"Annabeth, there's not a single respectable ship captain that is going to take us to an island that may or may not exist."
Annabeth frowned and rested on a bench by the docks where she and her companion, Thalia Grace, had been looking for a ship for hire. "There has to be someone desperate enough to take us."
Thalia sat down next to her. "Can we deal with this tomorrow? I don't think I can stomach talking to another stinky old sailor."
After giving another look at the bay of ships, Annabeth let out a sigh of defeat, stood up and began walking away from the docks. "I guess we need to come up with a new strategy. Maybe some food will help."
Thalia jumped up and clapped Annabeth on the back. "I am so glad you mentioned that! I'm starving! There was this nice looking hotel—"
"I actually already have a place in mind."
———————-
15 minutes later, they were standing in front of a broken down little pub in the rougher part of town called Poseidon's Palace.
"You can't be serious. This place looks terrible." Thalia groaned. "If the god of the seas did exist, he would be very offended."
Annabeth led the way into the pub. It was a dimly lit place with a large number of sailors relaxing after a long day of hard work. The two women found a table in a corner by the fireplace and ordered some drinks.
"This place is disgusting," Thalia whispered. "What are we doing here? I thought we could go to a nice, clean hotel where they have a nice dining room, and then after a really good meal, we would go up to a comfortable room where I could take a long, hot bath and soothe my aching muscles from wandering around this city all day."
Annabeth just kept quiet and was observing the room. Thalia frowned and took a second to look at the type of people who were gathered there. Then her eyes widened as she realized why there were there.
"Annabeth! These people are all pirates! We are not hiring a pirate to take us to the island!" Thalia angrily whispered.
Annabeth finally looked at her friend. "We don't seem to have any other good options. I think this could turn out quite well if we find the right person."
"How can you be so calm! These people don't give a crap about the law. They'll take our money and dump us on any old island to die!" Thalia crossed her arms and slumped back into her seat.
While Thalia continued grumbling, Annabeth set her sights on a guy sitting at the bar. When their waiter came with their drinks, Annabeth asked, "Can you invite that guy with the striped shirt at the bar to join us?"
The waiter shrugged and walked away. Thalia groaned. "Why did I agree to this wild goose chase?"
The waiter delivered Annabeth's message and the guy at the bar looked over at them and walked over.
"Have a seat," Annabeth said.
The guy sat and asked, "What do you want?"
"Information."
The guy raised a dark eyebrow. "What is a person like you doing here? Need someone to do some dirty work for you?"
Annabeth shook her head. "I need a ship and crew who would take me and my companion to retrieve something."
"Where?"
"Calypso's island."
The guy chuckled and shook his head. "Ogygia? That place is a myth."
