Hazel raced through the large ravine that the Argonauts appropriately named New Thermopylae. She rode atop her horse, Arion. Her heart thumped in her chest and her lungs gasped for air and she wasn't even the one doing any of the running. Hazel wished she could push Arion to his full speed giving them the ability to break the sound barrier but she couldn't. There was a mission she had to accomplish.
She chanced a look backward and almost lost her head in the process when a javelin missed it by inches. At least she knew that monsters were still following her, all five-thousand of them. Even though things were going according to plan it didn't prevent Hazel from hating it. She hated it even more when an arrow zipped by her ear causing her to almost jump out of her saddle.
Hazel's job entitled her to be the bait. She would ride Arion to the horde of monsters, attack them, get them to follow her, and lead them to end of the New Thermopylae where the rest of Argonauts laid in wait. Hazel didn't want the job. It was forced on her.
She was voted the lucky winner because she was the only one who could ride Arion, the fastest horse they had. She protested and asked why couldn't one of the Pegasus Riders do it. That idea was vetoed when Annabeth pointed out that the monster wouldn't follow a flying Pegasus but they would follow a horse. Hazel tried to suggest Frank to turn into a cheetah or something but Frank told her that his dragon formed wiped out all of his "transforming" energy. He could barley function as a human as it was. In the end Hazel lost the argument. She had to swallow her fear and do the job she was given. Her friends depended on it.
Hazel sighed in relief when she finally saw the Festus Head shields locked into a wall at the end of the ravine. She had made it in one piece. The sensation of safety made her urge Arion into a higher gear so she could get behind friendly lines as soon as possible.
"They're coming," she called to the shield wall that parted allowing her to get through. "They're pretty pissed off," she added, "and hungry."
She raced through the ranks of Argonauts who cheered her on as she passed.
"Thank the Gods," she breathed when she finally came to a stop at the very back ranks.
"How far are they out and how many?" Achilles asked her.
"They were about a few hundred yards last time I looked back. There's about five to seven-thousand of them. I didn't have any time to count but I took out a couple of them before I took off." Hazel informed him.
"Good work Levesque,"Achilles said patting her on the shoulder. He then turned to Leonidas and nodded. Leonidas nodded back in response.
"ARGONAUTS!" Leonidas screamed as he ran through the ranks of Argonauts. He found his place in the very first and front line. Achilles joined him at his side.
"PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"
The Argonauts pounded their shields with their weapons as they hunched down into Phalanx formation. The Argonauts in the front locked their shields even tighter and leveled their spears with the ground; the razor sharp tips jutting in front of them. Their formation resembled a giant pin-cushion. Each line after the other pushed their shields against hose in front of them acting as a support or foundation. They're was eighty Argonauts standing shoulder to shoulder across the ravine. It was the maximum number they could squeeze into the tight space without allowing any gabs in the wall.
The Argonauts looked down the ravine expectantly waiting for their enemy to come in sight…And come in sight they did. There was thousands of them. A line of angry faced centaurs lead the way galloping with their spears tips directed at the line of Argonauts. Behind them ran another line of cyclops and behind them was a mix of Empousai, Laistrygonian Giants, Scythian Dracaena, Telekhines, and Earthborn.
"A little over five-thousand in total!" Bellerophon counted while mounted on Pegasus from the top of the ravine.
A few Argonauts gulped at the sheer size of their numbers. Back on the Battle of the Cliff, they were able to use cannons and bows to rain projectiles from the safety of the Argo II which floated high in the sky. At New Thermopylae, they did not have that luxury. The Ravine was too small for the Argo II to fit and it couldn't fly over the ravine because the angle would be too awkward for the cannons to fire properly. Leo Valdez also said something about damages to the ship that needed to be repaired before it could fly again. The Argo II remained useless on the cliff bordering the ocean with a good number of Hephaestus/Vulcan children who were working on the repairs. The fight was now down to skill and the training of the Argonauts.
"THIS IS WHERE WE FIGHT AND THEY DIE!" Leonidas screamed from the front line. The front line was built of Achilles, Leonidas, all forty of the Spartans, Clarisse, and a score of Ares/Mars children.
From next to Leonidas, Achilles said to the Argonauts, "Their numbers mean nothing in this small corridor of death!"
"AHOO! AHOO!" The Argonauts chanted as the pounded on their shields once more. There was something about the sound of metal on metal that fueled them with the confidence and energy they needed.
The monster continued to charge forward. They approached closer and closer to the phalanx with every stride. The Argonauts could now here the grunting and the huffing of the monsters coming for them. The sound of their heavy footsteps echoed through the ravine as they trampled over it's fauna and flora.
"HOLD!" Leonidas screamed as the army of monsters got near and nearer. "HOLD!"
The monster were two-hundred yards away, then one-hundred-fifty, and then one-hundred. The Argonauts could see the centaurs in the front licking their lips and the steam coming from their hot breathe. Time seemed to slow down in those short seconds. The monsters charged in slow-motion. The Argonauts could here the pounding of their hearts as it beat in time with the stomping of the approaching monsters.
"PERSEUS, NOW!" Achilles yelled. "NOW, NOW!"
From outside of the Ravine emerged Perseus accompanied by a score of Argonauts. They were located on either side of the ravine. They pushed boulders down the slopes on the unsuspecting monsters which exploded when the heavy rocks collided into them. Perseus's Argonauts then proceeded into throwing javelins and spears into the mass of bodies; they even used a couple cannons that they had borrowed from the Argo II. The first five ranks of monster exploded into dust. When Perseus's troops were out of boulders and ammunition they jumped down into the army of monsters and entered into close quarters combat. They hacked away with their swords and clubs. Perseus was like a circular saw as he whirled through the monster ranks with his adamantine sword. Monsters burst into dust by the tens. Before the monsters could retaliate or even put together what was happening, Perseus pulled back his soldiers and they ran behind the safety of Argonauts' phalanx.
"They're clear!" shouted Achilles when every one of Perseus troops were safely behind the shield wall. "ARCHERS, FIRE!"
The archers behind the Argonauts ranks sent a volley of sonic and rocket arrows soaring into the sky. They streaked up over the Argonauts phalanx and exploded into the monsters' ranks. The archers fired volley after of volley till Odysseus ordered them to stop in order to conserve ammunition.
"Enough of this cloak and dagger, this coward's way of fighting, let them come!" Leonidas barked. "NO MERCY, NO SURRENDER!"
"AHOO! AHOO!"
After the smoke cleared and the dust settled; the monsters regained their composure and reorganized their ranks. They had lost over a thousand of their number in Perseus's ambush alone. They charged forward again but with half the speed and half the strength as the previous time. They had lost all the momentum of their prior charge but they managed to charge forward nonetheless. They were furious from the surprise attack and how many numbers they had lost. They roared and shrieked as they closed the distance between the two groups. They collided with the shield wall and the ravine erupted with a racket. Screaming, shouting, yelling, banging, thumping, and shrieking filled the air. Dust was kicked up causing monsters and Argonauts to choke and cough. A few monsters exploded on impact with the firm shield wall. Some were impaled by spears. The two sides pushed against each other fighting for dominance. The Argonauts' front line dug in their heels, dropped their shoulders, put all their weight behind their shields, and pushed with all their might. Their fellow Argonauts behind them pushed on their backs supporting them and aided in the pushing. The Argonauts grunted while the monsters roared, screeched, and shrieked in protest. More monsters exploded due to being squished to death between the shield wall and their fellow monster pushing behind them.
"PUSH!" Achilles ordered.
"GIVE THEM AN INCH, TAKE A MILE!" Leonidas shouted over the fray.
A Hellhound managed to squeeze it's head through the shield wall. It tried to snap at Clarisse's throat but she drew her sword and stabbed it in it's open maw. It yelped as it exploded into dust. The spartans stabbed through the small chinks in the shield wall with their spears. More monsters exploded.
"PUSH!" Achilles screamed one more time.
There was a shift in the Argonauts lines. They dug in their heels deeper into the gravel. They used all the strength in their leg muscles and they lunged forward. The front line of the monsters were pushed back several meters by the sheer strength and uniformity of the shove. Before the monsters could recover the ground they had lost, the Argonauts stepped forward and occupied the empty space. The monsters charged forward again but were once again stopped. The shield wall was impenetrable. The monster were again pushed back. They charged forward once more. This time, instead of being halted by shields, they were impaled with a line of eighty stabbing spears. The whole front line of the monsters were depleted. Before they could even think about charging forward again the first few ranks of Argonauts threw their spears into the herd of monsters causing more monsters to explode and their overall force to be pushed back another several meters.
"BREAK!" Leonidas commanded.
The first line of the Argonauts threw the last of their spears, drew their swords, and charged froward. From behind them jumped Hercules who joined the offensive. He hit the ground rolling and came up to his feet swinging his club like a madman. He took out five monsters with one stroke. He looked magnificent in his Nemean Lion armor as he brandished his massive club. With each swing he took out five monsters or more at a time. He picked up a cyclops and threw it clear across the ravine where it crashed into a squad of dracaena. Behind Hercules came his fellow Argonauts who cut and hacked with their xiphos and gladius, or thrusted with their spears. Hannibal the elephant crashed his way through the phalanx and stomped on every monster in his path. Frank Zhang rode on top of him who fired sun arrows with his bow. Mrs. O'Leary bounded after them with Percy on her back. She snapped monsters to dust with her jaws as Percy chopped away with his sword. Hazel bursted through as she rode Arion, stabbing with her Spatha.
"NO RETREAT!" Achilles roared as he stabbed through a Laistroygian with his spear.
"AHOO!"
"NO SURRENDER!" Hercules boomed while he swung his club through a squadron of dracaena.
"AHOO!"
"NO PRISONERS!" Leonidas howled as he chopped left and right with his short sword.
"AHOO!"
The fighting continued on as the monsters were pushed further and further back through the ravine. Every time the Argonauts seemed to tire or showed the slightest bit of weakness, the front ranks would fall back and would be replaced with the ones behind them. The action was similar to line changes in football, hockey, or any other type of mortal sporting event. When the players began to tire they would be substituted. It was a tactic that Gaea's army did not account for.
The monster couldn't even take advantage of the line-changes because they were kept pinned down by the Argonaut archers who would rain arrows down on them every time they tried pursue the retreating Argonauts. When the monsters tried to return fire their arrows would merely bounce off the Argonauts shields and armor, or would be intercepted by gusting winds created by Jason and Thalia Grace. Hazel would also raise her hand in the air and use her power over precious metals to send those arrows flying back at those who fired them.
Although the Argonauts were always being replaced with fresh faces; the monsters' force were an endless wave. Every time a monster exploded into dust or dissolved into to liquid, they would be replaced by five more. The fight was going to be a long one.
It was Jason Grace's turn at front line as stepped by his fellow, retreating Argonauts. He had a Roman shield or Scutum in one arm and held his golden gladius in the other. A dracaena stepped forward but was bashed backward with his shield and then decapitated with his sword. A cyclops came from behind him but was stopped in it's tracks by a bronze dagger. The cyclops exploded to reveal Piper standing behind it. Jason thought she looked stunning with the dirt that streaked her cheek, her armor gleaming, a shield on one arm, and her knife brandished on the other. Their eyes met and Jason smiled at her. She smiled back sweetly, despite the battle happening around them. Jason's heart did a full three-sixty. He quickly shook his head and returned his thoughts back to the battle. He zapped an Earthborn with a bolt of lighting that tried to grab her. The two met eyes again and then turned to the thousands of monsters threatened them. They rushed forward and together the two fought like gods. Jason whirled with his Sword and Piper slashed with her knife. Their fellow Argonauts where right behind them.
The duo was joined by Percy, Leo, Frank, Hazel, Annabeth, Thalia, Reyna, Tyler, and the other seventy Argonauts that made up their line. The group worked their way through barking Hellhounds, flopping Telekhine, galloping centaur, and roaring Laistroygian. They ducked under axe blades, side stepped spear thrust, rolled under club swings, jumped out of the way of thrown nets, deflected arrows, and blocked sword strokes. Percy and Jason sliced with their swords, Annabeth and Piper stabbed with their knives, Leo smashed with his hammer, Reyna and Thalia skewered with their spears, Hazel slew monsters with her spatha on top of Arion, and Frank dropped monster left and right with glowing sun arrows. The five days of Grunt training had paid off ten fold.
Tyler's memory/training/instinct kicked in. He held his trench knife in reverse grip as he dodge out of the way of an overhead axe swing from a gigantic cyclops. The axe blade struck the dirt with a thud and buried itself their. As the cyclops tried to pry the axe from the ground; Tyler ran up the shaft of the weapon and up the cyclops's arms. He vaulted off the monster's shoulder and on to it's neck. From there, Tyler bashed it in the forehead with the skullcrusher and stabbed downward into it's neck with the blade. The cyclops's hand went up to it's throat as it fell backwards and slowly dissolved into dust. Tyler rode the falling cyclops the whole way down. The cyclops landed on it's back into twenty monsters and fully burst into dust causing those monsters to burst as well. Tyler landed on one knee with his hair hanging over his face.
From that position he pounced into a line of dracaena. He bashed the first one in the head the skull crusher of his knife and while it hunched in pain, Tyler slit it's throat with the blade. He spun behind another dracaena and stabbed it in the back, he flipped around and punched another with the brass knuckles; and then with his other hand he grabbed it's spear and stabbed it with it's own spear. He used the stolen spear to push through another five monsters which exploded into dust. He then hefted it and threw it into a charging Laistroygian. Any monster that got by him was intercepted by the Argonauts behind him. After cutting his way through another ten centaur, Tyler turned to his, 'friends,' and gave them a wicked smile. Leo gave him a thumbs up after crushing a Hell Hound to death with his hammer.
Piper smiled, however it transformed into a look of horror.
"TYLER!" she screamed. "LOOK OUT!"
From out of nowhere an Earthborn grabbed Tyler from behind and flung him across the Ravine deep behind enemy lines. He crashed into a few monsters who screeched in protest. Tyler stood to his feet to find that he was surrounded on all sides and his allies were nowhere in sight. They were at least a couple thousand monsters behind him which they would have to fight through to reach him. It would be a while before they could join up with him again. Tyler was on his own for the time being and he smiled at the thought. The monsters formed a ring around him but the smile he wore on his face made them hesitate before they attacked. Tyler's smiled widened as raised his hands in a gesture that said, 'bring it.'
The monsters realized they outnumbered him a thousand to one. Their hesitation faded as they rushed him. Tyler easily ducked under their swords and spears as he counterattacked by slicing and dicing with his knife at their feet. He escaped from the mass of bodies that sought to kill him and ran around the ring like he was in a moshpit. He hacked left and right with his knife blade, battered with the pommel skull crusher, and thwacked with the brass knuckles. The knife's three-weapon combination made the ultimate fusion of chaos. Tyler was unstoppable. More monsters rushed him and more monster fell.
"This is for Julia!" he snarled as he downed a cyclops.
"That is for Julia!" he grunted as he put down an earthborn.
"And that...that was for me!" he shouted as he dismembered a couple of Laistroygians.
Several monsters ran right past him thinking that they were on the same side. He looked like a monster himself; the way he growled as he fought, his shaggy hair rippling in his fury. He wore no dragon armor like the rest of the Argonauts but instead only jeans and his USMC t-shirt. Dirt, blood, and monster dust smeared his face and arms. He was covered in small scratches from head to toe which were bleeding and his clothes were riddled with holes, rips, and tears.
"I AM TYLER HORACE!" he howled. "THE SON OF ERIS! KNOW ME, LOOK UPON THIS FACE, FOR I BRING CHAOS AND DEATH!"
After several minutes of trying to overwhelm Tyler the Monsters slowly backed away. They could smell the chaos flowing through his blood stream and they saw the rage in accumulate in his pupils.
"Come on!" Tyler goaded the monsters who drew away from him. "I can take on any of on, one-on-one, or maybe all at once!"
The monsters made no reply and only held up their weapons in defense.
"How about me," said a scarred muscular man. His scars covered his muscular arms that were brandishing a very large sword. He was backed by an old man in a golden chariot.
Tyler smirked as he flipped his knife in his hands experimentally. From out of the sky landed Jason Grace next to him. The Son of Zeus's landing caused dust to be thrown into the air. The ring of monsters backed up even more creating more space in the ring.
"GRACE!" The old and muscular man sneered at the same time.
"Midas," Jason nodded to the old king. "Lit," he said to the muscular one.
The formalities were forgotten when Lit charged forward with his sword and Midas jumped out of the chariot to follow his son. Jason dodged Lit and allowed Tyler to take him on. Midas grabbed for Jason with his hands but Jason snatched the old man's wrists first. The two wrestled for dominance. Jason tried to press his blade against Midas's throat and Midas tried to press one of his fingers on Jason's skin. Just one touch was all he need and the old man was stronger than he looked. Jason noticed Tyler in the corner of his eye who was avoiding Lit's whirling sword. Tyler threw a front kick in Lit's chest which made him reel backwards toward the entangled Jason and Midas. Jason saw the action and shoved Midas into Lit. Midas tried to prevent the collision by throwing his hands in front of him. His hands made contact with Lit's skin. Lit screamed in frustration and fear as gold etched up his skin. Midas stumbled clumsily to the ground.
"NOT AGAIN!" Lit screamed as gold slowly climbed up his body which soon fully encased him as a golden statue.
Tyler smirked as he ran forward and kicked Lit's golden body, tipping it over; causing it to land on top Midas, pinning the king due to the weight. Midas tried to push his son off of him but the statue was too heavy. Jason tossed his gladius in the air, flipping it, and catching it as a javelin.
"WAIT," Midas screamed desperately. "If you let me live I'll tell you all of Gaea's secrets."
Jason shook his head without remorse.
Tyler spat, "Coward!"
"Please, NO!" Midas screamed. "Forgive me! I was just working for the highest bidder! I can lend the gods my skills! NO!"
Jason directed the tip of his javelin at Lit and sent a lightning bolt at his golden frame. The electricity transferred from Lit into Midas, gold being an excellent conductor. Midas flopped violently on the rocky ground as he shrieked in pain. Slowly his body stopped shaking, there was a strange sizzling sound in the air, there was the smell of burnt flesh, and smoke trickled from Midas's charred clothing. King Midas laid dead under his son's golden statue.
Tyler and Jason high-fived at the results.
"What about golden boy?" Tyler asked pointing at the gold stature of Lityerses.
Tyler didn't have to wait for an answer because Hazel, on top of Arion, burst through the ring of monsters. She held out her hand to the gold statue and closed it into a fist. The statue of Lit exploded into a million pieces.
"Reaper of Men," scoffed Jason. "Pfft!"
The ring dissipated as the monsters slowly backed away from the trio. From behind Tyler, Jason, and Hazel monsters exploded into dust by the hundreds. The rest of the Argonauts had arrived. The trio melted into their ranks. The Argonauts continued to push the monsters further and further back through the ravine. They were approaching the end. The monsters tried to charge forward time and time again but every occasion they were stuffed under shield bashes, swords, and spears. More and more monsters exploded.
The monsters in back yelled, "FORWARD!"
The monsters in front yelled, "BACK!"
The Argonauts were a well oiled machine. They fought with combined strength of Greek Spartans and Roman Legionnaires. Theseus hacked away with his sword and beat with his cudgel. Perseus whirled with his sword and bashed with his shield. The original Jason decapitated and hacked while deflecting arrows with his Golden Fleece shoulder plate. Hercules hammered with his club, Achilles thrusted with his spear, and Leonidas bashed and hacked with his xiphos and shield combination. Bellerophon and his Riders kept the monsters' archers pinned down with their projectiles. Odysseus picked off monsters by the dozens with well aimed shots.
The King of Ithaca's kill streak was interrupted when he heard a familiar voice.
"ODYSSEUS!" sang a male voice from within the monster army. "WHERE ARE YOU?"
Odysseus knew the voice all too well from a time long ago. "OVER HERE SWEETIE!" he responded, indulging the speaker. "I'VE MISSED YOU!"
A huge, muscled, and heavily armored man broke through the monsters lines. He carried a gigantic rectangular shield on his arm and was covered in sheep skin.
"There you are Odysseus! I've missed you!"
"Ajax," Odysseus spat. "You used to be a coward…but now you're a coward and a traitor! Gaea really gave you a promotion, didn't she?"
"Come here buddy! I just want to give you a hug!" Ajax said with a huge evil grin.
Odysseus respond by notching five arrows into his bow string and fired them all at once, their target, Ajax's face.
Ajax raised his shield and the fiver arrows imbedded themselves in it's wooden surface.
"Now, now Odysseus, is that the way to greet old friends?" Ajax mock chided.
"Suck on cyclops's genitals while you gut molested by Kronos in Tartarus, you ass-butt!" Odysseus said mixing modern and past insults into one beautiful line of slander. "You're nothing more than Gaea's bitch-boy!"
"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Ajax responded in sarcastic astonishment.
"Only your's, bitch-boy!"
Ajax's sarcastic smile faded when he charged Odysseus, his shield down, plowing through a couple Argonauts, and some of his own monsters. Odysseus rolled out of the way and fired another arrow at Ajax's unprotected back. Ajax spun around with lightning speed and managed to block the arrow. He charged again. Instead of rolling out of the way again; Odysseus picked up a discarded spear and threw it with all his might at Ajax's gigantic shield. The spear struck it's wooden surface causing Ajax to stumble backwards onto the ground. Odysseus peppered his old friend/enemy with more arrows making him cower under his shield. Odysseus charged forward and ran up Ajax's shield like a ramp. At the shield's peak he jumped off it and landed directly behind the downed Ajax. Odysseus drew a rocket arrow from his quiver and using it like a knife, he stabbed the head of into the eye slit of Ajax's helmet. Ajax screamed in pain as his free hand flew up to arrow lodged in his face. Odysseus jumped to safety as the rocket arrow detonated. He laid with his hands over his head and squished his face to dirt. There was an explosion, screaming, and smoke. Odysseus looked up to where Ajax should have been but instead there was nothing there except a pile of ashes. Odysseus shook his head trying to shake of the ringing in his ears and turned his attention back to the main battle which was still being waged. He picked up his bow and resumed firing arrows at monsters.
After an hour of fighting the Argonauts had finally pushed the monsters all the way back to the opposite end of the ravine.
The remaining monsters skirted away from the line of dragon faced shields that always advanced on them, always advancing, never stopping. Every time they tried to launch a counter attack they were always pushed back by those damned dragon faced shields.
"TO THE LAST SATYR!" shouted Hercules over the shield wall.
"WE FIGHT!" The Argonauts pounded on their shields twice with their weapons. They let the beat ring out. They advanced a few more steps and used the same weapons they beat their shields with on the retreating monsters.
"TO THE LAST AMAZON!" Perseus yelled.
"WE FIGHT!"
"TO THE LAST MORTAL!" Leonidas howled.
"WE FIGHT!"
"TO THE LAST RIDER!" Bellerophon shouted.
"WE FIGHT!"
"TO THE LAST ROMAN!" Odysseus roared.
"WE FIGHT!"
"TO THE LAST GREEK!" Theseus screamed.
"WE FIGHT!"
"TO THE LAST DEMIGOD!" the original Jason bellowed.
"WE FIGHT!"
"TO THE LAST ARGONAUT" Achilles screamed louder than everyone else.
"WE FIGHT, WE FIGHT!" The Argonauts roared causing the very earth to shake.
All seven-hundred plus Argonauts broke the phalanx and charged forward. "AHOO! AHOO!"
The collided with the remaining five-hundred monsters and pushed them out of New Thermopylae Pass. The monsters could only retreat as their numbers were slaughtered by the dozens, but there was no escape because they were pushed to the edge of one of the many cliffs of the Atlas Mountains. There were only fifty monsters left. Those in back fought those in front trying not to be pushed over the edge.
"General Hercules," Achilles called.
"General Achilles," Hercules responded.
"They're trying to retreat," Achilles smiled. "Oblige them!"
"With pleasure," Hercules smiled back in understanding.
He stepped away from the Argonauts shield wall and approached the cowering monsters. A cyclops cowered behind his hands when Hercules raised his club in the air. Instead of crushing the cyclops, Hercules merely tapped it with the end of his club. The cyclops lost it's balance and fell backwards into the monster behind him. The rest lost their balance as well and those in back fell off the cliff dragging the rest with them. They fell to their deaths on the rocks bellow.
"VICTORY!" Leonidas hooted as the last of the monsters tumbled down the cliff and exploded at the bottom. "AHOO! AHOO!"
"AHOO! AHOO!"
"Fourteen-thousand gone and only six-thousand left!" Perseus celebrated.
"AHOO! AHOO!"
"Hush," Achilles said sternly. "This isn't over yet," he told the Argonauts. "We may have made much progress and caused a huge dent in Hector's forces but there is still much more ahead of us. We will not lose all that we have earned with petty arrogance."
"What's our losses?" he asked.
Bellerophon landed next to Achilles. "A few Riders, General, and a few others here and there. Eleven in all, sir."
Achilles inhaled. "I see," he said sadly.
Although they lost few each loss was a friend. No, they were family.
"A moment of silence for those who died honorably in battle," Achilles said softly. "We'll collect the dead and send them back to the Argo II. We will give them proper burial later. For now, we make camp here. The wounded will return to the ship as well. We will continue on to Death's Doors tomorrow. We need sentries who will take watch in shifts."
"General, wouldn't we vulnerable here?" Annabeth asked.
"If they do attack again we'll be ready. They won't be able to overwhelm us in this narrow ravine. Hector's smart, he won't send the rest of his army to suicide. He knows we'll have to come out of hiding sooner or later. Tomorrow we will have to fight the rest of his army face to face without the aid of this ravine. That is when our skill will truly be tested. So, get a good night's rest and we will advance in the morning. You'll need your strength."
"NO!" screamed Pallas. "MORE THAN HALF OF OUR ARMY IS GONE! SEND ANOTHER WAVE! CRUSH THEM!"
"Have you forgotten what I said earlier?" Hector said calmly. "They will attack tomorrow. We will be ready for them and this time they won't have that stupid ravine with them. It was your monsters who fell for their bait. They are unruly and undisciplined. It is a mistake I will not make again."
"Whatever," snarled Pallas, "but I'm contacting some of my brothers."
"More giants?"
"Yes, you idiot!"
"So be it," Hector said in defeat. "If it also makes you feel better we can dispatch Echidna. She keeps on complaining that her children are hungry."
Pallas's eyes brightened. "Oh yes, Echidna!" she said with a smile. "I forgot about her. These New Argonauts will definitely enjoy her company."
"Splendid idea, my lady!" Hector said joyfully like it was her idea along.
"Let the Argonauts have their rest; for each moment they do is another moment our reinforcements arrive sooner!"
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