Diamonds, deities, gear and more

The other side of the river Styx was different than John had expected. The river was wide enough to be only vaguely visible from the soul filled banks, Thanatos luckily having a different way of getting across. The power of flight had its perks, John realized, after the personification of **** put him down on the other shore. To his right, long, flower filled fields were visible, teeming with wandering souls, wooden fences blocking access from the road. To his left, a more hilly area went all the way into the distance, well kept streets connecting modest mansions to each other and forums. John could swear he knew what he was looking at, but his tired geek brain just couldn’t find the words for it.

In front of him, a gray cobblestone lane went towards a group of large, pitch black marble buildings. The souls that shuffled towards the boat on the other side were herded towards the largest of them all. Women with bat-like wings could be seen occasionally flying overhead. Thanatos gestured for John to follow along, once more skipping the giant line, and within a few minutes of walking, John walked past a few dozen, hunched over, dark skinned elves, each talking to one of the spirits that got to their little marble booth.

“Customs and registration,” Thanatos explained as he pressed onwards. “Some stories say that Hades greets them all, but with how many dead there are at any given time… He does, in a way, judge them, but the sentence is delivered by some of our muses right here. Big names still get to meet him, but most of the common, generally decent folks get told where they will go eventually by our oracles.”

As John walked further, the large, pillar-held building seemed to grow even larger in size. John got directed past a blazing elevator with some rather well armored furies guarding it. Past rooms filled with parchment as far as the eye could see and doors no doubt leading to the fields or hills back outside. John, however, pushed further and further inwards. The halls soon narrowed once more. The amount of spirits, nymphs, furies and footfolk also dwindled as they made their way towards the center of the house.

And just like that, the giant mansion stopped and John found himself outside once more. “We made our way through the house of Hades. And now, we’ll actually go to the house… of Hades. Mortals are not very well known for their creativity at times,” Thanatos helpfully explained once more. Across another courtyard, John saw a decently large, Greek styled, mansion, nothing quite as grandiose as the building they had just cleared, but something that definitely looked like it belonged to a god.

When they got to the final door, Thanatos gave the copper knocker a good thud, after which he extended his hand to John. “That’s about as far as I’ll take you right now. The rest is up to you. When you come out, I’ll be here. But the big man deserves his privacy just as much as we do. Just be yourself and you’ll be fine.”

John shook the Greek ****’s hand and gave him a heartfelt thank you, “I appreciate it. I’ll see you in a bit.”

The door seemed to have waited for their little chat, as it opened just wide enough for John to enter when he turned to face it. It took John a few steps, and then the door closed once more. The first thing he noticed, as he walked through the hallway, was an immensely large amount of pictures, tapestries, paintings and mosaics of a, frankly, gorgeous red haired woman alongside a somewhat stoic, tall man with long flowing black hair. In some older looking murals, the two could be seen riding along fields in a chariot. In newer ones they could be seen just lying in the grass together. There was no way John didn’t know who he was looking at. He was actually delighted to see the genuine joy in these pictures as he saw them look at one another.

As John finally cleared the entrance hallway, he found himself in a larger, dimly lit room. John had started to hear faint voices talking to one another as he got closer, but it wasn’t until now that he could make out the owners of those voices. On one side of the room, there was a giant marble throne, standing facing a wall-covering flatscreen tv. The throne was currently occupied by the same dark haired man he’d seen in the images before. A flowing toga covered what was visible of his chest. A large curly beard and attached mustache moved with every word he spoke, “... alas, it’s almost autumn again. I can finally hold you in my arms once more, my gorgeous rose. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms once more. To walk the fields, to feel your touch.”

On the screen, John could see white marble pillars with clouds in the distance. The same red haired woman moved in real time as a small blush could be seen on her divine features. Seated upon a white marble throne, mirroring the look of the man’s in the room, she spoke, “My king of the damned, we’ll be reunited soon. Even after all these eons, you still make my heart beat faster. You still make me blush when I hear your voice. You… have a visitor.”

John instinctively took a small bow in greeting. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I was told you sent for me, Lord Hades. Lady Persephone. I hope I’m not interrupting?” he asked, mentally filing away that it made sense for Hades and Persephone to act akin to Gomez and Morticia.

The tall man moved his head, taking a look at the person that had just walked in. John could see depth when their eyes locked, a swirling void, eyes that saw history, eyes that made history. And then, the man smiled. “You’re not interrupting. I have sent for you indeed. My love, we have an up and coming celebrity in our midst. May I introduce to you, my goddess of spring and lady of my heart, John Newman. The newest of Gaia’s games and so far a dutiful hunter for our niece.”

John stood a tad awkwardly as he got introduced, the smile on Persephone’s face only making it more awkward for John, before she broke the silence and spoke, teasingly chastising, “Stop it, dear, you’re making the poor boy blush. It’s nice to meet you, Mister Newman. Welcome, from Olympus, to the domain of Hades. Come back in your ‘fall’ and I’ll say it in person.”

“I’ll do as I like in my own domain, dear,” Hades spoke with warmth. “Though you are, as always, correct. John Newman, I’ll be calling you John from here on out. Welcome to the afterlife, it’s nice to meet you. Word of your little spat with Charon was the biggest gossip amongst our denizens in ages. So much so that it even reached our ears.” Hades’ eyes took him in properly, sizing him up as John replied.

“It wasn’t my intent to cause a disturbance. It’s all a bit new to me. I’m trying to gather my footing but things just kept happening for the longest time. I hope I didn’t make a bad impression?”

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re fine. However, I did call you down here for a reason. Late bloomers are few and far between. And even when they pop up, their egos tend to outgrow their powers at alarming rates. You, so far, look to be decently humble, a trait I’m advising you to keep, if you want to keep our meetings friendly and brief, instead of permanent. ” the smile on Hades’ lips did not fade even as John’s brain processed the friendly sounding warning he had just gotten.

“That being said, we have a proposition for you,” Hades continued, occasionally glancing at the screen lovingly. “There’s sadly never a shortage of those that would disturb the rest of the dead, be it necromancers, graverobbers or worse yet, social media influencers. Against the latter we have our ways. The former, however, needs some specialized attention.”

Trying to stay true to his newfound initiative and not just let the hands of fate play with him, John piped up, “And let me guess. That’s where I come in? You’d like me, the newest late bloomer, to help with that, hoping that a rising tide will raise all ships?”

“That’s one way to put it. Make no mistake, John, you’re useful. However, just use and pay up is not the way I like to conduct my business. I don’t want to treat you like a toy. That would be, frankly, rude. Instead, I would like to ask that, if you find anyone messing with the scales of life and ****, that you put an end to it or, if it’s out of your power, you pass a message our way. I know you’re already pledged to the Hunters. I would hate to drag you away from that. Instead, I hope you’ll be willing to put your thumb on the scales to keep the balance, and in return, you’ll be granted boons, guidance and on occasion some magical gifts we think might suit you.”

John rubbed his chin. “So if I get this right, you don’t want me to join you, just occasionally do some work for you when I happen upon it? This sounds too good to be true. Not going to lie.”

“With the greatest respect, John,” Persephone spoke up, a wistful smile playing over her lips. “Every god has their own ways of doing things. My husband and I like to keep things fair and friendly, as much as we can. It can never hurt us to put more pieces on the board. And seeing as you’ve not said no yet, can we take it that you're interested?”