Post by The Exile on Jun 29, 2013 2:04:44 GMT -5
March 7th, 23CLE
The tavern was bustling with activity. Yordles were everywhere, as well as a smattering of humans, all drinking and having a rather enjoyable experience. They were all glancing at a techmaturgical screen of sorts displaying a very troubling meeting. Well, the meeting was troubling for just one person in the small tavern. She sat in a booth against the wall and against the far wall, giving her the best look at the goings on. She sighed into her drink, staring into the bubbly, sweet drink the bartender had called "soda pop." They didn't have anything like this in Noxus when she was growing up...
The news of an alliance between the Order of Shadows and Noxus was a troubling event in any case. It meant that Swain was gathering allies outside of Noxian borders. and on Ionian shores. The Order was trained in assassinations and darker martial practices. It seemed the damn crow was up to the same tricks as ever. Manipulation, deceit, underhanded back-alley dealings...so much for peace... Her dreary mood was in stark contrast to the celebrations that seemed to be going on around her. She glanced to her bag and small bottle of ginger tablets.
Booking passage on a sailing ship bound for Ionia had been fairly easy when she suggested she could help with some of the heavy lifting if required. The yordle captain, Captain Jackstaff Holystone, seemed very eager to have a heavy lifter onboard, and mentioned that having someone to help hoist sails would be very beneficial. He'd also joked that she could serve as a replacement crow's nest if it was damaged by getting the first mate to scramble up on top of her shoulders. Yordles were a strange group...
Part of Riven wasn't so sure about heading to Ionia after all this time. Some memories were still fresh in her subconscious. However, with Noxus publicly aligning themselves with the darker aspects of Ionia, Riven was more certain than ever that if she was to find any support for her mission, she would find it on the green islands to the east of Valoran. The Kinkou would certainly oppose this new alliance, and if she could allow them to see that all she truly wanted was to bring balance and peace back to her homeland, perhaps she'd gain some allies in the process.
She'd been running from the island nation for a long time, from the memories, from what she had lost. Maybe it was a part of her destiny or fate that she would somehow find her way back to Ionia's fields. Even with her cloak pulled around her, she was certain someone would notice her, and it might not be in a pleasant way. Regardless, she had to put Valoran before herself...her homeland before herself... She was doing this for the good of Valoran, for the good of Noxus and her countrymen. It had to be done...
A clank of a plate on her table pulled her out of her reverie and her amber eyes caught sight of a too cheerful yordle girl. Her grin reminded her of the Fae Sorceress. Riven blinked, as if asking what was going on. Before she could reply that she hadn't ordered anything, the girl spoke.
"On the house! It's free cupcake day!!" She giggled. "Enjoy Miss!" The yordle then tottered off, almost skipping. This was not a place in which Riven wished to stay long. The easygoing cheerfulness was just too much. Didn't they know that there was all kinds of fighting going on elsewhere? Didn't they know of the fighting in Freljord? She sighed and shook her head, turning her attention to the cupcake in front of her. It was chocolate with vanilla frosting and a cherry on top, and someone had made a happy-face of sprinkles on it.
Well...at least chocolate was her favorite...
Riven walked along the docks, toward the port where her ride to Ionia was waiting. The captain had mentioned it was called the "Jack of All Trades," somehow fitting for a merchant and cargo vessel. The smell of the salty sea already made her nauseous. She did not like that smell. It reminded her of landing on Ionian shores, of the bodies that greeted her as she stepped onto the isle. Even more, it reminded Riven that she did not like deep water. She could swim just fine, but that fear of being unable to see the bottom, of not being able to see what awaited you, or what was below you was...disconcerting.
Various cargo crates were piled alongside the ship when she finally arrived at the correct spot. The captain and his crew were busy loading them both by hand and by crane. The fuzzy yordle captain puffed on a pipe and chuckled heartily, for a yordle, when he spied Riven, and called her over to him.
"Ah! There ye are! I was beginnin' te think ye'd skipped out on us! Woulda been a bit o' trouble to get out o' here without our favorite two-legged pack mule! Then we'd 'ave come up a little short on time!" He laughed at his pun while the rest of his crew groaned. "'Ey! None o' that nonsense now! This cargo won't be loadin' itself! And a good thing too, else you'd all be outta a job!" He laughed again before turning to Riven.
"Now then, if ye want to get settled in, go right ahead. The beds might be a little shorter than you're used to, but, strong gal like you outta be just fine, eh?" Riven nodded.
"I'll be fine. I don't have very much, but I'll drop that off, and then return to help you with your cargo. I didn't expect this to be a pleasure cruise, and I intend to earn my passage." The captain just laughed.
"Ha ha ha! Ye soldier types are all alike! All work, no play!" He shook his fuzzy head. "Suit yourself, Missy! We'll be waitin' for ye!"
Riven nodded and excused herself to do as she said...
A few hours later, Riven stood on deck of the Jack of All Trades, staring off into the distance as the sun set behind her. The horizon was dark, but beyond that, another day would come. Ionia would never be any different in her mind than it was that day, but for the good of Valoran, for the good of Noxus, she had to go back. Her stomach churned with worry...wait...no...that was her seasickness... Riven reached into her tunic and pulled free her bottle of ginger tablets, taking two of them and chewing and swallowing. Hopefully that would help calm her stomach, though her mind, she knew, would be filled with worries.
She still had a long journey ahead of her. But, for the moment, at least she was moving ahead, even if that path took her to where it had all began...
The tavern was bustling with activity. Yordles were everywhere, as well as a smattering of humans, all drinking and having a rather enjoyable experience. They were all glancing at a techmaturgical screen of sorts displaying a very troubling meeting. Well, the meeting was troubling for just one person in the small tavern. She sat in a booth against the wall and against the far wall, giving her the best look at the goings on. She sighed into her drink, staring into the bubbly, sweet drink the bartender had called "soda pop." They didn't have anything like this in Noxus when she was growing up...
The news of an alliance between the Order of Shadows and Noxus was a troubling event in any case. It meant that Swain was gathering allies outside of Noxian borders. and on Ionian shores. The Order was trained in assassinations and darker martial practices. It seemed the damn crow was up to the same tricks as ever. Manipulation, deceit, underhanded back-alley dealings...so much for peace... Her dreary mood was in stark contrast to the celebrations that seemed to be going on around her. She glanced to her bag and small bottle of ginger tablets.
Booking passage on a sailing ship bound for Ionia had been fairly easy when she suggested she could help with some of the heavy lifting if required. The yordle captain, Captain Jackstaff Holystone, seemed very eager to have a heavy lifter onboard, and mentioned that having someone to help hoist sails would be very beneficial. He'd also joked that she could serve as a replacement crow's nest if it was damaged by getting the first mate to scramble up on top of her shoulders. Yordles were a strange group...
Part of Riven wasn't so sure about heading to Ionia after all this time. Some memories were still fresh in her subconscious. However, with Noxus publicly aligning themselves with the darker aspects of Ionia, Riven was more certain than ever that if she was to find any support for her mission, she would find it on the green islands to the east of Valoran. The Kinkou would certainly oppose this new alliance, and if she could allow them to see that all she truly wanted was to bring balance and peace back to her homeland, perhaps she'd gain some allies in the process.
She'd been running from the island nation for a long time, from the memories, from what she had lost. Maybe it was a part of her destiny or fate that she would somehow find her way back to Ionia's fields. Even with her cloak pulled around her, she was certain someone would notice her, and it might not be in a pleasant way. Regardless, she had to put Valoran before herself...her homeland before herself... She was doing this for the good of Valoran, for the good of Noxus and her countrymen. It had to be done...
A clank of a plate on her table pulled her out of her reverie and her amber eyes caught sight of a too cheerful yordle girl. Her grin reminded her of the Fae Sorceress. Riven blinked, as if asking what was going on. Before she could reply that she hadn't ordered anything, the girl spoke.
"On the house! It's free cupcake day!!" She giggled. "Enjoy Miss!" The yordle then tottered off, almost skipping. This was not a place in which Riven wished to stay long. The easygoing cheerfulness was just too much. Didn't they know that there was all kinds of fighting going on elsewhere? Didn't they know of the fighting in Freljord? She sighed and shook her head, turning her attention to the cupcake in front of her. It was chocolate with vanilla frosting and a cherry on top, and someone had made a happy-face of sprinkles on it.
Well...at least chocolate was her favorite...
**********************************************
Riven walked along the docks, toward the port where her ride to Ionia was waiting. The captain had mentioned it was called the "Jack of All Trades," somehow fitting for a merchant and cargo vessel. The smell of the salty sea already made her nauseous. She did not like that smell. It reminded her of landing on Ionian shores, of the bodies that greeted her as she stepped onto the isle. Even more, it reminded Riven that she did not like deep water. She could swim just fine, but that fear of being unable to see the bottom, of not being able to see what awaited you, or what was below you was...disconcerting.
Various cargo crates were piled alongside the ship when she finally arrived at the correct spot. The captain and his crew were busy loading them both by hand and by crane. The fuzzy yordle captain puffed on a pipe and chuckled heartily, for a yordle, when he spied Riven, and called her over to him.
"Ah! There ye are! I was beginnin' te think ye'd skipped out on us! Woulda been a bit o' trouble to get out o' here without our favorite two-legged pack mule! Then we'd 'ave come up a little short on time!" He laughed at his pun while the rest of his crew groaned. "'Ey! None o' that nonsense now! This cargo won't be loadin' itself! And a good thing too, else you'd all be outta a job!" He laughed again before turning to Riven.
"Now then, if ye want to get settled in, go right ahead. The beds might be a little shorter than you're used to, but, strong gal like you outta be just fine, eh?" Riven nodded.
"I'll be fine. I don't have very much, but I'll drop that off, and then return to help you with your cargo. I didn't expect this to be a pleasure cruise, and I intend to earn my passage." The captain just laughed.
"Ha ha ha! Ye soldier types are all alike! All work, no play!" He shook his fuzzy head. "Suit yourself, Missy! We'll be waitin' for ye!"
Riven nodded and excused herself to do as she said...
**********************************************
A few hours later, Riven stood on deck of the Jack of All Trades, staring off into the distance as the sun set behind her. The horizon was dark, but beyond that, another day would come. Ionia would never be any different in her mind than it was that day, but for the good of Valoran, for the good of Noxus, she had to go back. Her stomach churned with worry...wait...no...that was her seasickness... Riven reached into her tunic and pulled free her bottle of ginger tablets, taking two of them and chewing and swallowing. Hopefully that would help calm her stomach, though her mind, she knew, would be filled with worries.
She still had a long journey ahead of her. But, for the moment, at least she was moving ahead, even if that path took her to where it had all began...
