Wrath of the Gods Page #13

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the fire-breathing bulls and harvest the crop of warriors that

grew from the field which he had sown (page 29). Jason had

asked Medea’s father politely if he might have the Golden

Fleece, to take home to Iolcus (eye-ALL-kus) and win his spurs

as a hero. And King Aeëtes, masking his hatred of strangers,

had said “Surely”—upon completion of the bull-andseedmen

challenge. Now he had no choice but to pretend

that he’d give the Fleece to Jason, but he had no intention

of doing so. Unfortunately from his point of view, he

committed the tactical error of divulging his true intentions

to his daughter. And Medea, who had been entranced by the

Goddess of Love, confided them in turn to Jason.

And so at midnight they crept into the sacred precincts

of Ares (AIR-eez), god of war. Jason, ever the hothead,

whipped out his sword, but Medea wisely restrained his

impetuosity. Instead, she used more subtle means to subvert

the monster’s vigilance. With a magical herb and a magical

chant, she put the beast to sleep.

You click on your sword and attack. At first it seems you’re

doing well, but then the tide turns in the dragon’s favor and

you’re scorched to a crisp. There’s a fade out and you find

Golden Fleece

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yourself in the Underworld, in the Tantalus scene (below).

When you come back with the lyre that you have taken from

Orpheus (page 79), you select it in your inventory and click it

on yourself. Numbered strings appear in the black below the

picture window. Click on the strings in the order given you

by the Siren (page 60): 2-1-3-4.

The dragon falls asleep. Victoriously you hold aloft the

Golden Fleece while receiving 50 points. The Fleece’s

removal from the place where it hung reveals a new path off

through the trees, into the Thicket scene (below).

Thicket

GLOOMY THICKET. If you do the adventures in a different

order and enter this scene before you have retrieved the

Golden Fleece (page 65), you’ll see a glow coming through a

gap in the trees, emanating from the back side of the Fleece.

After you acquire the Fleece, the gap is open and you can

pass through the thicket.

Tantalus

HADES CATACOMB WITH POOL. Having been killed

by the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece (page 65), you

find yourself in Tartarus (TAR-tuh-rus), Underworld zone of

eternal punishment. Here you encounter Tantalus (TAN-tuhlus),

who is in the process of being punished for his sins. The

word “tantalize” comes from the plight of this mythological

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character, who so offended the gods that he was condemned

in the afterlife to an eternity of hunger and thirst. He was

made to stand in a pool in Tartarus, and each time he reached

down for the water that beckoned to his parched lips, it

drained away. Overhanging the pool were boughs laden

with luscious fruit. But each time Tantalus stretched to pluck

this juicy sustenance, the boughs receded from his grasp. For

his crime, which may have involved stealing ambrosia from

the gods, this great sinner was tantalized indeed.

As you arrive in this scene, Tantalus reaches up for some

grapes but the vine moves up and out of his reach. His

exasperated expression barely changes as he notices you.

TANTALUS:

So, what, they’re giving tours of the Zone of

Punishment now? The name’s Tantalus. Do me

a favor, will you? Reach me down a few of those

grapes.

Tantalus gestures at the grape vine hanging over the pool.

You click the hand cursor on the grapes but they keep

swinging up and out of the way, only to droop down again.

TANTALUS:

Darn! The same thing happens to me. Oh well…a

word to the wise about dragons… Sometimes a

song is mightier than the sword.

If you explore the adjacent scenes and then return to this

one, Tantalus is reaching down to get water but the water

drains away.

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TANTALUS:

You wouldn’t happen to have a glass of water on

ya?

If you are killed again by the dragon, you arrive to find

Tantalus reaching for some fruit or trying to get some

water. He can’t get either of course, and he snaps his fingers

in incongruously lighthearted aggravation. If you talk to

him:

TANTALUS:

Back again, eh? I guess you need music lessons.

Come back later and I’ll tell you where to get

‘em.

If you heed his injunction about coming back later by simply

going into the next scene and immediately returning:

TANTALUS:

When it comes to melodies, no one outdoes the

Siren.

There’s also a gem to be picked up in this scene.

Stalagmite

CAVE WITH STALAGMITE. Leaving Tantalus, you enter

an Underworld grotto with a huge stalagmite at the far end.

You break it up with the sledgehammer or your sword and

open a passage out of the Underworld.

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CAVE MOUTH. This is where you emerge from the

Underworld after meeting Tantalus (page 66). A convenient

billboard points you back to the Golden Fleece. If you enter

this cave before you’ve met Tantalus, it’s a dead end because

the back side of the stalagmite (page 68) is in your way.

Hades Portal 2

Cyclops

PASSAGE BETWEEN CLIFFS. You come to a narrow defile

blocked by a Cyclops (SYE-klops) straight out of the myth of

Odysseus (oh-DISS-ee-us). It was that hero and his shipmates

who encountered a Cyclops on their ill-fated return from

the Trojan War. This nine-year conflict had pitted the Greeks

against the city of Troy, on the western coast of what is now

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Turkey. The Greeks had finally triumphed, but many would

not live to enjoy it. Odysseus and his shipmates were blown

far off course, and after a number of perils they reached a

small wooded island, where they beached the vessels and

gave thought to provisions. Odysseus had noticed a larger

island nearby, from which came the sound of bleating goats.

This was encouraging to his growling stomach, and he

detailed a scouting party and led it to the far shore. Here

they found a huge goat pen outside a cave and, inside, all

the cheeses and meat they could desire. They were lounging

in drowsy contentment when the shepherd came home.

The sight of him brought the Greeks to fullest attention. He

was as big as a barn, with a single glaring eye in the middle

of his forehead. He was one of the Cyclopes (sye-KLOH-peez),

giant blacksmiths who had built Olympus (oh-LIM-pus) for

the gods. This particular Cyclops was named Polyphemus

(pol-i-FEE-mus). He and his neighbors lived like hermits with

their flocks. If the Greeks were shocked, Polyphemus was

pleasantly surprised. For here before him at his own hearth

was a treat that would nicely vary his diet.

Taking care to roll a boulder into the mouth of the cave—a

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