Percy Jackson - Cursed to Forget

The Calm Before The Storm

After the arrival of the defence team the night ended quite abruptly. A solemn mood had settled on the city and most people just went about their business quietly. It wasn't new for me, the sight of people all bloody and bruised like that. But it still never gets any easier to see, even if I didn't know the people personally. Having seen those people pretty much confirmed my decision to join the next defence team.

I went back to my room at the inn, but I wasn't going to sleep. As much as I wanted to take a break from fighting and life and death situations, after seeing those people come back like that and the way their failure weighed on the people of the city I couldn't not do anything. I unlocked the chest and grabbed my bag. I pulled out my sword and then put my bag back into the chest. I moved my coin pouch to my right hip and attached my sword to my left. It seemed like it was alright to openly carry weapons here on Anvari and I figured I should look the part. I tucked the chest key in my cloak and then walked out of my room.

I made my way to the big government building. It wasn't anything special, it was just much bigger then all the others in the city. I asked the person at the front desk where I needed to go to sign up and they pointed me in the right direction. That was how I ended up in the waiting room of the registrations office. With only a few other people in the room, it was quiet and you got the feeling that it was a little tense. Given that it was pretty deep into the night I can understand why it took a while to get through the few people here. I was pretty surprised they were even open.

I continued to wait as people were called into the office until eventually it was just me left alone. Finally out came the same women that had been seeing everyone else and she called me in. I sat down at the desk opposite the women. "Judging by the sword on your hip and that fact I don't recognise you, I'd say you were here to register for the defence team," she said to me calmly as she folded her hands and placed them on her desk. "Yes I am," I said.

"Well, assuming you get through the screening, we would be happy to have you. We already needed plenty of help, but after that fiasco earlier we need volunteers more then ever," she said.

"I assume you've had several withdraw after they either saw or heard about the first group," I said, posing it as more of a question then a statement. "You'd be right," she answered. "It's the biggest reason I'm here working so late," she continued.

"So what do you need from me?" I asked.

"I just need you to answer a few questions, then hoping everything is all good, there will be a quick combat test," she replied.

"Combat test?" I queried.

"Yes, the officials knew about the first group before they came wondering into the city. So we started to add a combat test to the screening process to attempt to reduce casualties going forward," she said.

"And leaving you with a more experienced group. Less numbers but greater power and reduces the risk if errors. A pretty good idea," I added.

"For someone so young, you sure sound like you know what you're talking about," she said as she leaned forward on her desk, getting a better look at me. I just shrugged my shoulders and leant back in my chair. "So what are these questions?" I asked, drawing her attention away from me and back to topic. "Shy as well," she muttered to herself as she picked up the documents on the desk beside her. "So, first question," she said. "What's your name?"

"Percy," I answered.

"Age and species?" she asked next.

"Numah, 44 cycles," I replied. This went on for a few minutes, her asking simple questions and me answering. It was all pretty standard really. "Combat style?" she asked.