The S.S. Olympus -under refurbishment

Chapter XIII Pandora's box: Bacchanalia

Be Advised: this is a new adult fiction book and contains sensitive/adult-oriented content, (particularly in this chapter.)

Hercules, Hades, and Cornelia materialized in a late summer gilded field of wheat.  Its graceful dance in the warm breeze lulled Cornelia into a daydream of brighter days. Her feet moved beneath her following her comrades, but her mind was in a different time.

 If she squinted she could see her sister Flavia's delicate golden hair blending in with the tall grass as her brothers sought them out. Her convenient camouflage saving her from the seeking game they used to play. A memory whose childish screams of delight faded into the dark sickening sound of fear.

Smoke tickled her nose breaking the reverie rising out of the distance was the sound of terror and pain.  The third sound threw her as it did not belong to the others. There were also moans of delectation.  he daylight sky was filled with thick black and terrifying smoke. Hades' and Cornelia's lungs burned from its acidity, they covered their faces in a futile attempt to block the gas. Thankfully, Hercules remained unaffected. Cornelia was envious and grateful for his robotic resilience. 

It was a relief because as Cornelia fought the acrid burn of her lungs and the burning in her eyes, he could still perceive what was happening. "What is going on?" She managed to gasp out through fits of coughing.

"The wraiths were released," Hades wheezed as he worked to acclimate. "Petaq!" He coughed, "Herc, pass me the masks." 

Cornelia felt a small swath of cloth pressed into her hand, "what is it."

"Put it on your face," Hades ordered, his breaths steadied. Whatever new miracle item he had with him now seemed to help with the atmosphere, so she obliged and felt for the strings and tied the cloth across her nose and mouth. With her next inhale actual air hit her lungs, wonderous things these aliens had.

"I think I see people," she called blinking to clear her vision, and she reacted to what she saw in the most mature way possible. She giggled. 

"What on ...?" Hades said trailing off into a shocked silence.

Cornelia laughed. "Oh-boy, looks like Bacchanalia has come to Athens." She continued laughing as multiple bodies squirmed and twisted together. In a pulsing bare pile of sweaty flesh. Though this was the largest public orgy she had ever seen. 

Hades spun towards her "Baccha-what?" She could only see half of his expression, but it only fueled her laughter. 

She shrugged and rolled her eyes stepping over an amorous male couple. "It's a cult holiday that has grown in popularity in Rome. It's a celebration of Bacchus the god of wine."

Hades sidestepped two naked men screaming and battling each other with what looked like kitchenware. Their faces contorted in visceral rage. "What about that? Is that part of Bacc-whatever that holiday was?"

Cornelia shrugged. "Well like I said its a celebration of the god of wine. Wine makes people do all sorts of ridiculous things."

Hades strode next to Hercules who was frozen in place. His head at an odd and curious angle, as he stared at a man in the midst of consuming an entire roasted pig on his own. His body was covered in spiced intestines and pork juice. The pig was nearly hollow on the inside and the man was actively rotating between vomiting and eating. His face filled with grim determination and wild hunger wholly focused on his task. A barrel of wine by his side that he chugged actively between each barbaric bite.