Chapter 03
The Rewards Reactions and Discord
Hidden Cabin in Bilgewater…
The sound of moans and groans came from the cabin. It was a hidden cabin only known to the owner and a few people the owner trusted, one of them was Lark who was currently laying on the bed as the owner bounced up and down on his cock as if there was no tomorrow. The number of ensuing events that happened led to Lark enjoying the naked form of Sarah Fortune bouncing up and down on his crotch as there were a number of men and women who would kill to be in the position Lark was in.
Gangplank and the people he put into a position of power within Bilgewater were all dragged to the hidden hideaway Gangplank had been using to horde the riches and wealth he had been collecting over the years including what he had been stealing from the treasury that was meant for the upkeep of Bilgewater itself. When weapons and items of other pirates had started popping up amongst the horde of Gangplank's treasure many pirates got mad.
Many people wanted to start beating the crap out of Gangplank and his crew, but the one who got to him first after said person got out of his restraints was Blackbeard himself. There were times when people went into a blood rage and did things that haunted even themselves, but the rage the Blackbeard went into made many pirates sweat and pale as the man tore Gangplank apart with his bare hands, showing an inhuman strength that not even the bearded pirate himself knew he had.
Sarah Fortune, the woman who had brought light to the taboo Gangplank and his ilk had been practicing, gained the title of Pirate Queen for her troubles. She was well known amongst the pirates, even when Gangplank had a bounty out for the woman and ordered the entire treasure which Gangplank had hidden away was to be placed under the treasury which would go into fixing maintaining Bilgewater's most needed facilities and buildings. Any and all family heirlooms belonging to pirates or pirate clans were returned to the rightful owners which meant Blackbeard got back the sword he had gifted his daughter and used it to cut Gangplank's head from what was left of his body.
Becoming the Pirate Queen Sarah Fortune found herself getting Bilgewater as a whole back into shape which was becoming more and more stressful upon discovering how bad the state Gangplank had left the islands in. It reminded Lark of how the Undercity was left by the Piltover Council, only now someone had the resources and will to get things up a running to a point the people on the island were optimistic, something that both Lark and Sarah were happy about as the people had been down on their luck and living in poverty ever since Gangplank took power. It would take years to undo the damage Gangplank and his ilk had left behind, but it was something worth wild in both Sarah Fortune's and Lark Hamilton's eyes.
Right now, however, Sarah Fortune was giving Lark Hamilton the time of his life. The older woman had been gifted with twelve chests of pure gold coins inside of them as a birthday gift and something that would help both her and Bilgewater in the coming years. Lark had been saving the gold through quest he had been doing for the System ever since he had arrived in Bilgewater and saw handing the gold over to Sarah Fortune as both an investment and a gift.
Upon seeing the end of a few problems not even all the ill-gotten riches from Gangplank and his ilk Sarah practically grabbed Lark and dragged him to her private cabin and threw herself upon him and ravaged him until late in the night.
"More... More… More!" Sarah Fortune demanded as she continued to bounce on Lark's cock.
Lark was more than grateful for the System than he was right now. Both his physical and stamina had risen up to the point he could go a number of rounds with the redhead woman until she passed out from exhaustion. Sarah had made it her goal to try and outpace her young lover, and fucking him was a stress relief that not even a glass of wine or mug of rum could outdo.
While there were some in Lark's age that could boast about their bodies, Sarah Fortune found boasting and showing off his body was not something Lark had to do to make himself feel confident, just knowing he had a chiseled athlete form and weapon between his legs that other could only dream of allowed him to act confident amongst the female population. But sadly, for the female population, Sarah Fortune had laid a secret claim on Lark to the point she was willing to threaten them off if they ever tried anything towards him.
With one last thrust into Sarah Fortune's inner walls Lark painted them white as he felt his redheaded Pirate Queen tighten and screamed out in exacy. SarahFortune fell forward onto Lark who caught her and smashed his own lips upon hers with their tongue battling each other.
"Do you really have to go?" Sarah Fortune asked "I need someone to help me with running these islands"
"You have me on call whenever you need advice" Lark replied reminding her of the Call-Option the System had given them the ability to talk to each other even across the world. Like a smartphone network but one that didn't cost anything and operated twenty-four hours a day.
"But I want you to stay" Sarah Fortune wined and complained "I need my stress relief, those meetings I keep getting dragged off to are going to give me grey hair sooner or later. I need this thing when I get home"
She grabbed his cock and gave it a light squeeze.
"I much as I would love to stay and turn Bilgewater into a powerhouse, I need to get back to the Undercity and get things ready" Lark sighed and wrapped an arm around Sarah Fortune "When everything is done Sahara, then we will have all the time in the world to do whatever we want with the two most powerful nations under our control"
Sarah Fortune purred at that while snuggling into her lover. She could already imagine Bilgewater standing above the nations like Noxus and Demacia. Bilgewater was small and the rest of the world saw the people that lived in the islands were nothing but ship rats that needed to be put down, there had been a number of times that the people of Bilgewater had tried more than once to move away from piracy and become a more respectable nation amongst the mainlanders. But the other nations of Runeterra made it difficult and near impossible for trade agreements and peace pacts to be formed without the people of Bilgewater becoming subservient to one nation or forced to pay incredible fees or fines before negotiations would even open up.
Hearing Lark's idea of the Nation of Zaun and Bilgewater becoming powerhouse nations and allies was something Sarah Fortune wanted to back up and help to bring into reality. The weapons and technology Lark had been giving to the people of Bilgewater would bring the island nation to a much greater height than any treasure that had been obtained by Bilgewater. Just the indoor plumbing alone was going to bring change to the island and the people's daily lives.
"I just wish you let us use those weapons" Sarah Fortune pouted.
"And give Piltover a reason to come snooping around where they're not wanted" Said Lark "I expect the Mutt would tear the island apart if she ever suspected the Hex-Cannons were hidden here"
The Hex-Cannons were Lark's creation. He knew sooner or later someone in Piltover was going to create what would commonly be known as Hex-Tech and had contemplated killing Jayce Talis, it would lead to a number of questions as to why the Piltover Academy student was killed and what he had been researching towards. An accident would work, but getting an assassin into the topside of Piltover was difficult, and killing someone that was being sponsored by the Kiramman family made it near impossible.
"You might have a point there" said Sarah Fortune as she snuggled into Lark's chest "Can we just blow Piltover up and be done with it?"
"Trust me, the thought crossed my mind. I even had a dream of wearing a black leather tank top brown leather pants boots, black sunglasses with long black hair while playing guitar while yelling out "Fuck the system!". It was a fun dream"
"I can imagine that. But you in brown leather pants? No"
"I think I would look nice in them"
"Nope"
"Not even…"
"Nope"
The two continued to enjoy each other's warmth, Sarah Fortune was the first one to fall asleep with her arms and legs wrapped around him. If anyone were to walk in on them wouldn't judge Sarah Fortune for lying in bed with someone much younger than herself, the moment someone could wield and sword and kill someone made them an adult in the eyes of Bilgewater, if anything most people would congratulate the two while plotting to kill Lark in his sleep, it was one of the main reasons to why their relationship was hidden from the public, not for the fact they were embarrassed or afraid, but the fact Lark didn't want to look behind his back every moment he was on Bilgewater.
But still, being wrapped in the arms of the most beautiful woman in all of Bilgewater was something Lark could get used to. It had only been a year since both of them had become intimate with each other. Sarah Fortune, otherwise known as Miss Fortune by the rest of the island's inhabitancies, was someone that fell in line with Lark's dream of a free Undercity and supported it completely, from the way the rest of the world viewed the people of Bilgewater it reminded Lark of how the world viewed the people of the Undercity.
Rats that needed to be killed.
That was how other nations saw them, nothing but rats.
Before going to sleep he looked at some of the messages the System had sent him
[[The Snipping of the Greyhound has been completed]]
[[Rewards will be sent to you inventory]]
[[The Task in creating discord between Piltover and Noxus had been completed]]
[[Rewards will be sent to your inventory]]
[[Long Live the Pirate Queen has been Completed]]
[[Rewards will be sent to your inventory]]
In no mood to check his rewards Lark drifted off to sleep.
Five days after the attack…
Piltover…
Word of the Greyhound's fleet being nearly completely destroyed spread across both the topside of Piltover and the Undercity like wildfire. Those in the topside were demanding answers and refunds for all the goods that had been stolen while those in the Undercity were laughing at the Topsides misfortune and pouring a drink to whoever had given the authorities a black eye. It was safe to say that both cities had their own viewpoints about the whole incident like fire and water.
The one person who had to answer for everything was none other than Alicia Greyhound who had practically been dragged to the Council before she could even give a statement. They demanded she answered their questions before anything was made public which was why what remained of her crew were in isolation and away from the public eye.
Having been brought to the Council a number of times Alicia explained in detail what happen. More than once Councillor Hoskel made less and savory comments towards Alicia's decision making, which got on many of the other Councillors' nerves as it was becoming more and more of discretion for them.
"Councillor Hoskel" Heimerdinger barked as his temper with the man had reached its in "If you are not going to keep quiet and let Admiral finish her report, I would kindly put it to a vote to have you removed from this chamber until this meeting has come to an end"
"HOW DEAR…" The overweight Council member had gone red with rage but stopped the moment he met the glares of the other Councillors. The only person who wasn't looking at him with a glare was Alicia Greyhound herself, she had a look of contempt mixed with boredom on her face which nearly made Hoskel snap.
"Very well" Hoskel said grudgingly
"Good. Now Admiral Greyhound, please continue"
Alicia went back to her report which didn't bold well for the Council members. David Dewitt was brought in to testify the odors he smelled Mel Medarda confirming some of the scents were found in the land the Stoneheart family controlled much to the annoyance and anger of the Council member.
What was more concerning, was the fact a member of Piltover was helping them. Someone who had access to the Academy and the mages and sorcerers that were kept there had decided to murder destroy and rob the Greyhound fleet while crippling them at the same time. The thought one of their own citizens had betrayed them, created transportation magic, and used it in a tactical way (that even Alicia found to be genius) brought a wave of anger amongst the Councillors.
"We need to have the Academy locked down" said Councillor Bolbok "Investigate the matter and find out who this betrayer is. This insult cannot go unanswered"
"I agree" said Councillor Shoola who had kept quiet throughout the whole meeting "Though I suggest that we look into finding out if this betrayer is a magic user herself, find out if there are any missing students amongst those in the Academy"
Hoskel just nodded and said nothing. The man knew when to pick his battles and when not to, the fiasco over his airship bill was still being talked about amongst the citizens, while it didn't hamper the productions of the airships themselves, there was a lot more caution amongst the public in wanting to buy and use them. He had hoped to use the destruction of the fleet to at least remove Alicia Greyhound from her position as Admiral, but from the looks of his fellow Councillors, he could tell that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
Mel Medarda also agreed but said nothing more.
The final member of the Council raised his hand. Salo had never been a decision-maker and typically followed the majority around.
"So, it's agreed" said Heimerdinger thankful that they were able to do something rather than argue amongst each other.
The meeting went on Alicia described the weapons that were used against her fleet and the magic itself. While Heimerdinger might be considered the oldest amongst them his mind retained all his memories and what types of abilities were used during the Rune Wars, he could only think of one person who had similar power to what Alicia Greyhound refired to as "The Doorway" and it made the hair on Heimerdinger stick up.
"More can you tell us of this "The Doorway"" Heimerdinger asked with a calm voice.
"The Stoneheart soldiers thought it was like a one-way mirror" said Alicia "They had no idea we could see right at them"
"The sorcerers probably wanted you to see the Noxus ship and soldiers" said Shoola "From the way the sleeping gas worked for a shorter time period compared to what those soldiers believe, it sounds like this sorcerer wants us to focus on them rather than her"
The other Council members thought about it and concluded the same.
"We'll have the investigators direct their attention finding this traitor" said the mechanical voice of Bolbok "The Stoneheart's are out of our reach for now, better finding the culprit before she does something worse"
"With all those Hex-Crystals in her position I shudder to think what she plans to do with them" said Councillor Helen Kiramman
"Eighty-Two crates of Hex-Crystals" said Heimerdinger who was paling under his fur at the thought of what a magic-user could do with all that power "What could you possibly want with all of those Councillor Kiramman"
Cassandra Kiramman flinched upon being asked such a question. The whole cargo was to get ahead of the game against the other members of the Council when Jayce Talis technology came out. Helen knew what it could mean if half the things Jayce said about the possibilities of Hex-Tech as he called it and the power and wealth it could bring to her family if they kept a lid on his experiments.
With the medical research into her former sisters' studies failing to bear any fruit, the Rust-Lung cure would have placed the Kiramman family's name in the history books as the family to have removed the sickly mutation that had been plaguing both the topside of Piltover and the Undercity she secretly despised. Helen was forced to look elsewhere and find something her family could profit from, Hex-Tech was to be that step into the history books, and now she was forced to reveal it to both her Council members and rivals.
"One of the students in the Academy is being sponsored by my House" said Cassandra Kiramman "A bright young man who believes he can mix both magic and technology together"
Just as Cassandra Kiramman thought her words caused the Council to make a commotion and talk amongst themselves. Already she could see some of them calculating numbers in their minds trying to figure out how such technology could benefit them. The only two out of them who didn't have those looks of greed were both Heimerdinger and Bolbok and that was because the two had more than valid reason's to be wary of magic.
But before any arguments could start, Alicia Greyhound asked a question.
"Do any of his experiments ever smell like fried rice?"
The question caught everyone off guard.
"Excuse me?" Cassandra Kiramman asked
"His experiments" Alicia Greyhound repeated "Do they ever smell like fried rice?"
Everyone just stared at Alicia Greyhound and Cassandra Kiramman.
"If you must know the some of the experiments have smelled like fried rice. There were complaints from the landlord about the smell where my family's sponsored student has been conducting his experiments. But I have no idea why you would ask…"
"Mr. Becket" Alicia said turning to her helmsman who had been standing off by the wall.
"There was a hint of it, but at the time I didn't think of it"
"What on Runeterra are you talking about" said Hoskel
"The cannon's that were used against the fleet" said Alicia
"Just before they fired, I could smell the hint of fried rice, it was small, but it was there" said Mr. Becket
There was silence in the Council chamber as everyone tried processing what had just been said.
It was Councillor Bolbok who broke the silence.
"Not only do have a traitor who is capable of magic but also said person has either stolen or created technology that is a cross between magic and technology itself"
While the tone Bolbok used sounded like one of understanding everyone knew the sentient robotic being had no love for magic, after his and Heimerdinger's respected races had nearly been wiped out during the Rune Wars both had a layer of fear and anger towards magic. Bolbok simply didn't trust anything to do with magic while Heimerdinger knew it was something that needed to be respected.
"I want this Jayce Talis to be watched twenty-four seven" said Bolbok
"Whatever for?" Helen Kiramman questioned
"For both his own protection and to see if he had spoken or is speaking to anyone about his research"
"You think the traitor will make a move on him?" Salo asked
"To keep an advantage as this Hex-Tech? Most defiantly" Mel Medarda said with a thoughtful look on her face.
There were a number of thoughts running for Noxus citizens who had risen up in the ranks as a citizen of Piltover to a Council member. Mel Medarda was well aware of the struggles House Stoneheart was having, her mother's correspondence informed her of the House's troubles. It worried her that a desperate Noxus House had gotten their hands on highly deadly technological weaponry and had gone as far as to work with a sorcerous, not even the Noxus leadership trusted people with magic but they did tend to weaponize it when it came into their possession.
"House Stoneheart has a monopoly on the iron mines north of Piltover" Mel Medarda continued "There have been rumors of the mines running out of iron, the only reason House Stoneheart has stayed afloat was due to the soldiers they produced and what little iron they managed to substitute the little iron they are currently producing, but that can only last for so long"
"So, we have a motive for House Stoneheart. But we have little to go on with our traitor"
It was irritating for each Council member that someone within Piltover would turn traitor. Someone from the Undercity was understandable and could be dealt with ease. But a person who had access to the Academy and the technology that outdid their own weaponry was a slap to the face and would leave a stain on the nation that would be hard to remove if possible. People who lived on the topside of Piltover lived much better lives than those in the Undercity with more opportunities provided than any other nation in the world, the fact someone partially spat on their city's generosity was a slap to the face for the Council members as a whole.
Minutes after the Council meeting…
Rooftops of Piltover…
Vi looked down at the topside of Piltover. The fresh air was worth climbing up the side of the buildings and getting out of the toxic atmosphere that was the Undercity, while she had grown used to the Undercity and all its problems, it was good getting out of the place once in a while and enjoying fresh air the topsiders took for granted.
"Get up her Powder and take in the view"
Powder, Vi's little sister could not help but look at the topside with amazement. An airship flew over the two and could not help but watch as it flew off towards one of the landing towers.
"One day, I'm going to ride one of those" said Powder
"One day, I'm going to shoot it down" said Mylo who had snuck up behind them.
"With your skills. Up can barely keep up with in a game of Shot-Them-Up" Powder said back.
Mylo frowned and tried not to pout. Vi gave her sister a little smirk. She was not a wimpy kid who didn't whimper at the remarks sent her way. The talk Lark had with Powder before he was forced to leave brought out a lot of confidence within Vi's little sister, rather than being a shy and meek person, Powder walked around with a confidence that mimicked in her creations. Powder had brought a number of her gadgets and explosives with her she had created, even though this was a pure stealth job nether sister wanted to thing to be left to chance.
"Are you sure we should be up here Vi?" Claggor said looking nervous "Vander's going to be pissed if finds out we were up here"
"That's why he's never going to find out" Vi said rolling her eyes "No one up here is going to go hungry anytime soon and the place is an easy steal"
Claggor looked down at the streets and noticed all the Enforcers around.
"Do we really have to do this now?" Claggor asked "The Enforcers are looking for blood ever since the Mutt came back to port"
There had been a lot of drinking and celebrating amongst the residents. After years of being looked down upon and treated like trash by the topsiders, anything bad that happened to the topsiders brought a bit of joy to the people of the Undercity. When word reached the Undercity that the Greyhound had been defeated and had come crawling back to Piltover with what remained of the Lionhead many had been shocked, while Greyhound might have been disliked by the people of the Undercity for her less than kind views of them, everyone knew she was a tactician and one that was incredibly hard to beat, yet someone had not only beaten her but sent her back to Piltover with her tail behind her legs and the Lionhead in tatters.
Personally, Vi could not help but laugh at Alicia Greyhound's misfortune. She remembered when her father had been forced into the Navy by the court system and was basically bullied out of it by the Mutt. Alicia Greyhound used her father as an example to prove that her belief that the people from the Undercity were inferior to hold any position within the Navy, and the Vi could remember the comments the Piltover Navy and sailors had of her father and any person from the Undercity.
'Worse than the rats in Bilgewater'
'I wouldn't let him even touch a mop on my ship'
'Just the smell of him makes me sick'
It was safe to say through the hell her father had gone through that any hope for people from the Undercity getting into roles of Army soldiers, Navy sailors, or even the Enforcers of the PPD had been completely shut down. The only reason Vi's father had gone to join the Navy was due to fact he had gotten entangled with the law and he was forced into the Navy service by the judge. From there The Mutt of the Navy had used Vi's father as an example throughout the whole six months of training before they simply kicked him out in disgrace.
Personally, Vi wanted to buy whoever gave the Mutt a black eye and took her off the pedestal.
"Look, if we keep to the rooftops and not draw any attention to ourselves then everything should be fine"
If there was one thing Vi had gotten everyone in her little crew of misfits and thieves was the parkour Lark Hamilton had taught her when they were young. The training regiments Lark had taught her was something she taught in Powder, Mylo, and Claggor, thanks to this all four of them were able to run and climb across the rooftops with ease.
Coming to the building she had spent the night scoping out Vi smiled at the building which had little to no Enforcers around it. There was the occasional patrol, but nothing much in the way of Enforcers which they could outrun.
"Who locks a balcony door?" Claggor asked
"Someone whose smart enough to not get robbed" said Vi who pushed Mylo out of the way before the skinny teen could try and pick the lock.
Vi pulled out a circler object and latched it to the door. Powder looked at it with wide eyes with both Mylo and Claggor were looking at the device wondering what it was.
"What's that Vi?" Claggor asked
"A gift from a friend"
Mylo saw the initials and his eyes went wide.
L.H.
"Lark Hamil…"
Mylo didn't get to finish his sentence as Vi's hand and grip latched to his mouth.
"Do not say that name out loud" Vi said in a harsh whisper
"Mmmhpmmhp!"
Before Vi threatened any further there was a click and a ping as the device finished its work. Powder was the first to open the door and walk in while pocketing the device into her bag.
"Not a word Mylo" Vi growled before turning to go inside.
Mylo flipped his head around to say something to Claggor who just shook his head with wide eyes. Lark Hamilton was a sore subject for both Vi and Powder and saying his name out loud in both topside and the Undercity tended to lead to bad situations. Someone in Piltover's higher-ups wanted Lark Hamilton removed completely, no one knew who or why, but the fact they had gone as so far as to demand the body of his mother to be buried within her birth family's crypt rather than alongside her husband's grave in the Undercity, it showed they wanted everything that connected Julia Hamilton to the Undercity removed completely which meant Lark Hamilton had to go.
Inside the apartment, the four made quick work gathering whatever they saw as valuable. Books, documents, and even the chalkboard had been all placed into a bag that defied the laws of psychics. Much like the device that was used to break into the apartment the initials on the bag matched. It was one of the tools that allowed the team to pull off some of the most insane heists by taking everything that wasn't nailed down. Mylo wanted to use the bag to steal the golden statue of Councillor Hoskel had of himself placed in the front of his overly priced mansion and dump it into the toxic waters of the Undercity. Vi had even considered it until Powder of all people decided to be the voice of reason.
"Are we robbing some scientist?" Mylo asked looking at some of the notes they were collecting
"And where did you learn of this place?" Claggor asked
"For the first; yes. For the second; Little Man" Vi answered "Have to hand it to Little Man, he knows how to pick them"
Just then Powder came from a room she was in with a sandwich in her mouth and chest filled with Hex-Crystals.
"And we're going to be eating tonight"
"Was there any fired rice back there? I smell fried rice"
Five hours later…
Piltover Police Department…
Sheriff Grayson stared at the completely emptied apartment. It was only just five minutes before the report came in about the break-in when the Council had decided to put a protection detail on the upcoming inventor when he found his apartment broken into. When Sheriff Grayson was told that the thieves had taken everything, she expected the Jayce Talis meant his research the Council was desperate to get their hands on, not everything that hadn't been nailed down.
"The Council is going to be pissed" Sheriff Grayson said to herself looking over the statements.
So far, her Enforcers had come up with nothing which was a problem. Besides the notes Jayce Talis had kept in the Academy, all the research he had collected from his experiments had been taken along with the valuable Hex-Crystals he had on him, items that would have had him taken to one of the PPD cells if the Council didn't consider him valuable enough and pulled some strings.
"So, we have no witnesses, no suspects, and the person the Council wanted protected, was robbed of everything he owned within five minutes after the order had been issued"
The men and women around her looked down at their failure or away in shame. Already the Council was demanding answers Grayson didn't have answers to.
"Do you think it could have been the same group that attacked the fleet" one of the men asked
The thought had crossed Grayson's mind more than once. When asked why Jayce Talis needed protection Grayson found out about the connection between the attack against Greyhound's fleet and the technology the Academy student was working on, even when Grayson and her investigators walked into the apartment, they smelt the hint of fried rice in the air. Which led to a horrifying thought of the same traitor who had helped destroy Greyhounds fleet having a hand in robbing Jayce Talis of all his research.
She was just glad there wasn't an explosion to top it all off.
"Double the Enforcers meant to protect Mr. Talis" Sheriff Grayson ordered "Double the Enforcers in the city, pull who you have to from the Lanes"
"From the Lanes?" one of the officers asked
"The Enforcers there have little to do than remind the people of the Undercity that the Council is in control. The Hound of the Undercity will keep the peace until we've things calm down or we catch the thieves"
"And the traitor ma'am?"
"If these thieves are working for the traitor, then it's vital we find them. Have people check the rooftops around the apartment for clues, or bring me a thief to interrogate"
"A thief ma'am?"
"Yes. I doubt anyone here has the first clue in robbing a four-story tall building in the middle of the daytime and getting away with everything without making a sound. Find me someone who does and we might make some headway"
Authors note; The Piltover Council can go fuck itself.
I know. I thought I would be posting this during New Years at the earliest, but it turns out I've got Shingles and have been pulled off work for the next two weeks. I'm going to have a shit Christmas thanks to that but I thought getting this chapter out will put a smile on a few faces.
To all that have favourited and following this story and left me a positive review. Thank you so much as it helps me get through the pain.
I wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.