Intro: Any Good Quest Begins With Swedish Fish

Dear Grover,

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking. "Percy, how could you go on a quest without me?"

Well, if it's any comfort, you should know that I didn't go on purpose. Don't worry, I can hear you again, my satyr friend: "how can anyone accidentally go on a quest?"

I'm glad you asked.

Now that we've defeated Kronos and saved the world from certain doom, I was planning on spending the school year back in the "real" world again, at Goode High School instead of Camp Half-Blood with the other demigods. Being a sophomore sounded intimidating, but it couldn't be worse than battling monsters and Titans, right?

So I was racing Annabeth to the vans--can you believe she's my girl now??--ready to leave the camp and drive back to New York for some boring months of being a regular kid again, when something sparkling in the water of Long Island Sound caught my eye. Fortunately, the road we were running on was parallel to the body of water, because the figure in the water was small enough that I might have missed it if the road didn't curve with the water. But he had surely planned it that way. Even after only a glance, I knew someone very familiar was waiting in the water for me.

"Annabeth!" I yelled, quickly taking a hard right to leave the road. I plunged through a brief stretch of small bushes, nearly tripping over a tree branch--which I totally would have jumped over gracefully if I hadn't been distracted--making my way the whole time to the sand at the edge of Long Island Sound.

When I got to the water, my father, Poseidon, hadn't moved. Although he was standing in the water up to his knees, I could still make out his trademark sandals, and honestly, I don't think I'd recognize him if he weren't wearing that Hawaiian shirt as always.

Annabeth skidded to a halt in the sand behind me. "What's going on?" she asked, looking from me to Poseidon and back again.

"Yeah," I said. "What's up? When you said I'd see you again soon, I wasn't expecting this soon!"

For a moment, my dad looked uncomfortable. "I didn't realize I'd have to come so soon either. But we have a problem--er, a quest--that we need the two of you for."

"A quest?" I asked.

"And who's 'we'?" Annabeth added, her hands on her hips.

"Uhh, fine, maybe just me," Poseidon conceded. "But this is important stuff, I promise. I'll have to explain more on the way. For now, all you need to know is there is a Cetus in the Gulf of Mexico that needs someone to put him in his place--he's gotten a little unruly."

I'd heard of this sea monster before: a creature with a greyhound head, a dolphin body, and a whale tail. Pretty much something you'd dream up while wondering what was touching your foot in the lake.

"Why can't you do it?" Annabeth said warily.

"It has to be Percy," Poseidon said without hesitation. "Plus, my schedule is totally booked right now; you would not believe. What do you say? Can you two leave now?"

"Now?" I asked.

As if my question had summoned it, a rowboat rose from the depths and drifted in front of us, like an obedient puppy.

"We're going to the Gulf of Mexico in a rowboat?" Annabeth's voice was skeptical, and I didn't blame her.

"Oh, I'll send a wave to push you the whole way," Poseidon reassured us. "And the Swedish Fish will guide you until you get close."

A school of fish--easily over a hundred of them--rose to the surface of the water, some poking their heads out to stare unblinkingly at Annabeth and me. I'm no expert in fish species, but I wasn't sure what distinguished these little fish from any other grey fish in the ocean, much less what made them Swedish.

"Uhh, I had definitely thought Swedish Fish were those little red gummy candies that swim teams are obsessed with," I said, snickering.

"Hey!" the fish said. "We don't go insulting your heritage!"

"Sorry, sorry," I said quickly.

The fish were still glaring at me--although how they did that without eyelids or eyebrows, I'm still not sure--but Poseidon intervened. "Well? Is that a yes, then? Will you do it?"

When your god parent asks you to do a simple task like sail a rowboat from Long Island Sound to the Gulf of Mexico to tame his uncontrollable aquatic dog-creature-thing, how can you say no? I think even you'd agree with me, Grover!

So, I'm leaving this letter behind for you to find, because I don't want you to worry. Although Annabeth just reminded me that this note will probably make you more worried than anything. Don't follow us--you've already got a lot on your plate right now, buddy. After all, you're on the fancy Council of Cloven Elders now, which sounds like more responsibility than I could ever handle. We'll miss you, but the Swedish Fish are singing their siren song. Anyway, you know how tight the ocean and I are, me being the son of Poseidon and all. Nothing could possibly go wrong!

The Swedish Fish say hi,

Percy Jackson (and Annabeth!)