Hi everyone. Thanks for the reviews so far. This one guy called invaderpercyjackson left a review saying I should check out his fanfiction but I can't find it. I've tried searching for it but no luck so far, so if anyone can post a link or let me know where it is, I'd appreciate it.
One thing you should know. Sometimes I'll go back and make some minor changes to the story. For example, some of you might have wondered where Percy got the ambrosia packages on chapter 4… I actually went back and changed chapter 2 so that Garret had given him some before taking on the chimera. I might do that from time to time… change previous chapters a bit to continue with the story as actions come into the plot that need background to be explained. I'll let you know when I do that, though. For instance I changed the ending of chapter 5 before starting this chapter (that was several days ago), it's basically the same thing but the dialogue at the end is a bit more credible now… I hope.
Anyways, here goes nothing:
Chapter 6 – The First Test
They made their way southwest, at a quick pace that was almost a slow trot, speaking only occasionally. As they walked, the sun continued to descend beyond the trees, leaving them in twilight and casting the whole woods in an orange glow that was really quite beautiful if any of them had been careless enough to appreciate it. They reached a river that veered off westwards, going downhill and aiming for a tall peak that stood between them and the Bay. Reyna and Alexa led the group down the river, with Percy, Jamie and Liam walking in a group behind them, and Bruce in the rear by himself, casually swinging his axe as he walked. Percy and Jamie looked at each other with understanding. It didn't matter that they hadn't actually surrendered or been captured, they were not going to Castra Roma as guests. They were prisoners right now and there would be no breaking up the group without another battle.
Despite that, Percy felt exhilarated. He had stayed up for most of the previous night, keeping watch over their camp and simply trying to remember something, anything, about his past. Every time he tried, the same white wall would come up in his mind and he could never go farther than the moment he'd woken up in Mr. Milkgoat's class. Except something had changed since the day before. There were cracks in the wall through which some things were creeping through, and even though he hadn't found any clear memories, actual scenes or events from his life, he'd gotten snatches of feelings, of words and phrases that didn't yet make sense to him but that he knew to mean something.
He had moved these feelings around in his head while he continued to stare at the dying fire, as if he could somehow find a clue to all of his unanswered questions in the glowing embers. As the night wore on, he entered into a state where he was half asleep and half awake, conscious of his surroundings but also dreaming, and he had seen an image inside the fire. A young girl with deep brown eyes had looked at him from within the flames with a face full of concern and sadness. The image had caused a powerful emotion to escape from beyond the wall in his mind, a feeling of well-being and homeliness that had no explanation in his recent memories and experiences. But the girl had offered no words of consolation and she had merely vanished into the fire with a look of pure regret on her face, like a mother who was unable to give her son the advice she knew he would need.
Still, the vision had given him hope. He was sure that all this visions monsters and halfbloods were real and it was when he encountered them that his brain seemed to wake up and grasp a memory. If he went on to Castra Roma and was absorbed in this world, his memory might come back completely.
Percy was so deep in thought remembering the girl with the brown eyes that he didn't notice Reyna had stopped walking a few steps ahead of him and he ran straight into her.
"Hey! Watch it!" she shouted at him. "Can't you see where you're going, dung-brains?"
An electric shock went through Percy at the insult. "What did you call me?" he asked.
"Dung-brains" she answered. "You got a problem with that?"
"No, it's just... forget it. I'm sorry I crashed into you".
Alexa looked at them with exasperation and shook her head.
"Be quiet, you two" she said. "We're here"
They had reached the mountain that Percy had seen in the distance through the woods. The river they had been following flowed into the side of the mountain through a small grotto and vanished beneath it, becoming an underground river that probably ran all the way into the sea. The mountain itself seemed ominous, high and mighty like a man standing guard before the entrance to the Bay.
"There's nothing here" said Jamie. "The river simply goes under the mountain, it probably surfaces on the other side and goes on into the sea. We'll have to circle the mountain or climb it to get to the other side".
"No" answered Reyna. "This is Mission Peak and this is where we leave you. On the other side of this mountain is Castra Roma. There is a tunnel that leads through the mountain and comes out on the other side. You must find the tunnel on your own and take it. In the heart of the mountain, you will face your tests. If you survive, you will be welcomed at camp and you will receive your training".
"Yeah" muttered Liam softly to Percy "we'll be as welcome as a fart in a phone booth, if you ask me".
"What did you say?" asked Bruce as Percy chuckled quietly.
"What? Me? Nothing, mate" Liam answered quickly.
"Anyway" said Alexa pointedly, "you're on your own now. Find the tunnel or get lost. We'll be waiting on the other side. If you don't make it by morning, we'll assume you died. Good luck".
And without so much as a handshake or a word of advice, they turned around and left, circling the mountain slightly and leaving them standing alone, in the dark, facing a mountain.
"Well that was helpful" said Liam. "Hi guys, we're taking you to this awesome place. It'll be brilliant. No wait, get there by yourselves or die trying. Byee. I hate those guys."
Percy and Jamie laughed. "They're not so bad" said Percy. "And if you ask me, that girl Alexa kinda had a thing for you, Liam. You must've caused an impression with all that knife-threatening business".
Liam felt himself blushing slightly but only managed a "sod off, Percy", which only made him laugh even more.
"What about Reyna?" he countered. "She was dead gorgeous mate and I could tell she was impressed with you taking her and Bruce out in that fight".
"Impressed?" Percy chuckled "She was furious man, I think I hurt her pride. She wanted to run me through the whole trip over here. I only think she didn't cause she listens to Alexa".
"Guys" Jamie cut in. "Would you stop talking about girls for a second? We kinda need to find a secret tunnel to lead us to our death, you know…"
"Bright little ray of sunshine, aren't you, Jamie?" said Liam. "Fine, it's supposed to be on the mountain, so I guess we should look around, see what we can find".
They separated. Liam went right and Percy went left. Jamie stayed where she was, with the task of looking around and maybe climbing a little. They searched for two hours, every nook and crevice in the mountain, looking for any opening or crack that might lead into the mountain. Twice they thought they'd found something but both times the entrances went in fifty feet in complete darkness before coming to a dead end.
They gathered again at the base of the mountain and sat down beside the river. It was completely dark by then and it was starting to get cold. They felt miserable.
"Those girls were toying with us" Liam complained. "We've searched everywhere and there are absolutely no tunnels around here, we might as well climb the mountain and get there tomorrow and apologize. Maybe that's what we're supposed to do, you know, forget about the stupid tunnel and just get there on our own, however we can".
"That can't be it" argued Percy. "This is supposed to be a test of character, it's supposed to challenge us. By finding the tunnel we are supposed prove something, even if it's only persistence. It has to be around here somewhere".
Jamie was staring at the river intently, watching the small grotto where it entered the mountain. "Maybe" she said slowly, "maybe it isn't a tunnel in the traditional sense of the word, like a road we walk through. Maybe it's something else, something natural. The test is not to actually find the entrance, it's been staring at us in the face this whole time. The challenge is to take the leap and enter it".
Percy followed her gaze and saw what she meant. "The river?" he asked. "It goes right through to the other side. But Jamie, the roof of that grotto is an inch away from the river's surface and I can tell it goes on like that for a while. If we dive into it and the tunnel doesn't drop, we won't be able to surface. And there's no way we can swim back against the current. We would drown".
"It's a test of faith" she answered simply. "Either you believe that Castra Roma is there and that you can make it, or you don't and you go back home".
"Do you really think so?" asked Liam. "This could be a big mistake".
"Yeah" she answered. "I really do. Only those who believe in magic can ever find it. This must be the first test and we need to prove our ability to believe. I think we need to dive into the river and enter the mountain through it".
They looked at each other for a few seconds in silence. Liam stood up.
"Well I think it beats sitting in the dark, moping about it. Let's do this. I needed a bath anyway".
Percy smiled, nodded and stood up as well. "All right" he said. "We'll all jump together. Take a big breath and let's hope the tunnel isn't like twenty feet beyond the place we stopped searching".
They all walked together to the edge of the river. It was thirty feet wide and very deep. They couldn't see its bottom in the darkness but Percy somehow knew it was too deep for them to stand and probably went down at least twenty feet. It rushed in front of them, roaring loudly. They stood there for a few seconds, the wind blowing around them and making a chill crawl up their spines.
"All right" said Jamie. "On my count. One… two… three!"
The water was freezing. They had jumped a safe distance away from the entrance to the mountain, so that they'd have time to dive and avoid busting their heads on the rocks. They approached the entrance, floating along the river very quickly and it looked to Percy like they were heading straight into the mouth of a monster that would devour them and never let them go.
"We're almost there!" shouted Percy. "When we get close, dive and swim forward as fast as you can!"
Percy waited until the very last second before taking a deep breath and going underwater. He expected to keep going at the same speed once they dove and that he'd be able to swim and maneuver inside the mountain. He was dead wrong.
The second they entered the mountain, everything went insane. Immediate darkness surrounded them when the moon and starlight were blocked off, so that Percy couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Then, the water surged forward with incredible force, four or five times the speed they had been travelling at and they plunged forward in complete darkness like they were in an underwater roller coaster that twisted and turned and crashed into the sides of the tunnels. At one point they dropped so steeply it felt like they were freefalling before it turned and straightened again, making them crash into the tunnel's floor.
The ride seemed to go on forever. Percy kept his mouth firmly shut, holding his breath. He started to get dizzy both from the constant turning in the dark as well as from lack of air and he knew he wouldn't be able to go on for much longer. He was about to open his mouth and drown on river water when, suddenly, they passed through an opening into bright light and were pushed into a ramp at the top of a huge room. Liam and Jamie poked their heads out of the water on either side of him and stared.
"Oh my God" said Liam.
"What?" asked Percy.
"There's a waterfall coming" he answered quietly.
Before Percy or Jamie could say anything, they fell. It was a huge fall into a gigantic black lake and they screamed the whole way through until they landed with a splash that rose high in the air. For a second, they were all underwater near the bottom of the underground lake and Percy saw young girls wrapped in a soft blue light swimming around him. Naiads, his brain told him right before they smiled at him and disappeared. He swam upwards then, for the second time in two days, looking for fresh air to breathe.
"That was brilliant!" yelled Liam as they reached the surface. "We need to go do that again, mates. Who's up for it?"
"You're an idiot" said Jamie laughing. "Come on, there's a shore on the other side, let's go over there".
They swam to the far shore of the lake. As they approached, Percy saw that it was illuminated by torches that lined the walls and burned with a bright orange fire that didn't seem to diminish, even though it was unlikely anyone changed them or replenished the oil they burned. At the centre of the far wall, there were three doors.
For a while, they rested on the shore, panting from the trip underwater and drying themselves with the heat given off by the torches. They approached the doors and saw that they were not made of wood or steel but rather seemed carved out of the very rock the mountain was made of. They were semi-oval in shape and they didn't have any hinges, so that there was no way to open them by pushing or pulling. Above the door there was an inscription. It read:
Fides, Virtus, Fidelitas
Teneo Vestri
Liam approached the wall and examined it for a while. "It means Faith, Courage and Loyalty" he said. "And beneath it, it reads 'know yourself'. That's all it says".
"Reyna said there would be three tests" said Jamie. "If the first was a test of faith, do you think the two remaining will be a test of courage and a test of loyalty?"
"And what about the last line?" asked Percy. "Know yourself? I don't remember anything about me, I don't even know who I am. Maybe I can't pass this test".
"Don't worry, mate" said Liam. "You'll be fine. First, we need to figure out how to open these doors and then, which one to take".
"There's three doors" said Jamie. "I don't think we're supposed to take only one, Reyna said we'd face our tests alone in the heart of the mountain, I think we are meant to take one each. But how do we open them?"
"There's a carving on each of the doors" said Percy. "In the centre. It looks like it's meant for you to put your hand on it, it has edges for your fingers. Let me try".
He placed his hand on the left door and waited for a few seconds. Nothing happened. He then moved to the door in the middle and placed his hand again. This time, after a few moments, the door started to glow a deep sea green and an elegant design appeared in lights of blue. With a rumble, the door split along the middle and opened sideways, leading into a deep tunnel that lost itself in the mountain.
Liam then moved to the door on the right and placed his hand on the door. It also glowed but with a bright orange hue, and red and white carvings appeared on it, before opening into a steep tunnel going upwards. When Jamie placed her hand on the left door it glowed purple, with tinges of blue and black edging out of the door, before leading into a gloomy tunnel that headed downwards.
They each stood before a dark hallway that disappeared into darkness.
"I guess this is where we separate" said Jamie.
"Yeah" Liam answered. "We'll see each other on the other side".
"Be careful" said Percy.
And they all stepped through alone.
Hi guys, sorry for the late update. I had something of a writer's block on the tests so I ended up shortening the chapter a bit and only putting the first one. I've got some cool ideas for the next ones though and I'll try to post the next chapter before Easter. I know this is a short chapter but please review. And a big thanks to bornlucky101 for the two good reviews.
Bye. WPR.