Page 14 of Hermes
There was nothing more for me to say to her. I traipsed over to the boulder by the cliffside to retrieve my winged sandals and helmet to place them on. Reaching for my caduceus, I held it in the air as I took off, flying away into the distance.
I didn’t dare look back at Aphrodite, who remained on the beach, carefully watching me as I disembarked. For if I turned around, I would have witnessed the scorn displayed on her face. Even I should know that Aphrodite does not like to be ridiculed or crossed. For the second she is, she will already be plotting her exact revenge.
Normally, I would come up with the perfect disguise into tricking my enemies in order to get my way. However, this routine would not work out when it came to Otus and Ephialtes. Although they were giants, they proved to be quite clever. After all, they managed to come close to reaching Mount Olympus and even captured the God of war in their escapade. I knew that a disguise would not be enough to fool them.
However, I had another idea that I came up with, which is what hopefully would do the trick to bring down the Aloadae. It required someone who was swift and fast on their feet. And there was only one Olympian goddess that came to mind who could assist me in this mission that possessed those skills. And so, I managed to convince her to join me on this journey.
The two of us were just outside the dwelling of the colossal giants on the island of Naxos, where the twin brothers resided. We had been in hiding for hours now, just watching the two, studying their every move, trying to map out their daily patterns. “What are we waiting for?” Artemis asked, kneeling on the ground beside me in her sage tunic with her golden bow hanging from her back.
“We need to strike when the time is right,” I informed her. “Or rather, have them strike each other when the time is right,” I further clarified.
Artemis had a quizzical expression mounted on her face, unsure of what the plan was I had devised. “What do you mean ‘have them strike each other?’” she repeated back to me.
“They have to spar one another at some point. I need them with weapons in their hands. Then, when they begin training and fighting, that is when you will step in. I need you to distract them. Turn into some fauna or prey that they would hunt down. You need to be quick and move about with great speed. Hopefully, when they try to attack you, they will mistakenly strike one another.”
“Oh, I see,” Artemis replied, now seeing the revelation. “I will do my best, but there is no guarantee that these giants will be gauche enough to misstep and harm each other.”
“I am aware of that, but this is the only option we have at this point. I see no other way in us being able to kill them.”
And so, the two of us remained furtive, awaiting our moment to attack. After several more hours, Otus and Ephialtes emerged from their cave, each carrying a spear in their hands.
Perfect! This was exactly what I was hoping for!
The two strode off into a nearby field. Artemis and I surreptitiously trailed behind them, continuing to conceal our identities until the time was right. Once they were in the barren field, practicing throwing their pikes at their desired targets, I knew it was now or never.
“Go…” I whispered to Artemis.
A bright silver aura surrounded the Goddess of the hunt. I stepped back as it encapsulated her entire frame. Immediately the bright, incandescent light drew the attention of the Aloadae, but before they could approach us to inspect it, a miraculous white doe sprung forth, out of the light. Artemis, now transformed, leaped across the field, sprinting and pivoting all around Otus and Ephialtes.
The two became so distracted by the snow-colored deer that they didn’t even recognize me lying on the soiled terrain. Artemis was magnificent, gliding with grace in between the aggressive giants.
“After it!” Otus called out to his brother.
“Let us see who can hunt it down first!” Ephialtes suggested.
The giants went on the pursuit, chasing Artemis’ deer form. They threw their javelins with all their might, but to no avail. She was able to evade every single one of their throws. Finally, she could separate the two of them at a great enough distance before she leaped in the center of each of them.
I watched with great anticipation as both Otus and Ephialtes charged her from opposite sides, running towards one another. At the same exact time, they both raised their weapons and threw them in a perfect horizontal fashion, aimed directly at Artemis. But she was too swift for them. Both spears missed her and they continued to fly through the air, except now they were headed directly towards each giant.
I could hear the sound of the metal pierce their flesh with a loud pinging noise. The brothers had accidentally struck each other. Otus fell into the field with a loud thud, blood spurting from his neck where the spear had cut through. At the very same time, Ephialtes bled into the dirt. Otus’s weapon had penetrated his brother’s chest, and he collapsed.
The Aloadae were still, lifeless. They were no more. Artemis and I had done it. Seeing as how they were motionless, the goddess returned to her normal form and inspected their bodies to verify they were indeed dead.
“They are gone… already on their way to the Underworld,” she said aloud to me.
“Then that’s it,” I replied. “We are done here. Let us be on our way into their cave. That’s likely where they are holding Ares.”
Artemis nodded to me and followed behind as I led us to the cave where we found Otus and Ephialtes spending most of their time during the day. Earlier, we stood outside it, unable to actually peek in, in fear of being caught by the two of them. But now, there was nothing holding us back. We could freely walk into the cave. Technically, we could move about anywhere on the island of Naxos, now that the Aloadae were done for.
As we strode into the damp and dreary grotto-like cave, there wasn’t much to observe. The place seemed as if it was uninhabited. There was barely anything in here. A few small trinkets and items were scattered throughout. Perhaps Ares wasn’t here at all?
But as Artemis and I continued to explore the cave, I noticed a bronze jar that stood out to me. The jar was fairly small and couldn’t possibly fit Ares’ massive body in there, but I wondered if the giants put a curse on Ares and the jar, somehow able to put him in a tiny confined space. It wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities.
And so I opened the bronze lid. The moment I did, heavy smoke poured out of it and dissipated across the entire cave. Soon enough, a gargantuan brute warrior appeared.
“Ares!” Artemis shouted, recognizing him. “Thank us gods we have found you!”
“What happened?” the God of war asked, with confusion written all over his face.
