THE QUEST FOR THE APPLES OF IDUNN

[halfbloodhillmods]

Who: Tatiana Tooth, Flynn Scifo, Bay Kennish, Mike Warren, Karrin Murphy, Lydia Martin, Melinda Blackburn, and Marek Blackburn
What: The Quest for the Apples of Idunn.
Where: Yellowstone National Park.
When: December 3rd - December 7th
Why: The Norse gods are feeling under the weather.



It's no secret that the Norse gods at camp are restless for more information about the predicament they've found themselves in. It must be hard, waking up one day and having a Greek or Roman goddess come to you and tell you you're apparently what happened to the Norse gods after their personal version of the apocalypse.

It's also no secret that the Norse gods have been, for the past week, feeling very, very sick. They've joined together to discuss it, but it doesn't seem like any answers are coming any time soon. Annabeth, thankfully, has thought of a solution and went to Chiron about it. In her journey across America to find out more information (as well as seek out) some Norse, she'd read about Idunn and her apples. It's said that the gods of Asgard ate these apples to stay youthful and rejuvenated. She suggested to Chiron to send out a party of the Norse as well as some hand-picked campers to find these apples, as well as a branch from the tree they grow on, so they may grow them at camp.

On the morning of December 2, when she was to form the questing group, she contacted Rachel at the Big House. This was the prophecy she recieved:

A group of heroes on a search for truth
Cross a nation for the fruit.
The eldest tree still on display
Bears gifts and answers stolen away.
Find the fruit amongst the stone
The present repeats what the past has known.

The questers are expected to leave at noon on December 3, and must return by nightfall on December 7 to not risk the Norse getting any weaker. They will be equipped with backpacks containing a small bedroll, two vials each of nectar (one-half of the vial will cure most wounds, a whole vial will cure fatal wounds) and one piece of ambrosia (one half will cure most wounds, a whole piece will cure a fatal wound), mortal first-aid equipment like bandages, matches, a length of rope, and three golden drachmas to facilitate IMs with. They may take their weapons to aid them, as well as any special items they may have on their person at this time.

Good luck.

Comments

DECEMBER 2 - AT CAMP

[halfbloodhillmods]

[The quest group has been announced to the whole camp. Say goodbye to those who are leaving.]

[lefthandedgenius]

Lydia is genuinely shocked when her name is called to be one of those Greeks who will go on the quest to aid the Norse. But of course she accepts, determined to do her Cabin and her Camp proud.

The weapons she carries are not special; items found in the armory. a whip coiled over her shoulder and a pair of ring daggers slid into sheathes along her thighs. She'll have to be in real trouble to have to resort to any of it though. Lydia Martin is more brains than brawn by a long shot.

She offers smiles and hugs to those who take the time to wish her well; a few lucky souls may get more than a hug. She doesn't need mistletoe for that.

[annieisntokay]

"Lydia?" Annie's voice is soft when she comes forward. "Be- be safe, okay?" She keeps her voice as even as she can, unable to look in Lydia's eyes. Instead, she focuses on the ground, her hands, her hair.

What she means to say is that she loves her dearly and would miss her. It's nice having a friend that treats her like a human being, and if she didn't come back, well, Annie would be crushed.

She sticks a hand into the pocket of her cardigan, feeling the small shell she'd placed there. She'd found it, swimming that afternoon, and thought it was apt to give to Lydia. But how to say, 'Hey, I found you this cool shell' when your friend was going off on a quest?

[unstinting]

Alcuin comes to give her a hug, of course. He's proud of her, but also extremely worried- no one knows what kind of dangers are waiting for the Norse gods and their companions and Lydia's only recently started her serious weapons training. Still, she's smart. She'll be okay.

"Be safe, Lydia. You'll make our cabin proud." He kisses her cheek and lets go, his smile not quite hiding the anxiety in his dark eyes.

[wasalmostdaphne]

Bay looks very much out of place with the quest. Namely she's unarmed, no weapon in camp felt like it was her's. She was keeper of the dead, not the one to dispatch anything. Her touch was suppose to be enough on this, but she hadn't had much luck there. She eyed the choices for bodyguards and was a bit miffed Dean wasn't on the list.

Bay watched everyone say their goodbyes, hoping that traveling with death wouldn't do too much harm to this quest going off.

[deathdiduspart]

Nico approached her, and this time made sure she could see him do so. He didn't speak until he was close enough to be hard to hear from other people.

"I wanted to wish you luck, and for you to come back safely. I, uh, also had a question." The son of Hades fidgeted slightly. "I wanted to know if you want me to get you a Stygian iron weapon. Honestly...I don't like that you have to do this unarmed."

Though he understood why. If nothing felt right, then what was the point of carrying it around?

[jediburn]

Melinda was scared for a split second before her brother's name was called too. She said goodbye to the few friends she had in camp, with long, tight hugs. Those who know her might remember her last quest and how that did not go so well. Getting her ass saved by her twin brother in East Jesus Nowhere, Georgia: an ignominious end to her first and last quest, before this one.

[be_srs_yuri]

Flynn checked and re-checked his belongings to make sure they were all in order. He hadn't been outside of Camp Half-Blood since before his arrival not too long ago. This was so much better than the pack he'd used to get all the way to New York. When everything was accounted for, Flynn closed the bag and went to grab his sword from beside his bed in the Athena cabin.

Well, it wasn't really his. It didn't feel quite right, but it was close enough to whatever his subconscious was thinking of. He hoped he had enough skill to help keep the group safe.

DECEMBER 3, NIGHTFALL - A PREMONITION

[halfbloodhillmods]

[Those who can see through the Mist are no stranger to visionary dreams, and on the first night of their quest, the group will recieve interesting messages in their sleep.

The post-Ragnarok versions of Freyja, Heimdallr, Hel, Tyr, and Brynhildr will see themselves in their dreams biting into a golden apple and feeling rejuvenated. They will hear a voice whispering their name over and over - at first, it'll sound like their own voice, but over time it blends with another voice, one that seems familiar and completely foreign at the same time. The voice will stop saying their current name, and instead whisper their other name - their godly name.

Our Greek campers, meanwhile, will see flashes of scenes - themselves fighting a great, hulking figure unlike one they've ever seen, themselves facing great trials and escaping using their wits and what the gods have passed onto them through their parentage, a great tree with many people surrounding it. The last flash is of a great geyser. An astute mind will recognize it as Old Faithful, the famous national landmark - but whether they know enough to recognize it as such is unknown.

Will the campers wake up and discuss what they experienced and how they plan to get there?]

[foreverystory]

[Quite frankly, as strange as that dream was it's a nice break from the dreams of getting his hand bitten off, and to Mike it just seems like a sign that they're on the right track.

The voice was a little strange, though. Maybe even creepy. He wakes up early, as usual, wondering if anyone else had the same kind of night. As far as he knew, prophetic dreams weren't really in his purview.]

[fivefootfierce]

[Karrin sat up, bleary eyed. She rubbed at her eyes, even as she smacked her lips. She had the strangest craving for apple juice...which could probably be attributed to the weird dream last night.

Okay, it probably wasn't THE weirdest dream she'd had, but it was certainly the clearest. Finally rubbing the sleep out of her eyes Karrin noticed Mike was also already up.]

Morning.

[be_srs_yuri]

[Flynn gets up only a couple minutes later than Mike. He rakes his hand through his hair to tame the bedhead when he sees that he's not the only one awake at this time.]

Good morning, Mike. I didn't think you'd be up this early.

[lefthandedgenius]

[Lydia wakes up with a gasp. At first, she checks herself - clothes still on, hasn't left her sleeping area. Good. She's clinging to the remnants of her dream as best she can - sketching a few images, staring at one of them for a long time.

She makes her way to breakfast, and before sitting down to eat, makes a declaration.]

I think we need to go to Wyoming.

[be_srs_yuri]

[Flynn gives her a curious look.]

Why Wyoming?

DECEMBER 5 - TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

[halfbloodhillmods]

[The campers finally arrive at Yellowstone, and there are signs everywhere as they get closer and closer promoting a new attraction - one of the oldest trees in America. It doesn't look much like an apple tree in the photos, but...]

[fivefootfierce]

[Karrin was a city girl, through and through. She had thought she'd gotten a taste of nature at Camp Halfblood but that was CLEARLY nothing compared to this. There were trees EVERYWHERE, and large trees too. There was definitely a feeling of wild things here, even if it was a national park. Karrin was impressed.

Of course, she wasn't quite sure how they were supposed to find a single tree among so many. But it wasn't like she was going to turn around now. They were running out of time. It was then that she noticed a sign. Karrin frowned.]

Oh it can't be that easy...

[wasalmostdaphne]

*So many things here were so alive, and lush and... it freaked her out. Just a little. She was a city girl and beyond that her other half was a being from a realm of dead things.*

Probably not. Same time though, if it's a trap we might find out something useful.

*At least they were aware this was a bad idea.*

DECEMBER 5 - OBTAINING THE APPLES

[halfbloodhillmods]

[The struggle has ended and the jotunn Thiassi has been defeated, but it becomes rapidly apparent that only two apples have been saved in the scuffle.]

[lefthandedgenius]

[They're all safe and sound and Lydia is carefully holding the golden apple in both hands. She can't help but wince a little; to the Greeks, golden apples are the cause of misfortune, like Atalanta losing her race and well, the Trojan War. But it's important to those amongst her friends who carry Asgardian soul-shards, and so she is extremely careful with it.

But there's only one apple, and so many of them are sick.]

[wasalmostdaphne]

*Sadly Bay can't exactly walk right now, she's pretty much out cold thanks to taking a giant out with her powers. Which was a stresser when she was, you know, at top form. So right now she's somewhere between very very drunk and just been hit by concussion grenade.*

*But if you want to be absolutely sure the monster is dead, nothing beats a Death God.*

[foreverystory]

[Mike comes over, trying not to look like he's wobbling or about to fall over. He's fine, really! He grins at Lydia.]

Nice catch.

[dentistry]

[ It's only a little while after Hel's touch has fully decayed Thiassi that Tooth actually makes herself known again. The experience is not a pleasant one, but at least it frees her from the weight of his hand pressing her into the floor of the cave, and she tries incredibly hard not to make a sound as it's happening. Whatever would come out of her wouldn't be a very pleasant one.

But once the pressure is gone, she slowly untucks a little from the ball she's curled herself up in, cracking a bright eye open. Once she realizes she's free, she starts to relax, groaning a little before it becomes a laugh. ]

Can uh. Can someone help me up? [ She feels like her joints are locked into place, but at the very least she uncurls her arms so that she can hold up the single apple that completes the set with Lydia's. ]

sometime after they've started back I guess?

[dromomania]

[As they reach the boundaries of the park, the harsh call of a raven sounds through the trees, quickly answered by another, and the sound of someone moving through the trees and underbrush.

An older teen who could charitably be called grimy pushes his way through and looks over the group, then sighs.]

Looks like I'm running late.

[fivefootfierce]

[Karrin tenses and looks up at the sound of the ravens. Something stirs in her and she feels a shiver go down her spine. Why do those birds sound familiar? Should birds sound familiar?

After the past few days and the battle with the giant, Karrin's a little on edge and has a sword out as soon as the rustling starts. Please no more giants.

She is not impressed by what comes out of the woods.]

Running late? Who are you supposed to be?

DECEMBER 7 - THE RETURN TO CAMP

[halfbloodhillmods]

[The campers return to camp victorious, but the sapling needs to be planted and tended to quickly. There's no time to waste.]