"Argen."
The tall, reed-thin man pauses and turns towards my voice. His eyes, normally plain and tired, widen in shock upon glimpsing who addresses him in the early morning on his way to work.
"I...my lord!" He stands to attention and salutes. "How may I be of service to Demacia?"
"Follow me."
He hesitates a fraction before acquiescing, following me into a narrow alley. Few would willingly enter such a place in Noxus or Zaun, but in Demacia even the "shady" alleyways are well lit and clean. Ducking into an alley for a questionable enterprise is almost unheard of, as the guards actually keep a closer eye on them than they do the main streets. I have made sure that won't be an issue for now.
Partway down the alley I grab Argen's stick-like arm and drag him into a depression in one of the walls, hiding us from the sight of the main paths.
"Wha-"
"Silence," I demand, interrupting his questions. "We do not have much time. Demacia is well aware that you are currently spying for Noxus."
His reaction gives nothing away, a mix of outrage and disbelief. "I would ne-"
"I said silence" a twist of his arm accompanies the demand, reminding him exactly what position he is in. "As I told you, your role as a spy is known. Agents have been shadowing you for some time while a case is built against you. They are dealt with, for the moment, but when they awaken you will have the entire guard scouring the city for you. Do you understand?"
He hesitates for a moment, the instinct to deny strong, but he can see the pointlessness. I wouldn't be here on a maybe.
"Y...yes...but, wh...why?"
"Why am I helping you? Because I expect you to help me. Take this," I reply, shoving a sealed envelope into his hands, "and deliver it to your handler, or whatever Noxian official you can get to."
He stares at the envelope blankly. I may have overdone things a bit; regular men can be often be overwhelmed by the will of Champions.
A light squeeze of his arm (still strong enough for bones to creak) focuses his attention and stalls any questions. Noxians tend to have a keen awareness of power and the threat of it being used against them. When I release him, a jerk of my head is all it takes to send him scurrying away. I hate this part of the plan. If he gets caught...well, it won't make things impossible but I don't look forward to the consequences.
Not to mention the part where I am trusting a Noxian spy. How quickly times change.
A.N.
Champions and nations will often use mixes of older and newer lore, whatever I happen to like/fits more at the time.
For those unfamiliar with the setting? In the older lore, Runeterra was nearly destroyed by the cataclysmic battles of the Rune Wars. In the aftermath, an immensely powerful neutral group of Summoners created the Institute of War and founded the League of Legends, demanding the nations of the world limit their ceaseless wars, instead sending mighty Champions to fight in more limited and controlled arenas. Given the Summoners own immense power, and the fact they bound many terrifyingly powerful beings to demonstrate? The world complied.
Story was first posted on QQ, so there may be occasional odd stylistic/formatting decisions because of this. Generally it will be updated there first.
