Chapter 4

By now the sun is at its apex, bathing the entirety of Valoran in a golden light. From the flat plains and hills of earlier, it has now transformed in a mountainous range of hills and valleys. Artrix had noticed a sign that read: Land of Piltover, Ironspike Mountains. This area was much more barren than what he had seen. Only the occasional of moss and fern lined the stony walls that seemed to endless stretch across the lands. Other than the plants and rare critters, Artrix had not seen a single sign of life within the horizon.

The march was harsh with the afternoon sun now beating down on them. Fortunately Riven's satchel seemed to have never run out of uses as she provided water and food for both of them. After the treacherous march through the Ironspike, they were finally met with the much more welcome plains of Piltover. Life began to sprout again in forms of grass, trees, animals and eventually farms.

"Riven, how far is this Institute of War," Artrix asked. Beads of sweat now tricked down his forehead.

Riven processed the question quickly in her head and did some rough calculations with her fingers.

"A few more days' worth of walking, at this is pace," she replied. Artrix gave a defeated sigh, he was not sure if his body could handle much more. While treated, his deeper wounds still burrowed within him, causing him pain from time to time. "Don't worry though, Piltover City is not far, we can get you rest and transport there."

Artrix took the reassurance and sighed again. He was about to enter a city filled with mortals. He was able to handle Riven because she's a special kind of mortal to him, but he was unsure about the rest. He tried to shake the thought of his head and only continued forward when a sudden, unbearable jolt of pain shot straight through his chest. He clutched the phantom pain and dropped to one knee. Riven turned and quickly ran to his aid.

"It's your ribs, they were cracked. I don't think you can walk any further," Riven said while inspecting Artrix. She reached into her wondrous satchel and took out what seems to be a chewed leaf the size of her palm, along with a vial of clear liquid. She then rubbed the contents in the vial on the life and mashed it to a paste in her strong hands. She offered the minty paste to Artrix, who stared at it with dubiety.

"It will ease your pain," she said. With reluctance, Artrix slowly accepted the strange concoction into his mouth. Tears almost streamed his eyes as his gag reflex went to work. Still, he reminded himself that he will not be defeated by a mere leaf and forced himself to swallow it. Riven chuckled at Artrix's misfortune but indeed, he did feel his agony slowly ease away, crawling back into his ribs until the medicine wore off where it would most likely strike again.

"Disgusting…" Artrix weakly said after the final struggle with the taste. "That was absolutely vulgar."

Riven helped Atrix stagger back to his feet, eventually regaining balance with her aid.

"Can you still walk? Piltover is very near, we can make it by nightfall," she said. Artrix nodded and they continued the tread in twain with Riven now providing assistance to Artrix's staggered stance.

For many hours, the plains remained unchanged. As the sunlight dwindled and gradually replaced by the sheets of night, the silhouette of the Ironspike Mountains now disappeared behind them. Soon, a crude but clear trail developed in the middle of the grassy fields. A wooden sign, held onto a post by a rusted nail read: Piltover. The pair read it with relief and partially joy, their temporary destination is within their feet's march. Without Artrix's notice, night had already reached their steps. In the distance, a large well of blinking lights pooled. The lively city which was bristled with the wonders of Techmaturgy could be seen miles away; a miraculous beacon amongst the sea of darkness. Much to Riven's delight their tiresome journey of the day has finally been ended.

Following the dusty trail and led by both the moonlight and the lights from the city, they soon reached its gates. Or so Artrix thought they were gates. It was unlike anything he has ever encountered, even as a god. Sparkling blue energy wildly danced from conductors to conductors. Artrix noticed a relatively large fly mindlessly hover into one of the arc's path. With a loud popping sound, the entire existence of the poor creature vanished, leaving behind a pair of singed wings. Each electric echelons were connected with wires the size of his own body. Behind all this spectacle two seemingly immovable pair of bronze gates, held up by large rivets and bolts, stood valiantly against any invaders.

In front of the massive gate was its tiny maintainer who had a wench in one hand, screwing bolts into a generator. The person, or thing was truly a strange sight to Artrix; his height only reached till Artrix's thighs, his skin was yellow, he had a large pair of goggles that swallowed up all his eyes but most peculiar of all was his anterior. It was greatly disproportioned to the rest of his petite body; a messy series of yellow mass clumped up which was as big as his frame. Artrix wondered if that was his hair or a brain, but he didn't want to ask.

"What is it? Visitors?" the being eccentrically spoke with a high, raspy voice.

Riven stepped forth. "You must be Heimerdinger."

The thing, known as Heimerdinger, paused his work and turned his head. He then adjusted his goggles and hastily scanned his two new acquaintances.

"Yes, yes, I am," he spoke with a hasty style, as if his mind was always turning and speaking only got in his way and wasted time. "You see, I'm maintaining this new techmaturgy gate. It's 5000 mega-watt, nexus crystal powered twin battery generator will fry anything!"

He pointed proudly to his creation. Riven looked up, her face lighten up by bright sparks of the gate.

"It's… Impressive. However, we need to get into Piltover and I didn't expect this barrier here," she said.

Heimerdinger, seemingly insulted, raised his wench and shook it angrily.

"This isn't just any barrier, simpleton! Otherwise, I wouldn't have made it."

Riven held up both her hands. "Alright, alright. Calm down, but we still need to get past."

Heimerdinger then turned around and resumed his work, promptly ignoring her requests. He gave out a squeak and heaved a bolt clockwise with his wench. Smoke and fumes exploded out of the generator and the blue energy had transformed itself into a soothing green. It stay arced violently however and Riven wondered what had just been accomplished other than a pretty light show.

"Enter," Heimerdinger simply said.

Riven looked at him with disbelief.

"You want us to walk through that?" she doubted.

Heimerdinger shook his head, sighed and muttered to himself. "Of course simpletons will never get it." He then proceeded to the gate and calmly walked through it, unharmed. The bolts of energy seemed to have completely ignored his existence.

"Like I said, no simple barrier. This sparks can detect an ally or foe, and will act accordingly," he said. "Now, stop wasting my time and go, I have important work to do."

With reassurance from Heimerdinger's demonstration, the pair treaded past the still frightening bolts and reached the great iron gates. They slowly opened with loud creaks which signified that it needed to be oiled and revealed to Artrix the beauty of a futuristic city. Within the city walls, dazzling lights of all colors imaginable exploded chromatically. Strange contraptions and buildings, some defying gravity, some completely transparent and others crafted with unknown metals lined the streets. Its inhabitants were no different. Many of them adorned white lab coats and had gadgets and gears on them that Artrix couldn't even begin to ponder their functions. Their races were as diverse as their wonderful techmaturgy; some yordles, some strange amphibians, some humans. Artrix gazed around with astonishment. He saw mortals that were extremely crafty, completely different from his views. They were striving within their own guidance, with or without Heaven. He could not believe what lays before his own eyes.

While drunk in the amazement of Piltover, Artrix only awoke when Riven tucked at his arms.

"Come on, we need to you healed. There's a medical ward not far from this street," she said.

They headed eastwards, wading through heavy crowds and displays. Techmaturgy performances seemed to swarm the streets. Some of the most peculiar shows included a man regenerating a limb after it had been severed, a backpack which would transform itself into a metallic giant for its wearer, and more objects which defied gravity spectacularly. All of which caught Artrix's curious gazes.

Soon, they were met with the medical ward. It was no less spectacular than the rest of the buildings before Piltover. The main building was constructed of some sort of reflective glass what was not bound by gravity. The entrance was series of efficient portals that could transport wounded immediately into the ward without hesitations. Each portal was a different color, each signifying its use. Riven searched and found a pink one with a hovering sign embroidered with electric light tubes that read: Non-Emergency Only.

Riven pointed the way to Artrix who shook his head in defiance.

"That color… Most… Weak. I refuse to pass through such embarrassment," he said.

Riven rolled her eyes and pinched his ears like a misbehaving child. He then dragged Artrix by the ear towards the entrance.

"Unhand me mortal! I will not be mocked!" Artrix's protests were futile. His broken body had prevented him from flailing his arms in resistance. Onlookers secretly giggled at the scene. A smaller woman dragged a beat up, protesting man into the infirmary like a child.

Through the 'embarrassing' portal, the two landed in a lobby filled with other patients. All of their injuries mostly mundane like a broken arm, or leg, or ribs. Riven brought Artrix, who had stopped protesting now, but still reluctant, to the counter which was stationed by a single nurse who seemed more intent on her chewing gum than the two. Riven approached the counter and brought a grumpy Artrix to the counter.

"I've got my friend here that's in pretty rough shape. Can you heal him?" Riven asked the nurse.

The nurse did not so much as even glance up and just took out a card with lines on it and a number.

"Wait your turn."

Riven was surprised by this nonchalant manner as she grudgingly accepted the card. On it read: 413, scribbled in black ink. Riven checked an electronic screen. She gave out a big sigh when the red glowing numbers on the screen just blinked to 301.

"What impedes us? Where is my healer?" Artrix impatiently demanded.

Riven held up the card and then pointed to the screen.

"They take non-emergency seriously. Non. Emergency. We need to wait until it's 413," Riven replied.

"How dare they make me wait, they ought to-" Artrix slammed down on a chair rest, but the pain shot back up his shoulders as he snivelled back down onto his chair. The patients around him looked at the commotion he had caused.

"Sorry people, just a little upset, that's all," Riven said to the crowd. Soon, the quietness of waiting resumed in the ward.

Artrix tried to shift into a position where it would hurt the least, but no matter which way he rolled, the stinging pain in his ribs slowly pecked at him. The painkillers from earlier is beginning to wear off. Riven sat down across from him and waited. Only in this screeching silence did she realize one thing, Artix was quite handsome beneath all the dirt and dried blood. If his slick black hair had been gelled and washed, the cuts and bruises healed off his face, he would've been an undeniably attractive person. An untimely observation, but she kept glaring. She wondered how someone, who was dressed in such impeccable armor and possessed such charm, could've ended like this. Riven remembered that he was exiled too, or so he said he was. Artrix was a peculiar person, what did he do to receive his banishment? Who was he, really. She thought that now's definitely not the time to ask, but perhaps later when they've arrived at the Institute of War.

"Artrix…" Riven whispered in order to match the silence of the room. "Artrix…," this time slightly louder to get his attention.

Artrix looked up with a puzzled face, ready to receive a question. Riven then thought about asking him with curiosity bursting from her. However, she had decided not to. She simply shook her head, a non-verbal form of "never mind". Artrix screwed his eyes and leaned back onto the surprisingly soft chair. A light beep went off and the screen above the counter now counted: 302. Riven looked and sighed. She knew that this will be a long wait. When he glanced back at Artrix, she noticed that he already fallen dozed off, his soft breaths accompanied by his chest gently rising and falling. She leaned back as well as sleep slowly gripped her, anchoring her eyes down.

"Slaughter them all, leave none alive!" Riven commanded. Immediately her squad parted from her in a synchronized manner and began their massacre.

The flames around her engulfed the town, transforming it into a sea of inferno. Screams of scared Ionians filled her ears, but she did not care. The Noxian High Command had given her an order, and she shall obey. The strong will eradicate the weak. Wielding her massive runic claymore, she stepped forward and into the soil that was already soaked with the blood of both fallen Ionian defenders and villagers. Her metallic boots crushed plants and skulls alike.

Up ahead was an Ionian temple, dedicated to worshipping an ancient god. It was a small, stone-crafted house with slanted roofs. Only there had the hungry flames not touched yet. Fronting the temple were a pair of large gates and which tightly shut, most likely barricaded from behind. As she approached to complete her task, one of her soldiers returned.

"Ma'am, we've done as you asked. All the survivors have been eliminated, except for that temple," he reported.

"I will deal with them myself. The rest of you secure the perimeter," she ordered. With a quick salute, the soldier disappeared back into the blazing smoke.

Riven arrived at the gates and lifted her weapon, a sickly green light emitted from precise carvings that lined her sword. The gates, no matter how large, would be no match for Riven's strength. With a mighty cleave, the futile barrier was torn asunder and exposed the frightened inhabitants within.

Inside the temple was a simple aisle that was accompanied by rows of benches on each side. The aisle led to a tall, stone statue of an unknown god. On the statue was its symbol; an Eagle clutching onto a bolt of lightning. However, Riven paid no attentions to the small details. Her bloodthirsty eyes scoured the room, left to right. Priests, monks, women and children all huddled into a small group. Their fearful expression did not impede Riven at all.

One of the elder priests stood up, his eyes revealed no fear.

"Spare us, we are but defenseless people. Do not follow this path of blood, your eyes betray you. You are different," the priest said.

Riven was surprised. Who was he to tell what she was, he was weak, she is strong and he, along with the weaklings he protected shall all die. Then, without any emotions, she stepped forward with her blade raised. Shrill screams echoed in the temple as the blood of the innocent squandered from their bodies and pooled onto the temple floors.

Riven's eyes shot open as she let out a faint gasp. Her breathing was now heavy and she nudged her weary eyes, forcing the sleep out of them. One of her immediate worries was that all the patients, including Artrix had disappeared along with her card. She quickly turned her head to glance at the counters. The nurse had disappeared and the screen had been reset to 000.

"Oh no…" she began to frantically search the ward and ran down the halls which smelled of bitter medicine. "Artrix?" she hollered down the ghostly ward. It looked like as if it was abandoned without a single soul in sight. She cried out again but was only answered with silence. Her heart worried, she knew Artrix could not handle this world by himself well. After sprinting down the twisting corridors, she was only met with failure. Her search was futile as he stopped to try to calmly collect her thoughts. Where could he have gone? It was deep in the middle of night, danger would've lurked the Piltoveran streets. Muggers, robbers, murderers… Her heart pounded with fear, fear that Artrix might have gone and gotten himself killed when suddenly, a voice sounded behind her.

"Riven, what manner of action is this?" She instantly recognized it. Artrix.

She swung around and was met with the familiar sight of Artrix except now; he was in a much more acceptable shape. His wounds have healed with impossible speeds due to the power of techmaturgy. His hair and face, along with the rest of his body had been cleansed of the dirt and blood now. His hair only crudely fixed, however it was at least better than its previous state. Now, instead of cuts and bruises, bandages covered his face. His armor had too been cleaned but the damage on it remained. Artrix had been requested to wear the hospital gown but after some heated resistance and hollering, the nurses decided to just allow him to wear his current attire.

"Artrix, what do you…," Riven asked, still reeling from her earlier panic.

"It finally reached 413 when you were still sounding asleep. I did not wish to awake you, so I took your card and proceeded," Artrix replied.

Riven putted her hands over her chest and gave a heavy sigh of relief. "For a second I thought you…"

Artrix cracked a faint smile and scoffed. "You do not truly think that I'm this incapable do you?"

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"Well, I'm much better now. Shall we be off this godforsaken place?" Artrix suggested. Riven nodded and walked over to Artrix to aid him, but he held out his hands in rejection. "I said I'm much better now. I can handle the mere task of walking myself."

Riven backed off lightly and smiled. As she was preparing to leave, her realization that she was gotten herself lost in the ward struck her. Artrix waited patiently, almost jokingly behind. She turned her head left and right, trying to figure out a way out. The signs on the walls were no help as none of them read Exit.

"Lost?" Artrix teased. After more futile attempts, Riven looked at Atrix, defeated.

"Yea…"

"Well, it would appear that we are both in luck. I remember my way around, unlike somebody."

Riven scoffed. "Was that a joke?"Artrix only smugly smiled as he led Riven back to the eventual exit. The once pink portal now glowed dimly, now a darker rosy color instead. They passed through the portal and ended back at the street. The deepness of night had heavily drowned the entire city. Compared to earlier, the streets are now a metallic graveyard. The lively techmaturgy shows and displays have all disappeared, leaving behind a chilly, empty street.

"Well, I suppose we need a place to rest until dawn breaks," Riven said. Now once again, Artrix was the follower as Riven led them through the twisting streets and roads of Piltover.

Soon, they arrived at an inn. The lights of business had still shone from its windows and opening.

Another inn, Artrix thought. His experience with the first one had not gone exactly too well, but now he had hoped that this inn would be different. Less… Violence.

Within the inn was much cozier place than the Dragon's Inn. Techmaturgy lined the walls, giving it a futuristic appeal. A few resident here and there seat around the room and lightly conversed, with warm cups of coffee in their hands. In the ead middle of the lobby was a massive hearth crafted from granite stone. An odd contrast to the rest of the room. When Artrix inspected the fire in the middle, he found that it was actually a warming, but strikingly realistic holographic projection. A stout, grumpy looking innkeeper stood ready behind a low counter as Riven approached it.

"We require rooms for the night," she said.

The innkeeper proceeded to take out a large, dusty book and flipped it open. His fat fingers ran down the worn pages as he looked back up.

"Sorry lady, there's only one room left. Single bed," he spoke with a raspy voice.

Riven immediately painted a picture of sharing a bed with Artrix for the night. She almost blushed but quickly shook her head to snap out of her wild fantasies.

"Are you sure there are no more left? Not even even another bed?"

The innkeeper shook his head. "If you want it, take it. If not…"

Riven moaned with annoyance and glanced at Artrix, who was fascinated by the artificial flames. Without a choice, she turned back to the innkeeper and reached into her satchel. From within, she took out four coins and dropped them on the counter. The innkeeper greedily snatched it up and inspected each of them, suspicious of counterfeit. When he was satisfied, he took out a chain of keys with a tag that read: 211 on it.

"Your room for the night, and return it by morning and of course, thank you for your coins," he said.

She reluctantly took the keys and walked over to Artrix.

"Well, good news is I got ourselves a room," she began.

Artrix looked at her, puzzled. "And the unfortunate news?"

"There's only one room. And one bed," she replied.

Artrix looked addled. "What's wrong with that?"

Riven was caught completely by surprise. This man, in front of her, surely would've rejected any attempts that a stranger, 'mortal' to share a bed with him. Yet he was not, in fact it was an apparent norm to him.

"You're okay with that?"

"Of course. Back in my home, many of the female species had shared beds with me. Then, they would wake and pleasure me if I so desire," Artrix said without shame.

"What?" Riven was now completely taken aback. Were these really the words coming out of the man she had met a day ago?

"Yes, but that is a rare case. Perhaps never at all," Artrix said. "Do not worry, I am in no desire for any… desire."

Riven was not unsure if Artrix was really a safe person to share a room with.

"Wow."

They then followed a flock of stairs up and arrived at a long aisle with doors lining both sides of the hallway. Riven looked at her tag, 211, as she followed down the cold hall down. Soon, they reached a door with a gold sign which had the numbers 211 embedded onto it. She inserted the keys and gave it a twist. The door swung open with ease and revealed a compact room with a singular bed at one end, as the innkeeper had promised. At the opposite end were a dress table and a black screen above it. There was a bathroom which had all the basic cleaning supplies lined neatly along a yellowish stained bathtub. A sink, mirror and a toilet all miraculously fitted into the tiny space.

"Isn't this lovely," Riven muttered to herself. They moved in and settled down. They did not had much to unpack really, other Riven's seemingly all-purposed and omnipotent satchel, they had no other pack. Artrix took off his broken armor and torn cape and revealed his bandage wrapped body and a pair of soft pants. He hung them over a small closet, taking over all of its space.

"Well, I think I'm going to bathe. I'm really starting to smell," Riven said. She then entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Artrix flopped his tired body onto the bed. He then heard streams of water filling a bathtub from within. At the corner of his eye he caught the glimpse of a strange device. It was long, black rectangular box with numerous buttons on it. He took it with curiosity and began experimenting with it. He pressed nearly all the buttons when suddenly, the black screen in front of him sparked to life. This caught Artrix by surprise, but soon he was enticed by the animate screen. Images of a place which was titled 'The Institute of War' flashed and blinked. Then, a large title smoothly transited to the middle of the images which was called 'League of Legends'.

Soon, pictures of all sorts of strange people, yordles and creatures alike lined the screen as a faint background music played. A muscular blue ninja named Shen, a werewolf named Warwick, a charming and strikingly beautiful young woman with fox ears and nine tails named Ahri… The list goes on.

"Another match will soon be replayed for the late night recaps," a voice said from the screen. Artrix was absolutely enticed and leaned forward, sitting cross legged. More images flashed, showing the Champions battling on an arena called Summoner's Rift. As Artrix continued to watch with great intensity, a loud gunshot of a sniper rifle thundered just outside the inn, making Artrix nearly fall off his bed.