Chapter 10: The two Lords.
"Your name is Azel, yes?" the Explorer asked her.
"Yes. I take it you are Ezreal?" Azel cautiously replied, hoping for some confirmation before she would so easily go along with these two strangers. They might have been the ones who saved her life, but she would not take any more chances. Not after her experiences.
"As you might know, Sivir and I have been tasked to escort you and Xerath to the Institute of War."
"Yes. When are we meeting Lord Xerath?"
Ezreal glanced off to the side quickly when Azel was looking away.
Why must you people refer to him like that? It gets annoying after a while.
"It should be in a few minutes now. I suggest you get in the back of the 'track."
Ezreal pointed to a contraption that Azel had never knew existed. It looked like it was supposed to be a carriage with no horses. How could that thing even work? The two back wheels of it were just as long as the back carriage. How that thing could even get here was a mystery to her.
Nonetheless, Azel obeyed. She hated to trust these people, but her father had told her that these were good people. Good people or not, she still did not like them.
Ezreal felt his gauntlet shake as if it was actually scared. It should be any minute now. They were in the large plaza where the evidence of the events of the previous days had been completely removed spare a few broken bricks and tiles.
The plan was simple.
Secure Xerath and then get the hell out of this place.
Much easier said than done, but he had gone through measures to make it more efficient. He had positioned the half-track so that he could immediately start the engine once Xerath made his entrance, proceed to persuade Xerath to come with him, and then proceed directly out of town. This would ensure that they could go along the primary road that would lead them directly to Yelzun where they would meet up with Seer Malzahar. His ties would grant them safe travels from there to the Institute. It was just this one hurdle of getting Xerath to agree with all of this.
The ground rumbled with vigor.
It was time.
With a monstrous boom the temple was set alight like a furnace, the entrance pouring out pulses of intense flame. The very walls were struggling to contain the inferno that boiled within. After a few seconds of forging the furnace stopped, the lead tiles that covered its roof having sloughed off and the supporting ancient timber reduced to naught but ash. A silhouette appeared through the flames inside the temple.
Xerath.
Xerath floated through the intense heat inside the remains of the temple. After a moment of searching for an exit from the temple, he found it. His tethers moved him effortlessly across the rubble that littered the ground. A short burst of energy provided him a clearing to the dark night that lay beyond. After many centuries of wanting freedom from his tomb, he would finally have it.
Xerath moved outside, into the cool Shuriman night air.
At last, he had his freedom. Or at least part of it.
"Xerath, I assume."
Xerath looked down. A young man stood before him. From his clothes, Xerath guessed he was an explorer of some kind.
"Yes, I am Xerath. Who are you and what do you want from me?" Xerath replied, with each letter pronounced with the voice of an automaton.
"I'm Ezreal. We have come to collect and escort you to the Institute of War. Don't worry; the Institute is designed to stop conflicts not to make them. I had that thought when I first entered the League."
"The League?"
"The League of Legends," Ezreal said with a small glint of joy in his eye "is where the strongest and most gifted of all of Runeterra face off in truly epic battles. These battles are used for the enjoyment of the public as well as to settle political disputes. There are facilities for everyone no matter what being they are and its just so amazing that I cannot really describe it in words-"
"EZ! We gotta go! Quit your fanboying and get in the 'track! We need to get out of here before the guards stop us." A woman, from her appearance a warrior, was yelling at Ezreal from a window near the front of the construct.
"Sorry Siv. I'm coming now." Ezreal looked back at Xerath. "I'll talk about this when we aren't in danger. Lie down in the back of 'track for now and then we can set off."
A brief grunt came from Xerath, agreeing to the terms. Xerath floated over to the halftrack, and then lay down on the hard steel floor.
"Azel! Mind covering Xerath with this? I need to start the engine." Ezreal called over to a girl in her early twenties that was already in the back of the construct, pointing to a thick canvas.
"But he is Our Savior! Why should we cover him so that we may not see him?"
"Stealth. I do not want the whole of Shurima to know exactly where we are from several clicks away by the light from just one of his eye sockets."
The girl hid her distaste poorly, but sighed and proceeded with the order.
"Sorry Lord, we need to be a bit 'stealthy' for a while. I beg you not to hate me for this."
"I do not. I agree with 'Ezreal'. I've already made enough of an entrance. I could use some peace for a while."
The large canvas blocked his vision. Now he could think in privacy. The engine finally started and the halftrack rushed out of the city.
By the time Baltzin and a contingent of Council Members had arrived, the temple's blaze had died out. There were reports of the Institute dogs running off back to their masters and those of an immense being of Thunder and Lightning that had appeared from the temple.
Damnation. The dogs had that thing now.
The Horde must know of what happened here.
There would be no way of denying Murakishur their prize now.
Unless Belhorashur can wipe Murakishur out first.
"Seer Baltzin, ride to the Horde. Meet up with the Lord and tell him what has happened here. If we-"
"I understand what I must do Councilmen. Those Champions have annoyed me this entire time. It will be nice to cut them down. I will meet with Lord Vragin when I reach the Horde. Hopefully we will be able to set off in time to catch them at their rendezvous."
"You know where they will go?
"To the only Champion in Shurima that has political power, that damn sorcerer Malzahar. I believe he currently resides in Uebel if my information is correct. I also think it would be nice to bring vengeance upon the Mind-slayer of Icathia after all of his efforts to thwart the plans of previous Hordes."