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“Swap your electives, he said. It’d be more fun if we were in the same ones, he said.” Nelo tossed the hoe to the ground with a huff, staring balefully at her pitiable garden, and threw her arms up in the air. “Well look at me now, Percy! Woulda been nice to have taken those agriculture lessons at camp.” She glared at the drooping scallions before turning around and stomping back to her shelter. As she walked, her thoughts turned to introspection.
It had been a month since she had found herself in this strange new world. It had taken her longer than she’d care to admit to realize she had been relocated.
In her defense though, she had been awake for over 48 hours straight and was coming down from the usual adrenaline rush most demigods get from taking down the monster of the day while on a quest. “That was a portal to a different world” is certainly not the first thought one would normally have after tripping backwards into a puddle.
She had simply tripped, stood back up, and found herself in the middle of the woods, a violently bright green crack in the sky above her, spitting out tangibly discordant energy. A dubious place to remain for long, so she quickly found her footing and made for a safer location.
Since then, Nelo had located an ideal site and established a camp of sorts, resorting to all of the tips and tricks she could recall from back home. Nearly every day she would work herself to the bone either improving her growing homestead or helping the growing number of refugees in the village nearby, and every night she reached out into the realm of dreams.
As a daughter of Hypnos, astral projecting and dream weaving were some of her favorite activities growing up, blissfully ignorant of the implications of such abilities. She danced among fields of crystalline wheat, raced dolphins among the clouds, and had tea parties with a Father who she had never met in person.
Referred to as “The Fade” by its natural denizens and nightly visitors, this world’s realm of dreams proved to be both familiar and yet also beyond anything Nelo had ever experienced back home.
It made obtaining a sitrep more difficult than it needed to be, Nelo lamented.
But, as anyone in Camp Half-Blood would know, - and damn if the thought of them doesn’t strike a pang of longing in her heart - Nelo is nothing if not determined. And after careful efforts, she had a decent understanding of where she was now.
And she would very much like to go back home please and thank you.
Nelo shook her head, dispersing that thought before it could take root. She will not let herself fall into another depressive spiral again. It is what it is and there’s no use dwelling on what-ifs.
With that, she entered the small cave she had turned into her house and closed the makeshift door to the entrance, letting out a silent sigh.
Only for a loud crash, followed by an animalistic roar to erupt from outside.
Nelo was already halfway to the source of the sound before she registered what it was- a bear.
More specifically, a bear that was very intently attempting to kill someone underneath it. Nearby were three other people attempting to attack the beast.
Of those three, only one was close to the bear, wearing armor bearing an unfamiliar sigil and swinging a sword at it. The other two, a short dwarf-like person wielding a crossbow, and a bald elven mage remained quite a distance away, their attacks constrained (restrained?) due to the proximity of their comrades to the beast.
Nelo rapidly took this in as she ran. Her gaze hones onto the bear’s head and she jumps, landing on its back.
Surprised, the bear rears up in an attempt to dislodge her. Unfortunately, with her firm grasp on its fur all this did was give her a clear shot to swing the dagger suddenly in her hands. She brings it down swiftly, and it sinks straight through one of its eyes. With a slight flex of hand, the blade lengthened, and spikes erupt from the edges. She twists, and the bear collapses like a puppet with cut strings. The dagger returns to normal.
Everything goes silent, save for a faint wheeze from below her.
Ah. Whoops, that’s her bad. Probably would have been best to make sure the bear couldn’t land on the person below it before she killed it.
She quickly removes her dagger dismounts and begins to pull back on the corpse, dragging it away just enough for the trapped person to be freed with the help of their armored friend.
“Thanks for the assist,” they say to Nelo, smiling as if they had not just been attacked by a bear. Blood dripped from a gash in their forehead, trailing over a tattooed cheek.
“No probl-“ Nelo started as she sheathed her dagged, before trailing off.
She stared, at the ground surrounding where the bear lay. Numerous scallions were broken and uprooted. Some patches of ice from the elf mage’s attacks frosting over a number of them. The few other kinds of plants scattered about in makeshift pots not faring any better.
“My garden!!” She cried out. The sight of all her hard work utterly decimated was almost enough to bring her to her knees.
“Ooh, that’s not good,” the dwarf(?) muttered, stepping over with the elf following close behind.
Tattoos’ eyes grow wide as they took in the destruction wrought by the bear and their companions, “I am so sorry-“ they apologized, sincerely audible, “-Bertrand¹ had requested we ask you if you could increase your hunts, but the bear caught us by surprise and well…”
Nelo grimaced, “I can’t really fault you for the actions of a wild animal.” Then muttered under her breath, “ Μητροκοίτης ², this would be my kind of luck.” She would have to start all over, but it is what it is.
Armor steps up, and Nelo can now see the tidy braid encircling their head, “Your ability with a dagger is remarkable. I’ve not seen such a skilled take-down in a while.”
She blinks, not expecting the praise. “Ah, thank you,” she pats at the sheathed dagger, “my Father gifted them to me and dear Ονειροφάγος ³ has never let me down since.”
The bald elf’s ears twitch, Nelo’s eyes dart to them, “Onerofagos? I don’t think I’ve ever heard such a word before.”
“I’d be surprised if you had,” she replies, fixing her face into a genial smile, “it’s from a language my Father taught me, our little secret way of talking.” Which, that is technically the truth. She had originally learned it from her dad in her dreams, years before joining Camp Half-Blood.
“Interesting,” the elf replied, although there was a glint in those eyes that prickled along her spine. They looked like they intended to ask more, so Nelo quickly interjected.
“Anyways,” she began, “So you just came here to let me know Bertrand needs more kills for the refugees?”
“Yes!” Tattoos replies, before being nudged by the dwarf. “Ah, well, also…” they paused, visibly searching for words briefly, “you’ve demonstrated skill, and the refugees have nothing but good things to say about you. We want to know if you would be willing to join the Inquisition.”
Nelo tilts her head in thought, “The Inquisition… you guys are the ones who want to seal up the tears in the sky, yes?”
Armor nods, the action somehow radiating an air of righteousness, “Correct, we intend to close the breach, find the ones responsible for it, and to restore order.”
Nelo blinks, “Well, that’s a sizable set of goals.” She contemplated the matter for a few seconds, a hand to her chin as she surveyed the party before her. “Are you intending to return to the Crossroads now that you have spoken with me?” Tattoos nodded in affirmation. “Alright, I’ll travel back with you, then. I wish to ask some questions before committing to your Inquisition.”
It’s not until after the motley crew began heading back to the Crossroads, that Nelo realized, “You know, I killed a bear for you and have been invited to join your not so secret club, but we never did…”
Tattoos blinked, looking at her quizzically, “Did what?”
She turns to him, and holds out her right hand, Tattoos tentatively takes it. She shakes it firmly, “ Χαίρετε ⁴, my name is Penelope, but you may call me Nelo.”
Tattoos laughs, “Oh!” He chuckles for a brief moment before responding, “I’m Mahanon Lavellan-”
And Nelo knew then, as Mahannon introduced the rest of their companions, that this was just the beginning.