Chapter 3, Act II - The Start of the Second Quest.
It didn't take long to find Annabeth. Looks like she found out before I could warn her. "You can't! Zeus can't just do that! We need you! I need you." She sobbed, standing in the doorway of the Big House.
I nodded at Chiron. "I'm so sorry, sir. I wish I could've been here, but Lord Hades had me do him a favor." I said, gesturing to the two new demigods. "I expect that you're going to undertake a quest soon?" Chiron asked me, seemingly unsurprised I brought Hades kids to camp. I nodded. "After what happened with Luke? Of course I'm going on a quest. Zeus values his daughter too much, and I already promised him I would last summer."
Percy and Annabeth were giving me confused looks. "We'll talk about it later." I assured the duo. "First, you all need to say your goodbyes. Though I do expect Chiron will be reinstated within the next month." I grinned mischievously. Another thing I learned from the Hermes kids? How to unnerve people using expressions like that.
Chiron frowned. "How do you—? Ah, nevermind. I don't think I should know." He decided, after seeing me raise a brow. He was one of the few people who knew I managed to outright bribe the Olympians last summer, so I think he understood how far I'd go to ensure he returned in that time span.
I left the three of them to say goodbyes, and I took aside the di Angelos and Tyson to give them a tour. Tyson and Nico, I'm sure, were going to get along great. "Whasthat?" They both asked, pointing at the stables. I sighed. I should've left this job for Percy.
I ended the tour outside the Hades cabin. "My cabin is right there." I pointed them to my cabin. "I'm gonna be gone for a while, and people don't exactly like Hades, or Cyclopes. But if anyone's messing with you, go to the two kids in there. They're my siblings, and they'll help you manage until I get back, okay?" I told the three of them. I brought Tyson to his cabin, after showing the di Angelos to their cabin.
"You'll be able to meet Percy here later, okay? You're brothers. Both sons of Poseidon. But for now, I need to get the di Angelos their schedules. So just follow me, and I'll take you to Percy. He's probably still outside the Big House now as it is." I said, walking towards the Big House.
Fortunately, I'd harassed Chiron until schedules were made for every cabin, inhabited or not, exactly because of this. So I just snatched a stack of papers for a year's worth of schedules for the Hades cabin, and promised Percy and Annabeth that I'd be back in a minute.
I dashed to the Hades cabin, and dropped off their schedules. "If you guys want to follow me back to the Big House, have at it. You guys don't have to do anything right now, but I need to go do something important with Percy and Annabeth." I told them. I dashed back to the Big House, and sat across from Percy and Annabeth, while Tyson was just standing awkwardly over a broken chair.
"Okay, long story short." I started rambling about what happened, from Luke attacking, to me dropping the Hades kids off here. Annabeth hesitated, and by the time I finished, Bianca and Nico were seated around the table, too. "It's still so hard to believe he's evil." She said, shaking her head.
"Annabeth, trust me, I saw him confronting his father at camp, before you guys came back from Olympus last summer. He gave Percy the flying shoes. He admitted to stealing the bolt." I said tiredly. "I know, I'm not questioning it." She sighed.
"Anyways, back on track...I kinda wanted the two of you to come on this quest with me, to get the Golden Fleece, in case Luke tries to attack again. This quest was ordered by Zeus, too. I'm the one who's supposed to undertake this, and I get to choose who comes, but it's still your choice on if you want to come with or not." I admitted. Annabeth's eyes widened, as she came to a realization.
She turned to Percy. "Your dream, with Grover. The Grey Sisters gave us coordinates. They told us that those numbers were for something we sought. What if it's the Golden Fleece? The Fleece would already smell enough like Pan, and Grover said Polyphemus had it, right? As a trap to satyrs. That's why satyrs never return from their search." Annabeth realized.
Percy narrowed his eyes, thinking. "That...makes sense. Yeah, Niko, we're coming with you." He decided. "Oh, by the way, the little boy, his name is Nico, too. With a c, instead of a k, but just call me Niko A, and this Nico by Nico B." I explained again. He laughed, and I grinned.
"Aye-aye, Niko A." He said lightly. I took a glance around, and saw Tyson shifting uncomfortably. I hesitated. "Tyson, if we aren't restricted to three people, you can come with us, too. I know the campers won't treat you nicely, and nobody would be here to defend you, aside from my siblings, but they won't be able to stop people discriminating against you." Tyson's expression seemed to brighten at that, and Annabeth scowled.
"Annabeth, I know. Not all Cyclopes are evil. Plenty work in Poseidon's forges. Elder Cyclopes even made the Big Three's symbols of power. The ones we fight are outliers at worst." I tried. She shook her head. "You don't get it. You can't get it." She insisted. "I'll go with, but one wrong move from Tyson..." She warned, standing up, and going back to her cabin.
"Percy, so you know, I already showed these three around. So don't worry. I just advise you to keep Tyson close by. Defend him at all costs." I warned him. He nodded. "Protect Tyson. Gotcha." He stood, and the two of them walked off somewhere.
"Hey, you two. Head to my cabin. Knock on the door, tell the kids who answer the door that I sent you, and explain to them who you are. I already told them who you two are, and told them to keep you safe from any campers who might hold prejudice against your father. Feel free to hang out with them anytime. Meanwhile," I said, looking towards the stairs to the attic, "I have an Oracle to visit."
They left, and I started to climb the stairs. "And what," I heard a snide voice say, "do you think you're doing?" I turned to face the source of the voice, and I scowled. It was an unnaturally skinny guy, who looked almost starved, with long, shaggy black hair, a sullen face, and he donned an orange prisoner jumpsuit.
"Tantalus." I greeted coldly. "I didn't realize you were brought out of Punishment. In case you were uninformed, your father ordered me to go on a quest to help save his daughter, who is imprisoned, eternally dying, in that pine tree." I pointed out the door to Thalia's pine.
"And what does that have to do with you exploring here like you own the place?" He asked cruelly. "Once again, in case you were uninformed, Hades trapped the Oracle of Delphi in a body that's been dead for decades, so we get our prophecies from a mummified Oracle in the attic." He barked a laugh. "You really expect me to believe such a tall tale?"
"I would hope you're not impeding the efforts of Norberto, here. He may be troublesome, but he is acting on behalf of our father." I almost laughed in relief to hear Dionysus' drawling voice, and his deliberately incorrect names. I really didn't want to kill the new activities director, if only because I didn't want to piss off the king of the gods.
Tantalus huffed. "If you say so, brother." He said bitterly, attempting to snatch a can of Cheez-Whiz that sat on the ping pong table. The Cheez-Whiz, unfortunately for him, literally flew in my direction.
He sneered at me. "A month of dish duty when you return from your pitiful quest!" He said gleefully. I laughed, and turned around, putting the Cheez-Whiz on the stairs as I walked up to the attic.
This starved zombie really just tried to give me dish duty because the gods cursed him with no food and water for eternity. Now that's just kinda funny, because I know I'm not actually doing a damn thing he tells me to do.
This was actually my first time in the attic, despite my three years here. There were dusty trophies and spoils of war in here, dating back to the Civil War. But the most interesting of them all was a hippie mummy on a stool in the back. I approached her, and before I could get too close, a green mist came out of her mouth with a hiss.
"We have no control over you. Fateless. Begone, Cyrus." The Oracle said. I paled, but one thing confused me. "Cyrus? Who's Cyrus?" I demanded. There was a faint laugh, but no response. I could swear the laugh sounded just like the System did when it gave any audible cues. I've heard laughs from it before, and it sounded identical.
So the Fates made the System? Maybe the Fates of another world? Or maybe some power, higher than them? I was broken from my thoughts when I heard a knocking from the trapdoor to the attic. "Hello?" I heard someone say. They peeked their eyes through the trapdoor.
"Heya, Lou. What's up?" I asked. "It's time for dinner, and there's some grumpy dude in a prison jumpsuit trying to get me to have dish duty for a year. What the hell is going on?" She asked.
I sighed. "I'll explain at dinner. Get Hades' kids to sit with us for now. Hecate will welcome them with open arms. Alright?" I told her. She nodded, and her eyes vanished as the trapdoor closed. I quickly jumped down from the attic, and made my way to the dining pavilion.
"Ha! Another month of dish duty for your tardiness, er, Norberto." Tantalus called out. I burst out laughing. "Guy, the day Mr. D says my full, real name is the day pigs fly. It's Nigel." I lied, just for the hell of it. There were some quiet snickers around the pavilion, but nobody said anything.
I don't think Tantalus left a good impression on anyone so far.
He narrowed his eyes, and I sat at my table with my siblings and the di Angelos. Dionysus didn't care enough to know any better, and Tantalus just didn't know any better, so they ignored the extra two kids sitting with us. They didn't, however, ignore the Cyclops in the room.
"What is that?" Tantalus practically shrieked. Campers shifted uncomfortably, but I stood. "The Hecate cabin vouches for him, thank you very much, Timothy." I called out, deliberately misnaming Tantalus, just to get on his nerves. Eye for an eye, and all.
"It's Tantalus, boy, and you'd best watch it before you get another month." I drew the key Hades gave to me, and pressed it to my palm with two of my fingers, and in my hand grew a Stygian Iron sword.
Murmurs erupted at the new sword. "What's that made of?" and "I've never seen anything like it." was what I heard. "Now, Tim, if you must know, I know you're already dead. Lord Zeus brought you here because he thought you, as a former king, could do better. He knows not to kill me, as I'm the one who can get him what he needs right now. Even then, is it really a crime to return what's already dead to the Underworld?" I said coldly.
My sword erupted into flame. "My mother is Hecate. I am a necromancer, myself. Even I know and respect the order of things, and I have attained the approval of Charon himself on such matters. If anyone is threatening someone here, it is me to you, so you best watch your mouth, murderer, before you even start to consider harming one of my friends." I said, pointing my sword at him.
Tantalus didn't back down. "I am your activities director. If you will not respect me—" "You know gods damn well you're not our activities director. Our activities director is Chiron. Hey, demigods! Do you want to know the story of this man, the one who claims to be our activities director?" I called out.
I knew Dionysus should've interfered by now, but judging by the popcorn in his arms, I think he was enjoying it far too much to interfere. The campers started murmuring amongst themselves, and people started shouting, asking for the story. "Tantalus here was once a king. He was a son of Zeus. He had much to his name, though he had no powers, only his father, his rank, and his riches. But once, after dining upon Olympus, he went down to his kingdom, and wondered, are the gods truly all knowing?" I paused for effect.
"And what he did was he took his son, Pelops. Killed him, diced him to bits, and put him in a stew. His own son. He invited the Olympians to dine with him, as what he called a kindness. The gods, unaware, feasted, and once they figured it out, they killed him, and sentenced him to an eternity in the Fields of Punishment, eternally just barely out of reach of food and water." Shouts of disgust erupted, and people stood, upset that this man was replacing Chiron.
"Is this the person you trust to be your activities director?" I shouted. There was a resounding "No!" I looked up to the sky.
"Lord Zeus! Look at this! Look at what your son is doing, and what he had done in the past, and tell me that he would increase the security of our camp! Look at how satisfied your children are! If you want security, Chiron does it better than Tantalus ever would!" I called to the god of the skies, hoping he was watching, instead of going out to do something stupid.
Apparently, the campers decided to draw his attention. They all started shouting agreement, probably giving him a headache with how much I heard his name. "Enough!" I heard the Lord of the Skies' voice boom. "If you will not have him, I will remove him. But I will not have that centaur back. Give me a name, and I shall bring them here." He thundered, appearing at the head table. Tantalus stuttered, and Dionysus cackled.
I knew Dionysus didn't like Tantalus, but he must really hate him. That was the most joy I've ever heard from the wine god. My mind raced, and I came up with a genius idea. "Sally Jackson. She's wonderful with kids, and she understands demigods. She may be mortal, but she's clearsighted and empathetic. She could handle it. Maybe not for a long time, but I think she'd be able to do it until we find a suitable replacement." I suggested.
Nobody in the camp, aside from Percy and myself, knew who Sally Jackson was, and I suspected Zeus didn't either. Fortunately, campers trusted my judgement after three years, and there were murmurs of agreement, albeit reluctant ones. They didn't really trust strangers. Not after Luke.
"Very well. If you trust the son of Hecate's judgement, I will do what it takes to keep you all from giving me a migraine like this again. Sally Jackson, if she accepts, will become the new activities director, for the time being." He thundered. He turned to me expectantly.
"I'll be sure to Iris Message her before I leave, Lord Zeus." I cursed silently. I wanted to leave tonight, but now I'd have to worry about getting Sally settled in, because he couldn't have Dionysus, the actual camp director, do it.
So I left the dining pavilion after Zeus flashed away with Tantalus. The pavilion had been silent, but erupted into cheers as I walked away, celebrating that Tantalus was gone before he could do any real damage. I went to the Iris cabin, which had been built only shortly after Hecate's. Fortunately, the Iris cabin had a system that kept a rainbow going almost perpetually with just a flick of a switch.
I flipped it on, and tossed a drachma into the rainbow. "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Sally Jackson, in her apartment in Upper East Side, Manhattan." The rainbow shimmered, revealing Sally at a desk, leaning over a typewriter.
"Miss Jackson." I called. I tried to keep a gentle tone, in hopes I wouldn't startle her. You see, while I tried to help pay for her college, she refused. We just settled on a compromise of buying her a typewriter, which was honestly really hard to find, in this day and age. I had a sense that in my world, it was easier to find and buy things like that.
Of course, I didn't want to be responsible for her pressing a wrong button, so I'd been trying not to startle her. Thankfully, I succeeded, and she turned to me, her face brightening when she saw me. "Niko! It's good to see you again. How's Percy? Is everything alright?" She asked.
"It's nice to see you, too, Miss Jackson. I kept meaning to visit during the school year, but I have duties to tend to at camp. I'll try to visit more this coming year if I can. But anyways, to answer your questions. Percy's great, actually. He got to camp relatively unscathed, and if he was banged up at all, I couldn't tell. As for if everything's alright... That's another story." I started to explain to her what happened with Luke, my visit to Olympus, skipping my detour, and then I told her what happened to Chiron, and what happened to his immediate replacement.
"That's awful! Do they have a plan for who their next activities director should be?" She asked. I took a breath, and told her the truth.
"Miss Jackson, I'll be honest with you when I say I couldn't think of many people who could perform adequately in all of Greek mythology. Gods aren't supposed to be involved, dead people are technically against Ancient Laws, so that didn't leave much. So when Zeus himself asked for the opinions of the campers, I had proposed the idea of a mortal temporarily being the activities director, and I happen to know one who'd fit the role excellently." I explained. Her expression was one of shock, almost akin to a puppy who just learned of object permanence.
"You recommended me?" Curious was the only word to explain what her tone was, though it was still many, many more things than just that. Excited, scared, and happy, to name a few examples of what else. I could only nod.
"I hope you understand that I have obligations, too, Niko. It's not all about the demigods to us." She warned. I faltered. Before I could say anything, though, she continued. "Though I'd be more than happy to take the role for now. How long should I expect to be there?" She asked.
I grinned. "Thanks, Miss Jackson. You won't regret this. I'd say a month, maybe longer, but you should be able to pack reasonably light. Bring stuff for maybe a week-long trip, and honestly, in my experience, that should be able to sustain you for a month. You can bring what you want, though." I advised her.
She nodded. "I'll be there first thing tomorrow morning. Does that work?" She asked. I glanced at the schedule on the Iris cabin's wall as a reference, picturing what time I figure would be appropriate to leave for the quest. "If you can be here at around eight, that would be wonderful. I'll be camping around the big pine tree." I told her.
As it stood, we'd probably be leaving for the quest tomorrow evening. I realized I should probably tell her about the quest. Before she could wipe away the message, I held up a hand.
"One more thing, Miss Jackson. I just want to warn you, I have a quest I'm supposed to start tonight. I'm fine to push off starting it until tomorrow night, but I wanted to let you know that Percy needs to be a part of this quest. His powers are going to be ones I need to succeed in this quest, ordered by Zeus himself. So I'm absolutely welcome to stay as long as I can tomorrow, to help you familiarize yourself with the camp and its functions, but we need to leave for the quest immediately after dinner tomorrow." I explained.
She sighed, and looked at me sadly. "Keep my baby safe, okay? I wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to him. I know you need to take this quest, and I won't try to argue. Goodnight, Niko. I'll see you at the pine." She said forlornly, swiping through the message.
I flicked off the rainbow machine, and I went back to my cabin, flopping into bed, my hands spread over my face. "So? What did Sally say?" I heard a voice ask. I looked up to see Hermes. Honestly? I wasn't even surprised from random divine check-ins anymore. Athena pulled me aside enough because of the System, as I tried to help her figure it out.
"Hey, Lord Hermes. She agreed to it, but only for about a month's time. Though I'll be completely honest, I told her to expect a month-long trip at most, because I'm determined to find a way to redeem Chiron in Zeus' eyes during my quest, even if it takes drastic action to do so."
He nodded. "I'll cut to the chase, because I can tell you're not in the mood. You've got mail, and I've got a couple packages to deliver for you and your questmates." He handed me a few envelopes, and he brought out his phone, typed something, and it morphed into his caduceus. I smiled faintly in recognition of his two snakes, coiled around it, George and Martha.
"Hello, George. Hello Martha." I greeted. "Hello, Niko. I've heard good things about you. It's nice to meet you." Martha hissed. "Hi, Niko. Do you have any rats? I'm starving." I heard George say. I laugh. "Unfortunately, George, the most I can do is a rat skeleton, though I do hear the Athena cabin, assisted by Demeter's cabin, retaliated against the Hermes cabin for their pranks by releasing rats in there. The rats were enchanted to stay inside the cabin, but I completely deny any involvement. So if Hermes wants to stop by..." I trail off, smiling at the traveler god.
He sighed, a smile flickering across his face. "Gifts first, then I'll think about it." He decided. "First, a gift for you, personally, for helping my kids, and filling the hole Luke left for them." Martha's jaw expanded to maybe twice what a snake could normally manage, and out came a package.
I opened it, and in it were sets of maps. He leaned in to whisper to me. "I know you offered to help Hera with her pet project. Don't give me that look. I'm the god of messages and travelers, I know about everything." He claims. "But anyways, these maps should be of great assistance to you, should you manage to keep your memory, when the time comes." He continued, keeping his voice low.
"Next," George expanded his jaw, "a gift to assist you on your quest." Out came the multivitamins. I grinned at him, and examined the package. "Are those Minotaur-shaped?" I asked, picking out a multivitamin. "Ah, yeah. Unfortunately, they stopped making them after Hercules Busts Heads stopped streaming on Hephaestus TV. I really don't understand why Hephaestus switched to all-reality. But I expect I don't have to explain these to you." He said, gesturing at the bottle.
"Finally, Martha, if you would." On cue, Martha's jaw expanded once again, expelling a thermos. Hermes handed me the thermos, and I grinned. "Winds from the four corners of the Earth. I don't think I need to warn you, but only open it slightly to use it safely." He said.
The ends of the thermos were different extremes of temperature, changing based on where I pointed it. "You could use this thing as a compass." I mused. "Huh. You've got a good point. Well, I've also packed some duffels for you and your questmates." He said, tossing four duffel bags by my bed.
I passed him a pouch of drachma. "Just as thanks, Lord Hermes. And one more thing before you go." He raised a brow questioningly. "Don't believe what Luke says about you. He's traumatized due to his childhood, and he just wanted to make a family that other demigods didn't have. He's bitter that he couldn't get it, and he's blaming you when he shouldn't. You care, and it really shows. Don't let what he says get in your head, alright?" I told him.
He nods. "I know. Believe me, I know, Niko. It's just hard to see your own kid hating you." He said. With that, he started glowing. I turned my head away, closing my eyes, reopening when I knew he was gone. I dropped his gifts into my inventory, and I sighed. "Lights out." I called, pulling a curtain over the little cubby that held my bed.
