Chapter 11

Lydia sighed, as she stared out into the sea. "I'm bored," she muttered.

"What was that?" a voice said, startling her. She craned her neck and found Ezreal, who was gnawing on some smelly plant. She wrinkled her face as the putrid smell wafted to her. "Could you not eat that near me?" she complained.

"Hey, these billidrocks are what's keeping me from throwing up my lunch, so you should be happy that I'm eating these!" Ezreal protested. It had been little over a week now since they left Bel'zhun. Relier had a couple of stops before they reached Piltover, and Ezreal took advantage of that to hurriedly acquire a remedy for his seasickness, a black root that, lightly speaking, smelled like hot garbage.

"Still can't believe the 'Prodigal Explorer' gets seasick," Lydia told Ezreal.

"Hey, my explorations are firmly located on land," Ezreal said. "I'll let the other explorers handle the sea."

Lydia rolled her eyes, and resumed staring out at the ocean.

Ezreal leaned over as well. "Relier says we should reach Piltover before the day's over," he said. "Then you'll be able to see the Sun Gate!"

"Yes, you've mentioned it a few times," Lydia replied dryly. During this voyage, Ezreal had seen it his duty to inform of her just how amazing Piltover was.

"It's true that we're just a city," he would often say. "But we're a city of dreams. We're trying to go beyond relying on just magic."

Piltover, from what Lydia could discern, was a city that thrived on science. While it was true that magic was a core foundation of this world, that didn't mean people had the aptitude that some would have when it came to magic. Most strong mages already had an affinity, and most could not afford the years of training to achieve the magical aptitude for magic to be useful, so many never bother to ever use magic. People in Piltover, however, strived to make inventions that could be accessible for everyone. Tasks that were previously thought impossible, even with magic, could suddenly done by a child… so long as they had the equipment. One such invention was the Sun Gate, which allowed access to the other side of the ocean without having to go around. To Lydia, it sounded like a typical canal that Earth had, so she was decidedly less impressed than Ezreal thought she would be when her told her about it. As a result, Ezreal kept pestering her about the many things Piltover has provided up to now.

Lydia yawned, then glanced at Ezreal suspiciously. "Piltover better not end up being some shabby town with all of this hyping up you've been doing."

"It isn't!" Ezreal protested. "Trust me, once you see it, you'll love it. As a matter of fact, while we're there, we should consider getting you some hextech. I bet you'll love it."

"But I have an aptitude for magic, don't I?"

"You do, but at the moment, you still can't use it all will," Ezreal reminded her. "And while it's admirable that you've still been sparring, your combat ability is…well, it could use some work. Besides, hextech gear seems like it might be closer to the technology that you're used to… if what you're saying about your world is true." Now it was Ezreal's turn to look at Lydia suspiciously.

Lydia groaned. "I told you, that's just the way my world is."

"Mmhm," Ezreal said, unconvinced. "I can accept that your place does not have any magic, but you're telling me that in your world, you guys make a huge, metal…whatever that shape is, catapult it to the sky-"

"It takes off, not catapulted," Lydia corrected him, but he ignored her and continued.

"That weighs several tons, can hold dozens of people, and somehow able to fly at extremely fast speeds…without any magic at all?"

"Uh, yeah," Lydia replied. "We've had them for a while now. It's a pretty common form of transportation there."

"Aw, come on, be serious!" Ezreal said. "There's no way you can manage to lug a heavy piece of metal into the sky at the speeds you're talking about!"

"Well, it's not my fault you're an idiot who doesn't understand the concepts of thrust and lift!"

"I get those concept! But telling me that you have an engine that-"

And so the sailors, for more times than they could count, snickered as they listened to the bickering of Ezreal and Lydia.

"Oi, I don't pay you guys to look pretty! Now move your arse! I want to inside Piltover before the Sungate closes!" Captain Relier bellowed.

The sailors, who were busy gambling, leapt up and scrabbled about on the deck, hurriedly shoving their coin and cards away. Lydia, who was perusing through Ezreal's notes about his explorations (dubbed "The Epic Tales and Adventures of Ezreal, The Prodigal Explorer), briefly looked up to see the scene before going back to reading the notebook.

"Hey, I know my adventure are riveting, but I find the best way to enjoy adventures is to actually experience it yourself," Ezreal said, as he sat down next to Lydia.

"I've been trying to learn as much as I can about Piltover," Lydia replied. She rifled through the pages. "You don't really talk much about it though."

Ezreal scratched his head. "I guess I never really bothered to, what with it being my hometown," he admitted sheepishly. "But hey, there are plenty of people there that write enough volumes about Piltover! You can read stuff there!"

"Kind of defeats the point," Lydia muttered.

"Relax, you'll be fine," Ezreal replied. "All kinds of people visit Piltover all the time. You won't be any different. More importantly, you should check out the Sun Gate. I've traveled quite a bit of the world, and even after all that traveling, I still believe that this is one of the greatest things to see in Runeterra."

"Fine, I'll check out this amazing water canal you keep talking about," Lydia grumbled as she stood up on her feet, wincing slightly as pain shot up through her right leg and chest. Gritting her teeth, she walked over to the bow of the ship.

Even though they were still quite some distance away,a bridge loomed over them, spanning the whole channel. In the center was the gates, two statues adorning each side, their bronze forms glinting dimly as they stood at attention, as if guarding the doors. The door itself was heavily decorated, though if you looked closely, you could notice the gears and parts peeking out in various spots.

But while that was grand enough, further back, another gate, far larger and more ornate, stood further back, so high up Lydia couldn't make out behind the top at all. She assumed this was where the other side of the ocean, and that wall was acting as a sort of dam.

"Well, what do you think?" Ezreal asked.

"It is pretty cool," Lydia said. She studied it a bit more. "Certainly wins some style points here."

"Oh, just wait a bit," Ezreal said. "There's more than one reason why Rellier wanted to arrive now than later. Should be right about…now."

Lydia looked out once more. It was a little hard to see since the sun was setting, but about a minute later, the sun set behind the gate. It was then the gate seemed to glow, almost as if it was gold itself. The glow from the sun made the entire gate, along with the rest of the city, shimmer.

"And this is why we call it the Sun-Gate," Ezreal said proudly. "Can only see this sight during sunrise and sunset. The engineers claimed that they did this on purpose, but most historians think this was just a coincidental feature."

"Ok, that is pretty amazing," Lydia admitted. She looked over to Ezreal. "Your city certainly knows how to make an impression, I'll give you that."

Ezreal grinned. "That we do," he agreed.

As they were talking, an orb-like machine, its rotors whirring furiously, made its way over to them, stopping right in front of them,

"Hello," a tinny voice came out of the machine. "Please state the purpose of your visit today."

"That'd be for trading," Rellier said, stepping between the two and the robot.

"Understood," the robot said. A hole opened up, dispensing a tube with a roll of forms inside. "Please fill out these necessary forms and place it back into the tube and me when you are done."

"Already did that," Rellier muttered, as he pulled out from inside his coat the already completed forms, tied and rolled neatly. He replaced the forms in the tube with the completed forms, while pocketing the empty forms. "Makes it faster this way," he explained to Lydia. He then pushed the tube back in, and the robot clicked and beeped in confirmation.

"Thank you for your submission,' the robot said. "The guards will process your application and perform and inspection shortly." And with that, the robot left, making its way to the gate.

"Hey, what about that?" Ezreal said, pointing the departing robot. "Isn't it pretty cool how efficient we are by using robots?"

"Eh, it looks cool, but not as efficient as you might think," Lydia said, thinking of online application in her world.

Ezreal crossed his arms. "Not as efficient?" he said. "Oh come on, you're telling me you guys somehow-"

And so they began arguing again, making Lydia forget to ask about something that had been bothering her, something she had noticed. About how even though the sun had lit up the bridge and made the city bright, there was a section that did not light up, but remained dark.

That question, along with the city, slipped into the back of her mind.

"Well, that inspection took a little longer than expected," Ezreal grumbled, as he stepped off the boat. The sun had now completely disappeared, and all the lampposts were lit up, humming softly. Lydia shielded her eyes from all the light. She never realized how much light a city had, but after her adventure in the Shuriman desert and traveling the sea, the contrast was bizarre.

"Well, not much we could have done about that," Lydia replied.

"True," Ezreal said, sighing. "I was kind of hoping to do some shopping though, but most of the places are probably closing now… ah well, just a slight delay. We'll probably hang around here for a few days anyways, there's no rush." He motioned for her to follow him.

Lydia waved back at Rellier. "Thanks a lot, Rellier!" she shouted.

Rellier tipped his hat. "No need to thank me," he said. "May Janna be with you through all the storms of your life."

"And you as well!" Lydia replied, making a mental note to ask Ezreal later who Janna was. She hurried along and was soon side-by-side with Ezreal.

"So what's the plan, exactly?" she asked. "How will coming here help us get me back?"

"There's two main reasons why we're coming back here," Ezreal explained. He raised a finger. "First off, when it comes to science and technology, we're probably the best in all of Valoran, maybe even all of Runeterra. The scientists may know something about this Earth you talk about, and might even be developing something to try to get there."

He raised another finger. "Second, we need to find out more about Shuriman history so we can get an idea of what that thing that transported you here was."

"Shouldn't we have just gone to a, I dunno, a Shuriman library?" Lydia said.

Ezreal shook his head. "They don't have such a thing. You don't know about this, but once upon a time, Shurima used to be a great empire that mysteriously collapsed. Ever since then, Shurimans consists of mostly small villages and nomadic tribes, with only their oral history to tell of what they know. Piltover has been doing expeditions to see the ruins of the empires to catalog their history and figure out what it used to be like."

"Huh," Lydia said. "But is it necessary to know Shurima if you guys are the best in technology?"

"Well, I do say we're the best right now, but Shurima has artifacts that even we don't understand," Ezreal admitted. "They were way ahead of their time. Part of the reason why the professors in Piltover study Shurima is in hopes of finding out how their technology works and how we could use it."

It sounded like that might be the main reason why the professors were studying them, but Lydia decided not to mention that.

"All right, so here's the place to know about Shurima, and not Shurima itself," she said. "So are we going to stroll into a library and just start searching around for… whatever transported me?"

"No," Ezreal said, grinning. "We're going to stroll into a museum."

They stopped in front of a building, which looked oddly plain compared to the other gaudy and intricate designs its neighboring building had. A sign read: The Lymere Museum: A History of Runeterra, along with a smaller sign reading: Special Exhibition of Artifacts pre-dating the Rune Wars.

"Not really sure, but I think the museum might already be close…" Lydia said, as she eyed the building.

"Don't worry," Ezreal said. "If I'm right – and I often am – He should be here still working as we speak." And with that, Ezreal knocked on the door. There was silence. The two of them stood there for a bit before Lydia turned to Ezreal and said "Often right, huh?"

Ezreal face flushed. "He's probably in the back! He must not have heard!" He began pounding on the door, but there was still no response. He muttered furiously to himself and kicked the door. When it seemed as if he was ready to break down the door, a prim young man, looking very displeased, opened the door.

"It is after business hours," he said. "If you would like to-" he stopped when he noticed Ezreal, and his jaw dropped slightly. "M-master Lymere," he stammered. "I was unaware that is was you."

"Hey, Kalki," Ezreal greeted him. "Could you tell the old man that I'm here?"

"Of course, sir," Kalki said, straightening his back. "Please, do come in first, though."

He led the two of them to what Lydia assumed to be the reception room, seating them at a couch. He bowed slightly, nodding at Lydia, then said. "I will inform Professor Lymere of your arrival." And with that, he headed off.

As soon as Kalki was out of earshot, Lydia raised her eyebrows at Ezreal. "What?"

"Master Lymere?" she repeated. "That's your last name?"

"Yeah, so what about it?" Ezreal said defensively.

Lydia sniggered. "Nothing," she said. "You just don't seem like a Lymere."

Ezreal smiled wryly as he scratched his head. "Well, I guess that's true," he said.

"Ezreal Lymere, the Prodigal Explorer," Lydia said, then shook her head. "Yeah, that wouldn't work. For some reason, I just imagine you as one of those posh old men sitting on their couch as they sip tea and discuss the philosophies of life."

Ezreal laughed at that. "But, my dear Lydia," he said, adopting a somber and formal voice. "I am only curious as to how fruit fly perceives time itself."

"Ah yes, but of course, Master Lymere," Lydia replied, following suit. "It is quite an interesting problem. If it is to have such a short lifespan, then when would it have its midlife crisis? Does it think of one minute as a year?"

"We must research more about this. It is a good thing my garbage is full of them!" Ezreal said, nodding sagely, before the two of them couldn't hold it in and began laughing. Their laughter was cut short when they heard a stern coughing.

Ezreal and Lydia straightened up. Kalkia was back, and with him was a man wearing a rich velvet suit, his cane tapping along as he made his way to them, his gloved hand stroking his beard as he stared at Ezreal disapprovingly.

"We are not that ridiculous!" he said, as he pointed his cane at Ezreal. "I swear, I don't know what you have against professors!"

"Oh, come on, old man," Ezreal said, as he gently pushed the cane aside. "I don't have anything against professors. I mean, I like you, don't I?"

Professor Lymere sniffed. "Sometimes I wonder," he said. "And besides, I hardly hear anything nice from the other professors about you. But I am not willing to argue about that. So what brings you here?"

"Can't a nephew come see his uncle he hasn't seen in a while?" Ezreal asked.

"You'll find that my nephew has a tendency to run off when it's convenient and thinks sending the random artifact counts as communicating with his uncle."

"Hey, I'm here now, aren't I?" Ezreal pointed out.

"Mmhmm," Professor Lymere said. "And I suppose your visit has nothing at all to do with this?" He pushed a newspaper, a boomerang shape particles of light across the sky, the headlines reading "ANOMALY IN THE SKY, ASTRONOMERS REPORT. BIRDS DROPPING FROM THE SKY". Ezreal's face paled.

"So, what is this about?" Lymere asked, smiling, though it did not reach his eyes.

Lydia pored over the newspaper. "Your magic could reach this far?" she asked incredulously. Perhaps Ezreal's claims did have some validity.

"Aha! So it was you!" Lymere exclaimed, slamming his fist down on a table. "What did I tell you about using that magic! Last time you mowed down a whole forest! A whole forest!"

"I did what you suggested!" Ezreal protested. "I aimed upwards!"

"That was said sarcastically!" Lymere roared. "I would have thought you would be smart enough to realize sarcasm!"

"Um…" Lydia said hesitantly. It was then that Professor Lymere seemed to remember that Lydia was here. He rubbed his temples, but smiled at Lydia.

"Forgive me for the outburst. My nephew, as you might have realized…is a bit much." He stared at her curiously. "What brings you here?"

Ezreal scratched his head. "Well, you see…" he began.

"Hm, I see…" Professor Lymere said, scratching his chin, after Ezreal explained the whole story. "So basically, you want my help, I assume?"

"Of course!" Ezreal said. "I mean, you specialize in Shuriman archaeology, don't you? And even if you can't find anything, you're friends with pretty much all the professors. Surely you can refer us to somebody that can help her out."

"I do see your point," Lymere agreed.

"So help us out, old man," Ezreal said.

Lymere stared at Ezreal for a while, then over to Lydia, his gaze intent. He was silent for a bit, then sighed.

"I do understand what you're saying, I really do," He looked back at Lydia, his expression indiscernible.

"But I'm afraid I must refuse."