Chapter 2 - On the Way to Town

As Drego, the hobbit – which, as far as Nico cared, was a race of midgets lacking the usual awkwardness in walking – showered Percy and Thalia with enough questions for him to fill out biographies for them both, Nico remained silent. He didn't like talking unless necessary, although he was an acknowledged expert at lying, and occupied his mind with finding out where exactly they were.

The terms mentioned by Drego triggered something, yes, but for the demigod life of him, Nico couldn't figure out what. He'd heard all of them before, but the details to where and when he heard it, along with under what circumstances, remained mysteriously blurry. Nico was starting to suspect that some other deities were tampering with his memory, because he rarely forgot anything. Not that unlikely, seeing as his own dad eliminated everything from his youngest years.

Luckily for Nico, this wasn't the type of magical, hard to undone I-won't-let-you-see-that thing did by the gods. It was plain simple forgetfulness. And Nico was growing frustrated.

"Figured anything out yet?" Percy asked suddenly as though he'd read his mind. Nico hoped to Hades it wasn't so. Percy already had a list of superpowers already. No need to add to it.

"Nope," he replied, his voice a little sharp. "It's not easy to remember a tiny detail when you're so busy over the years, you know."

Percy held up a hand in a peacemaking gesture. "Hey, don't get cranky. I'm just trying to make conversations." He glanced at Drego, at the surrounding fields and the occasional little people all looking at them like they were some strange sort of exotic animals getting transported from the zoo, then lowered his voice.

"What do you think of all this?" Percy asked.

"It's either Hecate's idea of vengeance for the dish I broke in her cavern last month or Morpheus trying to get back at Artemis for calling him a dreamy-eyed idiot," Nico answered.

Thalia, who had not joined their conversation, turned to them at this with a frown. "So this might not be real?"

"Possibly," Nico shrugged. Morpheus was the god of dreams after all, and it would be stupid to put past him the ability of making dreams so realistic that it was impossible to tell if it was really a dream.

Percy looked like he was in deep thoughts. "I don't think this is a dream," he said eventually, looking from Thalia to Nico, his green eyes serious and convinced. "It doesn't feel like it."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Well, of course it doesn't! If Morpheus wanted us to get lost in some dream-world of his and suffer for what we didn't do – what I didn't do – he would've made it really realistic –"

"Greetings, Master Drego!" cried a cheerful new midget a distance from their wagon not far up the road. Nico leaned forward to see this new character more clearly. He was about the same height as Drego himself but looked younger with straw-colored curly hair that hung down to his eyes and a round, boyish face. Like Drego, he was also barefoot and wore what looked like the things Peter Penvensie was wearing in that Narnia film.

Thalia immediately quieted at the new arrival, and instinctively the three guests spread out, each sitting as close to the wagon's edge as they could without seeming suspicious, their hands resting casually on their pockets. It seemed to be needless caution, however, as the happy hobbit came close enough to greet Drego person to person.

He and Drego shook hands. "A good day to you as well, Master Gamgee," the older hobbit said pleasantly.

"How are you doing?" Master Gamgee said brightly. "The road not to treacherous for you, I hope. The folk down there is a queer one indeed. We were a tiny bit worried when you didn't come back last week. But not me, Mister Drego! Not me! I know in my heart that you could take care of business well if not quickly."

Drego grinned. "It is good to know that some people have such faith in me, Master Gamgee, especially in these times. As it is, I brought back presents for the children. If you can, then come to my hole some time next week and we can have some conversation over second breakfast. I am sure young Sam would love what I have for him." He winked at Master Gamgee, then gestured to his wagon. "And see what extra special souvenirs I've got!"

Master Gamgee, who until then had his sole attention on the other hobbit and not seeing the half-bloods (who, in all truth, had stooped to avoid detection) now turned to them curiously. His eyes widened as he spotted the freeloaders, then took on the suspicion Drego had exhibited when he first met them.

"The Big Folk!" Master Gamgee exclaimed. "And young children, nonetheless! What are they doing here, Mister Drego?"

Percy and Thalia tensed visibly at this, but luckily for them, Drego was more considerate than that. "An interesting story," he said nonchalantly, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "Hardly the time for it. But do tell me, Master Gamgee, how is Hobbiton doing?" His voice suddenly grew serious, and Master Gamgee's attention was once again drawn to him.

"Can we talk on the way?" the new hobbit proposed, glancing at the sky. The sun was starting to sink as afternoon approached.

"By all means, yes! Climb on!" Drego patted the seat next to him on the bench. Master Gamgee tossed what seemed like the only three characters of normal height around there a final curious and wary look before accepting the invitation. Soon they were moving again.

Now that Drego had found himself somebody else to be occupied with, Nico returned his attention to the matter at hand. "This is bad," he said. "Really bad. Do any of you have any mean to contact camp? Or somewhere that can help us figure where in Zeus's name we are? 'Cause if you depend on my memory, it might take awhile."

Thalia shook her head. "If this is really a god's way to take revenge on us," Percy added, "then I don't think camp's gonna be able to help us much. It's like a quest; we're on our own."

"Brilliant," Thalia said morosely, even though they all knew Percy had a point. She glared at a pointing girl standing in the field to the cart's left. The girl squealed and ran toward the hobbit-woman not far away, who glared at Thalia in disgust.

Nico coughed. "I think that girl classifies as a 'maiden'," he muttered.

The Hunter swiveled her glare to him. "Your point?"

"Anyway, I don't think this is a dream," Percy broke in swiftly before Nico could say anything else. They already had enough on their hands as it was; all of them could go without a petty argument between a quick-tempered daughter of Zeus and a prickly son of Hades. "It's way too real for that, and before you say anything, Thalia, I've had enough experiences with dreams to tell if this is one or not. It just...doesn't have this...feel to it."

Thalia looked at him. "Should your instinct be trusted?" she asked, slightly skeptically.

Percy raised an eyebrow. "Could you contradict it? And by the way, you're talking a little bit like Zoë Nightshade nowadays, you know."

"Do not," Thalia retorted. Her face then grew serious. "If this isn't some fancy dreams created by Morpheus, then we can only assume we're really in a different place, and that we've been sent here. But by whom? And what are we here for?"

"Angry immortal trying to punish us?" Percy guessed.

"Nice try, Seaweed Brain, but not good enough. According to Nico, he's the one who'd been trifling with Hecate. Why should you and I be pulled into this too?" Thalia used her hand to gesture at Percy and then Nico. "Besides, don't you see something odd here?"

Percy stared at her blankly. Nico seemed to be thinking, then clicked his fingers, his eyes widening. "Why're the children of the Big Three involved in this? And together, too."

Thalia nodded her approval. "Exactly. Something's fishy here. I just hope it's not like the last time with your stepmom's sword and all that Underworld crap." She shivered as if she was having a recollection about the time all three of them have been dragged into the Underworld by none other than Persephone, goddess of springtime, Nico's stepmother and Hell Bringer to them all.

Percy's eyes darkened. He hadn't come out of that pain-free and unaffected either. To be exact, he was poisoned by a monster and spent the better part of the trip passing out and writhing in agony. Well, not literally writhing, but it was something Percy had really rather not talk about at all, if he could help it. As far as his parents were concerned, he got called to duty by a Dryad to help her get a hostile hellhound out of her tree.

But Nico and Thalia were right. This was fishy, and the three sat in somber silence as they considered the possibilities. None of them looked good, none inviting, and none looked even relatively okay.

"Well, we know that we aren't in the Underworld," Percy said at last, breaking the silence. He glanced at the hobbits. They've fallen silence, but they didn't appear to be listening. Master Gamgee wasn't giving them any weird looks. It looked as though they were trapped in their own concerns. "But how did we get here in the first place. I remember it involves a Cyclops eating a kid, but..." he trailed off, frowning in puzzlement.

Nico chewed his lip as he recognized the problem. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right. I know that it's Friday, your mom invited us to your house to get a break, Thalia was shouting at the TV, you were sitting there inhaling the cookies -"

"Hey! I didn't inhale them!"

"- and I'm checking my sword. Then suddenly Ms. Jackson was running into the living room yelling about a Cyclops outside the door. You tried to get Thalia's attention while I go out in the hall to check it out, and then..." Nico frowned. It ended there. So abruptly that it felt unsettling.

Thalia nodded, her eyes narrowed. "I remember grabbing my bow and getting cranky with Percy, and then the next thing we know you had your hair in my nostrils."

Nico looked positively disgusted. He ran a hand over his hair in a vain search for immortal maiden's booger. Percy bit his lip to stop a grin. "You're right. I remember racing to the doorway and spotting the Cyclops with the kid, but nothing else." He looked at the wooden planks between the three of them. "If I can find a Naiad or something, maybe I can ask for directions where we are. The horses can be of help, too. And Nico can summon the dead to get the message across."

The youngest half-blood gazed at him. "Well, that's sound proof that Perseus Jackson indeed have possession of a brain," he commented with a tiny grin, then turned to the front. "Looks like we got to town."

Percy and Thalia followed his gaze. They were riding past a couple of houses, then from there the land went downhill, so it was easy for them to see what was below: vast lands and hills and little wooden houses occupied by hobbits, hobbits and even more hobbits. They were everywhere, tending the gardens, children running about, leading horses and other farm animals, etc. But the thing that almost every single one of them was doing was eating.

Wherever Percy looked, he saw at least ten hobbits out of a crowd of approximately fifteen chewing on something-or-other. Apples, cakes, buns...you name the junk food, they've got the junk food. They even saw a few biting down on roasted fish-on-a-stick. Many if not all of them stared at the half-bloods the same way Master Gamgee had, but a lot longer and with no secrecy at all. Most of the hobbits even pointed and whispered. Percy's cheeks flushed pink and he turned away, leaning against the crate behind him and tried to appear as casual as possible. Thalia sat ramrod-straight, her eyes hard, while Nico looked evidently uncomfortable at the attention.

Unlike with Master Gamgee, however, Drego did nothing to re-route the attention elsewhere. Instead, he only gave them disdainful looks before urging the horse to go faster. Soon they rode past the crowded area and into what could probably pass for quiet back-alleys, except they were still exposed to grass and greenery. In Hobbiton, there seemed to be no houses or buildings built right next to each other that Percy could see. They were all spaced out, not evenly but in a way that ensured that each house manage to get some breathing space. To someone who'd spent all his life in noisy and cramped Manhattan, it gave Percy an air of calmness. If only those hobbit-guys stop staring at him, things would be perfect.

Maybe being thrown into this place wasn't so bad after all.

The cart rolled to a stop in front of a house far off from the others. Master Gamgee climbed down. "Thanks much for the ride, Mister Drego," he said to the other hobbit with a grin. "I will see you again soon. Sam is growing out of his clothes by the day, I tell you!"

Drego chuckled and raised a hand in farewell. "It is no surprise. They grow up so fast. A good day to you, Master Gamgee. I have other businesses to take care of."

"A good day to you, too, Mister Drego." Once again, Master Gamgee shot the cart's occupants an odd look before he hurried to the house and opened the round door, stepping inside. Drego started the cart moving again, and soon they also left their passenger's house behind as they went up and down some more hills, moving further and further away from center of "Hobbiton", as Drego had called it, and toward what must be the outskirt of town.

By now all three demigods had grown slightly apprehensive again after being faced with so many stares by so many midgets. Percy knew for certain he was going to stoop whenever he goes to town the next time.

"You should not let them get to you," Drego said, his voice light. "They do not usually see a lot of oddities around here." He glanced at them apologetically. "Well, I do not mean you as oddities, if you catch my meaning. But yes, they have not seen anything taller than a dwarf for awhile now. Seeing one of the real Big Folk must be shocking for them, let alone three."

"We don't want to cause you any trouble..." Nico started hesitantly, but Drego waved his hand.

"Oh, don't you worry. Suspecting me or not, they would not do anything to me. I am the best tailor in town after all." He winked at them. "Now, let us get you something that would help you divert the stares - even if only by a little." Once again Drego pulled them into a stop in front of another house with the same structures as Master Gamgee's, except this one was much bigger and two-storied.

Drego nodded toward the house. "Wait for me here. I shall come back soon, and then we can talk a little more about yourselves over a hot cup of tea."