Percy Jackson: the Winter Gamer

The fight between the two drew a crowd, they were both good at swordsmanship but in the end, Percy, as a big 3 kid was superior. Not that he was better at everything, no, Percy was shitty at archery. So bad, infact, that he was banned from the firing range, one too many arrows had hit innocent campers. 

The next day, it was time for the chariot races. Clarisse and one of her brothers manned the Ares chariot, drawn by skeletal horses. Annabeth sat behind the Athena chariot. The Stoll's drove the Hermes chariot. Beckendorf was behind the reins of the Hephaestus chariot, drawn by mechanical horses. The Poseidon cabin had only two campers, Percy and Tyson, so it was obvious which two manned the chariot. The Apollo cabin was the last cabin who had armed a chariot.

A group of monster birds perched in the trees over at the forest. Alexander couldn't make out what kind of monsters they were, they were too far away to be observed but their presence made him uneasy. What if there was another attack whilst their best leaders(Annabeth and Clarisse) were away? Alexander's fingers traced his bracelet, the fingertip following down the carvings. 

"Right, you all know the rules", Tantalus spoke, desperately trying to catch a chocolate chip muffin that was scooting away from his grasp, "a quarter mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a fighter and a driver. Weapons are allowed, dirty tricks are expected but- please try not to kill each other, I don't want to have that kind of paperwork. Any killing will result in harsh punishment, no s'mores for a week! Now ready your chariots! Charioteers on your mark! And go!"

The chariots raced forwards. Almost immediately, the Hermes and Apollo chariots crashed into each other. It had been a ploy to take the Apollo cabin out of the race but the Stoll's had seriously misgudged the damage to their own vehicle and were out of the race. Alexander wanted to focus on the chariot race but something caught his attention, a quiet, screeching metal sound. He looked around. Where was it coming from? Not from the campers, they were cheering but no metal was in sight, none were scratching a plate with their weapons. Looking around, he found the source of the noise. The birds on the trees. They were getting agitated by the chariot race. This wasn't good, there had to be like a hundred of them. If they decided to attack, they could very well overwhelm them with sheer numbers. He didn't even register the chariot race any more, his attention snapped from the birds back to the campers, only half of them were armed and of that hold only ⅔ had bows. A sword would be no good in this situation. Before he could formulate a plan, the birds began moving, at first they flew from one branch to the other but soon, they flew towards the campers. A few attacked the chariot racers but the overwhelming majority focused on the crowd. It was as if hades' gates had opened before them. Sharp metal beaks and claws were ripping into the campers. The archers couldn't shoot, in fear that they might hit the other campers. What to do? Wait- yes, that could work…

"Campers! Ready your arrows! I can only hold them off for a few seconds!" His voice resonated through the crowd. The confidence in it helped calm the campers. All those with bows drew their string and waited. They didn't have to wait long as Alexander lifted his arms and concentrated. He could feel the cold rise up within him and, with a loud *whoosh* a torrent of wind pushed back the birds, one second -arrows flew, killing around a dozen-, two seconds -they nocked the arrows again-, three seconds - another volley of arrows hit, now half the birds were dead- four seconds, the birds realised they weren't getting their easy meal and so they began flying away, into the depth of the forest. They would have to go in there and hunt them down but for now, they were safe.

Tantalus smiled, "Bravo! We have our first winner", he gestured to Clarisse, who looked perplexed, "and now, to punish the trouble makers… Percy Jackson! Annabeth Chase! Your terrible chariot racing has agitated the birds. If it weren't for you, they wouldn't have attacked!"

Some of the campers tried to protest but he hushed them, "for your punishment, you will be working at cleaning the dishes for the foreseeable future! I must say though, a great honor to Alexander Dorn, who has gracefully handled the mess you created. Now, I think this calls for a feast in honor of our victor!"

The feast was grand, with wonderful dishes and even a wide variety of desserts, none of which landed in Tantalus' mouth despite his desperate attempts. It just kept scooting away from him. During the feast, Percy came to him, wanting to tell him something. They wandered outside, where it was quieter.

"I have had dreams recently, demigod dreams, about Grover, he is being held captive by a Cyclops who wants to marry him, thinking he is a lady cyclops. He said he found something radiating nature magic. Annabeth thinks it might be the Golden Fleece. If it is there, it might just be our only way to safe camp"

"And you know where this cyclops' lair is?"

"Yes, I got coordinates, sea coordinates, it is in the sea of monsters. I am planning of mentioning it at the sing along today, Tantalus will have no option but to issue a quest"

"A good plan" he nodded.