Chapter 36: Going On A Trip (1/2)
//Thank you to all those who joined for last night's Game Night. We had a blast and I hope you did too. We're already planning the next one. We'll probably shoot for another Among Us or Minecraft. It'll be on Monday at 8PM EST and we'll be playing for a number of hours so join up whenever.
Here's the Discord.
https://discord.gg/AZnQSJQEGh
As always though, if you wish to support me and help me reach my goal before the end of July, here's the Patre0n. I owe you guys 11 more chapters for this week and then I'll switch over to Danmachi. If you guys want MORE chapters of this then powerstones and donations help.
Patre0n.com/ShadowDrev
Goal: $278/$420
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They didn't do anything that night. Realistically, none of them knew what to expect from the island and were definitely going in completely blind, with none of Chions visions having mentioned anything other than a big ass sign. It was also completely idiotic to traverse the dark recesses of unknown grounds when traveling in a group, especially one that was half dead from exhaustion.
So, everyone agreed to get some more sleep, Luke being the very first one to conk out much to Chions surprise. Annabeth remained awake for a little while and only fell asleep after the white-haired youth gave her his hoodie.
She hadn't asked for it, but she had obviously been cold. Luke hadn't mentioned a word about it but Chion was 90 percent certain that he was freezing as well, something he readily fixed with a spare comforter he had managed to stuff into his endless chasm of a backpack. It was lucky he had prepared for all kinds of situations, even one where he himself was at fault because of the dropping temperature that seemed to follow him around. None of them had complained about it in the slightest since meeting him, but he wasn't blind. Sometimes, he could literally see their breath in the air. So, he handed his hoodie off and fetched them both a blanket.
Chion himself just lay down on the floor and called it a night, unbothered by the chilly winds blowing through the Overland, a blast of wind that felt rather refreshing.
Like always, he had some weird dreams. It wasn't anything of note. Just some random gibberish that he would forget by the time he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. The only thing that stood out were the images of two people conversing with one another.
One of them was a lady with bright green eyes and midnight black hair that barely came down to her shoulders, both of which suited her frame and appearance quite well. Her face was like a Greek statue — pale, beautiful, and ageless. She was surrounded by green light. The woman was dressed in white robes with ornate silver designs, like runes or alchemy symbols. The other was a young looking individual with hair even whiter than Chion himself and bore a near perfect resemblance. Only difference was that this mysterious figure wore clothes that felt much....older, as if it was from a time long ago. Bright blue eyes that seemed to glow in the dark, a youthful face that made him seem decades younger, and a smile that could warm the Antarctic. Even in the dream, Chion felt happier and much more at ease just by looking at him, the best things in life come flooding to the forefront of his mind. Coke and oreos, Cheez-Its and Snickers. Not exactly together.
Jackson Overland Frost. His father. Knowing what he did, it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else.
The scene didn't last very long, but he did manage to pick out some words. Well, a lot of words.
{{"The curse is too much for you. It has to be something he needs to figure out for himself."}} The woman held up the torch clutched in her left hand. {{"You'll only endanger his life with this gamble."}}
The man in white crossed his arms. {{"There's nothing the gods can do, so I'll have to take this into my own hands. I can buy him some time. All I ask is that once it's done, you seal his memories. Slow the curse to a standstill."}}
{{"We'll do what we can, Jack."}} The woman turned around and began to walk away. {{"Are you sure you want to do this, my son?"}}
A warm smile filled with love spread across the mans visage. {{"Of course. He's my son, just like I am yours. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him."}}
{{"Very well. I shall hold onto his memories myself. If he survives and figures out how to reign over this....FrostBitten curse, I shall return it to him."}}. She glanced back slightly. {{"You're aware that he won't have any idea as to who you are? Would you like us to tell him?"}}
{{"It's fine. Allow him to figure things out on his own. If anything, give him some gifts from me. I can write some things down."}}
With those final words, the scene swirled out of existence, leaving Chion in complete darkness, a sleep in which no other visions or dreams formed. He remained there for the remainder of his nap, drifting through his own consciousness. It was only when something hit him in his face that he woke up. Eyes shooting open, he immediately yanked the thrown cloth off his face and looked around.
"Oh, good morning." Annabeth stood over him, a smirk on her face. "Fancy meeting you here in a place such as this. Sleep here often?"
Chion rubbed his face, moving the spare shirt the blonde had tossed at him. It was a fresh morning, the sun just barely peaking out from the horizon, a refreshing breeze blowing through the area and onto the island. Luke and Annabeth had taken the time to change clothes, donning similar outfits. A pair of cargo pants with a plethora of pockets and a black t-shirt. With matching streetwear, they looked like some sort of dance group or part of a gang that would rough you up at the slightest provocation. Luke made the fit look menacing with his height and scarring, to the point where Chion was certain even monsters would do a slight double-take at the sight of him.
"About time you woke up," Luke said, tossing the grey backpack towards Chion. Compared to the night before, he looked much more lively, and the bags under his eyes had diminished ever so slightly. "We've been waiting for you."
"Ugh. How long was I out?" The white-haired youth took off his shirt and quickly donned the new one, Annabeth looking away quickly while he did so. (("And what was that dream I had? It's there, but I need to really think about it to remember the conversation."))
Shaking his head, Chion rose up from his spot and grabbed his hoodie, of which had been folded and placed next to him sometime during his sleep. Putting it on and slinging his backpack behind him, he was all set and ready to role, even if he was still a bit disoriented. He double-checked to make sure the vials weren't loose on his belt, and all of his pouches were nice and stocked before eventually turning to address his entourage of two.
"So. What's the plan?"
The youth raised an eyebrow and looked behind him and to the side, unsure of who the person was talking to. Because the one who had asked the question was Annabeth.
"You're....asking me?" Chion feigned a mixture of confusion and surprise.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Rub it in. Get real up in there, pour that salt as much as you'd like. Everything you've done so far has gotten us to where we are now. I'd imagine that even a brilliant strategist would be a fool to overlook the accomplishments you made. So, just can it and tell us what you have in mind."
"I can't believe it. I'm so hono-"
"Shove it."
Luke laughed and shoved Chion on the shoulder. "So, what will it be then?"
Chion rubbed his arm slightly, acknowledging how strong of an arm the blonde son of Hermes possessed. "Well, for starters, it doesn't seem to be that big of an island. Based on our track record of life being unnecessarily difficult no matter where we go, it's reasonable that there's hostile life somewhere around. We should explore but keep our guard up. As per usual, we'll make stuff up as we go."
"I could have told you all of that," Annabeth muttered.
"But you didn't," Chion rebutalled. "So try and keep up. We'll leave the Overland at the shore. I'll just weigh anchor and fix it to the island with rope."
Pressing a few buttons, the youth started up the boat and let it warm up before making his way towards the islands base. Most of the island seemed to be slightly above the water, small cliffs cutting off anyone from approaching except for in a number of areas. These areas in question had built-in walkways and docks where a number of other boats and ships were stationed. For some reason, Chion hadn't noticed these before, and it immediately raised some red flags for him. Mainly because a few of the boats looked rather old, and there was even one enormous vessel that was straight out a Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, a real-life pirate ship. Still, despite the warnings flashing in his mind, he parked the Overland right to the side of the ship.
"Is that a pirate ship?" Luke asked, having also participated in movie night. "Do they build exact replicas here? Or maybe...."
"Maybe it's an actual ship from a long time ago." Annabeth clamored off the boat as Chion tied it up to a thick wooden post. "Though it's hard to say how long it's been here. It looks pretty clean for something that's been here a while."
Chion assured the rope wasn't going anywhere before glancing at the gigantic pirate ship. "Well, if it's here, there's people. We can ask them what's the deal with it."
"Think we can take it home?" Luke asked, tapping the ships hull with his knuckle as they walked by. "Might be able make use of it."
"Where would we even put it?" Annabeth questioned, glancing back towards the blonde. "Camp HalfBlood doesn't exactly have the space."
"We'd make room for it. Would you really turn down having such an amazing ship?" Luke raised an eyebrow, hand resting on the hilt of his shortsword. "Think of all the possibilities."
"Thought of them. Came up with 2 total pros. 11 total cons."
Letting out a breath, the teen turned his attention to Chion. "What about you? Think we could take it back?"
"Of course. If they don't wanna give it to us, we'll just steal it."
"That's what I'm-" Luke halted midway and immediately tensed up, gaze fixated dead ahead. The other had also seen it and slowed to a stop. "Prepare yourselves. Company has arrived."
Walking towards them were three woman all dressed rather exquisitely and possessing a certain charm. The middle one was a rather beautiful woman with long dark hair braided with threads of gold and piercing green eyes. She wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night. The two were also women but they paled in comparison to the first. On the left was one who looked like some kind of attendant or secretary wearing a blue business suit, with perfect makeup, her black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and a dazzling smile on her face. The other wore an equally blue dress fashioned with frills and suits on the sides.
"Greetings, newcomers. Welcome to C.C's Spa and Resort." The front woman gave a pleasant smile, her voice sweet and charming, as if it was wrapping around Chion and beckoning him forward. "I am Circe. I've been waiting for your arrival, Chionothýella Pagos, Annabeth Chase, and Luke Castellan."
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