Golden Green

Ch. 11

"We understand and forgive you." Percy looked at me then to the others. Grover nodded but Annabeth was just staring with an expression I couldn't describe at me. "Right Annabeth?"

"Why yell at me?" Annabeth asked, stone faced.

"Other than the fact that I thought my first and best friend was sent to Tartarus and I couldn't get off my shoes, I didn't trust you or like you. I am not a people reading person per say but men are easy to figure out, especially on the battlefield. I had never had a girl, a woman," I corrected, "puzzle me in such a way that it made me feel more ignorant of this world, and to be honest I never met a woman with such a tongue that could bite back like you do. It intimidated me. Women nowadays seem equal to men and seem to have the same opportunity as they do which does please me since they had no respectable option in my day other than to be a wife."

"So you aren't a sexist, bitter old man from centuries ago?" Annabeth asked as a joke, with a pretty grin across her face.

"Thankfully yes," I said, grinning back. "Back to my city and how they saw opportunity with me. I was approached by the self appointed King of the city and was offered teaching, training, food I didn't have to grow by hand, praise from the city, and part of the riches he planned to collect if I agreed. I agreed like a sensible person would do and became the city's greatest asset. I could defend that whole border of the city from monsters by the end of my training with the troops, and I did. No monster would ever make it past me and other monsters and cities of men knew this after weeks of me on the field. Monsters attacked less and less frequently and it seemed like men never attacked anymore meaning less repairs were needed, less lives were lost, and less supplies needed to be rationed. Since I could hold that post by myself that left nearly the whole force of the city's troops could go out and pillage and collect, which soon made us the strongest army/militia of that time. Our city prospered massively. The poor were now clothed and fed and had homes, the working class had proper tools and materials and now made the best products they would ever make, and the rich had pockets stuffed with all their desires and drachma. We made ships for trade of all types of goods and all other cities we attacked we took pity on and gave them the scraps of our now blossoming lifestyle."

"They didn't want your pity," Percy said gloomily, hearing how my tone dropped as I spoke of the other cities.

"You're right," I sighed. "They didn't. They took offense to our charity and banded together with not only themselves but with the monsters who wanted our women and children's flesh and just to see chaos and failure of the city they could not keep bullying."

"Well, someone must have organized them. Maybe one of the kings of other cities or an intelligent monster," Annabeth offered, leaning forward with Grover and Percy.

"Maybe. But I might never find out and that is fine with me," I said, leaning back to pet Fidi as a breather from the story that was about to get infinitely more sad.

"Well, you can't just say whatever!" Percy said, almost offended at my words on the matter.

"I say again, maybe. But it's not the end of the story," I said, leaning back forward in the dark shelter. "The men and monsters knew they couldn't attack my side of the city. There must have been distrust among them because no human trusted a monster then, and monsters then were the most ravenous they ever were so they couldn't keep a clear head to fight sensible with the humans so they needed an overwhelming weapon and as simple a plan as they could manage to topple my city."

"What were they?" Grover asked, chewing on his blanket.

"The plan was to attack from the west where the city was lightly defended because we were already the most westward city and rarely did anything attack from there. My tree was in the northeast border of the city and I could only go so far from it and they knew that I had that range and I was the city's key to battle. In the earliest hours of morning that could be mistaken for the dead of night they attacked. They had the drop on my city and we had no warning system except the calling of who was on guard. I saw fire and smoke rising as I woke up to begin my farm work. I armed myself as fast as I could to investigate. I ran through the city ordering everyone who I passed to flee to my tree when I saw fighting, rather than just an accidental fire. At the maximum range of my tree I protected people fleeing from the enemies and held the line with soldiers that I had found. I watched as people only a few feet away from me got killed in so many unspeakable ways by approaching monsters and troops. I felt something odd at play that night when human invaders took up a defensive formation in the street where I was battling when they had the numbers to advance and wipe us out. They just let the monsters advance wildly which let us cut them down. Half the city was on fire, part of the city was dead, part of the city had fled behind us for protection, and we only had so many troops that weren't trained in defending the city, but in raiding instead. I wished my brothers in arms blessings and asked them to hold the line while I circled around the city for survivors and any enemies who were flanking or made it by. I did just that and saved a few citizens and maybe cut down some Laistrygonian giants that came from up north or Dracaena soldiers, offended hellhound packs from the first one I killed, all different types of giant animals, and some harpies even. I began to think even if this was a planned attack that these monsters were no different from the others I fought and we may be able to make a comeback, until I visited my tree."