Chương 12: Sacred Groves and Divine Wrath

The morning after the festival, I woke up with a terrible headache. Even Hercules' strong body couldn't handle all that wine. As Iolaus and I started walking, everything seemed too bright and loud.

"I thought you said I could drink more than anyone," I grumbled, covering my eyes from the sun.

Iolaus laughed. "Usually, you can. But you've been different lately."

As we traveled, I kept thinking about what I knew of ancient Greece from my studies. When Iolaus suggested a shortcut through a forest, I remembered something important.

"Wait," I said, grabbing his arm. "Isn't this Artemis' sacred forest?"

Iolaus looked surprised. "Since when do you care about which forests belong to which gods? But yes, you're right. How did you know?"

I tried to cover up my mistake. "Oh, you know me. Always learning about local traditions. It's important for a hero to know these things."

We entered the forest anyway.

The air felt different inside, heavy with the smell of plants and flowers. The trees seemed to whisper to each other, even though there was no wind.

"Iolaus," I whispered, "are you sure this is a good idea? Artemis doesn't like men coming into her special places."

He didn't seem worried. "Don't worry, Hercules. You're Zeus's son. The gods let you do more than most people. We're just passing through, not hunting or causing trouble."

Just then, we walked into a clearing lit by moonlight, yeah moonlight!

But that was not important.

In the middle of the clearing stood a beautiful silver deer. It was the most amazing animal I'd ever seen, clearly not a normal deer.

"Iolaus," I said quietly, "that's one of Artemis' special deer. We need to leave right now."

But Iolaus wasn't listening.

He was staring at the deer.

"Wow, Hercules. Think about how famous we'd be if we caught that deer! We could make a deal with Eurystheus, maybe even do fewer labors!"

Before I could stop him, Iolaus had his bow out and was aiming at the deer.

I knew this was very bad.

I remembered all the stories about what happens to people who make the gods angry.

Without thinking, I jumped at Iolaus, knocking him down as he shot the arrow. It missed the deer and hit a tree instead.

The silver deer disappeared in a flash of light, and suddenly the whole forest went crazy.

Trees moved their branches like they were trying to grab us. The ground shook, and the air felt full of anger.

"Run!" I yelled, pulling Iolaus up. We ran through the woods, dodging moving vines and jumping over roots that tried to trip us. It felt like the whole forest was trying to catch us.

Just when we thought we were safe, someone appeared in front of us, blocking our way.

It was a woman, beautiful but scary, with eyes like moons and wild hair. It was Artemis, the goddess of hunting, and she looked very angry.

"How dare you!" she shouted, her voice so loud it shook the leaves. "You tried to hunt in my sacred forest?"

I stepped forward, my heart beating fast. This was my first time meeting a real Greek god. Everything I'd studied about Greek myths was suddenly very real.

"Great Artemis," I said, bowing low and making Iolaus do the same, "we didn't mean any disrespect. We were just passing through and got carried away by how beautiful your forest is."

Artemis didn't look happy. "You speak nicely, Hercules, son of Zeus. But nice words don't make up for coming into my forest without permission and trying to hunt my deer."

I knew I had to be careful. "You're right, of course. We did something foolish without thinking. We're very sorry and we'll accept any punishment you think is fair."

Iolaus looked shocked. He wasn't used to hearing Hercules talk so politely to anyone, even a goddess.

Artemis looked at me curiously. "You surprise me, Hercules. I expected you to be proud and stubborn, not humble and sorry. Maybe there's more to you than just being strong."

She waved her hand, and the forest stopped trying to catch us. "I'll let you go this time, because of your father and because of your quest. But remember this - respecting the gods doesn't make you weak, and being wise often helps a hero more than being strong."

Then she disappeared in a flash of moonlight, leaving behind only the smell of plants and a feeling of great relief.

As we left the forest, Iolaus turned to me, looking amazed.

"Hercules, that was incredible. I've never seen you handle a god like that before. Usually, you try to challenge them to wrestling matches or drinking contests."

I shrugged, trying to act normal. "Well, you know what they say – sometimes it's better to be careful than brave."

"Who says that?" Iolaus asked.

"Just another old saying I learned," I replied, reminding myself not to quote things from my time.

As we kept walking towards Nemea, I felt like I'd just passed a test. Meeting Artemis was scary, but also exciting. For the first time since I came to this world, I felt like my knowledge might actually be helpful.

But as the excitement wore off, I started to feel angry at Iolaus. His careless actions could have gotten us both in big trouble. I stopped and turned to face him.

"What were you thinking?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

Iolaus looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"In the forest. With the deer. I told you it was special, I warned you about Artemis, and you still tried to shoot it. Do you know how close we came to being punished by a goddess?"

"I... I thought it would help," Iolaus said. "With your tasks, your quest..."

"By making one of the most powerful gods angry?" I said. "By disrespecting her special forest? That's not how we do things, Iolaus. That's not how I do things."

Iolaus looked sad. "I'm sorry, Hercules. I didn't think--"

"No, you didn't," I said. "And that's the problem. We can't make mistakes like that. Not with what we're up against."

We were quiet for a while. I could see that Iolaus was hurt and confused by how I was acting. Part of me wanted to say sorry and make things better. But another part – the part that was becoming more like Hercules – knew I had to make him understand how serious our situation was.

"Look," I said, trying to be a bit nicer, "I know you're trying to help. But we need to be smarter about this. We can't just rush in without thinking, especially when it comes to the gods. There's too much at risk."

Iolaus nodded slowly. "You're right. I'm... not used to you being the careful one. It confused me."

I sighed, feeling the weight of being both a scholar and Hercules. "Things are changing, Iolaus. I'm changing. And we need to change how we do things if we're going to survive these tasks."

As we started walking again, things felt a bit better between us, but not completely normal. I could feel Iolaus watching me, trying to understand this new, more thoughtful Hercules.

The sun started to set, making the sky orange and purple. In the distance, we could see the mountains of Nemea, reminding me of the challenge waiting for us.

The Nemean Lion – our first real task – was out there, and all my knowledge might not be enough to prepare me for fighting such a beast.

As we set up camp for the night, I found myself staring into the fire, thinking. Meeting Artemis showed me that my understanding of this world could be very helpful. But Iolaus's careless actions also showed me the dangers of relying too much on what we think we know – whether from myths or from experience.

I looked at Iolaus, who was quietly sharpening his sword. Our friendship had changed today, and I wasn't sure if it was for better or worse. But one thing was clear - if I was going to survive in this world – if I was going to do what Hercules was supposed to do while still being true to myself – I would need to find a balance between my knowledge and Hercules' instincts.

As I got ready to sleep, feeling the weight of Hercules' wooden club beside me, I wondered - what other mythical beings would we meet on this quest? And more importantly, would I be able to handle them as well as I did today?

I knew the answers were somewhere ahead, waiting for us in Nemea and beyond. And whether I was ready or not, tomorrow would bring us closer to finding out.

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