((God, I just don't have time for all this biznizz...sorry I'm so rarely in this, but I have a life man. And no, you can't really bunny Thaltos, because I have plans for this quest that as of yet haven't been voiced to you guys.))
Thaltos nodded. "Just through those trees is the entry gate of my mother's temple."
He pushed away a branch and peered through at the ancient stone facade of Astheno's temple. Classically Greek in appearance, the caryatid columns were of twisting serpentwomen, and the massive triangular pediment was adorned with similar relief sculpture. There was no question as to the matron of this structure.
"We're in luck. It doesn't appear to be guarded. Might as well let ourselves in."
Thaltos led Balthizar up the great stone stairs to the entrance, and paused to look at one of the caryatids. It appeared to be a lesser Gorgon, of the wingless variety. It was odd that Astheno would decorate her temple with beasts so much less than herself.
As he and Balthizar passed through the vast portal and found themselves in the entry hall, Thaltos chuckled. "Now THIS is more like my mother."
Everything was lavishly encrusted with gold, with a row of successive niches on either wall. Each niche had a pedestal with a pure gold statue of one of the Gods of Olympus kneeling and bowing his/her head in submission to Astheno's power. There was even a magnificent figure of Zeus offering himself to Astheno in the posture of a servant.
"Definitely my mother's way of thinking. Such hubris...well, at least her temple guards are nowhere to be found."
Thaltos walked over to an incredibly ornate engraving on the wall and allowed a smile to creep across his face as he studied it. The figure most prominently displayed was a young child with dark skin, and as the scene moved across to the right, it showed his life as he grew up and matured into a stocky brute with twisting tendrils of hair. The story covered his boyhood training, the various tasks he had done for the Gods, and even his return to the temple with a manlike ally who had ghostly flaming outline.
"Look, Balthizar," he said, pointing. "It appears we've been fated to come here for a great long time. This engraving is over a century old."
