"Ancients are also very dangerous and strong, not to mention nearly invincible as their entire bodies are made of stone making it impossible to actually hurt them, with the only vulnerable part being their heart in the center of their bodies. Which is only exposed when they attack, so if you want to hurt them then you need to be fast enough to dodge their attacks. Wulvers, I guess, are kind of like Werewolves. But the difference is they aren't nor were they ever human, they're more like ancient spirits, but they're fierce and deadly to even experienced warriors. Hel-Walkers are like Draugr and are native to Helheim, which makes them immune to the cold, so usually whenever I encounter them I have to use my hands since my axe only has ice powers. And Berserkers-" Jakob said, only for Annabeth to interrupt him.
"I…I have heard of those, but how are they monsters? Aren't Berserkers just Norse warriors that dress up in animal skins and bones, believing it helps them channel that animals power and fury." Said Annabeth, only for the Aesir demigod to shake his head.
"You're partially right, Berserkers do wear the skins and bones of bears, wolves and boars to gain their strength, speed, endurance and fury. Berserkers are malevolent spirits that will fight and kill anything that moves, they don't hesitate in their attacks nor do they feel pain, you could cut off their arm and they wouldn't even flinch and simply keep attacking. The only thing that'll make them stop is to instantly kill them, otherwise they'll ignore any other wound and not stop until either you die or they do. That had been one of my tests, killing a Berserker. The bastard nearly cut me in half, so I made sure to return the favor." Replied Jakob, with the two demigods and Satyr looking at him in shock and disbelief.
"…How are you not dead?" Grover asked, wondering how it's possible for anyone to survive what he's been through.
"Stubbornness." Jakob said quietly, not wanting to mention the fact he had died at several points only for his father to revive him with Mjölnir as a defibrillator. he shook his head. "Now, sleep. All of you."
Jakob stood and walked off to keep an eye out, leaving his companions to stare at him with shock, sadness and disbelief.
"He's right." Mimir said softly, gaining their attention. "Being stuck in Niflheim for a year is not even the worst of what Thor did to him. All to build him into a strong, deadly and great warrior. it reminds me of how the Spartans are trained and made... but a more godly version of it. Know this, out of all the Aesir Gods... Thor and Odin are the worst of them. Now get some sleep, my brother and sisters, Jakob will have us moving early in the morning."
The trio shared looks before they nodded and settled in to sleep, but Andromeda and Annabeth couldn't take their eyes off Jakob. They could see the pain in his eyes when speaking about his experience in being raised by his father.
They didn't want to know what else Thor had done to his own son.
The next day soon came and Jakob was already awake when Grover and Annabeth awoke. Jakob gave them some food from his backpack as a substitute for breakfast, telling them it'll do them for now. Andromeda was still asleep and Jakob told Annabeth to wake her up as they'll be moving out soon.
Then Grover made a friend with a dog, a poodle.
"Please keep the dog away from me. It looks ready to bite one of my eyes out" Mimir said fearfully as the dog started sniffing at him before Jakob lifted the head up and hooked him to the back of his hip.
"Not for eating." Jakob told the dog.
"Well," Annabeth said, causing Jakob to look over and see she succeeded in waking up Andromeda. "The zombies live."
"Funny." Andromeda responded with a eyeroll, however Jakob noted her expression: confused and worried. "How long was I asleep."
"Long enough," Annabeth said, tossing her a bag of nacho-flavoured corn chips from Aunty Em's snack bar. "And Grover went exploring. Look, he found a friend."
Andromeda looked over at the Satyr who had the poodle in his lap, petting the animal.
The poodle yapped at Andromeda suspiciously. Grover said, "No, she isn't."
Andromeda blinked and sent him a confused look. "Are you… talking to that thing?"
The poodle growled.
"This thing," Grover warned, "is our ticket west. Be nice to him."
"You can talk to animals?" Andromeda asked in disbelief.
"I think that was really obvious given he is a Satyr," Mimir reminded.
Grover ignored the question, however. "Andromeda, meet Gladiola. Gladiola, Andromeda."
Andromeda looked at Annabeth, figuring she'd crack at the joke they were playing on him, but she looked deadly serious.
"I'm not saying hello to a pink poodle." Andromeda said, shaking her head. "Forget it."
"Andie," Annabeth said. "I said hello to the poodle. Jakob said hello to the poodle. You say hello to the poodle."
The poodle growled.
Andromeda said hello to the poodle.
Jakob snorted. "Whipped." He commented, slightly amused. He even made the whipping motion, getting Andromeda to glare at him.
Grover explained that he'd come across Gladiola in the woods and they'd struck a conversation. The poodle had run away from a rich local family, who'd posted a $200 reward for his return. Gladiola didn't really want to go back to his family, but he'd do it if it meant helping Grover.
"How does Gladiola know about the reward?" Andromeda asked.
"He read the signs," Grover said. "Duh."
"Of course," Andromeda said, rolling her eyes again. "Silly me."
"So we turn in Gladiola," Annabeth explained in her best strategy voice, "we get money, and we buy tickets to Los Angeles. Simple."
"Wise Girl, nothing is ever simple," Jakob said, exasperated.
She flushed, as if suddenly remembering that.
Andromeda was silent, her mind turning to the dream she had before shaking it away and looked at her companions. "Not another bus." She said warily.
"No," Annabeth agreed.
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