Most of the wrecked tables had been cleared away, though one of the Barmaids was still sweeping When Jarvan entered the tavern proper. He looked around the bar, but didn't see Forsythe, Isaacs or Quinn. The prince made his way towards the fire, burning bright in the hearth, and set his gear down at one of the closer tables. One of the barmaids made her way over, this time a young girl with wavy dirt-blonde hair that fell around her fair complexioned face. She had bright green eyes that sparkled brightly even in the dim light of the tavern.
"Good morning!" She said politely, bowing in Jarvan's direction. She nodded hello to Shyvana as well, though her eyes stayed glued to Jarvan.
"Morning." Jarvan said grinning at her, bringing a blush to her cheeks. "What's on the menu for this morning?"
"We have some leftover Strider steak with eggs." She said, looking at the ceiling, thinking. "We also have some other food available if that doesn't suit you."
"That sounds pretty good actually." Jarvan said nodding. "Bread and coffee as well?"
"We have tea if you'd like." She said, holding a tray in front of her. Jarvan sighed, but softened the disappointment with a slack smile.
"Sure." Jarvan nodded.
"And you ma'am?" The barmaid said, turning to Shyvana.
Shyvana glanced at Jarvan and shrugged. "I'll have the same thing."
"Of course!" The barmaid exclaimed a bit too excitedly, sneaking a glance at Jarvan and then walking away, obviously doing her best not to break into a run. Jarvan sighed, shaking his head.
"Do you have that same effect on all women?" Shyvana said, perching her chin on an arm that rested on the table top. Jarvan read her expression as annoyed, though he couldn't quite tell; her expression was almost playful.
"Yes, usually." Jarvan said, sheepishly, winking at her.
"He is a prince after all." Isaacs announced as he approached the table with Forsythe in tow. "Morning all." The two soldiers sat down across from Shyvana and Jarvan, dumping their packs on the table behind them. Forsythe looked a bit more docile than yesterday, and Jarvan expected he'd be in a better mood with a hot meal in his belly.
"I suppose." Shyvana said, glancing away, her shoulders sinking. Jarvan turned to her, not quite sure exactly what was wrong with the dragoness all of a sudden; she had been in high spirits that morning.
"Sleep well?" Jarvan asked in the general direction of Isaacs and Forsythe, turning back to the table.
"I forgot how damn good it felt to sleep in a bed." Isaacs said with a satisfied grin. He raised his arms above his head as he stretched, rolling his neck at the same time. "Though I heard you two had a good time last night." Jarvan sighed heavily, eliciting a chuckle from Isaacs and a blush from Shyvana. "No, no, not like that. I heard about your little brawl with the locals."
"A brawl?" Forsythe said, frowning as he perked up, deciding it was finally time to listen in to the conversation around him. "What happened?"
"That's what I wanted to know." Isaacs said grinning. "Wasn't going to outright ask, but if you're going to tell…"
"Here's your food." The barmaid said, appearing in a flurry from the kitchen. She carried a couple of plates of food and some other dishes. She set the two plates of food in front of Jarvan and Shyvana, each piled high with a thick piece of strider steak, eggs and what Jarvan suspected was some sort of chopped, fried potato dish. She also set a tea pot, two mugs and a basket with thick slices of a dark, oat topped bread between the two of them. She set cream and sugar for the tea on the table and poured both of them a cup.
"Can I get something for you two gentlemen?" The young barmaid asked, looking to Isaacs and Forsythe.
"Same thing." Isaacs said gesturing to the plate that sat in front of Jarvan. "Coffee?"
"Tea." She said, giggling. "And you?"
"I'll have the same." Forsythe said, blushing at her, a small grin on her face. She winked at him as she spun and went to fetch their food.
"Anyways, you were saying about your fight last night?" Isaacs said grinning and elbowing the younger man who sat next to him. Forsythe blushed and turned away, making a scene out of digging through his pack.
"Right, right, the brawl." Jarvan shrugged. "Well, it started when a Noxian drunkard and his squad of idiots decided they wanted to make some trouble."
"He decided that I looked like fun." Shyvana said with a smirk. Isaacs scoffed, leaning back as he laughed.
"He didn't even see it coming." Jarvan said with a crooked grin. "She clocked him so hard he went flying across the room. Right to the jaw." Jarvan tapped the underside of his chin with his fork. "His friends didn't take to kindly to that, so we did what we could to help the townsfolk out in dealing with the oppressive sonovabitch and his men."
"Bart ended up taking a trip to the town jail on a stretcher." The barmaid said, grinning as she set two more plates on the table in front of Forsythe and Isaacs.
"Thanks!" Forsythe said, suddenly looking ravenous. He dug into the plate of food, as Isaacs and Jarvan both chuckled.
"Thank ya, missy." Isaacs said, winking at her. She nodded and left them to their food.
"So how do we find a tracker?" Isaacs asked, tucking into his own plate. Jarvan finished chewing a piece of the Strider Steak and some of the eggs he had just shoveled into his mouth, and swallowed, washing it down with a sip of tea.
"I didn't get a chance to tell you, but I ran into one that should be able to help us last night." Jarvan pulled a piece of the dark bread from the basket. "She's young, but she seems capable enough." Isaacs raised an eyebrow and Shyvana shot Jarvan a sideways glance as she chewed on a piece of strider steak.
"How'd you find one? Wait… she?" Isaacs repeated, surprise on his face as he bit a corner off a piece of the dark bread.
"She actually found us right before the brawl last night." Jarvan said in between mouthfuls. "She knew about the Legionnaires and had a few run-ins with them in the past of her own. She warned me to be careful and I met with her afterwards."
"I see." Isaacs said, nodding. "A local?"
Jarvan shook his head as he finished chewing a mouthful of eggs and potato. "Not to Kalamanda at least. Looked like she was passing through or was in between jobs. She's decidedly Demacian though." Jarvan paused for the effect, glancing from Forsythe to Isaacs. "She had a Demacian Eagle with her." Isaacs paused, his fork halfway between his plate and his mouth, a chunk of egg falling back to the plate. Even Forsythe had frozen mid forkful and looked at Jarvan. The prince nodded slowly.
"Those birds are legendary." Forsythe scoffed through a half-full mouth of steak.
"Chew your food." Isaacs chuckled as he shook his head. "Boy's right though, I haven't seen one in over a decade. I could've sworn they were extinct."
"Well you'll get to meet one later then." Jarvan said, grinning. "I was hoping she'd be here by now, but I had her gathering a few things for us before the journey."
"Supplies?" Isaacs asked.
Jarvan nodded. "Horses as well. We're not going to catch Kampf on foot, I'm afraid."
Shyvana nodded as she swallowed, her hair bobbing up and down. "He may be wounded, but it's been several days already." She frowned. "If he chose to move fast, he's going to have made his wounds worse which makes him harder to find but easier to fight when we do locate him. If he chose to go slow, he won't have gotten far, but he's going to be tougher to defeat." The dragoness paused, staring down at a piece of steak speared on her fork. "Hopefully we'll find him before too long."
Jarvan saw her knuckles turn white around the fork, her obvious frustration boiling forth. They finished their breakfast shortly and were nursing cups of tea while the barmaid cleared their dishes when a commotion near the door caught their attention. The hushed tones of the other occupants of the tavern went silent as everyone turned to watch. Jarvan looked up from his cup of tea and their hushed conversation to see what had caused the problem. The door swept open to reveal a young woman struggling with a large blue bird.
"Valor!" Quinn shouted, frowning as the bird hovered just above and behind her as she pushed the door in. "Valor, stay here." The bird snapped its beak at her and circled off, riding an air current up into the sky. She sighed, her head hanging as she entered the tavern and looked around. Seeing Jarvan sitting in the back corner, she made her way over, pulling her hood back.
"This is the tracker?" Isaacs asked, jerking a finger in her direction. Jarvan nodded, a smirk on his face. "Great, more bloody kids I have to take care of." Isaacs muttered, sighing. Both Shyvana and Forsythe caught themselves scowling at the older Lieutenant.
"Sorry I'm late." Quinn said, bowing to Jarvan. "It took a bit longer than I thought it would to get a hold of the horses."
"It's fine." Jarvan responded. "Allow me to introduce Lieutenant Isaacs, Corporal Forsythe, and my consort, Shyvana." Jarvan gestured to each as he introduced his small company. Isaacs nodded at Quinn, and Forsythe looked dumbstruck, but Shyvana looked at her with an unamused glare.
"Nice to meet you all." Quinn said, bowing again to the table. "My name is Quinn." She said with a brisk smile. She brushed some of her dark hair from her face.
"Everything in order?" Jarvan asked as he finished off his cup of tea.
"Yep." She chirped happily. "When do you wish to head out?" Jarvan took a cursory glance around his companions and noted they were all looking to him.
"Now, if you're ready." Jarvan said, standing, his chair scrapping the cobbles as he got to his feet.
"Aye, captain." Isaacs said, cracking his neck again and getting to his feet. He pulled his cloak around his shoulders, grunting as he pulled his pack on. "Something tells me that we're not in for clear weather much longer. I can feel it in my bones." Quinn nodded solemnly as the others got to their feet and pulled their packs on.
"I haven't seen fog this thick in this region in a long time." Quinn murmured ominously. "We're probably going to get hit by a bad storm. As for when? It could be hours or days. It's hard to guess thanks to the mountains."
"We should get going then." Jarvan urged, spurring the group towards the door. He dropped a few silver pieces on the table and nodded his thanks to the barmaid. The money would be more than enough to cover the food, rooms, and a small tip for the young girl. She nodded her thanks as they left the tavern, stepping into the smoky half-morning light. Every direction was grey, and the cobblestone street disappeared not thirty feet distant in any direction.
Five restless horses stood tied off to the side of the tavern. They were stamping at the ground, and Jarvan couldn't tell if they were spooked or just bored. They were a range of colors, from midnight black to a brilliant white. They all bore saddles and four were set up with one saddle bag a piece, ready to accept the pack from one of the company to even the load out. The fifth already had both saddle bags and Jarvan figured that horse belonged to Quinn. His suspicions were confirmed when she approached the brown beast, its black mane quivering in the morning humidity.
"Choose a horse and mount up." Quinn said. "We'll move out as soon as you're all ready."
Jarvan chose a massive jet-black animal, its mane falling to the side of its neck. The animal eyed Jarvan suspiciously as he approached, his hand extended. It stomped a few times, sending a little cloud of dust billowing up from beneath his massive hooves. It snorted but did not back down as Jarvan stroked its nose gently. The beast looked at him with dark, glistening eyes, following his movements as he around the horse's flank and attacked his pack using the belts. He lowered the saddlebags into place and slipped one boot into the stirrup, lifting himself up and into the saddle. The horse shook its head, tossing its mane back and forth. He looked around and watched as Shyvana, Isaacs and Forsythe managed to mouth their horses, all of them getting their packs set as well. Quinn was looking skyward, though at what Jarvan could only guess. Forsythe was on the white mare, Shyvana had another black horse, though hers was smaller than Jarvan's mount, and Isaacs had an ash colored stallion that was anxious to get underway.
Quinn lifted her arm towards the sky, and with a mighty screech, Valor descended in a swirl of feathers and mist. He fluttered his wings, slowing his descent as he dropped down onto her arm, shaking his head, casting little droplets of water off his plumage. He locked eyes with Jarvan for a few moments, blinking twice before turning to Quinn and twitching his head, making soft noises. Quinn paid rapt attention and then she raised her arm high, tossing him into the wind. He disappeared into the mist again.
"Any luck?" Jarvan asked, half joking. Quinn nodded at him.
"Valor says there is a large, fresh trail that picks up several leagues north of here." She said, adjusting herself in the saddle. "A very large creature, wounded badly as some point." She spitted Jarvan with a stare.
"A dragon." Shyvana said quietly. Quinn nodded.
"North then." Jarvan said, spurring his horse forward into a trot. Quinn fell in ahead of him, Shyvana beside him and then Forsythe and Isaacs behind them. He looked over and nodded at Shyvana. He could see white-knuckled anticipation, her entire body coiled like a spring, ready to fight, ready to strike. Her eyes were ice cold and focused ahead, ready for the chance to kill Kampf and exact her revenge for her father. Jarvan could feel the animalistic rage pouring off her, the bloody malice almost palatable in the air, a far cry from the giggly, flirtatious young woman he had woken that morning.
Something in her had changed.
It was frightening.