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[ it takes luke by surprise; it's obvious in the way he pauses to place back a weapon he'd picked up in the armoury. he's usually a guy who doesn't like to be taken by surprise, but he'd underestimated nico and his apparent affection for him. ] Really? [ luke had thought the fight with clarisse would've split the group in two — three of them together with him standing by himself. ] Even after all that crap with Clarisse?

Clarisse and I have differing opinions. You were recognized as a true hero and attained Elysium. It might not erase what you did, but it's enough for me.

[Not to mention, he understands grudges and at least a little of why Luke did what he did.]

[ it's enough for me. this kid really makes it difficult to be indifferent to him. luke still doesn't think himself worthy of elysium, but, if in the eyes of the child of hades who knows these underworlds inside out deems being able to attain elysium as a manner of atoning, then who is he to argue? ]

[ he seems to be silent, as if he's about to argue, but he perks up. ] Where are we going?

[Looks like the traveling trio is still together!]

The Plains of Cathraon is the first stop. Supposedly, many wars were waged on the plains. It's mostly avoided out of deference to the fallen, but we might want to get to know the terrain. It should be safe enough as long as nobody angers a bear. I don't think we'll be staying there long, though.

[He frowns slightly.]

The other place is the Pool of Souls. It's supposedly a place of healing maintained by dryads and naiads.

Sounds like a lot of death to me. [ which shouldn't surprise him, since nico's the kid of death. but luke's finding it's hitting a little too close to home — the land of the fallen and a place of healing. ] As long as the bear stays in its cave, I think we'll be fine.

[ either way, it's an excuse to go out and do something. luke's not going to complain about the choice of terrain they cover; it'd be good, knowing the layout of the land, rather than running blindly into it when there's no time to check it for deathtraps and killer worms. as casually as one can be casual: ] Grace is coming?

You'd be hard-pressed to find anything around here that isn't haunted. Also, I've been meaning to ask: how good is your sense of navigation?

[Nico assumes better than average from a child of Hermes, but hey. He can be proven wrong.]

He says he is.

Is Clarisse? [ he has a feeling if she is, his sense of navigation is going to be off, since his temper seems to cancel out almost anything. ]

I found my way through the labyrinth all right. [ is that comforting? luke doesn't think much on the labyrinth right now, of how chris had become lost, and how things had begun to tip against him. he'd been so lost, even when he'd been able to navigate his way through that maze. but as the son of travelling, he thinks he's got a decent sense of navigation — isn't that what helped him all those years while on the run? ] The String helped, but I'd say it's pretty good.

Nope. She's even less of a team player than I am, and that's saying a lot.

[Plus, you know, Nico thinks that they need time and distance apart after all that happened. He isn't going to say that aloud, though. He has tact when he wants it.

The son of Hades nods at this, frowning a little in thought.]

There's a place I came across while doing some research. It's called the Land of Desolation. Apparently, when people enter there, compasses go haywire, the landscape looks generally the same, and the sky is obscured by smog. No stars, moon, or sun can penetrate it. I don't know if it's bad enough to confuse my shadow travel ability, but it's enough to make even the lockets shut down. We could avoid that place if it's too risky, or we could try navigating it. Problem is that trying might just kill us.

[ it's a relief nico's not going to try and play peacekeeper between the two of them. luke doesn't trust clarisse to not put her spear in his back if they'd been left alone in tight quarters. another boy's trip — even though luke feels as though it's going to be awkward as hell, he figures it's better than lingering around caer glaem with the child of war fuming over him. ]

Kill us how? [ monsters. luke's not too worried about losing all sense of direction when it comes to their equipment. he figures he'll be able to figure out a route, even if it means taking a few wrong turns at first. ] I get you're the kid of death himself, but I've just bounced back from having to wait in line for my ticket to Elysium. I'm not too keen on going back down there.

[ even though he's worried, he has backbiter now. nico and jason have their weapons, and luke is no longer a liability, a child they need to babysit and watch out for when they're too spent and exhausted from battling the creatures that have tried to tear them limb from limb. ]

It isn't monsters we have to worry about in that place. It's more that we'd have to be very careful about our food and water supplies. Nothing is alive in that place, so we'd most likely die of starvation or dehydration, if not both.

[He shakes his head.]

The place is a dumping ground to put your enemies into, from what I've read. They'd put their enemies into that place, and then leave them there to wander around until they wither away to nothing.

[ monsters he can deal with. everything dying since nothing lives there? he's not quite sure where the appeal is. maybe he needs to be a child of hades to get it. even though he can see why they might want to go down there, he doesn't know why they'd want to risk it. luke can navigate, but if he's dying while navigating ... he's not too sure even his natural sense of direction will help them out there. ]

[ luke's brows furrow. ] And you want to go there just for the hell of it?

Oh, gods, no. I'd rather avoid that place at all costs. However, I'm not the only one in on this trek through the Drabwurld. I thought I'd run it by you first since you are the best navigator out of the three of us.

[Heck, if Luke doesn't want to do it, then Nico doubly doesn't want to do it. He's gone so far as to mark these places on his map so that he knows to keep his distance from them.]

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