章 1: KAI
More than a month has passed since the death of Arthur LionsWorth.
It wasn't too long ago that Arthur had set fire to the forests of Camp Half-Blood in a state of hysteria in a Capture the Flag game - a game I single handedly won, though that's a story for a different time - and left the camp on a solo quest that he was sent on by Chiron.
He had been sending Iris messages to his girlfriend, keeping us all updated on the status of his quest. About a week or so later, the messages stopped, and the entire world bore witness to a horrible sight at Times Square.
With even confirmation from his own mother, Arthur LionsWorth, my good pal and friend, was declared dead. With the death of a fellow camper and the looming presence of a primordial being, Camp Half-Blood is experiencing one of its toughest times…
But hey, nothing lightens up the mood like a game of battle royale, right?
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I rolled to the side and behind a rock as an arrow narrowly whizzed by, embedding itself into the gritty soil behind me.
"By Zeus' name, who is shooting at us?" I asked Rose, my partner for the activity today.
Rose shrugged. "I have no idea, but whoever it is, they have some deadly aim. I'm willing to bet the shooter is an Apollo or Ares member."
I nodded in agreement, the two of us advancing deeper into the tarnished forest and looping around a rather massive sinkhole in the ground.
As we journeyed through the forestry, my mind drifted where it always did on these occasions; thoughts about Arthur and the quest.
I had gone on a quest with Rose, Amethyst, Alexander, Geneva, and Arthur about three months ago after our oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, had prophesied us to be part of a quest to stop a possessed Ares' attack on our camp, as well as find the four masks of Olympus.
On that quest, I had met the aforementioned Arthur LionsWorth, one of the biggest tech moguls in America, and Geneva Rhodes, his girlfriend with a seriously scary temper and daughter of Hebe. Ever since then, the two had become my good friends and I had spent virtually every day with them at camp.
Until a month ago, when the event at Times Square transpired.
The reminder of what happened at Times Square jolted me back into reality as I refocused my efforts on the situation at hand, analyzing the area Rose and I had just entered. I immediately spotted a loot chest, made of a mixture of birch and oak wood, placed right on the stump of a tree nearby and pointed it out to Rose.
The two of us approached the chest with caution - given Dionysus' fondness for traps - and opened it. Inside was a rusty steel sword, a pair of daggers, and a worn leather tunic. The latter was a pretty useless inclusion, as we were handed much stronger, more durable, celestial bronze armor before the event had started.
My guess was that Chiron had originally intended for us to collect armor from the loot chests scattered around, but when he realized that he had made the rather absurd decision to continue allowing the Ares camp to play in the war games we did, he opted against the decision so more campers wouldn't spend the next weeks in a full on boot and sling sitting on a couch eating Pringles while sadly bemoaning the fact they can't do crap about their situation, all because an Ares camper was having a poor day.
Not speaking from personal experience, obviously.
Look, it sounds outlandish, but the second you start tallying up the amount of people that have been injured by Ares campers, you'll realize I have a point.
The rusty sword and the daggers were quite useful though as the two weapons aligned very closely with the weapons Rose and I typically use. Sure, the sword was a lot lighter than Scorcher and a good bit shorter in length, but it would likely suffice.
Just as I was about to reach for the sword, Rose yelled, "Duck!"
I did as she instructed and a sword skimmed the top of my helmet feather. I quickly swiveled around and launched a kick at the swinger's head, hearing a pained groan subsequently followed by a soft thud.
Knocked down on the ground was Connor Stoll, head counselor of the Hermes cabin and the diabolical prankster of camp. At his side was Thomas Lee, a new arrival at camp and someone with the mental maturity of a five year old - infamous for interrupting Chiron at campfire time with raspberries and fart sounds.
I picked up the sword in the loot chest and blocked Thomas' strike. We traded a few blows, but I was quickly able to get the upper hand, thrusting his sword down with my blade and kicking him square in the chest. Thomas stumbled over a branch and landed directly on top of Connor, with the son of Hermes groaning once again.
Before the duo could get up, Rose pointed her fingers at them and shackled their ankles to the ground using a vine spell. They flailed with all their might but the vines held firm.
I gave her a high-five. "One duo out, and about seventeen thousand more to go."
Rose picked up the knives in the chest and we traveled onwards, nearing the lake in the middle of the forest. I peeked out from behind a tree to survey the field before turning back to Rose.
There was still considerable damage to the forestry and vegetation that surrounded the lake from Arthur's 'episode' a month ago. Craters and sizable holes were scattered across the field like the surface of the Moon and trails of fulgurite were sporadically found on the field.
The main issue though was that the field was packed with teams and one could assume that the loot the area contained had already been searched and claimed. My final conclusion was that going to the middle was a big risk with little reward and therefore wasn't worth our time.
"What did you see?" Rose asked.
"Well, not a whole lot," I reported. "Just a bunch of fighting, looted chests, and.. That's basically it. 9/10 doctors would probably say it's not worth our time. I say we just keep going forward until the area clears up."
We walked towards another direction and entered a somber, dark area where the trees obstructed our view of the Sun, and the probability of monster attacks increased exponentially - a statute already up in probability considering the monsters that often prowl the premises and make their homes in the forest.
We were then met with an unpleasant surprise. Katie Gardner and Miranda Gardiner, the two head counselors of Demeter cabin and surprisingly not twin sisters, jumped out at us from the thick tops of the trees.
Funny how I specifically mentioned monster attacks and then we get ambushed by these two, isn't it?
I was narrowly able to dodge Katie's kick before her half-sister nailed me in the stomach with her shield, making me fall backwards on the ground. While the armor had helped mitigate the damage I sustained from the shield attack, its weight made my perpetual descent to the rocky ground a lot worse. A true double-edged sword, if you may.
As I tried to get up, vines wrapped me around the ankles, my legs squirming in desperation but remaining stuck to the ground.
Rose cast a fire spell at Miranda, knocking her back into a tree, and quickly freed me with her two daggers.
I got up quickly, dusted the dirt and grass of my armor, and picked up my sword. Katie dodged Rose's initial purple energy wave, but at the second time of asking, Rose blasted Katie back against the tree and we moved on through the forest and neared the lake, ducking under branches and wading through the heavy amounts of forestry and foliage.
As we entered the lake and the field that surrounded it, an arrow attached with a boxing glove sailed past my ear.
"Only one person uses boxing glove arrows," I said, retrieving the arrow from the ground and dusting some of the dirt off its shaft.
"Amethyst," Rose and I said simultaneously.
I looked to where the arrow had come from and sure enough, Amethyst and her partner, my good friend Alexander Celtic, were on top of Zeus' Fist, their bows at the ready.
Despite her being my sister, Amethyst and I looked nothing alike. Most people found it extremely hard to believe we were related. She had blond hair and blue eyes, while I had brown hair and brown eyes. I guess it was because I took after my mother while Amethyst took after our vain and annoying father, Apollo, god of the sun, light, music, healing, plague, poetry, art, prophecy, archery, and being a pain in everyone's butt.
"Hey, Kai!" Alexander yelled, waving at me while simultaneously grinning. "I have the high ground!"
I chuckled, wanting to reply with some other Star Wars joke but being denied the chance by Rose, who pulled my arm back and hid us behind a large rock for cover.
Amethyst and Alexander rained down an onslaught of arrows at us, as hiding behind the rock had proven to be advantageous.
I would peek out every now and again from the rock and shoot fire projectiles at the two of them, but my aim was egregiously bad, especially when they were atop a large, stone structure and moving around like dogs looking for their tails.
"We should move," Rose suggested. "This battle seems like a lost cause, at least from range. If we want to take them down, we're gonna need to get closer."
I followed her lead as we reentered the heavily shaded parts of the forest. After a small bit of walking, Rose spotted another chest that was held up by a U-shaped rope tied around a tree and angled downwards.
The chest didn't have much, just a wacky looking dagger and a few Celestial bronze tipped arrows. I couldn't use the arrows as I had no bow, but I took the arrows anyway. You never know when a seemingly useless tool or weapon can come in handy.
Just as me and Rose turned around, Haden Bell and Susy Jenner attacked us. The two split off from each other, with Haden facing me down and Susy gunning for Rose. Haden and I raised our swords and went into battle position. In most cases, I would try to be the aggressor, but knowing the children of Ares and their lack of patience, I waited for Haden to make the first move.
As anticipated, Haden recklessly dashed at me with his sword facing forward, apparently trying to pierce the living daylights out of my heart. In the process, he had left himself very vulnerable for a counter attack. With this in mind, I sidestepped his jab and in one swift, concise motion, hit his blade to the ground with my sword and hit his temple with the back of my sword. Haden tumbled to the floor like some 1980s movie actor trying to sell their theatrical bit and hit his head on the stump of a nearby maple tree.
Rose had taken care of Susy rather quickly and we continued forward, going through a thick batch of trees and bushes. We did our best to avoid making any sounds, so we didn't run into any monsters or attract any attention to ourselves. In recent years, Camp Half-Blood had gotten something of a monster infestation, as many vile creatures roamed the forest and prowled through the night, waiting for the perfect time to attack a helpless demigod.
And despite our best efforts, we were found and attacked by a monster. You know how the old saying goes; 'If you're a demigod, never think anything is going well for you or else, you'll probably end up getting attacked by a monster.'
Something along those lines.
Just as we were entering into a small meadow of flowers and trees, we were ambushed by a pit scorpion.
It had eight legs and a narrow, curved tail. It also had grasping pedipalps and a venomous stinger, infamous for ending lives. All it would take was one scorpion sting and you'd die within a few hours.
I shot a stream of fire at the monster though, and it died quickly. Kind of anti-climactic, huh?
I sighed in relief. "Thank the gods there was only one of those things. I was not about to become Hypnos hopped up on cactus juice."
Rose looked at me strangely. "Whatever that means. Come on, we still need to find the mask."
That's when we heard a large hiss emerge from behind us. I looked behind and witnessed a group of pit scorpions dart out of the bushes and lay their eyes on Rose and I, their eyes gleaming with hunger. I just had to say, 'Thank the gods there was only one of those things', didn't I?
I'm cursed - in more ways than one.
"We may or may not have a problem," I told Rose, pointing at the bushes from which the pit scorpions were coming out of.
She turned around and cast a fire spell at the mob of scorpions, afterwards saying, "We need to go NOW."
We sprinted out of the dark forest area and entered the area of the lake. Even though a sizable chunk of time had elapsed, the lake was still packed to the brim with people, as Nyssa and Harley from the Hephaestus cabin battled a duo of Athena cabin members, Pollux and Jake Mason faced Lacy and Millicent, and Oliver and Drew fought Damien White and Chiara.
I glanced at Rose and we made a silent decision to head back into the woods. Just as we were about to go back through the shrubbery, a hook of some kind grappled onto my leg and dragged me backwards.
The hook was easy to break out of however, as I cut myself free within in a few seconds time. Standing a couple of yards behind me were Amethyst and Alexander.
"Ah, hello Ruby. How's your day been?" I asked, speaking like a pompous businessman with a hint of a British accent. I called this persona 'The Gentleman'. Alexander would usually join in, playing as a similar character though with an Australian accent and verbiage, and Amethyst would play the grouch that ruins the whole bit.
My bad - I meant that she just is a grouch, without needing to play any special part or role.
Amethyst fired an arrow at my chest. I slashed the arrow away with my sword effortlessly.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, huh? Did the library close just as you were about to get the fifth book of Useless Greek Mythology 101?" I taunted.
Alexander started laughing while Amethyst's face turned mega red.
Suddenly, she shot an electric-barbed arrow at me and I collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain as the barb sent currents of electricity through my body.
Rose stared at me dumbfounded. "I should ask if you're okay, but I'm more curious as to how she got a taser arrow."
"Blame Jake Mason. Amethyst has gotten a bunch of new arrows from the kid. Makes me wonder if they're dating. I mean, geek love, right?"
Amethyst's face turned even more red. "He's not my boyfriend!"
Alexander started cracking up wildly, with Rose giving a bit of a guilty smile. Amethyst started stomping her feet on the ground in rage, throwing her bow away without realizing.
I quickly capitalized on the opportunity, shooting a ray of light at her ankles, tripping her up while Rose hit Alexander in the shoulder with a shock spell. Alexander started squirming on the floor like a caterpillar, laughing maniacally and mumbling, 'It tickles', over and over again.
Rose then snapped her fingers and vines wrapped Amethyst and Alexander's feet together.
"Well, I always did say you two should spend some more time together," I said, chuckling. "See you guys later!"
Rose and I then set our sights on the battle that had been going on. The large fight had ended, with many wounded campers on the floor and weapons scattered across the grass. One of the campers, a child of Athena, fell to the bottom of a large crater formed a month ago by Arthur's doing. There were obviously a lot of safety hazards Chiron didn't take into consideration when he announced the game, such as the, again, strange inclusion of the Ares cabin and the horrid condition of the battlefield.
I prepared to raise my sword, but suddenly, the two victors of the fight - Oliver and Drew - started bickering with one another.
"This is the second time this week that you've missed one of our dates, Oliver! What is going on with you?"
Oliver sighed exasperatingly. "I'm sorry, Drew, I'm really trying."
"Yeah, well you're not trying hard enough!"
"Wow, would you guys just get a room already?" I yelled jokingly, the two turning around to see my wide smirk.
Rose then shot a wave of magic at the couple as Oliver and Drew fell face first onto the floor and were then tied down by Rose's vines, with Drew huffing angrily as she turned her head to the side and away from Oliver who sighed deeply once again.
"Those two are the worst," I said, a weak laugh parting my mouth.
Rose shrugged. "It's really a wonder why those two got together in the first place."
The two of us continued through the clearing, making our way into the end of the forest.
"Do you think the mask is in this part?" Rose asked.
I shrugged. "I mean, we checked all the other parts of the forest and this place looks relatively un-looted. It kind of has to be here."
The two of us looted a few of the chests in the area, but none of them had the mask. Just as we were about to exit the forest, I spotted a chest atop one of the trees and pointed it out to Rose.
She held her hands upwards and closed her eyes. The chest began levitating towards us.
Once the chest reached the ground, I took a deep breath before opening it up. The Mask of Power - a replica, of course, the real mask was somewhere in the dusty old trophy room - was inside, looking at me angrily like Amethyst did when I made a pun.
As I took the mask out of the chest, a machine launched confetti in my face from inside the chest. Then, a pre-recorded audio message came on.
"Congratulations on getting the mask! You win!" a voice cheered. "Dionysus, any words?"
In the background of the message, Dionysus burped. "Yeah, go Tom Brady! Lacrosse forever!"
The audio message ended abruptly.
"Yay," I said unenthusiastically. "I feel like a real winner."
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