A/N Sorry this took so long but this story isn't my first priority, and for a while I was also busy with my college courses. I got some inspiration to work on this the other day when I was rereading some other Pjo inheritance cycle croosovers. This chapter is a bit longer than the last one so enjoy.

Percy's Point of view

Once I got up in the morning I decided it would be a good idea to try and practice with the bow I'd found. I guessed that I would need a weapon considering that I'd already come across Roran and I would probably come across more people soon enough, especially since I was planning on going to the nearby village to get supplies and possible advice on what I should do now.

I picked up the bow, strung it, and aimed for a nearby tree. I obviously wasn't expecting to hit it on the first try since I've never been very good at archery but until I can maybe get some other weapon I'm stuck with the bow for now. Regardless of my doubts I pulled back the string and double checked my aim before letting the arrow fly. As I'd suspected I missed, but I supposed I would just have to keep trying since I didn't have any other weapons to use.

I practiced for a while trying to remember everything Chiron had told me during my training at camp. As you might expect I wasn't really making progress since I just continued to miss the tree that was my target. Just when I was going to call it quits for now I heard someone say that I was holding the bow wrong and suggested how to do it properly.

My best guess was that it was Roran and that he must have decided to trust me since I doubted he would be giving me pointers otherwise. I did what he suggested and tried again, once again I failed to hit the tree, but my shot did come closer that time. Roran asked, "Shouldn't you already know how to use a bow if you've been living in the spine,"

I could see his point and quickly came up with an explanation that wasn't a complete lie. I turned to face him and replied, "My family tried to teach me but for whatever reason I just couldn't get it. I haven't been on my own for very long and I'm still trying, but I'm not making much progress. I've mainly been living off other food like plants or fish," The first part of my excuse wasn't a complete lie since Chiron was like a second father to me before everyone turned on me and some of the Apollo kids had also tried to help me but no matter what I just hadn't been able to learn how to use a bow and arrows. It was also true that I hadn't been on my own for very long since I'd only been sent to Alegasia the day before. Obviously, the part about me relying on plants or fish for food weren't true because I would never eat fish since I could talk to them due to my dad being Poseidon.

Maybe I would tell Roran more of the truth eventually once I get to know him better but for now I'll tell him what I can and lie when I have to. I wanted to know more about Roran including why he was in the mountains in the first place. I also thought that maybe since I seemed to have earned his trust he might tell me, but I wasn't sure.

Regardless he seemed to accept my excuse and I decided to ask him a question. I asked, "Why are you out here in the mountains? Most people don't come out here,"

I'd guessed that people usually avoid the mountains since there weren't any other people there, and how Roran had reacted when I told him the story I'd been given about why I was there. After I asked him why he was there he seemed to hesitate before finally admitting that he was from the village which he said was called Carvahall and that he was hiding since the king had sent soldiers as well as two creatures known as the Razac to capture him.

That was why he'd asked if the Empire had sent me. He explained that he hadn't committed any crimes and he thought it might have something to do with his cousin who had left the village a year earlier. He also admitted that he was thinking about returning since one person had already been killed by the soldiers and more had probably been hurt if not killed by the fire.

After that, we continued to talk and told each other a bit more about ourselves although I did have to lie occasionally when he asked questions about my past since I kind of doubted he would believe the truth even if I told him. Thankfully I think he realized that I didn't like talking about my past so he changed the subject. Since we seemed to be getting along, I asked him if he'd help me out more with Archery, we had nothing better to do since it was clear now that I should have some kind of weapon when I head to Carvahall, and he wasn't sure yet whether he was going to go back there or wait a little longer.

Roran told me that someone would probably come sooner or later to tell him news about what had been going on in Carvahall so when someone came walking toward us later that day I wasn't too concerned. The only thing that was kind of concerning was that I could see that the guy had a grim expression, so I wondered if something else had happened besides the fire.

The guy looked confused when he saw me so when he got to us Roran introduced us and explained how he and I had met. When he heard the story I'd told Roran to hide my past the guy, whose name was Albriech, was shocked but then again I now understood that most people stay out of the mountains, they certainly don't go to live in them. Despite that Albriech seemed to trust Roran's judgment and finally started to say what he'd come to tell Roran.

The first thing he said was, "Come with me,"

After he said that Roran tensed and asked, "Why?" Have they decided to give me up?

Albriech replied, "Because it was the soldiers who started the fire. Morn banned them from the Seven Sheaves, but they still got drunk on their own beer. One of them dropped a torch against the hay barn on his way to bed."

"Was anyone hurt?" 

 "A few burns. Gertrude was able to handle them. We tried to negotiate with the Ra'zac. They spat on our requests that the Empire replace our losses and the guilty face justice. They even refused to confine the soldiers to the tents."

"So why should I return?" Asked Roran.

Albriech chuckled hollowly. "For hammer and tongs. We need your help to . . . remove the Ra'zac."

"You would do that for me?" Roran said, sounding surprised.

Albriech answered, "We're not risking ourselves for your sake alone. This concerns the entire village now. At least come talk to Father and the others and hear their thoughts . . . I'd think you would be glad to get out of these cursed mountains."

I could tell that Roran was considering Albriech's plan, so I started to think about what I was going to do next. Roran, and Now Albriech were the only people I knew in Alegasia so I thought that if Roran decided to return to Carvahall I might go with them. When it came to Roran's situation I sided with him since it seemed like he hadn't done anything to deserve what was happening to him, and the other villagers didn't deserve it any more than he did.

It also seemed like most of the villagers probably didn't have much experience with weapons since it sounded like they were either farmers or worked in some kind of trade. Due to that, I thought they could probably use my help since I'd been training with various weapons since I was twelve and the only one I hadn't really been able to get the hang of was archery. Even though I honestly would have preferred to not get involved in more battles I couldn't just sit back and do nothing when people might die. Sure, I barely knew these people but that didn't stop me from wanting to help them.

Roran eventually decided to return to Carvahall with Albriech and by then I'd also made my decision. I told them, "I'll help you,  I'm sure you could still use some more fighters, and although I'm not a very good archer I'm better with the sword and spear,"

 I knew I might come to regret my decision, but like I already said I couldn't just sit back and do nothing when I would probably be able to help. Both Roran and Albriech seemed stunned by my offering help, they might have also been slightly suspicious. Due to that, I said, "Don't you think if I was here to capture you I would have tried to do it already,"

They had to admit that I had a point, so they dropped their suspicions for the moment and started to tell me about some of the other villagers and where exactly we'd be going. After that Roran fetched the mare that I'd seen him brushing the day before. He tied his bags to the saddle, then we both followed Albriech toward the valley floor. As we got closer to Carvahall we had to use trees and brush for cover. Slipping behind a rain barrel, Albriech checked to see if the streets were clear, then signaled to Roran and me. Together we crept from shadow to shade, constantly on guard for the Empire's servants.

Once we finally reached Horst's forge, Albriech opened one of the double doors just far enough for Roran and the mare to quietly enter. I was told to wait until after they had told the other villagers about me since they thought that some of them might not be as quick to trust me as they had. I guess I could understand why since I was a complete stranger and I doubted my story about living in the spine would sit well with some of them either.

Despite that Albriech and Roran thought they would be able to convince them to accept my help despite that since they would probably need any help they could get. The only thing that bothered me slightly was that I was used to fighting monsters or gods, not other people. Any time I'd fought demigods who had turned on us I would do my best to avoid killing them and instead just injure them, so they could no longer fight, or I would knock them out.

Despite all that I had a bad feeling that I would end up having to kill while I'm here even if I was just defending myself. I did my best to shove those thoughts aside since I knew that either Roran or Albriech would probably come looking for me soon, so I could meet the other villagers. I hadn't fully realized what I'd gotten myself into by agreeing to Help Roran, but even if I hadn't agreed to help him I probably would have had to fight eventually since Alegasia would soon be in the middle of a war. Well, that and the fact that I seem to have terrible luck. I wasn't sure what it was, but the fates just seem to hate me for some reason, and half the time my life is like a living Tartarus. I would prefer it if they would just give me a break for once, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen.