Wrath of the Gods Page #7

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HADES CATACOMB. In a subterranean grotto you come

upon a rack of sledgehammers. (It turns out that this is

where the tormented soul in the Rock-Breaking scene (page

44) keeps the tools of his trade.) You pick one up and head

for the door, but as you step on a panel in the floor, a heavy

slab descends with a resounding thud and blocks the exit.

What’s going on is that the floor panel is weight-sensitive

and you’ve exceeded the limit with the sledgehammer that

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you’re carrying. You need to go back and exchange it for

another, but since they all have differently shaped heads,

there’s no way to tell which is the lightweight one. So this is

a process of trial and error.

Hades Portal 1

PORTAL IN HILLSIDE. In this landscape a lintel inscribed

“Hades” marks a portal to the Underworld. This is where

you emerge after various adventures in Hades. You can

also enter here from the Crossroads (page 31). Just inside this

portal to the right is a grotto with a sign that says: LUNCH

BREAK. COME BACK LATER. The Rockbreaker (page 44) will return in

time to meet you after you’ve died at the Banquet.

Castle Vista

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CASTLE EXTERIOR. A hilltop fortress beckons you to visit.

Castles back in the Heroic Age were often built on hilltops

for an added measure of safety in defence.

Servant’s Entrance

CASTLE EXTERIOR WITH SMALL DOOR. No one

answered your knock at the castle’s main door, so you walk

around to the side and you find yourself at the servant’s

entrance. Knock on the door, and it opens.

KING:

(voice-over)

Come in.

Banquet

BANQUET HALL. You enter and find yourself in a banquet

hall, where the King from the Introductory Movie (twenty

years older now) sits at the table with his Queen. This

conjures up the situation that greeted Theseus (THEE-see-us)

when he arrived in Athens to meet his father, King Aegeus

(EE-joos), for the first time. The encounter was far from

heartwarming. Theseus did not reveal his identity at first

but was hailed as a hero by the Athenians, for he had rid

the highway of notorious brigands like Sciron (SKY-ron) the

robber.

In honor of his exploits, Theseus was invited to the palace

for a banquet. Serving as hostess was his father’s new wife

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Medea (meh-DEE-uh). This was the same Medea who had

helped Jason harvest a crop of armed warriors and steal the

Golden Fleece. Jason had eventually abandoned Medea,

and she had grown understandably bitter. Now she sized

up Theseus and decided that he was a threat to her own

son’s prospects of ruling Athens after king Aegeus. In fact,

Medea’s magic disclosed the identity of Theseus.

Years before, she had aided Aegeus, who was desperate

for an heir. It was Medea’s power that ensured the birth of

Theseus to the princess of Troezen (TREE-zun). Though he

left instructions with the princess should a child be born,

Aegeus had either forgotten the incident or despaired of a

birth. Now Medea played on the king’s insecurity. Surely the

stranger at the banquet was too popular for the good of the

throne. With the people behind him, he might well seize it

for himself. Medea persuaded King Aegeus to serve Theseus

poisoned wine. And the hero, unawares, would have drunk

it had he not paused first to carve his dinner.

This, at any rate, is the prosaic version of the myth.

Romantics claim that Theseus drew his sword not to

mince his boar’s meat but because he had chosen the

dramatic moment to reveal his identity. In any case, Aegeus

recognized the pattern on the sword’s hilt. This was his

own weapon, which he had left under a rock for his son to

discover. Aegeus dashed the poisoned cup to the ground.

Medea, meanwhile, stormed out and made her escape in a

chariot pulled by dragons.

If you talk to the Queen:

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QUEEN:

What do you want?

If you talk to the King:

KING:

Hail, hero! This banquet is in your honor. Please,

take your seat.

You join them at the table.

QUEEN:

(scowling)

Death to the impostor!

KING:

(muttering)

Er, yes, well… Perhaps we’d better establish

your credentials. Here’s a simple test…

He turns partway around in his chair and points at the wall

behind him, where three pennants hang. You turn to look at

them too.

KING:

(continues)

Which of these banners bears the royal insignia?

You click on one of the banners. While you and the King are

turned around, the Queen pours some powder into your

wine glass. You and the King turn to face forward again. If

you’ve guessed wrong, the Queen raises her glass in a toast.

QUEEN:

(sneering)

To the hero!

You lift your glass to your lips, there’s a glugging sound,

and your head drops down onto the table—you’ve been

poisoned. You’ll materialize in the Underworld in the Rock-

Breaking scene (page 44).

When you get back to the banquet and happen to talk to the

Queen first, she greets you as before:

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QUEEN:

What do you want?

When you talk to the King:

KING:

Please, take your seat.

If you click on the empty chair, you walk over and sit down.

KING:

Now, choose again.

When you choose the proper pennant (matching the pattern

on your sword), the Queen sneeringly proposes her toast:

QUEEN:

To the hero!

The King jumps to his feet.

KING:

Don’t drink that!

FADE TO BLACK. FADE UP on the same scene, minutes

later. You and the King are standing in front of the table.

KING:

You would seem to be the stranger spoken of

in the omens. But something’s amiss. When I

was younger, my ambition knew no bounds.

Prophesied to lose my kingdom, I abandoned

my own grandchild. But then I grew weary and

longed for an heir. An oracle said to bury my

most prized possessions. One day a hero would

appear. He’d know the royal symbol, and

he’d be carrying my sword. So here you are, as

foretold… But you lack the sword.

If you remove the sword from your inventory and click it on

the King, he takes it from your hand and looks carefully at

the hilt.

KING:

Can it be? Yes! The royal insignia! This is indeed

a happy day!

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But his features lose their animation as a nagging memory

crosses his mind.

KING:

May the gods forgive my selfishness for wishing

you to be my own flesh and blood.

He hands you back the sword.

KING:

But of course that’s just a dream.

He freezes in a posture of dejection. When you give him the

ring from your inventory—the one that Chiron said was

“in your blanket when I found you” (page 11)—he looks at it

joyously.

KING:

(exulting)

Child of my child! Kneel before me.

You kneel down.

KING:

(continues)

I now proclaim you king!

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