True to her word, Thalia had the huntresses ready to leave an hour before first light. Ryker waited until they were completely ready before he made his appearance, walking unchallenged into the center of their ranks. Thalia seemed slightly surprised to see him, almost as though she had expected him to make his escape during the night. He held out a hand to her and she looked at him in question. "My necklace." He said quietly.
A light of comprehension flashed in her eyes and she pulled the rawhide necklace from her pocket and pressed it into his hand. "Sorry about that." She told him. "Can you keep up? We won't be taking it as easy as we did yesterday."
"I can keep up." Ryker said confidently. He leaned casually on his bow, the top of which was at his shoulders. "As long as we are in the forest."
Thalia sent him a questioning look and he shrugged. "I am stronger as long as I'm in a forest. I'm pretty much normal anywhere else."
"We'll try to keep to the forest route then." Thalia promised. She readjusted her backpack and sent him a questioning look. "Are you going to carry that bow the entire time?"
"Sure am." Ryker hefted the weapon. "I like this one."
"If you say so." Thalia wisely let it be. She looked back to the other huntresses and called, "Alright, let's move out!"
With that she bounded off into the woods. Ryker followed after the huntresses had all followed after her. Keeping up with them was not nearly as challenging as he had thought it might be. They knew their way around the woods, but he had lived in these woods. He knew the forest as well as he knew himself. Better probably. Thalia set a driving pace that had them eating up the miles much faster than any mortal could have done. Perhaps an Olympic athlete could have kept up for a short time, but not for the hours that they held the pace. They ran in silence, with only occasional conversations being struck up by the girls. Their wolves kept pace with them, running a perimeter around them.
The sun had risen to its peak in the sky when Thalia finally slowed to a walk. She turned around and started walking backwards as she spoke to the huntresses and Ryker. "Camp Half-Blood is just ahead. Remember, these are our friends. Let's not cause any trouble. Ryker are you ready?"
"Would you let me return to my home if I said no?" He asked bluntly.
"No."
"Well then let's not waste time on senseless questions."
Thalia rolled her eyes and muttered something that Ryker didn't quite catch. She turned back around and the Hunters formed into two long ranks. In the distance a horn sounded. The woods abruptly stopped and the group stepped out into a large clearing. Ryker blinked in surprise as he beheld the scene before him. Various wooden and stone cabins were stretched out before them, all of them sporting different designs and styles. Kids were running around laughing and carrying on with weapons strapped to them as though it were the most natural thing in the world. When they spied the huntresses and Ryker walking into their camp everyone seemed to stop and retreated backwards. "Not exactly friendly, are they?" Ryker chuckled quietly. "Or maybe it's you lot who aren't that friendly."
He raised an eyebrow when he spied an elderly centaur striding towards them with a guarded smile. "Thalia." He said warmly as he embraced the girl. "It's always good to see you."
"Good to see you too, Chiron." She returned the embrace and then stepped back. She nodded to Ryker and said, "We brought you a new recruit at the request of our lady. Orders from my father apparently."
"Really?" Chiron looked over to Ryker with interest.
Ryker knew what the centaur saw. He was slightly above average height with hair that resembled the color of leaves in autumn. His eyes were a verdant forest green. Dressed in jeans and a deerskin tunic he looked for all the world like a wild boy. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." Chiron walked over to him, his hooves clopping against the ground. "My name is Chiron, I am the camp counsellor here."
"Ryker." He responded, tentatively shaking the proffered hand.
"Careful with this one Chiron." Thalia laughed. She gave a sudden exclamation of delight when a light haired boy rushed forward and embraced her tightly. "Jason!"
"Thalia!" He responded enthusiastically. The huntresses scowled and moved away from the duo. "Why didn't you tell me that you were coming?"
"I've been busy tracking this one down." Thalia nodded to Ryker. "Sorry I've been quiet recently. I'll send you an iris message next time that I will be out of touch for so long."
"I'll hold you to that." Jason promised. He turned to look at Ryker and pursed his lips. "New recruit eh? You are a bit older than the others we get."
Ryker's eyes were hard as he examined the newcomer. He was different than the ones around him. Foreign almost. It was then that Ryker recognized what else was different about him. "You've been trained by Lupa." It was a statement. Ryker already knew it to be true.
Jason's eyes widened in surprise. "You know about Lupa?" He asked, surprised. He looked questioningly at Thalia. "Who's his divine parent? If he's Roman he should be with the Legion first. Campers aren't allowed to change camps until their second year."
"I don't know." Thalia shrugged. "Neither does he. From what Artemis said he's been pretty much removed from all contact with other demigods for most of his life."
"Oh, is this him then?" A bored man asked as he strode up to them. Ryker instantly did not like him. He was wearing an outrageously purple suit and had a glass of wine in his free hand. "Hm. Artemis did say that he was a bit on the wild side. We'll have to fix him of that."
"And you are?" Ryker asked coldly, unhappy that he was already having decisions made for him.
"Dionysus." The man said casually. He seemed to wait a moment for Ryker to have a moment of comprehension, but when none was forthcoming he gave a little sigh. "So it's true. Raised in the wilderness with no knowledge of the gods."
"Hold on." Jason said holding up a hand. "Raised in the wild? How did he survive so long? Wouldn't monsters have gotten him?"
Ryker allowed himself to grin for the first time since walking into the clearing as he pulled out his necklace. Along with the hydra's tooth were several other souvenirs that he had picked up from monsters he had killed. "They tried." Ryker admitted. He pulled open his deer hide jerkin and exposed a long-healed cut that extended from right below his throat to just past his navel. "A few even managed to get a few good hits in."
"Like I said," Dionysus yawned and sipped at his glass. Ryker saw with interest that the wine had transformed into water. "Wild."
"Do you know why he is here?" Chiron asked Dionysus. "If you do, then it would make things much easier for us."
"None of us know why." Dionysus said honestly. "The gods that is. To be perfectly honest, we were not even aware of his existence until very recently. He showed up to us quite literally out of nowhere. When we finally knew of him Zeus sent Artemis and her hunters to fetch him."
"Well, I'm here now." Ryker said unhappily. "You see me. Can I go back to my forest now?"
"No." Dionysus seemed just as unhappy with his answer as Ryker was. "As much as I hate the idea of having a new camper, until we know how you managed to escape our notice for so long you will be staying here. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."
He began to turn away and Ryker, who was fed up with the man's answers, grabbed him roughly by the shoulder. "Hey, don't you walk-." Ryker's next words were lost as a blast sent him flying backwards. He crashed into a tree and the breath was driven from his lungs. But he was by no means incapacitated. Dionysus turned around with fury on his face and Ryker lunged for him again, his hands going for the man's throat. The glass of water disappeared into nothingness and vines began to rise from the earth directly in front of Ryker. They snagged his legs and began to creep up him, immobilizing him. Dionysus sauntered forward, his expression painfully superior. The vines had grabbed onto Ryker's hands and he hid a grin. He waited until Dionysus was within arm's reach before he told the vines to release his hands.
It wasn't a very good punch, his immobilized legs didn't give him very much spring behind it, but it was immensely satisfying to see Dionysus grab his jaw with a stunned expression. "Why you impudent littleā¦" His eyes flashed menacingly and Ryker felt the vines tighten.
"Mr. D!" Jason stepped between them and a second later Thalia joined him. "You said that Zeus wanted him brought here, right? If you kill him you will only get more years added to your sentence."
Dionysus appeared to consider his options, but eventually the vines began to recede around Ryker's legs. "Very well." His bored tone returned. "He may live for now. But let me make something clear, do anything like that again and I will not be so kind. And I will not forget this."
"Have fun with that." Ryker smiled coldly at him. He would not forget either.
Only after Mr. D walked away did the assembled group finally breathe again. Thalia shook her head and shot Ryker a disbelieving look. "What is it with you and insulting the gods?" She asked. "Seriously. I want an answer. First it was Artemis and now Dionysus."
"He pissed off Artemis too?" Jason asked incredulously. "Percy and he are going to get along so well."
"Don't be sure about that." Thalia warned. "He doesn't get along with anyone."
"Standing right here you two." Ryker said. "And for the record I didn't know he was a god. It probably wouldn't have changed the way I acted though." He added as an afterthought.
Chiron was pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers and shaking his head. "Why do I have the feeling that situations like these will be all too regular with you?"
"Precognition?" Ryker suggested.
"Come on then." The centaur said tiredly. "We'll get you settled into a cabin."
"If you think I am going to be sleeping in one of those cabins you are out of you mind." Ryker said. An explosion in the distance suddenly sounded through the camp and Ryker had an arrow nocked in less than the time it took to blink. The others did not seem similarly on edge. "What was that?" He demanded.
"Probably the Hephaestus cabin again." Chiron said unconcernedly. "I understand that they are tinkering with new defensive measure for the camp. Something about improving some Roman ideas."
"I don't think so." Jason said, frowning. Black smoke was curling in the distance and shouts were coming from the trees. "I saw them on the way here. They were eating lunch."
Ryker suddenly clutched at his chest as another explosion went off. "The trees." He growled, "They are hurting the forest."
"Ryker, are you alright?" Chiron asked concernedly. He made to place a hand on the young man's shoulder but immediately pulled it back when he saw the dark marks on them. Dark tendrils that resembled the roots of a tree in his flesh had begun to crawl down Ryker's shoulders and were wrapping around his arms.
Ryker straightened from his hunched over position and looked to where the explosions had come from. "Those who hurt the forest shall not be forgiven." He said quietly.
