New friends. -Alyx

They were a pair of short men, no taller than 2 feet, with wizened faces and soot-streaked grey hair to match. I was surprised, because they looked human enough to me- they didn't have claws or scales, or any of the usual features of a monster.

Cinder didn't leave me any time to think, and was already half-way to their table by the time I caught back up to him. The two monsters at the table hadn't noticed us yet, too deep in conversation to pay much attention to the rest of the world. The monster on the far side of the table- his hair slightly longer than his companion's- scowled at something the other said, baring sharp teeth in distaste. He opened his mouth to reply when his dark eyes found Cinder standing beside the table.

The griffin smiled, spreading his hands in a welcoming gesture. "Hi! Do you mind if we sit with you?"

The monsters exchanged glances, as if to say 'Here we go again', their gaze falling back on Cinder. Neither spoke for a moment, the tension growing, before the long-haired one let out a sigh. "Sure. Why not," he grumbled, looking between us. He spoke with a heavy welsh accent.

Cinder pulled up a chair for himself, and motioned for me to do the same. "So," Cinder started, reasserting the smile on his face as he leaned onto the table, "have you lovely fellows-"

"-'Eard about Gaia's army?" The long-haired monster leaned back in his chair, fixing Cinder with one of the most unimpressed stares I think I'd ever seen. I awkwardly sat myself down between him and Cinder, finally able to see the face of the second monster. This one looked younger, less worn around the edges than his fellow. So distracted was I with our company, the name 'Gaia' didn't register until a while later.

A frown flickered across Cinder's face, unnoticed by the two monsters as they both drank in the pause. "Of course," he said, "Gaia's army. The one with all the monsters. You have heard about it?"

The older monster rolled his eyes, sighing into his drink. "Of course we've 'eard about it. We're Knockers, we are, and there ain't nothen' in the earth we don't sense." He tipped his glass toward his companion, who nodded in agreement.

"We've known about 'em for years now," the younger monster- the younger Knocker- added.

I glanced at Cinder, who looked as confused as I felt. "Knockers?" I asked tentatively, the griffin narrowing his eyes in thought.

The long-haired Knocker leaned back in his chair, casting me a glare. "You come over 'ere asken' us for 'elp and you don't even know what we are?" The monster sounded more exasperated than annoyed, his companion shaking his head and tutting as he continued. "Must be Greek," he said with mild distaste, "or Roman. You lot never think 'bout the rest of us, off in yer own world." He paused momentarily to take another swig from his glass, and pointed to himself and his friend. "I'm Tommy, and this is Siors, We're Knockers. Celtic origin, 'course, 'n we live in caves."

"We knock on mine walls!" the second knocker added, a grim smile spreading across his face, "we like causen' cave ins."

I tried to suppress the shudder that ran down my spine. As the pair of them clinked glasses for the third time and drank I shot Cinder a glare, doing my best to convey as much annoyance as possible. 'Friendly, huh?'

He shrugged innocently in reply, 'How was I supposed to know?'

The knockers- Tommy and 'George', was it?- burst out laughing at some unspoken joke, slamming their glasses back on the table. The liquid inside sloshed with the force, and I did my best to look nonchalant. I was a monster here, not a demigod. Killing mortals and demigods was normal for me. Completely normal.

Tommy, the older knocker, turned back to us, wiping a tear from his eye, his smile fading. "Anyway," he started, "You- Greeks, was it?"

Cinder nodded, unfazed by the pair, "Greek Griffins."

The Knocker's face wrinkled in disbelief, "I thought Griffins were more feathery."

The griffin nodded, "Usually, but it's easier to have a drink in human shape." I did my best to smile and nod, hoping the two monsters wouldn't ask any further questions. From what I had read in my hasty research session back at camp, griffins were not creatures that went around shapeshifting. Cinder was some weird freak of nature type thing.

Thankfully, both were a little too drunk to be thinking straight. "Understandable," Tommy admitted, the matter apparently forgotten. "We've 'ad a lot of you Europeans asken' us where your 'earth mother''s army is, thinken' we'd be knowen' where she is. You'd be right, of course, but it can get frustraten'. 'S all Gaia this 'n Gaia that." He leaned back in his chair, looking at the two of us. "The second that Kronos feller went back to the pits we've 'ad even more of ye asken' us."

"Well," Cinder said, pausing briefly to finish his glass, "You know us Greeks, always itching to fight the Gods."

Siors chuckled, "Too right, you lot don't get on with your friends upstairs, do ye? 'S all them demigods, our lot don't 'ave wee babes runnen' around stabbing anythen' that moves."

The griffin nodded, his tone a little too honest if you ask me, "That they don't."

As the conversation continued, I found my mind beginning to wander. Cinder laughed with the pair of knockers, inching closer to our actual goal of finding out where this army of monsters was at the current time. The two men seemed adamant to keep moving off in tangents however, recalling distant days where the demigods weren't as aggressive as they were nowadays, or back when they had some respect for monsters. Honestly, I stopped listening when they complained about the Greek pantheon for the third time.

Instead I looked around the room. There was a constant buzz of movement as monsters mingled and spoke to one another, collecting in small groups of monsters of the same species for the most part. I could see a few mixed groups here and there, where a selection of cyclopes, giants, spriggans, and other monsters were obviously too drunk to care about any differences. On the other side of the room, a bar fight had broken out, two cyclopes getting ready to hit one another until one of them dropped. I glanced toward the bar, catching sight of Tim vaulting over the counter, his equine legs eerily graceful, and storming through the crowds. Then the swarms converged and I couldn't make out any more. Through the din I could hear grunts of pain and a few surprised yelps, though.

My gaze drifted upwards, absent-mindedly scanning all possible locations for assault or ambush. It was a habit you had to fall into as a demigod, constantly keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Granted, in a situation like this that cautiousness did very little, but I couldn't help looking around.

A few harpies roosted in the rafters, forming small nests out of discarded pieces of hay and leaves, making themselves comfortable as they spoke to each other. I'd never really thought of harpies as social creatures. There were a few other monsters up near the roof, most species I didn't recognise- strange amalgamations of existing monsters or animals.

I was about to return my attention to the conversation between Cinder and the two knockers when something caught my eye. In the darkest part of the loft, amidst a few rotting haybales, I saw a glint of light. Two green pinpricks glowed from the darkness, watching me intently. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I suppressed the shudder that threatened to move through me.

I turned back around in my chair, where Siors was laughing heartily at something Tommy had just said, while Cinder leaned back in his chair and grinned. The griffin glanced at me, his smile fading as he read my expression.

"Sorry to interrupt," I said, the two knockers refocusing their attention on me. Siors seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes straight. "I just need to borrow Cinder for a second." I forced a polite smile, standing up and beckoning for the griffin to follow.

He raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, rising from his chair and following.

I quickly lost sight of our table in the crowd of monsters, and turned back to face him. My smile melted. "Something's watching us," I hissed, glancing back toward the rafters. There was a darker shape within the shadow, barely visible. I couldn't make out its eyes from this angle, but I could still feel its gaze locked on us.

Cinder looked over my shoulder, eyes narrowing. He focused on the shape and muttered a curse. "We need to leave," he said a split second later, grabbing my arm and starting to pull me toward a large set of doors to the near side of the room. I couldn't see the door we had entered through with all of the bodies in the way, but the ones we were headed to were full sized barn doors. The rails they rested on were shiny with use, glinting silver in the orange light. One stood open, the tide of monsters spilling into whatever land was beyond.

The sudden hand on my arm instinctively made me want to resist, and I pulled back against Cinder, stopping him. "You know what it is?" I asked in a low voice. As much as I disliked the bar, I couldn't help but think that the only reason whatever it was hadn't attacked was because of the bartender- Tim. In any other situation, monsters would fight amongst one another, as age-old feuds flared up and resulted in arguments that I imagined only escalated when alcoholic beverages were introduced. To keep this many monsters tame, the horse-man must have had some crazy power. I wasn't exactly thrilled to be giving up what little protection I could get. Not when I didn't know what to expect outside.

Annoyance crossed his face, his grip tightening momentarily. "It's the one of the few monsters who would see through our, uh, disguise without a second glance." He looked back to the rafters, his pupils slits as he looked through the light. "Now get moving, we need to try and lose it before it calls your bluff in front of all these other monsters." He tugged on my arm again, and I relented.

He moved quickly, weaving between bodies with a strange grace you wouldn't expect from a creature that spent most of his time in a shape easily three times as big as his current one. It was all I could do to stop myself being pulled over. I had at least some experience in dealing with large crowds- especially chaotic ones- but nothing quite like this one. Monsters grumbled angrily as we passed, raising glasses if they had hands, or baring sharp fangs if they did not.

"So which one of these few monsters is it?" I asked. We were a few steps from the door, the cool air from outside washing over me.

"See for yourself," he said, turning. He raised a hand to gesture at the ceiling, in continuous motion. There was an edge to his voice, a sense of urgency.

Behind us, the pair of eyes had revealed themselves to belong to a owl-like creature. Its feathers were pure white in colour, black flecks forming rows on its chest that spread to its wings. It had moved closer to us, its sharp beak glinting as the edge caught the light. It stepped closer, long forearms stretching along the rafters as talon-tipped fingers curled around the wooden beams. Its hindquarters came into the light, the feathers changing to fur around its midsection, replaced with a soft-spotted silver coat. With a start I recognised it as a griffin, although the combination of feline and bird was vastly different to Cinder.

I turned back to see him eyeing the other griffin nervously, waiting for me to turn back around so he could drag me through the back.

He wasted no time, dragging me out of the door. From behind us, a shrill screech rang through the barn. In an instant, a rather large hellhound was in front of Cinder, a soft growl warning the pair of us to stand still. The other griffin- the owl- had switched beam, choosing one that was much closer to us. The monsters in the barn fell silent, heads turning in our direction.

"****." Cinder's voice was the only one in the space of around ten seconds.

After that? Well, I don't think I would be exaggerating if I said all hell broke loose.