The Poseidon cabin paraded Percy around camp, carrying him above their heads as he dripped seawater onto the ground. A crown of seaweed had found its way onto Percy's head, gripping his hair strangely. People stopped what they were doing to watch the procession, cheering and raising their hands in greeting.

The group let him down in front of the Poseidon cabin, shouting as they streamed inside. Some of his half-siblings talked to Percy before heading in, clapping him on the back and giving him encouragements. One girl was telling him how to properly kill a hydra when Annabeth walked up, starting another round of shouting as the crowd saw them.

"Look who it is!" Marina stepped forward, arms outstretched.

Annabeth gave her a disinterested glance, then tossed a heavy bag at Percy, who stumbled back a bit as he caught it. "We're leaving, Percy. Let's go."

The crowd oohed at Annabeth's disregard of Marina. The head counselor kept smiling as she examined Annabeth. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Annabeth replied flatly. "I just don't like the smell of fish."

A roar of laughter rose up at Annabeth's retort, and Marina's smile widened. "Clever. You're very clever, aren't you? That's your whole…deal." Annabeth ignored her, glaring angrily at the forest. "Good. You're going to be need to be clever to survive." Annabeth looked up in surprise.

Marina clapped Percy on the back and pushed him toward Annabeth. "I hope you'll be able to keep my brother out of trouble. Make sure he takes care of himself."

Annabeth nodded hesitantly. "I will."

"And Percy." Marina wriggled her eyebrows meaningfully. "Don't get any wrong ideas while you're out there." Raucous laughter erupted as both he and Annabeth blushed hotly.

"N-no, I wouldn't…" Percy stammered, much to the mirth of the crowd. A number of his half-siblings clapped him on the back and made ribald jests about sea-sprayed owls. Percy's face turned increasingly red, until Marina made the campers stop their teasing and allowed Percy and Annabeth to leave.

The Poseidon cabin waved at them as they walked away, shouting encouragements and jests. "Don't die!" Marina shouted after them, and Percy waved back in response.

Percy turned to Annabeth as they walked. Her face was still flushed, and she was very determinedly not looking at him.

"Why were you so hostile?" he asked. "They're my family."

Annabeth spared him a withering glare. "Not all of us get sent off with a party, Percy. It's my first quest, too." She scoffed. "And please, family? You met them yesterday."

"Yeah, but…" Percy sputtered into silence, not having a proper answer. He had only known the Poseidon children for less than a day, but he already felt a connection with his half-siblings.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, eventually reaching a hill on the edge of camp where Grover and Chiron were waiting. They were talking about something, but stopped when they noticed Percy and Annabeth walk up. Percy noticed that that was a running theme here.

Chiron trotted up to him and clapped his hands together. "Good, you're all here. Now your quest can begin." He led them to a fence post where two horses were tied. "These will bring you into the city. After that, you're on your own."

Annabeth bowed deeply. "Thank you, Chiron."

Chiron gave her a warm smile. "Make me proud out there, Miss Chase."

"I'll try my best."

Chiron laid a hand on Percy's shoulder. "I know this is strange for you, but trust in your companions, and in yourself, as well. I see great potential in you, Mr. Jackson."

Percy nodded, not entirely sure of Chiron's prediction. "I hope you're right."

"So am I. For my sake as well as yours." Chiron turned to face Grover. "Mr. Underwood, I trust you to take care of your companions."

Grover straightened quickly. "I will, sir."

Chiron nodded, looking over the three of them. "Well, I'd say you all are ready to start your quest. May the gods look favorably upon you." With a final bow, he galloped off, kicking up dust in his wake.

They're the ones who got us into this mess in the first place. Percy went up to one of the horses, a brown mare that sadly lacked wings.

"You're taking us to the city?" he asked, untying the horse from the post.

The horse shuffled her head, snorting. "Aye, I am, so ye better get on now so we can leave." She spoke with a Scottish accent, which made Percy wonder if that was how all horses talked. Despite never having ridden a horse before, he jumped into the saddle with surprising ease, taking the reins in his hands. Next to him, Annabeth was struggling to clamber onto an old gray palfrey as he shuffled anxiously beneath her. Eventually, they were both on their rides, leaving Grover standing beneath them.

"Are you riding with me?" Percy asked, looking down at Grover.

Grover shook his head resolutely. "I don't ride horses. It doesn't…feel right. I'll run alongside you."

Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "We can't go very fast if you're following on foot."

"You'd be surprised how fast I can run," Grover said. "Don't worry, I'll keep up."

Percy looked at him strangely, but decided not to press the issue. He looked at Annabeth, who was attaching her bag to a clip on her saddle. "Do you know where we're going?"

Annabeth nodded. "Roughly. Once we're in London I'll be able to figure it out from there."

"Good enough for me." Percy took the reins and led his horse to a canter as they left camp.


A couple of hours later, they were approaching the outer streets of London. Grover had kept impressive pace with them, jogging alongside the horses while barely breaking a sweat. Percy had let his horse, whose name was Sunshine, take most of the control over their course, allowing her to take the path she knew best. As they approached the city, the road became increasingly crowded with horses, carriages, and trade caravans filled with local goods. A troop of soldiers in red uniforms passed by, pushing their way through the traffic. The captain glared suspiciously at Percy, who suddenly felt as if he had done something wrong. With a huff, the man seemed to decide that Percy wasn't a threat, and moved forward in the procession.

As they entered the city, the traffic slowed significantly as the horses had to walk through the crowds of people on the road. Market stalls cluttered the street as vendors shouted their wares, one overenthusiastic baker nearly shoving a piece of bread in Percy's face. Street urchins prowled around, carefully stealing unattended goods when their owners weren't looking. One child wasn't so lucky, and got caught by an irate fruit vendor. The kid twisted out of the man's grip and took off, a large apple in hand. The man shouted after the boy, but the number of carriages blocked his path.

A troupe of actors were performing in front of a theater, advertising the play that was being produced inside. As Percy watched, one actor dressed as the king cut off the head of an American revolutionary, the "head" a ripe melon that hit the ground and exploded on impact. The revolutionary died in an extremely dramatic way for someone with no head, clawing at his throat and spinning around in circles as he gasped for air. The "king" raised his sword in victory, to the cheers of a number of children who were watching the performance.

Annabeth scoffed as people threw coins in a hat while the actors bowed, the headless American having miraculously recovered his splattered brains to form a smiling, freckled face.

"Do you not like plays?" Percy asked, noticing her distaste.

"It's not that," Annabeth said. "It's the subject matter."

Percy looked down to where the melon's contents had spilled onto the cobblestones. "Not a fan of blood?"

Annabeth glared at him. "I'm talking about the message, idiot."

Percy shrugged. "I liked it."

"I'm not getting into this right now." With a flick of her reins, Annabeth moved forward, leaving Percy behind.

Grover walked next to Percy, having seen the exchange. "You sure have a way of making friends."

Percy sighed. "What's up with her?"

Grover looked at Annabeth's back as she rode away. "She's just a bit stressed, is all. This is her first quest, too. She really wants to prove herself. And right now, she probably sees you as a liability."

Percy rounded on him. "Is that how you think?"

"No! Just…" Grover stammered. "It's just that she's been at camp for years, and you…"

"Got here yesterday," Percy finished.

"Exactly."

Percy looked ahead of him, not processing the city as he passed. A liability…He couldn't deny that he was inexperienced, that was true, but it still irked him to be judged like that without a chance to prove himself.

He was so distracted by his sulking that he nearly walked his horse directly into Annabeth's, only stopping when Sunshine reared to stop herself from hitting the palfrey.

"Oi, what're you trying to do?" Sunshine chastised him angrily. Annabeth's horse let loose a string of curses as she turned him around, not noticing that Percy had almost bumped into her.

"This is the place," she said, pointing to an old building that they had stopped in front of. It appeared to be a large forge, with smoke rising from the chimneys and a large flame visible in the windows. A wooden sign depicting a snow-capped mountain hung from the doorway, along with the name of the forge.

"Lemnian Smithing and Naval Supplies," Annabeth read. "This is it."

Percy slid off of Sunshine, who was still miffed at his carelessness. She tried to hit him with her head as he moved around her, but he dodged out of the way just in time. He gave her a dirty look as he walked back.

"Do you know the way back to camp?" he asked.

Sunshine snorted. "I brought you here myself, didn't I? Aye, we can go back ourselves." Next to her, the palfrey stomped his hoof in agreement. Without another word, the pair of horses galloped down the street the way they came, nearly running over a man pushing a cart of cabbages.

Percy, Annabeth, and Grover turned towards the building, feeling a noticeable increase in temperature now that they were closer. Percy hesitantly opened the door, and they walked into a large forge.

They were immediately assaulted by a wave of heat washing over them. The forge was a large open-air room, with several furnaces blazing at the end of the room. Various swords and metal tools hung on the walls, as well as heavy chains and anchors. Smoke hung lazily in the burn-marked ceiling.

In the center of the room, a broad-chested man was hammering a glowing piece of metal into a bayonet. He looked over sixty years old, but he swung his hammer with remarkable precision and strength. His white hair was slick with sweat from heat and exertion.

Next to him was a similarly broad-chested boy who was working on a set of chains, bending the metal with a hammer. His hair was jet black, and he had very similar features to the old man.

The men stopped when he noticed the three of them walking in. The older man straightened, dropping his hammer and wiping the sweat from his eyes. He looked over them suspiciously.

"What can I do ya for?" he asked, placing the blade into a trough of water with a spray of smoke. The water hissed and bubbled as the hot metal touched it, but the man didn't seem to mind.

Annabeth stepped forward. "Are you the Cabeiri?"

The two blacksmiths looked at each other. "We are," the old man answered gruffly. "Name's Axiocersus, though most people call me Ax. This here's my son Cadmilus."

"My name is Annabeth, and these are my companions Percy and Grover. We were sent by Athena," she explained. "It's about the Sword of Peleus."

Ax raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Athena, you said?" He lifted the bayonet and placed it on a cooling rack. He moved in front of them and cross his arms. "What's the matter with the sword?"

Now that he was directly in front of them, Percy noticed that Ax was a full head taller than him. "It was lost," he said. "We heard you were involved with its creation."

Ax nodded, remembering. "That we were. A fine sword, that was. Made by Hephaestus himself, we were just helping in the forge." Cadmilus seemed to remember too, nodding alongside his father. Ax motioned for them to follow him before starting deeper into the forge, picking up an unfinished anchor from the wall with one hand.

Cadmilus walked alongside with them. "The sword is really lost?"

Annabeth nodded gravely. "It was stolen from Athena's possession. We were sent to get it back."

Facing away from them, Ax gave a deep laugh. "Classic Olympians. Sending children to do their dirty work." He hefted the shaft of an anchor onto a surface next to a roaring flame, allowing the iron to heat.

"You know the sword better than almost anyone," Percy said to Cadmilus. "Do you have any idea who could have taken it, or where it is?"

Cadmilus shook his head. "I don't know. Just because we made the sword doesn't mean we know its location. And the sword was powerful; anyone with enough ambition would have wanted it for themselves. I can't think of a specific person who would have coveted it."

Ax turned away from the fire, clapping his hands together. "That's where you're wrong. Cad, fetch the box." With a start, Cadmilus ran off to the back room of the forge, letting the metal door slam behind him.

Annabeth approached the smith. "Do you know who could have taken the sword?"

Ax chuckled. "I don't know for sure, but I do know someone who would have a grudge against Peleus. Could be they've decided to take revenge on his sword."

"Really? Who?"

Ax pointed an admonishing finger at Annabeth. "You'll have to wait and see, girl. I can't just give out valuable information like that for free."

"You want us to pay you? We've got golden drachmas, enough for-"

Ax gave a hearty bark of laughter, interrupting Annabeth. "I'm a blacksmith, girl. I've got more than enough gold. No, I'm not selling it for metals. I need a job done." With a grunt, he lifted the glowing anchor onto an anvil and started to hammer the bottom onto the end.

"A job?" Percy asked.

"Remember what I said about Olympians asking children to do their dirty work?" Ax flashed him a grin. "Turns out I'm a hypocrite."