A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"Father, mother, Zelos, O-ma, Ohn, Kye, little Ruu... None of them ever had a chance."~ Irelia, The Blade Dancer

Oh how I love that little Ruu didn't have a chance. The rat deserved it if you ask me.

I have also written 6 chapters in 3 days. Which is kinda crazy for me. So 5 chapter mass release tomorrow!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gregori found the tavern quite easily.

It was in the same place it had always been in. The singular sign hanging off it brought back a lot of memories.

Livery Tavern.

With a name like Livery it was obvious that only soldiers would use it. Retired soldiers, active soldiers and even the occasional spy or assassin. The first level to gather information. But doing so would alert some people.

He had been a regular here. Not under the Hastur name but as The Gray.

That was an identity he didn't mind revealing even if it would get some attention sent his way.

Most of the men and women here would remember him even if he tried to disguise himself. All the old heads had good memories, no one forgot an ally. And once upon a time Gregori was just that, a reliable ally.

But he could go a level deeper.

Information gathering here was a process of varying levels of difficulty.

The standard method of just asking was useless. They wouldn't provide anything for free. And coercing anything out of these lot of nigh impossible. They knew what the information they had was worth.

Either pay up or provide information of similar value.

The business worked that way.

He couldn't give his information. To these people, despite its importance, his information was worth nothing.

The only option remaining would be money.

For anyone else at least.

Gregori had favors.

Favors for information was a bargain for them. He had no use for the favors anyway. Its not like he intended to ever come back to Noxus after this little excursion.

CAWWW

Right before he pushed the door open he heard cawing. He looked toward the source.

A crow.

Not that usual in Noxus but they did exist.

He shrugged and walked in.

The instant he walked in the voices went silent. All eyes fell upon the newcomer. Gregori cut an impressive figure and it was not often a man walked in with a shield and enough baggage to make his seem like a traveler.

Gregori spotted some familiar immediately on entry but chose to go to the the tavern keeper instead.

"I'll have a room and some of your harshest mead please." Gregori said as he slid onto an empty seat and freed his hand from the shield.

The tavern keeper looked at him but refused to move, her eyes squinted as she replied, "Are you new to this place sir? I think you are at the wrong establishment."

Gregori chuckled, "Ah.... I think I'm in the right spot Jasmine." He made eye contact with her. She had an olive skin tone and the soft brown eyes. A pretty face and a fit body. But underneath that inviting exterior was the skills of an extremely good assassin. "I would prefer you let me have a key and the drink."

He showed his palms and shrugged. "I'll even pay this time."

Jasmine's eyes widened in recognition. "You are still alive." Her statement more of a fact than a question.

"I'd hope so." He looked at his himself. "I'd rather I weren't"

A smile formed on her face. "I don't suppose you will pay this time?"

"This time?" He asked, affronted. "Among these lot, " He gestured behind him. "My tab's the only one that's fully paid for."

A lot of chuckles sounded around him.

"Fuck off!" A voice sounded.

Gregori turned around to face the owner of the voice, a large bald man, "I'll fuck off when you stop gambling Orin. Say.... have you made any money over the past nine years? What would your wife say? Or rather what would your mother-in-law say?"

The large man, guffawed, "That pig hasn't left my favorite chair yet. The lump of flesh seems to want to outlive me out of pure spite." He eyed Gregori, "Good to have you back lad."

Gregori gave him a smile, "Not for long but good to see you too." He looked at the faces he recognized, "All of you." With a nod he turned just as a keg and a key dropped.

"First room on the left." She bent closer to him, "Completely safe, just how you'd prefer."

Grabbing the keg, Gregori took a large swig. It was as expected. Harsh. Hurt his throat as it went down.

After finishing the keg, he got up and looked at the rest. "Why're you all out here at this time of day anyway? The sun's just about to rise."

"HUH?" Came a collective response.

"What?"

"!"

"The night's over?" One voice spoke drunkenly. 

Jasmine's face had a pout on it, "Now why would you tell them that? There are no windows here for that reason. They can't tell the fucking time. Now you just let them know that they've been out all night."

"Your money making practices are still as shady as ever. What do you get out of shaking these lot down anyway?"

"Money. Clean money no one would be willing to take. Lots of it." Jasmine replied.

Gregori laughed, "Does your greed know no bounds Jazz?"

She gave him a playful frown. "Why are you here anyway?"

"That I'll let you know after a good sleep." Gregori spoke as he turned around.

With a curt nod, he made his way to the room and set his things down. He observed the room and spotted a interesting crease next to the drawer.

Sliding the drawer he spotted a trap door.

One that had a lock on it. The same lock he had been given a key to.

Just the way he'd prefer.

The trap door wasn't for others but for him. It led out through a secret exit that only a few people knew. 

Constantly leaving and entering was suspicious and it would catch some unwanted attention.

Making sure the trap door as well as the entry door was locked, he continued his inspection of the room.

Nothing under the bed.

No peep holes.

No moving mirrors.

He removed the rune stones from his bag and placed them at the corners of the room.

After confirming his safety, Gregori fell onto the bed. Exhausted at the travel but also heart pounding at the thought of what he had come here to do. It seemed easy when he had spent hours planning what to do but now that he was here, he had felt it.

The uncertainty and fear that crept in, constantly reminding him about the high chance of failure.

It was inevitable.

It was the nature of being human.

To fear.

And as he kept mentally combating his uncertainty and fear, he fell asleep.

A couple hours later, he shot up panting.

A nightmare. One where he watched his children burn in a fire. A fire he couldn't stop. He tried leaping into it but kept bouncing out every time he made it in. His house burned down with him watching. He looked to his left to find a dead Leanna holding a small bundle and then to his right where he found a dead Amoline.

The screams of his children were too much to bear shocking him out of his sleep.

He sat up and looked out of the window tiredly.

Midday.

He could start the day now.

Standing up, he looked into the mirror and saw his eyes staring back at him. The haunted look in them a side effect of the dream.

He raised both his hands and gave himself a crip slap. Breaking him out of worse thoughts.

With a resigned look, Gregori walked out of the room and made his way down, "Need a bucket of water and a wash cloth."

The man operating the bar looked at him with a singular eye.

"Gregori."

"Harris." He responded.

"Out back. Bucket's by the well. And we don't sell wash cloths." The man gestured to the door behind him with his thumb.

Gregori nodded and climbed back up the stairs to grab some cloth from his bag.

Pulling out a clean one, he walked out back and cleaned himself. It wasn't a proper bath but it would do.

It not like he could find a river and take one now. And it had been multiple days since he took one as well. It wouldn't do him or his quest any good to go around looking and smelling like a homeless man.

It almost got him kicked out of the establishment he had always frequented.

He also washed the dirty clothes he had carried around with him.

Having done all of his ablutions, Gregori slid onto the stool at the bar. 

"So what's gotten you to return? Married life not suiting you?" Harris asked.

Gregori shook his head, "There's nothing better than coming back home to a loving wife Harris. Unfortunately for me, my current quest will keep me from my little family a while longer."

"A quest eh?" Harris asked.

Gregori nodded. "There is something I'm looking for. A favor I owe somebody. You understand.... when someone calls in a favor, it must be repaid. And I have too many favors owed to me. Can't lose all that can we?"

Harris chuckled, "Can't lose them indeed. A favor must be repaid." His eyes then narrowed, "What do you want then?"

"What's on the current menu?"

"Bolbo head soup." He stated. "A side of vegetables, bread and cheese."

"Got some of the fish here?" Gregori asked surprised.

Harris shrugged, his large body moving in an exaggerated manner. "Got delivered today. Didn't really expect it to be honest. Now you have soup."

Gregori nodded. "I'll have that then."

"Any drinks?"

Gregori looked at him and took a moment to think, "I suppose you don't have a Bloody Book?"

"One Bloody Book." He said with an eyebrow raise and turned around to make the drink.

The red and orange drink hit the table a minute later.

Gregori casually sipped the drink in wait for the food.

"Anything else? Desert perhaps?" The man asked.

"Ah nothing else. I don't think I'll have enough space left over to go on with the day." Gregori answered. 

The bowl of soup and the side platter came in. Two slices of bread, one serving of cheese and a lot of vegetables.

"This is great Harris. Pass along my compliments to Klein." He spoke after a couple bites.

"Klein's left. Quit five years ago. Keisha's taken over the kitchens now. And she's doing a damn good job. I'll pass along the compliments either way."

After completing the food, Gregori tossed him a gold coin and said, "I'll be back for the night." Then he got off and walked out of the tavern.

The place was quite the same as before.

Almost a decade and no difference. That was something. Old men refused change he guessed.

He took a deep breath of pure Noxian air.

The smell of blood and war.

And made his way to the place he expected to have some information regarding his wife's family.

The library.

The Great Noxian Library.

It was where he had first met her and it would be the place where he could get any and all information regarding her family, since every family is recorded down. Paper trails is Noxus were impossible to dodge for any family living in the Bastion.

It was how they checked for spies. They also used it to prevent anyone from entering.