— - —
{Annabeth Chase}
[Daughter of Athena]
[LVL]: 20
[HP]: 10,000/10,000
[SP]: 15,000/15,000
[MP]: 7000/7000
— - —
Jesus! This girl could whoop my ass without breaking a sweat! Man,
I need to hit the gym the second I can.
Would a place like this even have a gym? I guess a training arena or
gladiator pit seems more fitting—you get the point. I needed to get
strong. Fast.
I turned my attention to the two men.
First, the chubbier man. He was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple.
He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one
of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the strangest feeling that this
guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.
— - —
{Dionysus}
[Olympian]
[LVL]: ?
— - —
I blinked to myself. I really wished I paid more attention in Mr.
Brunner's class.
Dionysus sounded super familiar, but I always
mixed him and Demeter up. Their domains were just so alike! I think.
Speaking of Mr. Brunner, though, I took a peek at him, too.
— - —
{Chiron}
[Trainer of Heroes]
[LVL]: ?
— - —
Sure, why not? At this point, you could probably tell me I had a
Cyclops for a brother, and I'd take it in stride. I did want to talk to
Chiron about that pen-sword thing he'd let me keep at some point,
though.
— - —
Quest Alert!
[SIDE QUEST]
{A Toast to Favor!}
[Quest Prompt]: Earn the favor of Dionysus, the god of wine
and revelry. He carries a general disdain for demigods. Known
for his sharp wit and sharper tongue, Dionysus isn't easily
impressed—your task is to prove yourself worthy of his rare
approval.
[Total Possible Rewards]:
- [Variable] boost in reputation!
- [+][300][EXP]!
- [?]
Please select: [YES/NO]
— - —
The world slowed to a crawl. Two shimmering orbs materialized
before me, gently bobbing in the air like soap bubbles caught in a
breeze, one green, and one red. Really? Well, I mean, I'm not about
to turn down some free levels.
I clicked the green one. It shimmered for a moment, and everything
disappeared. Time resumed.
"Ah, Percy," Mr. Brunner—er—Chiron called out to me with a smile.
He gestured for me to walk closer. "Welcome. How are you feeling?"
"Better than ever," I replied.
"Better than ever, sir," Dionysus butted in, turning to get a better look
at me. His tired eyes swept over my face, almost half-heartedly. He
made a weird waving motion with his hand and burped. "Try it
again."
"Sir," I repeated, mentally making a note of the fact that there was no
way in hell this quest was going to work out.
Dionysus hummed. He leaned forward, "Better. What's your name,
boy?"
"Percy Jackson, sir," I replied, in a biting tone.
"It's good to see you, Percy. You gave us quite the fright.
You showed up here, dead on your feet, dragging an unconscious Mr.
Underwood in tow." Chiron smiled at me as he shuffled a deck of
cards. His voice trembled for a moment, "Do you feel...alright?
You've been through quite an ordeal."
I flexed my fingers for a moment. The game's interface wobbled.
"Yeah, honestly, I'm feeling better than ever."
Chiron laughed, fanning the cards out on the table with a brilliant
flourish. One of the cards flew off the table—an ace of clubs. "Only
you would say that, Percy. Only you. Well, in part, you have to thank
our dear Annabeth for that. In fact, she—"
"Yes, yes, Mary-Beth nursed you back to health, it's quite the story.
Whoopty. Terrific." Dionysus interrupted.
He blew a raspberry and fiddled with the clasp of a flask, his sausage-like fingers smothering the tiny metal lid. "The hands, if you would, Chiron? Perhaps we can make Peter here sit down and play a few rounds, see if we can work out his permanence in camp over the cards, eh?"
I went to open my mouth, but the girl, Annabeth, met my gaze and
shook her head. Her curls bounced. I bit the inside of my cheek.
"As interesting as that would be, it's imperative that Percy gets
acquainted with camp," Chiron returned, saving me from that growingly uncomfortable situation. I thought Dionysus was going to
vaporize Chiron right there, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being contradicted by a Latin teacher. "He's a new recruit, and there isn't much time before dinner. Wouldn't you agree?"
"I suppose. Mary-Beth, take Peter on a tour, will you? I believe I'll
take a nap before the sing-along tonight," The air grew serious for a
moment, and he reached out to grab my shoulder.
There was a surprising amount of power in the gesture—I felt like my shoulder
was trapped in a vice. "Mind your manners, Mr. Jackson. If I find out
you're causing trouble, you'll be but a memory. A small, unpleasantly
dressed memory. Have a good day."
— - —
Quest Failed!
[SIDE QUEST]
{A Toast to Favor!}
[Quest Prompt]: Come on, man? The first quest? Ugh...
— - —
I stared at the Game, and Dionysus tracked the movement of my
eyes. His eyes narrowed, and his lips parted for a moment. He
looked at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire blaze in his
eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me
the tiniest bit of his true nature.
The fire seared through the Game's interface, forcing it away, and I
saw visions of grapevines choking unbelievers to death, drunken
warriors insane with battle lust, and sailors screaming as their hands
turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts.
Then, suddenly, the fire retreated. He rubbed his goatee thoughtfully,
"Take him."
Annabeth nodded and started to walk away without me. I ran a bit to
catch up with her. She looked like she was probably my age, maybe
a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic-looking.
With her deep tan and curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I
thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her
eyes ruined the image.
They were a startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating,
too, as if she were analyzing the best way to take me down in a fight.
Which she probably could do with ease.
She was double my level, and I knew I'd have to get right to training if I wanted to stand a
chance against her—or anyone—here.
We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. They stared at me and began whispering. I couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not. Their levels, like Annabeth's, were at least double mine. The highest one I saw was thirty.
"So, you took out the Minotaur," Annabeth said, trying to break the
awkward silence that had fallen as we left the house. "That's cool.
Quite the performance."
"Oh, thanks," I smiled at her. I felt one of my perks activate. It filled me with a giddy feeling of warmth—kind of like I'd just downed a cup of hot cocoa. Annabeth didn't seem so scary anymore. "I kind of wish
I stuck the landing, though. You know, without the whole passing out like a baby part."
Annabeth's scowl melted into a grin. "Well, we'll just have to work on that, won't we? You're in the right place for it. Camp is where kids like us learn how to survive in the real world."
"Oh, yeah? That's cool. Do you have any tips for a beginner like me?"
She pretended to spend some time thinking about her answer.
"Yeah, don't die?"
"Good point," I rubbed the back of my neck. "I'll try my best." I'd played enough video games to know that the absolute first thing I
would be doing would be grinding out all my skills, so her words
didn't really mean much to me. I wasn't planning on testing out the
dying function of the Game anytime soon.
Annabeth and I fell into semi-comfortable conversation as she
showed me around camp. I'd never really been one for architecture
or anything, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by the fact
that the camp could have so many Greek-themed buildings that still
looked squeaky clean. It was like a slice of Ancient Greece existed
between the strawberry fields.
We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables the javelin
range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Annabeth
said they held sword and spear fights.
"Sword and spear fights?" I asked. That was probably going to be
one of the best ways I'd be able to grind.
"Cabin challenges and all that," She explained. "Not lethal. Usually.
Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."
Annabeth pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian
columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone
picnic tables. No roof. No walls.
"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.
Annabeth looked at me with a smirk. "Percy, look around. Have there
been any clouds in the sky since you've been here?"
She was right. As I looked around, I realized the skies above the
camp were eerily clear, not a single cloud marring the perfect blue
expanse. But just beyond the camp's borders, a storm raged—dark,
thunderous clouds pouring sheets of rain.
"Ah…"
Annabeth rolled her eyes at me, smiling lightly. I shook my head,
glad that my intelligence, or supposed lack thereof, seemed to bring
her joy. "Next up, the cabins."
There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They
were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either
side. And they were, without doubt, the most bizarre collection of
buildings I'd ever seen.
Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the
door, with odds on the left side and evens on the right, they looked
nothing alike.
Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had
tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven
seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the
sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.
They all faced a common area about the size of a soccer field,
dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of
basketball hoops.
There were also communal bathrooms, since,
according to Annabeth, not all the cabins had built-in bathrooms.
Some of the ones that did have them in the cabin also had a lot of
people, anyway, so it didn't hurt to have some backup—especially
after camp's Taco Tuesday dinners.
After using [Observe] again, I could tell exactly which cabin
belonged to who. Not that it would've been hard, anyway. The gods
had...unique tastes. We walked around for a bit, and then, Annabeth
and I came to the last cabin—Cabin 3.
I stopped curiously in front of the doorway. It was built kind of far
away from the rest of the cabins. While most of them were landlocked, this one was built facing out toward the sea, with a small
dock that overlooked the glittering water.
It was long, low, and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone
studded with pieces of seashell and coral as if the slabs had been
hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. I nodded to myself
as I looked at it. This felt more like home to me than all of the other
ones I'd seen before. Poseidon had really nice taste.
"Well, that just about concludes the tour. I'll leave you to walk around
for a bit. If you need anything, don't be a stranger," Annabeth told
me, patting my shoulder. Her eyes searched my face, and a small
grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Cabin 6. I'll come to find you
for dinner if you aren't there in an hour or two."
"Thanks, Annabeth," I told her sincerely, and she smiled at me and
began to walk across the field.
I carefully trod down the path next to my cabin. I caught the salty
scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk.
The interior walls glowed like abalone. Even from outside the cabin, I
could peer inside to see that there were six empty bunk beds with
silk sheets turned down—and, to my relief, it looked like there was a
built-in bathroom with one of those fancy, multiple-nozzle showers
and a laundry machine.
Not bad.
I stepped out to the dock and noticed, curiously enough, that a man
was sitting at the edge, one that definitely hadn't been there before. I
caught the sight of a fishing rod in his hand and a worn-down fishing
box on his left side, alongside a cooler.
I carefully made my way over to him, having used [Observe] on him
the moment I noticed his presence.
— - —
{Poseidon}
[Ruler of the Seas]
[LVL]: ?
[HP]: ?
[MP]: ?
?
— - —
"So," I said, settling down beside him, my ratty Converse skimming
the glassy surface of the Long Island water. "Anything biting?"
"Not yet," He replied, a low chuckle escaping his lips. There was a
whizzing noise as cast his line again, the motion easy, deliberate.
"But with you here, I'd wager it won't be long."
----------------------------------------------------------
Poseidon makes quite the entrance at the end of this chapter—Percy, watch out! I hope his arrival gave you as much excitement reading it as I had writing it.
Remember, every 300 power stones earned unlocks a bonus chapter, so if you're enjoying the story, dropping a power stone really helps me keep the adventure going.
You can also support me further on Patreon if you want to help even more.