"The troublemakers who disrupted the race are dead," Minos snapped. "And should be cleaned up before we move on."
"I don't mean the birds," Tantalus said dismissively. "They weren't bothering anyone until those kids-" he pointed at me and Annabeth "-disrupted them with their bad chariot driving!"
Minos' eye twitched.
"Pardon are you saying the two who were nearly the winners are the one's who disrupted the Stymphalian Birds and not the ones that crashed in the first five minutes?"
"Absolutely!"
Minos' eye twitched again. He took a slow steady breath.
"Why don't we move to the big house to continue this conversation," he said with a tight smile.
"After I punish the troublemakers!"
"What in the name of my father is going on here," Dionysus interrupted.
His gaze swept over the mess of birds, the music player still playing horrid heavy metal, and the two kings facing off.
"Those two were such bad drivers—"
"The Stymphalian Birds got through the—"
"—and they disrupted the poor pigeons—"
"—attacked the campers and—"
"—obviously they must be punished—"
"—thankfully the music upset them and—"
"—so they will have dish duty tonight!"
"—so none of them should be punished."
Dionysus stared, "You know, I cancelled the chariot races when I was first assigned to this miserable camp just to keep the chaos down. I did warn you when you decided to reinstate them that you'd reap what you sowed… in other news it's time for lunch and I'm hungry. Move along children."
"You can't just—"
"We'll need someone to clean up the birds," Minos interrupted, raising his voice. "I believe whatever teams crashed within the first ten seconds should do so."
"Just get the harpies to," Lord D said dismissively, shooting a look at all of us. "Well? Why are you still standing there?"
I glanced at Annabeth and Leilani then scrambled to move towards the dining pavilion, the rest of the campers doing the same.
"Jackson, Casey," Lord D called.
We both froze, turning to look at him.
"Put the music up first."
"Yes, Lord D."
"Sorry, Mr. D."
We scooped it up and hurried back to the big house.
"Why does he call you by your name?" Annabeth muttered. "He never uses my name."
I shrugged, "Not sure. He's always used mine that I can remember."
"Weird."
Lunch was an awkward affair.
Tantalus was glaring at us, Minos, and Lord D for most of the time, and according to Leilani he and Minos had had a screaming fight (or well, Tantalus was screaming, no one heard Minos though) while me and Annabeth were returning the music stuff. Lord D had reportedly been the one to interrupt it and forced them both to the dining pavilion.
Thanks to Tantalus screaming when interrupted, everyone was now aware that Lord D was on thin ice with Zeus because Thalia's tree was poisoned while under his care.
Even Minos had been scandalized by Tantalus doing so.
Lord D seemed to be determined to ignore the awkward air and did some announcements, including reminding everyone that the sundials and sun catchers and all other preparations needed to be ready soon since the summer solstice was just under two weeks away.
I was looking forward to it. Despite everything going on at camp, the solstice was supposed to be fun. I wanted it to be fun.
I wanted to have some fun.
Lunch was terribly tense and very much not fun.
The one good thing to come out of having Minos around was that he was very firm on upholding their duty there, which meant that Annabeth and I didn't get punished.
Well, arguably.
Tantalus declared that we could have the "honor" of helping the harpies prepare the birds because "learning to cook is important for young minds".
Minos had promptly declared that was a great idea, and thus suggested all the campers help with dinner at some point.
No one else thought it was a great idea.
Tantalus clearly was sick of dealing with Minos cause he agreed and ordered a random Athena kid to set up a schedule.
Annabeth and I got some annoyed looks at that.
Thankfully the Harpies had already done most of the preparation, so we only needed to help cut the meat then put it off to the side for the harpies.
I was glad, the area was rather bloody. And the meat was too. Weren't terrors supposed to turn to dust when killed? Why didn't these? Were the bodies the spoil of war or something?
Annabeth said she didn't know when I asked.
We worked as carefully as we could, cutting the meat lengthwise and then cutting it in half before placing it on the boards as told.
Cut long wise, open, cut in half, place on the board. Cut long wise, open, cut in half, place on the board. Cut long wise, open, cut in half, place on the board. Cut long wise, open, cut in half, place on the board. Cut long wise, open, cut in half, place on the board.
It was relaxing in it's receptiveness. The Harpies were doing other things with the meat, but we had just the one job.
"So," Annabeth said. "The golden fleece."
My knife stilled for a moment before I went back to cutting.
"Yeah."
"What exactly did your dream tell you about it?"
I bit my lip, taking a moment to pull everything together.
"Okay so- so I dreamed of Metani again-"
Annabeth snorted, "You really heard Khiron say not to call Him that and said no."
My face warmed, "Well what am I supposed to call Him? I can't use His name so-"
She waved her hand, "No, no, you have a point. Most call him the Time Lord or the Titan King."
"Too long."
"Of course," she said with an eye roll. "Regardless, you were saying?"
"Uh…" I tried to remember. "Oh right. So I dreamed of Metani again, it's been awhile, but He told me about the poison."
Annabeth stopped, turning to me, "What? But- did He not poison the tree?"
"No, He said He did. But for some reason… He said He didn't want us dead, just out of the way. I don't understand it."
She mulled over it, "Kronos is… well he's known as a clever Deity from what I know. I've read a few works on him and Plato in particular mentioned him being intelligent. There may be another plan we can't see."
"Well it's not like the Fleece can do much outside of this specific situation. So why would it matter?"
"I'm not sure."
Annabeth fingered the knife in her hand as she thought.
"It might be the poison is more than they said. Or maybe they want the fleece for some reason?"
"But what reason?"
"Maybe…" she frowned. "Maybe it's like why he wanted Zeus' Bolt? We still don't know what use that would have other than starting the war between the Gods so…"
I hummed, carefully cutting another piece of terror pigeon breast.
"Maybe… I wish we knew more."
"You know-" she bit her lip.
"What?"
"You aren't considering joining him are you?"
I jerked, "What?"
"Well… it's just… Dylan, one of my siblings, he apparently left camp and said that… that he was joining Luke."
My eyes widened.
"I knew a sibling of yours was missing-"
She nodded, "Yeah… we… we didn't expect it. I just- I know the Titans make some points but we can't trust that. They- they're good now but what about later? What about when they no longer need to recruit us? It's like- it's like election time, right?"
I opened my mouth, but she kept talking.
"It seems great right now, but we have no way of knowing if they're actually keeping to the good because they care or because they want to manipulate us and maybe they do care but if they don't and you switch sides then you're just doomed and anyways it's not like- it's not like the Gods are bad you know? They have some bad stuff going on but that's not all of who they are. I mean they answer our prayers and they guide most of us to some kind of safety and- well you know… they try to take care of us..."
I made a noise of agreement as she continued on.
"And the Time Lord is clearly trying to get you on his side, maybe because you're the prophecy kid, but it's just- if they really cared they wouldn't- they wouldn't do this to the camp. Luke wouldn't have- have poisoned Thalia and so- it's just- you need to remember that they're just trying to manipulate you and-"
"Annabeth," I interrupted.
She snapped her mouth shut, taking a shaky breath.
"Sorry."
"It's okay," I said. "It's- I know what you're saying. But it really doesn't matter what he wants. I'd never betray Triton."
She rolled her shoulders, nodding quickly "Right."
"I… well… I'm sorry."
Annabeth tilted her head, her brows furrowed in confusion, "Why?"
"Because Luke…"
How could I say what he told me. How he was just going to stay back and let her be let down- that he expected her to be hurt and planned to wait till after to help her.
"He… I'm just sorry that he did this to you, to Thalia. I can't understand why he would."
She stared down at the meat in front of her.
"It's not your fault. I… I shouldn't take this out on you, I'm sorry, I'm just-"
She gazed at the meat for a long moment, her eyes far away. She looked so tired and alone. She looked afraid.
"I'm just frustrated."
I watched her with a frown.
"Do you want a hug?"
She blinked at me.
"Our hands are covered in blood."
She was smiling slightly so I considered it a win.
"So? We're gonna need to wash these anyways."
Her shoulders slumped, "Yeah… I would like a hug."
I wrapped my arms around her shoulders as best I could considering she was taller than me and she relaxed slightly.
"I am- I am sorry," she mumbled, sounding almost embarrassed. "I shouldn't have gotten so mad at you."
"It's okay," I assured. "You've had a bad year."
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Hey!" squawked a Harpy. "No PDA in front of the dinner!"
We pulled apart quickly, my face warm.
"Sorry."
We worked in silence for awhile longer before Annabeth spoke again.
"So we need to reach Grover and the Golden Fleece."
I nodded, "Yeah. The Fleece has to be the solution. There's nothing else I can think of…"
"Me neither," she said grudgingly. "At least it has a chance… Only problem is how to get there. Tantalus would never approve a quest."
I smiled, remembering my lessons with Triton and Benthesikyme.
"He wouldn't have a choice if we announce it in front of the whole camp."
Annabeth stilled, "At dinner or campfire?"
"Dinner would have Lord D and Minos there, and they might support us."
"Neither of them seem to get along with Tantalus," she murmured. "And Minos does take his job of protecting the camp seriously…"
"Exactly."
"So, dinner then?"
"Dinner."
Annabeth smiled, a bright thing filled with hope. "Then we'd best finish preparing the meat."
Dinner was actually delicious. I didn't expect the terror pigeon breasts to taste so good, but they were prepared several ways and all of them were amazing. The harpies really were great cooks.
As dinner wound down Tantalus stood.
"Well then! This has been a wonderful day."
He casually went to pick up a strip of meat, only for it to slide off the plate and then skid right off the table when he lunged for it.
He straightened and continued, "It's about time for campfire so-"
"Sir," I interrupted as I stood, Annabeth quickly following from her table.
Tantalus' eye twitched. "Yes? Did our new cooks need something?"
Several campers snickered.
I glanced at Annabeth and she nodded, "We have a plan to save the camp."
Dead silence.
Lord D straightened and Minos leaned forward.
"Well I certainly hope it's not like your chariot plan-"
"The Golden Fleece," I said. "It can heal the tree and we know where it is."
Minos frowned, "The Golden Fleece is not a healing artifact."
"Indeed, so moving on-"
"But it can heal the tree. I had a dream-"
"Oh goodie," Tantalus snorted.
"I had a dream," I repeated, ignoring him. "Where I learned about the poison. It's meant to block the nutrients the tree can get, and only something of divine nature would have the strength to counter it. The Golden Fleece is uniquely suited to do so. I met Grover in another dream and he told me where it is-"
"That's preposterous-"
"He's right," Annabeth insisted. "The Golden Fleece comes from a ram born of Poseidon and Theophane. So, there's the water. And Theophane is the daughter of Bisaltes, who's the son of Helios and Gaea, bringing the sun and earth into it as well."
"It has all the things the tree needs, all of it divine."
"Well-"
"No, no," Lord D interrupted Tantalus. "They are correct. If the poison truly does focus on the nutrients the Golden Fleece would be perfect for solving the issue."
"That may work," mused Minos.
"The Golden Fleece can save Thalia's tree," Annabeth insisted. "It can save the camp."
"Nonsense!" Tantalus snapped. "We don't need saving."
Everyone, including Lord D and Minos, stared at him. He shifted.
"Where is it?" Minos asked.
"The Sea of Monsters," I said, raising my chin. "On Polyphemus' island."
"That Kyklopes!" Tantalus cried. "Don't be preposterous. Besides, the entrance to the sea of monsters is nearly impossible to find these days. You don't have all the information you need."
The information we needed… that… that reminded me of something…
"We always know the info our riders need to know."
The Gray Ones.
"Yes, we do," I said. "We have all the information we need."
Annabeth shot me a confused look as I spoke.
"Twenty-eight, eighteen, thirty-three, seventy, fifty, fifty-six."
"Ooo-kay," Tantalus said slowly. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers."
I sighed, "They're sailing coordinates, in degrees, minutes, seconds. Twenty-eight degrees, eighteen minutes, thirty-three seconds north, seventy degrees, fifty minutes, fifty-six seconds west."
"Oh!" Annabeth said, a grin on her face. "The numbers from the Gray Sisters. That would be somewhere in the Atlantic, off of Florida. That's the entrance to the sea of monsters."
"We need a quest," I said firmly. "We know where to go and what to get. We need to send a quest."
"Wait a minute-"
"We need a quest!" Annabeth repeated.
"We do no-"
But the campers were having none of it from Tantalus. Their eyes were bright with hope and they picked up where Annabeth left off.
"We need a quest! We need a quest!"
"It's isn't necessary!"
"WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"
Minos was smirking, Lord D was leaning back with a drink in his hand, his eyes gleaming. Tantalus looked furious.
Fine!" He shouted, his eyes blazing. "You brats want a quest?"
"YES!"
"Very well, then I shall assign a quest. A champion of my choosing. One to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying."
I shared a look with Annabeth. We'd succeeded. There would be a quest! We could get the fleece and save Grover.
"I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" He announced. "And choose two companions for the journey. I think the choice of champion is obvious."
Tantalus swept his gaze over the campers, lingering on Annabeth and me with hate burning in his eyes.
"The champion should be one who has the camps respect, who has proven resourceful and courageous in the defense of the camp. And so the leader of this quest shall be… Clarisse!"
The Ares cabin cheered, stomping their feet.
"CLARISSE! CLARISSE!"
She stumbled to her feet, eyes wide. She swallowed hard, raising her chin as a proud grin spread across her lips.
"I accept the quest!"
I faltered, shooting Annabeth a look. She frowned as well.
"Hang on," she said. "We're- Percy is the one who got the information."
Sherman Yang scoffed, "You had your chance last year!"
"It's a trip in the ocean," I cried. "I'm literally the son of Poseidon."
"Shove it!"
"Yeah!"
"We don't need you to handle traveling!"
Yewande (from the Athena cabin) leapt to her feet, "It was Annabeth and Percy to share the information! They should go as well!"
"After his last attempt at helping the tree!?"
"He only did that because I asked," Annabeth interrupted. "It's as much my fault as his. But he is the perfect member of the quest."
"You just want the glory again."
"Why should we trust him after his lies about Luke?"
"He didn't-"
"You shove it!" Katie snapped. "He didn't lie!"
"You don't get to go on this quest too!"
I opened my mouth to speak, Annabeth trying as well, but fighting was breaking out. The Athena cabin members were yelling at the Ares cabin members. Leilani grabbed my hand, shooting me a worried look. Tyson shrunk down in his seat.
Tantalus was watching with an amused grin as the fighting got worse.
"Don't talk about Percy like that!" Drew snapped. "Even the Athena cabin agrees-"
"They're biased cause Annabeth is there!"
I was worried it would come to blows when Lord D interrupted.
"Enough."
He didn't shout, but everyone went silent anyways. The smell of grapes filled the air as Lord D's eyes glowed.
My breath caught.
He swept His eyes over the campers slowly, everyone quiet.
"The leader of the quest has been decided," He said firmly. "There will be at least two others on the quest with her. That is final. Now shut up and go to campfire. Clair, you can speak with the oracle after the campfire."
We all hovered silently.
"Well? Go to campfire."
We rushed away.
I didn't know what to do that night. Tyson and Leilani watched me twist water into complex shapes as I thought.
"You will go anyways?" Tyson asked.
Leilani frowned, "That would be hard."
"Really hard," I agreed.
"I will help."
"I can't ask that of you," I said softly. "If I got caught I would be in a lot of trouble."
He stared at the pieces of metal in his lap—springs and gears and tiny wires that Beckendorf had given him. His skills with them was very impressive.
"Annabeth doesn't like Kyklopes," he muttered. "You… don't want me along?"
"Oh, no that's not- Annabeth she- well I don't know the full story but it's not you, Tyson. She- she just is upset and lashing out. She shouldn't be doing it to you, you don't deserve it, but it's not you that she doesn't like."
Tyson folded up his project in an oilcloth. He lay down on the bed and hugged his bundle to his chest.
"Daddy always cared for m-me," he sniffled. "Now… I think he was mean to have a Kyklopes boy. I should not have been born."
"Tyson-" I swallowed hard.
"That's not true!" Leilani insisted. "Everyone knows that Poseidon values every one of His kids. If you prayed to Him, he would grant whatever aid He could to you. There are loads of stories about demigods harming His Kyklopes or Nymph children and Him avenging them. It… it might not be great now but…"
She looked to me helplessly.
"Camp was rough for me too at the start," I offered. "It… it didn't feel at all like home. Even when I was claimed everyone mostly avoided me. The Demeter and Aphrodite cabins didn't but…"
Tyson looked at us, his big eye watery.
"It gets better," I assured him.
"But they are mean to you too."
Leilani winced.
"There's… stuff has happened and… People really liked someone who did a bad thing to Percy. But he did it to Percy when they were alone so no one saw and well… people don't believe he did it."
I winced, "It's just… complicated… but I still have friends here who care for me. And maybe some parts aren't great but… I like spending time with my friends. They're important to me. So are you."
Tyson nodded slowly, "I love you too, brother, cousin."
Leilani blinked, shooting me a confused look. "Cousin?"
He yawned, "Sea child, family."
She sniffed, "You're literally a sweet heart."
He didn't reply, and a moment later he started snoring softly.
"I guess we should sleep too," Leilani murmured, yawning.
"Yeah, it's getting late."
Leilani seemed to drift off pretty quick, but my brain wouldn't shut up.
I lay staring at the ceiling, studying the stars projected from my starglobe.
Would it be okay? Clarisse was good, she'd been training as long as me and at camp much longer but…
I wasn't sure. Something told me it wasn't enough.
I wanted to sleep, to maybe dream more answers, but I also didn't want to. I didn't want to sleep. I didn't want to fall asleep and not be here.
I wanted to go on the quest. I wanted to help Grover. I wanted to help on the quest.
I rolled over.
Clarisse was going into the ocean… without a sea kid who was right there. It didn't seem smart to me.
Maybe I hadn't practiced anything related to ships, but I was sure I could still help. I knew Khrysaôr had a ship, maybe I could ask him for help?
…
Well he probably wouldn't help but it was an idea.
I groaned and rolled out of bed. I wasn't going to be able to sleep yet. Might as well do something else.
Dionysus POV
"So, have you picked your companions?" I asked.
Clarisse had already found her ride, thanks to her father answering a prayer, and had her prophecy. Now all she needed were her quest members.
Tantalus had gone to bed, and Minos was leaning against the wall.
"I was thinking of bringing Beckendorf and Silena," she said. "They're both skilled, and Silena has charmspeak so-"
"Beckendorf is the most skilled of the Hephaestus kids," Minos said with a frown. "We need his skills to continue repairing weapons and tools."
She grimaced, "Well-"
"And is Silena willing to go on such a long trip? It won't be a short journey to the Sea of Monsters."
"At least a few days just to reach the entrance," I agreed.
She frowned.
In reality the girl would probably be willing to go, but she wasn't the most willing to fight. She was one of the gentlest campers actually. It would be better to bring others with skills that would help more.
Like someone knowledgeable in the beings you would find there.
Or one who could navigate the sea easily.
Someone few in the sea would dare harm.
"If you can't pick yourself," I started, "then I can pick for you."
She blinked, "Really?"
I nodded.
Tantalus would no doubt interfere if I announced the picks I had, and even Minos wouldn't be happy about it. While he didn't dislike either of them, he certainly wasn't their biggest fans.
I would be best to have them meet up along the quest.
I smiled, "I'll have the companions I choose for you meet you at the North Carolina Port. You can refuel there."
"Thank you," she said.
I hummed, leaning back in my chair.
The quest was all set up and Clarisse would be off in the morning. Now all I had to do was call Hermes.