Hey guys! Guess whose back…me! So I'd like to say…ah, you guys have waited long enough, on with the story!
Journal #8
Cloral
I've never been too keen on clowns, but now I officially hate them! Right, getting ahead of myself again. Let me rewind to back on Cloral after Siry, Aja, and I had just discovered a serpent rubbing against the side of Grallion; the next morning I decided to break it everyone as subtly as possible.
"Sea serpent! Oh my gods! It's a sea serpent!" I shouted as loudly as possible.
"What's all the yelling about?" yawned Spader.
"Don't freak out, but there's a monster under Grallion," said Siry.
"Alright guys really, we're on an island sized barge in the middle of an ocean covered territory. Is it even conceivable that something like that could happen?" laughed Patrick.
"And gorgons and chimeras aren't supposed to exist on Veelox, keep talkin," countered Aja.
"And there's more; if the gods and monsters and stuff are expanding to the other territories of Halla, then what if Cloral's become the new Sea of Monsters?" I asked grimly.
"How bad is the Sea of Monsters?" asked Patrick, his confidence now completely evaporated.
"It's home to the clashing rocks that Jason and the Argonauts faced, Scylla and Charybdis that Odysseus and his crew had to face, there's the sirens that they had to face as well, and those are just the major attractions!"
"Well I'm sure the Mist'll take care of those wogglies," said Spader.
"We don't even know if the Mist will form on Cloral, and considering that it didn't form on Denduron, Zadaa, or Veelox we have no reason to assume it would on Cloral," Aja pointed out.
"Plus on Second Earth…well since it's the hidden realm of the gods I guess it would count as Second Camp Half-Blood, anywho, it was in this place called the Bermuda Triangle, and even with the Mist mortals still noticed all the weird stuff that happened," I added.
"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's cast off to Faar and grab some haulers!"
As Spader explained it to me, when Pendragon first came to Cloral they were having a problem because the population of Cloral was greater than the food supply; to solve this, the agronomers of Grallion came up with this fertilizer that made plants grow several times faster, but it also made them completely poisonous. Bobby, Spader, and Bobby's uncle Press all determined that they needed to find the lost city of Faar into to find a cure.
See long ago there was this island on Cloral named Faar and it was the only dry land on the entire territory, but as time went on the ocean started to swallow up the island; some of the people built great ships in order to search for more dry land like Faar, but never found any. The people of Faar knew that the sailors would probably raid them when they got back, so they finished the dome they were building over Faar and allowed the waved to take them to the bottom of the ocean; when the sailors got back they were more than a little freaked out by Faar being gone, but they decided that if they worked together they could build something like Faar, and thus the first habitat was born.
So like I was saying before I explained the history of Faar, Bobby, his uncle, and Spader went looking for Faar with the map they found in Spader's dad's things (he died from the poisoned crops, but maybe it was his time since Spader had just figured out he was a Traveler). Turns out the Faarians had been secretly helping the Cloralians throughout their history, oh and Saint Dane was pretending to be the agronomer who came up with the tainted growth formula. So Saint Dane tried to sabotage Faar, but Bobby once again saved the day and Faar was brought to the surface, the antidote was spread, and Cloral was saved, though Bobby's uncle gave his life to save Spader just as Loor's mother Osa did to save Bobby on Denduron.
So back to the present, we were all sailing towards Faar, which admittedly was kind of a relief to see after nothing but open sea and the habitats.
As we pulled up the island Aja frowned. "That's weird; it almost looks like a different island."
"Well obviously it's not seeing as Faar's the only dry land on Cloral! Maybe they just redecorated or something," said Spader.
I know that in Bobby's journals he had described Faar as having building that looked like ancient Greek buildings, but gods, Faar might as well have been a carbon-copy of an ancient Greek island! Well that's not exactly true, it did kind of have a tropical resort vibe to it; there was a spa, women getting facials and sunbathing, women getting manicures, but where were all the men? Not only were there no men (unless you counted the hunky pool boys and waiters) the island seemed to be solely inhabited by women, and they all had gorgeous hair (which was odd because in his journals Bobby mentioned that the inhabitants of Faar were bald).
"This place is familiar, I just can't put my finger on why," I said.
"But of course, it was fate that brought you here."
We all turned to see a woman with flowing red hair and glasses that complimented her face quite well; instead of the wetsuit-like clothing I'd seen everyone wear on Cloral, she was wearing a colorful ancient Greek chiton, and there was still that lingering feeling of familiarity.
"Care for a sample?" asked the woman as she held out a try of these weird flower-shaped pastries.
I know this probably falls under "don't take candy from strangers", but in our defense they were reallllllly tasty looking. The instant I took a bite all my worries and concerns seemed to just melt away, and it was like for the first time in a long while I was in a state of complete bliss. After a few minutes that blissful feeling started to fade away, so I took another few more bites and it returned.
"So what were we doing again?" I asked.
"Shit if I know, but these things are seriously good!" said Siry as he shoved more pastries into his mouth.
We decided that as long as we were on the island we might as well enjoy its services; I had a hazy recollection that the woman we met took the boys off somewhere, but I was too focused on all the fun stuff Aja and I did. We got facials, we got our nails done, and we even got the seaweed wrap treatment; in other words, it was a perfect day at the spa. As the sun was setting Aja and I were relaxing on deck chairs near the swimming pool eating some scrumptious fruit a vague thought occurred to me.
"Hey Aja, what happened to the boys?" I asked.
"Who?" asked Aja without a care in the world.
For a scary moment I couldn't remember what their names were, but then it all came back to me. "Spader, and Siry, and Patrick. Where are they?"
Aja shrugged. "Beats me, but have you tried these lotus pastries?"
My blood ran cold at the mention of the flowers, because it all suddenly made sense now; as if that weren't bad enough, it got considerably worse when I took a look at one of the brochures lying on the table between us.
"Oh my gods, this is Circe's Isle! But if this is Circe's Isle…oh gods, Cloral really has become the new Sea of Monsters!"
"You look worried Silena, have another lotus flower and you'll feel better," said Aja, completely oblivious to my revelation.
"Snap out of it Aja! We've got to find the boys and get off of this island!" I said as I shook Aja's shoulders.
"Wouldn't you be happier if you had a lotus flower?"
I felt tempted scream and care who heard it; after all we'd been thru together Aja had been done in by lotus flowers, never mind what might have happened to the boys!
"Is there a problem Silena?" asked one of the waiters.
"If you're here to offer more lotus flowers…hey wait a minute, how did you know my name?"
I actually realized I'd never take a good look at the waiter, and when I did I realized he wasn't just in old waiter; it was Hermes, the god of thieves, travelers (but not my kind of Travelers), and messenger to the gods. No seriously, Hermes was standing there wearing a typical Cloral wetsuits clothing and winged sandals; in his hands he was holding an air-globe with wings on it, and a cellphone with two snakes wrapped around it.
"The sandals kind of clash, don't you think?" I said.
"What can I say, I've got a thing for winged shoes," said Hermes with a mischievous smile.
"So why are you here?"
"Because those of us on Olympus watching you, in particular your mother and myself, have decided that you've gotten into a little predicament, and we're gonna help you out."
"But if you guys could have helped me out, why wait till just now?" I asked.
"The short version: because if we were always solving our kids' problems for them it would just lead to bigger problems. Look for what it's worth your mom says she believes in you and to not give up, and see how you did on Veelox, I believe in you too," said Hermes as he tossed me a plastic bottle from his air-globe.
I frowned. "What is it?"
"It's Hermes Brand magical vitamins! Not only do they protect you against all forms of magic they also reverse the effects of magic!"
"Can they reverse the effects of lotus flowers?"
"Of course! But I have a better way!" said Hermes as he turned his cellphone into a caduceus and wacked Aja on the head with it.
Instantly Aja was clutching her stomach, and before long she was puking everywhere.
"Oh my, stomach. Wait a minute, what's Hermes doing here and…oh my gods! Those were lotus flowers, and we're on Circe's Isle!" said Aja when she came to her senses.
"What was your first clue?" giggled Hermes with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"And this means that Cloral is the new Sea of Monsters doesn't it?"
"Oh yeah," I said.
"Well I really would like to stick around, but I've got plenty of messages to deliver. However, if I were you two I would seriously consider looking for the boys in Circe's personal chamber," said Hermes; we made sure to cover our eyes as he revealed his true godly form before vanishing.
Before we followed Hermes advice we each took one vitamin (I got a lemon flavored one that looked like a Minotaur, and Aja got a grape flavored one that looked like a Hydra) so that we'd be immune to Circe's magic. The interior of the main complex kind of reminded me of that castle from the book series, the one about the wizard kid who looks like Percy with glasses; it wasn't long before we found Circe weaving a really pretty tapestry.
"Nice, you know my mom practically invented weaving," said Aja.
"Oh I know all about your mother Aja Killian, daughter of Athena," said Circe with a knowing smile.
"So we're right, you really are Circe," I said, just as we'd rehearsed.
"But of course. While we're on the topic, I had another daughter of Athena who came to my isle a few years ago; I trust you two won't give me any trouble like she did."
"Oh not at all Circe! We just came to see where those boys we came with are," I said.
"Oh, well that's easy. They're in that cage over there."
Aja frowned. "Seems a little small, don't you think?"
"Oh it's just the right size for guinea pigs," said Circe.
"What?"
"See I used to turn me into actual pigs, but guinea pigs are so much easier to deal with."
"But what did they ever do to you?" I objected.
"It's not them so much as it is men in general; for far too long they've been degrading good, intelligent, women like us, and it's time we took a stance. What I'm about to offer the two of you is precisely that; in short, what I offer to you is sorcery!" said Circe.
"Look I hate to be the one to break this to you, but there's no such thing as…" but Aja stopped mid-sentence when she saw flames dancing across Circe's hand.
"You were saying my dear?"
"Never mind," said Aja, just a little embarrassed (actually, try a lot embarrassed!).
"What do you say? You'll both study on this island as my apprentices, learning the ancient and mystical art of sorcery; it will be so easy."
"Um…can we have a minute to think about it?" I asked.
"Oh no you don't! I had another demigod pull that one on me not long ago! Make up your minds now, or I'll start a frog collection!"
It didn't take long for Aja to pull out the bottle of Hermes Vitamins and bolt for the genuine pig cage; for good measure I noticed a bucket of water in the corner and threw it at Circe, but…nothing happened! Circe tried to stop Aja with magic, but thanks to the Hermes Vitamins, nothing happened; Aja poured a few vitamins into the cage and opened the lid, and almost instantly the genuine pigs turned back into people, including Siry, Patrick, and Spader.
"What a horrible experience, there was nothing to eat except for lettuce and those funny tasting pellets!" said Patrick.
"I'm not so sure those were food pellets," said Siry.
"No! It wasn't supposed to end like this!" screamed Circe as the men made a run for it.
"But I don't understand; how come you didn't melt when that water hit you?" I asked.
"Oh please, you actually believe that old stereotype?" spat Circe.
We decided that Circe was pretty much harmless, assuming no one else happened across her island, but we decided it was defiantly time to return to Grallion to regroup and recalculate our situation.
"We've got to warn someone!" I said.
"And then what, wait till they come and lock us in the nut house?" countered Aja.
"Well look on the bright side, if Scylla and Charybdis guard the entrance to the Sea of Monster, and if Cloral is the Sea of Monsters, then there's no chance we'll run into them. Right?" asked Patrick nervously.
"Unless you count the flumes as entrances to Cloral, and unless Saint Dane somehow manages to make quigs out of them," Siry pointed out.
We were using the air-globes to communicate, just in case we ran into any Sirens; when we got back to Grallion we ran our concerns by Wu Yenza, who only confirmed our suspicions.
"Spotted some sea serpents on me patrol today, heard Panger City got attacked by some not too long ago," said Yenza.
"Then forget Quillan, we've got to help out here on Cloral! I'll get the wogglies if it's the last thing I do!" said Spader has he slammed his fist against the table.
"But you're only a mortal! How are you going to take on the whole Sea of Monsters?" I exclaimed.
"So? Those Jason and Odysseus guys were only mortals, and look how they turned out! Plus, I'm not exactly a regular mortal am I?"
"Oh sure, because having the ability to travel to the different territories and sub-territories of Halla is such a useful monster fighting skill," said Aja sarcastically.
"Spader please, I know how you feel, if Second Camp Half-Blood were to get invaded… oh gods, it's too horrible to think about! But you need to stay leave headed and focus on what's really important, because this is the way it was meant to be," I said as I grasped Spader by his forearms.
For a long moment there was a pause as Spader and I held each other's gaze, but soon Spader spoke.
"I'm sorry, I was just…"
At first I thought Aja was gearing to attack Spader, but as she rush forward she…hugged him! I can't believe I'm writing this, but she legitimately hugged Spader!
"I was afraid too, back when we were saving Veelox, but it all worked out in the end. It's going to work out here on Cloral too, in the end," whispered Aja.
"Okay, then let's get to the flume, Quillan needs us," whispered Spader.
As we rode towards the flume I couldn't help noticing how many times Siry would glance over at Spader with a look of almost loathing; it was understandable considering he clearly had feeling for Aja, but all the same I worried about how this would affect how things turned out on Quillan. Wow, I'm actually thinking about more than a love triangles drama, it's almost funny how much being a Traveler has changed me like that. So we were almost to the flume when we saw them, those two monsters we had dreaded all along.
"By the owls of Athena!" whispered Aja in awe.
"No! It can't be!" stammered Patrick.
"There's no use denying it; that is definitely Scylla and Charybdis!" I said.
Charybdis was a giant whirlpool with sharp jagged teeth sticking out, and the teeth were strewn with the remains of ships and possibly habitats as well; Scylla was a hideous multi-headed beast that almost looked like the Hydra, but with dog-like heads instead of reptilian ones (not that that made her any less hideous and frightening).
"Is there any chance we can go around them?" asked Yenza.
"They'd only reappear in front of us, or something equally horrible like the Clashing Rocks," I said.
"And they won't let us pass unless they get a sacrifice of crew members," added Aja.
Yenza glance rather uneasily bellow at all the aquaneers milling about the ship's deck. "Well, when we join the aquaneers we do so knowing we have to risk our lives…"
"You can't just send them to their deaths like that!" I exclaimed.
"Don't worry Silena, I wouldn't put them up to anything I wasn't willing to do myself," said Yenza.
"No! You can't!" began Spader, but Yenza put her hand up to silence him.
"Like you Travelers say, this is the way it was meant to be. Whatever happens has to happen if you lot are to get to Quillan, but don't think we won't go down without a fight!"
Somewhat reluctantly, Spader lead us below deck and to the entrance to the hauler the ship was carrying was; the best way I can describe a hauler is like a sphere as the cab and a cylindrical body shaped like circles with spikes on their ends for the other parts. It didn't take long for Spader and Aja to detach the hauler and send us on our way to towards the flume; though the ride was short I could see quite the battle going on above judging by the way the surface was so frequently disrupted, and I could even hear the boom of the ship's water cannons firing.
"Okay, this is as far as the hauler can take us. Just swim into the cavern in the rock with the five-pointed star on it," said Spader.
We made it into the cavern without much incident, but we had noticed chunks of ship floating past us as we went past us. When we made it to the cavern it occurred to me that the flume was all the way on the ceiling, and it was going to be realllllly difficult to climb all the way to it.
"Okay, so now what?" I asked.
"Just use it like any other flume. Observe: Quillan!" shouted Siry into the flume.
Immediately the flume sprang to life and sucked the five of us into it, and before long we were floating amongst the star field and images of Halla. This time I was able to pick out some new images amidst the chaos; I saw a group of kids competing in some kind of high-tech arena, I saw kids in robes practicing magic (or at least, it looked like magic) at some kind of school, and I saw what looked a like a blue telephone booth (even though it said police box on the side). I tried to pick out more images, but it was all so cluttered it was hard to see anything, and before long the music grew more intense to announce that the trip was coming to an end.
The flume deposited us in a dark room that was full of crates stacked one on top another; we found a pile of cloths that consisted of shirts, pants, and jackets that were all completely drab and/or boring colors. However, we soon found another pile of shirts that were bright/vibrant colors and each had a note with one of our names on it (red shirt for me, blue shirt for Aja, yellow shirt for Siry, black shirt of Spader, and pink shirt for Patrick) and instruction to put them on under our other cloths and be sure no one saw use wearing them. After we had followed the cryptic instructions we started searching for a way out when Aja screamed at the top of her lungs; we all rushed over to find…a robot spider.
"This is what you were screaming about? A harmless toy?" I said, fighting to urge to laugh.
"It's not just a toy it's a ssssss-spider!" stammered Aja.
"Oh I get it! You're afraid of spiders because of your mom Athena and her contest with Arachne, just like Annabeth, well any of the Athena campers really," I said.
"Silena's right, seems perfectly harmless to me. Hey little guy, do you know the way out of here?" asked Siry.
Instead of answering the spider leapt onto Siry and gave him a nasty bite on the shoulder! As Siry staggered backwards I realized that the spider's eyes were yellow, quig yellow, and I could hear the clatter of tiny legs growing closer by the minute.
Ooh cliffhanger again! Oh and for those of you wondering, yes, the shirt colors were based off of the original Power Rangers! Well gang, until next time, leave a review!