The Earth Monarch

Chapter 37: Quest

I sat at the head table, calmly eating my dinner, and reading a magazine, while the other campers yelled amongst each other. Chiron stood in the center seat, Quintus on his left. "Quiet! Please, everyone settle down!" Chiron tried, but to no avail. "Perseus, perhaps you could put down your fork, and help the old equine," Quintus suggested.

I glanced at him, amused. I dropped the fork, and stood. "QUIET!!" I shouted, thunder sounding loudly and the ground shaking intensely. Everyone stopped, and stared at me fearfully.

"Good. As you were, Chiron," I stated, sitting back down, and continued to eat. "Everyone will be in teams of 2, and will search around the woods. Quintus has set up a game, where you must find a specific item that hangs around some monsters' necks," Chiron explained.

"Do we choose our partners?" Connor asked. "Nope!" I answered, not looking away from my food and magazine. "Won't I be hindered too much?" Percy asked. "It's been 5 hours, Percy. When was the last time you bumped into something?" I asked, still not looking up. He wisely stayed quiet.

"Quintus will announce your partners, and there won't be any switching," Chiron announced. "Can we trust him?" Clarisse questioned, suspiciously. "Perseus trusts him," Percy stated. That seemed to be enough for them.

"Split up, and get ready!" Chiron called, once everyone received their partners. "Go!" I yelled, and they ran into the woods. "Poses a good idea, Quintus. We do need more war games beyond Capture the Flag," I proposed.

"We'll discuss this at a later date, then," Chiron agreed.

1 hour later:

I stared up at the stars in peace, when I heard footsteps running up to me. "What's the matter?" I asked. "Percy and Annabeth are missing," the camper panted. I frowned, and extended my senses. I couldn't pick up on them at all. My frown deepened.

I quickly stood, and suck into the Earth. After a few moments, I popped out in a long corridor, with the 2 missing Demigods searching the opposite wall from me. "Whatcha doing?" I asked, causing them to jump.

"The symbol of Daedalus," Annabeth answered. I snapped my fingers, causing a Δ to light up bright blue 2 feet to their left. A hatch opened above them, a rope ladder folding down. "Up you go," I ordered.

I watched them climb, before staring into the darkness on both ends. I carved a line on the walls, floor, and ceiling on both sides of the tunnel, marking them. "Perseus?!" Percy questioned. I levitated out the hole, and closed the entrance.

"Where were they?" Chiron questioned. "The Labyrinth. There's an entrance at Zeus's Fist," I answered. "We'll discuss a strategy about this later, but for now it's far past curfew," Chiron ordered. I waved my hand over the ground, and a golem rose up, standing at 10 foot even.

"Secure Zeus's Fist. It holds the Labyrinth's Entrance. No one enters, or escapes without my knowledge of it," I ordered sternly. It's eyes glowed red with its orders, and stood guard and merging with the pile, unnoticeable.

"This is a matter of importance, Chiron. This can be discussed now," I stated seriously. "...Very well. Counselors to the War Room! Everyone else, off to bed!" Chiron ordered. "Quintus," I called, causing him to stay behind. Percy looked vaguely in his direction for a bit, before carefully following the group to the farmhouse.

"Yes, Perseus?" He asked, once everyone was out of earshot. "I'm going to set up some surveillance in the Labyrinth, and I can't travel down both tunnels at once. Are you willing to help?" I asked. He mused it over a bit, before nodding.

I willed a pouch to fly up from the ground, which Quintus caught easily. "Place them along the walls. They act as tripwires, so you need something adjacent for it to work," I explained. He nodded, and we hopped into the labyrinth.

Time Skip:

I watched the campers set up their defenses to guard the entrance, while Chiron talked to the quest members. "You shall delve into the darkness of the endless maze. The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise. You shall rise or fall, by the ghost king's hand. The child of Athena's final stand. Destroy with a hero's final breath. And lose a love, to worse than death," I chanted internally.

Annabeth led the quest, joined by Percy, Grover, Tyson, and Nico (at my request). Bianca wasn't thrilled at that, though. Quintus stood by me, watching the campers with interest.

"The Son of Poseidon doesn't trust me," Quintus commented. "Not many of them do, despite me vouching for you. You gave him a whistle," I replied. "Stygian Ice. Child of Athena's final stand. I trust him to look after Mrs. O'Leary once I pass," Quintus explained. I nodded in agreement.

"Him blinded will prove very difficult, given the power of the maze. Not to mention what he'd find," he said. "The Magic will try and deceive his visual perception, like the others. His blindness will allow him to navigate much easier with the mystical hindrance, not to mention the hydrokinetic sensory of the Mist around him, will be enough of a map for him to follow," I returned.

Quintus nodded, smirking softly. "I often times forget your intelligence, Perseus. I miss our old encounters, you were very helpful with my inventions," Quintus stated, nostalgically. I smiled warmly at that.

"I'll visit you in the afterlife, and help you even more then. I'll make sure you have good accommodations, and Minos has no say in the decision of which field. I'll even guide you personally, if I have to," I stated. He smiled his gratitude.

"Percy. Keep the helmet on when inside the Labyrinth. You may remove it when you leave it at times, but always have it on inside the maze. Trust me, it will prove more worth than you think," I explained, as they started entering the cavern. He nodded, and delved into the darkness.