Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

Consul of the Underworld: End of Disc 1

Chapter Seven: Volcanic Sights Up North

Beta: ShadowofAxios


As summer rolled into autumn, Alkaid was seated in her home office and frowned as she and Gracie looked over the latest transcribed set of potentially alarming rumors that had been gathered about the Titan army, specifically news that the Crooked One was using the connections of his new allies, the Hyperboreans, to recruit Jotun of the Norse mythos. A worrying possibility that had prompted the Olympians to order her via Mr. D and Chiron to look into their veracity.

"Gracie, do you think these rumors are to be believed?" Alkaid asked as she finished reviewing the large collection of rumors about the Titans working with the Jotuns. Having once been a member of the Titan army, her apprentice and adopted daughter could offer a unique, insightful take on things.

"Well, I think we can discount the most fanciful rumors like those saying Jotuns have actually joined the Titans' army. If that did happen, I'm pretty sure the Overgods would've stepped in already." Gracie said with a thoughtful frown as she put down her copy of the transcribed rumors. "The more extravagant rumors are probably just aggrandizing things to project strength and to attract support."

Alkaid nodded in agreement. She thought as much as well.

"But the Titans aren't fools either. They have great thinkers like Prometheus on their side too and I've seen him helping them plan their strategies first hand. Based on that I don't think they will outright lie." Gracie continued with a growing frown. "That means there is probably some truth to these rumors."

"Any ideas what the truth might be?"

Gracie shook her head. "No, it could be anything from the Jotun giving the Titans safe harbor for their operations in Jotunheim to them providing them supplies or anything in between."

Alkaid sighed. "All of which are suggested by the rumors."

"Unfortunately, Sensei." Gracie said with a sigh of her own. "I think the only way to figure it out is to investigate things on the ground."

"Any suggestions on where to start?" Alkaid asked. "The Hyperboreans have a number of colonies in Canada and Alaska, all of which are officially neutral. If we can narrow down where to focus our investigations, it would greatly improve things."

"Well, I'm not sure if it'll help, Sensei, but when I was with the Titans I heard mention that they had a base in Alberta where I'm pretty sure there's a Hyperborean colony too. Maybe it's one and the same?"

"It might be," Alkaid said thoughtfully. "It is at least a place to start looking. Thanks, Gracie."

Gracie blushed. "Glad to help, Sensei. Um, should I go with you? To the Titans' Alberta base?"

"Have you been there?"

Gracie shook her head. "No, I just heard mention of it."

"Then I think it's best for you to stay here and help babysit your sisters. With Drumstrang being in session, Baba Yaga isn't available to do it and I'd rather not deplete Father's forces by asking Alecto to help with this."

"I understand, Sensei." Gracie said even as she pouted in disappointment. A look that had Alkaid struggling to hide her bemused smile. The daughter of Hecate looked so cute when she was thwarted!

"No need to pout, Gracie." Alkaid assured her daughter. "I promise you that the next time that Pyrrha and I have to go on a mission we'll take you along. You need some field experience to supplement your training anyway."

"Just me? What about Kura and Mina?"

"Hmm… We'll need to look at the situation. If it allows it, I don't see why they can't join us. We can make a family outing of it."

"Really, Sensei?" Gracie said enthusiastically.

"Yes, really." Alkaid promised. "Subject to your Mama's approval too, though I doubt she'd disagree."

"Yay~!" Gracie cheered. "I can't wait for us to go kill baddies together!"

Alkaid cocked an eyebrow. "Gracie, are you sure you're not spending too much time with Mina?"

Gracie just blew a raspberry at Alkaid at the notion. "No such thing, Sensei."

Alkaid laughed. Yes, she understood that the girl was a teenager now and wanted to act all grown up, but she was still a child and it was heartening to see her often over serious daughter acting her age once in a while.

"As your mother I beg to differ, Gracie. I love her to bits but your sister can be such a bad influence." Alkaid said with a chuckle. "But we can talk about that later. For now, why don't you run along and go find your Mama for me? We need to discuss our trip to Alberta to investigate these rumors."

"Yes, Sensei!" Gracie said with a nod before hurriedly scampering out of Alkaid's home office to fetch Pyrrha as the daughter of Hades watched her go with fond amusement.


As the teleport deposited her and 'Kaidy about fifteen minutes walk from the Hyperborean village about half a day's travel from the town of Fort Vermilion, Alberta, Canada, Pyrrha looked around her and took in the mix of prairie and coniferous forest that surrounded them.

"Nice place they have here," Pyrrha said, awed by the area's natural beauty.

"Yes, it is." Her wife said distractedly as she cast some direction finding spells to orient them in the direction of their destination. "The Hyperboreans' traditional homeland resembles the same Taiga biome. I imagine that is why they settled here."

"Hyperborea, right?" Pyrrha asked and received a nod in reply even as they set off with 'Kaidy in the lead towards the northern giants' village. "Not much is known about it if I remember correctly."

"No, not much." 'Kaidy agreed. "But it's not entirely unknown either. The original Perseus traveled there once for example. From those tales and what the Hyperboreans themselves tell of it, we know at least the general climate of the place and other details."

Pyrrha nodded as they crossed some kind of magical barrier which rippled with their passing and suddenly the previously empty prairie that they'd been walking through was replaced by fields of carefully cultivated crops surrounding a village of giant sized homes. It seemed they had reached their destination, or the outskirts of it at least.

"Whoever is managing that barrier would've sensed our entry." 'Kaidy said as she glanced at the barrier, which on this side looked like a thin dome of Mist. "We should have company soon."

"Do we wait?"

Alkaid nodded. "Yes, this village is officially neutral. We should try to be polite. But be prepared for a fight. If what Gracie overheard is right, this is a Titan base."

Pyrrha nodded and fell into a stance which broadcasted to a trained eye that she wasn't looking for a fight but was ready for one if it broke out. In a similar display, next to her, she felt her wife prime her magic. It was thus in this state of wariness that they waited for the Hyperboreans' welcoming committee.

They didn't have to wait long. Less than five minutes after crossing the village's barrier, a trio of the thirty-foot tall giants with blue skin and icy-gray hair showed up. Two of the Hyperboreans were dressed like stereotypical farmers with denim overalls and flannel shirts, and carrying massive pitchforks. The last giant however was dressed in a police uniform and had a ballista-sized crossbow slung over his back.

"Alkaid and Pyrrha Potter," the police giant gasped in surprise as he spotted them. "What are the Ambassadors of Olympus doing here!?"

"We are here doing our jobs, good officer." 'Kaidy said with a flip of her hair, being dramatic. "We're here to investigate rumors of Jotun involvement with the Titans and how said involvement might be using this town as a conduit."

Both the farmer giants looked shocked at the accusation, but the police giant just sighed. "I thought that might be why, though I didn't expect the Olympians would send you two or that you'd show up so soon. But whatever, this is above my paygrade. You'll wanna talk to the mayor about this."

"Yes, we do. So, take us to your leader." Pyrrha couldn't help but impishly add. Judging by the side glance she got, her love found it amusing which was a win in her book.

The amused snorts and chuckles from the three giants were just a bonus.

"Sure. Follow me." The police giant said as he turned around. "I'll show you to his office."


The mayor of the village of Hyperboreans, which was unimaginatively named Néos Hyperborea, turned out to be a giant with a pronounced beard decorated with blinking Christmas lights and a general look that discounting his blue skin and the fact that he was dressed in a business suit could've easily allowed him to pass for Santa Claus.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Missus and Missus Potter." The mayor greeted them as he gestured for Alkaid and Pyrrha to take human sized seats on his desk in his office in the village's small town hall. A massive giant sized desk that they had ascended on top of with the help of a small lift built to the side. That such a convenience existed was proof that Néos Hyperborea had regular dealings with human sized visitors.

"Greetings to you as well, Mister Mayor. Thank you for meeting us so promptly." Alkaid greeted as she moved to take her seat alongside Pyrrha.

"Nonsense, I could hardly ignore fine dignitaries like yourself." The giant said with a welcoming smile, though there was a strained edge to it. "Oh, where are my manners? I've completely forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Claus Niklausen and yes, it's closeness to Nicholas Claus is why my beard is so festive."

He topped this humorous statement off with a playful wink that got a chuckle from Pyrrha and brought an amused smile to Alkaid's face.

"Very on theme, sir. Once more, thank you. Now, as for why we are here, I feel it's best to cut straight to the heart of the matter." Alkaid said, turning the conversation to a more serious direction. "I believe you have an idea? That we're here to investigate the possibility that the Titans are using your community as a conduit for dealings with the Jotun?"

"Yes, I know." Mayor Niklausen said with a sigh. "And it's true, they are."

Alkaid frowned even as Pyrrha gasped. "You're just admitting it?"

"How else am I going to ask for your help to stop them?" Mayor Niklausen asked, suddenly looking unnaturally tired, his previous cheer drained away like color from a bleached canvas. "And we need help. We've tried everything we could to stop them and haven't had any luck. It was bad enough when they started recruiting our young folk and the vulnerable, leaving many parents or relatives to suddenly find family members missing or have ones boasting about a great job opportunity and then suddenly dropping off the map. We know these fine citizens would just be fodder for the Titans' machinations and we've raised awareness of course, but to be honest, we've not much to offer our young folk to get them to not join up. We're just a simple rural, farming town. How can we stand up to the allure of running off to change the world? And that's discounting the hefty signing bonuses the Titans are offering…"

The typical business model of luring young folk with the finer things in life. A tale as old as time.

"If it's such a problem, why haven't you called for help before now?" Alkaid asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"'Cos we're neutral and we want to stay that way." The Hyperborean said with a shrug. "And Olympus is at war. We're not stupid. There is no way that the gods would be able to spare resources to help us, not without expecting us to join their side. But we can't do that. Not without alienating our deluded young folk that the Titans tricked into joining them and we just can't do that. We want them to come home after this war is over."

"And yet you're asking us for help now?"

"Well, you're here aren't you?" The mayor said with a smile that showed that underneath his Santa Claus like appearance there hid a scheming politician that befit his post. "And stopping the Titans from continuing to recruit from my people is a good thing for Olympus isn't it?"

"You're exploiting our presence then?" Pyrrha hissed angrily.

The giant shrugged. "So what if I am?"

"Did you arrange for things to escalate to the point that the Titans began dealing with the Jotuns?"

"No, I'm not that stupid. If I did, then the chances of OIympus retaliating against me and mine would be far too great. Looking the other way as the more reckless people in town put the Titans in touch with our Jotun cousins, though? That is something that I cannot confirm or deny doing."

Ah, the typical political response.

"We are here now, so of course we will do what we can to help." Alkaid offered whilst she smiled sharply, wordlessly letting the mayor know what they both already knew. Their help would not come without a price.


"This is the place?" Pyrrha asked as she, 'Kaidy, the police giant from earlier and Mayor Niklausen, now dressed in full hoplite armor and armed with a appropriately giant sized lance stood, or in the case of the two Half-bloods hovered on one of Alkaid's magical platforms, a short distance away from a log cabin outside Néos Hyperborea.

"From my investigation, Madame Monófthalmo is the Titans' agent in town." The police giant, apparently the town's sheriff and only law enforcement officer, named Aplós Aspída, said. "If we take her in, we'll be able to shut down their whole operation here."

"If that's the case, why haven't you done so already?" 'Kaidy asked pointedly.

At this, Mayor Niklausen just pointed at what looked like innocuous piles of rocks that were scattered around the log cabin in what looked like a poor attempt at a rock garden.

"The Titans didn't leave Madame Monófthalmo unprotected." Sheriff Aspída informed them, nodding at the rock piles that the mayor had indicated. "Those are rock golems created by Circe herself. The first time we tried to take Madame Monófthalmo in, they activated and drove us off. We came back with a posse but even that wasn't enough. There were just too many of them."

"Fucking golems." Pyrrha grunted.

"At least, we have an idea where the Hecate kids got the idea for theirs during the Battle of Camp last summer." 'Kaidy observed absently before turning to Sheriff Aspída. "Sheriff, do these golems regenerate?"

"No, at least not in a fight. But each time we take one down, the next time we come back there seems to be two more to replace it."

"So a hydra-like effect, how vexing." Alkaid noted with a frown. "Though that it does not seem to be able to activate in combat should make things more manageable. We just need to be thorough in destroying all of them."

"'Kaidy, you have a plan already don't you?" Pyrrha asked knowingly.

"Don't I always, Py?" 'Kaidy said with her cute smug smile. "I just need a few moments to prep."

The Hyperborean mayor and sheriff exchanged skeptical looks at that, but Pyrrha ignored them. They didn't know her 'Kaidy like she did. When her wife said she had a plan, then nine times out of ten she would deliver something that wasn't only successful, but that would also be spectacular. That her wife had summoned her Le Grimoire to amplify her spellcasting just made that certain.

"First things first, we'll want to keep our suspect alive. Same for ourselves as well. So let's start with some Oval Protection." 'Kaidy said as she slammed the appropriate spell card between the pages of her divinely gifted weapon, causing green spherical barriers to form around their little group and the log cabin. The latter naturally tipped off its occupant that something was going on and sounds of panic began to emanate from inside though those quieted as the thirty or so piles of rock scattered around the cabin began to awaken into the rock golems that they truly were, each of which as tall as a Hyperborean and even more fearsome looking.

Unperturbed by the stirring enemy, 'Kaidy just slammed another spell card between the pages of her Le Grimoire. "And now for the star of the show. Eruption!"

In response to her casting, the earth beneath them trembled with the fury of a powerful earthquake. One strong enough to send the thirty foot tall Hyperboreans and golems toppling over. That would have been impressive enough but it was hardly the end of the daughter of Hades' spell and the quake's strength steadily built until like a cork of a champagne bottle that had been shaken too hard, the ground underneath the log cabin could take no more and exploded skyward in a massive explosion of lava. Lava which rapidly formed into a volcano around the log cabin which like their little group had only survived because of the barrier Alkaid had cast on it. They were the only things in its immediate vicinity that survived the birth of the volcano created by Pyrrha's wife's spell. Golems, the forest, no matter what it was, so long as it was within hundreds of feet of the epicenter of the spell, the log cabin, they were either blasted apart by the explosive eruption or reduced to slag by the lava.

"Sweet Gaea!" Sheriff Aspída said as he looked around the tunnel of freshly cooled igneous rock in shock. A tunnel that if Pyrrha's rough estimate of how 'Kaidy was using her geokinesis to shape the growing volcano was right, was part of the newly formed mountainside around its crater, and which was connected by a path of freshly cooled rock to the log cabin which now sat on an island in the middle of the lake of lava that filled said crater.

Yeah, her wife was a total badass.

"Now! Shall we pay our hellos to the Madame?" 'Kaidy said, sporting a sickly sweet smile.


"Aplós, Claus, I'll tell you everything! Just keep that sorceress away from me! I don't want to be fed to the volcano!" Alkaid heard their suspect beg as she sank into the chair across from them in the lone interrogation room of Néos Hyperborea's Sheriff Office.

"That was easy." Sheriff Aspída mumbled, before clearing his throat. "Very well. We have quite the list of offenses for you, Monófthalmo. I'm rather disappointed if I'm being honest."

The sheriff sat down in the opposing chair next to Mayor Niklausen and leafed through a stack of papers. "Arms dealing, Hyperborean trafficking, working with a known terrorist faction and more. These are all serious cri-"

Before the sheriff could hit his stride however, Alkaid floated the magical platform she and Pyrrha were riding on so that she was between him and Monófthalmo before interrupting him. "Sheriff, if I may go first?"

Monófthalmo inched back in her seat, looking terrified as her sweat turned to icicles.

"U-Uh, of course." The sheriff said with a gulp that had Pyrrha having to suppress her snickers, helped along by a gentle jab to her ribs from Alkaid.

They were diplomats and had to maintain decorum after all.

"Madame Monófthalmo, what can you tell me about the Titans' dealings with the Jotun?"

"Everything! What do you want to know?" The Hyperborean woman dressed in a dress that had gone out of style in the Victorian era replied hastily.

"Let's start with something simple, what kind of arrangements have you been facilitating between them?"

"Arms dealing mainly, though there is the odd non-weapon magical item. The Jotun have a massive surplus of equipment. They've been preparing for Ragnarök for millennia and have been stockpiling weapons and other supplies the whole time. They're practically desperate to get rid of their excess."

"I see," Alkaid said with a nod. "And how did you help facilitate this?"

"My cousin is a Jotun."

"Your cousin is a Jotun!?" Pyrrha asked, disbelievingly.

"Yes, why's that surprising?" The Hyperborean woman asked, confused.

Alkaid for her part just looked to Mayor Niklausen for an explanation, even though she already had a good guess as to what was going on.

Seeing her look, the mayor obliged and offered an explanation. "Technically, I am a Jotun. You see, the only difference between us Hyperboreans and Jotun is what side we identify with, otherwise we're the same people. I chose to be Hyperborean and so that's what I am, even if the rest of my family are all Jotun. I believe you Half-bloods have a similar situation when it comes to whether you are Greek or Roman?"

"Roman?" Pyrrha asked, looking at him in confusion.

"I'll explain later. Now's not the time." Alkaid told Pyrrha honestly.

"I hold you to that, 'Kaidy. But right, Monófthalmo, how do you arrange things for your cousin to supply the Titans?"

"Well, me and him act as proxies or go-betweens. We help smooth relations between the Jotun lords with the equipment to sell and the Titan Army. The Jotuns don't trust the Titans and vice versa, but they somewhat trust us."

"So if we shut down you and your cousin's operation, that could possibly stem the arms dealing?" Pyrrha demanded.

The Madame shook her head. "You might halt it for now in this area but that's about it. I know for a fact that there are at least a couple other people with family on the Jotun side who are doing the same thing I am. And even if I gave you their names and you took them down like you did me, more will just pop up. Greed will always prompt people to find a way to make a profit as I'm sure you know."

"Quite," Alkaid said with a frown. As the daughter of the Rich One she sadly knows how true the Hyperborean woman's statement was. "We'll get back to the arms smuggling in a moment, but let me ask you another question first. As far as you're aware, Madame, have any Jotun chosen to join the Titan army?"

"They would never!" The giantess said with a firm shake of her head. "Utgard-Loki would never allow it! For one, he'll see a Jotun fighting in another mythos' wars as beneath their kind. And more pragmatically, he'd never allow his pool of warriors to be reduced by the fools gallivanting beyond his domain."

"And since when has Utgard-Loki become king of all Jotun?" Alkaid asked with a frown. "Last I heard, he was still only one of their petty kings. One of many."

"Yes, but he is the first among equals." Mayor Niklausen explained firmly. "If he decrees it, others will listen. Perhaps not all of them, but most Jotun will. His word carries far."

"And if we can convince him to suppress the weapons smuggling?" Pyrrha asked. "Would that work?"

"It should," Madame Monófthalmo said with a frown. "I'm not all that familiar with Jotun politics but from what my cousin's told me, like the mayor said, Utgard-Loki has a lot of influence. If he says to stop, most Jotun will listen."

"And that will reduce the arms dealing with the Titans down to a trickle." Pyrrha stated.

"Yes, it will." Alkaid agreed. "Alright, one last question from me, Madame. What other dealings are you aware of that have taken place between the Titans and Jotun?"

"Nothing that I know of," the Hyperborean woman insisted. "It's really only the smuggling! I swear on the Styx that's all it is!"

There was a boom of supernatural thunder sealing the oath.

"It seems by the fact that Lady Styx has not struck you down that you are telling the truth," Alkaid conceded. "That being the case, I have no more questions. Sheriff, you may continue."


"So beyond this portal is Jotunheim?" Pyrrha heard Alkaid ask Mayor Niklausen as the three of them stood in front of a massive, by human standards, arch that stood in the woods outside of the Hyperborean village. Between the stones of the arch was a shimmering, liquid-like portal that would be their ticket to the Norse Land of the Frost and Mountain Giants.

"It connects to Hyperborea as well but yes, I've tuned it so that it will send you to Jotunheim." The mayor said as he offered them both a friendly smile. "Though before you go, might I ask a few questions?"

"Most certainly," Alkaid replied politely. "You're been a most gracious host. It is only right that we repay that kindness by answering what questions you might have for us."

"Thank you. Well, then, firstly, mind if I ask if we need to be worried about our town's new volcano?"

"No," Alkaid assured them. "It was created by a spell so it will be inert once the lava cools. Once we return I can remove it."

"And if we'd prefer that it stays and that it remains active?"

"You want an active volcano just outside of your town!?" Pyrrha asked, shocked by the very idea.

"Yes," the mayor said firmly. "The volcano could be a massive source of economic growth for us. With it around, whole new opportunities that we've never had before could be open to us. If we exploit those wisely and we're lucky, we might be able to escape being a boring, dying, rural town. At worst we'd become a tourist trap, but I have faith we can avoid that. We could rent it out to the Cyclops as a smithy at least."

"Well, making the volcano permanently active will not be easy. The local geology can't really support it, but I think making a sizable magma chamber below that can keep it going for a while is doable. It won't last more than say a couple hundred years though."

"That's more than enough." The mayor assured them.

"If that's the case, then contact these people." Alkaid said as she handed a business card to the mayor. "They are the Underworld's premiere magma shaping firm, they are responsible for all the best magma fields and rivers in the Fields of Punishment. They can easily do the work necessary. Just mention I recommended you and they'll be sure to give you a healthy discount."

The mayor looked a little put out at the idea of having to pay for keeping the volcano burning but nevertheless gingerly accepted the, for him, tiny business card from Alkaid.

"Thank you, Missus Potter."

"It's nothing. Now, is there anything else you would like to ask me?"

"No," the Hyperborean said with a shake of his head. "Have a safe trip, ladies."

"Thank you," Alkaid said politely before turning to Pyrrha. "Ready to go?"

"Yup." Pyrrha said without hesitation. "Once more into the unknown?"

Alkaid chuckled, before replying. "I'm partial to "once more unto the breach", but yes. Let us make some noise."

Smiling, Pyrrha took hold of one of Alkaid's hands and hand in hand, the couple stepped through the portal and into Jotunheim.


Done and done! Thanks to Nameless and Axios as always!

And the new arc starts off with a chilling success with some detective-esque/aggressive negotiations.

Nameless: Don't you mean aggressive interrogations. XP

Oh, I do, but I was being polite~ Anyway, it was honestly fun seeing Alkaid just forcing the opponent to stand-down via lava. We didn't get enough of the volcano spell so it was nice to drag it out again.

Nameless: Anyways, sorry about the relatively short length for this arc. This was initially planned to be like a few introductory scenes before Alkaid and Pyrrha made it to Jotunheim, but they ballooned a bit so we decided to just give them a short chapter of their own. The meat of the arc will start in the next chapter. Hope you'll like it.

On another note, I received a PM asking if I'm Dock872210 on AO3. To clear things up, yes. My handle on AO3 is Dock872210 and Nameless 2210 on FFN. And E4E is Engineer4Ever on FFN and has taken over the NamelessEngine account we originally created as a joint account after I made my own account. Hope this clarifies.

E4E: You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!