The Legend of Perseus: The Gigantomachy

Ch. 2

Ch. 2

All three demigods turned and found a young man with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes looking down at them with irritation clearly painted on his features. Dionysus was the first to react and jumped to his feet only to drop to a knee and bow to the man.

Perseus and Heracles watched Dionysus' reaction and figured the safest thing they could do was mimic his actions. They both stood and bowed respectfully to the man before them.

"My lord, Hermes," Dionysus spoke firmly but there was also a nervous edge to his tone. "I was trying to explain myself to them, I didn't mean to delay."

The man, apparently the god Hermes, rolled his eyes, "And getting drunk was a necessary part of the story?"

Rather than respond, Dionysus just kept his head down and offered no excuses to the immortal being.

"You waste valuable time you fools!" Hermes growled, glaring down at Dionysus. "As we speak, the enemy is draining Hera's power and will force her to either choose to wed him or be destroyed."

Hermes was about to continue when Heracles cleared his throat, albeit nervously.

"Uh, my lord, surely you don't need us to rescue Hera."

A large staff, glowing with power, appeared in the hands of the messenger god.

"Be silent and listen, demigod."

Heracles wisely lowered his head and did not interrupt again.

"The Fates have decreed that we must have the aide of mortal demigods to defeat our enemy. Your first task is to free the queen of the gods. Rescue Hera or die trying, mortals."

Silence reigned over the group with the exception of the crackling embers of the dying fire. When Hermes didn't speak again, Perseus looked up.

"Okay, my lord. But how are we supposed to rescue Hera? We don't even know where to look."

"You must go to Pallene first. There you will find the eldest child of the earth goddess. Hera is imprisoned there and must be freed before the next moon." The god instructed.

All three demigods looked to the sky and and saw the moon was more than half illuminated.

"But my lord," Heracles said in disbelief. "That gives us less than five days to reach Pallene and free Hera."

"Indeed," Hermes nodded. "I would suggest you travel with haste. Dionysus will explain everything else to you but you have now heard the decree of Lord Zeus."

With that, the god shimmered and then vanished from his spot leaving Perseus and Heracles reeling as they tried to comprehend what they had just been told.

After a moment to make sure Hermes was indeed gone, Dionysus rose to his feet, grabbing the bottle of wine and swallowing the remains in a matter of two gulps. He tossed it to the ground at his feet and wiped his red tinted lips.

"Rescue Hera," he grumbled. "The Fates are truly cruel to force this task upon me."

"Yeah," Heracles agreed. "This isn't exactly a joy for us either. Hera has tortured me since the day I was born."

Dionysus raised an eyebrow before he began to gather up their meager belongings.

Heracles waved it off, "I wish I knew the truth behind her hatred for me, other than being a son of Zeus. But my mother told me when I was a baby, Athena tricked Hera into letting me suckle from her... But I don't even know if that's true or one of my mother's stories about her time with Zeus."