Disclaimer: I do not own PJ or any of Master Riordan characters

Took some time preparing this chapter...hope you like, dear readers...

Thalia woke up due to loud noises next to her, "don't tell me that Phoebe got in another argument" she thought while stretching lazily on her mat and hoping her sisters wouldn`t be so short temperate. Taking her time, she got up enjoying the feeling of a good night of sleep, one she didn`t have in months, only noticing strange situation they were in.

They were inside an enormous hall built only with logs for walls and ceiling and stone as pavement, a rustic building at best. The Hunt have been settled in individual beds barely filling a fifth of the hall, women from all ages walked between the beds tending still unconscious hunters, changing bandages from their injures, mending clothes or providing new for those too trashed. Thalia turned when something touched her elbow only to see a large old woman smiling the most amiable grandma smile ever, wearing a black long skirt and white shirt with her grayish blond hair falling like waves over her shoulders and green eyes full of joy for the recovery of her patient. "Her my dear, put these on before you catch a cold, then you`re off to meet Master Sieg and don`t worry for your friends, we`ll take good care of them and as for males…Master Sieg forbade any from entering this hall" she said with a loud voice that matched her stature. While dressing up, Thalia could help but shoot question after question "who is this Sieg? What is this place? Where are we? How did we get here?...and….what is your name?" the last question came almost as a whisper of shame for being kind of rude to her granny nurse. "Oh my! You sure have a fast tongue and a curious mind, Master Sieg will answer most of it but as for my name I`m Iona now off you go" she said already half pushing Thalia through the doors of the hall, looking back to her hunters and finally understanding Phoebe`s newest argument, she was pinned down by a bulky brunette woman that would make Clarice look like a fragile girl.

If the hall was imposing, the rest village was stunning. Several log cottages half-covered by a morning mist were built along stone paths, the smell of sea crawled up hill and the sun painted the landscape with a shy shade of red. Kids walking to a large arena at the cliff, an intoxicating smell from the bakery was enough to make any mouth water an Olympic pool, fire glimmered in the forges, distant sailor shouts preparing to set sail...Thalia was so amazed by the coziness of this rustic scenery that she collided with a furry wall, "Eh what the?!" a voice like a compact thunder started to curse, turning with astonishing speed for its size. The next moment Thalia was being suspended in the air by a gorilla hand grabbing her neck, the body was a mass of muscles like a master bodybuilder with ugly scars all over it and wearing a thick chain legging, hard brow leather and a adult brown bear pelt across his shoulders. "What ye doing, gal? Got lost? Or looking for something else?..." his face was a perfect picture of a war maniac, ruthless and blood-thirsty with cooper eyes full of rage and lust, cracked lips he was licking now and only his pointed beard for hair on his head. A hatchet passed between their face, carving it self on a wall behind them before they could turn to face the shooter, "Lars!" another voice roared at them full of wrath, inspiring fear to anyone at earshot "Let her go, NOW!" The brute was quick to obey and with a nervous gulp he ran like his life was on the line, once again proving that a big body could still be unreasonable fast.

"As for you" Thalia turned to face the stranger "Follow me, there is someone here to see you". They went up hill to the last construction, one complete different from the others, it was built like a small fort with pentagram shaped walls and a stone building using four massive oaks as columns. There were no windows at the walls, they were all in the roof...no, the whole ceiling was a piece of wood and reinforced glass, beautiful yet imposing. As they passed timber doors emblazoned with a wolf head and two crows they could hear something being dragged. "Artemis, sit...you`ll have a lot of time to apologize for that request", Thalia couldn`t believe her eyes, there she was, the goddess of hunt and her lady obeying a male and a mix of shame and relief in her eyes. They sat around the hearth, Thalia siding Artemis as the man took his place in front of them. Thalia started to notice some odd things about the host, e looked around his early 20`s wearing full chain mail except it was white instead of gray, greaves and metallic plates on thighs and knees with three shin length pieces of clothe covering his waist, plate armor over his chest, wolf head shaped pauldrons, bracelets protecting his forearms with his hands only covered by bands. His face was marked with a scar from the left eyebrows and crossing his cherry lips, long and straight black hair tied in a ponytail with a crossed spears hairpin, but her attention was caught by his sight with those gentle and bright ice blue eyes, that same eyes from last night, honest and caring eyes in a seasoned face.

"Artemis, you better have a good reason for putting your so called sisters in danger and also for transpassing into others gods territories" his voice was calm filled with soft tone of authority. "Sieg" Artemis started "you surely know the situation we are in...ours and yours giants are allying and new conflicts will emerge when Greeks and Romans meet. They will need leadership, one who can handle this crisis and YOU must be that leader. There is no warrior who matched your skills...Master Sieg of the Einherjar, I request you help..." her voice was no more then a whisper in the end. "So let me get it straight...you sent those who trusted you to a place where they could hardly ever leave alive only to get a way to contact me" with a deep breath all the calm disappeared being substituted by a wrath explosion "You dared to think I would turn a blind eye to this behavior? Threatening the lives of others to satisfy your own needs...REPULSIVE!"

Sieg was now standing in front of the 12 years looking goddess who was trying her best to stand against those words, but all her effort was nothing as she flinched more and more, her swollen eyes near crying. Thalia knew who ever that Sieg was he had respect and fear from the gods, not the kind of guy you would like to cross. "Why I always have this problem with you, central gods? Always leaving your fights to you children... furthermore, you only thought about yourselves. We already have our own crisis to take care of. Jotun are wandering Midgard and battering Asgard's walls! Odin disappeared weeks ago. Fenris and Nidhogg are sending spawns to torment mortals. Ragnarok is upon us and all that you could think was solving your own problems!"

A moment of silence followed only disturbed by Artemis' hiccups. Sieg broke the silence with a cold but controlled tone "I will have no more of this conversation. I have work to do now and you should beg forgiveness, Artemis. I will see the hunters during dinner, until then there is no need to worry, no man will harm them, that include others Einherjar". With that he turned and marched outside, a white cape waving with the same wolf and crows in black. After a couple of minutes Artemis spoke no louder than a whisper "I'm sorry Thalia...I should have told you about was this mission was all about, I should..." Artemis was interrupted by Thalia patting her shoulders and leveling their sight "It's OK. We all accepted this mission and I don't think we should give up just now...there may be another way to get his help...". Artemis thought about and have an idea "There might be a way but that will be difficult", the sharp eyes of Thalia staring at her were the consent to continue.

"You must earn his respect"