I woke up to the sounds of bird chirping. The sun had barely risen, but I felt completely refreshed. Sleeping outside was extremely different from inside for that matter. Everything was somewhat wet from the morning dew, and you would get that strange feeling on your skin, as if something was constantly pumping ice through your blood.
"Good morning Wentao." A serene voice said from near me, and I turned to see Ahri sitting up, her tails losing their hold on me. "Did you sleep well?
"Hi Ahri." I said. "Ya, I slept well. You?"
"Quite nicely, thanks." She replied, while stretching. "Yasuo, Yi and I took turns guarding the camp during the night."
"What?" I said, slightly embarrassed that I hadn't thought of volunteering my services so the others could sleep.
"Oh, it's alright little one." Ahri laughed and patted my head. "You need your sleep. All three of us are used to getting less sleep."
Then, Ahri turned slightly more solemn before continuing. "It's quite unfortunate, however. We wouldn't have had to keep watch at all if there weren't so many bandits now in the area. Bandits seemed to have grasped an edge of violence from the war. In fact, I'm quite surprised if I were to be honest that we haven't encountered any yet. True, I doubt bandits would give us any trouble, but it is still inconvenient and dangerous for the less powerful travelers."
I nodded, before spreading my arms out in a stretch and going outside.
Yasuo had indeed woken up early. He sat by the fire, cooking breakfast and taking sips from his water skin. He nodded towards us in greeting as he saw us climbing out of our tent.
"Morning Yas. Where's Yi?" Ahri asked, as she sat down at her place near the fire.
"He's at the stream getting water." Yasuo replied. "Our skins are nearly empty."
Master Yi soon returned, with a bucket full of water. We filled our water skins, before having breakfast. Yasuo had heated a few of the pastries he had brought from Weh'le, as well as a strange boar-like creature he must have hunted in the morning. Our hands got greasy as we ate, and we eventually cleaned it with water from the bucket before packing up to continue our journey.
The horses trotted over to us as we approached them with our bags. Ahri picked an apple hanging conveniently on a nearby tree, and gave it to one of the horses. The horse crushed the apple into three pieces before sharing it with his friends. Even the animals of Ionia knew harmony.
Getting on the horses, we continued to travel down the path. Much more energetic than yesterday, I scanned our surroundings intently while I sat behind Ahri.
We left the shady forests behind, and emerged once more into the dazzling sunlight of the Ionian plains. Wild deers raced in the fields, and large eagles soared through the skies. In the distance, I noticed a familiar set of mountains, and I realized it was the very same mountain Ahri and I had climbed during my second day in Runeterra. We were nearing our final destination.
Another forest came into view, and it looked somewhere familiar. Ahri nudged me.
"See those trees over there darling?" She whispered, glancing for a split second towards me with a grin on her face. "That's right around where we summoned the winged guardians. We're nearly home in fact."
"Will we visit the cabin again?" I asked intently.
"I don't think so." Ahri replied, still facing the horizon. "We'll be skirting around it directly to the front lines."
I nodded, and the grass slowly grew taller as we approached the tree line. The sun rose higher in the early afternoon sky, and I spotted a set of footprints that officially indicated where Ahri and I had summoned the winged guardians.
Finally, the gentle trickle of a stream signaled our arrival at the Chirmwood Bridge. Our horses crossed the bridge, back into the familiar forests. Small rodents scurried about their familiar business, and I noticed familiar flora that Ahri had pointed out to me only two days ago. We rode down the path, until the road split into two. The path on the right led towards Ahri's cabin, while the path on the left pointed towards the directions of the mountains. Yasuo, who was riding at the front, stirred his horse towards the path on the left while the rest of us followed.
Arriving at the foot of the mountain, we finally stopped to have a simple noon meal before continuing. Yasuo and Master Yi setup camp while Ahri and I went into the forest to forage for greens.
"Alright darling." Ahri sang to me as she strode through the trees, her tails gracefully dancing behind her. They swirled in the Ionia mist, creating patterns in the breeze. "A fox needs to know how to sustain itself. Fortunately, Ionia provides us with plenty of natural nourishment. Let's see if you can spot any."
I caught up with Ahri, and surveyed the surrounding area. We were encircled by a variety of vegetation, some of which I may have seen before on earth whereas some seemed to be unique to Ionia.
"This will be easy!" I stated cheerfully as I noticed a few types of vegetables I actually recognized. "There's some wild cabbages over there I think."
"Awww. I think you're up for a challenge, little fox." Ahri smiled. Her golden eyes glittered like the afternoon sun, as her tails swooshed playfully behind her. "Do you want to play a game?"
"Ya, sure!" I said, and stopped to listen.
"How about," Ahri mused, her eyes sparkling. "We each go our own way to forage for food, for lets say, twenty minutes. After that, we'll return to camp. Since I am much more knowledgeable about Ionia, I will have to collect two times as much food as you for me to win. Only plants count. Alright?"
"Sure!" I agreed, scouting the surrounding area for edible looking plants. "What does the winner get?"
Ahri laughed. Her laughter echoed through the trees, carried far off into the distance by the gentle Ionian breeze. "Well, how about the winner gets a hug from the other?"
I blushed, before nodding my head.
"Alright then darling!" Ahri told me, patting my head gently with one of her tails. "Time starts, now! Don't wander too far off! Shout if you need help."
Springing into the air, Ahri gracefully summoned her orb before waving towards me and dashing away into the treelines, leaving me quite alone in the field.
Producing a small basket from my knapsack, I bent down and collected the wild cabbages I had spotted earlier. I raised my head and looked back towards the direction of our camp. A small yet steady stream of smoke drifted from the tree line. No doubt Yasuo must have had the fire lit by now.
Like Ahri, I realized I also had a trick up my sleeve. I concentrated for a long second, focusing my energy before locking into a running position. With a burst of strength, I sprinted forwards at a rate I normally would not have been able to accomplish. Scanning the area for more edible greens, I put my newly learnt skill of "ghost" to good use.
I found a few small fruit trees, bearing colorful varieties of berries, and picked a handful to put in my basket. Foraging in the wild, especially in a place as beautiful as Ionia, was unexpectedly quite fun. Soon, I lost track of direction as I followed the trail of foods. Back home, my father did have a garden which I would help out with during the summer, meaning I had an acceptable amount of knowledge on vegetables. My basket was soon filled with a few fruits that somewhat resembles tomatoes, concilileaves that Ahri had shown me, and a handful of herbs I had deemed good to eat. Even though a few colorful mushrooms had indeed caught my eyes, I figured they might have been poisonous and eventually left them aside.
At last, when my basket was nearly filled, I decided to take in my surroundings. Although I hadn't been counting, I estimated around fifteen minutes had passed so I still had maybe 5 minutes to find my way back. Although I didn't exactly recognize where I was, I smelled the faint odor of smoke, which indicated I had likely gone in a circle. Our camp must have been nearby.
Following the scent of the smoke, I trudged through the forest bush after putting the basket into my bag. The Ionian robes had been expertly made for hikes through the wild, as its shiny exterior did a superb job at deflecting stray plants. Absent mindedly humming a tone, I stumbled as I tripped over something hidden by the tall grass.
Cursing unhappily, I stood up before prying apart the grass to see what I had tripped over. Judging by its size, I assumed it must have been a small log of some sort.
Suddenly, the shock of realization hit me. In the grass lay a figure dressed in blue robes, similar to my own. The figure sported jet black hair, and pale skin that was tainted crimson with blood. I stumbled back in disbelief as I found myself staring at the dead body of an Ionian soldier.
I was about to cry out to Ahri before I noticed the still fresh trail of blood that was leaking from what I assumed to be a sword wound in the man's chest. Whatever killed him might have still been nearby, and I decided not to draw attention to myself.
Finally composing myself, I looked up towards the sky and found a stream of smoke just ahead of me. I was about to dash through the trees to find Master Yi and Yasuo, before noticing something else was wrong. When we set up camp, it had been at the foot of the mountain. Yet the skyline was clear aside from the smoke. If I had to make my best guess, the mountains were hidden by the tall tree line behind me. Lowering myself to the ground, I stalked through the bushes until I eventually emerged into a small clearing.
I gulped back saliva in terror, as the horror of the scene ahead of me unfolded. Several bodies lay strewn in the grass, each covered by various amounts of blood. The bodies were split between two types of clothing, one sporting the familiar robes of Ionia while the other had red garments with metal bracers and an iconic symbol of an axe woven into a tabard on their chest. They were Noxians.
Part of me wanted to go back, to flee as far as I could, yet curiosity had gotten ahold of me. I somehow managed to crouch even lower to the ground, and advanced. My lungs filled with smoke, as the wind blew the smoke from a nearby burning cart towards me. My hands were grim with dirt, yet I barely took notice. My mind was filled with one goal, and that was to find out as much about the situation as possible.
I spotted a seemingly barricaded area on the plains. It covers an area of around 6 meters in each direction, forming a protective shell out of wreckage towards the outside. Although no sign of movement was visible from my position, I assumed there must have been people inside. I was about to advance when the clang of metal sounded from the nearby trees, and a voice cursed quietly. Then all was once again still.
Glancing swiftly towards the tree line, I noticed the glint of metal in the afternoon sun. It was a Noxian soldier. No doubt more of them lay in wait in the trees. I darted behind a large log to catch my breath. If the Noxians were laying in wait in the trees, that must have meant the barricaded wreckage contained Ionians. The Noxians might not have noticed me just yet thanks to the tall grass, but I very much doubted I could have reached the wreckage without being discovered. It must also have been much longer than 20 minutes by now, meaning it was likely Ahri and the group would come look for me. Yet I somehow doubted they would be able to find me immediately since I had told Ahri I wouldn't wander off too far.
That's when it hit me. There was a way for me to get inside the wreckage after all. I could flash. Shutting my eyes, I held my breath as I clenched the muscles in my body tightly. Yellow sparks started shooting out of my body, and I heard a nearby shout from the trees. The swish of an arrow sounded right before I disappeared and reappeared inside the wreckage.
