Northeastern Valoran was a fertile landscape, covered with marshes, forests, and vast rolling plains. At the heart of it was Bluewind Bay, a vast shimmering pool of perfection. Though it was shallow - only a few hundred feet deep at most - it was a vast bank teeming with fish and wildlife. Yearly migrations of harbour whales spent the spring and summer months porpoising along chasing the shoals of mackerel and herring that called the crystalline waters home. And along the western bank of this beautiful jewel of the north sat the City of Progress itself: Piltover.
Home to the greatest scientists Valoran had to offer, the unique city rose from a particularly large marsh. It was built on a massive hill that overlooked the surrounding swamp and gave a solid base to the unique city. Testament to the innovation and creativity that seemed to overflow from every inch of the city, Piltover Major did not actually rest upon the hill proper. It had been built on a gargantuan pillar of marble and glass that stretched almost three hundred meters into the air and was the best part of two hundred wide. On this pillar sat the Disk of Piltover; the base upon which the entire city was built. Inside the disk itself was the seedier part of town - if that term could even be applied to anything in Piltover. What little criminal element there was in the city tended to reside underground, or on the fringes in the Piltover Outskirts. But above the marble disk was what gave Piltover its moniker.
Around the base of the pillar and the hill itself was what had been dubbed Piltover Minor, or the Outskirts. The buildings here were also made of marble or white stone, but they were more utilitarian than their scientific brethren at the top of the dais. From houses to grocery stores that supplied only the purest and healthiest produce in Valoran littered the streets of Piltover Minor. To make the commute from Minor to Major took only a few minutes, even at rush hour. A series of Gravlifts had been installed at regular intervals along the underside of the dais. These magical lifts ferried people up and down at incredible speed with very little impact on the magical powers of the area. Though vital to the functioning of the city, they were actually a very new addition thanks to an enterprising Yordle inventor.
However, it was not just the vistas and vitality that drew inventors and brilliant minds to Piltover. It was also the vast array of academies in every discipline of science, technology, magic, and some combination thereof. Piltover also boasted a nearly perfect crime record; ever since the Sheriff of Piltover had taken to the streets, crime had fallen to nearly nothing. Not due to violence of the part of the Sheriff, but simply due to the vigilance she afforded the city and the vitae with which she hunted criminals. With only a few gangs that still roamed Piltover Minor, it was rare to find so much as a break in. And lately, the streets had seemed even safer, even after a rather vicious and violent crime spree that had threatened to tear the streets apart.
Each day was rife with its own challenges, though. And today was a rather trying day for both the Sheriff and her Enforcer. After responding to several calls scattered around the city, they had finally decided to close up shop for the day. None of the calls had been even remotely in their jurisdiction, but the Piltover Peace Force had decided to shovel some of their load onto the two private investigators. Though not technically associated with the Piltover Peace Force (a public body that acted as the Piltover police), the Sheriff and the Enforcer worked as an extension of the PPF and the Sheriff was viewed as their leader; an odd title since she never actually joined them nor did she care to hang that label around her neck.
The Enforcer was the first to arrive back at their combination of office and home. Thaumanova Avenue was, luckily, in one of the quieter parts of the city and gave the pair some privacy away from the hustle and bustle of Piltover Major. This had obviously attracted some rumours and whispers around the League; perhaps the two partners were more than friends? And though the Enforcer had long since felt something a bit more towards her partner, she also understood that a relationship was out of the question. Not only because of her mantra - 'don't shit where you eat' - but also because the Sheriff was completely smitten with someone else. Someone who happened to possess something the Enforcer did not.
The Enforcer of Piltover shouldered the front door open and stepped through sideways so her gargantuan hextech gauntlets did not rip the door from its frame. Even when she did not mean to be, she really was a one-girl wrecking crew; a vicious, violent vixen voiding vindication. She was Vi, the Piltover Enforcer. The hextech-powered gauntlets she wore easily weighed several hundred kilograms each, yet a combination of determination and Gravlift technology allowed her to swing them as easily as she would have swung her fists. Segmented in a way that matched human fists, the gauntlets had ports on the first knuckles to vent excess energy into the air - or onto an unfortunate target. Pressure gauges rocked in time with her swings while the brass joints and iron bones of the fists tore massive chunks out of whatever unfortunate target she had decided would be heading home missing some teeth.
Vi herself was surprisingly lithe for someone who swung almost a ton of metal around on a regular basis. Toned beneath her armour, the woman also made sure to distinguish herself from the general riff-raff of the city through her style. Her head was almost shaven on one side, while her neon pink hair on the other was long enough to hide her rounded face. On top of her head she wore a pair of blast goggles, supposedly to give her protection when she was driving full-force through walls, though she only rarely put them on. Full lips, a strong jaw, long swept bangs, and dreadlocks gave her face a solid profile, and yet the silver stud in her nose, the collective rings in her eyebrows and ears, her thin eyebrows and full lashes offset it beautifully. Under her left eye, a large VI tattoo reminded her target who they were dealing with - that was, if they could tear their eyes away from hers. Framed by fair skin and pink hair, Vi's electric blue eyes had often been accused of boring through whoever she was staring at.
Above the collar of her cuirass, several small gear tattoos graced her neck. Her cuirass was tight-fitting and made from a composite metal that she did not understand; one of the Yordles at the Academy of Science assured her it was nearly indestructible and that was all that mattered. A leather half vest hung open around her metal-clad torso and stopped at a large belt around her waist. Metal plates covered her legs down to her knee-high leather boots with thick rubber soles that comfortably arched her feet. Under those plates she wore a pair of flexible synthetic leggings that further accentuated her asset she was most proud of.
But on a day like today, the Enforcer wanted nothing but to climb the staircase to her bedroom, fall flat on her face, and sleep until the next morning. Or preferably through the next day and into the morning after that. Maybe until lunch time. As usual, Vi simply dropped her enormous fists on the floor by the door and felt their weight immediately rise off her shoulders. With a heavy sigh she rubbed the back of her neck and felt it crack, which drew a pained groan while she staggered through the front office of their small house and towards the kitchen. The house had been Caitlyn's since long before Vi had moved in, but the Sheriff had made a few adjustments to make things a bit more comfortable for her Enforcer.
The first floor of their three-story house was the smallest, and simply held all of the work-related things that Caitlyn needed from day to day. Neatly laid out, there was the front desk, where Caitlyn worked, as well as a small bureau filled to the brim with papers. Vi glanced over at the paperwork she would have to fill out and groaned inwardly. Caitlyn was so neat and precise and it grated on her nerves harder than she cared to admit. But that was one of the things that attracted her to Caitlyn in the first place. Attention to detail. Micromanaging. Every day, the Sheriff had everything lined up to the point where she was almost a control freak, yet it helped Vi settle into her routine. After years of living on the outskirts of society, Vi was happy to have just a little structure in her life.
The Enforcer pushed herself up the spiral staircase in the back corner of the house to the second floor. Caitlyn had claimed the second floor as her 'own', but it still held the kitchen, living room, rarely-used dining room, and bathroom. That was one thing Vi missed; having her own bathroom. Though it meant that, more often than not, she managed to see her roommate in various states of undress, something she was not going to complain about. Though, it was nothing more than a tease, which drove Vi up the wall. Her eyes flicked around the kitchen and she realized that there was nothing stewing, which meant it was on her to get food for the evening. Luckily, she had other plans. But first and foremost, a nap. Vi staggered up the last flight of stairs to her floor and barely made it to the bed before she fell forward, mashed her face into the pillow, and fell into unconsciousness.
Shortly thereafter, Vi found herself shaken from her slumber but someone incessantly shaking her shoulder. When Vi's grumbling face finally turned to squint at the light, she realized it was the object of her affections trying to rouse her. "For the love of... Vi, get out of bed you lazy lard!" Caitlyn's accent immediately coursed through Vi's brain and the Enforcer found herself wishing that she could hear Caitlyn whisper sweet nothings into her ear late at night. No matter.
"'m tryin' t'sleep." Vi grumbled and pulled the pillow over her head, only to have it ripped away by Caitlyn's fast fingers.
"I can see that, but it's your turn to make dinner! Get up!" the Sheriff snapped, folding her arms under her breasts. Vi turned to glare at her partner and to stall as long as was possible. Caitlyn had left her hat downstairs, but she was still wearing her uniform. Leather fingerless gloves, a purple corset and short skirt over a white bustier and another frilled skirt. It made Caitlyn's already tall form look even taller and slimmer, while accentuating her bust more than Vi would have liked. Not that she disliked Caitlyn's uniform or her body, she simply found it difficult to keep her mind on the job some days. Caitlyn's thighs had a pair of straps around each of them, holsters for whatever gear she decided to carry that day. And her knee-high leather boots made her even taller. Vi was not small by any stretch of the imagination, but Caitlyn, with her heels and hat, absolutely towered over her. Without the two, she was actually shorter than Vi by a hair's breadth. Her brown locks tumbled forward recklessly and threatened to tickle Vi's nose if Caitlyn got any closer; though if she bent lower, her breasts were threatening to burst out of their confines.
"Five more minutes." Vi grumbled and rolled back over in a feeble attempt to go back to sleep. Instead, Caitlyn decided that she had enough of Vi's attitude.
"You do realize," she began as she grabbed Vi's boots. "That I was out working the beat just as long as you were today. And that I still have to go through your paperwork since you refuse to file properly." Caitlyn pulled with all her might in an attempt to drag Vi from her bed. Vi's immediate retaliation was to lace her arms though the bars on her headboard and cling for dear life.
"Lemme go, Cupcake!" Vi kicked her trapped leg in vain. "I'll get up when I want to!"
"Which will be sometime next week! And you said you would take care of dinner tonight!" Vi blew her bangs from her eyes and finally relented. Caitlyn always complained about how immature Vi could be, but Caitlyn did little to keep herself from sinking down to the level at which Vi operated. When the Enforcer released her bed, she shot backwards and ended up bowling the Sheriff over, ending up on top of her partner. With a smug smirk, Vi sat up, forcing Caitlyn's face into her rump. "Dear gods Vi, move!" Caitlyn flailed once more in an attempt to shove her partner off herself. Above her, Vi made sure she ground down before she finally stood and offered a hand to Caitlyn. The Sheriff took the hand, stood, and slapped Vi with all of her might. "What is wrong with you today!?" Caitlyn snapped.
Vi's hand flashed to her cheek and she rubbed the reddening mark. "Worth." She glanced at her partner and noticed the red in Caitlyn's face and couldn't help but smirk. "Okay, okay, I'm going." The truth was that there was something eating at Vi, but she could not actually admit that to Caitlyn. Not quite yet.
After wandering downstairs to the kitchen, Vi waved the Sheriff off. "Go, take a bath. I'll be done when you're out." At her words, Caitlyn paused and gracefully arched an eyebrow. Not like Vi to offer to take on more responsibility than she absolutely had to. This was cause for concern, but she tried to hide it.
"Alright." Caitlyn did not bother arguing and quickly slipped off to the bathroom. As soon as she heard the water being drawn, Vi fell down into a chair and put her face into her hands. The next week was going to be very trying. So, for the time that Caitlyn was in the shower, Vi tried to get her head around what she had signed herself up for. And how much arguing it would take to get Caitlyn out the door.
The Sheriff took her sweet time in the shower, obviously giving Vi more than enough time to get food ready. When Caitlyn stepped out of the shower wrapped in a towel, she immediately frowned. "I don't smell anything cooking, Vi..." her tone was dry as cardboard and incredibly unimpressed. When she stepped out to see what was going on, she saw Vi spinning an envelope with a completely detached look on her face. Spin tap. Spin tap. Spin tap. Whatever was in that little paper parcel was eating Vi alive. "Vi...?" Her tone immediately became worried and she wandered over before plopping into the chair across from her partner. "Is everything alright?"
As if to confirm her suspicions, Vi jumped in her seat when Caitlyn sat down and startled her from her reverie. She felt her cheeks warming as she nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, zoned out." Caitlyn's face scrunched slightly.
"And what's the truth?"
With a long sigh, Vi slid the envelope over to her boss. "This is for you." She cleared her throat awkwardly and then stood to get a drink of water.
Caitlyn gazed at Vi's back for a very long moment before she finally relented and opened the envelope. "You know rent's not due for another three wee-" and her voice died. Inside, she found naught but a small slip of paper. What she expected was Vi's chicken scratch writing and backwards letters. What she found was fluid, floral strokes made with only the most expensive pens that you could find on Runeterra. For a moment, Caitlyn's mind went blank as she processed what had been written there.
"Look. You've been bustin' your ass the past coupla weeks with this whole Jinx thing. I figured you'd appreciate some time off." Vi kept her voice level, though it was a bit of a struggle. "Talked to some friends out west 'n they said they'd hook ya up. Try to have fun, a'ight Cupcake?" When the Enforcer turned back around, she had managed to bury her emotions once more.
After a long moment, the Sheriff looked up. "But what about the off-"
"I'll handle it. It's just a week." Vi smiled confidently.
Once again, Caitlyn's mind shut down on her. She had long been dreaming about going out to the Seafoam resort on the west coast, but it had been a pipe dream at best. And here Vi had booked - not asked, but actually booked - a weeklong stay at a small hotel. More to the point, the booking was for two, which meant that...
The knock on the door almost caused Caitlyn to jump out of her skin. Vi checked the clock; right on time. "You might wanna get dressed, Cupcake. Don't wanna keep your man waitin'." She teased as she wandered down the stairs to the front door. Caitlyn was, for the first time in a very long time, in a panic. She had just stepped out of the shower, was wrapped in a towel, and at a loss for words. Quick as a flash, she darted to her room to find something to wear.
As she frantically flicked through all of her clothes, Caitlyn paused as she realized that Vi had already packed for her. "I am going to kill her." She muttered through clenched teeth. A dress? No, too formal. Leggings and a blouse? Much too casual. A cry of frustration burst forth before she finally grabbed the nearest thing she could find. Halfway between casual and formal, Caitlyn threw on one of her favourite sundresses. White with a blue and purple paisley pattern and no straps, she found it comfortable, airy, and one of the few that she could get away with wearing in public without too many claims of scandal surfacing. A black belt with golden clamshell clasps cinched under her breasts to keep the dress in place, and after a bit of adjusting and tugging, it even managed to cover half of her thighs.
Another long pause as Caitlyn gnawed on her lip in an attempt to decide if it was too short or not. No, she reasoned, it was fine. It had to be. No time for another change. The Sheriff, feeling particularly nervous, smoothed her dress once more and pushed out into the kitchen. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw Vi leaning against the counter by the sink and... there he was.
"You might wanna turn around, Loverboy." Vi teased. And sure enough, he did turn. At that moment, Caitlyn wished she could sink through the floor.
"Oh wow, Cait, you look..." he lost his voice after a moment and then simply shook his head. "Wow." Jayce. The hero of Piltover. It was hard to recognize him without his Mercury Cannon and his typical armour, but Caitlyn would never be able to forget his face. Chiseled features, a strong jaw, and neatly kept hair made him look handsome; the stubble of a beard that graced his face and his piercing blue eyes simply gave him that rugged look that made her heart flutter. Though, she told herself, a professional's heart does not 'flutter'. Upon first meeting him in the League of Legends, Caitlyn had allowed herself only a small crush on the Defender of Piltover. After his antics with a mad Zaunite scientist, she had allowed herself an actual crush. And when he began helping with investigations and became friends with herself and Vi, she allowed herself to fall in love. The pair had been on a few dates, but it was not overly serious; they were both busy and life tended to keep them apart more than it kept them together.
Everything made sense now. Why Vi had been so evasive the past couple weeks and why she had been short on her end of rent. Why Jayce had taken her on a couple dates and fished around for information about her 'dream' date. Of course, she had simply assumed Jayce was taking notes. But for the pair of them to go out of their way to do it... Caitlyn's face turned red once again and Vi immediately laughed as her partner lost her composure.
"Damn Cait, you look like a steamed lobster! I've never seen you this outta it!" Vi teased, though Jayce stepped in to rescue her.
"To be fair, I am in the room. When it's just you around, I can see why she closes up." Jayce fired back, silencing Vi for more reasons than he knew. As mature as always, Vi simply blew him a raspberry.
For her part, Caitlyn managed to regain her composure once Jayce stepped in. She scooted over and leaned against him, stretching up to place a kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad someone in this house has some degree of sense." She wasted no time in throwing her arms around his middle and hugging him tightly. Jayce was built like a god. Just over six feet tall, muscular, courageous and, most importantly, put his duty first. Caitlyn was completely smitten.
"Psh, whatever Cupcake. Git outta here before I throw you both out." Vi waved her hands at the pair. "Shoo."
Jayce smirked and grabbed Caitlyn's bag, hefting it over his shoulder without question. "I'll bring her back in one piece, I promise. Try to keep the place in the same state?" Instead of replying, Vi simply flipped him off.
Caitlyn could not help but smile at their interaction. "Well, I will see you in a week, I guess. You know where to find me if you need me." She gave Vi a finger wave and then leaned heavily onto Jayce's shoulder. "Ta for now!"
Once the pair had left, Vi slumped into the counter. A week without Caitlyn. It could be good for her, or it could be horrible. Now the only option was to wait and find out.
After she had spent the better part of the evening sulking, Vi had finally decided to swallow her pride and get to work. Paperwork needed to be filed. Though she made a grand show of groaning as she flopped down into Caitlyn's seat to get to work, she knew it was something she could not simply ignore for the week coming. With mead cracked and sitting nearby, she got to work.
Case after case rolled through her fingers as she tried her best to read through them all. Even after a couple years of tutoring, words were difficult for her. Caitlyn was patient and did her best to teach Vi, but some lessons just would not stick in her mind. Her writing was childish compared to Caitlyn's fluid print, and she felt herself growing frustrated as she worked her way through the stack of papers. When her temper finally reached the boiling point, Vi stood stiffly, grabbed her bottle of mead, and stomped towards the door. She shoved through and slammed it, inhaling the cool evening air to calm herself.
It was just after the spring solstice and still chilly at night, but at least the snow was almost completely gone. Up and down the avenue, star rods glimmered and kept everything lit. However, a pair of unlikely wanderers caught her attention. Heavy coats, weapons, light skin and hair set them apart, but what finally hammered home just how out of place they were was the fact that one of them was mounted on an enormous mass of flesh and muscle. It took Vi a second to clue in, but when she did, she wandered over.
"Ashe? Sejuani? The hell are you two doing here?" She demanded, offering a hand to the pair. Ashe took the hand and shook it warmly, while Sejuani took the mead and drank heavily. Vi grumbled when the half-drained bottle was returned to her.
"Ugh, tastes like pig piss." Sejuani complained as she spat some of it onto the pavement.
"Then let Bristle piss in peace, next time." Ashe fired dryly to her companion. "We're... actually lost." She admitted after a moment. "I remembered where Caitlyn lives and decided she might be able to help us."
Vi bristled at the slight before returning to Ashe. "Cait's out. Won't be back for a week. Whaddya need?"
The Queen of Freljord sighed and unceremoniously pulled an ancient relic from Bristle's saddle. The ivory spear still seemed to pulse with the power it had collected, but it seemed to glow stronger now that it had killed so many. Vi raised an eyebrow at the weapon as Ashe explained. "We need this to get to the Yordle Academy. We have a researcher and a Summoner waiting for us."
"Alright... follow me. That must be one helluva stick you got there if the League sent you a Summoner."
The Yordle Academy of Sciences was located on the opposite end of the city from Caitlyn's office, but the trip was made exceptionally quick due to a strange device. A pathway made of light had been added to all of the major routes in Piltover Major. Floating about five meters in the air, stations allowed people on and off the glimmering path that ferried them around. Walking on one of these paths increased the person's speed exponentially, allowing for fast, safe travel between key areas. Of the four in the group, it was Bristle who had the hardest time grasping this concept, though his contented grunts and occasional squeal of delight caused Vi and Ashe to grin. Sejuani, however, seemed very unimpressed with these paths, and did not relax her grip on Bristle's saddle until they were firmly back on the ground.
"Is that thing coming into the Academy?" Vi questioned as they wandered up the path towards the glimmering marble building before them.
"Why wouldn't he?" Sejuani snapped, glaring down at the pink-haired woman.
"Uh... well, if he shits on the floor..." Vi's voice trailed off as she shook her head and Sejuani glared death at the Enforcer. "Nevermind." Upon arriving, Vi glanced at the doors. They were not locked up for the night, but there was little activity within. She reached out and gave the sliding glass panels a little tap. They slid apart soundlessly, the futuristic motion giving both Ashe and Sejuani pause for awe. Piltover was an absolute marvel to the two of them and they were having a hard time wrapping their heads around the technology that made Piltover the most advanced city state.
Once the group had wandered through the doorway, they were immediately greeted by a bounding bundle of Yordle joy. The secretary barely came up to Vi's knees and her pointed ears swiveled towards every sound. After explaining why they were there, Vi let Ashe and Sejuani explain who they were there to see. However, when she heard that the spear was headed to the 'experimental weapons' wing, her curiosity was piqued. Instead of wandering home, like she meant to, she decided to follow.
For such small creatures, Ashe reflected inwardly, they sure build big. The Academy was absolutely enormous, and it took almost twenty minutes of navigating corridors, stairs, and archways before the trio managed to find their way to the proper lab. Everything was bathed in soft, warm lighting that was easy on the eyes yet provided ample lighting to pick out even the most minute of details.
And the details were everywhere. Every archway had been intricately carved, every window was absolutely immaculate, and every slab of marble had been polished to a dull gleam. The stairs had been split into three parts as well - two on either side where the steps were twice as numerous as down the middle, and the middle that was obviously designed for humans. Bristle had some trouble navigating the stairs and slipped numerous times, but with Sejuani's gentle urging the massive boar managed to climb to the top. Once there, she turned to Ashe. "The real fun is getting him down again."
Ashe snorted and chuckled softly. "Good to know. If I have to leave you two here, I will."
It seemed strange to Vi to see the two of the Freljord royals acting so friendly towards each other, especially considering how much she had heard about the two of them fighting and generally being hostile. Here, however, they seemed to be on good terms. If she had to guess, she was putting her bets on the spear. It radiated power, Vi quickly decided that the spear was the reason the two were acting amicably.
Down the dark hallway they had been directed to there was almost no light; save what poured out of the last room on the floor. "Guess that's our stop." Sejuani mused as she urged Bristle forward, leading the way towards the laboratory. Upon arrival, she was greeted by their Summoner liaison from the League. She was relatively short and her straight dark hair tumbled around her cute face to her shoulders, forming a frame within the hood of her Summoner's robes. She had a cup of what appeared to be coffee clasped in her hands and she seemed rather chilly, as she shivered when she saw the trio wandering up. Dark skin, thin lips and narrow eyes immediately identified her as Ionian. "Cold?" Sejuani teased.
"Quite. I'm glad you could make it, we were getting worried." The Summoner shifted her mug to her free hand. "I'm Rina. The League told me that you had a relic to investigate."
Sejuani dismounted Bristle and muttered some words to the enormous boar, who promptly flopped down onto the floor and refused to move. When Vi scooted past his tusks he took no notice, but the boar adjusted his head to trip Ashe as she tried to pass. She barely caught herself on the door frame and shot Bristle a death glare. "I will turn you into bacon." Ashe hissed through clenched teeth, to which Bristle gave her the semblance of a smug smirk.
The Winter's Wrath pulled the spear from her saddle and held it out for Rina to admire. When the Summoner went to grab it, however, Sejuani withdrew immediately. "We uh. We've found it kills people who grab it." She admitted sheepishly. "Ashe and myself can handle it, but everyone else... explodes." Rina's hand withdrew hastily.
"Hrm, alright. Bring it over here, Rin will take a look at it." Rina took a sip from her mug and then shuffled towards the back.
Vi leaned against the door frame beside Bristle, gently playing with his spiny quills, while the others made their way through the lab. Hidden away behind a the dividing wall they found the scientist they had been promised. In the back room, standing atop a stool and a trio of dictionaries, was a Yordle. Her brown hair tumbled messily around her rounded face while her long ears flicked around to lock onto every sound that caught her attention. Though she wore a lab coat, it did little to cover her bright yellow shirt and baggy blue shorts. A red bandanna did its best to keep her hair from her face, to no avail, and goggles covered her eyes to protect from any explosion that may or may not happen in her presence.
Even from a distance, Ashe and Sejuani could immediately tell two things. First and foremost, she had a screw loose. Her lab was an absolute mess and the fact that she had never bothered to find a stool that was the proper height caused a smile to stretch across Ashe's lips. At the same time, she seemed incredibly bright; from what she had heard, this was the Yordle who was responsible for the city's incredible Gravlift system and the bright light walkways that whisked people around at speed. Sometimes brilliance and insanity went hand in hand.
Upon realizing she had visitors, the Yordle glanced up and grinned from ear to ear. "Ashe! Sejuani!" She hopped off her stack of books and darted over. "Nice to see you here!" Her ears perked as she saw the spear. "Ooooh, I assume that's my new project, huh?"
Ashe nodded and bent down to offer Rin a hand. "That it is. I'd offer it to you, but unfortunately, it might kill you."
The Yordle shook the Queen's hand warmly, slightly star struck by the fact that two of Freljord's most prominent figures were standing here, in her lab, asking her for help. "Yeah, I'd rather not end up dead. Put it in that machine there and we'll get to work." Rin thumbed over her shoulder and Sejuani stepped forward to do as she was told.
Once placed inside the machine, the spear began to levitate in the pillar of light that bathed it. Immediately, several screens began beeping and blinking all around and Rin began darting around, trying to pick up what she could. The combination of magic and hextech astonished the Freljord royalty, but they could do nothing but sit back and watch. Rina stepped up with Rin and followed her mentor's directions as the Yordle walked the Summoner through the process. Soon, Rin began rattling off several statistics.
"Well, it's some kind of ivory and silver composite. The deep scanner can't tell what the other materials are, however, which means we haven't discovered them yet. Iiiiinteresting." She stroked her chin thoughtfully. "It's at least a thousand years old, that much I can tell you. It... seems to be storing energy? Or at least..." Rin fell silent as she tried to puzzle out the readings.
After a moment, Sejuani spoke up. "Souls." Rin and Rina turned to her curiously and upon seeing Sejuani's drawn face they grew a bit more intent on her words. "It takes the souls of whatever it kills. I don't know why, or how, but that's what it does."
Rin nodded slightly and went back to her screens. A little shudder ran down her spine as she thought about that; there were people trapped in the spear? "I'm picking up a lot of latent energy as well. It's... acting like a battery."
Ashe and Sejuani exchanged a glance. "What's a battery?" Ashe finally asked, curiously.
This caused Rin to pause once more as she grappled with explaining the concept. "It's an energy receptacle used to power something else. I'm guessing that this spear is storing... well, like you said, souls for some reason. I'm not entirely sure why, but if it is a battery, then it should be used to power something."
A pair of shrugs went between the northern pair. They had no idea why the spear was storing energy. Rin rubbed her forehead and then glanced at the spear floating in the machine. "Well, how does this sound. Come back in the morning; Rina and myself will stay tonight and try to dissect this thing. If we figure anything out, we'll make sure to let you know."
Ashe turned to Sejuani and then back to Rin. "We don't really have an option, so... we'll return in the morning. Do you need anything? Should we bring food in the morning?"
"Nah, we'll be fine." Rin assured them. "Just head out and we'll be ready to go tomorrow. This might take a while." When she turned back to the spear, she saw the energy within pulse. It almost felt like it was teasing her; challenging her to pick apart its secrets.
The next morning came much faster than either Rina or Rin would have liked. Ashe and Sejuani, at Vi's behest, had decided to stay with Vi instead of trying to find a place to stay so late in the evening. The odds of finding a place would have been relatively good, but having two Champions so far from home showing up would have drawn much more attention than either Ashe or Sejuani would have wanted. Instead, they split Caitlyn's bed and had their first taste of Piltover's finest Ionian cuisine.
Truth be told, Ashe had tried Ionian before and it really did not suit her tastes. It was too spicy and she could never wrap her head around using two sticks to eat with, but she tried her best. Much to Sejuani's amusement, who had simply given up and grabbed a fork.
On their way back to the academy, they had stopped to pick coffee up for the scientists they had left back with the weapon. The streets were relatively quiet when Vi lead the way back towards the Advancement and Exploration wing, and Ashe was still yawning by the time they arrived. Warrior or not, Ashe was not a morning person.
Once the group arrived at the Academy, they began to wander through back up towards the Experimental Weapons wing. It was rumoured that Ziggs, the Hexplosives Expert worked in these corridors as well, but there was far too few scorch marks to accurately identify where his workplace was hidden.
Their arrival was greeted by a rather sleepy Summoner's smile and Rin's bug-eyed hug around Vi's calves. The Yordle seemed even more energetic than the night before, but in a completely unhealthy, chemically-induced manner.
"Is... she okay?" Vi glanced down at the Yordle who zipped back over to her workbench, almost buzzing with excitement. Rina watched her go before chuckling.
"Yeah... she's got this elixir thing she drank a couple of hours ago. She claims it gives her wings, whatever that means. Also said it would only last four hours before running out, s-" Rina stifled a laugh as the elixir apparently ran out mid sentence, as Rin paused and seemed to shut down. She keeled over backwards off her stool and landed with a dull thud on a bedroll that had been laid out beneath her. Ashe darted over, worried, but her worries were assuaged when she heard the rhythmic snoring that now escaped the tiny genius.
Vi rolled her eyes and set the coffee on the table before she sat down next to Rina, who happily grabbed a mug and inhaled deeply. "Oooh, dark roast? You're too kind." Her warm smile helped the group relax from Rin's heart attack inducing incident. At their feet, the small creature seemed more than happy to snore away. "Are we going to wake her?"
"I'd rather let her sleep a bit. Before her heart explodes." Vi stated and grabbed another coffee. She had offered to buy one for Sejuani and Ashe as well, but they had declined. Neither had tried it before and the bitter smell did not sit well with them. After taking a long, grateful drink from the cup before her, Rina reached down to adjust Rin's position slightly. She tucked the Yordle into the bedroll and made sure she was cozy before slumping back into the chair.
Sejuani flopped down into another empty seat and began flicking through the vast array of papers that littered the small lab. Some diagrams she could vaguely recognize, while others were nothing but vast calculations that sprawled over several sheets of paper. Considering her reading level was similar to Vi's, the numbers made her head hurt. "This... thing... is insane." She mused.
"Hey." Rina snapped, rounding on the Summoner. "That 'thing' is helping you decipher that spear you have. She's your best chance at waking its owner up, too."
"Wait, what?" Ashe turned to Rina. "Waking the owner up?"
The Summoner gave a little nod and took another drink of coffee. "From what we could glean, that spear is... alive. Ish." Three pairs of flabbergasted eyes turned to her so she continued. "Basically, it's not so much a weapon as it is a battery, like Rin said last night. It's 'alive' in the sense that, if the owner was dead, it wouldn't be collecting energy. So, somewhere in the Freljord, the owner of that staff is waiting for it to be returned. She also said something about the materials inside of it, claiming that it was ice-like but much stronger."
"True Ice." Ashe cut in. Rina gave her a helpless shrug.
"Sure, True Ice. Whatever it is, it has a very similar lattice and strength as the crystals we use on Summoner's Rift... but it's been forged into a weapon. You're right about one thing, though; if you aren't trained in it or somehow immune to it, the True Ice will kill you. It's temperature is so far below freezing that we couldn't measure it, but it doesn't actually radiate that temperature into the air. Anything that touches it, however, flash freezes." Rina explained before swirling the dark liquid around and taking another sip.
"Mmmhm, mmmhm. I know some of those words." Vi replied, a teasing grin splitting her lips.
Rina sighed heavily. "Oh for the love of... It's a super weapon. It's something that only a handful of people in the world could handle without dying, and whoever it belongs to is alive - and over a thousand years old. Probably buried under the Freljord somewhere."
The trio paused to wrap their heads around the implications of what had just been said. A thousand year old warrior waiting for his weapon to be returned to him. A weapon whose sole purpose seemed to be hunting and killing Iceborn. It was a terrifying thought, but it filled Ashe with hope. Maybe she could rid the world of the Iceborn scourge at some point.
"Wait. You hear that?" Vi perked up as a dull thud seemed to emanate from the wall, just beside the window. She stood to investigate, but never made it out of her chair. A violent explosion rocked the lab, showering the trio with rubble. With a laugh that set Vi's teeth on edge, in swung trouble.