— "We should go inside to discuss the subject of your visit. You don't know what ears lie around here." Zephyr looked suspiciously.
He said inside, but I don't see any houses around here.
— "Follow me, my friends." Zephyr walked to the tree and disappeared.
Noctua followed his steps and disappeared inside the tree too. I must be hallucinating, but it's far from being the weirdest thing I've seen around. I do the same and magically enter the tree.
— "Whoa, it is much more spacious than it looks and— What are you doing?!" I yelled at Zephyr.
— "What? I'm in my house and this is how I feel the most comfortable. You should do it too."
Zephyr was, in fact, getting into his most natural apparel, leaving only a leaf to cover his most precious parts. Noctua barely contained her laughter at the sight of my reaction. Her look depicted that she knew exactly what was about to happen.
— "Hmm, what were we talking about again? You need ambrosia to heal, haha?" I tried to change the subject.
— "Look for yourself, just yesterday this scar was about the size of a grape. Now it's the size of an apple." Zephyr looked desperate.
He took a much more comfortable pose, sitting on his couch and lifting a leg, leaving two grapes in sight under the vine leaf. I instantly turned my head around; Noctua, on the other hand, could barely hold her laughter from my reaction. I guess she got her revenge on me with this.
— "I— Isn't there a way to create this ambrosia? I mean, it must come from somewhere?" I looked the other way, my gaze falling right on a painting of him naked.
This guy is a complete narcissist! Who would hang a portrait of himself naked in his living room? Is everyone here in ancient Greece so free about nudity?!
— "There is a way, you need every fruit possible from the forest and someone pure must bathe naked in it," Zephyr smiled at me.
— "So who can bathe in it?!" I jumped from my chair.
— "Bwahaha, don't tell me you fell for this trick? Zephyr, you're the best, my friend." Noctua couldn't hold her laughter anymore and burst out laughing on the ground.
— "Fufufu, my dear Arthur, I was just messing with you. If it were that simple, everyone could make ambrosia. In fact, it's a special fermented honey that is harvested once every decade. This forest was once the home of many ambrosia cultures. It's been a long time since we saw any around here." Zephyr lost his bright smile, revealing a bit of sadness.
— "I'm sorry to hear that... But hey, Noctua, didn't you tell me you had access to knowledge of the future, since you also played *War of Duty*?!" I gasped as I just had a bright idea.
— "Technically, yes, I can. I'm known for being the owl of knowledge, after all." Noctua struck a pose to brag about her title.
— "If ambrosia is just fermented honey, with the knowledge of the future, we might find hints about the fermentation process! Many scientists must have worked on the subject, right?"
— "Arthur, you're not half an idiot, this is actually a bright idea!" Noctua flew up with excitement.
— "Indeed, I am impressed—very worthy of a hero! You deserve your title, Hero Arthur." Zephyr applauded.
— "Okay, leave it to me. Just step back, please," Noctua advised us.
— "Trust me, you should do as she says." Zephyr pressed himself against a wall.
I barely had time to take cover when Noctua suddenly levitated. Her eyes glowed a bright blue, and veins with inscriptions appeared on her wings. A wind coming out of nowhere twirled around her, making it hard to see what was happening.
A few minutes passed before Noctua elegantly descended to the ground. The bright colors disappeared, and her consciousness returned.
— "I found it! Actually, it's simpler than I thought. But we need a hot spot—not too hot—and honey, lots and lots of honey," Noctua ordered.
— "Consider it done, my friend," said Zephyr elegantly.
Zephyr came back in an instant with honey pots, more than enough to feed a dozen bears on a sugar high.
— "Will this be enough?" Zephyr asked.
— "It's perfect. Now, we need to keep the temperature constant at 30°C in a closed room."
Step by step, Zephyr and Noctua worked hand in hand to create what would become the largest production of ambrosia ever.
— "And now we just need to wait 2 to 5 days to get the ambrosia! Sadly, we can't wait that long, as our mission needs to be accomplished as quickly as possible. The more time that passes, the more the monsters gain an advantage over humanity and us," Noctua said with a serious face.
— "Don't worry, Noctua. You've done more than enough. If I can help you in return, please let me know how I can contribute to this epic quest you're on." Zephyr knelt in front of Noctua and me.
— "In fact, if you could give a little something to this guy here, it would be really helpful. Even if it's a minimal fraction of power, it could help," Noctua said, holding her hands in a prayer stance.
— "My oh my, of course, anything for my dear saviors. To help you in your quest, Hero Arthur, I'll lend you one of my many winds. I call him—Zephyr Jr."
From all the epic names given in ancient Greek mythology, he named one of his winds *Junior*?! Zephyr just dropped a step or two in my estimation. I looked doubtfully at him.
— "Thank you, Zephyr, but what does it do?"
— "Even though his name is Junior, consider him a much more refined wind than I am. Your steps are now silent, and, of course, you can travel faster! To top it off, it will come in handy if you have to fight, as you can disappear into the wind to dodge attacks if needed."
This is neat! I take back everything I said earlier. Now I feel like a real hero with this power in my hands.
A loud explosion could be heard outside. The three of us rushed to see monsters and beastmen destroying the forest, searching for something.
— "Find them! Our informer told us they're near here, so I want you to find them now!" said a recognizable voice.
— "So they're already back. I should have hit harder so they would have left for good," Zephyr said.
— "Do you know them?" Noctua asked curiously.
— "We fought earlier today. They were chasing a girl, so I had to step in. That's why my wound got bigger," Zephyr explained again.
— "Noctua, if they find us here, we'll be in big trouble, and the mission could fail. We have to go," I urged her.
— "You're right, but where does this sudden sense of priority come from? Don't tell me you're scared to fight, right?" Noctua mocked me.
— "It— it has nothing to do with that! Besides, now that I have Junior, there's no monster stopping me, remember?"
— "Hero Arthur is right. Go on, leave the forest. I'll do my best to chase them off for good this time," Zephyr smiled elegantly.
— "But your wound, Zephyr..." Noctua worried.
— "Don't worry about me. It will be fully healed in a few days with the ambrosia we prepared. Now go, don't waste any more time here!" Zephyr disappeared in a gust of wind.
This marks a new road for us. Thanks to Zephyr, we can now advance much faster to reach Mount Olympus.