CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN

Master and Apprentice, Part 2

Minutes later and Sam moved sluggishly through a raised wooden walkway that offered an impressive view of a sea of trees to either side of him. On the right stood a mountain whose snow-capped peak rose to touch the clouds.

“Where am I?” he wondered.

The sounds of forest animals reached his ears while the scent of fresh pine wafted up to where he idled.

“I’m in the wilds again,” he realized. Then he frowned. “Nothing good ever happens to me in the wilds.”

Although this was indeed true, Sam’s mind flashed back to the many times he’d almost died inside an urban area as well, causing him to smile sheepishly at his previous comment.

“I guess it doesn’t matter where I am… I’m always in danger,” he sighed. “Yeah, Sam, save the girl save the world... Go back to being a hero so immortal sorceresses and psychotic demigods can try to kill you all the time. Best job ever.”

The walkway ended in a spiral ramp that led down to the forest floor and into Chiron’s backyard. It was unlike any backyard Sam had ever seen before though.

What was basically an obstacle course that might have been a set piece for American Ninja Warrior covered the expansive space that had been cleared of the tall pines. However, unlike that television show that Sam liked to binge on his couch, the training grounds in front of him didn’t seem shy about maiming or bludgeoning anyone brave enough to attempt it. Hanging knives, axes, swords, mid-sized iron balls, large-sized steel balls covered in spikes, and even a fiery lava bed were just a few of the obstacles that he could see from where he stood.

“This is...” Sam’s eyes widened some more. “...insanity mode.”

In a pretty telling way, Chiron lounged beside the entrance of this obstacle course. His right hoof tapped impatiently on the floor.

“I built the first version of this thing when Hercules needed to train for his twelve labors,” Chiron explained. “This was back in the days before you heroes and your unions whined about overwork, overtime, and grievous physical injury settlements.”

Sam could see a slightly wistful expression on the centaur’s face, a face that was neither old nor young but seemed to hold a great deal of experience in its weathered look.

“Achilles held the record for finishing the course for about two thousand years before the little French girl, Joan, took the top spot.” Chiron glanced over at Sam with a teasing grin and added, “Then Thunder took up this challenge about two years ago and she blows Joan’s record out of the water... Thunder was the real deal...but then she had to get hurt so bad she needed to make you an Argonaut.”

Chiron crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze taking the length and breadth of Sam.

“I’ll be honest, kid, I didn’t think much of you when we first met,” Chiron admitted, “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you’ve proven me wrong. You’re making me a believer, and that means you’re ready for the Tribulator.”

“Um, and when you say Tribulator, you actually mean—”

Chiron pointed a thumb at the course behind him. “That’s the Tribulator.”

Sam was afraid of that.

“I, uh, appreciate the sentiment,” Sam walked cautiously to his master’s side, “but I don’t think I have time for, um, the Tribulator... I need to catch up to the Argo—”

“You’re not ready to continue the mission,” Chiron cut in. “I’m sidelining you until I’m sure you won’t die the next time you face off against Medea or Apex or the Trickster or any of the dozen other bastards Chimera can conjure up.”

“But Chimera’s—”

“No closer to finding the fleece anymore than your team is,” Chiron interrupted again.

Sam’s master tapped a finger on the air like he was pressing an invisible switch, an act Sam was now intimately familiar with. A moment later and a blue notification window appeared in front of Sam. On it was an image of a round object floating in the air.

“No freaking way,” Sam breathed.

“You’re allowed to tell me I’m awesome, kid,” Chiron chuckled.

“You took a snapshot of the Norn Coin,” Sam said, sounding very impressed.

“I hate stories that could have been easily resolved without all the running around if the protagonist just remembered to turn on the record feature of whatever reliable tool he was working with,” Chiron chuckled. “Luckily, I managed it before Medea could break our connection, but you could have done it too if you just bothered to read up on Triple-A’s training manual.”

Sam was pretty sure Chiron had just chided him for not knowing how to properly make use of Triple-A’s system, and he guessed this might be the reason his master had disabled it temporarily.

“Triple-A doesn’t have a training manual,” Sam reminded Chiron.

Chiron’s grin widened. “It does now.”

He snapped his fingers, and a new notification window popped up on Sam’s right. A quick inspection of it revealed this window to be a new option in Sam’s menu; [TUTORIAL].

“You can’t punish me for not reading something you probably just created today,” Sam reasoned.

“I’m the master here, apprentice… I can do whatever I want as long as it helps in your growth,” Chiron chuckled. “Now, do you want to keep whining or do you want me to share this clue with you?”

Sam sighed. “Show me the clue…”

Chiron pinched the air with his fingers so that the picture on the screen would zoom in and Sam could read what was written on it.

Through Golden bands that stretch across Poseidon’s domain

Sleeps the grand treasure only the worthy can attain

We left it there in the blessed folds of War’s embrace

Protected by the guardian of Colchis one must face

Yet to open its bright Gates one requires the keys

Found in the Tribulation hidden among the trees

“Tribulation hidden among the trees,” Sam recited. “Oh, no...”

His gaze drifted toward the obstacle course.

“You’re kidding me,” Sam breathed.

“I told you, kid, no one’s any closer to finding that fleece... Not unless they come to see me first,” Chiron chuckled.

“You... you...” Sam was flabbergasted. “…you knew where the Golden Fleece was this whole time?!”

“Yes, and no... I didn’t know the exact location of the Golden Fleece—Raven Knight likes to hedge his bets—but I was given the means to unlock the passage to it as well as the choice of passing it on to someone worthy of the secret, meaning whoever found the clue that led to me,” Chiron admitted.

“Then you could have given it to us already or at least told us about it and not sit in the woods while we risked our lives out there,” Sam complained. “You know how much she needs it...”

Chiron’s face darkened. He seemed genuinely hurt by Sam’s accusation, and he shuffled uncomfortably in place. “I want to help Thunder just as much as you do, kid, but I couldn’t tell you... I’m bound by the oaths I gave your predecessors...”

Seeing his master’s pained expression, Sam suddenly felt like the biggest jerk in the world.

“I...yeah, I get it,” Sam sighed. “The journey is as equally important as the destination...”

He’d once heard a priestess of Zeus say those exact words during a sermon about why the gods give mortals such difficult challenges, which Sam assumed was the very definition of this mission he was on. Not that he believed this excuse, but it was his way of making amends with Chiron.

“So... you’re not sidelining me?” Sam guessed.

“You won’t be fighting any Chimera assault troopers for a while,” Chiron replied. “So let’s make a deal.”

The centaur pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

“The key everyone’s looking for right now can be found in a chest at the end of the Tribulator... You go get it and I’ll send you to where the Argo VII is so you can finish this mission and save our girl,” Chiron explained.

“Didn’t Thunder do this already...why didn’t she get the key then?” Sam asked.

“She wasn’t looking for it then,” Chiron answered. “And there’s a trick to getting this specific reward.”

Chiron patted the fence that blocked entry into the Tribulator’s course.

“A key blessed by War requires one who can truly prove himself a master at warfare,” Chiron recited, “Meaning you’ll have to exit the Tribulator with zero injuries... Not even Achilles could do that, and he was invulnerable in all but one spot...that blasted heel of his.”

“Styx,” Sam cursed. “It is insanity mode.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Chiron whinnied.

“And what’s stopping me from just going around this thing to get to the end of it?” Sam challenged.

“It’s enchanted, duh,” Chiron replied. “You only get the treasure if you complete the trial.”

Chiron slammed his palm against the fence, causing it to swing outward in such a creaky manner that Sam imagined the door to a haunted house was slowly opening up for him.

“Unlike their successors, the crew of the Argo VI had some pretty smart people in their group,” Chiron whinnied, “They left their key with me knowing I would keep it safe for as long as I could.”

It was Chiron’s choice of words that made Sam’s brow crease.

“But that means...” Sam gulped. “Holy Zeus, Chiron—”

“Yeah, you’ve guessed it, kid.” Chiron moved his hand toward the now open path, inviting Sam to cross through it. “You don’t have much time before the bad guys find us.”