High above, the harpies flew through the sky, impossible to deal with by ordinary means, so the heroes decided to use bows and arrows.
Ordinary arrows could not kill harpies, so Alaric secretly enchanted the arrows with a spell that increased accuracy, and coated their tips with the venom extracted from Medusa in her Gorgon form.
Such arrows would certainly severely wound these divine "hounds."
The Argonauts knew nothing of this. They picked up the arrows enchanted by Alaric, drew their bows, and shot them one after another toward the harpies soaring in the sky.
At that moment, they discovered that their archery had become inexplicably more accurate.
But no one thought too deeply about it, they all believed it was because they carried out Zeus's divine command and had therefore received his blessing.
Some even began praising the great King of the Gods aloud.
Arrow after arrow struck the harpies as they beat their wings in the air. As magical beasts, the harpies were not so easily killed by ordinary arrows, yet they still shrieked wildly from the barrage.
Just then, Iris, Zeus's messenger, appeared.
The rainbow goddess Iris delivered the will of Zeus to the Argonauts.
"O heroes of the Argo, do not kill the great Zeus's hounds, the harpies. But I can swear by the River Styx that these harpies will never again torment the son of Agenor."
Hearing this, the Argonauts immediately ceased shooting.
Just as Iris was preparing to take the harpies away, the ones who had been struck by arrows suddenly began flying erratically.
Iris thought they were merely injured and paid it no mind, with the constitution of magical beasts, such wounds would heal quickly.
Unfortunately, things did not go as she imagined. The harpies would never heal again. As they continued to fly, Medusa's lethal venom had already seeped from their wounds into every part of their bodies, devouring their life force completely.
Every harpy struck by an arrow lost its life.
Iris had no idea what had happened and could only watch helplessly as more than half of Zeus's beasts fell.
Then she remembered the culprits, the Argonauts.
But unfortunately, neither she nor Zeus could take revenge on them, because they still needed the heroes to work on their behalf.
Thus, they had no choice but to swallow this silent loss.
Meanwhile, the completely oblivious Argonauts, now aboard the Argo, held a feast for King Phineus, who had been starving to the brink of death.
Phineus devoured the clean and abundant food greedily, as though everything happening before him were a dream.
By nightfall, the elderly King Phineus, in gratitude for the Argonauts' help, offered them a prophecy.
"At first, you will encounter the Clashing Rocks in the narrow strait of the Symplegades. They are two steep cliffs, not grown from the seabed, but drifting from afar. Sometimes the sea currents drive them together, crashing into each other; sometimes they drift apart. Between them the tide roars, producing terrifying sounds. If you do not wish to be crushed, you must row swiftly and with all your strength as you pass between them, letting your ship fly like a dove. After that, you will reach the shores of Mariandyna, the entrance to the underworld. You will pass mountains, bays, and the land of the Chalybes, who dig iron ore from underground, sweating endlessly. Finally, you will reach the shores of Colchis, where the wide and turbulent Phasis River flows into the sea. There you will see the magnificent palace of King Aeëtes. A sleepless dragon guards the Golden Fleece hanging on the crown of an oak tree."
Filled with gratitude, King Phineus reluctantly bid farewell to the Argonauts, and they embarked once again on their new adventure.
When the Argo approached the narrow strait of the Symplegades, the Argonauts heard thunderous booms from afar and saw two enormous floating cliffs clashing together, drifting apart, then colliding once more.
The Clashing Rocks repeated this cycle endlessly, producing earth-shaking roars.
The rocks were unimaginably massive, next to them, the Argo seemed as tiny as a toy. For a moment, everyone lost the courage to move forward.
Then they remembered King Phineus's prophecy: if a dove could fly fearlessly between the rocks, then they could proceed safely.
Just as the rocks parted, they hurriedly released the dove.
Under the Argonauts' expectant gazes, the dove flew through, but the two rocks began to close again.
Waves surged violently in the strait, the sea and sky roared, and the two drifting cliffs drew nearer, leaving the dove only the thinnest gap to slip through. The bird flapped its wings and finally passed safely, though the closing rocks clipped away its tail feathers.
Seeing this, Tiphys shouted to encourage the rowers to seize the moment when the rocks parted and row with all their might.
The Argo surged forward with the current. The Argonauts united their strength, rowing desperately, their oars bending like bows.
Just as the Argo was about to pass between the Clashing Rocks, the whirlpool in the strait dragged the ship inward, nearly scraping the massive cliffs.
But in the end, the Argo was not crushed. Like the dove, it passed through at the final moment, losing only a few planks from its stern.
This experience greatly revived the spirits of the Argonauts. Their previous despair and pessimism, born from the many deaths among their companions in Amazon territory, vanished completely.
With the gods' protection and prophecy's guidance, what difficulty could possibly stop them now?
After a day and night of sailing, just as Phineus had foretold, the Argo reached the kingdom of the Chalybes.
These people neither farmed nor herded livestock, they spent their lives mining iron from barren lands, trading it with neighboring nations for food.
They labored bitterly in dark cellars and thick smoke, living joyless lives.
When the Argonauts reached the island of Aretia, they unexpectedly encountered new friends and companions.
They had barely walked a few steps after landing when four ragged young men came toward them.
One of them hurried forward and pleaded for help.
"Kind people, whoever you may be, please help us poor castaways. Give us some clothes to wear and some food to fill our stomachs."
Jason agreed kindly and asked for their names and origins.
"You must have heard the story of Phrixus, son of Athamas and Nephele."
The young man in the lead replied.
"You know he brought the Golden Fleece to Colchis, and King Aeëtes gave him his eldest daughter, Chalciope, in marriage. We are the sons of Phrixus. My name is Argus. Our father Phrixus passed away not long ago. According to his will, we set sail to retrieve the treasure he left in the city of Orchomenus."
Hearing this, Jason and Prince Acastus immediately understood, Argus and his brothers were their cousins, for Jason's and Acastus's grandfather Cretheus and Athamas were brothers.
Thus, at dawn the next morning, Phrixus's sons donned new clothes and boarded the Argo with the Argonauts.
The arrival of new companions strengthened the heroes' confidence, easing the sorrow of lost comrades. Their hearts fixed on the path ahead, they pressed onward toward Colchis.
To bolster the strength of the Argonauts, to firm their resolve, yet without being too obvious, the gods had indeed spared no effort.
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