Offerings in the Mist
“Uh… it doesn’t look very friendly, to be honest,” Percy said, glancing at Grover for a moment and then back at the huge dog, which was almost as big as a grizzly bear.
Meanwhile, Harry watched the animal closely. For some reason, he could feel that rather than being evil, it seemed to be on guard against the adults traveling with them. He did not sense any bad intentions in its gaze toward him or Percy.
“He says he doesn’t trust humans,” Grover said softly.
That caused a brief moment of confusion.
“You can understand him?” Harry asked.
“Yes. A little. I’m a satyr,” Grover replied.
“Then why did he attack us?” Harry asked immediately.
Grover looked at the dog and nodded slightly.
“Because he doesn’t trust humans. He thought that… that they were kidnapping you,” he said, pointing at Sirius.
“Uh? Kidnapping?” Sirius asked, wearing a confused expression.
“Uh… well, I don’t really understand it either. It’s not like he’s completely an animal, but that’s what I understood,” Grover explained defensively, before looking back at the dog, which was growling, or perhaps communicating through that growl.
“Mm… I see. But they’re their friends. They’re taking them to Camp Half-Blood,” Grover said to it.
The massive dog looked back at Sirius and the others once more, then let out another growl and a couple of loud barks that echoed through the forest. After that, it turned around and slipped into what looked like the shadows, disappearing among them.
“What did it say?” Harry asked.
“Mm… more or less, I understood that he said humans are treacherous, that they kidnap and torture, and that you should be careful with them. That you should never trust humans,” Grover replied, staring toward where the dog had vanished.
Harry felt a bit uncomfortable hearing that, but at least it was no longer another enemy.
“Well, I have to say this trip is stranger than I expected,” Sirius said, nodding to himself. “Maybe we should wait for the others,” he added.
Adrien shot him a dry look, just like Percy and Harry did.
Technically, it had also been Percy’s idea, but obviously he was not going to take responsibility. After all, Sirius was the adult there.
“Oh,” Percy said, looking down and noticing a large horn lying on the ground. “It dropped something. We can offer it as an offering,” he said with interest.
“You know about offerings?” Grover asked, somewhat surprised.
“Yes. Aunt Mor taught us. We get lots of useful things,” Percy replied with a smile.
Grover wore a slightly confused expression.
“You get things?” he asked.
“Let me show you,” Percy said proudly, looking at Harry, who nodded and began pulling items out of his bag. Off to the side, he set up a small campfire, just as Mor had taught them.
It didn’t take long. He seemed to have everything ready. Soon, a small flame began to burn.
Harry and Percy stood in front of the fire, and Percy tossed the horn into the flames. Then, both of them said in unison:
“For the goddess of magic. Please accept our offering.”
The flame burned for a moment with a greenish color. A few seconds later, something emerged from the fire.
It looked like a kind of cookie jar.
“Oh, this time it’s cookies. Nice, they’re delicious. Though the cupcakes last time were also really good,” Percy said immediately, taking the jar happily.
Harry nodded as well.
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Meanwhile, Grover’s expression was a complete mix of surprise, confusion, and slight panic.
“S-so… w-why do you give offerings to the goddess of magic?” he asked softly, stuttering.
“Aunt Mor taught us to do it this way. And we always get something,” Harry said calmly, while Percy already had a cookie stuffed into his mouth.
“B-but… uh… ah…,” Grover rubbed his forehead, looking more and more confused as he stared at the cookies like something that should not be happening.
Adrien, meanwhile, watched the children for a moment, then the cookies, and then glanced at Sirius, who wore an equally confused expression about where they had come from. In the end, Adrien seemed to decide not to think too hard about it.
Taking advantage of the campfire, everyone sat down to wait for the others. Harry and Percy ate their cookies calmly, while Grover, who had also been given one, stared at it as if he had just received sacred food. He kept looking at it, unsure whether he should eat it or not.
“You’re not going to eat it?” Harry asked, looking at him, while Percy had already offered cookies to the others.
“Ah… no, yes. Of course,” Grover said quickly, snapping out of it. He took a small bite, still a bit nervous. However, the moment he tasted it, his expression changed completely. It was truly phenomenal.
“This wasn’t made by the goddess of magic herself, right?” he asked with a bit of fear, before looking at Harry and Percy, who were eating calmly as if nothing were strange. Even the three adults examined their cookies for a moment before trying them.
“Maybe I’m overthinking it,” Grover added, before happily finishing his cookie.
“By the way, why could Sirius see the Minotaur and the dog? Ah… Mr. Adrien too, but the la—,” Percy was about to say “lady,” but Elara shot him a slightly cold look.
“Lady Elara, right?” he corrected himself.
Grover looked at him and thought for a moment, scratching his head.
“I don’t really have a clear answer. Normally, only seers can see through the Mist, but it could also be because they’ve faced monsters many times without realizing it, and now they can perceive them more easily. Another possibility is that they have very strong mental resistance, although that’s much harder,” Grover explained.
Sirius listened to that and grew thoughtful for a moment, as a memory crossed his mind. A memory of suffering at the hands of monsters without heart or soul, creatures that fed on emotions.
“Mmm… yeah, it’s not that simple,” he said, brushing it off, before taking another bite of the cookie in his hand.
…
“So you found it and dealt with it,” Dorien asked seriously to his brother, watching the improvised camp around the fire as he arrived together with Gema and Luther.
“Yes. Lady Elara fought it, but her sword couldn’t damage it. In the end, only Percy’s sword managed to do it,” Adrien replied in the same serious tone.
“Mm,” Dorien murmured, as if thinking something over. “About what Sally said…”
“Yes. Confirmed,” Adrien replied.
“So, are you happy now that nothing is being hidden from you anymore?” Dorien asked with a lightly teasing, almost amused tone.
“That one of our companions finally trusts us completely is something to be happy about,” Adrien replied calmly, deliberately avoiding looking at him.
“Yeah, sure,” Dorien said before walking away and grabbing one of the children’s cookies, while Percy proudly declared that he had avenged his teacher, Gema.
“You only landed the final blow,” Harry said, staring at him.
“But that’s the one that counts the most, my dear little brother,” Percy replied arrogantly.
Harry rolled his eyes.
Not long after, everyone got back into the cars to continue the journey toward the camp.
For a moment, Harry and Percy felt like a whole swarm of monsters might appear to attack them. However, that did not happen at all. Even after the Minotaur’s defeat, everything seemed calmer than before.
Still, without them realizing it, a shadow seemed to follow them along the entire road. Harry had the strange feeling that, even without seeing it, something was watching over them, making sure nothing got too close.
“So… that thing will come back from Tartarus? When?” Percy asked Grover.
“Well, monsters can’t really be completely destroyed. Chiron calls them archetypes, and they always return. The exact time isn’t known, but at least for a lifetime or two, it shouldn’t show up again,” Grover explained.
“Huh… so demigods can come back too?” Percy asked.
“Uh… no,” Grover said, shaking his head. “Once you die, you’re sent to the Underworld, where it’s decided whether you go to the Fields of Asphodel, the Fields of Elysium, or the Fields of Punishment. Elysium is for heroes and virtuous souls. Most demigods who become heroes end up there. And for those who reincarnated three times and were just each time, there’s a special place called the Isle of the Blest,” he explained.
“I see… the Underworld,” Percy said, nodding, before looking at Harry.
Harry returned the look as if telling him to shut up, so Percy said nothing more.
The trip didn’t take long, and eventually they arrived at the place Grover guided them to. They stopped there, and everyone got out.
“Well…” Grover said, looking at the adults. “From here on, mortals can’t enter.”
Percy and Harry looked at their companions with a slight sadness at the sudden farewell.
Sirius smiled and gave both of them a pat on the shoulders.
“Listen, have fun, go a little wild, and don’t get into too much trouble. Just some,” he said with a grin. “I’ll be staying in this country for a while, looking for information about Remus. So if you need anything, you can send an owl.”
Even so, it was clear he was also a bit sad about how quickly their little adventure had ended.
“We’ll also be around for a while, looking for… something,” Gema said, giving them both a small hug. “I hope you don’t get into trouble and that you take care of yourselves,” she added warmly.
Harry and Percy also said goodbye to Luther, Dorien, Adrien, and Elara, before turning around and following Grover toward the hill. As they walked, they felt as if they passed through something invisible, and they cast one last glance back, where everyone was still standing there, waving goodbye.
“Well, this is where our new adventure begins. But I don’t think it’ll be worse than Hogwarts, right?” Percy said with a smile.
“That’s a red flag,” Harry replied, smiling back.
“Come on, guys. I have to introduce you to everyone. You’re really going to like this place,” Grover said, looking genuinely excited to have successfully completed his mission as escort and guardian of two demigods at once.
