Rise of Erebos: Search of the Hidden

Chapter 14: A True Negotiation

Turns out, this day couldn't get any better.
As we left LionsWorth Enterprises, we met with Oman and went aboard his private jet, otherwise known as "Flying Finny". (Yeah don't ask, Oman is a very special satyr).
But, out of all the transportation Oman had, his private jet was definitely the most luxurious of them all. The jet was made out of twenty-four karat gold and had the label, "Flying Finny" written across the side in white lettering. Inside the jet, there were plush sofas and seats to sit in along with plasma TVs and a transparent spiral staircase that led up into an upper deck that had a bar, serving soft beverages and snacks. Best of all, we each had our own private cabin in the lower deck which had a small bathroom, bed, and other appliances.
We all settled down as the plane began ascending. After about an hour or so, we crossed over the Hudson River, officially meaning we were in Canada. Of course, Alexander resorted to making fun of the Canadians. (Sorry Canada).
"Oh no!" Alexander shouted in a bad French accent. "We drove over the Hudson River! So sorry! Sorry! Sorry everybody! Sorry!"
Kai was snickering, but Amethyst didn't find it funny at all. "Stop that, Alexander! The Canadians are nice people! I mean, they-" After that point, she spoke an impassioned speech about Canada and its greatness, which everybody ignored.
Meanwhile, I was sitting on a lush couch, drinking some excellent chocolate milk and watching some TV. The flight was going just right and everything seemed fine. But of course with our luck, that wasn't going to last long.
    About another twenty minutes into our flight, we began experiencing some turbulence. It felt as if someone was blowing the ship back, shaking it like we were in some dryer.
    "Gosh dang it! Bugger off, ya scoundrels!" Oman yelled from the front.
    "What's the problem, Oman?" Amethyst asked.
    "There are these horse-things blocking the way!" Oman groaned.
    "It's Venti," Amethyst said. She then sighed and looked out through a window. "Looks like we're going to have to get the venti out of the way."
    "But there's too many of them," Arthur said. "Is there anyone that could help us?"
Kai furrowed his brow. "What kind of gods are in Canada? Most of them settle in America, or at least Europe, not Canada."
We all contemplated in silence before Amethyst's face suddenly lit up.
"Wait, Boreas is in Canada! In fact, his palace is only a small way away from here!" she said.
Geneva narrowed her eyes. "But how are we going to get out of here? The venti are blowing us backwards."
"Leave that to me, y'all!" Oman said. He cranked back a switch, and the plane started moving backward, away from the venti. He maneuvered the plane sideways, flipping it on its side, causing all of us to tumble out of our seats. He then flew a small distance before flipping the ship upright, again toppling us over.
Alexander's face turned green, as he clutched his stomach and quickly ran to a bathroom in the back. I made a mental note to myself to never use that restroom ever again.
"So, where is this Boreas fellow at, eh?" Oman asked.
"Last I checked, he has a palace in Quebec City," Amethyst answered.
"So what do we know about Boreas? In fact, who is Boreas?" I asked.
"Boreas is one of the four seasonal wind gods, along with Eurus, Zephyros, and Notus. They all work for their dad, Aeolus, who tells the weather for Olympus and is the Master of the Winds," Amethyst explained.
"Yeah, that Aeolus guy is kind of crazy. From what I've heard, the man is a total freak, believing every wind related thing is about him and having tantrums about bad weather reports," Kai added. "He also hates demigods, so even more crazy."
I nodded. I made another mental note to try to avoid Aeolus.
"Let's just hope Boreas isn't as crazy as his dad," Geneva muttered.
After about ten minutes, the plane began descending downwards. "We're closin' in on Quebec City, y'all," Oman reported.
From a distance, the city looked like a winter wonderland with colorful buildings atop rolling hills and gorgeous medieval buildings that took my breath away.
"Hold up," Amethyst said. She pointed at a large, castle-like hotel in the distance. "That's the Château Frontenac, where Boreas lives."
"Perfect," Oman said, landing the plane a small distance away from the hotel on a nearby, grassy field.
"Okay, who's going? We need at least two people back, just in case we're attacked by a monster of some sort," Kai asked.
Arthur raised his hand. "I'll go. If we're worried about monsters, then I shouldn't stay."
Kai snapped his fingers and pointed at Arthur. "Because you're seventy-five percent god, right?"
Arthur nodded. Geneva then held his hand and looked at Kai.
"Then I'll also go too," she volunteered. "I'm not going to leave Arthur to die."
"Boreas speaks French mainly, so we're going to need a translator. I'll come along too, since I can speak French pretty well," Amethyst said.
For a moment, I was sure I wasn't going to have to go, but of course I jinxed myself again. (Gosh, I really need to stop doing that.)
"I think Rose should come too," Amethyst said. "We're going to need a Mist bender like yourself, especially if the Mist starts acting weird."
Kai nodded his head. "All right then. You can go ahead and start heading there. I'm gonna go check on Alexander. Once he gets airsick, he really gets airsick."
With that, me, Arthur, Geneva, and Amethyst all left the plane and started our way towards the castle. As we walked, I began observing the castle/hotel, mostly in awe but still somewhat suspicious.
The hotel was a large mansion-sized sort of palace with a large rectangular building in the middle, surrounded by a semi-circle of smaller buildings with green ceilings and a multitude of windows. It was covered with snow and overlooked a large chasm of green trees and buildings.
We entered into one of the buildings and kept walking until we bumped into a large penthouse, the home of Boreas. The penthouse was as cold as ice, and was extremely luxurious, even more luxurious than Oman's private jet. (But don't tell him I said that.)
The penthouse had a large view of Quebec and was the size of a normal house, with a comfortable living room that connected into a large kitchen and dining room. The first floor also contained a private gym along with a game room and a couple bedrooms.
In front of us however, were large black doors that were closed shut, blocked by two very strange looking guards.
The first one on the left looked like a teen stuck in the eighties with punk-style blonde hair and an unbuttoned purple shirt. He had a bad case of acne and overall, looked like one of the ugliest people on Earth.
The second guard on the right wasn't any better, with missing teeth and black eyes that made him look like an alleyway street fighter. He was a lot more taller than the other guard and was a lot more buff. He had icy white hair and wore a red hockey jersey with a pair of baggy sweatpants and cleats.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" the smaller one exclaimed.
"Destroy them?" The second one on the left asked.
"Hold on. We're here to talk to Boreas," I explained. "Who are you two?"
"I'm Zethes," the smaller one said. "To my right is my brother, Cal. We are Boreas's gatekeepers. Why are you here?"
I glanced at Amethyst, who shrugged nervously. I decided to tell the two our whole story, from the prophecy to the venti.
"So you need our master's help with the storm spirits?" Zethes asked.
Geneva nodded. At the sight of Geneva, Zethes and Cal froze.
"You are very pretty, miss," Zethes stammered, staring at Geneva as if she were some prized possession.
"Pretty," Cal agreed.
"So, will you let us pass? We really need your master's help," Amethyst asked desperately.
Zethes shook his head. "No can do. As pretty as the girl is-" he said, pointing to Geneva, "-we are under strict orders not to let anyone through."
"Can't you make an exception? For me?" Geneva asked, batting her eyelashes.
Zethes winced. "I'm sorry, madame, but we're going to have to kill your friends."
"Destroy!" Cal exclaimed, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Hold on," Arthur said. "If you don't let us in, your master will be mad at you. We have something we could offer him."
"I don't care what you have to offer," Zethes snarled. "We can't let you in."
"Hockey! Pizza! Destroy!" Cal exclaimed. There was really something wrong with him.
"Well, that's a shame," Geneva sadly said, twirling her hair. "We could've, I don't know, gotten to know each other, hang out a bit, maybe watch a movie, but I guess we can't."
Amethyst smirked as I tried to hold in a laugh. Geneva was probably the best actor I had ever seen. I was almost convinced she liked Zethes.
Zethes blushed profusely. "Well, we could just not tell our father. Then we could hang out!"
Geneva smiled. "Perfect! Let's have a triple date! I'd just love to see the house!" Zethes and Cal left the doors and followed Geneva, forgetting about us completely.
Arthur nodded to me and Amethyst. "Let's get done with this quickly. I don't want Geneva having to stick with those two any longer than she has to."
Amethyst opened the doors, leading us into a large room with an ice throne in front of us. Sitting on top of the throne was a large man with a white suit and dark purple wings. He had long hair and a beard which were both covered in ice particles and snow, otherwise known as Boreas.
"Qu'est-ce que tu fais ici?" Boreas asked.
"Nous avons besoin de votre aide dans notre quête," Amethyst responded. Me and Arthur just stared at the two with shock.
Boreas smiled brightly at Amethyst. "Tu sais Français?"
"Oui," Amethyst answered. "Cependant, mes amis et moi parlons anglais."
"Fair enough," Boreas said in English with a thick, heavy accent. "I will try to speak your language. Anyways, what do you need my help doing?"
Amethyst explained our entire story in French, or I at least assumed. Usually I would be able to say where she started the story and where she ended it, but I had no idea what she told him exactly.
Boreas shook his head. "You three are the demigods Aeolus told me to kill. I'm afraid I can't help you."
Arthur glared at him. "Really? By capturing the venti and giving them to your father, you could get special recognition. You don't want that?"
Boreas scoffed. "I can capture the venti easily. However, by killing you three, I gain much more recognition from my father and additional benefits."
"Please? Don't you want to help us with saving the earth?" I asked. If we didn't convince Boreas to help us, we'd probably end up as dead meat.
"I am a neutral force," Boreas explained. "After I sided with Gaea and her forces two years ago, I was punished dearly. Nowadays, I don't pick a side. Killing you three will give me more benefits than not killing you."
"Seriously? This is about the money to you?" Arthur snarled, his blue eyes lighting up. Thunder boomed and lightning struck outside, shaking the penthouse to its core.
Boreas's eyes became wary as he took note of the brewing storm outside. "I'll give you three two minutes to make me a better deal. If you fail to convince me, I'll have to kill you."
Amethyst nodded and pulled Arthur and me into a group huddle.
"Okay, we need to think. How are we going to convince him to help us?" Amethyst said, panic on her face. "What does Boreas want more than anything?"
"To kill us and make money," I answered. "How are we supposed to give him a better deal then that? We can't give him money!" I stared down at the ground with worry. At this rate, he may as well kill us and have our remains for dinner. (Disgusting, but it could happen.)
Arthur shook his head. "Obviously, there's a high bounty on our heads. We can't outpay that. However, it seems imperative to Boreas that he stays on his father's good side. What do we know about Aeolus?"
I looked up at Arthur. "From what Kai said, he hates weather reports. But what can we do about that?"
Amethyst's face lit up, like she had a good idea. "Hold up. Aeolus has been complaining to Zeus for generations about being made a god. We could promise him that."
"And it would simultaneously make his father like him. There's no way he could reject that," Arthur agreed.
"The problem is that the entire idea is a complete lie. Firstly, there's no guarantee that we see Zeus at any point on our quest. Secondly, if we somehow do, what if he rejects the offer? Then we'll have Boreas sniffing down our backs for lying!" I said.
"Boreas doesn't know that though. We can say that we're bound to meet Zeus someday," Amethyst reasoned.
Arthur nodded. "It's the best idea we have. Let's just hope he believes us and doesn't eliminate us on the spot."
We separated from our group-huddle and turned towards Boreas, ready to negotiate.
"What is your offer, heroes?" Boreas asked, a smile tugging at his mouth.
"Here's the deal," Amethyst said, crossing her arms. "Along with capturing the venti, we can talk to Zeus about making Aeolus a god. This way, your father will eternally owe you."
Boreas stared at her blankly with anger in his eyes. "You expect me to believe that? I doubt you will see Zeus in your entire lifetime!"
Arthur looked at him fiercely. "Sure, what you're saying is true. It is unlikely we'll ever be able to talk to Zeus. But how angry do you think your father will be with you when he hears you passed up a chance to get him promoted?"
Boreas looked away hesitantly. "I still cannot trust that you will hold up your end of the bargain."
Amethyst scowled. "You want a guarantee? I promise on the River Styx that I will talk to Zeus about promoting Aeolus to a god. This way, if I lie, I'll be killed and you'll be on your father's good side for assisting in my death."
Boreas smiled. "Deal. I will clear the venti out in exchange for you keeping your oath and asking Zeus to promote my father to a god."
He then flew up out of his throne, making a hole in the roof. He blasted a large gust of wind forward, presumably knocking down the venti. He flew down, mended the roof by pushing it back together, (don't really know how he did that), and sat down on his throne.
"You may go. Tell Zethes and Calais I allowed you to leave," Boreas instructed.
We thanked him and opened up the doors.
"Looks like we live to see another day," I said, relieved that we weren't slashed to death by Boreas. We headed towards the exit of the penthouse and waited for Geneva.
She showed up about two minutes later, panic in her eyes. "Guys, Zethes and Cal just realized you weren't there! Now they're trying to-"
She was then interrupted by a loud stomping noise, Zethes and Cal running towards us with their swords drawn. Out of pure fright, I blasted them in the face with a large Mist cloud and started running, Arthur, Geneva, and Amethyst following shortly behind me.
As we got closer to the plane, Amethyst shouted, "Oman, get the plane ready! We need to leave now!"
Oman seemed to hear Amethyst's plea, as the engine roared to life. We clambered onto the plane, Oman lifting the plane off the ground. Zethes and Cal hopelessly tried jumping on the ship, but to no success. We speedily flew away as the city of Quebec faded behind us.