Lucas sat alone beside a low-burning candle, its wax slow to drip, its flame barely moving in the windless room, struggling to keep the night at bay. He didn't join the others in the Hestia Cabin. Instead, he chose to move to the Hecate Cabin for the night. He didn't intend to disturb the others with what he was going to do.
Earlier, the final part of sequence six was digested. It wasn't time to sleep. Instead, Lucas used the time alone to check over his tarot card.
On the table before him was that card, the Fool Tarot.
Something was different. Every time Lucas had previously checked the tarot card, the picture on the front remained the same. A typical tarot picture of a fool with a traveler's knapsack slung over his shoulder, but today, something was different. The figure retained the same pose, but this time, it was staring right at Lucas. It was unnerving, seeing no reaction from shaking the card or communication, Lucas took a breath and turned the card over.
At the top of the card was the name of the sequence:
Sequence 5 – The Ringmaster
Lucas exhaled. From what Pan had told him, this was the final sequence where he could be considered a mortal. Having high expectations for the abilities this potion would grant him, he continued reading.
Impressioncraft - Combining the powers of Illusion Creation and Spirit Manipulation, not only are they enhanced, but the Ringmaster can now manipulate the target's mind, implanting illusory thoughts and beliefs.
True Veil Sight - A Ringmaster can see all that is hidden from the sight of the audience. Combining the powers of reading minds and Veil Sight (Enhanced), whether it be seeing through illusions, remnant magic, or Memory, both surface and deep, A ringmaster sees all.
Pseudo Thread-Tugging - The user can see the spiritual threads that compose emotion, will, memory, fear, etc. Subtle tugs on these threads allow momentary shifts in behavior, instinct, or perception. Does not override free will but gently guides it off course.
Some of his abilities even merged during this sequence; fortunately, it was a merger and not a replacement or removal. Illusion creation had been a staple of his fighting style; losing the ability to craft illusions would actually weaken him. Now, he could also implant illusory beliefs and ideas into others; Lucas was ecstatic. This could help sow more chaos and create more opportunities during a battle.
Lucas sat up straighter, reading the required ingredients on the paper one by one.
Potion Ingredients:
The tongue of an Echo-Drakon
Fang of Charybdis
Supplementary Ingredients:
7 feathers given willingly by a siren.
3 millimeters of tears from Argus.
An instrument belonging to a tragic artist.
Lucas froze. He closed his eyes and opened them again, re-checking the ingredients, but there was no change. This was not going to be fun.
An Echo-drakon wasn't just a drakon like Harold; it was far smarter, having been born with the ability to read the minds of its prey; it hunts by preying on their insecurities and weaknesses. Worse still, the last known location of one dates back to ancient Greece. If he needed to get the tongue of one, he needed to search for one.
Worse still was the following requirement: a fang from Charybdis. He had avoided Charybdis every time he entered the Sea of Monsters for a reason; she was terrifying.
From what he understood, Charybdis is able to suck in large amounts of water, like a whirlpool, and then release it in a blast that can destroy everything within a half-mile radius. When pulling in water, she will suck in anything nearby and shred it with her teeth, grinding and slashing everything without mercy. She slept on the seabed and only rose to eat three times a day. Lucas didn't believe he could simply ask for a fang and leave.
The supplementary ingredients were much easier to acquire. He recalled a myth in which the sirens were once handmaidens to Persephone; considering the close relation she had with his mother, Lucas believed he could seek an audience with her and perhaps make a deal for her help in obtaining some.
As for the tears, returning to camp would certainly require him to sneak in and hope not to be caught by Kratos or that Mr. D would be interested in meeting him again, especially after he had told him never to return there again. As for getting Argus to agree to hand over tears? That didn't require him personally; he had some friends from camp, specifically Selena from Aphrodite Cabin, who had a good relationship with Argus; while Argus may find it strange, he would be willing to give some tears to Selena.
That left the final item; while he could steal one from a museum or a collector, it wouldn't sit well with him, so the only idea he had was, while asking Persephone for help with the sirens, maybe he could strike a deal for an instrument from one of the dead.
With his thoughts focused on how he would acquire the materials, he spent the night writing down his plans for the journey, attempting to figure out the fastest and safest ways to gather everything.