The Heroes of Olympus, #2
The Son of Neptune
by Rick Riordan
Contents
XI Frank
Overview
Frank leads Hazel and Percy through tunnels to flank the fort during war games. Percy detonates the water cannons, and Frank’s hydra arrow creates a ladder to storm the wall. The trio clear the battlements, Hannibal breaks the gates, and the Fifth finally gains momentum as they push for the banners.
Summary
Frank, uneasy about his usual bad luck yet confident in his plan, follows Hazel through shifting tunnels she seems instinctively able to navigate. Percy lights the way with Riptide as the battle rages above. Frank worries about his fire-tied lifeline but refocuses when Hazel warns him away from a dangerous chunk of sinking platinum.
They emerge near the east wall to find the Fifth Cohort stalled under withering fire while the Third and Fourth mock from a distance. Frank prepares a hydra arrow and asks Percy to handle the water cannons. Percy concentrates, triggering a chain of explosions that shred the battlements’ plumbing, douse the scorpions, and scatter defenders.
Frank fires the hydra arrow; it blossoms into anchored lines and handholds, forming a rope ladder. He leads the climb, rallies the stunned Fifth to attack, and crashes onto the wall like a human battering ram, knocking defenders aside. Hazel joins with her cavalry sword, and Percy arrives with Riptide; together they clear the parapets.
Below, Hannibal smashes through the gates, and the Fifth surges into the fort for close combat. Belatedly, the Third and Fourth charge to contest the banners. Without needing further words, Frank, Hazel, and Percy move as a unit into the enemy base, determined to secure the standards and flip the war game’s outcome.
Who Appears
- Frank ZhangStrategist and point man; fires a hydra arrow ladder, leads the wall assault, rallies the Fifth.
- Percy JacksonUses water control to explode the cannons, then helps clear the battlements with Riptide.
- Hazel LevesqueIntuitively guides them through tunnels; warns about dangerous sinking metals; fights fiercely on the wall.
- HannibalWar elephant who smashes through the fort’s gates, enabling the Fifth’s charge.
- GwenFirst in the Fifth to react; echoes Frank’s attack order and spurs the cohort forward.
- Third and Fourth CohortsInitially mock the Fifth, then join late to contest the banners inside the fort.