Apple of Discord: Chapter 6
You throw the carving into the air where it immediately transforms into a buzzing shimmer of blue lapis.
Your vision blurs momentarily, as you adjust to the scarabs view of the battlefield. It comes to you in brief flashes, momentarily replacing your normal, ground level view of the world.
It’s very disorienting. You stagger momentarily as you struggle to get used to the new perspective.
As the scarab streaks toward the ironworks, you somehow recognize the demigods fighting below you. Their names and voices appear in your mind as if you’d known them your whole life, pulling them off the page of an epic poem you’ve never read. You smile as you see and hear them.
Bailey, daughter of Apollo, sword in hand, weaves and spins through her opponents, humming her favorite Cosmo Sheldrake song.
Elle, daughter of Hermes, sling at the ready, shouts formation commands as colors, “Right flank, Blue 22! Oh! That dude dropped his wallet. Dibbs!”
Adele nods approvingly and then weaves her hands and fingers together while chanting, as though sculpting her intent.
Suddenly, randomly, some of the Germani transform into cows. This confuses the enemy line and your demigod compatriots as well. The enemy formation falters and breaks momentarily.
Tree catches your eye and nods. Then your vision flashes over the battlefield once again.
David, son of Dionysus, screams ‘Wakanda forever’, drop-kicking a Germani sellsword in the chest right before they turn into a cow. By the stunned look on his face it appears as though he thinks his drop-kick turns enemies into cattle.
Nicholas, son of Ares, with his short sword, massive hoop earrings and a tube-top version of a camp shirt, cuts their way through the enemy lines.
You’ve always thought Camp Half-Blood warrior training was fun and difficult, but to see it expressed this way, in actual combat? Downright cool.
You recognize the movements, but each of the demigods you see has made it their own. They’ve brought their unique character traits to bear on the techniques they’ve learned in open field combat training.
Sensing the larger threat, the plague spirits shift their attention to the two giants, swarming them like a nest of angry hornets. Do giants puke? Wait, you don’t need that question answered.
The scarab reaches the edge of the ironworks building and slices downward through a shattered window toward the top of the outer wall.
The interior space is in much better shape than the exterior. There is an old massive steam hammer in the center of the building and at the base, below the hammer, tied back-to-back are masters Cat and Da’Mon.
A massive Cyclops shovels handfuls of coal into a furnace. You note that he is manacled and wears a metal collar. A small army of Germani stand closeby with spears at the ready, all aimed at the Cyclops. The steam hammer groans and creaks with small gouts of steam hissing out between the seams of the hammer.
There are at least three divisions of Germani and Blemmyae inside the ironworks. Many are watching the windows and doors of the space, the rest are advancing on your fight instructors. You’ve got to move quickly.
