Post by The Animal Spirit on Apr 3, 2013 15:35:02 GMT -5
This fanfiction is done by my very good friend and lovely editor KuzAnn, who has helped me improve a crap load of my own writing and characterization. Without her, I wouldn't be anywhere as good for writing my characters/RP'ing/writing in general that you all some of a few of you enjoy!
Chapter 1: Ruin
The hideaway was damp and filled with the musty smell of mold, the relic of a time when Piltover was outright hostile to gypsies, back before Caitlyn became the city's sheriff. It was an underground chamber built beneath a large forest, using the massive roots of its trees as support columns, a place where a band of gypsies could easily hide their women and children if bandits, crime lords, or even Piltovan law enforcement came looking for trouble. The chamber had not been used or even opened in many years, but it suited Twisted Fate's needs for the moment. Light from a small lantern illuminated the corner of the chamber that he'd seated himself in, throwing areas behind the tree roots into masses of confusing shadow.
Twisted Fate wrapped a clean length of bandage around the knuckles of his right hand, taking one loose end in his still-bleeding left hand and the other in his teeth to tie it off. He winced when the bandages slipped painfully as he pulled them tight. In his anger he'd repeatedly bashed his fists against one of the larger tree roots that made up the support columns of the hideaway, and unfortunately they had proved to be just as rough and covered in bark as the actual trunks were. With the bleeding staunched on his right hand, Twisted Fate did the same to his left, working a bit more carefully this time to avoid making the bandages slip.
Once his knuckles had been seen to, Fate leaned back against the root he was sitting in front of with a long sigh. He was dressed in a blue denim shirt, black vest, and blue jeans with brown cowboy boots, casual wear since he'd been on leave from his duty to the League for two more days. Weary gloom haunted his pale blue eyes; it had been hard, having to remember the living hell he'd experienced in the wake of the massacre, but being blamed for the very event that ruined his life twenty years ago was far worse.
The League would be looking for him, as well as Graves and probably Caitlyn too, now that he'd disappeared. Graves was a guarantee for sure, as well as that dark mage... He couldn't let any of them find him, especially the League. The cards had told him the League would cause his death if they found out about his connection to the massacre, and he wasn't going to let them catch him now that they knew so much about it.
One week prior to his current predicament, a chance encounter had led to Caitlyn getting a confession out of him with a truth potion, and then she'd wanted to help solve his case... He'd been a fool to believe Caitlyn could help. The entire contents of that same case file—new information and all—somehow ended up in the hands of the Zaunite press just a week after she found out, but it was worse than just a leak. Somewhere along the line between the Archives and the Zaunite press, his eyewitness report had been changed to a confession of guilt for being involved in carrying out the massacre. It was a blow that made him burn with fury whenever he thought about it, and he would gladly kill whoever was responsible. Twisted Fate didn't know whether Caitlyn was involved with that leak or not, but wasn't taking any chances with her. He should have known better than to trust a sheriff of Piltover, even if she wasn't like her crooked predecessor at all. Maybe the city as a whole was just bad luck for him.
They would be searching the Piltovan countryside soon, if they hadn't started already. He'd made only one jump with Gate, so he wasn't beyond where they would be looking just yet. He had to be in or beyond the Ironspine Mountains to stay out of Piltover's reach. Luckily this hideaway had not caved in and revealed itself in its long years of disuse, and the thick foliage that had grown around its entrances made it even harder to find now than ever before. Twisted Fate would be safely hidden as long as he stayed here, and even if it was somehow found he could easily leave in a hurry.
Twisted Fate's injured knuckles throbbed as he sat there and planed his next move. The lands beyond the Great Barrier were not as densely populated as those to its north, there would be less people to look for him down there. That seemed like his best bet for the time being. He could easily get there within a few days if he paced himself and didn't waste magic. And after that...
The lack of a better, more permanent plan bothered Twisted Fate, but he would have to make due until he came up with something. None of his pursuers would give up the hunt anytime soon, that was for sure, but he could survive on what he had packed in his bag of holding for quite a while if he was smart. It had everything he needed in case anything unexpected happened, and it was something he brought with him everywhere—you never knew what problems life might throw your way.
After checking his bandages again, Twisted Fate retrieved a small rune stone that produced a soft red glow from his bag and placed it beside him before extinguishing the lantern and putting it away. He didn't know if he would be able to get any sleep at all, but it was worth a try. Rest was needed in order to get to the Ironspike Mountains in the morning. Twisted Fate lowered himself to the dusty floor, pulled his hat down over his eyes, and did his best to make himself relax.
Anyone who said that holding the station of sheriff in Piltover didn't pay well was either lying or kidding himself. Caitlyn's study was finely furnished in shades of deep brown and red, giving it a warm, cozy feel even on the coldest of winter's nights. Shelves of dark hardwood stocked with books on law and other similar subjects lined the walls, interrupted only by the two large windows that looked out over the City of Progress, which now gleamed in the darkness of late evening. A lamp set on the large mahogany desk that ruled the study, along with two fine chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, provided light for Caitlyn to pace by.
Caitlyn herself was about ready to kick a table over. They had been making such progress with the case, they had even identified who the culprit was, and now everything was ruined thanks to the rats over in Zaun getting their greedy mitts on the case files. Just the fact that it was Zaun's press reporting the information from the leak first was an extra slap in the face, but that wasn't the worst of the situation. The fact that someone had changed the files to make Twisted Fate directly involved with the massacre made Caitlyn herself look bad as well, and the League had already succeeded in getting her suspended from her duties as sheriff so they could investigate the matter themselves. She had lost a lot of credibility because of this, and the Piltovan government had even gone so far as to confiscate her rifle and equipment and place her under house arrest until further notice.
It wasn't just the leak and the outright lie that the press had taken as the truth that galled her, though. Before the events of the past week, Caitlyn had always thought of Twisted Fate as nothing more than a shallow, petty crook and nothing more. It was the way a lot of people thought of him, especially after hearing that he'd sold out Graves in exchange for his magical abilities. What Caitlyn had learned in the past week had forced her to re-evaluate her view of Twisted Fate—the crook was a mask that Fate wore to hide himself. Like his signature hat, it was the first thing you expected to see and the last you would ever think to look past, a well-made cover that Caitlyn had unintentionally torn clean off during the course of her investigations. It was the fact that she had developed feelings for the man behind the mask that made her heart jump whenever she thought about it, and Fate's disappearance had only served to put her further on edge, both from worry and from anger over his having so little faith in her.
With a deep frown and a slight blush, Caitlyn leaned against the front of her desk and did her best to shove the thought of her new-found feelings for Twisted Fate away. It was a distraction she didn't want to deal with, especially with the mess she had to clean up. The citizens of Piltover were calling for blood, but not Caitlyn's—they had already gotten it into their heads that Twisted Fate was responsible for corrupting their beloved sheriff, and she had come upon the terrible realization that they would likely try to kill him if he ever showed himself in the city again. Really, she couldn't blame him for leaving with how Piltover had become so ugly with hate practically overnight.
Caitlyn pushed off her desk and began pacing again. She would have to escape, since she was under house arrest. True justice required a bit of rule breaking this time, though she hated the thought of further destroying her credibility by disobeying the government of Piltover and the League. Graves was first on her list of suspects when it came to the leak and drastic change in the case files, but she had to have solid proof of his guilt before trying to make a case against him.
Unnoticed in the darkness just beyond Caitlyn's window, a shadow shifted and began to glide away. Pale moonlight glinted off red-tinted glass as the Night Hunter went on her way, having finished her observation of the former Sheriff of Piltover.
An upstate coffee shop in Piltover was one of the last places most would expect to see Graves. The place bustled even at this late hour, with most of the patrons discussing the main news of the day in barely-restrained whispers. A caffeinated drink was just fine with Graves for now, he wanted to savor these moments in complete sobriety. He took a big gulp of his coffee and grinned as he set the newspaper down on the table, casually eavesdropping on the conversations around him.
"—can you believe the League never knew about this?"
"—knew the guy was rotten, but I never thought he'd be capable of something so evil."
Read more over here!
www.fanfiction.net/s/8293207/1/Ace
Chapter 1: Ruin
The hideaway was damp and filled with the musty smell of mold, the relic of a time when Piltover was outright hostile to gypsies, back before Caitlyn became the city's sheriff. It was an underground chamber built beneath a large forest, using the massive roots of its trees as support columns, a place where a band of gypsies could easily hide their women and children if bandits, crime lords, or even Piltovan law enforcement came looking for trouble. The chamber had not been used or even opened in many years, but it suited Twisted Fate's needs for the moment. Light from a small lantern illuminated the corner of the chamber that he'd seated himself in, throwing areas behind the tree roots into masses of confusing shadow.
Twisted Fate wrapped a clean length of bandage around the knuckles of his right hand, taking one loose end in his still-bleeding left hand and the other in his teeth to tie it off. He winced when the bandages slipped painfully as he pulled them tight. In his anger he'd repeatedly bashed his fists against one of the larger tree roots that made up the support columns of the hideaway, and unfortunately they had proved to be just as rough and covered in bark as the actual trunks were. With the bleeding staunched on his right hand, Twisted Fate did the same to his left, working a bit more carefully this time to avoid making the bandages slip.
Once his knuckles had been seen to, Fate leaned back against the root he was sitting in front of with a long sigh. He was dressed in a blue denim shirt, black vest, and blue jeans with brown cowboy boots, casual wear since he'd been on leave from his duty to the League for two more days. Weary gloom haunted his pale blue eyes; it had been hard, having to remember the living hell he'd experienced in the wake of the massacre, but being blamed for the very event that ruined his life twenty years ago was far worse.
The League would be looking for him, as well as Graves and probably Caitlyn too, now that he'd disappeared. Graves was a guarantee for sure, as well as that dark mage... He couldn't let any of them find him, especially the League. The cards had told him the League would cause his death if they found out about his connection to the massacre, and he wasn't going to let them catch him now that they knew so much about it.
One week prior to his current predicament, a chance encounter had led to Caitlyn getting a confession out of him with a truth potion, and then she'd wanted to help solve his case... He'd been a fool to believe Caitlyn could help. The entire contents of that same case file—new information and all—somehow ended up in the hands of the Zaunite press just a week after she found out, but it was worse than just a leak. Somewhere along the line between the Archives and the Zaunite press, his eyewitness report had been changed to a confession of guilt for being involved in carrying out the massacre. It was a blow that made him burn with fury whenever he thought about it, and he would gladly kill whoever was responsible. Twisted Fate didn't know whether Caitlyn was involved with that leak or not, but wasn't taking any chances with her. He should have known better than to trust a sheriff of Piltover, even if she wasn't like her crooked predecessor at all. Maybe the city as a whole was just bad luck for him.
They would be searching the Piltovan countryside soon, if they hadn't started already. He'd made only one jump with Gate, so he wasn't beyond where they would be looking just yet. He had to be in or beyond the Ironspine Mountains to stay out of Piltover's reach. Luckily this hideaway had not caved in and revealed itself in its long years of disuse, and the thick foliage that had grown around its entrances made it even harder to find now than ever before. Twisted Fate would be safely hidden as long as he stayed here, and even if it was somehow found he could easily leave in a hurry.
Twisted Fate's injured knuckles throbbed as he sat there and planed his next move. The lands beyond the Great Barrier were not as densely populated as those to its north, there would be less people to look for him down there. That seemed like his best bet for the time being. He could easily get there within a few days if he paced himself and didn't waste magic. And after that...
The lack of a better, more permanent plan bothered Twisted Fate, but he would have to make due until he came up with something. None of his pursuers would give up the hunt anytime soon, that was for sure, but he could survive on what he had packed in his bag of holding for quite a while if he was smart. It had everything he needed in case anything unexpected happened, and it was something he brought with him everywhere—you never knew what problems life might throw your way.
After checking his bandages again, Twisted Fate retrieved a small rune stone that produced a soft red glow from his bag and placed it beside him before extinguishing the lantern and putting it away. He didn't know if he would be able to get any sleep at all, but it was worth a try. Rest was needed in order to get to the Ironspike Mountains in the morning. Twisted Fate lowered himself to the dusty floor, pulled his hat down over his eyes, and did his best to make himself relax.
Anyone who said that holding the station of sheriff in Piltover didn't pay well was either lying or kidding himself. Caitlyn's study was finely furnished in shades of deep brown and red, giving it a warm, cozy feel even on the coldest of winter's nights. Shelves of dark hardwood stocked with books on law and other similar subjects lined the walls, interrupted only by the two large windows that looked out over the City of Progress, which now gleamed in the darkness of late evening. A lamp set on the large mahogany desk that ruled the study, along with two fine chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, provided light for Caitlyn to pace by.
Caitlyn herself was about ready to kick a table over. They had been making such progress with the case, they had even identified who the culprit was, and now everything was ruined thanks to the rats over in Zaun getting their greedy mitts on the case files. Just the fact that it was Zaun's press reporting the information from the leak first was an extra slap in the face, but that wasn't the worst of the situation. The fact that someone had changed the files to make Twisted Fate directly involved with the massacre made Caitlyn herself look bad as well, and the League had already succeeded in getting her suspended from her duties as sheriff so they could investigate the matter themselves. She had lost a lot of credibility because of this, and the Piltovan government had even gone so far as to confiscate her rifle and equipment and place her under house arrest until further notice.
It wasn't just the leak and the outright lie that the press had taken as the truth that galled her, though. Before the events of the past week, Caitlyn had always thought of Twisted Fate as nothing more than a shallow, petty crook and nothing more. It was the way a lot of people thought of him, especially after hearing that he'd sold out Graves in exchange for his magical abilities. What Caitlyn had learned in the past week had forced her to re-evaluate her view of Twisted Fate—the crook was a mask that Fate wore to hide himself. Like his signature hat, it was the first thing you expected to see and the last you would ever think to look past, a well-made cover that Caitlyn had unintentionally torn clean off during the course of her investigations. It was the fact that she had developed feelings for the man behind the mask that made her heart jump whenever she thought about it, and Fate's disappearance had only served to put her further on edge, both from worry and from anger over his having so little faith in her.
With a deep frown and a slight blush, Caitlyn leaned against the front of her desk and did her best to shove the thought of her new-found feelings for Twisted Fate away. It was a distraction she didn't want to deal with, especially with the mess she had to clean up. The citizens of Piltover were calling for blood, but not Caitlyn's—they had already gotten it into their heads that Twisted Fate was responsible for corrupting their beloved sheriff, and she had come upon the terrible realization that they would likely try to kill him if he ever showed himself in the city again. Really, she couldn't blame him for leaving with how Piltover had become so ugly with hate practically overnight.
Caitlyn pushed off her desk and began pacing again. She would have to escape, since she was under house arrest. True justice required a bit of rule breaking this time, though she hated the thought of further destroying her credibility by disobeying the government of Piltover and the League. Graves was first on her list of suspects when it came to the leak and drastic change in the case files, but she had to have solid proof of his guilt before trying to make a case against him.
Unnoticed in the darkness just beyond Caitlyn's window, a shadow shifted and began to glide away. Pale moonlight glinted off red-tinted glass as the Night Hunter went on her way, having finished her observation of the former Sheriff of Piltover.
An upstate coffee shop in Piltover was one of the last places most would expect to see Graves. The place bustled even at this late hour, with most of the patrons discussing the main news of the day in barely-restrained whispers. A caffeinated drink was just fine with Graves for now, he wanted to savor these moments in complete sobriety. He took a big gulp of his coffee and grinned as he set the newspaper down on the table, casually eavesdropping on the conversations around him.
"—can you believe the League never knew about this?"
"—knew the guy was rotten, but I never thought he'd be capable of something so evil."
Read more over here!
www.fanfiction.net/s/8293207/1/Ace