𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑, luke castellan

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

On the journey to Crescent City, aboard the train, Luke and Jon still wondered if the police were following them.

"I can't help but feel bad for that dude," Jon commented, breaking the silence. He and Luke were seated side by side, facing Keira, who appeared to be sleeping in the seat in front of them. However, upon hearing her friend's voice, she opened one eye.

"Are you talking about kiddo?" she asked with a serious tone, but her friend clearly understood her sarcastic undertone. "Yeah, I wonder, what's he gonna do when a monster shows up?"

Luke no longer reacted to her comments, having exhausted all possible ways of telling her they bothered him. He had decided to ignore them. Perhaps this way, she would stop making them, even if only for a moment.

"I'm talking about the guy from your school," Jon specified unnecessarily. His voice carried a tired tone from her constant remarks about Luke. Clearly, he didn't expect them to contribute much to the quest. "He's not a demigod. He could have died."

"I'm pretty sure he didn't," Keira explained, her voice somber. A lady traveling with her son a few seats away looked at them strangely upon hearing their conversation. Keira simply smiled at the woman, displaying a mixture of compassion and madness. "There was a tree below. It must have broken his fall."

"But he must have broken a couple of bones," Jon commented, hesitating. Maybe picking up Keira at that moment hadn't been the best idea, and he should have waited until morning.

She downplayed it, shrugging, and said, "He'll get over it," as she closed her eyes again to go back to sleep.

＊＊＊

In the majestic Redwood Forest, they quickly understood why a creature like the manticore would choose such a place to establish its pack. The towering sequoias rose majestically, creating a green canopy that filtered the light of the winter sun, casting shadows on the moss-covered forest floor.

The dense vegetation, composed of ferns and moss, formed a green carpet on the forest floor. The fresh, humid air carried the scent of earth and wood. As they moved forward, the soft crunch of dried leaves under their feet echoed in the quiet of the forest, interrupted only by the occasional whisper of the wind through the leaves.

The dim light of dusk timidly filtered through the branches, casting elongated, dancing shadows on the ground. The forest, in its silent majesty, seemed to guard ancient secrets and whispers of creatures moving among the trees.

However, the natural beauty of the Redwood Forest did not conceal its dangers. The diminishing light in the growing darkness posed challenges, and the possibility of creatures lurking in the shadows added an element of suspense to the air. As the sun bid farewell on the horizon, plunging the forest into twilight, the group prepared to face the unknown in the impending night.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Luke asked. No one was quite sure what to answer since it was the first quest for all three.

"Something out of the ordinary," Jon replied, reaching for his pocket in caution, making sure his sword was within reach. "Some monster to ask questions."

As they made their way through the dense vegetation, Keira inquired about the details of Nik's disappearance. Most of the time on the train had been spent sleeping, as they hadn't rested during the night to arrive in the forest with energy.

"He didn't even leave a fucking note?" she asked, bewildered.

"Why would he?" Jon replied, a bit uncomfortable reliving the events. He still regretted not forcing Nik to sleep in his cabin with the children of Hermes. "He was kidnapped abruptly."