Chapter Two
Charging through the narrow street
Strength fading like winter's last snowy tears
Red Eyed Girl, won't you keep your feet?
Hide your voice so no one hears?
Your life follows close behind you now
You can't escape by breaking your vow
Noxus always finds his own
There won't be any welcome in your home
Can you hear that?
Caught like a rat in a trap
Water spills to the floor, deep red matte
White Haired Rat, grab his cap
Bare his sword on your side
Wear his tunic on your breast
Hopefully your wits can do the rest
For you are in for one long ride...
Riven woke with a start. The morning sun shone dimly through overcast clouds as she jumped up. She felt for her sword and founded nestled against the tree she had fallen asleep against. Sweat beaded down her forehead as she grasped for the grip of her blade. When she pulled it up she felt the light trickle of cool dew run down from the cross-guard and onto her hand. She had no scabbard for the blade so she strapped it onto her back with a few leather strips from her vest.
She looked towards the eastern horizon longingly like she could see past the curvature of the world, some natural beauty or haven awaited her there. Her power urged her east but she knew not what waited for her there. She stood for a moment watching with her glossy red eyes for a moment before she drew her hood about her handsome face and began her long walk towards the sunrise.
It was not until sunset that she saw anything but the grassy plains. A mountain ranged crawled its way up from the flatness and towered above her. She was not yet close but she knew her road from there. The Ironspike mountains they were called, tall and narrow like pine trees and they stood thick as flies on a day old corpse. There was no way over them, it was known by the realm that even the most powerful of magi tried to break down a path through these mountains but there was another magic at work against them and the mountains seemed to grow taller in defiance. There were only three ways past. By flying over, sailing around or by taking the wide passage in the south, almost two hundred leagues away from where she stood now. She did not have enough coin to charter a balloon or a ship so she took the long road.
She made camp for the night inside one of the rocky outcrops that began to force their ways out of the ground, a slow natural expansion to the mountains. It looked like a full days march to reach the road that ran parallel to the mountain and she tried to sleep but it would not come. When the sun rose she started off once again and shortly before dusk a small town along a thick dirt road crept up before her. The town was simply an tavern with a few houses and a short wooden palisade the height of a man grown. The gate was open and a guard armed with a small lever drawn crossbow nodded at her as she waved a hand in greeting to him and entered.
She saw a few villagers going about their business in the courtyard, two men with toned muscles carried a fifty gallon pot of water, their faces were red with stress and two woman eyed they hungrily as they passed. Another woman was at work at a clothesline, hanging up two pairs of breeches and shirts. There was a commotion in front of the tavern and Riven pushed herself into the crowd and saw two burly men brawling on the porch. Coin purses jingled in the hands of the onlookers as the two men fought.
The man with the black beard threw a cross with his right and was returned with a kick in the stomach and a thunderous uppercut to his jaw. He reeled back and came in for a reckless punch but his younger foe blocked the hit with his forearms and sent a jab into his ribs before bringing a hard right cross of his own into the ear of his opponent. A bald man with a wide girth stopped the fight, he had an apron about his waist and was the spitting image of a bartender. Thick brown sideburns ran down his cheek and under his short fat nose was curly mustache and a short beard. Gold exchanged hands and the crowd slowly dispersed, most pushed their way into the bar while others seemed to head back home.
The barkeep glanced at her warily and patted the two combatants on the shoulders and offered them both a drink on the house. He pushed them in from behind and took one more glance at Riven before he went inside. When she entered, cool and lively air hit her face. There were almost forty men and women inside, a surprising amount for such a small town. Some of them bore the thick fur coats of the people of the north, Freljordians. There were one or two tabled open but she took a stool at the crowded bar instead. The large man next to her glanced at with approval and turned back to his conversation. She drew the hood down from her head and knocked a knuckle on the fine maple bar counter.
The barkeep looked at her and held up his index finger towards her and carried a tray of pints to a table in the corner. Two other waitresses worked but the tavern was bustling with orders. After a few moments he made his way behind the bar and brought himself to her. He smiled but his eyes were always wary. "What can I get you, lass?" He said. Riven pondered on it for a moment. She did not enjoy being inebriated, it made her feel vulnerable so she never drank wine or beer. But after spending a week drinking water from puddles and rivers she wanted something refreshing and tasty.
"How is your mead?" she inquired. The barkeep shrugged.
"It is as sweet as spring." He lied and Riven smiled.
"I'll have a pint." She said flatly and the barkeeper never took his eye off of her as she made her his drink. His hands moved quick with experience. When the drink was in front of her she stared into the froth for a moment before she brought it to her nose and sniffed it. It was definitely not a quality brew. She knew he had better but he held it back from her. His distaste towards her was confusing. This was a roadside tavern and thrived off of wary travelers. She decided she would find out. She brought down the drink quick and left a copper on the counter as she turned away and walked outside.
The inn wasn't closed until a few hours before sunrise. Riven couldn't sleep anyway, not with this on her mind. She had bought a cloak off of a villager for two coppers and had wrapped herself in it, her form concealed behind the horsehide. It kept her comfortable and she watched as the barkeep closed shop and left. He whistled as he walked and she watched him from afar, leaning softly against the staked wall. There was no inn in the village and any traveler who stayed the night slept against the walls of the palisade, it brought no suspicion towards her. He opened the door to a house and threw his coat inside and closed the door. He stayed outside and looked around for a moment before he made his way towards the gate. A guard with a longbow had drawn night watch and he was approached by the barkeep. She could not hear what was said but she saw that he drew a piece of paper from his breeches and held it up to the guard and pointed. It was a drawing of a woman with white hair and red eyes, the skin was much lighter than hers and her nose was smaller but it looked much like her. It was a wanted poster.
She did not stir as the barkeep pointed towards the line of travelers sleeping against the wall. The guard propped his bow against the frame of the gate and drew a sword from beneath his cloak. He used it to pull hoods away from faces hidden by cloaks. She rubbed her fingers together with anxiety as he came to her and slowly pushed her hood back. When he saw her he stared in his eyes for a moment and quickly took a step back.
"Get up, girl." He said rudely. Riven brought herself to her feet and stood three inches over him. He tried to grab her by the arm and she pushed him back. He snarled and swung his sword at her but she smashed the cheap steel with her elbow with a crack and sent a whipping punch into his jaw, putting him down cold. The barkeep tried to run but she caught up to him in an instant and held a hand over his mouth and drew a dagger from his belt and held it against his flabby back. She pushed him forward until they were behind the tavern.
"If you cry out I'll make sure you bleed out slow." She threatened as she removed her hand. He gasped and she almost stabbed him there but he quickly went silent. "What do you want with me?" She questioned. He was silent and she pricked him in the rear and he yelped.
"You have a b-bounty.." he stuttered. He reached for his pocket but Riven quickly shot her hand and grabbed the paper.
"Wanted for witchcraft, murder and adultery..." she read aloud. "a hundred gold coins for her head. A thousand for her alive." She spat at the last sentence. She turned the barkeep to face her and pinned him against the wall. "Who was to carry out payment?" She demanded. The barkeep shook his head quickly.
"I-I-I-don't know." he was almost at tears and she could almost smell the lie coming from his foul breath. She brought the dagger to his belly and ran it slowly downwards and cut off his breeches, exposing his manhood to the open. When steel brought itself to his prick he yelped again and rose onto his toes. "It was a man. He had a big bushy ponytail an-an-and a long curved sword." He gulped and Riven pushed the blade further and he spilled everything he knew.
He said the men was strange, he had never seen a man such as him before. He was a tall man with tan skin, scars running all across his arms and hands. He wore lose blue robes and his eyes were slanted. The sword was a long thin blade with a slight curve down its length. He was an Ionian, she assumed. That would explain why he wanted her. She had led men when Noxus invaded Ionia and won many battles and killed many men.
"Did he leave a name?" She asked and the barkeep dumbly shook his head and there was only truth in that. She threw the dagger to the ground and he sighed relief. She looked down at his shriveled prick and she felt bad for being so brutal. She took the cloak off of her shoulders and handed it to him and he quickly wrapped himself. She pulled two more coppers from her pocket and handed it to him. He nodded to her and when he bent down to collect his torn and soiled breeches she knocked on his head just hard enough to put him to sleep.
She drew her hood over her head once more and swiftly jumped clean over the palisade and headed south. She knew it was a trap, but she had to go. Now she knew what her head was leading her. It was a warning but also a calling, maybe an answer to some questions or questions that needed answering. She closed her eyes and smiled for a moment before she broke off in a run.