“Hephaestus glowered up at us. “I didn’t make you, did I?”Uh,” Annabeth said, “no, sir.”Good,” the god grumbled. “Shoddy workmanship.”

“Okay," Annabeth said. "What exactly do you smell?""Something bad," Tyson answered."Great," Annabeth grumbled. "That clears it up.”

“This is Annabeth,” Jason said. “Uh, normally she doesn't judo-flip people.”

“I didn’t feel that I had any good qualities. Or rather, none were good enough. Nothing I did or said was good enough, but I couldn’t make anyone understand the way I felt.”

“How can you protect yourself by carrying a sword if you don’t know how to use it?’Not me, sir. Other people. They see the sword and don’t attack me,’ said Maladict patiently.Yes, but if they did, lad, you wouldn’t be any good with it,’ said the sergeant.No, sir. I’d probably settle for just ripping their heads off, sir. That’s what I mean by protection, sir. Theirs, not mine. And I’d get hell from the League if I did that, sir.”

“I didn’t think Joe was that desperate,” one of the men grumbled.“I’m not,” Joe said, walking past him. “I lost a bet.”