Hello! As promised, this chapter is a little longer! The 3rd issue of the Lux comic just came out, and so far, nothing is interfering with anything I have written yet, so that's a plus! Have fun reading the chapter, guys, and let me know if you enjoyed it!

Chapter 3

Support for the Cause

Ezreal

I awoke with a massive headache. The sun was still visible so I couldn't have slept that long. I still couldn't access my powers and apparently the same case applied to my memories. I remembered walking out of the city and down the path into the nearby woods, but after that, everything got a little fuzzy. I must have blacked out at some point and judging by my surroundings, I must have walked quite a bit before I fainted.

I attempted to remove a leaf that was sticking to my face when I realized that I couldn't. For some reason, I couldn't seem to move my hands. Then I noticed the problem. Both of them were tied behind my back in a tight knot. I sighted loudly. Not again.

I must have been kidnapped when I was out and now I wasn't even able to use my abilities. Speaking of my abilities, my gauntlet was missing as well. Great. Another inconvenience I would have to fix on my way out of this god forsaken country. It was bad enough that in some areas there even was a curfew with the whole civil war that they had going on, but the fact that you couldn't even step outside without the possibility of being kidnapped for god knows what really took the cake.

Making a sound was what alerted the guy who seemed to be responsible for keeping an eye on me. As soon as he heard me sigh and then shuffle around, struggling to sit upright with my hands still tied to my back, the guy's attention was on me. His focus shifted and he called out to another person.

"He's awake, what do I do?"

Wow, okay. The group that had abducted me didn't even know what to do. I didn't know if I should be happy at the opportunity or take this as an insult.

"The hell do I know" I heard a different voice which couldn't have been that far away but I couldn't see the person it belonged to. "Sylas said we should kill all the hostages."

Sylas? That name rang a bell somewhere but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It must have been their boss though. Wait a second... did they say hostages? I was a hostage? But for whom? I didn't really know anyone in Demacia and the only way they could have found me was if they had randomly found me unconscious on the ground in the middle of the woods. Why take a hostage if you don't even know where to send the ransom note? That was just plain stupid.

It dawned to me that these people were complete imbeciles and really terrible at their illegal doings of abducting people. I grunted as I systematically moved my hands together and then apart from each other in order to loosen the knot. A nifty trick that came in pretty handy every now and them.

"He's just a kid, doesn't feel right" said the first guy. I now rolled my eyes and finally managed to scramble myself into a sitting position.

"Oh come on. I'm almost twenty-one. Why is everyone calling me a kid today. Should I maybe stop shaving? Would that do the trick?"

Guy number one stared at me in utter disbelief. He couldn't quite wrap his mind around my disrespectful manner I suppose. I came to the conclusion that facial hair would probably ruin my beautiful face and that the idea was crap so I banned it from ever entering my head again. Or at least for the next ten or so years.

"Okay" the first guy said, and the second one finally entered my field of view as well. The first one was rather tall and had dark reddish hair. The other one was quite petite and didn't seem that much older than me.. "I changed my mind. Is it okay to kill children if they're insufferable pricks?"

"I'm not a child for fucks sake. I pay my own bills and do my own taxes" they were both lies. I charged a lot of bills to my unknowing uncle and regularly committed tax fraud, but I simply said it to make a point. Although, to my credit, I actually did pay for my own medical expenses, as I often needed to go to a hospital immediately after my exploits in order to keep all my internal organs inside me. "Besides" I added "you might not want to murder me either way"

It was a semi bluff. I only planned to buy a little more time so I could plan my escape, but if all else would fail, I'd just tell them where to send the ransom note to, although my uncle probably wouldn't be too happy to bail me out of trouble again. That'd be important if I actually cared. The knot was loose enough now that I could slip my hands through, so technically, I could move them again. I was just waiting for the right moment now.

"What's that supposed to mean" the first guy said. The second one didn't really seem interested in participating in the conversation at all. He just stood there and watched. I shrugged.

"I guess if you kill me you'll never find out. Or maybe you will, but your boss won't be very intrigued, I can guarantee you that."

He furrowed his brow and grunted. Wow, this guy sure was gullible. What an idiot. Every time I travelled around these parts I got a feeling that Demacia in general was full of idiots. Or maybe my standards were just higher, literally having grown up in a city full of geniuses.

"Get Sylas" said the red haired man and the other one hesitantly set off. This could be my chance. Now that there was only him, It'd be easier to make my escape.

"So, what exactly is your guy's deal? Do you make a living from kidnapping people or do you also have a regular job?" I asked him, trying to distract him with random small talk. It seemed to work.

"Do you even realize your situation?" he asked. "You're literally about to die."

"Yeah sure, I've heard it all before. Can we talk about something else now? Except if your plan is to bore me to death, in this case, keep going, because it's working."

The man was utterly confused by my calm which was exactly what I was aiming for. I dropped the rope from my wrists to the ground but didn't move my hands just yet. I still had to find out where they had taken my stuff.

"What the hell is wrong with you. Are you drunk?" the man asked.

I rolled my eyes again. "I wish."

I was about to break open the topic about my stuff in a very sneaky manner, when the other guy came back accompanied by a rather muscular man, who, to my surprise, wore massive petricite shackles around his wrists with chains still attached to them. That definitely explained why his biceps was so prominent. He's literally been working out wearing these things.

I shook my head. Maybe thinking about this guy's workout routine wasn't the thing I should be doing right now.

All of the sudden, it came to me. Sylas. Of course. He was known to be a mass murderer and the guy who was currently leading the mage rebellion against the Demacian government. A dangerous criminal who would kill everyone who stands in his way. And looking at him, I could see why. The guy had this crazed look in his eyes and it made him seem pretty unstable. I was getting really uncomfortable vibes off of him.

"So tell me" said the man who was Sylas "what makes you so special that you think you should stay alive?" I could tell that this was more of a threat rather than an actual question and I immediately knew that talking to this man was a completely different matter than with the other two. I had to be careful with my words or I really might just end up in an early grave. "And don't bother if you're just going to say that you're from a wealthy and privileged family that could pay a handsome ransom price for your life. That will make me want to kill you even more." Sylas added with a grin that I would describe as borderline psychotic. This man definitely needed help, although I doubted that he'd get it anytime soon.

There went my only bargaining chip I had. I now had the choice of blowing my cover and confess that I'm not actually demacian, but where would the fun be in that? I had built up quite a persona for myself and I was enjoying my fake identity in Demacia to its fullest, I didn't intend on giving it up because of some manic jail escapee.

I forced the gears in my head to spin faster and come up with something smart to say. Meanwhile, Sylas stared me down, what made me quite nervous. "What is your name, boy?" he demanded to know. I was a little surprised that he cared.

I introduced myself with the name that I always wore while travelling in Demacia. "Jarro Lightfeather" I said, as always pretty proud to have come up with a name that sounded really Demacian but was actually also a literal joke, referencing the products I use for my hair.

"Ah yes. Jarro Lightfeather. Sentinel of Light if I'm not mistaken? I've heard about your heroic acts, though I have to admit, I didn't expect you to be so young."

Yeah, about that... I probably shouldn't mention that these were all acts that I had actually never performed. I just threw them into my fake résumé and somehow the word had spread that I was some sort of hero around these parts. Honestly, I didn't mind. Okay, maybe I even liked being called that, but that's not my point.

I took a deep breath and hoped that this wouldn't horribly backfire. "Yep, that's me" I said.

"You mindlessly fight for this oppressive country. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you on the spot, Jarro Lightfeather."

Apparently it was my turn to say something now, and, as stupid as I was, the best thing I could come up with was: "That'd be pretty inconvenient for me. Also, I already had a near death experience today, I'd prefer to keep it at that number."

The taller, red haired guy just shook his head as if he couldn't believe how dumb I was, and I could kinda relate. Sylas on the other hand seemed distracted by something else now, he just stared at me. Did I have something in my face? Why was he staring so intensely? I mean, okay, I get it, sometimes, people just can't help themselves but stare because I look so stunningly handsome, or at least that's what I kept telling myself, but this was different. He had noticed something.

"You're a mage" was all he said and I froze. How did he know? What gave it away? If the wrong person would have noticed, I would have been toast. But then I remembered. Sylas of Dregbourne was said to be able to detect the so called "afflicted" and had even worked for the country before he was put in jail for a triple homicide. He could literally see my magic by just looking at me. Which meant that the potion must have begun to wear off as well.

"But I don't understand. How couldn't I see it before?" he demanded to know.

I put some thought into it and came to the conclusion that now that the cat was out of the bag, there was no harm in saying it.

"Probably because of the petricite elixir I have been poisoned with. Nasty stuff, I have to say. Zero out of ten, would not recommend."

The following reaction I did not expect. Sylas just laughed. Out loud. It was a booming laughter and I could tell that he was laughing about me rather than my joke.

"How does one even manage to get into such a ridiculous situation?"

I was visibly confused now by the sudden change of his mood. Was I off the hook or was he just making fun of me before he'd go back to being a murderous psychopath?

"Uh..." I stuttered "Long story short, someone was trying to screw me over and steal all my stuff" which my kidnappers now had is what I refrained from adding...

"Listen up, Jarro Lightfeather" said Sylas after having laughed about me for a solid minute or so. „I am just going to ignore the fact that you're still pretending to be tied up, but if you try anything, you're a dead man, understand?" the threatening undertone in his voice made me nod, even though I didn't really want to give him the satisfaction of being the person who was in control of the situation. And how had he noticed that I freed my hands? Because I could tell that the other two hadn't realized it until Sylas mentioned it just now.

"Now., I'm going to make you an offer. I'm only going to offer this once so consider yourself lucky that you'll get this chance at all."

I kinda figured what would come next even before he had spoken the words that would inevitably come.

"Join our cause and your life will be spared. Refuse my offer and die."

Jeez, that guy wasn't kidding around. 'He's taking himself way too serious' I thought and it was kinda weirding me out. But this was actually perfect since it would present the easiest opportunity for me to get my stuff back. I pretended to consider his offer for about thirty seconds before I said: "You know what. I amtired of hiding my abilities away. I think it's time I stood up and fought for my freedom and my kin." I was putting it on thick but whatever. I wanted to sell the whole "demacian citizen" crap so I had to start acting like one of them if I wanted to seem believable. If I had wanted to become an actor I probably could have done so. I had both the looks and the talent for it, although watching theatre plays had always bored me to death. I still resented my uncle for making me go.

"But why would you want me in your ranks? You know absolutely nothing about me. You don't know what I can do and you especially don't know if you can trust me." I asked as it struck me as a little odd.

"Believe me, I don't trust you one bit. But the demacian military trusts you and having someone on the inside might prove very valuable." Sylas stated and most of it made sense. Although it was a very risky move on behalf of the rebels. If I actually was the person I pretended to be, there was absolutely no guarantee that despite being afflicted I wasn't loyal to the country. I could just gather information about the rebels and sell them out to the crown. Lucky for them, I couldn't care less about the conflict. I just wanted to get the hell out of here and go home. I was beginning to miss having a home cooked meal and a real bed.

"In this case, you will be treated as a semi-hostage" Sylas explained and I was unsure what to make of this, so I did the obvious thing and asked what the hell that was supposed to mean.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you won't be receiving any important information and you will be supervised around the clock until we can be sure that you can be trusted entirely." said Sylas and as much as I wanted to be offended, I understood that someone like him had every reason to distrust someone like me.

"And when might that be?" I asked, mixing a little bit of sarcasm into the question.

"That depends on where your loyalties lie." the red-haired guy intervened. I was 99.8% positive that this guy was absolutely not bemused by the idea of integrating me into their ranks. Lucky for him, I didn't plan on staying anyway. "And trust me, we will know" he added.

Yeah right, I thought to myself, you couldn't even tell that I had untied my hands right in front of you, dickhead.

"Can I at least get my things back, now that you have decided that I'm not a threat to you guys anymore?" I asked, feeling rather annoyed by now and pretty sure that this wasn't gonna work out quite the way I'd have liked it to.

Sylas didn't look all that intrigued by my request and was quick to deny it. "You are very much a threat to us and you will get your belongings back as soon as I have determined that you are not anymore."

Well shit. Now I had to actually invest time in this and gain their trust and all that crap. What a life. Uncle Lymere was gonna be so pissed...

It took about half a day to arrive at what the rebels called "the exiles' camp", which I expected to be exactly as pretentious at it sounded. On the way here they had actually made an effort to blindfold me so I wouldn't know the exact location of their headquarters. I would almost give them credit for being smart, if only it wasn't for the fact that I was a master pathfinder and could, with enough time and a map, identify my precise location.

"Do yourself a favor and don't resist" said the red haired guy as he tied a piece of cloth over my eyes so I couldn't see shit anymore.

"Oh, kinky" I said, intentionally being provocative. I didn't particularly dislike the guy, but if he was going to be rude to me, then I wasn't going to silently take it. My ego, which I have been told several times by various sources was pretty massive, wouldn't allow it.

"You're pretty stupid aren't you?" was the guy's response. I realized that I was beginning to get to him.

"Pretty? Yes. Stupid? No, sorry, by all means, that's you." by the following silence I could tell that he was gonna leave it at that. Score, I thought. One to zero for me.

"Isn't this somewhat against your policies and ideals?" I asked, as I was being escorted through the woods with my eyes blindfolded and my hands retied behind my back. "I mean, I don't mind, really, if that's what you guys are into, but aren't you kinda against this whole 'taking prisoners' thing?"

"It's just a precaution" explained a voice to me and I guessed that it was the other guy who was about my age. "You're not a prisoner, you're a recruit. If you don't double cross us, you have nothing to worry about."

"Oh, I wasn't really worrying, just wondering." I responded. I could tell that the younger guy seemed nice enough so I decided not to pick a verbal fight with him as well, even though I would have totally won it.

When we arrived at the exiles camp, my blindfold was finally removed and I was able to see again. What was referred to as "the exiles' camp" was nothing more than a few tents here and there and a shitload of people going about their business and loitering about all hidden deep inside what I assumed to be the mountain range near the border of Demacia.

"You have got to be kidding me" I exclaimed, more to myself rather than anyone else, really. I turned to Sylas. "This is your supposed movement? This is nothing but a disorganized mess."

"I don't recall asking for your opinion, Lightfeather" Sylas spat while shoving me forward as if I couldn't walk myself. Now that I was sure that they needed me and probably wouldn't try to kill me over a simple verbal disagreement, I felt a bit bolder.

"I know you're going for this whole anarchy theme and shit, but you can't be a movement against an oppressive regime without structure."

Before one of us could say another word, a woman, probably in her late twenties approached us. "Sylas!" she shouted as she ran towards us. "Sylas, we thought your group would not return." she said, entirely out of breath.

"There was a holdup" Sylas explained, motioning into my direction. "New recruit. Took him a while to wake up hence to why we arrived late."

"Is Maren with you?" the Woman asked. Her hair was golden, just like mine and her worried eyes were an interesting shade of green. She completely ignored what Sylas had just said about me as if she couldn't care less.

"No, she was supposed to be with your group. Did she not return?" their leader asked and I was surprised at how empathetic he seemed towards his people while he was so harsh towards me.

The look on the golden haired woman only got more worried.

"We got separated... do you think they could have captured her?" I realized that she was beginning to panic.

"There is no way to tell" Sylas responded. "We have to assume the worst."

"Then we need to go and rescue her!" the golden haired woman was in tears now. This Maren girl must have meant quite a lot to her.

"We can't do that I'm afraid. As much as I want to, commencing a rescue mission for a single one of us is simply too much of a risk."

Blondie wouldn't have it.

"She would do the same for us! Please, Sylas, you know that she has always been committed to the cause!"

"That's not the point!" Sylas' voice was now slightly more authorative than before and it made the woman flinch. "The point is, we don't even know if Maren has been captured or if she just can't return right now. Hell, she might be dead for all we know. We can't send our people on a rescue mission for someone who might or might not be in the capital, do you understand?"

She didn't answer.

"Do you understand?" Sylas repeated.

The blonde was in tears and I actually felt a little sorry for her. I looked at Sylas and asked him: "May I?". Without waiting for his answer, I knelt down to the woman who was near a complete meltdown and had sunken to the floor. Sylas was probably a good leader and an inspiration to all of the rebels, but he lacked something that I had, aside from good looks, of course. Charisma.

"Hey, uh... I'm sorry, what's your name?"

Between sobs, she managed to say: "Kara".

"Look, Kara. It's gonna be fine, trust me. Your friend is possibly out hiding somewhere until the mage seekers are tired and leave. She will be okay."

"Girlfriend" Kara sobbed.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, a little confused.

"Maren is my girlfriend. Not just my friend." she clarified. That would explain why she was so upset. It also ruled out the option of hooking up with her in the future. Don't call me insensitive, I was just thinking ahead, okay?

"Well, Kara, I'm sure your girlfriend will be here in no time. And if she won't, we will find her. After all, we're going to free our people, aren't we?" I gave her my warmest and most empathetic smile that I had in store.

Kara stopped sobbing and looked at me with big, green eyes. "Yes" she nodded and I could tell that my words had at least given her a little bit of comfort. If I was good at one thing besides being the world's best explorer, it was talking to ladies. This was no exception. After a few more comforting pats on the shoulder and a thank you from her, Kara hurried off back to one of the tents.

I got back up, noticing that Sylas was looking at me, clearly bemused by my display of social skills.

"Well well, Jarro Lightfeather. It looks like you're good for something after all."