Chapter 9 : Insipid
Quinn swirled the watered down ale in her mug. Lux had invited her out to relax. At first Quinn was quite adamant to stay at home and enjoy the luxury of a soft mattress to sleep on but the mage had other plans. Without any successful attempt to shrug the blond off, she let herself be dragged to the bar from where she had eaten her first hot meal two days ago.
Lux had ordered ale and Quinn was not too fond of the drink. Across the Demacian scout was a young man with a mop of golden blond hair. His deep deep eyes shone with knowledge and he wore quite a simple set of leather and thick cloth. This young man had an intelligent air around him and being an intellectual herself, Lux was hanging at his every word. If Quinn didn't know better, Lux was enamored with this young man. Man, Garen would be in a fit.
"So you're from Piltover?" The female marksman queried while taking a sip from her drink. The blond man nodded, "I'm actually one of their appointed explorers. I've gone around my share of ruins. I even got this nifty artifact from one of them." He boasted the odd runed gauntlet that he was sporting on his left hand.
He was quite the dashing individual but Quinn was not hooked. "This is your weapon as well, if I'm correct?" Quinn took another swig of her drink, letting the malty brew tickle her tastebuds. "You got it. It has the ability to shoot energy particles which encompass the matter of an obj-"
Quinn waved her hand in front of the blond man, "It's all right. No need to go into detail for me. I believe I got the jist of it." Ezreal returned a wry smile while Lux chuckled at the banter. "Oh Quinn, you are such a spoilsport. Let the man boast for once."
A purple brow rose at the statement, "I do believe this said man appears to boast quite a lot. No offense but you don't appear too shabby to be a simple explorer."
"Ah, it looks like your eyes are indeed sharp. A true elite." Ezreal spoke and chuckled, he sounded much older now. The Piltover explorer reclined on his weather beaten wooden seat and appraised the ladies, "I'm not the usual explorer indeed. You can say that I am special."
Quinn chuckled and relaxed on his seat, "Special? I do think that there's quite an amount of pride on you." Ezreal stared at her and then laughed, the two followed thereafter. "I like your friend, Lux. She's quite the spitfire."
The merry blonde glowed, "She is, isn't she? Quinn's really one of the best heads here in Demacia." A blush of embarrassment colored the pale cheeks of the female marksman."Lux, you don't need to think so highly of me. I've just gotten the title 'elite' after all." She playfully smacked the mage's arm and Lux stuck her tongue out childishly.
Ah, it was these kinds of days that Quinn enjoyed the free time. Lux was always a good company, so long as she doesn't get hyperactive.
"Ahh, so this where you two are." The deep voice brought their attention across the room.
The tall frame of the captain of the guard was towering over some tables beside him was Xin Zhao. The two individuals were clad in simple clothes, there was no need to don armor in a pub after all; it would only intimidate the other patrons.
Lux laughed nervously and scooted a little bit away from Ezreal, Quinn could see the two men did not notice the subtle change in seating. Quinn gave the two Demacians a small smile, she was happy to see them but they were not really her ideal drinking company.
The two warriors seated themselves at a nearby table with Xin Zhao ordering a round of ale for them. The host brought them a heaping flagon each. The captain of the guard slapped a huge hand on the server and thanked them for the host's generosity. Even in these establishments, no one took lightly the accomplishments that Garen has achieved. Xin Zhao took a huge chug from his drink and letting out an appreciative sound at the taste of the cold beverage sliding down his throat.
"So who is this man we have here?" Garen eyed the blond explorer who was seated beside his younger sister. Truth to be told, Lux was at that age already but he wouldn't be handing out his sister to just anyone.
"I'm Ezreal from Piltover, nice to meet you sir." Ezreal reached out to the tall man with an open hand, hoping for a handshake. The tall brunette eyed the hand with much contempt and scoffed. The explorer could only laugh nervously and retract his hand. "This lumbering man is my brother, Garen and this is Xin Zhao." Lux sufficed after elbowing the armor situated on Garen's abdomen.
At the mention of brother, Ezreal visibly paled but held his ground.
"Ah, no wonder your name is familiar. You're the one they sent out from the Institute to report about the recent negotiations from Zaun and Noxus." The spearman spoke, appraising the young man in a different light.
"Yes, I was tasked by the sheriff to report to the prince about the recent negotiations. There have been bad news about Zaun especially with the recent break in from Jayce's lab." The explorer took a swig of his beverage, already warm. "With the recent revival of Sion, Noxus has tried to trade some of their men to be experimented by Viktor and his followers. Can't say its not a grim business but with the rise of Jericho Swain as the Grand General, Noxus has set the gears moving."
"Ah, so it is what I feared." The former Noxian prisoner shuddered and Quinn couldn't help but sympathize with him. Not long ago, Xin Zhao had been pitted in the coliseum for the entertainment of the Noxian nobles and elites. Everyone in the court knew of his story but none really wanted to talk much about it.
Quinn patted the long haired man on the shoulder, catching his attention. He could only provide a small smile in return. It wasn't always that he had something to sympathize with from his past.
"If these kinds of negotiations continue, they will be marching towards Demacia. That or they would conquer Piltover and Bandle city along the way first."
Ezreal's lips formed a tight line, it was quite a grim topic but this was what he came for. Noxus was slowly gaining power and sooner or later, the war will have to start. He couldn't even begin to think of how the rise of the power from the Noxians will ignite another rune war. Runeterra was torn from the consecutive wars already.
"I also heard there's been a stir in the Shurima recently." Xin Zhao added and this piqued both the silent girls' interests. "What do you mean?" Quinn inquired, she hadn't heard of anything since she got back. Not that she had anything to do, the marksman had spent quite an ample amount of her time resting and polishing her armor after the grueling experience in Freljord.
"There's been a stir in the sands of the desert. A monument I haven't seen before has emerged." Ezreal spoke solemnly, "I tried to investigate but I had been repelled before I could do so."
"Repelled? By what?" Lux high pitch voice joined in.
"By Sivir. It looks like an entity named Azir has shown himself and what makes it worse, he's also set on conquering the realm." The young man pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, he was replaying the events in his mind, "We have a lot at stake here."
"Are you sure we should be believing her story? What if she's mad? Anything could have happened to make her that delusional to create such a story." Quinn scoffed, she didn't want to go through another trip of magicks. Freljord was traumatizing enough but having an empire rise over the night, now that's something new on her plate.
"Enough. There's no use on stressing on idle gossip." Garen's voice boomed, his tall stature intimidating everyone else to silence. He eyed the Piltover with a bland look but his gaze told the younger man to cease the needless prattling. That was another concern to be discussed with the prince.
"Okay. Now that we're out of that topic, I would like to know why the both of you are here. You don't usually drink when you still have tasks for the next day," Lux huffed and crossed her arms. She was glaring at her older brother who had a light red tinged on his cheeks. His beverage had been emptied out already.
"We were looking for Quinn."
"For me? How so?" Quinn's brow rose, was she going to be sent out already? Not that she didn't want to, the boredom was enough to kill her but she also missed her bed quite a lot. She ran her fingers on the grip for her glass, she was a bit anxious about this.
"We have a special task for you," Garen took out a scroll he hid at the side of his armor. "Do not open it now. It's best you read of the contents on your own." The captain of the guard handed a rolled parchment to the marksman. The purple haired woman swallowed nervously, it seemed like a heavy weight.
Xin Zhao was watching with a sharp look, it had to be a serious deal. "They are orders from the Prince."
At the mention of the word prince, Quinn's cheeks flared up. It was another task that Jarvan had set for her. She gingerly received the scroll and eyed it with awe, this was a mission that Jarvan had thought of for her. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
Ezreal inched towards Lux, "Is she all right?" He noted how glazed the marksman's eyes were and how focused they were to the scroll in her hands.
"She's fine. Don't worry." Lux grin and turned to the explorer's confused looks. She flushed at his adorable looks but composed herself when Garen cleared his throat.
Boy this will be a long night.
….
Quinn dressed down to her sleeping clothes and settled herself on the covers of her bed. The scroll that Garen handed her was carefully situated in both her hands. She was nervous on what the contents could be. She was itching for an adventure outside of this simple, insipid life. She had dreamed the elite fighting the battles for Demacia, painting the walls with their nobility and acts of courage. She wanted to fly with those colors on her wings.
She carefully unrolled the parchment, letting the paper fall onto the bedspread. There were three pieces to look into. Her golden eyes immediately took hold of the first one and she was delighted to see his neat cursive on the yellow paper.
Quinn, thank you for your excellent work. We've heard of the recent turbulence from Noxus and we need your expertise.
As you might have learned from Garen and Xin Zhao, there's some dark biddings in the Noxian territory. At the moment, they are unclear. They've dealt with Zaun before but this time it feels quite off.
"Hmm, so it's something darker than what we know." Quinn ran her eyes along the parchment, letting all the information sink into her mind. She read through the second and third piece in quick succession. No sooner the Demacian collapsed onto her pillow, it was a lot to take in.
She had to infiltrate Noxus as part of the local traders and gather as much information of the tidings that the Noxians are dealing with. It was a risky move and something she was looking forward to. She would be lying if the thrill of the mission didn't make her blood pump faster. Her life was at stake.
Heck, she'd choose Noxus anytime over Freljord. She couldn't deal with the cold for so long. She massaged her temple, replaying everything in her head.
A shrill cry erupted from the window and Valor's presence immediately calmed the frazzled nerves on the young woman. Quinn leapt off the bed and immediately hugged the roc. There was a confused cry but she kept silent. She didn't understand, why was she so anxious. It was Noxus.
Shouldn't she be scared? She could get killed in this little trip to enemy territory but it didn't count as her top priority. The smouldering brown gaze kept her mind. The moment Noxus flashed itself on the paper, she could only see his silhouette. And as much as she tried, she could not erase him from her mind while reading the entire scroll.
"I must be crazy Valor. I can't think straight." She spoke and gave her friend some space. Sharp avian eyes studied her, cocking its head from side to side to appraise her. Quinn was different ever since their trip to Freljord.
The blue creature hopped from her arms to the drawing table at the far corner. The soft warm light of the lamp illuminated the table and various charcoal pencils littered across the worn wooden surface. Quinn was jittery and it appeared that drawing was a good outlet right now.
"Okay. I'll try to plot a map on how we get to Noxus." She muttered and settled on the lunky wooden chair. She pushed the pencils away and flattened the piece of paper, relishing the feeling of the coarse texture.
The Demacian stretched her fingers and imagined the terrain to Noxus. It would be a long trip so she could try getting a ride from one of the nearby villages who might be sending some goods to the parliamentary community.
She picked up one of the pencils and proceeded to draw the terrain. How it curved towards the mountains and the long winding pass with uneven terrain. That was where the rune wars hit the most. Then there was the dense foliage heading to Bandle city.
She let her hands glide over the paper, trying as best as she could to replicate the path needed to get to Noxus in a short amount of time. She could feel the smudges of the charcoal on her skin but she hardly cared, she was too immersed.
No sooner she broke her daze, her golden eyes widened. True enough, there was the winding path, the thick foliage and the rune-scarred earth on her paper. However, there was the distinct face she'd dreamed of the past few nights. The sharp tip of his hood and the wide plane of his shoulders. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes were directed elsewhere but that did not deduct his charm.
She could feel the warmth on her cheeks increasing and she quickly threw the pencil onto the table, mentally cursing at how it ended this way. Valor had peeked into the artwork and could not help but croon at the result. Quinn covered her flushed face with her clean hand, "Valor, please."
She bit her lower lip, how had she drawn him? Damn it. He should not be gravitating in her mind like this. He was a Noxian, she should not be acquainted with him from the start. She ran her hand along her face before trailing her fingers through her hair, trying to relieve the tension that was building up in her.
She stared at her artwork, conflicted. A part of her wanted to crumple the paper while another part wanted her to keep it, stare at it until who knows how long. She flexed her hand for a couple of times before crumpling the parchment.
She crushed the material into a ball and lit it up with the lamp. It combusted easily and the marksman quickly dropped it to the lamp. The flames licked on the paper, eating away the drawing as best as it could. Even though she did that, it didn't erase the image of the assassin from her mind.
Talon, what have you done to me?
She shook her head, trying to clear it as much as she could. It was futile. She took a rag from the table and wiped her hands from the remnants of her work. She should sleep, it'll help her out on this mission.
Quinn carelessly threw the rag back on the table and stared at the lamp one last time. The flames were quite large, they looked ready to sputter out of the container but the Demacian lowered the flame. It was still quite a big flame but it didn't threaten her of death.
She crawled under the covers, bidding the silent roc a good night. Conflicted golden eyes finally closed itself and she tried to clear her mind from the confusion she felt, from the task at hand and the things at stake.
She slept with a rather bright light that evening.
Author's Note: I was on a roll so I just had to pen it down. I'm also rushing after a deadline since Harrowing is coming soon. I might have cooked up something for you guys.
Also, please do let me know if the chapter was dragging. I wanted it to be a 'rest' chapter from the conflict. Think of it as the calm before the storm.
I do know there have been a lot of fanfictions in which Quinn drew Talon and it can be cliche but I do think that Quinn unconsciously drawing Talon is a good point in their relationship which is why I used it for this chapter.
Well, here's some good news for you guys; I'm finally progressing towards the Prologue. I've done some write up for the upcoming chapters and will hopefully get them done soon.
Once again, please don't forget to review if you have time, I do love reading your feedback and they inspire me to write faster and better. :)