Chapter Three: I Reunite With a Lost Friend
"They're here again?!" said Athena's and Hephaestus's cabins.
"Who invited them?" squealed several of Aphrodite's kids in obvious resentment.
"The Hunters are back! Finally, a challenging fight!" exclaimed some kid from the Ares table.
"Artemis, I love you!" (Grover and the other satyrs said this, of course.)
People of all different cabins and species were bellowing their assent or (more often) revolt. Past the pine tree that used to be Thalia, the Hunters stood tall with their chins up and arrows slung on their backs. With all of the Hunters clustered together, it was as if an aura of moonlit silver steam emanated from the pack of young maidens from all sides. Apollo's sun chariot disguised as a tour bus now ("Eclipse Air Tours!") was parked behind the group, with none other than Apollo leaning against the hood.
Chiron and Mr. D seemingly appeared next to me, having come to the pavilion after hearing all the commotion caused by the arrival of the Hunters.
"I think this is a sign," said Chiron, staring in the direction of the Hunters.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "Take the Hunters on the quest?"
"Precisely," he replied. He turned to face me. I was about to ask who else I should take, when he said, "For the last person, I believe you should use the mortal girl who helped you through the maze. What was her name…Miss Dare? She was granted some of Pan's power too, was she not? She might prove useful."
"The mortal girl?" said Mr. D, showing moderate interest in the conversation for the first time.
"Are you sure?" Annabeth said, seeming rather irritated.
"Yes," said Chiron shortly.
"So, you're saying I should bring a Hunter, Annabeth, and Rachel Dare?" I said.
"Yes," said Chiron.
"This is going to be fun," I muttered.
"Everybody, SHUT UP or I will roast you into oblivion!" yelled Mr. D, his voice like thunder above the camp's noise.
"Please, Mr. D, no death threats today," said Chiron wearily. After a while the camp eventually calmed down to a quiet chatter among the campers. You didn't want to mess with gods in general, but Mr. D could drive you insane if he wanted.
Chiron spoke from the staff table. "Boys and girls, now seems an appropriate time to announce that Percy Jackson has been given a quest."
This was greeted with cheers from most tables, but a couple of cabins (Ares included) booed at this new revelation.
"He will be taking one demigod, a Hunter and a mortal on his quest to save, well, the Western Civilization," said Chiron.
"He's always stealing the spotlight!" shouted a guy from Apollo. Screams of agreement came from other tables.
"Yeah, why does he get all the glory?" said an older girl, about seventeen.
"He shouldn't even have been born!"
Suddenly Annabeth stood up on the Athena table. "Everyone! Di immortales! This quest is meant for Percy and you know it. If any of you had this quest, I'd sure be worried about the earth's survival!" Then she sat down, and I smiled. That was one of the best things about Annabeth: she was always loyal to her friends.
"Thank you, Annabeth," said a flustered-looking Chiron. His voice carried easily over the now silent grounds. "As I was saying, a prophecy Percy received earlier states that he and his companions will go to the modern-day Miletus to find Thales, the first Sage. It is said by the Oracle that Thales is the key to beating Kronos."
"Yeah, let's whip some Titan butt!" said Charles Beckendorf. A couple of his friends at the Hephaestus table whooped and laughed.
Chiron smiled briefly but waved down the noise.
"So where is this modern-day Miletus?" asked someone, voicing a question I was about to ask myself.
"37°N, 73.5°W."
The coordinates stirred something inside me. I felt the familiar sensation I usually had after summoning a few gallons of water, that echoing soreness in the pit of my stomach. That place had old magic in it, very powerful.
"Thales is hiding in Atlantis?" I asked Chiron.
He looked at me, wide eyed. "It's Atlantis?" he asked. I stared, amazed that I had been able to sense Atlantis just by saying the degrees of latitude of longitude. Chiron had thought that it was just a randomly sunken city that became Miletus. "I suppose that makes sense though," said Chiron, suddenly fervent. "All the wrecks in that area must be a result of some sort of defense Atlantis has to prevent being discovered…but it was destroyed," he said.
"Well, maybe it survived, it's just underwater," I said.
"So Percy," a girl called out. "Which of us is going with you?"
I was stunned. Annabeth looked up and her mouth opened in shock. "Thalia!"