Partners in Crime || PJOxHP || Marauders' Era

Milkman

Just after dawn, the quest group met at Zeus's Fist. Jessica had packed her knapsack—thermos with nectar, baggie of ambrosia, bedroll, rope, clothes, flashlights, and lots of extra batteries. Her coin was in her pocket. 

It was a clear morning. The fog had burned off and the sky was blue. Campers would be having their lessons today, flying pegasi and practicing archery and scaling the lava wall. Meanwhile, the quest would be heading underground.

Juniper and Grover stood apart from the group. Juniper had been crying again, but she was trying to keep it together for Grover's sake. She kept fussing with his clothes, straightening his rasta cap and brushing goat fur off his shirt. 

Since they had no idea what they would encounter, he was dressed as a human, with the cap to hide his horns, and jeans, fake feet, and sneakers to hide his goat legs. Chiron, Quintus, and Mrs. O'Leary stood with the other campers who'd come to wish them well, but there was too much activity for it to feel like a happy send-off. 

A couple of tents had been set up by the rocks for guard duty. Beckendorf and his siblings were working on a line of defensive spikes and trenches. Chiron had decided they needed to guard the Labyrinth exit at all times, just in case.

Annabeth was doing one last check on her supply pack. When Jessica came over, she frowned. She shouldered her knapsack and scratched her head, and Annabeth said, "Percy, you look terrible."

"Yeah, they killed a brazier last night," Tyson said.  

"What?" Annabeth asked.

Before anyone could explain, Chiron trotted over. "Well, it appears you are ready!"

He tried to sound upbeat, but Jessica could tell he was anxious. She didn't want to freak him out any more, but she thought about last night's dream, and before she could change her mind, she said, "Hey, uh, Chiron, can I ask you a favor while I'm gone?"

"Of course, dear."

"Be right back, guys. Percy-" She nodded toward the woods. 

"Alright, yeah, I'm coming," Percy yawned.

Chiron raised an eyebrow, but he followed them out of earshot.

"Last night," Percy said, "I dreamed about Luke and Kronos." They told him the details. The news seemed to weigh on his shoulders.

"I feared this," Chiron said. "Against my father, Kronos, we would stand no chance in a fight."

Chiron rarely called Kronos his father. I mean, everyone knew it was true. Everybody in the Greek world—god, monster, or Titan—was related to one another somehow. But it wasn't exactly something Chiron liked to brag about. Oh, my dad is the all-powerful evil Titan lord who wants to destroy Western Civilization. I want to be just like him when I grow up!

"Do you know what he meant about a bargain?" Jessica asked.

"I am not sure, but I fear they seek to make a deal with Daedalus. If the old inventor is truly alive, if he has not been driven insane by millennia in the Labyrinth...well, Kronos can find ways to twist anyone to his will."

"Not anyone," Percy promised.

Chiron managed a smile. "No. Perhaps not anyone. But, Percy, you must beware. I have worried for some time that Kronos may be looking for Daedalus for a different reason, not just passage through the maze."

Jessica frowned, "What else would he want?"

"Something Annabeth and I were discussing. Do you remember what you told me about your first trip to the Princess Andromeda, the first time you saw the golden coffin?"