"We need a plan."

Percy frowned, sitting back in his chair. Next to him, Grover looked into the flickering light of the lantern illuminating the small space.

Annabeth was pacing back and forth, her hands up as if she was holding something. "What do we know?"

"Triton's trying to kill us." Percy folded his arms.

"Because we're on Athena's quest. And he hates Athena because she killed his daughter." She looked at him. "You knew about that."

"Uhh…" Percy sat up. "I had a dream…" He explained how he had seen Pallas' death, and repeated what Triton had told him.

Annabeth frowned. "Yes, I've heard about that. But that was an accident, wasn't it?"

"I don't think Triton cares."

Grover frowned. "So, now what? We can't take on a god."

Annabeth sighed. "We have to keep on with the quest, Triton notwithstanding. We knew whoever took the sword would be powerful; now we just know who they are."

"How do you plan to get the sword?"

Percy shrugged. "I think we should stick to the first plan: get to the colonies, steal the sword from the British forces, then bring it to the rebels. Someone's bound to have heard of the sword's capture."

"Your plan sounds an awful lot like making it up as you go along," Annabeth noted.

"It does," he agreed. "But I like it anyways."

She frowned, thinking. "I need more information on Triton. Is there any way you can ask your father about him?"

"I don't know; he's only ever reached out to me. I'm not sure if it works both ways."

"At least try, will you? I don't want to be blind while we're on Triton's territory."

"I'll try."

She nodded, running a hand through her hair distractedly. "I'm…going to go back to my room to think. Get me if you need anything." She nodded at both of them before leaving the room, causing the flame of the lantern to sputter as she passed.

"I don't like this," Grover said when she had left. "I knew this quest was dangerous, but…" He seemed to be at a loss for words. "Pherusa was talking about a war among the gods. Triton is going to attack Olympus. This is way bigger than us."

"I'm not a fan of it either; I may be new to this, but fighting between gods doesn't sound good. All we can hope for is that we manage to get the sword back before Triton gets his hands on it."

"And if we don't?"

"Then we hide out in the Colonies until everything calms down. Apparently the gods don't have power there."

Grover huffed. "Leave behind everyone we know and live half a world away?"

"If we have to." Percy put his hands on the small table, standing up. "It's too stuffy in here," he announced. "I'm going for some air." He left the room, taking in a refreshing breath of ocean breeze as he stepped onto the deck. He held onto the ship's railing and looked off into the water, contemplating their next move.


Three weeks later, Percy was once again holding onto the railing as he peered into the horizon, where dark clouds had started gathering.

"Looks like a storm's coming," he said, sure of this fact.

"Should we be worried?" Grover asked from beside him, squinting to see the faraway clouds.

"Probably not." Percy pushed himself to his feet from the railing. "It seems pretty far away to hit us."

Grover sighed, relieved. "You would know, I suppose."

His trust proved to be misplaced, however, as by that night rain was pouring down in buckets, and waves were throwing the Owl around as if it was a toy. Percy was holed up in his room, watching idly as his candle's flame moved to keep vertical as the ship swayed back and forth. Wind and water whipped by his porthole, the sound only slightly blocked by the glass. Despite the fact that the ship was rocking dangerously to the point of capsizing, Percy did not feel the slightest bit nauseous as he laid on his hammock, adjusting to the ship's movements automatically. He was fairly sure that the ship wasn't going to sink; but then he hadn't thought that the storm was going to hit them at all.

Percy started as the door flew open with a crash and the captain of the ship came whirling into the room, his hat bobbing madly. The captain was noticeably upset, his own wind rivaling the gale outside. He seemed to be trying to tell Percy something.

"What?" Percy said, getting off of his hammock. "What is it? I can't understand you."

The captain made an incomprehensible gesture then flew out of the room, putting out Percy's candle as he left. Frowning, Percy stood up and began to make his way down the hall, grabbing onto walls for support as the ship tilted, following the captain as he went outside.

Percy pushed open the door to the deck with difficulty, nearly being pushed back as the wind tried to force the door closed again. He stepped out onto the deck, cold and windswept but not wet: he had learned that he was able to prevent water from touching him if he wished it. Rain was definitely pouring down, however; though he was still dry, he had to step carefully or risk slipping and falling.

The captain swirled silently through the storm, picking up water until it looked like a small hurricane was floating on the deck. Percy hesitantly followed, moving slowly so as not to walk into anything.

"Is there a point to this?" he shouted over the wind. The ship lurched dramatically, and Percy suddenly had a very clear thought as he grabbed onto a piece of rope to steady himself: they were going to sink. He knew this as intrinsically as when he knew he was hungry, or thirsty. Cursing, he made his way to the railing where the captain was standing, his hat remaining firmly planted on his head despite the wind. The tricorn was faced away from the ship, towards the dark ocean below them. Percy looked out, wondering what was happening.

In the distance, he spotted a faint dot: a light source, flickering as the storm obscured his vision.

"What is that?" he asked. "That can't be the Colonies."

Characteristically, the captain did not answer him.

"Can you bring us towards that?" he pointed to the light.

The captain faced him, hat lowered, as if asking for permission. Can I?

"Do it! We'll sink otherwise!"

The swirl of water nodded then set off towards the ship's wheel. From beside Percy, the door to the deck slammed open as Grover and Annabeth staggered forward, clutching the door frame for dear life.

"What's happening!" Annabeth shouted over the wind. Her hair was whipping around her face as they stumbled towards the railing, grabbing onto anything they could for balance.

The ship made a sudden hard turn, causing Percy's legs to fall under him as he clutched onto the railing with dear life. He heard loud crashes and thuds from belowdecks as crates and other large objects fell over. Wrenching himself to his feet, Percy was caught between screaming in terror and shouting with joy.

The light in the distance became closer and closer as they approached. Suddenly, Percy felt himself being pushed forward as the entire ship was launched by a wave. They were pushed forward until Percy's feet fell out from under him again as the ship suddenly ramped up something with a horrible scraping sound. The deck tilted to an almost vertical slope as Percy lost purchase from the railing and flew off of the ship, landing with a splash into the ocean below. After a moment of confusion, he found his way back to the surface and looked around. He had landed very close to an island, and he started swimming over to the beach.

Groaning, Percy crawled onto the sand. He must have lost concentration during the accident, because his clothes were now soaked with water, his damp hair falling down in front of his face. The storm was considerable lighter now that they were on land, though it was still pouring.

Next to him, Grover and Annabeth staggered onto the beach as well, breathing heavily.

"Where are we?" Grover asked, looking around.

"We crashed," Percy responded. "I don't know where."

"We crashed a boat?"

"I'm not happy about it, either." Percy looked back, where the dark outline of the ship was resting at an impossible angle off of a rock. "Is everyone alright?"

The other two nodded, walking up to him. "Where are we?" Annabeth asked, shocked. "We're in the middle of the Atlantic—there shouldn't be any islands."

"People discover new islands all the time," he said, looking up into the forest. "I saw a light from here before we landed: there has to be some settlement that can help us."

"Are you sure?" Grover asked, peering into the darkness. Whatever light Percy had seen from the water was gone now, probably blocked by the dense forest.

"Wait, look at that." Percy pointed to the forest, where a light was meandering through the trees towards them. They heard the sound of brush being moved as a figure holding a lantern stepped onto the beach, looking at them.

"What's this?" asked a young voice. "Oi, you need some help?"

"Hello!" Percy called out. "We're in a spot of trouble, yeah."

"It sure looks like it!" The figure stepped forward, revealing a slender young man with curly hair. He was wearing a simple tunic, seemingly unaffected by the rain. "What are you doing there?"

"We got lost in the storm," Percy explained. "Are there any settlements on the island?"

"Settlements? No, nothing like that here. Is that your ship?" He pointed to the rock, as if he had just noticed it. "It's not looking too good, is it?"

"No, it's not," Percy affirmed.

The man bit his lip, thinking. "You seem nice enough. Tell you what, do you want to come inside for a bit?"

"Inside?" Annabeth asked, suspicious.

"Yes, inside. We've got a roof, at least, which is more than can be said for you right now." He gestured with his lantern for them to join him. "Come, strangers."

Slightly suspicious but wanting to get warm, Percy nodded. He held his necklace in his hand as he followed the man, Annabeth and Grover walking next to him.

The man looked sideways at them as he walked, holding his lantern high. "My name is Palaemon; pleasure to meet you." He bowed his head respectfully. "What are you lot doing in the middle of the ocean?" he asked conversationally.

"I could ask you the same," Annabeth answered. "This island isn't charted on any maps."

"Maps," he said derisively. "A poor substitute for the real thing. Does land suddenly pop into being once some lout with a pen writes it down?" He stomped the ground, sending up a splash of mud. "This island's been here for centuries: it's not my fault you've never heard of it." He grinned at them. "'Course, I've mapped this island over twenty times since we moved here. I've got the prints in my room: I should show you them some time."

They followed Palaemon across what seemed like the entire island, until Percy's legs were sore from exertion. Eventually they walked into a clearing where a snug cottage was resting, a calm plume of smoke wafting out of the stone chimney.

"Come in," Palaemon said, pushing the front door open and walking in. Percy followed, entering the home with an immediate blast of warm air as he stepped in.

A roaring fireplace was burning across the room, causing embers to spark and land dangerously close to the wool carpet. A large table was set in front of the fireplace, laden with the remnants of dinner as well as various items that had been laid on it, including a wooden toy soldier and a half-sewn net. To the left was a hall that led to a set of rooms on either side.

Palaemon shook his head, sending water drops flying. "We've got company," he announced, approaching a middle-aged woman sitting at the table and kissing her on the forehead. She looked up from her work, a string of pearls she was lashing together. Her face was startlingly pale, as if she had never seen the sun in her life. "This is my mother, Leucothea."

"And who are they?" Leucothea asked, not unkindly. She looked at Palaemon, who shrugged in response.

"This lot was in trouble," he said, gesturing at them vaguely. "Thought it was only decent to invite them in."

"Tch. Decent indeed." She shook her head, standing up. "And I suppose I'll have to feed them?"

"I'm sure they'd appreciate it," he responded, flashing a grin.

Annabeth cleared her throat, gaining their hosts' attention. "I apologize for any trouble," she started. "But we were…shipwrecked, on the shore here."

"We'd appreciate any help you can give us," Percy added. "If you have a barn, we could-"

"Nonsense. If we're going to have guests, we might as well do it right." Leucothea gestured for them to come further into the room. "Sit by the fire: you looked absolutely soaked." She pulled up three chairs for them to use, Palaemon standing behind her with a wide grin. She smacked him on the shoulder. "You—go get the room ready for the guests you brought."

Palaemon strided to the back of the cottage, humming to himself.

"I apologize for my son," Leucothea said, shaking her head. "It's been a while since we've have visitors, and a shipwreck besides…" She sighed. "Well, he's very excitable." She handed them each a woolen blanket for them to dry off. Percy wrapped it around himself, shivering.

"We appreciate the help nonetheless," Grover said.

"Hm." She nudged the fire with an iron poker, sending out a spray of embers. "You were in a shipwreck, you said?"

"...Yes."

"And it's just the three of you? There were no other survivors?" Leucothea was holding the poker at her side, her face passive.

Percy frowned: he knew it would be difficult to explain why they were the only passengers on the ship. "We don't know what happened to them. We had just managed to get to shore before your son found us."

"Yes, he has a knack for that." She turned to the hall. "Are you done in there yet!" she shouted.

The door slammed open as Palaemon's face appeared in the hallway. "Almost! Give me a minute!" He quickly retreated back into the room.

Leucothea sighed, shaking her head. "That boy will be the death of me. Go—" She motioned for Percy and Grover to get up. "Get in there anyway; you need to change soon if you don't want to catch a cold." She looked at Annabeth. "You can change in my room. You three can sleep in the guest room: it'll be the first time it's been used for that purpose in years."

"Thank you for all the help," Percy said, standing up.

Leucothea waved her hand dismissively. "Don't mention it. Get some sleep, alright?" She moved over to the table and went back to working on the pearls, sticking her tongue out in concentration.

Percy walked to the room and pushed open the door, revealing a cluttered office with piles of papers, tools, and sports equipment laying around. Two beds were shoved into the corner, their covers stiff from disuse. Palaemon was facing away from the door, cleaning up a pile of papers on the floor.

"Sorry about the mess." Palaemon shoved some papers into a drawer, slamming it closed. "I kind of took over this room as a study of sorts, so I've all kinds of things lying around." He took a final glance around the room, frowning. "I'll do a more proper cleaning tomorrow. In the meantime, just…don't touch anything." He reached into a dresser and pulled out a large pile of blankets, obscuring his face as he carried them. He dropped the pile on one of the beds. "Here, you can have these. It gets cold at night. There are some extra sets of clothes in the dresser, if you want." He gave them a wide grin, balancing on the heels of his feet. "I'm so glad the Fates dropped you here. It's been terribly long since we've had guests."

"...Thank you," Percy said, unsure of how to respond.

Palemon started to move towards the door. "Alright, then." He nearly fell over a ball that was on the floor, waving his arms in the air as he caught himself. He smiled at them sheepishly. "Good night!"