'On the road again, and not alone...'
Zed was lost in thoughts as he, Shen and Diana walked through one of the many forests that covered the area around the Institute which had been declared as neutral territory by the summoners as a buffer zone between Noxus and Demacia. The forest was one of the oldest on Valoran, its trees were towering sentinels, well over one hundred meters tall, and centuries old. Compared to these the tranquil forests of Ionia were young and small. The oaks that stood here threw shadows that dappled the ground and trunks of the trees shades of green, with occasional lightbeams breaking the foliage. The air was still, and three trio could hear the sounds of the forest dwellers that moved in the undergrowth.
"We schould leave the path soon," Shen broke the silence. "We're nearing the noxian border."
"We have more than ten miles to go," Diana said, a quizzical look on her face. "Why leave the path if we can make better time on the road?"
Zed halted. He had the feeling they were being watched, though he wasn't sure from where, and then turned to Diana: "If we leave the road now, we can be very sure that the noxians don't have scouts posted along here looking for intruders. If we leave the road only one or two miles before the border, we might have already passed one of their outposts, who would then alert the garison."
Zed continued to scan their suroundings, and noticed that Shen was also keeping an eye out, as if he had also felt someone. Seeing as Shen's Ki senses by far outclassed his own, Zed was content to wait for Shens verdict.
Diana, who wasn't trained in sensing others looked at Zed and Shen, and noticing something was wrong, started to loosen her blade in the scabbard she carried on her back. Zed shot her a glance, signaling her to stay still. Then Shen suddenly continued down the road, and called over his shoulder: "Come on, we have to move!"
"But, shouldn't we get of the road?" She asked Zed suprised.
"Yes, lets just hope he knows what he's doing, and as far as I remember, he always has. Come on." He turned and followed Shen, Diana trailing behind.
Shen had stopped around the next corner, and turned around to wait for them. "There's something or someone there. I couldn't quite pinpoint it, nor find out what it is." He looked at Zed. "This ones yours. The shadows here will help you more than me."
Zed just nodded. He then felt his way to one of the shadows near where they had been a moment ago. He jumped to it and looked around.
He kept to the shadows, scouting around the area where they had been when he felt watched. He kept a connection to the shadow next to his companions, in case he needed to escape. He scanned his surroundings, looking for anything that didn't fit in to the rest of the forest. He attuned his senses to find patterns that didnt belong, for sounds that didn't fit in to the pattern. Zed noticed that there was a creaking of branches up in the foliage, and it was continous, and
'No wind... Up we go'
Zed felt his way to one of the shadows on the branches high up. He went into a crouch, and started looking through the leaves to the other possible perches where an lookout could be stationed. He suddenly noticed that, although he didn't move, the branch was vibrating under him.
'The tree moves without wind, they live on their own. Didn't Maokai mention an old battlefield in these forests? Rune magic must have influenced this place. So, we weren't spyed upon.'
He sat still and pondered what he had noticed. Just before Zed returned to his shadow on the ground, he saw a hooded figure jump through the branches, and stop near him. The figure was cloaked, and carried a longbow in one hand, with a quiver of arrows hanging on his hip. Suddenly, the climber turned, raised his bow, drew back the string and aimed straight at Zed.
Zed reacted instantly. He couldn't jump to a shadow of himself, because he needed time to create one, but gave up his cover and leapt to a nearby branch, just as the arrow hit the tree where Zed had stood only moments before. He then threw one ofhis shurikens in the general direction of the archer, who had shot twice more in the few seconds after his first shot.
' I can't fight him head on, not here.'
Zed turned and ran along the branches, away from the archer. He quickly ducked behind a tree trunk. From his cover Zed reached out with his senses to find the archer. He found him standing about 10 meters from the tree trunk. He smiled behind the mask, now he had him. He quickly created a shadow behind the man, and jumped to it. He now stood behind the archer, he was tall and and built like a long-distance runner. His cloak was mottled green and brown, and he stood with his back to Zed. He had his bow raised, pointed at Zeds prior hiding spot. Zed snuck up behind him, and drawing his wristblades, whispered into the archers ear:
"Fear the shadows!" and stabbed him in the back.
The man let out a gasp, and fell off the branch they both perched on. Zed heard him hit the ground with a thump. He smirked.
He jumped to a shadow next to the dead man and searched him. Aside from his weapons, which consisted of his bow and arrow, he carried a short sword and a dirk.
Zed stood up, and noticed that the atmosphere of the forest had changed. It was no longer peaceful and calm, but had turned hostile and threatening. The branches' creaking had grown ominous and loud. A wind started to blow through the forest, and Zed heard a voice drift through the ancient trees:
"Begone, foul magic, never return!"
He immediately jumped to the shadow next to his companions. Shen was already standing, and Diana jumped up as soon as she saw Zed.
"We have to leave, now." Zed told the others. Shen didn't ask, but immediatley turned and went through the trees, leaving the path.
Diana turned to Zed: "What did you find?"
"We weren't spied on, but i was attacked by an archer that was climbing along in the trees."
With that, they set of after Shen, and into the forest
A/N: No, stolenwaarpig, luckily i didn't fall off the face of the earth, i kinda just hid under it ^^ Good to see someone's still around though. To longer chapters: seeing i'm just making this up as i go along, and i want to upload something every few days (speaking of which, i would've uploaded this earlier, but the website didn't save this chapter :/ ),it might be hard, but i'll do my best to upload longer chapters