CAMILLE
The doors to the Sheriff's office opened up, as the Warden-Marshall took her seat, to reveal an enforcer and rather the shortest, fur-rich person in Piltover to ever walk into the office. Not that it was his first time, evidently one with the long life span of three hundred years such as him would walk into such places. Only hours since that engagement in the Fissures, and the gauntlets were already recovered and the defiant deviant now put back in her place, in a way. The only regret that the satisfactory results weren't further satisfying was that the cause of all that had once again evaded capture. Something that *did* frustrate the young Kiramman girl, no doubt on that...
But then, how that would ever measure what the little one was now bringing to her, in spite of his delay... A power so grand, taken away by childish hands, but now promptly returned to responsible, matured ones. Of course it'd be viable - and it'd be so tempting, now - to order the termination of that den of illusions called a haven for the street trash youth, even though the defying rapscallions did indeed build it with their hands amidst an uncaring squalor...
But Heimerdinger had kept his word. Now she'd have to keep hers.
In a way.
As the enforcer went out and closed the door, the Yordle approached, climbed and sat on the chair the chair across Camille's desk as he produced the item he brought with him and rested it at the tabletop.
The very disc-shaped apparatus that did seal the young group and their leader's current fate. As Camille reached her hand and picked it up, she could see no apparent signs of tampering and even the glowing, blue-ish green glowing gemstone lied at the center of the device. As was to be expected...
"I can presume there were some... complications on your return?", Camille asked, resting the device. A couple of seconds passed without any answer from Heimerdinger. "Did it not even pique your curiosity, at the slightest?"
"It did.", Heimerdinger shrugged, his voice dried up. "But then I remembered the younglings' fate hanged in the balance, and thus I realized that the *less* I knew, the better."
"How wise.", Camille replied, equally dry. "Albeit in a suspicious way..."
"Don't start it, miss Ferros.", Heimerdinger said, hurt. "We both know where I would've honestly preferred to remain..."
"And now you are here, and thus you are expected to perform.", Camille said. "And you *will, in the upcoming Council summit, by the time this crisis is solved."
"With not much of a choice.", Heimerdinger replied, his tone as equally cold.
"Not much of a choice, you say.", Camille replied. "There is a choice, only if a binary one. As a piece to the machine of Progress you now are, you can choose to perform, or choose to be replaced. Much like the inhabitants of the Undercity, whom apparently have made their choice. But the machine will continue on, regardless. None of us ever escapes from our ties or duties to it, and to believe otherwise is the fancy of fools."
"Still with your grand words, I see.", the Yordle replied, a second later. "I wonder of what use they are to any of those, down there..."
"To *remind them* of the consequences of trying to break such a delicate machine.", Camille said. "Of how they only stand to lose from such action and thus only self-starve and self-harm, all for childish wanting. You have been down there, Professor, you have seen their vices, their addictions. Their volatile nature. They cannot govern themselves, how is it expected they'd ever govern each other?"
"Some children could.", Heimerdinger answered. "And they were doing surprisingly very well, before-"
The door suddenly opened in a hurry, without any knocks, as Camille saw Jayce barging in, taking a few steps before he stopped, spotting Heimerdinger as he went on his feet atop the seat and turned around. The Yordle was frozen a bit too on seeing Jayce walking in, the man and the Yordle glancing at one another.
"What are you doing here?", Jayce asked, surprised, to the Professor.
"It seems we can continue this conversation later, mister Heimerdinger...", Camille's eyes didn't left Jayce's, in a cold expression.
"Yes, it's probably for the best.", Heimerdinger replied, leaving the chair. "I still have to prepare for the summit. A Councillor's routine is no simple one, after all..."
Jayce's startled eyes darted to the Yordle again as that one left the room, as did Camille's in an imperceptibly triggered expression, but not before Heimerdinger stopped and stared at Jayce for a final time. Heimerdinger left the office, and thus Camille and Jayce alone.
Jayce himself closed his eyes and took a breath. "Okay.", he started. "Aside from that, is there *anything* else I don't know about?"
"Over a thousand things, Councillor.", Camille answered, a second later.
"You don't say...", Jayce shrugged.
"Some of which I wish to cover about at the upcoming briefing, shortly.", Camille continued, as Jayce approached the desk, remaining on his feet. "I wanted to prepare you for the news, first."
"That he's back in the Council?", Jayce asked, before he then nodded. "I did try asking him, before, and he refused. How'd you managed that?"
"Do you really want to know, mister Talis?", Camille asked a second later, shrugging, clearly warning him.
As Jayce glanced at Camille for a second, before he shook his head, closing his eyes and letting his breath out. All the physical signs of the answer 'Guess I better not'. "The Daily Pilt's been doing their work.", he started. "My gauntlets have made *quite an impression* out there this morning."
"These have already been recovered and refunded to the evidence locker.", Camille replied.
"It's not even the point!", Jayce retorted. "When I forged them, it was to advance Hextech further as a tool, to make everyone's lives better, like the Hexgates did. So how is flipping vehicles and busting through walls making anything better!?", he then let his breath out. "I knew I should've just pried them off of her, that day in the Shimmer site, I knew the gauntlets would've been safer with me..."
"They would not.", Camille replied, a second later. "At least in here, she had to perform a ruse, it was her sole access to them. Were they stashed in your workshop or house, she would have arranged for at least over thirty ways of acquiring them. Noiseless ways."
"Yes, well, the issue is what they're thinking, now.", Jayce resumed, a couple of seconds later, as he then sit on the chair. "How do you tell people that what was meant to be a tool ends up being used as a weapon?"
"Simply tell it as it was like, mister Talis.", Camille shrugged. "It was an experimental tool that some uneducated lowlife appropriated and used it as a weapon."
"With the size of the gauntlets, not to mention they're pure steel?", Jayce pointed. "Doubt they'll buy it..."
"Allow me to share a secret, Councillor.", Camille said, a couple of seconds later. "Something you'd likely hear from General Medarda but actually I was taught of in my training - anything can be a weapon. A simple fork or pen becomes a stabber, a cooking pan or broomstick can bash, a beverage bottle becomes a firestarter. Even your body - head, hands and feet - are weapons of their own. You start calling everything a weapon, you'll be hard pressed to find something that is not. So, just tell it as it is, Councillor, and leave everyone else's short-sighted opinions to their own."
Jayce's eyes then darted away for a second before he nodded, seeing Camille's point. "Heard the recovery was a bit messy too.", he continued. "Word around the precinct is that some enforcers got left behind."
"They were given a fair warning and an amount of time to run or fight through to evacuation.", Camille said. "An access into and out of the fissures cannot be risked falling to the enemy over a few faulty soldiers."
"Soldiers?", Jayce asked, a second later, staring incredulous at the Warden-Marshall.
"One does not fight a war with policemen, Councillor.", Camille answered. "Especially with the upcoming opposition..."
"Opposition?", Jayce asked, as he then recalled some things he heard from the enforcers on his way to the office. He then leaned in. "There were some mentions of a fanatical cult that came from the Dredge prison..."
"The cult is barely the issue.", Camille said. "It's who's leading it. Still, it's best said at the briefing, Councillor."
"Why at the briefing?", Jayce asked. "Why not now?"
"So you can readily ask General Medarda, by then.", Camille answered. "I'm afraid this issue does involve her nation. More than we'd both like. And we'll need her expertise, so you'll need to then convince her.", she leaned forward. "By *any* means."
Jayce did feel a bit of a chill in how Camille stressed the urgency.