Saberhagen, Fred - Book of the Gods 3 by The Arms of Hercules

Author:The Arms of Hercules
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf

SIXTEEN

Megan

Having been relieved of responsibility for our collected trophies, my companion and I rearranged our meager store of other belongings securely inside Skyboat’s tiny cabin, and hoisted sail. Enkidu crouched before the binnacle, laying his forehead against the ivory side of the compass-pyx, and directed it to lead us home.

The course it chose for us turned out to be quite roundabout. We first spent days traversing a thousand miles or so of open ocean, in a great curved path. This was followed by an intricate, time-consuming passage through a number of streams and lakes—some broad, some narrow—and one canal. The latter was an adventure in itself, of which I may have more to say some other time. Then we were guided out into the open sea again. But the gift of Hermes had so far served us so well that I did not hesitate to put

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my trust in it. For all I knew, our compass-pyx might be avoiding great storms or other dangers in its choice of routes.

Finally, it directed us up a large river, then a tributary, and then a tributary of that again, at last running the boat gently aground when we were still, by my best estimate, more than a hundred miles from homes and families. I stepped ashore and stretched, shouldered my club and a sack containing some food and an extra pair of sandals, and looked about me. ”Well. It seems we walk from here.”

”All right, Herc, but my feet are tired. Let’s see if we can find some way to ride.”

We abandoned the boat only with reluctance, though we assumed that it would once more be invisible to any eyes but ours and would be waiting when we came back. No immortal messengers appeared, and our attendant sprite seemed to have deserted us. For the time being at least, the gods seemed content to leave me alone, and now, having just gone to the trouble of providing them with trophies from a Giant, I found this irritating.

We had to walk only a few miles before coming to a large village, where it was possible to buy cameloids. We were carrying money, gifts and rewards from those who had wished to show their gratitude, and we purchased two animals, along with a little extra gear, and so were no longer forced to walk. From there our journey overland, occupying several more days, took us past the margin of Nemea, where lay the grazing lands where I had slain a lion—by all the gods, but that seemed a long time ago!

Counting up the months, I realized that nearly a year had passed since then. The herds had evidently been moved to a different grazing ground this summer, and Tarn and his colleagues, if they still followed the herdsman’s calling, must have gone with them. The closer I got to home, the more impatient I was to encounter its familiar scenes and people. Still, by the time my nephew and I once more came in sight of the walls of Cadmia, full summer had come around again.

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