Chapter 8

The others allowed Poseidon time to compose himself, pointedly watching the portal as it showed the group's stay in the Elvin city and then their trip down the river. There was talk about how Boromir was getting suspicious and bets were taken on when he would crack. Zeus was trying to defend the young man, especially as he looked so similar to himself but no one else was buying it.

When the portal shifted to show a lone tower surrounded by destruction they grew quiet again. It seemed the white wizard, Saruman was finally showing his true allegiance. They watched as he ordered orcs to do his bidding, wondering just what he was up to.

When the first creature emerged from the muddy ground they knew.

"YES! YES," Ares cheered brightly. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Are you mad? Those things are being sent after Percia," Triton bellowed at the war god.

"The punk needs a challenge. Those orcs were WAY too easy. Now we'll see some real action," he happily crowed. "And given the number that wizard is creating, there's bound to be an actual battle! Tartarus, it seems like ages since I've witnessed an honest battle! Oh this will be so good!"

Many rolled their eyes at the war god, except those who were associated with his godhood. They also seemed to shake with anticipation for the battles to come. Amphitrite was whispering quickly into Poseidon's ear trying to keep him calm. Already many were feeling the pressure of the waves rising. It wouldn't do for him to start wiping out ships or even whole cities in his worry.

Thalia looked to Nico in worry, but her cousin actually seemed bored. "Hey, death breath, why aren't you worried," she hissed at him.

"Because I know Percia can handle them. After what she's faced here, some orcs on steroids aren't going to phase her," he reminded his cousin in a bored fashion. "They don't even have any special powers, they're just bigger than those orcs. Don't seem much brighter either."

The girl paused thinking over what he said. It was true they did seem more intimidating than the orcs, mainly because of their muscular bodies. They likely had more strength and probably more speed, but other than that Nico had a point. The beasts really didn't have anything major that would phase their cousin.

"You're right," she finally agreed, ignoring the smug smirk he sent her. "We'll need to see how they fight before we can really bother getting worried."

It didn't take long. Soon they watched as Boromir tried to take the ring, Bilbo was running away and the others were battling the newest evil of Arda. There were many cheers during the fight, especially from the war gods. They really did love a good old-fashioned battle. Others not so much. Aphrodite was heard multiple times complaining about how gross and icky the black blood was. In the end it was over fairly quickly, not that the fact was too surprising. Media may make battles seem like long drawn out things, but in reality they lasted maybe an hour or so on an open field, longer if a siege was involved.

Sadly the Fellowship was now split. Bilbo had gone on his own to finish his portion, the twins were taken by the enemy and Boromir was near dead. The foolish human was lucky Percia was so strong at healing, though he would not be able to follow them any further.

"See he HAS redeeming qualities," Zeus argued to the others as the man was being healed.

"Of course dear," Hera humored him, causing the King of the Gods to pout.

They all got a good laugh when Percia started making up her own song lyrics. Apollo acted offended but they saw him writing the words down to play with later. Hermes was just cackling the whole time.

When the horse lords came into play most of them were confused, however Poseidon, Triton and Tyson were in hysterics over what they could not hear. Many of them had no idea what they were laughing about until Percia started speaking to the horses directly.

"Right… you're the Horse Lord here, so your offspring can understand all equines," Hades murmured thoughtfully. "I could see where that would be useful…"

"I could have used that with some of the cavalries in the past," Ares grumbled. "Would have made a more cohesive unit."

"Who cares about that," Aphrodite huffed. "Are you not seeing the way that Eomer is all over Percia?"

"He does seem a very interested," Cupid mused. "Not a bad choice either. He is rather handsome."

"You are such a narcissist," Strife teased, rolling his eyes at his lover.

"Oooo, Elf boy is jealous," Hermes howled as they watched Legolas glaring at the man.

"I hope the twins are okay," Tyson stated worriedly. "I liked them. They are funny, like the Stolls…"

"I'm sure they're fine big guy," Hermes assured the cyclopes. "Like my boys they're scrappy and can get out of tight spots."

Many of the gods were nodding in agreement. They had all come to like the two precocious Hobbits and their ability to cheer people up with laughter. So when the scene changed to the burning corpses of Uruks they were please Aragorn was able to find their trail leading into the forest instead of to bodies.

"Yeah but what happened to them," Strife asked, only to blink when the portal swirled and shifted to a darker setting showing how the twins were able to escape their captors into the woods. However, one of the orcs managed to follow threatening the twins. It was a surprise to see a giant tree coming to life and squashing the monster.

"Uh… do we have any of those here?" Several eyes turned to Demeter.

"No," she informed them wryly. "Though, it might make for some good fun in the areas where illegal logging is going on…" She shared a rather evil look with her daughter, both clearly liking the idea.

Hestia giggled when she saw the rest of her family giving her sister worried looks. It was so nice to see the family not only getting along but learning about each other.

The portal switched back to Percia just in time to reveal the new white wizard, Gandalf.

Ares was practically vibrating with excitement by the time they made it to Edoras.

"Will you stop," Artemis growled.

"How can you not be excited," Ares snapped back. "The man just said war is coming! That means battle and carnage and fighting and blood!"

The goddess of the hunt rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes we know how happy you are about this. Now settle down, you're acting like a chipmunk hyped on sugar."

The two glared at each other before they were interrupted by the magic battle Gandalf was waging to save this King. They watched as the man was released from the spell the evil wizard had placed. They saw the slimy little ferret get his due, however many agreed Aragorn should have let the king kill the man.

"That's going to bite them in the ass," Nico muttered, Thalia nodding in agreement next to him.

It was sad watching the king discover his only son had been killed while he was trapped in his own mind. All of those with children felt the sting of such pain. Even the more absent of parents among the gods still cared in some way for their offspring. So they could empathize with the old King.

"I told you," Ares gloated when they learned of the large army of Uruks marching on Rohan.

"Yes, yes," Athena scoffed. "Because no one saw it coming."

They had to wonder what the king would decide to do. This was not an easy decision by far, but he had to do something. The enemy was coming.

XOXOXO