cloth bag over my head from behind and then all I felt was a massive pain to the back of my skull. I attempted to stay conscious and look for a way out of this, but it was too late. I was already beginning to pass out.
I awoke some cell. I looked around and saw claw marks, and blood lining the walls. Something was definitely trying to get out. I looked around for anything that could help, but all I saw was the white marble stones and a gate. I knew exactly where I was. I could hear more clearly now as the mic cut on above all the noise.
"The rules are simple, there will be one victor today. If the beast survives, it will gain its freedom on a desolate planet. If the gladiators opponent is not of beast origin, the opponent will be banished from the Citadel and will live their life in the wild. The crowd will not and may not interfere with any battle, even in favor of the gladiator. The gladiator has been givin a selection of weapons and will now display what they have chosen to the crowd. The gladiator has the option to bow out at any moment, giving the duel a stalemate. The opponents are not given such honor and they will have to battle another day. If the gladiator now chooses to continue on and fight, remain standing in the center of the arena for thirty seconds and the opponents gate will rise and the fight will begin."
The seconds ticked by more slowly than I ever anticipated they could. My gate was opening, except this time, I was on the other side.