After our little training, Iolaus and I followed the leads given by the Villagers towards the Temple.
And not long after, we found ourselves at the ruins of an ancient temple nestled against a rocky hillside.
The sight of crumbling marble columns and weathered carvings sent a familiar thrill through me – the kind I used to get before important archaeological discoveries. Fragments of broken pottery crunched beneath our sandals as we approached, and the evening sun cast long shadows through the partially collapsed roof.
"Look at these markings!" I exclaimed, running my fingers over the worn stone where intricate patterns still held their shape after centuries. I caught Iolaus giving me one of his questioning looks and quickly added, "These show how they used tools to make weapons. Very useful for fighting. See these sharp angles? Perfect for... um... sword techniques."
The cool stone felt familiar under my touch, and I had to resist the urge to pull out my notebook – not that Hercules would carry such a thing. Small plants had pushed their way through cracks in the stone floor, creating a strange mixture of destruction and renewal.
"Since when do you care about old temple writings?" Iolaus asked, raising an eyebrow while brushing cobwebs from his tunic. His voice echoed slightly in the empty chamber.
"Since they might help us deal with our lion problem," I replied, squinting at the faded text while pretending I couldn't read it as easily as my morning papers. The ancient Greek dialects were fascinating – several variations I'd never seen before.
"This temple was built for Apollo, and look – it mentions the Nemean Lion right here! The writing style suggests it's from the early period of..."
Iolaus leaned in closer, his shadow falling across the inscription. "You can actually read those faded marks? They barely look like anything."
"Well, I am the son of Zeus after all," I said, trying to sound casual while internally cursing my scholarly enthusiasm, "I pick things up here and there. A hero has to know these things." I flexed my muscles for good measure, though it felt ridiculous.
The temple's inner chambers opened before us like pages of a history book – if you knew where to look. Dust motes danced in shafts of light streaming through holes in the ceiling, and the air held the musty smell of aged stone and forgotten knowledge.
Water damage had left green-black stains down one wall, but the carvings remained clear enough to read.
"This is interesting," I said, tracing the patterns with my finger. It was the depiction of the Nemean Lion, the craftsmanship was extraordinary, and each line had been carved with precision that would impress modern sculptors.
"That's nice," Iolaus said, clearly unimpressed as he tested a wobbly column with his hand. "But how do we kill it? That's what matters right now."
"Well," I started getting excited about the historical significance before catching myself. My hands had already risen to gesture as if I were giving a lecture. "I mean, these pictures show us its weak spots. That's what matters for a hero like me, right?" I made a punching motion to emphasize the point.
As we ventured deeper into the temple, the air grew cooler and our footsteps echoed more hollowly.
Sections of the floor had collapsed, forcing us to pick our way carefully around the holes.
The walls were covered in a mix of formal inscriptions and what appeared to be field notes, some scratched hastily into the stone as if the observers had been in a hurry to record their findings.
Clay tablets lay scattered about, many broken but some still intact enough to read.
"Come look at this!" I called out, pointing to some particularly detailed drawings. The anatomical accuracy was remarkable – someone had carefully documented every aspect of the lion's physical structure.
"The old temple priests studied the lion closely. They made notes about its skin and..." I had to stop myself from launching into a comparison with modern zoological studies.
"What's so special about it?" Iolaus asked, confused by my enthusiasm as he kicked aside a fallen piece of masonry.
His voice betrayed more interest than before, though.
I pointed to specific markings that detailed the beast's physical structure. "The lion isn't completely invincible," I explained, forcing myself to keep it simple despite the fascinating implications. "Its hide can't be pierced from the outside, but these notes suggest the inside might be different." I wanted to explain about tissue density and structural resistance, but that would have been a bit too revealing.
Just then, the floor gave way beneath my feet with a terrible crack. Ancient stones crumbled and fell away as I plunged into darkness, managing to grab onto a piece of protruding masonry. My enhanced strength came in handy, though the stone felt rough and unstable under my grip.
"Are you okay?" Iolaus's voice echoed down from above, his face a dim circle against the light.
"I'm fine!" I yelled back, trying to sound heroic while dangling in the dark. "Just hanging here, noticing how these old buildings fall apart over time. The structural degradation is quite fascinating, actually..." The academic terminology slipped out before I could catch it.
"What did you say?" His voice carried equal parts concern and confusion.
"Nothing important!" I called back, watching small stones fall past me into the darkness below. "Find something to pull me up!" The rope he usually carried would be useful right about now.
As I hung there, my eyes adjusted to the darkness below. What I saw made me forget about climbing back up – a hidden chamber, its walls covered in detailed writings about the Nemean Lion. Shelves lined the walls, still holding scrolls and tablets despite the centuries that had passed. This wasn't just a temple; it was a research center.
"Actually," I called up to Iolaus, whose worried face was still visible above, "I think I'll drop down and look around. This might be exactly what we need!" The excitement in my voice was impossible to hide.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked, worry clear in his tone. A few more pebbles fell past me as he shifted position.
"Probably not," I admitted, already planning how to document everything I found. "But when has that ever stopped me?" That, at least, sounded appropriately Herculean.
I let go and landed in the secret chamber, my sandals raising small clouds of dust from the floor. The room was amazing – filled with old scrolls, stone tablets, and wall carvings all about the Nemean Lion. Clay lamps still sat in wall niches, their soot marks telling of long nights of study. It was better than finding a library; it was finding a dedicated research facility.
"This is amazing!" I said out loud, temporarily forgetting to act like a simple hero. The shelves held pottery fragments labeled with dates and locations, measuring tools, and what appeared to be maps marking lion sightings. "These priests weren't just praying – they were studying the lion like... well, like very careful observers." I barely caught myself before saying "scientists."
Reading through the old records, things started making sense. The lion wasn't just a dumb beast – it had patterns and specific ways of behaving. The priests had documented its hunting grounds, preferred prey, and even its daily routines. Better yet, it had weaknesses that someone could use if they knew what to look for.
These people had been conducting a comprehensive study that would impress any modern research team.
"Now this will be helpful"
Taking all the scrolls I could while sulking over those I couldn't, I started looking for ways to climb up…or maybe, I could just jump??
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