Bazel put his arms out to steady himself as Samara lifted him up on her shoulders.

"Woah!" Bazel cartwheeled his arms.

"At least try to keep your balance!" Samara said.

Bazel found his balance and stood up straight.

The pit they were in was only about twenty feet deep, which they thought was escapable. Samara came up with a plan where she would lift Bazel up from her shoulders and see if he could reach the ledge.

"Here I go!"

Samara grabbed Bazel's feet and extended her arms to push him as high as possible. He couldn't reach the ledge, but he grabbed onto a small rock jutting out from the wall of the pit.

"I think I can climb out from here!" He called down.

"Good job, Master Bazel!" Risken answered with encouragement.

Bazel gripped the rock and began pulling himself up. Samara pushed up as much as she could before Bazel's feet left her grasp. He reached up for another handhold, but the grip he had on the first rock started to slip.

"Aah!"

Bazel lost his grip and fell back down. Samara caught him with one arm under his knees and another behind his back. Bazel smiled at her.

"My hero!"

Samara rolled her eyes and dropped him to the ground.

"Ouch!" Bazel got to his knees and rubbed his sore back, "That was mean!"

Samara growled in response.

"Well, it was worth the attempt." Risken looked up at the ledge, "Maybe we can make a tower with all three of us?"

Samara sat on the ground and kicked a rock away from her, "Maybe."

They had been left alone in the pit for a couple hours already. Both Risken and Bazel tried to contact Paris with their interfaces, but she wouldn't answer.

"Seriously though," Bazel sat next to Samara, "where could Paris have run off to?"

"Who knows?" Samara shrugged, "Probably had some emergency to deal with. It's not like she would just leave us to go to a party."

"Yeah," Bazel nodded, "You're probably right."

■■■

Dugan made sure everyone was in position and ready to receive their guests. The All-mother stood front and center by the balcony of the palace with the other five divines behind her. Dugan stood to the side and waited.

He had been surprised when the messenger they sent to the dungeon came back and said that the five "directors" would be there later that day. He expected them to accept his invitation, just not so quickly.

Nonetheless, he had the servants scramble to make the place ready. Golden bowls of oil set on stands burned brightly and illuminated the interior decorated with tapestries and a crystal chandelier. Entertainers were on standby, and the table was set with the finest food and drink.

It was going to be a great party if nothing else.

Of course, it was also a way for them to possibly be rid of the intruding gods once and for all. He had the preparations for that plan in place as well. Faranel had to help with the finer details, but everything was set.

"Here they come," Zareel pointed outside with her chin, "I think."

Dugan looked out past the balcony and saw something unexpected – a whole bunch of winged men flying towards them. Men and women, he realized as they got closer.

Each of them was a normal person with two arms and two legs, but they had enormous wings sprouting from their backs that they used to fly. They were dressed in flowing, white robes that had no sleeves, and they all held musical instruments like lyres and horns.

The winged people landed on the balcony, forming two lines facing each other. The ones with the horns raised them to their mouths and blew, making a loud sound that went up in pitch almost an octave before stopping. Then the people with the lyres played a pretty sounding chord in unison.

One of the winged people turned to the divines and spoke.

"Presenting," he swept his hand to the side, "The directors of Aethertech headquarters!"

A woman with blonde hair and golden armor landed on the balcony. She also had large white wings, but as soon as she landed, they dissolved into golden motes of light. She was exceptionally pretty, and had a smile on her face. Dugan thought she looked like a younger version of Mother.

"The lady Nike!" The herald shouted, "Personification of victory!"

Nike did a respectful curtsy with the white skirt attached to her armor and stepped to the side.

She seems well composed, Dugan thought, I wonder if there's a way to fluster her. If there is, she might lose that cheerful demeanor.

As soon as she was out of the way, another person landed on the balcony.

This time, it was a man in minimal leather armor. He didn't have any wings, so Dugan wasn't sure how he managed to fall out of the sky like he did. The man's bare upper arms were huge, possibly bigger than Jongar's and even though the rest of his body was covered with clothing, it was easy to tell that his whole body was heavily muscled and toned. His face had hard, angular features, but he was still handsome. He had short brown hair.

"Master Kratos!" The herald shouted, "Personification of strength!"

Kratos flexed both of his arms while glaring at the divines, then stood to the side, opposite Nike.

He looks like he would be easy to provoke, Dugan sized up the man, maybe I should just leave it to Jongar.

The next person to fall out of the sky and land on the balcony was a woman with loose brown hair. Like Kratos, she was wingless. She was just as beautiful as Nike, but her slightly harder features made her look like she could be Kratos' sister. She wore a sleeveless white dress that showed off her ample bosom.

"Lady Bia!" The herald cried, "Personification of power!"

Bia nodded to the divines and went to stand next to Kratos.

She doesn't look like the type to suffer fools, Dugan smiled, I can definitely use foolishness to lower her guard.

The next person to land on the balcony had wings again – big white ones like Nike had. When he landed however, he just folded the wings up behind him instead of making them disappear. He wore a white toga and sandals. His long blonde hair was just as beautiful as Nike's, and his face had some of the same characteristics as her. Unlike her, he looked sad.

"Master Zelus!" The herald shouted, "Personification of–"

The herald stopped talking as Zelus shot him a death glare. He gulped hard and stayed quiet.

Zelus looked at the ground and regained the depressed expression he had worn before, then walked over to stand beside Nike. Nike rubbed his shoulder and smiled sadly at him.

So his domain is a sore point for him, the wheels inside Dugan's head began turning as he tried to think of what it could be.

The herald cleared his throat and put his hand out in a dramatic gesture.

"Now behold!"

The horns blared once more.

"The son of Olympus! Bane of the gods and defender of mortals…"

A man landed on the balcony with a crash, down on one knee with his fist on the ground and his head bowed. He wore a tuxedo that looked like it barely fit over his massive frame. He was so muscular, he almost didn't even look human.

"Master Heracles!"

The horns blared a couple more times as Heracles stood to his full height – just over seven feet tall. His face was young looking, which contrasted with his overly-muscled physique. In fact, even Dugan had to admit Heracles was an incredibly attractive man, and he didn't swing that way at all. However, what Heracles wore on his head made it difficult to take him seriously.

It was a hat that looked like a lion's head.

Not a real lion's head, though. It was clearly made from cloth, and looked a bit fluffy. The eyes of the lion-head hat had pupils that spun around whenever Heracles moved and made it look even more silly. It seemed like something a child would wear.

Dugan wasn't sure what to think of him.

"Hey everyone," Heracles smiled and waved at the divines, "Good to meet you all, and thanks for inviting us!"

The All-mother stepped forward and held out her hand, "I am the All-mother, or just 'Mother' if you prefer. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Heracles."

Heracles shook her hand. It looked like a bear shaking hands with a child, and Dugan was a little worried that he might accidentally break her, but he appeared to be very gentle.

The All-mother pulled her hand away and used it to indicate all the divines, pointing at each one as she spoke, "These are my children, Dugan, Faranel, Jongar, Bolar, Zareel and Chanee."

Heracles bowed, "A pleasure."

"Now," the All-mother clapped her hands together, "Dugan gathered the best chefs and entertainers in the whole world to make a feast for you, so let's all enjoy ourselves. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me!"

Heracles followed the All-mother into the grand dining room, followed closely by Nike, Bia, Kratos and Zelus. Musicians on a stage began playing soft music to set the mood, and everyone took their seats.

The divines sat on one side of the long table while the directors sat on the opposite side. The All-mother took her usual place at the head of the table and gestured towards the offerings.

"Please, help yourself."

Kratos wasted no time in grabbing some turkey legs and a whole pie. A servant filled his glass with wine and he drank it down in a single gulp.

"Ah-ha!" Kratos said with a piece of turkey hanging out of his mouth, "this is some good stuff!"

Bia smacked Kratos on the back of the head, "Don't talk with your mouth full, you brute!"

What followed was a flurry of commotion as the divines and the directors loaded up their plates with food. The only two people who didn't move to get food were the All-mother and Heracles. Zareel fixed a plate for the All-mother and set it in front of her. Heracles only took an apple from the center of the table and bit into it as he watched everyone else.

Nike and Zelus sat next to each other. Once they had their plates in front of them, Zelus looked at Nike's plate with an expression of longing. After a few seconds, he grabbed her plate and set it in front of himself, then pushed his plate over to her.

"Seriously, bro?" Nike looked at Zelus with an exasperated expression.

Zelus nodded, "Yours looked better. I wanted it."

Nike clicked her tongue and shook her head, then realized that Faranel and Bolar were watching the whole exchange. She shot them a sheepish smile.

"He's always like this." She pointed at Zelus with her thumb.

Dugan watched and tried to pick up whatever he could about their personalities and ticks.

Kratos seemed to be very similar to Jongar – a man who only cared about strength and using that strength to dominate others. Dugan found it strange that Kratos deferred to Bia though, because she didn't look nearly as strong.

As for Bia; the herald said she was the personification of power, but that didn't seem to be synonymous with strength. Her mannerisms told Dugan that she was a very serious person, and cared for appearances greatly.

Nike had a bubbly personality and looked like she could get along with anyone well. Dugan thought that she might have a darker side, however. While nobody specifically said so, he was almost certain that her and Zelus were related. She doted on the sad-looking winged man at every opportunity.

Zelus was a strange one. His attitude was that of a person deep in depression, and whenever he looked at someone or something, it was with eyes of envy and longing. The herald never did mention what Zelus' domain was, and Dugan didn't have enough clues to figure it out yet. He thought Zelus might open up to someone like Chanee since they had a lot in common.

The one person Dugan couldn't get a read on was Heracles.

Heracles carried himself like he was the greatest person in the universe, but he also had humility. He had to have a sense of humor if he was going to wear such a ridiculous hat, but he didn't look like a fool either. Nothing about his actions gave away any weaknesses, and that was a problem.

Probing the directors for weaknesses was the primary goal of having the party, after all.

The All-mother smiled and spoke to Heracles, "Are all of you related? You seem quite familiar with each other."

"These four are siblings," he pointed to the four people sitting to either side of him, "I'm just their boss. They actually work for my father, but I guess I've inherited some of his authority."

"I see." She took a sip of wine and smacked her lips, "By the way, the herald never mentioned what your domain is, Heracles."

"Me?" Heracles grinned and made his eyebrows bob up and down, "I'm the god of heroes. Cool, huh?"