Chapter 4

With his new found power in tow, Ezreal exited the library feeling stronger than he ever had before. For once he felt like just maybe he could actually be more than just a common explorer. If helping Garen, Jarvan, and the other Demacians meant that he could possibly impress that girl that gave him directions then that alone was enough for him.

Ezreal barely made it to the bottom of the library steps before two Demacian soldiers atop horses came riding up to him.

"Is your name Ezreal?" one of the soldiers said.

"Yeah, that's me," Ezreal replied.

"We have orders directly from Garen to take you to the edge of Demacian territory," the soldier said. "The least we can do is make your journey as short as possible."

"Well let's get going then," Ezreal said as he climbed onto the horse behind the solider.

The solider commanded his horse forward and before long Ezreal watched Demacia fade into the distance. Ezreal enjoyed his ride as they galloped through what seemed to be unending fields of grass and trees. It was a nice day and the breeze felt great against his skin. Ezreal was very happy that these soldiers were going to be able to escort him part of the way. Though this part of the journey was easy, he knew that what lie ahead was going to be the complete opposite.

Before long, Ezreal noticed that the fields of green and the tall trees started to be few and far between. The land was turning rather brown and the trees looked dead. A strange mist that sat right above the ground began to grow heavier with every passing minute. Ezreal had never been to this part of Runeterra and he knew right away that he didn't like what he saw. After a few more minutes, the soldier's horse slowed down and eventually came to a halt.

"Where are we?" Ezreal asked once the horse was completely still.

"This is where we leave you," the soldier replied. "We are at the edge of the Howling Marsh."

"Howling Marsh? That doesn't sound too safe," Ezreal replied with annoyance in his voice.

"This is the safest place that we can leave you," the soldier replied. "Though it is not at the very edge of Demacian land, this marsh will provide the most cover until you can get closer to Noxus."

Ezreal looked around at the marsh. It lived up to its name as only spots of land could be seen in between the shallow waters. Large droopy trees dotted the landscape along with tall grass that looked to be long dead. The worst, however, was the now blinding mist that seemed to hover over the entire area.

"This will be the safest spot to part ways," the soldier said again trying to ease Ezreal's worries.

"No large groups of soldiers ever come through here, so the likelihood of running into any Noxians is very low."

"That's a shocker," Ezreal said sarcastically under his breath as he began to dismount the horse.

"Remember, your mission is to infiltrate Noxus and gather intelligence on their new weapon," the solider said.

"Yeah I got it," Ezreal replied.

"Above all else do not sacrifice your safety. Figure out what you can and then report back," the solider said before giving Ezreal a nod and directing his horse back towards Demacia.

Ezreal turned and stared at the expansive marsh that was in front of him. How was he ever going to make it through this place? He was more worried about the inhabitants of the marsh than he was running into any Noxus soldiers. Ezreal felt as though the marsh had worse things to offer than krugs. At least the Noxian's wouldn't try to eat him on the spot.

"Better get going," Ezreal said taking a deep breath and trying to instill some confidence within himself.

Ezreal trudged through the muddy marsh for what seemed like hours. If the dense fog wasn't bad enough on its own, he was having a difficult time telling north from south. Every tree that he passed looked the same and every few feet he found himself knee deep in either mud, weeds or water and sometimes all three at once. He continuously wondered why the soldiers were told to drop him off here. Even though it may have been a safer route, it will undoubtedly extend his journey to Noxus.

After Ezreal had walked himself to near exhaustion, he spotted a fallen tree up ahead which had left behind a rather large stump. It looked like the perfect place for a rest. Ezreal plopped down on the tree stump and leaned back to glance at his surroundings. After he stopped looking at the marsh as just another hurdle to jump, he began to take in its unique beauty. Though murky and rather foggy, the marsh was an impressive ecosystem that worked in unison to support some of the most unique plants and wildlife that he had ever seen. Ezreal didn't find himself in marshes very often and it was a nice change of scenery.

The trees were thick and tall, the water had its own unique mixtures of brown and green, and the mushrooms were….abnormally large and spotted. Sitting next to Ezreal was a large green mushroom with purple spots. Its bright colors made it stand out among the rest of the surrounding vegetation. Peeking his curiosity, Ezreal knelt down beside the mushroom to get a better look as it seemed completely out of place. Ezreal couldn't exactly put his finger on why, but everything about it seemed unnatural, almost like it was manmade.

Ezreal knelt closer and was peering around each side. He lifted his finger to give it a poke and….

"Ahhhhh!" Ezreal let out a painful scream and clutched his face with both hands as purple liquid shot from the mushroom and hit him directly in the face. The liquid stung and it felt as if he was being blinded.

Ezreal toppled backwards still clutching his eyes while trying to rid himself of the liquid. He crawled and withered back to the nearest murky pool of water. Without hesitation, he plunged his face deep into the pool while scrubbing violently at his face. Relief came swiftly as he felt the liquid wash from his face and into the water.

Ezreal returned to his feet still scrubbing at his face to make sure all of the liquid had been wiped away. As he was clearing away the last remnants of the liquid, he heard a faint laughing in the distance. Immediately, Ezreal perked up twisting his head from side to side trying to find the source.

Again the laughing rang through the marsh. Ezreal was dumbfounded as the laugh sounded like multiple children all laughing in unison. He was surveying the marsh even quicker now as the laugh was coming more frequently. Whatever was making the noise was close and it was gaining on him.

Ezreal began to back away keeping his eyes on high alert. Once more the laugh filled his ears. He turned to run, but before he could take a step, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. It felt like a bee sting and as Ezreal reached towards his neck he pulled from it a small dart with tiny purple feathers attached.

"What is th…," Ezreal managed to stammer before he was brought to his knees. Something was wrong with him. Whatever was in that dart was making him so drowsy that he couldn't stay awake. He couldn't stand as his legs failed him and his head felt as though it had tripled in weight. The last thing he heard as he was passing out was the sound of the childish laugh echoing over the marsh.

As Ezreal regained his consciousness, he could feel the soft, soggy ground beneath his head. He quickly realized he was lying on his back in the middle of the marsh. The drowsy feeling from earlier had faded as he was starting to feel like himself again. Slowly, he opened his eyes but what he saw wasn't what he was expecting. As the world around him came into focus, Ezreal noticed two beady eyes hovering directly over his face. The eyes had brown circles around them and short fur made up the rest with a green hat resting above that which was temporarily blocking out any sunlight that managed to make it through the fog.

Ezreal gave one hard blink and let out a loud scream, shuffling backwards in an attempt to get away from his attacker.

"What…who are you?" Ezreal yelled as he was now propped up on his hands still sitting on the soggy ground.

Ezreal surveyed the creature that was standing in front of him. He was short, only a few feet off the ground, and small, but something about him screamed that he was not to be taken lightly. After a few seconds the creature stood up straight and made a saluting motion with one of his hands.

"Captain Teemo reporting for duty," the creature said quite pleased with himself.

Ezreal stared at him for a moment before getting to his feet and wiping the mud off his clothes the best he could. He never took his eyes off the creature who was still just standing straight seemingly waiting for Ezreal's next move. Right before Ezreal was about to finish cleaning himself off he heard it…the laugh.

Teemo let out the laugh that Ezreal had heard right before he passed out. Suddenly, the memories of the poison mushroom and the dart came flooding back into his mind. Ezreal went on the defensive immediately raising his arm towards his attacker.

"You're the one that shot the dart at me!" Ezreal yelled. "And I have a good suspicion that you are responsible for the mushroom as well."

"Indeed I am," Teemo replied gleefully.

Ezreal's face turned to even more of a scowl. How could this little creature be so proud of attacking an innocent person? Ezreal was so mad that he wanted to launch a bolt into the middle of its furry little face right then and there.

"It was all part of my training," Teemo said again.

"Training?" Ezreal asked his face morphing from anger to confusion as he slightly lowered his arm. "What kind of training are you doing out here?"

"I am a part of an elite special forces unit out of Bandle City. More specifically I am a scout and scouts have to be practically invisible at all times," Teemo said striking a surprisingly serious tone.

"My commanders sent me out here to train in this harsh environment. You just happened to wander into one of my traps."

"Traps?" Ezreal replied confused.

"Yes, the mushrooms!" Teemo responded excitedly. "They look like everyday mushrooms, but in reality they house deadly poison waiting to explode that can blind my enemies."

"Trust me I know," Ezreal said under his breath, but not high enough to interrupt Teemo.

"After I saw that you had tripped one of my mushrooms I knew you were in trouble," Teemo continued. "That is why I shot my dart into your neck. I wanted to clean the toxin before it did any permanent damage. Though you did a decent job cleaning it on your own. I must say it was impressive."

"Um, thanks," Ezreal replied still trying to figure out this strange creature that he found himself talking to.

"Don't you worry though, the traps weren't intended for you," Teemo said trying to reassure an obviously now unconcerned Ezreal. "I was merely trying to practice on some of the wildlife found throughout this marsh. They can be a handful, but wonderful training targets."

"Whatever you say," Ezreal said dismissively. He had lowered his arm completely now and was more focused on trying to figure out exactly where he was.

"So…what exactly are you?" Ezreal asked.

Teemo straightened up once again and puffed out his chest, "I am a yordle of Bandle City!"

"A yordle huh?" Ezreal replied. He had met a few yordles in his travels before, but none like Teemo. Obviously yordles came in all different shapes and fashions. One thing was for certain though, they were all very short.

"Well it was nice to meet you, Teemo, but I need to get going. I've got a mission to finish for Demacia," Ezreal said waving his hand as he began to walk past Teemo and back into the marsh.

"A mission!" Teemo said practically squealing with excitement. "I love missions. Let me come with you, please!"

"Thanks for the offer, but no. I prefer to do things alone," Ezreal replied shaking his head.

"Awe come on, please. I won't get in the way, I promise!" Teemo begged. "I'm very stealthy and my darts hold lethal poison. No one will see me coming."

"Watch!" Teemo said beckoning towards Ezreal.

Ezreal turned to the spot where Teemo had been standing, but he was gone. Ezreal gave a lazy look in every direction and said, "Alright very funny. You're really good at hide and seek along with every other child in Runeterra."

Ezreal walked a few paces before bumping into something that was about as high as a tree stump, but there was nothing to be seen. Suddenly, Teemo appeared in that exact position holding his dart gun at the ready and pointed directly at Ezreal.

Ezreal's eyes grew wide and he began to panic, "Alright, alright don't shoot!"

Teemo laughed again and said, "I'm not going to shoot you, but that was pretty good right? So I can come?"

Regaining his composure, Ezreal replied, "I'm not going to lie that was one of the best invisibility tricks I've ever seen, but I still prefer to be on my own."

Ezreal turned to leave again and yelled, "Take care of yourself Teemo."

"There are more mushrooms you know," Teemo said matter-of-factly after Ezreal.

Ezreal stopped dead in his tracks and began to look around nervously. The last thing he wanted to do was trample over another one of those poisonous death traps.

"I have them all over the marsh. Some are completely invisible"

"Invisible?" Ezreal replied angrily. "So this marsh is basically a minefield then?"

Ezreal winced as he heard Teemo let out a confirming laugh. He hung his head and began to think to himself. He was already having a hard time navigating this marsh, but now that he knew it was full of traps it was going to make it near impossible. Maybe having a companion for a short bit wouldn't be all that bad.

Ezreal turned and with a stern voice said, "So you know the way out of this marsh then?"

"Do I ever!" Teemo said excitedly. "I can get you out in no time!"

"Alright fine," Ezreal replied with closed eyes, gripping the bridge of this nose with his finger and his thumb, "you can come with me, but you have to do as I say. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" Teemo said jumping with joy. "You won't regret this!"

"Yeah I bet I won't," Ezreal said sarcastically under his breath not disturbing an ever gleeful Teemo that was practically running in circles around him.

After waiting a moment for Teemo to gather his gear and check a map that he removed from his backpack, they were off and Ezreal hoped it was finally in the direction of the exit to the marsh.

As they began to walk, Ezreal could hear Teemo next to him, "Hut, two, three, four."

It was the happiest Ezreal had seen anyone in a long time. This little creature, who didn't know Ezreal at all until just today, was overflowing with glee at the thought of going on an adventure. For some reason this made Ezreal perk up. Even though he wasn't too excited about his situation maybe he shouldn't act as gloomy, but rather take a little more time just to appreciate his surroundings. At least for now he didn't have to do it alone.

"Hut, two, three, four," Teemo continued.

"Alright that can't go on for the whole trip," Ezreal replied.

"Yes sir!"