We have no indication that those figs are here for us and whoever placed them there is definitely supernatural, so we can't take them. That said, we had several days since the battle to recuperate our magic, so why don't we exploit that we can grow our own figs from a single seed, without actually taking any of those in the basket?
The only issue I see with this is that you'll have to get the seed somehow. They're on the inside of the igg, you could use your power on them, but that'd make them just grow through the fig anyway, ruining it. You could replace it, of course.
Fig seeds come in large numbers, with many being non-viable (will not grow into fig plant) Furthermore, fig seeds don't grow into figs, they grow into fig trees. The only way you'd get a tree big enough to produce fruit without killing yourself is by planting it into the ground, over the wheat. which grows in regular intervals practically everywhere.
As to the Drachmas. Honestly, trying to figure out Camp Half-Blood's financial situation is just a headache. They apparently sell strawberries, but what exactly do they do with that money? Do they pay taxes? If so, are those taxes to the IRS or to some sort of Mt. Olympus tax collector.
Essentially, my assumption is that quest Drachmas are largely decided by Chiron, with limits possibly being imposed by gods. Percy (I think) got five to work with on his first quest and practically half the Pantheon wanted him dead. You, on the other hand, are popular with a select few, while the rest remain largely indifferent to you, except Zeus, whose interest has been piqued at the time of you starting the quest, which means Chiron is free to decide. I would say he tries to remain largely impartial, but the idea of a cripple and a ten-year-old heading out on a quest with someone equally inexperienced doesn't quite sit well with him, and he's decided to help you out how he can.
The night was a very welcome respite from the… well everything that had gone on in the last few hours. This quest was moving much faster than he ever expected, but toward what? Kurt hardly knew, and he was pretty sure the same could be said for everyone else in their merry little band. This entire day had been a string of chaotic near-death experiences, trying (and failing) to run support for their resident wood wizard and somehow avoiding falling to his death from who knows how many thousands of feet in the air.
Sam was already asleep once he laid his head down, but Blossom and him were a bit too jittery after the everything that'd happened today. They tried to sleep, they really did, but once it was clear that Sam was out like a light, Blossom sat up to look at the sky for a bit. It was a beautiful thing, more peaceful than it had any right to be. Kurt propped himself up on an arm.
It was quiet for awhile before she shot a glance at the sleeping Sam. What kind of a look it was, was lost in the dark. The Moon was out, but finer details like that were lost no matter how much their eyes adjusted.
Kurt had a hunch though.
"That kid is something else, isn't he?"
"Yeah, he is."
"Y'know, this is the first time I've seen him go all out. And I'm not going to lie at all. That was scary as hell to be around. He's in a whole 'nother league." Kurt said. When he signed up for the quest he didn't think he'd be playing chicken with lightning bolts from Zeus' favorite pet. "This escalated so fast, I sincerely began to question whether I woke up from the bus ride."
"No lie? Same here, but at least you've got legs." She snorted, fiddling with her crutches on the ground. "If it helps any, I kind of expected this. The prophecy does want one of us dead."
"You can't be sure it's you though."
"That's definitely an optimistic take, I'm surprised." Blossom said with more mirth than she should really have at this point. "I thought Athena Cabin was all about the logics."
"'Sir, your plan to ride on the back of an eagle is most illogical'," Kurt spocked, "Nah… sometimes a little faith goes a long way. At least when we're out in the wilderness, with giant birds trying to kill us."
"This must be the wisdom of positive thinking."
"More like the wisdom of not giving up on yourself yet."
She scoffed at that, it wasn't bitter like he expected though.
"I haven't given up. But if any one of us is going to be the one who bites it, it'll be me. No question about it. I might be tempting fate, but I don't think we should lie when the moon's out."
"But you haven't given up?"
She just gestured at the sleeping boy, like that explained everything.
"Unless I also got knocked out earlier, not on the bus, but when I was almost electrocuted; I'm pretty sure I saw him tame an Eagle the size of Manhattan." She sounded incredulous, which was fitting for the situation. "Sam is my best friend, he's my good luck charm, and in a pinch, and he can pull a miracle out of thin air."
"This kind of thing has happened before?"
"Of course, the night I found out about the whole demigod thing Sam slayed a vampire and bunch of zombies with some sesame seeds and a thorn bush." She stated bluntly, if she was cracking a smile he couldn't tell. "I said if any of us dies, it's me. But there's a whole Sam between me and the prophecy. So, I'm not that worried. I probably should be, but if the Eagle didn't do it, we'll be fine."
"So, you've already mastered the ancient wisdom."
"I had to do something between target practice and painting bad art"
"But I like your art." Kurt chided.
"You just like the company."
No argument there.
"So how did the night with the Vampire end?" Kurt said, still not sleepy.
"The monster dropped a gold coin, Sam made a phone call with a rainbow, and then passed out. He left me on the bus alone surrounded by dust "
.
.
.
.
"Our lives are insane."
"Who're you telling? We're not the ones who have to pull the crazy stunts." She sighed, "Well I'm not anyway, if Sam hadn't gone on this quest I don't know what I would have done. No offense."
"None taken, I still would have gone with you though."
"Seriously?"
"Well if you asked me, of course. I'm not even my own first pick."
"Well I appreciate it anyway. Even if we would have died on our first day from… Well, lightning is what the news would call it, I guess?"
"Natural Causes, depending on how thick the mist is here. There's a whole lot of empty space around where we were, ergo, not a lot to base a suggestion off of. Our poor incinerated bodies, gods know what they'd come up with."
"Nevermind our bodies, what do think their explanation for all that is going to be."
"Not sure, you never can be. It could be a freak storm, it could be a terrorist attack. It's a mixed bag. I'm just glad we got swept away before we had to figure what they were seeing. Those first few witnesses are always a little different from each other. It's funny, until a fight breaks out over what they think happened."
"That sounds hilarious."
"Until they stop using their words..."
"Pew Pew?"
"Yeah, Pew Pew."
It was getting obvious that their conversation was coming to a close. They weren't even speaking in complete sentences at this point.
Circadian rhythms were definitely not to be trifled with.
But before they both drifted off, Blossom obviously still had something on her chest , she was still looking up at the sky.
"When this quest is over, and we figure out all this basket stuff, please remind me to thank Sam every day for coming." She said with a yawn. "I don't think he realizes just how ready I was for him to not be there when I needed him."
Fig seeds come in large numbers, with many being non-viable (will not grow into fig plant) Furthermore, fig seeds don't grow into figs, they grow into fig trees. The only way you'd get a tree big enough to produce fruit without killing yourself is by planting it into the ground, over the wheat. which grows in regular intervals practically everywhere.
Now I want to write about the next morning, when Sam apologizes for dragging them into the situation with the eagle and Blossom and Kurt are incredulous...
Only Sam knows it was a test from Zeus for a potential child of the prophecy, so they probably didn't notice the signs that the eagle was there for him and not because of the quest.
Then, Sam introduces them to "creatively interpreting prophecies for fun and profit"... i.e. don't worry about the flower's curse, I wanted to spend some time with big sis Persephone anyhow.
@Monk Penguin, can Steven Universe be cannon in this world? It's just that some of the songs from the show would be really, emotionally useful, to EVERYONE, at camp.
@Monk Penguin, can Steven Universe be cannon in this world? It's just that some of the songs from the show would be really, emotionally useful, to EVERYONE, at camp.
The discord server is now up and is available at the link below for those of you that want another place to discuss the quest. The discord server isn't mandatory and any important information that gets posted there will be reposted here in-thread.
Vote Tally : Fantasy Modern What is Fate? (Percy Jackson and the Olympians Quest) [Posts: 1977-2025] ##### NetTally 2.0.1
[x]Plan Shingeki no Feed Us
[x][Dinner] Empty-handed.
[x] Pray an apology to Demeter for rejecting the Wheat.
[x] Pray an apology to Dionysus? for rejecting the figs. You're not really sure those are his fruit, but you're covering your bases.
[x] Tell Kurt and Blossom about the Figs, and how you think it's a really bad idea to touch them. They should know that we're not alone in the Sea of Wheat.
[x][Destination] Go to the tree. It seems important to your quest.
-[x] Climb the tree to get a better sense of your direction, look for who/what had the figs.
-[x] If found, invoke guest rites. No. of Votes: 10
[x] Tell them Kurt and Blossom about the Figs, and how you think it's a really bad idea to touch them. They should know that we're not alone in the Sea of Wheat. No. of Votes: 2
[x][Dinner] Fruit contain the seeds necessary to grow more of them, so you don't need to actually take any of the figs from the basket. Manipulate a fig so that it pushes out a single seed you can bring back to the others and grow a bonsai-sized fig tree once you're back with them. No. of Votes: 1
[10]Plan Shingeki no Feed Us
[10][Dinner] Empty-handed.
[10] Pray an apology to Demeter for rejecting the Wheat.
[10] Pray an apology to Dionysus? for rejecting the figs. You're not really sure those are his fruit, but you're covering your bases.
[10] Tell Kurt and Blossom about the Figs, and how you think it's a really bad idea to touch them. They should know that we're not alone in the Sea of Wheat.
[10][Destination] Go to the tree. It seems important to your quest.
-[10] Climb the tree to get a better sense of your direction, look for who/what had the figs.
-[10] If found, invoke guest rites.
As you return empty-handed, you greet Kurt and Blossom.
"I didn't see anyone in the vicinity, no normal people or monsters, though I'd be pretty surprised to find normal people all the way out here. There was a basket of figs just sitting in the field, but I couldn't see through the wheat to figure out who it belonged to. I think it's a bad idea to just take it though."
"Makes sense. Find anything else?"
"There's a huge tree in that direction," you point. "I think we should go there."
"Are you sure?" Kurt asks, "We'll definitely be out of food by the time we get there."
"If we get desperate, we can always take a bit of the wheat. I'd rather not, but if it's between that and starving…" you say.
"I agree with Sam," Blossom says. "But I think we should avoid the farmhouse because it seems like a trap."
"Fair enough," Kurt says.
"By the way," you say to Kurt, "do you know if figs are related to any of the gods or in any significant myths?"
"Actually yes, there are a couple, but the most prominent is that Demeter created the fig tree as a gift for Phytalus, the king of Attica, in exchange for his hospitality. I think that it's probably related to our quest, as supposedly that happened when Demeter was wandering the earth looking for Persephone."
"You said there were more?" Blossom prompts.
"Yes, there's another one, about Mr. D," you can just make out his flushing face in the dim light of the evening. "I'd rather not talk about that one though."
You yawn, interrupting whatever Blossom was about to say. You cover your mouth afterward in embarrassment. "Sorry, I think I'm a bit worn out after today."
Kurt doesn't protest, so you find a comfortable spot in between stalks of wheat and lie down on the ground to sleep. You silently pray an apology to Demeter and Dionysus for not accepting their offer if they gave it. There's no response, not even a small one like you got when you prayed for protection a few nights ago.
The next day is spent walking to the tree. You make it there about an hour after you stop for lunch, and Kurt is right, you're completely out of food. Still, the stalks of wheat are there.
The wheat fields promptly cut off when you approach the tree leading to a small grassy hill, the top of which holds the base of the tree. Beyond that are fields and fields of flowers. They stretch all the way to a hill and probably over it, though from your vantage point, you can't see over that hill. Looking back, the fields of wheat seem to abruptly end in a line behind you. There's a space in between them and the flowers, though it appears the wheat is encircling the flowers. You can see where it starts to curve, giving you the impression that the field of flowers is a large circle.
The natural magic in the area is almost suffocating.
"Something wrong?" Blossom immediately notices your distress.
"Sorry, the plants here just have an absurd amount of magic, I was a bit overwhelmed."
"You can tell?" Kurt asks, "No, don't answer that, of course, you can. What now? Are we going into the flowers? We are looking for a flower."
"Actually, I wanted to climb the tree get a feel for what's around us. We've sort of been traveling blind for a while."
"Alright, I'll wait here," Blossom says, sitting down on the grass to rest.
"I-I'll wait here as well, to protect her if something happens," Kurt follows up, looking quite pale.
Why would he be afraid of climbing the tree? The only possible reason he could have is being afraid of heights.
…
Oh.
Now you feel bad about the whole eagle thing. Eh, you can make it up to him later.
As you approach the tree, you can immediately tell that you have no idea what kind of tree this is. Well, sort of. It looks like an oak tree, but oak trees definitely don't grow this tall. You're not far west enough to start seeing redwoods either. You decide to climb it first and ask questions later.
The tree doesn't exactly have good handholds and footholds on the trunk, but that's why you spent all that time on the climbing wall back at camp!
After your third attempt fails, resulting in you sliding down the tree, scraping your already quite worn shoes and giving your hands rug burn, you turn and see Blossom giving you a raised eyebrow. Ok, maybe you aren't actually good enough to climb this tree, but that's what ingenuity is for. Ingenuity and magical powers, that is!
You try affecting the tree with your power, just as a test, maybe you can make it grow some lower branches or at least some knobbly growths to act as footholds. As expected, you are utterly unable to affect the tree. Next, you try with the grass. You meet with more success there. You can grow the grass, but whatever magic's already affecting it is preventing you from using any of your concepts on the grass.
Still, you can manage even just using grass. You're somewhat inspired by Mulan, which you saw recently at its theater release with your dad and form what is essentially a grass rope that you can loop around the tree and use to generate enough friction to climb up.
The grass weaves itself together, you wrap it around the tree, and then you tug.
It doesn't break.
You grin.
Climbing the tree is grueling work. For one, it's tall. Taller than it has any right to be. You've only managed to get three-quarters of the way to the first branches, and the ground is already starting to look small. You're not as high up as an airplane or anything ridiculous like that, but you've definitely climbed some distance. You'd estimate you're around 150 feet off the ground by now.
You can manipulate the grass rope with magic, which helps as you're a lot better at magic than you are at physical activities, but you can't imbue it with durability, so if you push it too hard, the rope might break.
You glance down again.
You definitely don't want that to happen.
Finally, you make it to the branches. From there, it's pretty easy to move around. This isn't your first tree-climbing after all. The branches are more than sturdy enough to hold you. You take note that the tree has acorns that look like Oak acorns, but larger.
You look back to the farmhouse, and where you saw the figs. You can't tell where the fig basket is, but you'd guess it was probably closer to the farmhouse. Now that you're so high up, you can also see what's on the other side of the farmhouse. There appears to be a small orchard, that could be the source of the figs. It is then, of course, surrounded by more wheat fields.
You try and estimate the distance between the tree and the farmhouse, but find that your estimates keep changing, as if by magic. You grimace, there's almost no doubt that whatever is using magic to prevent you from figuring out the distance to the farmhouse is much stronger than you magically.
You take a look in the other direction, towards the field of flowers. You can tell by looking down at where it meets the wheat fields near Blossom and Kurt, that the flower field itself forms a sort of ovular shape. The flowers continue past the hill for a while, and if anything they somehow grow more vibrant and colorful on the other side of the hill.
You can see the end of the flower garden, and it does end in another oval curve, but it's so far away that you can no longer make out anything about the flowers themselves. It'd take you a day and a half to two days to walk to that end of the garden. Still, your intuition is practically screaming at you that this place is important somehow.
You do another cursory sweep and find that while eastwards there's only more wheat. You can just make out some trees to the west. You guess that they'd probably be a few days walk away, between three and four if you had to guess.
Your scouting is put to an end by your stomach rumbling. Unfortunately, you're fresh out of any food supplies, even if you have two or three days of water left. Ironic, since you're surrounded by food.
It's around dinner time, so your companions must be hungry as well. You perform a quick examination of your possible food sources. The figs are too far away at this point. It's not practical to walk all the way back just for them. The wheat is obviously edible, and just as obviously sacred to Demeter. Maybe she wouldn't mind if you offered something in return?
The oak nuts are magical, but then again, so is the rest of the tree. You know that Oak trees are sacred to Zeus, but would he be mad about you eating some nuts? Lastly, there are the flowers. You're not even sure if they're edible, but at least you probably won't bring down the wrath of a god on your head if you do try and eat them.
Probably
Climbing down is a slow and tedious process aided by the makeshift rope you kept and when you finally reach the bottom, you find that Kurt and Blossom are hungry as well.
You...
[][Food Shortage] Take some wheat berries and leave an offering to Demeter.
-[][Food Shortage] of Drachmas
-[][Food Shortage] of Ambrosia
-[][Food Shortage] of Something Else (Write-in)
[][Food Shortage] Grabbed some of the oak Acorns.
-[][Food Shortage] And left an offering at the base of the tree.
--[][Food Shortage] of Drachmas
--[][Food Shortage] of Ambrosia
--[][Food Shortage] of Something Else (Write-in)
[][Food Shortage] You ate some of the magical flowers.
[][Food Shortage] Convinced that all of your options were too dangerous, you went hungry for the night.
[][Food Shortage] Write-in.
Afterward, the three of you came to the consensus that the base of the tree was a good spot to bed down for the night. Before you all went off to sleep, with Kurt having the first watch, you discussed where you were headed to next.
[][Where to?] You went back towards the farmhouse.
[][Where to?] You went into the field of flowers.
-[][Where to?] Stockpiling some wheat berries to eat before you go
-[][Where to?] Taking some Oak nuts to eat before you go.
[][Where to?] Heading out west, towards the forest.
-[][Where to?] Stockpiling some wheat berries to eat before you go
-[][Where to?] Taking some Oak nuts to eat before you go.
ΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦΦ
Votes for the next chapter:
[X][Food Shortage] Take some wheat berries and leave an offering to Demeter.
-[X][Food Shortage] A crown of flowers imbued with the concept of purity.
It's the gesture that counts Mom.
[X][Where to?] You went into the field of flowers.
-[X][Where to?] Stockpiling some wheat berries to eat before you go.
Sounds important.
We could snack on the ambrosia.. Though it's kind of a waste.
Demeter is the goddess of harvest though.. Would she be angry if we respectfully harvested the wheat - but not the berries as they haven't completed the lifecycle yet?
[X][Food Shortage] Take some wheat berries and leave an offering to Demeter.
-[X][Food Shortage] A crown of flowers imbued with the concept of purity.
It's the gesture that counts Mom.
[X][Where to?] You went into the field of flowers.
-[X][Where to?] Stockpiling some wheat berries to eat before you go.
Voting for this option right now, but I will change it once a better option or something similar pops up.
[][Food Shortage] Take some wheat berries and leave an offering to Demeter.
-[][Food Shortage] A crown of flowers imbued with the concept of purity.
[][Where to?] You went into the field of flowers.
-[][Where to?] Stockpiling some wheat berries to eat before you go.
[][Food Shortage] Take some wheat berries and leave an offering to Demeter.
-[][Food Shortage] Some of the berries and a crown of flowers.
[[Where to?] You went into the field of flowers.
-[][Where to?] Stockpiling some wheat berries to eat before you go.
--[] Discuss the prophecy with Kurt and blossom because we missed a part of the explanation.
I think offerring a part of the food is better, since they do so at the camp.
Vote changed.
[X] Nachtigall
Question: Do we have any flowers that are sacred or usually offerred to Demeter?
[X][Food Shortage] Take some wheat berries and leave an offering to Demeter.
-[X][Food Shortage] A crown of flowers imbued with the concept of purity.
[X][Where to?] You went into the field of flowers.
-[X][Where to?] Stockpiling some wheat berries to eat before you go.
--[X] Discuss the prophecy with Kurt and blossom because we missed a part of the explanation.
Possibly, but I don't think outposts are a thing. The Greek demigods don't have anything outside of camp half-blood and one would think they would have something if the Romans had one.
Possibly, but I don't think outposts are a thing. The Greek demigods don't have anything outside of camp half-blood and one would think they would have something if the Romans had one.
To be fair, New Rome is an entire city with a much, much, much larger population than Camp Half Blood, and Rome is pretty famous for having it's army stationed in far away outposts. Wouldn't be too surprising for Roman Outposts to exist. But on the other hand, the Gods really don't want contact between the groups, so they'd probably be confined to their own shores of the US.
Could we cash in that favor from Pear right now? I don't see any Nymphs around, or anything, but we're deep in holy plant territory, and it sure would be useful to have a pear right now. Also, doesn't ambrosia has a thing where it satiates your hunger like a full meal as well? Or am I misremembering?
