"Wake up…" Jhin could just barely hear a soft and soothing voice in the distance as he was covered by a sheet of sleep. It was peaceful, soft, and isolated, just him and himself, safe.

"Wake up!" Like a sharp harpoon that sheet was pierced, forcing Jhin's consciousness to flood through. He opened his eyes to see the freckled face of Miss Fortune standing over him, her nose and lips wrinkled in disapproval. He sighed, feeling the achiness of a hard sleep on his eyelids.

"What," he groaned, wanting so much to close his eyes again.

"We're almost to the bay," she said, crossing her arms."Thought you'd want to be up to see it."

Before he could retort, Sarah spun on her heel, walking out of the cabin Jhin chose to sleep in, all while muttering,"'A quick nap', a quick nap by ass; more like a four hour beauty sleep…"

Smiling to himself, Jhin got out of the surprisingly comfortable cot. Repositioning his hair and clothing to look somewhat decent, he made his way up the creaky stairs to the deck.

Bright, afternoon sunlight beamed down on him, setting a more or less bright and happy mood. Seagulls flew over head, flying across the sparkling ocean, which Jhin couldn't tell whether it was a bad or good thing. Looking across the actual deck itself, there was much less dead bodies then before.

"She must have thrown them overboard," he thought as he rubbed his eyes. Turning around, he saw Miss Fortune, looking forward with a concentrated look and both hands on the wheel. She looked natural, standing there with her hips swayed to one side, balancing her worn out body on the wheel.

"Look."

Jhin followed Miss Fortune's finger as it pointed to an island in the distance. It was green and brown, covered in both vegetation and housing, which were visible even to him. The ship was just aligned to the cove, a giant oval of a beach with a dark blue mouth. With the sun shining and little fog, the outskirts of Bilgewater almost looked beautiful.

"Entrancing," he said, with just a hint of sarcasm. Sarah glared at him, but then looked back out onto the sea.

"Some days it can look amazin', but don't be fooled. It's still the hell hole everyone makes it to be." There was sadistic smile on her lips, that didn't seem out a place in the slightest.

"What's the plan when we arrive?" Jhin asked, gripping the edge of the ship,"I mean, you just gonna drop me off to another band of pirates?"

She chuckled, light yet firm."Not entirely. I need to pick up some supplies from my landing, for you and myself, then I'll set you free. Bilgewater is a country of opportunities; it's your job to exploit them." Another wicked smile danced between her teeth.

Maybe it was the sudden stench in the air or the muddier waters, but a twisted feeling pitted itself in Jhin's stomach. The beautiful island turned sour as clouds of fog started tumbling in from the high dark green trees that acted like a roof to the shamble of a country. Even the sun, which had been cooking the air was now going cold, the wind breathing whispers into the pale blue sky.

"BRING HER IN!" I heard Sarah yell, her voice shrill and commanding. A group of men in muddy brown clothing pulled on ropes and pulleys, lulling the ship into the harbor. Jhin climbed down the makeshift ladder onto the wooden docks, his legs feeling like jello as they touched the hard ground. Miss Fortune watched with satisfaction, hands on her hips, as the men finished the last few pulls to tie the ship to the island itself.

"Thank you boys~" She said flirtatiously, handing one of them a small sack of coins. They smiled dumbfoundedly, whispering and giggling to themselves and she pulled Jhin farther into the docks.

Looking up, Jhin could see the strange majesty that was Bilgewater. Above him, hundreds of feet high was the city, engraved into the mountain like wooden sculptures, all looking vastly different, but put together. Levels and levels of streets carefully ascended the mountains, each with buildings crammed next to each other; the glow of their lanterns like eyes. It was haunting, even in the morning mist. Miss Fortune led Jhin through the docks, finally to a set of rickety stairs, leading up the rocks to a wooden sidewalk littered with people. Stalls were set up with people buying and selling, the noises of all different accents and ethnicities filling the air. As they walked, Jhin noticed how dark everything was, realizing they were all in a shadow, the mountains themselves blocking out the sun. It allowed for a cold breeze to sweep the area, as they continued to walk, close to the edge near the water below.

The smell was an entirely different thing. Especially the house and shops that were low to the water; they smelled the worse, with rotting wood and dead fish stinking up the blocks. Even the bakeries, that casted warm fire onto Jhin's skin as they walked by, had an unnatural bad yeast smell. Dodging lamp posts and people, the two made their way higher and higher, passing more houses and shops, all looking different with designs a child would draw. Most of the buildings were made of repurposed ships. Boat hulls turned upside down, masts supporting roofs, even rustic cannons sticking out of some. It was a mess, but so interesting, Jhin just couldn't stop looking.

After a few minutes of walking, Jhin started to notice a pattern. The more stairs, ladders, and stone passage ways they climbed, the nicer and cleaner the blocks became. It was as if each neighborhood was slowly getting better and better the more they climbed up, including the mannerisms of the people who walked about.

"Everything is nicer the more we climb up," Jhin said aloud, stating his observation.

"That's cuz the wealthier live higher up. 'The higher you climb, the less likely you are to drown' is what they say. With all the lower level houses collapsing from rot, it's no wonder why people invest with living up higher."

He nodded carefully, happy about some sort of organization in the wretched city.

"You live up here?" He asked, taking another look around at all the houses and neighboring mountain cliffs.

A smiled played on Sarah's lips."Of course I live here. Even you should know how much money I make."

The houses weren't what Jhin would consider nicer. The design of the houses were still vastly different from another, each house being made from a different type of wood, metal, or bone. Nothing looked the same, even the sizes of the houses. Some were lower to the sidewalk, while others required you to climb up ladders to get the treehouse like homes. However, none of these were Sarah's abode. She took his wrist sharply, looked around, then ducted into a narrow ally, completely made of the mountain stone that the entire city was built into. Quickly walking through the old water, the stench of dead fish and insects staining the little passageway, to one of the walls. Jhin, who was confused, looked at the wall, which had a single black dot; old paint that was fading. Sarah took her finger and touched it, as if it were a doorbell. Suddenly, the wall caved in, the stone suddenly melting into a cement-like substance that molded magically around to make a stone door way, revealing a room on the inside with rather nice interior decoration that seemed out of place for Bilgewater's ruggedness.

Jhin watched Sarah saunter inside, hanging her hat on a coat rack made of polished wood. Astonished, he stayed where he was. One of Miss Fortune's signature smiles came across her face, plumping out her bottom lip that shined with saliva.

"What, you've never seen a bit of magic before~" she cooed at him. Her taunt made his eyes flash to meet hers. However, they shown with intensity, with anger, making her smile drop.

"What is that magic doing here."

It wasn't the fact that Jhin didn't know what kind of magic it was, oh, he knew quite well. It was a spell Ionian builders used to create homes or hideouts that were secret to the naked eye. It was more or prayer really, to nature itself, asking for a doorway from a plant or the earth.. Something so sacred and native to Ionia had no place in Bilgewater; how could it even work!?

"You'd be surprised at the amount of Ionian's here; especially those who ran away from the Noxian Invasion. Refugees from those days, and still today, hold many skills that are willing to share for a few gold pieces." She said it all so matter-of-factly, hers analytical eyes locking with his.

"How could it even work here, in Bilgewater?" He said the last word as if he were picking up a dead wharf rat. Miss Fortune frowned at his comment.

"Bilgewater isn't all that different from Ionia-" (Jhin almost bit off his whole tongue at that comparison) "Nature runs just as richly here as it does there. Our culture thrives with traditions, as brutal as they seem."

Jhin, still trying to clear his throat from all the rage, was mistaken for silent, as Sarah sighed with a smile and beckoned him in. His brain calmed his emotions, the flaring dying down after entering the house.

Miss Fortune's home, at least is Bilgewater, was beautiful. It had glossy wooden floors with a stone wall, all of them neatly polish with not a speck of age on them. A brown leather chair with a swirly wooden border leaned against one of the walls, it being the only thing that seemed used or worn out. A full classic looking kitchen filled with pots and pans, all clean and tidy. It looked like if Ionian home builders took a normal Bilgewater house and cleaned it up, adding their own touches. It was beautiful as it was spacious, Jhin couldn't deny that.

"It's very nice," he said aloud, continuing to stare.

"You think so? I'm not in here very often, so it's just my private house when I'm in town. My homes are usually made up of captains quarters and town inns," she joked, walking over to the kitchen going over to a bowl of some sort of exotic fruit was where she began to pick at it slowly, putting each piece in her mouth."It's a bit too nice for me, don't you think?"

Jhin didn't answer, he just kept looking around. The lighting, the walls, the furniture; it was all pleasing to look at.

Something must've reminded itself in Miss Fortune's brain, as she suddenly rushed out of the room, into another one, then out again, carrying a small black bag.

"Here-" she tossed the small purse to Jhin, that was weighted with a handful of gold coins,"this'll get you a ride, a small assortment of supplies, and even a weapon, depending on what you plan to do now."

Small pangs of fear started jumpstarting its way throughout his body, but he tried to be composed."What should I plan to do now?"

"Well," Sarah sighed,"If your still scared about being captured again, I could take you down to the bounty board if you want to earn a bit more cash that way."

"Bounty Board" Jhin thought to himself. The words sounded so malicious in his head, he couldn't pinpoint why.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Three heavy bangs on the stone wall made both Sarah and Jhin turn their heads. He looked back at her with confused eyes, seeing hers were just as worried, if not heavily concerned.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Before they could say anything, another three came. Jhin could hear whispers from beyond the wall, of confusion and frustration. Suddenly, the stone started melting again, molding into the door frame it was when they came inside. Jhin watched as he took a few heavy steps inside, carrying his weight as if he were unsure about the floor. His hat flared upward, touching the door frame as he stepped in, while his beard was much shorter than Jhin imagined. Tattoos across his stomach and chest, faded from sea water and age. And as his leather boots drummed on the floor boards, Jhin couldn't believe that he was staring directly into the soul sucking eyes of the treacherous Gangplank, The Saltwater Scourge.