Daughter of Wine

Callida

When I resurface, the Argo II is nowhere in sight. It's just gone. Vanished into thin air. Panic rises in my throat. Leo and my friends... they're gone. Disappeared. I was only in the water for a second. How could that happen?

"Helloooo" a hearty, happy voice yells from behind me. I turn and see a massive island that was definitely not there a moment before. There's a small figure waving at me from the beach. Behind him, a hill rises up into a mountain. The entire side of the mountain is covered in rows and rows of grapevines, all full of deep purple fruit.

I consider my options for a moment. I could swim out to sea, and hopefully maybe find the Argo II, but I don't see anything on the horizon, and I'm not the strongest swimmer. 

My only other option is to swim toward the island. At least the figure doesn't sound angry. Maybe it's happy to have a nice tasty demigod treat. Or maybe it's happy to see me. 

Only one way to find out. 

When I manage to pull myself onto the beach, I collapse on the sand. The sky above me is turning into a deep shade of purple as the sun sets. It's quite beautiful. 

Then, an old, hairy face pokes into my field of view. 

"Gah!" I roll to the side and jump to my feet, summoning my thyrsus. 

"Woah!" The dude lifts his arms, tilting wildly to the side. I very quicky see he's a satyr, with white curly hair, a white goatee, and a simple white tunic that seems to be a little small. His face and nose are tinged bright red, and his eyes are lined with smile wrinkles. 

"Who are you?" I ask, still on guard. 

"Who are you?" He slurs his words, like he's been drinking to much. 

"I asked first."

Hee bleats angrily. "Asked what?"

I grit my teeth. I don't have time for this. "Who are you?"

He places his hands on his hips. "I am Silenus, immortal follower of Dionysus, the creator of wine, and prophet of kings."

"Oh." I dematerialize my thyrsus. I know this guy. "Yeah, you took care of my dad when he was a baby, right? Hermes brought him to you because Hera wanted to kill hm?"

"Only if your dad is Dionysus..." Silenus says. "You don't look like a daughter of Dionysus, Callida Rivera." 

"What?" I ask, way too many questions popping intto my mind. "Wait. First thing, how do you know my name?"

He spreads his hands as if it were obvious, hiccuping. "I am a prophet, sweet girl."

"Okay." I blink and shake my head, deciding not to question it. "What do you mean I don't look like a daughter of Dionysus?"

He waggles his finger at my face. "You look so angry! Your eyes... children of Dionysus have happy eyes. You do not." 

"Because I am angry. I appeared at this island and my friends disappeared. We're on a quest-"

He bleats again, this time it sounds like a laugh. "A quest? Who cares! Come, follow me. We should talk over some wine."

He scurries off down a path into the greenery. I'm not thrilled to follow him, but again, I don't have many options. I try and keep up with his goatly speed through the bushes and trees. 

After a minute or so, we emerge into a clearing. There's a small hut, with a warm light glowing from the windows. Beside it is a large contraption, which I can't see in the fading light. What I can see are dozens of crates and barrels strewn around the clearing. Somehow, I can sense they're full of wine.