𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Moral choice. Nothing is properly considered either good, or bad, aside from those things that are within our own power to control, and the only thing fully in our power to control is our own volition.
Esmerelda's attempts of...
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▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY ONE ▬▬▬
"ARE YOU SURE YOU HAVE everything you need, my lady?" Serephone fretted. "Ambrosia, nectar, spare clothes, food, water, and pads—"
"—I-It's okay, Serephone, I have everything, thank you!" Esmerelda squeaked hastily, shooting Ethan a fearful glance. Luckily for her, he was too busy trying to work the GPS to pay them any attention.
Just yesterday she and Ethan had accomplished his revenge plot against his dad. As nerve-wrecking as it was, it distracted her from the fact that Ethan was possibly leading her to her doom. Now that it was over, he was back to resuming his previous task: taking her to Mount Tamalpais.
It'll be okay, she told herself. She had a plan, after all. A poor one, but it was a plan nevertheless. Once the questers arrived to rescue Annabeth, she'd join them in their escape while trying to bring as many of her siblings to her side as she could. And maybe Ethan too, though she doubted he'd be up for it.
After she was packed and everything, Ethan joined the females at the dining table, ready as well.
"It'll take a little over three hours to drive through Nevada," Serephone informed them. "After that, I suggest crossing through the Mojave Desert, the upper part of it to be more specific."
"That's Death Valley," Ethan stated, and she nodded.
"Exactly. It'll be a shortcut compared to the other routes. Though I suggest you be careful while going through there. Death Valley is dangerous, but it is ten times worse for you halflings." She warned.
"Wonderful," Esmerelda sighed heavily.
"It's littered with monsters like pit scorpions, leucrotas, and the strix." Serephone added.
"Strix?" They echoed. It was the only monster name they were unfamiliar with.
"Birds of ill omen. They like to disembowel people and drink their blood." She explained.
"So kinda like the stymphalian birds, great." Esmerelda sighed once more, the not-so-pleasant memory of her first encounter with them resurfacing in her head.
"You handled them good last time, we'll be fine," Ethan told her, and she tried not to feel too complimented by that.
"They are a little different from the stymphalian birds," Serephone objected. "I'd be more careful of strixes. Killing one makes more appear. However, they only become active after an hour passed sundown since sunlight kills them."
"What do they look like?" Ethan inquired.
"They're quite easy to spot, as they resemble very large owls. Their feathers are black, they have leathery red claws, their eyes and beaks are golden and they have a large, thick, black tongue." She detailed.
