The Heroes of Olympus
"So, what is it you do again?" Jason, the prince of Skygorath, asked Leo, the wandering dwarf.
"Well… that depends," Leo replied, shrugging his shoulders, "Could be the world's deadliest dwarf, or the most intelligent. You choose."
"How 'bout the most talkative?" Jason laughed.
Leo chuckled at the comment, "Aye, I'll take that too."
"Would you take the smallest?" Piper cut in abruptly.
"Hold on now," Leo raised his hands in defence, "I'm taller than most."
"It matters not, you're still small."
"Well, besides having a bow and being a Beauty Queen, you elves are still pompous as ever."
Six of the eight stood before the gates of Silvaroth. Chiron spoke with Nikolan and Grover one last time before they set on their journey. The others waited in patience, some in anxiety. Though many of the group already began to delve into conversation, there was one who stood alone. The elf Annabeth Chase did not bother to waste her time on what she deemed, 'useless chatter' and she especially did not want to waste her time on Perseus. Only one thing was on her mind; the mission at hand.
"It's good to see you, Reyna," Percy stretched his hand to the shieldmaiden.
Reyna took his hand and shook it firmly, "Likewise."
"And thank you," Percy said, "though it was not needed, you still defended me… like always."
The fierce woman smiled, something she doesn't do very often, "you are the prince of Tydaris… and a friend. I would do anything."
Percy nodded and placed his hand on his chest, as a sign of gratitude. He took one more glance at Annabeth, wondering if he should go talk to her but he knew that she's had enough of him for one day. So he quickly turned away and faced Reyna.
"I'm… sorry," Percy sighed.
"For what?"
"For leaving. I know it was sudden and I abandoned you — all of you. It's just that —" Percy stopped, "I couldn't take it."
Reyna glanced to the side, "It's… alright. I can understand how hard it could be, though it was sudden." Reyna then looked towards Percy, not sure of how to feel. Percy was a friend, a very close one at that, but he also had responsibilities and he ran away from them. She wasn't sure whether to forgive and forget or to start yelling at him.
"But, we're doing fine," She concluded, "the kingdom hasn't fallen apart. Mostly."
"Mostly?"
"Your half-brother, Triton, he's somewhat asserted himself as the unofficial king and his methods are…" Reyna stopped for a moment, "...questionable."
The pause indicated that Reyna had to actually think to try and describe Triton. And not in a good way.
"Couldn't you stop him?" Percy asked, "or have Lord Hermes rule instead?"
Reyna shook her head, "Only the royal bloodline could rule Tydaris and Triton has that right. The only reason he's not the actual king is because you are supposed to be next in line after Poseidon."
Percy nodded grimly, unaware of the current state of his own people. He found a sudden interest in the ground and there was an awkward silence between the two. The Hunter tried to think quickly of a question to spark another conversation.
"How about Tyson? How is he faring?"
"Still chasing after butterflies," Reyna laughed, "though he has grown quite tall for a boy his age."
Percy smiled. He was glad to see somethings were still the same, still normal.
"A question, Reyna," Percy spoke, "if I may."
Reyna nodded.
"This... Jason, how do you know him? I thought you weren't very fond of Skygorath."
Reyna looked almost surprised by the question, "I was — and still am, but Jason is a good man. On a diplomatic mission to Skygorath, our group was attacked by bandits. We expected something like this to happen but the bandits heavily outnumbered us. If it weren't for Jason, I'd probably be a rotting corpse in the dirt."
Percy sighed. He had mixed feelings, unsure if they were good or bad.
"I'm troubled by him," he said, "the way he spoke, it was… strange."
"Jason means well. He only cares for one thing: his people," Reyna looked at the prince who was currently speaking with the dwarf, "Everything he has done has been for his kingdom. He would do anything to protect those he loves."
Percy fell silent, still uncertain of his feelings for the son of Zeus. He had no answer but to stare into the distance and ponder on his current thoughts. He thought about what Jason had said earlier. How Percy left his own people for fear of responsibility. Percy remembered a time when being king was all he wanted but things have changed. Ever since his mother died he's never been the same and when the news came of his father… he couldn't bear it.
Finally, Lord Chiron and Grover, along with Nikolan, arrived at the gates. All eight stopped what they were doing and began to pack their things, preparing the horse that was given as a gift from Chiron. All stood together side by side; Men, elves, dwarves, hobbits and wizards. They all looked at Chiron, awaiting his word.
"Grover Underwood is setting out on the quest of the Rivers of Tartarus," he announced, "On you, who travel with him, no oath nor bond is laid to go further than you will."
Some nodded and others stood firm, knowing full and well of their possible fate. Percy managed to catch Annabeth's eyes. The elf didn't respond with any gesture but she didn't show any expression of anger either.
"Farewell," Chiron spoke, "Hold to your purpose. May the blessings of Elves and Men, and all free folk go with you."
Percy, Piper and Annabeth all placed their arms on their chest and then extending them towards Chiron, as gesture of thanks. As did Nikolan, who simply nodded.
Then the wizard said, "The company awaits you, Master Hobbit."
Grover looked at the glorious city of Silvaroth once more and then looked back towards his fellow companions. They all stood at the side, creating a path for him and at the end was Nikolan. Grover was overcome with a variety of emotions. He couldn't believe that all these people would risk their lives to follow him, a hobbit. He reached the end where Nikolan stood behind him and walked through the gates with the others trailing behind him. He reached the crossroads and was suddenly met with a realisation.
"Tartarus, Nikolan," Grover whispered, making sure nobody else notices besides the wizard, " Is it left or right?"
"Left."
And so, the Heroes of Olympus, set out on their long journey. They crossed the bridge of Silvaroth and once again basking in the magnificence of the Silver Valley. This time, however they didn't go through the forest but instead traversed through the mountains that surrounded the area. Nikolan lead the way, with Grover behind. Next behind Grover was Leo, Reyna and Jason in that order. Piper, Annabeth and Percy covered the back. As they continued further, the group could see the shining city grow smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared behind the rock.
The longer they passed through the trails of the mountains, the more and more dangerous they became. It was to the point where they had to hug the side of the mountain to avoid falling off. Everything seemed to be going well until the sky grew dark. They had just left the borders of Silvaroth so the magic of the elves were out of there reach. All of a sudden rain began to pour on the mountain, making the trail even slippier, thunder echoed through the clouds.
"Well!" Leo yelled from the back, "I would say this is an amazing start to the trip!"
Piper smacked him on the shoulder, "not one more word from you, Valdez."
However, even with the storm, they kept moving. They managed to not fall off and the rain only slowed them down. It was all going well until lightning struck. A flash of light came from the sky, and collided with the tip of the mountain they were on. All of a sudden the group heard a loud crack coming from the mountain and rocks began to fly from above. Nikolan quickly ordered everyone to tightly hug the walls. Luckily, no one got hit by a falling rock, but there was one problem.
"Where's Grover?"
Everyone had been so busy trying to avoid getting smashed on the head by a boulder that they couldn't see what happened to their fellow companions.
"Help!" They heard Grover's voice cry but they did not know where it came from.
The rain had distorted their ears. It was only after a few moments of Nikolan frantically looking around that he spotted him. Only a few inches below them, Grover hung to the side of the mountain, holding on for dear life.
"Get him!" Annabeth yelled from the back as Nikolan tried to grab hold of the hobbit.
Just as Grover was about to grab the wizards hand, the rain caused him to slip. He fortunately caught another crevice to hook his fingers into but he was a foot lower than he was before. Nikolan and Leo tried reaching for him but he was just an inch away from their hands. Everyone shouted many things, praying that the journey wasn't about to come to a short and swift end. Reyna looked at the chaos before her. Grover was holding on but she could see he couldn't hold it for any much longer. She had to make a move.
In a split decision, she jumped off the ledge they stood on, still holding onto it but hanging off the side. She was close enough to grab Grover's backpack and pull him up close enough for Nikolan and Leo to grab him. Just as they thought it was all over, Reyna tried to climb back onto the ledge but then she lost her grip. Everyone yelled, startled. But Jason, who was luckily standing above her, managed to grab her arm and pull her up. The two were safe and the group could finally relax for a moment. They all were breathing heavily, shocked by what had just happened.
"Yep," Leo panted, "amazing start."
Once they left the mountains, they travelled through the luscious green hills of the West. The hills were beautiful during the day and the surroundings were of glorious mountains and forests. The company also passed by some stone ruins all seeming to have the same architecture. Nikolan explained that they used to belong to the kingdoms of Skygorath and Tydaris, back when they had a presence in these lands.
The minutes turned into hours and the hours turned into days. The scenery of the hills turned from green grass to brown. Before, the hills were covered in bushes and various amounts of shrubbery. Now, they were littered with grey stones and boulders. Then, after more hours of walking, the hills were covered with both boulders and bushes. The green clashing with the grey.
As they strolled through the hills, the group would sometime talk amongst themselves, though very rarely. Nikolan only spoke when it was about directions and the journey but most stayed silent, even Leo wasn't blabbering his usual comments. But, there were a few occasions where they spoke to each other.
"Thank you," Grover said to Reyna, "for saving my life."
The shieldmaiden shook her head, "No need. I did what I had to."
"Yes… but you saved my life and not to mention you almost died doing it. That takes some courage. So, thank you."
Reyna smiled. She liked Grover already.
"You're welcome, mister Underwood."
Grover looked pleased with the response and happily nodded at Reyna.
They travelled for a little longer until Nikolan decided it was time for a rest and the group sighed in relief at the news. Nikolan didn't want to admit it but his legs ached with tremendous pain. They found a place in between a formation of rocks and set up their camp. The sun was still up so they had no need for any patrols. Nikolan stood on a lone rock and planned the journey ahead.
"We must hold this course for the next fifty days. If our luck holds, the woods of Athenor will still be open to us, from there our path turns east towards Skygorath..."
The smell of sausages and eggs could be sniffed through the air as Leo served out wooden plates to all the members of the company. However, Reyna and Annabeth respectfully declined.
"...3...4...5, good very good."
The light clanging of swords could be heard as Piper and Grover sparred with Jason, who gladly volunteered to help. He was currently training with Piper in an advanced sword technique. Percy sat on a small stone watching from the sides, as he smoked his pipe.
"Again."
Piper deflected the incoming blows perfectly, using the weight of Jason's strikes to her advantage. On one of Jason's side swings she managed to parry it and step forward, following up with an elbow to the chest that knocked Jason to the ground.
"Oh, my god," Piper looked in distraught while Percy laughed in the background, "I didn't mean to—"
"No, no it's all good— ow" Jason groaned in pain, grabbing his chest, "That was really good."
Piper sighed in relief, and then smiled, "maybe you should be smarter next time."
"Huh, maybe," Jason chuckled.
He looked up from the ground to see the elf, Piper extend her hand to help him up.
She's beautiful, the Son of Zeus thought but quickly shook away the thought, well of course she is, she's an elf. But still, there was something different about her than any other elf Jason had met.
Next, he would train Grover the very basics of blocking and parrying with a short sword given to him by Reyna.
"Ready Grover?"
The hobbit nodded. He held up the small blade as Jason lightly tapped it in different directions.
Ding, ding, ding, clang.
"Move your feet," Percy called out.
"That was quite good, Grover," Piper said.
"Thanks."
"Faster now," Jason said.
Ding, ding, chink, ding.
"If anyone were to ask of my opinion," Leo spoke to Nikolan as they watched from afar, "which by the way no one has, I'd say we're taking the long way round."
"How so?" Reyna asked who stood by Nikolan.
"Well, we're having to walk west of the mountains and down south until we finally reach the gap east."
"But Athenor provides safe passage," Annabeth interjected, "the kingdom of my people can gladly escort us towards Tartarus."
"Yes I know, but we could just easily cut through the mountains, shortening our journey."
Leo then looked at Nikolan who sat silent, "Nikolan, we can pass through the bunkers of Steel Cliff. My cousin Nyssa will give us warm welcome."
Nikolan frowned, "I'm sorry Leo, but no. I would not take the road through Steel Cliff unless I had no other choice."
Leo was about to reply until Annabeth was seen hopping atop the rocks and trying to get a better view of the land. She looked at the sky in front of them and spotted three black figures moving towards them...
Ding, clang, ding— "Ow!"
Jason eyes grew in shock and gasped, "Grover! I'm sorry!"
In retaliation, Grover kicked Jason's shin which then made him shout in pain.
"For the Hearth!" shouted Grover as he began to laugh
Grover then tried to tackle Jason. Jason had to limp on leg while trying to keep Grover at bay from knocking him over.
"A hobbit versus a full grown man?" Piper questioned, "That's hardly fair."
Then, without Jason noticing, Piper sneakily tripped jason by sweeping the back of his leg causing him to fall to the ground, prone to Grover's attack. The two laughed as they wrestled on the ground.
Percy sighed, "Alright, alright."
He stood up from his stone and walked to the hobbit currently harassing the poor man.
"Gentlemen! That's enough."
He grabbed Grover's shoulders but as soon as he did, the hobbit grabbed one of Percy's ankles and with the help of Piper, they swept him to the ground too. Now, he was on his back. Grover and Piper laughed as the two princes were hilariously being fooled by them.
"What is that?" Reyna called out, managing to get everyone's attention.
Piper and Grover stopped, allowing Jason to stand up and look at what everyone else was seeing.
"Nothing!" Leo exclaimed, "It's just a couple of birds."
"They're quite big for birds," Grover stated.
"It's moving fast…" Jason said, his expression changing, "... against the wind."
Annabeth looked closer at the moving figures and grimaced, "Furies!"
"Hide!"