Athena —
Adon was a constant source of problems.
There was little that could spew from his mouth that would truly surprise her at this point, and yet it seemed he was determined to prove her wrong regardless.
Of all the things he could have said 'Kronos has my back' was up there. She genuinely would have preferred it if another trickster God had claimed him as their child, or if he'd accidentally stolen another divine artefact. But no, 'Kronos has my back.'
Her interrogation had been swift and angry, but Adon was… frankly an idiot. He didn't understand why Kronos showing attention to him was a bad thing. He didn't understand that such a thing should be impossible.
She'd entered his mind again, questioning him over what prompted such an insane statement. The answer? The source of his 'power'. He got points for doing 'feats' and he got power for the Feat of gaining Kronos' Attention.
But how? Lord Zeus and Hades had to be informed, and the idea of a new Titanomachy was enough to get the pair to stop glaring at each other. At the very least, they had confirmed that Kronos remained in his prison in the darkest depths of Tartarus, but it was clear that he was not in the deep sleep they believed him to be. That said, with the Master Bolt missing, Zeus was unwilling to open the cell to try to put him down for good.
Luke may believe himself sneaky, but she was the Goddess of Wisdom. His panic at Adon's declaration gave him away, and under her gaze he had been unable to hide the connection he had with Kronos. Of course, because things could not be simple, when she'd attempted to interrogate him, Luke had first refused to speak before he had been dragged before Olympus itself, much to Hermes' protests, and then… Kronos had acted.
Kronos did not wish to share his secrets and had struck first, using the connection to Luke's mind to render the boy almost comatose, his mind broken. Whether it was to hide his plans or simply to punish the fool who had unknowingly exposed Kronos' awakening, she did not know.
Zeus had wanted to kill Luke for treason, Hermes argued against it as many people, far more intelligent and powerful than a demigod bastard, had been deceived by the Titans, and Luke and Adon had unknowingly exposed a potential knife to their back. Zeus did not agree, but Hermes proved himself as tricky as ever by siding with Aphrodite's growing faction. In the end, Zeus didn't care enough to make a big deal of it and permitted Luke to be returned to Camp Halfblood's infirmary as even Apollo wasn't able to restore his mind. Dionysus may be able to undo the madness forced upon Luke, if he cared to try.
All in all, Olympus was up in arms once again and once again, it was Adon's fault.
— Adon —
"It's just not fair! It's not my fault Kronos is awake!" I whine, my head on Senko's lap as she strokes my (magnificent) hair.
"They're so mean to you, Master. Still, Lady Athena didn't seem too mad at you!" Senko reassures me as she runs her fingers through my luscious blond hair (which is better than Apollo's). "Would you like to huff my tail? That'll make you feel better!"
Moving from her lap, I lay face down with my face pressed into her big, fluffy tail as I take her advice and breath in her scent and play with her tail. Shit, this does make me feel better about Athena being such a colossal bitch.
Feat Achieved: Annoy Athena, 100cp granted.
…did she ever end the whole brain-merge thing after her interrogation?
100cp granted, 200cp total.
Feat Achieved: Expose Kronos, 200cp. Cause Luke to become Comatose, 100cp. 300cp granted, 500cp total.
Eh?
That's what happened to Luke? Man, that kinda sucks. He seemed nice. I like him.
Wait, so I exposed the big bad Kronos? I'm a hero. Go me! I feel kinda bad because Old Man Kronos kinda helped me out with my upcoming performance but this proves that I am the saviour of Olympus and they should definitely get off my ass about things. Especially Athena.
Who is definitely not in my head. Hey, Athena, if you think I shouldn't press the funny power button again, say so now.
Maybe Athena should huff Senko's tail a bit, it'd help her relax and stop being such a mega bitch about things that were completely out of my control.
I do not need to huff anything.
HA! I knew it. You are still lurking in my mind, like the voyeur you are. Pervert. Virgin goddess, my ass- flinching, I grab my head as a sharp pain stabs into it.
Ow.
Well, I'm gonna jerk off later so enjoy watching that. And I'm definitely gonna be thinking about Annabeth while I do it.
The silence makes me pause, curious if she's finally gone. I really need to find a way to keep my mind mine because it's getting crowded up here.
Prince Paris was definitely right to pick my mom as the fairest Goddess if this is how you act. Medusa did nothing wrong. Poseidon is cooler than you. Arachne is a better weaver than you.
Pausing, I raise my head from Senko's tail and look around suspiciously. I haven't been cursed and she hasn't manifested to just beat my ass with her bare hands so… maybe?
Or she's lurking, waiting for me to slip up. I'm onto your tricks, Goddess of Wisdom. Yeah, you're definitely still here. Minerva is cooler. I bet she's not so mean. She'd understand that this was not my fault and that if you looked past your pride, you'd see that I did you a massive favour.
The silence is suspicious.
I'm gonna press the funny button again and whatever happens is definitely not my fault. Say nothing if you agree that this is a good idea and that I won't be punished if I accidentally steal another God's stuff.
...hell yeah.
[Mansion] - 200cp, 300cp remaining.
A huge, magical mansion. Secure and luxurious. Comes with a limo and a manservant. May be located in hell, dream, or faerie, if you'd prefer.
The other Aphrodite kids won't mind me accidentally putting a giant mansion behind our cabin, right?
[Monster Sense] - 100cp, 200cp remaining
You can feel when a monster or evil magical source is nearby, and generally what direction it's in. Starts out very short ranged, but at least you'll realize the new ice-cream shop is a trap before you eat the sundae, instead of after your energy is already being drained. Eventually you'll be able to spot them from a mile away, but at first you'll need to be right in the trap before you notice the evil energy floating around.
As my monster sense warns me of the monster, right next to me, I sit up in a panic looking around in paranoia. Senko, the Youkai, blinks at me before I pause, facepalming and laying back down with my face buried in her tail.
[Good Dog] - 100cp, 100cp remaining.
Lockjaw is the goodest of boys and has saved his Inhuman family on numerous occasions. You, like him, are able to teleport as far as the distance between the Earth and the Moon without error and take up to a dozen or so people near you. You can also open pathways to other dimensions.
Okay, new plan. If I fuck up my competition with Apollo I just run to another dimension. Surely, they'd allow me into Asgard, right?
[Stymphalian Birds] - 100cp, 0cp remaining
A quiver full of bronze arrows, which seemingly never runs dry. When shot into the sky from a bow, each arrow will transform into one of Ares' Stymphalian birds, each one the size of a vulture, with a body made of hard bronze and hostility towards any of your enemies. They are not very dangerous on their own, save to ordinary mortals, but hundreds of arrows can be shot into the sky to create large swarms of the creatures.
As I hold the quiver, I hear a loud sigh in the back of my mind.
'Adon, I swear by the River Styx that if those belong to who I think they do, I'm going to do unkind things to you.
HA! I knew you were still here, and that means you agreed that rolling again was the right choice and that this is entirely not my fault. We had a deal, this isn't on me. Or are you such a dishonourable Goddess? Annabeth would cry knowing her mother is such a terrible person.
Feat Achieved: Frustrate Athena. Eris is so proud. 100cp granted.
Her silence tells me everything. She sees the logic of my argument. I even feel a pressure I hadn't realised was there pull back from my mind, as Athena comes to understand the sanctity of one's privacy. Yeah, that's definitely it.
…holding back my laughter, I look around wondering what really distracted Athena.
— Athena —
She was going to murder Eris.
As she tried to reconnect with Adon's mind, she found herself faced with utter chaos. Discord herself running interference was not something she anticipated, but the protections around his mind were both Greek, Roman and Norse. Eris was calling upon both her Greek and Roman aspects and Loki was aiding her.
Letting out a growl of frustration, she wondered what Ares was going to do about the 'stolen' artefact. She did this for all of a second before she let out a very uncharacteristic snort, clearly affected by Adon's stupidity. It was Ares. He had exactly one way to respond to anything. Violently.
Shaking her head, she sensed another argument breaking out on Olympus and the sensation of something Norse in the halls. She couldn't afford to babysit Adon all the time, but she couldn't afford to leave him unattended either, especially with his mind hidden to her.
Well, she had her ways.
— Adon —
Ah, I'm sure it's nothing. I'm a firm believer in ignoring my problems.
[Echo of Memory] - 100cp, 0cp remaining
You can contemplate and review memories from people who had a large impact upon the world, learning their secrets, skills and histories. The more important and world-shaking the person, the easier it is to access.
Huh, that's neat but-
…I can learn to mimic skills I see. I can now see the memories of the people who made an impact. People who made an impact tend to be pretty good at stuff.
Oh yeah, it's all coming together.
"Senko, I have a plan that won't see me killed by Apollo! Maybe!" I announce happily, looking over my three buildings with a curious frown before I reach out with my powers and combine them into one, adding the library into the mansion and connecting the tea house to it.
"Go you, Master!" Senko cheers.
"But first, I wanna play with Pukei. I haven't had a chance yet," I decide, rising to my feet. Summoning him to me, I smile as the giant chameleon charges at me with his giant tongue hanging from his mouth, drooling everywhere. "Heya, buddy. Sorry I've been so busy, the Gods just have no respect for a man's free time. But who's a good giant poison chameleon? You are! Yes, you are!"
Scratching him beneath the chin, I watch his back leg beat against the ground as Senko joins me in spoiling my pet. I can get to the whole learning thing later.
After the day I've had, I deserve some good petting time.
— Annabeth Chase —
The camp remained in chaos, and few knew what was actually going on. Even she didn't know the details of why Luke was in the hospital, and her attempt to visit him hadn't gone well.
She'd seen cursed people before, obviously. This felt different, as the usually charming, intelligent Luke was reduced to drooling and babbling nonsense. Mr D and Chiron refused to explain what was going on, only that Luke had caused this by making some kind of deal with a monster. She wasn't an idiot, she could work out that no regular monster would do this level of damage to someone's mind. Something powerful, something divine, had driven Luke to complete madness but there were times when she could swear that the Luke she knew was still there.
But, as much as she wanted to stay by his side, she had a mission. She wouldn't call it a quest, but her mother had tasked her with something.
Keep Adon out of trouble. Keep track of his powers.
Once again, the world seemed to revolve around Adon and she would be lying if said she didn't feel bitter about that. After her embarrassment in the capture the flag contest, having her mother give her the epic quest of babysitting the new star felt like a blow to the pride. Like the Fates themselves were saying 'this is what you're good for'.
Staring at the literal mansion in disbelief, she gathered her thoughts before knocking on the door. Silena had mentioned that Adon had gotten a pair of buildings, a tea house and a Victorian library or something, but it seemed he'd gotten another since.
As the door opened at the kitsune stared up at her, Annabeth gave Senko a small smile. That was another thing causing waves. The other pantheons were real. Mr D tried lying after the Loki thing, but even he had thrown up his hands and given up after Senko had been summoned.
Instead, he'd gone for a new tactic. 'Okay fine, yes, other pantheons exist. Now shut up and stop asking questions before I turn you into a dolphin and drop you in Seaworld.'
She'd had to convince the other Athena cabin campers to stop bothering him, because she knew he meant it.
"Hello. Is Adon in?" Annabeth asked, as if there was nothing odd about the giant extravagant mansion behind the Aphrodite cabin.
"He is, but he's a little busy at the moment! He remembered that he's going to die in a week if he keeps slacking off," Senko explained cheerfully. "He's going to take a break for food soon. Would you like to come in and wait?"
Oh right, Silena had mentioned the Apollo thing.
How was Adon planning to get good enough with a lyre to impress Apollo in just under a week?
"I would appreciate that," Annabeth agreed gratefully, following behind her as they entered. She blinked as she stepped into the entryway and saw… Clarisse.
Hanging inside a net attached to a chandelier, fast asleep.
"Oh, you're not the first guest. She didn't knock," Senko explained, still cheerful as she walked under Clarisse's sleeping form.
Yeah, that made sense. Well, as much sense as anything else she'd seen from Adon. After being humiliated in the fight, Clarisse wasn't the type of girl to just let it go and it wasn't like finding Adon was hard. Just look for the massive mansion that puts all the cabins to shame.
…well, that wasn't why she was here so it sucks to be Clarisse, she guessed.
"You're one of Lady Athena's children, right? I'll show the library while you wait," Senko said sweetly, which felt a little like typecasting but on the other hand…
Yeah, she wanted to see the library.
As Senko led her in, she stared in disbelief at the rows upon rows of books. Thousands, tens of thousands. All first editions, all perfectly maintained.
She'd like to say she wasn't so cliche as to find herself instantly lost in the mountain of literature and knowledge. She'd be lying, barely aware of Senko plying her with the best tea she'd ever tasted along with sweets that almost distracted her from her reading.
"Helllllo~ Hi? Grey eyes?"
It was beyond belief just how much he had here, or how much some of these books were worth. He had first editions of all Shakespeare's works, for a start. As if they were handwritten by the Bard himself. Senko had mentioned that if it was published within England or the British Empire, Adon had it. The British Empire had once made up a third of the world, and she'd found massive amounts of literature and manuscripts from countless cultures.
"Annabeth? You've got an amazing ass, you know that."
"What? Oh, yeah, thanks," Annabeth mumbled, drinking her tea as she turned the page of a fascinating tome on architecture. "Wait, what?"
Snapping her head up to meet Adon's amused gaze, she felt her face flush with anger, definitely anger.
"She's alive!" Adon teased, plucking the book from out of her hands as she gave him a glare. "Soooo, what's up? Senko said that you wanted to see me?"
"I've been assigned as your babysitter, because Olympus doesn't trust you to stay out of trouble," Annabeth admitted bluntly, a little peeved at him.
She was sure he'd had something to do with Luke's condition. Her mother had made it sound like Luke had made a major mistake long before Adon arrived, but he was still somehow involved.
"Ouch. I can't tell who that sucks more for, me or you," Adon admitted with a sympathetic smile.
"Then I hope you won't go out of your way to make this difficult. I don't know what is going on with you that makes you so… attention-worthy," Annabeth started, very carefully not saying 'special'. "Or what is going on with your powers, but I've been tasked with watching over you."
"For a beloved daughter of Auntie Athena, I will give you as little trouble as I do her," Adon promised with a beaming smile. Her unamused stare made him crack, giggling to himself like the child he clearly thought he was. "Okay, okay. Lady Athena gave you my leash. So, oh mistress, how may I serve you?"
The purr in his tone made her face flush a deeper red, looking away from his annoyingly handsome face and entrancing eyes.
"Look, I know enough to know that you have the Gods watching you very closely, and that's never a blessing. This is frankly humiliating for me, and downright dangerous for you but as weird as it sounds, we're in this together," Annabeth sighed, giving him a tired look. "I don't know why Luke has been reduced to a drooling, babbling victim. I don't know why Olympus seems so worried about you. What I do know is that you're just making things harder for us all. All I can do is try and help both of us, but that only works if you cooperate."
"Damn, you have the 'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed' voice down," Adon admitted, holding his hands up as she went to reply. "Okay, okay. Look, I'm honestly not trying to cause trouble. I don't know how this stuff works, my power just does what it wants. My current focus is not being used as target practice by Apollo this time next week."
Despite herself, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for him. Being a trickster demigod twice over, with two different Pantheons, had to be confusing even without his unnatural powers. Was he even a demigod? He was the child of three gods, so he should be a God himself but there was clearly something weird going on.
"And my mother asked me to keep you out of trouble. As far as I'm concerned, that means helping you with the trouble you're already in," Annabeth tried, getting a curious look from him. "So, how can I help?"
It wasn't quite what her mother had asked, but this was going to be far harder if Adon didn't want to cooperate. Babysitting a trickster illusionist who frequently turned invisible was enough of a problem without him seeing her as an enemy. He'd handily shown her that she couldn't handle his illusions during their match.
"You're super smart, right? You know all the fun legends?" Adon asked. She wasn't so egotistical as to agree that she was 'super smart'.
"I've studied all the Greek legends, of course. Though, I don't know the other mythologies as well," Annabeth admitted.
"So, who would you say is the best mortal lyre player in history?" Adon asked as she paused in consideration. "Because you're right, I'm kinda in deep shit if I don't get this handled."
"Orpheus is the most famous one, I'd say," Annabeth admitted. "Why?"
"And he made an impact on the world, right?" Adon asked, beaming.
"Hmm. I guess so? It depends on your definition. He made a door to the Underworld with his music alone, that stands to this day," Annabeth explained.
"And you know where this door is?" Adon probed.
"Where are you going with this?" Annabeth asked with narrowed eyes, thinking back to all her quest research. She didn't think she actually- a flash of inspiration made her pause, thanking her mother. "Yes, I do. It's in Central Park."
"…wait, why is it in central park? I figured it'd be in, you know, Greece," Adon asked, scratching his chin. "Actually, never mind that. It's time for a field trip!"
"You can't just head off to Central Park-"
As Adon placed his hands on her shoulder, she let out a cry as the library vanished around her and was replaced by…
"What are you?" Annabeth asked with a tired sigh. Well, it was better than him running away alone, she supposed.
"Like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get, but it's probably gonna be tasty," Adon said with a grin. "So, where are we going? Trust me, this will all make sense soon."
"It had better. We're not supposed to leave the Camp," Annabeth grumbled, following her mother's divine message to lead him to the southern side of the park. "Please tell me you're not planning on going into the Underworld."
"What? Nah, if I wanted to do that I'd have just gone straight there. No need for the door," Adon waved off, looking around with a curious smile on his lips. He was like a big kid, and she had to wonder about his own childhood to cause him to act so… immaturely.
"Don't do that. The Lord of the Underworld wouldn't like it and you've annoyed enough Gods, I think," Annabeth groaned, looking around with paranoid eyes. She knew she was monster bait but she could only imagine what Adon felt like to the monsters. If she was a snack, he was a full seven course meal.
Shoving the thoughts of inadequacy aside, she shook her head as they arrived.
"So, what now?" Annabeth asked, wondering what his plan was.
"Yeah, this'll do. Thanks, Annabeth," Adon said, sitting down on the floor and crossing his legs as he summoned the Golden Lyre. "So, to stop you from doing that cute pouting you're doing, I've got a power to view the memories of people who had an impact on the world to learn their skills, secrets and story. Heh, alliteration. Ahem, I'm gonna use the door he made to watch Orpheus and use another power to learn to mimic his lyre skills."
And there were the thoughts of inadequacy again. And there was a giant chameleon, too.
"Err, can you watch me while I do this? I think I'm gonna be kinda out of it," Adon asked with an awkward smile. Had he just remembered that he forgot to ask that little question.
"I don't have a weapon, you kidnapped me. Remember?" Annabeth asked, wondering if he got triple the ADHD from his three parents.
Adon blinked before he just… got sucked into nothing, his body seemingly stretching unnaturally as he left her alone with the giant chameleon. Pukei-Pukei stared at her, his head tilting curiously.
"Good… boy?" Annabeth tried, holding out a hand cautiously. He took this as an invitation to lick her with his massive tongue, covering her clothes in slobber. Of course. As Adon returned, she went to scold him for leaving her alone before she spotted the sword and shield in his hands. "Thanks."
Taking Clarisse's favourite sword, she reminded herself that he'd used her antagonistic relationship with Clarisse to embarrass her literally yesterday. She then thought about Clarisse waking up with her gear missing and smiled anyway. She also sighed, almost fondly, as she was handed a handful of books that she'd left on the table she was sitting next to in the library.
Taking his seat again, he resummoned the Lyre and closed his eyes. She watched him, sitting down herself as Pukei copied her, sitting like a giant green dog. Adon seemed to be just… sitting there, but soon enough his hand started to move.
His playing was amateurish but with the lyre, even his random plucking somehow sounded pleasant and yet…
She'd heard the Apollo campers playing plenty of times, usually at dinners or to heal with their music. They were better than Adon was, when he started. It felt like it had been less than ten minutes before Adon was playing on par with them.
Even with the books by her side, she found herself ignoring them to listen to the sound of his music. She wouldn't say she was entranced, even as he began to quietly sing under his breath, but the sheer amount of skill he was gaining was… inhuman. Even the Apollo kids couldn't learn this fast, and it wasn't just the Lyre giving him the boost. His movements, the way his fingers danced across the golden strings, went from amateurish flailing to an elegant dance before her eyes.
Adon was many things. A gremlin who prided himself of being annoying. A mystery wrapped in an enigma. A smug asshole who knew how good looking he was and used flirting as a way to throw people off. But, perhaps above all else, beneath his immaturity, he was… amazing.
Pukei heard it first, head snapping up as Annabeth rose and gripped her blade, cursing herself for getting distracted as a figure emerged from the tree line. The large four legged beast slowly approached, the body of a lion topped with the head of a beautiful woman. Annabeth cursed at the sight of a sphinx, reminding herself that the city was flooded with monsters.
But… it didn't attack, head tilting as Adon continued playing and singing. Pukei hesitated, circling around Annabeth with his body covering her somewhat, but Annabeth made eye contact with the monster in confusion.
"What do you want?" Annabeth asked, sword ready as it turned from Adon to her.
"Hmm? Oh, right. Demi-gods always want their riddles. What's two plus two?" The Sphinx asked, making her blink.
"W-what? No, that's not-" Annabeth started, frowning. "That's not even a riddle!"
Pukei paused, and his long, strange tail slapped against the ground four times.
"Correct! Glad at least one of you got it, now shush. I'm trying to enjoy the show. There's really not that much entertainment for someone my size, you know?" the Sphinx scolded, sitting down and staring at Adon. Her tail swished back and forth in time with his tune, as Annabeth stared in disbelief.
That- that wasn't how this worked!
— Three Hours Later —
As Adon rose, Annabeth didn't even bother reacting. She'd given up, she just didn't care anymore.
The standing ovation made him blink, looking around the clearing as the sphinx, harpies, naiads, dryads, and a dracaena clapped and shouted praises (and bawdy comments) at him. A pair of empousai dressed in revealing outfits made lewd comments to him but Adon, being Adon, rose up and gave them all an overly dramatic bow.
"Thank you, thank you. I'll be here all week! Same time, every night!" Adon cheered, uncaring of the openUnderworld entrance behind him. "Sorry, Annabeth! I didn't mean to take that long but that Orpheus guy is a great teacher. And Eurydice was a complete fox. Lucky guy. Well, not that lucky, he was ripped limb from limb by Mr D's minions for playing depressing songs after he lost his girl."
"Are you not even remotely worried about the fact that you're surrounded by monsters?" Annabeth asked, rising to her feet.
"Err, no? They seem nice. See, that one is even giving Pukei belly scratches," Adon pointed out, gesturing to the Dryads playing with Pukei. "They seem like nice girls."
Annabeth looked around the clearing, wondering if he'd even noticed the signs of battle. It seemed he was popular with the female monsters, at least. So popular that they'd rather rip the male ones that showed up to pieces rather than let the show be interrupted.
It seemed the Minotaur was not a fan of his music. Or it had been sent to kill him. Either way, whatever the Minotaur expected, it wasn't being ganged up on by its fellow monsters.
The Sphinx rose, revealing the broken body of the Minotaur it had been sitting on, covered in purple goo that Pukei had spat into its face.
"Ah, I guess not everyone was a fan? Well, you can't please them all and I've always been a lady-killer," Adon said, giving the dracaena a flirty wink as the reptilian monster flushed and looked away. "Man, you girls fucked him up, huh? Girl power!"
"He didn't know the answer to my riddle," the Sphinx replied simply, stepping off the minotaur with bloodied claws.
"Ouch. Wait, can I do a riddle?" Adon asked excitedly, making the Sphinx pause.
"Of course, bard. What has one eye, yet cannot see?" the Sphinx asked, as Annabeth gave it an annoyed look. That was an actual riddle, not like what she and the Minotaur got.
Also, the answer was obviously a needle.
"Ooh, I know this one. Polyphemus, right?" Adon asked proudly, as the Sphinx paused. "Cause Nobody poked him in the eye."
"You got it, well done!" the Sphinx praised as Annabeth stared at it with true dislike. "So, you're coming back tomorrow? I'll make another one for you."
"Same time, same place!" Adon promised, as the Minotaur let out a quiet groan of pain, trying to rise. "Oof, but you did try to rush the stage, Bad concert manners, dude."
As the Minotaur lunged forward, despite its broken legs, Annabeth cursed herself for letting the surreal night soften her caution. It was still a dangerous monster, and-
Adon let out a cry of surprise, bringing the Lyre down and smashing it on the minotaurs head. The minotaur, already on the brink of death and only kept alive because the monsters were sadistic, collapsed to the ground and began to turn to golden dust before something… odd happened.
The dust, rather than fading as it was supposed to, symbolising the Minotaur being sent back to Tartarus, instead rushed toward Adon and started to swirl before it all gathered in front of him in the form of a truly massive double-headed black and bronze labrys, the axe blades shaped like bull horns. Adon caught the giant axe with an oof, almost dropping it from the sheer weight.
"Heh, neat," Adon said, swinging it with literally zero skill.
She, and a dozen monsters, all stared at him as they realised, somehow, someway, he'd just turned a monster into a weapon. As in, Minotaur was no longer going to be reforming. As in, he'd quite possibly killed the legendary beast for good. By hitting it in the face with a lyre.
"Thanks, girls! I feel kinda bad taking the loot when you girls did all the work," Adon admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck, the axe hitting the ground with a heavy thud.
At once, a dozen monsters rushed to explain how much they didn't mind, definitely not scared for their immortal existence.
Annabeth just sighed.
Somehow, she knew her mother was doing the same.
Adon –
It turns out, turning monsters into weapons is… well, not necessarily a bad thing, but an unexpected thing. Annabeth told on me, the little snitch, and the revelation that the Minotaur of legend was permanently slain and turned into an axe causes a bit of a stir. Athena didn't seem that surprised, but at this point, I think she's given up on being surprised by anything I do. It'll take something truly impressive to get more than a raised eyebrow and a sigh from Auntie Athena now. Honestly, she seemed more intrigued by the potential of eliminating problematic monsters and turning them into usable assets.
She examined the weapon and admitted that it was very good. Not quite the quality of something that Hephaestus himself would make, but better than anything his kids could pull out of their asses. She theorised that the origin, strength and legend of the monster all play a part in what weapon my power would make. I theorised that she was probably right because I don't know how this shit works. It's magic, you kill a monster, you get a weapon. Why make it any more complicated than that?
"You've caused one hell of a stir, newbie," a voice drawls, with just a hint of an asian accent mixed in with a bratty tone.
"Hey, Drew!" I say cheerfully. She was one of the people on our team during the capture the flag match, and helped us get Clarisse under control because she's the second best in the Cabin with Charmspeak. Well, third best now because I'm just too good. Turns out being both a Loki and Aphrodite spawn makes you really fucking good even without the Veela or system fuckery. "I barely did anything this time."
Drew is as hot as you'd expect an Aphrodite Demigod, clearly of asian decent and always so glamorous compared to the rest of the camp. Silena doesn't really dress up thatmuch compared to Drew. I get the feeling the two really don't get along.
"Of course not, you've just kicked the Hephaestus Cabin in the balls by making a weapon better than anything theycould make even with their Daddy's favour. Oh, while taking lessons from Orpheus himself in how to play the Lyre of Apollo you just happen to have," Drew drawls with a laugh.
"Ouch, are they that mad?" I ask with a grin.
"Less mad and more offended at the implication. You lit a fire under their asses, but that cabin has never been particularly impressive. I don't know why Silena bothers with Chucky, she could do so much better," Drew snorts, sitting next to me. "It's the Ares kids you've really pissed off, because they've all heard you slew the Minotaur of Crete and got a divine axe out of it. Plus, they already kinda hated you for beating them. Bunch of sore losers."
"Honestly, they took that way too seriously. It's just a game, right?" I point out with a lazy smile.
"Right. More or less. Demigods are prideful, you know?" Drew points out, kicking her feet as she goes quiet for a moment, her eyes landing on the mansion that now resides behind the Aphrodite cabin. "Silena is trying to play diplomat, using the silver tongue we all have to play peacemaker. Not that the Ares kids listen to her. She's having a hard enough time getting the other Aphrodite campers not to cause a stir. When she isn't sulking about Luke being a potato."
"I did get the feeling our siblings didn't exactly like me," I agree with a shrug. Well, you can't be liked by everyone.
"They don't dislike you, they're jealous of you. Admittedly, you really aren't helping, but even before you pulled all those tricks out of your pretty little ass, they were jealous because Mommy dearest clearly has a favourite child. You still sparkle sometimes after her claiming, and her light has never lasted that long before," Drew explains. "Doesn't stop them from spending half their time in your tea-house, eating your sweets and drinking your drinks."
"I figured it might help make them a little less jealous," I admit.
"Lemme guess, Silena? Sounds like her. It's not working. Now you have a bunch of jealous siblings throwing a hissy fit while helping themselves to your stuff. You're making yourself a pushover, Adon, when you could overthrow Silena if you wanted to," Drew scolds. "I won't deny, I'mjealous of you too, but I at least have more pride than to suckle at your golden teat while bitching about you between gulps."
"That's some imagery," I praise, getting a grin from her. "Luckily for Silena, I am deathly adverse to leadership. It scares and confuses me. I can barely be trusted to be responsible for myself, let alone other people," I say with an almost proud grin. She snorts, amused at my honesty.
"Fair. Maybe you got double the ADHD from having double the- wait, triple the divine parents? Man, you're weird," Drew admits.
"I know, cool right? And that would explain a few things," I admit with a shrug.
"Doesn't mean you should let our two-faced siblings keep benefiting from you while talking shit with every other breath," Drew continues. "You're way too strong to let a bunch of whiners walk all over you like that."
"Oh? And what would you do?" I ask, curious as she pauses and her face scrunches up in thought for a moment.
"I'd run that shit like a business. I don't know if you've noticed, but the options for cuisine and entertainment around here aren't exactly thriving. Hell, the main reason Luke was so popular is because he could sneak out and smuggle shit in. Your teashop is a reprieve from the, admittedly not bad, usual fare. Letting your friends use it is one thing, but letting the entire cabin swarm the place while they talk shit behind your back is just asking for trouble," Drew points out.
"Ugh, running it like a business seems like so much effort," I groan. "I don't wanna do that, I just wanna fuck around with my cool powers, and maybe find some monsters to turn into weapons."
100cp granted, 100cp total.
Feat Achieved: Defeat Asterius, 200cp granted. 300cp total.
Well, that's a bit delayed, but whatever. You do you, magic words in my head.
"You okay there, Adon? You kinda zoned out," Drew points out with a frown.
"My powers doing stuff again," I explain easily, seeing her eyes widen.
[Wondrous Memory] - 100cp, 200cp remaining
Was this meadow torn from time itself by the 5th Magic? If it even is a meadow. It could be a woodland glen, a garden, even a seaside incongruously found somewhere behind a Bounded Field (or past an ornate blue door in your Warehouse). Whatever it is, it's a natural environment the size of the average mountainside forest with a stark beauty and the pristine state of the wild as it was before the advent of mankind. Even if you are wholly human, being here is soothing to your mind and soul. There's plenty of game and fresh water here, but no predators. To a wild beast, it's practically Heaven.
"Adon, what is that blue door?" Drew asks, as my mansion, tea shop and library vanish and are replaced with an ornate blue door.
"It's the entrance to my pocket dimension. Wanna see?" I ask, opening it and peering inside at the wild forest that spreads out before us. "I figured you're right, so I moved my stuff into this place, and only I can open the door."
"I… uhh, didn't think you'd act on it quite so instantly," Drew admits, twirling her hair in what I think is a nervous tick. I summon Pukei and unleash him into the wilderness, watching my big dumb pet run around excitedly. I'm glad he's having fun.
"My power agreed with you," I say simply, shrugging.
[Field of Demeter] - 200cp, 0cp remaining
The goddess of the harvest, her role was taken over by Hera after the death of her precious Persephone, yet this field stands as a monument to her divine role of the past. Measuring around one hundred acres, it is capable of greatly accelerating the growth of any plant, such that an olive would go from seed to full-grown tree overnight, as well as holding them in stasis until harvested or removed. Additionally, any magical plants growing here are twice as potent as before.
"Hmm. Hey, Drew. Demeter is a nice Goddess, right? Understanding? Not curse-happy?" I ask curiously, seeing her eyes widen in fright.
"Err, well, you didn't kidnap her daughter, so-" Drew gulps, biting her lip as she looks at the massive field that has just appeared. A big forest of wilderness on one side, a massive field of divine fertility on the other. My mansion, library and tea house in the middle. Yeah, it rules to be me.
"Exactly, I didn't kidnap anyone's daughter, so I'm perfectly fine-"
Feat Achieved: Get Demeter's Attention, 200cp remaining. 200cp total.
"I can see why Aphrodite's latest antics have Olympus up in arms," a soft voice says, as I remember a simple thing. Gods can hear their names and while only I can open the door… I left it open when we came in.
As we turn, my eyes land on an undeniable, undisputable… Milf. Dressed in a form fitting green dress that hugs her motherly curves, she has a soft face and beautiful blonde hair (the best hair colour) as she looks from me and Drew to the expansive fields. I manage to take my eyes off some huge… tracts of land myself before she turns back, tilting her head.
[Sword of the Silver Crystal] - 200cp, 0cp
This pale, white silver sword glimmers as if it's illuminated in moonlight. This is a powerful anti-evil weapon. When this sword is used to pierce someone with evil or selfish intent, it can slice through their magical defences like a hot knife through butter. In addition, it's tough, tougher than diamond.
"I do hope that's not meant for me," Demeter points out as I look down at the sword in my hands.
"Sorry, my power kinda does whatever it wants," I reply, banishing the blade. "So, no hard feelings? Pretty please? I have a lot of Gods already out for my blood, I'd reallyappreciate not adding you to the list, Lady Demeter."
Drew bows her head, looking lost and just a little terrified as Demeter laughs quietly.
"Oh, don't look so afraid. I have no desire to join the war waging between Aunt Aphrodite and Lord Zeus," Demeter assures me with a soft look. I guess we got her on a good day? Maybe Persephone is visiting? "I merely heard my name and given that the speaker was the one who recently caused my nephew Apollo to blow himself up, I thought it would be in my best interest to see why my name was on your lips. I must say, this is… impressive."
As she speaks, she reaches into her dress and extracts a single seed, dropping it to the ground on the blessed fields. In an instant, an apple tree sprouts up and grows until it looks like it's been there for centuries, with fruits that are ripe and ready for harvest.
"So, we're cool? I really didn't mean to yoink your powers," I admit, rubbing the back of my neck. I don't know why, but I feel like being less of a pain for her than I am for Athena.
"Hmm, interesting choice of words. This both is and is not my power. It is, without a doubt blessed by a Goddess of the Harvest, a Demeter, but it is not mine. I can see why Apollo is so confused of late," Demeter explains. "But we are not quite cool, as you put it. Most hope to be rather the opposite when I am involved, anyway."
"Heh, nice," I praise, before shaking my head and focusing. "So, uhh… how do I not get smited? Please don't ask me to master another instrument in a week; my schedule is kinda filled up at the moment."
"Yes, I imagine that it is," Demeter agrees with what looks like amusement on her face. "No, I have no interest in giving you a quest, and certainly not one as nonsensical as that. He truly is sulking," she says, rolling her eyes. "But perhaps an agreement can be made, instead. I would like… ten acres of this field. To be studied by myself and used by my demigod children. In exchange, I will take no offence to anything your power pulls out, regardless of its origin or powers."
"That's it? You could have fifty for all I care, I'm not a farmer. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with a hundred acres of fields," I admit with a lazy shrug. "Look at my hands, they're too soft and pretty to work the fields!"
"A true child of Aphrodite," Demeter praises. At least, I think that was supposed to be praise. I'm taking it as praise either way. "Ten acres is all I wish for, and the permission to enter this plane to examine my acres whenever I see fit, of course."
"Eh, I'll leave the door open. It's not like I have much to steal that I can't summon at will anyway," I agree easily.
Wait a minute. The Gods aren't supposed to spend time with their demigod offspring, but Demeter has made it clear she intends to be here at least semi-frequently while her demigod kids work those acres. Did someone say loopholes?
"As the child of two Gods of Trickery, respect Mrs D," I say with a nod. She raises an eyebrow for just a moment before the shadow of a smirk crosses her lips.
"I have no idea what you could mean, Adon," Demeter replies simply as he raises her hands, a large thick garden hedge growing around what I believe is exactly ten acres of the fields.
"I don't suppose your kids are for hire? I figure I might as well not waste the insane power of these fields but I both don't know how to, and don't want to, work them myself. If we grow some cool fruits or shit, we could split the profits," I offer, seeing her pause.
"Speak with Katie Gardner, the head of my Cabin. I am sure she would be amicable to such a deal, given that I will be speaking with her myself about my acres anyway," Demeter suggests. "You could also talk to Castor, the head of Lord Dionysus' cabin, I suppose. His children are not as talented as mine, but they possess similar skills."
"Will do, and I'll be sure to offer up some of the harvest to you. We're supposed to do that, right?" I ask.
"It is customary to give an offering to the Gods, yes. I must say, you are more respectful than I expected from Athena's… reports," Demeter says in amusement. Why do I hear the word 'complaining' when she says reports?
"Eh, I'm trying not to make more enemies than I already have," I admit shamelessly. "If my power is going to keep copying the other Gods' powers, I'd rather not piss off the ones who seem kinda reasonable."
"A fair point," Demeter admits. "I shall return, child of Aphrodite."
And like that, she's gone. And look, no curses, threats, impossible quests! Aren't I just the most diplomatic man ever? Sure, she was just using me to get around the limited contact rule of Olympus but still!
Feat Achieved: Make a pact with Demeter, 200cp granted. 200cp total.
"Holy shit," Drew whispers, letting out a breath she'd been holding onto for dear life.
"Holy, yes, but she didn't shit. Huh, if she's the Goddess of Fertility, then does that mean that fertiliser is literally holy shit?" I ask, scratching my chin in thought.
"I- yeah, you definitely have triple ADHD. Probably ADHD squared from Eris and Loki," Drew sighs, running a hand through her hair.
"It's a legitimate question!" I counter, arms crossed.
[Chronomancer] - 200cp, 0cp remaining
Time is an illusion, and you're a master of illusions. You can manipulate time freely within a small radius of yourself. This allows you to do things such as rewind time for a few minutes, slow it down, speed it up and several other such tricks. Keep in mind that the more you try to do with time, the greater the strain. Jumping backwards a few seconds to avoid a critical hit? Easy as pie. Trudging back a whole half-hour, because you absolutely need to correct a horrible mistake after the fact? Expect to need bed rest afterwards.
Kronos still has my back! Surely Gramps won't mind me having the power to play with time itself. Well, even if he does he's stuck in Tartarus apparently so he can kiss my whole ass.
…this would really freak out Athena. Like sooo much.
"Hey, Drew. I gotta go tell Lady Athena something real quick, but I need to talk to you later," I say, giving her a thumbs up as I run off to tell Athena that I got time magic. Surely, she'll take it well after the Kronos revelation.
– Later –
Feat Achieved: Freak out Zeus, 200cp. Drive Athena into paranoia, 100cp. 300cp granted. 300cp total.
Heheheheh.
[Mystical Library] - 300cp, 0cp remaining
It would seem Heinz Meissner is not the only wizard to own such a library. Somewhere in the Empire is a building, either owned directly by yourself or held by another in your name. Within this building is hosted a library stocked with all sorts of accessible (if often obscure) texts concerning magical history and theory, as well as more mundane philosophy, theology, and history. Especially prominent are those books detailing the history of magic among the Empire's human populace before the arrival of Teclis and his traditions. As this library follows you, such publicly accessible works of history, philosophy, and religion from new destinations will find their way into this library as well. These will draw scholars from far and wide, who would happily pay you a small fee to stay overnight in the upstairs rooms or take a small meal while they increase their knowledge. However, there is another library of importance in this building. In the basement, entrance to which can only be granted by a password of your devising, exists a space for you to contain tomes of forbidden lore, lest they fall into the wrong hands. Already, you have acquired dark grimoires detailing the ways and means of the servants of Chaos and the foul undead for such safekeeping. Fortunately, the protective enchantments on the basement prevent such tomes from corrupting those you trust with the knowledge of their existence and location. If knowledge is power, it falls to you to guard it well.
"…why do I keep getting libraries? I don't even like reading," I mumble, looking at the new building, now combined with my other library. I'm getting quite the small settlement here. Well, I can sell access to the nerd cabin, so it's fine.
Shaking my head, I focus on what I'm doing.
"Don't worry, Master. This is literally my old job, just with a different coat of paint," Senko reassures me as she finishes setting up the last of the main twelve shrines. Look, I can't avoid the Gods; they've had a spotlight on my ass since day one, but Demeter has shown me that I can get away with working with them as long as I'm not a dumbass. A mythical challenge, I know, but I'm a son of Loki, I'm silver-tongued as shit.
So, if I'm going to have to deal with some pouty bitch gods, why not make sure I have more Gods on my side by kissing the right asses? Demeter mentioned a war between Mom and Zappy McDickhead, and if I can nudge some of them over to Mom's side, I'm less likely to end up super dead.
And I did literally get a Shrine Maiden Youkai follower, so why not set up a shrine room?
Firstly, I make an offering to Mom. [Forbidden Treasures (Lesser)] lets me get some weird shit on a metaphysical level, and with it I acquired something with Drew's advice. The broken heart of a despairing prince. Not his literalheart, but the emotions and shit all caught in a bottle. Offering it up at the shrine as thanks for her hard work protecting me, it vanishes, and I pause. I guess that worked?
Feat achieved: Make a successful offering for the first time (she loved it), 100cp granted.
Hell yeah.
"Master, Lady Annabeth is asking for permission to go into the library again," Senko says as I consider my next move.
"What? Oh yeah, go for it," I grunt, stroking my chin as I go over the mountain of weird-ass things I've gotten my hands on.
Next, I do something funny. See, [Specialist's Hammer] lets me improve items by using it and rare or special materials, adding different effects to existing items without needing to do any fancy enchanting or reforging. So, I take a bronze shield I… uhh, borrowed from Clarisse and work my magic. Literally, I place the material on the top of it and bonk it once, job done, just like magic.
I placed the fires of an ancient dragon into the shield, and now it makes the wielder immune to fire while also blasting anyone who hits it with fire. Then, I move over to Hepetitus C's shrine and make my offering.
"Oh, Lord of Smiths. If I give you some cool materials, will you stop being so pissy about things? It's not my fault my mom cheated on you," I chant, sending the shield through. Wait, no, that's not what I meant to say.
"Who are you calling pissy, boy?" a gruff voice asks, making me spin around in a panic and toss whatever was in my hand at the large, muscular and admittedly misshapen man dressed in a grimy, oil-stained jumpsuit behind me. As the endless frosts of Fimbulwinter hit him in the chest, he stares at me with a look that can best be described as 'unimpressed'.
"Okay, but you've gotta admit that you only don't like me because my Mom gets around. And it's not like you don't have a Cabin yourself, so it's not like you've been faithful-"
"Shush," Hephaestus says with a deep sigh, a scowl on his face. "What the hell is all this stuff?"
"I don't know, cool shit my power gives me. I figure it could make some great stuff in the hands of someone who can do more than just bonk things with a hammer, but I'm only sharing if you agree to not be a dick," I say, arms crossed.
Sometimes, I wonder how many times I was dropped on my head as a baby.
"You're either very brave or incredibly stupid, Adon," Hephaestus eventually decides, and I pause for a moment.
"A bit of both, I think," I admit. "That wasn't a no!"
"It wasn't," Hephaestus finally admits, stroking his beard with a big meaty hand. "I don't like you."
"Yeah, I got that much," I agree.
He goes to respond, before he pauses again and looks at the shield I sent him. He examines it from every angle, his scowl staying in place. I get the feeling he'd be happier if he found flaws in my 'work', but finally he lowers it with a grunt.
"This is… passable work," Hephaestus admits, the words sounding pained. "And these materials are… well, frankly impossible. They are impressive, more so than your work. That hammer is an insult to my craft, but I am not against a deal with you, boy. You've done no more for me than the other Aphrodite brats. Frankly, how pissed off Ares is at you is reason enough for me to almost like you."
"Yeah, he's probably a lost cause," I agree with a shrug, which gets a snort out of him. It's not a glare or a curse, so I'll take it as a step in the right direction.
After a moment, he speaks again as he asks if I have a specific material or something related to it. I don't know why he wants something with strong ties to the winds but I don't really care as I produce a bottled typhoon. It may be called 'Forbidden Treasures (Lesser)' but this thing really has some cool stuff. I'm almost scared to know what the non-lesser variant of this would be.
Borrowing my hammer, he works the typhoon into a sword he summoned, letting out a disgusted noise at how easy it worked, before tossing the hammer back to me like it's a venomous snake.
"I may request another material, depending on what project I'm working on," Hephaestus finally admits, looking almost disappointed that whatever he was trying to do worked. I think he'd have preferred that it failed so he could punish me or shut down my offer of neutrality. "I won't support Lord Zeus' desire to see you put down as long as you do not cross me. Don't expect me to support you, brat."
"Hey, neutrality is great when it comes to Gods," I agree happily.
"...and I'm keeping this," Hephaestus continues, lifting up the bottle of endless winter I tossed at him. "We'll call it an offering because if not, it was an attack."
"I was going to offer it up next, but since you came in person, I thought it'd be easier to just deliver it to you directly," I agree instantly. It's not like it cost me anything, and I can get an infinite amount more.
"For an Aphrodite brat, you aren't terrible," Hephaestus praises, and that was definitely praise this time.
"Thanks! And for a God, you're surprisingly reasonable," I reply. He goes to respond, before snorting as he vanishes. I really should close the big blue door of dimensional mischief when I'm doing things like this so they can't just turn up at my house.
Feat Achieved: Achieve neutrality with Hephaestus, 100cp granted. 200cp total.
Neutral is better than him wanting to ruin my pretty face.
…and yet, I can't help but get the feeling I'm forgetting something. Ah well, it can't be important.
Feat Achieved: Get Annabeth Chase addicted to forbidden knowledge, 100cp granted. 300cp total.
Ooooh, right.
Eh, it's fine. All the really dangerous books are down in the basement behind the password… which I never set.
Hmm.
Look, she's an Athena kid. She was already addicted to forbidden knowledge, she just didn't know it yet. Besides, she's one of the smarty cabin, she's clever enough to not read books that glow with malicious light or are written on human skin, right?
You know what, I think I should make an offering to my favourite Goddess of all, and maybe give her a little hint about maybe checking up on her daughter. This is what we in the business call 'delegation' because I'm not trying to pry Annabeth out of there. Girls can be scary.
Now, where was that bottle of insight?
– Later –
So, good news and bad news.
Annabeth has been rescued from the basement, which now has a proper password. Thankfully, my power stopped the very corruptive magic from actually corrupting her mind, but it was better safe than sorry. She's now in the safe part of the library, where there aren't any evil books that will eat your soul.
Downside, Athena is now in the basement of my library, and she won't come out. She took one look at the books and called Hecate, and the pair have been shut in there ever since. She told me not to read the books down there without asking her first, but joke's on her, I don't read unless I have to. I'm not doing homework, fuck off with that shit.
Feat Achieved: Confuse Hecate, 100cp granted, 400cp total.
Instead, I've been working on my master plan.
I like adventures, but I have no interest in questing. I'm not going to run around because the Gods said to do this or that, unless it's my parents and even then they better have some good incentive for me to act as their lackey.
But, I'm getting all this cool questing stuff. The medicines, the materials to make all kinds of magical items, the endless tomes of knowledge on every subject and shit. So, why do the questing when I can be the merchant that sells the hero their stuff!
[Living Towers] - 400cp, 0cp remaining
The Living Towers are another addition to your pocket dimension, where you will find three towers. The first changes every hour, the other every day, and the last every week, with each one increasing in length and difficulty. Each floor of the tower will take you to an arena of some sort, where you will face an opponent, possibly with special conditions active. These places and opponents are drawn from both this world and the worlds you've visited, but the only thing you can gain from the Living Towers is the reward you get for completing the top floor- a large surplus of golden Koins. In addition, you will learn much quicker in these towers, making training a breeze, and being killed will merely place you back in your pocket dimension, unharmed.
See? I don't want to go into the towers of being beaten to death. That sounds painful. But I'm sure the Ares kids would love this shit.
It doesn't matter if the hero gets all the treasures if they end up selling them to the friendly merchant anyway! Drew was onto something. I should run this as a business. Only, I don't know the first thing about business and don't want to run a business either.
So, what's a guy to do?
Finishing my song to the cheers of my audience, I grin at the gathered monsters who came to see me perform. As I said, same time, same place.
"Thank you, thank you," I bow playfully, dismissing the Lyre as my performance has ended for the night. "Now, quick question. Are any of you girls looking for employment?"
— Bonus Scene — Gunilla
It was always going to be a child of Loki that caused such chaos.
She'd long since learnt that the children of the trickster were as untrustworthy as their father. As such, she was honoured to be chosen as the Valkyrie to serve as his watcher.
"I'm sure you understand how… unusual this situation is," Chiron admitted, stroking his chin as she nodded.
"Were it not for Loki's machinations, our two worlds would have remained apart but we both know that's simply not an answer anymore with Loki and Eris working together," Gunilla agreed, her hand resting on her hammer.
"Indeed. The campers are not unused to visitors, as we get Lady Artemis' huntresses visiting on a regular basis, but I doubt I need to tell you that the idea of a Valkyrie in Camp Halfblood has caused quite the stir," Chiron explained easily. "But, Olympus has agreed to Lord Odin's request, and you are most welcome here, child of Thor."
"My thanks. So, how much trouble has the trickster's son caused already?" Gunilla asked plainly, watching as Chiron paused before he sighed and began to speak.
It took seconds for Gunilla to confirm what she already suspected, that Adon was a problem child.
Chiron spoke for almost an hour.