Mountain of the Immortals

Pretty soon we had reached the bottom of the slope and were walking alongside the still waters of the lake, heading toward a man who looked nothing like the image of a god of war I had imagined.

* * *

Name: Ares

Race: Greater Deity

Class: War Eternal

Level: 57

* * *

His body was muscular, but not extremely so, and he was wearing leather armor with a sword hanging on each side of his belt. His face was clean-shaven, and his thick black eyebrows raised as he laid eyes on us.

"Aphro, you really meant what you said about coming with friends," he said, and stepped toward her. "Now give your old brother a hug."

"At least wipe the blood off your tunic first," she said. Then she cast the cantrip she used whenever she wanted to clean something or freshen up. "And don't call me that."

The man wrapped his arms around her just as the last drops of water disappeared along with the blood and gore that was decorating his armor, and he raised her off the ground.

"You haven't changed one bit, sister," he said as he placed her back on the ground again.

"You, on the other hand, look much older," Aphrodite said.

"It comes with wisdom," he replied almost instantly. "Also, the Norse find this visage more trustworthy."

"Why do you care what they think?" she asked. "You're only here to fight them."

"Sister," Ares said, acting as if she'd insulted him. "I like fighting as much as the next person, but what I love most is war. And war requires two sides. At least."

"So you turn people against each other with your tricks first?" she asked.

"Enough about me," he said, turning to face me and Artemis. "I see you are traveling with some very interesting company. The goddess of the hunt, and the god who killed the king of monsters. Zeus, the supreme monster slayer himself."

I wasn't sure how to react to that until he extended his hand and we clasped wrists.

"It's about time someone took that piece of shit down," he said, holding my hand firmly. "Typhon spread too many monstrous mongrels."

"I've got a couple of steaks made from his ribs, if you want to share your fire," I offered along with a half-smile.

The god of war burst into laughter and pulled me in for a hug, patting my back heartily.

"He's got a good sense of humor as well," Ares said. Then he pulled away and waved for us all to join him.

As promised, I took a few steaks out of my inventory and pretty soon their juices were sizzling over Ares' magical bonfire.

"This is Norse mead," he said, taking out a bottle and a few mugs from his own inventory. "The people here like it a lot. It's only okay, if you ask me, but don't tell anyone I said that."

"I'm sure you're wondering why we're here..." Aphrodite said as Ares served us the drink.

"Not yet," he interrupted. "Can it wait until after we have some dinner? I haven't seen you in a while, Aphro."

"Fine," she said, and crossed her arms. "But don't call me that."

"I won't if he explains to me how he managed to kill the hundred-headed dragon," he said, pointing at me.

"It was all three of us, really," I said.

We spent the next twenty minutes or so explaining how we'd claimed the place of power at the top of Mount Olympus, creating our clan and building our guildhall there. The story of Typhon's defeat came to an end just as the steaks finished cooking.

"This thing is amazing," Ares said, as he took a first bite of the large piece of meat. "And look at that buff."

I smiled as I looked at the buff I got as soon as I gulped down the first bite of my own steak.

* * *

Name: Typhon Steak

Type: Buff

Level: 9

Effect: Increases Physical Attack, Magic Attack, Physical Defense, Magic Defense, Attack Speed, Casting Speed, Speed, and Alcohol Tolerance by 9% for 180 minutes.

* * *

"Three hours too!" he exclaimed, a small piece flying out of his mouth. "That must have been a fight worthy of seeing again and again."

"I wouldn't wish to fight that monster more than once," I said, and took a sip of the mead Ares had offered us.

My response sent him into another fit of laughter, which turned into a cough that he drenched in mead. For some reason, my jokes seemed to be landing a lot harder on him than I would have expected. Perhaps it was because he had been alone for so long in this place.

Not that I was complaining. It was awkward enough being in such close proximity to the god of war while sitting between two women, one of whom was his sister. If humor got the conversation flowing more easily, so be it.

"How long have you been here, Ares?" I asked.

"Six years?" he asked himself. "Perhaps seven. I'm not keeping count, and there aren't many seasons in the Norse realms. The best you can hope here is for a very cold Greek spring."

"What keeps you here then?" I followed up.

"The people and their gods," he said enthusiastically. "I mean, I'm sure they don't really want an outsider here but I just can't bring myself to leave them."

"What are you talking about, brother?" Aphrodite asked.

"All they ever think about is battle," he said. "They live to raid and pillage. They want duels and battles, and their heaven is filled with endless fighting and feasting."

"And that's why you can't leave them?" Aphrodite asked again. "It sounds to me like they don't really need you."

"It's not about them dear sister," Ares replied. "With these kind of people, do you know how easy it is to pull them into long, bloody, dirty wars? I am like water in the desert. They suck up what I say without question, and solve their problems with their anger."

"It sounds like a lot of fun for you," I said, "but is there something in particular you're trying to accomplish here?"

"What is anyone trying to accomplish once they gain their godhood?" Ares said, and shrugged. "I am spending my eternity having fun, chasing the things I love the most, going after the constant thrill of the flames of war."

"If that is so, what are you doing here all alone?" Aphrodite asked him. "When I contacted you, you were fighting. Yet now you're alone again."

"I wasn't supposed to be fighting. But someone had to contact me at the worst possible moment," he replied.

"You could have kept your stone in your inventory," she said, "and you would only have gotten the notification that I was trying to reach you."

"But what if it was something important? Or you were in danger?" he said, and then looked at me. "Though I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore. Not with the supreme monster slayer and the goddess of the hunt by your side."

"You never had to worry about me," Aphrodite said.

"Your fire can be seen from miles away," Artemis said, jumping into the conversation to avoid Aphrodite getting too angry. "Aren't you worried that monsters or enemies might see you and attack you?"

"I'm not hiding from anyone. I don't have anything to hide," he said, smiling at me. "In any case, I am like those trees in that forest." He pointed at the mass of trees that we had just walked through.

"You knew about those trees and didn't tell us?" Aphrodite asked.

"Why? Did a level fifty-one tree that can't even chase you give you too much trouble?" he asked sarcastically.

"That's not the point--" she started, but her brother interrupted her.

"You're right," he said. "The point is that I am like one of those trees. People and monsters alike know that I am here, but nobody wants to bother me. Of course, I can chase them if they try something stupid. But enough about me again. I guess you didn't just come here to introduce me to your friends, sister."

"I didn't," she said, and glanced at me and Artemis. "We want you to join our clan."

"Woah, there," Ares said, surprise evident on his face. He turned to address me. "Is this an official invitation?"

"It is," I said with a straight face. "We want you to join our clan. It will not be safe, and there will be many battles, but the payoff will be worth it."

"You were part of Cronus's clan before, and now have your own," he said, scratching his clean-shaved, pointy chin. "Then you got yourself a guildhall on a mountain taller than your father's. And last I heard, Typhon was imprisoned by Cronus and used for his dirty deeds. Yet you killed the king of monsters. Why do I get the sense that your father might be next on the list of things you want to destroy?"

"Would that be too big an ambition for you, god of war?" I said, knowing full well that we had now entered into a negotiation of sorts.

"Almighty Zeus, you might be powerful, and your cock might spit thunder, but those things do not interest me," he replied.

"What does interest you?"

"Need I say it? The horns of battle and carrion birds. The peace treaties that are a diversion for the dagger coming from the other side. The burning fields and corpses. War, Zeus! War!"

"Will there ever be a bigger battle in the Greek realms than the one that dethrones of the king of the titans?" I asked. "Join us, and that day will throw a shadow over even Cronus assassinating his own father, Uranus."

"You speak of power changing hands and battles between gods, but what I yearn for is war. A few battles are only but a temporary relief for me."

"Does Odin have many followers here?" I asked, having suddenly thought of a different approach.

"Millions," Ares replied, smiling at my change of tactics.

"Enemies?"

"Same."

"What would happen if someone took Odin out of the picture?" I asked. "Would his followers not want revenge? Would his enemies not fight to fill the power vacuum created?"