Gary
Stretching across Dionysus Revelry are the Vineyard Gardens, where divine grapevines laden with succulent grapes weave with a canopy of greenery. Olympians seeking respite from the fervor of revelry stroll through these enchanted gardens, where the air is filled with the heady aroma of ripe grapes and the subtle memories of the god of wine.
Carole
*Of all the places you can strike . . . Why the vineyard?*

It had been the first question he asked himself before others could do it for him. In the grand scheme of things, the Vineyard Gardens weren't very important. They supplied the cities with wine too expensive for the average person to afford, and they held no strategic significance to the war. Why then, would it be the very first target of Alexios's campaign to strike the gods' pride? 

The answer was simpler than one might imagine. While the vineyard wasn't a military target, it was still valuable. Filled with security, but still not as heavily guarded as other, more important locations. To Alexios, it would be a soft target. A point at which to jump off the cliff and dive right into the deep end of the pool. From there, his targets would become more impactful. More important. 

He couldn't deny that it would also be satisfying to take the gods' fun away. 

For this mission in particular, Alexios didn't need many people. He and Jared were a good enough team to take care of this one their own - he as the blight upon the fields and Jared as the bodyguard and getaway driver. Alexios would be vulnerable when using his power, and he needed someone to fend off attackers should the security be alerted to what they were doing. 

As they drove up and came to a stop near an isolated edge of the field, Alexios turned to look at Jared and give him a pep talk. 

"If you stay near the fence, you'll probably only feel some mild nausea. I should be far enough away that it doesn't have much of an affect on you." He paused, looking around the area for any signs of trouble before turning back to Jared. "Once the field is dead, I'll be in the open so just drive out to pick me up when you see me." 

It was a plan they had both been over several times, but it never hurt to reiterate expectations again.
Joan
Of all the places you can strike . . . Why the vineyard!?

It was the first question Jared asked when Alexios had suggested this ridiculous plan. Jared knew from experience that the wine produced at Dionysus' vineyards was of the absolute highest quality and what the hell had wine ever done to anyone anyway? If anything they should just steal as much wine as they could and distribute it evenly amongst the people. You know. For morale. Alexios hadn't seemed to understand this argument so, naturally, they were gonna destroy the damn vineyard.

Prepping for the mission had been simple enough. The place wasn't exactly Fort Knox and if Jared and Alexios couldn't handle a few rent-a-cops and some grape vines then they should just call this whole rebellion thing off.

The drive up to the vineyard fence had been uneventful, most of the guards were situated around the central buildings and the fence would be more than enough to keep out your average mortal. Too bad that didn't apply to either of them. "Yeah yeah you'll do your weird plant voodoo and I'll pick you up after. I'll make sure nobody messes up that pretty face in the meantime." He smiled and blew Alexios a kiss as his friend got out of the car. 

As Alexios disappeared into the rows of grapes Jared turned up the radio and began to follow the fence around to the front to the property. This wasn't part of the plan but Jared just couldn't resist grabbing some of the good stuff while they were here. The price was about to skyrocket after all. 

As he approached the guard post he reached into the back seat and produced a briefcase that he had brought along for just this occasion. He dropped it onto the passenger seat and focused on the contents for a moment. He didn't bother opening the case, he was confident that it was now full to the brim with good ole American currency.

When he pulled up to the security checkpoint a rather surprised looking guard approached the window. "You lost friend?" Jared smiled at him and t

Urned the radio down. "No I'm right where I need to be. Just got a little work I need to get done before the boss gets here in the morning." The guard didn't look convinced.

"I'm gonna need to see your pass key." The guard said, reaching towards his radio. "Oh silly me. I got it right here." 

He grabbed the case and revealed its contents to the guard. "I think you'll find that everything's in order.
Carole
Jokes and banter were always Jared's style - something that Alexios appreciated because it balanced out his own seriousness and brought much-needed levity in a lot of serious situations. While he might not have had much of a reaction, there was still plenty of amusement lurking underneath his stoic expression - some of which slipped out when people least expected it. His lips twitched at Jared's voodoo comment, but he gave him an eye roll when the kiss was blown, and took that as his cue to get out of the car. 

"Give me ten minutes," He said through the open window. "You'll know when I'm done." The vines would be dead and drooping enough to reveal anything - or in this case, any*One* - standing in the middle. It would be easy to see who the culprit was, and a quick escape would be needed.

Patting the top of the car, Alexios stepped away and turned to focus on the task at hand. He hopped the fence and disappeared among the vineyard, surrounding himself with plant life. He could feel the growth below his fingertips, his skin tingling each time a vine grazed his skin as if begging to be given his power - the power of new, healthy growth. Unfortunately, the vineyards wouldn't be getting the best treatment that morning.

Purposeful steps took Alexios to the center of the gardens where he stopped and took a deep breath. Blight on this scale would take a lot of his energy, so he was depending heavily on Jared to be back in time. 

Maybe he should have brought Esmeray along instead. 

With one last look around - checking to make sure there were no innocent bystanders caught in the wake of his great and terrible power - he closed his eyes and released his blight. The attack moved like clear ripples in the sky, and it appeared as if a strong gust of wind washed over the garden. Plants blew outward in all directions, shaking as if terrified of their fate. In seconds, the garden started dying - every plant, flower, leaf, stem, and root began to brown and shrivel before dropping flat on the ground. Soon, the entirety of the gardens was a barren field of dead vines, and Alexios stood alone at the center. 

There were shouts in the distance as guards became aware of the treachery. One even broke away from the building and began to charge at Alexios, brandishing what looked like some kind of baton. Exhausted, temporarily mortal, but still standing, Alexios braced himself for a fight, putting up his fists.
Joan
The guard took the case full of money with shaking hands. He looked up at Jared in awe and the demigod just gave him a wide grin. "Make sure you spend it quick. Never know what could happen if you wait too long." The guard just nodded and hit the button to raise the automated bar that was blocking Jared's path.

He hit the gas and drove past the main building and straight towards the storage areas in the rear where he knew they would be storing the barrels while they aged. He pulled right up to the front door and hopped out, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Alexios hadn't finished killing all those innocent grapes just yet.

Satisfied that he had at least a few minutes left he reached for the door and yanked it with enough force to break the lock that had been holding it closed. "Heeeeeere's Jared!" He was disappointed that there was no one around to marvel at his wit. 

He walked inside and made his way over to the closest rack of barrels. He pulled one down, his demigod strength making the act seem much easier than it should have been, and laid it on its side. Then he grabbed another and, using his foot to roll the first one, started making his way back towards the car. He managed to jam one in the back seat, fully blocking his view through the back windshield, and was using bungee cords to hold the trunk down since it couldn't close over the second one he had stuffed back there when he heard the first shouts. 

He looked up and realized that Alexios was definitely done and that the on site security seemed a little miffed. Confident that his prize was stable enough he jumped into the car and started speeding towards his friend. As he sped past the guards on foot he saw that one of them was running at Alexios with a baton and he turned on the headlights which blinded him for a moment and caused him to stumble. Then Jared ran him over.

He slid the car to a stop and shouted at Alexios through the open window. "Get in loser! We're going drinking!"

||<
Carole
It was times like this when Conner wondered why he brought Jared along with him anywhere. Standing in the middle of the dead vineyard, alone, it was obvious who the culprit was and his friend was nowhere to be seen. As a demigod, Conner could have easily taken out a few guards, but as a temporary mortal, he might have been able to take on one at a time. Unfortunately, there were three running his way. 

He was just about to turn away and run in the opposite direction, but a flash of headlights silhouetted his frame, and he realized who was driving up behind him. Relieved but also somewhat annoyed, Conner turned and held up his arm to block the bright lights from blinding him. That's when he saw Jared run over one of the guards. 

"Are you—fucking kidding me?" Conner rarely cussed but it sprung from his mouth as he rushed toward the now injured guard who was screaming in pain and rolling around on the ground. He could hear Jared shouting from the car, but he ignored him in favor of reaching the man and kneeling at his side. 

The guard recoiled away from Conner, who refused to allow him to get too far by placing his hands on his uninjured shoulders. The man's leg was twisted in the wrong direction, and there was an obvious bump in his spine that wasn't supposed to be there, so he didn't have a choice but to lay there and let Conner help him. 

"Easy, this will only take a second." Behind him, the other two guards were getting closer, but Conner ignored them in favor of using his other ability. He felt around for the injuries and closed his eyes, absorbing the pain onto himself as a faint, glowing white light appeared under his palms. The guard watched with fear in his eyes, until he realized that his injuries were healing. 

Conner finished as he became lightheaded, crying out in pain from feeling the man's broken bones as if they were his own. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed on the ground in pain and exhaustion.