Tres didn’t have class the next day so he slept in until the noonday sun in his eyes made it hard to continue his slumber. The funny thing was that he didn’t remember leaving the drapes open. He stumbled into the kitchen and turned on the coffee pot to reheat yesterday’s brew. He had halfway convinced that he had dreamed the whole nonsense about demigod messengers, attacking penguins and goat eating monsters when he noticed a large brown envelope with his name on it beside the coffee pot.
He ripped open the letter, dropping a small silver coin onto the formica counter in the process. Written in a a precise child-like script he read:
He ripped open the letter, dropping a small silver coin onto the formica counter in the process. Written in a a precise child-like script he read:
Dear Mr. Navarre,
Percy Jackson asked me to deliver a message to you. It seems like he has been doing a lot of messaging and not much helping out lately. Any, here is the message.
Go to the Majestic Theater at midnight. At precisely midnight, a door will appear to the left of the theater. It will say The River Styx. Show the man at the door this coin but do not give it to him under any circumstances.
The man at the door is Charon. He operates the ferry across the River Styx. Once you cross, give him the coin or else he will not let you out of the boat. However, remember, don’t pay the ferryman until he gets you to the other side.
Once you cross the River Styx, you will find Cerberus, the three-headed dog. If you rub his tummy, he will roll over and let you pass. However, you have to avoid being eaten first.
Good luck.
Your Friend,
Felix
P.S. If you are wondering how I got into your apartment, I made a mold of your key with my bubble gum.
Tres shuddered at the thought that a ten year old boy had gotten into his apartment without him knowing. He needed better security or he was going to wind up dead. He picked up the coin and rubbed it between his fingers. It felt like real silver rather than a cheap plated job. The coin was small and irregularly shaped. On one side was an antique looking head. On the other side was Greek lettering that said “έρχονται σαλπάρετε με εμένα.” Given the coin’s age, it was obviously worth something and could keep his truck in gas for a while.
He quickly banished the thought of pawning the coin from his mind. In a world where ten year old kids could break into your apartment and mythical Aztec creatures roamed the countryside, no good could come from keeping the coin. Besides that, he had a strict code that he never retained an unearned fee. While this wasn’t exactly a fee, it was in the nature of a cost advance, which made it sort of the same thing.
He decided that, for the sake of the goats of the Hill Country and the chance to see his old friend Ralph, it was worth seeing if a portal to the underworld really would open up next to the Majestic Theater. However, first he would have to do some research.
After a quick breakfast taco and some week old Chinese food, he made his way downtown to the main branch of the public library. The six-story Mexican modern building was colored enchilada red. Ordinarily this would make him hungry. However, food was the last thing on his mind.
Percy Jackson asked me to deliver a message to you. It seems like he has been doing a lot of messaging and not much helping out lately. Any, here is the message.
Go to the Majestic Theater at midnight. At precisely midnight, a door will appear to the left of the theater. It will say The River Styx. Show the man at the door this coin but do not give it to him under any circumstances.
The man at the door is Charon. He operates the ferry across the River Styx. Once you cross, give him the coin or else he will not let you out of the boat. However, remember, don’t pay the ferryman until he gets you to the other side.
Once you cross the River Styx, you will find Cerberus, the three-headed dog. If you rub his tummy, he will roll over and let you pass. However, you have to avoid being eaten first.
Good luck.
Your Friend,
Felix
P.S. If you are wondering how I got into your apartment, I made a mold of your key with my bubble gum.
Tres shuddered at the thought that a ten year old boy had gotten into his apartment without him knowing. He needed better security or he was going to wind up dead. He picked up the coin and rubbed it between his fingers. It felt like real silver rather than a cheap plated job. The coin was small and irregularly shaped. On one side was an antique looking head. On the other side was Greek lettering that said “έρχονται σαλπάρετε με εμένα.” Given the coin’s age, it was obviously worth something and could keep his truck in gas for a while.
He quickly banished the thought of pawning the coin from his mind. In a world where ten year old kids could break into your apartment and mythical Aztec creatures roamed the countryside, no good could come from keeping the coin. Besides that, he had a strict code that he never retained an unearned fee. While this wasn’t exactly a fee, it was in the nature of a cost advance, which made it sort of the same thing.
He decided that, for the sake of the goats of the Hill Country and the chance to see his old friend Ralph, it was worth seeing if a portal to the underworld really would open up next to the Majestic Theater. However, first he would have to do some research.
After a quick breakfast taco and some week old Chinese food, he made his way downtown to the main branch of the public library. The six-story Mexican modern building was colored enchilada red. Ordinarily this would make him hungry. However, food was the last thing on his mind.
Making his way between the stacks, he pulled down a copy of Bullfinch’s Mythology. There he learned that Charon was indeed the ferryman who made the passage across the River Styx. Charon’s payment was an obol, a small coin much like the one he held in his hand. The figure on the coin was Medusa and the Greek letters translated to “come sail away with me.” Disturbingly, the reference book indicated that Charon had a strict policy against letting the living pass. While Hercules gained passage by beating Charon with his own oar, Tres doubted that he would be able to use brute strength.
Adding to his unease, he learned that Cerberus was a three headed dog with a taste for living flesh. His job was to bar the way to Hades for the living and keep the dead in their place. He found several strategies for subduing Cerberus, including lulling him to sleep with music (a stratagem also used in the Harry Potter series) and feeding him drugged honey cakes. There was no reference to rubbing Cerberus’s tummy.
Adding to his unease, he learned that Cerberus was a three headed dog with a taste for living flesh. His job was to bar the way to Hades for the living and keep the dead in their place. He found several strategies for subduing Cerberus, including lulling him to sleep with music (a stratagem also used in the Harry Potter series) and feeding him drugged honey cakes. There was no reference to rubbing Cerberus’s tummy.
His research completed, there was nothing left but to take a nap. As a good detective, he knew that it is always best to face mythological underworld beings while well rested.
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