Should We Meet Again

Chapter Six

The vast borderlands between Noxus and Demacia were proving to be a most ironic place nowadays. Countless soldiers had died bloody deaths and had their bodies claimed by its soil, but none of it had any meaning. Aside from Kalamanda, these lands hadn't seen any true warfare since the days of Sion the Kingslayer. Now, these very borderlands would see history altered upon its face; but there would be no war, no glorious battle in which heroes sung through the ages would be born. No, on this day, history would be written in the blood of only a single man, and Talon would be its author.

The man called Zelos was rushing to Demacia to try and convince the nation to intervene in Noxus's invasion. Naturally, invasions cause a bit of a stir, and Demacia would find out eventually. However, the time at which they become aware of the invasion would be critical. If Talon could buy Noxus the extra week or so Zelos's death would provide, Demacia's aid would come far too late. If they chose to intervene, they would not face a Noxian force divided between them and Ionia; they would face the full strength of Noxus's army. The only situation in which Ionia could survive this war (save for some unforeseen miracle) would be for Demacia to be involved from day one. Talon would not allow that to happen.

Talon took some time to admire the mountain range before him. Stone towers stretched on past the horizon, snow covered peaks reaching to pierce the sky itself. He had been waiting in this pass for two days. Any person trying to get to Demacia from Ionia while simultaneous avoiding getting killed by Noxians would have to go through Piltover, through the Ironspike Mountains, and into the part of the frontier lands known as the Howling Marsh; it was the only viable route unless one wanted to suffer the biting cold of the Freljord. Lucky for Talon, there was only one traversable pass that could be used to do so, and it was right next to Noxus. Zelos would come through any day now; all Talon had to do was continue to wait.

Stricken by yet another wave of boredom, the assassin pulled out the only page of Marcus's briefing package he hadn't burned upon memorization and read it over once more.

Keep it clean and you'll have earned a favor from our friends. Use it to get to your ranger. She'll be waiting for you, Special Ambassador Bertrand. – Marcus

The general's signature was accompanied by what Talon could only assume was his attempt at drawing a flower, which could only mean one thing: the Black Rose. Talon had been lucky enough to avoid becoming involved with their organization over the course of his life, and he was extremely grateful for it. There were, however, times when they actively sought his services. He would normally refuse, but ever since the death of the previous Grand General, Boram Darkwill, he knew House Du Couteau needed to fight tooth and claw to stay in High Command's favor. No one as smart as Jericho Swain would be comfortable with keeping one of the highest ranking members of a regime he personally destroyed in power. If it was anyone other than the house of Noxus's greatest assassins and diplomats, Talon was sure they would have been done away with already. He didn't expect this to be a Black Rose job at first, but now he was surprised he didn't realize it sooner. There was no way Marcus could have been aware of Zelos's departure if he was already halfway back to Noxus when the boy decided to leave. With the Black Rose constantly being up Marcus's ass and tracing his footsteps, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise they would come across Lito's temple when Zelos was preparing to leave.

He supposed he should be glad they became aware of such critical information, but the whole situation had implications he didn't like. First and foremost among these implications was the fact that someone in the Black Rose was watching him in this very moment, and likely had been for the past few days. Whether it be through the eyes of some familiar or a spell of farsight, they had to be watching him to know if his assassination attempt would be successful. The second was that he was addressed as 'Special Ambassador Bertrand' in the letter. That was a cover he had been given a few times in the past in order to infiltrate Demacia's higher society. He hadn't been planning on using it to get to Quinn this time, but it appeared the Black Rose had already made the arrangements for his arrival. He hated the feeling of being owned like this. He wouldn't deny that his role was little more than that of a dog in house Du Couteau, but at least he couldn't feel the leash. When one was dealing with the Black Rose, you wouldn't even know you had their collar around your neck until they had you chained and ready to be shocked for disobedience. Deep down, some part of Talon admired the efficiency with which they operated. While the 'cloak' part of "cloak and dagger" was never his expertise, even he could appreciate their effectiveness, especially when he was on the receiving end of it. Now that he thought about it, he should probably just be grateful that he stood to gain anything at all from this interaction.