บท 16: [16 - A seaward journey]
[Three days later]
Word spread throughout the upper echelons of Piltover.
The famous trader and sponsor Stevan Ferros had passed away in his sleep, leaving his fortune and legacy for his only living relative and younger sister; Camille, to inherit.
Those on the high council who thought that this tragedy might affect the Shuriman expedition Stevan was contracted to complete, were dead wrong.
Camille promised to go through with the deal in her late brother's stead instead of taking time to mourn his death, surprising many on the council with her apparent pragmatism and competency.
Most of them complimented the woman on her strong will and perseverance, thinking nothing of her brother's sudden passing.
Only two felt any hint of concern or suspicion but kept these feelings hidden from their colleagues.
What good would come of jeopardising Camille's new position, especially given Piltover's now desperate need for hex-crystals?
So they kept their mouths shut, and their eyes open, now irrevocably wary of the cold, calculating woman they were now in close dealings with.
—
[Four days later]
Callian and Zeri walked across the industrial estate, this time keeping solely to the ground, both of their hoods firmly raised above their heads.
They had crossed over the bridge just before dawn, entering the city of progress under the cover of night.
It was now just before midday, with the two having spent their morning strolling leisurely through the cobbled streets. Callian had taken the time to take his apprentice on a proper tour of Piltover, explaining it and Zaun's history to her.
Surprisingly, they hadn't been stopped by the patrolling Enforcers once, despite their suspicious getup.
Zeri however, had gotten bored a long time ago. Although she tried not to show it outwardly, the girl didn't like how long they had waited around for.
"So - are we going to the docks now?" She asked, eyes sliding between the towering warehouses surrounding them.
"Naturally." Replied Callian, turning left and passing by a couple of workers who had likely just been put on a break. "Midday is a prudent time to meet up with a promising acquaintance. Not too early and not too late to be inconvenient."
Zeri frowned. "But neither of you said anything about a time. How did you know to come at midday?"
She looked at him expectantly.
The girl's mentor just stayed silent. He had already answered her question.
"Wait. So it was a guess?" She looked at him incredulously. If he was wrong and the ship had already left, they weren't going to be able to get to Shurima.
"A prediction, not a guess." Corrected Callian, not bothering to look back at his flabbergasted apprentice. "Or it was until Camille sent me a message telling us when to meet with her."
Zeri's frown doubled in strength. The two of them hadn't been truly separated since they had met the Ferros woman a week earlier.
"I didn't see you pick up a letter." She said, her mind wandering away from their conversation as the Piltovian port came into view.
Callian didn't answer her. His keen eyes had spotted a sliver of white hair in the distance and he zoomed his focus in on it, his pink eyes flashing slightly.
Zeri glanced up at the lack of a reply, quickly noticing the visual change behind his white mask. She stopped talking immediately.
They walked on, dodging the oncoming crowd and remaining relatively unnoticed by the passers-by.
Camille Ferros sat at a simple table that had been drawn up just before the pier, a large area cleared around her. Several uniformed men sporting Ferros clan insignias stood guard at the perimeter, their muskets holstered against one shoulder at the ready.
A second chair was pulled up opposite her own, however it was empty, with the woman's attendant standing proudly behind her.
Prudent indeed. He had learned most of his formal etiquette from the woman after all, as the sophisticated manners of the upper class didn't really apply to his former life down in the lanes.
Callian smiled, looks like Camille had managed to weasel more out of the expedition deal than he thought.
Firearms permits didn't just get handed out to anyone who asked for them, and the man was damn sure the Ferros family hadn't possessed one before.
This hadn't stopped them from procuring them of course, but that didn't mean they would parade this fact around for others to see; not like they were doing now.
It was a power play - his former friend had a real eye for those.
"Zeri. We're speeding up. Follow my lead."
"K." She said, and Callain's blood ignited with a burst of violet, sparking his senses into overdrive.
He darted forward, blurring past the perimeter, his eyes sliding over the unaware guards before he passed them in an instant.
Zeri followed suit, a tinge of electricity arcing along the bottom of her black cloak.
She had gotten better at controlling the outward indicator of her power, now reducing it to a few barely visible arcs at most.
It had taken up most of the girl's free time learning how to contain and manipulate her innate power.
But, as was with most things Callian pushed Zeri to learn, she had knocked it out within a few days, eager to move into the next thing he suggested.
The pair halted in front of the table, with their perception of time resuming back to normal shortly afterward.
Camille's black-haired attendant stumbled back, her thin eyebrows shooting upwards in alarm.
For her credit, the new Ferros family head didn't bat an eye at their sudden appearance.
"I greet the esteemed Lady Ferros," Callian said smoothly, removing his hood and giving the woman opposite a slight bow.
Camille looked at him appraisingly. "Manners and etiquette, how rare. One would think you were brought up in a noble household like myself. Though I suppose you still haven't introduced yourself yet."
The man pulled back the empty chair and slowly lowered himself onto it.
"My apologies." Replied Callian, listening intently as Zeri walked up to stand behind him to mirror Camille's own attendant. His young apprentice had certainly improved her capacity for stealth over the past month.
"I am Callian Bright - no current affiliation. And this," He indicated to the girl who was standing just behind him. "Is Zeri, my apprentice."
The woman nodded approvingly, her eyes once again flickering toward Zeri's masked face.
So even after a week, she was still interested?
"Onto business then." She said, rapping her knuckles on the wooden table impatiently.
Her assistant quickly moved forward and spread out a large map of Runterra onto the circular table before them.
"Now, this is the route you, along with the rest of my harvesters, will be taking to Shurima." Camille ran her finger along the map, tracing a carefully drawn red line winding across its surface.
Callian hummed.
Their route was… odd, to say the least. A risky one too.
They were to depart from the Piltovian docks, sailing eastward along the great river until they reached Serpents Bay; making a stop at a small settlement just before reaching the open sea.
The crew would then sail south until they entered the Serpentine Delta; a smattering of large islands that stood as a gate into the Ixtal River.
The red line then curved down the Ixtal River which ran through half of the Shuriman continent.
The line ended in a large red X lying atop trading city named Vekaura.
In other words, Camille's route made them circle around half of the Shiruman continent, a very long detour in comparison to the obvious alternative.
If they simply crossed over the great river to Zaun and continued moving south, they would have a direct route to Vekaura. They wouldn't be able to take a ship across the open ground - yes, but surely it was much faster than what the woman opposite him was suggesting.
"Is there any particular reason we are taking a longer route?" Asked Callian, who was genuinely curious as to Camille's reasoning. She didn't make inefficient decisions.
The woman's ice-blue eyes narrowed. "Quite a few actually. Why, is time an issue for you? Because if it is you should know this expedition is planned to take a total of two years to complete."
Callian shook his head. "No, that isn't why, the longer the better actually. I'm simply curious as to why we aren't taking a more - direct path to Shurima."
Camille visibly relaxed, falling back into her standard look of cold indifference. "I have business to take care of in Mudtown, a deal to secure."
The blue-haired man racked his brains, trying to remember of the small town's relevance.
"Mudtown? Is that not just a gambling hub for those filthy swamp rats?"
"Not only no." She replied, smirking slightly at his description of the Bilgewater residents and tapping on the place's location on the map before them. "It's a key resource that has contributed a staggering amount of building materials toward Piltover's creation."
The woman paused, glancing at his impassive face. She sighed. "They sell bricks - the Laurent family has requested a large amount of materials in preparation for the construction of a building that Kiramman patron has come up with."
Callian hummed again, staring down at the map thoughtfully. A stop at the gambler's den huh? Well, it could be worse. They could be going to Bilgewater - fucking hell he hated that place.
"Just to be sure you're aware, you do know about the Kiilash village, right? The Vastayan tribe that live near a point in the Ixtal River. They aren't too friendly to outsiders."
The assistant standing behind the woman stiffened up.
Kiilash village was a place that was decidedly not marked on the map before them.
Camille's eyes sharpened, leaning forward in her chair. "Point to it."
He did so, tapping about halfway down the Ixtal River on its eastern side.
"Are they likely to attack the ship?" She asked, looking up at him seriously.
"I find it unlikely, but it isn't impossible," Replied Callian. "I would suggest sailing close to the west side of the river when passing that point to be sure."
It was a strong suggestion. Callian did not want to antagonize the residents there, especially after coming face-to-face with that damn beast in the arena. While the Vastayan had been leagues below him in terms of speed, its strength was nothing to scoff at.
"Duly noted." Said Camille, rapping her fingers onto the table once again. "I will inform the Captain of this factor before we disembark."
"Which is when?"
"Now."
Camille pushed back her chair, standing up and snapping her fingers together crisply. Her assistant walked forward, collecting the map and stowing it back into their uniform's inner pocket.
She began walking down to the pier, stepping onto the wooden planks that stood just above the water's murky surface.
Callian got up to pursue her, with Zeri following close behind.
The guards surrounding the area looked a little confused to see them behind Camille, not having noticed their entry.
She tutted irritably, motioning for the guards to tighten the encirclement until they were now solely blocking entry to the pier.
The woman led the two to a large galleon that was docked far out into the bay, its many black sails adorned with the Ferros family crest.
The group boarded the vessel, with the masked duo staring around at the spacious deck.
Eight men stood around the deck, laughing and chatting kind-heartedly. Callian heard many more heartbeats pulsing below the deck, around three times more than what they could currently see.
They straightened up when Camille approached, the light-hearted grins slowly sliding off their faces to be replaced by a series of professionally calm expressions.
"Madam Ferros." Said the leading one, tipping his captain's hat to the taller woman.
"Davros." She replied curtly. "These are the two who will be accompanying you to Shurima."
The man scratched his well-trimmed beard thoughtfully, staring down at the two masked figures appraisingly. "Madam, I don't want it to seem as if I'm challenging your judgement, but are you sure these two will be useful to the harvesters?"
His question was well-founded. If Callian were in his position, he would have asked the same thing; after all, he and Zeri weren't the tallest of people and didn't exactly radiate confidence.
Just as Camille was about to answer the man, Zeri blitzed behind him, nicking the man's hat off his head and stopping just behind his uniformed figure.
Davros whipped around, staring down in shock at the smaller girl before him. Most of his colleagues were also wearing the same dumbfounded expression, unable to believe what they had just seen.
She dropped her hood down, placing the hat on top of her green hair.
"Nice hat old man." She commented, adjusting it so that the frontmost point would face perfectly ahead of her. She glanced back at Callian, her yellow eyes sliding past the taller man standing before her. "Disrespect me again and I might just keep it."
The girl's mentor gave her a subtle shake of the head, and in the next instant; Zeri was back at his side, Davros' hat securely back on his head.
The faintest spark of viridian electricity arced along her metal boots, which were somewhat reminiscent of her companion's hex-powered ones.
Camille's lips twitched upwards into an amused smirk. "I trust that's enough for you Davros? Or would you like another demonstration from Callian as well?"
"No." The man replied, hiding quickly concealing his shock back behind that same professional calm. "That won't be necessary."
His heart was still thumping rapidly though. But Callian had to applaud his rather convincing poker face.
"Good." Responded Camille. "Then let us depart, now."
Davros turned around, facing the deckhands behind him. "You heard the Madam, get her seaworthy and ready to go." He ushered them into action, clapping his hands authoritatively.
"I'll show our guests to their quarters." The captain continued, motioning the masked duo to follow him further into the ship. "If you'll please follow me."
Callian watched as the deckhands sprang into action, following the captain down into the belly of the ship.
Two years huh? Would that be long enough to accomplish what he needed to do in Shurima?
It was a difficult question to answer. Something only time would tell.
The blue-haired man glanced at Zeri, who looked back at him sheepishly, shrugging awkwardly as if to say, 'What? Someone had to do it.'
Callian just sighed. He hoped this new attitude of hers wouldn't develop any further.
Arrogance was a trait that had gotten many men killed.
Such a thing could not end up happening to her.
She was too important.
—
Expect slower updates from now on, as I have a lot of planning to do with this upcoming arc. Shurima is a diverse continent with a heavy amount of lore and depth, meaning I'll have to flesh out exactly what will happen during their visit.
I'm also bringing in a few unorthodox characters from the rest of League, some of which I guarantee you won't expect.
To the Arcane fans, sorry, but we won't be returning to Piltover and Zaun for quite a while yet as I intend to make full use of Runterra's world map.
Hopefully this story will still turn out to be interesting for that particular group of readers though, and don't worry; because despite this upcoming arc away from the Twin Cities, the rest of the story will still be mainly focused around it and the characters that live there.
—
(Total word count: 2610)
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