When dawn arrived, the cadets were packed and ready to go. Any worry Hercules had the evening before completely disappeared and was replaced with exhilaration. Cheiron saw them off along with some of the other cadets, most of whom were a bit envious that their peers got to leave while they were stuck in school. But the three chosen were feeling good and set to head on their mission.
During the trip, they entertained each other with stories of previous ventures. Hercules recalled the time when he, Jason, and Iolaus retrieved a chalice that Zeus had given to Hera. What they didn't know was that it was located inside of a phoenix cave, and they narrowly escaped becoming bird bait when the creature came to life. Yet that was only the beginning, for more trouble was ahead. Hercules also didn't know that the chalice was being safeguarded by Zeus, and that anyone who took it would be punished. This gave Ares—the god of war and Hercules's half-brother—the perfect opportunity to destroy him, which he took full advantage of. Thankfully, the demigod was saved just in time when Iolaus and Jason returned the chalice back to the cave and Zeus's protection order was reinstated.
He also brought up when Strife and Discord had tried to start a war between centaurs and the Telaquir Amazons, a tribe that Hercules had befriended and Lilith was once a part of. The two meddlesome gods made it look like each side had attacked the other, but Hercules was able to figure out the truth. During an encounter with his half sister Discord, he forced her to reveal where they were holding centaur and Amazon hostages. Little did he know that the cave where the captives were being held was booby-trapped. He may not have gotten out alive if it wasn't for Lilith's reminder of what Cheiron had taught them. In the end, he was able to stop the war and peace was reconciled between two groups who had been fighting for centuries. Lilith also decided to come back to the academy, though she knew that she would always have a home with the Amazons.
Lilith remembered when she and Hercules had gone mushroom picking and wandered into a cave. Before they knew what was happening, the cave collapsed on them. Lilith became injured and the two were trapped inside. When Hercules left to find a way out, Lilith met a strange man who claimed he was a healer. He gave her a flask and told her to give it to Hercules. Lilith didn't realize that the man was actually Ares and the flask contained poison. Still, she sensed that something wasn't right, and when Hercules returned she signaled him with her secret handshake so he knew not to drink it. The look that crossed the god of war's face was unforgettable when Hercules got up after pretending to be dead to fool him. Somehow, the cadets managed to get out of the cave before Ares harmed them any further.
"Man, if I were you guys I'd never want to set foot inside a cave again!" exclaimed Alexia after her friends were done telling their stories.
"It's a good thing you haven't met any of Herc's godly relatives. From what I can tell, they're all crazy." Lilith remarked.
"Well, some of them aren't too bad," Hercules interjected, "like Hephaestus and Hades, but the rest of them don't seem to like me much."
Alexia nodded. It must have been hard for Hercules to have so many hate him just because of who his father was. She wished that she could somehow stop them from causing any more trouble for him, though that wasn't a reasonable hope. The gods would continue to torture mortals for the rest of their existence.
The three carried on their conversation as they walked. Around midday they took a quick rest to eat lunch, but they soon found themselves back on the road again. The journey was taking longer than expected because Hercules wasn't the skilled tracker he thought he was. It turned out that they had taken a few wrong turns, which was why they weren't getting anywhere. Fortunately, Lilith stepped in and was able get the group back on track.
After a tiresome day of traveling, the cadets finally stopped and set up camp for the night. Hercules and Lilith were able to catch a few fish for dinner, but Alexia failed to come up with anything so she was content with some leftover bread and an apple. Later on, they sat around the fire and exchanged scary stories, but they knew not to stay up too late because they had an early start the next morning. As Alexia nestled beneath her blanket, she looked up at the sky and noticed that the stars resembled several pairs of eyes that seemed to be watching over them. She smiled to herself before shutting her eyelids and drifting off to a peaceful night's sleep.