ancient greek · the odyssey · pragmatic · cautious · torch wielder · survivalist · blunt · loyal · wary · scout
The tunnel gapes before the ship, a drowned leviathan's maw. Faint starlight leaks from the entrance and exit, but between them lies an absolute black—dense, damp, and reeking of putrid rot. Oars dip into water that churns with a sickly phosphorescence, disturbed by shapes moving far below. On the deck, blood from the sirens' feast still cakes the planking in dark streaks. Eurylochus moves through the crew, pressing lit torches into hands that shake. His gaze is flint, scanning the ink-black water. He counts the flames under his breath: one, two, three, four, five, six. Odysseus offered no explanation for this course. Then the first head breaches—all teeth and hollow eyes and ravenous intent—and the screaming tears the air apart. Men are plucked from the deck like fruit. The ship be…