You and Rachel settle under the shade of a tree and Ixion lowers his massive body nearby. Themis walked over slowly holding four brown glass bottles. She handed one to Ixion and then one each to you and Rachel and settled next to the male centaur. Her tail swishes about on its own as she rests on the ground.
Ixion and Themis uncorked their bottles and began to drink at once. Rachel eyed you closely as you stared down at your beverage.
Ixion noticed your trepidation, "Fear not, friends. Our hospitality will bring you no harm."
"But it won't ... you know.." Rachel stuttered.
"No," Themis said sympathetically. "It won't have you growing an extra set of legs or hooves, either."
Still neither of you drank. Finally, Ixion looked at you seriously. "I can assure you upon my honor, that you hold in your hands a mere refreshment and nothing more. It has no magical or mystical qualities and consuming it will effect no change upon you other than to quench your thirst ... and rid you of any aftertaste from your encounter with the children of Pan.
"Drink up and enjoy," he encouraged, "you'll be as human as you are this very instant when you're through."
You shrug and look at Rachel. She has removed the cork and is sniffing the concoction. "It does smell good," she says before taking a swig.
She lowers the bottle and smiles, "and tastes good too!" she says.
Seeing nothing happening to Rachel, you take a drink as well. She's right, the wine inside tastes fantastic and refreshing. You relax a bit and feel quite happy as Rachel leans in next you and rests in your arms.
"So, what is this place, anyway?" you ask. "It's obviously more than was advertised."
"You came from Pleasure Island, no doubt," Ixion says. You and Rachel nod. "You went through a portal known as the Bacchanal." You nod again. Ixion shudders. "Horrid place, takes advantage of the the baser human instincts - lust, gluttony, things like that.
"This," Ixion continued is Mythologica. "The creatures here populated the Earth a few thousand years ago. We lived among the humans until..."
"Until what?" Rachel asked.
"Until we were brought here by gods whom humans ceased to believe in." Themis said with some sadness in her voice. "The gods of Greek and Roman lore were our masters. In spite of their arrogance on the subject, they were not the supreme, and when the humans stopped believing in them, they brought us and the other creatures of the time here."
Ixion continued, "Those that run Pleasure Island found a way to access this plane and plop their guests right in the midst of the satyrs. They take some perverse enjoyment in seeing their guests seduced and converted."
"They were,..." Rachel stammers, "horrible."
"There, there," Themis said in a comforting tone. "The true satyrs are harmless, quite friendly, I dare say. While they have a heightened libido, and what not, they are also lovers of music, the arts and creativity. It's that miscreant Cedius that leads them astray."
"What's with him?" you ask.
"Cedius," Ixion explains, "was a human converted to satyr. He was, to say the least, unpleasant, as a human. Once he was changed, he was consumed by the lustful nature of his new form. He lost what little mores he had to begin with. Most of those with him are converts as well. They follow him because they don't know any other way, what their true nature could be."
"So what other creatures are here?" Rachel asks.
"I would dare say any kind you've heard of in lore. The woods are filled with nymphs, fae, elves, nagas, orges, cyclops, harpies and lemia. On the other side of the plains, there are dragons, sphinx, basilisks, pegasi, phoenix and beyond them, the true satyrs. In the waters there are merfolk, sea serpents, kracken, selkie."
You notice Rachel staring in amazement at what you are hearing.
"And humans who come here can be ... changed into...," she says.
"Any of these creatures," Ixion said, "each has a means of changing a human."
"But you must be careful," Themis cautioned, "there are creatures who, like those rogue satyrs you encountered, may not let you choose. Particularly at night when the hellspawn rise - vampires, incubi, succubi, werecreatures. You must be quite careful then."
"Our friends will have nothing to fear. As soon as they are rested, we shall take them to the portal and allow them back to the mortal world," Ixion said. "From there, I would advise you to quickly vacate Pleasure Island. I've heard tales of even more dire fates befalling people there."