Author's Note: Hey the new chapter is on time this time :P (almost). This one is mostly a filler chap. but I hope you still enjoy it.
The ground far below moved past at a steady rate. Before long the strange yordle's irate form disappeared from view, replaced by more jagged ridges and stony crevices. These too, soon vanished as they headed further south, leaving dry, flat plains as far as the girl could see.
"Are you alright?" Galio asked in his deep, soft voice.
Poppy turned her attention from observing the scenery to respond. "Yeah," she spoke quietly. She did not mention the conversation she'd had with the crazy yordle; about how he had thought she had been the long dead Keeper of Orlon's Hammer – or how he had known her name. Instead the yordle focused her unsettled thoughts back on their mission. "But we lost their tracks."
"I know," Galio conceded. "But we have enough information to accurately guess where they're going. Following their tracks would have given us certainty, but flying will inevitably get us there faster. I would estimate we'll be there within this day."
The yordle nodded, before settling down for the trip.
The time passed quietly for the duo, but true to Galio's prediction, the city of Noxus soon came into sight. As they flew closer to their destination, Poppy found her eyes glued to the dark, foreboding mountain upon which the city had been built. With holes gouged out of the murky rock and stone towers sticking up like spines atop, the mountain bought to mind images of a grotesque skull. It was a place that seemed to ooze with an aura of brutality and death.
The blue girl felt a chill run over her skin. Demacia may have its fair share of flaws, but she was suddenly glad that she didn't live here.
Steeling herself with the reminder of her mission, Poppy tapped the gargoyle's head, "We should land. They'll spot you soon."
Nodding, the azure giant drifted in a slow spiral to the ground. "What now?"
"Stay here. When it's dark you can fly over the walls and into the city's back alleys. I'll find you there," the yordle told him, pulling her pack down from the larger being.
The gargoyle blinked before his red eyes fixed on her with an accusatory stare. "You're going in alone?"
She returned his look resolutely. "Well, you can't come in with me, you'd never make it past the guards. And I'll draw less suspicion if I enter normally. There's only a couple of hours of sunlight left, that'll give me enough time to get in, look around a bit and find a place to stay. Then I can meet up with you tonight and we can start the search tomorrow. I doubt they realise we followed them, and as long as I have Whomper, I'll be able to deal with anybody who tries to mess with me. I'll be fine."
After a few moments of silence, Galio nodded. "Alright. But you should leave your armour with me; it looks too Demacian."
Regretfully, Poppy agreed, shedding the burnished metal pieces before readjusting her bag.
"Stay safe my friend," Galio bid her farewell.
"You too."
Nerves built in the yordle girl's gut as she approached the black archway into the city and the suspicious eyes of the two bulky guards fell upon her.
"State your name and business," the grisly black bearded man spoke.
"My name is Rosabelle Quiggen. I'm here to visit my Uncle Ellis Quiggen. He's a blacksmith."
The broad female with a scar running from her jaw up to her left eyebrow sneered down at the pigtailed teen. "Aren't you a little young to be wandering around by yourself?"
The girl bristled, "I can take care of myself."
Blackbeard snorted, "If you say so."
Stamping her pass, the two guards let the yordle through. As she passed under the arch, she heard him whisper to his companion, "Bet she won't last the night here."
"Not our problem," the female retorted.
Poppy rolled her eyes, but was otherwise unconcerned by the comment. She knew that many Noxians looked down (more than figuratively) on yordles. Their small stature and generally benevolent and social-dependant nature was completely at odds with the morals that the city-state upheld. To Poppy, it was a misconception that would work in her favour. Underestimating the girl gave her an edge in a fight – as well as in other situations. After all, without her seemingly innocent and diminutive form, she doubted she would have made it into the city with such an easy lie.
As she made her way into the city, the young yordle observed her surroundings warily. The outskirts of Noxus was a wallowing cesspool of decay and anarchy. It was here that those not strong or smart enough to make it in the inner city were forced to dwell.
While technically within the city walls, the soldiers of Noxus left the outer regions to fend for themselves. When you added this with the Noxian sentiment that the strong survive at the expense of the weak, it quickly became known as a place you do not want to spend a long time in – especially this close to nightfall.
Poppy clutched her hammer tight, ready for anything. But, thankfully, her small form was ignored by most. She continued to travel uphill until she reached the second tier. Here, the life was still poor and the atmosphere tense, but there was more of a semblance of order and cohesion; with stone houses rather than leaning shacks and marketplaces and storefronts with people willing to pay rather than steal.
Analysing the surroundings, Poppy decided this was the best place to start her search.
It was still a couple of hours away from sunset, so the blue girl spent this remaining time to scout out the North-West sector before finding a decent looking inn to stay the night.
The inside of 'the Blue Dragon' was well-lit and not too rowdy. Scanning the crowd carefully, the yordle pushed her way to the counter where a broad olive-skinned woman was serving drinks.
Climbing up onto a stood, Poppy addressed the woman. "I would like to book a room for the night, please."
The tall human looked unimpressed down at the seventeen-year-old. "Do you have the money to pay?"
Poppy didn't bother to answer, instead she simply took out her pouch, tucked away close, and placed it on the bench. The jiggling sound it made upon impact answered her question.
Nodding in satisfaction, the older woman got straight to the point, "That'll cost you 50 silver pieces."
The young yordle snorted. "No. 50 silver is way too expensive for one night's accommodation here. Particularly as I heard you just provide a room to baldy over there for 20 silver pieces." The girl gestured with her head towards the stout man chugging his way through a pint that the woman had served moments before.
The dark-haired woman leaned over the counter and into the girl's face, her massive balk making the move even more intimidating. "Well, that was him and this is you. So either you pay the 50 pieces or I'll make you leave."
Poppy never even flinched, "You can try. But I'm not budging. Now, I'll pay 20 silver pieces for a room for the night and a meal for threatening me."
The stare down continued for a couple more seconds before the woman laughed. "Alright, but only because I like you." Sliding the room key and a steaming bowl of stew in exchange for the coins, she finished, "If you have the strength to back up your boldness, you might even survive here."
Nodding in final thanks, Poppy made her way over to an unoccupied corner to eat her meal.
Scooping away at the surprisingly salty and flavourful stew, the yordle used her enhanced hearing to eavesdrop on the surrounding conversations. Most of the talk was trivial, with complaints about work, chatter about league and politics as well as the current market gossip. While Poppy did learn some useful information for navigating throughout the second tier, try as she might, the girl could find no mention of an Andreas.
As the conversation dwindled, the blue yordle decided to call it a night, retiring to her room. The small room was on the first floor with a single bed up against the far wall under a window. The rest of the room was sparse but clean.
Locking the door behind her and dropping her stuff at the foot of the bed, the exhausted girl flopped onto the mattress. Laying on the clean sheets, Poppy tried to sort through the mess of thoughts in her mind.
She was in Noxus – the very place that was responsible for her father's death – chasing after the very person who had killed him for a necklace. It had been such a spontaneous, emotional decision and only now was she truly coming to grips with the flaws in that decision. She was in enemy territory without a plan. She could very well get herself and Galio killed by confronting the assassin group. That is assuming they even found them in the first place. Noxus was a huge city, and she only had a single name to go off of. What if she never found him? And if she did, what would she do then? Would she kill him? The yordle didn't know and that unsettled her. Sure, she had killed people before. But that was on the battlefield. This burning anger and want for revenge; the idea of killing in cold blood. That was very different.
With a sigh, the yordle glanced out the window. A dark cloudless sky, dotted in stars and a half moon hanging at the peak of its orbit greeted her sight. It was probably late enough to find Galio.
Standing on the bed, Poppy propped open the window, wedging her scarf inconspicuously in the corner so she could get back in later. Then she climbed through, dropping to the ground on the other side and quietly slipping away into the night.
Whomper was gripped tight in the girl's grip as she made her way through the dark lit streets; a comforting weight as she kept an eye out for any approaching danger.
To survive in Noxus, one had to be on guard and ready for a fight at any moment. But at night that threat was much worse. Unlike the constant patrols in Demacia, most Noxians barred and guarded their own doors. If you died outside, it was your own problem.
Still, despite the shady characters, boisterous drunkards, and desperate poor that haunted the dark streets, Poppy managed to slip unnoticed towards the inner wall thanks to her small stature and heightened senses.
Skirting the second-tier gate and its guards, the yordle girl finally paused up against the wall, hammer still in hand.
She jumped in surprise when a large blue hand landed on her shoulder, only to halt her instinctual swing as she recognised the familiar broad wings and considerate eyes of her friend.
"I am sorry for startling you," Galio apologised.
"It's okay," the yordle relaxed more than she had since entering the city. "This place just has me on edge."
"So I can see," he rumbled. "I'm glad you're alright."
"Me too," the girl admitted. "This place is very different to Demacia. Every interaction here is a challenge."
The gargoyle gave her a small smile, "I'm sure you're taking that in stride fine. So, what is your plan?"
"Well," Poppy spoke a little uncertainly, "I was thinking of asking around tomorrow to see what I can find out."
Galio looked at her disapprovingly, "That's not a very fool-proof plan. You have no guarantee of finding out anything and furthermore, you completely open yourself up to alerting them to the fact that you're here."
"Do you have a better plan? Because I'm open to ideas." When the golem stayed silent the yordle continued with a sigh, "I know it's not a very good plan, but it's the only thing I've got currently. And even if I do alert the group to me, we still have the element of surprise because they won't know you're here."
"You want me to stay hidden again," the disapproval was evident in the gargoyle's voice.
Poppy nodded, "I'll be fine. I can take care of most threats by myself."
"I know. But I still do not like it. Please be careful Poppy. I do not wish to lose another friend."
"Don't worry. I have no intention of getting myself killed." The girl put her hand on the golem's knee, "And I know this is a very risky plan. But I still have to try. I'll be as careful as I can be while I'm at it. Now, I need to get back to the inn. I'll meet you back here tomorrow night, okay?"
The stone giant sighed. "Alright. Good night Poppy. And be safe."
Man, Noxus was actually really hard to define. I had to spend a lot of time thinking through how things would work and how it would differ from the other city-states. But I'm pretty happy with how it turned out in the end :).
Fun fact: this story takes place at the same time (roughly) as the last one. Hence Lady Spiritmight's comment about the party last chapter. Which means, this is why Poppy didn't show up to the international ball.
Anyway, I'm actually graduating next week :D, but I should have the next chapter up on time.