The air smelled like rotten garbage and earth. The mountain also seems to heave in and out. The mountain seemed to be breathing like a slumbering giant in hibernation. Erasi didn’t know what it was either. He kept sniffing around like a police dog trailing a suspect in a robbery but there was nothing we could do but keep going. Cassidy felt a foreboding feeling. She had just traveled through mountains of unbearable cold, with the goddess, Fema, fighting her all the way. Her mother, the goddess of animals, Destra, had sent Erasi to protect her, but Cassidy didn’t need protecting. Her father had taught to fight when she was 3 and now she used her fighting skills to kill the so-called monsters Fema sends to stop her. Cassidy and Erasi were going back down the mountain from the North Wind’s castle. She had come all this way to get some powerful weapon and all she got was a stick; a stupid stick. Cassidy was feeling very put out. She braved wind, snow, and monsters, and for what? A stick but right now she couldn’t think about that. She had to concentrate on what the heaving was. She had a feeling she would find out soon.
As they walked, Erasi suddenly opened his mouth and breathed fire on the mountain. The ground started to shake and slowly rose. The mountain closed in over them, swallowing them in complete darkness.
Erasi looked grave. “Excuse me”, he said.
“You coughed?” Cassidy asked, puzzled.
Erasi sighed wearily, “Yes. It is part of my curse.”
Cassidy looked around. They seemed to be in a cave yet the mountain had swallowed .She had expected them to be in a stomach looking place. But they weren’t. The cave went on forever and it seemed to go farther into the mountain.
“Well, I think we have some time, so let’s hear your story,” Cassidy said, walking further into the cave. Erasi followed and began telling his story.

“I was born able to speak English and Tiger. All of the gods believed that I was the chosen tiger that save the world with a daughter of Destra. Therefore, the gods commissioned Destra to give me a gift. She decided to give me the gift of speed. When I was young, I would race other tigers and, of course, would beat them. I won many prizes. The prize wish I hadn’t won was this curse. The North Wind is a very sore loser. I sought out the North Wind to race the fastest person in the world, even though I knew I was faster. When I found him, we decided to race for big prizes. If he won, I would become his servant for 400 years in his castle. If I won, I would be able to control the wind. We raced around the world, starting at the Place of the Gods and at the same place, at the top of the Tower of the 12. The top 12 gods were the only people who knew of the race. Even your mother did not know of the race. It was 700 years ago. I was a young, cocky, blessed tiger who didn’t know his place. So, I raced the North Wind. He was riding on his wind chariot, I was running; and I won. Well, the North Wind did not like this. He had never gotten beat before and he did not like it. He gave me the power to control the wind but he also cursed me. I now breathe fire at random and inconvenient times and I can’t control it. That is my story,” Erasi ended his story. By then, they had reached the end of the tunnel.
The tunnel ended in a gigantic cavern. The cavern was full of crystals with a pool of crystal-clear water. In the middle of the pool was a throne that was made of what looked like skeletons. On the throne sat a tall, handsome man. He had long, wavy hair and shocking blue eyes. He wore an Egyptian dress woven of gold and was set with many tiny gems. He stood and spread his arms wide,
“Welcome to my humble mountain. I am the 3rd born god, god of riches, and master of Purgatory. I am Pudgante. And you are?” said Pudgante.
“Greetings, I am Erasi of Destra and this is her daughter, Cassidy.” Erasi replied, humbly.
“Cassidy, what an odd name? So why did you awake me?” asked Pudgante.
Erasi looked uneasy; “My apologies my lord, I…”
“Oh wait you are that cursed tiger! Apology accepted! I never did like the North Wind. You may go but your friend must die for trespassing. Well good luck to you, tiger,” Pudgante said.
Erasi stood his ground, “Pudgante, she has to come with me.”
Pudgante looked surprised. “Why?”
“She is the chosen one.” Erasi replied.
“Aahh! Yes, I probably can’t kill her but since you are the chosen one would you mind doing me a favor?” reasoned Pudgante.
“I guess,” said Cassidy, who was struck by the handsomeness this god.
“Excellent! You see I have been awake in this mountain for several months, trying to catch the thief of many of my jewels, but every time I get close the thing senses my godly presence and runs away before I can reach it. I just fell back asleep yesterday to full fill my duty as master of Purgatory when you awoke me. I can only be in Purgatory in my dream state,” explained Pudgante.
Pudgante led the way to a different cave. “This is the tunnel the thief strikes most. Good luck!” And with that, he left.

As they walked, Cassidy took out her sword. “I should probably learn more about the gods if I’m going to be meeting them all,” she said. So Erasi started to tell her about the gods.

“The first god was Zolus. He is the god of skies and the heavens. Then there is Tridenos. He is the goddess of the seas and water in general. The third is, of course, Pudgante. He is the god of, well, riches and Purgatory. Purgatory is the place where souls go for judgment. The fourth is your mother. You know about her. The fifth god is Aretheata. She is the goddess of wisdom and smarts. The sixth is Arlisies, the god of sun, and the seventh is his twin sister, Calakara, is the goddess of the moon. The eighth is Ismistel. He is the god of war. Palamini is the ninth god and the god of messages. The tenth god is Remuso, who is the goddess of families. The eleventh god, Celestia, is the goddess of beauty. The twelfth god is Salemnie. He is the god of fire and metal. There are many other gods but they came after the twelve. That is the basics.” Erasi finished his explain. By then, they had come to a fork in the cave. One side was pitch black. The other side was full of gems of every shape. They decided to take the side full of gems since they were looking for a jewel thief. They didn’t have to go too far to find it. It was terrifying with the head and torso of a mole and the legs of a hyena. It stood up on two legs and had fangs dripping
“What is it?!?” screamed Cassidy.
“A modefra,” said Erasi calmly; he got ready to attack. But before he could Cassidy jumped in front of him and lunged at the modefra with her sword. It side stepped the sword easily and lunged back, barring its fangs. As it lunged, Cassidy swung her sword under the modefra, cutting its head off. Cassidy stepped back. She was sweating and shaking. She picked up the head and turned to Erasi. “See I can take care of myself.” And with that they started back to the cavern where Pudgante was. When they got there, they found Pudgante asleep on his throne. As they walked into the cavern, he woke with a start.
“Ah! You found the thief thank you! A modefra…hhmm that’s strange. Why would a modefra be here? Oh well… have a nice trip back home!” Pudgante cried, as Cassidy walked out of the door that had appeared. The door led outside but not where they had gotten swallowed. They were Colorado, at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
“Well,” Cassidy said, “that was fun. Now let’s go kick some butt.”