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.
Although the setting is ancient Greece, I will make the characters talk in English and informally, as if they were regular boys/men or girls/women 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 would like all of you avid readers to vote for the poll. That's right, there is a poll up on my profile page regarding this story. I believe that the idea is a little original, no popular FanFic about the original Quest for the Golden Fleece, at least that I know of. However, I am wondering whether you want me to write about the Trojan War as well. I am only asking your opinion because I know Anaklusmos14 is doing a FanFic about the Trojan War right at the moment along with his story Intertwined Destinies, and I do not want people to think I am ripping off his story. My personal vote is yes, but please put in your opinion. Thanks.
This chapter was just a short summary of what happened in between the island of Lemnos and the famous "Clashing Rocks." Sorry if things happen too bluntly, but this is mostly a transition chapter.
I apologize for any grammatical errors in the story following.
With best regards,
SharkAttack719
Chapter 5
Stupid Mistakes
The winds were slow, the men were tired, and they were heading at a crawling pace.
Percy had spent most of the couple of days since leaving Lemnos to practice his water powers, trying to control the water around the boat. This time, the ball of water he controlled was larger, not by much but larger. He found it okay that they were heading at a crawling pace as there was more time for him to reflect on his journey. A secret that no one knew aside from Jason and Chiron...he could write. He couldn't draw but he could write.
He wrote small summaries of the day's events on a small scroll of papyrus.
At one point during their adventure east, they'd spotted an island in the distance. The only problem about that was not the fact that Jason wanted to stop on that island, but the fact that the Argo would not budge from its spot. The men had been given a break by Jason, but the lack of wind could not compensate and they were essentially sitting in the middle of the ocean like an anchor.
Percy still went on with his daily activities as usual, even if Heracles and Jason were beginning to argue much more often. Even though he felt as if Heracles would destroy the Argo by unleashing a powerful thunderbolt, he still practiced controlling water, while learning new ways to sword fight from Theseus. The new techniques were not necessarily better than what he knew, but if he could fuse them with what he already knew...
Theseus taught him how to counter the disarming move he'd learned. The trick was to be a well-rounded soldier and know how to fight without a sword or shield temporarily. It was a fairly simple counter, but it wouldn't always work. The way was when you were disarmed, quickly strike the other person's sword hand with the trailing leg. The nerve right on one's wrist had to be hit in order for that to work. Either that, or they had to be quick to flee from battle.
After what seemed to be hours, the men got back to rowing and the island began approaching them quickly. Jason ordered a lookout to see whether the island was a bad place or not, like Lemnos was.
As Jason and Percy watched the island as they passed by, someone came up to them from behind. "Sir. I believe that island is Imbros."
"Imbros?" The Argonaut nodded. "Another one of Hephaestus' worshippers. That island was close to where he landed. I don't think we should land there."
Percy squinted to look at the shore of the beach. He swore that he saw something. Percy turned to Jason. "Jason, I saw something on shore. Should we sail past, just in case it is something important. We don't have to land."
"Do you not sense danger?"
"I sense danger, but we must at least check it out," Percy said. "Chiron used to check every single detail when we hiked through the forests."
"Well, I suppose he did," Jason agreed. He turned to the men. "Left side halt! Right side continue! We're headed to sail by the coast of Imbros. We've caught sight of something that may be important."
"Halt!" the man in the front of the left-side rowers repeated.
All of the men on the left side lifted their paddles out of the water. The men on the right continued paddling. Slowly, the Argo turned in a wide arc, looping ninety degrees before Jason ordered the left side to start paddling again. The Argo stopped turning and it went straight. When the bireme got closer to the shore, he ordered the right side to paddle backwards for a sharper turn. They'd lose their momentum, but they needed to go slowly anyways.
When the Argo became parallel to the coast, Jason ordered the men to slowly paddle forward, the bireme cruising along. Percy could now see what was glinting. The trees had obstructed most of their view from further away, but now, at a close-up view, he could see the village behind the trees. What he'd seen from further out in the ocean were men trying to wave the ship down.
"Sir!" a man shouted from just down the beach. "Sir! What are you doing?"
Jason knit his eyebrows. "We're headed east. Why?"
"Be careful," the man warned. "I assume you are headed for the Euxine Sea. When you arrive at Hellespont, Laomedon's fleet will be there, guarding the passage."
"Laomedon?" Jason questioned.
He nodded. "He is the feared king of Troy, a majestic land of the east. He will guard Hellespont."
"What is Hellespont?" Percy asked.
The son of Aeson turned to him. "Hellespont is a point on maps where Helle fell off as she and Phrixus rode the golden ram. Phrixus then sacrificed the ram and hung the Golden Fleece in Colchis. That is the story. It didn't happen long ago." Jason turned back to the man. "Thank you for the kind warning."
The man smiled in appreciation. "It is not a problem, sir. We have seen many go by to never return. There is no way back to Greece without passing through this area, around Troy."
The warning was taken seriously, and both Percy and Jason were grateful. Indeed, there were ships guarding Hellespont that flew a non-Hellenic flag. It featured a horse, which was actually the symbol of Poseidon. However, it was a well known fact that Poseidon cared much for Athens, and although Athena won the battle, he also blessed the city.
Jason made peace with Laomedon's fleet, not wanting to engage in battle. The king of Troy himself was there. He and Jason talked, agreeing on terms that Jason would be allowed free passage if guided to a safe distance away from Troy. Apparently, the Trojans were paranoid, much like Zeus.
The real challenge was a little later. The winds had picked up as they were escorted through Hellespont, and so Jason ordered for the sails to rise. A sudden squall blew the Argo toward a rocky shore just past Hellespont after the Trojan ships had disappeared. The hull of the bireme scraped at the rocks, and Percy and Atalanta were sent to check on it. There was a leak, Percy could say for sure, but it wasn't bad. Water was not pooling on the floor, the rocking of the boat making the water spread all over the lower deck.
When Atalanta reported to Jason, he ordered for a stop at the nearest city they saw near at the coast.
"We need to patch up that leak," Argus said. "But I can't patch it up when the boat is still on the water. I will need to take out that entire plank, which in turn would flood the entire bottom deck and make the Argo sink into the bottom of the ocean."
The leak caused a little bit of panic amongst the crew, but Jason managed to keep everyone under control. Percy tried slowing the leak down, but couldn't keep it up for very long. Heracles couldn't even temporarily stop it. Water would squeeze through his hands when he tried.
"Day three after leaving Lemnos," Percy mumbled as he scribbled on the scroll. "There is now a leak in the boat. We've learned about Hellespont and Laomedon of Troy. I have a bad feeling that Troy will become important in the near future. I think—"
The ship shuddered and Percy stopped speaking. He stayed absolutely silent as shouts came from above deck. They were yelling something about a city.
Percy rolled up the scroll, put it back in his little box, and ran upstairs. He appeared above deck and ran to the bow of the ship. There was indeed a city up ahead. The city seemed to have an Egyptian-like feel to the architecture mixed in with regular Greek buildings. Percy knew that there were a different "kind" of people down in Egypt, men and women who were much darker skinned and lived in the desert. They built magnificent triangular buildings. Pyramids were what they were called.
Percy watched as the Argonauts approached the city and docked on the beach. There were guards, soldiers, who went back to notify the king of the land that there were visitors. All of the Argonauts were ordered to stay on board until the king agreed to let them off.
It was sunset by the time the king arrived wearing fancy clothing and wonderful jewellery. He regarded us with a kind expression and opened his arms in a welcoming. "I am King Cyzicus of Cyzicus. Welcome to my land, a city inhabited by a tribe called the Dolionians. All of you are welcome to Cyzicus and are invited to my palace for a wonderful feast."
King Cyzicus threw a feast to welcome us to his kingdom, giving the Argonauts the best meals they had in the past few days. Jason had even admitted to Percy that the food in Lemnos was not as good as this.
The king was very welcoming to them and even gave them rooms to stay in for the night. Argus explained to him the problem with the ship and asked him for the supplies to help fix it. All of the wood had been used for the crossbows earlier.
"I would be glad to," King Cyzicus smiled.
The next day in the late afternoon, the Argo was ready to set sail once again and King Cyzicus watched as they left.
"You are welcome to come back if in need of anything ever again," he said.
"Thank you, King Cyzicus." Jason bowed. "We will if we need anything."
"Farewell for now."
Then the Argo set sail.
That night, a storm hit the Argonauts like a ram. It was a slow process, clouds beginning to thicken in the sky, lightning flashing, and thunder screaming overhead. The night was cold, winter beginning to grow colder and colder. Demeter was grieving at the worst time possible. The storm rocked the Argo like no other storm had ever been thrown at any of the men before. Waves made the boat rock over swells. The bireme was raised up by the giant waves before free-falling back to the ocean. At least, that was the way it felt to Percy.
He could barely see in the storm, the wind whipping at his face at incredible speeds. Rain pounded the boat hard, water collecting in certain spots. Most of the men went below deck to escape the rain and wind, leaving the boat at mercy to the weather.
Percy and Heracles were the only two above deck.
"The wind is too strong!" Percy yelled.
Heracles nodded, agreeing. "I can stand it, but we are not making any progress."
"Have you experienced something like this before?" the son of Poseidon asked. "Like heavy rain and strong winds?"
"On land, yes," replied the son of Zeus. "Not on the water. On land, you only need to set your camp up right amongst the trees so that the wind will not pick you up and discard you further from your destination. I assume that on water it is not possible to stop from being tossed around unless you find a cave or cove."
"Or if you hit a beach."
"That too."
They stood there as the wind roared in their ears. A tingling sensation in Percy's gut began growing before he realized what was happening too late.
"Hit the deck!" Percy shouted. He dropped down to the deck as a wall of water slammed into the side of the ship, temporarily engulfing it. Luckily, the sails were down otherwise they would be gone as well.
Percy was completely dry, but Heracles was doused in salt water.
"Keep down," Percy told the son of Zeus, who was trying to get up.
"Why?"
"Wait for it..."
The two children of the Big Three tensed up just as the stern of the Argo crashed into something. They were sent sliding backwards. Percy managed to grab onto a seat before his momentum sent him flying over the side of the Argo. He screamed, thinking he was about to fall on something hard that would kill him instantly. Surprised, he found that he'd landed on sand.
"A beach," he muttered. "A beach. Heracles! We've found a beach!"
The wind was shouting so loud in his ears, he couldn't be sure if Heracles heard him or not. The rain continued pouring down, Percy still not getting wet. Lightning lit up the sky, and for a second Percy saw a city below. A chill went up his spine when he realized that the city looked familiar. He could never be sure if they'd been blown all the way back to Lemnos or to some other city along the coast of Asia Minor.
The son of Poseidon got up and pulled out his sword. Anaklusmos elongated in his hands until the celestial bronze cast a faint glow of light in the darkness of the night. He made his way back to the Argo where Heracles and Jason were herding the Argonauts off the ship.
"We need to find shelter!" Jason shouted. He said something else, but the words were lost in the wind.
The Argonauts trekked toward the city that Percy just told them about, their swords and spears out, ready to attack anybody who attacked them.
Percy made his way to the front where Theseus was leading the crew toward the city. He stood next to the son of Aegeus, who was damp. Theseus was squinting hard, the wind too much for him to keep his eyes open wide.
Soon, they were met with a lone guard.
"Who passes!" said the guard.
"We need shelter!" Theseus replied. "We have been thrown ashore by—"
"I asked, who passes!" repeated the guard.
"We have no time for this, Theseus," a man behind Percy said.
"You're right," he muttered. "Tell Hades, Theseus. That is who I am." Then the son of Aegeus thrusted his sword through a hole in the guard's armor and killing him instantly.
"Kyros! I swear, I heard him shouting about somebody. My king, what should we do? There may be intruders!"
Even though Percy heard the orders of the king clearly, he still felt this doubt in his mind. He felt doubt about killing this king. "I fear they may have killed Kyros! We must repel them from our city, to keep them safe."
Theseus pushed Percy back a little. Some Argonauts stepped forward and locked their shields. Their spears bristled over the top of their shields. That's when Percy saw the enemy right ahead of them, a large force coming over to kill them.
"There they are!" an enemy exclaimed.
"Charge!" Theseus shouted, and before Percy knew what was going on, the Argonauts charged at their "enemy."
Percy could hear the clashing of swords and shields and spears, the sounds of dying men, and the sounds of surprise. Percy could see vague outlines in the dark, most of the Argonauts continuing their push on the enemy. Percy rushed forward to find Theseus. The doubt in his mind was pounding now, like an alarm bell.
"Theseus!" Percy shouted. "Where are you?"
The son of Poseidon ran around like a headless chicken before the silhouette of a young man appeared right beside him. "Here, Percy. We've almost repelled the forces. Soon."
It turned out that it would take longer than "soon." Reinforcements arrived, driving the Argonauts back from the city. Percy watched as the storm began fading away, the sun growing grey from the approaching daylight. He watched as the Argonauts smashed away at their opponents, acting like a team rather than individual heroes.
Then a loud outcry of pain pierced his ears before the call of a soldier made all battling on the battlefield halt. "King Cyzicus!"
Daylight exploded, Helios appearing above the horizon.
"No, no, no!" Theseus shouted. He ran past the Dolionians he'd been battling and kneeled next to the dead body of King Cyzicus. Jason was standing above the dead king with a shocked expression on his face. Percy realized with a shock that it was Jason who delivered the final blow to the king of Cyzicus.
Everyone stared at the dead king's body with a mixture of shock and sorrow.
"We didn't know," Jason said shakily, breaking out of his shock. "We—We didn't..." Jason swallowed and turned sadly to the king's troops. "We must have an elaborate burial for the stupid mistake we have executed."
The burial for King Cyzicus took a whole day to complete, and an extra six days were needed for the Argonauts to apologize for the tragic deed done. Percy was morose at the death of the king, knowing he had a bad feeling about the fighting. What had happened was obvious. The king and the Argonauts had mistaken each other for the enemy because of the storm.
Percy knew the weather was not only Demeter's fault, but Zeus' and Poseidon's as well. Poseidon controlled the waves, and Zeus controlled thunderstorms. Along with the farm goddess' sorrows, the sea god's and the sky god's seeming anger caused the death of the king.
The trip had gotten sad after that point, everyone growing weary after the slaughter of King Cyzicus. It had hurt Jason the most considering the son of Aeson had delivered the final blow to kill him. Percy noted the events in his little journal, but didn't stay sad for long. He knew it was duty to continue on with the quest, no matter what happens. Percy quickly began practicing with his water powers again.
In another few days, Jason ordered a stop in the city of Kios to restock for the adventure. Jason told Percy that he sensed they wouldn't be coming back through this route returning from Colchis. Percy believed him knowing that he'd had sensory feelings as well.
Percy stayed on the ship with Atalanta as the rest went to the city to restock on supplies.
"Sad we killed the king, huh?" Percy asked.
"It was unfortunate," Atalanta replied coolly, as if she wasn't affected as much by the death of the king. When she noticed that question in his eyes and on his face, she shook her head. "It is not that I am heartless or soulless. I have just seen many hunters get ripped apart painfully by monsters. I have seen much worse deaths than his."
"But he was so nice to us," Percy countered. "He gave us food and a place to stay for that night."
"And who was to say hunters are not nice?" she asked. "Some of the hunters I have met are very nice indeed, both the men and the women."
Percy raised his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright."
They were standing on the platform at the bow, staring out at the ocean out in front of them. They stood in silence for a little while until a question popped into Percy's head,
"Wait, you said hunters are both male and female, right? If Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, does she have a group of hunters that like serve with her?"
Atalanta snorted. "If there were Hunters of Artemis, they would have to swear eternal oaths to the goddess, swearing off love to boys and swearing their virginity to the goddess. No female in the entire world would want to do that. Other than the fact I have sworn virginity to the goddess, I have not sworn anything else to Artemis."
"Oh...and that's why you—"
"Not because of that."
"But you can because—"
"Can we not talk about Meleager, Percy?" Atalanta pleaded. "I don't want to think about it right now."
"Or him," Percy pointed out. She glared at him. "Sorry, not helping."
After brief silence, Atalanta turned to Percy. "You know, the idea of Hunters of Artemis who swear those eternal oaths...that may not be such a bad idea. If you can find one who is willing, you may win a slight favour with the goddess. Are you good with a bow and arrow?"
"If I practice, maybe."
"Well, how about tomorrow morning we set up a practice range for you to practice in," Atalanta suggested. "We'll see how you do."
Percy smiled. "That's a great idea!" Then his smile faltered. "But won't we be leaving tomorrow?"
Atalanta shook her head. "We can let the Argonauts get over killing King Cyzicus for a few days. By then, you should be able to at least hit the target one hundred percent of the time."
Percy narrowed his eyes. "Who says I can't hit a target one hundred percent of the time?"
She gave him a pointed look and smiled. He crumbled under the look. "Okay, okay. I can't hit a target one hundred percent of the time."
"Exactly."
When the Argonauts were ready to leave the island, they were ambushed by hellhounds, beasts of the Underworld. Atalanta and Percy covered the Argonauts as they climbed aboard the Argo. Well, it was mainly Atalanta covering them as Percy missed all but one arrow which nailed a hellhound in the eye. He cheered that he'd hit the beast, but in truth, he'd been aiming for a different hellhound that was at least three hellhounds away.
Before they reached open waters, Percy had a bad feeling that something bad had happened. By the time that they did reach open waters, he realized his mistake far too late. Heracles was nowhere to be found.
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