The Legend of Perseus: The Labors

Ch. 10

Ch. 10

It wasn't too late in the day when they reached the outskirts of the forest where the spring of Amymone was located. The distance hadn't been great from the small village where they met the man who told them where to find the monster. Both heroes were still a bit shaken from what they witnessed. The hydra poison had literally burned the man's flesh from his face. It was a slow process too. They found out afterwards that the man had been there suffering for days. Heracles' mercy killing had truly been a blessing for the poor villager.

They'd also been told, although they weren't sure whether or not to put any stock into the tip, that the monster had one head that was supposedly immortal. This was part of the story they'd gotten when they'd asked around the village about the man's condition. Though the source wasn't reliable, it did seem like something that might be true in the case of a multi-headed monstrosity.

The minute they set foot in the forest, the temperature seemed to kick up several notches. It was a heavy, moist heat; one that left both demigods dripping in sweat within minutes. The vegetation was dense and made travel painfully slow. If was as if the forest were trying to stop them from finding the monster, an attempt to dissuade their suicidal mission.

Perseus had used his pendant to summon a sword and hacked his way through the dense foliage. The deeper they delved, the more their surroundings gave them the urge to stop and turn around. Although thick with plant life, the forest had a sick feeling to it. It seemed like the forest itself was ill, suffering from the effects of the Hydra's habitation.

Soon the air around the two heroes took on an acrid smell that was eerily similar to the one they'd found surrounding the elder villager's body. Heracles took the lead as they continued on. Sickness began overtaking them though and they were forced to stop.

Heracles to ripped part of his cloak off and tore it into two pieces, handing one to Perseus.

"Cover your nose and mouth, it should help."

Perseus did as he was told and found breathing a little easier, the clothe filtering out some of the toxins in the air.

A few minutes later Heracles' held out a hand to stop Perseus. He pointed ahead of them where a spring sat in a small forest clearing. The water was tinged a sickly green color and seemed to be steaming, releasing its toxic excretion into the air. A large cave was set just to the side of the spring and Heracles knew they'd found the hydra's lair.

Heracles knelt down and poured a small amount of oil onto the forest floor. He pulled some dry tinder from his cloak and used a flint to ignite a small fire. He pulled two arrows from his quiver and dipped them in the oil. He set the arrows ablaze and looked at Perseus.

"Be ready," he warned before launching the two flaming arrows right into the cave.

An inhuman screech answered the flaming arrows and both heroes instinctively took a step back.

That step back was soon justified when out of the cave appeared a creature so terrifying, Perseus had to stop himself from running for his life.

The monster was enormous. It had the body of a reptile and towered over both the demigods. Nine long necks protruded from its body and formed diamond shaped heads, each lined with razor sharp teeth that looked ready to tear them to pieces. Thick scales covered its entire lower body and looked tougher than any armor the two heroes had seen in their travels.

The monster eyed them both angrily, obviously not used to being the prey rather than the predator. This intrusion into its home was clearly not a welcome one.

Heracles fired an arrow but it bounced off its scaly body. He fired another at one of the heads but the monster was quick and the arrow flew harmlessly into the woods.