Percy kept his head low and the cloak up as he was briefly accosted by one of the guards manning the gate. The guard patted him up and down before checking his mouth and finally pushing him down the road. After being shoved, Percy stumbled forward and joined a crowd of people dressed similarly to him – non-descript tunics and cloaks covering themselves – that had already entered the city.
Beside him, he could feel both Alcaeus and Kassandra bumping into him, telling him that they had made it through as well. As Percy continued forward, the walls of the gate fell away to reveal an expansive square and market. Percy stopped, feeling passerby bumping into him as he stood there in awe. At the top of the hill where the market roads led lay a massive palace, which Percy knew one day would become more.
"Welcome to Athens, young Perseus," Alcaeus whispered, stopping beside him. "The glorious city of King Theseus."
Behind him, Kassandra also came to a stop, looking around.
"We should not stay here," the young woman muttered, still wary of her surroundings. "Let's get on with our business here and be done with this city."
"Why, what's wrong with Athens?" Percy questioned, looking behind to his two companions. Kassandra looked at Alcaeus and grimaced, while the latter shrugged and nodded.
"Let's go to a less crowded area first," Alcaeus suggested, leading the group to the entrance of a deserted alleyway. It was filled with filth and garbage, but devoid of humans, which suited their needs perfectly.
"You're really not from around here," Alcaeus said, a grimace playing on his face. Percy chuckled a little before his expression returned to normal after seeing Alcaeus' downcast look.
"Athens," Alcaeus began quietly, "hasn't been facing good times recently."
"How so?" Percy asked, looking out of the alleyway and around the marketplace. With no frame of reference for how pre-classical society would look like, he thought that the market was reasonably bustling with business.
Kassandra spoke up before Alcaeus could respond. "My King has received calls of help from neighboring cities by Athens. There is a group of marauders – no, more like invaders – that are sacking and conquering nearby lands. Of course, Mycenae has never received a request of assistance from Athens," Kassandra grimaced. "I'm sure King Theseus would never deign to ask for help from his greatest rival. Still, Athens has surely been plagued by similar pains."
"Well, it looks alright," Percy said, before remembering the gate. "Mostly alright."
"Looks can be deceiving, young Perseus," Alcaeus whispered, before straightening up. "At any rate, we should finish with our business here. It's best not to linger after talking about such matters." They stepped out of the alleyway with little fanfare.
"Everyone have their lists?" Alcaeus asked. The other two nodded. Percy took a look at his own list. It was filled with hastily-scribbled items that would come in handy during their journey – some small knives, rope, a new pot, a new sword to replace the one Alcaeus had broken, a new quiver, and, as a luxury, some salt. Percy could finally appreciate the essential nature of the last one – even a pinch of salt could a long way for his palate.
"We meet back here in three hours," Alcaeus ordered. He pointed at the fountain at the center of the large square. "Don't be late."
With that, Alcaeus and Kassandra both slipped into the busy crowd, instantly disappearing from Percy's sight. Sighing, he tucked away the list and headed for the first item.
To his surprise, there weren't that blacksmiths or weapon shops as Percy would've expected for a city of Athens' size. It took him some time before he finally found a small armory shop. However, as he stood in front of said shop, he frowned. It was evident that business was slow for the shop – the merchandise hung behind the shopkeeper was of dubious quality, there was a conspicuous lack of customers combined to the stalls and stores around it, and more than one blade hanging from the shop's front rack was poorly maintained or rusted. Likewise, there was not much merchandise at all, with many of the sheaths and holders in the store empty of any weapon.
Still, it was the only shop Percy had found after a half-hour's search, so with little ado, he stepped forward, placing his hands on the stall's wooden counter.
"How can I help you today, young man?" the shopkeeper asked, his eyes lighting up when he saw someone approach his stall before they narrowed slightly. The shopkeeper was an average-looking man – black hair, dark eyes, and weathered and tanned skin – but the quality of his clothes told a story that was obvious even to someone as young and inexperienced as Percy. They were of a decent quality but were weathered and barely holding up, which spoke of lost past wealth and recent hard times.
"I'm looking for throwing knives," Percy replied, looking behind the man to the weapons hanging on a wooden board. "I would like to see your inventory of them."
The man behind the counter looked up and down Percy with his narrow eyes before shaking his head.
"Where are you from?" the man asked, his expression looked downtrodden compared to his initial reaction.
Percy thought quickly about his answer. He could hardly say America, and he certainly didn't want to draw any attention to Serifos or the kind people that had brought him in when he needed it. "Mycenae," he finally replied.
"No can do, kid," the man gruffly said, his voice losing much of its "friendly shopkeeper" quality and openness. "I don't have any inventory to sell to you."
Percy frowned. "Anything at all? I mean, I can see some weapons behind you that I would be interested in purchasing."
The shopkeeper grunted and pulled a cloth over his public inventory. "Nothing's for sale here, kid. You better scram if you know what's good for you."
Looking taken aback, Percy slowly nodded, before looking to his right and left. "In that case, do you know where I can find another store that can sell me some throwing knives?"
Shaking his head, the shopkeeper looked at Percy with a serious expression. "There's no one in this city that can sell you anything. King's orders – no weapons can be sold to anyone other than the city guards. I was hoping you were from them, but it's obvious that you aren't."
Percy slowly nodded, thanking the shopkeeper for his time as he looked back down at his list. Many of the items were resupplying for their weapons, but there were still a few items that he could get. Nodding to himself, Percy stowed away the list and walked down the bustling street.
Unbeknownst to Percy, as he turned and stepped away, the shopkeeper gestured to a cloaked figure across the street. The cloaked figure walked to the spot Percy had just vacated, and the shopkeeper leaned in to whisper into the figure's ear. Nodding, the figure silently slipped away in the direction Percy had left in.
As Percy walked down the street to find another weapons store – it wasn't that he didn't trust the shopkeeper, though he didn't particularly, but rather that his list was dominated by weapons and weapon-related items that it didn't hurt to try to find another shop that could meet his needs – he felt a sense of foreboding fall on him. It was the kind he felt before he went into a fight, so instinctively, he slipped one hand into his pocket to grab Riptide.
Before pulling it out, he stopped. Even if his instincts were right and there was indeed a threat behind him, he had no idea where said threat would come from. He needed more information before he could act. He pulled his hand out of his pocket bereft of the magical pen, continuing to walk with no indication that he had thought anything was wrong.
Casually, Percy turned into a busy street full of stalls and vendors, with crowds of people looking at the various wares and goods of each open-air shop. Pretending that he was just a regular person looking for something to buy, Percy peered into a stall every now and then before finally coming to a stop at a particular vendor that sold metal mirrors. Ignoring the merchant, who was busy selling a larger mirror to a wealthy-looking couple, Percy inspected a smaller metal hand mirror, picking it up and presumably using it to fix his hair and check the state of his clothes.
In actuality, he was carefully angling the mirror to view the people behind him. Unlike the mirrors he was used to in the twenty-first century, the metal hand mirror he held was rather difficult to use, with the reflections beyond a certain distance being grainier and harder to make out than in a modern mirror.
Slowly maneuvering the hand mirror, Percy panned across the various people that stood behind him. Many were simple shoppers that were looking at various wares, talking to others, or discussing prices with merchants. None of the figures he saw jumped out at him as suspicious until he panned over to the other side of the street.
By one of the other vendors – one selling cloth – there was a cloaked figure, their head covered by a hood that kept also their face dark and hidden, especially in light of Percy's less-than-optimal mirror. The figure was ostensibly looking at a rack of cloths, but Percy saw their head turn towards him every few seconds, as if keeping updated on his movements.
Percy stayed there for a few more moments before finally putting the hand mirror back where he had gotten it. Ignoring the dirty stare from the merchant, who was likely disappointed that Percy had no purchased any of his ware, the demigod stepped back out onto the street and began to make his way down the road. As he walked, Percy tripped slightly, accidentally bumping into a passerby walking the other way.
"Hey, watch it!" the man said, his expression showing his annoyance. Percy turned around to apologize, but his eyes immediately, almost naturally, began to look past the man to see the cloaked figure just down the street, also walking in the same direction. After a split second, Percy's eyes flicked back to the man and he nervously smiled as he apologized. Enduring a short admonishment from the other man, Percy turned and began to walk again, now assured that his instincts had not failed him – he was indeed being followed, and he had correctly deduced who was following him.
Now, it was time to figure out why.
Quickly turning, Percy walked into a side alley, crouching behind an empty barrel standing on the side of the alley as he discreetly watched the traffic of people flow back and forth on the main street. Before long, the cloaked figure turned at the same juncture, looking down the apparently empty alley. Without much ado, the figure turned into the alley. Before they had taken more than two steps past the barrel, Percy launched himself upwards, pinning the figure against the wall.
"Who are you" he growled, "and why are you following me?"
Tugging the figure's hood off, he was shocked to find the visage of a stunned young girl – younger even then himself – staring back at him. Her dark shoulder-length hair fell from the small bundle it had been put into under the hood, and she futilely squirmed as she tried to wriggle out of Percy's iron-like grip.
"Tell me now!" Percy sternly commanded, his eyes darting to the street every few seconds to ensure that no unwanted attention had been drawn to this particular side alley.
Breathing deeply, the young girl recomposed herself and stared at Percy with two narrowed eyes.
"I could ask the same of you, stranger," she bit out, saying the last word almost like a curse. "It's not often we get outsiders who want to buy our weapons, and it's never for a savory purpose."
"Who's we?" Percy asked, his own eyes narrowing in return. "I thought weapons in Athens could only be bought by Athenians anyway."
The girl laughed, a sound that struck Percy as being more exasperated than humorous. "No,most Athenians can't buy weapons at all. We represent true Athenians, not the scum that live in palaces and work to crush the people of this city under their heavy boot."
"True Athenians?" Percy muttered to himself, his brow furrowing with thought. "What are you," he spoke up, "rebels? I thought Theseus built this city."
"Theseus has lost his way!" the girl yelled, anger burning in her eyes. "He can no longer be called the rightful king of Athens. Like with a forest that is overgrown, a fire must burn out that which must be destroyed for life to continue. Theseus is the overgrowth, and we are the fire."
Percy wasn't sure what to make of the girl that he had pinned against the wall.
"That's quite the goal," Percy finally said. "Do you tell this to everyone you try to tail?"
"Oh, not at all," the girl replied, her voice sweet and calm unlike before. "Just the ones I need to distract."
"Distract?" Percy asked out loud before turning. He barely turned in time to see a figure behind him swing an object into his head, turning his world to darkness.
Percy groaned as he slowly awoke. The last thing he remembered was being hit upside the head in an ambush after he had ambushed his follower himself. It was stupid of him to think that there was only one person following him, but it was a mistake he vowed to never make again.
That was, as Percy thought when he looked around his surroundings, if he ever had the chance to not make that mistake again. He seemed to be in a makeshift cell of sorts – All four walls and the roof were made of stone bricks, and there was a reinforced wooden door set in one of the walls. Two small flickering candles provided the only sources of light for the room, and Percy found himself sitting on the stone floor. His hands were chained in front of him, and he had been stripped of his outer cloak and his armor.
All in all, it was an unfavorable situation, if not for two key reasons. The first was the comforting feeling of a pen in his pocket. Riptide had definitely been removed from his body by whoever had captured him when he was unconscious, but the properties of the sword made it so that he could always rely on it being there when he needed it. The second reason, and possibly the even more important one, was the small drop of water that fell on Percy's head as he sat there.
The detriments of a leaky roof to property valuation notwithstanding, Percy grinned as he felt the condensation of the stone bricks around him. The entire room was damp – there was water everywhere, and he could pull it towards him with ease. He did so, feeling his powers surge as the water pooled into a small puddle behind him. Making sure that no one could see the water if they unexpectedly opened the door, he pulled more and more water towards himself, gathering it for the critical point when he could use it.
Percy tested his shackles again, smiling as he felt the metal links twist slightly as he weakly pulled. His water-strengthened muscles proved to be more than a match for rusty metal, and he filed that away from when he would truly need it.
His first instinct was to use his advantages to smash his way out of his cell and wherever he was, but a small voice – one that almost sounded like Annabeth's whenever she fell into what he sometimes liked to call her "Athena mode" – told him otherwise, telling him to wait out whatever his captors had planned so they could show their hand before he showed his.
So Percy sat back, his head leaning against the stone wall as water accumulated in the bricks behind him. He was going to bide his time and wait for an opportune moment when he knew more about what predicament he was in.
He didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later, a small latch on the door opened, and a pair of eyes peered in. They flicked to Percy sitting against the wall, and the latch closed before the door opened. Outside stood two guards, each wearing padded armor with a sword hung at their belt. Both looked to be young – Percy's age, if not a little older – and confident.
"Get up," the first guard said, his voice rather high-pitched, signaling his youth. Acquiescing, Percy pushed himself up and walked towards the open door. He kept the water he had pooled up behind him, snaking it through the bricks to keep it hidden from the guards. As they closed the cell door behind him, neither noticed the bricks near the bottom of the frame of the door darkened with moisture.
The hall was made of the same stone bricks as Percy's cell, and after a minute of walking, they came to a stop in front of a wooden door on Percy's right. It was built and reinforced much the same as his own cell door, but unlike that one, there was no lock on this particular door. One of the guards knocked twice, prompting a quiet "you may enter" from the other side. As Percy and his guards stepped through the open door, Percy took in the sight in front of him.
There was a long table with five people sitting behind it. To the sides of the room, there were a few guards and people dressed in more casual clothing. Percy eyed the girl he had caught following him as one of those standing to the side of the room. The girl looked at him intensely as he approached the table. When he got to the middle of the room, the guards grabbed his shoulders and held him still.
"Welcome," the middle of the five, a woman that looked to be in her early thirties and was the oldest in the room, spoke up. The room fell silent. "You must have many questions."
Percy nodded. "Who are you people and why have you brought me here?"
"We are… patriots," the woman answered, choosing her words carefully. "Citizens of Athens that are committed to seeing its future prosperity."
"That's very vague."
"Indeed. Yet times such as these call for such measures."
Percy sighed, feeling the conversation freezing in the face of such answers. "Alright, let's get back on track. Why did you bring me here?"
The woman put her hands together. "Well, that's better explained by someone else. Galene," she called as she turned to face the side. Percy saw as the girl he had ambushed nod and walk to behind the table, standing by the woman.
"We've been keeping track of how many weapons the city guards have," the girl, Galene, explained. "To do so, we've monitored every weapons merchant in the city."
Percy thought about the explanation he had been given. "But why?" he finally asked. "What's your goal here?"
Galene turned to the older woman, who nodded her assent, before she turned back to Percy.
"The overthrow of Theseus' tyrannical and unjust rule over Athens. To this end, we must keep track of all of the weapons our enemies have, as well as secure a supply of our own weapons to arm ourselves when the time comes."
Percy nodded. "So you were telling the truth when you were distracting me in that alley?" Galene nodded. Percy sighed before he continued. "At any rate, I want no part in this crusade of yours. I'll just be on my way."
Percy turned to leave, but both of the guards behind him held up their hands to stop him, placing their other on the hilt their swords. Looking around, Percy saw the various other guards in the room draw their swords. Turning back around, he saw the woman and the other four at the table looking at him stoically, while Galene's expression almost was laughing at him.
Shaking his head, Percy flicked his fingers and willed the water that he had built up from his cell and walk to the room he was in now to burst out of the stones. A near torrential outpour slammed into both of the guards in front of him, while smaller streams shattered the blades of every sword in the room. Summoning some of the water to himself, Percy inhaled as he felt strength fill his muscles and tore apart his shackles like paper.
Facing the table, Percy drew Riptide, prompting Galene to leap in front of the table and brandish her own daggers. Her expression was no longer mocking – instead, it now looked worried as the Percy faced her with his sword drawn. Behind him, the water he had accumulated gathered to form a shroud of sorts, with it having returned from beating all of the armed guards in the room.
"Interesting," the woman said, standing up for the first time. "A son of Poseidon."
Neither Galene nor Percy shifted their focus and attention in the slightest, each staring at the other to see who would make the first move.
"Put your… weapons down," Galene ordered, unsure what to call the shroud of water that protected Percy.
"I could say the same for you," Percy replied, looking at the girl. "Am I free to leave?"
The woman behind Galene spoke up. "Of course. We do not have the strength to stop you. Galene, stand down." Galene hesitated for a moment before dropping out of a combat stance and sheathing her daggers. As a sign of reciprocity, Percy re-capped Riptide and put it in his pocket, but he kept the water behind him ready.
"However," the woman continued, "I think this could work out to our mutual benefits. I propose a partnership."
"A partnership?" Percy replied. "And what would this partnership entail?"
The woman smiled. "Why, one that would make good use of your powers, of course."
A/N: Well, I finally finished writing this chapter. I apologize for the long delay. I had some issues writing anything for the past few weeks, but I hope I've gotten over that hump.
This chapter ran longer than expected so I've split it up into two. The next one should come out the Monday after this chapter is posted. Future updates might be a little slower because I'm trying to write for a bunch of other stories right now, but I'm still aiming for weekly updates on this story.
Thank you for reading! Please follow, favorite, and review, and stay tuned for the next chapter!