Chapter 6, Act I - I'm Welcomed at the Hearth.
Alex took great pleasure in explaining that he got his searcher's license from the Council of Cloven Elders, a group of crusty old satyrs who serve as a court of sorts for satyrs. We took a quick scan of the cabins, as I told him the same thing I told Chiron about my mother being Hecate.
We saw the arena, the beach, the canoe lake, the strawberry fields. (When I asked why not grapes, as Dionysus was a patron of ours, I'd been told he was banned from drinking wine by his father.) We saw the forge, and the dining pavilion, then we finally came up on the amphitheater.
"And this is the amphitheater." The satyr concluded. "Now, while we do know who your mother is, even Chiron would agree that you should still stay in Cabin Eleven, if only to maintain peace, since Zeus doesn't like the idea of minor gods getting honored. So meet up at the dining pavilion at six for dinner, and just look out for this blonde guy with a scar on his face. He's your cabin's counselor. Now, I'll see you later, Niko." The satyr scurried off, to gods know where.
I stepped into the amphitheater, looking around a bit, to see an eight year old girl tending the central hearth. I smile faintly as the System recognizes her. "Lady Hestia." I greet, sitting across from her at the hearth. "Hello, Nikomedes." She replied, her eyes locking onto me for a second, a calculating, yet warm look in them. I'd say I'm surprised she knew my name, but then again, she's a goddess.
"You're not from here, are you, child?" She asks. "I ask that you keep it a secret, but I have no problem admitting it to you, of all goddesses. How did you know?" I ask back. "Family is my domain." She answered easily.
"That's fair. I don't suppose you know anything more about them? I had a dream recently where I know for certain I spoke with them. I remember only faint details of my past, but no more, not even of the world I last called my home, or what I spoke with them about." I asked. "Knowledge comes at a price, as I'm certain you know." Her face was unreadable, not telling of anything.
"I'd pay any price to verify their safety, and to know them again. I plan to return to them, and I'd quite like my memories of them to remain intact." I affirm. "You're loyal. I can respect that. If I had my way, I would send you on your way, with the knowledge you ask for, however, I'm aware of what threats are to come to my family over the next decade." She starts, warmth in her voice as she acknowledges my loyalty, and sadness at the threats.
I shake my head. "You can't possibly be asking me to stop those threats, my lady. Those jobs are destined for others. I'll help where I can, but I can't do the job for them." I frown. "Perseus Jackson." That got my attention. At my look of surprise, she continues.
"I just ask you to protect him, and protect my other nephew when the time comes. For each threat that passes, I will give you information on one of them that you choose, so long as Perseus and my nephew remain alive." She requests. I nod. "I can do that, my lady." I accept. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Niko. And please, just Hestia." She says, smiling warmly as she dissolves into flames.
I feel a comfortable warmth flood my body, as two "Dings!" go off in my head.
Quest Added!
Protect Percy Jackson and Apollo throughout the adventures of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, and Trials of Apollo!
Rewards: Memories of your found family, ?, and ?!
Power Unlocked!
Serenity Inducement: With the power of copious amounts of friendship-is-magic gimmicks, you can cause a feeling of tranquility in an individual or group, varying in power and length.
MP Cost: Varies by strength.
I quietly snorted at the description, but I stood up, satisfied with that conversation and how it went. I got the System to tell me the time, and I was surprised to see it was only three in the afternoon. I had three hours before I had to be anywhere. I had two ideas in mind for what I wanted to do. I could go train, or I could go see if there was someone in the Athena cabin.
While I had a ton of knowledge about this universe (thanks, Wikipedia-Game-System thing,) I still lacked a lot of knowledge regarding this universe. The Athena cabin, which I'd seen on my tour with Alex, could probably fill in those blanks. Alternatively, I can train my powers.
I had a lot of time for both, but making first impressions as soon as I could would be great, so I made my way back to the cabins, and approached the cabin. I knocked on the cabin door, and a boy around my age opened the door. "You're that new kid. I'm Vincent." Vincent stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Vincent. I'm Niko." I said, shaking his hand.
I hesitated, but told him why I was here. I got the feeling it was probably a mistake. His stormy grey eyes glinted as a smile stretched across his face. "We're not ones to deny you knowledge in the Athena cabin. Come on in." He said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me in.
Okay, but for a second, can I just complain about everyone, even the nerds, being stronger than me? Not to mention how everyone drags me everywhere, even their satyrs! Now that's just unfair.
By the time I was done with my internal monologue complaining about the unfairness of it all, Vincent had sat me down in a corner next to a large bookshelf, all written by demigods. Books about varying topics in our world lined the shelves, and even I couldn't help but grin at the prospect of all this knowledge, just waiting to be absorbed in my mind.
Three hours later, with an extra five levels in Intelligence, I was being dragged by an Athena girl to the dining pavilion, book still in hand. "You shouldn't be risking damage to one of our books by bringing it here, y'know." The girl complained, grabbing it from me. I huffed, but who was I to make a mess of it? It's their books, fair's fair on their rules for them.
"Sorry. I just want to learn as much as I can." I apologized. I glanced at her, and there was something stabbing at the back of my mind. She seemed familiar. I shoved that feeling aside, and searched for the blonde guy with a scar, as Alex instructed.
Now, with the System giving me meta knowledge, I already know who it is, and I know to be careful, thankfully. It wasn't hard to find him. He was possibly the tallest guy here, not counting Chiron in his true form. I shuffled my way over to the Hermes cabin table, and the Hermes counselor waved me over. "You guys, scoot over a little. Let the new kid have a space." He told the people on his left.
There were some noises of complaint, but the kids slid over. Gods above, this was a crowded table. It was a wonder there was room for me, much less some of these other kids. I squeezed in next to him, and he glanced over, cracking a smile. "Nice first day? I'm Luke, and I'm going to be your counselor." He said, introducing himself.
"I'm Niko. It's nice to meet you, Luke." I smiled back at him. I knew he became a traitor with my meta knowledge, but he wasn't a traitor yet. Kronos didn't speak with him until recently. "You have some strange timing with how you arrived. The summer session's ending tomorrow. Hopefully, it'll be less crowded a few days from now." He said, waving at everyone. I nodded, my eyes dropping to the counselor's beads on his camp necklace.
Beads of a pine tree, a centaur in a prom dress, and a Greek trireme on fire. So this was the summer he had his quest. He didn't seem to notice me examining his beads, and dinner finally was served by the wind spirits. I started picking at it, thinking carefully. A lot of the kids at the table seemed to flick their eyes to me every now and again. One of the kids turned to look at me, and she asked a question I think was on all of their minds.
"Claimed or unclaimed?" The girl asked bluntly. "Unclaimed, but only because my mother is Hecate." I said, flicking my hand to summon a wisp of blue magic. A few kids stared at me with jealousy, and the girl's eyes brightened. "I'm glad I'm not alone, then. I'm Lou-Ellen, your half-sister." She said happily.
"Nice to meet you, Lou-Ellen. I'm Niko." I smiled warmly at her. Some kids started getting up, and scraping part of their plates into the fire, one cabin at a time. When it came to our turn, I started plotting who to give my food as offering to. Then I realized I shouldn't know what's going on. "Hey Luke? Why are people scraping part of their dinner into the fire?" I asked him.
"Offerings to the gods. It's not enough that they're omnipotent and all-powerful, they need to feel appreciated." He explained as he came up to the brazier, a dark look in his eyes. He scraped part of his plate into the fire, and said, "To the gods." He walked casually back to the table, and I shrugged, scraping a fair share of my food in. "To Hestia, Hecate, and Poseidon." I whispered.
I caught a surprising scent from the flames. The smell of brownies, tea, and an ocean breeze layered together. I got a warm feeling, and I smiled, heading back to the table. I sat back down, and I finished eating my food. As people started finishing, Chiron stamped his hoof on the concrete. He glanced over to an empty chair at the head table, presumably where Dionysus sits.
"As this summer comes to a close, I wish to inform you all that you must report to the Big House before noon tomorrow if you intend to remain year-round, otherwise the cleaning harpies may remove your belongings from your cabin." He started, looking at some of the Hermes campers, picking me out, seemingly satisfied that he found me for some reason, and he continued.
"But, on a lighter note, congratulations are in order for surviving yet another year, and hopefully many more years to come. We also have a new camper! Niko, please stand, and campers, give him a warm welcome." A polite round of applause circulated the tables, cheers even coming from Vincent and Lou-Ellen. At least I made some friends.
I sat back down, and I tuned out the rest of Chiron's announcements. All the campers were provided commemorative beads for the year, a golden apple design on it, and I heard a "Ding!" to signal a +1 to Wisdom from getting my guess right, that this was the year Luke had his quest.
I unfortunately didn't get one, as I got here today, and they didn't know to expect me far enough ahead of time, though I'd been hoping Chiron would've told someone, but Luke promised to make me one, which generated a smile on my face. "Thanks, Luke." I told him.
"Now! Onwards, to our final campfire of the summer! To the amphitheater!" Chiron announced. Everyone started to trickle down to where I had met Hestia hours previous, filling in the seats under their cabin's banner.
The Apollo cabin led a singalong, as we all got some s'mores. Some of the Hermes kids were fidgeting, a couple of them eyeing me. "Good luck finding where I keep my stuff, guys. I'm thievery-proof." I smirked. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell them outright I had spatial magic, and pin it as a Hecate thing, because Lou-Ellen sat right next to me.
Aside from that, I felt right at home. Not too long later, a conch horn was heard, and we all trickled back to our cabins. Luke and I were bringing up the back in order to ensure nobody snuck off, and I took the opportunity to speak with Luke.
"Hey, Luke, can I borrow you for a second?" I asked. He raised a brow, but we stepped away so I could discuss what I wanted. "I know it's crowded in the cabin. It was overcrowded at the table, it'll be crowded in the cabin. I have this tent I got from my mother. Do you have any idea if I'll be able to use it without getting caught, just so I'm not a hindrance to others in there?" I proposed, grabbing the tent from my inventory behind my back, so it looked like it came from my back pocket.
He seemed to look at me in a new light after that. "You didn't seem like a rule-breaker to me. I'm sure Chiron would excuse the new kid from sleeping outside of a crowded environment for the night. C'mon. To the beach!" He grinned, starting to jog to the beach.
