THE QUEST TO TAKE BACK STOLEN ITEMS

[halfbloodhillmods]

Who: Leo Valdez, Ventus Bradford, Tony Stark, Margot Sullivan, Cosette Fauchelevent and Annabeth Chase
What: Taking back stolen items.
Where: Chicago, IL
When: February 23 - March 2
Why: It's time to perform a little search and rescue.



Camp Half-Blood was broken into by the Gaea-aligned Red Room organization a month ago, in the hubbub of the camp also being invaded by a deadly werewolf pack and monster hunters. Since then, the camp has been locked down - no one leaves, only key people get in. Meanwhile, Chiron and Mr. D have been really putting their heads together, trying to organize a crack-team of campers to go retrieve the items that the Red Room stole, and it's high time they went out on an little rescue mission.

This is what was stolen from Camp Half-Blood by the Red Room:

The books from the Athena cabin
Heather O'Toole's shield
A hammer belonging to Sky Smith
Nicodeme Feuilly's books
Sojourner Ayers-Silva's teddy bear
Derek Hale's sword
Books belonging to Lydia Martin
Annie Cresta's porpoise
Daenerys Targaryen's three young dragons
Dean Winchester's car, a 1967 Chevrolet Impala
Jean Prouvaire's heart

The directors have chosen campers based on their skills and intellect to set out to find the items. In addition, Rachel Elizabeth Dare has issued this prophecy for the group:

In the city of swirling winds
Six campers' quest begins
The building dwarfed by only one
Brings riches untold and lives undone
To see the truth behind the lies
One must look with unburdened eyes

The questers are expected to leave at noon on February 23, and are asked to try and return by March 3. 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

[pyrkagia]

Right. Right. She's a brilliant tactician.

[She wishes she could be as smart, as brave as Annabeth, but this entire ordeal has only made her feel very much like a child.

She pauses a moment, considering the whole situation, and moves to wrap her arms around Leo, tightly. She whispers something in his ear - something very affectionate, so only he can hear it - and she hasn't said it in a very long time.

She can't lose her dragons and her brother.]

[polishfan]

It was about the only metaphor that came to mind. I COULD just be the lazy prince sitting on his ass if we prefer. Of course, that's got a whole lot of other messes attached to it, like who the hell everybody else in this thing is.

[And then he's actually turning serious himself.]

Really though. I'll be pissed if you let yourself get hurt or anything. So, least I could do.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ He gladly returns to the gesture, hugging her to him as tightly as he could. This quest means a lot, and not just for him - her dragons are on the line and she's trusting him to bring them back to her safely. He just hopes he can do it.

There's a smile at her words, and he echoes them back easily. He's still smiling when he releases her, though there's a touch of dismay at having to do this at all. ]

We'll be back before you know it, reina.

[commandertoolbelt]

The Mist doesn't work on automatons like that, though. If there's something going on that we don't see, they can catch it. [ Scout whirs in agreement from his shoulder. She was built for keeping an eye out, after all. It's yet another reason why Leo brought her along. ]

[lastplaceigo]

[Margot shrugs her shoulders. Heck if she knows what the unburdened eyes thing means. A bunch of unnecessary cryptic bullshit if you ask her. Prophecies just needed to enter the modern age and be a lot clearer.

She's silent until Leo speaks up.]

See, there you go! Magic sniffing robot dragon. We can like, have it be our scout or something.

[allnerves]

[ Annabeth is in agreement there, at least. She has studied Aeschylus and Sophocles but that doesn't mean she wants to solve problems in their language.

She smiles wryly. ]

That is the dragon's name after all.

[impetueux]

I'm glad you think so.

[And really, she is. Him thinking she's brave boosts her up slightly, like she has something to live up to.]

I don't know if I can take puzzles, it might be a little crowded in the pack. What about a word-cross book? Do we have anything like that in the main house I could steal?

[impetueux]

Thanks. [She looks a little bashful about it, but she's happy for the reassurance.]

I figured it was something like that. I'm just hoping it won't be too difficult to retrieve. I still don't know what the prophecy means, but I guess we'll talk about that as a group later.

[impetueux]

No that's...yeah, of course. [Dumb question, she gets that now.]

I think I'm just a little nervous, that's all.

[ospreyed]

You shouldn't be. You'll be fine.

[impetueux]

A little. [She's side-eyeing her brother, still looking unsure.]

That's dumb, right? I mean, I don't have anything to even worry about.

[All joking and teasing aside, she looks up to her brother, and looks like she'd like nothing more than for him to lie to her.]

[impetueux]

Okay....yeah, yeah.

[Say it a few more times, hopefully that will make it more true.]

I'm just being dumb, I should be excited. I've never even been to Chicago.

[Not that they're really going to sight-see, but.]

[ospreyed]

Look at that, something we have in common. [Eponine shifts forward on to the balls of her feet, then back to her heels, her hands in the back pockets of her tattered jeans.]

Bring me back... I donno, whatever the hell Chicago is famous for.

[the_futurist]

[He watches her go through the paces, assessing the movements, and frowns when she mentions toning down the power in the arm, but he gets it. He'll just have to improve the other one so she can still have a sense of balance. A wide grin spreads across his face as the electricity arcs in her hand.]

Gorgeous. And powerful, so no trying to use to when shaking hands, alright? [He knows she wouldn't, but he would, so he's warning all the same.]

[the_futurist]

[Tony, for his part, has not exactly made himself available to be known well by her, or most anyone. He's still struggling with this new concept of "family" but he's trying. And frankly, she's kind of terrifying, but he respects her, and as much as he is able, he understands that the dragons that were taken from her are her children. No one should have to go through that. And he will do what he can to bring them back to her.

He meets her gaze warily when she crouches down to his level and immediately sets aside whatever he's working on. She commands his attention.]

I will do my best.

[moointhedark]

[He already thinks the world of her; anyone in their family can do anything. A little quest can't stop her!]

I think so! I think there's also some colouring books and stuff too in the arts and crafts cabin. If not, I can always make you a word-cross before you go!

[lastplaceigo]

[Chicago. The skyline loomed over the waterfront of Lake Michigan, the sound of city traffic floated up into the sky... It's all very impressive.

This would be more exciting if it weren't so freaking cold (Margot has never been more grateful for the stupid holiday sweaters her mom gave her,) she hasn't been sitting on this angry pegasus for hours, and if their destination didn't take them over a goddamn lake.

Margot has a thing about water and it takes every ounce of willpower to not urge the pegasus in the opposite direction (not that he'd listen anyway.) When they touch down on Northerly Island, she near slides off the flying horse and to the ground in relief.

Oh, sweet ground. Never has anything been more beautiful.

Give her two seconds, she'll be cool.]

[rainfelled]

[Naturally, Aqua wants to say good-bye and good luck to her favorite cousin. She walks over to Ven and, smiling, musses his hair.]

You'll do great, Ven.

[commandertoolbelt]

[ Leo brings Festus to an easy landing several feet away from the pegasi and jumps down with Scout, patting the larger dragon on the neck. ] Lucky you, buddy. You get to chill on the beach while we do the dirty work. Just stay out of sight, and keep an ear out.

[ He has a whistle in a pocket of his belt, just in case they need Festus in a pinch. They've been working on that around camp, so Festus can be their personal Air Force One, though Leo can't help but wonder what the mortals around here would see through the Mist.

Giving Margot an amused look, he turns to everyone else with a grin. ] So, which way to the Sears Tower? [ He should have brought a GPS. ]

[salvagedlight]

[And Ven won't deny that he knows that. Because Zack. And heroics. And Zack.]

I think so. If I wasn't, would you be offering to go in my place so you could get a date with my cousin?

[You are so transparent sometimes, bro.]

[salvagedlight]

[He's your only cousin. Mortal, at any rate. How weird is it they're related through both their parents? But for the moment he just knocks her hand away like always, giving her a smile in return.]

We'll be fine - I'm more concerned with getting everything back here. I hope some of the Vulcan kids know what to do with the dragons.

[salvagedlight]

There isn't anything we can use to keep ourselves clear of the effects of the Mist, right? Like some kind of glasses or whatever?

[He might be a child of the Big Three, but he never really got the hang of Mist manipulation. Let's file that away for future study. Emphasis on the future.]

And if there's not, we might have to fight blind. I'm a lot more willing to trust my other senses if something's messing with my vision, and at least I've had training in that.

[rainfelled]

[Details. She gives him a wry smile.]

Worse comes to worse, you might be able to drive the car with the dragons inside.

[salvagedlight]

[Ven touches down next to Margot, the pegasus he's supposed to be riding a step behind him, but horse riding wasn't a thing taught in the legion and he preferred to be in control when he was in the air. The pegasus didn't seem to mind too much, at least, and he was riding him when he got too tired. But at Leo's question, he squints around, then points at the cluster of buildings off to the northwest a few blocks away.]

That one looks taller than the rest of them, and it's got all the levels the building does in pictures. Everything else seems to stretch north of there anyway, so if that's not it it's at least a good place to start.

[salvagedlight]

I'm not driving, I haven't even touched a car since the time I visited your parents with you. [Okay he has, but he means more being inside one. Driving one is completely out of the question for him.]