The Land of the Dead

I was basically Hercules in this scenario.

I was sent on a mission. That's a lie, it was a dare, and I don't turn down dares. I was triple doggy dared to go to the land of the dead and perform a task Circe, this enchantress that I'm friends with -- yeah I'm cool, wanted me to do.

When I first arrived I did as Circe had told me, I found the spot Circe spoke of and dug a hole. I performed 'sacrifices' to attract the dead and reveal their souls. (Talk about gross!) It was creepy! It became more terrifying as the souls began to surround me, and I froze in fear. It really reminded me of the pool of souls that Hades maintained form the Hercules movie, except this was the rated R version without the cartoon features.

I saw many I knew, some I expected to see (jerks!), and others I was utterly surprised by. My heart sank when I saw Agy; I was furious and confused on why he was there. He told me of his wife and her affair and the evil plot to murder him upon his return. I wept for Agy; how could his wife bear such evils? It is a sad story, such a heartbreaker. I admit I had a bit of concern, for I could not imagine living without my Penelope, but I was reassured. Agy reminded me of what I've always known about my wonderful wife. As he stated it, "wise Penelope has true judgement, and all her thoughts are thoughts of virtue." Penelope I know you're reading this, and I want you to know that I adore you and I know you would never do such things. I love you, and I cannot wait to be reunited with you my darling.

I was doodling and ended up with
this drawing as could not get this
awful image out of my head. Oh the
great torment of poor Tanta!

Sisy's repeated routine.
The sweat poured from his body
 in his great struggle.

Unfortunately, that is not all of the corruptness I saw while down in the land of the dead. I came upon Tanta, and he was suffering of thirst and hunger. There was water up to his chin and grapes hanging right above him, but he was being teased. The second he went to drink, the water would sink and become unreachable, and the second he went to grab a grape, the wind would toss them too high for him to reach. I next saw Sisy, who was also being tormented. He would push this boulder uphill, and as soon as he reached the top, a force threw it back to the bottom, and he had to repeat the process over and over.

I hope to never return here. I don't think I could manage to go thorough that again, even if I got quadruple doggy dared. I haven't even mentioned everything I witnessed down there, but let's be honest, you can't handle the truth!
All I want is to be home.
-Odysseus