The monsters were at our heels by the time we reached the port. For a while, we just wandered among the huge port constructions, trying to find a ship we could use. The only problem: we had no money. Or well, to be exact, Nico had a few dollars, but that didn't really help.

I peeked around the corner of one of those identical structures the place was full of, waiting to see some monsters. But instead of monsters, I saw a strange symbol burning on the wall of a shabby house: a golden laurels against a black frame. My eyed widened. That didn't belong to the mortal world, and something in it shook me up right down to the soul. I blinked. It felt like I should've known that symbol... Then it came to me.

"Nico!" I whispered, turning to look at him. I pointed at the house where the symbol burned.

He slowly looked over my shoulder and gasped. "You think that could be...?"

He didn't have to finish. I nodded, turning to check my back. There wasn't anyone... yet. "Lets check that out!"

I took a spurt to the shack which was about fifty feet far, Nico at my heels. On that side of the house, there wasn't anything but a small window with so much dirt on it, I couldn't see through, and, of course, the symbol, which flickered on the wall's surface. The golden wreath was so bright, it almost dazzled me, and the black background was the complete opposite for it.

I raised my hand toward the image, but before I could touch it, Nico shoved my hand away.
"Don't touch it", he said firmly.

I blinked. It was like I'd been in a trance... The image had attracted me, and I wasn't sure if it was a good thing. "Should we go in?" I asked, turning my gaze away from the symbol.

Nico frowned. "Yeah, I guess. That's the only clue we have." He gave the symbol a last thoughtful glance, then walked to the corner of the house.

I followed him, still thinking about the symbol. A golden laurels... the victor's symbol. Nike's symbol. Black frame... Death and victory. Was this some sort of trick of Hades? Or was he leading us to... well, hopefully to the base of the Force hunters? Or were the Force hunters trying to lead us into a trap? I sighed. However desperate it sounded, we didn't have a choice. This was our only clue.

We found the door behind the corner. Above it, there was a cracked sign that said 'Boats for rent'. The door was glass, but again so dirty, we couldn't see through. Nico opened the door and peeked in. He gave me a quick look, one hand on his sword's hilt, other on the door handle. Then we stepped in.

The place really looked like a normal boat hire, though it was just as shabby from the inside than it was from the out. The desk was on our left, and above it was the catalog. I took a step closer to it, squinting to see what it read. Had we been led here for a boat? We sure needed one, but I doubted this was the only place in the port that we could find one.

The whole place was out of customers, and there was no one behind the desk. Okay, it started to remind me a bit too much of that McDonalds where the monsters had attacked me...

Okay, lets deal with this quickly, I thought, turning to check our exist. Still no monsters. I took another step closer to the desk. The floor was sticky under my sneakers and a waterdrop dripped from the ceiling into my hair. Ew.

The catalog was still almost thirty feet far, but I managed to read it: A trireme with extra strong armor & weaponry, - now ONLY 55, 000 drachmas/day, said the first part. Okay, this wasn't a normal boat hire. I turned back to Nico, but before I could say anything, the door next to us exploded and monsters flooded in.

I was glad my dagger wasn't in my sports bag anymore, and I could just pull it out from my belt. "The window!" I shouted to Nico, keeping my eyes at the monsters.

The first laistrygon that had apparently broken the door, attacked. I stepped forward, covering Nico so that he could focus on breaking the window. I hunched under the monster's first strike, then sidestepped, slicing it's waist. It turned into monster dust.

But the monsters weren't stupid enough to attack me one by one this time. instead of that, they tried to get behind me, to get me trapped. I couldn't risk checking how Nico was doing, so I could just hope he could get us out. Two snake women attacked me from each side, and I rolled under their hits, quickly stabbing the other one on the back and hitting the other one's face with my elbow.

"This doesn't break!" Nico yelled from behind, and it sounded like he was banging the window with the back of his sword.

I sighed in frustration as I stabbed one more snake woman into monster dust while elbowing another. Yep, why not? We're stuck in this freaking hellhole full of monsters, and even the window is against us. Or well, the person that has designed the window is against us, which maybe isn't just bad luck, since this place is pretty likely a private boat hire for monsters, or something like that... I kicked down an empousa, rolled under a laistrygon's hit and stabbed it on the back.

"You sure you can't break it?" I yelled to Nico, still trying to hold back the monsters.
He appeared next to me, joining the fight.

"I guess we just have to make them back off and go through the door!"

I gave him a quick glance. I was pretty sure that wasn't going to pay off. "Hold them for a second!" I told him on an impulse. There has to be a way to break it... The symbol on the shack's outer wall was still looming in my mind. I just felt some sort of a connection to it... A good connection, I realized. It was hard for me to think it had been just a trap.

I ran to the window, which was just as dirty from the inside than the out. It wasn't more than three feet high and maybe two feet wide. Big enough for an escape... I imitated Nico, banging the back of my dagger to it as hard as I could. No effect. Okay, it wasn't just a normal window.

Then I got a grazy idea. I didn't even now where it came from, but... well, you could always give it a try. I stepped a few feet back and threw my dagger toward the window.
CRASH! The dagger went straight through the window and fragments of glass flew all around.

"Nico!" I whooped. "Let's go!"

He kicked away en empousa, then turned to follow me.

I jumped out of the window, sprinting to the street that hopefully led closer to the waterfront... And ran straight into a line of laistrygons.