A/N
Poll on my profile for the third pairing in this story is still up and running, so if you are interested drop by and vote. I will close the poll when the quest arrives in St Louis, so get your votes in before the end of the lightning thief arc. Current vote count is as follows:
Aphrodite: 19
Hestia: 11
Zoe:
Athena: 5
Calypso: 4
Persephone: 3
Thalia: 3
Rhea: 3
I own nothing, Percy Jackson is owned by Rick Riordan!
Chapter 7
Percy eyes fluttered open as he brought a hand to his head to alleviate the pounding headache he had going on. What had happened? He remembered fighting the Minotaur, then stumbling to the big pine tree before passing out.
Ping!
For sleeping in a bed, HP and MP have both been restored to 100%! All negative status effects and physical ailments have been cured.
Status Cured: Mana Exertion: -50 HP/sec
That's right, he had exhausted all of his mana. That is a powerful negative effect, he needed to make sure that he didn't lose track of his mana again, using it past its limits nearly killed him. Had someone found them, or did Grover wake up and get him medical help? What made him exhaust it all?
Looking around the room, he could see medical equipment piled around the bed and on the counters, bandages and machines all around him, the smell of rubbing alcohol and hospitals wrinkling his nose. Next to his bed was a bottle of some golden fluid; he had never seen anything like it before. Picking it up, it sloshed around in the container and seemed to be akin to liquid gold. The liquid seemed really viscous, and after he uncorked the bottle the smell of his mothers home-baked, fresh cookies hit his nose.
He closed his eyes at the smell, what he wouldn't give for a plate of his mother's blue cookies right about now. This last week has just been ridiculous, and he wanted to just return to Montauk and curl up on the couch in the cabin eating a plate of his mother's cookies. Wait, where is his mother, wasn't she on her way here with him?
Percy's eyes widened before they started to water. The memories of what happened just before the fight had just hit him like a freight train, and tears started streaming down his face after remembering what had happened to his mother. She was gone, and he couldn't do anything about it. He rubbed the tears out of his eyes, he needed to remain strong in this strange new world.
Shifting his gaze to the odd liquid still in his hand, he decided to use observe on it to figure out what it was.
Nectar
The drink of the gods, it will completely combust a mortal if consumed more than 3 times in a day. Will completely restore MP and HP, as well as give a temporary buff of +100 HP and +100 MP. It tastes like your favorite food. Uses: 5/5
Wow, that's pretty cool. Having this around would be mighty handy, though he would have to manage his intake of it during a fight, as he didn't want to spontaneously combust. Opening his inventory, he threw the bottle in as well as some medical equipment such as bandages and rubbing alcohol for later use.
Percy walked out of the room into a small hallway in what seemed to be a large house. Looking next to the door he saw a small placard denoting that this was the medical wing. Walking down the hall and to the front door, he opened it and was greeted with what looked to be a summer camp. There were strange cabins arranged in a U-shape formation with an amphitheater to the side and a large pavilion made of marble at the end. The camp was next to a large lake with clear and inviting waters, and further out he could see what looked to be a strawberry patch that had people walking in it with baskets collecting strawberries.
"Ah, Perseus. Finally awake I see, gave us quite a scare when we saw you passed out and couching up blood at Thalia's pine. How are you doing my boy?" Turning his head he just now noticed a group of people sitting around a table and playing what looked to be cards. He easily recognized Chiron as the one who spoke to him and also recognized Grover, however he didn't know the blonde girl or the portly man sitting on the other side of the card table that Grover was sending worried glances to, so he decided to use observe to find out.
Dionysus, God of Wine
Race: Olympian God
LVL: ?
HP: ?
MP: ?
STR: ?
VIT: ?
WIS: ?
INT: ?
DEX: ?
CHA: ?
LUC: ?
Dionysus is the god of grape-harvest, winemaking, wine, fertility, fruit, insanity, madness, religious ecstacy, festivity, and theatre. He is one of the twelve Olympian gods, and is currently being punished by Zeus to be the director of Camp Half Blood. Dionysus has a slight dislike for Percy due to this punishment as he thinks he will be like all the other demigods, but he is interested in seeing what he will do. Dionysus prefers to use his symbol of power, a thyrsus.
Percy suddenly became very worried, if this didn't confirm that the Greek gods were real nothing would. What are they like, are they nice, vengeful, do they demand respect, should he bow, is he going to be smote! Turning his gaze back to Chiron, he responded.
"Uh, yeah, I'm alright physically I guess. What are you doing here, Mr. Brunner, what is going on?" Deciding that playing oblivious would be the best choice, he didn't want them getting suspicious on why he knew of the world before hand.
"That is good to hear, then. I am…sorry about your mother, Perseus. Know that we are here for you if you need us."
"I'm not brat, I'm only here because I have to be." Dionysus piped up.
"Mr. D! Shouldn't you give the new camper an introduction, after all you are the director and Zeus did want you to take the post seriously or your punishment would be extended." Chiron remarked.
"Watch yourself centaur, don't flaunt my unfair punishment at me, I know what father wants of me." Dionysus turned towards Percy. "Word of advice kid, never go after a nymph that Zeus claims is off limits, he will unfairly punish you for it."
He leaned back and summoned a can of diet coke, cracking it open and taking a swig. "Well I guess I should give you the rundown, not that I have a choice. Congrats, you're the son of a god or goddess, we don't know yet since you haven't been claimed. Yes, the Greek gods are real; we live on Olympus, which coincidentally is in Manhattan. As one of their children, you will probably have some powers, but which remains to be seen." He burped, running a hand through his pitch black, almost purple hair. "Oh, yes, you will also have what is called a scent due to your parentage, which means you will be hunted for the rest of your life and will most likely die within a year." He sighed and turned to Chiron, "You take it over centaur, I can't be bothered."
"Err, yes, well, as you may have heard, you are indeed a demigod. My name is not actually Mr. Brunner; it is Chiron, trainer of heroes. Due to the scent, it is unsafe for you to be outside the camp border, so we will train you here and make sure that you, well, survive. Any questions?" He asked.
"About a billion, but at the moment I think I just need to take it in." Percy shook his head and looked out over the camp, just what had he gotten himself into.
"Well, Peter, since you have nothing else to do why not join us for a game of pinochle. I hope you know the rules, I'm not teaching them to you. Also I hope you have some money, because we are betting on this one."
Deciding it probably wasn't a good idea to deny a god at the moment, he sat down at the table next to the blonde girl and pulled out $100. "Sure, I've played before, be prepared to lose your hard earned money"
"Oh cocky, eh? Let's see if you can back that up or if it is all talk." Mr. D remarked.
After 5 hands, Percy had a cool $800 sitting in his pile, while Mr. D, Chiron, Grover, and the blonde girl were strapped for cash. Mr. D ran a hand through his hair, "How are you so good at this? I've been playing this game since it has been created!"
"Dunno, just lucky I guess. I learned how to play this week and am still getting the hang of it." He responded.
Mr. D looked at him incredulously, before shaking his head and turning back to the game.
"Oh, by the way Perseus, this here is Annabeth. She was the one who helped nurse you back to health when you were injured. The man sitting across from you is Mr. D, he is our camp director here and is a god, so be respectful and address them with their proper titles of lord and lady!"
Mr. D looked at Percy, "Yes, be respectful and stop taking all of my winnings! I was cleaning them before you came along!" He looked at Percy, then said "Tell you what, Peter, I'll strike a deal with you. Father will not let me summon up money, I have to, ugh, request it, so I'll give you a bit of a challenge in order to get it all back.
It isn't much, really, and doesn't even require much effort on your part either. I'll give you two chances to guess my name, and if you guess it incorrectly, I will get my money back and you will not be allowed to bother me for the rest of your time here!"
Percy mulled it over, "And what do I win if I guess correctly?"
Mr. D looked incredulous, "Guess correctly? No one has been able to do that since I started here, boy, get off your high horse. But, well, in the unlikely case you do guess correctly I will give you, say, a favor. Nothing major, I'm not promising you the riches of the world here, but you better appreciate the fact I am even giving you the chance for one!" he said sternly.
Too easy, like taking candy from a baby. Doesn't hurt that he already knew who Dionysus was, but he couldn't just straight up say it, otherwise it would arouse suspicion. "Hmm, deal. Let me see here, I already know that you are a god. Lord Zeus is taking the time to personally punish you, so you probably are not a minor god and are a much bigger player, so I am guessing you are one of the Olympians. Sitting here I smell the scent of grapes coming off of you, and I'm sensing what seems to be like a combination of a party atmosphere and an insane asylum coming from you. My guess would be that you are Lord Dionysus, God of Wine, Madness, and Theatre." He wondered what he could do with a favor from a god, might be best to keep it tucked away for another time.
The gob-smacked look on the faces of the people around the table was worth the price of admission alone. Mr. D looked absolutely incredulous, dropping his can of diet coke on the ground as he stared at Percy. "Wha- impossible! No one has guessed who I am, I've gotten so many of these brats to permanently leave me alone through that bet!"
Mr. D snapped his head over to Grover, "Did you tell him who I was before hand!"
"Beh- no my lord! I didn't tell him much of anything, I was mainly working on protecting him and getting him here!" Grover nervously bleated.
Mr. D shifted his gaze onto Percy, and started to stare at him. Percy felt an odd feeling in the back of his head, and soon felt his mind starting to run rampant, as insanity was slowly setting into his brain. However, before the insanity could even get started, Gamer's Mind clamped down on his thought processes and cleared the insanity, nullifying the effects of Mr. D's powers.
Mr. D kept staring, and Percy stared right back. After a moment, Mr. D pulled back, surprised. "Hmm, curious. Well a deal is a deal, you got a favor from a god, use it wisely." He paused. "I'll be watching your progress, Perseus, you've been the first demigod to interest me in a long time."
Mr. D turned to Grover, "Remember, you have a meeting with the council in an hour to review your, performance, on your recent assignment." Mr. D then set down his cards and poofed out of existence, the smell of freshly pressed grapes wafting over the area.
Chiron shook his head and grimaced, "Sorry about that, my boy. I keep reminding him that he shouldn't be using his powers on campers but I can only do so much." He quirked up an eyebrow, "Still, it is impressive that you did not succumb to madness, Mr. D is an Olympian after all and is a very powerful god."
Chiron shook his head and shared a look with the blond girl, Annabeth, and turned to Percy. "I guess it is time to give you the tour. Let me just get out of this stuffy old thing." As he said that, he pushed up from his wheelchair, the blanket sliding off of him and revealing a lower body of a horse.
He looked at Percy, but was disappointed to see he wasn't surprised by the revelation of his lower half, "Well, Grover, I suggest you go and get ready for your meeting with the Council of Cloven Elders, they didn't seem too pleased that Percy here dragged you up to Thalia's Pine before passing out himself. Don't worry my boy, I am sure that you won't be punished too harshly. Who knows, you might get a third chance."
Grover huffed and looked at the ground, "I doubt it, Chiron. This was my second chance and I blew it again, I'll probably have to give up my dream of earning my searchers license." He looked at Percy sadly, "I'm sorry, Perce, I really am. I hoped that I had more time to get you to safety, but I only ended up costing your mother her life."
"Hey, you aren't at fault at all, G-man. You did your best and unfortunately things turned out how they did. I'll miss my mom, but don't blame yourself for her death, that isn't on you at all. You're still my friend, remember that." Percy said. He didn't blame Grover at all; he was just trying to keep him safe. Percy knew that no matter what the Minotaur would be coming after him, as Hades probably suspected that since Alecto didn't report back to him about his status that he should try to kill him just in case.
Grover cracked a small smile, "Thanks, man. That means a lot to me." He then turned and jogged out to the forest, most likely to prepare for this meeting.
Percy turned to Chiron, "They'll be lenient on him, right? I mean it isn't his fault things turned out the way he did, the enemy was just too strong."
Chiron looked down at Percy, "We will see, but I doubt that he will be allowed to achieve his dream now. Satyrs usually only get one chance, and Grover was lucky to get this second chance. His first assignment ended, well, quite poorly, and he was told this would be his last opportunity Having you fight the Minotaur on your own and then being dragged over the boundary by you while unconscious, all while you were on the verge of death and your mother had died? Well, I am not sure my boy."
He shook his head, "Anyways, we can only hope for the best. In the meantime, we need to get you acquainted with the camp. Oh, and here is a little welcome to camp gift!"
Chiron handed Percy a box, and opening it revealed two orange T-shirt with 'Camp Half-Blood' emblazoned on the front. There also seemed to be a bracelet with a single bead on it bearing the image of the head of a bull. Percy looked up at Chiron inquisitively.
"The shirts are kind of standard at the camp, though you certainly don't have to wear them all the time. The bracelets should be worn always, however, as they display your accomplishments and years in the camp. All that is left to do is say welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Perseus Jackson! Well, and give you the tour. Annabeth we will see you later!" Chiron the trotted away from the house, and Percy turned to Annabeth.
"Um, hi, my name is Percy, Percy Jackson. I guess I'll be seeing you around here from now on?" He asked.
She looked at him for a moment, before saying "You drool in your sleep." She then dashed off the front porch and into the camp proper. That was certainly a way to introduce yourself, by not introducing yourself at all. Shaking his head, he caught up to Chiron.
"Ah, there you are Perseus. Let us start the tour. The house we were just at is called the big house. It contains supplies, the infirmary, my quarters, and a room for MR. D, though he usually stays in his palace on Olympus."
As Chiron was talking, Percy noticed some movement near the attic window of the big house. Looking up, he saw a figure in the window, before it withdrew and closed the blinds. "Uh, Chiron, does anyone else live in the big house? Like up in the attic?"
Chiron stopped, and looked up to the attic with a grim expression. He turned to Percy, "No my boy. Nothing at all lives up there. I should also mention that the attic is off limits to anyone but myself and Mr. D, and whoever we give explicit permission to."
Ok, he knew that was a lie. It was painfully obvious with how Chiron was talking, and he had literally seen someone up there. Seeing no point in pressing the issue, he just nodded his head.
Ping!
A new skill has been discovered!
Lie Detection
LVL 1 (35%): The walking lie detector! You are a novice at lie detection, and are now able to detect lies from people much easier than before! (10% chance of detecting a lie)
That could be useful, especially if he needs to interrogate people. Percy hates being lied to, so this was a welcome addition to his skills that would naturally level on its own. Chiron led him over to the large strawberry patch that Percy had seen from the porch. He noticed campers and satyrs alike tending to the fruit, and saw a satyr playing the flute as a line of bugs left the patch.
"Anyways, as you see we grow strawberries here at camp. They allow for us to pay for expenses and give the campers something to do other than train. We grow strawberries because fruit seem to go wild when they are in the presence of Mr. D, and we are able to sell them by the truckload. Mr. D originally wanted to grow wine grapes, but his father, Zeus, wouldn't allow it because of his punishment" Chiron said as he was trotting away from the patch.
"Chiron, I keep hearing about this punishment that Mr. D has, what exactly is it?"
"Oh, that. Well, Mr. D twice chased after a nymph that Zeus had 'dibs' on, and as punishment Zeus made it so that Mr. D had to attend to Camp Half-Blood as the director for a century. He is also not allowed anywhere near alcohol or grapes. He is also not allowed to spend time with his wife, Ariadne, while being punished."
Percy grimaced at that. That was kind of harsh of a punishment, separating a god from their main domain would definitely put them in a bad mood. No wonder Dionysus is so unhappy here, poor guy can't go anywhere his domain and Zeus is keeping him from his wife? What an asshole, wasn't Zeus married, why is he calling dibs on a nymph? "That seems pretty unfair." Percy said.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, as Chiron looked up worryingly. "Be that as it may, Perseus, it probably is not wise to criticize decisions by the King of the Gods. Now moving on, this here is our activities lake. We do things such as swimming, canoe races, and more out here. It is also a popular relaxation spot, so feel free to come here and relax after your cabin duties are completed."
The head of a girl popped up out of the water, and squirted a spray of water at Percy. She giggled and waved, and Percy smiled and waved back at her before she ducked back under the water.
"Nyads, they are terrible flirts so be a little wary around them, but they should prevent you from drowning." Percy scoffed at that, like he stood any chance of drowning.
Percy was then led to a large field, which had a bunch of different activities going on in it. There were kids both older and younger than him joking around with each other and seemingly holding an archery competition. Off to the right he could see an arena where kids wearing armor were going at each other with swords, spears, and other weapons in sparring matches. There also seemed to be a massive tower complex that kids were climbing, with what seemed to be lava coming down in random areas on the tower. That has to be an OSHA violation.
"Here is the activities field, where most of our training occurs. The arena is for practicing with weapons and for lessons, so we will need to make sure you get a nice set of armor. I assume you still have Anaklusmos, correct?" Chiron asked.
"Oh, uh, yeah, I still got it! I really like it, it feels almost like an extension of myself." Percy responded.
"Hmm, that is good to hear. I doubt you could have gotten rid of it easily, it likes to return to your pocket after all!" He creased his brow, "That sword has a sad past, take good care of it, Perseus. Anyway, that there is the climbing tower, where you can train to reach the top, just watch out for the lava. We also like to hold races every now and then, with prizes, so if you want to win some of the prizes I would recommend getting a crack at it. That area over there is the archery range, where you can hone your talent with a bow and arrow. I can usually be found there, as I am the main instructor for Archery. Questions?"
"Uh, where are the harnesses for the tower. Also, isn't lava a little, uh, dangerous?"
"Oh don't worry about the lava, it burns but you should be able to survive. Though you might walk away with a few good burns, but the Apollo kids should be able to heal you up. No harnesses are needed for this tower, wind spirits patrol the tower and will catch you if you manage to fall, so you will be safe."
Chiron then brought him to an amphitheater. "This of course is the amphitheater. We hold our evening campfires and sing-alongs here, as well as important camp meetings such as shroud burnings when it is necessary."
Chiron then pointed out to the forest at the edge of the camp proper. "That is the forest. We hold our monthly capture the flag games in there, where the camp is pitted against each other in a massive game of capture the flag, but with weapons! I should also make sure you know that the woods are off limits to those without a sword or a set of armor, as it is stocked for your training." Stocked? With what? Percy asked Chiron, and he looked at him with a smirk and responded, "You'll see."
They then walked up to the camp proper, and it certainly was a magnificent sight. These were the houses he saw when he left the big house, and they were an impressive sight, if not a weird clashing hodge-podge of buildings. A large marble pavilion was at the end of the U-formation. Chiron led him up to the great marble pavilion, "This is the dining hall. You will come here for meals with your cabins, with each cabin having a separate bench in the hall. There is also a brazier for sacrifices."
A camper came running up to Chiron, who Percy had recognized as that Annabeth girl from earlier, "Chiron! We need you over at the stables! We are finishing up the last of the improvements, so we need you to go over the work done before we put on the finishing touches." Annabeth stated.
"Very well, duty calls Perseus, so I will have to cut the tour a little short. Annabeth here should be able to finish the tour up with you, though!" Chiron gently nudges Annabeth forward, who looked bewildered at his proposition. Percy got a good look at her. She was a fairly attractive girl, blonde hair done up in princess curls and striking grey eyes that just screamed intelligence. Frankly if you added glasses she would look like a hot librarian.
"Bu-" Annabeth tried, but Chiron was already trotting away as he called out, "I'm sure you have it handled Annabeth, I leave him in your care!"
"Ugh, fine, I was really hoping to oversee the last of the stable improvements." She turned to Percy, "Alright, well follow me and try to keep up." She ran to the front of the U-formation, and percy tagged along. They came to a stop at two large, white marble buildings. They looked extravagant, the one on the left being emblazoned with reliefs of lightning bolts on the outside. The one on the right was beautiful, it was made of white marble that seemed to reflect an array of colors in the sunlight, and had reliefs of what seemed to be birds and feathers on the outside.
"The cabins are separated by Olympian, and only the children of that Olympian can enter the cabin unless one of their children give express permission. These are the cabins of Lord Zeus and Lady Hera, King and Queen of Olympus. For obvious reasons, no one lives in Hera's cabin, and due to the pact, no one lives in the Zeus cabin, at least not anymore." She seemed sad about that last part; didn't Alecto say that a child of Zeus, Thalia, was killed a few years ago? Perhaps Annabeth knew her?
She shook her head, "Anyways, the cabin to the left of the Zeus cabin is the Artemis cabin, which only the hunters of Artemis stay in as she is a virgin goddess. Next to it is the Apollo cabin, try not to look diretly at it or you will have trouble seeing properly for the next hour."
Boy she wasn't kidding, the Apollo cabin was downright ostentatious, who makes a building out of solid gold. As a contrast the Artemis cabin was painted silver, and seemed to softly glow. Annabeth continued, "To the right of the Hera cabin is the cabin of Poseidon, again no one lives there. Next to that one is my cabin, the Athena cabin. My mother and Poseidon are great rivals, so we don't have too much love for Poseidon."
That's nice, looks like we may not be getting along, what with me being a kid of Poseidon. My father's cabin looked nice, almost like it was cut right out of Montauk with light blue and green coloring with coral and shells studding the wall. I could even smell the salty breeze of the ocean coming off of it, and it just felt like home. The Athena cabin looked like a grand library, go figure, and there were kids going in and out having a bunch of academic discussions and reading books.
They then walked past a real ugly cabin, painted with what looked to be thrown on blood or red paint in a splotchy pattern, with barbed wire on the roof and boar tusks all over it. A bunch of roided out kids were crowding around a girl doing deadlifts, while two kids were wrestling each other to the side. "That is the Ares cabin, they are pretty brutish so try not to get mixed up with them." Percy looked back to the cabin, and caught the eye of the big girl doing deadlifts. She took one look at him and sneered before she turned away. Rude.
"Those are the Dionysus and Hephaestus cabins, you can go to the Hephaestus cabin if you need armor or weapons made, or to improve on something you already have. It'll cost you though." The Dionysus cabin seemed to be purple and covered in grape vines, though all the grapes seemed to be missing. Probably so Mr. D wouldn't go picking any of them. The Hephaestus cabin looked to be a brick factory, with smokestacks coming out of the top and the sounds of hammering metal emanating from inside.
Annabeth then pointed out a cabin to Percy that seemed to be covered with vines that were growing all sorts of produce, and had a large plot of farmland behind it that kids were tending to and harvesting from. "That is the cabin of Demeter, and those are the cabins of Aphrodite and Hermes. The Aphrodite campers only really care about makeup and flirting, so you won't get much help if you go over there."
Well that didn't seem very nice. The Aphrodite cabin was a pretty flashy pink and smelled like a cloud of perfume permanently surrounded it, and there were a bunch of kids in it that were applying makeup and gossiping with each other. The Hermes cabin looked very plain with peeling gray walls, and almost looked like an old tavern or inn.
They stopped in front of the Hermes cabin, "The Hermes cabin will be your residence for now since you are currently unclaimed by your godly parent."
"When do I get claimed, and why do I stay in the Hermes cabin?" Percy asked. His dad wasn't going to wait forever to claim him, was he? I mean he is a deadbeat but c'mon, Percy is already here and is only a couple hundred feet from his cabin.
Just then another boy came walking up to them and chimed in, "Who knows, could be in a few weeks, could be in a few minutes, or you could never get claimed. Hermes is the God of Travelers, so he takes in all of the unclaimed children and provides them a home until they are claimed. Dear old dad makes sure that everyone has a spot to sleep, even if the other gods refuse to claim their children. The name is Luke Castellan, son of Hermes." Luke was a tall blonde boy with a lithe, muscular build and an easygoing smile that was marred by a scar that ran down his left eye. He extended out his hand and Percy shook it, taking the time to use observe on him at the same time.
Luke Castellan, Son of Hermes
Title: ?
Race: Demigod
LVL: 42
HP: 25,000/25,000
MP: 15,000/15,000
STR: 92
VIT: 76
WIS: 58
INT: 65
DEX: 122
CHA: 89
LUC: 65
Luke is the son of Hermes and May Castellan. He is a long time camper, and travelled to Camp Half-Blood with Thalia Grace, Annabeth Chase, and their satyr protector Grover Underwood. Luke developed a dislike for the gods after seeing the way most of their children were discarded and ignored, which was exacerbated by his failed quest to retrieve an apple from the Garden of the Hesperides, where he received his scar. Luke is interested in Percy and pities him for not being claimed by his godly parent yet. Luke prefers to use a sword.
Yikes this kid was tough, and he seemed to be here for a long while. So he and Annabeth were with Thalia, huh? That little tidbit about the gods ignoring their kids was a little concerning, and it seemed to be garnering some resentment if the way Luke spat out those words indicate anything. Now he was worried his dad would never claim him, especially with this whole prophecy hanging over him.
"Hi Luke, uh, how are you doing today? Anything new come up?" Annabeth stammered, blushing, before catching Percy looking at her inquisitively and schooling her features. Looks like someone has a little crush, huh?
"Hey there Annie, showing the new kid around, huh? Nice work on dispatching the Minotaur by the way." He turned to Annabeth, "I'll take it from here, Annie. Show him around the cabin and get him settled in." Annabeth stammered and squeaked out an OK before saying something about checking on the stables and rushing off.
"Well let's show you around and introduce you to everyone." Luke led him into the cabin, and boy was it packed. Every bed seemed to be taken, and there were a plethora of sleeping bags lying all around the floor. Kids milled about everywhere inside of the cabin, playing games and seemingly gambling slips of paper. He saw a kid lose and then groan about getting more chores.
"Alright listen up everyone, we got a new camper I would like to introduce to you." The cabin perked up and quieted down to a murmur, eyes on Luke. "This here is Percy Jackson, and he will be staying with us here in Cabin 11."
"Claimed or unclaimed?" Someone called out from the back of the crowd. Luke frowned before replying, "Unclaimed." The crowd groaned and went back to their business, sending greetings his way as they picked up whatever they were doing.
Percy looked over to Luke, "I feel so welcome." Luke sighed before rubbing the back of his head, "Don't take it personally, half the campers here are actually unclaimed. It just gets a bit disheartening when every time you expect a new brother or sister to walk in the cabin it turns out to be, well, not that." He shook his head, "Unfortunately the gods don't seem to care that they are leaving their kids in the Hermes cabin, and dad isn't the biggest help since he is always out and about."
Luke turned to Percy, "Anyways, you need to find a spot where you can sleep. Beds have already been taken, so you'll have to pick a spot to put a sleeping bag on the floor. Oh, speaking of, since we get so many kids coming into our cabin we have just gone ahead and taken the liberty of building up a stash of toiletries and sleeping bags for the new kids. Usually you would have to buy the stuff at the camp store, but us children of Hermes are pretty good at, uh, acquiring goods due to our dad's status as the God of Thieves, and we like to get kids started at least. Hospitality and all. Here you go."
Luke handed a bundle of items to Percy, which were revealed to be a set of toiletry essentials, a pillow, and a sleeping bag. "By the way, you may want to keep an eye on your stuff. Hermes kids have sticky fingers, God of Thieves after all." Luke whispered to him. Percy felt a hand enter his pocket and immediately grabbed it, revealing a sheepish Hermes kid holding his pen that he recognized as Anaklusmos. Snatching it out of his hand, he stuffed the pen back in his pocket before thanking Luke and searching for a spot to set his stuff down.
Finding a free spot, he set his sleeping bag down and snuck his toiletries into his inventory when no one was looking. He received a few pitying stares when people looked at him and saw he had no toiletries, probably assuming they were already stolen.
Luke came walking over to him, "Looks like you are settled in. You got the rest of the day free, just be sure to be back by 6 PM so we can go to dinner as a cabin. Tomorrow we will have training and chores, so be sure to get a good nights sleep. Welcome to camp!" He then dashed off after two younger teens, yelling something about a prank. Percy checked the time on his watch. It was already 3, so he had 3 hours to find something to do.
He could probably go over to the beach, go to the woods, just look around, or do some training with his skills. He would have to be careful about which skills he trained, however, he didn't want to play his cards just yet and figured that the big guy in the sky probably wouldn't be so happy to see him alive due to the pact.
Before he could decide on how to while the time away, however, a gruff voice called out to him. "Hey punk, I saw you earlier. New kid, huh, fancies himself a hero just because he killed the Minotaur? You don't look too tough to me, I bet the Minotaur must have died of laughter when he saw you!"
Turning to his right he spotted the buff girl from earlier. She had brown hair and wore an army jacket and a white shirt underneath with some combat fatigues. Definitely a tomboy, she looked just as buff as her brothers surrounding her, and a whole lot meaner. They all sneered and laughed at him at that last remark, what the hell was their problem? Deciding to find out, he went ahead and used observe on the girl.
Clarisse La Rue, Daughter of Ares
Race: Demigod
LVL: 35
HP: 20,000/20,000
MP: 9,000/9,000
STR: 124
VIT: 82
WIS: 22
INT: 29
DEX: 69
CHA: 32
LUC: 30
A Daughter of Ares, Clarisse is a girl that values strength and courage above all else. She loves her brothers and sisters and only wants what is best for them, and attempts to reign in their more violent tendencies, but unfortunately diverts it to bullying due to seeing how her father treats her siblings. She fears her father, Ares, and hates him after seeing him strike one of her younger sisters. Clarisse dislikes Percy as she thinks he looks weak and will become undeservedly cocky with his slaying of the Minotaur, which she isn't convinced he did. Clarisse prefers to use a spear.
Now he just felt bad, are all of the bullies that are going to appear in his life going to be a result of bad domestic situations? Perhaps he should try to help her as he had helped Nancy, though this was going to be harder as she respected strength and didn't have a crush on him, but he knew he needed to stand up for himself if he wanted her respect.
Ping!
Quest Added!
Gain the respect of the Ares Cabin by defeating Clarisse and her goonies!
Rewards:
500 EXP
$1000
D10
?
Failure:
Be bullied the whole time at camp, look like a wimp in front of the chicks.
Accept/Decline
OK, rude, this damn system was getting snarkier by the day. Accepting the mission, he turned to Clarisse. Maybe he could try how he dealt with Nancy, first? "Can I help you, or are you just here because you wanted to ask for my number?"
Clarisse sputtered and reeled back, "Wha- No! Hell no! Who the hell do you think you are, punk?" She didn't seemed to appreciate that too much, but the light dusting of pink on her cheeks told him that she was at least embarrassed.
Deciding to press it, Percy continued, "I mean it's alright if that's what you are here for, I'm down for it. Let's just start off as friends first though, eh? I did only just get here, though damn you really rock those muscles."
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has leveled up!
Charm
LVL 2 (25%): You're dashing good looks and captivating smile can make anyone weak in their knees! (You can make women flustered with your charm, and are able to get more information and cooperation out of them if successful. 20% chance of success)
That got her flustered, as she wheeled back and blushed. Percy didn't think anyone decided to take that route of attack with her before, they probably decided to sling insults back at her instead, which didn't make much sense considering she was a buff girl with a short fuse for violence. He wanted to be on good terms with her, not insult her. Her brothers seemed confused by her reaction, probably since she was acting like a girl instead of like one of the guys.
"Shu-shut up, dammit! Fight me already!" She shook her head and then charged him in an attempt to punch him. Looks like she wants this fight either way, huh? Percy ducked under her punch and socked her in the stomach, making her hunch over in pain before he pushed her out of the way.
Falling onto her butt, she glared up at him. Guess she wasn't expecting him to actually fight back. Two of her meathead brothers decided they needed to join in, however, and charged Percy as well. The first brother attempted a wild punch towards his head, which Percy leaned as far as he could to avoid and then pushed the extended arm to send him off balance into the other brothers punch. A nasty smack later, the first brother was moaning in pain and holding his face on the ground after receiving his brothers haymaker.
"Mike, shit I'm sorry dude, I was trying to punch him, honest! Grrr, I'm gonna kill you for that, twerp!" He then attempted another punch, sending wild swings towards Percy's way in an attempt to hit him. Percy reached out with his blood control and concentrated on halting the movement in the boys arm mid punch after each attempt, slowing his punches down to make them easily avoidable. Percy then lurched forward and scored two good hits into his face, before leaping back and avoiding another hit.
Percy fell to the ground and used his leg to sweep his opponents leg out from under him, sending the kid tumbling to the ground before Percy sent a haymaker his way and knocked him out.
Ping!
A new skill has been discovered!
Unarmed Combat
LVL 1 (55%): Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee! When all else fails, use you fists to strike you opponents and to deflect your opponent's blows! (25 DMG/strike)
Unfortunately for Percy, he had lost track of Clarisse while fighting her brothers, and she had snuck up behind him. Fortunately for Percy, however, he could see her shadow form as she raised her fist to punch him. Taking control of the shadow, he wrapped it around her feet and then dived forward. As Clarisse attempted to catch him by surprise, her fist met nothing but air as Percy dived away, leaving her stumbling forward as her momentum carried her. At least she would have stumbled forward if not for the shadows wrapped around her legs, leaving her to trip and fall on her face.
She scrambled to her feet and glared at Percy, who simply got in a ready position and was ready to keep fighting. "You do know that you aren't going to win this fight, right punk? The second I get you your going to be spending days taking dives into the toilets." She spat.
"Eh, probably, but doesn't mean I am going down without a fight. Just because I don't look big doesn't mean I can't pack a punch, I believe your brothers can attest to that." He grinned at her, "So bring it."
She looked at him with a hint of respect, before smirking and raising her fists. "Your funeral then, I don't know how you've been getting so lucky but that luck just ran out." She then unexpectedly stepped into his guard and threw a punch into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, before following it up with more punches to his torso. He attempted to block her punches and send out a few of his own, but it was painfully obvious that she was much more experienced than him. Emphasis on the painful.
After getting batted around for a few minutes, he attempted a punch towards her midsection before she deftly leaned back, grabbing his arm and flipping him onto his back. She cocked her fist back and held the hem of his shirt as he looked up at her. "Yield." She commanded.
He sighed, he really hoped he could gain her respect, looks like he is gonna be picked on from now on. Oh well, he gave it his all, but damn was she a good fighter. "I yield." She huffed in victory, before surprisingly pulling him up onto his feet.
"You did well for a newbie. No one actually stands up to us, they just grovel in fear when they first show up and aren't even worth fighting, so we dunk 'em in the toilets. Us children of Ares love a good fight, and I gotta admit I respect that even though you knew you were outmatched, you still fought back." He looked up at her surprised, her eyes showing a glimmer of respect.
He blushed from the praise, "Oh, uh, thanks! You're a seriously good fighter, I'm relatively new to this whole thing and I know I got a lucky hit in in the beginning, but man are you good. Hey, if it isn't too much trouble, could you help me out in some of my unarmed training, I feel like I could learn a lot from you!" He wasn't expecting this to be the route the fight took him, but hey don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe she would agree, it would be nice to get better at his skills.
She assessed him, looking him up and down. "Guts and knowing your outclassed, but also asking your opponent who jut wiped the floor with you for some pointers? I think I'm gonna like you. Sure, why not? Meet me at the arena tomorrow morning at 8 AM and we will see what we can work on." She smiled at him and then looked down on her brothers with a frown. She kicked the moaning brother on the ground, "Get up dammit, you're embarrassing yourself!"
She collected her siblings and started to head back to her cabin, before turning back and smirking at him. "Oh and by the way, thanks for the compliments. You're not so bad looking yourself." She then turned and walked back to her cabin. Percy blushed, that went a lot better than expecting. Hmm, it seemed that girls liked being complimented; he would have to remember that. Could be useful in a fight.
Ping!
Quest completed!
Gain the respect of the Ares Cabin by defeating Clarisse and her goonies!
Rewards:
EXP: 4,500 + 500 = 5,000/12,000
$: 86,670 + 1000 = 87,670
D: 775 + 10 = 785
Reputation System unlocked! (click for more information)
Reputation system, what was that for? Curious, he clicked on it and his screen brought him out to the home screen. He saw a fourth tab had appeared at the top where only the inventory, skill, and stat screen tabs had been before. The new tab had a smiley face on it, and clicking it brought him to a brand new interface.
Reputation System
The reputation system allows you to track your reputation with certain groups and people that you meet along your journey. Getting in the good graces of specific groups gives you various rewards, such as items, skills, training, and other boons! Reaching a high enough reputation with one group will lead to that group allying themselves with you, while receiving a low enough reputation will make it so that you are declared an enemy of that group. Be cautious that relations with some groups may close off relations with others.
Well that is interesting, and certainly a useful way to keep track of what everyone thinks of him. It was getting a little bit tiring having to keep track of everyone's thoughts, and he would be able to focus on improving his standing with specific groups. He looked at the screen as a whole and looked at his existing reputation scores. It seemed that the system currently split up the reputations by cabins, with the patron god and camp councilor for that cabin getting a specific slot for reputation. He currently only had a few cabins that he had any reputation with.
Hermes Cabin: 5/100 - Neutral
Patron God: Hermes – 0/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive Nothing from Hermes!
Councilor: Luke Castellan – 3/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive Nothing from Luke!
Ares Cabin: 10/100 - Neutral
Patron God: Ares – 1/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive Nothing from Ares!
Councilor: Clarisse La Rue – 15/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive Unarmed Training from Clarisse!
Athena Cabin: 0/100 - Neutral
Patron God: Athena – 0/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive Nothing from Athena!
Councilor: Annabeth – 1/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive Nothing from Annabeth!
Dionysus Cabin: 1/100 - Neutral
Patron God: Dionysus – 5/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive 1 Favor from Dionysus!
Councilor: Pollux – 1/100
Due to this reputation, you currently receive Nothing from Pollux!
Hmm, interesting. Checking what the numbers meant, he found that a reputation of 25 or above with a cabin itself will grant Percy acquaintance status, a reputation of 50 or above with a cabin would grant him friendship status, a reputation of 75 or above with a cabin would grant him ally status, and a reputation of 100 with a cabin would grant him honorary status.
Looking further he found rewards were different from cabin councilor to councilor and from patron god to patron god, but all worked off a system where every 10 reputation would earn a different reward tier. This is great! He now had goals to improve his standing with all the cabins and reap the sweet rewards! And to make friends. That too. He looked at his watch, seems that the fight took up 30 minutes of his day, so he had two and a half hours to get some training in.
Percy decided he needed to get some archery training in, as he was just abysmal in the discipline and really needed to work on his archery skill. He didn't have too many hopes of hitting the target, after all he would have to be level 10 before he even could be at 0% accuracy.
Trudging over to the range, he noticed that there were only a few campers there. It seemed that the contest earlier had concluded and they all went back to their cabins or to do something else. He did notice Chiron giving some pointers to a few younger campers, so he walked up to them to join in on the lesson. He was about to pull out his bow before he stopped, it would be very suspicious if he showed up to camp and pulled out Odysseus' bow, after all it was a famous weapon. Deciding to play it safe, he grabbed one of the camp's extra recurve bows and joined the lesson.
"Ah, Perseus, I hope you have been getting settled in well. Come, come, we are just beginning on our basics of archery lesson, and we will start shooting arrows shortly." Percy nodded to Chiron and sat down on a bench, listening as Chiron explained proper shooting form and how to hit the target consistently. Percy listened intently, and when the time came for practical Chiron had them line up on the range and get into positions. Chiron went down the row and corrected their forms, bringing Percy's arm down a little and widening his stance, before nodding and telling them to fire when ready.
Only to immediately duck as Percy's arrow came whizzing past his head.
Chiron jumped up and looked around, seeing Percy confused as he was looking at the target and searching for his arrow, before becoming wide-eyed as he saw that it was embedded in the tree behind where Chiron's head was. Chiron was flabbergasted, no one had ever been such a poor shot that their arrow had actually gone backwards before. He sighed, he would have his work cut out for him.
After 2 hours of instruction from Chiron, a few dodged arrows, and a couple of bandages, Percy had made some good progress in his archery skill. He had even managed to hit the target, which was pretty impressive if he said so himself since he had a -50% buff to accuracy. Chiron did not seemed too terribly amused with his poor performance, however, and had decided to call it a day once the third arrow had gotten tangled in his tail.
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has leveled up!
Archery
LVL 2 (5%): Robin Hood! String an arrow and send it sailing towards your opponents to pick them off from long range. Due to being a son of Poseidon, you automatically receive a -50% accuracy buff. (Accuracy: -45%) (+5% per level)
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has leveled up!
Archery
LVL 3 (5%): Robin Hood! String an arrow and send it sailing towards your opponents to pick them off from long range. Due to being a son of Poseidon, you automatically receive a -50% accuracy buff. (Accuracy: -40%) (+5% per level)
Ping!
Due to continuous use, a skill has leveled up!
Archery
LVL 4 (62%): Robin Hood! String an arrow and send it sailing towards your opponents to pick them off from long range. Due to being a son of Poseidon, you automatically receive a -50% accuracy buff. (Accuracy: -35%) (+5% per level)
Satisfied with his progress and promising to put in more effort to level up his skill, Percy walked back to the Hermes cabin with Chiron. He was pretty sure Chiron wouldn't teach him archery again and would instead try to focus Percy's skills on other disciplines, so he most likely needed a new teacher. He had no idea who would help him, especially since the Apollo kids had seen his skills when tending to the wounds of Chiron and had quickly spread his prowess to the rest of the cabin. He sighed, it may take him a while to find a new teacher but he could at least try to level up other skills in the meantime.
As they were walking past the forest, however, a sullen Grover came walking out with a shorter woman who seemed to be either very sick or just a natural light shade of green. "Don't worry Grover, I'm sure you can get another chance, no matter what the council says! It wasn't even really your fault this time, either, how were you supposed to fight the Minotaur!" The girl exclaimed.
Grover sighed and looked at her, "I don't know, Juniper, the Council seemed pretty set that this was my last chance. That's what Percy said, too, but I think that since I was knocked out that is what they are focusing on."
Percy called out to him, "Hey G-man, you doing alright? I overheard a bit of your conversation, is this council giving you grief over how we got here?"
Grover perked up when he saw Percy, "Oh hey, Perce! Yeah, unfortunately. They are real unhappy with me, they won't give me another chance and I just don't understand! I know the first time I messed up, but I was really hoping this one would go a lot smoother!" He shook his head and looked down, before looking over at Juniper and perking up. "Oh, hey Perce! I want to introduce you to my girlfriend, Juniper!"
Percy looked over to Juniper, who smiled back at him as he shook her hand, "Hi, I'm Percy, a friend of Grover's. He was my satyr protector and best friend at Yancy Academy."
She smiled, "Oh, Grover has told me all about you. It was unfortunate how you arrived to camp, but I am just glad you got in safe." She looked over to Grover, "Unfortunately the Council of Cloven Elders, the council in charge of satyr afffairs, doesn't quite care that you got here alive. All they say is that Grover failed, it's unfair!"
Grover looked over to Percy, "They tell me that I am not going to be put on another assignment again, and that I will never be able to get my searchers license. That's my dream man; it is what I have wanted to do ever since I was a baby faun! I just don't know what I am gonna do now." He mumbled.
"What's a searchers license?" Percy asked.
Chiron piped in, "A searchers license is a certification that allows satyrs to go out into the word and search for the Lord of the Wild, Pan. He has been lost ever since the Industrial Revolution as more and more wild lands have been encroached upon in the world, and satyrs have started searching the wilds in hopes of finding their lost lord. Other than Dionysus, of course."
Well that wasn't fair, how could they take away his dream because of something out of his control!
"Anyways, Perce, I gotta go. I need to figure out my new role here, as I'm not going to be sent out on any more assignments from here on out. I'll see you around." He sighed and walked off with Juniper as she tried to reassure him it would all be okay.
Percy watched as his friend walked away, he wanted to help him but he couldn't figure out how! He turned to Chiron, "Is there anything we can do to help him?"
Chiron looked at him sadly, "Unfortunately no. The decision is up to the council, and the only people that can overturn it are Pan, who is lost, and Dionysus, who prefers not to show favoritism to his satyrs. Our hands are tied."
Percy thought on that, nothing he could do, huh? He turned to Chiron, "That's it Chiron, what about Dionysus?"
The smell of grapes pervaded the air as a soft purple light flashed behind Percy. "What about me?" Dionysus asked.
Percy yelped and jumped in the air, turning around wide-eyed to see a smirking Dionysus. How did he get here, how did he know they were talking about him?
"Never gets old seeing a demigod jump from your sudden appearance. I can tell you are wondering why I knew you were talking about me, and the simple answer is you spoke my name. Names have power boy, be careful which names you use in the mythological world." Dionysus told Percy. That was right, Alecto had told him that names has power, too. Was this what she meant? "Now what is it you were discussing?" Dionysus asked, taking a bite out of an apple that appeared in his hand.
"Uh, well, Lord Dionysus, I wanted to see if it was possible to overturn the Council of Cloven Elders decision on Grover's searchers license. It wasn't his fault that things turned out how they did, and he performed pretty admirably given the circumstances. Chiron told me only you or Pan could overturn their decision, so could you?" Percy asked, hopeful he would agree with them.
Dionysus frowned, "While that is true that my word supersedes theirs, and I agree with you on the point of it not being Grover's fault, I do not like to show favoritism to my satyrs less others get jealous. I also like to allow the council some control of governance as I would have to take care of it constantly if I didn't. There is only so much talk of animals, wood nymphs, and tin cans I can handle before even I want to leave my followers. I'm sorry, but my answer is no."
He prepared to flash out before Percy called out to him, "Wait!" Exasperated, Dionysus turned to Percy. "What is it, brat? I may have said I was interested in you but interest can quickly turn into annoyance if you keep it up. I am a god, you know."
Percy gulped, "Well, wh-what about that favor you said that I earned. The one from guessing your name correctly! Can I cash that in to overturn their decision?"
That gave Dionysus pause as he looked at Percy curiously. "You would be willing to give up a favor from a god for a satyr, one that you only knew shortly and who had lied to you about his status the entire time you knew him? I just want to make sure, you do know how powerful a favor from a god is, right? Like you could ask me for anything! And you would waste it? Gods do not give out favors willy-nilly boy, gods hate being in the debt of others, especially to mortals. The fact I even gave you a favor you should treasure."
Dionysus looked at Percy incredulously, and Percy stared right back at him. "I'm sure. Grover is my friend, even if I didn't know he was a satyr that doesn't change anything. I realize that a favor from a god is very powerful, and I could probably get cool stuff out of it. But… what kind of person, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help a friend in need if I have the ability to. This is Grover's dream, who am I to not help him and who are the council to stand in his way?"
Dionysus stared at Percy for a long moment, while Chiron looked on nervously. Dionysus smiled, and looked at him with approval. "Yet again you impress. I must admit I was fully expecting you to ask me for some material desires or something like that for your favor, fully prepared to see you dash my hopes that an actual hero would arrive for once. I must admit I initially looked on you with disdain because you are a 'hero' due to your demigod status."
"A hero?" Percy curiously asked.
"Yes, Perseus. As you may know, my wife is Ariadne, and I love her very much. She is a wonderful woman, but she was tricked by Theseus into helping him and left stranded on the island of Naxos. She surely would have died if I had not found her, and ever since then I have hated heroes as I see them for what they truly are. They are liars and manipulators, only working for their own good. A true hero works for the good of others." Dionysus explained.
He looked at Percy, "You, unlike those other 'heroes', have given up a great boon to help someone that would benefit you in no way at all. A favor from a god, which no mortal or god has used in service of none but themselves. I am impressed; you truly are an interesting demigod. I will inform the council that I have approved Grover's searchers license for the favor I owe you." He turned away before stopping and looking at Percy, "Take this gift, after all such charity to others deserves recognition. I have high hopes for you, young hero. Please don't dash them." Percy caught a bottle that Dionysus threw to him, and he then flashed out in a purple light.
+10 Reputation gained with Dionysus!
+10 Reputation gained with Chiron!
Dionysus' Special Wine – Personal wine of Dionysus. When drank, increases DEX and CHA +5 permanently, and increases HP and MP +500 permanently.
Wow, that's great! Percy felt good, even if he used the favor Dionysus gave him, and something was telling him that they do not come cheap, he did something good for a friend and that was all that mattered.
Chiron turned to Percy, "My boy, you really must be more careful with how you interact with gods. Either way, I am proud of you. That was a very generous thing you did for Grover, more so than I think you know. He is in your debt. Here, I think you deserve something else as well, that was a very noble thing you did."
Chiron handed Percy a wrapped package, and opening it Percy found a beautifully crafted silver arrow. Looking up inquisitively at Chiron, he explained. "That is an arrow from the personal quiver of Lady Artemis, she gave it to me a while ago for medical aid I rendered to one of her hunters that saved the girls life. Since you practically saved Grover's life at great cost to yourself with no expectation of a reward, I would like you to have it."
Artemis' Arrow
A beautifully crafted silver arrow that glows like the moon, it resonates with the feeling of the forest and the hunt and was in the personal quiver of Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. (Totem grants +15% to accuracy with bow and arrow when in inventory)
"Well that is enough fun for tonight, let's continue to the Hermes cabin, yes?" Chiron led Percy to the Hermes cabin and bid him farewell, and Percy entered the cabin.
Percy opened the door to see everyone already piling into line to get to the dining hall. Luke noticed him enter and called out to him, "Ah, Percy, there you are! Have fun at the range? I've been hearing some stories. Line up, we are just about to head out to the dining hall for dinner!" Percy quickly walked into line and the Hermes cabin set off for the dining hall.
Percy noticed all of the other cabins were walking to the dining hall as well, filing into the large pavilion and going to sit at what seemed to be long picnic tables. Each table was decorated a different way, and seemed to be quite similar to the way their cabins are decorated. The smells emanating from the dining pavilion were heavenly, and Percy couldn't wait to dig in. The Hermes table all filed into the buffet line and grabbed their plates, piling them high with all types of food. Before Percy could head back to the table, however, Luke tapped him on the shoulder and pointe him to a fire where kids were tossing portions of their food into. "Sacrifices for the gods. They like the smell."
Nodding Percy got in line and soon enough it was his turn to do some sacrifices. He first scraped some brisket to his father and smelled the salty ocean breeze, and then to Hermes for allowing him to stay in his cabin until his dad claimed him and smelled what seemed like fresh postage. He then scraped some off for Dionysus for accepting his favor and getting Grover his searchers license, smelling freshly pressed wine grapes. Finally, he scraped some off to Artemis in hopes that he will get better in archery and smelled the scent of fresh pine in the forest. He could have asked Apollo, but he already had one of Artemis' arrows and figured it couldn't hurt.
He sat down at the table and received weird looks for the multiple sacrifices. He looked up at the main table and caught the eye of Mr. D, who smiled at him and raised his glass to him. That garnered him even weirder looks. Chiron was sitting next to Mr. D and smiled at Percy as well before returning to conversation.
Percy started digging in, and man was this stuff great! He had never tasted food as good as this before, and he started digging in with gusto. He was handed a chalice from another camper, and he looked at it curiously before Luke piped up. "It'll fill with whatever you request, just not nectar for obvious reasons."
Percy looked at his glass curiously, "Uh, Blue Cherry Coke?" Just like magic, the glass filled up with a fizzy blue drink that smelled suspiciously like Coke, and tasting it confirmed it was the best Coke he ever had. People thought it was odd that his Coke was blue, but since he had been doing such different stuff lately shrugged it off and went back to their food.
After a while Mr. D stood up at Chiron's prompting, and a hush fell over the assembled campers. "Uh, yes, well we have a few announcements today. First, the camp store would like to remind you brats that you indeed have to pay for your items, you can't just steal them." As he said that he sent a sly look over to the Hermes cabin, "Second, we will be having that capture the flag game you lot like so much this Tuesday, so the cabins need to have their sides picked before then. Finally, we welcome a new camper, Percy Jackson, currently unclaimed."
The campers were shocked that Mr. D actually called someone by their proper name, but clapped politely nonetheless as Percy waved in greeting. Chiron then stood, "Thank you Mr. D. Now, let us finish up our meals so that we can get to the sing-along tonight, yes?" The campers gave a cheer at that, and resumed their meals. Percy was finished, however, and noticed a few campers putting their plates on a table and walking out of the pavilion, so he decided to do the same. He would simply wait until the other campers started trickling out of the dining hall to join up.
Putting his plate up, he walked out of the pavilion and to the cabins, intent on making sure his sleeping bag was still present. He stopped, however, when he noticed a small girl that looked like she was in elementary school sitting by the fire and poking it with a stick. Geez, kids that young have to come here, huh? Deciding to introduce himself, he sat down by the fire with her, and she looked up at him curiously.
He looked down at her, and smiled as he said "Hi, my name is Percy, what's yours?" She seemed to be very shocked at that and didn't speak for a few moments, looking at him curiously. Maybe she was shy?
"Hello Perseus Jackson, I have been watching you ever since your fight with the Minotaur. You seem to be talented, but not afraid to work hard to improve and to admit your faults, something I admire. You have also displayed quite a bit of moral character with what you did for Grover; I never expected Dionysus to give out a favor and then for a mortal to use it for the good of another. You truly are surprising, aren't you?" She spoke, smiling softly at him. She seemed to exude a sense of ease about her, like curling up by the fireplace with his mother and a nice cup of cocoa on a nice Christmas Eve and just watching the flames flicker and crack.
Percy reeled back, surprised. She was really well informed, who was this chick? Had she been following him, he was pretty sure that he would have seen a little girl following him all day. Deciding to use observe, he got the shock of his life.
Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth
Race: Olympian God
LVL: ?
HP: ?
MP: ?
STR: ?
VIT: ?
WIS: ?
INT: ?
DEX: ?
CHA: ?
LUC: ?
Hestia is the goddess of Hearth, Home, Domesticity, Family, and State. She is the first-born child of Kronos and Rhea, and is a virgin goddess. She stepped down from the Olympian council and gave Dionysus his seat in order to prevent infighting, and now tends to the hearth of Olympus and oversees all sacrifices. She is incredibly lonely due to often being overlooked. Hestia likes Percy due to his love for friends and family, and the lengths he has demonstrated he will go to help them. Hestia is a pacifist, but her symbol of power is her firepoker.
Luckily for Percy, the shock of the revelation never showed on his face as Gamer's Mind immediately clamped down. Instead, he simply stared at Hestia in confusion as she giggled at his look. "I am guessing you are shocked by how much I know, but do not fret I haven't been following you around all day. I am Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, and I see all through its fires, so I saw your actions as they were in view of the flames. Quite an admirable thing you did, Perseus."
Again, he blushed at all the praise he was receiving; he just wanted to help his friend. He stood up from the ground and bowed to her, after all she was a goddess and he wanted to make sure to not get on any of their bad sides. As he did so, however, she looked exasperated and told him "Oh please, there is no reason to bow, Perseus Jackson. Unlike the other gods I don't quite care for formalities or any of the like, I much preferred when you were talking to me like I was just another person. Just call me Hestia and treat me like anyone else."
Embarrassed, Percy sat back down and apologized. "Oh, Uh, I'm sorry La- I mean Hestia, but I did it as a matter of respect. Chiron talked about you in class and I always admired how you would try your hardest to mediate in squabbles, and your aura that you exude is just so kind."
She smiled at that, "I thank you for your kind words. Speaking to you now I am not surprised that you were able to see me by the hearth."
He looked at her inquisitively, "What do you mean, can't everyone see you?"
She smiled sadly, "I wish that was the case, but unfortunately no. I have had some, unpleasant, interactions with people in the past and made it so that I could only be seen by those who have strong familial bonds or are pure of heart. Unfortunately, that means everyone, even my own family, often overlooks me unless I will it. You have been the first person to see me in a while."
"Oh, uh, thank you. Does it ever get hard or lonely, being overlooked the way that you are? It doesn't seem very fair." He asked.
She looked away, sadness shining in her eyes, before looking back at him and giving him an unconvincing smile. "Sometimes, but I manage."
He didn't like that answer, it seemed the description was being a little bit modest in her loneliness. She must have been alone for such a long time, he doubted that was good for anyone. Perhaps he could do something about it.
"Well, I could help. Y'know, come by the hearth every day and talk. You said you wanted to be treated as another person, right? I am always up for making new friends." He smiled and held his hand out, and she looked at it for a long moment, quirking an eyebrow at him.
She grabbed his hand and shook it, smiling, "I would like that, Perseus Jackson."
Ok that had to stop, "Ugh, please don't call me Perseus, it makes me feel old. Just call me Percy, Lady Hestia."
She giggled at him, "Deal, but only if you call me Hestia, drop the lady, remember?"
"R-right." He stammered, before they stared into the fire for another minute. Hestia then turned to Percy, "You know, you are quite surprising. I must admit I am not a fan of most of his sons, they all seemed to be so arrogant and would always use people. You are different, however. Instead of using people you help them, and with no thought of a reward after, such as with your friend, Grover. You saw me not as a goddess, but as a person and possible friend, and you had no ulterior motive with it either. I read your mind after all. Oh, sorry about that by the way, I just wanted to be sure." She said sheepishly.
She knows who his father is! Did he somehow tell her, did she see his powers, is she going to tell Zeus or Hades! She must have seen the distress on his face as she quickly chimed in, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Well until your father claims you." He sighed at that, relieved. "Thanks", he told her. "Oh, and it's ok, but I kind of prefer to keep my thoughts my own sometimes, y'know?"
She smiled softly, "Of course." They then heard sounds coming from the dining hall, and Percy turned to see the campers all filing out and heading towards the amphitheater. Hestia nudged him, "Go on, no camper should miss their first campfire. I'll be here tomorrow."
He looked over to her, "Sounds like a plan. Thank you for the kind words, Hestia. I hope we can make this a more regular thing. See you later!" He jogged over to the Hermes cabin while waving goodbye to Hestia as she waved back.
"There you are, Percy. Come on, sing-along is about to begin." Luke said, filing him into the group as they made their way to the amphitheater. Percy sat with the Hermes cabin during the sing-along, and tried to learn the words of all the songs as the Apollo cabin led. When the campfire was finished, the cabins all filed out to go to sleep, telling each other to have a good night and not let the harpies bite.
Percy went over to his sleeping bag, glad it was still there since he had neglected to check earlier. He shimmied into the bag and listened as the cabin quieted down until they were all asleep. Overall, it was a good day today. He missed his mother dearly, but camp was an exciting prospect and he had met some people that truly made him feel welcome. He rolled over and went to bed, excited for what tomorrow would bring.
Perseus "Percy" Jackson
Son of Poseidon and Sally Jackson
Perseus is the son of Sally Jackson and Poseidon. His ADHD and Dyslexia provide him battle reflexes and natural affinity to Greek due to his existence as a demigod. Due to his heritage, he has an ingrained affinity to the sea and is able to control water and ?. Due to being a demigod you permanently receive +5 to STR, VIT, and DEX.
Title: Son of Poseidon
Race: Demigod
Level 11
EXP: 5,000/12,000
HP: 550/550
MP: 500/500
STR: 14 (+5)
VIT: 15 (+5)
WIS: 22
INT: 18
DEX: 20 (+5)
CHA: 20
LUC: 10
Attribute Points: 22
Money: $87,670/D785
Status: None
Skills
Physical:
Swimming (LVL - MAX)
Running (LVL 9 – 81%)
Sneaking (LVL 2 - 35%)
Acrobatics (LVL 4 – 40%)
Archery (LVL 4 – 62%)
Unarmed Combat (LVL 1 - 85%)
Sword Mastery (LVL 5 - 96%)
Critical Strike (LVL 3 - 58%)
Powers:
Observe (LVL 5 - 82%)
Charm (LVL 2 - 76%)
Lie Detection (LVL 1 - 35%)
Taunt (LVL 2 – 25%)
Water Manipulation (LVL 10 - 71%)
Sub Skills:
Water Spikes (LVL 5 - 95%)
Blood Control (LVL 2 – 90%)
Ice Control (LVL 2 – 45%)
Shadow Manipulation (LVL 3 – 85%)
Language:
Modern English (LVL 13 – 35%)
Ancient Greek (Level – MAX)
Passive:
Gamer's Mind (LVL - MAX)