The tunnel was steep. Granit took out a torch from his satchel and lit it so that they could see their surroundings within the darkness. It was several minutes of silent walking while Mimoza stroked her hands against the paintings on the walls. Mimoza finally said, "these tunnels aren't natural."
"No kidding," Granit said sarcastically.
"What I mean is, this tunnel shouldn't be here. In ancient Babylon, tunnels used to exist to connect regions in secret. Traders, prisoners, and refugees would use those tunnels to live hidden from the eyes of tyrants. To escape unjust sentences and move without fear. What I don't understand is, why would such a thing exist in Athens? In Athens, people are free to live within the laws of the democracy. How could tunnels like this exist, if there's no reason for people to create them?"
Granit's mouth flattened, "you don't know about Peisistratos, do you?"
Mimoza shook her head. Granit said, "about seventy years ago, Peisistratos was Tyrant of Athens. He took control of the city after he got the farmers to overthrow the old aristocracy. Since he was a military general and not a politician, he delegated official roles to elected officials. As tyrant he wiped out the debt of farmers and banned slavery for Greeks in Athens. Most importantly, he taught Greek citizens how to rule themselves, instead of being ruled by lazy men who were born lucky."
Granit pointed to a picture on the wall. It spelled out the words, 'the Tyrant is the state.'
He said, "but his son wasn't the same. At first he was a lot like his father, doing his best to follow in Peisistrato's footsteps. But after his brother was assassinated, Hippias went mad. Paranoid and obsessed with power, he went out of his way to solidify his stronghold over the city. He backtracked all the laws his father had made, took away many freedoms of Athenians, and even killed everyone who dared to speak freely against him. He went so far as to kill his own advisors and bodyguards, refusing to even bury them so that they couldn't pass over to the afterlife peacefully."
Mimoza looked at the drawings on the wall. It described exactly what Granit was telling her, a man on a throne, pointing at his soldiers to kill other citizens. Depictions of women, men and children, getting slaughtered in the dozens by the hand of a man screaming ahead of them. It was the perfect depiction of tyranny, and a simple explanation of what Athens stood against.
"Athens under Tyranny," Mimoza said quietly, "hard to imagine, with the way the city is now."
Granit nodded, "it wasn't until the Oracle of Delphi told the king of Sparta, Cleomenes, that Hippias needed to be stopped. After the Spartans overthrew Hippias, the freedom of the people was returned. And democracy was fully established in Athens."
"A city without leaders, created in response to a mad tyrant." Mimoza looked at him and asked, "Granit, how do you know this? I've been here for a year and I've never even been told of how democracy started in Athens."
Granit grumbled a bit, "the thing about bad history, is that people tend to hide it when it hurts them bad enough. My um... Father, was killed by Hippias. I'd rather not forget what he did to him, but most people affected by Hippias would rather forget his existence than remember the losses of the past."
Mimoza stared at him for a moment. "That's why you never left the city, you want to protect the city that overthrew him."
He chuckled, "since I can't kill him, the best I can do is help the city that hates him the most."
Mimoza smiled, "then these tunnels are a remnant to Hippia's reign. They were clearly meant to smuggle people from the surface, to escape from a cruel and tyrannical leader. The question is, what are they being used for now?"
They walked more paces ahead of the tunnel. It was dark inside, but Granit's torch provided enough light for the both of them. The tunnel shifted between widening and narrowing. As their footsteps became louder, a scent filled the tunnel around them.
"You smell that, don't you?" Granit said it first.
"Yes, it's probably brimstone."
Granit shook his head. "Mimoza, whatever we see next, it's not going to be brimstone."
The tunnel widened more after a few more paces forward. It widened until it stretched forward into a larger room, carved out in the shape of a square with commodities inside. The floor and walls were stone, more decorated than the makeshift tunnels that they were traveling from.
The smooth carved space was carved from stone, painted well to give it the same sense as an Athenian temple would. It was well built, but also crude. Large and rectangular with multiple other passageways connecting to the center.
"The base of operations," Mimoza said. "This room connects to all the tunnels, this is the center point of the paths. The room that connects to all the tunnels in the city."
Mimoza stepped around and felt at the walls. It had to have existed for decades. After stepping forward, her foot stepped on a bone.
The light from Granit's torch revealed the contents around them. A bone collection was settled at the center of the room. Neatly stacked in the pattern of a pyramid, the bones were the sizes of children. They were carefully woven together using human hair, with the skull heads tied at the sides of them. Stains of blood fell out of them, with the stains spreading around the 'alter', and across the room. The bone pyramid was the centerpiece of the room, like a decorative ornament meant to draw all eyes to the center of the area.
Mimoza turned around a vomited on the ground.
"We found them," Granit said in a sadder tone.
"What," Mimoza swallowed a heavy breath. The gross smell from before suddenly made sense. "Why would... Who would do this?"
Granit lifted the torch higher up at the ceiling. Above them, it was an artist's painting of a god holding wine. "The Dionysus cult. I had heard they made human sacrifices to appeal to Gods. I never believed it until now."
"What kind of God would demand human sacrifices!?" She yelled aloud.
"They don't. Gods want human worshipers, not human blood. Dionysus followers are the craziest of the bunch." Granit looked at the triangular pile of bones and let out a steep sigh. "Sorry kids, looks like we couldn't find you in time."
Mimoza stood up and began searching the room. As much as she hated the presence of the area, she knew she needed to investigate if she wanted to bring the kidnappers to justice. Mimoza looked around the alter. The bone stack was actually on a stone alter shaped as the size of a table. There was no doubt that the alter was the platform in which the sacrifices were performed. Mimoza studied it closely with the bone pile looming over it.
Hieroglyphs were carved on the edges of the platform. Pictographs of deities sketched in stone. "There's Egyptian writing here."
Granit raised an eyebrow, "that's odd. Dionysus is a Greek God, not Egyptian."
"Aten," Mimoza read aloud. She traced her hand over the carving of a god standing in front of the sun. "I've seen these before..."
"Seen what?" Granit asked.
Mimoza's eyes widened at the circular symbol at the edge of the alter. Mimoza turned to Granit and said, "we have to go, now."
"What? Why?"
"I know who their next target is."
The sound of voices came from the distance. Mimoza and Granit sprinted behind the alter. They stayed quiet as the suspects drew closer.
Deep within the catacombs, Dioscuri walked ahead as Pollux and Castor followed behind him. They all wore purple colored tunics as they strode forward together. "I'm surprised you didn't try seducing him for these," Pollux said casually as he felt at the seamstress of his fine clothes.
Castor crossed her arms, "I have more class than that. You're the one who wouldn't stop feeling up the merchant's son."
Pollux only shrugged his shoulders, "it got us a discount. You really need to practice your people-pleasing skills."
"That is not the kind of pleasing I'll indulge myself in."
Entering the catacomb section, Dioscuri stopped in his tracks. "Who's here?"
Castor and Pollux froze. At the entryway of the tomb, Castor and Pollux sealed the doors behind them, locking everyone inside. Dioscuri yelled aloud, "whoever's there, show yourselves, or we set the catacombs on fire."
Mimoza and Granite came out from behind the altar. They raised their hands up in defense. "That would be bad for all of us, wouldn't it?" Mimoza said calmly.
"Worse for you than us, believe it or not," Dioscuri responded.
Granit looked over at the twins. All three of them had white hair and red eyes, he thought for a moment that they were accursed spirits. "You lot better not be ghosts, I made a bad bet that I'd dance if I saw one today."
Pollux chuckled, "if it involves you being naked, I'll hold you to that."
Castor pressed her hand on Pollux's head, pushing his face downward. Dioscuri said, "you're Scythians, aren't you? Athenian guardsman? You're quite far away from the city to be all the way down here."
"Not really," Mimoza said from across the room. "These tunnels are underground. Underground of Athens is still our jurisdiction."
All of them looked over at the alter's bones. Granit said, "what'd ye do to'em kids?"
"Would you believe me if I said we found it that way?"
Granit and Mimoza glared at him. Dioscuri sighed, "our old slave master did this. I don't know why, but he might've been part of a cult. Only recently did we all get the freedom to explore these tunnels. We knew our master was buying up children, but we never knew why until now."
Mimoza and Granit frowned at them. They both unsheathed their swords. "And you," Granit said nodding toward the bones, "did you help your master with that?"
Dioscuri hummed to himself, "if you're here for justice, you won't get it. I'd put that sword away if you want to leave here alive."
Dioscuri looked at back at his siblings and gave a signal. The twin's arms engulfed in flames. The texture and pattern of the waving fires were natural, they surrounded their arms in a glowing light. It luminated the room around them that shocked Granit to his core.
The fires were green. It didn't burn them, they just danced in place around their arms, displaying their complete control for the fire. "You're out of your class, old man." Castor called out. "You're mortal, we're beyond mortal, I suggest you beg if you want to get out alive."
Granit swallowed, "is dancing naked still an option?"
Pollux said, "yes," the same time Castor said "no."
Mimoza stepped in front of Granit. "Granit, go. They're right, this is beyond you."
"I'm not leaving you," Granit said. "Amazonian or not, these things are-"
An array of stones arose from around Mimoza's feet. Stones flew around her in a circular swirl. They stretched and morphed to mud, encased her arms and legs and hardened into stone armor. Granit stepped back, "what in Poseidon's eye?"
Mimoza said, "ever wonder how Amazonians gained their reputation? This is it."
Dioscuri's eyes widened, "an Amazonian deviant, so the rumors were true. But I thought your kind went extinct. How did you survive the war? Did you run away, leaving your sisterhood to die behind you?"
"Never," Mimoza unsheathed her metal sword. Chunks of rock spread across her fingertips and encapsulated the sword, creating stone spikes from the edges of it. "I fight for justice. And in my eyes, you're as guilty as the one who did this."
"I'm honestly conflicted," Pollux said. "On the one hand, I don't care enough to fight. On the other hand, I've always wanted to go toe to toe with an Amazonian."
Dioscuri raised his hand and lit it aflame. Like his siblings, the fire at the palm of his hand was green. "Don't we at least deserve a trial?"
"Deviants never stand trial."
"Indeed we don't. But still..." Castor dispersed into a stream of greenfire, and remorphed herself behind Granit's back. She gripped his hands behind him and pointed a knife at his neck. "You really think you can fight off three deviants on your own?"
Mimoza paused. Either she would have to have to kill all three of them alone, or she'd have to let them all go to save Granit's life. Was justice worth the death of a friend? She asked, "who do you serve? Who did this to those kids?"
"I can't say his name," Dioscuri answered. "The seal my siblings have, it's designed to put them in a killing frenzy if they hear their master's real name. I can give you a hint though, his name ends with an A."
Mimoza's eyes widened. She looked over to look at their necklines. A disk-shaped tattoo was at the spine of their necks, lines spreading downward across the back. She bit her lip. "Give me something, anything that can help me bring justice to your master. I can't forgive you if you don't help me."
"You're very lucky I'm not binded anymore. Or else I'd go limp for even thinking of helping you." He gestured at the twins, they each closed their eyes to stare away from him. "He visits a shrine in the caverns north from there. If he's still in Athens, he'll probably be there tonight."
Mimoza glanced over at Granit. With a knife to his neck he only held still as they spoke. When their eyes met, Granit only nodded. Mimoza said, "I think I know who your master is. But what are his plans? Why live in secret like this for so long?"
Dioscuri shrugged. "I've long given up asking those questions."
Mimoza skimmed her fingers against the blood-stained altar. "Tell me slave, if a person commits terror in the name of another, do they not also bare the burden?"
Dioscuri stayed quiet. Even the twins glanced at each other for a moment. "Does that matter?" Castor said tightening her grip of Granit. "Just leave, I hate killing when I don't have to."
She gave a dark look at Dioscuri. "How many kids died because of you?"
Pollux said, "at least a hundred."
"Shh," Dioscuri ordered. "Leave, Amazonian. We were charged with killing anyone who entered. We won't fight if you don't."
Mimoza shook her head, "I can't let you walk free. Not with that amount of blood in your hands."
Mimoza and Dioscuri stayed still for a long moment. Dioscuri said, "Pandora."
Castor and Pollux's eyes turned red. At the blink of an eye, their eyes and mouths glowed bright while the tattoo stretched across their bodies. Castor lodged a blade into Granit's chest. Mimoza shot a stone shrapnel in Grainit's direction. It hit Castor's head and she fell to the ground.
Pollux spread his green flames towards Mimoza. Mimoza clasped her hands and a gust of smoke dispersed the fire. She rushed toward Pollux and punched him across the face. Her fist was morphed into stone, so his skull cracked upon impact.
It only took a second for him to get back up with his eyes still glowing. Castor stood up too, pulling the stone shrapnel out of her head. The glow from her eyes disappeared. Looking to her side she saw Granit. He was still alive, but he was bleeding to death. "Dammit," she said, clutching at her head.
Castor stood up to throw her flame balls toward Mimoza. Mimoza's body dispersed into mud and remorphed in front of Castor. With a stone conjured blade in her hand, she thrusted the stone toward Castor's chest.
Castor barely managed to stop the blade from reaching her heart. It stabbed through her palm and scratched at the center of her chest. Mimoza held it close. She slowly pushed closer to Castor's heart.
"You know," Castor growled struggling, "I used to want to be an Amazonian."
"Why'd you stop?"
"I met you." Castor tried headbutting Mimoza in the nose, but she held firm. Dioscuri rushed toward her. He took a blade and began stabbing the side of Mimoza's neck.
Mimoza morphed again. Rather than changing spots, her body remorphed facing the opposite direction. An arm became a giant spike. She thrusted it through Dioscuri's stomach.
"Ch...Cheater," Dioscuri grunted. Mimoza conjured a stone blade in a palm. She aimed it to his heart.
"No one cheats in war."
"We're not at war you bitch."
She flung her blade into his chest. He stopped it by blocking his hands between him and the blade. It cut through both palms. Mimoza remorphed her other hand back to normal and began hitting the hilt of the arm to thrust the spike closer to his heart.
Castor and Pollux rushed towards her. Spikes sprouted out of her back and shot outward, stopping the two from coming closer.
Mimoza pounded her whole weight into him. It etched closer and closer as Dioscuri grunted in panic. No matter how much fire escaped his nose and mouth, Mimoza wouldn't stop.
After a few more thrusts, the blade stabbed through the heart.
His eyes widened. He let out a final breathe. Light escaped from his mouth. His eyes sparkled, and crackling skin split apart as the energy glowed out of his flesh.
His body slowly disappeared. Shifting out into a glowing light, Dioscuri's life vanished from existence. Castor watched in horror as he disappeared, "you killed him."
Mimoza stared back at her, "you killed those kids."
She opened her mouth, but then Pollux leaped at her. Mimoza's arm morphed again. Her whole hand became a spear and she nearly lodged it into Pollux's heart next. Castor fired a green ball of heat in the twin's direction, pushing him out of the way.
Castor and Mimoza's eyes met one more time. And with a scream, Castor's body was encased with fire. Her arms raised and light flared out into every crack and opening in the catacombs.
Mimoza rushed toward Granit. The green fiery explosion pushed the ceiling outward. The entire tunnels would collapse from Castor's explosion. Mimoza materialized a small dome around herself and Granit. She whispered as he was dying, "I'm sorry..."
"Just mak'em pay," Granit growled quietly as he bled to death. "Make'em pay for'em kids."
Mimoza nodded. By the time the green explosion had stopped, the ceiling was falling apart. The twins disappeared and they were left alone in the tomb of the killed children. Mimoza encased her body in a thick layer of stone. Leaving Granit behind, she forcefully borrowed her way to the surface.
XXX
Mimoza wore a plated suit of armor. It was styled like an Athenian's armor, with a typical breastplate made out of pure gold. It fitted specifically for Mimoza's lighter physique. The spear in her hand had a sharpened crystal at the end of it. It glowed with an unnatural aura filled with power beyond her own understanding. A shield was flung around her back. It was as large as her torso, and had a crystal at its center with a glowing energy around it. The sword to her side also had a crystal at its hilt. While the blade itself was golden, a blue light stemmed up its center, like energy was pulsating through the blade.
She ran with supernatural speed towards Gaiana's home. Her feet were faster than the average human, with none of the natural barriers of the forest able to slow her down as she reached for Gaiana's home. A crescent moon looked down at her as the night air whisked passed her skin.
It was already on fire when she arrived. I'm too late. Mimoza kicked the door down and entered the burning building. Heat and smoke covered her face, but she pressed on as she searched for signs of life.
The heat caused her to sweat, but it didn't stop her from looking for Gaiana. The fire amplified her anger, narrowing her focus to avenge the one who did this. Mimoza looked over at the charred body nearby. It was Archos, his body covered crisp from the oil-induced fire. She never liked the man, but his death was still unjust. Gaiana's home didn't deserve such a gruesome fate.
Mimoza almost headed out the front door before hearing a whimper in the distance.
"Help," someone coughed out. She turned around and walked towards the other room. She found Sophus, lying on the floor just barely clinging onto life. He had crawled to the kitchen room, desperate to avoid the flames. It gave him a few more minutes of life, but his coughing of blood and suffocation from the smoke told her that he wouldn't survive for much longer.
Too paralyzed to move, he was alive only by his sheer will to live. Mimoza crouched down to him, "Sophus."
She only knew him through acquaintance. Gaiana had told her about him, but she'd never met him in person. Within the crackling fires and covering most of his voice, Sophus whispered, "she took Gaiana."
"I know."
Sophus' body couldn't move. A piece of ceiling had collapsed on his back, making him bleed slowly before he could die. The excruciating pain from the weight, ironically enough, kept him conscious enough to stay alive.
"Save her," he cried out. "Please save her, please please please, she's the only one that matters."
Mimoza took out her dagger. "I know, and I'm sorry."
Mimoza slit his throat. It was a mercy kill, ending his life before the flames could burn away his last breaths. Mimoza left the smoldering building, allowing the fire to finish the last of its work. Her whole body was determined to be the arbiter of justice. "Pandora, the only deviant allowed in this city is me."