Welcome one and all to the next chapter of The philosophy of fear.
Where big daddy skyfucker shows up to teach Artemis a hard lesson.
On with the show.
Artemis, the Hunters Campground, South America.
"Father! Don't!" Artemis screams as she watches Zeus raise his hand toward her son. She quickly left her tent as soon as she felt the burst of divine energy and the crack of thunder. Only to watch in horror as Zeus, her king and father, blast an unsuspecting Harry with a bolt of his divine domain. "What have you done!?" She screams in horror and rage as she raises her bow to aim at Zeus with her hunters following her actions.
"Calm yourself, Artemis," the Skyfather says sternly, lightning crackling from his eyes in warning as he looks at Artemis with a frown. "The boy is unconscious and nothing more, now put down your bow before you do something even more foolish," he warns with no warmth in his voice but neither Artemis or her Hunters listen.
"You had no right to-" Artemis growls out at Zeus before she is quickly cut off.
"No right? I have no right?!" Zeus bellows, causing the sky to light up as lightning strikes across the sky. "Do you forget yourself, Artemis!? Are you that blinded by the boy?!" He yells as more of Artemis' hunters spill from the tents dotting the campground.
"My Lady!" Zoë calls out, charging across the campground with Moontide already in hand and her eyes widening at the sight of Skyfather.
"Enough of this," Zeus says with a frown before snapping his fingers that sounded like a crack of thunder and followed by a blinding light. Artemis closes her eyes for a moment and turns away from it, as the light fades she turns back and finds herself alone in the campgrounds, alone with her father.
"What did you do?" Artemis says, horror and fear sinking into her words as she looks around to see any of her hunters. "What did you do!?" She yells at Zeus in a blind rage filled with worry.
"You will calm yourself at once, Artemis. Your hunters are unharmed, I didn't want them getting in the way so I graciously sent them to the temple of Diana at New Rome," Zeus informs Artemis as he stares her down with a disappointed frown on his lips.
Artemis grits her teeth, her worry for her hunters abating for the moment. "What do you want, Father?" Artemis asks with gritted teeth, she was fully aware of how little of a chance she stood against her father in a fight and to her surprise, Zeus' eyes softened.
"I want what any father would want, to love his children and guide them to the right path," Zeus tells her, his voice soft but the frown never leaving his face. "And for untold millennials, I have never once had to correct your path. You, above all other Olympians, have kept to your role as the Hunter. You've kept order in the wilds when Pan vanished, you kept your domains in order, and never once complained about; not even when the mortals passed Selene's domain on to you," he says with a proud look in his eyes and his frown lessens as he spoke of Artemis. "You have been my favorite child. More so than Ares or Athena, Hephaestus or Dionysus, or even Herakles; even your brother Apollo. You have been my pride and joy amongst them all," Zeus admits, his eyes turning sad as he looks at Artemis' surprised face. She had never heard her father Zeus speak of her in such a way, not once, he never once admitted he was proud of her in any way. But, until recently, he had never admitted he was disappointed in her either.
"Father?" Artemis says softly, not understanding why he was saying these things as the worry begins to borrow a hole in her stomach.
"I have shielded you from your siblings and your aunts and uncles when one of their sons had come across you bathing by accident and you had killed them. I have protected you from every complaint leveled against you by the others when you acted uncaring to their plights and chose to abstain from voting. I have spoiled you rotten," Zeus admits, with a shake of his head.
"I've come to realize that is why. Why you thought you could break one of my laws, a law meant to protect us from the consequences of mortal hubris, all because I have spoiled you," the skyfather says, looking back at his daughter with anger boiling in his eyes like a great storm. "You brought a Magician into this world, one with a direct connection to the council without a single thought to the possible consequences of your actions. Out of all the gods on the council, I would have never thought that you would break that one law, and now, it comes down to me to punish you for it," Zeus says grimly as he raises both of his hands.
The storm clouds begin to darken and churn as the wind begins to pick up, Zeus' eyes go white with power as electricity crackles from them. A surge of lightning runs down his arms and into the palms of his hands and arching between his fingers.
"The council would never-" Artemis tries to challenge her father as she takes a step back, unable to teleport away with Harry, blocked by the cosmic powers of the King of Olympus.
"The council has already voted," Zeus all but roars at Artemis over the gales of his creation. "Nine to two," he informs Artemis, taking no pleasure in the way her face falls in shock and disbelief. "Know, my daughter, that I take no pleasure in this but it is my responsibility as both your father and king to dole this punishment out," he says, resolute with his words and actions as Artemis takes another step back, her eyes widening in fear.
"Father, please-" Artemis tries once more but is swiftly cut off as the lightning jumps from Zeus' palms to her, electrocuting her as she begins to scream bloody mercy.
"AhaaHaaaAAhhAaaAHaaA!"
"Artemis Phaesporia of the Olympians! The Hunter of Monsters and Keeper of the wilds, Protector of Children and Mistress of the Moonlit world! For the crime of breaking one of our law and mothering a Magician, I, your king and father, with the authority given to me by the Olympian council hereby strip you of your godhood, your Immortality, and power over your domains, leaving you with only enough power that would be awarded to your lieutenant!" Zeus roars as his power courses through Artemis, arching off of her and spitting trees and stones as she continues to scream.
"AhaaaahaHaaaaAhaaH!"
Artemis felt as every atom of her was burning, her muscles were being torn fiber by fiber, her bones cracking and burning inside of her, and her very essence being split from her. Everything was white hot pain that she couldn't even form a thought in, let alone try to escape. After what felt like an eternity of fire and pain, it blessfully ended as the deepest sense of violation roots itself deep inside her. She falls forward to land on her face, feeling too weak to stop herself, it was a challenge to even breathe let alone keep herself on her knees.
Zeus pulls back his power from his daughter, dragging with it her divine spark in the shape of the full moon encased in lightning. He breathes deeply from the exertion of splitting a goddess from her rightful power, it was a task for any lone god, even one as powerful as he. He looked down at the basketball sized moon floating just above his palm for a moment with a frown, it was beautiful in a cold, distant way. He sighs once before sending the orb of divine power skyward and turns to the smoking and twitching body of her daughter.
"This is harder for me than you could even imagine, my Daughter. But I have learned something from you these past few years, and that is if one spares the rod, they spoil the child," Zeus says softly, a frown on his face as he watches Artemis finally push herself up. "So, this is you rod, dear daughter, if you wish to continue to protect the boy and to care for him, you will be reminded of the consequences of having a Magician. If you wish to restore your Godhood, it awaits you three day's travel that way-" Zeus says as he raises his hand to the southeast. "-in the City of Paititi at the highest point. You can only bring the boy with you and what you can scavenge from your camp," the Skyfather says flatly before slipping his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he turns away from Artemis.
"Hopefully this little quest, or Hunt if you prefer, will give you some perspectives on your choice, my dear Daughter," Zeus says, finishing his peace and with another crack of thunder and flash of his divine domain, he vanishes from the campgrounds.
Ten minutes later, Harry Potter.
"...rry," echoes in his mind as his head swims with pain and the thumping of rabbits feet. His whole body felt sore as if he had just had a full contact training with his teacher.
"Har…" he couldn't remember what had happened at first, his last clear memory was leaving his tent angry at Zoë but burying it past the front door. He was going to go talk to Artemis about something, something she wanted to speak to him about but Zoë wouldn't tell him what about. Then…then nothing, just a blank white sheet of pain.
"Harry!" a voice he didn't recognize yells as the tingling in his arms and legs finally dies down. "Come on, wake up! I know you're not dead yet," the voice says before he feels a sharp pain across his face. His face scrunches up as he moans out in pain, his head tilting back and forth as to try to avoid getting slapped again. "That's it, Harry. Wake up, we, unfortunately, don't have time for this. Now- wake up!" The voice calls out and Harry's eyes snap open as pain shoots into his ocular nerves.
He quickly snaps them shut before rolling on his side. "Bloody fuck!" He curses.
"You can say that again," the voice says as he pushes himself up to his hands and knees, his right arms feeling stiff but he has feeling back in it now.
"Bloody fuck!" He curses again before slowly, and gently, opens his eyes to the world. It was blurry and out of focus, he looked to his side to see who was talking to him because he didn't recognize the voice. The outline was vague and grimey as Harry blinks a few times to clear the fog from his eyes and when the world comes into sharper focus, he takes a sharp breath as his eyes widen at the sight of the girl.
The girl sighs, despair blooming across her face. "What did he do? Am I…blonde?" She asks in horror, making a disgusted face. "Please don't tell me he made me look like the bimbo as well," she says as she presses her face into her hands. Harry blinks, confused by the girl, he knew every member of the hunters by sight and a fair few of the handmaid's, so he was relatively sure he didn't know this girl.
But she did look horrifyingly familiar. Her red hair was curly rather than straight and kept in a low ponytail out of her face instead of spilling over her shoulders. Her hair also wasn't as vibrant red, more a muted dark red like his teachers. She was pale with a splash of freckles over a slightly hooked nose, she had also hadn't lost any of her baby fat even if she did look a few years older than him. Her chubby cheeks went well with her ever so slightly pointed ears that give the girl a nymph or fea like look to her. But as she pulled her hands away from her face, it was the eyes that stopped Harry's heart; they were the same as his.
A shining emerald green.
"What? What is it, Harry?" She asks, slightly panicked as he just kept looking at her in shock. "Oh by the Hunt he did make me blonde, didn't he!? Oh, of course he would do that! Humiliate me and punish me all at the same time!" She groans out before standing, looking straight up into the cloudy sky over the rainforest. "Damn you father! How could you do this!? I would have taken the punishment! But to make me look like that bimbo is unacceptable!" She shouts right before it begins to rain on them, causing the girl to scream in rage.
Harry just sits on the soaked earth, looking up at her in blind confusion, she was taller than him with a runner build and long legs. Finally, after watching the girl kick a large stick across the campground in a rage, Harry finally finds his voice. "Who the fuck are you?" He asks, watching the girl turn to him, looking equally confused.
"Harry, it's me. Artemis, your mother," the girl says with a gesture to herself. Harry blinks twice, not believing a word of it for a moment as the girl sighs. "I know I don't look like I normally do, but you have to believe me. I am Artemis," she reiterated to him.
Harry looks around the campgrounds and notices a distinct lack of his sisters before turning back to the girl. "T-tell me something only Artemis would know," Harry says, looking at the girl with a glare.
"When we first met I, wrongfully, called you a curiosity because we are both woefully unequipped to deal with other people," the girl admits with a frown as she stresses the word.
Harry blinks twice before letting out a shaky breath. "O-Okay, I believe you," Harry says before trying to stand. There were only four other people who knew Artemis had called him that when they first met and one of them- -Slam- and the others were nowhere near South America. "What- what happened to you? Where is everyone else?" Harry asks as Artemis helps him to his feet and watches as Artemis lips twist into an angry scowl and her painful green eyes grow stormy.
"How much do you remember?" She asks him, her scowl never leaving her face.
Harry rubs his head with a frown. "Not much, I was walking across the campground and then- nothing," he says with his frown never leaving his face.
Artemis sighs and crosses her arms before rubbing her eyes with one hand. "My father showed up," she says with a slight growl to her voice.
Harry mouths the word confused before his eyes shoot wide open. "That motherfucker!" Harry curses as his hands run through his hair.
"A more true statement never spoken, my mother is Leto, the Titan of Motherhood after all," Artemis says with a nod of her head as Harry slowly turns to her with a look of astounding confusion on his face. "But now is not the time to talk about either Zeus' or Leto's role as your grandparents. No, my father showed up to enact a punishment on me- which is why I am like… This," she says gesturing to herself with a hum of annoyance in her voice.
"What did he do to you?" Harry asks, looking at her confused as Artemis scowls once more.
"He turned me mortal," she says softly while flexing her hands.
"Wait, he can just do that?" Harry asks, shocked.
"Well, typically, no he can't," Artemis says before turning back to Harry with a sigh. "Back in the age of myth, when Olympus was just being established as our center of power with the Flame of the West, my father was…a tyrant," she says as she crosses her arms over her chest. "He acted more like my grandfather than any other time in our history, it got so bad that most of my aunts, my uncle Poseidon, and all my half siblings got together and imprisoned Zeus in a net created by Hephaestus. Aunty Hestia was the one to lead the charge against my father and demanded that he was held accountable for his actions. My father had other thoughts on that, so we left him in the net until he saw the errors of his ways," she says with a frown.
"How long did that take?" Harry says with a raised brow as he works his shoulder in a circle to work the kinks out of it.
"About a hundred years, give or take," Artemis says with a shrug as Harry stops and gapes at her for a moment. "My father was far worse back then, drunk off his own power. But he finally relented to our request, while he would hold the crown and we would never question that. He was to restrict his power and what he could do with his authority as king to a democratic vote between the Olympian council, so long as a majority of us were in favor of the action he would be free to do what has been voted on," she admits with a frown.
"For him to be able to strip me of my godhood, even for a short amount of time, that would mean that-" Artemis tells Harry, her eyes turning skyward as Harry finishes for her.
"The Olympian council had to have voted in favor of it," Harry says breathlessly before blinking twice in disbelief. "But what the hell was the crime to strip you of godhood? And for how long?" Harry asks in a panic.
"My father, no matter how ruthless he is or how much authority he was given, would not strip me of my godhood permanently. Besides, he has already told me how to reatten it in a rather short amount of time, all things considered," Artemis explains as she looks back to Harry with a small hopeful smile.
"He's done this before? The whole stripping gods of godhood thing?" Harry asks and watches as Artemis nods her head.
"Yes, but never to me," She admits with a frown. "He's done it to Apollo twice, Ares once, and Dionysus a few times as well. He calls it 'giving them perspective on their actions,'" she says with a roll of her eyes.
"Okay, so how do we get your godhood back?" Harry asks with a frown.
Artemis doesn't say anything for a long moment, the scowl appearing on her lips once more as she looks over the abandoned campground. "We have to go to Paititi," she says almost ominously.
"What the hell is Paititi?" Harry asks, confused, causing Artemis to frown once more with a dark look in her eyes.
Urqupa Llantuynin, Peru, South America, several hours later.
Artemis had avoided Harry's questions, she neither told him why she was being punished nor what in the bloody hell Paititi was. Citing that they had to get moving as fast as possible to get to a small Village that was only a half a day's walk through the jungle from the Hunters Campground and how she would like to get there before sundown. After Artemis had told him most of what had happened, ignoring his questions as to why once again, she ordered him to grab his back and scavenge what he thought they would need from camp before they got moving.
That's when both Artemis and Harry discovered a few key things.
First off: most of the field rations, Ambrosia, and Nectar were missing. There was just enough to heal what was left of Harry's wounds (though he still had to be careful with how he moved) and a little left over for an emergency, but that was it. They had a day worth of field rations if they stretched between them.
Secondly: Artemis' bow was gone, and that simple fact alone through Artemis into a rage like Harry had never seen before. As he watched her pick up one of the large logs the Hunt was using as a seat around the campfire and hurl it right across the campground. Apparently, due to old laws one of the Olympians couldn't usurp another's symbol of power, but thanks to Artemis no longer being a god the law no longer applied to her and Zeus had snatched it away.
But that wasn't all, Harry's spears were gone as well. Both the Gaé Bolg and the Gaé Buidhe were taken by Zeus as well, leaving both Harry and Artemis with only spare bows they were able to find in the camp.
"This such bullshit, I hate using a bow to fight," Harry muttered to himself as his fingers ran down the string of the bow before pulling on it to test it. "Asshole taking my spears," he curses angrily before he notices Artemis' head slowly turning to him with narrowed angry eyes.
"Excuse me?" She asked, an eye brow shooting up as she spoke. "What was that, son? Something about you hating bows?" She asked dangerously.
"Ummm, I mean- ah, there, um…awe-awesome when Hunting?" Harry said, though it came out more like a question as he cringed at how it sounded to him.
Artemis just continued to glare at him for another long moment before jerking her head to face another direction with her nose in the air and an angry look in her eyes. "Well, it seems someone needs to learn to appreciate their mothers divine weapon a bit more, something I will…remedy later," she said before walking away from Harry, and he was sure that Artemis wouldn't forget that. The only upside when they did a run down of what they still had was the fact Harry still had his wand. Artemis seemed a little relieved when Harry had shown that he still had it.
Artemis scowled at the sight of the wand and her eyes narrowing at the stick in Harry's hand before she sighed. "As much as I dislike it, we'll probably need it during this journey. So, for now, I am lifting the restriction on you using magic, Harry, I'd rather you fight with something you are comfortable with after all," she told him with a slight glare.
"Wait, am I even allowed to use magic in South America?" Harry asked with a frown as he slipped his wand back into his holster.
"You'll find that the Congresso Nacional de Direito Mágico are far more lenient and forgiving when it comes to underage magic here in South America," Artemis said as they finished packing up for their trip on foot. "With a vast majority of the country being rainforest and mountains, it is far easier to hide a budding magical town or city from what they call the Can't-Spells. So long as the wards around the towns and cities are strong, and they follow common sense about Can't-Spell cities then anyone who owns a wand may use it no matter the age," Artemis told Harry as she rolled up a sleeping bag and tied it to the top of her pack.
"How do you know that?" Harry asked as he waved his wand at his tent to pack it up. Hedwig had been relocated with his sisters, something that caused Harry to curse a blue streak.
Artemis shrugs on her pack before looking over at Harry. "I had Agent Doe give me a run down of international magic laws for the America's. I wanted to know in case it ever came up when you were with the hunt," she admitted as Harry tucked his tent into his expanded pack. Harry looked up at her and blinked one or twice, unable to say anything as Artemis was looking to the southeast with a frown set on her lips. Harry felt…touched, Artemis never struck him as a person who would go out of her way to make sure someone else didn't get in trouble, she was more "just enough rope" kind of goddess.
They left the campgrounds after that at a brisk pace, Artemis wanted to get to a village before nightfall overtook the rainforest. They traveled rapidly on foot following game paths when they could and leaping over the underbrush when they couldn't. They didn't talk much, more enjoying the quiet between them and the sounds of the wild around them with the chirping of insects and the calls of the indigenous birds, once or twice they heard the roar of one of the many predators that called the rainforest home.
It was…peaceful and reminded him of the time that Artemis had brought Harry to the Burrow some years ago, taking the long way just to enjoy each other's silent company. It also had the benefit of distracting Harry, allowing him to focus on his surroundings and the Hunt before him instead of the things he would rather not think of.
As the forest began to clear and the hills started to turn steeper with rockier cliff faces, that peace was shattered. As Harry and Artemis had climbed up a rocky ledge to the top, an echo sounded out across the rainforest and silenced all other life for kilometers around. The sound was a roar, loud and powerful, sounding so very angry.
Harry blinks as he turns to look over the expanse of the green canopy where they had just come from. "Did that sound like a bear to you?" Harry asked, turning to Artemis with a confused look.
Artemis' eyes were narrowed, as her emerald green eyes scan the expanse of the forest behind them with a frown on her face. "It did," she said slowly and quietly.
"Are there bears in South America?" Harry asked, turning back to the rainforest with his own frown.
"There are, the Spectacled Bears, also known as the Andean Bear, Ukumair in the local tongue. They're classified as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN, I do believe you would know them as Paddington Bear," Artemis had informed Harry, her frown never leaving her face as she continued to scan the forest before her.
Harry turns to Artemis with a snort. "Really? The children's book?" He asked, vague memories of pre-school he had been sent to where the teachers had blind eyes and a love for reading to the students filling his mind.
"Yes, but that wasn't Paddington. His kind lives in the mountains, not in the forest, whatever made that sound wasn't the same kind and much, much bigger," Artemis said, her tone sound worried as the look on her face as she turns back to Harry. "Let's keep moving, I do not wish to be caught by whatever that was," she said before her and Harry took off once more.
It took them almost two more hours to finally get to the village that Artemis spoke about. They were breathing heavily and covered in sweat by the time they made it to the village, the sun was just starting to descend on the mountain to the east that now cast an almost all encompassing shadow across the forest. The first thing that Harry noticed was the wall, it was composed of large stones that had been molded and shaped to fit perfectly together like a giant puzzle. Moss climbed up the side as thick vines from trees that grow from the top of the large stone wall descended down it, giving the structure an ancient feeling and look that made Hogwarts seem new. Murals were carved into the larger stone squares that depicted people dressed in elaborate clothing and headdress wielding staves, wands, and what looked to be halberds of some kind.
The entrance to the village was flanked by two large pillars of stone with even more carvings in them. Small detailed things that spiraled down as if they were telling a story, an archway connected the two pillars near the top of the wall with a symbol of the sun etched into it with a God like figure sitting in the middle of it. Harry looks up and notices that the archway blocks out the setting sun off to the east, as if the archway was meant to symbolize the rising sun to the West. But the strangest thing were the large polished silver mirrors strapped to the pillars that went up the side of it.
"Where are we?" Harry asks, as he continues to inspect the elaborate carvings along the pillars for some clue, but not understanding them at all.
"It's a small town called Urqupa Llantuynin in the native language, which means in the shadows of the mountains. It is a fully magical community, one of the thriving ones here in Peru, I had intended to bring you here after our hunt for the last day of their festivities," Artemis admits walking up behind Harry, looking up at the detailed carvings like her son with a passive face.
"Why?" Harry asks, turning to Artemis and watches her shrug once.
"I thought you might enjoy it, the magical communities here in South America tend to be isolated but very welcoming to outsiders during their festivals. They see all born with the gift of magic as brothers and sisters under Viracocha, the creator god of the Incan people, as magic allows them to create like he did," Artemis informs Harry with a frown.
"Are they gonna be pissed that you're here? The Incan pantheon, that is," Harry inquires as he turns back to the columns, his mind drifting to a certain goddess and tyrant from his homeland.
"It's technically the just Mesoamerican Pantheon, much like the Greeks and the Romans, the Aztec, Mayan, and Incan Pantheons are just mirrors of themselves under different names. I believe some of the native American tribes had worshiped them in some capacity as well," Artemis says with a small sigh. "But no, the Mesoamerican Pantheon is long gone, even before the Flame of the West moved to North America," she says before she starts walking toward the entrance of the Village.
"What happened to-" Harry tries to ask as he follows behind Artemis, but pauses as he feels a pulse of magic so strong it nearly knocks the wind from his lungs. His eyes widen as he stumbles to a stop in front of the entrance just in time before three sharp cracks could be heard and three people appear at the entrance with wands in hands.
Harry was in front of Artemis before any of the three could so much as twitch with his own wand in hand and leveled at them. The three standing in front of them were two men with a woman in-between them. The man on the left was tall and powerfully built with large shoulders and arms, his face was covered by a colorful mask of a red bat-like demon with large tusks protruding from its mouth that seemed to be carved out of wood. He was wearing a matching red outfit of shorts and a tee-shirt that was hand knitted with a colorful vest of greens, blues, purples and yellows that hung down to mid thigh.
The one on the right was skinnier than the first man and dressed like a warrior from the age of myth. A thick woolen cape wrapped around his form with a pair of copper breastplate and bracers on him, his mask was some type of horned blue demon that blended in with a copper helmet that led into an elaborate headdress of bright blue and green feathers. Other than the wand he was holding, a large circular mace hung from his belt and what seemed to be a rectangular shield on his back.
The woman stood in the middle of them, and Harry had to admit, she was stunning. Long dark hair hung down her shoulder as she studied both him and Artemis with dusky brown eyes that oozed both intelligence and passion in equal measure. Her round youthful face and light brown skin was like something out of a painting, the frown on her full lips looked alien on her face for some reason that Harry couldn't place. She wore a short red and black lace and cotton top that barely covered the swell of her breast with puffy shoulders that showed off her midriff and toned stomach. Her skirt was the same colors as her top and spilled across the forest floor, the band hung off slightly at her waist allowing Harry to see the shape of her hips clearly in a tantalizing and teasing way. She wore a belt and loops of golden suns and silver skulls that seem like they were made to hit each other for some reason.
The group tensed as soon as Harry stepped in front of Artemis with his wand raised, the two masked men turned to look at one another for a moment before the woman started speaking. Her words were whip quick and nothing that Harry could understand, but to his surprise, he felt Artemis hand on his shoulder as she started to speak back in the same quick language. The only words he was able to understand was his name, Artemis', and the "Hunters of Diana," as she spoke, causing the three to look at one another for a brief moment before turning back to Artemis.
The warrior starts to speak next, gesturing with his free hand toward both Harry and Artemis before pointing to the mirrors. He pauses for a moment before turning to Artemis and speaking to her directly for a brief moment.
"Harry," Artemis says in English as she turns to him. "Escobar-" she says while nodding toward the warrior. "-wishes to cast a translation charm on you, so you can be brought into the conversation but he doesn't want to approach while you have your wand raised," she tells him with a soft tone.
Harry turns to the warrior, his eyes narrowing before he lowers his wand but doesn't put it away. Seeing this, the warrior, Escobar, nods his head in respect before approaching him slowly and deliberately with his hands raised. As he gets within arms reach of Harry, he slowly levels his wand at Harry's face causing him to point his own wand at the man's bits just in case. But, thankfully, it wasn't needed as all Harry felt was a faint buzz along his throat and in his ears before Escobar stepped back.
"Can you understand me now, white boy?" Escobar asks, tilting his head to the side in question.
"Yeah, ah, Thanks," Harry offers as he rubs his throat, not trying to be too rude.
"Excellent," Escobar says as he walks back over to the other two. "As your sister told you, my name is Escobar, that's Alejandro-" he says pointing to the larger man before turning to the girl. "-and this is my little sister-" he tries to introduce the girl but she steps forward with the grace of a dancer.
"Esmeralda Santanico, a pleasure," the girl, Esmeralda, says with a large smile toward Harry, causing him to blush a bit.
"Harry. Harry Potter, ah. Nice to meet you all, sorry about- ah, you know," Harry says awkwardly as he rubs the back of his head, causing Esmeralda to giggle.
"Nah, it's all good white boy. Can't be too relaxed in the jungle," Alejandro says with a joyful voice as he crosses his arms.
"As it stands, no blood, no foul," Escobar says with a shrug. "Now why don't you two come into town, you're just in time for the closing of the festival so you're in for a treat," he says nodding his head toward the village.
Artemis and Harry look at one another before Artemis nods her head and begins to walk forward, following behind Escobar. "I hate to intrude, but I require an audience with your elder, if they'll permit it,'' she says while walking past the mirrors, only to stop when she catches her reflection.
"It will have to be after the opening dance to speak with him freely, but Elder Ekkeko will probably want to thank you on villages behalf to take to your leader for helping with the Chimaera infestation," Alejandro says as he walking back with Escobar, only to turn and see Artemis looking at her reflection with wide eyes.
Esmeralda steps up to Harry with a faint smile. "You're in luck to catch the closing dance of the festival, I'm told it's a sight to behold for Gringo's who have never seen it before," she says, wrapping her arms around Harry's and pulling him along. But Harry barely heard a word she was saying, as he was looking at Artemis still looking at herself in the mirror. Artemis turns to look at Harry as something complicated passes through her eyes as emerald green meets emerald green and Harry looks away. "Oh, don't mind the Mirrors Miss Potter, they're just there for the Nazi Vampires," Esmeralda says with a playful grin.
Artemis nods dumbly for a moment adjusting her pack and catching up with Harry and Esmeralda as the girl's words finally catch up to Harry's brain. "I'm sorry, but the Nazi whats?!" he yells as his voice carries over the Village in the Mountains Shadow.
Chapter done!
Well, this was mostly set up for the next six chapters as Artemis and Harry start their journey to Paititi.
Not gonna lie, I have been speed running Peruvian and Incan culture to at least not fuck this up majorly, but if anyone is willing to give me some sources I would very much appreciate it. Because the only two things I know about Peruvian culture is that A: They work hard and B: They party HARDER.
Speaking of Paititi, Artemis really doesn't want Harry to know about that particular piece of History. But, sadly for her, Harry is going to find out one way or another and BOY! do I have some plans for Paititi. We will be learning a bit about it in the next chapter as I do a bit of word building in the next chapter, which should be some fun.
For a hint about it:
Who here likes Dragon Age, the Video game from Bioware?
Kingsaxcul, out!