Chapter 5: A Banquet for fools.
Sivir dug into the bowl of exotic fruits that had been placed before her. On the opposite side of the large table sat Ezreal, his eyes taking in the majestic city of Nalepsis they had been sent to 'secure Institute interests'.
Several serving girls flowed out from the mansion's kitchens, adding food to the banquet that lay before the two Champions. Every single girl was ready to please either of the Champions at the table, and they were all more than willing to do whatever it would take to please them.
The serving girls had backed off a bit after Sivir had personally taken care of one of them who had stepped over the line after Ezreal's declaration of having a girl back in the League. The remains of a small bloodstain on the floor and the girl in the infirmary were indicators that Sivir was a dangerous one to deal with, so all of the girls were scared of her barbaric attitude and demeanor.
A figure stepped out from a door, revealing a man who had been weathered heavily by time wearing a bright purple robe that had incredibly delicate patterns etched into the fabric. The serving girls were dismissed, leaving the man and the two Champions. After several minutes of relative quiet, the man spoke up.
"My Lady, how do you find your meal?" High Seer Baltzin asked, hoping for some reasonable conversation instead of an awkward silence with the only noise being the Mistress' loud eating.
"Really damn good!" Sivir exclaimed, a small particle of mango flew across the table from her mouth. She then quickly returned to her meal.
Baltzin decided against exposing his disgust at such a brutish and disrespectful behavior. He then asked Ezreal the same question, hoping for a more appropriate response.
"Master Explorer, how do you find your meal?"
Ezreal was not listening. He was looking over at the temple that he had been told about by his superiors.
He had barely even touched his meal, as he had been busy attempting to ward off the serving girls that had plagued him.
"Master Explorer?" Baltzin repeated the question.
"One sec, I know how to deal with him when he is like this." Sivir said, with a small grin across her face.
She then looked behind her table into the distance, raised her hand as if wanting to greet someone and then said "Oh hey Taric! Didn't expect to meet you here."
Ezreal jumped, got his legs caught on the table, falling backwards on his chair. He then proceeded to move under the table for a second, only to finally figure out the cruel joke. Only Sivir was laughing, while Baltzin was visibly seething with rage at such a childish act.
And these were supposed to be Champions of this League of Legends? The thought of these two being significant enough to be requested was laughable. Why do the Summoners hold such respect and praise for these simple fools?
"Seer Baltzin," Ezreal righted himself "these fruits are incredible! I had no such knowledge that such an arid region such as Shurima would be able to create such amazing produce."
Perhaps I was wrong, at least one of these fools knows how to converse in a civilized manner.
"Oh yes! Shurima may be a vast desert after that monster caused it," Baltzin gazed over at the ancient temple in the distance spitefully. "But there are oases in the area that do provide plenty of irrigation to produce all manner of delicacies."
"Also," Ezreal quickly added to continue his inquiry into the resurgence of magical energies from the temple, "who are those people down there?" Ezreal pointed at a small crowd nearby the temple, who appeared to be in prayer in sky blue robes.
"That crowd?"
Ezreal could guess from Baltzin's expression that the man hated something about them.
"They are the Thunder Disciples, just another group of cultists that I will have to deal with in time. They worship that being of destruction because of some mere dream their leader had of the being's cry or something, even though that same thing laid waste to all but the most outmost regions of the Shuriman desert. Whatever that thing is now after the centuries of slumber, I know one thing will come out of his reawakening and that will be another catastrophe. Whenever asked about the reality that that thing destroyed Shurima, they talk about how the returning Mage will stop 'all conflict and rid the world of war, bringing a new era of prosperity that will continue for all eternity.'" Baltzin mocked out their declarations, then returning to his original tone.
"Being the dealer of all religious matters within this Great City of Nalepsis, I've seen enough false prophecies to make a new library dedicated to each of them. I expect this one will only be another book in it. However if that monster does awaken, then I shall personally see to it that its death will be unpleasant. He will fall beneath our new arsenal. Centuries have passed and we are prepared to exterminate him from this world. Now if you will excuse me, I must retire for the night."
With that, Baltzin exited the hall still angry from the thought of that monster. The two Champions returned to their banquet, with Sivir's drunken ramblings echoing throughout the entire mansion. Ezreal continued staring out into the distance, only picking at his food. He was deep in thought, trying to decipher all of the information that had been given to him.
Baltzin continued down a large corridor and up several flights of stairs. When out of earshot of the 'Champions', he ushered his personal Guards to follow him to a large balcony, which overlooked an entire company of the Nalepsian Guard.