บท 79: Finishing Expedition

{New York City, 21st of December 2005}

I reappeared, in front of the Empire State Building, after fixing myself up the best I could since I didn't want to worry any camper or dad for that matter.

Dismissing those thoughts I looked at the newest root of greek myth, the towering skyscraper loomed above me, its Art Deco design shimmering in the morning light. Tourists funneled into the building like monsters to demigod scent. I let down my hood, and walked into the building.

The lobby was bustling with activity, the grandeur of the building lost on the throngs of people who hurried to and fro. The floor manager, an older man in a crisp suit, stood near the elevators, his eyes scanning the crowd. As I approached, I gave him a nod. He returned the gesture with a subtle incline of his head, his expression neutral. He knew who I was— after all I had seen this man seven times already.

I stepped into the elevator, the doors sliding shut with a soft hiss. The inside of the elevator was lined with mirrors, reflecting an infinite number of versions of myself back at me. I let out a breath and dispelled the Mist that clouded the minds of mortals, revealing the true nature of the elevator. The polished metal panel now displayed a single button: "600th Floor."

With a firm press of my finger, the elevator hummed to life. I leaned back against the wall, feeling the familiar, almost soothing vibration as it ascended quickly my skin rippling up from the speed.

The elevator finally came to a sudden halt making me stumble for a second, then the doors slid open with a quiet chime. I stepped out onto the marble floor of the Olympian reception hall, the grandeur of the place always failing to impress, no matter how many times I had been here. Pillars of white marble reached up to a sky that seemed endless, while the air buzzed with scent of horniness and self entitlement.

Ahead of me, a group of campers was gathered, their faces alight with awe as they watched the Muses perform, the only one good thing that came out of these tours.

The nine sisters sang in perfect harmony, their voices weaving together a melody that filled the entire hall with a sense of peace and joy. The campers, most of whom were on their first trip to Olympus, were entranced, charmspeak at its best ladies and gentlemen, their eyes wide as they took stared blankly at the minor goddesses.

I spotted Beckendorf near the edge of the group, his large frame standing out even among the taller campers. He noticed me as I approached, a grin spreading across his face. "There you are, Ozzy. We were beginning to think you were in trouble or something."

I smirked, stepping up beside him. "I had a little detour, nothing I couldn't handle."

Beckendorf chuckled, his deep voice rumbling. "Slight? You were gone for two hours I've never seen Chiron that anxious before."

"What can I say it took a while to get rid of the pests," I replied, my tone light but with an edge of truth. "Still Swiper and Lailaps helped a bit."

He smiled at my words. "I still can't believe you have two divine beasts, Mr Special."

"Meh not my fault I've got a caring godly parent," I replied, my gaze shifting to Beckendorf who now had a sad smile on his face.

"Sorry man, that was insensitive of me," I added placing my hand on his shoulder, "Did your dad show up this time?"

Beckendorf just shook his head as he continued to stare at the singing Muses.

"Don't worry dude, you are the best smith in Camp I'm sure one day you'll meet him."

"Yeah, here's to hoping" Beckendorf sighed, it wasn't long before the Muses finished performace and our group continued moving, which was when I caught Luke's figure at the front of the pack.

Along with Luke a little more at the middle was dad, his equine form towering over the younger demigods. His expression was calm, but I could see the tension in his posture, the way his tail flicked every so often. I could tell he was anxious so giving Beckendorf an encouraging smack on his shoulder and started moving through the group of mostly 11 to 12 year old campers.

"So, what happens now?" I asked Beckendorf, leaning casually against one of the marble pillars.

I touched my father's back gaining his attention, he turned slightly and we caught each other's gaze before he released a sigh of relief.

"Hah, you're okay."

"Come on dad you know I'm stronger than that. I've gone on a quest for eight years and hunted some of the most dangerous mosnters in our mythos."

"Still a father can't help but worry." He added as he ruffled my hair with his hand, since he basically had three heads over me.

"Thanks dad, but I wouldn't worry about me. The worrying thing was the number of monsters I know that we are a ton of campers but there were too many almost as if it were a prepared attack, to I don't know keep us, keep me there."

My dad just listened to my words intently, "Then I think it's time we wrap this trip up and return to camp as quickly as possible."

"Everyone get in groups of 12 and start taking the elevator back down, the first group will be led by Luke!"

As the campers walked back to the elevator, the first group started to enter and when the door closed for just a single moment I could see a small smile on his face, an eerie smile.

Beckendorf and myself led the second group down the elevator. While we were travelling at sonic speeds he asked me "Hey dude are you okay you're making a worse face now than when you came in?"

I looked at Beckendorf before replying "Yeah I'm fine, just been thinking about something."

"Whatever you--"

I interrupted him in the middle of his sentence, "I need my knives repaired."

"You already damaged them! Have you been using the whetstone."

Beckendorf kept on telling me the correct way to care for a weapon all the way outside of the elevator, into the bus and back to the camp, but every once in a while I would drift away my gaze as I stared at look his flaring red aura and the black figure which clung to him.

Dad and I had already been monitoring him for the past year but there wasn't any real weird activity from his side.

"-so the best degrees to sharpen your knives is at 30 though 45 is also acceptable. Hey are you listening proper weapon care is important, maybe not for your spear but you should still do it."

"Whatever you say Princess Whetstone."

[Greek Myth Fact: Today's fact will be about Mount Olympus itself. Located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia and standing with its highest peak Mytikas at almost 10,000 feet (2,918 m), Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and one of its most picturesque sites.

Due to its majesty, remoteness, and beauty, it was only natural for the Ancient Greeks to believe that it is also the home of their most important gods since very early times. It was from Olympus that the twelve principal gods – fittingly referred to as the Olympians – presided over the world.

At Olympus, the gods feasted on ambrosia and drank nectar, and reveled to the tunes of Apollo's lyre; of course, from time to time, they also quarreled between themselves, mostly over the fortunes of mortal beings.

In time, Mount Olympus stopped referring to the actual mountain and became a much more mythical concept, often signifying the unreachable idyllic heaven located above the peaks themselves. Mount Olympus was considered the home of the gods at least since the time of Homer – and you can find numerous references to this in the "Iliad," such as, for example, here, here, here, and here. In the tenth book of his "Aeneid," Virgil vividly describes a divine assembly at Mount Olympus.]

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