Orpheus had changed much over the years, to be sure. Instead of a lyre, for example, he now played an upright bass in a jazz duet with the satyr Pan (on clarinet). He was also no longer clothed in the toga and other regalia he used to wear, but was now dressed in a black suit and burgundy shirt, perfect for a contemporary performer.
The one thing about him that hadn't changed, Medea noticed, was the look of lingering sadness in his eyes. He looked like a man who had lost everything... and, in truth, he had.
"I will not lie to you, Wind King," Orpheus said, sipping his beer as he sat in the bar next to Silenus and across from the Pantheon members. "I have never had many loyalties to the Olympians aside from my father."
Medea shot Aeolus an "I-told-you-so" look. Sthenno maintained her silence and observed with curiosity.
"However, this Dark One you seek..." he said, looking down at his drink, "...he sounds like one I have encountered before. I cannot be certain, but I know that I may be able to help you in your quest."
"You see?" Silenus said, clapping the boy on the back. "What did I tell you, Aeolus?"
Aeolus regarded Orpheus with a curious glance. "Where is your lyre?" he asked quizzically.
Orpheus' visage changed as his face dropped. "I-I lost it," he said. "Long ago, in my battle with the Maenads..."
Aeolus looked to his companion. "Medea?" he asked.
"I have it," Medea said. "Or rather, I have your father's lyre. It is back on my island, however. We would do well to retrieve it... as well as some other items we might need for our own protection."
Orpheus looked up at the sorceress with admiration. "Thank you, Medea," he said, a wide grin spreading across his face. "How will I ever repay you?"
The Colchian princess smirked. "We shall deal with that when the time comes," she answered.
"Agreed," Aeolus said with a nod. "Now, Silenus... one more question..."
"Yes, lord?" Silenus said, looking from Orpheus back to Aeolus.
"Your lord, Dionysus, led us here for a reason, I am certain," Aeolus began. "We thought that there might be evidence here as to the location or identity of the Dark One. Would you know where we might attain such information?"
"I do not," Silenus said, shrugging his shoulders.
Aeolus looked to Medea once again. The sorceress nodded, chanting softly in her ancient Greek tongue. A bright light emanated from her fingers, enveloping the satyr fully. As the light surrounded him, he was no longer the portly bartender they had seen, but the inebriated, long-bearded, pot-bellied man with legs of a goat that they had originally known.
"In this light," Aeolus said, recapturing the satyr's attention, "you are compelled to tell me the truth." Sthenno leaned forward, her hand at her scarf. "If I have found that you lied to me, Sthenno here will turn you to stone. Is that clear?"
"Y-yes," Silenus answered, visibly shaken.
"Very good," Aeolus said, folding his hands on the mahoghany tabletop. "Now... what do you know of the Dark One?"
"N-nothing, m'lord," Silenus answered.
"Did anyone attempt to contact Dionysus prior to his leaving for Olympus?"
"H-he received one call," Silenus responded.
"From whom?" Aeolus pressed.
"S-someone in Michigan," he stammed out. "He represented a c-company called Mars M-munitions..."
"A name, Silenus?" Aeolus asked.
"I-I... I don't know! He didn't say!" The satyr began to cry as he answered.
"Very well," Aeolus answered, turning to Medea. Nodding, the sorceress chanted again, the light fading and Silenus resuming the guise of "Sal". "Thank you, Silenus."
"Shall I proceed, Lord Aeolus?" Sthenno asked, her gloved hand already beginning to remove her scarf.
"That will not be necessary this time, Sthenno," Aeolus said, holding up his hand. "After all, we are not completely like our predecessors, are we, Silenus?"
Still shaken, Silenus shot an angry glance toward Aeolus. "You may be slightly more merciful, but you are just as manipulative," he said, tears in his eyes. "You may leave now. Take Orpheus with you."
"Thank you again, Silenus," Aeolus said, bowing his head. "You have been most helpful."
And, with that, the four members of the Pantheon were gone, leaving the lonely satyr to contemplate what had just happened to him...
