”Oh chief amongst the Olympians, it is no secret that you and your brothers are often at odds with one another. I would need to commune with my Lord of the Briny Deeps, to ensure this is what he demands of me.”
"I like it!" Zeus replies as the other agree though his excitement is a bit dulled as Varocles registers his concerns. "I understand." The father of the gods snaps his fingers and a tiny fey creature appears seemingly out of nowhere. She has an appropriately sized clipboard in hand and starts writing. "So you are in luck and the Lord of the Sea has an opening tommorrow around sunrise. Apparently a sea witch canceled at the last moment. Does that work for you?" She asks inquisitively ready to write down the appointment.
Varocles nods, "I'm open all morning."
As the others start to agree, Kyronai nods his assent, also.
"You mentioned 'perks'? Did you mean something beyond fame and fortune?"
Polyoinos' grin widens at the mention of Baccus' blessing.
"Ho-ho! If the Lord of the Divine Grape gives his sanctification, then who am I to dispute. I too will commune with my patron... He tends to speak through the vessel of a carafe or three!"
The skald chuckles, clearly pleased with the turn of events;
"Rest assured Lord of Olympius, our appetites for wine, lovers and coin, will pale to the passion for heroism we exhibit! The sages will write of us and the bards sing of our deeds! When do we start!?"
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The fairy nods to Varocles before scribbling down on her clipboard. "Done and done." She says before turning to Polyoinos. "I'll have to get back to you. The hardest part will be finding time when he's sober enough to have an appointment." The tiny fey then disappears.
"Well of course! I mean you didn't think that working for the gods didn't come with any benefits did you? In fact, you there!" Zeus replies pointing at Amphitryon. "Yes, the Champ. Hand me your shiny belt." Assuming the warrior does, Zeus takes it and shines it with his meaty fist for a moment before snapping his fingers causing the belt to glow with an iridescent light before returning to normal. The first thing to notice is that the over the carving of Greece, there is a lightning bolt that has been etched.
"That is just a small itty bitty taste of the benefits of working here. Ready for the tour? Or do you need some more time to think things over?"
"I shall take your tour o master of the Bolt, but I cannot accede to undertake your task until after my appointment tomorrow."
"It sounds like we are all on board or soon will be, so no further conferring is needed."
Kyronai indicates that he is ready for the tour.
The fairy nods to Varocles before scribbling down on her clipboard. "Done and done." She says before turning to Polyoinos. "I'll have to get back to you. The hardest part will be finding time when he's sober enough to have an appointment." The tiny fey then disappears.
"Well of course! I mean you didn't think that working for the gods didn't come with any benefits did you? In fact, you there!" Zeus replies pointing at Amphitryon. "Yes, the Champ. Hand me your shiny belt." Assuming the warrior does, Zeus takes it and shines it with his meaty fist for a moment before snapping his fingers causing the belt to glow with an iridescent light before returning to normal. The first thing to notice is that the over the carving of Greece, there is a lightning bolt that has been etched.
"That is just a small itty bitty taste of the benefits of working here. Ready for the tour? Or do you need some more time to think things over?"
It took all of Amphitryon's will power to not fall to the ground in supplication on the spot. Unsure of how the others were able to keep their composure so well, the warrior merely handed the belt over with trembling hands, his face pale and eyes wide. The idea of standing before divinity felt surreal. Images of fame, fortune, glory and tragedy simultaneously danced before his eyes. He tried to speak but no words came out. Rather he mutely put the belt on, doing so with complete reverence.
"I like it!" Zeus exclaims as he leads you out of his office. Again you see beings busily working, filling out forms or taking said forms somewhere else.
"You see my boys, here is where all the magic happens, so to speak. As you probably know, prayers are sent in the form of a written letter and taken by someone in Hermes' department. Here they are filed and sent to the appropriate deity. Most of the time they're simple and vague things like asking for the safety and good health of a loved one. But sometimes they're more specific such as the a monster or a group of bandits are causing problems. And job boards sometimes get ignored which lead people to ask us for some direct help. Obviously we can't help everyone but we do our best to do the most good. Now that is where you come in. It won't be your only job as we'll have some special projects for you but it will be a significant part of it."
After a few minutes you pass by a door labeled Quartermaster. "There you can buy almost everything and anything you can think of with a slight discount. And any special items that we think you'll need will be loaned out to you at no cost."
Later on you pass by doors that Zeus explains are the Bath House, Break Room, and the Library. "This last one has a copy of every informational book you can think of. If it isn't here, it probably hasn't been written. If you need to do research before a job, you can do it here. Any questions?" He pauses so the information to sink in.
"Are we working for you and your subordinates, or are we beholden to any god who tasks us with a job?
"It sounds like we should find quarters nearby. Any suggestions would be welcome."
"And I would assume that you are far too important to be our direct...eh...line of command. Is there someone that we should be reporting to, both for the issuance of quests and to report on our progress?" Amphitryon said, trying to choose his words carefully.
"You'll be working for me for the most part through one of my assistants. Though as part of my deal with them, Poseidon and Bacchus will occasionally have some input for things they need done. There plenty of inns here in Athens, just pick one and fill out the paperwork and we'll cover your lodgings."
"Okay.
"Thank you.
"Um, when do we start?"
"Well you can start tomorrow once your friends there to talk their patrons. If you need some extra time, it is not a problem. You just have to fill out some forms and report to orientation. After that I can give you your first job!"
Amphitryon nodded dumbly. Looking to his brother he muttered "Come tomorrow please tell me if this was all real."
Kyronai returns Amphitryon's nod. "The philosopher Gorgias argues that nothing is real," he says, unhelpfully.
"And yet Parmenides says that 'whatever is is, and what is not cannot be', does he not?" Amphitryon replied. "Which is more than enough reason for me to not listen to philosophers."
The rest of the day passes uneventfully and the morning comes.
You wake up bright and early and head to the building that may be your new place of employment. You are escorted to a room with your patron's name on it. The clerk knocks on the door and introduces you. In all his unmistakable glory is the lord of the seas. "Have a seat. You are lucky that I had a cancellation, otherwise I think I'm not free until a month or so. You have been a good priest so I am glad to have a meeting with you, what can I do for you Mister Seaworthy?"
"My lord of the ocean waves, I do not wish to be a bother to you, but yesterday I, and some acquaintances were approached by your brother Zeus regarding a proposition to perform certain tasks for him. While I know that you and your worthy brother are not fundamentally opposed to one another, and often are in agreement, I am wholly devoted to you, and would not undertake any such endeavor on his behalf without receiving your blessing."
Kyronai looks to see if there's a librarian or any other staff working the library. If he finds someone, he'll introduce himself and ask if the library sees much use.
He'll also look around to see if there's anything unusual about this library, such as if it's extremely over or under stocked, and if there's any particularly unusual collections available.
"Why yes, my brother came up to me with the proposal just the other day. For a moment I thought that old lightning bolt had failed to fill out the proper paperwork." Poseidon replies with a sigh of relief. "You need not worry. You have my full support and blessing. Besides I myself will have some tasks for you and your friends so it would be a bit hypocritical of me to not let my brother hire you on. Is that all you needed? Just my permission?"
Kyronai finds someone putting away some books, a young satyr. "Yes, my name is Grover. I'm an intern here. Most adventurers avoid this place like the plague but occasionally someone will come in who appreciates knowledge and preparedness." The witch finds the library very well stocked with all sorts of volumes including Homer's Oddysey the extended edition. A cursory look doesn't yield anything unusual. He surmises that it would take some time to find such a collection in here, hours at least.
[b]"Your permission, yes your Sealordness, although advice and wisdom from your greatness would always be appreciated!
"You don't have to do all that lordness stuff. The only advice I'm gonna give you is please don't embarrass me. Out in the field you represent me so if you look like a fool, I look like a fool. But I'm fairly sure you can handle yourself."
"Yes milord, errr, sorry. Yes Sir! I shall do my absolute best to represent you!"
Kyronai commiserates with Grover about his comment about "most adventurers." Seeing nothing unexpected or fantastically shocking, he says good-bye to Grover and visits the break room to see what amenities it has and who might currently be in there.
Poseidon sighs. "Alright, that's enough. I trust you. Now go do some good, unless you have any other questions for me?"
Kyronai visits the break room and finds a few people lounging. A half-elf man is sitting, taking periodic sips from a mug filled with a dark liquid and reading a book. A human woman is snacking on an apple. It seems fairly well stocked. There is a bowl of fresh fruit, a jug of fresh milk, and a pot of that aforementioned black liquid just to name a few things. The chairs seem to be a good quality and very soft. There are a few cots as well as a very large sofa. A sign on the wall reads : "Please remember that cleanliness is next to godliness so please pick up after yourselves."
"Well, Sir, if you must ask, I have always wondered exactly why you are the God of horses. I recognize that you created the first of their sort, which, on the surface answers the question, but beyond that, your Domain is focused on the seas, and to a lesser extent, the rivers, which would seem to leave horses out of it. I admit, that while I am a pious and loyal follower, I am not as versed on the dogma of the faith as some of my more learned brethren."
Kyronai moves through the room, looking around. If he makes eye contact with the half-elf, he'll nod and approach him, otherwise, he won't interrupt someone reading a book. If he can't approach the half-elf, he'll approach the woman eating an apple.
Whomever he approaches, he'll say, "Hello, may name is Kyronai. My companions and I have just been hired. Can I talk to you about what it's like to work here?"
"Of course. I also happen to be the god of earthquakes but no one even bothers with that bit. I have fathered a few famous horses, like Pegasus which apparently makes me the god of horses. Baccus and his parties..." Poseidon trails off.
The half-elf doesn't seem to notice Kyronai or at least doesn't acknowledge him so the witch approaches the woman who he notices has a dark bob of hair and rather pale skin. She stops her noshing to look at him. "Welcome newbie. I'm Alexa. I work in marketing, how about you? What department do you work in?"
Varocles looks confused. "Pegasus? But that's even more confusing. Pegasus flies, and I thought came from Medusa's neck? You see Sir, this is why I stay away from the real theological side of the business!"
"Hello. We haven't gone through orientation, yet, so I'm not sure what the name of the department we'll work under is called. We were hired to be... heroes? Basically, we are to travel around and perform various jobs that include the same sort of risk from when I was a mercenary.
"What is it like working for the gods in Marketing?"
"Let's just say far too much alcohol and Ambrosia and leave it at that."
"Oh so you're a field agent. Well for the most part, marketing is fine, but when they do have the time or need to get hands on, it's a nightmare. To say that they're out of touch is an understatement. It's even worse when they try to be relevant. I'm getting flashbacks to Demeter trying to give tips on advertising the last harvest festival. It is like hearing my grandmother gives tips on what she thinks is cool."
"Yes Sir, very good Sir! No further questions Sir!"
"Interesting. It's said that the gods used to rule from the heavens, and not here in Athens. I would imagine this gave them an aura of mystery that made it easier to impart their values. Instead of being seen as grandparents."
Kyronai smiles slightly to indicate that he's not criticizing Alexa.
"Are most people content working for the gods?"
Poseidon lets the dwarven cleric take his leave.
"I guess. I think people like it here, they do pay well. Creative frustration aside, it is a pretty good job."
Varocles moves to track down the group.
Satisfied that he's done due diligence to make sure the party isn't walking into a terrible mistake, Kyronai meets up with the others in time for orientation.
"You know, Kyr, what the problem with this is?" Amphitryon said as he waited for the orientation. "Nobody is ever going to believe us. Even if we come back home loaded with more riches than they've ever seen, they still won't believe how we got this. To be honest, I'm not sure that even I will."
Kyronai nods. "Father especially. He'd be flabbergasted until he came around and began acting like it was obvious and inevitable. Mother would be inscrutable, as always."
"True. But mother, perhaps, would understand." He sighed and looked up at the sky. "To think that we came here for theater, and now we are living a drama. Think you can put this all to verse, if we survive?"
"Absolutely."
Varocles easily finds the group already conversing, waiting for orientation.
"Alright comrades, I am approved to sign up for this."
Kyronai nods at Varocles. "It seemed unlikely that Zeus and Poseidon would be working at cross-purposes, but I cannot fault you for verifying."
The party heads to orientation. By the time they get to the small room, there are a few others already seated. A female gnome sits in the front with a some paper and a writing instrument, a male half orc wearing leathers in the middle, and a male dwarf wearing thick glasses sits in the back. The orientation meeting is being headed by a tall elven woman who looks to the group as they enter. "Thank you gentlemen for arriving. We can now start." She says while the gnome shakes her head at you. "I am Daphne and I will be taking care of your orientation meeting." The elven woman introduces herself as you take your seats before handing out a stack of papers. "These are all standard forms, you need to fill them out before your first day of work. But before that let's get to know each other a bit, shall we? Tell the group your name and the department you will be starting at." She asks pointing to the half orc. "I am Grummish and I will be working as a blacksmith." She then points to the dwarf. "Ay, I am Andros and I am in data entry." Then to the gnome who stands up, adjusting her glasses, brushing away her purple hair. "I am Callie and I just finished my internship to be a field liason." Lastly she gestures to the group.
"Kyronai."
Thanks to his conversation with Alexa, he knows that he is being hired as a "...Field agent."