The Heroes of Olympus
And so they all continued on their journey through the endless night of Steel Cliff. The only sense of light they had was the one summoned in Nikolan's hand. For the majority of the walk, most had fallen silent. Leo and Grover stopped engaging in their 'interesting' conversations while Annabeth and Piper had not spoken a word. The weight on Jason's back had become lighter to carry, for that certain load was able to somewhat walk on his own. Percy's strength had been regenerating rather quickly, nothing a few drops of nectar can't fix.
They travelled through numerous caves and tunnels and carefully traversed over crevices. They even walked through two out of the nine of the bunkers, though they did not stop. Countless times the company was amazed by the dwarven architecture. Leo had seen it all his life yet he still can't shake off the feeling of pride in his kin. Even Piper had to admit that the dwarves were unmatched with the hammer and anvil. They were indeed bred for the forge.
After a while, they finally came across the next bunker, this time labelled 'Bunker 6: The Hall of Feasts'. The wizard led them inside and revealed the great hall. It was only slightly larger than your average mess hall, but the designs of the tables, the engravings on the pillars, it was like art. How can something so beautiful be preserved so deep in the earth?
"Now this, is dwarven beauty," Leo said proudly.
"Yes…" Grover gasped, "The pillars are like nothing I've ever seen!"
"What? No! The food! The place where we devour food! Where we stuff our faces with juicy pork and barrels of ale," Leo closed his eyes, imagining it all, "That's the best way to a dwarf's heart… and yes the pillars and tables are very well done."
Piper rolled her eyes at the dwarf. Her fingers slipped slightly from the constant weight from carrying Reyna on the stretcher and her biceps began to feel sore. Nobody seemed to notice except for Annabeth.
"You alright?" The elf huntress asked the captain.
"I'm… fine," Piper replied slightly wincing.
Annabeth tilted her head, "you don't need to hide it, my arms on fire just as much yours," she said reassuringly.
"Quite heavy for a human," Piper looked at the unconscious Reyna.
Annabeth looked as if she wanted to come up with a reason but just shrugged, "you should try to carry Percy."
Piper almost thought she saw a glimpse of a smile coming from the stern elf. All of a sudden Annabeth's facial expression turned into confusion, her eyebrow raised.
"We've stopped."
Piper didn't notice at first but the whole group had come to a halt. Everyone seemed to be looking at Nikolan who was at the front, confronted by two black doorways. He looked as if he was muttering to himself.
"Niko?" Grover tugged at the wizards robes, "Why have we stopped."
Nikolan waved him aside, "Just… just— just hold on a minute."
Grover looked back to the rest of them and gave them a shrug while Nikolan continued rambling on.
"If this is… no but th— wait that can't be right," the wizard mumbled, "No we go here— no… take a left after—"
"Where do we go from here?" Jason scratched his head.
Nikolan continued mumbling but only for a short while until he stopped, then he slowly turned towards them, "I… I'm not quite sure..."
"I see… something beginning with the letter R."
"Rock," Piper answered blankly.
"How did you know?" Leo gasped.
"Because the only thing you can see is rock," Piper said, smacking Leo on the head, "just like that skull of yours."
"Careful, the next time you hit it," Leo smiled, "you might break a finger."
As Nikolan sat in silence, and the rest of the company trying to tend to their boredom, Reyna slowly began to wake from her injuries. Jason being the first to notice. Reyna attempted to sit up properly but was met with a stabbing pain at her side.
"Easy… easy…" Jason laid her back down.
"What happened?" she croaked.
"Took a nasty hit from that Hydra," Jason replied, "It was luck that you survived."
"I…" Reyna coughed, "I— I don't believe in luck."
"Well, maybe you should."
All of a sudden Percy joins in on the commotion, catching the two of them by surprise.
"And the Shield of Tydaris is alive," Percy smirked.
Reyna scoffed at the comment, doubting the legitimacy of the title, "what kind of shield breaks from a single hit?"
"A shield is meant to protect," Percy stated, taking a seat on a nearby stone, "is that not what you did?"
Reyna didn't respond at first, but slowly, a slight smile appeared on her face. She could always rely on Percy to have a positive look on things, no matter how dire the situation is. A true, honorable man… a true king. She studied him once more and saw that the Hunter seemed exhausted. Almost as if he had just woken up from his own injuries.
"Looks like you've seen better days," Reyna looked at Percy up and down, "what happened to you?"
"That's the problem…" Jason said, "we don't know."
"What do you mean?" Reyna raised her eyebrow.
"How do you think we managed to escape that Hydra?"
At first, Reyna didn't know what Jason had meant, but then she looked at Percy who wasn't saying a word, rather thinking. Then the cogs in her brain began to connect the pieces, but she didn't believe them. Percy couldn't have single-handedly defeat a Hydra, she thought, could he? She wanted to ask Percy what Jason meant but he didn't look in the mood. So she decided to change the subject.
"Where are we?" Reyna asked, the first question that popped in her mind.
"In one of the great dwarven bunkers of Steel Cliff," Percy announced dramatically.
"We've stopped because Nikolan seems to have forgotten the way," Jason added.
"He'll get us through," Percy said reassuringly, "He always does."
All three turned their heads towards the still dark wizard. It had been almost an hour now, Nikolan still studying the pathways before him. He muttered to himself, not many could understand what he was saying but they imagined that it did not matter. Nikolan tried to recall his many expeditions in Steel Cliff. The amount of visits, celebrations, even battles he has had yet nothing comes to mind of this place. As he quietly tried to swim through his memories, a little hobbit did his best to speak to him. But when Grover would ask him a question, Nikolan would politely ask him to stop disturbing him.
Grover, feeling quite lonely, sighed and turned away. He could still feel the Seed of Gaea in his pocket, growing heavier by the day. He had been trying to ignore it for so long and so far, he has been successful. Gaining the sudden urge to have company, he looked around at the rest of his companions. He saw that everyone was already occupied except for one… the cunning elven huntress, Annabeth. Grover had never spoken to her before, not because he didn't want to but because she slightly frightened him. But, Grover took the leap of faith and walked over to the scary elf.
As he slowly inched his way towards her, he was surprised that she hadn't noticed him yet. It wasn't until Grover got close enough that her attention was preoccupied by something else. Grover managed to get a quick look over her shoulder to see a golden dagger clutched tightly in Annabeth's hand. This time, however, Annabeth noticed him.
"What do you want?" She said harshly.
This startled Grover, causing him to jump back. Noticing, how she sounded, her expression softened.
"I… I'm sorry," She said, calmly this time, "you just, startled me that's all."
"It's alright," Grover shrugged, "I tend to be quite sneaky."
This almost managed to make the hardened elf smile, almost.
"Everyone else seems to have their own conversations," Grover said while looking at the rest, "thought I could join you."
Annabeth thought about kindly rejecting but realised that there was no harm in it. Also that she had nothing else to do. She nodded and left a small space on a rock for him to sit on. He smiled and gladly sat next to her. There was an awkward silence shared between the two until Grover decided to start a conversation.
"So, I've been wondering," Grover began, "what type of elf are you?"
Annabeth felt slightly weird about the question and Grover realised, so he tried to elaborate more.
"Okay, so… there is Lord Chiron of Silvaroth, and then there is Piper, the captain of Aphrodite and she told me that she is from Velonya, like Silvaroth but Aphrodite is the ruler. But, why are there separate elven kingdoms? Us hobbits have only one, if you call it a kingdom."
"Well," Annabeth cleared her throat, "are all hobbits similar?"
Grover thought for a moment, "No."
"You have different families, correct?"
"Yes," Grover nodded, "Underwoods, Hedges, Rootbrows, Leafstools… I could go on."
"It's just like the elves," Annabeth said, "All different yet equally the same. Me for example, are a huntress of Athena, of Athenor."
"Then I guess I'm… Grover a… small-folk of Hestia, of Hearthside," Grover then did a playful bow, "at your service."
Annabeth smiled, she was already quite fascinated by Grover, "And I'm sure Hearthside is a mighty and beautiful kingdom."
When Grover turned to thank the elf, he remembered the golden dagger that she was holding. It was the same one that he had seen Percy with.
"Sorry to bother you with a question—"
"It's alright," Annabeth replied, "might as well pass the time."
"Well, one of them shiny daggers you're holding," Grover gestured to the one in her hand, "I've seen Percy hold the exact same one. Did he give it back?"
Annabeth hesitated, "Well… yes."
"Mmm," Grover hummed as he nodded, "It's a nice dagger, good for stabbing I suppose."
"Do you know how to use one?" Annabeth asked.
"I've trained slightly with Reyna but essentially…" Grover thought for a moment, "you stick' em with the pointy end?"
This made Annabeth chuckle, never has anyone responded so simply, "Indeed."
Another silence was shared between the two, thought not as awkward. The entire time Grover was thinking whether he should hit her with the question that he's been wondering about ever since the 'fight'. Though he did favour his head on his body. Yet he also feels like he wants to help with whatever is going on between her and Percy. They were great warriors with even greater history. And Grover always felt obliged to help his friends in whatever way he can
Grover took in a deep breath. He was going to do it. He opened his mouth and spoke.
"Annabeth."
The elven huntress looked at him.
"What happened to you and Pe—"
"AHAH!"
The guttural yell echoed through the hall, a yell of triumph. Everyone looked over to see that Nikolan had finally stood from his seat and has seemed to have found an answer.
"You remember?" Piper asked, relieved.
"No…" Nikolan shun the light down the left pathway, "but the air doesn't smell so foul down here, meaning the closest thing to fresh air..."
"And a way out," Percy finished off the sentence.
Nikolan let out one of his cheeky laughs, "When in doubt, follow your —"
"Nose!"
"No, Leo…" Nikolan sighed, "your instincts."
"Oh."
"Come on," Annabeth said to Grover, "we're moving."
She began to pack he things and continue walking to the rest of the group but remembered Grover was about to tell her something.
"Wait," She said to the hobbit, "what were you going to ask?"
Uh oh, Grover thought.
"Um… it's nothing."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
Annabeth stared at him scrutinizingly, she knew something was off and Grover seemed oddly nervous. However, she decided to leave it be, "Alright, let's move."
Grover let out a deep sigh and slung his little backpack over his shoulder and walked alongside the tall, intimidating — possibly kind? — elf.
The journey seemed endless. All they could see was the dark. But just when they thought they had seen all of Steel Cliff, they come finally reach… Bunker 9. The entrance was far more grander and larger than the rest. The doorway was surrounded by an archway of solid gold dwarven engravings and at the top a title read, "Bunker 9: -" the second part seemed to be scratched out.
Leo looked liked he had seen a god and Nikolan took no time in leading them first had to walk down a few flight of stairs until they finally reached the entered into the Bunker but again, all they could see was darkness.
"Let me risk a little more light," Nikolan said, extending his hand towards the black nothingness.
The light in his hand grew to an enormous size and the glory of the great dwarven realm of Steel Cliff was unveiled.
"Behold," Nikolan announced, "Bunker 9… the Forge of Kings."
And so it was. A beauty and a monstrous hall to witness. All were amazed at it sight and Leo almost fainted. The elves for a split second had dropped all their expectations of dwarves and the men dreamt of having their skills. The Bunker stretched far and wide, so far that the light couldn't illuminate everything. The whole hall was held up by rows of giant pillars and scattered around were bits and pieces of golden parts. They looked broken, yet fixed. But the golden jewel of it all was what hung in the middle.
A behemoth of a ship. It had a singular massive sail and was 200 feet long. It's head, a bronze dragon looked so real that they thought it would spew out fire. The ramp to the deck was currently open and the crossbow swivels at the top looked loaded.
"Now, that's an eye opener, make no mistake," spoke Jason.
"Aye…" Leo sighed, "She's a beauty. The Argo it's called, the greatest ship the dwarves ever crafted."
"But if it's a ship, why is it underground?" asked Grover.
"Ah.. she's not regular ship," smiled Leo, "this… this one can fly with it's two propellers in the back. The only one of its kind."
"Amazing…" Piper blurted out.
"What was that?" Leo smirked.
"Don't push it."
"Come along now," Nikolan told them, "as astonishing as it is we must keep moving."
Nikolan continued to lead them down the hall of Bunker 9. They were able to walk beneath the ship, discovering more and more of the great pride of the dwarves. If I had a coin everytime they had to drag Leo from basking at inventions I would be rich.
On their way, Grover noticed something quite peculiar. The wall on the right side had a strange appearance. A giant golden casing over 200 feet tall that looked open, with the shape of a giant silhouette of a man inside. It looked as if something were to fit into that silhouette yet it wasn't there. Soon the others turned and noticed it too.
"Niko?" Grover tugged at the wizard's robe, "What is that?"
Nikolan looked and his face grimaced at the sight, "It's nothing… just some left over junk."
"Are you su—"
"It's nothing."
"But Nikolan—"
"Grover, listen to me," Nikolan knelt down to face him, "I said would protect you from anything. You know this. So you must trust me."
Grover looked into the eyes of the dark wizard and saw something in him that he does not usually show. Fear. Something terrified Nikolan, something he hoped never to face.
"I… trust you," Grover nodded.
Nikolan closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
But before they could carry on, a loud yell from Leo stopped them. They watched as the dwarf ran from them and around a pillar. Piper was the first to chase him.
"Get back here!" she yelled.
Everyone began to follow now and as they turned the pillar they found a small tucked away entrance on the wall. The door had already been opened and Leo already inside. They ran in trying to figure out what had made Leo act like this. In the centre of the room was a stone slab with a light shining down upon it. It was a small room with a second layer around the edges. They saw the dwarf kneeling at the foot of a stone slab, crying.
"No… no —no," Leo muttered, "No…"
Nikolan inspected the stone slab to realise that it wasn't a stone slab but a grave. He saw writing on the stone, written in dwarvish. Nikolan understood what it meant and his fears became true.
"Here Lies Nyssa, Daughter of Hephaestus… Lord of Steel Cliff."
Nobody could stop the sobbing and tears coming from Leo. How could they?
"She is dead then," Nikolan spoke, grief in his voice, "It is as I feared."
As Nikolan looked around the room, he saw the skeleton of a dwarf holding tightly a thick dusty old book, a diary of some sorts. Out of curiosity, Nikolan picked it up and blew off the dust, creating a small cloud. He opened the book and began to flick through its contents.
"We must move on," Annabeth whispered to Percy, "We cannot Linger."
"It was first the tools, then the machines. Next the Guardian and then our own. They took the bridge and bunker 7. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes… the ruiner of craft comes… the ground shakes… Gaea has returned."
Nikolan turned the page, everyone listening intently.
"We cannot get out. Metal steps crack the earth. We cannot get out…" Nikolan looks up from the book, "They are coming…"
Silence. Not even the breaths of men could be heard. All was silent. But then…
...the ground shakes.
Hey guys! I'm back and I know it's been a seriously long time but thankfully I managed to slip in this chapter (exams coming up help)
Just to answer the question of if this story will diverge from LOTR:
The story has the same beginning and end (with differences in names and events of course) but what happens in between, like certain scenarios, various detals and encounters and character quirks/developments will primarily be different. Obviously, the best battles will be the included and a few of the lines said from the movie (This is just for my own pleasure) will be included as well. But, I will try my best to keep things fresh.
Thanks for reading my chapter! And don't forget to review!