I don't own any characters in the Percy Jackson universe which is rightfully owned by Rick Riodan. However, the Greek gods and/or other mythological figures are used in my own imagination and well you can't claim copyright on history.
Chapter 19
(The next few chapters will be in the perspective of Percy)
I slowly lower my bow. He was right, we had barged into his property. Besides the way, he threatened me and the lack of fear in his eyes showed he wasn't just bluffing.
"Well, why don't we get moving." He studies us. "What an odd bunch. 3 demigods, 1 satyr, and a centimanes. Whatever, let's go meet the owner."
I put my rings back on and the man whistles. A large black dog with 2 heads comes bounding out of the woods. It pauses and growls at us before running back to the side of its master.
"Ah, where are my manners. I am Eurityon and this is my cute little dog Orthrus."
It sure was a dog. Cute? Not very. We followed Eurithyon to the direction of a rather large ranch. We eventually reach the front of the ranch and Eurithyon goes and knocks on the door and comes back to us.
"Listen to me. Don't make fun of his body." He tells us.
"Why would we do that." Annabeth starts.
Suddenly a large figure walks out. He had an oddly shaped head, with little horns protruding everywhere. He had 3 bodies with 3 separate shirts sewn together.
"Hello, welcome to my ranch. My name is Geryon. I see you've already met Eurityon. To pass through here, you must pass my fun little challenge. It isn't much. You see, my stables haven't gotten a good cleaning in a very long time. The creatures in the pen are very nasty creatures. Do this simple task and you all are free to go. I promise."
"We can't do that. We aren't some cleanup crew. You need to clean something up, then go call 1-800-got-junk or something." I retort.
He just laughs at me.
"Is an honest day's work beneath you? I'm offering a peaceful resolution, don't push your luck. After all, you have trespassed on my property."
I consider. It seemed simple enough and the sooner I finished, the sooner we could continue on the quest."
"I accept your terms."
"Oh, good. The tools you would need are in that shed." He points behind the ranch. "Follow the path and you'll get to the stables."
I went into the shed to find a set of waders, a large bucket, a shovel, and some gloves. I grab them and quickly make my way to the stables. What was there surprised me.
"Holy shit, you gotta be kidding me." (no pun intended) I say aloud.
And indeed a pile of shit there was. Like the size of small hills. I could see creatures moving in the piles of poop. I take a closer look and see that it was multiple horses.
Good, I could talk to them.
"Hey, guys. I'm here to clean your stables. Wouldn't that be great?"
"Food? Food. I want food. Where is human?" I heard multiple horse replies.
"Uh, no I didn't bring food."
"No, you are food."
"But my dad is Poseidon. He made horses so wouldn't that mean we are on good terms?"
"Poseidon? He can come too. Seafood!"
Well actually getting into the pen was going to be a hassle because they obviously sounded like they were meat-eating horses. Preferably human meat. I was going to need to clean the pen from the outside. I took off my rings and notched a couple of arrows and fired. I separated the arrows and concentrated. The bars and the centerpieces soaked up the moisture from the air. The pieces of the split arrows come back down, covered in a huge amount of water. I focus and the arrows and metal bars disappear leaving the water splashing down. It was working as I saw a trail of shit water slowly flowing downhill. I did it a couple more times and soon the stables were clean of any excrement.
"Please stop, master. We promise to cause no more problems. We won't eat anyone anymore."
"I hope you guys keep that promise. From now on you will only eat what your owner serves you. Understood?"
"Yes, we promise. No more baths please."
I sigh and start to leave.
"So it was you."
I turned and some elfish girl was pointing at me, obviously mad about something.
"Uh, what did I do."
She points to the river, now murky with the excrement that had flowed downhill. I figured out she must have been a river dryad. More specifically, the dryad of the river I had just polluted.
"I'm so sorry. I'll help you clean your waters. I'll be right back."
I take off my waders and walk into the shadows. I decided to get to my father's place real quick.
"Hey, dad."
He turns and sees me. He smiles and I rush into his open arms.
"You never come to visit me. Even though I told you where I am. Besides, I noticed 2 of my hippocampi had come left and came back this morning. Were you out on a date."
"Uh, no not a date. Just paying back Artemis for helping me out all the time."
"Artemis? Interesting. So what are you here for."
I told him everything that had happened. He slowly strokes his beard and thinks.
"And I'm going to bring Briares to you later."
"Okay well, here you go. Go to her river and concentrate. The pollution should dissolve."
"Thanks, dad. I'll be back later."
I swam into a dark patch of seaweed and reappeared next to the dryad.
"You're finally back. How are you going to fix my river?"
"Come on. I promise it'll be cleaner than ever before."
I grabbed her and ran down to the river. I swam in and pulled out the sand dollar. I concentrate and a clean feeling washes all over. Just as my father told me, the mess in the river slowly dissolved.
"Oh, my gods. Thank you so much!" The dryad squeals in delight and hugs me.
"No, I didn't do much. I was the one who made the mess. Thank, my father."
"Thanks to the both of you."
I say my goodbyes to the dryad and step into the shadows. I reappeared in the shed and put the tools I took, back to where they belonged. I walk over to the ranch to find my friends to find them tied up. Orthrus was sitting next to them making sure they weren't going to do anything funny. Eurityon sits on the table with a rather bored face. Geryon was cooking meat on the grill. He looks up and spots me. He starts to check his watch to see how long I took.
"Don't bother it's 2 pm. Why are my friends tied up?"
"Well, that was certainly faster than I thought. Regardless, you guys would fetch a nice sum of gold. Probably even equal to their weight in gold. Don't bother, I've already planned to sell them to Luke." He says with a laugh.
"You said if I cleaned the stables, we were free to leave." I grit my teeth and uncap my sword.
"Eurityon, take care of him."
"Do I have to?"
"Yes, you dolt."
Eurityon just sighs as if he could think of a million things he'd rather be doing. He picks up his club and approaches me.
"He's the son of Ares, so he won't be easy to beat."
Eurityon swings at me and I drop to the floor. I quickly get back up and knock the club out of his hand. My blade is at his neck and he just stands there.
"One demigod to another. You don't have to do this. Don't stoop to his level." I say.
He just sighs and sits back down on the table.
"He's too strong. Can't beat em'." He says with a bored tone.
Geryon's face turns purple with anger.
"You, I'll deal with you later. Perseus, I will personally deal with you."
He suddenly flings a steak knife at me with deadly speed and accuracy. If it weren't for Artemis's blessing, that definitely would have found a new home in my chest. I deflected it with the flat of my blade and suddenly he was already in front of me. I quickly raise my sword as he engages me with a pair of tongs. Eventually, I started to pick on the weaknesses he had. Whenever I shifted a little, he would have to turn his entire body to face me. It would have been hilarious if my life wasn't on the line. I run into the ranch and he screams in rage.
"Enough! When I kill you I will place your head right there." He points at an empty spot in the wall with stuffed heads.
He rushed me and I stabbed him in his chest. He keels over in pain, but just as quickly the wound starts to close. In a couple of seconds, it's as if nothing happened.
"Stupid hero. I have 3 hearts. I heal much too fast." He laughs.
"Idiot, you shouldn't go around telling people your weakness. All that means is that I need to hit all three of your hearts at once." This time I laughed.
He growls and rips a mace off the wall. He throws it at me. I quickly fall to the floor and quickly take off my rings. I was falling on the side of him. I notch an arrow and fire, doing as exactly as Artemis had shown me that day. I don't know if it was luck or if I had gotten much better with a bow, but it pierced all 3 hearts and the arrow landed on the place he had said he was going to hang my head. He bursts into dust and the only evidence that he ever existed was his strange shirt. I ran out and immediately took off their chains with my powers. Orthrus growls at me.
"Orthrus, down. Come here."
The dog goes to his master's side. I turn to Eurityon.
"So what are you going to do now?"
"You see, when I was young, I was stupid and rash. Eventually, I was banished here to serve him. I'm bound to him. He'll eventually reform and be back. When that happens, I'll be the servant once again."
I look inside the ranch. I walk over and take a pair of Geryon's boots. I toss it to him and he catches it cleanly.
"How about next time he comes around, you become the master."
He chuckles and nods, putting the boots on.
"So are my friends safe or do we need to get going?" I asked.
"They're fine for now. He wanted to call them after his barbecue." He answers.
"Uh, can you do me a favor? I'm going to take Briares somewhere, so could you look after my friends till I get back."
"Sure, have fun." He turns to my friends. "C'mon I won't bite. Have some burgers."
I take Briares and walk into the shadows. We appear back at my father's palace. Briares giggles in joy and swims on.
"Thanks, Percy." He says happily.
"No problem. Tell my dad I sent you. I'll see you again someday, Briares."
I swam back into the shadow we came from and reappear back at the ranch. I look around and find Nico missing.
"Where's Nico?"
"He went out back." Replies Grover.
I nod in thanks and go to the backyard.
"Hey, Nic-"
I paused and looked next to Nico. A ghostly figure with a crown was there. They turn to me.
"Minos," I growl.
End of chapter 19. Thanks for reading!