Workshop of Daedalus
"Annabeth questioned why we should follow Rachel," dobbed Percy.
"Why wouldn't you?" questioned Nico.
""Because she lead us straight into a death trap," explained Annabeth.
"It was the way we needed to go! Although Annabeth wasn't happy, she still ran along with us," said Rachel.
"Rachel seemed to know exactly where we needed to go, whipping around corners and didn't hesitate at crossroads. At one stage she yelled duck and we crouched as a huge axe swung over our heads," said Percy.
"Just like they put in all Egyptian Pyramid movies, the unexpected trap falling from the ceiling," said Will.
"We didn't stop for rest until we came across a room the size of a gymnasium with old marble columns. We couldn't hear any sounds of a pursuit. We had lost Luke and his minions in the maze," remarked Annabeth.
"Does anyone else think of Luke running around with little yellow cartoon blobs when they think minions?" asked Connor.
"They are definitely not so scary, now," laughed Travis.
"I realised that Mrs O'Leary had also gone. She had disappeared and I didn't know if she had become lost or over run by monsters. She had saved our lives and I hadn't even waited to make sure she had followed us," said Percy regretfully.
"Ethan collapsed onto the floor telling us we were crazy, as he pulled off his helmet," said Rachel.
"But you are crazy," said Connor.
"I am not CRAZY!" yelled a pissed-off red-head scaring the son of Hermes who hid behind Chris and Clarisse.
"Percy is crazy," said Clarisse and Thalia.
"The jury is still out for Rachel and Annabeth," admitted Will.
"I thought Rachel was special?" said a confused Katie.
"Special means crazy in this content," admitted Percy.
"Jury's in," exclaimed Hermes and Apollo who had been conversing Dionysus.
"YOU ARE ALL CRAZY," exclaimed Dionysus gesturing to the whole group.
"WE ARE NOT CRAZY," shouted the demi-gods. Nico remarked quietly so only the demi-gods could hear,
"At least we take after our parents."
"They do come across as crazy from the myths," mumbled Thalia.
"So the whole family is crazy, don't you all feel special?" questioned Percy as the demi-gods laughed.
"What's so funny?" asked Dionysus as none of the gods or goddesses had heard the last part of the conversation between the demi-gods.
"I think you should continue with the story," suggested Hestia.
"That was when I remembered him, he was one of the undetermined kids in the Hermes cabin from years ago," said Annabeth glaring at the gods, especially Hermes.
"Ethan admitted that he remembered her," added Rachel.
"Did Luke recruit all the undetermined campers?" asked Hera with a sigh.
"No," admitted Chris "but they were easier to convince as they were more willing to join. They didn't have as much loyalty to the gods because why fight for parents who couldn't be bothered to claim them."
"Annabeth asked Ethan what happened to his eye, but that was probably the one subject that we should have stayed clear of, that was one thing he wouldn't discuss," said Rachel.
"I realised Ethan had been the half-blood that Luke's people had cornered in my dreams, not Nico," explained Percy.
"Annabeth asked Ethan why he was trying to join up to the wrong side. Ethan sneered stating that there was no right side," reported Rachel
"Each side probably thinks their side is the right side," proposed Hestia.
"Yet Ethan signed up to the army that makes him fight to the death for entertainment," exclaimed Zeus.
"Ethan also stated that the gods never cared about demi-gods," said Rachel.
"We… Do… care…" said Zeus hesitantly. The demi-gods looked at each other, wondering if they believed the King of Gods.
"We were heading to Daedalus to ask him to help us, but Ethan refused to come with as, believing that Daedalus wouldn't help us and we were crazy to think he would and that we could talk him into helping us," stated Annabeth.
"Ethan informed me that I shouldn't have spared him. That mercy had no place in this war. He then ran back into the maze the way we had come," said Percy.
"He headed back into the maze alone, that is suicide," exclaimed Hades.
"I will remind you that your son is currently wandering around the maze alone," stated Athena.
"Yes but you forget that he has a certain ghost as a guide," reminded Hades.
"We were so tired that we made camp there in that room. I started a fire with scrap of wood I had found," said Percy. "Rachel began using a stick to draw figures on the floor, with a few strokes there was a perfectly drawn dracaena."
"Annabeth pointed out that something was wrong with Luke," muttered Rachel "Percy said he thought Luke looked pretty pleased with the situation, torturing heroes."
"Annabeth and Percy are going to have a disagreement over Luke," sighed Thalia.
"There was something wrong with Luke, he looked nervous. He had told his monsters to spare me, like he wanted to tell me something," commented Annabeth.
"Annabeth asked Rachel where to now. Rachel had gotten quieter since the arena and took longer to answer questions, when she bothered to answer at all," mentioned Percy.
"They were mostly sarcastic questions," pointed out Rachel.
"Rachel informed us that we had to follow the path. The brightness on the floor," said Annabeth.
"The brightness that lead you straight into a trap?" questioned Dionysus.
"Exactly," stated Annabeth.
"I told Annabeth to lay off, Rachel was doing her best and she marched into the shadows," admitted Percy.
"Told you they were going to have a disagreement," mumbled Thalia.
"Percy tried to apologise stating that Annabeth wasn't normally like that, and that he didn't know what her problem was," dobbed Rachel with an eye roll.
'He really didn't know why she was upset?" asked Aphrodite.
"Boys are totally blind to those things," replied Rachel.
"Especially Percy," said Annabeth.
"Who knew Annabeth liked Percy?" asked Katie to the demi-gods. Everybody put their hands up, except Chris.
"I didn't know then, but soon realised they liked each other soon after," explained Chris.
"Sorry I didn't realise sooner that Annabeth liked me, and she was jealous of Rachel," grumbled Percy.
"Percy liked Annabeth and was jealous of her relationship with Luke and Annabeth was jealous of Rachel ….. This is going to be fun," stated the goddess of love.
"Percy apologised for getting me involved in the quest," admitted Rachel. As the whole room rolled their eyes.
"Rachel informed me that she could see the path, that it was really clear. She pointed towards the exit at the other end of the room, stating that the workshop was that way. We were very close," said Percy.
"I apologised for leading us into the arena. I didn't know the path went through it. I had been so scared that he was going to die there and it would have been my fault," whispered Rachel.
"He is usually about to die, you shouldn't feel bad about it," said Clarisse.
"I couldn't believe he did this every summer; fight monsters, saved the world," replied Rachel.
"She asked me if I ever got to do normal stuff," mentioned Percy.
"Percy- Normal?" questioned Thalia laughing at the glare from said demi-god.
"Normal is going to school," said Katie "if we leave Camp Half-Blood."
"Who leaves camp?" asks Athena. Katie, Will, and Percy raised their hands.
"Annabeth, Chris and I attend a school occasionally," said Clarisse although they always ended up back at camp before the school term was over.
"We don't let the unsuspecting public deal with those two," said Annabeth pointing to the Stoll brothers, "They stay at camp where they can be supervised."
"I know Thalia is with the Hunt, what about Nico?" asked Athena.
"He wanders around the country and visits the Underground," said Annabeth.
"I am being taught, I just don't attend school," stated Nico.
"Learning from ghosts in the Underworld once in a while is not good, you need to interact with others," sighed Annabeth a topic that had been debated by the two demi-gods quite often.
"I can't eat in the Underworld, so I interact with others when I get food," argued Nico.
"Nico did you finish your homework?" questioned Percy looking at his young cousin, surprising Annabeth.
"Yes …Sort of, I had some trouble …. But Paul said he would help me next time I visit when I told him," answered Nico.
"Mom and Paul teach Nico at times, although next time I would advise you not to consult ghosts in my mother's present without warning her," said Percy.
"I didn't mean to scare her," whined Nico with a pout.
"So attending school and fighting monsters is what you normally do?" asked Artemis.
"Half-bloods get used to it…. I guess," said Annabeth.
"When asked what I normally did, I told Percy I liked to paint and read," said Rachel.
"Scoring zero on similarity charts," said Aphrodite "Annabeth seems better suited to you."
"I asked Rachel about her family, and why she had said that her family wouldn't notice her gone, but her mental shields went up," said Percy.
"That was not a safe subject and at first I feigned sleep to stop that line of questioning," advised Rachel.
"Annabeth came back and offered to take first watch. I fell asleep as soon as my eyes closed, and so did the dreams," said Percy.
"Maybe you should just stop dreaming," sighed Poseidon.
"But his dreams are informative," commented Athena.
"I found myself standing at the edge of a pit in the depths of Tartarus. The voice of Kronos stated that I was so close to my own destruction, but still I was blind. The voice was different than before, it seemed almost physical, as if he was speaking from a real body. Kronos thanked me as I had assured his rise," informed Percy.
"What, how?" shrieked Zeus as lightning lit up the throne room.
"Kronos decided that he owed me a favour and stated that the Titan lord always pays his debts. He would give me a glimpse of the friends I had abandoned," said Percy.
"Grover and Tyson?" questioned Athena.
"We did not abandon them, we let them do what they wanted to do," grumbled Annabeth.
"In my dream Tyson came barrelling into the room telling Grover to hurry. A rumbling came from behind and the head of an enormous snake burst into the cave," described Percy.
"A snake," scoffed Connor.
"The snake was so big its body barely fitted through the tunnel. Its scales were coppery, its head diamond shape and its yellow eyes glowed with hate. Its fangs were as tall as Tyson," described Percy.
"Thank goddess we didn't meet that monster," said Rachel with a shudder.
"The snake lashed at Grover, but thankfully he scampered out of the way. Tyson picked up a boulder and threw it smacking the snake between the eyes. The snake recoiled and hissed. Apparently according to Grover the snake said it was going to eat Tyson. They both tried to run but the snake used its head like a club and knocked Tyson off his feet," said Percy.
"That's not good," admitted Artemis.
"Before Tyson could regain his balance the snake had wrapped around him and started to squeeze. Tyson strained as he pushed with all his strength, as Grover frantically hit the snake over the head with his reedpipes," said Percy.
"That is so going to help," sniggered Hades.
"The whole room shook as the snake flexed its muscles shuddering to overcome Tyson's strength. Grover played the pipes and stalactites rained down from the ceiling, the whole cave seemed about to collapse," informed Percy.
"Nice of Kronos to show you that scene," said Zeus sarcastically.
"He wasn't going to give Percy any hope or happiness," stated Athena.
"Is Tyson okay?" asked Poseidon.
"I guess I woke Percy up about then. Percy woke gasping that Tyson was in trouble and we had to help him," reported Annabeth.
"We had to worry about the earthquake that was occurring first. We ran to the exit as a column groaned and buckled and a hundred tons of marble crashed down behind us," explained Rachel.
"Do you think Grover caused the earthquake?" questioned Will. Percy, Annabeth and Rachel just shrugged, they had no idea.
"We made it to the corridor and turned to witness the other columns toppling," said Annabeth.
"It wasn't long before we saw light up ahead, electric lighting. I directed us into a stainless-steel hallway. The flooring was metal grating. It was like being on a space station as seen in movies," described Rachel.
"It was quite off-putting to be in the fluorescent light after so long in the darkness. Rachel begun to run telling us that we were close," said Percy.
"I thought it was so wrong. The workshop should have been in the oldest section of the maze. We arrived at a set of metal double doors. Rachel announced that we were at Daedalus's workshop," whined Annabeth.
"You made it," said Apollo clearly surprised.
"The first thing that struck me was the daylight – blazing through the giant windows," admitted Percy.
"Not what you expect in the heart of a dungeon," said Chris.
"The workshop was like the artist studio I have always wanted," admitted Rachel.
"I can imagine you enjoying a place like that," said Annabeth "and I would enjoy having a place like it too, to do my architectural plans."
"Hope you are paying attention Percy, it is important to keep your women folk happy, even if it is in the future," joked Apollo who was shot by an arrow, hit with owl droppings, and had poison ivy grow around his throne. However most of the men in a relationship in the room agreed with Apollo. Keep the women happy, it hurt less in the long run.
"The ceilings were ten metres high, had industrial lighting and polish stone floors and workbenches. A spiral staircase led up to a second-storey loft," described Percy for those who hadn't been there. "A dozen easels displaying hand-drawn diagrams were around the room. Several laptop computers scattered the tables. Glass jars of Greek fire lined one shelf. There were also a heap of inventions I couldn't make sense of, scattered around the room."
"A giant metal egg about the size of a man stood in one corner," said Rachel.
"Wonder if that was the one Lady Gaga used that time," said Will quietly to Connor and Travis.
"Hanging on the wall were several sets of bronze and silver wings," said Annabeth.
"The wings were more advanced than the ones in my dreams. The feathers were more tightly interwoven. Instead of wax seals, self-adhesive strips ran down the sides," explained Percy. "I kept my hand on Riptide, Daedalus was not home, but the workshop looked like it had been used recently."
"The laptops were running their screen savers and a half eaten muffin and empty coffee cup sat on a workbench," described Annabeth.
"I walked to the window and the view was amazing. I recognised the Rocky Mountains in the distance. We were high up in the foothills and down below a valley spread out filled with a tumbled collection of red mesas and boulders and spires of stone. It looked like someone had built a toy city of skyscraper sized blocks and then decided to knock it over," described Percy.
"Where are you?" asked Apollo.
"Colorado Springs, the Garden of the Gods," answered Rachel. Hestia and Demeter started laughing and Hera smiled as all three turned towards their brothers.
"Do you want to tell them or shall we?" asked Hera.
"Tell us what?" questioned the demi-gods.
"The Garden of the Gods was someone building a city with blocks," said Hera.
"The second biggest building, was going to be named in my honour," said Hestia.
"Except it never was," admitted Hera glaring at the brothers.
"Because the two brothers of the builder knocked it down," accused Demeter.
"It was an accident," admitted Poseidon.
"It was not," objected Hades.
"Zeus knocked down part of the city and when I tried to stop him…. I accidently knocked another building down," admitted Poseidon.
"It was like a domino effect, that building knocked another until half the city had collapsed," said Hades.
"It was so cool watching one building after another fall," said Zeus.
"It was not cool," yelled Hades.
"You knocked down the rest. It wasn't any good anyway. I would have built it better," boasted Zeus as the three of them prepared to fight.
"ENOUGH with your stupid fights," yelled Hestia "Let's get back to the story."
"We were informed that we were that we were in Colorado Springs by a voice from the spiral staircase above us. There with his weapon drawn was our missing sword master Quintus," informed Annabeth.
"What had he done to Daedalus?" asked Artemis.
"Quintus came down the stairs dressed in jeans, boots and his counsellor's t-shirt from camp half-blood, with his sword by his side," described Percy.
"Why is his sword by his side?" asked Ares.
"He clearly doesn't see them as a threat," answered Athena.
"Annabeth called Quintus a traitor. Quintus questioned Annabeth and Percy regarding whether they thought he was an agent of Kronos and that he worked for Luke," explained Rachel.
"Well Duh," said Apollo, Hermes and Dionysus, while Zeus stated "Of course he works for Luke."
"Quintus informed us we were wrong. He only works for himself," said Annabeth.
"But Luke mentioned him, Geryon knew about him and he had been to his ranch," said Will confused.
"Quintus stated that he had been almost everywhere, even there," said Rachel.
Quintus walked past me, like I was no threat and stood by the window. He stated that the view changed from day to day but it was always high up. The day before the view had been from a skyscraper overlooking Manhattan, before that a beautiful view of Lake Michigan. But it kept going back to the garden of the Gods. He thought the Labyrinth liked it there," explained Percy.
"He had been there before?" questioned Hera.
"I thought it was an illusion or projection but Rachel confirmed that we were really in Colorado," said Percy.
"Quintus asked me if I had clear vision, apparently I reminded him of another mortal girl he once knew. Another princess who came to grief," said Rachel as Athena gasped.
"Except you're not a princess," pointed out Travis.
"I asked Quintus what he had done to Daedalus," said Percy.
"The reply was …. I am Daedalus," informed Annabeth.
"Quintus is Daedalus … How?" asked a confused Demeter, but she wasn't the one confused.
"But Quintus is a swordsman, not an inventor," said Ares.
"He admitted he was both …. And an architect, and a scholar. A real artist must be good at many things," stated Annabeth.
"He also stated he played basketball pretty well, considering he didn't start playing until he was two thousand years old," commented Rachel.
"We, the Apollo cabin, played basketball against him. He was good," admitted Will.
"Good. His team beat your team. You were beaten by an old man," jeered Travis.
"Are you ever going to show me your other talent Rachel?" asked Percy.
"You have seen it, she tells prophecies," said Connor.
"Not that talent," hinted Percy.
"What talent do you mean," asked Thalia looking between Percy and Rachel who had turned the colour of her hair.
"Rachel admitted that she could paint with her feet as well as her hands," said Percy.
"You can really paint with your feet?" questioned Thalia.
"Show us," demanded Travis and Connor.
"I can. Maybe after the story I'll show you," answered Rachel.
"How did you not recognise that Quintus was Daedalus, you had dreams about him?" questioned Artemis.
"He was an automaton. He had made himself a new body," replied Percy.
"That is not possible," said Zeus.
"Quintus … It is his fifth body," said Athena quietly.
"He held out his arm and a hatch opened at his wrist. Underneath bronze gears whirred and wires glowed," described Annabeth.
"He found a way to transfer his animus into a machine," said Hephaestus in awe.
"He was still Daedalus, on the base of his neck was the mark of a bird grafted to his skin. A murderer's brand," said Percy.
"For Perdix, the boy he pushed off the tower," accused Hades.
"He didn't push him …. He just let him die," protested Hestia.
"Quintus admitted that he regretted what he did. He was angry and bitter but he couldn't take it back and Athena never let him forget," said Percy.
"As Perdix died I turned him into a partridge," said Athena. "I branded the bird's shape onto his neck as a reminder."
"No matter what body he takes, the brand appears on his skin," informed Rachel.
"Although his face was totally different, his eyes told me the same soul from my dreams were there, the same intelligence and all the sadness," admitted Percy.
"If he is Daedalus, why did he go to camp to spy on you?" asked Zeus.
"To see if our camp was worth saving. Luke had given him one story but he preferred to make his own conclusions," answered Annabeth.
"So he had talked to Luke," said Hermes.
"Yes, several times, apparently Luke was quite persuasive," said Annabeth.
"So he knows we need his help, that he can't let Luke through the maze," exclaimed Clarisse.
"Daedalus admitted that the maze was no longer his to control. He created it and it was tied to his life force. But he had let it live and grow on its own. It was the price he paid for privacy," said Annabeth.
"Privacy from what?" asked Katie.
"The Gods, and death," replied Percy.
"How can you hide from Hades?" questioned Ares looking at his uncle.
"The furies don't know and see everything," said Percy.
"Unfortunately," said Hades while Nico stated "Thankfully."
"A cleaver man can hide quite a long time, and Daedalus had buried himself very deep," said Percy.
"He has been hiding for two millennia," pointed out Aphrodite.
"Only Daedalus's greatest enemy had kept after him although even he had been thwarted," said Rachel.
"Minos do you mean?" questioned Chris.
"Minos hunts him relentlessly. Now that he is a judge of the dead he would like nothing better than Daedalus to come before him so he can punish him for his crimes," admitted Hades.
"The ghost of Minos began torturing Daedalus in his dreams after the daughters of Cocalus killed him. Minos promised that he would hunt him down. So Daedalus decided to retreat from the world completely. He descended into the Labyrinth and he decided that his ultimate accomplishment would be to cheat death," said Rachel.
"And he did so, for two thousand years," said Nico.
"He got scared and he ran and hid," criticised Chris.
"Mrs O'Leary suddenly bounded into the workshop, she licked my face once, before almost knocking Daedalus over with an enthusiastic leap," said Percy.
"Daedalus admitted that she had been his only companion in the long lonely years," said Rachel.
"He also admitted that he had let Mrs O'Leary save Percy. He had a good heart, she liked him and he wanted to help, because he felt guilty," informed Annabeth.
"Guilty about what?" asked Athena.
"That our quest was in vain," answered Annabeth.
"What do you mean? He could just give you Aridne's string so Luke can't get it," questioned Aphrodite.
"Apparently Daedalus had told Luke that the eyes of a clear-sighted mortal was the best guide, but Luke did not trust him," said Rachel.
"Luke was so focused on the idea of a magical item. The string works but it is not as accurate as Rachel but it works well enough," reported Percy.
"Luke has it, doesn't he?" groaned Apollo.
"We were several hours too late. Luke had been in such a good mood in the arena because he already had the string from Daedalus. He only obstacle had been …." declared Percy.
"Antaeus and you had just taken care of that obstacle by killing him," said Poseidon as the room groaned.
"Quintus stated that Kronos had promised him his freedom. Once Hades is overthrown, he would set him over the Underworld. He would reclaim his son Icarus, make things right with Perdix. He would see Minos's soul cast into Tartarus where it couldn't bother him again. And he would no longer have to run from death," explained Annabeth.
"He is going to let Luke destroy camp, kill hundreds of demi-gods and attack Olympus, bring down the entire world just so he can get what he wants!" complained Thalia.
"Our cause was doomed. There was no way we could hold back the might of Kronos. Apparently Luke's offer was too sweet for Daedalus to refuse," said Annabeth.
"Annabeth lost it. She pushed over an easel, drawings scattered across the floor," said Percy.
"I used to respect Daedalus, he was my hero. He built amazing things and solved problems …. I didn't know what he was now. Children of Athena are supposed to be wise, not just clever. Daedalus was now, just a machine who should have died two thousand years ago," admitted Annabeth.
"Mrs O'Leary indicated that someone was coming. The doors of the workshop burst opened and Nico was pushed inside, his hands in chains," said Rachel.
"Kelli and two Laistrygonians marched in behind, followed by the ghost of Minos, looking almost solid," added Percy.
"Daedalus clenched his jaw as he asked Kelli what the meaning of them. Kelli stated that Luke sends his regards and thought he might like to see his old employer Minos," explained Rachel.
"Bet that wasn't part of the agreement," said Hades.
"No indeed, but Luke already had what they wanted from Daedalus and they had other agreements to honour. Minos required something from Luke in order to turn over Nico; and all he asked was for Daedalus's head," explained Percy.
"I would have been quite useful to Luke's Army," boasted Nico.
"Percy asked if Nico was okay, and Nico apologised to him for entering the maze," said Annabeth.
"Minos had told me that Percy was in danger and convinced me to re-enter the maze. I was tricked, he tricked all of us," admitted Nico.
"I asked Kelli where Luke was. Kelli answered that Luke was … busy. He was preparing for the assault," stated Percy.
"There was more of Luke's army on the way. Kelli meanwhile decided to have a snack. I ran to grab wings while Percy and Annabeth charged at Kelli," said Rachel.
"The giants went for Daedalus but Mrs O'Leary came to his defence," said Annabeth.
"I got pushed to the ground and had issues with those stupid chains," grumbled Nico.
"No one paid any attention to me as I grabbed the wings," bragged Rachel.
"Kelli slashed at Annabeth, I couldn't get close to her. I saw Mrs O'Leary chomp her fangs into a giant's arm, and she was flung around as the giant tried to shake her off. Daedalus tried to grab his sword from the workbench but the other giant smashed it with his fist sending the sword flying and a jar of Greek fire break and green flames begun to spread quickly," informed Percy.
"Minos called the spirits of the dead to him. Minos informed me that I did not have control over him. He had been controlling me the whole time. A soul for a soul, but it wouldn't be Bianca who returned from the dead. It would be Minos as soon as he slayed the inventor," admitted Nico.
"Spirits began to appear around Minos, Cretan soldiers. Nico insisted they leave. Minos laughed saying Nico had no power over him as he is the ghost king, the lord of spirits," said Percy.
"Actually Nico would be…." advised Hades.
"I stabbed my sword into the floor, the ground rumbled, windows cracked and shattered to pieces. A fissure opened in the stone floor and Minos and all his spirits were sucked into the void with a horrible wail," described Nico.
"That kid is going to be powerful," whispered Apollo to Hermes.
"Percy had been distracted while fighting and Kelli pounced on him, his sword skittering away and he hit his head on a workbench. Kelli was so surprised when I plunged my knife into her back and with an awful screech she dissolved into yellow vapour," remarked Annabeth.
"And Annabeth saved Percy's life … Again," giggled Katie.
"Although we wanted to help Daedalus we could hear many more monsters coming towards the workshop. Rachel had already fitted herself with wings and was working on Nico who was pale and sweaty from his struggle with Minos," said Percy.
"The wings grafted instantly to my back and arms. Soon Annabeth and Percy were fitted with coppery wings. I could feel myself being lifted by the wind coming through the window," reported Nico.
"Daedalus was cut in a hundred places but was bleeding golden oil instead of blood. He refused to leave Mrs O'Leary and told us to go," said Annabeth.
"None of you know how to fly," said Hermes.
"We realised that, but what a great time to find out. Together the four of us jumped out of the window into the open sky," said Rachel.
Authors Note: A quicker update than last time. Hopefully I can get this story finished by the end of the year. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed this story and Visit to the Past. I'm glad you are enjoying.
After I wrote about the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs I Googled to see what they looked like. Although I don't think they could have fallen like dominoes, it worked well with that part of the story so it stayed.
Also a guest two chapters ago reviewed that I used 'said' a lot. The last two chapters I have been trying to change this, hopefully the story is improving because of this.
Please review, tell me what you liked/ disliked, want to see etc. (I can't improve unless you tell me.)