Rather quickly, David was able to discern a feeble glow within the bank of fog directly before him. This glow slowly became brighter, swaying slightly in rhythm to the sound of occasional splashes. Eventually, the glow became a lantern that slid out of the fog, bobbing on the end of a long pole which looked much like a shepherd's crook. The pole was attached to the prow of a low, wooden craft that pushed gently out of the cloud bank. David recognized the boat as a punt, a wide, shallow-bottomed vessel usually used to navigate rivers and marshes.

The fog parted slightly and the rest of the vessel slipped into the open air. Standing near the aft section of the punt, pushing the vessel along with the aid of a stout pole, stood a tall figure shrouded in a grey, hooded robe. Arrow straight the vessel came across the intervening water, the square prow finally scraping against the sand just in front of him.

The robed figure leaned upon his poling staff, and with a hollow voice said, "Come."

"I beg your pardon?" David asked, peering into the darkness of the figure's cowl. "Do I know you, good sir?"

"I am Charon, the boatman. I have come to ferry you across the river to the farther shore," he said, and waved an arm toward the fog bank and presumably to something beyond its confines.

David thought for a moment, his brow furrowed and said, "Ahh, of course. The boatman and the river." He nodded to himself, realization setting in. "This wouldn't be the River Styx by any chance, would it?"

"Indeed it is," the boatman responded, his deep voice slightly muffled by the damp air. "Now, you are expected. Please board, that we may be under way."

"Yes, all right, but may I ask you a question before we get started?"

Charon leaned more heavily on his staff and said, "You would not be the first to do so."

"Right, well, I was just wondering why this shore is so bleak and barren," David asked, turning around and taking in the jagged rocks and lifeless landscape.

"Nothing lives here," Charon told him bluntly. "This is where the dead come at the first stage of their journey to the afterlife."