Nearing the dining pavilion, Sean stopped and saw Chiron sitting outside on the porch of the big house. The large yellow building loomed over in the distance. Even though Sean wanted to eat, he had to talk to Chiron. Maybe he'd be able to make sense of all these problems. He approached the wheelchair bound centaur and cleared his throat. Chiron looked up from the book he was reading and placed it on his lap.

"Chiron?" Sean said.

"Is there something wrong?" Chiron asked. Sean hesitated, debating if he should tell Chiron about his father. Shaking his head, he gathered up his courage to speak with Chiron.

"My father paid me a visit," Sean answered. Chiron's expression changed from calm to worry. At first, Sean didn't understand why Chiron had been worried. But it slowly made sense the minute Chiron explained it to him. "He told me that the gods are going to war again because of one of Ares' weapons being stolen." Chiron stroked his beard, deep in thought.

"If your father paid you a visit, you'll have to go to the Oracle of Delphi. She should be in Hera's cabin." Sean paused, but Chiron only gave him a reassuring smile. Sean's stomach was in knots as he left the big house and made his way back to the cabins. There had been only one cabin, a small boxlike building with white columns and garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. He walked toward the cabin, on the way, he passed by Mark who had been talking to a short, scrawny guy, Sean assumed he was the son of Hermes, and from the looks of it Mark and the guy were getting along just fine. He paid little attention, however, because his only thoughts were going to Hera's cabin and speaking to the Oracle of Delphi, whatever that meant. Sean arrived at the cabin and stepped inside. Temperatures in the cabin had dropped to freezing. Sean rubbed his arms and noticed that it was so cold to a point that he could actually see his breath.

"Hello?" he called out.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" said a young teenage girl who was wearing a cloak and standing in front of the large peacock statue and the goddess herself.

"Sean McLoughlin," Sean answered. "Chiron told me I'd find the Oracle of Delphi here? Do you know where I could find it?"

"Look no further," the girl with curly red hair and green eyes said. "My name is Rachel Elizabeth Dare, it's good to meet you Sean." Rachel held out her hand where Sean politely took it and the two shook hands.

"How'd you know who I was?" Sean asked and pulled his hand away.

"I'm the Oracle. I know when someone will pay me a visit," Rachel responded. "But there is something you must know." Rachel sat down on the floor, leaving Sean confused and wondering what was happening. Suddenly, her eyes glowed green and strange smoke started flowing out of her mouth.
Further south must you go,
to find the missing weapon made of gold.
Through woodlands and deserts, must you stride.
But to find what you seek, you must abide.
Only then will the weapon you seek be found.
But beware, monsters and gods will fight.
Only If you trust in your friends, you will survive

The green smoke receded, allowing Rachel to come back from her dazed state. She glanced over at Sean at the same time she sighed in relief. Still shocked by what he had heard, Sean struggle to understand what the prophecy meant.

"What the hell was that?" Sean said in shock.

"Wrong underworld," Rachel said. "You have now heard your prophecy, Sean. You must now report back to Chiron and tell him what you've heard." Saying nothing else, Sean turned and walked out of the cabin. Walking across the fields, he made his way back to the big house where Chiron was getting ready to head for the dining pavilion. Rather than meeting up with Chiron, he traveled back to the dining pavilion, where everyone was already getting their meals. Struggling to even cope with the information, he kept to himself and sat down at his cabin's table, alone.

***

Ever since Mark saved Ethan from his siblings, all he could think about was making a friend. Sure he had Sean, but Sean was busy with something else, although he couldn't help but sense that something was wrong. This much was clear when he saw his friend sitting at a table alone, deep in thought. He knew of the rules, such as sitting with your own cabin, but he didn't care. Sean was the only friend he had, mostly. He gathered up his plate and drink and walked over to him. Sean had been picking at his food for sometime now and despite his siblings and the other cabins staring at him, he ignored them.

"Hey Sean," Mark said. "Are you okay?" Sean snapped out of his thoughts and turned to face Mark.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just shaken up," Sean responded. "I went to see the oracle today and things aren't looking good."

"What are you talking about?" Mark pushed. Sean shook his head just in time to find that Chiron was staring at him. Mark looked between Sean and Chiron. If something was wrong, then Mark had to know. "Sean, you can tell me anything."

"Not now. I want to tell Chiron after dinner." Mark wanted to push Sean to talk about it but he watched as the rest of the camp gathered up their plates and brought it over to the firepit, where they dumped half their plate into the fire. Confused, he snuck a glance over at Percy and Annabeth, the two that he had recently met earlier that day. Annabeth was a cool girl with gray eyes and blonde hair. She and Percy always seemed to stay together, unless that only met one thing. Shaking his head and knowing that it wasn't important, Mark cleared his throat as Percy made his way over.

"It's an offering to the gods. We dump half our food into the fire, and it shows our parents that we will always honor them," Percy explained. "So, Sean, Mark, how are you two getting along at camp?"

"It's been great," Mark said, but when he saw Sean, his friend didn't even say anything. "Sean?" Sean ignored him and got up from the table before walking away from the pavilion. Confused, he apologized to Percy and left the table. Mark chased after Sean and eventually came across him sitting on the docks by the lake. Mark sighed and walked over to check on his friend. Sure, he understood that all of this was hard for him, but that didn't mean he had to go through and leave the pavilion. "What's gotten into you, man?" Sean remained silent.

"I just heard a prophecy about Ares' sword being taken," Sean explained. "Someone stole your father's sword, and I don't know who. I've already spoken to the oracle, but I don't know what more I can do or where I'm supposed to go from here."