Should We Meet Again

Chapter Eleven

Some time ago, Talon told Riven he would consider moving to Ionia if he was not bound to House Du Couteau, and seeing it in person for the first time in over a year certainly wasn't changing his mind. Even in times of war, Talon found Ionia to be a place of unparalleled beauty. Whether it was the unchecked reign of the natural flora, or the serene disposition of a majority of its inhabitants, something about it was incredibly appealing to him. Taken at face value, it was something of a contradiction for a 'city boy' like him, but as much as he had come to see the sewers and busy streets as home, the majority of the feelings those places dredged up were best forgotten. There was little more that Talon wanted than to leave everything behind him and live in peace and solitude. Perhaps, if the peaceful life rung too hollow for a man whose existence revolved around struggle and killing, he would pack his bags and search for the legendary Kinkou monastery. That place, if it truly existed, was said to train masters of stealth and combat with skill far greater than would be considered humanly possible. Alas, retirement was not his purpose here; he had a job to do.

If anyone wanted to disappear, Ionia was definitely the place to do it. That being said, tracking down Taliyah would be difficult. Any Shuriman nomad trying to avoid the ever-raging wars between bandit clans was smart enough to know not to stay in the same place for too long. What further reinforced Talon's doubts of her presence there was that Tevasa Mountain lied just within the borders of western Shon-Xan, an area under Noxian control. Even if a platoon hadn't gone missing, staying there for too long would be beyond foolish. Unfortunately, the village at the base of Tevasa Mountain was his only lead; whether she was there or not, it had to be the first step of his search.

Talon had learned from a regional commander that there were actually two disappearances at Tevasa Mountain. The first was a scouting unit of about seven men who were sent to survey the area ahead of General Du Couteau's march. Apparently, the general had deemed the mountain "not of critical importance" and let the issue slide, only sparing thirty or so soldiers to investigate once the region was secure. The disappearance of this second party was what caught the eye of Swain. His concern was well founded. It would definitely take someone similar in power to Taliyah to fight off a platoon of Noxian soldiers. Shuriman stone weaver or no, there was a presence near the mountain that warranted investigation.

Talon walked along the sole path that could be found near the base of the mountain, only minutes away from the village by his own metrics. He actively battled his own nerves with every step. If it yet remained, any force that could defeat thirty soldiers was a force he may not be able to contend with on even ground. He would have to approach this carefully. Eventually, his advance slowed to a halt. There were signs of battle hidden deep within his surroundings. Erratic footprints and blots of dried blood marred the dirt path ahead of him. The bark of nearby trees was scarred by what Talon guessed to be swords that had missed their mark. Everything was there... everything but the bodies. For all the clear indication of violent struggle around him, there was not a single body to be found, Noxian or otherwise. Perhaps the villagers had hidden away the bodies to prevent suspicion, or perhaps whatever they fought simply left nothing in its wake. Either way, it was incredibly inconvenient. If he could identify the cause of death for just one corpse, he could put together a serviceable image of what he was dealing with.

Talon took a deep breath in an attempt to regain his bearings and quell the uneasiness that now plagued him. Upon centering himself, he ran through all of the information he had available to him in an effort to glean everything that could be assumed of his current situation. First was that whatever was causing so much trouble for the Noxians preferred to keep itself and its fallen foes hidden. The reasoning behind this and the methods through which it was accomplished were both unclear. Second was that the force that defeated the Noxian platoon did not use large-scale magical abilities. While the use of magic itself could not be ruled out, destructive spells that affected large areas would have left damage and scoring on the nearby flora, and no such thing was present at the battle site. The third and most unsettling assumption that could be made about the situation was that Talon had already been detected by the force responsible for the platoon's disappearance. If this presence had the time to formulate an attack strategy and implement it this far along the road, it meant that it had become aware of the platoon, and likely Talon as well, much earlier. With this possibility in mind, Talon reached out with his senses, trying to detect signs that someone or something was watching him.