Once, a long time ago now, I told you I didn't ask to be a demigod. I didn't and truthfully, I still don't. I told you it usually gets you killed in extremely nasty, painful ways. That's true. But, I didn't tell you that one of the reasons you'll probably die is that for some reason, once you realize you're a demigod, you tend to befriend the most insane, no-brained people on the planet… If you still wake up one day and realize your mom or dad is a little more divine than most, if you're smart, you'll only talk to kids from the Athena Cabin. They're smart and safe and can get you out of almost any situation. Here's the real advice though: by all means, stay away from the children of Hermes.

I honestly thought it would be fun. I was due for a new adventure. Even Annabeth Chase (she's my girlfriend in case you didn't know) told me to go and have a good time. But now, while I'm running for my life from crazy, money hungry leprechauns, right behind Travis and Connor Stoll, I'd much prefer sitting at camp making urns and teaching new campers how to hold a sword. I thought the Stolls knew what they were doing. Why, I really don't know, but for some reason those two sons of Hermes can be really convincing. They better hope they don't lose that special talent of theirs so they can convince me not to wring their scrawny necks if we get out of this mess…

It all started yesterday morning. I was walking from the Poseidon Cabin to the Athena Cabin to meet Annabeth before breakfast. When I got there, she was waiting for me with one of her deep in thought looks and Stoll 1 and Stoll 2 grinning down at her. I still have trouble telling them apart. I know Travis is the older one and I think he's a little taller, but they're both always slouching, bending down trying to lean into people to make a deal or something, exactly what they were doing to my girlfriend at that moment. I knew this usually meant trouble, but they were scared of her because of some prank gone wrong when they were kids, so they definitely weren't trying a prank or something. Finally she spoke up, "Well it's not up to me, but I'll ask him. Just make sure he's home in time for our date tomorrow night or you'll have problems."

"Yes ma'am." Connor and Travis said it unison and mock saluted her before they turned and spotted me. They smiled at me and winked before they ran off towards the dining pavilion. I've known them for almost five years now and considered them both good friends, but they still made really uneasy whenever they smiled at me. But as soon as I looked away, there was another smile shining at me, and honestly I couldn't think of anything else after that. Connor and Travis who?

I kissed her like I did every morning, and we held hands while walking to the pavilion. I asked about her evening because she was working on a huge project with her siblings and I didn't get to see her last night. I like when she talks even if I don't always understand. I think sometimes she believes I'm not paying attention, but I always am. She's really good at helping me with the ADHD thing. When we were finally in line for food though, two pairs of identical eyes were staring at us from the end of the Hermes table giving me an uneasy feeling again. "Wise Girl, I'm afraid to ask, but why are Travis and Connor staring at me like I'm either going to take them to Disney World or feed them to the Nemean Lion?"

"Oh, they want you to go on a little quest with them. Some kind of Hermes Cabin legend. I never heard of it actually so I—"

"Wait, what? You never heard of it? Is this a prank or some—"

"Percy, honestly, I doubt that. Let me finish though. They thought I could convince you to go better than they could. They want you to go to Ireland with them to find leprechaun gold. No child of Hermes has ever completed the task though. It kind of reminds me of the Mark of the Athena to be honest. Kind of gave me the chills, but then they explained that's only because no child of Hermes ever even tried. This is the first attempt. They already got the okay from Chiron and even support from their dad. He was really proud of their initiative for planning this all out. You don't have to go or anything, but you were their first choice for the third member of their group. They leave this evening, and it should be a really short quest. You just have to let them know after we eat."

"Oh, well that's not bad at all. I'll, uh, think about it." The truth was I was dying to go on a quest. I mean I was so glad that things were finally calmed down for me: no titans, no giants, no angry gods. But I was getting bored. After having that much adventure, how could I be expected just to sit around at camp all summer and train. It was nice for the first week, I'll admit that much. But now, I needed something… something besides the plate full of bacon and scrambled eggs.

"Percy, just go tell them yes already. Your eyes are glazing over and you have that dreamy look in your eyes. Just make sure you're home in enough time to get ready for tomorrow night." She was smirking at me. She probably knew what I was really thinking as soon as I said 'I think.' That's more her department.

"Gods, I love you." I kissed her again, ignoring the whoops and hollers from the campers, then threw a few pieces of bacon into the fire. For Poseidon. And as an afterthought, I added, and for Hermes.

I ate quickly as always. It's lonely when you're the only one in your cabin. I kind of wished that the lone campers could just sit together. There weren't many of us though. Just me and Pollux now actually. Anyway, I was about to get up when Travis and Connor sat down. It was kind of against the rules, but for some reason, no one ever said anything when people sat at my table.

"So, what do you say? You'll come right?"

"You were of course our first choice. We owe you."

"Yeah, and we need three. Me and Connor work together all the time."

"But we've worked with you too. You have the experience with quests that we need."

"And we have the experience in what we'll be doing for this quest."

That should have been a red flag right there. Connor and Travis were the two sons of Hermes who ran the cabin. They had every Hermes kid ability known and their main one was the ability to steal anything without being detected. But in that moment, I was so excited to be going, I didn't think about that.

"Of course guys. I wouldn't miss it. When do we leave?"

They gave me identical smirks and identical handshakes.

"You are the best."

"We leave at 3pm."

"See you then! Meet us by the pine."

"And by the way…"

"I'll be wearing blue, and I'm Travis."

"And I'll be the Stoll in red. I think you can figure out which one I am now."

"Do you guys always have to talk in lines like that because, I'm not going to lie, it's really annoying." I was smiling though. Every time we got together, it was a blast. Literally. Something usually exploded when they were around. They knew how to make me laugh though, and despite their bad reputations for stealing and conning people out of money, they were two of the best guys I ever met in my entire life. They laughed and ran off to get ready without a response. My own getting ready process usually took five minutes because that's all the time I had. I wasn't really sure what people did while waiting to go. My sword was already in my pocket as always. I only needed one change of clothes and my shield. I was so used to five minute prep time, that I didn't need any more than that. I was glad too. I got to spend more time with Annabeth before we left. We practiced in the arena, then sat by the lake. The small stuff like that is my favorite though…

Finally, it was time to go though. I made a quick Iris message to Mom before I set out for the tree. Annabeth walked with me until I got there. The Stoll brothers had already arrived and were in a heavy conversation about who was driving. They had a gleam in their eyes already that even their disagreement couldn't take away.

"You two better behave, got it. Don't get him into trouble either. And please stay safe, all three of you." Annabeth hugged Travis, then Connor. I knew they were close, so it I wasn't jealous or anything. They knew her before I did. They made it to camp just a little after she did, and because of Luke, well…yeah they were just close. It was my turn for a hug now though. She hugged me really tight, and I realized at that moment that this was the first quest I was going on totally without her. For a brief moment, I almost changed my mind. Then she whispered in my ear. "I love you, Seaweed Brain. Don't even think of getting hurt or you'll regret it. Now go, have a good time." And then after a kiss that made my mind a little fuzzy, I was on my way, and that moment of doubt was long gone.