Argos by Ralph Hardy

delight. Now then. Returning to my tale, Teiresias said, ‘Son of Laertes and seed of Zeus, how is it that you are here in this cursed place, far from sunlit Ithaka? Sheath your sword and draw back so that I may drink this blood and speak to your fate.’
    â€œHearing this, your master sheathed his sword, and the prophet drank deeply.
    â€œâ€˜Glorious Odysseus,’ he began,’ you seek to return to your home, but one god is against you. Poseidon, the earth shaker, bears you ill will because you blinded his son, Polyphemus of the Cyclopes. But even so, you might return, though after much suffering, if you obey my instructions and contain your desires and those of your companions.’
    â€œâ€˜Tell me then, perfect seer, what I must do and I will follow it closely,’ your master begged.
    â€œâ€˜First, when you return to your fast ship, sail over the blue waters, escaping its grasp if you can, to Thrinakia. There you will find fat cattle and sheep pasturing, but touch them not, for they belong to the god Helios, who sees and hears all things. Keep foremost in your mind your sweet homecoming and leave those beasts unharmed, and you might reach fair Ithaka, after much suffering. But if harm comes to them, then your destruction is foretold, for your ships and your men willperish, although the gods may smile on you alone.’
    â€œâ€˜I swear to you, then, we will follow your instructions,’ Odysseus promised.”
    â€œAnd he will, Night Flyer,” I say. “Of that I am certain.”
    â€œPerhaps, perhaps not, Argos, for I saw the briefest smile cross Teiresias’s lips when your master said this.”
    I ignore this remark, for what does a bat know of my master’s will? Still, the bat is silent for a moment, and I begin to think I have insulted him. Or he still hungers.
    â€œPlease, continue, winged one,” I say. “I will interrupt no more, and then you may eat your fill.”
    â€œSo be it,” the bat replies. “Then Teiresias drank again and continued his prophecy, for he was nearly through reading the thread of your master’s fate.”
    â€œâ€˜If you return to Ithaka, City Sacker,’ he said, ‘yours will not be a joyous homecoming. Your companions will all be dead, and your ship will be lost. On a borrowed vessel you will arrive to find strange men in your house, eating away your wealth, and courting your wife.’
    â€œâ€˜Steadfast Penelope would marry again?’ your master cried.
    â€œâ€˜No, brave one,’ Teiresias answered. ‘Godlike Penelope is ever loyal, but the men make her suffer and insult her honor. You may avenge this insult if you can, by bronze or trickery.’Your master then gripped his sword tightly, Argos, and I knew that he would use bronze to defend his house.
    â€œâ€˜Do I die then, perfect seer?’ your master asked after his rage subsided.
    â€œTeiresias shook his head. ‘No, Odysseus, if this thread is followed, Death will come to you, as it does all men, but it will be in old age, and it will come from the sea. Fear it not, then, for there is much more suffering and death to come sooner.’
    â€œThen your master asked, ‘May I speak to my mother now, blind one? I would know of her sad fate, for when I left Ithaka, her health was strong and death seemed far away.’
    â€œTeiresias nodded. ‘Let her drink this blood as I have, Odysseus, and her words will come, as will the words of all the souls here.’
    â€œAnd saying that, Lord Teiresias turned and disappeared in the gloom of Hades.
    â€œThen Odysseus’s mother, who, before, could not to speak to your master, such was her lamentation, spoke to him in winged words.
    â€œâ€˜My child, how did you come here into this gloom and darkness?’ she asked. ‘Are you still alive? Why are you not in Ithaka with your wife and son?’
    â€œYour master answered, ‘Dearest Mother, I