Halfblood Hill

Max was surprised at how big this little patch of forest really was. When walking to it from the bus it hadn't actually looked that big, but now searching through it - it was if the place had grown. She wandered through the trees, one hand lingering at the string over her bow against her, prepared to swing it from her shoulder at a moment's notice. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary so far. She couldn't help but be grateful, seeing as their journey so far had already been full of struggles. A moment's respite was appreciated. Coincidently, the rain seemed to die down from that thought. Max paused for a moment, dropping her hood from her head and wringing out the ends of her bunches before continuing. She hopped over a small stream, making sure not to splash in the water. It was nowhere near as deep as the lakes she feared, but she couldn't help herself. After around 45 minutes, she still had not seen anything of real significance. She hoped that Lucas had more luck than her, rather disappointed that she didn't have any news to bring back.

She made her way back quickly, retracing her steps at a much faster pace now that she wasn't searching for anthing in particular. Before reaching the clearing, Max could hear three familiar voices. When she found them again, she couldn't help but be relieved that Sage was no longer slumped against the tree where she had left him.
"Hey, you're awake!" She announced the obvious, grinning. She turned her attention to Lucas, her grin fading as she brought her disappointing news. "There wasn't anything of interest my way," She said, stuffing her hands awkwardly in her pockets. "Did you have any luck?"

Luke was about to rebuttal all of Ish's natural complaining but before he could Sage awoke. "I'd hope you not mind eating, because It's not to terribly far, and Ish if you'd really rather stay out here under a tree without food you are welcome too" He said with a shake of his head. Though came Sage's question which made him shrug. "Well me and her went out scouting to find somewhere to wait out the rain and such, and maybe dry out before catching cold but she's not." His sentence was cut short as Max came into view, making him chuckle a bit. "Well here she is so no need to be worried Sage." He turned his full attention to her a smile never leaving his face even as her news came back bad. "Well we're in luck then, I found a place not to far from here, that smells of delicious food and such, though it did have those weird lawn flamingos and such so I'm guessing it's like a gift shop or some such." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Regardless of what else they sell, the food smelled great, specially on an empty stomach and I think i can get us there, though I'm pretty sure your noses will take hold when we get close enough."

It wasn't terribly far, pushing their way through the forest until reaching the road, which gave them a straight shot to the little shop. "there it is, and still open too!" He said with excitement his feet feeling less like lead and more like, well his own feet again the bit of exhaustion he felt being replaced by hunger as the smell of food hit him again. He would normally question the good luck they had found with this place, but for right now, his stomach was winning the argument as he hurried his way over, though before entering or anything he waited for his friends. This was one of those times, even though he had only been a Demi-god for a short amount of time, it'd make more sense for them to stay away from this place. With how history treated Demi-gods, good things didn't happen, and if they did there was always a price. "Come on guys, let's get inside and get some food, and hopefully the owner has a map or something" His stomach, talking mostly as it rumbled slightly. That was it, all he could think about was food, if he had to die anytime soon at least he'd get to do it on a full belly.

"Oh look, sleeping dead boy has come back to us meager living folks. Great, more noise." Ish was mocking the situation again, but in reality it was a relief to see Sage doing well, and Max strolled in, announcing that he was awake, and he rolled his eyes, standing up and crossing his arms. "And tree hugger, didn't know you had such a knack for the stating of the obvious, that talent will be of some use to us, I imagine." He leaned against a tree, watching the chatter back and forth, apparently agreeing on the idea that going to some hut in the middle of nowhere for food, no matter how hungry he was, was apparently a brilliant idea. "Fine, we go there, but don't tell me I didn't warn you when this goes wrong too..." He fell in step, hungry but far too distrustful of the situation to trust what was occurring right now.

Ish stalked after the rest of them, hand palming the key that would become a wrench at his will, a scowl permanently placed on his face as they walked, the smell of food tempting him to stop questioning the situation. Which made him question it all the more, muttering unintelligible words to himself, which would most likely be complaints and arguing with his own theories. He was clearly reluctant to trust this structure, looking it over, wondering what horrors would confront them inside. "Nothing bit us in the rear yet, shocking, baiting us inside maybe?" His mutterings had become clear enough for note, as he continued to question the apparent good providence that graced them with this building, despite the fact that he really shouldn't be bothered to question it or complain, it was precisely what he was going to do right then and there.

The sight of Max coming back to them, alive and well, was more than slightly relieving for Sage.. Almost unnervingly so for the young boy. However, at the moment, he had neither the time, will, or energy to think on little things like that. He dug into his bag as the others talked about some shop, or something like that, where they’d get something to eat. He grabbed a square of ambrosia from a zip-lock bag and stuffed it in his mouth, almost inhaling the god-food. Almost immediately, he felt energy creep back into his limbs, and his skin started to lose its paleness. With the new energy running through him, Sage pushed himself off of the ground, only then noticing that he still had the Fury’s whip clutched tightly in his left hand. He stared at it for a few moments before squeezing the handle tightly, willing it to do.. Well, anything. The length of the whip sparked with red flames for a brief second, in response to his command, but quickly went back to its lifeless state. With a smirk, Sage tapped the new weapon twice with his index finger, his mind pushing its will against the weapon. The whip shrank and shifted slowly, changing its form in accordance to his wishes, until it became a twelve inch long section of byzantine chain, with two clips on the ends. Sage attached the chain to his belt before following after Lucas, having to almost chase after the boy, who was obviously eager to get to whatever the place was.
It didn’t take them long to get to the road, though it required them to push through several wooded areas. When they made it out of the last bit of forestry, Sage stopped to properly examine the area. From what he could see, it was a regular, country-ish road that had apparently become a bit devoid of life after the nearby highway had been built. Down the road, on either side, there were two buildings. One was an abandoned gas station with a large billboard out front advertising some movie from the nineties. The other building was a bit… Peculiar. It was one of those curio shops that people set up along the sides of major roads, like those ones that sold flamingos, wooden Indians, or those weird statues. This one, apparently, had decided to go with all three. Though, there were a lot more of the latter. As they made their way down the road, and up to the main building, which was really nothing more than a long, low warehouse, Sage couldn’t help but notice the various, odd statues that littered the front. Odd creatures, the usual gnomes, couples, children… All of them had weird expressions on their faces, like they were preparing for a picture, or like they were surprised or frightened. A sudden flashing of light caught his attention as they neared the door, and he couldn’t help but look up at the flashing, neon sign over the door. “ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM?” He said, unable to properly read the sign due to the dyslexia he suffered as a half-blood.

Max ignored the comments from Ish as she grabbed her bag from the tree that Sage had been resting against, slinging it over her shoulder. Her grin returned as Lucas told them of the building that he found.
"If it's dry with food available, then it sounds amazing." She said, shrugging her bag onto her shoulder for more comfort. She followed after the others as they worked their way through the forest, being careful not to trip up on anything along the way. When they found the place Lucas was talking about, she wished she had not said amazing. Her bright blue eyes scanned the desolate road, surprised that the place in front of them would be able to keep it's business going in such a quiet place.

She crept towards the strange statues, wondering how anyone could make the features that detailed.
"They look so real..." She murmured, a chill running down her spine as their expressions looked too realistic as well. As she looked at the other statues, she noticed that none of the statues had smiles or even remotely happy faces. Another chill crawled across her skin as she realised this, deciding to return to the safety of the group. She looked up at the sign that Sage was attempting to read, frowning as he said the words he could form.
"Well that doesn't sound right at all." She said, gingerly wrapping her arms around her as her stomach joined the chorus of the hungry. She grimaced at the sound of her own stomach, "Can we eat and go quickly? This place is creepy." She suggested, glancing towards the others in hope that she wasn't the only one that didn't want to stick around for long.

Lucas Heard the words sage said, well words the boy tried to form anyways, which made him look up at the sign. Which needless to say being Dyslexic, meant he'd have no better chance of reading it. His stomach growled again a bit louder as he rested a hand on it. "Well whatever this store is...I don't think i can manage another moment out here with all the great smells coming from inside. There was no doubt about it though this place was creepy as possible, the statues were life-like, and terrified, and he hated gnomes nothing worse then gnomes, but for the moment fear was outweighed by hunger, and his mind was taking a back-seat to the thoughts of his belly being filled with a nice greesy hamburger.

He made his way slowly, towards the front of the shop totally ignoring the gnomes and statues. His hand reaching for the doorknob, his mind slowly praying that there was no kid eating monster at the other side of this door, but before he could open the door it opened itself, well The women behind it opened it. She appeared Middle-eastern, or at least it could be assumed as she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. That and her accent sounded Middle-eastern as she said. "Children, it is to late to be out all alone. where are your parents?" That's when Luke froze. How did you explain to older woman that you're on a mission from a summer camp of half-blood demi-gods to stop an all out war? He turned to his friends for help. "They're..um.." His mind racing for an excuse as his he looked over his shoulder once more, his eyes pleading with the others to help him out.

Ishmael scowl deepened, looking at the horde of statues, gnomes, and flamingos. He walked off as they talked, investigating the statues and pacing through them, hand brushing against the odd statue. Some were smiling, looking happy. Some looked, off, like they had seen something horrifying and realized it in their moments of being modeled for the statues. He kept walking through the patches of statues, the gnomes and flamingos going utterly ignored, and he froze before a single statue of what appeared to be a middle aged man, a look of abstract horror on his face. He froze, reaching out briefly before snapping his arm back at his side, anger welling up inside him. "Uncle? Oh no, this is not right, not right at all. He went missing coming out here...." Racking his knowledge of mythology, he placed what could have caused this and turned, heading back for the rest, ignoring the Neon sign as the 'woman' walked out and asked where their parents were.

Ish smiled, which to the others would be an immediate red flag, as he spoke, lying through his teeth. "We're terribly sorry to intrude, ma'am, but we're on a bus heading to summer camp, and got separated while waiting at the bus station. Do you have a phone, or at least something to eat? Our packed food is in our luggage, which we sadly don't have." Aunty Em clasped her hands together, speaking through her veil. "You poor dears, all of you! I am Aunty Em, please, come inside and head right through the warehouse, there is a dining area."

Once they went in, Ish hissed at the others, a quick warning out of hearing of this Aunty Em. "Medusa, don't look at her head uncovered. Strike when I do, especially you Dead boy." He included that because he considered Coral Brain worthless right now, and Max had a bow, which despite admirable handling in close quarters, was limited in that regard. As they entered, Aunty Em was setting food out, and Ish moved forward, producing the scimitar he never had, striking out towards Em's neck, squeezing his eyes shut just in case.

Sage gave Ishmael a rather awkward look as he walked up to them, smiling all the way. Just the sight of it was… Horribly unnerving.. Ish *never* smiled. At least, not that way. He did tend to give the occasional, ill-intent filled smirk… Something had to be wrong.. He looked at Ishmael just a bit more awkwardly, his left eyebrow crawling up his face as the boy told the woman who’d opened the door a rather ridiculous story and asked for food. Anyone with even a bit of sense would know that there were no bus stations anywhere close to this particular part of nowhere… And Sage and Max were pretty openly carrying their only bags.

Still, to Sage’s surprise, the woman bought the story. She invited them inside, but not before introducing herself as “Aunty Em”. As they walked inside, upon her invitation, Sage couldn’t help but here the familiar click of a dead-bolt sliding into place behind them. Aunty Em then passed them up on their way through the warehouse, seemingly in a hurry to reach the little dining room in the back. They walked rather slowly, Sage taking a bit of time to notice the various details of the statues that filled the warehouse. All of them had a wicked amount of detail.. Perfect recreations of people, satyrs, and even a few greek-looking monsters. A bit.. Too perfect.. Most of the ones in the warehouse had shocked, startled looks on their faces.

“Aunty Em…” He said under his breathe, the gears of his mind starting to crank. Of course, that was when Ish hissed at them, or mostly him, in a not too inconspicuous way; "Medusa, don't look at her head uncovered. Strike when I do, especially you Dead boy." Aunty Em.. Aunty *M*.. The gears in his mind stopped cranking as the little bulb in his mind finally flickered on. “Gods dammit..” He whispered under his breathe as Ish moved forward, behind the monsterous Aunty Em, who was already setting out food as they entered the dining area. Sage pulled his ring from his finger, producing SoulRender, as Ishmael pulled out some weird sword with a wicked curve that he’d never seen before. When did he get his hands on that…? Oh well, it didn’t matter. Sage stepped alongside Ish, as quietly as he possibly could, and stabbed at Aunty Em’s mid-section with his black blade, squeezing his eyes shut all the while.

Max couldn't help but edge towards the back of the group as Ish seemed to take over with the acting front, confused as he even seemed to have a smile plastered on his face. It was an unnerving sign of what might have been awaiting them. As Aunty Em lead them through to the dining area, everything seemed to make sense as Ish hissed to them a warning of the woman's true identity. Only Medusa would be able to create such life-like statues - as they were real people. How would they defeat the woman without looking directly at her? The risk was too great, and the majority of the group were close ranged fighters. Perhaps the boys could keep her distracted enough for her to find a shooting point and rain arrows down on her.

She didn't exactly have long to figure out a plan, as Sage and Ish dived at her with blades in hand. Max had no time to comment on Ish's new weapon, dropping her bag where she was and disappearing into the mass array of plants. She used the greenery for cover as she searched for a high vantage point - this time Sage wouldn't be aiming to cut her down from her perch, and so she was sure she would be safe high up. The trees here were only small, nothing like those in the great forests she was used to. The only thing close enough were marble pillars that were dotted about the place for decoration along the paths of the shop. Awkwardly, she scrambled up the pillars as quick as she could, weary that the pillar seemed to wobble a little under her weight as she got to the top. Spreading her weight as evenly as she could, Max unslung her bow from her shoulder and drew two arrows, nocking one and holding the other as she took aim. She had to time carefully enough to avoid the boys and avoid the eyes of Medusa. Once sure, she let her arrow fly and hoped that nobody moved into it's path.

If it struck true, Max needed to move as to avoid detection and Medusa's glare. She glanced about her, seeing that the nearest pillar was within a small jumping distance. She quickly hopped to it, crouching low at the top of this one and using the high reaching foliage around it for cover as she nocked her second arrow, preparing for another strike.

Everything seemed to happen so fast, a change in Ish that seemed so unnatural, then his warnings of Aunty Em, being Medusa. Then the attacks by Sage, Ish, and Max all together. This was a lot for someone new to this world. Though in hindsight the life-like statues made much more sense now. Sage had sunk his blade into Medusa's middle, And Ish had gone in for the cleaving of the head, and Max had all but disappeared to unleash her own attack with arrows, leaving Lucas all but a glorified paperweight in the middle of the dining area flabbergasted and jaw hanging loose. He knew not what to do at this time, all three of his friends had reacted quickly, but with the weaponry he had, he seemed unneeded for this battle.

His body still seemed so unwilling to move, even with the knowledge of what would happen if he looked upon Medusa's face, though with a yell from his mind, his body finally jumped into action. He shielded his eyes with one hand looking towards the ground as he moved forward. When he was beside Sage he quickly drew Riptide closing his eyes as he added his blade to the body of Medusa. The sound of hissing right above his head sent a shiver up his spine. Though the hissing was caught short by the sound of an arrow flying past and pinning itself somewhere in Medusa above his head, probably near the heart of the beast, the the sound that was most sickening was the thumping and sickening splurching noise as the head rolled across the ground.

It was a couple of minutes before Lucas dare opened his eyes, but considering the hissing had all but stopped and his sword could move more freely he was sure the beast was dead. He looked at Sage, then at Ish, but before words could be shared his stomach let out a growl, and his eyes turned to the table with food on it. "I uh...well" He paused trying to gather his words to form total sentences. "I say we eat before we leave, i mean why waste it?" He did not wait for any of his friends to warn, or try and stop him, making his way to the table and taking a seat as he began to pile whatever looked appetizing onto a plate and dig in, to hell with the consequences right now, his stomach needed to be filled, and by the gods he was going to fill it.

Ish's classic scowl returned in place the moment that Medusa had stopped looking at him, and he kept his eyes clamped shut as he heard the hissing fade, skimming his blade across the ground until he made contact with the head, making sure he knew where it was before opening his eyes, firmly looking away from the head, just in case. Looking around, as Coralbrain went right for the food before even checking it for anything troublesome, he got a nasty looking smirk on his face as his eyes landed on some bags and rags, striding over to them, grabbing them and returning to where the head rested, covering the head before going to work, sealing it away into a package before standing again, rummaging around the warehouse and returning with a box. He then dumped the head in the box, sealing it and marking it with Coralbrain's name, grinning in a nasty manner as he finished, addressing it for Mount Olympus.

"Wonder how much they'll love this little trick, yea?" Ish promptly sent the box and its nefarious package on its way, standing and brushing his pants off, the scimitar disappearing back into its incognito form. Arms crossed, he glanced at the others as Lucas stuffed his face, mentally counting off in his head before turning to the table. "Well, since our mine canary hasn't keeled over yet, the food might be safe after all. Odd..." He glared at the table, not trusting the fact that the food would be untainted, with such an otherwise cunning trap set up. Some poison that froze up the body would perfect it, but it seemed that Medusa had gone and lost her head, so it wouldn't be prudent to go about giving advice to a corpse.

Still, Ish started pacing, thoughts racing, while Lucas went at the food, the others would most likely get to the food before he would. They had far too much to do, and far too little time to do it in. Find the lost prize, get to it and reclaim it from whatever nasty creatures had it, and get it back before an all out war started. All in the span of no time what so ever. Gods he hated being the sire of a deity some days, far too much involved with it, far too many strings attached. Eventually he would sit down and eat, but it would be a light meal, returning rapidly to his pacing and thinking, occasionally fishing around in his bag and muttering apparent nonsense to himself.