Hey guys, DL here.
(takes deep breath) I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry
(gasps) I'm so sorry I haven't posted in so long. I have been diagnosed with a common disease called 'Teenage Procrastination'. I know you guys have been waiting so long for another chapter and I had writer's block for the longest time. I'm still trying to figure how to make Rumble not feel so useless and still working on it. But I've got the story planned out for the next few chapters, so the weeks long wait for new chapters is over! (not guarenteed). By the way, you guys are getting better and better at dropping reviews and they've helped me to try to change my story since I've been sitting on this one the past few days. Well anyway, enjoy reading!
The island of Ionia was even more beautiful behind the mountains that walled its borders. The party of the four champions trekked through a narrow path to find winding rivers that careened off cliffs, arched gateways decorated with red iron poles, orange-colored stone outlines, and terracotta roofing watching over these breathtaking passes. Cherry trees were scattered across the rocky faces. Steep, marble staircases lined the mountaintops, sidelining the gateway architecture as well as complimenting it. Some houses were also positioned along the sloped terrain, matching a style similar to the gateways in its orange colors that outlined the buildings' sides and its rectangular, slightly sloped terracotta roofs. Nearby, Poppy saw a massive waterfall that started hundreds of feet in the air, then collided with the next cliff several feet below, slipping off into series of rocky edges, splitting into several different waterfalls that roared at the base of the mountains. It formed something extraordinary for an eye to see. Something the four champions would never have found back in the rugged lands of Demacia.
"Wow…" Poppy breathed in astonishment. Rumble whistled, impressed.
"Feels like you can forget all your worldly problems here," Rumble said, pulling out a self-made gadget to capture the landscape's stunning image. His robot whirred softly as he used his contraption inside the mech's cockpit, satisfied with the captured image once the image was processed. Riven scoffed to herself.
"If only that were true…" she said quietly. Garen eyed her for a moment, before moving toward the yordles' position at the head of the group. The first step in what was assumed thousands, maybe tens of thousands on one of the mountain's staircases met the group with a deceptive embrace.
"Ah, hell!" Rumble complained. "How the hell am I going to get Tracy up there?" His eyes filled with dread as the winding path climbed further and further into the heavens. Garen snorted.
"I can't believe you're still using a name for your robot. It's just a weapon," he said. Rumble peered back at him with an angered look.
"She's my masterpiece! Of course she'll have the privilege of a name!" he replied bitterly.
Garen laughed. "You could always trek this mighty beast on your own two legs," he suggested with a sly smile. Rumble shook his head.
"Only a knuckle-headed jackass like you would enjoy a trip like that," Rumble said. However, when he saw the girls' disappointed looks, his hopes dropped even further. "C'mon, do you even see that thing?! You guys are strong, hell Poppy is arguably the strongest one here." Garen flared an evil glance at the mechanic, making Rumble swallow his words. "I'm just the small yordle who finds it difficult to climb the steps with all my limbs, let alone just my legs."
Riven sighed. "Which makes it all the more reason it's annoying to hear you complain. You are sitting inside a vehicle, so you won't even be walking on your own stubby legs. Yet you're complaining how a staircase like this, even though you won't be using your legs, will do you the most harm out of all of us." Riven peered up at the indeed harsh climb, at one point required to zigzag through mountain passes to get over the obstacle. Even someone of Garen's prowess might falter to the journey, yet the Demacian quaked with excitement at the chance of acquiring another accolade for conquering his body.
"But do you realize how badly it'll ruin the suit? This thing runs on fuel, and I don't know if this baby can make the whole trip. This is gonna suck," Rumble whined. Poppy turned her head quizzically.
"Why don't you just leave Tracy behind?" She asked. Rumble gawked at her like she just told him to bomb Bandle City.
"Are you insane? I'd be defenseless! I…" Rumble stopped, noticing his fellow champions were tired of his incessant chatter and began their climb up the steep staircase. Rumble tried to speak further, but he knew it was futile, trying to follow close behind them. At first, the intimidating set of staircases were not so hard, heading from checkpoint to checkpoint as they ascended. Each 'neighborhood' of houses at each point comforted the sweating figures of the champions. But as the step number rounded to the thousands, the journey skyrocketed into pain and fatigue. Even as the strongest and most fit of the group, Garen's body trembled in agony. Rumble, who stayed at the back of the group, endured hardships of his own as Tracy squealed in pain. His careful footing on each narrow step left him mentally exhausted.
"Screw this, next time the staircase stops, we stop," Rumble groaned, deep in concentration as sweat poured steadily down his temple. Some were unable, but essentially all nodded in agreement. However, when they peered to the skies, their odds of surviving were doubtful. An eternity later, the four collapsed on the sudden flat base of the next checkpoint, broken and beaten. Tracy fell forward, forcing Rumble into a tumbling roll before collapsing on his back, breathing heavily. The sunlight beamed across his fading vision, a silhouette of a person standing over the yordle before he fell into unconsciousness.
The next time his eyes opened, Rumble sat up, examining his surroundings. His fellow champions laid on thin, silky mats, each with a damp cloth on their heads. Wobbly, Rumble stood up, catching the soft patterns of the carpet-like mats below him. Inside the room, a small table was stationed in a corner. The walls and what Rumble assumed were sliding doors were thin layers of wood, simple yet from an architectural standpoint was pleasant and tranquil. The yordle boy especially fancied the intricate and delicate patterns on the doors. Red, lit paper lanterns hung from the ceiling with a foreign language painted on each. From the dark shading of one side of the walls, Rumble assumed it was night.
"How long were we out?" he asked quietly to himself. A noise perked Rumble's ears, turning around to see the sliding doors opening to reveal a middle-aged woman with high, pale cheekbones and slim eyes. Rumble's current conscious status frightened the woman, almost dropping the neatly folded towels in her hands in response. "Um…excuse me? Can…you…tell…me…where…we…are?" the yordle asked slowly, enunciating each word. The woman rolled her eyes.
"Foreigners," she scoffed in perfect Valonese. "Learn this lesson well: saying the words slowly just makes you sound like more of an idiot than you already look." Rumble turned red, gulping. He quickly apologized and inquired of his current situation. She smiled.
"The villagers found you on the staircase. You appeared half-dead," she laughed. A rustling was heard to their sides, noticing Riven and Poppy stir from their slumber. Poppy blinked, eyes drooped in sleep.
"Mff-at's going on…" she mumbled incoherently. Riven groaned, cracking her neck a little too loudly and looking up at everyone else. Garen still lay asleep.
"What happened…" she groaned again, turning toward their hostess. She noticed the sleeping form of the brute man, and to everyone else's shock, struck her hand against his cheek with an echoing slap. The giant of a man grumbled, lifting into a seated position before his eyes focused.
"Well…I guess everyone's awake then…" the woman said uneasily. From then on, the group was informed of being found on the edge of the staircase, being retrieved from the stone steps, and laid to rest in the current woman's house, who volunteered to look after the drained group. According to her, all of them had rested an entire day, and had been kept after with cold cloth and drink.
"Don't even get me started on how the giant started to smell," she lifted her nose in disgust. Garen slumped in self-consciousness. Riven and Rumble on the other hand, rolled across the wood floor panels with spasming stomachs. Poppy remained quiet in thought.
"How long do you think it'll take for us to get to the Kinkou Order?" she asked. The woman raised an eyebrow.
"You're looking for the Kinkou Order, are you now?" she replied. "Their main temple is just beyond this mountain."
"How long will it take? That staircase is brutal."
The woman chuckled. "Indeed. Its brutality is so legendary our ancestors dubbed it 'The 9 Gates of Demise'." Rumble shot an I-told-you-so look at the group members. "But we haven't used that means of travel for half a century. Ever since the technical wonders brought by the advancements of Valoran culture, we've since traveled the mountainside via elevator." She headed over to one wall, opening it to find a breathtaking view of the sloping mountainside, catching glimpses of the still raging waterfalls that now gleamed the dim moonlight off its surface. Sure enough, a metal track with a train car only visible from this height slowly moved up and down each checkpoint. The track extended from the base of the mountain to the middle of the tallest mountain side, then disappeared behind the trees.
"There was an elevator all along?!" Rumble burst out. The woman smirked.
"It's visible from the coast. I'm amazed you used the staircase at all."
Rumble's face contorted in frustration. "MOTHER F-" He was cut off from a signature Poppy right hook. He whimpered feebly on the ground as Riven inquired more from the hostess. To the champions' relief, the elevator was a fast form of travel, and would take a mere hour to reach the Kinkou Order's headquarters. Further info was found in that the Order was the religious and national commanding organization, and had kept peace in the Ionian lands for millennia.
"Are you sure the Order will give you the time of day? I doubt they'll make room in their schedule for some Demacian travelers," the woman asked, handing each a glass of water.
"Let's just say we have urgent business that the Order can't ignore," Riven said, downing the glass in one swig. The woman shrugged, complying with their cryptic nature. After half an hour of preparing their belongings, as well as a minor meltdown from Rumble trying to find his mech, the group was led down the stone street of the village. Each house was like the one they visited: fences marking house boundaries while the terracotta-roofed houses had thin boardwalks lining the exterior of each home. It was amazing how well they tended to their gardens and homes, Poppy thought.
When they reached the end of the street, a small checkpoint station was planted, with an elevator car already positioned there. The elevator car was fairly sized for the group, large enough to where Rumble could walk in with his robot and still have room to spare. As it turned out, there were multiple tracks that laid parallel to each other, to which Poppy figured was for reducing elevator congestion. A mechanism seemed to mesh a track with another one, allowing for elevator cars two to four tracks away to reach the checkpoint station for boarding. The group gave their thanks to the waving villagers, then boarded the elevator. Everyone sat down, except Rumble, who laid back into his robot. Each one later thanked themselves, as the elevator rose to a deceptive speed and shot like a cannon up the sloped mountainside. It was lucky Rumble turned on the robot's suction cup feet, or else it would've toppled on the two girls. After yet another heated fight between Rumble and one of the champions, Poppy sighed in annoyance.
When the champions finally had grown used to the speed of the elevator, they could properly take in the sights. Waterfalls mightily roaring off mountain cliffs, forming large lakes that were ambushed by tall trees. Villages like the one Poppy and the rest visited rested on the slope and across the valleys. "Hey, does anyone want to hear jokes?" Poppy piped up, vibrant with excitement. Garen's face twisted into a cringe.
"For the love of gods, no!" he breathed in horror. Riven rolled her eyes.
"Give the girl a chance, man." She looked to Poppy anticipatedly. The yordle girl's eyes beamed. Garen braced for the worst.
"All right! So, there was…um…oh yeah! A Noxian, a Targonian, and a Pilty are robbing a bank. The bank guy says, 'I'll give you whatever you want!' The Noxian says, 'Give me all your gold you got back there!' The Targonian says, 'Give me the most fabulous gemstones!' And the Pilty asks, 'Can I own this ba…I mean, own this bank! You know, since he's a Pilty? You get it…right?" Everyone blinked blankly.
"I warned you," Garen said simply. Rumble didn't say anything, but agreed with him. Riven seemed to be the only one feeling sympathetic.
"You'll get better, Poppy. Just wait a while and listen to other people's jokes. Maybe you can make a good one by listening to them," Riven said, rubbing Poppy's head affectionately. The yordle faintly smiled before turning back to the scenery, leaving the rest of the trip a quiet ride.
An hour later, the elevator screeched to a halt. When the group exited, they stepped foot on polished granite. The city wasn't as shining as one found in Demacia, but had its own appeals. Many of the architecture that the champions saw in the gateways that guarded over waterfalls and houses in the scattered villages to also be in the city. Currently, they appeared to be in a bustling market district. Behind the markets, a tall silver palace with roofs like other buildings topping itself: one for the largest height with two lower roofs built parallel to it. It wasn't noticeable at first, but Poppy saw blue crystal fragments floating above certain decorated buildings that separated themselves from the pack.
Suddenly, the aromas of foreign cuisine drifted into Poppy's nose, ridding her of all rational thought and replacing it with pure ecstasy. "Oh, that smells soooo good!" Poppy drooled, running off before anyone could stop her. Garen and Riven groaned, the three champions following closely behind Poppy. Then the contagious smell of food entered the others' sinuses, and could immediately understand Poppy's behavior. From Rumble's point of view, the market had many similarities to the bazaar back in the Demacian village he resided in. Chicken dripping with what Rumble assumed to be Ionia's teriyaki sauce steamed across many a grill. Other small shops had fruits and vegetables in crates for shoppers to pick out, dates, apples, and oranges among the popular fruits while some favored potatoes, celery, and lettuce.
"If we could just have some," Poppy whined longingly, looking to Rumble pleadingly. His heart strings were pulled, but his pocket sure wasn't.
"Yeah, that'd be wicked. But we got more important things to attend to." People turned heads as they saw a tall, white-haired woman in a cloak dragging off a loudly protesting yordle girl. Then, Rumble spotted something in the corner of his eye. Insisting on the champions following him, Rumble checked out a large crowd that stood before a man in a long white robe.
"Peace among yourselves gives you freedom where strife and turmoil will bring along heavy fees. So be free! Just as our ancestors before us, you too can reach enlightenment!" the man preached, receiving loud cries of cheer and joy. Poppy raised an eyebrow.
"What is this?" she turned to Riven. The tall woman shrugged.
"I think it's one of their religious gatherings."
Poppy remained confused. She never really understood religion and didn't even properly understand its definition. The man grew in confidence, raising his voice higher and higher to the quickly growing crowd. "So be free of this world! Be free…" The robed man was cut off as the people in the market and crowd screamed in horror, trampling over each other as they tried to flee, but the crowd was so large that the escape was slow. Frowns crossed the champions' faces as they brought out their weapons. The white robes of the man were stained red, rapidly tainting the rest of the pure cloth. The man coughed blood as a voice spoke next to his ear.
"You should've told me where the Curator is," the cold, gruff voice growled. The man was lifted into the air and thrown with such strength that he landed on a rooftop on the other side of the district. Screams and wails filled the streets as large crowds were blasted backward into buildings and crumpled underfoot like shifting sand. The attacker licked his lips, cleaving any in his way with his large weapon. The four champions tensed. Renekton's reptilian eyes locked onto them.
"How did he get here so fast?!" Rumble asked to the air, powering up his robot for combat. Meanwhile, anger stretched Renekton's temples. "I was merciful last time," he snarled. "This time, I'll sever your limbs and devour them while you watch, before I remove your bleeding heads!"
Poppy spotted several white robed people fighting through the raging crowds, reaching the empty space beyond the roaring waters of flesh. Only them and the champions stood their ground as terrified citizens ran in the opposite direction. "What is this? Who dares disturb the peace…" one of them stopped as his eyes met the bloodthirsty eyes of Renekton. What Poppy assumed to be the Kinkou Order did not run, but years of battle taught Poppy's eyes to see the minute details, such as the slight shaking of their legs that would otherwise go unnoticed.
"Get out of here! He's too dangerous for you to fight!" Poppy demanded, grasping her hammer firmly. Renekton flipped his weapon in a taunting motion.
"The more the merrier," he cackled. "Last time you were lucky. Cause now I'm angry."
Poppy grit her teeth. Renekton was the toughest opponent she ever faced. Now, she must protect the Ionian officials for being reckless. Whatever happens in the fight, she knew she'd feel it in the morning.
I'll try to not forget about this story. My weekends have been filled with Christmas parties, so a lot's been on my mind. Plus, I've hit writer's block on quite a few plot lines so I need to find out how to escape my formulaic obvious plot progression and become unpredictable without throwing off pacing. So as always, thanks for reading my unknown works, drop a review cause they really help me out as a writer, and just stay patient if you want to know more of this story. Until next chapter.
