14. The torment of Tantalus.
Before their departure, Damian was skeptical of Tyson. The cyclops' imposing stature and slightly clumsy demeanor made him uncomfortable. However, over time, he began to notice Tyson's sweet and genuine nature. One afternoon, while Tyson was repairing a shield for another demigod, Damian stopped to watch. Tyson noticed his curiosity, smiled warmly, and invited him closer.
"Shield broken, but not impossible to fix," Tyson said enthusiastically. Damian was struck by Tyson's simplicity in tackling problems and the passion he poured into his work.
Before leaving, Tyson gave Damian a small pendant he had crafted from leftover metal pieces—an anchor-shaped amulet. "For protection," Tyson said. The gesture deeply moved Damian, who began to see Tyson in a new light. After Tyson's departure, Damian often carried the pendant, feeling it symbolized a special bond with someone who, despite his size, had a gentle heart.
Chiron's departure was a heavy blow to the camp. When Tantalus took over, Damian didn't know what to expect, but it took only a few days to realize things were going downhill. Tantalus seized every opportunity to belittle the demigods, constantly reminding them of his superiority without ever lifting a finger to help.
Damian tried to remain as invisible as possible. During meals, he kept to himself, training alone or with Gray and Simon to avoid Tantalus' attention. Though naturally reserved, Damian couldn't ignore the growing discontent among the demigods. The loss of Chiron and the absence of strong leadership were palpable.
The situation worsened with Tantalus' new rules, which seemed more punitive than helpful. Damian watched his friends grow increasingly frustrated. Even the usually calm children of Apollo appeared weary and irritable.
One day, during archery practice, Tantalus stopped to observe Damian. "Ah, one of the quiet ones," he remarked sarcastically. "Too silent to be useful in battle." Damian stiffened but said nothing, knowing that any response would only worsen the situation.
Despite the heavy atmosphere, Damian found some solace spending time with Chiron when possible, though the centaur now spent more time away from camp. Chiron reassured him that things would eventually improve. Meanwhile, Damian continued to adapt as best he could. He drew, trained, and clung to the hope that Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson would succeed in restoring order to the camp.
Unexpectedly, Damian found refuge in the Big House, where Mr. D often spent his time. Though the god's sarcasm and irritable demeanor were hard to tolerate, Damian felt more at ease with him than with Tantalus. Mr. D represented a strange semblance of normalcy during such turbulent times.
Frequently, Mr. D invited Damian to play pinochle, one of his favorite pastimes. Initially skeptical, Damian soon realized the game, though somewhat frustrating, distracted him from his thoughts. While Mr. D never missed a chance to make snarky comments, Damian sensed a hint of affection behind the sarcasm—or perhaps just the god's way of masking his loneliness.
In quieter moments, Mr. D opened up a bit, sharing fragments of his past with bitter disillusionment about the restrictions imposed by Zeus. Despite his apparent anger, Damian sensed a certain sadness behind the god's irritable exterior. These conversations, full of complaints and sarcasm, made Damian feel less isolated, even if they never grew truly deep.
When Tantalus announced that Clarisse and two other demigods would be tasked with retrieving the Golden Fleece, the camp erupted with anxiety and skepticism. Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson distrusted Tantalus and his leadership. Determined to do things right, they decided to leave the camp secretly and undertake the quest themselves. Damian, however, didn't feel ready for such a dangerous mission. In the end, he stayed behind, held back by doubts and the sense that he couldn't do much to help at that moment.
As Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson departed silently, Damian watched the scene from a distance, overcome by a profound sense of helplessness. Though he wanted to join them, he knew he wasn't ready to face the dangers that awaited them. Meanwhile, the camp remained under the control of Tantalus, who, despite the chaos brought on by the chariot races and the attack of the Stymphalian birds, fancied himself a "leader" of some kind.
Damian spent most of his time at the Big House with Mr. D., who did his best to make the camp tolerable. Yet, not even the sarcasm and irony of the God of Wine could disguise the fact that, without Annabeth and Percy maintaining order, the camp seemed on the brink of collapse. Tantalus, with his sheer incompetence and disdain for the demigods, was far from the figure needed to lead the camp during such a critical time. Damian wondered how the mission would unfold without Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson stepping in.
Each day, the situation seemed to deteriorate further. While Mr. D. appeared resigned to the chaos, Damian tried to stay useful in small ways. He trained alone with his dagger, continued perfecting his skills with the ocarina, and studied the books Annabeth had given him. Occasionally, he spoke with Tyson, who proved to be a more than capable companion despite his cyclopean nature and towering stature.
Still, not a day went by that Damian didn't wonder how things were going outside the camp. Every noise, every movement in the woods filled him with unease. What if something went wrong? What if his friends failed to retrieve the Golden Fleece? The thought tormented him, but he knew there was little he could do from his current position.
Meanwhile, Tantalus's presence only worsened the atmosphere. His relentless sarcasm, always ready to mock anyone, exacerbated tensions among the demigods. Damian found himself spending more time alone, reflecting on the words Annabeth and Percy had said before they left. "Stay safe, Damian," Annabeth had told him. He had responded, but deep down, he felt something was amiss. He couldn't help but think that if he had joined the mission, things might have turned out differently.
But he couldn't change what had happened, and now the camp was in Tantalus's hands—a figure Damian deeply resented. Tantalus's inability to manage the camp, his arrogance, and his complete lack of leadership made him a far greater threat than anyone imagined. Each time Damian saw Mr. D. grow irritated or heard Tantalus's sarcastic laughter, his heart sank. He felt trapped in a camp that was steadily losing its safety and stability.
Tantalus, in truth, cared little for protecting the demigods. He was uninterested in their safety or the increasingly dire mission at hand. Yet Damian had no choice but to wait and hope his friends returned safely with the Golden Fleece, ready to put an end to this madness. Weeks passed, and with them, Damian's sense of helplessness grew day by day. The camp's atmosphere continued to worsen, with Tantalus's incompetence and biting sarcasm only adding to the frustration among the demigods. As Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson remained absent, Damian sought solace in anything he could, but nothing truly distracted him from thoughts of his friends and their perilous quest.
Every day, thoughts of how things might be going beyond the camp tormented him. What would happen if they failed to retrieve the Golden Fleece? What if something went wrong during their journey? Damian silently prayed to his father, who had yet to reveal his identity, hoping that somehow, he might intervene to help his friends. He didn't know what else to do. It didn't feel like the right time to step forward, but the hope that his father might do something to save Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson kept him praying.
Days turned into weeks and then months, but the Golden Fleece still seemed so far away. Damian continued his routine at camp—training, studying, and trying to stay busy. Tyson, who had continued working on building trust with the other demigods, was a comforting presence, but the loneliness Damian felt was hard to ignore. Even though Tyson was kind and always available, Damian couldn't stop thinking about how different his life would be if he were with his friends. Sometimes, he wondered if he was missing an opportunity to grow, but deep down, he felt that staying at the camp was the right choice. All he could do was hope for the best—that Annabeth, Percy, and Tyson would return with the Golden Fleece and save them all.
Meanwhile, tensions at the camp grew. The demigods felt the pressure mounting. The children of Ares were more restless than usual, and even Mr. D. seemed to have lost some of his usual sarcastic spirit, overwhelmed by the chaos reigning under Tantalus's leadership. His irritation grew with each passing day, but without strong leaders like Annabeth or Percy, the camp increasingly resembled a place of internal conflict rather than true unity.
Damian found refuge in his thoughts and prayers, trying to keep hope alive. During the long, lonely nights, he wondered if there was more he could do. But all he could do was wait, pray, and hope. Hope that fate would smile on his friends and that, eventually, their mission would end in success.
Lunch at the camp was usually a time for light chatter and laughter, but that day, the air was tense as never before. The demigods sat at their respective cabins, eyes fixed on their plates, trying to ignore the nervousness in the air. Damian, as always, remained quiet, but he could feel the weight of the silence around him. Mr. D. did nothing to ease the tension; if anything, his sarcasm was sharper than usual. The atmosphere was thick with unease that refused to dissipate.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by a brilliant light. An iridescent message, brimming with energy, materialized before the eyes of all the demigods, illuminating the sky above Camp Half-Blood in a surreal display. What appeared was as shocking as it was revealing. A voice rang out through the iris, announcing that it was not Chiron who had poisoned Thalia's tree, but Luke.
Damian froze. A pang of pain struck his heart as he watched, as if in a movie, Luke, his former friend, battling Percy. He couldn't believe what was happening. The boy he had known, who had treated him with such kindness, was now an enemy to everyone. Damian's heart ached at the thought of such a betrayal. He couldn't understand how Luke could bring himself to commit such a cruel act.
The message cut off abruptly, leaving the camp enveloped in an almost unnatural silence. Only the distant sounds of chaos persisted. Mr. D. seemed smug about the situation and, with a sly smile, sent Tantalus back to where he came from. A small victory for everyone, but Damian knew the peace was only temporary. Many things were yet to unfold.
When Chiron finally returned to the camp, a collective sigh of relief spread among the demigods. His presence was reassuring, a protective aura that enveloped them. But that day, Damian felt the weight of Luke's betrayal more intensely. The wound he had tried to ignore seemed open, more painful than ever.
That evening, as he often did when he felt overwhelmed, Damian decided to make an offering. Not to the usual god or entity he turned to, but as a symbolic gesture. With a hint of malice that had crept into his heart, he burned his offering in the sacred fire, letting the flames consume the incense and the sacrifice. With a bitter smile, he burned a portion of the offering for his unknown father, hoping that, even if he had never revealed himself, he might sense his cry for help. Then, with a gaze betraying a deeper unease, he burned a second portion for Hades, asking him to increase Tantalus's punishment for all the pain he had inflicted on the camp.
Before concluding his offering, he whispered a promise to himself: "Tomorrow, I'll bring you a piece of chocolate cake, if you can hear me, my father. And maybe, if things go well, for you too, Lord of the Underworld."