The Rune Wars

Banishment

"Are you alright? You seem a bit distracted tonight."

I snap back into reality. It takes a while for my eyes to focus on the waitress in front of me. A lean lithe figure wrapped in a blue dress and an apron. I focus on her auburn hair, all haggard from working the bar at these late shifts. Finally, her eyes that look at me with such worry you'll be convinced I've got a sword stuck in my head.

"I'm alright, Vanya. Nothing to worry about. Just the same old thoughts."

She sighs, "Well, you've got a lot on your mind, don't you? I'll leave you to it then."

I take a sip from my Dragonburst tea. Spicy and sweet, just the way I like it. I look at the wall clock. He's late. It's around three in the morning and my client hasn't arrived yet. He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. Time to bail. I get up and make my way to the restroom. Once I'm inside, I quickly check if it's empty. It was time to disappear but it had been days since I saw my true image. Black hair, grey piercing eyes, fair skin, broad shoulders, athletic build. Sigh, it's going to be a while until I see this face again. I take a step back and point three fingers up with my right hand and two fingers down with my left hand. I close my eyes and mutter the spell as quietly as I could.

"Oh, shadows on the corners be my friend. Let no enemy see my end. Let the blue ocean turn red sky. Turn me so I shall not die"

I open my eyes and see a whole new person in front of me. Blonde hair, pale skin, a lean figure, and the same leather armor and cloak. My eyes stayed the same grey but no one will ever bother to look as I keep my hood on. I look back at my reflection one last time, then head out.

Just as I exit the restroom, I hear Vanya talking to someone. I quickly stick to the wall and lean in on the conversation.

"I don't believe we have an available room for tonight, you're gonna have to look for another inn to take you, master Teemo."

"No need to worry, Vanya. I won't be staying the night after all." With that, he makes his way to a booth in the corner and sits down, "I'll have some Ionian Vasta-brew." Vanya nods to this and mixes away behind the bar.

The Captain then looks to me and nods me over. He's late and he has the nerve to act all cool. Captain Teemo is one of Bandle City's elite scouts. Recently, a Noxian outpost trying to venture into their territory filled with soldiers suddenly became empty. There were no stains, no physical bodies, not even a single piece of equipment. This yordle may look innocent, but his best friend is murder and even Death can't look him in the eye. I look over to Vanya and say, "There's a shadow over the third. Watch out for flies." She stops abruptly and looks at me dead in the eye. Worry. Courage. Loyalty. Then, she looks over to Teemo and with a barely noticeable nod, continues back to making the brew.

I walk on over and sit down. "I'll make this quick, nameless one. I came all the way out here using boats to travel by the outskirts of the borders. You give me something and I give you something, agreed?" I nod, "Good. Now, what do you have for me?" We both stop momentarily as Vanya delivers the brew and closes the booth. "The location for a rune."

He looks at me as if I had just dropped a bomb in front of him. "If you have no serious information, I will leave." I bring out a parchment covered in demonology runes. "I translated it. The rune is in Noxus. You've got to bring this information to the Academy. Piltover is the only neutral state left in Runeterra. If we cannot bring the five runes together and keep them away from the wrong hands, the whole world will fall. There have been numerous sightings of Darkins walking through the forests of Valoran. We must find these runes and we must climb Mount Targon."

He eyes the parchment methodically as if trying to determine how to disarm a bomb that could level the whole eastern side of the continent. Just then, two men come in and, without missing a beat, walk immediately over to the bar. Cloaks, one with heavy armor and one with lighter armor. Noxian seekers? Rebel scouts? Or, even worse, bounty hunters? The shorter one tips his hood to Vanya, raises a piece of paper, and says, "Good evening, my dear. I'm looking for a man named Ordnar. He's a very dangerous man and we plan to make sure he goes back to his homeland. Have you seen him?" I discreetly move my head back to Teemo to realize that the jerk has disappeared bringing my parchment and leaving a note. 

They're bounty hunters because they're not bringing any rifles. My end of the bargain is located at the docks. Once you're done reading this, I'm already on the next boat to Piltover.

Of course, bounty hunters aren't allowed to kill their bounty, they're only allowed to capture. Great, I think to myself, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. But, at least that jerk took the parchment. Now, all that's left is to trust him to get through to Piltover, otherwise, this world will disappear. Just then, I hear Vanya say, "There are two kings with tools. Ones very dull and ones very sharp. There is no gate. Will you break the wall or will you become a cloud?" 

At this point, those two are probably confused by the sounds they're making. I tip my hood to point at the exit and Vanya acknowledges the sigh with a smile. "Come to think of it, I might've seen this man visit my bar earlier. He was asking for inns at Oulin and I told him about Lower Hirana Inn." The man nods his head, "Much obliged," and leaves with his partner. 

"It's getting a bit dangerous for you out there, Ordnar," she says as she walks over, "it's getting my heart all worried about you." I look at her face briefly. Her eyes glistening over the candlelight. Her mouth, slightly curved downwards.  "It's alright, Vanya. I'll be safe. Don't use my real name. I'll be back in a few months. I hope you can handle the bar while I'm gone." She picks up the cups and just nods before retreating back behind the counter. I make my exit through the backdoor which takes me to a clearing in the forest, I check if I forgot anything, then go down to the docks. I wonder what Captain left for me. It's got to be useful for my journey. I take one last look at the inn, Drunken Farmer, for one last time before I set off. This feeling. I've felt it before. Right when I was banished over six years ago. Right when everything went wrong.

I come upon the treeline leading to the docks. There was no one around, not even a trace of anything living except one big crate that had a note attached to it. Captain's work, I guessed, he probably knocked out everyone and put them all in a room somewhere. I walk on over to the crate and read the note. May you find redemption, Nameless One. The world needs more people like you. My chest tightens a little. Being branded as a nameless one makes you a traitor, a rogue, a monster to society. Finding redemption is close to impossible and challenging death seems a much more easy task. I find a crowbar to open the crate, which has too many nails for my taste. After a few minutes of effort, I finally open the crate only to find that the Captain must have forgotten what being branded as a nameless one does.

"You've got to be kidding me"