Pompeii.

Oh man. Percy wished history class had discussed Pompeii more. The only things he really knows about Pompeii was that it was a city in Italy near a volcano that exploded and then everything was covered in magma and ash. Lots of people died and left weird corpses. He wasn't even sure what year this was other than vaguely ***the past***. Which was not super specific.

Cool. Cool. Cool.

He was a fourteen-year-old demigod in the past. His mom wasn't born yet. His friends weren't born yet. Annabeth wasn't here. His dad was alive, but didn't know that Percy existed. Is he messing with the time line? He can't even speak Italian, and he certainly can't speak ancient Italian. The air is still full of ash and dust and the mountain in the distance is still covered in glowing magma.

Percy turns to look at the group of people on shore. The people of Pompeii. Some of them at any rate. Focus Percy. You are not the only person here who has lost their home and family. They need to get to safety. Panic later. Or never. Never is fine too.

Percy looks out into the ocean. Mount Vesuvius was still spewing dust and ash – hot burning ash- several hundred yards into the air. The ocean was wild from the shaking earth and burning projectiles occasionally shooting into the water. Closing his eyes Percy reached through the water.

"There are a bunch of ships nearby! You stay here, I'll go get them!" Percy calls out to the people on shore. They can't understand him because they don't speak English, but hopefully his tone conveys something? Percy dived into the water and pushed himself toward the boats as fast as he could. Did English even exist yet? Old English? Super-duper-old English?

Percy approached the ships and stops. He is very close to the volcano now. The mountain is dimly lit with magma, but the tower of black ash rising from the mountain is deeply unsettling. Rocks crash into the ocean and the town beyond the docks. Pompeii. One day architects will find the bodies of people who die today.

There are twelve ships and they are near the shore. The ships aren't great. Each ship only has one sail that isn't big enough to really propel the ship, which is probably why there are over fifty paddles sticking out each side. They had no rudder, no jib, and they had anchors without stocks. Percy is surprised these ships haven't crashed into anything yet. Maybe that's why they don't have big sails, with a ship this clunky and slow to turn going fast would be a death sentence. The waves are too big for these terrible, slow, clunky floating disasters to be able to get anywhere near the harbor without crashing.

There are people huddled at the docks hiding behind any structure they can for shelter from the fist-sized rocks that occasionally hurtle down from above. Ash-grey families look desperately at the ships unable to approach.

Percy uses his power to calm the waves even as the water was hit again and again with boiling hot projectiles. The water around the docks would stay calm, Percy demanded it. Yet the sailors still hesitated.

Percy launched himself up and onto the bow of the ship closest to shore. He shouted commands at the sailors. They didn't understand him, but seemed to get the idea when Percy pointed at the docks and shouted. Percy also used his magic boat powers to move the ship he was onto toward the dock. An older man who might have been the captain was coughing his lungs out but looked at Percy with something that might have been gratefulness or fear. He repeated the order to get to the docks in Latin. Probably. Percy didn't actually know what the man said.

Man, not being able to talk to people sucked.

Rescue operations began. A little more than half the people on the docks were able to get on the ships. Percy stayed behind after the ships were loaded, assuming that they would return soon enough. He used water to wash away more than two feet of ash that had built up on the docks.

Once the ships were rowing away and the remaining people of Pompeii had sheltered as much as they could, Percy decided to go to Pompeii proper. He ran up the road from the docks into the city to see if anyone was still alive. There was a rock wall surrounding the city but the gates were open and Percy was able to run through.

Roofs had collapsed from debris falling from the sky, houses burned, Percy could smell sulfur and the roads were covered in more than two feet of ash and dust. He found bodies dead beneath the ash. Carts of food and wares were abandoned along the side of the road. Every step he took away from the ocean exhausted him, but Percy kept going. The ash was several feet deep and it was like wading through snow but heavier. The sun was setting and the world was becoming darker, and yet the air was hotter than a bright summer day. He carved a path through the ash, hoping to find someone still alive. He saw things in those streets that Percy would not be able to speak of for quite some time.

Percy called out, then fell into a coughing fit as the ash stuck to his lungs. He kept going and called out again, checking the houses. Mount Vesuvius loomed over the town, more deadly than any monster Percy had fought.

Finally, Percy heard a voice and a thumping sound. Pushing through the ash, he made his way over to one of the houses. There was someone inside trying to push open the door but the heavy ash and debris from the sky had blocked up the door. Percy pulled it open, cracking some of the wood. A small family was inside, parents with two kids who all looked desperate and terrified. The mother carried a small oil lamp that she used to light the room. They were also the first people Percy had seen not covered in ash. Their tunics were a faded green and yellow. Percy pulls them out of the house and points down the path he had carved in the ash. He doesn't know how to say "docks" or "ships" but after a few relieved sobs and steady clap on the back from the father the family moves away. Percy goes deeper into the city. A man lies on the street with a stone crushing his skull. A dead mama cat has been crushed by a burning beam; two living kittens surround her.

Another thumping behind a door reveals a young man with tears streaking down his cheeks. Percy points him in the right direction and keeps walking. He found and freed three more people trapped in their homes. Percy is exhausted.

He hears it before he sees it; a grey wall is rumbling down the mountain. If the ash up until this point had been like snow in a blizzard, then the thing coming down the mountain was an avalanche. An avalanche of ash and dust that would choke out all life in its path. If it had been snow Percy might have been able to stop it, but Percy had no power over burning ash. The fifty-foot wall would be here in minutes.

Percy turned and ran toward the last two people he had helped out of their homes, a woman with a young child. He grabbed the child and the mother's elbow while shouting "Run!" in Greek.

A terrified dog ran after them, following the trail they left in the ash. The woman was shouting something, eyes wide with terror. Percy kept running, fueled by adrenaline. They caught up to the other formerly trapped people. Percy shouts at them to run and takes the lead. He stops occasionally to make sure no one is being left behind. The avalanche is already halfway down the mountain and they're still half a mile from the docks.

Percy shouts at them to run faster, knowing he isn't being understood. Percy still has a kid in his arms. The young man points to the mountain with the avalanche of dust on it and people seem to get the idea that This Is Bad because they run down the path faster.

Even running, Percy knows they're not going to make it to shore, so he runs ahead. At the docks Percy throws the kid into the ocean. He probably looks like a lunatic. Certainly, the people on the docks shout in horror. But there is no time, and Percy can't explain so instead he steps into the ocean and lets the water refill his terribly low energy supply.

Then he pulls the tide up and sweeps all two hundred people on the docks into the water. Percy ignores their screams. There is no time and Percy is running fully on adrenaline right now. He pulls a stream of saltwater with him up the path toward Pompeii. The ash avalanche has hit the far side of the city and the cloud of ash swallows the houses whole. Percy runs. He doesn't need to make it to the city, just to the seven people running down the road lit by a single candle.

The avalanche is rushing toward them. Five hundred feet away, four hundred, three hundred. It is racing down the road and Pompeii itself is completely gone in a wall of ash. Percy pushes the ocean water past himself to envelope the running people.

The avalanche hits. It's like being hit with a sledgehammer. A sledgehammer made of fire. Percy is thrown back several feet by the solid wall of rubble and ash and his skin starts to burn. Seeing as Percy was standing on magma less than a day ago, his skin burning is not a great sign. Percy takes a breath which ends up being a mistake as his lungs burn and his head swims.

Percy pulls the water back toward himself and is quickly enveloped by wonderful amazing ocean water. He breaths deeply even as he uses a lot of his energy to keep the water clear of any ash, heat and poisoned air. He also needed to keep the large bubble in the water because otherwise the seven terrified and confused people in the bubble would drown.

Percy tries to smile at the people of Pompeii trapped in his water bubble surrounded by rushing ash and poison but it probably didn't look super comforting. Still, now that people were in his water bubble Percy was able to keep them safe as they walked toward the ocean. It's a good thing Percy knows where the ocean is because the view outside of the bubble was black ash wall to the left and black ash wall to the right which wasn't super useful for navigating.

A few minutes later Percy was finally able to walk into the ocean. There, beneath the waves were all two hundred refugees from the docks, safely in a bubble underwater. The air above them was black with ash and poison. The top of the ocean water was starting to steam and boil. What fun.

Percy wanted to stay with the Pompeii refugees but he also had to go to the original group of people he'd left behind when searching for boats. They were a few miles away but Percy had no idea if that was within ash-avalanche range or not. He also had to get the Pompeii people to safely. The air in the bubble would run out eventually.

As Percy was deciding on what to do, he felt the ships returning. Had Percy not been here the ships would not have been on time to save people from the ash avalanche. Percy tries not to think about it. The ships do not approach shore, probably because the shore has been swallowed by a cloud of super-heated dust and poison. Luckily, Percy can push people through the water up to the ships.

Despite the language barrier, Percy is able to convince a few people to take a deep breath using pantomiming. Then he sends them hurling through the water and up onto the ship. Not everyone on the ocean floor is equally enthusiastic about being shot through the ocean water, a few people even panic and cry. For those, Percy swims with them, keeping the bubble around their head and swimming them gently to the ships half a mile away. The swimming takes a lot of precious time however, so Percy sends people blasting through the water whenever he can.

Finally, when the last people have been blasted onto the ship, Percy follows suit. Percy is exhausted. The people on the boat are soaking wet, and terrified. The sailors are looking at Percy as if he is a monster. Maybe Percy is a monster, but he still needs to save the fifty people he had met earlier today.
Had it really been less than a day since he woke up? It feels a lot longer.

On the ship, Percy is easily able to move the ship toward the refugees on shore a few miles south. He gets the currents to push the other ships along with him. They sail along the shore faster than the avalanche and make it to the group of refugees on shore with several minutes to spare. They are able to get all the refugees onto the ship. Those that cannot swim to the ships are carried along by the tide onto the deck of the ships. The young man and middle-aged lady who carried Percy in a make-shift stretcher climb the ladder onto the ship. The older father with his young child are swept up by the current and deposited onto a ship. When the last person is safely on the ship Percy takes a deep breath.

People were afraid of him. The young man who had carried Percy earlier bowed at his feet, whispering something Percy didn't understand. The mist apparently doesn't work yet. Percy doesn't know how to say "Don't thank me. This is all my fault. I caused this. People died because of me." So he stayed silent.

The ships started rowing north along the shore, avoiding the wall of ash that now covered many miles of land and sea alike. Percy sat down, letting his feet dangle off the edge of the deck and watches the ships sail past the cloud of death and the burning volcano with its pillar of black ash in the distance.

How many people died today?

The ships sail on.

.
It's been a week since the explosion. Over two thousand ash-covered refugees have formed a camp outside of a city called Gaeta, further north from the explosion. Hastily constructed wooden structures are set up half a mile away from the beach and along the outside of the city wall. Percy has personally cut down more than one hundred trees to build the wooden huts. The structures are not waterproof and at night the temperature drops considerably so things are less than ideal. It's late fall and the nights are cold.

The city is outside the range of the volcanic ash, but Percy can look out over the bay and see the distant coastline still covered in grey. A small black column of smoke still rises from Mount Vesuvius, the occasional burst of lightning flashing through the cloud.

Some people in Gaeta speak ancient Greek. The local priest of Jupiter (Percy's pretty sure that's Zeus) has splashed him with some water and said a blessing in Greek. Percy had thanked the priest and then awkwardly left, walking back to the refugee camp. Percy apparently spoke an old version of Greek, but the people of this time could understand him.

The two refugees that had carried Percy on a blanket when he was unconscious spoke ancient Greek. A teenager of about 18 named Gaius and his mother Marcella both spoke Greek. Gaius had been terrified and respectful of Percy at first, bowing and averting his eyes. That terror and respect had quickly faded when Percy had asked the teen a bunch of really stupid questions. Questions like "where do you poop?" and "how do you put on underwear?" In Percy's defense ancient underwear was just a piece of cloth and his clothes has been burned away in the explosion. Percy now wore a plain off-white tunic and sandals.

Thanks to Gaius, Percy has learned a few things this past week. He's learned they're in the Roman Empire. He's learned that he didn't actually go into Pompeii because Pompeii was several miles upriver. The waterfront town he had entered was called Herculaneum. He's learned a few words of Latin, he's learned how to poo into a bucket and how to poo in a toilet-bench, he's learned what people look like when they have lost everything and are mourning their dead children, and he's learned how to fish for crabs.

Percy had itched to be useful somehow and ended up walking along the bottom of the sea trying to catch food. A crab had pinched his toe so Percy decided that crab was on the menu tonight. Now he goes around different parts of the coastline picking up angry crabs and putting them in a net-bag he found half buried in the sand at some point.

In the twenty-first century, Latin is a dead language and no one actually knows how Latin used to sound. So if Percy ever makes it back to his own time, he'd technically know how to speak Latin better than the smartest Latin professor in the world even though he only known a few words. Take that academia.

Gaius had also shown Percy the communal toilets located within the city Gaeta. The toilets were a room full of benches built over a stream of water with holes cut into the wood for pooping. Then there was the communal ass-wiping stick with a sponge on it- Percy was less enthused about that one.

Then they'd found a wall full of graffitied penises and Percy couldn't help but laugh. Then he graffitied a penis on the wall with a chalky limestone rock. It was around this time that Gaius lost that last bit of respect he'd had for Percy. Which was good because Percy really needed a friend and not a worshipper.

"Perseus, you are a child," Gaius muttered, shaking his head. Percy laughed harder.

.

Percy is a refuge. Not a refuge from Pompeii itself, but he is a homeless teenager who doesn't have any mortal family and can't return home so he's some kind of refuge. A time traveling refuge. It's been a weird week. Percy had thought about going to find his father but:

A) His father couldn't even be bothered to be a father when he knew Percy existed, when Percy was his only living mortal son, and when he supposedly cared about Percy's mom. It was unlikely he was going to care about Percy now.

B) Percy didn't know where either Olympus or Atlantis was currently located. He'd have to spend weeks or months silently swimming around hoping to run into something.

C) Even if Poseidon decided that he would allow Percy to stay in Atlantis for some reason, Percy didn't know if he wanted that. Most of the gods were dicks. He preferred to be with humans, generally.

D) Poseidon wasn't a time traveler. He wouldn't be able to bring Percy back to his own time.

Percy feels so lost. He's supposed to be fighting Kronos. He's supposed to be with Annabeth to find Dedalus and the ghost king and protect camp half-blood from monster invasion. He's supposed to be able to go home and hug his mom. Instead, he's swimming along the coast of Italy wondering what he should be doing next.

Percy swims past the ocean floor and scoops up four aggressive looking crabs. As he swims, he clears as much of the water from ash as he can. He puts the crabs in the bag and swims around a bit more. The water around Mount Vesuvius had turned acidic after the explosion and even now the corpses of rotten fish drift through the water. At least the starfish and shrimp seem to be having a good time eating the fish. He stops a pod of dolphins and warns them about the acidic ash water further south. After catching what he deems a sufficient number of angry crabs, Percy heads back to the shores on Gaeta.

Percy takes the crabs to the make-shift camp and hands the crabs out to whoever looks hungry. It's a short-term solution, but it's better than nothing. People try to pay him but Percy waves them off. He's not going to take things from these people who have nothing. He takes the last three crabs to the small wooden hut he shares with Gaius and Marcella.

The city of Gaeta is trying to house two thousand refugees, but the city itself is more of a village with about five thousand people in it. They don't have the space for two thousand refugees and they don't have the food to feed them through the winter.

"Salve Gaius et Marcella," Percy holds up the crabs, "Cancer!" Hahahaha. Latin is great.

Marcella bows her head as he comes in. Marcella has her long black hair braided and pinned in a bun. She tends to carry herself with dignity and Percy always finds himself correcting his own slouched posture when she's nearby. Percy hasn't yet been able to convince her that he is a stupid teenager and not, in fact, a god. It was a work in progress. "Salve Perseus," Gaius responded, his tone more subdued than normal.

"Something wrong?" Percy asked, switching to Greek.

"We have gotten reports from the sailors that my brother Gaius Plinius Secundus is dead. He died during the rescue operations before you arrived," Marcella said, eyes still averted.

Percy sat down on the moist dirt next to her, his heart once more held in a heavy clamp of guilt, "I'm sorry to hear it. From what you have told me he was a good man."

"He was," Gaius nodded, "and he died in service to his country. He died a hero. Rome has lost a great man and a great mind. We will have to tell my grandfather and hold a funeral service for him. We had hoped he would join us and that we could return to Rome together. The road can be dangerous for travelers and it is many days to get to Rome."

Gaius and his mom wouldn't be the first people to leave. Many people had started journeys to nearby cities in search of family, clothes still stained grey from ash. Going to seek out family was the wise thing to do, of course Gaius and Marcellus would go to Rome. Percy shouldn't feel abandoned.

"Would you join us on our journey, my Lord? We would feel safer if we had you with us. My father is quite rich; he would pay you when we arrive in Rome and offer you a place to stay as his guest. I am certain of it," Marcella said.

Percy sat up straighter, his first instinct was to agree but he hesitated, "I want to. But these people, I can't just leave them. Not that I'm doing much, but crab fishing is better than nothing."

Gaius looked disappointed but Marcella seemed to expect this answer. "We will send a missive to my father; he will be able to hire a few men to escort us back to Rome. If you change your mind my Lord, we would be honored to have you accompany us."

"I'm not any kind of lord, Lady Marcella."

"Of course, my Lord."

Percy laughed. Marcella was secretly snarky. Good for her.

.

"Percy!" Gaius jogs over to where Percy is roasting his crab, "Have you heard the news? Augustus is coming to Gaeta with provisions!"

"Oh," Percy says, "Is he an important person? A senator or something?"

"He's the Augustus. Imperator Titus Caesar Vespasianus Augustus. Pontifex Maximus. Princeps. The first man among equals?" Gaius looked increasingly horrified that Percy did not know who this was. Reaching into his satchel, Gaius pulls out a silver penny and shoves it into Percy's hand.

On the coin was a picture of a man with a laurel crown on his head and a stubby beard. The inscription read "IMP VESPASIANUS AUGUSTUS". Percy covered part of the coin with his thumb so that it now read "IMP - ANUS". Hahaha.

"Oh, you mean the…" Percy looked for the right word for 'Emperor' in ancient Greek, "the king?"

"He's not a king," Gaius frowned, "Rome doesn't have a king."

"…Sure. The Augustus is coming to Gaeta then? To bring food for the refugees?"

"Food and coin, I believe. From what I have heard, the Augustus went to see what has become of Mount Vesuvius with his own eyes and has been going to all of the nearby cities to pay them enough for food and to build housing for all the refugees."

"So they'll have enough food?"

"Yes. Or money to travel to whatever family they might have nearby."

Percy nodded, looking out along the refugee camp. "I'll stay here until all these people have somewhere to live. Gaius, I know you want me to go with you, but I can't leave yet. Once everyone has a home, I promise I'll come find you in Rome, alright?"

Gaius' shoulders slumped. "Alright."

"And Gaius? Don't tell people in Rome I'm a demigod. I don't really want people to know."

"I'm afraid it is far too late for that. Everyone in Italy has heard of the son of Neptune born from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius."

"… What?"

.

A caravan train full of food, coin and other supplies arrives in Geata within three weeks of the explosion. It is accompanied by about three thousand soldiers and a guy in a purple cloak. The Augustus. Percy's not going to lie, he looks pretty kingly. Shiny armor, healthy horse, silk tunic, flowy cloak, and about a hundred people bowing to him whenever he does anything. Also the soldiers. The three thousand soldiers who look like they are itching for a fight. Percy sees them ride in Gaeta from the beach and decides to avoid the headache by going crab fishing. He would probably deeply offend some guard by not bowing properly or commit a terrible Roman taboo by eating an apple wrong or something and get into a fight.

Or maybe one of the guards is a monster in disguise and when Percy kills them, he'll then have to navigate the Roman justice system without being able to speak Latin. Nah. He treats the Augustus the same way he treats the popular kids at school: AVOID.

.

The next morning, Marcella and Gaius join the Augustus' caravan train and a large group of refugees to travel back to Rome. Giaus tries once again to convince Percy to come with them, but Percy says goodbye and waves them off. Marcella hands Percy a scrap of paper with the name of her father, Gaius Plinius Celer, telling him again that he would be welcome if he goes to Rome. About half of the refugees leave with the Augustus' caravan train back to Rome.

Percy stays in Geata. Augustus did indeed leave money behind for the refugees, and soon enough Geata has brought in extra food and building supplies to make new apartments. Percy is no builder but he helps where he can by digging foundations, baking bricks in a big clay oven and catching crabs around the coast to feed hungry people. Within a month they've built a three-story apartment building and have plastered the walls. They start building a second and third.

A month and a half after Giaus and Marcella leave a small group of travelers show up in Gaeta. At first Percy thinks they are refugees as they are not wearing fancy clothes and look around a bit lost. Then they show up at the beach one day when Percy comes out of the waters with his catch and bow to him wide-eyed.

"It is an honor for us mere mortals to meet a being such as yourself, my lord. We have come to honor and serve you," the eldest of the five men says, bowing low.

"Um. No thank you. I don't need any honor or service. Uhh. Here, have a crab." Percy hands them a crab and awkwardly tries to walk past them.

"We can prove ourselves to you, my lord. Ask of us a task, and we shall deliver," a younger man says in Greek, stepping forward.

"Haha. No. I don't give out quests. That's more of a thing the gods do. I am a normal teenager and not a god."

"My lord, we have watched you walk along the bottom of the sea as easily as a mortals walk on a road and stay beneath the waves for over an hour."

"I'm just really good at holding my breath."

The men look at each other in utter confusion. Apparently, they were not expecting their local Demigod to be a terrible liar and weren't sure what to do. Percy also wasn't sure what to do. In hindsight he probably should have been expecting this after a thousand people saw him use his demigod powers to rescue them but in Percy's defense Annabeth is usually the one who makes plans and she won't be born for thousands of years. So.

"Have another crab," Percy says. He hands the younger man a dead crab and walks away with the rest of his catch. Hopefully that will be the end of it.

It was not the end of it.

Percy's cultists follow him to his wooden hut and leave him coins. Percy tries to returns the coins but they don't accept them, so Percy hands them to other refugees. They hum prayers as Percy lays bricks for the apartment complex they were building. The cultists do not try to help build the apartment. Jerks. Percy wakes with a laurel wreath on his head and is a bit weirded out that someone came into his hut while he was asleep.

"Please just leave me alone. I do not want to be worshipped. Also, don't enter my hut. How would you feel if I broke into your house in the middle of the night?"

"We would be honored, my lord."

"Ugh! No! You weirdos." Percy says, frustrated. A tiny storm-cloud starts to brew directly above Percy's head. Great.

"You are still young, my lord. We understand if you feel lost, that is why we have come. I would guide you as if you were my own son." The oldest man says, with a bit of a glint in his eyes.

Percy steps back. "I don't need someone to adopt me. I already have parents."

"Where is your mother then, Young Lord?" The old man asks.

"Shut up!" Percy raises his voice and the wind rises along with it. "My mother is fine! She's just- She's just… She's fine!"

"My lord Perseus, we meant no harm. We only meant to help you," The old man is looking nervous now. His eyes cast to the skies.

"I'm not a damn child and I'm not a damn puppet you can control. Leave me be, that's an order!" Percy shouts and the rain starts pouring down. A storm has brewed on the beach of Gaeta. His tiny cult of five men flee. So do the other refugees.

Percy may have overdone it but he had been avoiding thinking about his mom and now these stupid men had ruined that. Percy lies down in the sand face down and allows the storm rage above him.

Percy misses his mom. He could really use a hug and some blue cookies right about now. Sally Jackson. A woman who isn't born yet and won't be for thousands of years. If she was dead Percy might have been able to travel to the underworld and see her again. Percy will likely never see her again. She's not dead. She's not alive either. She's just not here.

Percy screams into the sand.

.

There is a big fire in the city. Percy sees the smoke in the moonlight. There also seems to be chanting or shouting. Let's hope it's a barbeque and not a weird Roman death ritual or something. Percy pulled himself up from the beach and walks toward Gaeta.

Bad news: It was a weird Roman death ritual.

Good news: the death was a goat.

They had cut the throat of the animal on a stone alter in the center of the city. The old priest of Zeus was standing over the corpse speaking to the gathered people in Latin. The priest had smeared his own face with blood. Charming.

If Percy thought he was being subtle, no one else seemed to agree because the crowd parted before him as he walked into the city square. People moved aside, held their children close and bowed their heads. Percy walked right through the large bonfire in the middle of the town square. He wouldn't want to disappoint the Romans after they put all this effort to host a Roman ritual of goat death.

The priest motioned him to come to the podium before speaking in Greek "Lord Perseus, we have sacrificed a goat in your honor. Please forgive us mere mortals our hubris. The people of Gaeta would beg for your forgiveness. If the goat is not sufficient my Lord, we could sacrifice the offender." The priest motioned to the old man cultist whose hands has been bound with rope. Two burley roman officers stood on both sides of the man, holding him in place.

"I'm not a god. I don't need sacrifice. If you must sacrifice, I'm sure my father Poseidon wouldn't mind a dead goat." Percy picked up the bloody goat without asking permission. He walked down the stone steps of the alter toward the bonfire in the middle of the town square. There was a girl tending to the bonfire who looked oddly familiar.

Percy threw the goat into the bonfire, "To Poseidon! Please be nice to the people of Gaeta this year, I guess. Also, uh, maybe try not to shake the earth near Mount Vesuvius for a while because it turns out that's a volcano. Thanks dad."

The corpse of the goat was engulfed in a pillar of flame as Poseidon accepted the sacrifice and the smoke of the goat went up to the sky. Percy does not understand why gods like the smell of burnt offerings because the goat smelled like burnt hair to Percy, which is gross.

Percy turned to the old cultist man, who started shaking as Percy approached. Percy pulled Riptide from his pocket. Gaius's mother Marcella had sewn a pocket into Percy's simple tunic a few weeks back. Nice of her. Riptide has taken the form of a quill instead of a pen ever since Percy arrived in ancient Rome. Percy pulls out the bronze quill then twirls it in his fingers to get his sword.

"My Lord. I am so sorry. Forgive my impudence. I should never have spoken to you thus. Forgive an old man his Hubris." The old man begs as the soldiers push him to his knees.

Percy cuts the man's bonds with a single swing. "I am obviously not going to kill you. Have you not heard about Tantalus? I'm pretty sure the moral of that story is 'don't sacrifice people to the gods'. I don't kill people for being mildly annoying. So, you're forgiven for trying to use me as a demigod puppet I guess."

Percy assumed that publicly forgiving the old man for trying to adopt (?) him was the point of this Roman death ritual. Percy looks up at the priest to see if he did a good job or if there was more to the ritual. The priest had fallen to his knees, which could not have been good for the old man's joints. Looking around Percy saw most of the people of Gaeta had fallen to their knees, looking up at him with a mix of awe and fear. Percy was holding a bronze sword, with ten-foot flames roaring behind him, covered in goat's blood and surrounded by over a thousand people on their knees praying in Latin.

Ok.

Alright.

Enough of this cult stuff. Percy was leaving.

People seemed to be united enough to perform rituals together and have enough food to be sacrificing goats to local demigods. The apartments they were building was mostly finished, so people should have a place to live before winter really hit. Percy walks past the crowd of Romans, through the gate in the city wall, past the wooden refugee huts, over the beach and into the ocean.

Time to go to Rome.