𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐓.
iris was a good listener.
when percy mentioned ganymede's missing chalice, she grimaced like she'd gotten a crystal shard stuck somewhere uncomfortable.
when he described their time in hebe jeebies, iris closed her eyes and sighed.
"obviously, we don't think you took the chalice," annabeth concluded. "that would be silly."
"though if you did," grover said, "we'd love to get it back."
"grover." cherry warned.
"but of course you didn't take it," percy said to the goddess. "did you?"
"oh my god," cherry wanted to frown.
iris pursed her lips. she ran her fingers across the crystal pendants on display, sending fresh bursts of colored light dancing through the market.
"do you have any idea how thankless a cupbearer's job is?" iris asked.
"doesn't seem like fun," percy admitted.
"no, percy jackson. not fun."
"so, the chalice isn't something you'd want back. like, not even to mess with ganymede."
"i do not mess with people. i feel nothing but sympathy for that poor young god. swept up by zeus just because he was attractive, used as an eternal party decoration, and having to endure the scowls of hera and the others as zeus dotes on him? no. so many young men and maidens have been the victims of zeus and those other good ol' gods who do whateverthey want with impunity. it's terrible."
percy glanced back at his friends.
of course they agreed.
it was just a little strange to hear it said out loud.
"i can see we came to the right place," annabeth said. "you are perceptive, kind, wise, all the things we need to find this cup thief. your advice is as precious as a rainbow."
iris smirked. "i see what you're doing. trying to flatter me."
"the rainbow comment was too much?" annabeth asked.
"completely over-the-top." iris curled her fingers in a keep it cominggesture.
"we could use your guidance," annabeth continued. "you know the gods. you see those who resent ganymede. who do you think took his chalice?"
iris spent a moment in silence, thinking.
this was another unusual traitfor a god.
usually, they just assumed they knew everything and spouted it out.
"i do have a thought," she said. "but i need to look into the idea discreetly."
"of course," grover said, his shoulders relaxing. "that's great! thank you."
"oh, the information won't be free," iris added. "not because i don't want to help you. i know you think we gods can't resist giving demigods little errands, and you're right. you show up on our doorsteps, and we suddenly remember a dozen things we'd love to check off our to-do lists. but it's more than that."
"knowledge has value," annabeth guessed. "the more valuable, the more it has to be earned."
iris beamed. "spoken like a true daughter of athena. also, this will give you something to do while i investigate my hunch. don't worry, my quest shouldn't take long. and you still have fifteen days until ganymede's shame is revealed."
grover flinched. "why fifteen days?"
"that's when zeus is planning to hold his next feast." iris stared at their expressions. "but of course zeus didn't bother to tell ganymede that, did he?"
she turned to annabeth. "it's the epulum minerva, the old roman feast to honor your mother. zeus decided to throw her a party, probably because he wants something from her. a new invention. a war. a pit-less variety of olive. who knows? if the chalice isn't found by the feast date, all the gods will realize ganymede has lost it. zeus will be outraged. ganymede will be.. probably no longer with us."
grover's lower lip trembled.
his photo-op glow had faded.
"what do you need us to do?" percy asked.
iris smiled. "that's the spirit."
she turned and started removing crystal pendants from a stand in the back of her stall.
cherry admired the items as she cleared away the necklaces.
the display post wasn't just a post.
it was a wooden staff the size of a broomstick, with some kind of fancy metal decoration at the top. iris picked up the staff. she laid it on the table.
her eyes gleamed.
annabeth inhaled sharply. "that's your kerykeion!"
"ah, right," percy said. "a kerykeion."
cherry instantly knew he had no idea what he was talking about.
"it's a herald's staff, percy. like the ones hermes uses." annabeth told him.
"yes.." iris agreed wistfully. "another former job of mine. i was the gods' herald."
percy studied the staff.
the metal headpiece was indeed shaped like a pair of serpents. they had tiny horns and were coiled into a figure eight, facing each other at the top. the metal hadgotten coated with grime over the years, so it was hard to make out many details.
the wood was also in pretty bad shape, with dark soot stains and grease spots.
"percy." cherry called out in a soft tone.
"sorry. what?" percy looked up, after spacing out.
"the top is celestial bronze, and the base is dodonan oak."
"got it. so we're supposed to deliver a message with it?"
iris waved a hand.
"oh, no," she said. "those days are well behind me. but in ancient times, i used my staff to create wonderful rainbows as i flew through the sky, traveling from place to place. i miss that. i would like you to give the staff a proper cleaning. bring it back to its former glory. i admit, i should've done this a while ago, but i suppose.. well, i was bitterabout losing that job to hermes."
"i'm guessing we can't just use windex," percy said. "or take the staff to a dry cleaner?"
"that would probably damage it." cherry wondered.
"it can only be washed in the river elisson." iris explained.
annabeth blinked. "i don't know that one."
"i do," grover said. he didn't look happy about it. "back in the day, the elisson was known for its crystal-clear magical water. supposedly it could clean anything, no matter how polluted. and certain creatures took advantage."
"that's true," iris agreed. "the furies sometimes bathe there. the river elisson is the only thing that can get the stench of the underworld off them when they have to move among mortals."
"other monsters, too," grover said, glancing at the staff's snaky headpiece. "like horned serpents."
"yes, very good, young satyr," iris said. "in fact, you must cleanse my staff in the very river where the serpents bathe."
"and these serpents are super friendly," percy spoke sarcastically.
iris gasped. "oh, no. they will try to kill you. but be careful: you must not harm the serpents."
"because they're sacred to you?" percy assumed.
"not at all. however, i want this quest to be cruelty-free. you must find away to accomplish my task without harming any creatures at the river. goodluck, demigods! now i must return to my duties."
a gaggle of customers descended on iris's booth and started oohing and ahhing over her crystals.
percy took the staff.
the group of four made their way through the market.
"cruelty-free," annabeth grumbled. "i guess that doesn't include cruelty to demigods."
"it's always good to be cruelty free." cherry shook her head.
"we'll figure it out," grover said, surprisingly cheerful again. "i've always wanted to see the river elisson. there's only one problem."
"aside from the monsters we can't kill?" percy asked.
grover waved that away. "i mean the actual river elisson in greece no longer exists. the mythical river could be anywhere. i heard that the god of the river got so disgusted with all the monsters bathing in his waters, he hid the river so it's almost impossible to find. and iris didn't tell us where it is."
"i suppose she'd say we have to find it on our own," percy guessed. "becauseknowledge is valuable, blah, blah."
annabeth poked him in the ribs. "what we need is an upper-level waterspirit to give us directions. those nereids and naiads all know each other. i wonder where we could find a nereid to ask.."
"fine. i'll wait until monday and ask my guidance counselor. i just hope she doesn't flush me again." percy huffed.
« ───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───── »
percy wondered what other passengers thought about him carrying the staff of iris on the subway train.
maybe they figured he was a shepherd.
grover, being grover, had brought a backpack full of snacks along with his panpipes.
annabeth had packed a bunch of practical things, like her knife, flashlights, and a thermos.
cherry brought her purse full of lipgloss, a small foldable knife, some jewelry, and other things she always carried.
by four o'clock, they were standing in the creek bed, peering into the mouth of the tunnel.
grover sniffed the air. "cleanest river in the world?"
"this is after the furies and snakes bathed in it," percy said.
"and who knows what else," annabeth added.
"this is so gross. in the kindest way possible. i love nature!" cherry tried to remain upbeat.
grover dipped his shoe in the brown water. "i guess we can't just roll the staff around in this muck and call it a day."
"we'll have to go inside," said annabeth, distributing the flashlights. "hope it's cleaner upriver. let's hug the bank and try to stay out of the water."
staying out of the water was hard, at least for three of them.
the sides turned narrow and slippery.
cherry floated ahead of them, ignoring the sloshing sounds of the mucky water.
about a hundred yards in, annabeth stopped.
"check it out," she said.
she moved the beam of her flashlight across the tunnel's ceiling, which was coated with thick moss and lichen.
wherever annabeth's light passed,it left behind a streak of blue-green luminescence.
"cool." percy used his flashlight to draw a glowing smiley face on the wall.
cherry took the object.
she wrote c + p on the wall in a heart.
"super mature." annabeth grinned.
"thanks!" cherry smiled back.
the group spent a couple minutes writing on the tunnels.
grover wrote pan 4ever.
percy continued doodling.
annabeth traced concentric arcs until she'd made a blue-and-green rainbow.
cherry was writing an essay on why she thought percy jackson was the most beautiful human being to ever exist.
the moss kept glowing for quite a while, filling the tunnel with a cool turquoise light.
up ahead, the channel widened into a much larger space.
the sound of the current became louder and throatier. the group stepped into a cavern so massive it seemed like a different world.
under a cathedral-high ceiling covered with glowing stalactites, the river wound north between rolling plains of yellow grass.
ash-colored trees dotted the landscape, leafless and stunted, their branches curled like arthritic fingers.
here and there, outcroppings of granite made islands in the grass, but the main attraction was the river itself. it wound lazily through the cavern, making big loops as if it were in no hurry to reach the daylight.
thick stands of reeds edged its banks. the current glimmered darkly in the blue mosslight.
the water did look cleaner. the putrid smell was gone.
but in a pool about twenty yards upstream, dozens of slithery, slimy whiplike creatures were rolling and writhing in the shallows.
"gross," annabeth muttered.
"hey, now, check your mammalian prejudices," grover whispered. "reptiles are people, too."
"i'm not sure about them being people, but they probably have feelings, right?" cherry agreed.
"they also have poison. and cold blood. and a nasty bite, and.. okay, maybe that also describes humans." percy trailed off.
grover nodded. "thank you."
"lights-out," annabeth whispered.
they all switched off their flashlights, though the snakes didn't seem to have noticed them yet. they were too busy frolicking and power-washing their-scales.
percy scanned the horizon. "you think we can sneak around them, go farther upstream?"
grover sniffed the air. "this whole place smells like monsters. i can't tell if there's more besides the snakes nearby. anything could hide in that tallgrass."
"including us," annabeth said. "if we can't fight the serpents, sneaking around them sounds like our best option."
"okay," grover agreed. "let me go first, though. i might be able to pick out a safe trail through the fields."
"let's go." cherry followed him.
they waded through neck-high grass as sharp as hacksaw blades. grover managed to navigate them around the thickest patches, but percy winced every time a wisp of yellow snagged his arm.
to make matters worse, the field crackled like bubble wrap as they walked through
any monsters hiding in it would hear them.
finally, they reached one of the boulder islands.
grover scrambled to the top as only someone with goat legs could do, then peered toward the river. "that's not good."
"what?" percy asked.
grover helped annabeth up, while cherry took her boyfriends hand and lifted him up.
from the summit, they could see the whole course of the river stretched out before them.
the elisson poured into the cavern from a crevice in the northern wall, then cascaded down a series of rocky ledges before widening and meandering across the plains.
everywhere you might be able to access the banks, in every shallow pool or swimming hole where you might want towash off a grungy kerykeion, the water was full of snakes.
hundreds of them.
"at least i don't see any furies," grover offered.
"yeah," percy said. "but spaghetti is definitely off the menu this week."
"what?"
"nothing,"
annabeth scanned the river. "what about there?"
she pointed to the northern end of the cave, where the river carved a ravine through jumbled heaps of granite.
"that's where the water will be cleanest. no easy accessfor snakes. probably the current is too treacherous for them." annabeth thought.
"but probably not for a poseidon kid." cherry encouraged, with a grin.
"except there's no way we can make it all the way over there without getting spotted. and if the snakes start chasing us.. how fast do you think they can go?" grover shivered.
"way faster than us." cherry frowned.
"i kind of wish we had luke's flying shoes," annabeth said.
grover winced. "too soon. i have an idea, it's terrible, but it might work."
"i love it already," percy said.
"of course you do." cherry expected.
grover pulled out his panpipes. "you guys head for the cliffs. i'll keep watch from here. if you make it, great. but if the snakes start heading in your direction, i should be able to see them moving through the grass. then i'll distract them with my pipes. i know some pretty good snake songs."
"as soon as you start playing, they'll come for you," annabeth said. "which i guess is the terrible part."
"it'll be even worse than the chickens at hebe jeebies," percy guessed.
"yeah, i don't love it," he admitted. "but like annabeth said before, i can run the fastest. maybe i can buy you some time. if you hear the pipes, know that the clock is ticking, and it would be great for you to hurry. get iris's staff washed. i'll meet you back at the exit."
annabeth and cherry exchanged looks.
cherry wouod have to do her best at leading them.
"okay," percy said. "be safe."
annabeth gave him a hug. "hopefully it won't come to the snake songs."
she climbed down the rocks and waded through the grass.
cherry floated above, with a disgusted look.
percy followed. within a few yards, the grass was over their heads. every time they moved, the stalks swayed and rustled.
cherry used the sounds of the waterfall to navigate north.
they were going so slow, but that meant they would live, so it didn't really matter.
finally, they emerged from the grass near the base of the waterfall. they climbed a series of boulders until they stood on a slippery ledge overlooking a wide pool twenty feet below.
the water was as clear as glass, free of snakes, and just begging to be cannonballed into.
on the downside, it was ringed by sheer cliffs, with no obvious way to get out again.
"you could jump in with the staff," annabeth suggested.
"sure," percy said. "the problem is climbing back up when i'm done."
"i'll get you." cherry reminded.
"smart." percy was cut off by the trill of panpipes in the distance.
"time's up," annabeth told him.
cherry looked at annabeth, and then shoved her boyfriend off the side of the cliff.
a couple of minutes passed until cherry and annabeth deemed it safe to look over. they made sure to not draw any attention to themselves.
elisson, who seemed to guard the river, hadn't noticed them yet.
in the distance, grover's pipes sounded frantic and weak.
annabeth tapped an imaginary watch on her wrist. cherry resisted laughter.
she gave her boyfriend a thumbs up.
grover's music was getting farther and farther away.
suddenly, the river surged over percy like a wall of liquid bricks. it blasted away from him in every direction.
millions of metric tons of water roared through the cavern, flooding the pool, scouring the cliffs, surging over the riverbanks, and probably surprising a whole bunch of snakes bathing downstream.
at last, the water crashed back around percy, settling into its normal flow again.
percy was trembling, strung out, and terrified by what he'd done.
the first he did was look for his girlfriend.
thankfully, her and annabeth were both speaking to a very rattled elisson. the river god leaned against annabeth like a shell-shocked refugee, shivering and completely coated with river silt.
cherry seemed to be apologizing for something.
"i-i had no idea," elisson said, sniffling.
"there, there." annabeth put her arm around his shoulders. "it's okay. he can be scary when he gets worked up."
percy floated in the pool.
"you have to admit, though," she told elisson, "percy did a great job."
percy's tidal wave had swept the cliff walls, leaving the rock sparkling clean.
now that the sediment had resettled, the pool was even clearer than before. the air smelled fresh and crisp. the current flowed stronger and colder, rushing through the cavern with a jubilant clamor.
percy looked around for the staff of rainbows.
annabeth was still patting elisson's shoulder, making comfortingsounds.
cherry pointed down river.
elisson shuddered. "i.. i didn't know i had so much water pressure."
"the flow is great now," annabeth said. "it should help with your vinyasa."
"you think so?" elisson asked.
"definitely! this river is super clean." cherry complimented.
"sorry," percy blurted out.
he couldn't believe he was apologizing for rescuing himself from a guy who had tried to kill him, but he felt bad for him. "i got a little carried away."
he winced. "no, no, i asked if you could clean the river. and you did. that will teach me to use sarcasm."
for once, he didn't sound sarcastic.
cherry gestured downstream again.
about thirty feet away, iris's staff had wedged itself into a crevice right above the waterline. the oak shaft gleamed. the elaborate herald's crest glowed with a warm yellow light, not aspeck of grime on its celestial bronze designs.
"uh, if it's okay," percy said, and pointed at the staff. "i'm just going to.."
elisson wouldn't meet his eyes.
he only nodded.
as percy swam downstream, he heard a faint strand of music drifting through the air: grover's panpipes, somewhere far across the cavern.
percy grabbed iris's staff and swam back to cherry, annabeth, and elisson.
annabeth pulled out her thermos and poured him a hot beverage."so this is a nice rose hip–chamomile blend, i think you'll find it soothing."
elisson sipped the tea. "lovely."
"what is going on?" percy asked.
"how often a day?" elisson asked annabeth.
"oh, i'd try morning and evening, also, anytime you want to meditate. here. no caffeine. i'd stay away from that green tea. it's stressing you out."
"i suppose you're right. so, for a new schedule, perhaps we could reserve every other saturday for demigods to clean sacred objects. is.. is that fair?"
"more than fair,"
cherry smiled.
"thank you. we appreciate." the redhead gave him a high five.
"totally," percy agreed. "but right now, we've got a friend being chased by snakes."
annabeth frowned, like he was ruining a nice moment.
elisson drained his teacup and handed it back to her. "of course. good luck saving yourfriend. and, uh.. if you were serious about awhale yoga course at poseidon's palace.."
"oh, i never kid about whale yoga," percy promised him. "i'll put in a word with my dad."
elisson wiped his nose. "thank you, percy jackson. cherry garcia, annabeth chase, you two have been very kind."
"so have you. thank you." cherry seemed to be attached already.
then, clutching his packets of herbal tea, elisson liquefied and spilled over the side of the cliff.
percy looked up at annabeth. "you brought tea? while i'm down here getting tossed around, you're literally drinking tea?"
annabeth shrugged. "iris told us he was into yoga. i figured herbal tea might be a good offering."
"sure," percy said. "got anything else in there that might help us rescue grover?"
annabeth dug up a paper bag from her backpack and shook thecontents. "snake treats. the guy at the store recommended hamster flavor."
"hamster flavor?" cherry's eyes widened.
"we should get going. we're wasting time." annabeth shook off the question.
"cher, do you wanna be the greatest girlfriend in the world and lift me up?" percy pleaded.
"you should just swim downstream." annabeth advised. "cherry and i will go east and find grover, distract the snakes with these treats, and get him out of danger."
"while i head west and make myself a new target," percy guessed.
"genius." cherry nodded at him.
"once the snakes are following you, we'll circle back and rendezvous with you at the cave entrance." annabeth told him.
« ───── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ───── »
percy rematerialized at the mouth of the cave, right next to cherry, annabeth, and grover.
despite grover having been out of breath, he was fine.
they made their way back home using the subway.
the next afternoon, they returned the staff to iris.
grover wasn't with them, because he was downtown doing his photo shoot with blanche.
finding iris was the easy part, all percy had to do was will the staff to take them to her.
the staff pointed north and started pulling them along the street until they found the goddess hawking her crystals among a row of sidewalk produce sellers.
"oh, my!" iris gasped when she saw them.
she took the staff and gave it a full inspection like it was a samurai blade just back from the sword-repairshop. "mercedes, you look amazing!"
"you named your staff mercedes?" annabeth asked.
"i think it's cute." cherry smiled.
"she seems so happy!" iris gushed, rainbow tears trickling from her eyes. "i'm sorry for all the trouble i've caused you. oh, my sweet. i should have had you cleaned years ago! i will never use you as a display rack again!"
"the quest went well," percy offered. "completely cruelty-free."
"what?" iris stirred slightly. "oh, yes. cruelty-free. of course. good."
"so," annabeth said, keeping her tone upbeat, "does this mean you'll do some of your iris-messaging in person again?"
"hmm?" iris pulled her eyes away from her beautiful herald's stick. "no,no. those days are over, though it's wonderful seeing mercedes in such good condition again. i appreciate your help!"
she began humming to herself as she arranged her crystal displays around the table, slowly covering up mercedes.
"did you have a chance to ask around?" annabeth prompted the goddess.
iris looked startled that they were still there. "ask around?"
percy looked nervous.
"about ganymede?" he asked. "the missing cup?"
iris blinked. "yes. of course. i.. asked around. but are you sure you wouldn't rather have a crystal for your reward? perhaps a package of cleansing sage bath salts?"
she kept piling merchandise over mercedes. sashes, beads, pouches of rocks, as if she wanted to hide the staff as quickly as possible.
why did she seem so nervous?
"just the information would be great," annabeth said. "you.. did get information?"
"mhm." iris sighed. "it's just that you seem like such nice young people. i would hate.."
she let the thought drift away into the land of half-formed thoughts about things that could kill percy jackson.
"you found where the cup is," percy guessed.
"i have a fairly good idea." iris' tone was grim.
"tell all,"
"i have narrowed your search down to greenwich village."
"that's a pretty big area."
"he will be there if, indeed, i am right about the thief's identity."
"he..?"
"i should have guessed. he would, of course, hate ganymede. and the goblet. but i hope i am wrong. i am probably not wrong."
"who is it? we need a name."
"he will go by the name.. gary. i do not know how he managed the theft. or what he hopes to achieve. but this information came from a reliable cloud nymph."
"so, we go to greenwich village, and start asking around for gary."
"i suppose you could do that. it would be quicker, however, to use nectar."
iris plucked a vial from her display rack of essential oils, then held it up like she was modeling for a television commercial.
that vial seemed particularly bright and golden, like sunlight suspended in honey.
annabeth leaned in. "is that.."
"one hundred percent pure concentrate," iris said with a smug little smile. "collected from the dew in the groves on mount olympus at dawn on the first day of spring. with no additives or preservatives. do not consume this. unblended nectar would burn you demigods to cinders."
percy backed up m from the vial. "then what do we do with it?"
iris swirled the little vial, making the insides glow even more. "the chalice of the gods is designed to mix nectar. all nectar is naturally attracted to it. release a drop or two of this liquid into the air in greenwich village, and if the chalice is anywhere in the vicinity, you should be able to follow the droplets right to gary."
"that's surprisingly helpful," percy admitted. "thank you."
he reached for the vial, but iris withdrew her hand. "ah-ah, there is a price."
percy suppressed a groan.
cherry really wanted to give up.
but the reason she was doing this was for her boyfriend.
it would get done, she would make sure of it.
"just take my whole wallet." the girl extended the red leather case.
iris plucked out a five dollar bill.
cherry slipped the golden vial and her wallet inside her purse.
"anything else we should know?" percy asked. "like who gary is?"
"no," iris said. "it's better you do not know. otherwise.."
she shook her head, then slipped the five-dollar bill into her embroidered fanny pack.
she didn't say anything else.