Part XX | Bavaria | Gypsy Caravan
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The next morning when Tala woke up, the ship was keeling over to one side so much so that it nearly began taking on seawater. Deck hands were scrambling to tie things down, and she wondered what was happening. Just then, Tala heard the loud sound of Triton's conch shell blowing off in the distance and decided that Neptune himself must be stirring up the seas with his massive trident. It seemed that no one was going anywhere in this raging tempest. How was she going to get to Bavaria?
Just then, the captain announced they were not going to Amsterdam, and instead had decided to use the ship's oars to paddle across the Mediterranean Sea toward Venice where the passengers and crew could ride out the storm. Camelot had been overthrown, and they were looking for Odysseus. Rumors abounded during this time. Many claimed that the legendary Greek king of Ithaca had fallen in love with Calypso and was on the run. Tala sat down to wait.
After a couple of days at the port in Venice, Tala finally disembarked The Aurora Borealis and looked for safe passage to Bavaria. She eventually found a Gypsy Caravan wagon with room for her and her belongings, and she settled into one that had a small room in the back with a little bookshelf – a room that reminded her of her own she had had many years in the distant past. In the late afternoons just before dusk, Tala would sit and play her mandolin while the rest did chores or slept.
At night, Tala dreamed of the Temple of Anubis where Odysseus and Circe sat in judgement with Glaucus and Scylla on the Scales of Libra. A Black-robed Fairy searched for Blue Lanterns, in the hopes of finding one for Scylla, but Scylla didn't have a single coin to her name. Perhaps another one of Glaucus' dirty tricks.
Tala hoped they would arrive in Bavaria before summer's end.
Notes
[1] The Tempest by William Shakespeare
[2] Aimee Stewart on Fine Art America “Gypsy Firefly”
by MGL Meiklejohn Graphics Licensing Art Collections
[3] Dragon Caller
ArtStation by “The Green”