"Holy shit" muttered Ale. "You're … you're-"
"Perseus Jackson. At your service."
"Wh-what are you doing here ? A-and how did you find us ?" Stammered Erin.
"Once again, that would be my friends doing. Nico, stop lurking and come out."
From the shadows that lined the side of the cage stepped a man. He was dressed in all black from head to toe. His hair was also black and was trimmed, if you could call it that, in a semi neat manner that looked as if the haircut had been completely against his will.
"Hello" Nico spoke quietly and didn't make eye contact with any of them.
"Again, holy shit." Said Ale. "Two of The Seven came out to meet us."
"I believe the word recruit might be more appropriate. And for the record, I was never one of the seven." mumbled Nico.
"As per usual, I'm really confused." Rorik stood up using Nokholvir as a support. "Who even are these guys ?"
Percy just stared at him, clearly dumbfounded. "Well, It's been a long time since I heard someone ask that. But to answer your question, I'm Percy and that's Nico. We're both longtime campers and have saved the world twice over."
"Ohhhhhhhhh… You're those guys. I heard some campers talking about you before we left." Replied Rorik.
"Yeah. We were kinda big deals back in our heyday. Now Nico, some of the Seven and I lead the rebels out here where the military base is. Ya' know, taking the fight to them."
Outside the cave there was the screeching of tires and the opening of doors. The clicking off of guns' safeties.
"Shit. All of you, get on the dragon." Ordered Rorik. The cave was shaped like a larger letter L with the entrance to the cave being at the top. Nokholvir positioned himself just around the bend in the cave, everyone else mounted on his back. "Zeymah, on my signal."
More trucks rolled up outside the cavern, blockading the entrance. A old, stout man stood at the mouth of the cave. There were enough badges on his chest to make it seem like he should have fallen over from being top heavy.
"Who ever is in there, come out or we'll come in ." he barked
"Alright, I'm comin' out." Rorik stepped out from around the bend, holding his hand above his head. "What do you want with me ?"
"Shut up !" Snapped the old commander. "I ask the questions, not you ! So tell me, what are you doing on government property ?"
"Oh, just the usual. A little hiking, a little campin'." Rorik said sarcastically.
"Stop with the games, you bastard !"
"Eh, you're right. I'm pretty tired anyway. You guys mind leaving me alone so that I can take a nap ?" An exaggerated yawn escaped his mouth. The short man with badges walked up and drew his pistol, shoving the barrel into Rorik's gut.
"Take me seriously kid. In my hand I hold your life. So unless you answer, I'll pull this trigger."
"Ya know, I would really like to, honestly I would, but I think I'm just gonna get on my merry way. Feim Zii Gron !" Like the last time he used the shout, Rorik's body turned into the blue mist. The bullet intended for his stomach passed through and did little more than chip the cave wall. "Zeymah, I think that it's time we get goin' . "
"Right." Nokholvir walked around the bend in the cave. Rorik ran towards him and climbed up onto the dragon's back. Rorik ushered everyone to lie flat in the saddle.
The soldiers fired at Nokholvir, but the bullets simply ricocheted off the dragon's scale. Nokholvir let loose a thundering roar that sent the soldiers running. The Dragon continued to walk towards the cave entrance. The leader screamed and started running towards the entrance but was to slow. Nokholvir swatted him aside, the little man went flying into the wall of the cave.
Once outside, the cold wind blew as Nokholvir flapped his wings, taking to the sky. Soon the soldiers were nothing but specs in the distance.
Many miles grown between Nokholvir and his passengers and the military. They flew peacefully above the clouds. Percy crawled over in the saddle and sat next to Rorik. For the first time Rorik had a decent look at him. He was tall, seemingly in his early 30's, with short messy hair that, unlike Nico, looked like he had at least tried to brush it. He wore jeans, a orange Camp Halfblood T-shirt and a blue Northface.
"I've heard about you." Percy said. "You're nordic, right ? In everything I've been through, I've never heard of nords."
"Yeah, I'm unique alright."
"You handled yourself pretty well back there. Prior experience ?"
"You could say that. It's like, the third time that's happened."
"Figured. And it sounded like you talked to ….. this." Percy gestured at Nokholvir.
"Yeah. You're the son of Poseidon so your brothers with cyclopes. It's the same thing really. I'm a son Akatosh so all dragons are my brothers. That's why we call each other Zeymah. It means brother."
"Cool. But there's something serious I need to talk to you about.
"Shoot."
"You're quest. You guys are wrong." This caused Rorik panicked for a moment. "Don't worry. There's no leak, Chiron told me about the quest. Said that you guys would probably end up comin' my way."
"Then I assume you know who we're trying to rescue ?"
"Yeah. And you're wrong."
Rorik was shocked to say the least. "Wh-what do you mean ?"
"I mean that Linkin is fine. He showed up at camp a little before we left. He went MIA (Missing in action) because he shadow traveled to much on his way to Camp Jupiter and fell into a coma. A town found him and cared for him. He woke up last week and met up with us."
"No no no !" Yelled Rorik. "Everything. Everything we planned. It was all based around him. From the beginning. We thought that he was being held out here. We thought that he was at the military HQ. We thought that when freed what ever was holding him that he would be able to get us out !" At this point Erin had noticed the commotion and moved over, resting against Rorik.
"What's going on ?" she asked. Rorik faced her and re-explained everything that Percy had told him. "Oh my gods….." She buried her face in Rorik chest. He could feel the tears on his shirt.
Percy looked at them empathetically. "Don't feel bad. I've had my fair share of quests, and if I've learned anything it's that the prophecies never make much sense. You guys made the logical assumptions."
"Yeah. You're right."Rorik said. "We just need to sit down and rethink this."
"Sounds good. We have supplies and intel back at camp. We can get you patched up completely too."
"Cool, where to ?"
"We're based South of Thermopolis, so straight west from here."
"Nokholvir ?"
"Geh, zu'u hon. Yes, I heard. We ride the great winds westward."
Hey guys. So, sorry for the wait. I was sick and we still had testing and writing is just hard for me. I have a small announcement. I am changing update schedules. I'm going from every weekend to just three times a month. It's more manageable for me. I will probably update from Sunday-Wednesday. Please favorite, review and follow.
-Arkos T.F.I.W. out