Ezreal had been right about the rest of the ruin being a bunch of tombs. This ruin appeared to be a burying of fallen Dark Ages generals. Each of the first five rooms contained a heavy metal casket with a mummified body inside. As they explored the ruin, Ezreal gave up hope on finding a magical artefact, but at the very least they had made a new discovery about Noxian history.

Ezreal searched the tombs slowly, making sure that he left nothing untouched as he went. He checked each and every item for magic, despite his realisation that there was likely nothing magical in these tombs at all. They were generals, not mages. Not that mages couldn't be generals but most of the time there was little crossover between the two as mages were usually stationed in their own units. Still, he diligently checked all of the items for traces of magic. It wasn't unheard of for high ranking military officers to carry magic weapons, even in the Dark Ages, so perhaps someone here had a magic sword they carried.

As they continued down the hallway, however, the chances of magic weapons slowly thinned and Ezreal felt a pang of disappointment. As much as he knew not every expedition could yield great discoveries, it didn't stop him from hoping.

Finally Ezreal narrowed it down to just one room at the back of the ruin's underground. This room was different. It had a door that was inscribed with magic runes that Ezreal sort of recognized. Whoever was buried beyond this door, they were very important.

Ezreal yawned. It was late in the day and he was hungry and tired. Thankfully, underground it was warm and the two were shielded from the elements and there was no need to set up a big camp really. It might even be dangerous to do so. Talon was as stoic as ever, showing no signs of being tired or hungry at all.

Ezreal marveled at Talon's self control as the two sat down and started getting ready to sleep. Ezreal stared at Talon in wonder. What went through his head as he got settled? Was he as anxious about their time together coming to a close as Ezreal? But most importantly, would he spend time with Ezreal after this expedition? Ezreal sure hoped so but Talon was a hard one to read.

Talon took another loaf of bread out of his bag and started eating. That gave Ezreal pause. He had only seen Talon eat bread the whole time they'd been out here. It was definitely a curious choice with little to no nutrients, just carbs. Ezreal on the other hand had brought with him preserved foods with a little more sustenance than bread.

"Why are you only eating bread?" Ezreal couldn't stop himself from investigating this matter further, "Are you poor or something?" Ezreal had meant no harm by the comment, it just sort of came out, but the look Talon gave him was something else. It wasn't anger, or hatred, just confusion. Ezreal wondered for a second if he'd asked that stupid of a question.

"The average payment for a hit is around 15,000 gold," Talon said flatly, "A lot of powerful people around here want people dead. I probably make more in a week than you make in a year."

Ezreal choked on his food briefly. 15,000 gold was the average? Ezreal was lucky to see 15,000 gold in a year let alone in one night. Ezreal mostly got paid in silver and that was considered to be a 'good job'. Ezreal stared at Talon, eyes full of wonder. What did he even do with all that money? How many people did he kill a year? How rich was he exactly?

Ezreal coughed his food back to his mouth, grimacing. He knew there had to be money in contract killing, but he never knew exactly how much. Hearing it was like having all his dreams shattered at once. He considered for just a second whether or not he could be Piltover's first contract killer, but shook the thoughts from his head quickly.

Talon locked eyes with Ezreal, daring him to comment further. Sure he competed for resources with the likes of Katarina and Jhin, but with all the political unrest that was happening all over Valoran, there were plenty of jobs for all of them. Clients liked his no frills, simple style and preferred a quick, quiet kill over something flashy like what Jhin had to offer or brutal like what Katarina did with her victims.

Ezreal stared into Talon's amber eyes for a moment and suddenly felt very small. He busied himself writing the day's findings in his journal. He got to the part where he collapsed the ceiling and had to be rescued by Talon. He thought back to his smaller, daintier hands being enveloped by Talon's big, strong ones and found himself blushing furiously. He glanced over at Talon who was staring him down with dead eyes.

"You writing about how much you miss Lux or some shit?" Talon scoffed. Ezreal was suddenly very sad. He did miss Lux but not in the way Talon imagined.

"Lux and I aren't together anymore..." Ezreal said softly. Talon didn't look fazed at all by the news and shrugged.

"Relationships are a waste of time." He said in between bites of his bread. Ezreal cast his eyes down to his journal but he wasn't really focused on it. He was too busy being sad about his breakup. Ezreal shook his head. He had to get over it, move on, it was over.

Ezreal glanced back up at Talon, writing quickly in his peripheral vision. Talon was such a curious character. Ezreal found himself wanting to know everything about Talon, from what hair products he used to how he killed his targets, everything. He was just so interesting! Ezreal dropped his eyes back to his journal. Talon treated him with such disdain, there was no way for him to learn what he wanted to know about him so easily.

Satisfied with his work, Ezreal put his journal away and pulled out a blanket. He reclined, using his bag as a pillow, and closed his eyes. He was very tired from his day of poking around in tombs and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Talon continued to watch Ezreal as he slept. He had to make sure Ezreal was sound asleep before he could get any sleep himself and so he watched, waiting for Ezreal to slip into a deep slumber. His eyes traced Ezreal's soft features, looking for the signs of deep sleep. Talon licked his lips like a predator eyeing a delicious prey animal. Ezreal really was cute. He had a boyish charm about him that was just irresistible and blond hair and blue eyes were just Talon's type. Talon shook his head violently. He found himself running through everything he hated about the boy. He was annoying, easily distracted, boisterous, too curious for his own good. Katarina would never let him live it down if he admitted he thought Ezreal was cute, so he buried his thoughts deep the in the recesses of his mind.

Finally, Ezreal's eyes started to flicker back and forth under his eyelids. He'd fallen into a deep sleep and Talon could stop staring at him for just a moment. Talon pulled his own blanket out from his bag and wrapped himself in it tightly. He leaned up against the wall and started to fall asleep.

"Mmm...the toast..." Ezreal said aloud. Talon jumped awake and stared at him. Ezreal was still deeply sleeping, he was just talking in his sleep. Talon frowned to himself. He was a very, extremely light sleeper from years of living in Noxus's underground. If Ezreal kept talking there would be no way for him to get any sleep tonight. "The colour is too fluffy..." Ezreal continued. Talon rolled his eyes and went back to trying to fall asleep. It was going to be a very long night.

Ezreal's eyes fluttered open. Underground it was hard to tell what time it was, but he didn't feel tired anymore so he should probably get to work. Talon sat a few feet away wrapped in a blanket. Once again, Talon jumped awake when Ezreal stood up.

"Did you sleep well?" Ezreal asked instinctively. If looks could kill, Ezreal would have been dead a thousand times from the look Talon gave him.

"You talked all night." Talon said. Ezreal started to feel a little bad. Talon was such a light sleeper there was no way that his sleep talking hadn't kept the man up. When Ezreal looked closely he could see that Talon had a hint of dark circles under his eyes. He must really have not slept.

"S-Sorry." Ezreal sputtered out, embarrassed. Talon just shrugged and started putting his blanket away. Ezreal walked toward the end of the hallway where the door to the last room was. Talon followed behind him after putting his stuff away.

Ezreal first tried just opening the door, but as expected, that didn't work. A bit of magic held the door shut tight. Ezreal felt himself getting extremely excited. Someone very important was buried behind this door! The extra security meant that they almost definitely had something good!

"Dark Ages magics weren't very complex." Ezreal thought aloud. He reached out and tried to dispel the magic protecting the door. The runes on the door started to glow as they resisted Ezreal's magic but after a few seconds Ezreal's magic proved to be the stronger magic and the door swung open.

Ezreal quietly celebrated. He didn't want to have to get out his magic lock pick to try and weasel his way into the room. Ezreal kept his hand out in front of him as he entered the room, carefully using magic to search for any hidden traps, magical or otherwise. Thankfully, the room seemed to have as many traps as all the other rooms. That is to say none at all. So the two approached the casket in the center of the room with no resistance.

Ezreal went to unlock the casket but this casket resisted his usual spell. Ezreal frowned and put a little more force into it, trying to break the barrier rather than dispel it as usual. The spell on the casket didn't break so easily, though. Ezreal took a step back and sighed. He was hoping to get through this expedition without breaking out his Hextech Lock Pick but it looked like it was time. He set his bag down and dug through it for the lock pick. Once he had it in his hand he tapped it on the casket. Immediately, a matrix of magic appeared in the air. Ezreal worked the lock pick in the matrix, slowly and carefully decrypting the magic barrier holding the casket closed.

Talon watched as the younger boy decrypted the magic barrier. Piltover had such useful inventions that Noxians oft pretended they didn't buy and this was one Talon might have to pick up for himself. There was always a hole in any barrier, and Talon had no trouble finding holes in his target's security, but a Hextech Lock Pick would make searching for a hole obsolete when he could just make one himself. He studied how Ezreal used the lock pick carefully, trying to learn the inner workings of the device.

Finally the matrix blinked and disappeared signifying that the path had been opened and the magic barrier was no more. The casket popped open a little bit and Ezreal pushed it all the way open. This mummy was different from the other mummies. Instead of heavy armour this mummy wore cloth and instead of swords and knives there were staves and wands.

Ezreal felt giddy. This was the tomb of a mage general and it was likely that the artefacts recovered from it would still have magic! He grinned down at the contents of the casket like a starved man at a buffet. All of these items had the potential to be magical, a great find for the Arcanum Majoris, Ezreal just had to go through them and see what each of them brought to the table. He passed a hand over the weapons and armour in the casket. Finally, the staff in casket reacted to Ezreal's spell. Ezreal could have jumped for joy. They found something that they could take back to the Arcanum Majoris. He hadn't suffered through this incredibly lonely expedition for nothing.

Ezreal carefully removed the staff from the casket. It was a wooden staff with a metal tip and blue jewels adorning it. Ezreal marveled at the artefact, the thing he'd come all this way for. Further investigation was needed to find out what, exactly, it did, but a magical artefact was a magical artefact, regardless of its powers. He just needed to transport it back to the Arcanum Majoris in one piece.

Talon felt a moment of happiness as the staff reacted to Ezreal's spell. They hadn't come all the way out here for nothing. That alone was something to celebrate. His happiness faded almost instantly, though, as Ezreal began taking notes and doing more research on artefact. Talon wished for a moment that Ezreal could do this anywhere else, but didn't bother saying anything. It's not like expressing his dissatisfaction would change anything.

Ezreal began to pack the staff up, wrapping it in delicate linens to protect it from the elements. He carefully stowed the staff in the corner of his bag. Keeping the staff there prevented his bag from closing all the way but there was no other good way to carry the staff back to the Arcanum Majoris.

Talon watched as the blond's small hands daintily wrapped up the staff Ezreal had found. Every movement he made was so precise and calculated. It was a genuinely beautiful sight to behold. Talon found himself mesmerized by Ezreal's hands. They were just so graceful and elegant. After some extra work, Ezreal was satisfied with the stowing of the staff and he looked around.

"I guess...we're done here then." Ezreal sounded disappointed. He felt disappointed. He wanted to spend more time with Talon and learn more about the mysterious man who'd accompanied him on this expedition, but it was time for the expedition to come to a close. Ezreal noticed some small stones on the ground. He recognised them as Dark Ages luck talismans. "Here." Ezreal bent down and picked up one of the talismans. He handed the talisman to Talon who took it, confused. "To remember our trip by!"

"Uh." Talon didn't know what to say. The gesture was...nice? He supposed. But he didn't want to remember this trip. He wanted to get back to his regular life. "Thanks." The word rang hollow as he spoke it. It sounded like he had a gun to his head as he spoke. To be polite, he pocketed the talisman, but resolved to throw it away later.

Ezreal turned and walked towards the door. Talon followed him closely. The two started to make their way back towards the capital city of Noxus. Ezreal did his best not to get distracted by the wonders of the Noxian forests, but found himself writing down information about the flora and fauna as they went. Talon stayed in front, guiding their way back by map, glancing over his shoulder every so often to make sure he hadn't lost Ezreal in the forest.

Finally, they made it back to the capital city of Noxus. It was already late in the evening. Talon checked Ezreal into the inn he'd stayed at when he'd first arrived in Noxus. Hawthorne was there again to wait on them. He looked at Talon expectantly as Talon turned to Ezreal and gave him the key to the room he'd be staying in. Talon turned to leave Ezreal at the hotel again, much to Hawthorne's surprise.

"Wait, Talon." Ezreal started. Talon turned back ever so slightly and stared Ezreal down icily, "Can we maybe hang out some time?"

"No." Talon's voice was firm and resolute. There was no wiggle room to argue with the man about what had just transpired. Ezreal's face fell. He had expected Talon to be a little hard to get but the firmness with which he was rejected cut deeply. Talon turned on his heel and left the inn leaving Hawthorne slackjawed. Ezreal stared after him for a little while before turning to find his room so he could go to sleep.

Ezreal made his way back to Piltover the next day. He returned to his home, it was exactly as he'd left it, maybe even a little neater thanks to Caitlyn stopping in to make sure no one had ransacked the place while he was gone. Ezreal took out his holocaster and called Caitlyn. Soon a hologram of Caitlyn's face appeared in front of him.

"Ezreal, you're home soon." Caitlyn mused. Ezreal shrugged and smiled into the hologram brightly.

"I'll have to report to the Arcanum Majoris soon. We found a magic staff." Ezreal responded. After he met with the Arcanum Majoris he'd have to have a meeting with all of the nations to discuss what was found as well, but that would come later.

"We?" Caitlyn sounded confused.

"Me and Talon!" Ezreal responded cheerfully, "He didn't really help with the excavation but he was there too!" Caitlyn's eyes narrowed. Ezreal sounded too cheerful about Talon being there with him.

"Ezreal..." Caitlyn started, "You're not thinking..." Ezreal grinned.

"He's pretty dreamy." Ezreal admitted, touching his face nervously. Caitlyn sighed loudly and pressed her fingers to her temples.

"Ezreal. As your friend and confidant, I have to stop you there. Talon is a dangerous man. You definitely should not get involved with him." Caitlyn said, "He's an assassin with no regard for the law." Vi pushed her way into the frame, wrapping an arm around Caitlyn's shoulders.

"Chill out, cupcake," Vi laughed, "This probably would never go anywhere. Talon probably thinks Ezreal is reincarnated dirt." Ezreal's face fell as he recounted to himself the stinging rejection from the night before.

"Ezreal, I'm sure you can find someone your own age here in Piltover. Someone who studies hard and works hard and isn't stabbing people under the cover of night for a living." Caitlyn continued, ignoring Vi competely. "Don't rebound off of Talon." Caitlyn didn't sound angry, or even disappointed, she sounded scared. Scared for Ezreal, scared of Talon, it didn't really matter what she was scared of, but she was terrified for the outcome of this situation.

"He's not all bad! He saved me when the ceiling collapsed on us! But he would never like someone like me..." Ezreal sounded sad, so very sad. Caitlyn was torn between wanting to comfort Ezreal and encourage him and wanting to crush all his hopes in one blow. There was no way around Talon being dangerous and Ezreal definitely needed to not be involved with him. But at the same time, there was no need to be mean when there was no evidence it would go anywhere.

"You're a great catch. He's just not for you." Caitlyn said resolutely. Ezreal nodded but still looked sad, "I've gotta get going. Paperwork. You should get some rest before you head to Arcanum Majoris tomorrow."

"Yeah." Ezreal yawned, suddenly acutely aware of how tired he was, "I'll talk to you later." Caitlyn and Vi waved good bye before hanging up. Ezreal made his way into his disaster of a bedroom and laid down.

He had no doubt in his mind that he had a crush on Talon. But Caitlyn was right, wasn't she? Talon was dangerous and quite a bit older than Ezreal. It was a bad idea wasn't it? Ezreal thought to himself with a heavy heart. On paper it definitely seemed like a bad idea but the heart was a fickle thing, and Ezreal's heart wanted Talon.