Hey everyone,

First, I'd like to apologize for my terrible writing. I am not used to writing in third person, so I must get accustomed to it once again, though that will be a problem because my other story is in first person. Anyway, I'd like to announce that although some myths contradict with others, I may need to change the order in which historical myths took place to be able to fit the characters I want into the story.

I would also like to thank the people who read this story and hope that you all enjoy it. This first chapter is just an initiation, but the quest will get going quite quickly.

Although the setting is ancient Greece, I will make the characters talk in English and informally, as if they were regular boys/men in the modern world. It makes writing this a little bit easier, and the characters more relaxed than if they talked formally all the time. I am trying to make Jason seem like a more relaxed character at first before he gains responsibility.

I apologize for any grammatical errors in the story following.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719

Chapter 1

Advertising Is Easier Than You'd Think

"You're kidding," Percy said, his jaw dropping a little. He'd heard stories about the magical fleece, but it was in the far east. "And you want me to go?"

Jason nodded, his grin getting wider. "I'm not joking, Percy. We're actually going on a quest for the Golden Fleece. And yes, you are coming."

"But, why me?" he asked.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Because you are an excellent sword fighter. Why else?"

Percy blushed, looking down. "Stop saying that. Everyone keeps saying that."

"Well, they wouldn't say it if it wasn't true, right?" Jason responded. "Anyways, I need to talk to Chiron about this. The wise old horse may have some useful information for our journey." He turned to the largest tent. "Chiron! You there?"

There was no answer from the tent.

"You think he's there?" he asked Percy.

The boy shrugged. "I'm not so sure."

Then, they heard a soft galloping noise, before a branch snapped, leaves crunched, and a haggard centaur emerged into the clearing. Chiron's eyes widened when he saw Jason, but it quickly turned into a smile. He greeted Jason kindly.

"What are you doing here, Jason?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be at Iolcus getting your throne back?"

"Pelias gave me a proposition," Jason explained. "He told me that he would give me my throne back if I were to come back to his kingdom with the Golden Fleece. I need to get my rightful throne back, so I accepted. I just came back to ask if you have any advice to give me."

"The Golden Fleece, eh?" Chiron mused. His face turned at least two shades whiter. "That is a very dangerous quest. It is far off, far in the east, my boy. Do you think you can handle getting the Golden Fleece?"

"Yes, because I'm planning to send a message throughout the Greek cities," Jason said firmly. "I will invite the best and strongest heroes of Greece to sail with me and Percy to retrieve the Golden Fleece."

Chiron's face relaxed a bit. "Ah, so you will be travelling with many Greek heroes, I assume. And you will be bringing Percy?"

"Yes. Percy is the best swordsman I know, and he's only ten. I assume that other heroes will be bringing their children or nephews, to earn them credit for being a part of the quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece. No one will hesitate to join if I tell them the rewards."

The centaur nodded, seemingly impressed that Jason had thought of many possibilities. Those old eyes of his swirled, seemingly thinking of every single detail that Jason would need to be able to safely leave and return.

After a moment's pause, the centaur's eyes lit up. "You will need to get the attention of Orpheus. He is a musical mastermind, and there is a part of your journey you may run into if you get lost. He is also decent with a bow, so he can cover you from long range."

Jason nodded. "I will make sure that I recruit him into my group."

Chiron shifted to the side a little bit. "You seem to have this covered. Well done, Jason. You have grown up to be a fine young man."

The twenty-year-old stuck out his chest a little bit. "Thank you for the compliment, my mentor."

Percy could tell Jason was of royal blood. He sometimes acted that way, a natural leader who boasted at times; but it was the fact that he'd been raised in the wilderness that didn't make him over-the-top cocky. Percy liked that kind of mix in a way, and it made Jason a good person to look up to.

There are limits, Percy thought. You can't be too cocky, but you can't be too modest.

"Thank you for being a fine student, even if you were a little temperamental when you were a child," Chiron smiled.

Jason blushed.

"Well, you'd better be off on your quest, Jason," Chiron said. "You have a long way to go. Colchis is not that close."

The son of Aeson exhaled loudly. "Is there anything else that you can advise, Chiron? Before I leave?"

Chiron looked around the clearing, as if looking out for other presences. He looked like he was looking for a spy of some sort. "I notice that you have lost a sandal. Could you tell me the story of arriving at Iolcus and getting assigned your quest?"

Jason frowned but obliged. "Well, I was rushing to the palace, eager to get back what is rightfully mine, when I saw this old lady hobbling near the river Anauros. She beckoned me for help, and so I helped her. While helping her across the river, I lost one of my sandals, but I did not want to go back to look for it."

Chiron waved for him to continue.

"Then by dawn, I arrived at the gates of the palace. When I entered, Pelias was sitting on his throne. He was regarding me with an indifferent look until he saw my feet. I'm not sure what was wrong with him, but he changed his facade and welcomed me. I knew that he was just trying to get on my good side, so I told him of my father and mother, and how I am the rightful king of Iolcus. He raised an eyebrow at me and chuckled. Then he asked me, and I quote, 'If you are the rightful king of Iolcus, you wouldn't mind doing a favor before I pass the throne down to you, would you?' I nodded, and he told me to find the Golden Fleece. Like I said, I must get my throne back and I accepted the quest."

The centaur blinked. "Now, you are sure you helped an old lady?"

"Yes, I am positive."

Chiron's tail swished nervously. His eyes became grim and clouded, the way it did whenever he brought bad news. "When you spread the message of the quest, tell your crew to meet in Argos. You yourself must go to Argos and be warmed by a welcoming gift from the gods."

"What are you talking about, Chiron?" Jason asked.

"You will have to trust me on this deed, my boy," the centaur said grimly. "Be aware of the dangers. I must move camp, so you two should be on your way. Head to Athens first, then to Megara, then Corinth, and finally down into Argos and Sparta. Be aware when you enter Sparta. They are not very friendly to outsiders, especially since you two are from Athens and Thessaly."

"Understood, Chiron," the dark-haired man next to Percy acknowledged. "We will be careful and hopefully avoid Sparta. We just need the word to spread."

Chiron turned to Percy. "Be careful. There are many things in the world which may seem daunting to you. Try to move past them as best as you can. This will be a very good experience for you. I hope that you may be able to come back when you are done this quest to aid me in training young heroes, though."

He blinked. "I was planning on coming back already, Chiron. I will always aid you in any matter you have until my death."

The old centaur smiled. "Perhaps you may become a great hero and become an immortal to help me for eternity."

"Hey! What about me?" exclaimed Jason.

"You too, my boy," Chiron chuckled.

"That's what I was expecting," Jason said, pretending to be arrogant. Then he cracked a smile. "I'm just kidding. Let's go, Percy. We have a lot of work to do."

Percy nodded. "So, where are we off to first?"

"Megara."

Percy was getting a little tired now, the difference between Chiron helping to cook and Jason cooking too much for the boy too handle. It wasn't to say that Jason was a bad cook. Percy just thought that Chiron really knew how to hunt and make food. There was just that slight ingredient that Chiron added to his meals that Percy found appetizing.

It had taken them four days, but Percy noted that they had entered Attic territory, the land where Athens was located, where he was from.

His eyes darkened when he thought of his mother. He could only wish that the farm they'd lived on. It was in Athens, though at the outskirts. They were poor but not that poor. Percy remembered gentle memories of his mother, the way she would talk to him at night speaking towards the stars. He remembered a special and secret snack his mother would always make for him. She had told him that no one knew of the recipe but her. It included a type of plant from the very far east. His mother called the place India. They were this flat piece of flour heated over a fire with a sweet substance added to it. Percy remember what his mother called them: biscuits. Now that his mother was gone, the recipe was lost.

Percy sighed as he ate the chicken Jason had caught earlier.

"Thinking about your mom?" The twenty-year-old son of Aeson plopped down next to him.

The boy nodded sadly. "I miss her. I was young when she died, but know that I know more of the world, it just makes me feel that I could have done something to help her, even though I know it is impossible."

"Some things happen in life, Percy," Jason said wisely. "There are tragedies that are fated. No one can change them, even the gods themselves. It is the way the Fates advance through time. Heroes and people must die in order for others to move on. I think that is why they are not favored by many, because they control fate and changing it would have terrible consequences."

"They can't control everything, can they?" Percy asked.

"I did not say they controlled everything," Jason pointed out. "I said that heroes and people must die, meaning they control the birth and death of every mortal and making sure that the fates of mortals continue on their paths without obstruction."

"Obstruction means..."

"Obstruct means to prevent something from happening, to stop something," he defined. "Like...obstructing my view would mean stopping me from being able to see what I want to look at."

"Oh."

Jason looked up at the sky, and Percy grinned. The son of Poseidon covered Jason's eyes and asked, "Am I obstructing your view, Jason?"

Percy could feel Jason roll his eyes. "Yes, Percy. You are obstructing my view."

Percy's grin only grew bigger. There were some fun times he had with Jason, which was why he considered the young man his older brother. Not only did Jason help teach him sword fighting, he was also one to play jokes on and with. Jason was seemingly growing out of his childish ways, though. Every man or woman has that inner child in them, Percy thought. Jason's is just going into hiding.

"Okay, Percy," Jason said exasperated. "I want to be able to see where I am putting my food. I might be dropping it all over the ground right now and not be able to notice it."

Laughing, Percy took his hands off of Jason's eyes. "Sorry, Jason. It's just funny."

They quickly finished lunch and packed up camp. It was late morning now, and Jason was hoping to get into Megara by sundown. He told Percy that if they spread the message in Megara, they could quickly get a ride to Athens before sailing to Corinth and travelling down into Argos.

Percy thought that it was a good plan, though he was wondering how they would "get a ride" and then sail without a sailboat. Plus, there was the fact that Chiron had said to go to Athens first.

For the rest of the day, they traveled further south into the Attic lands. There were no holdups, monsters not really a prominent factor in their journey. Percy was pretty sure it was because the Gigantomachy had just ended, and the fact that Heracles was alive. No one would want to piss the son of Zeus off because he would smash them into pita bread.

"Are we almost there?" Percy asked.

"Soon, Percy," Jason responded. "Soon."

They continued walking, and Percy's legs started straining. He was okay with walking by himself to and fro, but carrying all of the supplies they needed to eat and sleep with put a strain on his legs. He was willing to work, though. Chiron always told him that "with great work comes great success."

"You know, Jason," Percy said another ten minutes later. "This quest sounds like it is going to very, very dangerous. I bet it will be. Do you think we'll be able to make it back alive with the Fleece?"

Jason exhaled strenuously. "If we can get the greatest heroes of all time to join this quest."

"Like who?"

"Well, I'm not sure yet, because the only great hero I know of is Heracles," Jason admitted. "But I am sure that there will be some brave, willing souls that will join our conquest. Then together, we shall be famous."

Percy nodded, then turned his attention back to carrying the supplies. Even though Percy was struggling with the supplies, Jason was carrying the most. Percy wondered if the gods could lend them a magical bag of some sort to be nice.

Like Jason predicted, it was sunset when they arrived in Megara. Percy saw the torches being lit up from all over the town making the city look brighter in the setting sun. He wondered what it would be like when they got to Athens, the city (at least the last news he heard about it) was being expanded into a larger city. Percy could remember that although Athens used to be the smaller city than the others, it was quite large. He wondered if any other city for the next few millennia could ever compare to the brightness of Athens.

"Wow," he admired. "Megara looks beautiful. I wonder what it will be like."

"Only one way to find out," Jason sighed.

"So, you're looking for the bravest men in all of Greece?" the bartender grunted. "There are a lot of foolish young men who would love to get themselves killed on a quest. I assume that is what you are looking for."

"Well, yes actually," Jason nodded, impressed that the bartender could guess that he was looking for men to go on a quest. "I need to spread the word all over Greece. My friend and I will be travelling to Athens next, then to Corinth before finally landing in Argos where the ship will be."

"Humph." The bartender poured him some more beer, and Jason slapped some drachma onto the counter. "Well, I reckon you should get a messenger of some sort. Give him papyrus posters and you should be right on your way. But you have to put all the information down yourself. The scribes will copy them, and if you hire the best ones, the posters should be all over Greece in four days or so."

Jason nodded again, thankful for the advice. "Do you happen to know where I could find the messenger and scribe?"

"Heart of town," the bartender said. "Best scribe in all of Greece in my opinion. Then, his nephew's a messenger. You are going to need quite a bit of drachma, though. It will cost a lot."

Jason smiled and pulled out three bags full of drachmas. "Rich people shouldn't come to this bar. I'm sure that they will accept this. It is precious, is it not?"

The bartender gave him a sly grin. "I'm sure it is. Tip for the help?" He held out his hand.

Jason pursed his lips before giving in. "Alright." He handed the bartender ten drachmas. "That's all I can give you for now."

"That's alright," the bartender shrugged. "It is a worthy tip. Especially considering the drinks are only four."

"But your information is valuable," Jason countered. "Pray that you did not lie to me, or I'll come back to get my money back, no matter the cost."

"I swear to the gods that what I told you is true. It is a solemn oath, young man."

"I trust you are right, but one can never get too suspicious. Thank you for the drink and have a wonderful night, sir." Jason bowed, using only his head.

He turned around only to be faced with a giant crowd of Megarean citizens. "Now," he muttered. "To find that pesky little brother of mine."

When Jason had gone to talk to the bartender about where they could advertise on a widespread scale, Percy decided he would wade through the crowd and see what bars were like.

Everyone there was older than him, no doubt. In fact, he was pretty intimidated by the amount of people and their size. No one, maybe aside from Heracles, would not be intimidated by people larger than him or her at the age of ten. Percy would bet anyone who contradicted his opinion that it was the case.

Sometime after pretending like he was swimming through the crowd, he found a girl that was about his age, maybe a little older.

She was talking with someone who he presumed to be her father until she noticed him glancing at her. She excused herself and made her way over to the son of Poseidon.

"Hello," she greeted welcomingly. "I am Rhodes."

Percy stared through the girl. "Like that island near Asia Minor?"

The girl laughed. "Yes, like that. It is not very often that I see kids my age around...or at least around my age. What is your name?"

"Um...Percy," he answered. "Well, my birth name is Perseus, like the slayer of Medusa, but I have people call me Percy so that everyone knows that I am not the great hero that slew Medusa."

"You could definitely grow into one, though," Rhodes smiled. She looked at Percy with great interest, her estrogen beginning to kick in. "How old are you, may I ask?"

"Ten."

Rhodes' face fell a fraction. "Well, I am twelve. So, I was right. You are around my age."

"Well, that is interesting," Percy said uncomfortably. "Can I ask, what is living in Megara like? Is it nice and peaceful, or what?"

Rhodes blinked, surprised by the unexpected question. "It's nice. Sometimes you do wish you can get out of the city, though. I have never really enjoyed being out in the wilderness. As long as monsters don't try to come and attack me."

Percy exhaled heavily. "I know what getting attacked feels like. It isn't a very pleasant feeling."

Just then, Jason burst through the crowd, looking as though he'd searched the entire city for Percy. "There you are!" cried the twenty-year-old. "Finally. I thought I'd lost you when I checked the rest of the bar." Then he seemed to notice Rhodes. "Well, hello, young lady. I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but we must be leaving."

Rhodes smiled and nodded at Jason. "It is no problem at all. I will hopefully see you soon again."

Then she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Jason grinned and nudged Percy. "Got yourself a lady friend, I see."

Percy went red. "No, it wasn't like that. I didn't—"

"I'm just messing with you," Jason smirked. Then he motioned for Percy to follow him. "Come on, we got to go."

"Where are we going?" Percy asked. "What did the bartender tell you?"

"Um, well, he said that there is a scribe in the heart of the city who can help us create posters on papyrus," he explained. "Then, we can send the messenger out to the other cities and if we do it properly, we can get the word all over Greece in four days. That's less time than it will take us to get to Argos."

"Yeah, but then the men will have to get to Argos," Percy noted. "You might want to note that we'll be meeting at the docks where Chiron said the gift from the gods is going to be. It makes it easier for all of us."

"You, sir, are really smart," Jason commended. "Hopefully we can get Theseus, but I think he's in his final years of training before he goes back to Athens where he is the heir to the throne. He'll be on his way there soon, so I'm not sure."

"I'm sure going on this quest won't stop him from reclaiming his throne," Percy said, waving his hand. "It'll probably just make him all the more experienced. Last year when I saw him, he said that he would be heading out in two to three years. He's eighteen right now, so he'll be twenty-one when he goes."

"True enough. Anyways, we'd better get the posters going. Otherwise this quest will be very hard without a crew."

"I'm with you," Percy agreed. "About the scribe...do you know where the heart of the city is?"

Jason's face fell. "I have absolutely no idea."

Seven days later, they made it to Argos where at the dock, a shipwright named Argus was putting the finishing touches onto a very impressive galley that he'd constructed.

"How the Hades did Chiron know that this would be here?" Percy asked Jason.

"I have no idea," replied the twenty-year-old honestly. "Chiron just has this way of knowing things. It's weird with him."

"Here, Jason," Argus called. "It's finished."

The shipwright waved at Percy and Jason from the bow where he had just finished adjusting the front mast. Argus gave the piece of art a look of love, as if it were his baby. In a way, it was, considering that he was the one that designed it and built it. Percy couldn't imagine having an actual baby with one person, no second person involved whatsoever.

Jason whistled appreciatively as he walked around the boat analyzing everything. "You built and designed this boat by yourself?"

Argus shook his head. "I had divine help. The goddess Athena helped me in designing this work of magnificent art."

Percy looked around at the majestic ship. There were three sails, the largest one in the front and two on either side to increase the speed if necessary. As a son of Poseidon, Percy could tell that the sails at full sail with a good, strong wind could make them arrive in Colchis in less than a year. In addition to the sails, there were two banks of oars making this galley a bireme. The giant oars were each locked into a small hole in the side of the boat, the top deck containing spots for fifty rowers. Percy noticed that the gunwales were low and easy to jump over. That would be a great strength and a great weakness. On one hand, they'd be able to get off the ship quickly, but they could also be boarded quickly be pirates. He was hoping that the crew Jason mustered up would be good enough to fight off pirates if they ever encountered them.

Percy went downstairs to check out the sleeping quarters. Argus, or Athena as she'd pretty much helped him completely, had a pretty good sense of ingenuity. Instead of one room per warrior, as that would take up too much space (assuming we had fifty warriors), there were shared rooms. Each room was slightly bigger than an average-sized room for one, but four beds were placed in each room. In each room, there would be two beds on the ground, and then a wooden frame would stand over top of each of those beds where another person could sleep. Percy knew would never have thought of that before. Argus called them stacked beds, as the beds were stacked upon each other.

There were fourteen rooms in total: twelve for the regular crew, one for the helmsman, Argus and the navigator, and one for the captain and his closest companion.

Jason said that he would sacrifice his spot as captain, should someone like Heracles show up.

"Well, if Heracles showed up, that would be something," Argus said. "But I doubt the crew would like it much. He's in the middle of doing some labours, and the fact that he'll probably steal the spotlight from everyone else, most of the crew would hate him from the start."

"That is true," Jason admitted frowning. "I am pretty sure Pelias will not give me my throne back if he hears that Heracles helped me. I need to be able to get credit for this."

Argus nodded and walked back upstairs to where the main oars were. "I guess I should introduce you to your helmsman and your navigator for this trip. They will be here shortly. Tiphys will be your helmsman, and your navigator will be Ancaeus, king of Samos."

Percy tapped an oar, sending a vibration down the giant paddle. "You make this seem like you are completely prepared for all of this. You even got some crew members already. How did you know that we would be coming? How did you know to get all of this prepared?"

Argus stared at him as if he were stupid. "Were you not sent by Hera?"

Jason and Percy shared a look. "Hera?" asked Jason warily.

"Yes, she was the one who came to me months ago warning me of this," Argus said as if it were blatantly obvious. "Were you not sent by Hera?"

"The old lady!" Jason suddenly exclaimed. He turned to Percy, his eyes shining with realization. "The old lady in the river Anauros! She was Hera! That's how Chiron knew about this. It's because the project has been going on for months."

"But then how come we never knew about it?" asked a confused Percy.

"We were holed up in Thessaly," Jason said quickly. He turned to Argus who had an eyebrow raised at them. "When we get our crew to set sail, head for Iolcus first. Pelias will want to make sure I am leaving on this quest on a fair note. Perhaps Hera will be in the crowd somewhere, and we may be able to get her help for this journey."

Argus thought about it. "Well...I suppose that it is a—"

"Argus!" a voice shouted from below. "Argus, are you there?"

The shipwright cut off the conversation and jogged to the edge of the boat. He stood at the gunwales. "Tiphys? I'm here! The man we are supposed to meet is here as well. I think that it will be good to meet them, don't you think?"

"Not yet," the voice called. "Tell the young man that his crew is arriving. I saw and heard men asking for directions to the port asking about a quest for the Golden Fleece."

Jason went wide-eyed. "They're arriving already? I better get down there to see what is going to happen. I want to see how many people we managed to recruit. Hopefully many."

Percy watched as Jason leaped over the gunwale and disappeared.

Argus turned to Percy, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "A brave, young fellow that Jason is. You're his companion, is that right?"

Percy nodded.

"How old are you, may I ask?"

"Ten."

"And you're heading off on this dangerous quest?"

"Chiron said it would be okay."

Argus went white. "You were trained by Chiron? The Chiron who helped raise Apollo and Artemis?"

The son of Poseidon nodded. "It's amazing isn't it. How could Chiron mentor some of the greatest heroes ever to live. He even trained the original Perseus, the one who killed Medusa and led to Heracles' mortal line."

"Well, if you're trained by Chiron, I'd say you will fight right in on this quest," Argus smiled kindly. "Most would say that this quest is not for younger warriors like yourself, but since Jason is your good friend, the others will probably welcome you with as much respect as they give him...though you can never be sure. Greek heroes are sometimes more rude than they appear to be."

Percy smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Argus." Then he looked down at his feet. "Um, can we go see, you know...who's—"

"Of course, son of Poseidon."

They jumped out of the bireme and jogged over to where Jason was standing in front of what seemed like dozens of soldiers. There were men of all kind there standing around Jason with their weapons sheathed. Most were fit, strong men who looked as though they could last more than five seconds in a fight with Heracles. Then Percy noticed Heracles himself standing amongst the swarm of people around Jason.

"This," said Argus. "Now, this is what you call a mighty fine crew."

Hey everyone,

Hope you enjoy this chapter.

I apologize for any grammatical errors in the chapter above and if any historical facts are actually wrong. I have spent my time looking through different websites, and even a couple of books, but the story that will continue may have incorrect historical info. Still, I believe it just adds to the effect.

With best regards,
SharkAttack719