I merely wished to cross the
river Styx, carrying a missive sent by Zeus. Strange forces
diverted my passage, and I floated unwillingly here."
"Tarry with us a bit. To follow the Meander is useless. It
never ends, never repeats a passage. An eternity is too short to
follow all its windings. Perhaps we can aid you, help you return
to the river Styx. Though it, too, is a river of ill repute."
The hospitality of the Sileni pleased him. They fed him well,
gave him cot on which to sleep. During his sleep they dragged
the boat to shore.
"Your coming has been foretold. One waits now to talk with you,
for there is much you do not know. Egeria, the last of the
Caminae, would speak with you. There is the matter of the Tarn."
With a start Demo regarded the speaker. "Egeria! I do not
understand. The Caminae are long gone, long departed!"
The conversation with Egeria confused him. She told him of
things to come, but in words that were mystic and full of
cryptic allusions. Yet she spoke of the tarn, where he must
inevitably meet a foreordained fate.
"The tasks shall lie behind you, yet will there be another
task. By your kindness to a stranger shall you be led to danger
never faced by man. Though you be brave, follow the dictates of
your heart. Heed my words. For this were you brought to me. It
was foretold before your birth." The ancient woman stared at him
through blinkless eyes.
Although he had listened he knew well that he did not
understand.
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