The trees were tall and grew straight. Soft green light filtered down through their leaves and lit the forest floor. Andy, Will, and Cletus's (fake) feet crunched on the leaf litter as they made their way up the gully.
"I hate to say this..." Cletus said at last. "But doesn't it seem a little... loud?" Andy had noticed the sound before - bird chirps that were long and trilling and distinctly unearthly, the sound of shuffling and slithering through the leaves, and strange animals calling out in what sounded like curiosity, or pain - but she wasn't sure if that level of noise was normal. She'd never been in a forest before. The volume continued to steadily increase, coming from all sides until Will put his hands over his ears and screwed up his face in pain. Then suddenly it stopped.
"Who walks the forest?" a voice called. It seemed to come from all sides at once, echoing weirdly.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" Will ordered, notching an arrow and pointing it randomly at the trees.
Off to the right, someone stepped out from behind a particularly wide birch tree. Andy, Cletus, and Will turned to face him, weapons drawn and ready. Andy looked up at the boy, who was slight and of medium height and wearing an odd, old-fashioned tight-fitting tunic. The boy's hair was longer than most, and a bright robin's feather had been tangled in it. He wore some sort of collar at his neck, and from this many long feathers stuck out on one side. The belt around his waist was wider than modern fashion with a brass buckle and a hunting knife hanging from it. But the most distinctive thing about him was the longbow, nearly as tall as Andy, that was fully drawn and pointed at Will.
"Who walks the forest?" the boy asked again.
"Friends," Will called.
"A poor excuse for friends if they draw arms on one another," the boy retorted. "Come, a show of good faith. Set down your weapons, and I shall withdraw mine." The boy had an odd way of speaking, a way Andy had never heard except in books about England.
Cletus and Will looked sideways at Andy and she realized with a start that they were waiting for her lead. She carefully sheathed her sword and raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. Will looked unhappy, but lowered his bow and Cletus let his stick fall to the ground.
"Friends then," the boy said, putting his arrow back into the quiver upon his back and smiling down at them. "What brings you to the green wood?"
"We seek an answer," Andy said. The boy's face betrayed nothing, but he leapt lightly down the slope, reminding Andy of a sparrow more than anything.
"And you think I possess the answer," the boy said, coming to a landing in front of them. "Speak then."
"Do you know why Olympus is closed?" Andy asked. The boy stared at her and, with an apologetic smile, shook his head. But then he threw his long bow over his back and spread his arms welcomingly.
"I have answers to many questions," he said. "Answers not bestowed on many of my blood. That one answer I cannot say, but others I have. Come, if we are friends, and enter the green wood. Camp is not far, but it is hidden."
Will looked at Andy and she shrugged. With a skip, she joined the boy's side and smiled up at him.
"Lead on, Obi-Wan," she said. He looked at her with a faintly confused smile, as though he had never seen Star Wars (a shocking lack of pop-culture), but led the way back up the slope.
The leaves were slippery and Andy could hear Will struggling behind her, cursing under his breath. Cletus appeared to be navigating the hill fairly easily, but Andy slipped and nearly fell face flat on the forest floor. A strong hand caught her elbow and the boy righted her. She beamed at him gratefully and he nodded back, the feathers around his neck bobbing slightly.
"Three travelers deep in my forest, seeking news," Sam's cousin said, shaking his head. "What names do you bear?"
"Bear?" Cletus asked, looking scared and glancing nervously around. "I don't see a bear!"
"I'm Andy Tiber, and the idiot is Cletus," Andy gestured towards the satyr. "And that's Will Solace."
They were at the top of the ridge now and the boy stopped to give them a graceful bow. "Robin of the green wood, at your service," he said. Andy would have laughed, but she didn't think Robin was trying to be funny.
"You said something earlier about many of your blood," Will said. "What blood status are you?"
"Jeez, is this Harry Potter?" Andy asked, rolling her eyes and trying to joke it off. If Robin was a god, he might be really pissed that this puny little mortal was asking him impertinent questions.
"My mother is Calliope, muse of epic poetry. My father, a mortal," Robin said, seemingly not disturbed by Will's question and unsure of what Andy's comment meant. Seriously, when was the last time this guy had left the forest?
"And let me guess your parents," Robin said, looking them over. "I believe you to be a son of Apollo, that much is evident. A wise and powerful god, he taught me archery in the foothills of Parnassus." Will looked slightly mollified by this compliment to his father. Robin looked at Andy and smiled, "A daughter of Macaria I have never seen before. But welcome and be safe in the forest. The satyr," he turned and examined Cletus critically. "I think a dryad bore you and - though I cannot be sure - perhaps Lady Tithorea herself?"
Cletus blushed heavily and he stared at Robin with unabashed awe.
"Who?" Andy asked. She'd never heard of Tithorea before.
"That's right!" Cletus said excitedly. "That's right! That's my... my..."
"Mom?" Will finished for him. The three of them stared at Robin, who smiled sheepishly.
"I am good with names and families," he shrugged, as though it was no big deal. "But you did not come here seeking those answers. I wonder why it is you came here."
"Olympus is closed," Andy explained, "And none of use can reach our godly parents."
"Neither Macaria nor Hades live on the heavenly mountain," Robin said at once. "Nor do Hypnos or Thanatos, though the latter has no children. But I see why you come here. My mother does not live on the mount either."
Andy and Will nodded. "You think I might still speak with her," Robin continued. "And so know the dealings of her divine father, almighty Zeus, and his other children." Andy hesitated and then haltingly nodded. Robin grinned widely and settled his quiver on his back.
"Then come. As I said before, camp is not far."
He led them through the woods, keeping on a fairly straight path that was only visible to him. They came to a thicket and Robin pulled a branch aside, waving them through. Andy ducked under and when she straightened, found that she was in a cleared glade.
The trees had grown close here and Robin had taken advantage of that fact, stringing up curtains between them or using the thick bushes to grow as walls. A bed, seemingly carved entirely from one tree, stood firmly in a corner, but the majority of the space was taken up by a cooking fire and makeshift kitchen. A large table stood to one side and upon it were dozens of books, some in languages Andy couldn't even recognize. She did see a few that she could read easily. Startled (because her dyslexia made it nearly impossible for her to read anything right) Andy squinted at their titles and saw the words Iliad, Odyssey, Argonautica, andTheogony printed on their spines in gold letters.
A stool was pulled near the fire and a few unfletched arrows were lain upon it, as though he had just abandoned finishing them. A small clay jar was seated upon the coals of the fire and some sort of jelly-like, silvery-white substance was swirling in it.
Will and Cletus entered and gave murmurs of appreciation. Robin followed and immediately went to the stool, scooping up the arrows in one hand and depositing them on the ground. He took off his great long bow and leant it against the bed.
"Sit where you like," he offered, gesturing around. "It is not everyday I have guests." Andy sat on the bed with Cletus, while Will took the stool and glanced enviously at the longbow.
"Can I offer food to anyone?" Robin. "What little I have is enough to share."
They all declined and Robin sat down on the ground beside the fire. He picked up one of the unfinished arrows and pulled a knife out. Carefully, he carved a thin notch at one end of the arrow.
"I must ask who sent you to me," Robin stated as he carved another two notches on that same arrow. "The Oracle, perhaps?"
"No," Andy said. "It was - " She had been about to say Sam. Andy stopped, took a deep breath and said, "Kivese."
"Ah, my cousin," Robin nodded, giving a slight smile. "And why did she not tell you your answers?"
"Because she's a goddess," Will said sharply. He was acting very odd, almost as though he was annoyed by Robin. "And they can't help us directly."
Robin nodded, neither arguing or showing annoyance at Will's sharp tongue. Instead he fished a little bag out of his tunic and spilled its contents on the ground. Feathers of all colors spilled out of it, covering a small area in a soft, downy fall. Robin selected a white feather (possibly goose, Andy couldn't be sure) and examined it.
"I am different than my cousin," he said, taking a twig and dipping it into the heated jar. He carefully, painstakingly spread the glue along the shaft of the feather. Then, with excess caution, he placed the sticky feather into one of the notches on his arrow. Holding it steady while it dried, Robin looked up and smiled at them all.
"I am different than all demigods," he said. "For it is traditional that a half-blood be raised by its mortal parent. If their mothers are divine, the babe is taken before he, or she, can even suckle at their mother's breast. Not so with I. I was raised upon the knee of my divine mother, Calliope, and kept under her unwaveringly selfless care and the watch of her sisters until I was eighteen years of age. Because of this, I am close to my mother. Because of this, she can help me directly." He checked the feather and, satisfied, set the next two before speaking again.
"I will ask my mother for you," he said. "I cannot say if she will know, but if she does she will speak the truth to me. Cletus son of Tithorea, will you go and bring me the Divinia Commedia?" Cletus looked surprised, but jumped up and trotted over to the table. He looked through the books and eventually picked one up. Carrying it back to Robin, he set it in the boy's hand. Robin nodded his thanks and carefully opened the book.
"Le muse della O, alto genio della O, ora lo aiutano! La memoria della O che ha inciso le cose che ho veduto, qui vostro degno sara manifesta a tutti!" Robin read solemnly, one hand raised at though in supplication. He closed the book and set it aside on the nest of feathers.
"O-kay," Andy said. "And that was... Latin?"
"Italian," Robin smiled. "I find invocations work best in their original language. Roughly translated, it says, 'O Muses, O high genius, aid me now! O memory that engraved the things I saw, Here shall your worth be manifest to all!"
"What's an invocation?" Andy asked.
"A prayer to your muse," Robin said. "Usually, it is to Calliope. I have no skill making my own invocations, so I read others. Dante is especially inspiring and nonspecific."
Suddenly Robin stiffened and closed his eyes; he raised a hand, warding off questions as he listened to a voice no one else could hear.
"The gates of the divine mountain are closed
The gods sit in council, or alone in their chambers
They speak or do not speak, however they choose
One of them is absent, she does not speak
The Mother, Sister, Wife, and Queen
Where, oh where is Hera of Argos?
She does not speak against her king
Nor does she challenge his foolish, fearful ruling.
Earth and Heaven have been intermingled, says he
Now Earth stirs, Heaven is silent. Children will cry
But parents not answer. Such is his solemn decree."
Robin stopped speaking and his eyes opened, but they did not focus on anything. Rather, he remained stiff and silent, as though he was still listening. He frowned slightly and Andy found herself holding her breath: with a shock, she realized that this was the first time he had frowned.
"Andy," Will whispered, calling her attention back. Andy looked at him sharply; when Will jerked his head sideways, she followed his glance and saw a bag under the table of books. The bag was slightly open and apparently stuffed with arrows. Silver arrows.
"For trading," Robin said suddenly, twisting around to follow their line of sight. He smiled at Andy, and she must have only been imagining the flash of worry in his eyes.
"With who?" Will asked. Robin shrugged and began to fletch another arrow, this time with a barred feather of some sort of raptor.
"Queen Hera is missing," Robin said, his voice just a little too calm. "And that is why Olympus is shut."
"There was more," Will argued. "You said something about children crying, and Earth and Heaven."
"You have seen all this already," Robin explained. "You have seen the half-blood children cry, and their godly parents remain silent. Heaven is withdrawn."
Suddenly a bird trilled, loud and close. Robin looked up, a gleam of anticipation in his eye and a smile on his lips.
"That part of Heaven is not withdrawn," he remarked, standing up and rushing to one side of the clearing, where a curtain had been tacked up. Robin hurried to pull the curtain down and looked out into the wood beyond. Andy froze for a moment, seeing his slight figure silhouetted against the brightening gold light. Then she heard a very faint voice come through the trees.
"Ho in the green wood..." it called from far away.
Robin cupped a hand to his face and sang back the clear, ringing note: "Ho-oh!"
"Who's that?" Will asked, shooting to his feet and reaching for his bow. Robin glanced back over his shoulder and grinned.
"Traders."
A/N: Footnotes
Tithorea: A dryad from the region of Phokis, said to be near Parnassus
Hypnos and Thanatos: brothers, gods of Sleep and Death respectively, whom Ovid described as living in a Palace of Sleep in the Underworld
Divinia Commedia: the passage is from The Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto II