In Pursuit of Kronos' Scythe (Completed)

VII - The Boiling Grove of Ares - Part I

Princess Tharalea

They spent the whole morning flying across the valley of mountains. Rexon fetched out the flute given by Phanes and began to blow some tunes. Some tunes that he blew were merry, and pigeons landed on Dorinda's back, chirping along. He continued to blow the flute, the tone gained louder and wilder. Red glints flashed across the pigeons' eyes, and they pecked Rexon's skin furiously, before flying away. Rexon frowned but he didn't complain.

"These tunes just don't sound right," Rexon muttered. "It can't be tamed if I don't get the right one." His attention was all focused on tuning the flute.

Tharalea put a hand under her chin and admired him. Though she didn't comprehend why Rexon was so obsessed with the flute, she found him charming. She always liked men who were adept in playing musical instruments. He looks so macho when he's focused on something.

"Oh, I've missed my facial appointment." Cytherea lifted up her mirror and dabbed gingerly at a spot on her cheek. "Oh no, I have never had a pimple on my face before." 

The morning was serene, saved for some annoying background noises from Mirror Girl, as she grumbled about how she looked. Koby and Calyssa kept hopping from Hercules' body to Dorinda's. A strong gust of wind blew past them, blowing away Koby's hat. Koby launched forward to catch it and the falling olive fruits, and suddenly, he slipped off Hercules' body. Tharalea believed Koby's shriek could even be heard at Ares' Palace. Piotr quickly directed the automaton to rescue the Kobalos. When Koby lied in Tharalea's embrace again, he smiled shyly for losing his cool. A group of eagles flew past them, laughing at him.

"You just can't sit quietly, can you?" Tharalea ruffled Koby's fur.

If only Tharalea could have a time machine, she would want to stop the time at this very moment. She felt so relaxed flying in this blue sky. It looked as if everything was under the control at the tips of her fingers, but that was only her mere phantasm. She tried to trick herself but the fact that she was going to encounter something sinister appeared palpably clear before her that even magic couldn't alter. By afternoon, the mountains had lost their greenery, replaced by burning red rocks. The razor-sharp peaks ground her soul into smithereens.

Hercules flew slower. The main opening of the mountains caved in, revealing a sight that was gorier than a massacre. Dorinda circled the opening and flapped its wings in an edgy way, unwilling to progress further. It wasn't until Rexon had cajoled the ram for over ten minutes about rewarding it with canned mushrooms with beef jerky that it surrendered. The ram dived, wearing an expression like "Death, here I come". The temperature rose, and if it wasn't for the saddle which Tharalea was sitting on, her backside would've been sizzled.

The air smelled of sulfur, and The Symphony gagged at the pungent odour. It sounded ironic. They didn't feel at peace at all doing what they were doing now. Their skin became clammy and their breathing slowed. Cytherea rummaged through her luggage and brought out a suntan lotion. She applied some on her body and passed it to her members. They had even rubbed the lotion on their pets' fur. When they had done taking the extra precautions, they stirred their beasts deeper and deeper into the mountains of burning rocks.

"I hope we can survive this," said Cytherea. "I don't want to face my death with my skin toasted. The eulogy definitely won't sound good."

No one had the mood to respond to her, though they knew she had a fair point. Only had they flew deeper into the mountains that they realized they were flying into the mouth of volcanoes. Below them, three red rivers gawked open, as if they wanted to swallow the incomers.

"I heard people say that a droplet of the water is enough to take the flesh off you. And if you drink it, the heat and the sulfur acid will burn your intestines. It'll incinerate you from the inside out until you become a puddle of ash," Piotr said.