Hey, what's up? Since I have nothing better to say today, here is my joke of the chapter.

A grasshopper walks into a bar. The bartender says, "Hey, we've got a drink named after you."

The grasshopper says, "You've got a drink named Stanley?"

And now back to your previously scheduled chapter.

I sit uncomfortably in a florescent lit room, as elevator music (I can't be certain, but I think it's the Pink Panther theme song) plays in the background. No I'm not going to the dentist. I'm waiting for Shane from Hephaestus cabin to finish examining the Roman denarii and pendent I found last August.

After an excruciating hour of elevator music the lanky teen walks in, wearing a welding mask.

"The doc will see you now," he says with a grin. I follow him to the forge. He gestures to the objects in question, which lie red hot on a work table.

"So, the denarii is Imperial gold, but other than that nothing special. This pendant on the other hand..." He begins going into a lengthy technical explanation.

"So, once the five wire begins circular rotation, the thaumaturgic aspects begin to kick in, leaving the eight wire ready to-"

"You know I'm not paying you by the hour, right?" I interrupt. Shane stops yammering immediately.

"Basically, it's a magic compass. They're designed for getting you through mythological areas. This one specifically is for the Labyrinth. It's very, very rare, Where did you say you got this again?"

"Um... I found it in a griffon's nest," I lie through my teeth. Actually, I found the coin at the Washington Mall, and the pendent in a underground tunnel in Colonial Williamsburg. Which shortly after blew up, which is why the FBI are now searching for those responsible, which is why I have to fix this pendent for Caligula. Fortunately, Shane seems mollified with my response.

"Unfortunately, the compass is in terrible shape, covered in rust in all that, and I can't fix it because it's missing a final part."

"What is it?"

"For this compass to work we'd need a piece Ariadne's string. And that was lost after the Battle of the Labyrinth." I grimace.

"Yea, I remember. So, any clues on where I can find this yarn ball? I'm guessing I can't just walk into Home Depot and ask for it."

"Well, maybe not Home Depot, but you can ask for it. My dad, Hephaestus, keeps tabs on all sorts of magic items. He probably knows where the string is located."

Hephaestus is one of the friendlier gods, I'm 89% sure he'll do me this solid. "Alright, where do I find him?"

"He'll probably be at one of his forges. The biggest one is in the semi-dormant volcano under Yellowstone National park. There's an entrance in one of the geyser formations."

"Thanks for you're help!" I grab the now cooled down pendant and coin and begin to head out. Shane grabs my arm.

"Ahem."

"Oh, right." I fish a small bronze object out of my pocket and hand it to him. He takes a small screwdriver and begins to fiddle with it until it transforms into a spider-bot. Shane grins again.

"I'm eternally grateful," He says. "Now get out."

I run across the center green to the hearth in the middle. Skylar's waiting for me.

"Well," she says running over, "what did you find?" I give her a friendly smirk (yes there's such a thing).

"Pack your bags Skylar. We're going on another road trip."

Regarding that first paragraph, I love the Pink Panther movies. They're classics in every sense of the word. As always, reviews are welcome.

-Sage