𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘂𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀, luke castellan

ᴇɪɢʜᴛ

The Trident's Heir.

⚡

THE NEXT DAY PASSED QUICKLY WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF THE NIGHT'S GAMES. Before they knew it, they found themselves back at the pavilion, enthusiastically cheering as the Ares and Athena cabins entered with their respective flags.

As usual, the Hermes cabin had allied with Athena, joined by the Apollo cabin, leaving Ares with a formidable coalition of Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. Their biggest problem obviously remained the Ares kids, particularly a small, relentless group of about four or five of them led by Clarisse who liked to hunt in a specific spot in the woods, cutting off their direct path to the flag. Clarisse was ruthless, and she didn't play fair. Despite having both Luke and Annabeth on their side, Clarisse always managed to annihilate them. Even though the Athena kids had spent all year working up plans to avoid Clarisse's pack, every attempt they had made thus far had failed. The Ares kids somehow always managed to outsmart them-well, not exactly outsmart, but more brute force their way to victory anyways, throwing all their carefully worked plans into shambles.

Tonight however, Annabeth seemed to be in a particularly good mood, and seemed especially confident in that night's plan. Of course, Rory wouldn't play much of a part in that particular plan anyways. She had her own scheme to pull off. While she was a strong fighter, she harbored a dislike for the game itself and always had, so she usually preferred to remain on border patrol anyways. And besides, ever since she had gained more control over her powers, Annabeth had assigned her a new job that usually involved minimal fighting but was still crucial to their team securing the flag.

Chiron's hoof pounded on the marble, and he declared, "Heroes! You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as a referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!" He spread his hands and the tables were swiftly adorned with a myriad of equipment-helmets, bronze swords, spears, and oxhide shields coated in metal-transforming the pavilion into a staging ground for the upcoming game.

Percy marveled at the impressive array of weapons, his eyes widening. "We're really supposed to use these?" he gasped in disbelief.

With a wry smile, Luke replied, "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in Cabin Five," before tossing Percy some armor for the impending showdown.

Rory snatched a helmet of her own, adorned with the distinctive blue horsehair plume-symbol of their allegiance with the Athena cabin. She secured a bronze sword too, sliding it into its sheath, although she didn't think she'd be needing the sword at all, she'd rather have it on her anyways, just in case something went awry.

Annabeth bellowed, "Blue team, forward!" Sending the team into cheers as they brandished their swords and sprinted down the path towards the south woods.

"Good luck," Luke called out to her as they eventually all started splitting paths. Rory blew him a kiss in response before turning to join her usual group.

Technically, only two of them were needed to actually do the job, but after the incident a few years back, Annabeth had insisted they be three instead. So now their little group consisted of Eleanor Abott, a 16-year-old with pretty blonde hair and an impeccable aim, her younger half-brother, Lucian Zimmerman, who, despite his age, was a relatively calm kid, and of course, Rory herself.

Rory didn't mind their company. It had been more fun before, obviously, when it had been just her and Eleanor, back when they used to just spend the session gossiping away and cracking jokes. After the incident however, both girls had taken the games a lot more seriously, careful to keep their voices down and casting wary glances into the surrounding woods. Besides, with Lucian there now, their girl talks had to cease with fear of him blabbing any of their conversations to the other kids.