"What do you mean, Thanatos doesn't have children," Chiron said. The cabin heads had taken Desmond back to the big house and were actively grilling him about his revelation.
"Perhaps I should clarify," Desmond said calmly. "The children of Thanatos are a group of various warriors who died and were brought back by the shepherd of the dead, being reborn as such, we are his sons and daughters."
The group seemed genuinely shaken by the news.
"Why would the gods allow such a thing," Chiron asks. "The dead aren't to be brought back, not since Orpheus's quest."
"While that may have been true in the past, after the chaos caused by the war with the Giants, lord Hades himself approved of the idea of having a specialized task force to aid our father in his duties, and take over should he be captured again. We are selected from the fields of Asphodel and brought up to speed on the events of the world and our new mission. And should we fall in battle we are granted admittance to Elysium for our service, but should we betray our duties we are immediately dragged to the fields of punishment."
Desmond's explanation seems to have answered most of the questions as the group seem to think on what he said.
"Why weren't the other gods informed of this." The question was asked by Mr. D. His pride seemingly hurt by the lack of warning from the underworld.
"We aren't usually allowed to make ourselves known," Desmond says, addressing the Olympian formally. "Unless the mission demands it. And I was given special exceptions due to an unforseen turn of events here on the surface and in the underworld."
The weight of the last words hangs in the air like a cloud of smoke. Unease creeping into the already tense atmosphere.
"What is going on that could be so bad that you have to be given special orders," the usually stoic Mr. D asks attentively.
"Souls are going missing from the list of the dead." Everyone but Desmond turns to look around at the speaker. He continues, "Desmond, please explain it to them."
"As you wish Master Nico," Desmond replies. "In the last year, dozens of souls have gone missing from the mortal world and never making it to the underworld, my siblings and father have noticed this and I was tasked with finding the cause and correcting the mistake. Sadly the problem is much worse than we feared."
Desmond reaches into a pocket and pulls out what looks to be a black pendant. The defacto leader of the Hephaestus cabin gasps in shock and horror.
"That's stygian iron," he says. The group suddenly realizing the weight of the situation.
"Yes," Desmond confirms. "However that is the least of our worries. This pendant is but one of many that are being made and handed out to powerful monsters. If someone is slain by the monster while it is wearing one of these, it will absorb the soul and feed the monster's strength. Fortunately I managed to kill the one leading the hunting party before he could kill anyone else. But the problem still remains, there are more of these out there making your enemies stronger. Hence why I'm here, id like to request your help in finding these pendants as well as who is making them."
The tension in the air is palpable as everyone takes in the information. Suddenly Clarisse says as she stands in the door.
"I'm in."