Zeus had tried to keep his decision to enlist Hercules and Perseus to join his council a secret, but somehow Hera found out. It's amazing how Hera seemed to know everything going on in the Temple on Mt Olympus. 

But Zeus knew that Hercules showed great determination when he completed his twelve labors, and Perseus showed tremendous bravery and courage in facing Medusa and the Kraken. They were what his council needed, and he knew Hera would never understand his reasoning.

Hercules and Perseus continued their journey. After what seemed like many hours, and with the sun still fairly high up in the sky, they could see a town off in the distance. And it was a good thing. They felt that they had walked the equivalent of a two days journey, and yet the sun in the sky told them it was one half day in terms of time.

They eventually made their way into the town. Perseus was the first to notice that there were no women in the area, and that the men were slightly shorter than his 6'1" frame. Hercules stopped to ask a man what town they were in. The man seemed startled by Hercules' size. Hercules stood 6'6" and weighed about 250lbs which was all muscle. 

The man quickly answered that they were in Cypriot. "Cypriot did you say?" Hercules thought the man was joking. "That is correct. This is the town of Cypriot", repeated the man.

"If this is Cypriot, where is Athens?" asked Perseus. The man looked confused. "Athens?" "Yes, Athens". "I am sorry, sir, I don't know of any Athens. This is the only town for hundreds of miles", replied the man. "What time is it?" asked Hercules. The man looked at the sky and said it looked to be around  one on the afternoon. "One in the afternoon?" both Hercules and Perseus asked with disbelief. The man replied that he was sure of the time.

"Is there a place where we can eat and drink and stay?" asked Perseus. The man pointed to a building up the road. Both Hercules and Perseus thanked the man, and made their way to the inn.

The two men entered the building and were seated at a table in the back. Again, Perseus noticed that there were no women present. Both ordered their drinks and food, and made arrangements to get rooms for the night. 

As the food was being delivered, Perseus asked the server where the women were. The server offered a nervous smile and said that the women were home, and then quickly turned and left.

The meal was satisfying, and with all the traveling that they had done, were exhausted. They both headed to their rooms. Perseus paid in advance when he got the rooms. The inn keeper didn't recognize his money, but suspected it was legal, and accepted the payment.

Both Hercules and Perseus fell into a deep sleep. It was a long time since they slept this soundly. Dreams were plenty, mostly involving their previous adventures in which they triumphed over impossible odds. They must have slept a good six hours when they both woke. 

The sun was still shining brightly in the sky. Now they both suspected something wasn't quite right. They made there way outside and asked another man they met what time it was. The man looked up at the sky and said it was about three in the afternoon.

Perseus and Hercules were dumbfounded. They were sure that they had been in this land for a whole day, and yet, it was still in the middle of the afternoon. Something was off. They knew it, but could not understand it.