˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ THEY ARE EARTHQUAKES, BATTLE SCARS, AND LAUGHTER ˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚
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"THATS NOT TRUE!"
The way Tantalus saw it, the Stymphalian birds had simply been minding their own businessin the woods and would not have attacked if Carmen, Blair, Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson hadn't disturbed them with their chariot driving. He sentenced them to kitchen patrol—scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that extra-clean sparkle and kill ninety-nine point nine percent of all germs, so they all had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons. Tyson didn't mind. He plunged his bare hands right in and started scrubbing, but the rest had to suffer through hours of hot, dangerous work, especially since there were tons of extra plates. Tantalus had ordered a special luncheon banquet to celebrate Clarisse's chariot victory—a full-course meal featuring country-fried Stymphalian death-bird. To make matters worse, Percy and Carmen were still on bad terms, barely speaking as they worked side by side, their silence almost as heavy as the platters they were scrubbing.
Annabeth leaned closer to Percy, lowering her voice. "If Grover really did find it—if we could retrieve the Fleece—"
Percy rolled his eyes. "Hold on. You talk as if that Fleece is the only thing that could save the camp. What is it, exactly?"
Annabeth glanced over her shoulder, spotting Carmen stiffen at the mention of a "secret quest." Blair, already suspicious of any plan that might favor Percy, stiffened too. Annabeth took a breath, determined to rope them both in. "I'll give you all a hint," she said, lifting a ladle as if to accentuate her point. "What do you get when you skin a ram?"
"Messy?" Carmen suggested, quirking an eyebrow at Blair, who snorted.
"A fleece," Annabeth said. "And if that ram happens to have golden wool—"
Percy's eyes lit up. "The Golden Fleece. No way."
Blair, leaning in despite herself, muttered, "That old myth Jason and the Argonauts chased after."
"Exactly," Annabeth said. "Percy, you remember the Gray Sisters? They said they knew where the Fleece hidden. And they mentioned Jason's quest three thousand years ago."
Percy grumbled, "I remember that clay-skeleton movie."
"Percy!" Carmen interrupted, her tone sharper than usual. "Listen. The real story: Zeus rescued his children Cadmus and Europa with a golden flying ram. Cadmus got to Colchis, sacrificed the ram, and hung the Fleece in a tree. It brought prosperity—no sickness, bumper crops, clean air and water."
