text: As you wonder how you are going to deal with this shield wall you notice Cyrus has disappeared.
  
  The guards are slowly marching towards you, keeping their pace even to maintain the shield wall. Their glistening bronze swords stick out between the shields.
  
  You back away as you realise that it is impossible for you to penetrate their wall without getting yourself killed.
  
  Suddenly you spot Cyrus creeping behind the enemies and you realise what he's trying to do. You quickly act like you're going to charge the enemy to create a diversion.
  
  Suddenly one of the enemies screams as his throat is slit by a fast movement of Cyrus' sword. However, now the enemies turn on Cyrus.
  
  It's still seven versus two. And all of the seven enemies are now focusing on Cyrus. Now is your chance
  
  > To attack the enemy.
  You quickly attack on of the guards in the middle of the shield wall. His back is unprotected as the guards turned on Cyrus.
  
  The guards only notices you when it is already too late. His eyes widen as your sword pierces his vital organs. The other guards panic as the shield wall disintegrates now the middle guard is killed. Cyrus takes out one of the guards during this brief period. The five remaining guards are slowly retreating, panicked by the death of their comrades.
  
  Cyrus prepares to chase them, killing all of them. But you stop him: 'stop, let them go. We are still on the sacred grounds of the oracle of Zeus. The last thing we should do is to once again insult the gods.'
  
  Cyrus appears to calm down. 'You're right sir. Please forgive me, I was too caught up in the fight to think clearly.'
  
  Suddenly you see a flash of light in the corner of your eye. You manage to dodge the spear just before it hits you. You turn around and spot the enraged priestess, brandishing a deadly bronze spear. You immediately can see that she is untrained with the weapon.
  
  With a quick feint you manage to disarm her. The priestess mutters curses as her weapon plunges to the ground and you hold your sword dangerously close to her throat. Eventually she calms down and speaks: 'Very well, you have defeated me. But I still can't help you. The gods are not pleased with you and so they have clouded my vision. I am not able to see your future, however, there is another way for you to find a solution for your problems. At the edge of the world there stands a rock, at the convergence of two great streams. There the world of the living and the realm of Hades cross-over. There you will have to sacrifice to the dead, for in the underworld a great seer resides, Teirisias is his name. But be careful, other souls will appear, wanting to eat and drink of your sacrifice, but you must fend them off until Teiresias has eaten from it. He will be able to assist you in your goal. I sincerely apologise for my earlier behaviour and I wish you the best of luck for the rest of your odyssey. Farewell.' And with these last words the oracle once again disappears into her temple.
  
  > And so the journey continues...
  The journey back across the Nile is quite uneventful. However, you do manage to spot some animals that don't live in Greece, like crocodiles and ibises.
  
  It doesn't take many days before you once again reach the Mediterranean Sea. The weather is good, not a cloud in the sky, and the sea has a beautiful blue colour. As you gaze at the horizon you notice Cyrus standing next to you. 'Ah, the Mediterranean, how I've missed it in those bloody Aegyptian lands. Really, you can travel far and wide but you'll never find a sea like this one. But you look troubled sir. Are you troubled about the coming encounter with the dead?'
  
  'Of course, I mean are you looking forward to meeting the dead?'
  
  'Well, no. But let's deal with the problem at hand first. How are we even going to find that place? I mean, it's not like we have a map or something.'
  
  'I was thinking about that too and I have no idea how we are going to find that place. By the immortal gods! How am I able to do this if I don't even have an idea where we have to go!'
  
  'I know sir. Look, the sun has already sunk beneath the horizon. Let us go to sleep and think about this tomorrow.'
  
  > say "Very well, I'll see you tomorrow."
  Your dream that night is flooded with golden light.
  
  Suddenly a figure appears within the golden glow. A woman, wearing armor and a spear. You recognise the grey-eyed Athena. 'Noble bard, great teller of tales, I have come before you tonight to aid you in your journey. You have shown wisdom at your encounter with the oracle and I want to reward you. You seek an audience with the dead seer Teirisias, but you don't know where you can find him. Tomorrow fair winds will guide you on your path. However, the gods won't help you anymore if you anger them once again!'
  
  She dissappears once again with this last warning. As your dream comes to an end you hear the sound of strong winds sweeping across the deck.
  
  > slowly wake up
  You open your eyes and notice the whole crew working very hard. Everyone seems to be in a tense mood. After you stand up from your sleeping mat you grab one of the crew members by his wrist.
  
  'Tell me, what is happening? Why is everyone so tense?'
  
  'Well, ehm, sir, I really have to get back to my post, or captain Cyrus will flay me alive.' He is about to leave, but you grip his wrist tighter.
  
  'Look, Cyrus won't hurt you, but I will if I don't get an answer soon.'
  
  'O...okay sir. Well, a strange storm has suddenly turned up. Our sails are almost ripping and the current is too strong for our rowers to combat. We are at the mercy of the swift winds. However, we are trying our best to fight against these forces of nature.' The crew member now seems frightened. You let go of his wrist and he immediately walks away.
  
  'Fools!' you mutter to yourself. 'Everyone listen to me!' you shout across the deck, this seems to catch the attention of the crew. 'Stop fighting against the wind. The gods have blessed us with these fair winds, for they will swiftly take us to our destination. The first person who will defy these orders will be punished by the captain himself.' The crew immediately leave their posts and look around, wondering what they have to do.
  
  You suddenly hear laughing behind you and notice Cyrus walking towards you. 'Traveler, I consider you my good friend, but you are not captain of my ship and my crew. I don't mind you giving advice to my crew or helping them with their work, but please, don't order them around. My authority will be undermined and I might have to copy some behavior from the former captain.' He winks at the last sentence. 'Alright you scum, you heard our guest. Everyone who tries to steer our ship or to hinder it in any way will be thrown will immediately be released from service. And there is no place on this ship for traitors.'
  
  He turns to you once again. 'They are good people, but they still are mercenaries. Turn your back on them and you'll end up with a knife in your back. But why would we have this gloomy mood? Come on, let us... What the... What did I just say you ignorant nitwit?' You look around, trying to find the person Cyrus is shouting at. Then you spot a young crew member, who may just has reached adulthood, holding a oar. Cyrus grabs the oar from his hands. 'Let this be an example for everyone who defies my orders!' He lift the oar and lets it come come down on the back of the young man, repeating this motion over and over again.
  
  Tears begin to well up in the eyes of the poor boy. 'Please sir, I was just frightened. I swear I'll never do it again.' Cyrus doesn't seem to take any notice of the boy and keeps hitting him with the oar. While you watch this process you shout at Cyrus:
  
  > say "Stop it at once, I think you have set enough of an example now."
  Cyrus seems impervious to your comment and he keeps on hitting the poor boy.
  
  You can't stand the sight of your friend hitting the boy any longer and so you step towards Cyrus and hit him in the face with your fist. Like he wakes up from a waking dream, Cyrus comes to his senses. 'I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was doing. The gods must have blinded me. I am so terribly sorry.' His cheeks redden as he apologizes once again to the boy and retreats to his quarters.
  
  Once everyone fully grasped what just happened, a man approaches you. You guess he is a member of the crew, although you have never seen him, and a strange sense of authority hangs around him. While you observe the strange man he speaks to you:
  
  'Well done mortal. You have shown compassion for a person in need. You have regained the favour of the gods. But the warning of my daughter, the owl-eyed Athena, still stands. Help your fellow men and respect the gods, or you, and the rest of the Greek world shall be destroyed.'
  
  You are briefly distracted by the cries of a nearby bird, but when you turn back to the stranger he seems to have disappeared. Who was this man?
  
  > The rest of the day is uneventful.
  Days pass by and Cyrus slowly regains the confidence of the crew. The days pass by without any notable events. You enjoy the calm waves and the fair winds that carry you and guide you on your journey. You marvel at the animals that populate the vast, wine-coloured ocean and the wide skies. During these days you get better acquainted with the crew and you start to feel like you're on a holiday.
  
  But then the skies grow darker and darker. The animals disappear and the moral of the crew grows sadder and darker. A week after you left Thebes you finally reach the place where you can consult the dead seer Teiresias. You ask Cyrus to fetch food from the cargo hold, to offer to the souls of the dead. With Cyrus and a couple of crew members in your rear and the food in your hands you set foot upon the strange island.
  
  The air is dead silent, not a sound is heard apart from the easy wind. A chill creeps up your spine as you look around the barren land. Not a living thing appears in your vision, not even the lean trees or the though shrubbery survive in this harsh place. Silently and in anticipation you dig a shallow hole in the sand. You take the food and mix it with some red wine. Not long after you call upon the dead you hear a sorrowful moaning spreading through the air. A cold wind sweeps across the barren island and the crew members behind you shiver. A sense of fear and despair spreads across the hearts of the men as the souls of the departed rise from the realm of Hades.
  
  > Suddenly, pale men and women rise from the ground...
  Men and women with pale, blood-drained faces rise up from the realm of Hades. You hear the crew members behind cower with fear and retreat to the ship. You notice that only Cyrus remains behind.
  
  The souls immediately close in on the sacrifice. With a flash you remember you can't let the other souls eat of the sacrifice until Teirisias has dined. You quickly pull out your sword.
  
  The souls of the deceased keep their distance for a moment, but they still slowly creep up to the sacrifice.
  
  With the greatest effort you manage to keep calm as hundreds of souls encircle you. Tightly clutching your sword you notice that the spirits of the dead keep creeping closer to you.
  
  The sight of their hollow eyes and pale skin makes you despair. As the cold inhabitants of the underworld encircle you you drop your sword, waiting for their cold hands to drag you to the realm of Hades.
  
  Suddenly a golden light illuminates the island, startling the ghosts and filling you with the golden glow. You feel as if the goddess Athena has taken away the fear from your limbs and with a renewed courage you storm the bewildered souls.
  
  > A fight is inevitable
  Ghostly images of dead soldiers appear before you, their swords drawn.
  
  You plunge you sword into their chests, but to your horror you notice that is of no use against the dead. Only briefly halted by your attack, the ghostly soldiers continue their attack. As you block their icy swords you feel like your energy is being drained.
  
  Weakend by this sudden loss you let your guard down and one of the soldiers manages to slash you across your chest. Luckily for you it is only a shallow cut and you are able to carry on your fight. Ignoring the stinging pain you...
  
  > Boldy continue your attack
  Gathering all your strenght you rush forward, towards you ghostly opponents. The souls try to strike youwith their swords, but with a quick move of your sword you manage to deflect their blows. As the spirits are recovering from the sudden move you swing your sword at them. Even though they manage to block your blow, the sheer force of the impact shatters their swords.
  
  After this the souls of the deceased soldiers quickly retreat. Although the souls of the dead have no physical body, their bones, muscles and flesh are all destroyed by the all consuming fire of the funerary pyres, they still have great respect for the valour and courage of the living.
  
  Panting, you shout at Cyrus: 'Cyrus, can you see Teiresias yet?'
  
  'Not yet, but I... Oh, wait there he is, he has almost made it to the sacrifice.'
  
  You look in the direction Cyrus points at and you see the old and wise Teiresias. With a large swing of your sword you repel a couple of souls that tried to sneak up on you. After a couple more swings Teirisas finally reaches the sacrifice. After he eats and drinks from the sacrifice he immediately changes. The pale look disappears from his face and he begins to seem aware of the world around him.
  
  The old man approaches you. 'Thank you, brave-hearted Greek. Your sacrifice has opened my eyes once again. Now please tell me, why have you, a mortal, come here to the realm of Hades?'
  
  'I have come to seek your guidance, o wise Teirisias. The Greek city states are on the brink of civil war. Only your advice can save my homeland.'
  
  'I see. Since you have given me sacrifice I shall offer you guidance. I see a great palace in the land of the Spartans. I see a king, betrayed by his courtiers and a great fire spreading through Greece. A darkness is spreading through the lands, but in this darkness I see a light. He will endure much hardship on his travels, but he is the one who is able to bring peace to the land of the Greeks. This is all I can offer you. Now go, you are running out of time!'
  
  With these last words, Teirisias and the other souls depart once again to the realm of Hades.
  
  Cyrus approaches you. 'Well, that was quite the experience. I've overheard some things that Teirisias said. It sounds to me like the solution to your problem lies in Sparta.'
  
  'Yes, I thought so too. Set a course for Sparta. Let's hope this journey is almost to an end, like Teirisias said: we are running out of time.'
  
  > But you are still a long way from Sparta...
  A rough wind beats against the ship as it makes it way to Sparta. The unending torrents of rain spoil even the food that's stored below deck. The moral of the crew is on an all-time low as the last of the drinking water is wasted as the last jug of drinking water is thrown overboard by a large wave.
  
  Exhausted by days of hardship and famine at seas, you reach an unknown island. From the deck of the ship you spot flocks of sheep jumping around the landscape and where there are animals, there's also water. You have a sloop prepared and head of to the shore with Cyrus and seven other men. 'Okay men, we have to collect as much food as possible, two of you are going to look for water. Be on your guard, remember, we are on an unknown island.
  
  A short time later the crew assembles on the beach, bringing a couple of goats, baskets of vegetables and fruits and sheep and enough drinking water for several weeks. As you investigate the day's harvest you are approached by a crew member. 'I'm sorry to interrupt you sir, but one of my friends thought I should tell you about something. While foraging for food we came across a large cave. We believe that it is inhabited, since it has a door and makeshift pens for animals. I don't know if this is of any interest to you, but we just thought that you might want to know.'
  
  Hearing the words of the sailor you mutter to yourself:
  
  > 'Interesting, let you go to the cave. You would like to meet the inhabitant.
  You order one of the crew members to fetch a sack of wine as a meeting gift for the inhabitant of the cave.
  
  Together with Cyrus and seven men you make way to the large cave. When you get close to the cave you wonder at the makeshift pens, although there is no signs of the animals. Although the construction seems terribly shaky, you notice that it is more stable than it seems. But your biggest surprise comes when you step over the threshold of the ''house''. On the walls there are racks and shelves filled with cheese. Baskets of fruit litter the floor of the cave and buckets of milk fill one side of the cave. Whoever lives here, he is either very wealthy or very hungry.
  
  Although it is against your better judgment, you and your men take some of the cheese and drink some of the milk. After the scrumptious meal you hear thundering footstep closing in on the cave. Fear grips your heart and the hearts of your men as you imagine what kind of terrible beast produces such sound. You quickly hide in the shadows at the back of the cave, awaiting the inhabitant of the shelter.
  
  Then, the owner arrives. A large foot enters though the entrance, followed by a huge leg. A man, as large as three grown men, enters the cave. As you examine the stranger more closely you notice he only has one eye, right in the middle of his forehead. He is followed by dozens of sheep and goats. After he places the male animals into the pens outside the cave, he rolls a huge stone in front of the doorway, well there goes that escape route. Luckily for you, he doesn't seem to miss the cheese and milk that you took.
  
  Too afraid to approach the creature, you watch him care for his sheep with loving care. He carefully milks the animals. Afterwards he feeds them. As the huge man takes a seat on a flat rock you finally dare to step out of the shadows.
  
  'Greetings noble host. I would like to introduce myself to you. I am a humble bard from the city of Athens, sent on a mission by the gods themselves. I have traveled far and wide before I came here with my men, and we have faced many perils. I'm sorry to tell you, but as we awaited you return we took some cheese and some milk. I'd like to ask you if you could give us some supplies for our way back, after all it is our right, since we are your guest.'
  
  The huge man examines you closer, scanning you from your head to your toes with his giant eye. 'Well, great bard, let me first welcome you to my home and let me thank you for your company, you see it is quite lonely here on this island. You mentioned you came here with your men, where exactly are they?'
  
  'Some of them are here, o noble host', and your men appear from the shadows 'but the rest of my crew is at the beach.'
  
  'I see. And may I ask how you reached our island. After all, the wide seas encircle it and you would need a well build ship to come here.'
  
  You become quite suspicious of your host and so you answer him: 'our ship was wrecked at sea by high waves and strong winds. After our ship was completely wrecked by the god of the seas, we were thrown ashore on your island.'
  
  'Well, you're lucky that you ended up here and not on some uninhabited island. Please, make yourself at home, I was about to dine and you, as my very honoured guests, must join me.'
  
  > Dinner is served
  After he has spoken these words with his malicious heart, he picks up two of your men, like young dogs, and smashes their heads against the floor. The contents of their skulls wet the cold, dirt floor. After this atrocious deed he cooks your men and prepares a meal with them. Then he consumes them, their flesh, their inerts and their bones, full of marrow.
  
  At this sight you and your men heave your arms to Zeus, crying. Desperation grips your hearts.
  
  After his huge stomach was filled by this meal of human flesh and he drank some of the milk from the buckets, he laid himself to rest between the sheep in the cave.
  
  While he is sleeping you conceive the plan to, after you pulled your sharp sword from your thigh, stab him in his chest, where the his liver is positioned. Slowly, the plan begins to form in your head.
  
  > Quickly, execute your scheme
  You slwoly approach the giant man, careful to produce as little sound as possible, afraid to wake him up. You gently grope across his chest with your hands and when you finally have found the right spot you draw your sword. Solemnly, as if you are offering sacrifice to the immortal gods, you plunge the blade into his chest.
  
  A river of red blood gushes out of the wound. The creature opens his eyes and all that they portay is fear and pain. You qioetly back away from the cyclops as he seizes his final death throes. You and your men rejoice at the sight of the slain giant and the sense of despair leaves your hearts.
  
  'Let's get out of this evil place'.
  
  With these words you guide your companions through the dimly led cave, to the exit. As you reach it you remember that your host has blocked the exit with a huge stone, not even twenty-two carriages with four wheels could move from it's place. No matter how much you try to move it from his place, no matter how hard you pray to the immortal gods, the stone doesn't move.
  
  The final days of your life are filled with misery, locked within the cave the remaining crew members become mutinous, blaming you for all their troubles. After a short fight only you and Cyrus remain in the cave. Although your head is filled with plans you can't think of a plan to get out of your cold, dark prison. As a last resort, you pull out your sword. The last thing you see on this earth before your vision grows red is a golden flash of light. Was this misery avoidable?