Wrath of the Gods Page #23

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and helmet—you wound Medusa as before. Then while

Medusa is lying there, you quickly select the sandals and

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helmet in your inventory. When you click yourself with the

helmet, you turn “invisible” just as Medusa rises up again

to pounce. If you have only the sandals or only the helmet,

she catches you. (If you’re invisible she manages this by

groping.) Once you’ve done everything right, Medusa looks

around for you in puzzlement while you flit around. Then

she drops dead. Medusa’s head pings into your inventory.

Ruined Dwelling

LANDSCAPE WITH RUINS. As the time of the heroes gave

way to the Greek Dark Age, ruins of abandoned dwellings

lay scattered upon the land. The kingdoms that produced the

glorious golden artifacts of Mycenae (my-SEE-nee) and formed

the backdrop for the exploits sung of by bards like Homer

now lay in shambles. Some speculate that Dorian (DORE-eean)

invaders from the north with iron weapons laid waste the

Bronze Age culture. Others look to internal dissent, uprising,

and rebellion. Or perhaps some combination brought the era

to an end. One thing is certain: civilization had taken a giant

backward step. Material culture and the life of the mind

were reduced to a lower common denominator. And when

the flame of learning and the aspiring spirit was kindled

anew, people looked back across the time of darkness to

what seemed a golden age. Then it was, they thought, that a

special breed of men and women had trodden the earth—not

quite gods but not quite human either. They made up stories

about them, some based perhaps on faint recollections of real

individuals. These were the heroes of Greek mythology.

.

There’s a mountain in the background of this scene that

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blocks off egress in this direction, until Dionysus shatters it

in the Midas Touch scene (page 139). There’s also a ruined wall

from the stones of which a gem can be seen to gleam.

Golden Glow

MOUNTAIN PATH. You see something glowing on top of a

ridge in this landscape. But you can’t get to it without some

means of flying. When you come back with the winged

sandals from Hermes’ bedroom (page 137), you select them

in your inventory and click them on yourself. Once you’ve

donned the sandals, you click on the glow and fly toward

the top of the ridge.

RIDGE TOP. You land near the object and see that it’s a

golden bridle. You are free to acquire it for your inventory.

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MARKET. The marketplace was the vital center of ancient

Greek communities. Democracy, the political system by

which the people govern themselves, may be said to have

been born in the Athenian agora (AG-ore-uh)—a combined

marketplace and civic center.

The market is noisy and colorful.

Market

MARKET STALL You turn toward a particular stall, where

a Vendor stands before his wares: a rock, a bottle of wine,

bee-sting ointment, a parchment eye chart with Greek letters,

and an iron.

VENDOR:

What’s your pleasure, smart shopper? Take your

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time, have a look.

If you click on a given item on display, the vendor

comments.

VENDOR:

Ah! The rock? It’s a beaut! Good for warriors that

you plant as seeds. It isn’t magic or anything, but

hey, it’s cheap!

Or:

VENDOR:

Ah! The wine? I’ll have to see some ID.

(pause)

Just kiddin’.

Or:

VENDOR:

Bee-sting ointment? You just know this stuff is

going to come in handy.

Or:

VENDOR:

Ah! The eye chart? Great gag gift. Find any

Cyclops, tell him you’re a doctor, and have him

cover one eye.

After each of these speeches, the vendor quotes a price of

two gems and holds out his palm for payment—unless you

click on the iron:

VENDOR:

I can’t sell you that. Electricity won’t be invented

for another few thousand years.

If you give him the gems, the given item pings into your

inventory. If you don’t want the item after you hear its

description, click on something else.

The fact is, you don’t really need anything in this scene:

While the rock works on the Seed Men (page 29), so does the

one from the Avalanche (page 20). The wine from the Taverna

(page 62) put the Cyclops to sleep (page 69). And while the beesting

ornament is fun to slather all over your heroic skin, it

doesn’t actually protect you from bees (page 49).

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BEACH WITH SHIP OFFSHORE. Seafaring in heroic times

was a perilous affair. The sailing season, when one might

hope to venture forth with any degree of safety, was limited

to some fifty days after the end of summer. Prior to that

season, the Aegean (i-JEE-an) Sea bakes under the summer

Beach 3

Hesperides Chariot Stop

CHARIOT TERMINAL. With your convenience in mind,

the transportation authorities have located the Hesperides

(hes-PER-i-deez) chariot station on the far fringe of the heroic

world. Here you can buy a ticket for Mount Pelion (PEELee-

un) or Mycenae (my-SEE-nee). Next to the entrance to the

waiting room is another door. Right now it’s locked, but

eventually Hera will give you the key (page 150).

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sun and any slight imbalance in barometric pressure causes

the hot air to rise up suddenly, sucking down cold from the

north. Suddenly out of a cloudless sky the north wind rages

down with almost hurricane force. And even in the absence

of these dreadful gales, the prevailing wind, the meltemi, can

be relied upon to kick up a choppy and violent sea. Small

wonder that the ancient mariners strove to keep land in sight

at all times, making their way cautiously from headland to

headland. And small wonder that they drew their vessels up

on the beach at night.

There’s a ship with a white sail anchored out beyond the surf

line. If you click on the ship, you swim out to it and climb

aboard. King Minos (MYE-nos) and his guard are on the ship.

If you talk to the guard you get no response. If you talk to

Minos:

MINOS:

(sarcastically sincere)

Good move! You just joined a boatload of victims

for the Minotaur! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Cast off for

Crete!

And so you find yourself once more in the footsteps of

Theseus (THEE-see-us). When that hero had identified

himself to King Aegeus (EE-joos) by producing the tokens

hidden beneath the boulder, he was now the recognized

heir to the kingdom of Athens. Thus he was on hand when

King Minos of Crete (KREET) arrived to collect his periodic

tribute of young men and maidens to be sacrificed to the

Minotaur (MIN-uh-tawr). Because his son had died while in the

safekeeping of the Athenians, Minos exerted the power of

the Cretan navy to enforce this onerous demand.

The Minotaur was a monster, half-man, half-bull, that lived

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