Page 14 of Orpheus
One of the men was statuesque. His hair was brown and wavy. He wore a bronze armor-chained suit with leather wristlets on each of his arms. The flexing of his muscles made me assume he was some sort of warrior.
The other man, who stood to his right, wore a sage tunic which cut off very short at his upper-thighs. He was extremely tan with the whitest of hair that even put the Greek Goddess, Chione’s purest of winter snow, to shame. Ironically, I would soon learn of this man’s close relationship to this particular wind goddess. What was most peculiar about his looks was the protrusion from his back. His tunic rose high behind him, leaving the man with what looked like a bizarrely shaped hunchback. But aside from that, I was mesmerized by his silver hues. It was as if sparkling daggers encircled the center parts of his eyes. They pierced right through anyone who made contact with them, including me.
It was the taller, brown-haired man who spoke up first. “You said your name was Orpheus?” he asked, extending his hand out to me, which seemed like a friendly gesture, much to my relief.
I accepted his hand with my own by shaking it. “Yes. And you are…?”
“My name is Jason, and this is Calais.” He pointed at his partner beside him. “I am the leader of a group of strong warriors known as the Argonauts.”
“The Argonauts? I’ve never heard of them,” I honestly admitted.
“Few have, but everyone will soon know our names,” he revealed. “For we have undergone the most unbelievable, treacherous journey you could never imagine.”
Jason then recited a few of the many tales of his and the Argonaut’s adventure, from their trek to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece and the many trials and tribulations they had to endure to get it, including bewitching a princess sorceress named Medea, plowing an entire field surrounded by volatile oxen, burying serpentine teeth into the ground only to invoke skeleton warriors they had tricked into fighting one another, deceiving a sleepless dragon to finally grab the guarded Golden Fleece, to even chasing foul harpies, half beautiful women and half putrid vultures, across the continent still coming across them to this day, trying to hunt them down.
“That story… I’ve never heard anything like it,” I confessed. “And here you miraculously stand today, still alive to tell the tale.”
“For now,” Calais interrupted. “You see, our journey is not yet finished. We must set sail and still navigate pastSirenum scopuli, the island of the sirens. From there, our journey will continue beyond Crete, where many other dangers lurk. That is where you come into play, Orpheus. We cannot survive without your assistance.”
“What exactly do you need me for? How can I possibly help you warriors out?” I inquired.
Jason stepped forward, placing his hand on my shoulder. “The sirens. Surely, you’ve heard of them?”
I tried to recall the lessons from the scholars back at the castle and what they taught me. I remember them briefly discussing these very sirens. They were captivating women with the most beautiful faces and hair, but had the legs and wings of white sparrows. Their enchanting lullabies were dangerous. They lured sailors with their beguiling voices, forcing them to wreck their ships against the sharp, jagged rocks that surrounded their island.
“Yes. They put men into a trance with their songs, leading them to their demise,” I answered.
“Precisely,” Jason replied. “But if these sirens were to receive a taste of their own medicine with someone who has a more powerful voice and charming music, then we can escape their clutches.”
“So, you think I can soothe the sirens to prevent harm from you and your crew?” I asked, seeking clarification.
Both Jason and Calais nodded. “You claimed you could make animals, fish, trees, and flowers dance in your earlier song, did you not?” Calais folded his arms over his chest as he stated this with a stern expression on his face. “That even the most volatile of creatures will no longer invoke wrath,” he further repeated the lyrics to my verse, verbatim.
“Yes, I do have the ability to do that. But we are talking about sirens, here. I’ve never actually tested my skills on fearsome creatures such as them,” I explained.
“But we heard your music in the tavern,” Calais said. “Even we were enraptured by your performance. Forget what those drunks said and did to you. Their minds were already heavily influenced to even be able to listen to you properly.”
Calais’s compliment warmed my heart. It brought me great joy to learn that at least someone in that awful tavern was impressed by me. “Thank you for your kind words, but I still am unsure about bypassing the sirens. What if I am unable to captivate them? It will only lead you, your crew, and me to an earlier trip to the Underworld.”
“We have faith in you, Orpheus. Plus, we were destined to meet,” Jason rebutted. “You had earlier said that Apollo and the Fates had a vision that the two of us needed each other. If this is not a sign, then I do not know what is.”
Jason’s logic that he refuted with proved to ring true. Apollo had led me here to Paestum to join him on his quest. That had to count for something. The God of the sun would not send me here, only to die in the near future. He must have known I was the key to helping Jason and the Argonauts.You are said to be my lock and I am to serve as your key.
My words and intuition had to be validated. I had no other place to go. No further direction. So, it was decided. “Very well. I see your point. Then, please, allow me to join you both and the other Argonauts on your journey. I will gladly help in any way I can.”
This drew a smile out of Jason and Calais. “We would be happy to have you,” Jason enthusiastically replied.
But I still had so many unanswered questions. There was much I needed to know about Jason, his crew, and this adventure they were on. For starters, “when are we to depart?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Calais quickly responded. “We have a private room on our ship you can sleep in tonight and for the remainder of your time spent with us.”
That was a relief to my ears. “That will work for me. So, shall we head to your ship now? I’m excited to meet the other men aboard.”
“It’s still rather early,” Jason remarked, although by my time, it was pretty late into the night. “Why don’t we return to the tavern and have a few more drinks?”
I shook my head. “After that scene earlier? I’d rather not.”
Jason snickered, while Calais held his hand over his mouth, trying to avoid laughing at my expense. “I completely forgot about that. Well then, let’s return to the ship and have a few drinks there.”
