The flutter of wings and gentle nudges on her arm woke Quinn from her heavy slumber. She rose groggily, rubbing her eyes; it had been more hours than she could count on twice all of her hands and toes together since the last time she had slept. She yawned as a gust of wind caught her hair and whipped it into her face starting to cut through the haze better than any cup of coffee could ever do. Quinn felt ice spread through her veins as she slammed herself back against the roots of the tree. She looked down to her feet where Valor stood looking back at her, his head cocked to the side with his golden eyes glued to her, gleaming in the barest of the sliver of moonlight. Quinn put a hand over her heart, hoping her breathing would slow, willing her pounding heart to slow its racing pace.
"Val, you scared the hell out of me." Quinn muttered to herself, shivering as she sank down lower amid the roots of the massive, gnarled pine tree that clung to the rocks of the plateau that overlooked Lambert's camp. Above, the sky had darkened to an inky black, the moon and the stars were almost completely obscured by the clouds. "Did Jarvan get the message?"
Valor hooted softly and tersely shook his head as Quinn set about messing with her gear, ensuring nothing had come loose in her unforeseen nap.
"Of course he didn't." Quinn muttered, a moment of frustration sliding into her voice. "Who did you give it to then?"
Valor watched Quinn for a brief moment, his golden eyes darkening only briefly before the eagle spread his wings and started to hop away.
"Sorry, Val, I didn't mean it. I'm just a little mad that I fell asleep." She reached out and stroked the bird's crest, scratching his chest just below his beak. The eagle shivered happily and hopped back towards her. "Have you eaten?"
Valor hooted matter-of-factly and nodded as he bounced away, spread his wings, and circled upwards to the perch he had claimed in the tree above.
"You stopped to eat a fox." Quinn muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. "No wonder you took so long." Quinn flinched as the eagle squawked derisively at her. She mumbled to herself as she pulled out her provisions and examined the hard bread and dried meat. "It couldn't hurt them to pay a little more for their rations could they?" Quinn ripped a strip of the dried strider meat free with her teeth, chewing the leathery 'food' till it had softened to the point where she could manage to swallow it. Quinn exhaled softly and shivered. It's spiced well but it's like chewing on wood.
Quinn looked over the landscape that was splayed out around her. The plateau she had made camp upon was the highest point for miles around and while there were sharp peaks that rose up that came close to the plateau, some shrouded by trees, others windswept and bare, there were few that would offer an advantageous position to anyone defending. Quinn pulled herself up just far enough that she could look out over the last of the rocky terrain towards the edge of the marshes. The terrain offered a steady rise up to the edge of the marshes where a slope sloped back down under the edge of the peak had been carved out of the stone by magic and mason millennia ago. Once upon a time the cliffs that lined the marshes of Kaladoun had been the greatest defensive wall in all of Valoran, but in time they had been breached, and sections had been eroded and destroyed. There were three main locations where the wall had been breached, two of which had been the only entrances into Demacian territory once upon a time. The east road gate and the ford at Golden Crossing had been the only passageways between the rest of Valoran and the freljord, and Demacia. Both had been breached in the first Rune War and then when fortresses had erupted to fill the voids, a third gap had been blown right through the marshes, which had created the final gap in the wall. Terrifying magic had be used to blow huge holes and crush thousands of tons of rock to dust and gravel. It was one of the great remaining scars that harkened back to an era millennia in the making.
Quinn sat back and pulled her canteen from her belt as she took a swig before continuing to struggle through eating the dried meat and hardtack bread. She had nearly fallen into Lambert's camp and unless something was completely off about her estimates, Lambert wouldn't have any choice but to return here and then strike back out along the edges of the marsh to the southeast. The tracker sighed as she washed the last of the Demacian rations down with a swig from her canteen. Quinn looked up into the soupy black sky as the cloud cover thinned just long enough for her to make out the silhouette of the moon.
"If he's coming at all, it should be soon." Quinn murmured to herself as she patted herself down. She tightened the straps of her hardened leather armor and made sure every interlocking plate was held where it was supposed to be. She put hands on both of her weapons: the knife on the back of her waist and the crossbow that hung upon her hip. Quinn pulled the knife free first, examining the length of the blade for any problems. It was razor sharp and though she had cleaned it of the blood that had stained the blade, it hadn't done much to hide the coppery scent that followed a blade bathed in blood. The thought that her weapons would be so soaked caused bile to rise in her throat and shivers to run up and down her spine like electricity, but there was a certain comfort that came in knowing that her weapons were serving the greater good of Demacia, and not the blood-crazed eccentricities of a mad man. She sheathed the knife and pulled out her crossbow, examining the weapon.
The crossbow was a much finer weapon than the knife as Quinn traded the later for the former. The weapon had been a design of her own, perfected from her and Caleb's machinations as children. They had once strived to create the best ranged weapon a knight could carry in a single hand, and while Quinn's deft hands had been instrumental in crafting the devious weapon as childs, it had been Caleb's ingenuity and determination that had seen the weapon through to the end. Originally it had simply been a toy that fired polished twigs at targets and trees, but when Quinn had grown older and teamed up with Valor, she needed a weapon that wouldn't encumber her as a falconer, but one that also wouldn't limit her movements in close quarters. It had taken several attempts to fashion a proper copy of the weapon that was strong enough, powerful enough, and small enough to fit the tracker's criterion, but eventually Quinn had fashioned the weapon she carried now. The compact repeating crossbow had been with Quinn long enough that most every piece of the weapon had been replaced at least once, but despite the wear and punishment Quinn subjected the weapon to, it had never once failed Quinn in the field.
Quinn laid out her pack, upside down, pushing a divot into the back of the cloth to form a rough bowl as she started her disassembly. It took her a little work to pull the main action off of the weapon, but once she had completely removed the bowstring it wasn't very difficult. Once all the parts had been disassembled, Quinn used the small bottle of oil she carried to grease the metal parts before quickly reassembling the weapon. The entire process from draw to disassembly to reassembly and restringing, start to finish, only took a matter of minutes; Quinn had practiced the maneuvers endlessly, even wearing down some parts from over cleaning.
The faint flutter of feathers and the gentle hoot that drifted down from above caused Quinn to sheath her weapon, pack away her gear and ready herself for an encounter. Valor was ready, and as Quinn slung half the rope she had been given around her body, a rock tied at one end, the only sound that could be heard was the thunderous roar of her heartbeat rumbling in her ears.
Quinn's breathing was fast; it had been a long time since she had faced a task as mammoth as taking down Lambert. He had already proved to be extremely dangerous, and while he didn't know or read the terrain as well as Quinn did, it would come down to her wits and aim that would save her, not the brawn of a dragon or the courage of a prince. Quinn took a deep breath as the crunch of boots in dirt and gravel could be heard echoing up from below in the sinkhole.
It's time. Quinn chirped an inaudible whistle, summoning Valor to the roost on her forearm. "First we draw him out and lead him down the gauntlet. Make for the coast and force him to fight in the open where my range and his exhaustion with trump his strength. Ready Val?"
The bird nodded affirmatively, his eyes cold and sharp as a golden dagger, poised to rip out someone's throat.
It's time to hunt!
...
Lambert snarled as he kicked over a coffee pot in his camp; his men had been overly confident in the fact that the unique location and impassible terrain would stop any foe from finding them, however even the thickest of underbrush had done nothing to hamper the Demacian tracker who had taken it upon herself to track him down. Lambert indulged himself in a smug smile; the girl's own fancy maneuvering and flashy footwork had been her undoing, landing her face down with her head smashed open at the bottom of a gully. The Noxian giggled to himself: it was poetic justice what had happened, like the god who had made his wings of wax and flown too close to the sun, the girl's dreams and skills had all come crashing down into a bloody mess.
The distant hoot of an owl only served to remind Lambert of the second half of his nightmare. The girl may be dead, but that fucking bird of hers isn't gone yet. I'm going to make sure I come back and hunt down every last bastard eagle and stuff each and every one of them. He growled to himself and shook his head as he set about digging through the kitchen area, searching for non-perishable items to carry on his escape. "Cut off my escape to the North, my escape to the Southeast..." His frown had grown into a scowl. "They're really trying hard to make me suffer. Fuckers. I'll just head straight across the frozen marshes and avoid the whole damn thing. Lets see what they do when I slip right through their clutches again." He paused for a moment, looking at a tin of potted meat. "Leblanc may have betrayed me, but perhaps the grand general will have use of information of this growing deception of late..." Lambert resumed his rummaging, mumbling through his plan over and over. "I can't wait to see the faces of Noxians and Demacians alike when I appear in Kalamanda bearing such valuable news. Hell, maybe I'll even get a whole battalion to myself, not an understrength company." Lambert's laughter turned giddy. "Escaping through the marshes over the ice..." He laughed again giddily. "Nobody even considered that I'd do that!"
"Actually I figured you'd be smart enough not to try that with the melting ice and all."
"Hardly." Lambert laughed jovially. "Take it slow on the ice and it won't fail on you. Sure footing is all you need."
Lambert froze.
All of my men are dead already… Then who…? Lambert clenched his fists where he had stood frozen, his hands poised over a small bag. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Quinn, hanging from a rope that had hung from the tree above. She grinned cheekily at him and waved, her feet were clamped together over the rope and one hand was still snugly wrapped around the heavily braided cord. Gear and weapons hung from her body as she gave him a massive, toothy grin, wriggling her fingers in a taunting greeting.
"Fancy seeing you hanging around here." Quinn giggled.
"Y-y-you!" Lambert rolled and dived to to the side, drawing his sidearm and firing off a quick shot, but it went wide. However, Quinn had already disappeared, only leaving the rope swaying back and forth, hanging over the middle of the sinkhole. Lambert clambered to his feet, grumbling as he did. "Dammit. She's a nimble little twerp..." Lambert growled, grabbed the sack of supplies and tucking it into his belt. He drew his sword and headed down the access tunnel, kicking open the hatchway and pushing through the bush that hid it from sight above. He glanced around, taking time to scan the sky before pushing into the open. Lambert dashed from cover to cover, pushing himself into bushes and keeping under tree cover where ever he could find it.
"Come out, come out wherever you are..." Lambert mused softly, glancing about as he tucked the revolver into his waistband and sheathed his sword, starting up the outside of the rocky rise to the plateau. Lambert scaled the wall with some effort; remaining quiet and making a decent time up the steep incline was more than physically demanding. He grumbled quietly to himself as he picked his way up the rocks. He paused at the top of the rise, pushing his head over the edge for a brief moment and checking for his target. The girl was no where to be seen.
Lambert slid up onto the plateau and carefully hoisted himself onto his feet. He kept his sword handy, and his gun was ready on his hip should he stumble into the girl's sights. He crept around the edge of the hole towards the tree, padding along softly, only the sound of shallow breathing ringing in his ears. Lambert kept his head on a swivel, watching the sky as best he could; the tracker's pet bird had a habit of dropping from the sky at an alarming speed.
Lambert stepped up to the to the tree, carefully checking the gnarled roots in case she was hiding within. He paused for a brief moment as he glanced about once again before freezing. He looked into the air above, trying to look through the branches of the tree, but the pine needles were too thick and there was nothing to be seen amid the tree branches and needles. Lambert sighed heavily and leaned his sword back upon his shoulder, looking down at the tree. Rope was still tied around the trunk. Lambert slid the tip of the sword into the loop of rope that ran around the tree and slid it in till the first edge of the serrations caught on the rope.
Something shook in the tree above, and a few pine needles dropped down past Lambert's face. The Noxian froze for a few moments, his hand slipping towards his waist. Lambert spun as he drew his weapon, emptying the chamber into the tree above. He froze as the sharp sounds echoed around the rocky area, bouncing from rock formation to rock formation. Lambert listened carefully as the winds picked up some of the pine tags knocked loose by the bullets dropping them down around him like green snow. He waited several long seconds before grunting and taking a deep breath.
Did I imagine the whole thing? Lambert tucked the weapon back into his belt and turned his attention back to the rope wrapped around the tree trunk, struggling to lever the blade about to cut through the heavy cord. I'm tired, hungry and I've been going for hours and hours with barely any sleep. Maybe I should just hole up here for a while. Kill the girl and then lay low till everything just blows over… Lambert grimaced as he struggled with the awkwardly knotted rope, struggling to get through the heavy cord. He sighed heavily, leaning on the blade. "I need to find that little bitch and put her on ice. I'm so fucking done with dealing with this persistent little girl."
"Persistent, I will take." Quinn mused from above as she watched Lambert freeze. "But little girl? Please, can't you come up with a better insult?" She offer him an obnoxiously cute smile as she leveled the crossbow with his head. "Back away from the sword, keep your hands up, and keep them away from your body. I'd rather not kill you, if it can be avoided." Valor looped about, dropping towards Lambert. He touched down well out of arm's reach of the Noxian, keeping his wings reared back. He snapped his beak when Lambert glanced over at him.
Lambert glanced up over his shoulder and sighed, exhaling slowly, straightening up. "What do you want, huh? Information? Money?"
Valor hopped forward and squawked angrily at the Noxian and his insinuations that they could be bought off so easily.
"We can start with a few answers." Quinn said softly. "I have a few questions I want you to answer, and answer me truthfully. You don't know what I know and what I don't, so If you don't answer me truthfully, I will put an arrow is your knee. Let's see you do anything, much less spend your days adventuring through Demacia when you've taken an arrow in the knee."
"Answer me something first, then you get your answers." Lambert said gruffly, keeping his arms raised away from his body.
Quinn frowned and grunted softly. "Fine. One question."
"Who the fuck are you?" Lambert snarled. "Seriously? Who the fuck are you and why do you care so fucking much? I've never seen anyone put themselves through so much hell for something they understand so little."
Quinn grunted softly and frowned. "I understand you're a murderous Noxian bastard who doesn't understand valor, duty, or the desire to pursue and defend Demacian Justice. The Demacian people are driven by their desire to disseminate benevolence and order for the betterment of all beings throughout Valoran. Malice and selfishness characterizes your Noxian policy where physical and mental strength trumps all and the desire for more of each continues to push you all into a murderous fit to acquire more and more power, through any means. For me, this is both my chance to prove my strength and my means to uphold Demacian Justice. I have my orders from the prince himself, and I will complete his orders even if I die in the process."
Lambert let his head hang back and bellowed a mighty laugh.
Quinn frowned, watching the man as he nearly doubled over laughing. "You think my convictions funny?"
"The hypocrisy of it all it grand, that it all." Lambert's chuckles died slowly as he glanced down and then took a step away from his sword, keeping his hands raised up and away from his body. Valor hopped after him, the feathers around his neck flaring up angrily as he danced back and forth menacingly. Lambert dropped down onto the stone, his hands still held away from his body, his legs spread in front of him as his shoulders slumped. "I've been in and out of Demacia for the last few months. I've seen the draconian measures your people do through. Stockades and public executions? Trial by combat? Hardly the stunning morale superiority your people love to trounce about." Lambert snarled in disgust. "Ask your questions. All this talk of morals and justice is about to turn my stomach."
"Valor, Go fetch Colonel Jerome." Quinn said, scribbling a quick note on a sheet of paper from her journal. He ripped the sheet free and folded it up, holding it out towards the eagle. Valor squawked angrily at her. "I can handle this joker. He tries anything and I put a bolt between his eyes, alright? Just go fetch the colonel, alright?"
Valor squawked derisively again, glancing over his wing at Lambert. He snapped angrily and then spread his wings, taking to the skies and climbing up to the branch Quinn had perched on. He lighted for a brief moment, hooting before snatching the letter and diving away, gliding into the distance and disappearing into the darkness.
Quinn grunted and frowned, turning back to the Noxian. "You spoke to a woman you called Emilia. Who is she and what importance is she to you?"
"So you heard that too, eh? Fucking figures." Lambert muttered, shrugging. "Emilia Leblanc. Fuck if I know who she is other than the name and the fact she works with Swain. I was just instructed to meet her outside the city if anything ever went south. When shit hit the fan and our orders weren't exactly as easy to complete as me and my men were lead to believe, I cut and run and met up with her as per my orders from Swain. As it turns out, I was apparently set up." He grunted and glanced away.
"Strength at the cost of not being able to trust anyone." Quinn mused. "Sounds like a really great way to live."
"Are you going to mock me or ask questions?" Lambert grunted angrily.
"You said Swain and this Leblanc had spies in Demacia." Quinn said menacingly. "I want names of all of the spies and all of your contacts inside and outside of Demacia."
"You really are new to this, aren't you?" Lambert chuckled, shaking his head. "That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works."
"Enlighten me, then." Quinn said, lowering the bow towards the Noxian's knee. "Or maybe you'd like to like a crash course in hopping? Show him, Val." The bird squawked as he bounced about awkwardly on one foot.
Lambert rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, whatever. When a situation like this arises, where our identities and cover are compromised, what do you think happens? When those get blown, everyone goes to ground. Arrangements change and points of contact have to be completely reestablished. All I have are pre-arranged meeting times and places, no names, nothing to tie us back to anyone other than our unit. That's how it works. I don't know anything more than my individual unit, so I can't give anything away. Even if you weren't a terrible interrogator, I wouldn't have anything to give. So, unless you want me to go through and name off every one of my subordinates, I don't have shit for you. Next question."
Quinn growled and shook her head, but continued onwards. "You said there was a general who had been ousted from hiding spot in Demacia. Which general are to talking about and what information does he have?"
"I don't know." Lambert said, shrugging again. "Red hair, green eyes, former Noxian general. You do the math. I don't know what information he has, but I was supposed to track the prince in the hope that he would lead me to this general so I could kill him."
"The missing General Du Couteau?" Quinn asked, her eyes growing wide. "You mean… the prince is…?"
"Working with the Noxians?" Lambert said, casting a cold glance back at Quinn. He shrugged. "Hell if I know what that bumbling idiot of a prince has planned. I was just told to kill the general, or kill the prince if he was getting too close to the finding the general before me. Obviously you know what happened, you were there. You even killed a few of my men with those bolts of yours."
Quinn was silent for several long moments, thinking about the possible implications. We knew that Jarvan got dragged into Noxus and he was nearly killed at Shyvana's hands in the arena there, but what exactly has he gotten himself into? Why would he know the location of a Noxian general? Does this have anything to do with his run ins with Katarina and Talon?
"Anything else?" Lambert asked, sarcasm thick in his voice, breaking Quinn's train of thought. "My arms are getting tired here."
"One last thing." Quinn said, shaking her head to clear her mind. "What do they want the prince's blood for?"
"As if I would know." Lambert shrugged. "You were obviously there. You already know that I was set up with that information because I was to be killed if I survived. Again, you do the math. Are we done now? Can I go?"
"Go?" Quinn asked and then giggled. "You're not going anywhere but coming with me back to the capital. You'll answer for your crimes and the murder of Constantin Steelsword, the attack on the prince and the attack on the king as well. That is, after the Demacian Security Brigade is done with your interrogation. Sound okay with you?"
Lambert grumbled under his breath, and looked over as Quinn tossed a length of rope down onto his leg. "What's this for?"
"Tie yourself up with that." Quinn said, offering Lambert a grin.
"You really are a newbie when it comes to this, aren't you?" Lambert grumbled, rolling his eyes again. "How the fuck am I supposed to tie my own hands?"
"Oh." Quinn mumbled, blushing slightly. "Right." She sighed and leaned backwards, holding onto the branch as she slid all the way around, spinning her body forward and flipping about, dropping onto her feet in a pristinely stuck landing. She started towards Lambert, clipping her crossbow onto her belt. "Put your hands out and stay still."
Quinn watched as he raised his arms and froze, the revolver was clutched in his hands. What!? When did he have time to grab it!? Quinn looked up as Lambert grinned up at the tracker, raising the handgun. He leveled it at her chest.
"I hope you're happy carrying all the information to the grave." Lambert snarled.
No! Not yet!
The revolver cylinder glowed green as it started to rotate.
Quinn felt the world start to slow down around her as she watched the weapon train onto her heart. The mechanisms in the cylinder clicked several times, each echoed in Quinn's mind like the striking of a hammer on anvil, echoing in her mind. The hammer reached the peak of its position and then started to fall. The hammer struck the the cylinder and Quinn clamped her eyes shut, expecting oblivion.
Click.
"Huh?" Quinn opened her eyes and looked down at the weapon aimed at her chest, and then up into the surprised face of Lambert as he looked down at the weapon. He turned it on his side, and frowned slightly before pointing it back at Quinn. He pulled the trigger a few more times and the cylinder cycled, but there was no resultant explosion.
"What the fuck?" Lambert snarled, looking down at the weapon. "Stupid piece of Zaunite rubbish! Work, damn you!"
Quinn watched as the cylinder cycled a few times, and counted six clicks in total for the six chambers within. A smile broke out on her face and she giggled softly as she got to her feet. "You wasted all your rounds already!"
"Wha-..." Lambert glanced down at the revolver and then glanced up over his shoulder up at the tree, hissing angrily. "Fucking… Fine! We'll do this the old fashioned way!" He spun and rolled as Quinn fired a crossbow bolt. It barely missed, catching Lambert's cloak and bouncing away, disappearing over the edge of the plateau.
Seven left.
Quinn cursed to herself as she righted herself, raised her weapon, and cycled the action on the crossbow, a new round rising into the action. Lambert spun as he drew his sword, the crimson blade howling as the icy air hit the steel, the serrated blade screeching against the mouth of his sheath. Quinn fired another bolt, loosing the projectile just as Lambert's blade cleared the mouth of the sheath, violent gusts of wind surrounding him just in time to shatter the bolt. The metal head bounced away, echoing off the rock walls into the depths below. Quinn shielded her face as wooden shrapnel pelted her, starting to turn away. Six bolts left. The heavy footfalls reverberating through the stone told her Lambert was already coming.
Quinn lifted her knife as the blade came crashing down towards her head. She started to slide the side, catching the sword with her blade, but it shattered with the strike and sent the blood thirsty blade bouncing away. Lambert snarled as the blade struck rock and hummed in his hand, the vibrations running up his arms. He brought the weapon about and raised it over his head. Quinn started to bring her knife back up, but glanced at the useless, shattered blade.
Quinn froze, looking up as the viciously serrated blade arced through the air, howling with its wild bloodlust and swirling with a demonic sheen. Quinn brought her gauntlet up and raised it above her head. The blade cleaved the armored perch in two, snapping it free of her armor as Lambert wheeled about and raised his blade to finally end his troubles.
Quinn steeled herself for the blade to cleave her betwixt, but the strike didn't fall. There was a bright flash of light and Lambert snarled as the blade swung wide. Quinn clamped her eyes shut against the bright light as the shriek of steel on polished steel echoed like a demon crying out in pain. The flutter of a cloak and the cool sensation of shade told Quinn that she was no longer alone. She opened her eyes as the cloak rippled, the gentle clink and clank of metal echoing in her ears. Blood dripped down onto the ground around Quinn, and for a brief moment she thought that she had been hurt. The swirl of purple filled her vision and pulled her attention away as she looked up at her protector.
"I always wondered why people close their eyes when they think they're going to die." The deep bass timbre growled with curiosity and a sense of superiority that spoke of how much the owner thought he had earned for his simple appearance into the fray. There was something else behind the tone, as if the owner of the voice was struggling to hold something heavy. Quinn looked up at the hooded man, a diamond shaped blade on his forearm gleamed in the dim moonlight, and blood dripped from his elbow as a dark splotch grew on his shoulder. The hooded man pushed up with both blade and his shoulder, the crimson blade howling excitedly as it tasted blood.
"Talon!?" Lambert snarled as he leaped away, putting distance between him and the Noxian Assassin. "What are you doing, you fool!?"
Talon stumbled a step away from Quinn and flashed a wounded smile at her as he tugged his hood back just enough to show his face. "The prince will be in an adverse enough state of mind with just the dragoness on his mind, I don't need you getting in trouble too." There was a moment of heavy breathing as Talon grunted, putting a hand over the wound in his shoulder. He turned half way towards Quinn, offering her a cool grin. "Just a hint, babe: You should probably avoid the pointy end from now on. It's kind of dangerous."
Quinn blinked several times, still frozen where she had fallen. "But I thought... you mean you were actually in Demacia?" Quinn shook her head to try and clear the shock that had settled in her mind like a fog.
"Who said I wasn't?" Talon said with a smirk. "I saw the bird and figured you were nearby, and when I heard you were in trouble I decided to check up on you."
"Talon, you know this little bitch?" Lambert scoffed, his blade slumping in his hand as he glanced back and forth between Quinn and the other Noxian. Talon pressed a hand onto the wound in his shoulder and looked down at his hand as it came away bloody. He grinned as he grabbed the edge of his cloak and spun and swirled the bladed tips sown into his cloak around himself as another bright flash of light exploded in the midst of the two men. Lambert snarled as he tried to shield his eyes from the brilliant burst of light, turning away. Talon laughed aloud as blades exploded from the tips of his cloak. He reappeared behind Lambert, a vicious smile on his face. He reached out and slashed the tendons on Lambert's arm, laughing to himself as he danced away blood dripping from the blade on his forearm.
"Now things are even." Talon chuckled softly as he blinked away, stumbling down to one knee as he held a hand over the wound in his shoulder. "I'm surprised you lasted this long, babe, and I'll truly be impressed if you survive."
"Talon!" Lambert snarled after the assassin as the blade dropped from his hand. Blood poured down his arm now, spilling onto the rocks below. "I am going to kill you for this! I swear it!"
"You still have to deal with me!" Quinn shouted, raising her crossbow. Lambert grabbed his sword with his off hand and lifted it, throwing the blade in front of himself as another crossbow bolt exploded over his shield as he charged forward, raising the blade up. Five left now. Quinn started to cycle the bolt on her weapon, but Lambert, propelled by his rage, closed much faster than Quinn expected. Quinn felt ice coalesce in her stomach as Lambert slid one foot out, bracing for a wild swing.
"I've had enough of you!" Lambert roared. Quinn started to grab her knife, but the memory of the shattered blade immediately came rushing back, and her stomach completely dropped out. She started to try to duck, but she knew it was too late.
"Not yet!"
Talon laughed aloud as he ducked and disappeared again, reappearing just behind Quinn. He grabbed her around the waist and swept her off her feet, dropping down over her, dipping her low as the blade swung over his head, ripping his hood back. Quinn yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck as he leaped away as the blade arced backwards, sending Lambert stumbling away. Talon grinned down at the blushing Demacian tracker, though his smile faltered and he gritted his teeth. Quinn's hand, draped over his shoulder, came away bloody. Talon hissed softly as long brown hair fell around his and Quinn's faces, isolating them for a brief moment.. "That's two you owe me. Perhaps you'd like to pay me back now rather than later?"
Quinn scrambled out of his grasp and took a step away, taking a deep breath and shaking her head, clearing the color from her cheeks. She clapped her hands on her cheeks and took a second deep breath.
"Stop ignoring me, damnit!" Lambert snarled as he swung the blade about wildly in one hand. He could barely keep it aloft with only one hand, but he swung it about his body and propped it on his shoulder. His eyes were wild and fierce now, blood covered his face and pooled around him. He raised the hilt of his blade to his face, a crystalline flask grasped in his fingers as he snapped the stopper atop the flask free. He emptied the contents of the potion into his mouth and let his head hang back as a vicious crimson glow began to encircle his body.
"What's he doing..." Quinn muttered as she tried to shake off the Noxian assassin's moves towards her.
"Wrath..." Talon murmured softly. "More artifacts that were robbed from the Arcanus Majorum." Talon shook his head and swept an arm in front of Quinn. "He's empowering himself with artifacts that were plundered from the vaults of the Institute of War. I had heard the reports that weapons had been stolen, but I had seen nothing about the theft of any potions of any sort. Not of that strength." Talon started for his cloak, and Quinn turned her bow on him, jumping slightly. "Easy, babe..." Talon muttered, freezing for a moment. Quinn took a deep breath, lowering her weapon and nodding slowly once. Talon shook his head and dug into one of the pockets of his cloak, hissing as he tugged it the wrong way over his shoulder. "Here." He grabbed Quinn's hand and opened it as if he was going to drop something into her hand but he froze and then blushed, glancing away with a frown. A small crystalline phial was clutched in his hand and Quinn recognized it as a typical health potion. "Sorry, I guess you're stuck at only owing me two."
Quinn took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly before looking up at Talon. She swept up towards him and pressed her lips to his cheek, smiling and blushing as she bounced backwards. "That's one for a start." She winked at the Noxian.
"Uh..." Talon mumbled. It was his turn to blush furiously.
Quinn raised her crossbow and cocked it, exhaling softly. "Now, if you please, I have work to finish."
"Die!" Lambert snarled as he brought the sword down between the Demacian and the Noxian, sending them both bouncing away. Talon disappeared and Quinn rolled away, bringing her crossbow up. She snapped off a shot, but the bolt missed high.
Quinn cursed herself and her excitement. Four left!
"Fuck off!" Lambert snarled as he rolled away, ducking behind the tree, fumbling with something in his cloak. The sound of several metal objects hitting the stone and bouncing away could be heard.
"Hiding already?" Quinn shouted, cycling the bolt on her crossbow and glancing around. There were a few splotches of blood but Talon looked as he had completely disappeared. Quinn glanced around, keeping her weapon trained towards the tree that Lambert had taken cover behind. Talon is still around. I can sense his presence. Quinn forced her attention back to the tree. Talon can wait. "Done already, Lambert? Just give yourself up and I'll let you live!"
"You're funny!" The voice echoed from behind the tree. Quinn heard a mechanical latch click shut and the familiar clicking of a revolver's hammer getting cocked. Lambert swept out from behind the tree, the revolver leveled at Quinn. The crack of the weapon firing echoed through the quiet air, but it missed high and right; Quinn was already on the move, diving and rolling to the side. Two more shots rang out as Quinn spun away towards the edge, raising her crossbow and letting a bolt fly, aimed at Lambert's chest. Lambert started to turn his body to dodge, starting to throw his blade up in front of himself to bring up the shield, but he didn't manage to dodge the bolt in time and it sank into his shoulder. He snarled as he started to topple backwards towards the outside cliff.
The shrill screech of a diving eagle cut through the darkness.
"Gouge out his eyes, Valor!" Quinn shouted as she dove and cycled the bolt of her crossbow. Only three rounds left!
Valor screeched again as he dove, his claws borne as he crashed into Lambert in a ball of feathers and shrieking from both Valor and Lambert. A gunshot rang out as Valor fluttered away, violently climbing away from Lambert as the man stumbled backwards towards the cliff, a constant stream of profanity pouring from the Noxian as he held his forearm over his face, the blade clutched in his hand.
"AGH! STUPID FUCKING BITCH!" Lambert snarled; blood was pouring from the tattered remnants of his right eye socket. "FUCKING FUCKING FUCK!" He started to go over the edge, his good eye going wide, his voice frozen in his throat as his foot dropped, finding no purchase. Another gunshot rang out as he tumbled out of sight.
Something warm started to grow on Quinn's arm. She looked down, taking the brief moment of pause from Lambert to look down at the wound that was growing on her arm. She hissed softly as she tugged back her cloak. The bullet had only grazed her, but it still hurt like hell. Quinn clasped her hand over her arm and blinked the pain away despite her eyes stinging and starting to tear up. She shook her head and started towards the edge, looking down the side of the cliff. The ground leveled out into a brief shelf of trees before it fell away again into the marshes. Even in the dim light, she could see the path Lambert's fall had left on the side of the cliff, down to the shelf.
Valor circled above the shelf, squawking at her.
"I know he's still down there." Quinn said, looking down at the wound in her arm. Blood was still pouring from the wound, but it was already starting to clot. She looked away from the wound, forming a fist with her hand and wincing as pain shot through her arm. "Unless I have a body, this fight isn't over. We either need his head or we need him. You know this."
Valor hooted angrily at her reckless attitude, but Quinn ignored the bird's derisive tone.
"I know!" Quinn spat back. "Watch my back, I need to' find him." Quinn ignored the birds response as she started down the mountain side, jumping over the edge and skidding down the side, descending into the gorge. The solid was rocked but came away easily, and Quinn descended into the gorge quickly, following the path Lambert had already carved into the mountainside.
She stumbled down onto the shelf, glancing around into the scraggly, wind swept trees that clung to the rocky shelf. She kept her weapon raised and paused, looking down at the ground. He hasn't disappeared. He can't have. She frowned as she looked down at the ground, looking for prints in the mud and snow. Valor descended next to her, though he was still circling. Quinn looked up at Valor, but he was scanning the area, trying to find Lambert. Even Val can't see him.
"Find him, Val." Quinn carefully picked her way through the trees, following tracks and a bloody trail towards the cliff and the final descent towards the icy marshes below. Quinn paused as she reached the cliff side, kneeling down as she looked out over the marshes. The tracks disappeared at the edge. Where did he-...
Cl-click.
Quinn exhaled slowly as she closed her eyes. Fuck. The sensation of metal was pressed to the back of her head.
"I know what you're thinking." Lambert sneered, anger and scorn in his voice. "'Did he fire six shots or only five?'" He chuckled softly to himself, keeping the gun barrel pressed to the back of Quinn's head. "To be honest, you little bitch, in all this excitement I've lost track of it myself. I've got to say, I don't really know what this thing is going to do to your head from this range." He nudged her sharply and Quinn growled. "If you're lucky, it'll blow you head clean off and you won't suffer. So I have to ask you one final question: 'Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, bitch?"
Valor screeched as he dove at Lambert, catching his on the side of the head. Lambert snarled as the gun cracked as it went off, and he tumbled forward over Quinn, sending them both tumbling forward over the cliff, rolling down the cliffside.
Quinn's eyes teared over as she struck a rock, stars exploding in front of her face.
Darkness filled her vision for long moments, her ears ringing like a struck bell.
Quinn felt the cold sensation of ice on her back as she opened her eyes, looking into the sky as clouds rolled past, revealing the moon. She groaned as she sat up, pain shooting through her head. She looked around; she was sitting in the snow on the banks of the marshes under the cover of a gnarled tree. In front of her, the ice covered marshlands spread out as far as Quinn could see. As she slowly turned, looking around her, something faded from the mist that swirled above the ice. "Val? VALOR!"
The eagle lay crumpled on the ice, one wing held at an odd angle, as Valor struggled to get to his feet. He was struggling about, pushing himself awkwardly along the ice, a bloody streak following in his wake. Quinn slid herself over to the bird and helped him onto his talons, the eagle hooting a weak thank you.
"Let me see your wing." Quinn demanded as Valor started to turn away.
Valor squawked weakly as he shook his head, but the bird withered slightly when Quinn glared at him.
"Wing, now." Quinn ordered firmly. Valor shivered his feathers in an annoyed fashion but held his wing out for the tracker to see. Quinn careful pushed a few select feathers aside and saw that a few feathers that been ripped away. She sighed a breath of relief and then tugged Valor over to hug him. The eagle squawked in surprise. "You're lucky, birdbrain! That could have easily killed you!"
Valor hooted derisively at Quinn as he hopped away and spread his wings, trying to take off. He flapped once but crashed to the ice in a bundle of feather and talons. He slowly clambered to his talons again with some help from Quinn, and then extended his wing to its full extension. There was a sizable gap where four or five of the eagle's primaries were missing, and as Quinn inspected the damage, she noticed the first four secondaries were missing too.
"He really did a number on you, didn't he?" Quinn said laughing softly at the eagle's awkwardly held wing.
Valor hooted softly once, but stopped the sound halfway through. The feathers on his neck flared as he shrieked violently, hopping up and down. Quinn felt ice form in her veins as she threw herself to the side.
Lambert's sword struck the surface of the lake at the edge of the marsh, sending a geyser of ice and water into the air, raining Quinn with flecks of ice and water as she slid away on her knees. The ice shuddered underneath her, faint spiderweb like cracks appearing in the clear ice. She carefully picked herself up, looking up at the assailant.
"This… This ends now." Lambert looked crazed, his breathing heavy, dirt and blood covering half of his face, pouring from the massive gashes that had consumed his eye. His chest heaved, both arms hanging at his side. Bandages wrapped around his hand, binding his fingers around the hilt of his sword, wrapping up his forearms and about the crossguard of the blade. It didn't howl now, but it glowed with a vicious sheen as blood dripped from Lambert's arm, running down the blade. His other arm was in ruins, blood wept from the wound in his arm freely. "I may not be able to use any of my fingers… but I don't need them to kill you!"
Lambert charged forward, swinging the blade wildly upwards onto his shoulder so his could bring it down. Quinn dropped below the arc of his wild swing, the rush of air surrounding the crimson blade billowing the hair on her neck. Quinn rolled to the side and came up as Lambert's blade went wide, striking the ice, hard. It bounced once, and started away, pulling Lambert away from Quinn. He skidded to a stop a handful of yards away on a single knee. His breathing was ragged and Quinn could see why, blood was beginning to pour profusely from the wounds in his arm, running down the blade. Its sheen was growing brighter and more malicious now that its appetite, its thirst for blood, had been whetted.
The blade's lust is consuming him. Quinn shivered, watching as Lambert dropped his shoulder and prepared for another charge. I need to rid him of that weapon before it consumes him completely. Quinn yanked the action on her crossbow back. Only two rounds left.
Lambert charged, and Quinn fired off a shot, forcing the man to duck behind the blade, slowing his charge just enough that Quinn was ready for him this time. Lambert forced himself to carry through the charge, bearing down on the tracker, the blade raised up. Quinn dropped low, as if she were going to dip and roll, but as the blade came down like a headman's axe, she ducked to the side and rose up. The blade struck the ice, hard, carving a divot deep into the surface as it bounced up just as Quinn produced a small blade and ran it up Lambert's forearm, slicing through the bandages. Quinn used all of her weight to sink the blade into the crook of Lambert's arm. The man screamed as the blade left his grasp and skittered away, disappearing into the swirling mist of the swamp.
"Fucking-..." Lambert hissed as he stumbled away, both of his arms now hanging at his side. He raised the arm he hadn't used before, the gun in hand, but as he tried to pull the trigger, it fumbled and fell of his grip. Lambert snarled in anger as he looked down at his other arm; a short bladed silver knife extended from his elbow. "How did-... This is one of Talon's knives… you… you little wench!"
Quinn cycled the action on her crossbow and leveled it at Lambert's head. "This ends now, bastard."
"You have one bolt left." Lambert said, slowly stepping towards the ice. "You really going to use it on me?"
Quinn smirked. "No. Because I don't feel like carrying you back to Demacia myself. Now move."
"You're mad if you think I'm going back to Demacia." Lambert snarled. "I'd rather die!"
"That can be arranged." Quinn snapped back.
"And kill me?" Lambert laughed sharply. "You're as stupid as you are naive! If you want me, come and stop me!" He turned and started out onto the ice. Valor hopped in front of him and shrieked, but Lambert aimed a kick at the bird, sending it hopping away in a flutter of feathers.
"You won't make it across!" Quinn shouted after him. "The ice is too thin!"
Lambert glanced left and right along the coast as he took another uneasy step out onto the ice that covered the marsh. Quinn boxed him in from the north, and as Lambert wiped blood from his brow where the eagle had gashed him onto his shoulder, he had to turn further to simply put eyes on the bird as it hopped around him towards the south. Lambert smiled: he had been driven here expertly by the girl and her damned bird. He took another step, further out onto the ice. While he was trapped on the ice, the girl had only one arrow and the bird was confined to the ground thanks to pistol. He growled, slowly moving further out onto the ice. It pinged a few times, but the ice didn't flex under his feet.
"See?" He laughed at Quinn. "You can't stop me! You won't stop me!"
"Don't be stupid!" Quinn shouted after him. "The ice has already thawed! Any further and you'll fall right through and drown! Do the smart thing and turn yourself in-I can guarantee your safety!"
"Safety?" Lambert snarled sarcastically as he slid another foot out further, shifting his weight slightly more cautiously than before. "Why be safe when I have two traitors to turn in? A little bit of safety or fame, fortune, and all the women and ale I can handle?" Lambert made a show of laughing sharply, trying to put malice into his tone. "You may be pretty, even for a little girl, but Talon can have you for all I care! Booze, easy women, and the fortune as the next great Noxian inquisitor famed for rooting out the two biggest spies in our history? That is the dream, girl, and unless you're willing to come out here and stop me, you can go fuck yourself!"
"I'm warning you, the ice is too thin!" Quinn shouted. "One wrong step and you could disappear, just like that!"
"Hardly." Lambert said, laughing boastfully, despite the trail of blood that he had led out onto the ice. He raised his foot to tap the ice in a showy manner.
"Wait!" Quinn shouted. "Don't!"
His foot struck the surface. He glared at Quinn, smiling imperiously. "See?" Nothing happ-..."
Pinging through the ice cut the man's boasting off immediately. His face went pale as pings bounced about the marsh from side to side, back and forth.
The painfully slow sound of a crack starting to form cut through the silence. An oddly serene quiet followed for only a brief moment before Lambert disappeared with a splash, falling through as the ice cracked beneath him.
"No!" Quinn snarled as she sprinted forward along the thicker edge of the ice. She gritted her teeth and dove as gracefully as she could, skidding out across the ice towards the hole that had claimed Lambert as its quarry. She reached the hole without incident, and stared into the murky depths of the icy water; Lambert was nowhere to be seen. "Damnit!" Quinn snarled angrily, looking into the depths. "Where are you, fool!?" She watched the surface for a brief moment as the bubbles slowly died down to nothing. "This is bad... I'm going to regret this..." Quinn took a deep breath as she plunged her hand into the water and started to feel around. There was nothing around the edge of the hole, only chunks of ice striking her arm as they bobbed. Quinn withdrew her hand and hissed a silent curse, the water was deathly cold. "I swear, If he's not dead, I'll kill him myself!"
Quinn took a deep breath and plunged her arm into the water up to her shoulder, and started to feel around the edge of the hole. She was almost all the way around the hole when she finally brushed her hand against fabric. Quinn grabbed a hold and heaved, yanking the fabric bound Noxian towards the hole. He tried to resist, but with nothing to hold onto, and only the slick ice to try and fight against, he slid to the hole without issue. Quinn started to drag him onto the ice, but he thrashed, pushing back against the ice, starting to drag the tracker into the icy water with him.
"No, no, No, NO!" Quinn stared to panic, but Valor grabbed her pant leg with his beak and heaved her backwards, his talons finding greater purchase on the ice. Quinn pulled the Noxian out of the water, spluttering and frustrated, sending him swirling backwards away from the hole.
"No! Stop! Just let me go!" Lambert snarled. He raised his arm to try and break through the ice with his elbow, but when he brought it down, his elbow bounced and the ice echoed, rippling slightly under Quinn. She hissed and slid herself forward as she pulled herself onto her knees in her slide. She raised an arm as she slid forward, punching Lambert in the jaw.
He fell silent and still, collapsing down onto the ice.
Quinn rolled onto her back and took a deep breath, holding it for a brief moment before exhaling heavily. Valor bounced forward, his talon's clicking on the ice. His wing was still held at an odd angle. Quinn giggled softly at the odd sight and Valor hooted at her, though his tone wasn't as harsh as it had been previously.
"It's finally done, Val." Quinn murmured, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath. "It's finally over."
Valor hooted, standing over his partner. Quinn opened her eyes and smiled as she reached up and scratched Valor on the chest, smiling at the eagle.
"I know I couldn't have done it without you." Quinn chuckled softly as she rolled and struggled into a sitting position and then looked about. Quinn took a deep breath as she started towards the shore on her stomach, dragging Lambert alongside her over the ice.
Author's note: Sorry for the long delay on this chapter, I've been busy and I had someone who was going to beta read the story for me, but they never got around to it. The fifth and final part of Cataclysm: Demacian Ranger will be out soon.