"So Connor wanted YOU to go on the quest?" Percy asked.
"Yeah," Nico said, shouldering his duffel bag. "I don't know if I'm going to survive."
Percy shrugged. He was busy playing hacky sack with Annabeth and listening at the same time. Percy thought he could multitask, but he had a hard time actually listening. He had a hard time listening anyway, if Annabeth was to be believed.
"You'll do fine," said Annabeth, kicking the hacky sack back to Percy. "I mean, Connor isn't that bad. If he starts bothering you, just count to ten."
"Does that really help?" Nico asked, doubting it. If it was that easy, why didn't his dad try it once in a while?
"You probably have to get going soon," Percy said, stopping the game. "Good luck finding Travis." He held out his arm. Nico shook it and turned to Annabeth.
"Don't worry about it," Annabeth said. She gave Nico a quick hug, which was kind of odd for her. "I'm sure it won't be that hard of a quest."
Nico shrugged. A search and rescue mission shouldn't be hard, but he had a weird feeling about the quest. It seemed simple enough.
After saying good bye to Percy and Annabeth, he headed for the camp border. Connor and Chiron were standing by the pine tree. Connor waved at Nico, who sighed inwardly. He hoped they could get the quest over with as soon as possible.
"Where's Argus?" Nico asked, looking around for the many eyed guard. He usually drove campers to their first destination.
Connor slung an arm around Nico's shoulders. "I've got my license! Now we can travel without having to pay for bus or cab fare."
Nico hoped that Connor actually could drive. Nico's plans for the future didn't include dying in a ditch somewhere.
Connor seemed kind of giddy for someone whose brother was missing. You just couldn't keep a Stoll down. They sprang back up like a rubber band. Maybe the thrill of driving around on a mission had overcome Connor's worry.
Chiron put a hand on Nico's free shoulder. "Good luck," he said. "I hope that nothing horrible has happened to Travis and that you find him quickly."
"We'll do our best," Connor said. "I'm sure we'll find him somewhere." For a second, a flicker of doubt flashed across his features. The next minute, he was smiling again, so Nico thought he might have imagined it.
"Go safely," Chiron said, making the sign for warding off evil. Nico copied the gesture, feeling a bit more relaxed. The fate of the world didn't hang on this quest. There were no evil Titans plotting to topple Olympus. This was just an ordinary quest (as ordinary as it got, at least).
"Come on, Nico," the younger Stoll brother called, walking past the tree. Nico backed up, letting his gaze linger on camp for a minute. Then he turned and followed Connor over the hill.
Connor's car was, strangely enough, a minivan. Nico stifled a laugh as soon as he saw it. For some reason, the thought of questing in a beat up, light blue minivan was hilarious. Connor shook his head, like he was humorously disappointed.
"My mom's," he said. "She said, 'Connor, if you need some wheels, take my car. I can part with it for a while.'" Connor sighed. "But it's transport and beggars can't be choosers."
Nico threw his bag into the backseat. The inside of the minivan looked just as beat up as the outside. The seats were worn down and there were about a million crumbs in the carpeting. It smelled like cheap air freshener that had been added last minute. He looked at the back of the minivan and found, of course, a dozen bumper stickers.
Connor jumped in and called for Nico to get in so they could get started. Nico sat shotgun and found that the seats were so old they had an imprint from the many people who had sat there before. It was also as soft as a pillow.
"Where are we going first?" Nico asked.
Connor passed him a map. "I don't know exactly where Travis went missing, but it's best to start with NYC."
It sounded like a good place to start. When Nico had been looking for information about his mother, he started with New York. Not to mention, it was a pretty good spot for monsters to be lurking around and such. One of them could have taken Travis, except monsters were usually out to kill.
The minivan started with a little jolt, then started off at a steady speed down the road. The strawberry fields became a blur outside the window. Nico opened the map on his lap and scanned it. If things didn't work out in New York, where were they going to go next?
"No idea," was Connor's answer. "But hey! That's what makes it an adventure, right?"
"We can't just drive around," Nico said. "We need to find Travis."
"I know that," Connor said. "But I don't know where he is. If we're gonna find him, we need to drive around and look anywhere he might be."
Nico looked at Connor. He was leaning away from the wheel with his back straight, his eyes locked on the road. He looked alive, like he'd just chugged an energy drink.
"When we find him," Connor said. "I've got to tell him about this awesome prank I thought up. Don't worry, since you're helping me, we'll spare you."
That's good to hear, thought Nico, who had never actually witnessed a Stoll brother prank. He'd never pulled a prank on someone. Mostly, he just played Mythomagic and hoped people would leave him alone. When he'd realized he was a demigod, there wasn't any room for pranking people. He wondered how the Stoll brothers did it.
The air conditioner was broken in the minivan and the temperature steadily rose until Nico thought he was going to pass out. He'd already shed his aviator's jacket and he was still sweating like a pig. Not even Tartarus was this hot. Connor seemed unaffected by the heat, but he did roll down the windows.
The New York City skyline was impressive. You could argue that it was just a bunch of tall buildings standing really close together, but you could also argue it looked like they were competing for who was the tallest. There was always one that you thought was the tallest building in the city, then you'd find one that went up just a little bit farther.
Nico had seen it before, but he was getting a crick in his neck from staring up for so long. At the top of Empire State, Olympus hovered. Annabeth had been working to repair it after the battle with the Titans. There was no reason to go up and see it. Nico turned away from it.
"Alright," said Connor. "If we're going to get any leads on where Travis is, we need to find somebody who would have that info. We've got to go looking for monsters."
"Aren't we usually running from those?" Nico asked, unable to repress a sneer. After the super heated car ride and dealing with Connor for more time than was necessary, Nico's patience was wearing thin.
"Yeah," Connor said. "I think we can find one and trap it. When we do, we grill him for any info about Travis."
"Where are we going to find a monster?"
Connor looked around, then sidled up next to Nico. "Haven't you noticed how they just seem to come out? They'll smell us and come running. We just need to be prepared."
"What makes you think they're going to hone in on us, specifically?"
"I think a son of Hades and a son of Hermes thrown in extra is enough to draw them out."
Wonderful, Nico thought. Our first day of the quest and I'm bait.
…..
Wow a new chapter. I'll try to update every week. I hope you guys are enjoying this. Thank you for reading. Please review.
