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SE-04 Hellacious Mythica Dominic's Odyssey By Darrel James Vanwinkle (Writing as Ratseye) 07/31/2001

The Summer heat in the Rocky Falls, Missouri, region was something that Dominic just didn't care for much. And as it was fortunate for him, the white stag reminded him that he was to return the Transformation Orb of Circe to the mysterious sorceress, as soon as possible. Dominic now sat in first class aboard Air Greece en route to Athens, Greece. He had specific instructions from the white stag on how to locate Circe once Dominic had arrived. He relaxed as he thought about the others left behind at home. All of his sisters were extremely busy, in fact, so busy that they didn't even have time to see him off at the airport. Shane and his brother, Richard Wayne, were also too busy with their ranch. Which was fine by Dominic. Damon Horse, Sexen Reinhold, Pablo Kingston, and Huckleberry Slyfingers stayed behind at the mansion, caring for the place in Dominic's absence. He almost wished that Valerian was coming along with him, but he quickly dashed that thought from his mind. The Arch Mage had his hands full with his two new apprentices, Rab Streambattle, the male otter samurai, and Warneeri, the female rabbit battlemage. Dominic now wondered how Brand Irondam, the male beaver archer, and Garla Canopyskimmer, the female flying squirrel priestess of Okali, were doing back in the Furry Realms.

Dominic made his way through customs at the airport in Athens, Greece. He was surprised by how his Chess (See F1) security was still viable in Europe. Dominic quickly made his way through customs, then stopped in at Chess' main offices to check in. Danath Gaul was pleased to see him, but did not hinder his current activities or plans. After spending a few days sightseeing in Athens, Dominic borrowed a Chess transport boat and set sail for Circe's mysterious and hidden island. Following the white stag's directions, and the directions were surprisingly correct, Dominic arrived two days later at the abandoned docks of the hidden island.

After Dominic tied off the sailing vessel, he was greeted by an overly large male centaur. The centaur was about twelve feet tall, perhaps weighing two thousand pounds. His human portion was tanned like most of the other young human sailors he'd seen back in Athens, his curly black hair was surprisingly short, and the black tail was braided. The centaur's eyes were blue. His horse's half was covered with glossy dark brown fur, and the hooves were also black. The centaur looks to Dominic and richly speaks in Greek. "Welcome to Circe's Island, stranger. I am Ren of the Northern Herd. I am to take you to my mistress. Would you prefer to ride or walk?"

Dominic replies, "With the greatest respect, Ren of the Northern Herd, I will walk beside you."

Ren smiles and seems quite pleased with the answer. He leads Dominic up the winding path deeper into the beautifully green and lushly floral island. After what seems to be a couple of miles, Ren brings Dominic to a beautifully intact marble structure with white columns all around the stone tiled grounds. Ren instructs Dominic to wait here while he fetched Circe. Ren trots off into the green and lush forest. Dominic spends the awaiting time admiring the surrounding scenery, being careful not to disturb anything. Soon, Ren returns with Circe riding upon his back.

Circe was quite the woman! Her beauty is dazzling and her grace is unicorn like. Her long flowing black hair and shiny green eyes compliment her perfectly shaped body with skin tones that were fairer than fair. Her body had not a single blemish upon her anywhere. She wore a simple silk like gown that extended down her perfect legs to her upper ankles. Her lips were cherry red in color, remarkable in the fact that she wore no make up whatsoever.

Circe smiles as she looks upon Dominic. Dominic kneels to one knee and exclaims, "Mistress Circe. I am Dominic Bastian Vanlyone, a humble servant of the white stag, who sends his greetings to you."

Circe continues to smile. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Dominic." She turns to the centaur. "You may go now, but remain close in case I need you." Ren heads out into the nearby forest. Circe looks to Dominic once again. "Now, what brings you here to my hidden island?"

Dominic rises and replies, "In a recent adventure to stop a demon from harming humans in the United States, an item he had in his possession was recovered before he was banished into the Infinitum. This item, I have been told, belongs to you, beautiful mistress." Dominic removed the Transformation Orb from his duffel bag. "I now return this magical item into your care."

Circe's eyes opened in both surprise and relief as she accepted the necklace and orb. She placed the necklace around her neck and smiled as she admired both herself and the necklace in the mirror. After a good fifteen minutes, Circe turned to Dominic, who was patient enough to show the proper protocol by waiting for her consent. She smiled and exclaimed, "I thank you for returning this to me. I thought it lost and unretrieveable. How may I repay you? Gold coins? A throne upon my island? Name your price, for nothing is beyond my ability to grant to you."

Dominic smiled gently. "You are too kind, Circe. But I did not come to accept wealth, power, or fame from you. I merely came to return your orb."

Circe blinked her eyes. "I am impressed! You are not like all the other men I have met throughout the centuries. Then perhaps I may give you knowledge instead? As I said, nothing is beyond my power to grant."

Dominic replied tactfully, "I am in the process of doing intelligent studies on various supernatural and mythically divine subjects. All I request is the locations to four creatures, who would be considered as mythical today."

Circe arched an eye warily. "That is all you want? Are you sure you don't want power or wealth?"

Dominic replied, "Wealth I have. Surely not as much as you are offering me, but what I have is sufficient enough for my survival. And power is undesirable. As the old saying goes: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. I would be too tempted to abuse the power, had I possessed it."

Circe smiled. "You are unique among humans, Dominic. What if I offered you my body? What would you say then?"

Dominic also smiled. "Without a doubt, Circe, beauty you possess. But as beautiful as you are, your body would not bring me happiness unless my use of your body brought you happiness. And while I am no fool, I can plainly see that you are in love with Ren of the Northern Herd."

Circe smiled again. "And you pass the last of my tests. The last time I was so graced with such a man as you, was when I was visited by Doctor Comus. He was a gentleman, for a human, and worth my respect." She placed a hand on Dominic's shoulder. "What myths do you seek?"

Dominic replied, "In no particular order, I seek the satyr (or faun), the minotaur, the pegasus, and the sea wolf. If such subjects cannot be proven to exist in today's age, then evidence that they existed will suffice. Can you help me?"

Circe thought for a few moments, then gathered up a few maps and old documents. Within a few hours, Circe had compiled the requested information into one master scroll map. She hands it to Dominic. Because it is so late, Circe invites Dominic to have dinner and stay until morning. That night, Ren of the Northern Herd serves the evening's meal. The food being exquisitely delicious. Circe entertains Dominic by telling him many stories about all the foolish men she had encountered over the centuries, and the ending fates of each man. Ren also entertains both Circe and Dominic by playing his hand-crafted sitar. (See F2)

Dominic doesn't sleep well. He has dreams of being transformed into a boar, then into a slug, then into a dog, then into a white stag. Dominic awakens with a sudden start and sits up immediately. He wipes the sweat off of his brow, and walks over to the window, gazing outwards. Such a beautiful island of paradise. Tempted by evil greedy men throughout the ages. All meeting with the same similiar fate. To become animals under Circe's justified rule. Dominic takes a slow breath, and exhales just as slowly. He was fortunate that Circe was impressed by his well behaved presence. Dominic felt uneasy and hot, yet at peace. He turns back towards the room, and sees Ren of the Northern Herd standing just inside the doorway. "Are you well, Dominic?"

Dominic sighs and replies, "I had a nightmare. An unfounded nightmare. Did I wake you, Ren?"

Ren approaches Dominic, laying a hand upon Dominic's bare shoulder. "I heard you cry out. Did you have a dream about Circe?"

Dominic nods his head. "She transformed me into a variety of creatures. She wouldn't do that now, would she?"

Ren shakes his head. "You performed a selfless service by bringing her rightful treasure back to her. And you were most noble in not asking for a reward. If you did decide to stay among us, you'd make a fine centaur, Dominic. There are too many other centaurs in the world who bring great disgrace to our species. Many have forgotten what we stand for." He smiles to Dominic. "Now, lay yourself back down. I will rub your back, and help you get back to sleep."

Dominic goes back over to the bed and lays himself down. Ren comes over and begins rubbing Dominic's shoulders gently and with smooth ease. Dominic smiles as he slowly drifts back to sleep.

The next morning, Dominic awakens feeling quite stiff. He turns his head and sees Ren asleep in the bed with him. Dominic slowly gets up and stretches. Dominic looks out the window and sees that it is raining quite heavily. "It would." Dominic mutters quietly. Ren replies, "You're in the Mediterranean. It rains periodically this time of year. A bath has been drawn for you."

Dominic turns and goes with Ren to the bathing chamber. As Dominic strips and enters the bath waters, he is somewhat surprised when Ren and Circe both join him there. Dominic respectively averted his eyes away from Circe by looking directly at Ren. "Um, good morning, er, Circe."

Circe giggled like a school girl. "Did you not know that everyone here bathes together? Is my nakedness distracting you?"

Dominic blushed and replied, "I did not know. Er, the way I was raised, um, it was not proper to look at a naked woman such as yourself. I am not worthy to see such treasures, Circe."

Circe laughed happily. "You are the most entertaining man I have ever had here on my island."

Ren ahemed. "Circe. You are not purposely trying to sway and tempt his virtues, are you?"

Circe looked at Ren quite seriously. "It is my right to entertain my guests however I like, is it not, Ren?"

Ren nodded his head and hushed up immediately. Dominic saw immediately that Ren was trying to help him. Dominic slowly peeked at Circe. Fortunately, she was now sitting down, with her breasts barely cresting the waters. "Circe, with all due respect. Your servant Ren... I believe he was merely trying to protect not my virtues, but your virtues. Please do not be upset with him."

Circe blinked in surprise, then smiled softly. "You care about Ren's welfare, as well? Very well, Dominic, I will not hold it against Ren. I apologize for trying to tempt you. But I am curious to see what your breaking point is. You have been far nicer than any man I have ever met, regardless of species. I suppose it is my girlish curiosity to find out what I can about you."

Dominic suddenly has an idea. "Circe. You wish to find out what you may about me, correct?"

Circe arched one eye at Dominic. "Correct."

Dominic smiled. "I believe that it would only be fair that I should learn one thing about you for every one thing you learn about me. And I will leave it to your consciousness concerning fair play to see it through to keeping your end of the deal."

Circe smiled. "An interesting proposition, Dominic. But I have secrets that I'd prefer not to reveal. How about this instead? For each of the mythical creatures that you survive an encounter with, I will teach you one of my secrets." She smiled at Ren. "I will also allow you access to Ren whenever you like should you survive all four creatures. And by survive I mean that you must remain human and alive. Do we have an agreement?"

Dominic looked at Ren, then replied to Circe, "Again, with all due respect, I don't think Ren should be treated like property. As for your offer, I accept, and furthermore, I will do these things without asking for any outside help. Freely given aid falls outside this agreement."

Circe smiled. "Then, as soon as the storm lifts, you may go forth to visit the creatures that you have specified."

Dominic replied. "Thank you, Circe. I also vow to tell you all about myself if I survive all four creatures. I see no reason we cannot both benefit from this agreement."

Circe nodded her head and smiled.

The storm lasted for the next few weeks. During that time, Dominic is treated respectively as Circe's guest. Even though Circe herself would completely disappear for hours to days on end, all Ren would say was that Circe was off running her traveling carnival. Dominic understood that Circe led a mysterious life and was rarely on her island. Dominic had actually lucked out catching Circe at home on the one day she was actually here. Ren keeps Dominic company during the rest of the time of those stormy days and nights. Ren plays games of chess with Dominic, prepares Dominic's meals, and diverges moments of the arts with Dominic. Dominic even agrees to pose for a portrait.

Dominic spends another two weeks modeling for Ren. First, it was for a painting, then for a clay statuette, then it was for a full scale statue. Finally, the day comes when Circe and Ren sees Dominic off on his Mediterranean adventure. Dominic waves goodbye to Ren and Circe, then raises the sails on his borrowed Chess boat. He navigates the reefs once again, and finally, pulls away from the hidden island. Dominic sets sail for the sea caves of the legendary sea wolf.

Dominic arrives days later at the Hidden Cove of Romulus. Again he carefully navigates the reef, then drops anchor and wades ashore to the small beach. He is amazed by how many natural caverns there are here. Dominic checks his notes that Circe had prepared for him, and begins counting cave openings from the right. Five from the right, and two from the bottom. Dominic locates the correct cavern and crawls into the dimly lit tunnel. He crawls down the twisting and curving passage until he arrives in a large cavern, again with many cavernous exits. In the center of the chamber, a large hole filled to the brim with sea water. The chamber is barren of any kinds of furniture, and the only thing that seems to stand out is the dried and powdering bones of an unfortunate sailor. Dominic explores the rest of the chamber but finds nothing of value.

"What are you doing in my cave?"

Dominic turns around and sees a naked man of medium build, about five foot eleven inches tall, weighing about one hundred seventy pounds, with shoulder-length black hair, dark red eyes, and having the hairy tanned skin that most of the other locals would have.

Dominic replies, "If this is your cave, then you must be Romulus. I am Dominic Bastian Vanlyone. I didn't mean to tresspass, but I came to meet with Romulus and talk to him about himself."

Romulus places his hands on his naked hips and sets a stare upon Dominic. "I am Romulus. Who told you I was here?"

Dominic remains where he is and replies, "Circe said I could find you here."

Romulus seems to relax a bit and toothily smiles. Dominic can easily see the sharp-looking fangs in Romulus' mouth. "Circe. How is the old girl?"

Dominic blinks at Romulus' obvious disrespect for the sorceress. "She is well enough, I suppose. She kept trying to tempt me with her female charms, but I held fast in my resolve."

Romulus grins. "Seeing as how you're here and you're not a wild boar or something, then that must mean you cut a deal with the old cow." He walks over to Dominic and holds his hand out. Dominic cautiously shakes Romulus' hairy hand. "I don't bite. Unless I'm hungry." He grins again.

Dominic chuckles at the obvious attempt at humor. "I guess you know why I'm here or you can guess at why I am here."

Romulus smiles. "You came to see a sea wolf."

Dominic nodded his head feeling uneasy now.

Romulus is still holding Dominic's hand, quite tightly. "Well, you've come to the right place for that. But I do need to know why you want to see a sea wolf. Seeing one is harmless enough, you don't look the type of person who'd come all this way just for a look."

Dominic is visibly sweating now. "I, um, I came to talk you about sea wolves. To find out all I can without being eaten or injured."

Romulus notices Dominic's nervousness and grins. "Well, I won't eat you. I've already fed."

Dominic looks towards the bones in the corner.

Romulus also looks over at the bones and exclaims, "I didn't eat that one. That was the only mate I ever had. The only time I ever fell in love. He was a real nice teenager. I got tangled up in a fishing net, and he cut me loose. I was going to kill him immediately, but something about him prevented me from doing it. We saw each other very often. Then one day, his little fishing boat was cut in two by a king's warship. I found his body and brought him back here. I kept him alive as long as I could. The day he died, I went a little berserk. I started hunting down royal ships and their sailors. I guess that's when all the fables got made up about me." Romulus releases Dominic's hand and sighs. "What would you like to know about sea wolves?"

Dominic sits down and gets comfortable. "Where did the sea wolves come from originally?"

Romulus also sits down and gets comfortable. "We were created by King Poseidon as his hunting hounds of the seas. If someone insulted the god of the seas, we were sent out after the fiends."

Dominic hums, then inquires, "Around about when did the sea wolves gain the ability to assume human form?"

Romulus smiles and replies, "That was quite an interesting time. There were a few people who would do wrong against the god of the seas, then escape by going further inland. This angered Poseidon, so he finally got this idea to enchant his hunting sea wolves with the ability to assume a humanoid form and travel on the land to catch out victims. This worked well for a while. Then one day, one of our pack was chasing a wrong doer, and leaped towards him. He missed his target and pounced a young woman. He didn't know he had missed. He tore out the woman's throat, killing her."

"It was only then that he saw what he had done. Instead of reporting this to Poseidon at once, something inside the sea wolf changed, and he was suddenly no longer under Poseidon's control. He became a vicious killer. When Poseidon found out from the others what had happened, he was horrified. He immediately called back all the sea wolves under his control, and told his brother Zeus to destroy any sea wolf who was still on land. Especially the rogue sea wolf. Unfortunately, the rogue sea wolf had tasted innocent human blood, so his ability to shape change also had altered along with his attitude. He shifted into a human and escaped Zeus' notice for quite a while. When Zeus finally caught up with the evil wolf, instead of killing it, Zeus sent the rogue to what is now Germany, renaming the beast as a wolfwere. Of course, the wolfwere attempted to walk back home across the mountains, and found a new home within what is now the Transylvanian Alps."

Dominic blinks suddenly! "I would never have guessed. So he's where the legend of the werewolf came from."

Romulus smiles and nods his head. "This is true. In the meantime, Zeus told his brother Poseidon that the sea wolves could no longer be allowed to come ashore. Poseidon unwillingly agreed to this, but later, made a new deal with the goddess of justice, Athena. Whenever someone mocked any of the gods, they would be set upon on whatever medium they happened to be on. At sea, we sea wolves had full reign. On land, Athena's soldiers were in charge. We worked well together until the day the human's greed got the better of them. Athena's soldiers refused to give up the chase after they had entered the seas. We tried to remind them of the sacred pact between Athena and Poseidon, but they told us that it didn't apply as long as they were able to touch the bottom while their heads were above water. Poseidon heard about this breach of the pact immediately, and made a personal appearance, squashing the criminal with his fist. He then called Athena down to witness true justice. The soldiers tried to get out of the water, but they were stuck in the newly created quicksand just under the water. Poseidon told Athena that her soldiers were in his medium, and had broken the pact by not relinquishing the chase to the sea wolves. Athena told Poseidon that her newer soldiers were not held by the same pact as the ones who were in service when the pact was made. Poseidon was furious. He announced that any human, good or evil, who entered his seas would pay the price with their lives. And he made sure everyone across Greece and throughout the heavens knew about his threat."

Dominic blinks his eyes again! "Wow. I never knew. Is this threat still in place today?"

Romulus sighs and replies, "No. It was a childish threat to place against a people who plied the seas for their living. Zeus again got involved when the people started dying of starvation. He threatened to wipe out all life in the seven seas if Poseidon didn't take back his threat. Poseidon agreed to this. He had no choice. At that point, he announced that he was releasing all of his sea wolves from his service and would no longer attend the concerns of humans. It was a sad time indeed. We were completely released to fend for ourselves. We were angry. We thought it was the human's fault that our lord had released us. Most of our kind became what would be later called pirates. We preyed upon Athenian sailors who were careless enough to allow their guard down at night. And we only struck at sea. If a ship was docked at shore, it was off limits to us. But if we caught them at sea, especially during the worst of storms, we helped them enter their watery graves in the murky deeps. This went on for a while."

Dominic nods his head. "I can see where you would have had the right to do what you thought was right at the time."

Romulus also nods his head.

Dominic then inquires, "There is an unusual tale about sea wolves that role playing game companies put into their games. In this unfounded tale, the sea wolves can infect their human victims with a form of lycanthropy that transforms them into sea wolves. Is that a true story?"

Romulus smirks! "Ariambrosius! We always wondered what happened to him. You see, he was given immortality by the gods for being loyal beyond the call of duty, and was given the power to create others of his kind by touch. At first, he never used the power at all. He considered it to be too dangerous, even in his paws. Then one day he was beat up severely by some drunken sailors, and his outlook changed. He called a lot of us sea wolves forth, me included, and gave each of us a portion of his power to "infect" people by either claw or bite. He informed us to never infect the person who caused the trouble. But we were to track down and infect the trouble maker's first and second born sons, infecting them. We were also told not to abuse this power, or he'd track us down and kill all of us." He sighs. "That was centuries ago. At the last gathering of sea wolves, only fifteen of us showed up. I couldn't believe our numbers of hundreds had dwindled down to fifteen. It is a lonely existence for a sea wolf."

Dominic nods his head slowly. "I'm sorry to have you remember all this. I had no idea."

Romulus sniffles a little, then gives a half grin. "In a way I am glad I was able to get this off my shoulders. It's good, I think, for someone other than a sea wolf to know the truth about our species. Don't worry, Dominic. I won't infect or eat you. Just don't tell anyone about my lair. If you do, I will have to track you down, and when I catch you..." Romulus just lets the unspoken threat take hold.

Dominic gulps, then takes Romulus' hand in his again. "You have my word. You may keep your privacy. I thank you for telling me about your people. Is there anything I can do for you in return for this information?"

Romulus hums for a moment. Then he releases Dominic's hand and transforms into his wolfman form. "Think you could scratch my back for me. I've had an itch back there for quite a while. I've tried rubbing my back on the edges of rocks, but the itch remains."

Dominic gets behind Romulus and runs his fingers along the sea wolf's back. Dominic finds a large tick attached to the center of Romulus' back. "This is going to hurt for a moment, so please don't attack me when you feel this." Dominic takes out his pocket knife and plucks the large bloated tick off of Romulus' back. Romulus howled when the tick was removed (and killed), then whined a bit as Dominic removed the tick's remaining legs from Romulus' back. Dominic put the pocket knife away, and proceeded to scratch Romulus' back with his fingers. Up and down. Left and right. Romulus seemed to be panting in erotic pleasure. Romulus lay himself down while Dominic scratched his body. Romulus rolled over and let Dominic rub and scratch his front side. Moans of pleasure arose from Romulus from all the attention. Dominic smiled does the rest of Romulus' body.

Dominic spent the next few days with Romulus as they get to know each other better. Then the hunger of the hunt returned within Romulus and he asked Dominic to leave for his own safety.

Dominic boarded his boat, raised anchor, and rowed carefully through the reefs. Once clear of the cove, Dominic raised his sails once again, and laid in a course for the Gorgon's Island. Dominic follows Circe's directions precisely, and within a few days, Dominic arrives at the docks of a small abandoned village on the Gorgon's Island. Dominic ties the boat off securely, then heads through the ravaged village towards the grassy hills region of the island. As Dominic is nearing the top of one of the smaller hills, he catches a glimpse of his target: the pegasus.

The pegasus is majestic looking and stood proud on the top of the next hill. Dominic is quite impressed by the presence of this brilliantly white winged stallion. The pegasus then turns his head and looks directly at him. Dominic's thoughts immediately become, "There is no way this creature will let me come near him now." He begins the trek down the gully and up the next hill towards his target. When Dominic arrives on the next hill's top, he can see the pegasus within a clearing within the nearby forest. Dominic takes a quiet breath and heads down the hill and into the forest to the clearing where the winged horse was standing. When Dominic arrives in the clearing, he sees the pegasus walking down the other forest path just ahead of Dominic. Dominic follows the winged stallion deeper into the forest. The path ends at a cave entrance. The pegasus looks over his shoulder at Dominic, then enters the cave. Dominic is now thinking, "Why is he leading me along like this? This is almost too easy." Dominic continues to follow the winged stallion into the cave. The pegasus leads Dominic into a small cozy chamber where Dominic sees a second winged stallion, this one solid black in appearance. Dominic slowly enters the small chamber and is quite mesmerized by the fact that there are two winged stallions here.

Dominic finally brings himself to say something. "You are both more majestic up close than at a distance."

The black winged horse replies, "Yes, Pegasus IS majestic, isn't he?"

Dominic blinks his eyes! "You spoke! Can the white stallion speak too?"

The black winged horse replies, "No, he can't. But he is very intelligent. I am the one who needs help. I've been waiting for another human to show up for such a long time, and now that you're here, I can finally get the aid I need to be free from this place."

Dominic takes a step backwards, but Pegasus is blocking the exit. Dominic exclaims, "On behalf of the white stag, I have come to see Pegasus. But I am not going to take your place, if that is what you are thinking."

The black winged horse sighs then inquires, "Why does every human automatically assume that is what I am thinking? Look, I am glad you're here for a very good reason. You see, I am a mage."

Dominic arches an eye at the black stallion. "You're a mage? Why are you in that body?"

The black winged stallion replies, "I utilized an amulet to assume this form, but the amulet is back in my tower on the other side of the island. I need a human, with hands, to go fetch it for me. I'd do it myself, except I kind of broke my wings during my crash landing after my first attempt to fly. If you go and retrieve my amulet for me, I will reward you greatly. The magical password for opening the door on my tower is "phonabell". That's PHONE-A-BELL. Once inside, make your way to the third floor to my incantation chamber. The amulet you seek is a small and round, made from pure gold. The pattern upon it's face is that of a crescent moon superimposed over a full moon. It should still be glowing. Retrieve it, and bring it back here to me."

Dominic inquires, "That's it? Go retrieve your amulet and return here? Is there anything you're not telling me?"

The black winged stallion replies, "That is all there is to it. Pegasus will take you to the tower itself and bring you back when you emerge from the tower with my amulet."

An hour and a half later, Pegasus lets Dominic off his back facing the tower itself. Dominic approaches the tower's door, speaks aloud, "PHONABELL". The door glows then opens quietly. Dominic enters the tower cautiously. After he has walked about fifteen feet, the front door closes with a loud thud. Dominic almost jumps out of his skin. "Oh right. Well, better head onwards."

Dominic locates the stairs and is getting ready to step unto them, when suddenly, a spirit voice speaks directly into Dominic's mind. "The stairs are trapped."

Dominic stops and looks straight ahead. The voice sounded like the cardinal animal spirit of the east. The spirit called Kidd. Why was he speaking now? He said that the stairs were trapped. Dominic recalls his tests from the literal four corners of the world. Was this the answer? Dominic decides that he has to step on certain steps to be safe from whatever the trap was. He slowly begins to make his ascent of the questionable stairs. Dominic lightly tries touching each step with the toe of his boot before stepping fully upon it. He is part way up the stairs, when he finds the three consecutive steps that are mere illusions. A gaping hole dropping into the dungeons below the tower. Such a fall could've injured Dominic immensely. Dominic avoids the trap and finally arrives on the second floor. "Thank you, Kidd."

Dominic hears the spirit of the west speak next. Eagle's mental voice informs him as he is entering the second floor hallway, "I smell gas here."

Dominic stops and backs up immediately. Gas. That meant it was either poisonous or a sleeping gas. Knowing a mage's warped mind, it was most likely poisonous gas. Meant to kill trespassers who sought to steal the mage's treasures. Dominic takes out his long handkerchief, and ties it securely over his nose and mouth. Then he slowly makes his way through the questionable hallway. Dominic reaches the door at the end of the hallway, opens it, goes through, and closes the door. Dominic removes the handkerchief from his nose and mouth. "Thank you, Eagle."

Dominic doesn't get a chance to really move from the spot when he hears the mental voice of the spirit of the north, Grizzly, speak into his mind, "There is a strong enemy nearby."

Dominic blinks at that! Was he expected to fight something now? Dominic quickly becomes thankful for the warning as a large blue scaled metallic bull crashes through the side door of the chamber. Dominic recognizes the beast immediately... a gorgon. How was he supposed to fight that? If he was caught in the beast's gaseous breath weapon, he would be changed instantly into stone. The gorgon charges Dominic immediately! Dominic leaps to the left and rolls across the floor as the gorgon crashes through the doors into the gas-filled hallway. Dominic picks himself up rapidly and uses the gorgon's inability to turn around, to quickly dash across the room, and out of the chamber. He quickly climbs the spiral stairs to the third floor, slamming the metal door at the top and sliding the bolt into place. He pants then smiles. "Thank you, Grizzly."

As Dominic turns around, he sees that the entire third floor is the mage's incantation chamber. He starts looking for the amulet he was sent to find. Many are the books, scrolls, and tomes scattered throughout the chamber. A work table has many scattered items upon it. A tapestry map of the ancient world adorns one wall, as impressive treasure. Dominic does not pick up anything, as he is only seeking the one item. Finally, Dominic spots the amulet lying on the floor in the middle of a large glowing circle. It is at this time that the final cardinal spirit, Lion of the south, speaks mentally to Dominic, "Do not enter the circle."

Dominic blinks! How was he supposed to retrieve the amulet without entering the circle? Was this circle a magical trap prepared to do something nasty to Dominic as he came to acquire the amulet? Dominic looks around the chamber again. He sees several items that could be of some use. Dominic smiles slyly. "I think I know how to do this. Gee, I feel like MacGyver." After collecting the right materials from around the chamber, Dominic constructs a crude fishing pole. He is fortunate that the amulet has a thin silver chain attached for a necklace. He hooks the chain on the second try and pulls it to him. He lifts the amulet up, holding the chain, and smiles. "Thank you, Lion."

Dominic makes his way over to the balcony window, and looks down to where Pegasus is. Pegasus looks up to Dominic, and takes flight. Pegasus lands on the balcony and Dominic rides pegasus back to the forest cave. Dominic enters the cave and stands before the black winged stallion.

"I have your amulet. I am a little upset that you didn't tell me about the traps and the gorgon. But as you can see, I am still alive and intact." He pulls out the amulet by it's chain and places it around the black winged stallion's neck.

Dominic steps back as the black stallion transforms back into his human form. The human mage smiles at Dominic and exclaims, "I thank you, Dominic Bastian Vanlyone."

Dominic arches an eye and glares at the mage, as he backs towards the exit. "How did you know who I was? I didn't tell you my name. What kind of trick is this?"

The mage continues smiling. "I know who you are, Dominic Bastian Vanlyone. We've met before!" The mage continues to transform right before Dominic's eyes. Standing directly in front of Dominic is a familiar looking demon mage. Dominic isn't prepared for this and steps backwards a step, but he is blocked by something hot that burns his back!

"Ouch!" Dominic turns and looks at the new creature. It is large and very gargoyle like, with a glowing red hide and dark eyes. A pit fiend. It grabs Dominic's arms pinning them behind Dominic's back. The demon mage approaches Dominic slowly. "Did you think I could be banished so easily by another mage who didn't have permission to be in that region?"

Dominic realizes what had happened now. Warneeri had summoned Valerian and the Golden Yak to the Furry Realms, but neither mage had permission to be there. So any magic powers used there was only temporary, therefore, the demon mage was not really banished. Dominic sweats visibly now.

The demon mage smiles. "Good. You realize what kind of trouble you're in now. There are no companions to save you this time. I did not enjoy getting beaten by a bunch of animals and humans working together. No, I did not."

Dominic yells, "What did you do with the real Pegasus?"

The demon mage smiles, "He is safe. For now. But you are the one I truly wanted, and now, I have you right where I want you. Watching you squirm is going to bring me such exquisite pleasure."

Dominic awoke stripped of all his clothing with his arms and hands securely tied behind his back, and his legs and ankles tied securely together. He is lying on one side in a pile of dirty hay on a wooden floor. Dominic looks around at his small enclosed surroundings. He is evidently inside a prison wagon being transported someplace unknown to him. He struggles in an attempt to free himself, but the bonds and knots are too tight. Dominic is wishing hard someone knew he was in need of being rescued. As long as the wagon continued to move, he figured he had a chance.

Some hours later, the wagon does indeed stop. Dominic isn't sure what to expect as the door at his feet opens up. Dominic can hear the Demon Mage telling someone else some instructions.

"All you have to do is keep him tied up and in the middle of your lair. If he gets away, you will share in his punishment. Do I make myself clear?"

The other person with a deep voice tone grunts, "Me understand. Me keep little man here and me keep little man tied up. Got it."

"Good. I now leave him in your care." The Demon Mage evidently leaves to go prepare whatever fate he has in mind for Dominic. Dominic is pulled out of the wagon and thrown over the big brute's shoulder. Dominic is carried off into a dark series of corridors. When they reach a large central cavern, the big brute drops Dominic on the floor, and goes back over to the exit and sits down.

Dominic notices that the center of the large chamber has a large dark hole. But the dark hole was not what catch his attention. The sharp carving knife was the center of Dominic's attention. Dominic slowly inches his way over to the knife, occasionally looking back at the big brute. It takes some careful maneuvering, but soon, the carving knife is in Dominic's grasp. He quietly works at the knots and bonds on his wrists. After an hour, he has cut through the thick light-weight cord that bound his wrists together. He is working on the other cord, when he notices the big brute looking his way. Dominic grins and rolls deliberately into deep hole.

The big brute yells, "NO!" But it is too late.

Unfortunately, the deep hole proved to be a bit deeper than Dominic counted on. He falls a good fifty to sixty feet and lands in something soft sticky and wet. At this point, Dominic didn't care what he landed in, and pulled himself off into one of the smaller corridors away from the deep hole's entrance. Dominic eventually pulls himself into a dry cozy chamber. Somehow, he had managed to hang on to the carving knife. Dominic spends the next few hours getting the remaining ropes and cords off of his arms and legs. He smiles as the last of the ropes come off. Dominic falls asleep.

When Dominic awakens, he smells something cooking nearby. He hears the gurgle of a nearby stream. Dominic opens his eyes to see that he is still underground. He had been cleaned up, his bruises and wounds attended to, and covered in a warm blanket. To his right, he sees an underground river flowing calming through this large portion of the cavern. To his left, a blazing campfire is crackling. Sitting next to the campfire is the minotaur he was going to go see next.

This minotaur was large and bulky in size, being about eight feet tall and weighing about nine hundred pounds. He had smooth brownish black fur all over his body. His eyes looked to be turquoise green in appearance. He wore a large white long sleeved shirt and a black vest over that. He also wore what looked to be faded blue jeans with a hole in the back for his tail. On his feet he wore rugged climbing boots laced up securely. His bull like head was large, and he had three golden earrings in his right ear. Nearby, he had a large mountaineer's backpack and spelunking gear. Sitting on a small tripod, he had a laptop computer.

He smiles when he sees that Dominic is awake. "Finally awake. I wasn't sure if you'd pull through. But I'm glad you did. Gets kind of dull down here with no one to talk to."

Dominic blinks his eyes. "You're a minotaur? But, you look so modern. And a laptop computer, as well? This wasn't what I was expecting."

The minotaur chuckles. "Not all of our kind are like the original minotaur was. Some of us are quite up to date on current events. I found you in that side cave. Figured you were the man who showed up in that boat I saw a few days ago. Brought you back to my cavern, cleaned you up, and covered you in that blanket. I went down to your boat and searched around a bit. Found a change of your clothes, and brought them back up here and set them aside." He points at the duffel bag. "I hope I brought enough. Fortunately found a extra pair of shoes aboard the boat and brought those here, as well. I was surprised to find the documentation telling about your duties in the Chess. I know what Chess is and I am not the least bit nervous."

Dominic sits up and smiles. "I thank you for helping me." He opens the duffel bag and starts putting on clothing. As he finishes putting on his shoes, he looks over to the minotaur. The minotaur is typing on his laptop computer and drinking a cup of coffee.

Dominic exclaims, "Finding a minotaur actually makes my job a little easier."

The minotaur glances over at Dominic then back down at his laptop computer, saying nothing.

Dominic quickly adds, "Not like that. I meant, finding a minotaur to talk to about where they came from and how they survived until now."

The minotaur replies, "I know what you meant." He doesn't even look up from the computer screen. "A formal introduction might be in order. Don't you think?"

Dominic nods his head and walks over to the campfire. He sits down close by so he can see what the minotaur is doing. "My name is Dominic Bastian Vanlyone." He holds out his hand.

The minotaur does not even look up from the laptop, but replies, "I am Hieronymos Pollux. My name means, sacred crown, in Greek. I am a surveyor for a local cartographers company located here in the Aegean Sea. Currently, however, I am chatting with my other minotaur friends on the email mailing list called The Cretian Maze. A lot of the people on this mailing list don't have a clue what a real minotaur is like, and I laugh when they describe themselves and tell what they do from day to day. If only they knew that Hierux14 was a real minotaur." He laughs.

Dominic inquires, "Is it hard to join that list?"

Hieronymos smiles and looks to Dominic, finally shaking his hand. "Joining this list? No, you just have to answer a few minotaur questions. Most of them have to do with Hollywood movie minotaur appearances, and completely ridiculous minotaur facts. There are about seven or eight questions, but they are pretty easy, seeing as how they give you multiple choice answers to choose from. If I were going to create some questions for such a mailing list, about ninety-eight percent of the ones who are minotaur enthusiasts wouldn't even be able to make the grade. I've only seen a very few who could even qualify to be called a minotaur's minotaur fan."

Dominic smiles. "I would like to know about minotaurs, in general. Are you the one to ask?"

Hieronymos replies, "It's better to talk to me than to one of the horny wild minotaurs who still live on Crete. You and I are already here, so I would be the best one to ask about such things."

Dominic smiles then inquires, "Will you tell me about the original minotaur?"

Hieronymos nods his head and replies, "Just give me a moment to reply to all these unusual questions on the list. Then, you and I will sit back and explore the ancient lies of the Greek world." Hieronymos continues to type on his laptop computer. Occasionally, he reads a question on the mailing list out loud. He and Dominic get a good laugh out of it. It takes about an hour, but finally, Hieronymos gets every reply sent out. He then sits back and smiles.

"The original minotaur, who we will call Alpha for the sake of avoiding an argument, was born on Crete from the intimate union between a white bull (that was given to King Minos from Zeus) and King Minos' wife. You know the story I am sure, so I won't dwell on what is supposedly already known. Instead, I will fill in the minor details that no one has ever been told about. First of all, Minos' wife gave birth to triplets at the time that the minotaur was born. The first born was King Minos' daughter, Ariadne, who later fell in love with that murderer, Prince Theseus, but we won't dwell on that."

"The second born of the triplets was the son that does not appear in any of the mythology stories. His name was Nikodemus Vasileios and was taken away from Crete to prevent King Minos from knowing about him. He was taken to an island where the centaur scholar, Chiron, taught his students in more knowledgeable pursuits. The last born, the most famous one born, was the minotaur, or Alpha. In truth, he was Beta. Nikodemus was the Alpha minotaur, handsome little devil that he was." Hieronymos smiles thoughtfully. "Alpha was an out of control monster, and you know the rest of his story, I am sure. We are all fortunate that he was killed when he was killed, because when he was born, his mental reasoning node was damaged, therefore, he was a danger to not only himself, but to literally everyone he encountered."

Dominic nods his head. "So you are not descended from that minotaur, are you?"

Hieronymos replies, "As for why there are still minotaurs today, you have guessed correctly. We are the descendants of Nikodemus Vasileios. We inherited his wisdom and knack for survival. We were given the ability to adjust to the times, and evolve into what you see before you today."

Dominic nods his head. "Nikodemus sounded like he was a great minotaur. Wish I could've met him."

Hieronymos chuckles. "You can meet him. He still lives on Chiron's Hidden Island in the Hidden Archipelago of the Timeless Isles."

Dominic blinks! "You mean all the classic islands where all the greatest creatures of myth still exist today? That's amazing!"

Hieronymos smiles. "There is a whole world hidden from man's closed minded view right under his nose, and only a fortunate few are allowed to see it. You, Dominic, are one of those chosen humans. You are allowed to see the hidden world that no one else is meant to see."

Dominic leans back and smiles also. He thinks about where all he has journeyed to so far in these past few years. Truly he was fortunate to see a world that would normally be hidden from man's eyes. Then, Dominic remembers how he got down into these caverns in the first place. He sits up slowly and looks around cautiously. Hieronymos saw Dominic looking around.

Hieronymos quietly inquired, "Do you hear something I don't?"

Dominic replied, "I'm just making sure the Demon Mage isn't around. He's the one who had me tied up earlier. And. Is Pegasus okay?"

Hieronymos nods his head. "Pegasus lives on the slopes of Mount Olympus. Seeing him would be difficult. The gods protect him furiously. Not even you would be allowed to get as close as you are to me right now. So, Pegasus is safe."

Dominic growled. "That damned demon tricked me then."

Hieronymos hums. "You have a demon pissed off at you? No wonder you're having a rough time. You can escort me to the Hidden Isle of Egidius. Giles lives there. You'll like him. He is supposed to be one of Pan's actual children. My business on that island has to do with a ruined temple of Apollo. My being with you during the trip to that island will assure that I know you made it there safely." Hieronymos begins packing up his gear. Dominic helps him carry things down to his boat. Once they have loaded the boat with all of Hieronymos' gear, they set sail for Egidius.

The port village of Ettora on the hidden isle of Egidius proves to be a curious and surprising place to behold. The four general types of people living here are satyrs, fauns, centaurs, and nymphs. There is even a small gathering of tritons living in the seas around the island itself. Hieronymos and Dominic tie off the sailing boat, then head through the medium sized village to the establishment of the Shepherd's Wolf, an old time Athenian tavern that looks as if it is still in the condition it was in when it was built. Hieronymos leads Dominic within, and they acquire a quiet table. Hieronymos orders them both some watered wine and a nice meal. They eat their meal, and Hieronymos plays the host by paying for the meal. Then, Dominic is led through the village again to the private home of Giles. It proves to be a beautiful little cottage set into a farm and field type area. A large barn can be seen out back. Hieronymos knocks on the front door a few times, then waits for a response. When the door finally does open, standing before them is Giles, a young-looking male satyr wearing nothing but an apron, and seemingly half covered in baking flour. He smiles and exclaims, "Welcome to my home. Hieronymos! What a pleasant surprise! And who is your friend?"

Hieronymos smiles and hugs Giles. "Giles, this is Dominic Bastian Vanlyone. He is an Chess operative doing research on our kind. Think you can enlighten him? I have to go survey the ruined temple of Apollo on this island."

Giles smiles and hugs Dominic! "Glad to meet you, Dominic! We will let Mister Hero go survey his dusty old ruins!" He giggles. "Come on in! I am baking some sweets and you can help me!"

Hieronymos laughs, then says his goodbyes and heads off into the thick forests of the island. Giles leads Dominic inside his modest home and into the kitchen. Dominic is surprised yet again as he sees modern appliances in this village that looks as if it was newly built in the days of the ancient Greeks. Dominic has a seat at the kitchen table and Giles goes back over to the mixing bowl, and picks up the spoon again. Giles turns out to be very talkative and very open about everything. No holds barred with this satyr. He cheerfully speaks his mind as it pleases him.

Giles appears to be a slenderly built satyr standing about five foot seven inches tall, but only looks to weigh about one hundred pounds. As his apron only covers his front side, his back side is entirely open for viewing. Giles has curly brown hair, no facial hair at all, and has brown eyes. His skin is as fair as most young girl's complexions would be, and from the waist down, Giles has the classic goat's legs and his erect tail stands up like a white-tailed deer. His goat's legs end in large black cloven hooves. Most of his front side is covered in flour, but his back side reveals that this satyr is somewhat cleaner that one would suspect from a satyr.

Dominic watches Giles prepare and bake the sweet goods. Then Giles takes off the apron and cleans off the flour from his body. When he is done, he leads Dominic into the living room. Giles pounces upon the couch and grins like a playful wild cat. "Have a seat, Dominic!"

Dominic sits on the couch and looks around the living room. "You have a very nice home, Giles."

Giles smiles. "Thank you ever so much, Dominic! Now, Hieronymos said you wanted to know about our kind. What all would you like to know?"

Dominic replies, "Tell me everything you know about satyrs. I will provide extra questions as I think of them while listening to your explanation."

Giles grins. "Well, we've got the upper portions of humans and the lower portions of goats."

Dominic smiles. "Besides that, Giles. Um, aside from Pan, how did the race of satyrs get started?"

Giles thinks for a moment, then replies, "The first satyr began as a human. Odd, I know. But here's how it was told to me. In the ancient days on the Greek mainland, a shepherd boy was tending his goats and sheep on the slopes of Mount Olympus. He had a hard time keeping up with his flock because they could easily gain footing further up the rocky slopes. The shepherd finally frustrated in not being able to go where his flock would go, fell to his knees and prayed to the gods. He rightly didn't care what god listened, for the gods never answered his prayers before, so why should they favor him this time. He prayed for a way that he could keep up with his herd. In other words, a way to be able to go where they went. Pan was out wandering the mountainside that day, having being pushed out of Olympus by his father, Apollo. Pan came across the shepherd boy on his knees praying, and told him that he would grant the boy's desire. The shepherd boy was greatful, then asked what Pan wanted in return for this favor. He informed Pan that he was poor and only had his goats and sheep, along with the clothes on his back, and his shepherd's cane. Pan told the boy he would come to collect the fee at a later date, and when he came, the boy would have to go where ever Pan told him to. The boy agreed to this. Pan gave the boy the ability to climb any slope and not lose his balance. The ability to mortally go anywhere. The boy thanked Pan, hugging him, and took off after his flock. Pan felt pleased that he had performed a good deed, and went back to tell his father what he had done. When Apollo and the other gods heard Pan's tale, they looked in upon the boy, and saw that Pan had indeed given the boy the abilities to keep up with the herd. Zeus was impressed by this and dubbed Pan as the god of the shepherds. Pan gained his divine power that day. Although, Pan was not sure what fee to collect from the boy. It was a challenge to ask for something of which the boy had not much of. Pan really didn't want any goats and sheep. There were plenty all across the Plains of Ar'vandor and within the Forests of Larethian. Pan never wore clothing, so having clothes was not a prominant desire for him. A shepherd's cane? Why did he have need of that? Pan cared not for fighting, as Athena and Ares did. Pan enjoyed the simple pleasures in life."

Dominic nods his head while listening to this tale.

Giles continues. "Dionysus' wine festival was fast approaching and Pan wanted a taste of the wine god's newest vintage. But Dionysus would not allow Pan to try it. He kept saying that it was too strong for one as young as Pan. Driven by an unknown desire to have the wine, Pan decided to have the boy acquire a cup of the new wine for him. It was such a frivolus way to waste a favor, but Pan was desparate for a taste of the new wine. That night, Pan went and retrieved the shepherd boy. Pan told the boy what he wanted done. The boy listened carefully, then with surprising wisdom, told Pan that it was wrong to steal something from someone else. Especially if that someone else was another god. The boy pleaded for Pan to think of something else, but Pan had decided what he wanted and would not be dissuaded from acquiring a taste of the new wine. Pan took the boy into Olympus, and disguised him as one of the normal servants."

"The boy was given instructions on how to find Dionysus' wine making chamber. The boy took the cup and headed off towards his destination. The boy knew stealing was wrong, so as he approached the wine making chamber, he noticed a beautiful water fountain in a side chamber. He enters the side chamber and fills the cup with the fountain water. Then, the boy peeked inside the wine making chamber. Dionysus was not there, but there were tons of freshly harvested grapes. The boy took a couple of grapes and crushed them carefully into the cup of water. The boy stirred the water carefully, then sniffed the mixture. It did indeed smell like wine. The boy then returned to where Pan was waiting on the boy. Pan took the cup in one hand, the boy in the other hand, and together, they returned to Pan's private chambers. Pan had the boy get comfortable, then Pan himself seated himself beside the boy. Then, Pan took a sip of what he believed to be the new wine. He savored the taste then smiled and took another drink. He seemed very pleased by this new vintage, although it was not as strong as Dionysus had said, but it was very delicious. Pan then offered the boy some of the new wine. The boy knew it was water so he saw no reason not to drink it. As he drank the water, the boy felt feelings of love and desire arise within his body, and as he looked upon Pan, he fell immediately in love with Pan. Pan also felt these desires, but thought it was an effect of the wine. The two embraced each other lovingly, and made love to each other for the rest of the night."

Dominic nodded his head again.

Giles smiles and continues into the final part of the tale. "The next morning, Pan awoke to a shock, as he realized what he had done to this innocent boy. He felt dirty at first, but at the same time, he also felt guilty. He realized that it was his fault. The boy was still asleep, so Pan got up and went to talk to Dionysus about this unexpected turn of events. As Pan entered the wine making chamber, he saw Dionysus and Aphrodite chatting about the upcoming festival. As Pan held the empty cup in both hands, he confessed to the two about what he had done. Dionysus sniffs the empty cup and a smile crosses his face. Aphrodite also sniffs the empty cup and she laughs quite loudly. Pan didn't understand what was so funny, so the two gods told Pan that the essence of whatever was in the cup was not wine, but water from Aphrodite's Fountain of Love. As to why the wine scent is there, they told Pan that it was apparent that someone had crushed a few grapes into the mixture so that it would taste like wine. The two older gods were quite amused that Pan had fallen for this trick. Pan left the chamber feeling humiliated. When he returned to his chambers, the boy was awake, but Apollo was in the chamber, as well. Apollo was not happy that Pan had brought a mortal into Olympus. Apollo took Pan and the boy to this island, Egidius, where he told Pan that he was to stay here, isolated from the mainland, and to take care of his lover, the shepherd boy. Apollo also brought the boy's herd to the island, then left the two on the island, alone to themselves. Pan and the boy spent the time shepherding the flock. Pan also used this time to compose poetry and create songs. Every night, Pan and the boy cuddled and made love together. One day, Pan noticed that the boy was getting older. The boy was becoming a man. Pan was afraid that he'd lose his lover, so one night he used his divine power along with his own sperm, the sperm of one of the goats, and part of his own immortality to transform the boy into what would later be called the first satyr."

Dominic nods his head once again. "Are all satyrs boys, er, I mean are there only male satyrs?"

Giles laughs. "We hear that question a lot. Okay, let me tell you about that. Pan realized that he and his lover could not reproduce properly. Well, they could, but that would get tedious after a while. So, Pan decided to create a female satyr. But he quickly saw that a female satyr created from a goat would result in an extremely ugly monster. Pan wisely decided to combine a human female with a sheep. This turned out to be the best idea he had. The result was the first faun. Pan came up with that name when he realized that he and his lover were fawning over the beautiful female. And thus, from that moment forth, female satyrs were called fauns."

Dominic hums, then inquires, "I've noticed upon arriving that there were no adult satyrs or fauns in the village. Where are they all?"

Giles hums for a while, then sniffs the air. "My sweets are done! Time to take them out of the oven! Come help me in the kitchen!" Giles bounds off the couch and into the kitchen. Dominic is amazed by Giles evidently ever-abundant supply of energy. He gets up and follows Giles back into the kitchen. When Dominic arrives, Giles is taking placing the still hot sweets on a pad on the table. Giles then picks up the second tray and places it into the oven. The aroma of the freshly baked sweets is very enticing, and makes Dominic's mouth water. Giles smiles at Dominic and says, "Help yourself, Dominic!" Giles then puts his apron back on, and begins mixing up another batch of the delicious sweets. Dominic picks up one of the baked sweets and pops it into his mouth. He chews it up and swallows it. The taste is amazingly delicious, so he eats several more.

That evening, Dominic is shown to the bedroom where he sees two beds. Giles explains that he used to have a room mate who went to study under Chiron, so the extra bed has remained empty until now. Giles tells Dominic to make himself at home, then Giles goes back towards the kitchen. Dominic, who'd eaten far too many of the baked sweets, was feeling both stuffed and sleepy. Dominic gets completely undressed and crawls into bed. He lies there for a while then falls asleep. Giles bakes some more treats then re-enters the bedroom and gets in his own bed and falls asleep.

The next morning, Dominic awakens to the sound of thunder and heavy rain. Another one of the Mediterranean storms that struck the region periodically. Dominic sat up in bed. Something about the day felt different. He wasn't sure what, but something was different. Dominic starts putting on his clothes, which for some reason seem more loose than he'd expected. He knew that he had gorged himself on Giles' baked sweets, and they were very filling. His pants were somewhat tight around his waist when he had went to bed. Now they were loose fitting around his waist. Dominic shrugs and heads into the kitchen. Giles is there cooking again. Dominic has a seat at the table, and Giles serves Dominic a hot breakfast. Giles then seats himself and eats breakfast with Dominic.

Dominic eats for a bit, then asks, "Giles? Do I look any different to you?"

Giles stops eating, looks at Dominic, then replies, "You mean besides looking hungry?"

Dominic nods his head and answers, "Yeah. For some reason I was under the impression that I ate too much last night, but this morning, the waist of my pants seem loose instead of tight."

Giles smiles. "Well, you're not fat and you look hungrier than you looked yesterday. Dominic, feel free to help yourself to anything I have. You are my guest. It's not often I have a guest to take care of in the household. And with the storm saturating the region, you may be stuck here for quite a while."

Dominic continues eating his breakfast. The food did seem to fill him more as he ate, and it was true that he had awakened feeling as if his stomach was empty.

After breakfast, Giles takes Dominic into his art studio, and shows him his sketches and paintings, as well as his attempts at clay pottery. Dominic spends the day chatting with Giles about art. In the afternoon, Dominic agrees to model for Giles. As the day ends, Giles cleans himself up a bit, then heads back into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Dominic is putting his shirt back on when he realizes that the shirt is slightly larger than it was when he took if off to model for Giles. Dominic looks at the shirt again, then puts it on and rolls up the sleeves. He heads into the kitchen and sits down at the table. Giles serves up a fine dinner with some fresh wine and baked sweets. They both eat like they hadn't eaten in months. After dinner, Dominic and Giles clean up the kitchen, then head into the bedroom once again. Dominic removes all his clothes, and climbs into bed once again, and falls asleep.

The next morning, the storm is continuing to dump rain across the area. Dominic is awakened by Giles. Giles smiles then heads off into the kitchen. Dominic sits up with that deja'vu feeling he had the previous morning. He puts on his underwear, which seem to be loose fitting now. Dominic hums, then slides on his pants. The pants require a belt to fit his waist snugly. He puts on his shirt, which extends down to his upper thigh now. He doesn't bother putting his shoes on, and heads into the kitchen to join Giles. Once again, Giles had prepared a large breakfast. The two sat down at the table and began eating. Dominic didn't bother asking Giles if he looked any different, for Giles didn't remark on Dominic's clothing when he entered the room. After breakfast is eaten and the dishes are washed, Dominic and Giles head into the connecting greenhouse where the private garden is located. Giles shows Dominic his rare herbs and spices, as well as the other rare plants growing here. The aroma is enticing and makes Dominic feel relaxed, at ease with his surroundings. That afternoon, Dominic models for Giles once again in the art studio. This lasts until it grows dark outside. Then Giles smiles, and heads off for the kitchen again. Dominic puts his shirt around his waist and ties it there. He heads after Giles and sits at the table watching Giles prepare dinner. Giles serves up a fine dinner with some fresh wine and baked sweets. They both eat like they hadn't eaten in months. After dinner, Dominic and Giles clean up the kitchen, then head into the bedroom once again. Dominic removes all his clothes, and climbs into bed once again, and falls asleep.

The next morning, Dominic awakened to the sounds of thunder, howling wind, and heavy rain. The storms ferocity had increased it seemed. Dominic slowly sits up in bed. He notices that Giles is still in bed, obviously exhausted from having to prepare meals for Dominic and entertain him during the storm. Feeling a little sorry for Giles, Dominic hops out of bed, ties his shirt around his waist, then heads into the kitchen. He enters the kitchen and lights the lamp in the room. Dominic locates Giles' apron and puts it on. He then begins preparing breakfast. He is part way into preparing the breakfast, when Giles enters the kitchen. Giles gets out an apron and joins Dominic in the process of preparing breakfast. Finally, they both sit down and eat breakfast.

As they are washing dishes, Dominic looks to Giles, and exclaims, "Giles. Take a good look at me. Seriously. I think there's something wrong with me. Over the last few days, my clothes have been larger and larger, and they don't fit well at all. Do I honestly look any different than I looked when I first arrived?"

Giles looks Dominic over carefully, then replies. "Honestly? You look a lot thinner. Almost like you've lost a lot of weight. But from the way you and I both eat, it's hard to believe that you'd be losing weight. I haven't lost an ounce, and I eat the same things you do. I was wondering why you were wearing less of your clothes with each day. But when you asked about your looks the first time, you asked about yourself, not your clothes."

Dominic hums. "That's what I thought. So, either I am truly losing weight or someone is magically making my clothes too large for me to wear. Tell me... are there any mages on this island?"

Giles answers immediately, "No mages at all, but Pan and Skerrit live in the deeper wilderness portions of the island. We hardly ever see the two of them."

Dominic blinks his eyes! "Pan AND Skerrit? Both of them? But I guess that would explain why there are centaurs upon the island, wouldn't it?"

Giles nods his head slowly, finishing up the dishes. "Yes, they both live on Egidius. As I said, they are rarely seen in the village."

Dominic hums for a moment. "Giles. A few days ago I had asked you about the adults. Now that I have remembered asking about it, I ask you again, why are there no adults on Egidius?"

Giles hums then replies, "You know? That's a good question. I guess I took it for granted that we existed and never questioned where our older people went to."

Dominic nods his head. "So you don't know where they are."

Giles replies, "That's how it is, Dominic. Sorry. Like I said, I've never really thought about it. But I should've thought about it, seeing as how everyone on the island looks as if they are fifteen or sixteen years old. Myself included. Now that I think about it, I am roughly over 2500 years old, but I look and act as if I am 15."

Dominic blinks his eyes! "2500 YEARS OLD?" Dominic steps back and sits down at the table. "My lords, I would never have guessed you were that old. You were so energetic and full of life. Just being around you made me feel more alive."

Giles comes over and sits down. "I don't know how we are staying alive on this island. But I suppose Pan and Skerrit would know the answers." He smiles once again. "But there is no sense heading out into the storm and rain in search of them. We should make the best of our time in the house until the storm ends. Then I will help you locate them. It's been awhile since I've slept out in the open. I guess I am a little spoiled with living so close to the village."

Dominic nods his head. "In that case, I hope this storm ends soon. I am not doing so well, clothing-wise. Each and every morning, I awaken to find my clothes either much too large to wear or I awaken feeling as if something else is wrong. And I get that feeling before touching my clothes. From your observation, I am losing massive amounts of weight. If that is true, then my clothes are not enlarging at all, but I am reducing in body weight, which is probably a bad thing."

Giles hums. "I just can't understand why you'd be losing weight. How come I'm not losing weight? You and I eat all our meals together, so I know it's not the food."

Dominic replies, "It's got to be some sort of magic. That's the only thing I can think of. It doesn't effect you because you've lived here so long. But I'm new here, so I am subject to whatever that is affecting me."

Unfortunately for Dominic, this turns out to be one of those massive sea storm systems that has an extended unnatural lifespan, as it goes on for over a month. And with each waking morning, Dominic finds that he has either lost more weight or has shrank in size. Then one morning, Dominic awakens to a most peaceful silence. It is no longer thundering nor raining. Dominic hops out of bed, and just heads into the kitchen where he sits down at the table. Giles is busy making breakfast, as he always does. When he turns to put the food on the table, he simply stops. He slowly puts the food on the table, sits down next to Dominic slowly, then exclaims, "You're my size."

Dominic sighs and replies in a much younger teenaged voice, "I know. I guess I was getting younger as well as shrinking in size and weight. I suppose there is no chance on undoing this now, is there?"

Giles also sighs, then replies, "I don't know. On one hand, it's not really that bad. I mean, how often do you get a chance to relive your childhood? On the other hand, you are probably feeling miserable. You are probably thinking that you are permanently stuck like this."

Dominic nods his head, and begins eating his breakfast. Giles also eats, then cleans up the kitchen, while Dominic sits at the table quite depressed. Finally, Giles takes the apron off, and looks to Dominic and says, "Let's go find Pan and Skerrit. It's not storming any more, and the quicker we find them, the quicker we can find out how to undo this."

Dominic nods, and slowly gets up. They don't bother packing anything to port with them. Dominic likewise does not bother with his clothes. He does pick his shirt up and ties it around his waist securely. Giles and Dominic leave the cottage/farm, and head off into the forested wilderness. After a few hours, Dominic realizes that the island is much larger than he originally thought. They had already crested three hills, and were walking slowly throught the fourth forest glade. They had crossed two streams, and waded a muddy gully. That night, the two cuddle up close within a small cave, and fall asleep. The next morning, their search began anew.

A few days later, during which they ate berries, drank stream water, and slept in cozy caves, Dominic and Giles locate the encampment of Pan and Skerrit. The two gods had just settled down after having a meal and drinking wine, when the young satyr and human enter their midst.

Giles exclaims, "Grandfather Pan! It is so good to see you again!" Giles hugs Pan tightly. Giles turns to the centaur god, Skeerit, and smiles. "It is a pleasure to greet you as well."

Pan smiles, then looks at Dominic. "And who is your extremely handsome friend, Giles?"

Giles looks to Dominic and replies, "This is Dominic Bastian Vanlyone, a Chess operative who came to our island to ask me all about satyrs. During his stay at my home, all throughout the storm we just had, he became magically younger to the appearance you now see before you. We were wondering if there were a way to return him to his original age, size, and weight?"

Pan walks over to Dominic and hugs him tightly! "So, you're the one Skerrit and I have been hearing about. It is indeed an honor to meet you, Dominic. As for returning you to normal, that is going to be tricky. You see, a long time ago, I hosted a visiting goddess to this island, and she was kind enough to place a special magical aura around the entire island group that kept all who dwelled upon these six islands as young as a teenager, eternally. She was a goddess of eternal youth. The magic keeps all of my mortal satyrs, fauns, and Skerrit's centaurs forever young. Child birthing can still occur, and chronological aging still takes place, but upon reaching the age of roughly fifteen to seventeen, the subject no longer physically ages. I had no idea what effect the goddess' magic would have upon foreigners visiting these selected six islands, but with you as an example, we now know what happens to those who stay too long."

Dominic nods his head. "Is there anything at all you can do to undo this magical effect that is affecting me, Lord Pan?"

Skerrit approaches Dominic and shakes his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet the one who has favor with both Circe and Ren of the Northern Herd. Why don't you and Giles spend a few days in our encampment, and hopefully during that time, a solution can be discovered to help you return to your former self. And if nothing can be done, you are invited to remain among us, as our guest."

Dominic shakes Skerrit's hand firmly. "I thank you for the invitation, Lord Skerrit."

Pan smiles and leads Dominic and Giles into the large warm tent where he and Skerrit had been sleeping together. The leftover food is served to Dominic and Giles, and then, the four traditionally drink several cups of wine to show friendship and brotherhood among friends. The night falls across the land, and the four snuggle up close together and fall asleep.

Over what seemed like the next few weeks, Dominic and the others shared the encampment, and pondered ways to solve Dominic's problem of unprevoked youth. One afternoon, Giles goes with Skerrit on a trip back to the village to get supplies and check on things there. Pan and Dominic enter the tent and get comfortable on the warm blankets.

Dominic smiles. "Giles told me about how you and the first satyr came to be."

Pan smiles thoughtfully. "Yes, Narzil. He is a wonderful satyr."

Dominic nods his head. "Giles hadn't told me the shepherd boy's name. Were the two of you truly in love with each other?"

Pan laughs at that question. "Giles has an active imagination! I suppose I better set the record straight on this subject. First of all, I was not banished to this island. I chose to make this island my home. Secondly, the shepherd boy was someone who was already living on this island. I befriended him, and we became fast friends." Pan smiles again. "Narzil and I did go to Olympus and attempt to steal the wine, and the results were as Giles told you. But I never feel guilty over my that which I do, because I enjoy the simple pleasures in life."

Dominic nods his head again. "And you created the female fauns because you and Narzil could not reproduce?"

Pan smiles and chuckles. "I see Giles needs to be re-educated. I created the fauns as a calmer and more laid back species to make up for satyr's lusty and wild natures, but there are both male and female fauns. In fact, the first male faun was named Faunus, and I gave him part of my divine power. Faunus lives on one of the other six islands with a flock of fauns, goats, and sheep. As for satyrs being able to reproduce, I must admit that the way a satyr reproduces isn't like you may think."

Dominic hums and asks, "I am probably going to regret asking this, but how do satyr's reproduce?"

Pan smiles gently and places an arm around Dominic's shoulder. "Because there are no female satyrs, I gave the male satyrs a unique gift to create other male satyrs by making love to the male human they wished to transform and by injecting their seed within the chosen individual. I know it sounds as if satyrs are gay, but the truth is, that a satyr's seed cannot make a female human pregnant."

Dominic nods his head. "I have an open mind, so that does not really surprise me. Although, I am curious about how lusty you and your satyrs really are. I mean, Giles never tried anything with me, and was a perfect host. I really like him."

Pan sighs. "Our lusty behavior has a lot to do with how much alcohol and sugar we intake. The more we've had, the more unpredictably lusty we are. The wine we have here in this encampment is purely strong centaur wine. Skerrit has to have it that strong, or he becomes ill to his stomachs. So I drink what he drinks. The usual results have been warm lusty nights of sharing our bodies with each other. The first night you and Giles arrived, we had just finished off several cups of the wine, then we drank more of it, as is traditionally proper when greeting new friends, and that night, you got to participate in an orgy between us. I was not sure you realized that it had happened, so we agreed not to mention it to you."

Dominic hums and replies, "I was wondering why I was beginning to find you three more attractive and more inviting than usual. And I was actually enjoying being with you all. That was the wine's effect? That must be strong stuff. What all is in it?"

Pan thinks for a moment, then shrugs and replies, "I'm not entirely sure, but I know it is centaur wine, made strong for Skerrit's extreme tastes. And you have had enough of it in the last few days to officially be called one of my flock."

Dominic asks, "I am one of your flock now? Is that why you sent Giles with Skerrit back into the village?"

Pan smiles and shakes his head. "No, Giles wanted to go with Skerrit. You see, like myself, Skerrit is extremely lusty, and needed someone to make love to during the trip back to the village. Skerrit is far too large for you, Dominic, so Giles went along for the ride."

Dominic hums again. "So you had no intentional plans for me in their absence?"

Pan smiles and pulls Dominic down into the warm blankets. "Just the same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try and take over the world!"

Over the following week, Dominic and Pan spent close time together, bouncing suggestions off of each other, drinking wine, and sleeping together. The more time Dominic spends with Pan, the less he considers solutions to undoing his unprevoked youth. Then one late evening, Skerrit returns to the encampment, without Giles, but loaded up with supplies. Skerrit enters the tent where Dominic is sitting by himself, Pan having gone off to get some fresh water from one of the springs. Skerrit looks upon Dominic, who smiles up at the centaur lord, and begins unloading the needed supplies. Dominic helps Skerrit unload all the gear and extra supplies.

Dominic asks, "What happened to Giles?"

Skerrit smiles. "Giles decided to stay home for a while." His smiles fades as he focuses upon Dominic fully. "I have bad news for you though."

Dominic blinks his eyes! "What is the bad news?"

Skerrit carefully sets himself down on the warm blankets. "Remember that last really bad storm we had? Well, it ripped your boat from the village docks and is no longer within sight."

Dominic sighs, then replies, "I should've figured that would happen eventually. So, now I am permanently stuck on this island, right?"

Skerrit nods his head. "Don't feel too bad about it. Could be far worse. You could've been on the boat during that really bad storm. Marooned on one of the other hidden islands for the rest of your life with no chance of rescue."

Dominic looks upon Skerrit. "You must be exhausted if you came all the way back from the village carrying all that gear by yourself. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Skerrit smiles. "I'd appreciate it if you gave my entire body a good rub down. You are right about my being exhausted."

Dominic begins giving Skerrit a good rub all over his body. When Pan returns with the barrel of stream water, he helps Dominic rub the large centaur. Dominic told Pan the news of the missing boat, and of Giles decision to stay in the village. Pan nods his head, and finishes rubbing Skerrit's body. The three of them sit up and drink several cups of wine, then cuddle close for the night.

The next morning, Dominic is sitting off at the edge of the encampment pondering his dilemma, when Skerrit trots up besides him. Skerrit takes a deep breath and releases it quietly.

Skerrit exclaims, "Pan and I think we know how to undo your problem."

Dominic turns his head and up at Skerrit. "You've thought of a way to help me? What is it?"

Skerrit replies, "Actually, we haven't thought of a way, but we thought maybe Chiron could help you. He's the wisest being throughout the Hidden Isles."

Dominic looks back at the ground. "A nice solution, except my boat is missing. There is no way for me to get to Chiron's island."

Skerrit smiles. "Well, there is one way."

Dominic again looks up to Skerrit. "There is? There's another boat, isn't there?"

Skerrit chuckles. "I would not call her a boat, precisely, but she can get you to Chiron's island. I am referring to Hippocampus, Poseidon's giant seahorse."

Dominic blinks his eyes! "A giant seahorse? She must be majestic!"

Skerrit smiles again. "She is. And she is just and wise. Pan is calling her now. I will take you to the sea shore where Pan is standing." Skerrit pulls Dominic up upon his back, then the gallop like the wind through the forest, and over a hill to the sea shore. Pan is there explaining what is needed to Hippocampus, the female seahorse. Hippocampus nods her head and looks to Dominic.

Dominic dismounts from Skerrit's back and slowly approaches the truly majestic Hippocampus. He soothingly makes admiration comments about her beauty, then slowly gets unto the saddle upon her back. He grabs hold of the reins tightly, and waves goodbye to Pan and Skerrit. Hippocampus slowly pulls away from the shoreline, and turns towards the open waters.

During the trip, Hippocampus located Dominic's boat and allowed Dominic to tether the boat to Hippocampus' saddle. She then demonstrated just how majestic and powerful she truly was by pulling the sailing boat for the next few days to the docks in the calm waters of the cove on the edge of Chiron's Hidden University. Dominic untethers his boat from Hippocampus and retethers it more securely to the docks. He gets off of Hippocampus, then turns to her and gives her a gentle hug and a kiss on her nose. She nods her head up and down, then turns and heads out towards the open sea. Dominic smiles, then turns and walks up the marble steps into the interior grounds of Chiron's university island. Dominic is surprised by the number of people and creatures that are here. There had to be over a hundred students going to and fro within this center of learning. Dominic heads straight up the central walk to the central forum.

Fortunately for Dominic, Chiron is only with a minor few students and friends in the central forum. He smiles as he sees Dominic approaching. Chiron exclaims, "Dominic Bastian Vanlyone! Circe told me you were in the islands, but I did not expect to see you here." As Dominic closes the distance between them, Chiron can see immediately why Dominic is here. "Oh my. You must have visited Egidius Island."

Dominic nods his head. "Yes, Chiron. I was directed there by the minotaur called Hieronymos Pollux as he was on his way to study some ruins that were there. He left me with Giles, and there was a storm that moved through the area. While I was with Giles," Dominic indicates himself, "this happened to me. Pan and Skerrit thought you could help me."

Chiron replies, "You realize that if I help you then your agreement with Circe is finished, don't you?"

Dominic sighs. "My agreement with Circe was over with when Hieronymos Pollux helped me get away from the Demon Mage who has been trying to kill me. Therefore, I must admit defeat. There was no way to even have a fair chance of doing this alone with my nemesis stalking my every move."

Chiron smiles and turns his head over to his left. Dominic looks over to where he is looking. Circe is standing there with Ren of the Northern Herd. Circe approaches and sits down close to Chiron. She exclaims, "Dominic. You have been given a crash course in Odysseus' Odyssey 101, and you have done quite well. I was not going to hold it against you for getting help here and there. But you are correct about the hindering movements of the demon. There was no fair way for you to succeed in your journey while he was stalking you. He is still searching the labyrinth of caverns beneath the Gorgon's Island for your whereabouts." She looks to Chiron.

Chiron nods his head. "Dominic. While you are like this, a teenager, the demon cannot find you. But as soon as you are returned to normal, he will be able to detect you immediately. It is your choice. You can remain as you are or we can tell you how to return to normal."

Dominic does not hesitate to reply. "I have not yet met Pegasus, therefore, I must return to normal to finish what I started. If I remained like this, a teenager, the action in itself would make me seem like a coward to all those who believed in me. And I am not going to give the demon the pleasure of thinking that I am a coward."

Dominic is surprised when those gathered applaud his statement. Chiron smiles and says, "I am pleased that you will not cuddle with cowardice. Perhaps you are the one to do it. I will resummon Hippocampus, and have her take you to the hidden isle of Divinity Mountain. That is where the gods moved to when they removed themselves from man's presence on the mainland. Climb their mountain, as Hercules did, and seek audience with the goddesses Athena, Hecate, and Hera. They will be able to help you return to normal. I believe in you, Dominic."

Dominic nods his head, but does not allow any pride to cloud his earned humility. Dominic spends a few days listening to Chiron's wisdom and teachings. During this time, Dominic gets to meet the first minotaur, Nikodemus, as well as the first satyr, Narzil. Finally, the time arrives for Dominic to return to the sea, and off towards Divinity Island. Hippocampus awaits Dominic at the docks. Chiron had explained that Dominic should leave his boat here, allowing Hippocampus to bring him back when he completed his task. Dominic climbs upon Hippocampus and together, they head off into the open seas once again. Chiron's island is soon gone from view.

A few days later, Hippocampus carries Dominic through a thick mist and into the presence of Divinity Island. Awaiting in the bay at the bottom of the island, Poseidon chats with the elven goddess, Tyche, seemingly oblivious to Dominic's arrival. Dominic dismounts from Hippocampus, then turns to her and gives her a gentle hug and a kiss on her nose. She nods her head up and down happily, then heads over into the presence of Poseidon. Dominic looks up the mountain itself. He takes a steady breath and slowly starts his ascent of the mountain.

The going is hard and quite tiring. With his teenaged body, he has the extra energy to make the climb, but the going is tough with his smaller size. A few days later, he reaches the top where it levels off into plains and forest. He can see a white marble city of sorts in the center of the forest. Dominic slowly heads off across the plain towards the forest. As he is crossing the plain itself, he catches a glimpse of the majestic pegasus.

He smiles. "Finally got to see him. Now my mission is finished. I just have to meet with the three goddesses and ask for their help."

Dominic's journey to the home of the gods seems re-energized as he soon enters the forest surrounding the city. While journeying within the forest, Dominic sees an abundant amount of wild game, which he does not bother, and finally, sets foot within the inner city.

It was surprisingly clean here. One might even say it was sterile. Dominic slowly made his way into the audience hall of the gods. Within the chamber, Zeus, Hera, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Hecate, Hermes, and Nike are gathered, seemingly discussing some matter of importance. Dominic is surprised by the amazingly young statures of the deities. They all seem to be barely between the ages of fifteen and twenty one. Dominic slowly enters and seats himself quietly close by. He does not interupt their discussion and patiently awaits someone to notice his presence.

He sits there for what seems like a great many hours. It grows dark outside, but the discussion continues. Oddly enough, Dominic cannot understand a word any of them are saying, but he can tell that the matter is of a great importance. Finally, Zeus yawns, and stands up. He evidently tells his brothers and sisters that he is going to bed. He sees Dominic sitting off to the side patiently, then says something else to the others. Zeus then leaves the chamber.

Ares also makes to leave the chambers. He looks directly at Dominic and grins quite evilly. He then also leaves the chambers. Ares' grin does not settle well with Dominic.

Hermes flies out of the chambers lightning fast and somewhere outside, Ares angry voice can be heard making threats at the fleet footed god. Dominic stifles a laugh.

Nike, Artemis, and Demeter pick up their scrolls and head out of the chambers. Artemis did stop to look at Dominic. She knelt down and exclaimed, "Remember your manners here, chosen one of the white stag." Artemis then rose again and headed out with her two friends.

The remaining three goddesses approached Dominic and he slowly rose to meet with them. Dominic bowed respectively to each one of them, then asked, "Chiron sent me to have an audience with you three. He said you could help me regain my original older self. How may I acquire this cure?"

Hera narrows her eyes at Dominic, then relaxes and replies, "Why would you wish to return to such an older body?"

Dominic replies, "There is a demon searching for me. Chiron said that as long as I was in this form, the demon could not find me. That would be well and good, but remaining this way to hide from a demon is just plain cowardice. Many might argue that remaining this way is an intelligent path, but as long as something evil seeks my death, I will not hide from it behind a younger stature and appearance. Even though it is kind of a pleasure to have this form."

Hera nods her head and turns to Athena. Athena smiles and asks, "If you returned to normal, would you seek out the demon to attempt to vanquish it once and for all?"

Dominic replies carefully, "He seeks my death, but I do not seek his death."

Athena smiles, nodding her head. Then she and Hera turn to Hecate. Hecate walks around Dominic slowly. When she stops in front of him once again, she asks, "Would you surrender your mortality to regain your old appearance?"

Dominic opens his mouth then closes it. This was not a question he had expected a goddess to ask. He had to consider this carefully. By her implied tone, if he returned to normal, he had to give up that which made him mortal, then he would be forever in the age and appearance of his old self. But should he decide not to accept it, then he would remain a teenager for the rest of his life. It was a very hard decision to make. Finally, after a few moments, Dominic sighs, and replies, "Either way, I would be stuck in either a teenaged body or stuck in an older body. I would rather go face the demon without your help then to have to decide between the two ages."

Hecate replies, "We can help you, but in doing so, we must gain something in return. That is the rights of this divine court. What can you give us that we do not already own?"

Athena replies, "I already possess all of the knowledge in the world."

Hera replies, "I already possess every idea and plot that has ever been devised."

Hecate replies, "I already possess every magic equation or process ever thought of."

Dominic thinks for a while, then frowns. The goddesses were correct. They already owned anything he could ever give them. "You want my mortality?"

Hera smiles. "You came to us for a solution. We can give you that solution. But you must pay for it, and your mortality is something that you own that is priceless."

Dominic hums, then slowly smiles. "Very well. Which one of you gets to hold my mortality? I cannot decide for you. I remember what happened to the last mortal who had to decide something between three godesses and I am not stupid. You three must decide this on your own."

Hera also smiles, "You do not mind waiting for our decision?"

Dominic replies, "I can be very patient."

Athena then replies, "Then return to Chiron's island and we will bring you our decision there. It would not be proper for you to remain here among the gods while we were deciding."

Hecate humphs. "And why wouldn't it be proper? He is already here and I know that it takes a few days to climb the side of the mountain and another few days to return to Chiron's island. All that traveling would be ridiculous for him, as we could teleport ahead and be awaiting him as he arrived on Chiron's island."

Dominic does not comment on this new debate. Instead, he slowly backs up to give the goddesses some room. It is fortunate that he did withdraw, as the arguing heats up greatly. All three goddesses storm out of the audience chambers. If their anger were a flame, then three fireballs is what just exited the chambers. Dominic slowly emerges from the chambers. As he did, something grabs him from above and pins him to the roof of the audience hall. It is the Demon Mage.

Ares is standing nearby with an evil grin upon his face. "As I said, Demon Mage, the human you've been looking for. Younger than you remember him last, but it is indeed him." Ares holds out his gauntleted hand. "Now pay me the gold you promised me."

The Demon Mage turns his head to look upon Ares. He grins and places a large bag of gold coins into Ares awaiting hand. "As we agreed upon, god of war. I knew I could trust you to deliver what you promised." The demon mage ties up Dominic securely. Ankles and legs. He ties Dominic's arms behind his back, then binds Dominic's wrists to Dominic's elbows. He then gags Dominic securely.

Ares looks around cautiously. "You'd best take him elsewhere before we are discovered up here. The three goddesses will notice him missing in six days, for sure. It takes six days to return to Chiron's island. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Demon Mage." Ares leaps off the back side of the building into the awaiting darkness.

The Demon Mage picks Dominic up, places him over his black winged shoulder, and takes flight into the night skies. Dominic can only vaguely see the path from which they came. He hears the Demon Mage chanting some demonic spell. Then, Dominic sees the insides of the demonic gate as the two fly through it towards an unknown location. The demonic gate closes leaving no trace behind.

Hellacious Mythica Dante's Challenge By Darrel James Vanwinkle (Writing as Ratseye) 08/04/2001

DAY III: EIGHTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Dominic awoke in a warm bed within a small room. He sat up and yawned, then stretched his arms outwards. He sat there for a moment, then realized that he was no longer tied up. He got out of bed, and went over to the door. He realized that he was still a teenager and still without clothing. He opened the door and peeked out into the next room. Sitting within the next chamber, Dominic saw the Demon Mage and a large cat-like demon at the main table. They both looked toward Dominic as he opened the door. The Demon Mage smiled wickedly. The demon cat merely chuckled.

Dominic exits the bedroom, then slowly makes his way towards the other door. The Demon Mage says, "Good. You're finally awake." He looks towards the other door. "The only thing out there is the lava flows of Phelinheim, but you're welcome to have a look for yourself."

Dominic blinks his eyes, and opens the other door wide. True to the Demon Mage's word, there is indeed a huge and wide lava flow outside the door crossing the yard in front of the small keep. The heat from the lava makes Dominic sweat. He shuts the door and looks back at his unholy hosts.

The demon cat says, "Welcome to Infinitum. Might as well make yourself at home. You're going to be here for the rest of your life."

Dominic growls. "I will find a way out. You can't keep me here."

The Demon Mage smiles. "Maybe not, but with you stuck in a teen aged body and no one on Earth knowing that you're in any danger, I don't see much chance of you being rescued. Everyone will think you're somewhere on Earth. They won't even think of looking for you here."

The demon cat smiles. "If you stay in this keep, you will live a lot longer, you won't be in danger from the things that can happen to mortals in realms of the Infinitum, and you'll be able to go anywhere in the keep."

Dominic frowns, "But it's only two rooms."

The Demon Mage stands up and walks over to one wall. He pulls down the tapestry that hung there. A set of curved stairways lead both up and down. The Demon Mage chuckles. "Now, I am going to go back to Earth and wreck some havoc. It has to look like I'm still searching for you, Dominic. If they think I am still looking for you, they won't suspect you are in the Infinitum." The Demon Mage grins, then heads out the front door, and takes flight into the ebony and scarlet skies.

Dominic sighs then looks to the demon cat. The demon cat walks over to Dominic and places a slick warm arm around Dominic's shoulder. "You're fortunate the Demon Mage doesn't want to kill you anymore. The reason for this is that I spoke up on your behalf. In other words, I wanted you. Better a live boy for useful purposes, than a worthless dead nobody. Right?"

Dominic looks up at the demon cat. "You spoke up for me? Really?"

The demon cat nods his head. "I think you can be useful to me. That's why I spoke up for you. I own this small keep here in Phelinheim, and it could use a good cleaning. The Demon Mage won't help clean the place, so I needed a servant to help clean the place. That is why you were chosen by me. I need your help to clean this place. What do you say? You owe me your life."

Dominic sighs again. "I don't have much choice, do I? Where would you like me to start, Master Cat?" Dominic wasn't very happy about this arrangement, but if no one knew where he was, they could not rescue him. He figured that he had to bide his time and wait for an opportunity to present itself.

The demon cat smiles. "Master Cat. That is quaint, but I prefer to be called, Gonzalowyn. But if you prefer to use titles, then call me simply Lord, or Lord Gonzalowyn. That master cat crap is for the less fortunate. You're not my slave, but my acquired help. Let's keep our relationship on an even, friendly basis. If you want me to treat you like a slave, you won't live very long."

Dominic nods his head. Gonzalowyn assigned Dominic to begin at the bottom and work his way upwards, while he tackled the roof and the upper floors. He hands Dominic a broom and a dust pan, then watches Dominic head down the stairs towards the lower floors. Dominic descends several floors and finally, reaches the bottom levels of the keep. The heat down here is terribly hot. Dominic sweats profusely while he works. He isn't sure how much time passes while he's doing this task, but he continues to clean and work in the unbearable heat. Then, when Dominic has had about as much as he can take from the heat, he passes out on the floor.

DAY V: NINTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Dominic awakens on a padded table in a cool shaded room. Nearby is something humanoid that looks very rat-like in appearance from it's head down to it's upper thighs, but the rest of it's legs were that of a horse, yet ending in large cloven hooves. The creature was soaking a tan cloth in what appeared to be water. The creature walks over to Dominic and places the wet damp cloth across Dominic's forehead. It sort of smiles when it sees that Dominic is awake. The humanoid creature pats Dominic's arm, saying, "Just rest. There will be time for speaking later. You're fortunate that I found you. Humans were not meant for the blistering lands of Phelinheim. I carried you out of there. Just rest." The creature sits down in a chair next to the bed itself.

Dominic breaths in several slow short breaths of the cool air. He looks to his new host. The creature didn't look evil, and certainly didn't act evil. Dominic smiles a little, and replies, "Thank you. Where am I?"

The rat creature looks to Dominic and exclaims, "You're in my workshop in the village of Den'Ro on the Circle of Nine in the Infinitum. You are quite safe here. Demon cats are not allowed on this circle, although there are no rules covering teenaged humans."

Dominic nods his head carefully. "I am Dominic Bastian Vanlyone from Earth. I was brought into the Infinitum by the wicked Demon Mage and left at Gonzalowyn's Keep."

The rat creature nods his head and places his rat-like fingertips together. "I am Wilbur Four Hundred Thirty Eighth. Just call me Doctor Wilbur, or just Wilbur."

Dominic replies, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Wilbur."

Wilbur smiles. "You are probably hungry, aren't you? You rest and I will fix us both something to eat. Come into the other room when you feel up to it." Wilbur gets up and heads into the next room, leaving the door partly open as he leaves.

Dominic sat up slowly and placed both of his hands upon his forehead. He was glad for the cooler air here, but there was an odd pinging sensation in his head. He pulled back the blankets and got out of bed. He still felt kind of odd being naked, but it was no worse than being stuck in a teenaged body. Dominic walked over to the door, and exited the room. The next room proved to be a small combination living room, dining room, kitchen, and library. Wilbur was over next to the cast iron stove preparing what looked to be broth. Dominic now has a better look at Wilbur.

Wilbur stood about five foot three inches tall and weighed about one hundred thirteen pounds. His cloven hooves were black, and his horse-like legs were a shiny bronze color. His tail, which was both striped and spotted with both gray and tan fur, extended about twenty six inches, ending in a bright yellow tuft of fur. Wilbur's torso, arms, hands, and head were that of a slender humanoid rat, and his eyes were a pale yet shiny red. He had short but cute whiskers sticking out of each cheek. Determining age was impossible on Wilbur, because if he was a demon like the others living in the Infinitum, then he was immortal, and would live forever and never change in appearance. Wilbur smiled as he heard Dominic emerge from the bedroom.

Wilbur says, "The broth is about ready, Dominic. While it is simmering, is there anything you might want to know about where you are? Or perhaps anything else?"

Dominic hums. "Tell me about the Infinitum itself."

Wilbur smiles and goes over to a nearby bookcase. He selects a book off the shelf, then seats himself close to Dominic. He opens the book and starts reading out loud. "The Infinitum. A place created by the arch angels of Nepherithea to house the demons of Earth whom had over run their bounderies and sought to harm the newly evolving human race." He closes the book and looks to Dominic. "Several hundred centuries ago, demons lived on the surface of your Earth in their own unique harmony. As was decided by the great balance, each demon had a purpose in the world. These purposes were categorized into the nine circles of importance. The first circle contained the heads of political hierarchy. They were in charge of making sure the rest of us did our assigned jobs. The second circle contained the generals of all the militant forces of the land. The third circle contained the great colleges of the demon mages. The fourth circle contained the overseers of all the elements. The fifth circle contained the non-humanoid beasts that served the generals of the second circle. The sixth circle contained the researchers, scientists, and other scholars of the demon court. The seventh circle contained the feudal lords of the humanoid demon wolves. They ruled over the demon wildcats of the eighth circle, who were in charge of guarding the gates of the mines, and also served as soldiers under the generals of the second circle. The ninth circle contained the miners, the farmers, the merchants, the servants, the slaves, and the thralls of all those who served in the upper eight circles. The final circle, which has no number, is called the base of primordial sludge. It is where new races or species could be drawn up from. That circle is directly below us right now."

Dominic is wowed by the information. "What happened that resulted in the demons being sent to this place?"

Wilbur replies, "Sent to this dimension. If you are a religious person, then you would believe that the human species was created by God, and eventually were sent out to slowly gain their foothold in their own lands. If you are not religious, then the following explanation will make more sense. The human species crawled up out of the primordial ooze, having being made by a curious demon mage who was experimenting in creating his own servants. His experiment worked all too well. He ended up with a beautiful female human. He called her Eve because she had been created as the sun had been setting. The evening, or simply, Eve. The demon mage's name was Adamathicus, but he always called himself Adam. He was so in love with his creation, that he hid her presence from the other demon mages, who soon became much too curious to see what he had been up to before coveting whatever it was he was hiding. The demon mages reported Adam's activities to the first circle, and Adam was called forth to explain himself. The hierarchy was outraged when they learned what he had done. They removed all his powers, changed his appearance permanently, and sent him and his woman to the faraway land of Wazriel, an inhospitable land of sand and intolerable heat. But sending them there was a mistake, because the arch angels of Nepherithea lived within the center of that terrible desert. Adam and Eve found the paradise of Nepherithea, and set foot within. The arch angels greeted them kindly, and gave them a home in that land. When the arch angels learned of the demon's cruelty, they asked their own scholars to devise a way to contain the demons within another dimension. When the scholars finished their research, they presented the Key of Infinitum to the leader of the arch angels. He lead his people to the demon lands, surrounded those lands with his troops, and sent the demons, their land, as well as the original ooze which created humans in the first place, into a swirling vortex. The Demonic Gate to the Infinitum. But as the leader of the arch angels was using the key to lock the gate, it slipped from his fingers and fell through the closing vortex."

Dominic blinks his eyes. "So the key is now in the Infinitum too?"

Wilbur nods his head. "It is within this dimension somewhere, but no demon knows where and every demon searches for it with a killing passion. If you were to find it, Dominic, you could escape from the Infinitum and return to Earth."

Dominic hums. "If no demon has this key, then how does the Demon Mage create his demonic gates back to Earth? Did he learn how to do it by accident? Or does he have the key in his possession?"

Wilbur shrugs his shoulders. "All very good questions, but unless you can find him to ask him about it, then you must assume he does not have the key. That key is your only way back to Earth, unless someone on Earth opens a gate to here to rescue you."

Dominic sighs. "Not much chance of that happening. The Demon Mage is purposely making sure no one suspects I am in the Infinitum. So, I must find the key or resign myself to my new home here."

Wilbur tilts his head to one side and looks at Dominic with one eye. "You're only stuck if you give up. And maybe you are the one to finally find the way out of the Infinitum."

Dominic half smiles. "I don't think every demon deserves to be within the Infinitum. You, for example, have been very helpful. You didn't have to rescue me from the blistering heat of Phelinheim."

Wilbur smiled and got up from his seat. He went and checked on the broth. "Soups on. Come and get it." He pours a bowl of broth for Dominic, then pours himself a bowl. They sit together at the table and consume their meal. Afterwards, Wilbur and Dominic chat for a while. Dominic yawns, and Wilbur escorts Dominic back into the bedroom. The two get in bed together, snuggle closely, and fall asleep.

DAY V: CHIRON'S HIDDEN ISLAND - AEGEAN SEA

Athena, Hecate, and Hera stood before Chiron and Circe at the central forum. They had spent the last few days searching for Dominic's whereabouts. Upon not finding him, and his boat was still parked at the docks of Chiron's island, they assumed he had returned to this island.

Chiron replies, "Why, no. Dominic has not returned as yet. I must assume he is either en route to this island or someone on your island has done something to him."

Athena and Hera look at each other, then almost simultaneously exclaimed, "Ares!"

Hecate hummed. "I believe you are both correct. Ares was acting all smug the whole time we were searching for Dominic on our island. Ares must have done something with Dominic."

Chiron replied, "There is your answer then. Best go catch Ares before the trail gets cold. I will send messenger birds around to the other islands and see if anyone else has seen Dominic or anything unusual for that matter."

The three goddesses nodded their heads, then vanished in a single teleport. Circe looked to Chiron, and said, "I do not believe that Dominic is safe at the moment. If you will excuse me, I must go send a message of my own. I will return shortly." Circe teleported away to her own island to prepare the important message. She hopes it arrives where she is sending it in time.

DAY VI: NINTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

When Dominic awakens the next morning, he feels a bit stiffer than usual. He looks around, but does not see Wilbur anyplace. Dominic sits up and lowers his black cloven hooves out of the bed to the floor. Dominic blinks his eyes and looks to where his feet used to be. He had cloven hooves now. What was going on? Why did he suddenly acquire hooves? Dominic slowly hobbles into the next room looking for Wilbur. He spots Wilbur reading a book. Dominic goes over to Wilbur and shows his cloven hooves to him. Wilbur examines Dominic's hooves, then examines the rest of him.

Wilbur finally sighs and exclaims, "I was afraid this would happen. It's part of the reason humans don't come to the Infinitum for any long periods of time. You're becoming a demon."

Dominic blinks his eyes again! "But why? Why hadn't I changed in the past few days of being in the Infinitum? Why did it just now start?"

Wilbur replies, "If we had known you had been in the Infinitum for five days last night, I could've warned you that it was going to happen. It always starts on the sixth day. Then, every time you sleep thereafter, you will gain another demonic feature upon your body. Now things are serious! Your time is limited for getting out of the Infinitum. Once you entirely change into a demon, you won't be able to get out without the key, and worse, the day you fully awaken as a demon, you will be teleported all the way back down to this circle. So you see, you don't have much time."

Dominic's eyes are large with panic. "You'll help me, won't you?"

Wilbur replies calmly, "I can take you back to where I found you on the eighth circle, but I am not allowed to go further than that. Same goes with any other demon you may encounter. They cannot go beyond the next circle above the one they call home. The ones on the uppermost circle might be able to get you out of the Infinitum. But they most likely won't help you. So that leaves the other way out. You will have to go to the third circle and talk to the other demon mages. Tell them that one of their kind has a magic for coming and going from the Infinitum. They won't like that idea, but they will most likely help you get back to Earth to confront the Demon Mage with the Demonic Gate power."

Dominic frowns then replies, "I thank you for helping me, Wilbur. I won't forget you. I promise."

Wilbur smiles. "May I hold you to your word, Dominic?"

Dominic nods his head and places one hand on Wilbur's paw, and the other hand upon his own heart. "You have my word."

Wilbur again smiles. "Good. Now, let's get you back up to the eighth circle."

DAY VI: EIGHTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

A few hours later, after having climbed up an iron ladder into what appeared to be a hole in the sky, Dominic and Wilbur are within the Fiery Realms of Phelinheim. Wilbur escorts Dominic for a few hours after that, bypassing several demon cat strongholds. Finally, Dominic and Wilbur arrive at a strangely silent stronghold. On its roof plain to see is another iron ladder going up into another hole in the sky. Wilbur escorts Dominic through the silent stronghold, and up to the roof.

Wilbur smiles while shaking Dominic's hand. "Here is where we part company, my friend. You now know how to get to each new circle. Look for the iron ladders extending into the skies. May I see you again after you escape from the Infinitum. Farewell, Dominic." Wilbur heads back down through the silent stronghold. Dominic slowly begins his climb up towards the sventh circle, the home to the feudal demon wolf lords. Dominic climbs carefully upwards, and through the awaiting hole in the sky.

DAY VI: SEVENTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Fortunately, Dominic emerged under some thick bushes. From the surrounding sounds in the area, it was apparent that a war was going on between the feudal demon wolf lords. Or maybe this was normal for life on the seventh circle. Dominic quietly made his way through the thick bushes and dense forests, avoiding demon wolves and their lords whenever possible. He was glad their attention was focused solely upon each other. Finally, Dominic located the next ladder. But there was an apparent problem now. The ladder was right smack dab in the middle of one of the demon wolf lord's field camps. Getting to this ladder would be tricky.

It took a few hours of constant watch, but Dominic finally got the break he was looking for. Two things happened at once. First, all the fighting in the entire seventh circle came to a screeching halt. Second, the general of the camp called all of his troops to a spot on the edge of the camp to have a pep talk with them. Dominic didn't waste any time getting to the ladder. He began his climb up the iron ladder and soon was inside the low floating clouds where the heavy musk of the demon wolves had gathered. The aroma was almost overpowering, but Dominic held his breath and continued his climb up into the awaiting hole in the sky.

DAY VI: SIXTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Dominic emerged this time on the bottom floor of a massive multi-floored library that took up the space of the entire sixth circle. Dominic was nearing his limit for being able to stay awake. He knew if he slept now, he would awaken much later with another demon feature upon his body. But he also knew that if he didn't get some rest soon, he would pass out from exhaustion. Where could he rest where no one would find him? There was no demons upon this floor, but he was wary of sleeping this close to the ladder that led back to the seventh circle. Dominic walked around the bottom floor of the library for a while before finally finding a spot behind a staircase where thick blankets and other gear were evidently stored. He crawled into the space behind the stairs, behind all the boxed up gear, and covered himself in the warm blankets.

DAY VI: HUXLEY'S HERBAL CURES STORE - CALIFORNIA

Reed Huxley was sitting at the counter of his store chatting with the white stag, Nikon Procyos, Valerian Mouse, and the beautiful Asian woman, the Golden Yak. They had gathered together here shortly after Reed received a special delivery letter from the Aegean Sea.

Reed finishes reading the letter. "...and because the Demon Mage is still searching for Dominic on one of the other islands, I must assume that he is in deadly danger somewhere beyond normal mortal reach. Please forward my concerns to those in power who might be able to do something about the situation. Signed, Circe, Sorceress Supreme." Reed looked to everyone. "Dominic is like a best friend to me, mates. If he is in some sort of danger, I'd give my life to go save him."

Valerian hummed. "The Aegean Sea. I am not allowed to practice magic in that region. I would be powerless if I went. But I'll lend whatever support I have at my disposal."

The Golden Yak replied, "That is not exactly my part of the world, either, but it was my misinformed mistake which allowed the Demon Mage to return to harass Dominic. Had I known that we didn't have permission to be in the Furry Realms, I could have remedied the situation very quickly. Because it is partly my fault, I will go and try to make amends." She vanished in a glimmer of light akin to the reflection off of the Himalayan snows.

The white stag hummed also. "Dominic is my responsibility and I told him to go alone. I will go rendezvous with Artemis and request a boon for her aid. I only hope I can do something before its too late."

Nikon replied, "This sort of thing is far beyond my ability to handle. I wish you luck, white stag." She hugged the ivory colored cervine. "I must be going now or I'll miss my flight to India. Take care, all of you."

Reed smiled at Nikon. "Going off to see the Kitsune again?"

Nikon nodded her head. "I have to go back. I'm not sure why but I have to return to them." Nikon headed off through the gateway that led back to Dominic's mansion in Rocky Falls.

Valerian sighed. "I hope she and Gomi will be very happy together."

Reed arched an eye. "Gomi? You know who she's going to see, mate?"

Valerian smiled and teleported away to his citadel.

The white stag looked to Reed and exclaimed, "Given the circumstances, where do you think Dominic is?"

Reed affixes a serious look upon his werekangaroo muzzle. "The goddesses cannot locate him. He did not return home. And his boat is still tethered at Chiron's island. The Demon Mage is still searching one island for something."

The white stag replies, "The Demon Mage is looking for Dominic."

Reed turns his head and smirks. "We THINK the Demon Mage is looking for Dominic, mate. If he's a mage, and he's as powerful as Dominic said he was, don't you think he would have located Dominic by now? And why just search one island for Dominic. The very same island that Dominic escaped from the Demon Mage upon. That is very suspicious, mate. It is my personal opinion that the Demon Mage already found Dominic and took him somewhere, then returned to make it look like he was still looking for him. Dominic is being held prisoner somewhere."

The white stag shudders visibly. "That would mean that Dominic is in the Demon's Realm. A place called the Infinitum. And unless we get him out of there soon, he will be trapped there for all eternity. Dominic will transform into a demon. And once he's a demon, he will be stuck there."

Reed's eyes go wide!

DAY VIII: SIXTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Although he could not be certain on how much time had passed, when Dominic awoke he felt extremely refreshed. He also felt hungry, but he would deal with that later. While sitting behind the stairs, he checked himself out all over his body to see what new body part he now had. It took a few minutes, but he finally located the new feature. He now had a fluffy white tail, similar to either a rabbit or a deer. Cloven hooves and a fluffy tail. That wasn't so bad. At least the changes were gradual instead of being all at once. Dominic found some clothes in one of the storage boxes, and was glad to see that they fit him when he put them on. There was even a hole in the back for a tail. He also found a dark cloak which he clasped around his neck, and a wide black belt. He searched around a bit, and soon found a dull-looking belt buckle to affix the belt snugly around his waist. Pants, tunic, belt, cloak, and even a dagger with it's own scabbard. Dominic was starting to feel more like himself again, albeit the hooves and tail. He climbed out from under the stairs, and returned to the ladder, where he relieved himself into the hole in the floor. He smiled, then returned to the stairs, and climbed them.

Dominic spent the next few hours looking for the iron ladder that would lead up to the fifth circle, although he had already forgotten what lay ahead on the upper circles, he was determined to get there, no matter what. He did indeed see other demons within the bookshelves and forum chambers, but none of them paid him any mind as he quietly continued his journey through the circle of research. Finally, Dominic located the iron ladder on the top-most floor within a small attic in a oddly cleared out corner. Dominic was on guard now, and carefully made his way to the ladder. Then he cautiously began climbing up through the awaiting hole.

DAY VIII: FIFTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

This time, Dominic emerged into a dark chamber filled with an odd scent. He slowly and cautiously made his way off down one of the dark tunnels. He was dismayed when after several hours, he had not found an exit from the pitch black tunnels and chambers. He sighed then continued his journey through the darkness. Dominic finally became frustrated by all the darkness. As he is resting again one wall, he sees a faint glimmer of light further down the tunnel he had been traveling. He smiles and thinks, "Finally." Dominic walks off towards the light.

When he reaches the light, he finds that it is from a lantern that was barely burning. It's owner was nowhere to be seen nor heard. Dominic picks up the lantern, and is glad to see that it still has a full tank of lamp oil. He slowly adjusts the light up to a nice viewing range. Lying on the floor at his feet is the remains of the demon that carried the lantern. The bones were visibly showing and there was still carrion upon the remains. Dominic almost throws up, but resists the overwhelming urge to empty his stomach. He quickly hurried along the tunnel.

Dominic emerges from the tunnel into a large chamber filled with large non-anthropomorphic beasts. They in turn see Dominic immediately. Dominic also spots the iron ladder he has been seeking. It is on a ledge just above the far side of the corral of heavily scented beasts. He hangs the lantern on a hook above the tunnel opening, and looks to the beasts. They seem very interested in Dominic and slowly approach him cautiously.

Dominic isn't sure what to expect as he watches their approach to his position. When they are all around him, they begin nosing and sniffing Dominic's body. Dominic hopes that those actions is all they do. He slowly begins edging his way through their crowd in the direction of the iron ladder. He is part way across the chamber when he is tripped by something on the floor. Dominic falls forward into the mass of scented beasts. He lands on his hands, face down. As he is preparing to get back up, one of the beasts licks Dominic's face, while another leaps on Dominic's back, pushing him to the floor again. He feels his pants being yanked off his legs by two of the beasts, and his cloak and tunic being removed, as well. Soon, Dominic is again nude within the mass of non-anthropomorphic demonic beasts. He attempts to get up again, but just as he is on all fours, he is mounted by the largest of the beasts. Dominic tries rising up to throw the beast off of him. Another beast positions himself beneath Dominic, lifts his tail, and pushed himself against Dominic's shaft. Dominic finds himself sandwiched between the two beasts, trapped in the position. Dominic is slowly overwhelmed by the beasts and pulled down into their masses, as he is forcibly raped by them.

DAY IX: GORGON'S HIDDEN ISLAND - AEGEAN SEA

When the white stag arrived with Artemis on the Gorgon's Hidden Island, they found the Golden Yak battling the Demon Mage upon one of the open fields. The ground was singed from the fiery blasts and lightning strikes. Artemis took careful aim and fired off a blessed arrow straight into the Demon Mage's throat. It was a perfect shot! The white stag made a mental note to always stay on Artemis' good side.

The Golden Yak smiled. "Well aimed, Mistress of the Hunt."

Artemis replied, "Thank you, Ray from the Top of the World." She walked over to the Demon Mage before he can pull the arrow free and stuck the tip of the second arrow to the Demon Mage's ballsac. "Now, where is Dominic Bastian Vanlyone? And what did you do with him?"

The Demon Mage irked quite suddenly, then pulled the arrow from his throat. "Ares sold him to me. And I transported Dominic to the eighth circle of the Infinitum."

Artemis growled inhumanly. "Now you will bring him back here, won't you? Or, I will sever your family jewels."

The Demon Mage blinked his eyes! "You wouldn't dare, Artemis. You are far too lady like to do thaaaaa-oooowwwwwchhhh!!!" He screamed as Artemis severed the Demon Mage's ballsac right off his body. He howled in pain with eyes wide and staring at his demon balls lying on the ground.

The white stag made another mental note to himself. Always do exactly as Artemis says.

The Golden Yak blinked her eyes. "I would never have went that far."

Artemis didn't smile as she raised the sharp arrow tip to the Demon Mage's shaft. "Shall we try this again? You bring Dominic back here now or you lose your sceptre of might. Consider this carefully, Demon Mage. As you can see, I am no lady when I deal with demons."

The Demon Mage frowned and retrieved his balls carefully. "I would have to go the Infinitum to get him. I just cannot summon him from there, as I have to know where exactly he is down there. And he is inventive enough that I am sure he is no longer where I put him, even if he IS still within the Infinitum."

Artemis growled and severed his shaft off his body anyway!

The Demon Mage screamed in unholy agony, as Artemis withdrew to where the white stag and the Golden Yak were standing. The Demon Mage gritted his teeth, picked up his shaft and glared at Artemis. "I'll go get him but you haven't heard the last of this, Artemis." The Demon Mage opened the Demonic Gate and walked through the opening quickly. It closed behind him.

Artemis laughed out loud! "That felt good." She then got serious again. "But I am afraid that the Demon Mage may try to exact retribution upon Dominic before bringing him out of the Infinitum."

The Golden Yak hummed. "Isn't there another way to get into or out of the Infinitum?"

Artemis nodded her head and replied, "Only if you have the Key of Nepherithea, but it was lost within the Infinitum as the gates were closing up to seal the demons into the other dimension."

The white stag sighed. Now he truly hoped Dominic could stay out of the Demon Mage's grasp and doubly hoped that Dominic could find the key for getting out of the Infinitum.

DAY X: FIFTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

As Dominic is awakening he realizes that he must have passed out after having the beasts climax within his battered body. He carefully looks around the mass of apparently sleeping horny beasts, and notices that somehow his clothes had been placed up on the ledge near the iron ladder. Dominic then checks out his body once again to see what has changed this time. He sighs quietly to himself when he sees that his legs are not only covered in white fur, but are very cervine-like in appearance. Dominic now looks like a deer-satyr, a deer from the waist down. He carefully tries to get up, but quickly feels the knot of the large beast within his bottom side. Knowing that he just has to get out of here, he keeps trying to extracate the beast's knot out of his bottom.

Finally, it does indeed come out, along with his beastly seed and Dominic's watery secretions. He carefully hobbles painfully over to the wall where the upper ledge is, and by using his cloven hooves as wedges, climbs the wall to the wide ledge. Once up, Dominic rests for a moment, then puts on all his clothes and cloak. He then begins the climb of the iron ladder. He is about part way up, when he hears the beasts awaken and howl up at him. Dominic looks back down at the overly friendly horny beasts. "Thanks for the good time." The beasts gaze up at Dominic with classic puppy dog eyes. Dominic suddenly feels awful for leaving them, but just sighs. "Someday, we'll meet again." The beasts seem to like that idea and seem happier. Dominic continues the climb up through the awaiting hole in the roof of the chamber.

DAY X: FOURTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Dominic is shocked as he emerges from the hole into the bottom of what seems like an ocean. He immediately heads for what he hopes will be the surface. After a few minutes, he breaks the surface of the waters, and swims to the closest shoreline. Upon exiting the waters on the beach, he spots the other ladder at the top of a snow-covered mountain. He sighs, and begins his journey into the forests of the island. A few hours later, he arrives at the foothills of the mountain, the after a few more hours, he enters the snow-covered region of the mountain itself. The going is slow and frigid, being just the opposite in temperature from how Phelinheim was on the eighth circle. He constantly pressed onwards and upwards until he finally reached the iron ice-covered ladder. Climbing this would be tricky, but he took a good breath and began the ascent up the frigid ladder. Oddly enough, the air above the mountain proved to be more mild, and soon, he was ascending the ladder into the awaiting hole in the sky.

DAY XI: THIRD CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Dominic had been wandering this modern looking college for a few hours. At first, he thought he was back on Earth, as everything looked just like the way things would look at a normal university. Then he saw the young demon mage students, and older demon mage teachers. He didn't want to spend much time here, as he very well might've encountered THE Demon Mage who sent him here in the first place. Dominic searches the entire grounds of the college, but no iron ladder can be found. He decides to chance asking someone for directions. Dominic approaches a demon mage who definately does not resemble the one he is avoiding.

"Excuse me, oh great mage, but I am looking for the iron ladder to the second circle. Where might I find it?"

The demon mage looks to Dominic and replies, "You're a human. You shouldn't be here." Then he sees Dominic's hooves. "I don't know how you got here, but you better get back out as fast as possible. The iron ladder you seek is near the front gates of the college. Over that direction." He points over towards several buildings and tall trees.

Dominic shakes the demon mage's claw. "Thank you ever so much." Dominic heads off in the direction he was given, and soon, locates the front gates. Standing near the front gates, as the teacher had said, is the iron ladder. Also, leaning against the iron ladder is the Demon Mage. Dominic sighs as he sees him, but walks on over anyways.

"You caught me. Go ahead and send me back to the bottom."

The Demon Mage looks to Dominic. He had magically repaired his severed body parts before coming here to await Dominic's arrival. "The bottom, nothing. You have caused me a lot of mental and physical anguish. And I know not to kill you." He looks at Dominic's legs. "Halfway changed, are you?" He sniffs the air. "And you smell like a fifth circle beast, so I have to assume they got you good. I am surprised you left them. Had you stayed there, I would never have found you."

Dominic blinks at the coy attitude of the Demon Mage. "Any other time you'd have tied me up and sent me into a prison cell by now. What's going on?"

The Demon Mage replies, "Artemis commanded me to bring you out of the Infinitum. She didn't say what condition you had to be in when I brought you out. And seeing that you are partly changed already, I might as well watch you change the rest of the way into a demon before taking you back to Artemis."

Dominic sighs. "Are you going to let me pass and continue on upwards?"

The Demon Mage smiles. "Of course. I will neither help you nor hinder you. That way, I can say that by the time I found you, the change was already complete. And because they will assume you were trying to stay away from me, my words will be true." He moves away from the iron ladder.

Dominic hums. "You puzzle me. If you weren't so evil, I would be tempted to get to know you better." Dominic approaches the iron ladder and begins climbing it.

The Demon Mage replies, "Perhaps we can get to know each other. But not right now. If you can reach the upper circle, gain an audience with the hierarchy and get them to reveal the sealed gate to you, then I might be more inclined to spend some time with you." The Demon Mage vanishes in a puff of black smoke.

Dominic hums, then continues climbing. The Demon Mage was not going to stop him from climbing up to the upper circle. Something about that didn't settle well in Dominic's stomach as he neared the awaiting hole. Evidently, meeting with the hierarchy was not an easy task, and the Demon Mage knew it. Dominic slowly continued his climb up into the awaiting hole.

DAY XI: SECOND CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Dominic emerged from the hole into an empty lot at the end of a row of nice housing. In the far distance, he could see what appeared to be a military base, and right smack dab in the middle of the military base was the obvious ladder. Dominic slowly made his way forward past all the homes of the demon generals, and into the military base itself. He was surprised by the fact that no one prevented his advance towards the iron ladder. Finally, he arrives at the iron ladder. Still none of the generals bar his path. He thinks this is very unusual conditions for a military base, and proceeds cautiously. He reaches up and places his hands upon the rungs of the iron ladder. When he does, a current of electricity flows directly into his body, numbing his movements, and knocking him unconscious.

DAY XII: Dominic'S MANSION - ROCKY FALLS MISSOURI

Damon Horse was extremely riled. He looked to Sexen Reinhard, Pablo Kingston and Huckleberry Slyfingers with a heavy glare. "Dominic needs me. Right now. Don't ask how I know. I just know."

Sexen replied, "We weren't asking how you knew, Damon. We were asking how you were going to get to where ever Dominic is to help him."

Damon smiled for the first time in months showing his demonic fangs. "I know where Dominic is and I know how to get there. No one bothered to ask me if I could get Dominic back. You see, there is a back door into the Infinitum."

Sexen, Pablo, and Huckleberry all three blinked their eyes in surprise!

DAY XIII: FIFTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

When Dominic awakens once again, he is not surprised to find that his clothes have been once again removed from his body, but he is surprised by his current location. He is once again down on the fifth circle within the corral of the demon beasts, and again sandwiched between several beasts. He checks his body out once again, but this time cannot find which part of him had transformed. Maybe, he thought, that being electically shocked does not count as sleeping. He was glad to know that, but he had a bigger problem now. If he was again down here among the beasts, then the generals must have been the ones to move him back here. But how had they moved him from the second circle to the fifth circle. He knew that the fourth circle was difficult enough to bypass because of the ocean. He began to suspect mage intervention. Dominic looks over his shoulder at the large beast thrusting into him, and gets a wet slobbery lusty tongue thrust deeply into his mouth. Dominic would have to wait for the beasts to tire of him before he could plan his escape from their grasp. Dominic just allows them to have their way for now.

DAY V: NINTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Damon Horse arrives at Wilbur's home on the ninth circle. Wilbur is glad to see him, and welcomes Damon with open arms. Damon asks Wilbur about Dominic's whereabouts. Wilbur told Damon that he had escorted Dominic up past Phelinheim to the iron ladder going on upwards to the seventh circle. Damon sighs, and explains that he has returned to rescue Dominic from the Infinitum. Wilbur hums. Damon thanks his friend, and heads off to the iron ladder.

DAY XIII: FIFTH CIRCLE/SIXTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Several hours later, the beasts have once again fallen into a easy slumber. Dominic extracates himself from the mass of beasts, but this time heads back down the tunnels to the sixth circle library. Once there, Dominic returns to the basement where he had found his clothes the first time. This time, however, there were no clothes to be had. Dominic had gotten whatever clothes that were available. He sighs, wondering if he had wasted his time with this endeavor. He knew that once he returned to the fifth circle, the beasts would tackle him again, and he'd be stuck there for a another length of time. He was starting to enjoy being with the beasts. He shakes that thought from his mind, and sits down to think about his choices.

He has sat there for an hour or so when Damon finds him. "Finally, I found you."

Dominic looks up and sees Damon standing there. He leaps up and hugs his old friend tightly. "I never thought I'd see you here. I am so glad to see anyone I know. How'd you get here?"

Damon smiles and hugs Dominic back just as tightly, then sniffs him. "You smell like a fifth circle beast. Still as horny as ever, aren't they?" He stifles a giggle.

Dominic replies, "Twice. They got me twice. Getting away from them is hard, but in a way, I am sorry to leave them."

Damon nods his head. "I know. They've gotten me over a hundred times and leaving them is sad." He looks over Dominic's partly changed body. "Looks like I got here just in time. You can only have eight minor transformations. The ninth one is the one that makes it all permanent."

Dominic looks down at himself and sees what changed this last time. He now had the sheath of a buck stag deer and the ballsac to match. "I'm changing into a deer. But why? This is the Infinitum, isn't it? Shouldn't I be becoming a demon?"

Damon hums. "I think it's because the white stag owns you. You are becoming a white stag. We have to get you out of here before it's too late."

Dominic looks around. "But how do we get out? Wilbur said the only way out was the gate at the top."

Damon smiles. "There is a two way back door into and out of the Infinitum. It is how I got to the Realm of the Unicorns that one time. I wasn't sure how I did it that time, but recently, I began remembering that I was from here. Then suddenly, I got this overwhelming feeling that you were in danger and I knew that I had to come here to the Infinitum to rescue you."

Dominic blinks his eyes and excitedly replies, "And where is this back door?"

Damon smiles again. "It is on an island in the middle of the primordial ooze circle at the very bottom of the Infinitum. But there is one worry I am having about taking you there."

Dominic affixes his gaze upon Damon seriously. "What worry is that?"

Damon replies slowly, "The primordial ooze is what helped to create humans in the first place. I am afraid it could harm you, irrevocably. Now, I ask you... do you want to go up and hope to find a way to open the gate without the key, or go down and chance the ooze to get to the island? The choice is yours, and I have learned to care about you, Dominic. I love you."

Dominic smiles and hugs Damon gently. "I love you too, Damon." He releases the hug. "If we go up, we will have to brave the fifth circle again, and those horny beasts haven't seen you in ages. We might be stuck there for quite a while. I am willing to chance the ooze. We go down."

Damon nods his head and leads Dominic back to the iron ladder going down towards the seventh circle. Damon climbs down first, then Dominic follows him.

DAY XIII: SEVENTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Upon arriving within the encampment of the feudal demon wolf lord, Dominic is surprised to learn that the general and Damon are old friends. He is even more surprised to learn that Damon's real name is General Kestnorath. Damon introduces Dominic to his demon wolf lord friend, General Garhoun, who in turn remarks that Dominic smells like a fifth circle beast. As was customary when old friends who were generals met, Dominic was forced to attend a dinner with Damon and Garhoun in the main tent. Damon explained that it could not be avoided, and soon, the three are seated at a table eating a fine dinner and drinking fresh wine. It was also customary to drink a fourth of your wine with each announced toast, and soon, Dominic had not only eaten a little too much of the rich meat, but had drank a little too much of the powerful wine. Much too powerful for a human, and Dominic promptly passes out after the last toast. Damon became concerned immediately, but can do nothing until he fulfills every customary condition between old friends. Therefore, Damon and Dominic are forced to spend the night within the encampment.

DAY XIV: SEVENTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Dominic awakens the next morning being carried over Damon's shoulder. He slowly raises his front legs and front three-fingered paws to his surprised eyes. When they arrive at the iron ladder, Damon puts Dominic down and sighs audibly. Dominic stands before Damon and asks, "What all this time?"

Damon replies, "Your ears, your arms, your hands, and your torso are now an anthropomorphic white stag. I can only assume that your next three changes will be your nose and chin into a discernable muzzle, then you will have to grow your antlers, then finally, your eyes and the rest of your head. Then, the ninth time makes it all permanent."

Dominic nods his head stiffly. "So I am changing into an anthropomorphic white stag instead of a demon. Someone in the Infinitum has a weird sense of humor."

Damon leads the way down the iron ladder to the eighth circle with Dominic carefully following.

DAY XIV: EIGHTH CIRCLE/NINTH CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Damon and Dominic make their way quietly through the maze of flames that cover Phelinheim. Several hours later, they arrive at the iron ladder leading down to the ninth circle. Damon takes Dominic back to Wilbur's place first, where they rest and have a quiet meal.

Wilbur sighs still looking at Dominic's greatly changed body. "It is far worse now than it was when it first started. I sincerely hope Damon can get you out of the Infinitum before it's too late. You looked better as a human, but as you are now, there is something about you that is very enticing."

Dominic replies, "Probably the stench of the fifth circle beasts that seems to be embedded into my body. I probably need a good long bath and a good scrubbing too."

Damon sniffs Dominic. "Yes, the scent is still there. They have marked you well. You can expect to have that scent for another few months, even after you take a long bath."

Dominic just shakes his head. "The smell isn't really bad, just noticeable to every demon in the Infinitum. So I guess it is not that bad."

Wilbur nods his head. "Yes, it can be both annoying and enticing. If anything, though, you have made some permanent friends within the Infinitum. Odd looking friends, but friends just the same. And I am happy to be one of that number, Dominic. Now, I think you and Kestnorath should get going before it gets too late to undo your transformations."

Damon and Dominic get up, thank Wilbur for being a good host and good friend, then head off towards the entrance to the primordial ooze circle.

DAY XV: PRIMORDIAL OOZE CIRCLE - INFINITUM

Once Dominic and Damon have descended the back stairs and passed the secret door in Wilbur's basement, the two are standing upon the shores of the thick bubbling sticky sea of muddy ooze. Nearby, a rowboat with two sets of oars sits, gently rocking back and forth in tune to the bubbling ooze. Damon helps Dominic into the boat, then gets into the boat himself, and shoves the boat off from the shore. Paddling the rowboat across the ooze proved to be slow going. There was no wind, so a sailboat was worthless here. And there was no apparent currents, so if they stopped rowing they would be stopped at the same location a few hours later. The trip was long and boring. There was literally nothing to see out here. Then there was the relaxing scent of the ooze itself. During the trip, both Dominic and Damon fell asleep in the boat. Not once, but twice. Each time, Dominic awakened with a few more transformations upon him. He now had a pronounced deer muzzle and a beautiful set of antlers atop his head. The only part of him that was still human was his eyes and a few bare patches upon his face. He sighed, then resigned himself to concentrating on both staying awake and paddling. This new resolve worked well enough, until finally, they arrived at the small barren island in the center of the ooze.

DAY XVII: PRIMORDIAL ISLAND - INFINITUM

Damon seemed in a rush to get Dominic back to Earth as fast as possible. After getting the boat firmly moored ashore, Damon leads Dominic across the island to the only building standing upon the island. The two have just entered, when they both come to a screeching halt. The Demon Mage is standing directly in front of the strangely familiar stone gateway. It was an exact copy of the gateway that Dominic had in his office and den.

The Demon Mage smiles. "Going somewhere, General Kestnorath?"

Damon growls. "Move aside, Bauthoraentheo. I don't have time for your games."

Bauthoraentheo looks upon Dominic. "Fully a deer now?" He looks back to Damon. "If you are in a hurry, then I must assume Dominic only has one transformation left, correct?"

Damon glares at Bauthoraentheo. "I could never hide anything from you, could I?"

Bauthoraentheo steps aside, and indicates the gateway. "Don't let me stop you."

Damon grabs Dominic's paw and begins to lead him towards the open gateway. Just then, Bauthoraentheo casts a powerful sleep spell upon Dominic. Dominic passes out immediately. Bauthoraentheo exclaims, "Oops, my bad. Look what I did. Accidents do happen, Kestnorath."

Damon turns and looks upon Dominic, watching the eyes and skin patches make the final change. He looks up to Bauthoraentheo. "You are right, old friend. Accidents do happen." Damon casts a divinely powered holy spell upon Bauthoraentheo! The Demon Mage's body is engulfed in a sheet of permanently slaying holy fire. "Accidents do happen." He picks up Dominic's body and carries him through the open gateway.

Bauthoraentheo screams in agony as the holy spell completely and forever destroys him. He falls to the ground in a pile of ash and did not EVER rise again.

DAY XVII: CHIRON'S HIDDEN ISLAND - AEGEAN SEA

Damon and the white stag stand back as they watch Artemis conduct her powers upon Dominic, restoring his body to his human form. "As with everything," Artemis exclaims. "There is a always a price to be paid. I have restored his humanity but he is forever changed mentally. He now knows that you, white stag own him. And in turn I own you. His price for my helping him will be collected at a later date." She smiled. "He made a fine buck, wouldn't you agree, Circe?"

Circe smiled. "A very fine buck, indeed. But it was not his time, Artemis. He has a good many things left to do before we can claim him into the family eternal."

Artemis nodded her head. "That, I can agree with. For now, I would suggest that Damon and the white stag get Dominic back to his mansion home and let him rest himself. This was a long adventure for him. He will remember it all, but for now, he should rest."

Ending Evaluation:

Several days later, back in Dominic's mansion, Dominic is typing his final reports on his trusty electronic typewriter. The white stag was sitting on the corner love seat, while Damon was drinking some beers in the easy chair. He felt rested enough to be up, and he had to type down things while they were still fresh in his mind. Circe and Ren of the Northern Herd were currently within the mansion in a guest room to themselves. Artemis was also here in the mansion as a guest. The mansion was quickly becoming a Hotel California.

Dominic looks over his report.

_To Whom It May Concern,

During the extensive investigation that began with the greek myths, it was discovered that a race of ancient people live in the Aegean Sea to this day, and would prefer that their existence, as well as the locations of their homes not be revealed to the prying eyes of humanity. The occasional visitor who would accidently find their way to these places will quickly learn why such barriers of secrecy are in place. So I too will keep their secrets._

During the extensive investigation into demons, I personally discovered that within the Infinitum, a place that is neither Hell nor the Abyss, nothing may be as it would seem or appear. The people living there I would not call true demons, rather a forgotten race of people with extreme power who dwelled upon this world before humans walked the Earth. I also learned that there are a few citizens with the Infinitum that truly do not deserve to be there. Maybe someday those unfortunate few will be allowed the freedom to return to the Earth.

Dominic Bastian Vanlyone

Footnotes: (F1) Central Headquarters of Ethereal and Supernatural Studies. (F2) A sitar is an Indian lute with a long neck and a varying number of strings.