A plank dropped, forming a bridge between the ship and the land. Annabeth and Thalia led the group of people wishing to give thanks to the man who saved them.
First down was a short boy with blond hair and dark eyes. He held a bow and arrow in his hands and grinned at the group. "Did I get the right guy?" He asked, looking around. "I could barely see who I was supposed to be aiming at." He turned around and yelled back onto the ship. "Captain, did I get the right one?!"
After a small procession of the crew on the ship, finally (finally) came the Captain. "No, Michael. You got his First Mate."
The blond - Michael - deflated. "Styx. And here I was, hoping to be at least better than Lee." He was back to being as bubbly as when he first got off the ship when he noticed the looks on him. "Oh, Captain, can I introduce everyone?"
"If you must, Michael." The Captain sighed, but his amusement was obvious and unhidden.
"Of course I must, Captain." Michael said, eyes wide. He turned to Annabeth and grinned. "I'm guessing you're in charge here, so I'll address you."
The boy bowed. "I am Michael Yew, bastard son of King Apollo, and Archer of the Princess Andromeda. And in reverse order of importance to our crew," he said with a gleam of mischief in his eyes, "I present to you: Lacey Tanaka, our tailor; Nyssa Barrera, our blacksmith; Piper McLean, our rigger; Clovis Dormer, our lookout; Drew Tanaka, our... adaption; Hylla and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, our swordswomen; Leo Valdez, our shipwright; myself, the archer; Will Solace, our doctor; Mitchell Ringer, our cook; Chris Rodriguez, our navigator; Grover Underwood, Second Mate; Zoë Nightshade, First Mate; and the Tide Walker, our Captain."
Lacey Tanaka was a petite brunette girl, probably no more than fifteen. She introduced herself as a bastard of the Queen Aphrodite. She was slight and had callouses from her needles.
Nyssa Barrera was a girl who very obviously was a blacksmith. She had muscles from working in a workshop all day. She was a bastard of King Hephæstus, which raised eyebrows (which made her roll her eyes).
Piper McLean was another bastard of Queen Aphrodite. She was probably around seventeen, like Annabeth and Thalia. She had long chestnut hair. Her dainty hands had many rough scars from repeated rope burn.
Clovis Dormer, a ward of Queen Aphrodite, was a slightly chubby boy with curly brown hair and a thin, lanky stature. He seemed to be battling a constant state of sleep.
Drew Tanaka, Lacey's twin sister, was an easily dismissable girl - she blended in well with her surroundings. Her clothes were blue and brown, and her eyes seemed to be constantly assessing Annabeth's entourage.
Hylla and Reyna Ramírez-Arellano were tall girls who were toned and built for combat. They were wards of King Ares and obviously had all the Spartan training he offered. Their right hands held callouses from constant sparring. They were very tense, so Annabeth moved on, not wanting to be on the end of their swords.
Leo Valdez was a bubbly, short boy with curly brown hair and a seemingly excitable personality. He was another bastard of King Hephæstus. He waved at the girls, winking at them.
Will Solace was a tall blond boy who was carrying a portable medicine chest. Annabeth shied away from him when she saw it, remembering her own poor experience with the chest back in Athens. Will introduced himself as a bastard of King Apollo.
Mitchell Ringer was a bastard of Queen Aphrodite, with curly brown hair and big blue eyes. He grinned toothily and waved at Annabeth and her entourage. He wore a makeshift apron that appeared to just be a bit of cloth.
Chris Rodriguez was a bastard of King Hermes. He had the genetic Hermes upturned nose and curly hair, Annabeth noted, remembering his half-brothers - the Stoll Princes. He had a couple of maps stuffed into his pockets.
Grover Underwood was a ward of the perpetually drunk King Dionysus. He had curly brown hair, but he seemed nothing like his guardian. He stared at Annabeth and Thalia, seeming to seize them up.
Zoë Nightshade was a ward of King Apollo, with long dark hair and light eyes, she didn't seem like someone to cross. Her eyes flashed when Annabeth met them, so she quickly moved on.
Suddenly, she met eyes she had definitely seen before. The Tide Walker. Percy. They were the same person. She knew those eyes. She definitely knew those eyes. She'd had dreams and daydreams of them. She had embroidered and drawn them thousands of times. She scanned and assessed her Percy... uh, she scanned and assessed Percy. He was as tall and tan as ever. His eyes truly did reflect and imitate the seas, she marvelled. He was toned, his muscles clearly defined. He held his trident in one hand, the other lightly resting on the hilt of his sheathed sword. His hair was as messy as ever and she smiled to herself. She met his eyes again. Then, she frowned to herself - those eyes had seen pain and anguish. Not only that, but they seemed guilty and happy and nervous. She cursed those expressive eyes - there always were several emotions expressed in them at once. She did a quick body scan. He didn't seem to be hurt anywhere. Annabeth turned slightly to glance at Thalia. She noted Thalia's relieved face and decided Thalia had also done a quick inventory of Percy as she had just done.
"Per - Sorry, what may we call you, Tide Walker? It seems like a bit of a mouthful for informal conversation." Annabeth asked, as politely as she was raised.
His face, for a second, showed confusion, before it cleared and he went back to looking stoic. "You may call me Captain, Princesses." He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement of their superiority to him, which made Annabeth frown.
"Please, Captain. I am simply Annabeth here." Annabeth said, repeating something she had said many years ago, when she had first met Percy.
His face immediately jumped in surprise, as if recognising her for a second, before blanking. This was very strange to Annabeth, and she resolved to write to Rachel. "Of course, Pri- Annabeth." He said, stiffly.
His face turned to focus on something behind her. She cringed away in slight fear as his eyes flashed and darkened in anger. He twirled his trident as he sauntered casually, but still in a way that instigated fear in those against him, towards the bandit. Ducking his head slightly to be on eye-level of the bandit, he grinned a dark smile and pulled off the bandit's mask. "Hello, Luke." He said, conversationally. "Didn't expect to see you here, this far in Greek waters." His tone was warning, as if hinting to this Luke guy that the Greek waters were his waters. "Thought you'd gone up to Roman waters. That was our agreement after our last battle, was it not?"
Thalia and Annabeth shared startled and panicked looks. 'Last battle'? Had Percy been hurt? What had happened? Annabeth made a mental note to ask his crew - who, as an entire body, had narrowed their eyes at Luke.
Luke sneered at Percy. "Well, well, well. If it isn't Captain Scallywag." Percy snarled and his fingers twitched for his sword. Luke seemed to notice this and his eyes widened slightly in fear.
"You want another swordfight, Castellan? Because that's how you earn a swordfight with me." Percy growled, his eyes darkening as the seas behind him grew ever more choppy.
Luke's eyes betrayed the fear his face couldn't show. He sneered again, but this time, its effect was dulled. "Just give me the girls, Walker. Then, I might spare you."
Percy's answering laugh (which threw his head back) was sarcastic, incredulous and short. He dropped his head to speak at Luke's level and sneered back. "You? Spare me? Oh, Castellan, who was it who needed a new sword after our last spar? And who was it who gave you that fantastic scar?" He asked, rhetorically, running a finger down a scar on Luke's face that started just below his eye and ended by his jaw. His face turned slightly to his crew, while his eyes were trained on Luke's. "Reyna! Show Captain Castellan your new toy."
Reyna grinned. "My pleasure, Captain." She reached behind her back and pulled out a wicked sword from her tunic. It was made of two different materials, which made Annabeth wonder where (and how) it was forged. She showed the blade to Luke, turning it around and making it catch the light.
Luke snarled when he saw the sword and attempted to surge forward, when Percy round-house kicked him in the stomach, making him fall onto the ground and groan. "Uh, uh, uh!" He sang, shaking his finger. "That's Reyna's sword now. And, one question, Reyna: who's side are you on?"
"Why, your side, of course, Captain Walker." She grinned.
Percy knelt down by Luke, who was still groaning on the sandy floor. "Hear that? That sword's mine. Leave the girls alone - they're under my protection. We don't want another situation like in Megara, do we?" Percy raised an eyebrow, almost mocking Luke. Annabeth glanced back at his crew and saw that Clovis Dormer and the bastards of Queen Aphrodite had narrowed their eyes at Luke.
Annabeth decided to stop being a chicken about it and ask one of the crew. She leaned towards Piper McLean. "What happened in Megara?"
Piper looked at Annabeth with a start before collecting herself and answering. "Our sister, the Princess Silena of Megara, was targeted by Captain Castellan a few months ago. He wanted to add her to his... collection." She said, looking at Annabeth before deciding on a word. Annabeth scrunched up her nose, deciding she understood what Piper was trying to suggest. Then, as Piper continued, her voice got harder. "Captain Walker, I suppose you have figured out that that is our name for the Tide Walker, he found out about Castellan's plan, and he... wasn't happy. Clovis was locked up on the crow's nest, and we weren't faring any better, as her half-siblings, but, man!" She shook her head, her eyes wide. "You should have seen the Captain. He was furious. Without a word, he steered us toward Megara and confronted Castellan in the Queen's throne room. The waves back at sea were like artillery on the coast. Captain and Castellan had a swordfight and Captain dragged Anaklusmos down Castellan's face and split open that smooth cheek of his." She grinned quickly at Annabeth. "Castellan fell to the floor in pain. Captain took his sword as spoils and came back. Placed Megara under his protection."
Annabeth nodded, intrigued. "What other cities are under his protection?"
Piper scratched her head. "Uh... Athens, Delphi, Lemnos, Megara, and... Thebes. Histria was, as well, before it was abandoned." Piper finished sadly.
"Abandoned? Why?" Annabeth asked.
"The royal family disappeared, as did all of the citizens. No one knows what's become of them. Barely anyone can even remember how to reach Histria."
Annabeth tried to broach the topic of Helike. "Has... has the Captain ever mentioned a place called Helike?" She asked, cautious of the response.
Piper stared at her, astonished. "How did you know that? There are rumours of how Captain became a pirate, and all of them originate with him living a seaman's life in Helike."
"Has the Captain never told you?" Annabeth asked, trying to fish for information as much as possible.
"He has. Well," she amended, giving it second thought, "he has told us all he remembers. You see," she moved even closer to Annabeth, "whenever a new member joins us, we all tell everyone our story. How we got to where we are. How we got to serve the greatest pirate on this side of the Atlantic."
Piper smiled at Annabeth. "Unfortunately, it's not my story to tell. Join our crew if you want to find out." She joked.
"Can I do that?" Annabeth asked, curious.
"Uh... I'm pretty sure..." Piper spluttered, startled.
Annabeth laughed. "It's no worries, Piper."
Piper smiled back at her. "See, if this were my ship, I'd let you on, but Captain likes to interview and personally know all of the recruits before they actually join his crew. They're not even infantry on these ships, the recruits. If they haven't been chosen, they have to leave the ship the next time we dock. One idiot recruit was so obsessed over the idea of joining the Tide Walker's crew, that he stowed away under the lifeboat. Captain found him pretty quick and got pissed." She quickly stopped and checked Annabeth's expression. Seeing no disapproval there, she hurried to explain herself before continuing. "I'm sorry, Princess, it's just that... on a ship, you get used to swearing. After all, we are all sailors." She smiled. "Anyway, Captain was pissed. The recruits had signed a contract, stating that if they were not chosen, they'd get off the ship at the next port we docked at. Captain hates people breaking promises or oaths or such like. He gave the recruit a choice: to either jump off the boat and pray to Lord Poseidon that he is merciful, or to get off the Princess Andromeda at the next port. The recruit wouldn't hear of not being on the ship, so Captain made the choice for him and pretended to ask him to fish for him. The thing was we have no fishing boat and the ship's too tall to fish off the side of it. The recruit got in the water and we quickly evacuated the area." At Annabeth's alarmed expression, Piper hurried to console her. "The recruit was not harmed - physically, at least. He joined Castellan's crew." She said, bitterly. "We didn't want him - he just wanted to rape, murder, and steal. We do not do that. We protect and steal. Occasional kills."
"Yeah, occasional." Reyna laughed, walking up to the group, whilst wiping clean her sword. "Not like Captain, Hylla and I just decimated the bandits that weren't part of Castellan's crew." She nodded to her sister, who silently echoed her actions.
"Wait, what do you mean by his crew? He's a bandit, right?" Annabeth asked, confused.
Reyna turned to Annabeth. "No, Princess." She answered. "Luke Castellan is another pirate, much like the recruit Pipes was telling you about. Castellan doesn't realise, however, that despite his insistence of only people against the Tide Walker and what he stands for, and whatever..." Reyna looked around to check for any eavesdroppers, dragging the suspense out.
"Well?" Thalia interjected impatiently.
Reyna and her sister laughed. "We have a spy aboard his ship." Reyna whispered into their ears. "Halcyon Green." Reyna leaned away from the two and narrowed her eyes suddenly. "I hear that you've told anyone outside of our crew and the two of you and I will kill you." She threatened. The two princesses gulped and nodded in agreement, and Reyna's face cleared. She smiled, as if she hadn't just threatened the princesses' lives. "Come. Captain would want to see you."