Her Quest

Chapter four

"You know of a way to get to the Underworld?" Iaso asked, disbelief clear in her tone.
"Yes. You know that my mother is Asteria - goddess of falling stars - right?". Ria didn't continue speaking until she had all three of them nodding their heads.
"Have you heard of her cousin, Morpheus?".

"Yes, but what does the god of dreams have to do with the Underworld?" Iaso asked impatiently.
"Wait, do you mean to say that I can go to Underworld via the house of Morpheus?".
"Yes, exactly. If you please Morpheus by offering what he often desires, he might grant you safe passage through to the Underworld. It's quite the distance from what I've heard from Alexiares' dad, but it's a whole lot safer than whatever options you've heard of".

"Is that how Heracles got into the Underworld?" Penelope asked to which she nodded.
"Wait a minute. I'm still stuck on the whole Offering - Morpheus - what - he - often - desires, so sex?".
Penelope glanced sharply at Iaso's nauseated face. "There are things other than sex that the gods often want, like gold? In this case, 3 golden obols. The first coin is easy to find and will act as a clue towards your second. And your second coin, a clue to the last. After obtaining all 3 coins, you have to make your way to the cave of Sibyl, from there you will take rest. As your body and mind is slowly taken over by sleep, you will hear the sweet melody that is Morpheus' voice, calling out to you. However, do note that these three obols are just enough for one of you to gift to Morpheus". "Are you for real? So Leia and I cannot go to the Underworld?".

"You are only allowed to accompany her up until you find all three coins. After that, Penelope is on her own".
"I anyways don't think I would survive in the Underworld, Iaso" Leia said with a slight shudder. Penelope took a deep breath in, letting all the new details of the quest sink in.
"You said that finding the first coin would be easy, so where is that?".

"The place it hurts the most to visit".

Penelope thought about her last visit to the sea. It was two years ago, when she was 18. Her welcome was the same as all the previous years, a ride on Poseidon's carriage through the city to the palace, a tour through the king's garden with her stepbrothers - Prince Triton and Prince Rhode - both mermen - as her escorts, followed by a lavish banquet in honour of her arrival. Penelope always got along with her brothers ever since they were young, however their relationship over the two years had become somewhat estranged.
"Tell me, dear sister, how is life above sea?" Triton, first-born of Poseidon and Amphitrite, lazily ran his hand through his glossy blonde hair. "It's great, I just wish I could spend more time here with you guys and mother" Penelope sighed heavily.
"You should just ask father to speak with Zeus, has he ever denied you of something?" Rhode asked.

Rhode was a year younger than her, with the same beautiful blonde hair as his brother, a constant mischievous smile playing on his face.

"I don't want to make it a habit. I already asked him to help find my father, I can't possibly ask him to meet with his brother and ask for an extension on my two month allotted time to visit the sea".

Offspring of Lord's and Gods needed special permissions if they wanted to visit a family member of theirs that were living under the rule of another God's jurisdiction.
So when Penelope wanted to spend time with her mother and brothers, her case had to be presented to the Council of Olympus. All the members at the time agreed on granting her a two month stay under the sea.
"I understand. Well, come on let's meet mother" Triton said and picked a red rose from the bush, pushing it behind her left ear.

"Oh, my beautiful baby" Amphitrite said as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.
"She's no longer a baby, mom" Rhode teased and playfully poked Penelope's cheek. "Stop that, Rhode" She told him, annoyed. "Your sister just arrived and you're already troubling her?" Poseidon's deep voice came from behind. Penelope turned around and a broad smile lightened up his face.
She smiled back and performed a dramatic courtesy, nearly loosing balance with the sharp turn in the water. She moved her mermaid tail from side to side and straightened her position. "My king". "Nonsense, come here" Poseidon replied with a hearty laugh, embracing Penelope in his arms.

It was at the banquet, where all the lies she had been fed had risen to the surface.
She was standing on a balcony that over looked the city of the sea, catching her breath from dancing in a hall filled with all kinds of beings, when she felt a hand tug at her arm. "Oh, hi" Penelope said, sounding more surprised than necessary. "Shhh...Don't say anything. I'm going to need you to trust me. Whatever your mother or Poseidon's been telling you about your Father is a lie" A petite brown haired elf frantically explained.

"What? No...wait, is this another prank? Ok, which brother of mine was it?". "No, it's not a prank! Just listen. Your Father, Prometheus, was rescued years ago from the dry Lands - by Heracles. If you want to know more meet me exactly in an hour" she hurriedly placed a crumbled up note in Penelope's hand and disappeared into the crowd.

It didn't take her long to decide if she wanted to meet with the elf or not. If she said she had news about her Father, she was definitely going to meet her. Penelope took a quick look at the crumpled note and another few looks around her before leaving for the dungeon in the left wing.

Since they were children, Penelope and her brothers were restricted from playing in that dungeon, and today she was going in.

The Dungeon was beneath the palace, and devoid of sea water, so Penelope needed to transform from her mer-form into her human form. After having her human legs back, she grabbed a flag that adorned the wall just outside the entrance of the dungeon - which had Poseidon's symbol of the trident and the tentacles of the Kraken on it - and wrapped it around her the lower half of her body.
The dungeon was unguarded and Penelope wondered if that was the brown haired elf's doing. When she walked inside the gloomy, eerily quiet corridor, she formed a flame in the palm of her hands and used it to light up the pathway as she walked.
She had an urge to call out for the elf, but fear of being caught made her decide against it.

Penelope carried on walking, keeping an eye out for her supposed well-wisher. A good ten minutes passed and she was still in the corridors of the dungeon, passing by countless of empty cells.

As she neared towards the last few cells, the flame in her hand did something uncanny. It quaked, as if a gentle breeze had come in from behind and made the fire dance, except that there was no breeze.

It was actually quite warm, with years of stale air contained inside the dungeon. Again, the flame moved unnaturally, almost as if it was being called to attention.
Another few steps forward and the flame became normal, so she stopped and looked up.
In the corner of the cell was a scruffy looking, clearly malnourished bearded man chained to a bedpost.
"Hope you've got some food there for me kiddo, getting you here took most of my energy" He said and laughed heartily.