"Our victory was decided the moment I was born."~ Bel'veth, The Empress of The Void
Recommendation: MHA: Shoto Todoroki- Modern Day Terrorist & Web-Slinging in DC
The first is complete and is a really interesting read. The second has probably the best understanding of Spider-Man as a character, the dialogues are pretty much perfect.
Hope you guys found the items given to the group interesting. With League having an incredibly low amount of active items I can only do so much. And I hope the day Infinity Edge appears in this story never happens.
Pics of the items and stuff drop tomorrow. So this particular sentence should be different when they are uploaded.
Once again. Though I have written up to their meeting with a certain Arcane character, is there anything you would like to see. Because after this chapter you will not have the opportunity to influence the story till Ionia.
Anyway... Enjoy!
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No protection.
They seemed to take that seriously. There weren't even any guards in the area. It was just odd to see considering what they had seen and come across in the Northern Continent of Valoran. It did make sense for that though. Valoran, consisting of The Freljord, Demacia and Noxus were all embroiled in battle with each other and any smaller kingdom that popped up ended up being vassal states or completely consumed. Not having a force or a guard was practically a death sentence.
But that wasn't the case here.
The stone houses stood in plain view. Not too different from the ones seen at Kalamanda. Square shaped, open windows and wooden doors fitted into larger holes for doors. They had little wooden posts that jutted out of the top of the house a meter or so long, and on these they hung large tarps or cloth to cover them from the sun as the people lounged outside with a drink in hand.
"Can we get a few dates?" Briar asked as she remembered the fruit that she had very few of.
He nodded. "If they sell it at the market then why not?"
Money had long stopped being an issue for them. Not since he had sold off most of their fur and the like to Targonians and merchants frequenting the area for large sums. Then with the hunting in and around their area, he had managed to grow a sizable income with enough money to reliably fall back on in times of an emergency.
Unlike the rest of the group, Sydell hung back. His eyes observing silently. Looking out for anyone with ill intentions. He wanted to spot irregularities.
As he looked about, Gregori caught sight of his son's behavior. He felt a smile creep up as he saw him. But decided to not interrupt. Sydell needed practice. This would be just that. And just like his son, even he was paying attention to his surroundings. But unlike him, Gregori had more skill and experience. He wasn't obvious with his observation. He didn't try to stick out but standing away from the group. And he was often involved in conversation that would make any eye contact with a passerby seem involuntary. Actions that would make other overlook him.
And he had already begun to see a lot of peculiarities.
The first was the lack of lights in the houses. Quite a few of them just seemed empty with no one in them. And the second, more important one was the lack of people on the streets. The sun had just begun to set and with the light from the mountain illuminating the land it wasn't something odd to see a lot of people roam about at night. But other than a few people lounging outside the streets were mostly empty.
"Straight toward the teleporter then?" Rell asked.
He nodded, "And hope that we run into someone who will deliver our letter."
"And if we aren't able to?" Annie asked.
He shrugged, "Then we can only hope that there would be someone who would be willing to do it from our destination. Trade to Demacia is still done through Kalamanda."
"This is the last letter." Faye replied. "After this they might drop by."
He nodded.
They had split apart their location into various parts and hidden the location throughout the letters. With this final one and the cipher that he had hinted to in their first letter, they would be able to find their home. It was one of the reasons they often went to visit the Ottrani. Letters were addressed to them and they would dutifully keep a hold of them simply because of their reverence of Daani.
He felt bad for abusing their goodwill but there was only so much he could care about. Especially when they ran his son dry in front of him. Despite seeing great improvement, Daani hated the intensity of the training.
But he pushed through. The physical portion of the training hadn't begun yet. That was solely under his control but the magical portinon was in full swing.
Magic listened to him at a level similar to Annie. And he was shaping upto be a powerhouse himself.
But with all the small talk and conversations that they had on the way to the teleporter, Gregori did not fail to notice the person tailing them.
No.
Not person. People.
One significantly better than the other
"Sydell." He said strongly. Not too tough but just enough for the boy to realize that something serious was taking place. He calmly caught up to the group.
Gregori smiled as he looked at the group in passing. "There are two people tailing us. Stick together."
Sydell grit his teeth as he mentally berated himself on not having spotted them while also noting that his father had been able to do so seemingly while not paying attention to his surroundings.
The others knew better than to immediately start looking around and continued to speak and act the same way leaving the two tailing behind none the wiser.
"We will go straight to our destination." Gregori said, "No detours. Our priority right now is leaving this place. And in the case things become too dangerous and we are unable to reach our destination... we leave the place entirely and continue all the way to Kalamanda. And we can do it faster." He said all of this while smiling and acting like nothing was wrong and the last part he said while looking at Rell.
She nodded understanding his intentions clearly.
Summon enough metals in the surrounding and use it to move them over a large distance at a high speed. Her horses were quite useful.
"What if we just trap them?" Daisy asked. "And we interrogate them for information." She had a grin on her face and eyes that could only be described as maniacal.
Gregori tilted his head at her and blinked, "And how are you going to get the information out of them?"
"We beat them."
"What if they don't give it even after getting beat?" He asked squinting.
She stopped for a second and then her eyes flitted to her sword as the grin disappeared. "We..." The grin returned, "We kill one! Very badly.. so the other gets scared. Then he gives us everything. Easy."
His eyebrows rose after hearing her full plan. This bloodthirsty side of her was something he did not expect. "As much as your idea sounds good." He explained, "We are in their territory. That means that they know this place better than us. And there might be more eyes on us. We just don't realize more than two. And finally, though it might seem like they are tailing us.... what if they aren't.... what if they have the same destination?"
"Then we lose them." Daani stepped in. "If they keep walking in our direction after seeing us make a turn then they are probably tailing us."
Gregori nodded, "But it doesn't matter to us. Our goal is to get to the teleporter. That is all. And the quicker we get there the better for us."
The group continued on their way with Gregori still keeping an eye out when suddenly a hooded man stepped out from the shadows near them.
He frowned as the man appeared to his side.
It was almost as if he had materialized there. His hand reached for the shield that hung off his satchel but then he caught a flash of something underneath the man's hood and his hand relaxed immediately.
"There is someone approaching us dad." Sydell commented without turning to look at the man.
Gregori nodded, "Yes."
"What do we do?" He asked.
"Nothing." Gregori responded. "Nothing at all."
The man walked closer to the group and then started to walk alongside Gregori. "You are a hard man to find." The man said.
"I did not want to be found." He answered. "Though I am interested in how you found me."
"A scout spotted your group over the hills." The man said.
Gregori chuckled, "Your influence reaches this deep into Shurima?"
The man shrugged, "I have a mother and sister who seem to be fond of getting themselves into situations that almost always guarantee their deaths. I need scouts here."
"And why are you searching for me?" He asked.
"Well once I found that you met my sister.... it gave me enough of a reason to come by." He said. "I had something I wanted to tell you."
"Oh?" Gregori turned to the man. "What may that be?"
Talon pulled down his hood and spoke, "My dream.... I have achieved it."
Gregori nodded, impressed. "Congratulations."
"Dad?" Rell asked, clearly suspicious of the man, "Care to introduce us to your friend?"
Talon turned to take in all the kids.
Gregori pointed at the man, "Kids. Meet Talon Du Coteau. He is the man who gave me the information on all the places you were held at."
Their eyes widened as they looked at the man.
Gregori's eyes fell on Sydell, "And he is currently the best assassin in the world.
Sydell looked at the man, taking in every inch. This was the man he aimed to beat. His goal in the long run.
"Does he want to become the best?" Talon asked as he spotted Sydell's intense gaze.
Gregori nodded.
Talon smiled. "Then I will be waiting for you mister...."
"Sydell." Sydell replied. "Sydell Hastur."
Talon eyed Gregori when Sydell said his whole name and then looked the boy in his eyes, "Well then Sydell Hastur. I look forward to hearing about your exploits.. or rather... lack thereof."
"I see your family has grown quite a bit." He said to Gregori.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Gregori replied. "Your information that night was very helpful."
"It was the least I could do." Talon looked at the kids, "You did call on every single one of your favors didn't you."
"What's with the eyepatch?" Gregori pointed out, "The both of us know your eye is completely fine underneath."
"Appearances." Talon said. "My sister still believes that she got me. And it makes her feel guilty. I get favors out of her." He smiled as he said that. "But then again if my other sister had not sent a letter asking about you.... then she would have died a horrible death... It seems I will always end up owing you."
"How?" Gregori asked.
"They went into a tomb searching for something." He said. "The secret to Ascension. Instead of finding secrets, she released some dangerous creatures into the land."
Gregori nodded, "Ah... something good did come out of it."
Talon frowned, "You know of this?"
He nodded, "Quite a lot. And trust me Talon. Do not involve yourself in this. Shurima is changing. If your family is involved in anything dangerous here.... get them out. As soon as possible."
Talon looked at Gregori, trying to gauge the man and his words. "Are you sure?"
"Shurima can demolish Noxus after a decade. It can put up a fight in five. Try to make your family independent. And keep them away from any Shuriman conflict." Gregori replied. "And another thing. The Shuriman girl your sister had alongside her. The one with a weird weapon.... what about her?"
"Does she matter to you?" Talon asked.
Gregori nodded, "I would like to ensure her safety."
"She is... different." Talon answered, "When I saw her at the tomb..... she was most definitely dead but my scouts have seen someone matching her exact descriptions in various towns over the years."
"What else have they seen?" He asked.
"A new species of animal." Talon answered. "Nothing too special."
Gregori nodded.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation as you guys walked." He said. "Heading to Piltover?"
"Yes." Gregori answered, "We have some business there."
Talon flicked a coin toward him. It held the Medarda family insignia. "Did not expect you to have formed an alliance with the Medarda."
"I didn't." Talon shook his head, "I just walked into their home and picked out one of their coins for myself." He looked at the coin, "I think I will do it again. That is very useful."
Gregori brought it close to his eye, "What can it do?"
"Travel. You can use the teleporters without any question." He said. "The name carries a lot more value in these regions. Especially since it has brought them a lot of prosperity."
"Thank you." Gregori said as he pocketed it.
Talon shook his head, "A favor repaid. Your meeting my sister saved her life."
"As you wish." Gregori accepted. Then he stilled for a second and held out a letter, "Would you mind sending this to the Crownguards in Demacia?"
Talon took it and slid it into his hood. "Done. Do you want it discreet?"
"Doesn't matter."
Talon shrugged, "I did hear of your exploits in Demacia. Your name has been popping up in various flower club meetings. Your children are being eyed as well."
Gregori nodded slowly.
Talon looked up, "Ah. It seems your destination has arrived. I will be on my way then." He turned to the group, "It has been a pleasure to meet all of you today. If you ever end up near Noxus. Please feel free to reach out to the Du Coteau family." He nodded to Gregori and then walked toward a house casting a large shadow on another wall. Without hesitation, he walked into the shadow and disappeared into the darkness.
"So...." Daani spoke.
"So what?" Gregori asked.
"Very convenient." Daani said. "Literally did not have to spend any more time than necessary."
"Sometimes... luck is allowed to be on our side." Gregori didn't choose to think further on the topic.
"I'm not questioning that." Daani continued, "Just that... everything just solved itself. The letter is being sent. You get a lot of information. And we get a ticket out of here. All because of this random man."
Gregori shrugged, "I helped him when he was around your age. Maybe younger. And he has grown to become an ally."
"Dad?"
Gregori looked at Faye.
"Find more people to help."