Hello readers! I'm attempting something rather different from my other writing with this piece. If it seems too steeped in the antiquated Lovecraftian lexicon, don't hesitate to let me know. Or perhaps you enjoy such a departure. As always, I welcome your thoughts, commentary, reviews, constructive criticism, suggestions (be they for this story, other stories, or a suggestion for a future story), or anything else you'd like to say to me. Enjoy.
Tangled in a Crimson Web
Chapter Two
Doing battle on the Fields of Justice left a feeling of disgust in the back of my throat. When it had been advertised to me, I believed it would be a place where I was free to unleash my bloodlust without chains. I had feigned allegiance to Noxus to gain entry. They had permitted it, but as with all champions, I had to share their mind. Revolting. They were human; beneath me.
I was glad to be free of such restraints, although it had sated my hunger for the moment being. Victory rang hollow - it was a trifling compensation. But I had much grander designs: a meeting with Elise in the library of the Noxian Quarters. I arrived swiftly, not waiting to linger with the summoners and other champions afterward. It was tradition, but as a champion I was allied with last match had said frequently, "tradition is the corpse of wisdom." I was inclined to agree.
My brisk walk took me swiftly to the library, where I was surprised to hear two female voices conversing. I recognized them both immediately. One was the spider queen, and the other… Morgana.
Perhaps Elise has brought a friend into our circle of confidence? I wondered. Morgana would be an excellent candidate. I had noticed the two conversing together earlier - and why not? They had more than a few things in common.
I strode forward, giving Elise a smile.
"Vlad. Wonderful to see you. Morgana believes she can assist us in finding a place to congregate," she said.
I extended a hand toward the Fallen Angel in an effusive welcome,"I'm pleased to have you join us, Morgana. Please, elucidate."
She shook my hand, although it took a few moments for her to weave her fingers around my claws. Her flesh was warm and giving, and her smile told me the sincerity of her desires.
Before she said anything, she separated one book from the stack on the table of the Institute. It was one of the oldest I had seen - perhaps the oldest in the library. In brass letters embedded in the leather, it read 'The History of the Grand Institute of War'. Morgana deftly turned to a page, revealing a map of the Institute Grounds.
"Now. Geologically speaking, the Institute was built on a network of natural caverns. Some of these were formed and utilized for rooms…" she said, gesturing to a few that indeed had been. "Some of the storage rooms beneath the Noxian Quarters are an example of this. One of them contains a door to a room that began construction. We can see it here, in this map of the theoretical blueprint of the Institute. However, such a room does not appear in final blueprints, and I have seen the sealed door here. We couldn't ask for a better location. The caveat remains…"
Morgana looked between us, appraising our reactions. I enjoyed the subtle smile lighting her purple-painted lips.
"That I don't know what exists beyond the door. It could be a partially constructed room, it could be a massive cavern, it could be little more than an alcove. Regardless, it's worth investigation," She concluded.
"Well. Shall we explore?" I asked, looking to Elise. I glanced around, but aside from the desk clerk sleepily leaning against a pile of books, there was no one else within the library - only meticulously organized tomes bound in everything from thick parchment to dragonhide. We departed with concurring nods, walking over the sable rug and into the gardens that encircled the library entrance. The illusion of teeming life exuded by the verdant decorations reminded me of the sensation I felt after I had drained someone. It was a pale shadow of that feeling, but… pleasurable nonetheless.
A few Noxian summoners greeted us with nods. Elise and Morgana acknowledged them, but I remained silent. We took a left, toward the living quarters. However, we then took the door opposite the entrance, intent on the storage room. The waning sun imparted little light for our journey, but the moon shone on us in its gibbous glory - it mingled ethereally with the haunting blue of the Institute's hextech torches. I smiled.
The pathway to our location was decidedly less furnished. The storage rooms were dank, lit by a scarce hextech rod borne by the rough-hewn rock wall.
"Here," Morgana indicated, leading us toward our destination. This room seemed entirely un-utilized for the moment, storing only dust. In one tenebrous corner of the room, she indicated our goal. The thin line of an arch was visible.
"Hmm," I said, a manifestation of my concern. A rusted padlock prevented our advance. However, I had dealt with more than a few of these in my time. I held it, issuing forth blood from my hand. The sanguine fluid found all of the pins within the mechanism. Normally, aligning the pins would mean that the lock opened. Unfortunately, the device had so oxidized that I had to wrest it from its place. I grunted and heaved, eventually pulling it free. It clattered to the floor.
"Now, the moment of truth," Elise said as I opened the door. The primeval breath of the cave swept inward, causing the fringes of my coat to billow.
The darkness of the portal ahead was daunting, so I seized the hextech rod from the wall and walked inward. After my eyes widened in reverence and awe, I smiled.
"Well done, Morgana. This should serve our needs perfectly. Although we'll need some way to disguise this place from unwanted eyes," I said.
It was clear why they had never repurposed the room. It was massive. A crude slope at the entrance still bore the marks of the craftsman's chisel, although it was very clear that they stopped at the bottom. Against the far side, the stalactites and stalagmites stretched from the floor to the ceiling, creating a few alcoves in their negative space.
I smiled to Elise, sizing up the sepulchral spectacle which we'd found.
"Does Shaelus approve?" I asked her, my own claws finding hers. She gripped my hand tightly, finding comfort in my grasp.
It was a wonderful gathering place. But now we needed a way to enter it in a clandestine fashion. I recalled Elise mentioning she knew summoners gifted in techmaturgy. Perhaps the answer lay there.
"Very much so," she nodded. Although the chamber was not even, it housed the crude likeness of an altar, and it was certainly clandestine enough. Now, for the next steps…