A/N
Hey everybody. Welcome to this chapter of Legion of the Lost. Thank you so much for being here and for being patient. I get so little time to work on this in college.
I forgot to mention this in the last chapter but there's going to be a timeskip in this chapter. It's honestly just there to help move the story along because as much as I want to, writing a day by day account would take forever.
Disclaimer: PJO and HOO belong to Rick Riordan. All I own are few characters and the plot of this story.
Now onto the story.
Adirondack Park, New York, Four month later
The day had just reached mid-afternoon as Percy and Jacen circled each other, weapons drawn and in their ready position, Percy with Riptide in one hand and Jacen with his longsword resting in an upper guard. When comparing the two, they were complete opposites. While Percy preferred the light and maneuverable fighting style that came with fighting with Riptide in Greek armor, Jacen preferred two-handing a longsword while in heavier plate armor for extra defense.
As a crow cawed nearby, they made their move. Being quicker, Percy dashed forward, swinging left then right. Jacen easily shifted his guard, blocking both strike. As Percy came at him again, he feign striking from above and attacked right but still, Jacen's guard held, parrying the attack with ease and pushing the son of Poseidon back. Now it was Jacen's time to strike. Almost immediately, Jacen swung his sword with one hand in a wide horizontal arc, causing Percy to quickly dodge underneath it, using his sword to deflect the blow in a shower of sparks. Not wasting a moment, the knight grabbed the hilt of his sword with his other hand and swung the blade in an downward motion. Percy barely had time to bring up his own sword to deflect the blade to the side before Jacen's next move. Ramming his armored shoulder into the chest of Percy, Jacen took advantage of the staggering blow and brought his arms back up in a diagonal cut upward, forcing Percy to jumped out of the way as the blade grazed his armor.
"Dude! That could have the killed me!" Percy complained.
"I trust your abilities to dodge out of the way." Jacen argued back with a hidden smirk.
"And what if I didn't?"
"Then I guess I would have to look for a new partner."
"Jace!"
"I'm joking, Perce." Jacen said with a chuckle that echoed slightly in his visored barbute helmet. Before they could continue to argue, a voice interrupted them.
"Jacen, please do your best to not kill your partner." They turned to see Hunter standing nearby, apparently observing the fight. "At least wait until we're back at camp so Sarah can fix him up if you do."
"Hey!" Percy shouted indignantly, causing to other two to laugh at his expense. "Is it too late to switch units? I'm pretty sure the Myrmidons wouldn't give me this much trouble."
"No but do you really want to do near constant training with Warrior? They'll run you ragged." Hunter asked as he approached them. Percy's thoughts immediately went back to the last time he did long term trained with Warrior and his Myrmidons. While Percy was good swordsman, even one of the best if rumors were to be believed, Warrior took him down within a minute and the drills they were forced to do left him exhausted like never before.
"Never mind." Percy said, forming his mouth into the a tight line. "So was there something you needed or did you just come to watch us practice and make fun of me?"
"Bit of both. We're getting ready to move, we just got word that the last of the Trojans have been dealt with and our wounded have been healed meaning we're packing up."
"What about the monsters that we missed?"
"The Hunt can take care of any stragglers. They won't think much about random group of monsters beyond where to put their arrows and knives. As long as the Trojans are dealt with, our job is done here."
"So where to next then?" Jacen asked.
"There's a Trojan encampment to the west so we'll head that direction and meet up with Clayton's Spartan contingent to provide assistance in taking them out." Hunter said as the three of them start walking back to the main encampment. "Once everyone is pack, we'll leave." Both Jacen and Percy nodded in acknowledgement.
"Come on, Hero. Let's make sure we haven't left anything behind." Jacen said, calling Percy by his unofficial nickname while Percy just let out a sigh. Because of how well known Percy was with both the Romans and the Greeks, they felt it fitting that he had an alternate name as well in case they come across someone that might know him. It also bothered the young demigod to no end so that was added bonus.
"Fine but let's see if you can keep up this time, Tin man." Percy retorted as the two ran off.
Hunter had a half a smile as he watched the two demigods go before his attention turned skyward at the cry of the falcon. As his smile quickly turning into a frown, Hunter ran back to catch up with the two demigod. Things were about to become a lot more interesting.
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Adirondack Park, elsewhere
When the Hunt got word of a large group of monsters and possibly demigods hiding out in the Adirondack Park, they immediately took action, thinking they were possibly leftovers from Kronos' army trying to come together. However, what they found was a few hellhounds licking their wounds along with piles of golden dust and ash along with clear signs of a conflict. Broken arrows, discarded weapons and armor, blood from where people were injured or killed. They were at the site of a battle yet neither side's human combatants, both living and dead, were anywhere to be seen. It wasn't the first time they encountered this too. More often than not, the Hunt would catch wind of large groups of the monsters traveling through the wilds only to the find piles of dust and ash when they got there. Now once more their prey was snatched from them, leaving them wounded monsters that couldn't talk and were eliminated with ease.
"You got to be kidding me! Again!" One of the hunters fumed as she looked over the battleground, stomping in frustration before taking a deep breath and running a hand through her long hair. "Something has to give. How do these people keep beating us to the punch?"
"They have to be getting their information from somewhere but from where?" Another asked.
"And what's up with these battlefields we keep coming across? I can understand the dust but what's with the blood and ash? It doesn't make sense. If they're injured, where's the trail or body?" A different girl stated. In the back, Thalia and Artemis watched over the rest, both equally frustrated at the turn of events.
"What do you think, Milady? Think someone is telling them where we're heading and what we're hunting?" Thalia asked as she picked up and examined an arrow before looking back the goddess, who stood there in thought.
"No, few know where we are at any given time or what we hunt and there have been many times where we found hordes untouched." She said as she crouched down and picked up a handful of ash and examined it before letting it get blown away with the breeze. "However, what we've seen is that in those cases, we've found no ash or anything that creates it."
"So you're saying is whatever the source of the ash is our culprit."
"Possibly. There are many things that we do not know in this situation." Artemis said as she stood up. As she did so, a falcon let out a cry and she smiled. "However, it seems we have other prey to hunt. Come along." With that, the Hunters of Artemis took off running.
It didn't take them long to reach what was once a camp site and a fairly large one at that. Examining the site showed them that it was quickly taken down, the fires were only recently doused and the ashes still warm to the touch, indentations in the ground from where tents and people had been were still visible, but more importantly, their footprints were still there and could be tracked.
"It seems they think they can outrun us. Girls, let's put that to the test, shall we?" The hunters all let out a cheer in response and they ran after them, following the tracks the group that had been there prior had left behind.
The hunters were in high spirits. They were in their element and they seemed to be gaining on their prey. They had even caught the glint of something metallic reflecting sunlight. Following the foot prints further, it became clear that the group had split up, one group heading forward while a smaller group broke off, still headed off in the same general direction on a tangent. Following in suit, the Hunters of Artemis split up to run them down. It was only a matter of time before they caught them and finally got the answers they so desperately sought.
Artemis and Thalia lead a group following the largest group and as they continued to give chase, it became more and more apparent that something wasn't right. Despite them giving chase and the speed they were going at, they now seemed to be only slightly closing the distance. Normally they would easily run down anyone that tried to flee from them but this group seem to be match their pace to some degree. Along with that, from what they could remember of the area, there was only a large river that was too deep to wade through and currents too strong to swim across in the direction they chose to run so unless they had means to cross it or travel down the river, they would be caught between the river and her Hunt.
As the trees began to thin out and the river became visible, the Hunt came to a halt as their eyes widened in surprise. On the other side of the river, they caught a sight of what looked like an knight between the trees in the distance. One of the hunters quickly nocked an arrow and let it loose at the knight. However, just as the arrow was about to make impact, the knight suddenly stopped and shifted his body out of the way, the arrow deflecting harmlessly off his armor. To the hunters that could see him, it looked like he turned back to look at them but to Artemis, she saw him subtly stick out a hand to what she assumed was a partner or companion to signal for them to wait. The knight took off after that without looking back again and they soon lost sight of him.
"How did they get across?" One of the hunters asked as she and a few other girls looked for anything that give them a way. "They must have had a way across!"
"I'm not seeing anything! How did they do it?""We're going to have to swim.""We can't. Those rapid are too strong." The hunters all started talking at once.
"Milday, what should we do?" One finally asked above the rest causing them to turn to her for guidance.
Artemis was deep in thought. They had no way across yet they clearly made it across if that person was anything to go off of.
'So how did they do it?' Artemis thought to herself. As they thought about it, Thalia walked up to the water and put the butt of her spear in. However, instead of it sinking into the water and stones, the metal end had found some kind of resistance just beneath the surface of the water. Bringing it back up, she frowned and poked down at it with her spear once again, only for her spear to hit the bottom with ease.
"Thalia, is something the matter?" Artemis asked her lieutenant. Thalia quickly looked back and shook her head.
"No, milady. I was just checking to see if they had something under the water that let them walk across. I thought I felt something but it's seemed to be nothing." Thalia said.
"Strange." Artemis went back into thought before sighing. "No matter. We'll let them have this victory today."
"Milday?" One of the hunters said as they all looked at her in almost disbelief.
"By the time we finally make it across to continue the chase, they would be long gone." Artemis said with a unusually calm tone. " No, let them have their victory. We know they exist and the prey they seek is the same as ours. We'll run into each other soon enough and next time, they won't get so lucky."
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Back with the Legion scouting party, the second group had just reconvened with everyone else, breathing hard after having to run from Artemis and her hunters. While normally Hunter wouldn't have been as winded, using his abilities while also fleeing had drain him a bit. He could tell the same had occurred with Percy as he was panting harder than usual.
"Glad to see that you made it." Hunter said approaching Percy and Jacen. "Any trouble with the plan?"
"One of the hunters took a shot at Jacen but besides that no problem. They only saw him"
"Good. Are you alright?" Jacen asked the knight.
"I'm fine. Percy warned me in time and it deflected off my armor. My concern is that the Hunt knows we exist now. Are you sure this was the best idea?"
"The Hunt has known that someone has been messing with their hunts for awhile now. Hordes of monsters don't just turn into dust without reason. We've just given them an image to direct their anger toward. Also, being outrun by a man in plate armor can't be considered good for one's confidence either, especially when their use to being the fastest ones around." Hunter said with a shrug. "Expect more arrows coming toward you when we next meet them formally. Or have them mistake you as the leader of this group."
"Oh joy." Jacen said with a groan.
"They're not all bad. At least once you get to know them." Percy said as he pat his friend's shoulder.
"Just because you had a few good experiences with two of them doesn't mean the rest of them don't hate us." Jacen said. Hunter was about to open his mouth before Jacen pointed at him. "I don't want a word from you about the hunters. You're a biased opinion as is." Hunter closed his mouth.
"Fair enough." Hunter said before turning to the rest of his men and speaking loudly to get their attention. "Alright, the Hunt has given up chasing us for now but we're not out of the woods yet. Catch your breath for now but stay on alert. We leave in 5 to meet up with the Spartans. Knowing Clay, we'll be walking onto a battlefield. If the fighting's already started, I want everyone in support positions. Archer are to harass the Trojan back lines, skirmishers and hoplites guarding the archers and intercepting anyone that comes their way, and once they've been routed, skirmishers and archers will hunt them down should they manage to run. Are we clear?"
"Yessir." The rest of men responded, glad for their moment of rest. While they were exhausted from the battle and the run, they were thankful for the additional endurance training and sprints that Hunter put them through to make sure they could keep up with the Hunt. They had all heard the rumors of how the Hunts treats those who dare mess with them and their prey, especially men. Needless to say, none want to find out if there were any truth to those words.
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Spartan Contingent, Several miles west at the edge of the Adirondack Park, An hour later
The roar of battle echoed through the field as the Spartan phalanx pushed forward and clashed with the Trojan line. Shield met shield as they slammed into one another. The round Spartan shields against the rectangular Trojan ones. It was an unconventional tactic but the Spartan captain saw that this could be an advantage if they could get past the Trojan spears. It took several pushes and the loss of more than a handful of men but now that they were past them, Spartan swords began cutting into the Trojan soldiers.
'Good. Now we just need to keep the pressure on them.' Clayton thought as he ducked his head and let a spear glance off his helmet before slipping his blade between the shields of a Trojan and into the man's chest. It didn't take long for the Trojan's first line to collapse and their second line were just as ill prepared as the first. Still armed with their spears, they couldn't switch without leaving them exposed and the tight formations left them little room to maneuver. A cry of pain ripped through the air not long after from back of the Trojan lines, just loud enough to heard over the clashing and clanging of weapons and armor.
"Arrows!" He heard one of the Trojans yell from the rear and Clayton looked up as a hail of arrows began to rain on the Trojan's back lines. He almost called for his own men to raise their shields but he noticed that even the most wayward arrow still found a place within the Trojan lines. Looking in the direction the arrows came from, he noticed the scouts and archers from Hunter's group in the trees as they rained bronze and steel onto the Trojans. His skirmishers and hoplites were positioned at the base of the trees with the hoplites ready to charge in as shocktroops to assist his Spartans, lead by the strange knight and his partner.
"Send them back to Hades!" Clayton screamed, invigorated by the arrival of his allies. His men let out a roar and pushed forward, knocking the Trojan frontline off balance and the piercing through their formation. With the formation broke, another cheer from Hunter's men rang out as they took the opportunity to charge the confused Trojans. Those that able to form some semblance of a formation where meet by the raging son of the sea god as his miniature hurricane pushed aside spear and shield alike. After that, few could hope to stopped the charge of a fully armored knight as he smashed through what was left of their line.
Now in the middle of what was now a brawl, the knight and his partner were an unstoppable force, even without the hurricane. The son of Poseidon was a force of nature in himself and Clayton could have sworn that the ground shook as he fought. He easily deflected attacks meant to kill and slipped past the spear and shield, sinking his blade into weak points of the armor and into any exposed flesh before retreating to defend his partner from any spear that hoped to exploit his knight's exposed back.
The knight was in no means weak either. If his partner was a graceful fighter, the knight was a sharpened instrument of brute force with his longsword, expertly twisting and spinning his blade to deflect attacks and cutting down anyone not hiding behind a shield. As the spears of the Trojan shieldbearers were thrust toward him, he would deflect some and let the others glance off his armor before grabbing a spear and pulling the Trojan off balance and sinking his blade within them, all while the son of Poseidon continued to harass those around them.
Another volley of arrows rained down on the broken Trojan lines, killing more and completely breaking what was left of the Trojan lines. With the loss of their formations, the Trojans realized that they couldn't keep up their previous offensive and were about to rout.
"No prisoners!" Clayton yelled. The men responded with a war chant. "No mercy!" Another chant as his men began to encircle the remaining the Trojans. Within minutes, the Spartans closed in on the remaining Trojans and cut them down. With the fighting now over, the Spartans looked over the battlefield and looked over dead and wounded. Any Trojans they found were put to the sword while Spartans were taken away so their injuries may be treated.
"Looked like a good fight." A voice from behind Clayton. Turning around, he saw Hunter walking toward him with a friendly smile. "Though you and your men would have ended up surrounded if we hadn't showed up."
"We are Spartans. When are we not." Clayton replied with a grin of his own as he removed his helmet, revealing black hair and beard with a light scar on his upper lip and nose and eyes that seem to flicker with a slight flame in them, and grasped Hunters forearm. "It's good to see you, my friend. Still playing with that bow, I see."
"It's part of who I am now, in this life and last." Hunter said as they let go of the other before getting serious. "How bad was it this time?"
"Not as bad as it could have been. As much as I hate to admit it, the Trojan shield wall was holding up better than our phalanx. Had to get creative but I think father would be proud with how we fought today." Clayton ran a hand through his black hair. It was easy to see his resemblance to the god of war.
"What's left of the Trojans did go to Italy and would become the Romans after the war." Hunter pointed out.
"Fair enough." Clayton said spitting off to the side. "No monsters this time around though. Guess I have you and your boys to thank for that."
"Possibly but you can pay us back later. We manage to piss off the Hunt earlier and would rather not stick around in case they do decide to pursue us." Hunter said with a slight huff. Clayton laughed at that.
"Pissing off your lady is never a good idea so I'm with you on that one." Clayton said still slightly chuckling. "Let's gather up the dead and go home."
"Best plan I've heard all day." Hunter said as the two walked off.
A/N
And that's a wrap. Thank you much for reading. I hope this was interesting for you to read as it was for me to write. I kept editing and redoing different portions of the chapter, trying to improve it until I finally felt it was a good place but that's for you to judge.
So what did you think of this chapter? Like it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Leave a comment/review or shoot me a PM if that's more your style.
Thanks again and as always, have a great day.