"Wait, wait! Do you speak of Amun? Is this Zeus but a different face of Amun? There is no Zeus here. And all that you say, that is the work of Amun. We know not this Zeus."
"Yes, it may be. In my land the supreme being is called Zeus.
In your land the name may well be Amun. And he has sent me."
They whispered, looked at him askance, whispered again.
"You are but a stripling. Ezah could dispose of you with one blow. He could pierce you with his spear, and you would be no more. What kind of emissary is this for a God to send our temple, this temple dedicated to Amun?"
"I, well, I have chores to perform. And this was laid on me as one of those chores. I have no special magic, no special skills - I am merely the chosen one."
"The Chosen One!"
They all stood, and the high priest, wide-eyed, bowed.
"Amun has sent you, then. And the will of Amun must be obeyed!
Tomorrow you shall be led to the Nubian Desert, to the abode of
Regulus. And there we will leave you. For none returns who
enters the lair of Regulus."
Sleep was fitful, with dreams that began and ended with a strange serpent eyeing him malevolently. And a hiss that made his blood run cold. He woke often, fell once more to sleep. The moon shone, cold and bright. A slight breeze blew, at times gusting to drive grains of sand across his face, into his nostrils. At times he sensed a musty smell, strange and frightening. The odor of Regulus. He was sure of it, though he knew not why.
Morning came cold with the desert night. But quickly the sun warmed the land an air, and day creatures awoke. Ezah stood silently by his side. They ate, drank a tea sweet with the taste of a strange honey, and Ezah rose. "I brought you here, and I have been chosen to lead you to your destruction. North and East toward the sea. But long before we reach that sea you shall enter the Nubian Desert. There I turn back. And you, Amun willing, you shall meet Regulus. And may Amun protect you, for none other can!"