Donos' thoughts echo those of Rhaecus'.

"Kids may mean something different than children," he says. "Let us converse with them and then set out to find Jason. I wonder if the ship he is readying is a copy of the Argo. I swam beneath it once."

He looks to the others and then starts heading towards the building Chiron suggested.

Rhaecus thinks for a few moments and follows but his eyes linger on Chiron before turning around.

Arteusa seems more disquieted than before at Chiron's words, looking around at the stares they're garnering, her brows deeply furrowed. She can hardly believe that no other centaurs have walked these fields when she has herself known many braver than even she is. It is a troubling thought, and she finds she does not like the implications. She follows after Donos and Rhaecus with a frown, crossing her arms over her chest in some effort to keep the feeling of being watched away. 

Kaneís seems delighted at the attention the small group is accumulating. Puzzled at the mention of "Kids", she assumes it to mean some term for newly arrived souls. Curious, she turns her head, attempting to make out what she can make of the admittedly small paradise, squinting at the island amidst the mass of water.

Zaela follows the others, curious whether the kids are real human children, or maybe satyrs or goat children, or something of the type. 

As you approach the house, you can indeed hear the sound of a hammer striking metal coming from within. The house, like all the others you've seen, actually, has no door. Looking in from outside, you notice two youths, both no older than sixteen, hard at work. One holds a chunk of bright hot metal in some tongs, while the other strikes it with a hammer. Both youths appear to possess wings, like the gods you saw on the way in, though they are not exactly identical. With one, the wings appear to be constructed, a metal frame with feathers stuck onto it. With the other, the wings are perfectly natural, but the boy possesses other birdlike features, most notably feathers growing alongside his curly hair. The one holding the tongs, who possesses the constructed wings, looks up.

"Ho, newcomers! Welcome! I'm Icarus, and this is my cousin, Perdix. I assume Chiron sent you our way? Hey, Perd, cease your hammering, can't you see we've got guests?"

The feathered boy looks up and lets out a half-squawk, half-yell of surprise.

"Oh! Sorry about that! Welcome, friends!"

Rhaecus perks up, immediately invigorated by the energetic greeting. He gives his companions a look of excitement and clops on ahead quickly to meet them. "No need to let the metal cool and ruin whatever you're working on, not on our account! Chiron did indeed send us your way. I am called Rhaecus, that one with the swagger is... Bah, they can introduce themselves."

He gives the piece of metal a curious look but turns his attention to the boy called Perdix with an apologetic smile. "Well, this is rather embarrassing to say but... Apologies, I clearly recall tales of Icarus's flight though I did not know he had a cousin, talented enough to enter Elysium no less. It is a joy to meet you both!"

"Oh!" Arteusa perks up as well at Perdix's name, stepping forward, "I know of you. My mother told me tales of the one Athena blessed with flight, as she blessed my mother with humanity." She offers a small smile, putting her worries and concerns about this place to the side for a moment. "I am Arteusa; it is my pleasure to meet you," she says, bowing slightly at the waist. 

Kids means actual children, Donos thinks to himself. He finds that he is instantly curious as to what these two could be making but Rhaecus' words make him stop and look at the others. Which one is the one with the swagger, he wonders.

He steps forwards, sweeps both arms open and gives a slight bow, barely a nod of his head.

"I am Donos Romomnath, guardian of Atlantis and protector of the Aegean. Defender of the weak and slayer of the Kraken."

He's about to continue when Arteusa's words finally sink in. "Why did Athena make your mother human?"

Donos then walks up to the forge and eyes what is happening. "What are you making?"

Icarus and Perdix were a surprise to Kaenis, much like the impression that Chiron had. It strikes her that she has reached the same place as the heroes the fabled tales had recounted. She ponders for a second if there would be any stories told about her - after all, most of her deeds had to be done in secrecy. Her cheeks blush abnormally red in a momentary flush of vanity, and those of you looking carefully might see what seems to be the beginning of a shift of appearance from the Changeling - strands of hair turn brown and shorten, and her fingertips elongate ever so slightly, as if a form of hers was internally struggling with her normal appearance. Inexplicably hostile, she nods to the two and quips in a quivering, slightly deeper voice than normal; "A fancy to meet you here, Icarus. I must say - I aimed high during my life as well, but in an altogether different manner." After this outburst, she takes several shallow breaths, and her appearance seems to be stabilized in her regular state. "Forgive me for that; I have a mean temper. Truly, it is a blessing to be graced by your presence," she says earnestly. "What may you be making?"

Briefly distracted by Donos's question, Arteusa glances over at him. "She didn't; she made her a centaur," she answers, as if that had been obvious. 

Icarus hucks the hot metal into a bucket of water, where it makes a satisfying hissing sound.

"Don't worry about ruining anything. We hadn't yet actually decided what we were making. I was thinking we were leaning towards a blade, right?"

Perdix shrugs.

"I was thinking more of a pauldron, actually. Eh, we'd figure it out eventually. We always do."

Icarus begins a chuckle, but stops short when Kaenis speaks. His face shifts from gleeful to sullen in an instant.

"Not all stories are accurate, you know. Especially when only one of the two characters makes it out alive."

Perdix steps forward and pats his cousin on the shoulder.

"Don't mind him. We may have shared similar fates, but he's not too happy that only my story was accurately told. Anyways, let's get down to business. I assume you're wondering why Chiron sent you our way. Well, it's a well known fact that many, though not all heroes possess one or more certain items that feature heavily in their stories. Jason's got his ship, Heracles his pelt and arrows, and Perseus... well, he's certainly got a lot. Let's see, his hat, his sandals, his shield, his sack, one could even argue that Medusa's head was one such item as well! Anyways, these items, their strong connection with their owners in life carries over in death. They'll have just as much, if not more, power than they had in life. Of course, they'll not start out that way. You, and by extension the items linked to you, are not at full power. It will be quite a while before you are as powerful as you were in life."

Perdix takes a deep breath.

"Anyways, our job is to identify whether you have any of these items, and what those items are. Could you all please list the items you came into the underworld with, and which ones you might have had a strong attachment to?"

Rhaecus grins and motions for the others to present themselves first as he looks around the forge curiously. Perhaps he wanted some time to prepare himself? Whatever the case, he has chosen to remain mysterious to Icarus and Perdix for the moment.

Donos' hand goes to the chain that drapes around his neck, absently feeling the six giant shark's teeth that hang from the chain and lay on his chest. At the same time he reaches for the trident strapped to his back.

He steps forward and faces Perdix.

"I had not felt the power these once possessed since awakening here."

Holding out the trident, he continues "this trident served me well through many battles. A lessor weapon would have cracked asunder many times but this one stayed true and its prongs retained a sharpness that could even make the Kraken wail."

He touches the shark's teeth around his neck once more, a little reluctant to continue, as if this would be an admission that his heroic feats were not achieved with his own skill alone.

"A great sorcerer, Orpheus the Younger, imbued some of his power into six giant sharks and ordered them to set upon the people of Atlantis. After I defeated them, I took one tooth from each and fashioned this necklace. I always felt that some of the power granted to the sharks remained in the teeth. In times of need I found I briefly moved faster to strike my enemies again and again, that attacks against me that should have struck true glanced off my armor, and even when I was near death my energy renewed itself. These may all have been tricks of my mind but I never entered battle without these teeth. Though I wore them not the night of my demise."

Briefly on the verge of becoming lost in thought, Donos flexes his shoulders and twirls his trident over his head and laughs.

"Who is next?"

Arteusa steps up, pulling her shortsword out and holding it out for the two to see. "This sword was blessed by Nike; with each battle, it grew stronger, brighter," she smiles, a touch feral, at the memories. "Often, it blinded my enemies, and some suffered greater than others when the blade bit their skin."

"I would like to see that in action, Arteusa," Donos says. "I truly would."

Perdix holds out his hand for the trident and the necklace, while Icarus examines Arteusa's blade. After a few moments, they hand them back.

"Well, the necklace is certainly something. I do indeed detect some dormant defensive, offensive, and endurance enchantments on them, like you said. The trident, on the other hand, I'm afraid it's just a trident. Don't be disappointed, most heroes only get one item, if they get any at all."

"And the sword," chimes in Icarus, "Is a no-brainer. Illumination, holy smiting, the works. Next!"

Donos takes the items back and looks sadly at the trident. "It has served me well. Hopefully it will have the honor of a few more epic battles before it is done, regardless of how mundane it may be."

He claps the chain of teeth back around his neck, fingering each tooth carefully, seeing if he can feel any power within. Then he looks to the others to see what oddities they may have with them.

Kaneís quietly observes the others for a moment. Where Arteusa and Donos found power in strength and courage, Kaneís took solace in her ability to seamlessly blend in - in fact, she wasn't sure if an artifact would perfectly describe her method of combat. Pulling a small trinket up and over her head, she holds what seems to be an opaque gemstone with the patterning of a fly emblazoned on the top. Attached to two sides are a thin cord, making it serve as a sort of necklace. As the gemstone leaves Kaneís's chest, it fades from an opaque green to a cloudy grey mass of shifting fog. "Out of all the artifacts I held dearly, this is the sole one which I have kept close to me. It shifts according to my emotion, and often accentuates them, making my tongue more charming and my fury more bitter." Kaneís sighs, peering into the swirling mass. "When I look into it, my future seems clearer than the lakes at Melissani. It guides my actions, my thoughts. It guided me to where I should turn my blade when I was lost in the cities of Persia." Looking up, she extends her hands, and offers it to the two.

Arteusa quietly takes her blade back and stows it away, offering a smile to Donos. "Perhaps one day you will," she says, watching Kaneis hand over her necklace. "I don't think I ever said, Kaneis," she starts, at the mention of being lost in Persian cities, "thank you, for fighting against the Persians." She looks briefly embarrassed for a moment, looking down briefly. "I doubt it counts for much coming from me, but - I felt someone should say it to you."