The Librarian

As we walked further into the camp, we could hear voices amongst the scattered boards and… safety cones? We came in sight of a small group of people hunched over a table with maps spread across it.

"Chiron?" Nico asked, pulling me behind him as he rushed to join the group. "What's going on? Where is everyone?"

A taller man looked up from across the table, "Nico? It's been a while, hasn't it? Who's your friend?" The man asked in a fatherly voice, making his way around the table to talk to us without obstruction.

"Woah," I said, marveling his equine hindquarters. Of course I had expected Chiron to be a centaur. I just hadn't known what to expect from that. He was well over six foot, towering over Nico and I both. His coat shone and I could see the muscles rippling beneath his grey skin. He exuded power in such a quantity as could only belong to an immortal of extreme power, but the homely smile on his face made me feel less intimidated.

"Chiron, this is Kimmi, my mortal girlfriend." He looked to me with a smile when he said it and the word sent a little buzz of happiness running through my veins. He turned back to Chiron and stone returned to his eyes. "But you still haven't answered my question as to why the camp's in such a mess?" Nico said, a warning in his voice.

Chiron shrugged, "Renovations."

"Renovations?" Nico asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Chiron said with the excited grin of a two-year-old lighting up his face. "The gods decided that the camp could do with a bit of an update so they increased our budget and we sent the campers to stay with the Romans. It's rather exciting, don’t you think?"

Nico seemed to think it over as his eyes flickered around for a few seconds. "Sure." He said finally. "Look, Kimmi and I have run into a little bit of trouble so is it okay if we stay here until we come up with a plan to deal with it?"

"Of course!" Chiron said, "On one condition, though."

"And what's that?" I asked.

He picked up something from the table, "How good are you with a hammer?" He asked, tossing me the tool by the handle.

Notes