Onset
The Institute of War
"How was your rest?" Vega asked Isaac as the two of them made their way to the entrance of the Institute.
The same as usual, nightmares. But Isaac responded with a shrug. "Was rest."
"Well, I hope it was a GOOD rest since we've got an entire day worth of riding ahead of ourselves." Vega laughed. He stretched his arms up to the ceiling. "Man I can't wait to get outside! This is your first time leaving the Institute right?"
Isaac nodded.
"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy the fresh air." Vega clapped him on the back as the two of them reached a massive set of doors. "And here we go!" Vega proclaimed and pushed the doors open.
Isaac brought a hand up to his visor to block the sudden flash of light from the sun. Damn that's bright... I guess it has been that long since I was last outside. Isaac waited until his eyes adjusted before he took a look around. The doors they had exited out of took them into a narrow grassy valley with high walls. This would be a major defensive position, only a narrow valley to enter from. But then again that was likely the reason for the location.
"Ahhh fresh air! If I had lungs I'd be enjoying this." Mute said with a grin.
Isaac followed Vega down several sets of stairs. He threw a glance over his shoulder back up at the Institute of War. It looks more like a massive fortified temple instead of the United-Nations rip-off it's supposed to be.
As they reached the bottom, Isaac noticed that a blonde man dressed in rugged clothing appeared to be waiting for him. Behind the man, were three glowing horses.
"Mute, why are those horses glowing?" Isaac quietly asked his artificial companion.
"Scanning... huh..." Mute tilted her head to the side. "It seems that those horses aren't real, there giving off energy readings similar to those minions in Summoner's Rift. There made of... magic I guess."
"Magic... right..." Isaac sighed. I still can't believe that magic like this actually exists.
As they got closer to the end of their decent, Isaac noticed that the blonde man looked familiar. Ah... that's...
"Yo!" Ezreal waved. "How's it going guys?"
"Glad to be underway!" Vega clapped his hands together and shook Ezreal's hand. "Good to see that you made it."
Ezreal smiled and nodded at the summoner before turning his attention to Isaac. "Yo Archangel, how have you been?" He asked, offering his hand for a shake.
Isaac took it and nodded in response. "Bored, to be honest. Glad to finally leave that damn Institute." He replied as they shook. "What are you doing here?"
Ezreal pointed to the horses. "A mutual friend of ours asked for a favor. I'll be playing your guide while you're out and about in Valoran."
Mutual friend? He probably means Kasubel... although I wouldn't call him a friend...
Mute's avatar appeared next to Isaac. "How far to Piltover?" She asked the other two.
Vega opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by a surprised looking Ezreal. "What? Who are you?" He asked, pointing at Mute.
Oh right... he doesn't know...
"Name's Mute, a pleasure to meet you Ezreal." She said, taking a bow. Isaac rolled his eyes. That polite act of hers... she's not fooling me...
"Umm... thanks. The pleasure is all mine." Ezreal replied, cautiously looking Mute up and down. "What are you?"
"I'm an AI, artificial intelligence, assigned to Archangel." Mute took a leaned back stance. "You could say I'm his partner in crime."
"Oh, well, glad to have you aboard." Ezreal waved with a smile, although his expression clearly stated he still didn't understand most of what Mute said. Artificial intelligence is still a long ways off for these guys... Isaac thought, but then he remembered that robot he met in Summoner's Rift, Blitzcrank. Ok, maybe not too far off. Maybe their magic lets them already have it?
"So, back to me first question, how long until we reach this city?" Mute asked again.
"On normal horseback, it would take us four days, and that would be only if we were going at full speed without breaks." Ezreal said, before thrusting his hand over his shoulder to point at the three glowing horses behind him. "But thanks to the League, we've got these summoned horses that'll get us there by tomorrow."
Fancy... Isaac looked the horses over again. Summoned, so the summoner's made them I guess?
"Very good, shall we?" Mute took another bow and her avatar vanished.
"Yes, I'm eager to be off." Vega rolled his shoulders and mounted the first horse.
"What's up with that polite lady-like attitude just now?" Isaac quietly asked Mute as he approached one of the horses.
Mute's grinning face appeared in her usual spot in his HUD and gave a shrug. "First impressions are important, it balances out your "it's just all business" approach you have."
Isaac rolled his eyes and tried to mount one of the horses. To his frustration it wasn't as easy as it looked, so it took him a good minute to finally get himself properly in the saddle; all the while Ezreal and Vega watched on grinning and Mute's snickering in his helmet.
"Having issues?" Ezreal chuckled as Isaac finally got himself in the saddle. "Have you never ridden a horse before?"
"No." Isaac growled. "There's no need for riding horses anymore in my world." We've got aircraft and cars for that crap! Isaac tried to hide the frustration in his voice over having such difficultly with something that he found so trivial, but he must've failed since both Ezreal and Vega we're chuckling.
"It appears there IS something that the great Archangel is incapable of." Vega laughed. Isaac ignored the jab and made sure he was properly saddled up.
"Let's just go..." Isaac mumbled in response, still feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Right," Ezreal nodded and pressed his horse onwards. "Follow me." And he took off, with Vega quickly galloping behind.
Isaac on the other hand had a little more difficulty starting off, but his horse quickly got up to speed and the three of them sped away from the Institute; all the while Mute was laughing in Isaac's helmet at his frustration at riding horseback.
Meeting
Havori province, Ionia
The once peaceful mountain village was burning. Flames engulfed the once breathtaking architecture, incinerating everything. Twenty soldiers rode up on steeds to the burning village, stopping at the flaming entrance. At the head of the group was a young woman clad in bright red and grey armor. Floating behind her fair blue haired head was the esteemed Mantle of Decorum, Ionia's highest decoration, and strapped to her back was a large orb with four blades attached to it.
The soldiers behind the beautiful woman talked among themselves about the sight of the village.
"Damn, we're too late."
"Who could've done this?"
"Do you think anyone survived?"
"Hush." The woman said, bringing all whispering to a halt. She narrowed her eyes, scanning the area before her. "Draw your swords."
The sounds of the nineteen mounted Ionian soldiers drawing their blades filled the air. The orb in the woman's possession came to life; the four blades detached themselves, all five airborne object floating to the front of her. The woman raised her hand and twisted her wrist. Responding to her movement the four blades quickly began to spin in circle around her.
With her entire unit ready for battle, Irelia dismounted and scanned ahead for the enemy she sensed. "Show yourselves!" She shouted, commanding the hidden enemy to reveal themselves. If they were her enemy, they would not listen. If they were not her enemies, they would obey her.
"As you wish." A voice said seemingly from nowhere. From the shadows that were cast by the burning flames, several hooded figures materialized from thin air. One of them stepped forward and removed her cowl. Underneath she still wore a green mask that covered her face from the top of the nose down.
Irelia looked this figure over and then with a motion of hand, her blades lowered themselves and returned to rest in the air in front of her. "Who did this?" She asked the masked woman.
"Zed's forces." The woman answered.
Irelia looked the woman in the eyes for a few seconds before closing her own. Not again… She sorrowfully thought before looking at the burning village again. My duty… Irelia walked up next to the woman, until their shoulders were almost touching, her gaze never leaving the flames.
"We did find… something though..." The woman spoke again.
"What did you find?"
Another one of the hooded figures quickly moved to the masked woman's side, handing off a wrapped up object to her. The woman took it, turned to face Irelia, and gave it to her.
Irelia held the cloth wrapped object in her hands, trying to get a feel for it. It was small, but she could feel a strange shape underneath the wrapping, her curiosity growing. She carefully undid the bindings, carefully removing the cloth; unwrapping the object that the ninjas had found. As she removed the last of the bindings, the cloth dropped to the dry earth, revealing the object.
What is this? Irelia frowned as she held the mysterious object in her hand, turning it over and over again as she inspected it. It looked somewhat like a gun, a pistol to be exact. But it wasn't like any of the pistols she had seen before. Everyone she had seen looked clunky, uneven, and weighty. This one was sleek, light, and smaller than any other.
"And this was found here?" Irelia asked the ninjas, as she turned the black gun over in her hand.
"Yes, it was found lying on the ground near the village inn. Judging by the area surrounding this strange gun, it appears there was a struggle of sorts."
"A fight?" Irelia asked.
"Yes, it appeared so." The woman nodded.
"Was it the villagers?"
The masked woman shook her head in response. "I don't believe the villagers could have possibly possessed this weapon."
Irelia felt a tinge of uneasiness. "Does Zed?" She asked.
The woman shook her head again. "We have no cause to believe he or his forces do."
"So who then?" Irelia asked, trying to come up with suspects in her mind as she questioned the woman.
Silence was her answer.
I'll have to come to an answer on my own it seems. Irelia lowered her head to the woman as a sign on thanks. "Thank you for giving this to me, I will investigate with everything I have."
The masked woman returned the bow. "And we will search as well. Zed must be stopped, it is our duty."
Yes, yes it is. For the people of Ionia, he will be stopped! Irelia though as she mounted her horse again and ordered her forces to return to the Placidium. As the Ionian soldiers returned to the capital the woman with the green mask motioned her own followers to move on.
As her fellow ninjas vanished, Akali took one last look at the burning village before disappearing into the shadows.
The City of Progress
Piltover
The journey to Piltover was uneventful, but that's what made it so pleasant to Isaac. It was nice not having to worry about the possibility of someone trying to kill him or facing decimation at every turn. For the most part of the journey Vega and Ezreal were making conversation, meanwhile Isaac admired the landscapes they rode over while listening to Mute's theories on the disappearances, as well as the identity of the hooded figures in the pictures.
In summary, Mute had little idea who the kidnappers were, but she made it clear that they couldn't rule out the Ascension just yet. As for the hooded figures, Mute believed that there was a much larger possibility that the hooded figures dealing with the mana crystal thieves were related to the Ascension in some way. After all, the Ascension was stockpiling mana on earth, so that meant they had to be gathering it somehow.
After they discussed the Ascension, Isaac and Mute reviewed the situation on Firewall. From what little information that had, his last known whereabouts were in those mines near Piltover, so there was a possibility that he was still in the area. But those pictures were days old by the time Isaac got to see them, and it would be another day before they reached the city. So there was a good chance he could've skipped town by the time they got there. But the fact remained that he WAS in the area, so it was the best place to search for clues.
How did he get there? Where did the rift send him to? What was he doing in those mines? The questions Isaac needed to ask his missing squad-mate were endless, and he was certain Firewall would have some for him too. If we can all link up together again, we stand a better chance at delivering a blow to the Ascension. Contrary to what the world thought, the Ascension was defeated not eliminated during the Ascension Wars. The world wanted to paint them as terrorist remains, not the organized army that once brought countries to their knees.
During their night camp out, the four of them all chatted by the fire before bed, and Isaac learned a bit more about his new companions. Ezreal was apparently some kind of famous explorer; the Grandmaster Explorer of Piltover was his official title. The massive gauntlet he used while in Summoner's Rift was something he found while exploring some pyramids. Isaac was a bit cynical of his boasts though, particularly the one where he claimed to have completely mapped out Piltover's tunnels by the age of eight.
But then again, there might just be people like that in this world.
Vega on the other hand didn't have much of a famous background to boast about. He had come from a small Avarosan village in the Freljord, and had been sent to train as a summoner in the League a few years ago. Judging by his tone of voice when he spoke of his home, Isaac guessed he still felt loyal to these… Avarosan people and their leader, Ashe.
Ashe? The same Ashe I fought in Summoner's Rift? She's a queen? Isaac had asked Vega the same questions and he answered yes to all with a wide smile. Damn… from the way I killed her in that match I'm going to want to avoid that place for a bit.
They broke camp before sunrise the following day, and after a few difficulties consisting of Isaac trying to mount a horse again, they continued their journey. By the afternoon the group had reached their goal.
"Piltover, the City of Progress!" Ezreal waved his hands outward as the group looked over the vast city from the hilltop they were currently standing on. Isaac gazed over the city of Piltover. It wasn't anything like he was expecting. The city looked anything but medieval, with tall buildings and a massive lack of slums. The inner part of the city was protected by a single ring wall, and their seemed to be a very active port as well.
Just like that damn book said… A city built on a small mountain in the middle of a marsh…
"What do you think?" Ezreal asked Isaac, he seemed to what to know what the otherworlder thought of his hometown.
"It's… different than I expected…" Isaac answered honestly. "Looks… ahead of its time."
Ezreal nodded. "Well, it isn't known as the City of Progress for nothing!"
"With those tall white buildings and green grass, it almost looks… utopian." Mute commented.
"It certainly does… but is it really?" Isaac's cynical attitude kicked in again. There is no such thing as a utopia; there will always be wars, racism, and crime. It's part of what makes people human.
"It hasn't always been the case, Piltover used to have one of the highest crime rates in all of Valoran until the last decade or so." Vega explained. "It wasn't until Caitlyn herself brought the crime lords to their knees. And the result is what you see now, one of the safest cities in all of Valoran."
Isaac gave a humph in response. I'll judge this sheriff myself when I see her…
"So where do we go now?" He asked. "Directly to this sheriff?"
"Soon," Ezreal responded, "First, we need to stop by my own office. There's a few things I need to gather before we meet with Cait and Vi."
"Vi?" Isaac asked. Why does that name seem familiar?
"Yeah, Vi is Caitlyn's partner. You met her already, in Summoner's Rift." Vega said, galloping forwards until he was in front of Isaac, looking right at him. "You know, the pink haired girl who almost killed you?"
"She's a cop?!" Isaac couldn't stop the surprise in his voice from coming out.
Vega nodded. "Yep, so don't expect a warm welcome from her at least… Vi has, a bit of a short temper."
"I'll keep that in mind…" Isaac said with a slight frown on his face, his gaze leaving Vega and back to the city before them.
"Alright, let's go. These horses probably don't have much energy left before they'll vanish." Ezreal said, giving his horse a kick and shouting out a hi-yah! He sped down the hill towards the city, with Vega close behind him.
Isaac remained where he was, still looking at the city in the distance. "You think we'll find what we're looking for here?" He asked the only one left with him.
"Maybe…" Mute responded, "But we won't find anything by standing here."
"Right…" Isaac muttered and motioned his own horse onwards to catch up to his younger, energetic companions.
As the trio walked through the city, Isaac quickly observed that the people of Piltover matched their city. They were rather polite, seemed smart (or at least not stupid and gullible as he expected peasants to be), and were rather lively. Every now and then someone would wave or call out to Ezreal as he passed them by, and he would return the welcoming with a wave.
Guess he really is famous. Isaac looked around, the city as they walked. It seemed much more like a modern city then a medieval one all right. People still walked everywhere and the streets were indeed busy, but there were lampposts, glowing signs, and everything of the like wherever they went in Piltover.
Well, maybe not modern per say… this technology they seem to possess here seems rather clunky, but it's much more advanced than anything I expected to find out here.
Isaac's gaze returned to the front as he followed behind Vega and Ezreal through the bustling streets. He noticed a small group of small furry humanoids, each under a meter tall, walk past him. Isaac didn't believe what he saw and took a second look at the group. What the hell?
"Mute…" Isaac whispered to his AI.
"Scanning…" She replied, and after a few seconds. "There… not human, obviously, but they don't seem to be dangerous or hostile, biologically wise that is."
"So…?"
"I think… I think those are yordles."
"A yordle…" Isaac furrowed his brow in confusion, before it hit him. Right, it was in that history book. Yordles, a sentient race of small humanoids that live in Bandle City…
"Yep, that's them…" A wide smile grew across her face. "Aww, they look so cute!"
"Oh brother…" Isaac rolled his eyes and looked back ahead. Vega and Ezreal had gained a bit of distance from him since he had slowed down to scan the yordles, but they were still close. Should probably catch up…
He quickened his pace to catch up. This section of the street they were on was a little quieter, and Isaac could make out what people were saying nearby.
"Who is that?"
"Who?"
"That man in the black armor…"
"Is he a Noxian?"
Isaac frowned. They were likely talking about him, since he couldn't see anyone else in his sight with black armor.
"Hey, he looks like that new champion."
"Your right…"
"Is that… Archangel?"
"It looks like him."
"Hey Archangel! Is that you?" Someone shouted out his codename.
Ah shit… Isaac hated the attention. Do I wave like Ezreal? Or do I walk on?
Mute snickered. "Looks like you've been spoooooted!"
"Shut up Mute…" Isaac muttered quietly, choosing to stay silent and walk on, trying to catch up to Ezreal. But he heard more people calling out to him and his uneasiness grew. Screw it. Isaac spotted an alley to his left and turned into it. I'll catch up with those two in a second… and if I get lost, Ezreal seems to be famous enough that SOMEBODY in this city can point me to his office.
That's when he heard a strange snickering sound. At first he just thought it was Mute's, but she didn't seem to be laughing anymore; just grinning. And on top of that, it sounded more distant, not inside his helmet.
What? Isaac slowed down to almost a standstill. Is that sound?
"Mute you hear that?" He asked quietly.
"What?"
"That snickering…"
"Snickering…. Wait… yeah I hear it too."
"Where?"
"You're left."
Isaac looked to his left; there was nothing but a wall there. He cautiously walked around it to see the source of the laughing. Just behind the wall, back facing him, was a girl with a familiar set of long blue pigtails. She was snickering, very unsubtly as she spray-painted the wall in front of her.
Oh… Isaac just watched the girl tag the wall, cackling and snickering as she did.
"Isn't that…?" Mute began.
"I think so…" Isaac shook his head and let out a sigh, walking up behind the girl. She didn't seem to notice him, because she didn't stop tagging the wall. Isaac looked over her shoulder to see what she was drawing or writing on the wall, and frowned in slight confusion at what he saw.
Jinx was here…? Isaac rolled his eyes. Really?
He let out another sigh and tapped Jinx on the shoulder. "What the hell-" He began.
Jinx let out a yelp, spun around, and immediately spray-painted his visor. Isaac took a quick step back in surprise, unable to see anything now. Oh for...
"What the hell was that for?!" He half shouted, trying to wipe off the paint quickly. Too late, it was already dry. Well fuck me…
"Ar-Archangel?" Jinx's voice was filled with surprise. "Wow, I thought you were hat-lady! Whew!"
"Who the fuck is hat-lady?" Isaac asked in frustration as he tried to think of a way to get rid of the blue paint that rendered him almost blind. If someone attacks me here, right now, I'm in deep shit.
"What's your problem?" Jinx scoffed at him.
"You're kidding right?" Isaac straightened himself up and pointed to his visor. "You just spray painted my god-damn visor!"
He heard Jinx laugh in response.
"Ha, ha, ha, very funny." Isaac crossed his arms over his chest. "Now how do I get this off?"
It was a few seconds before he heard her stop laughing. "Sorry, just give me a moment." Jinx said, still snickering at him. He heard her walk up to him and spray something on his visor. And to his surprise, he felt her grab his head and wipe his visor with something.
"Take it easy!" Isaac growled. Damn she was being rough, his suit could take it of course, but he felt like he was being played with.
"Hold still you big baby." Jinx said, "Unless you want to walk through the streets with a giant blue stain on your visor, you'll let me work here!"
Isaac rolled his eyes and stopped moving around, letting Jinx roughly wipe off his visor. Before long, the blue paint that covered his vision was gone, revealing Jinx's massive grinning face.
"There!" She took a leap back and threw her arms in the air. "All done!"
Isaac let out a sigh. "Thanks…"
"Heh, no worries." She winked at him and took a step closer, leaning over with one of her arms outstretched with her palm up. "Now pay up big boy."
Isaac looked at her hand, then back at her grinning face. "You're kidding?"
Jinx laughed in response and stood back up straight. "Yeah, I'm just messing with ya! Unless you were actually gonna pay me." She tilted her body, one hand on her hip, the other twirling a can of spray paint. "So, what brings you all the way to good ol' Piltover?"
"Business." Isaac responded curtly, "What are you doing here?"
Jinx's grin grew. "Me? I live here! Well, kind of."
"Kind of?" Isaac leaned over to the side to look at her tag. "And you're tagging that wall… why?"
Jinx's grin grew even wider. "Why?! Cuz it's AWESOME! Durr!" She performed a spin on the spot, and threw her arms out to the side of her body, as if she was presenting her tag at some big art show. "Isn't it cool? JINX WAS HERE, get it? Cuz I was here, tagging this wall!"
Isaac remained silent. Maybe I should've just let her be…
"Well? What do you think?" Jinx asked him, her grin never leaving.
"It's… um…. Ok…" Isaac rubbed the back of his neck, this girl made him feel really awkward. "It's… got nice colors…"
Jinx leapt up and down. "YES! Blue and pink mix the greatest!" She drew another can of spray paint from behind her back and twirled them both in her hands. "I'm gonna tag this ENTIRE block! It'll take weeks for those idiots to clean it all up. And when there done…" Jinx's smile grew even larger as if it was a talent of hers. "I'm gonna BLOW IT ALL UP!" She shouted, followed by a hysterical laugh.
Isaac was speechless. He had never met such a strange person in his life.
"Blow it up… seems… not legal… at all." Mute muttered in a sarcastic tone.
Isaac ignored her. "So… why blow it up?" He asked Jinx, hoping that she might give him a decent answer.
"Why?!" Jinx looked at him as if HE was the insane one. "Cuz it's AWESOME! Durr!" She leapt forward, landing less than a foot from Isaac. She leaned forward, resting one of her elbows on his arm. "Come on… don't you ever enjoy blowing things up? It's just so… SO MUCH FUN!" She shouted, grabbing both his arms and tried to shake him.
Isaac remained motionless for the most part, still unsure of what do to do. What… what the hell is this lunatic's problem?! He sighed. Should've just left her alone, should've just left her alone, should've just left her alone…
Jinx, however, didn't seem done. She leapt away from him and struck a pose with one of her hands outstretched towards him with a peace sign. "I'm gonna make this city SOOOO much more exciting! I mean, come on!" She reached behind her back and pulled out a piece of paper of sorts. "They didn't even have wanted posters! Like… COME ON! WANTED POSTERS!" She stretched it out, showing it to Isaac.
He scanned the poster half attentively. It had a picture of Jinx smiling on it with a large list of crimes underneath it. Murder, unprovoked assault, public indecency… what the hell? Murder again? Unflattering impersonation of an officer? Really petty larceny? Exorbitant weapon size? Some more murders….. Oh what the fuck… Aggravated jaywalking and forging of official wanted posters?!
Isaac looked away from the poster and back to Jinx's grinning face. There was no longer any doubt in his mind. That poster removed all of it.
"Aggravated jaywalking… I'll remember that one…" Mute muttered. Judging by the expression on Mute's face she had reached the same conclusion that Isaac has just reached.
This woman… is batshit insane.
"Well!?" Jinx asked. "How does it look?" She rolled the poster back up and hid it behind her back.
How much room does she have in that belt?
"I actually had to work… REALLY hard on them! Then, I put them ALL AROUND the city! It was awesome! It made the place, sooooo much livelier!"
"Uh… huh…" Was all Isaac could answer with.
Jinx leapt up to him again, leaned forward, and rested both her forearms on his chest. "I mean, come on, those idiots here who call themselves officers NEEDED the extra help here… or else they never would've been able to even START hunting for me."
"So we're idiots huh?" Said a new, yet still familiar voice.
Isaac turned to his right to see who it was. In a different entrance to the alleyway, stood a familiar pink haired woman with all too familiar massive metal gauntlets. And she looked really pissed off.
"I've got you now, Jinx!" Vi took up a fighting style. "YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!" She shouted and charged forward, fist stretched outwards, aimed at Jinx.
And Isaac who was standing right next to her. Uh-oh…
Out of reflex Isaac turned to face Vi and took up a defensive stance with his arms across his body to block the hit. "Mute har-" He began to say the voice command to Mute when he felt a sudden force push him from behind.
What the? Isaac stumbled forward, throwing a glance over his shoulder to see what had hit him. He saw the backside of Jinx as she made a run for it, but he was able to make out her grinning face as she also looked over her shoulder at him.
Then it hit Isaac. That bitch PUSHED ME?!
Isaac faced forward again to try and regain his balance, but the only thing he saw was a massive metal fist aimed right at his face.
Oh this is gonna hurt…
Report
Southwestern Demacian Region
Garen read over the report he had been writing for his lord, Jarvan IV. It contained everything he had learned since visiting the Institute. What little I did learn, it only brought more questions to my mind. Garen silently grumbled as he scratched his chin.
He had only returned to his force's camp the previous day, and had spent the entire present day writing the report. But even then it still wasn't complete. He had his hopes pinned on one last source that could possibly provide him with some sort of intel that would be valuable to him and his lord.
A movement at his tent's flap caught his attention, as an armored woman with short purple hair walked inside.
"Reporting as requested sir!" Quinn saluted the moment she entered the tent. Garen returned the salute from where he sat at his makeshift desk.
"What did you find?" Garen asked with his commanding voice. Please tell me you found SOMETHING girl…
"More deserted homes, seems like everyone in the entire community of farms and homesteads got up and left in the night without anything." Quinn reported, handing Garen her notebook. "It's just like the others, during the day, everyone is out and about, the next, no one is seen anywhere. The surrounding villages are scared."
Garen scowled slightly as he flipped through his scout's notes. More missing people… "No clues?"
Quinn shook her head.
Garen let out a huff. Damn it! "We'll dispatch more guards to the nearby villages to reassure them." He stated. It was their duty as soldiers of Demacia to protect its people and those in the surrounding area who affiliate themselves with the city.
"Sir, permission to speak freely?" Quinn asked.
"Go ahead."
"Did the League know anything?"
Garen frowned at Quinn's question. "No, they didn't. And I won't say anymore on the matter." Garen responded. He looked down at the report he had spent the day preparing for Jarvan IV. He was hoping to add something fruitful to it, but since Quinn's scouting trip had come up empty handed there wasn't much more to add, other than the list of people that could be missing from her notebook.
I could send out another scouting team, but if Quinn can't find anything, I doubt they'd fair any better.
"There was… one more thing sir." Quinn spoke again, "That I found, but I'm not sure if it's related to the missing people."
Garen looked back up at the young purple haired woman. "What is it?"
Quinn turned to leave. "You better come with me." She said, stopping and waiting by the tent's entrance, holding it open.
Garen narrowed his eyes, curious as to what it could be that she had found. "Very well." He said, rising from his seat and leaving his commander's tent.
"This way." Quinn quickly walked past him and towards a nearby horse with a large sack on it. Quinn's companion, Valor, sat preached on top of a post where the horse had been strapped up to. Two guards were attending the horse, looking the sack over cautiously. When Garen approached the two men jumped to attention.
"At ease." Garen said to the two soldiers. "What are you two doing here?"
Quinn answered for them. "I asked them to watch over this." She motioned to the large sack and stepped around to the other side. "Look at this."
Garen followed her around the horse. "Show me." He said to his soldier.
Quinn nodded, and rolled back the covering slightly. Garen frowned at what he saw. It was a face, but it had decayed badly, beyond recognition. He could also smell it; it was anything but pleasant, but all dead bodies stank.
"A body." Garen stated. "What of it?"
Quinn took a piece of cloth out of her pocket and handed it to Garen. "Here." She said.
Still puzzled at what Quinn was trying to show him, Garen took the folded piece of cloth and opened it, revealing a worn Demacian crest and a name.
Captain Jack… Reynolds… That's…
Garen's eyes darted from the cloth to the body and back again. Now he understood. "The captain of The Winds of Honor..." He said, furrowing his brow. "Where did you find him?"
"Washed up on shore on a small beach near where I was investigating. Valor spotted him." As Quinn said the name of her bird, Valor squawked in acknowledgment. "All the details are in my notebook."
Garen folded the cloth back up and placed it in his pocket. He took a step closer to the body to inspect it further. He's been dead for days… just as the ship has been missing for days...
Quinn started to speak again. "He had a several bullet holes in his torso, I counted at least eleven." Quinn reached into another one of her pouches and pulled something else out, brining her clenched fist out in front of Garen. He looked down at her hand as she opened it to reveal four small objects.
"These were the bullets he was shot with." Quinn held them out for Garen to inspect.
Garen reached down and picked one up, bringing it up to his face for a better look.
He frowned again. "I've never seen bullets like these before." He stated. Their smaller, much smaller. But every bullet I've ever seen is spherical; these are more like cylinders with only one rounded side.
Quinn shook her head. "Neither have I, sir."
Garen placed the bullet back in Quinn's palm with the rest. "I'll take those and add them to my report." He told the scout as she dropped the bullets back into her pouch. "What of The Winds of Honor? Did you find anything else about the ship?" Garen asked, although he had a fair idea that it was hopeless since the body of the captain was lying in a sack next to him.
"There were a few planks of wood, large ones, near Reynolds' body. They belonged to the ship, it had the name on the side."
Garen crossed his arms over his front, stroking his chin with one hand as he pondered Quinn's findings. "Pieces of the ship…" He quietly muttered to himself.
The Winds of Honor… destroyed… the captain shot multiple times…
Garen nodded, having come to a conclusion in his mind. "Quinn, pack your things. We're leaving immediately."
Quinn blinked in surprise. "Leaving? To where."
Garen turned around and started walking back to his tent. "To Demacia, to see the prince."
Piltover's Finest
Piltover
"So… you punched him in the face?" The brunette woman asked.
Vi shrugged with an apologetic look on her face. "I did say OOPS."
The brunette woman let out a massive sigh and dropped her arms onto her desk, burying her face in her hands. Ezreal planted his own face into one of his palms. Vega shook his head as he lowered it, trying to stifle a laugh. Mute on the other hand didn't try to stop herself from letting out a chuckle.
And Isaac, he just sat there in his chair opposite of the brunette with a bag of ice against his forehead.
If I didn't have this massive headache, I'd be mildly entertained by all this… He sighed, flipping his helmet over in his lap with his free hand, looking down at the cracked visor. His armor's self repair had fixed most of the helmet, but it wasn't quite done with the crack on his visor. So here I am, helmet off, showing my scars to everyone.
Right after Vi had hit him in the head, Isaac had blacked out. When he woke up he was in a jail cell with a massive headache and a completely cracked visor and a slightly dented helmet. Before he even found out where he was, the brunette woman had dragged him up to her office where Ezreal, Vega, and Vi had already been waiting. They had given him a bag of ice and some medicine for his headache (which he was reluctant to take), now he had been sitting here through Vi's explanation on what had happened n the alley.
Vi put her hands on her hips. "Hey, I was aiming at Jinx! I could've had her if not for this idiot getting in the way!"
Isaac rolled his eyes. "It's not like I purposely blocked your fist with my face…" He mumbled, just loud enough so Vi could hear him.
And he got a reaction. "Hey!" Vi half shouting at him, thrusting a finger out. "Shut up! I should lock you back up in that cell for associating with Piltover's most wanted criminal in history!"
Isaac scowled at the pink haired deputy. Without those massive gantlets, she's got rather small hands. "I don't even KNOW the lunatic! And I sure as hell didn't know until now that she's the damn city's most wanted!"
"Oh really?" Vi grinned, "It didn't look quite that way from the way she was all close up with you."
Isaac growled; he really didn't feel like trying to explain the whole thing over again. That's just… Jinx being Jinx I guess? He sighed and rubbed the icepack against his head again. Should've just rolled to the side, should've just rolled to the side, should've just…
The brunette cleared her throat loudly, grabbing everyone's attention. "Ok, that's enough." She said, raising herself back up straight in her chair. "Archangel, yes? Allow me to apologize on Vi's behalf for this… incident. Please try to understand our side of things. Jinx has been nothing but trouble ever since she first arrived in Piltover, and we've been at a loss for capturing her." She stood up from her desk and walked over to Isaac, past the eye-rolling Vi. When she got to him, she extended her hand out. "Let's start over shall we? I'm Caitlyn, Sheriff of Piltover."
Isaac gaze slowly traveled to Caitlyn, looking her in the eyes. So this is the famous sheriff huh? He thought, looking her over. Not a bad looker… seems sincere too I guess…
He sighed again, and took her hand and shook it. "Archangel… sorry for… being in the wrong place at the wrong time." He apologized, half meaningful.
It seemed to be good enough for Caitlyn, as she nodded in response. "And I believe you and Vi… met… already on the Fields of Justice last week."
Vi snorted. "Yeah, got lucky is what he did."
Isaac rolled his eyes. Competitive and violent… I still can't believe she's a cop…
"Now that we have that all cleared up, onto business." Caitlyn announced the end to their previous argument and returned to her seat. "Now I hope I don't need to go over the case of the missing people?"
The silence around the room was her answer. "Good." She nodded. "Now then, we've questioned the mana crystal thieves we arrested and managed to get some information out of them. From what they told us, the thieves seemed to have dealt with these strangers before. Same thing, mana crystals. And every time they would deal with them inside the Everdeen Mines."
"Why the mines?" Vega asked. "There HAS to be better places then a series of mining tunnels just outside the city."
Caitlyn nodded. "Yes, that I was rather curious about that too. But this is where I believe these men…" She pointed a photo on her desk, the same one Isaac has seen before with the two groups having their exchange. "Are connected to the missing people."
"Over half of the people reported missing all worked in the Everdeen Mines." Vi explained, pacing around. "We checked the mines over before, and even staked them out on two occasions. But we came up with nothing aside from being covered in dirt and crap!"
"And then one day I, I saw this." Caitlyn pointed to the pictures again. "In the mines. During the middle of the day."
Mute crossed her arms. "Alright… while there IS a link there, it doesn't mean that the two are actually connected." She said. "It almost feels like we're grasping at straws here."
Caitlyn nodded again. "While that may be so, as Vega pointed out, the Everdeen Mines is a very odd place for people to do deals in, when there are possibly hundreds of better options." She paused for a second to pick up another photo, looking at it carefully. "And on top of that… this man was there too…"
Vi crossed her arms and looked at Isaac. "Well, YOU we're in Summoner's Rift at the time that these were taken… I can vouch for that." She started, but her expression changed to one of suspicion. "But the resemblance is rather uncanny…"
He sighed in response. Crap… I guess I better be straight with them… He looked up and saw that everyone's eyes were on him. Before he said anything, he exchanged a quick look with Mute's avatar, and saw her nod slightly. Alright, here goes…
"Firewall." Isaac said, pausing for a second as he chose his next words carefully. "He… got sucked in by the rift that took sent us here, just before I did."
"So…" Caitlyn began. "Is he friend, or foe?"
"Friend… to me at least." Isaac started, "But right now, there's a good chance that he has no idea where he is. So a result of that is that he might be hostile to all of you. He didn't have a group of summoner's and a journalist explain it to him like I did."
Vi picked up a magazine from Caitlyn's desk. "You mean this right?" She asked with a grin, waving the papers around.
Isaac raised his eyebrow. "What are those?"
"The Journal of Justice. Your interview is posted on the front page." She grinned.
Isaac's eyes went wide open. "Wh-what?" My interview with that dope is on the FRONT PAGE of a magazine?!
Mute let out a loud laugh. Isaac shot her a scowl, but she didn't catch it since she was holding her sides as she howled. Big help you are…
"You heard me. In fact, the entire first five pages are dedicated to you." She said, opening the magazine up and flipping through the pages. "Earth huh? Seems like a lame name for a world to me."
And Valoran is any better? Isaac shook his head, rubbing his forehead. This is unbelievable… first that League match, now my god-damn interview… I'm going to be known all across this damn world…
Guess I won't be able to just run away on my own now…
Caitlyn cleared her throat again. "Anyways, I would like it if you could all join us in searching the mines again. With your help, the help of a summoner, and with the assistance of the Grandmaster Explorer, there's a chance we might be able to come up with some evidence as to who these men are. And the whereabouts of your missing companion."
Ezreal nodded. "Sounds like a plan, I'm in!"
"Same here." Vega chimed in.
Isaac stood up from his chair, dropping the ice bag back down on it. "Firewall will likely be armed with advanced weaponry from my world." He started, placing his helmet back over his head, sealing his suit up again. The helmet had almost completely repaired itself, the once massive crack being centimeters in length now. "So if we run into Firewall, let me deal with him."
Caitlyn and Vi exchanged a look, and then nodded. "Very well." The sheriff answered. She rose from her seat and grabbed a purple top hat and a strange looking rifle. She placed her hat on her head, giving it a tip. "Shall we?"
?
Unknown Location
In a dark room, somewhere, a strange voice could be heard…
"Belts? Check. Zap pistol? Check. Grenades? Not enough. Pow-Pow? Check. Ammo for Pow-Pow? Check. Fishbones? Check. Enough grenades now? Check. Is my arm still attached to my body? Check?"
There was a high pitched laugh. "With Archi in town, it's time to have some extra fun! Outsmarting fat-hands and hat-lady all the time is fun as it is, but this… THIS is gonna be grrrrrrrreat!"
Leaping up in the air and striking a pose with her rocket launcher Fishbones out and ready, Jinx's wide insane grin stretched across her face. "I'm bringing guns to the knife fight!"