A Search Through Runeterra (Arcane)

"And you thought it was just a harmless breeze!" ~ Janna, The Storm's Fury

If you paid attention last chapter, Draven is different from cannon. Or at least I hope so. There seems to be no indication of his smarts.

So, I took this direction.

Having another cunning man in play in Noxus is like asking an orange vendor for oranges. He has them. There is no doubt about that. (That's an awful comparison.)

50 chapters! I have successfully overtaken most League fics!

P.S. Fuck the side mouse buttons. I lost this entire chapter because of it. This is the rewritten version and yes, it is worse. I apologize.

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Walking back to the inn took just as long, maybe longer after he took some very long detours. The sun was already setting at this point.

He thought that the day was pretty well spent. 

His first day back and he made a few interesting discoveries. Better yet, those discoveries could lead him to his daughter.

The main discovery would still have to wait till he got his favor repaid from Talon. The man would be forced to help him and help him he would. Talon would also be forced to keep his involvement in this a secret.

He entered the room through the trap door after using the secret entrance.

Upon entry, he found that the runes he had placed were slightly moved.

Someone had tried to break in. But they failed. The runes would have shattered if someone did manage to break in.

Still, not taking any risks, Gregori went through all his belongings. But nothing was missing. 

That didn't matter. The main issue was that this place was a potential safety risk. One he needed to confirm.

He exited through the secret tunnel and walked into the inn the normal way. The main entrance.

He slipped into the seat across Jasmine, "Hello Jazz. Pour me a drink will you?"

She looked at him, smiled and turned around to pour him a drink.

A few seconds later Gregori sat with a drink in hand. As he sipped the drink, he kept an eye on his surroundings. The patrons of the inn. Trying to spot any among them who held a less than normal interest over him.

"Oi Greg! I didn't ask you yesterday but how's the wife?" Orin called with a wave and then asked.

Gregori gave him a sad smile, "She died a long time ago."

Orin's face fell at the answer. "Sorry for that lad. My condolences."

"Ah... its fine Orin." Gregori replied, "You couldn't have known."

Jasmine leaned forward, "If you don't mind me asking... how did she die?"

Gregori gave her a passing glance before answering, "Too weak for child birth." He took a big sip and then continued. "When the time for labor had come, she couldn't hold on."

"My condolences to you." She said.

"But that wasn't the bad part." He started.

That got a lot of eyes on him.

"The bad part was having to raise your child." He spoke. "Having to raise your child without a mother. It is very difficult that."

"AYE!" A few voices sounded in reply to that. A few drinks were raised as well.

"Where's the child then?" Orin asked.

Gregori's eyes fell to his drink, "With a friend who's promised to take care of him. I'll leave as soon a I complete the favor I owe."

Orin's eyes widened, "I see. The only thing that would get you to return here would be a favor of course. Good luck with that lad."

"Thank you Orin." He nodded to the man.

The conversation had gotten the attention of most of the patrons in the inn.

To shift the topic of the conversation, he spoke once more, "How's the mother-in-law doing Orin?"

Orin laughed, "The sack of fat hasn't gotten off of the chair she annexed from me. Even goes to sleep on it. The lump of lard is such an annoyance, trying to entice my wife into making me sign over the house to her. I truly wonder why I had ever married the woman. What's worse is I wonder why I even went to war? For some round animal to occupy my chair?! MY CHAIR!"

He yelled that last part loudly.

But instead of shifting the mood to a somber tone, the inn erupted in laughter. And come toasts to Orin were made.

Gregori actively participated in them.

After losing the attention on him, Gregori leaned toward Jasmine, "Hey Jazz?"

"Hmm?" She asked with her eyes on the patrons.

"It seems someone has tried to break into my room." As he said this, he looked Jasmine in the eye, the one not covered by the eye-patch.

Her eye widened imperceptibly before she looked him in the eyes.

"A break in?" She asked. "Do you have someone after you?"

Gregori's eyes hardened, "I wouldn't know Jazz. DO YOU think there would be someone after me?"

"I'll look into it." She said with her jaw clenched.

After finishing his drink, Gregori turned back to her once more, "I'll be leaving by the end of the month. I hope you'd let me know if there is any progress on catching the one who tried to break in."

She didn't reply.

He figured out who tried to break into his room or rather on whose orders. Jazz or Harris. The owners of the establishment. Her reaction to his question and then her follow up question sealed the thought.

Why did she ask if there was someone after him?

The logical thing to ask was if something had been stolen. Or if something was out of place.

Her question proved to him that she was involved in this.

Nothing was taken, but he now found himself at odds with them now, whether they like it or not.

He understood the reasoning behind their actions.

The Gray was back in town after all. His name brought a lot of attention. It could also put their lives in danger. It was a little check to make sure they would remain safe.

That and any information they could get off him could be sold at very high prices. The Gray was a dangerous foe. And information about Gregori was highly valued. It was a win-win for them if they found information regarding him as well as ensured that they would be safe.

But it had broken the bride between them.

"Anyway." Gregori stood up, and straightened his clothes. "I'll retire for the night."

Gregori walked up to his room and set up the runes once more.

After which, he waited for nightfall.

Once the moon had half completed its journey, Gregori donned a dark cloak and made his way to the manor.

He stuck to the shadows. Going through alleyway after alleyway. Lesser known routes and lesser traveled routes.

He took them all.

There had been this ever present feeling of something watching his every move. And he did not like that feeling. And the occasional cawing of the crows did little to soothe that feeling.

It was important that he didn't get caught here, or at least not be spotted. Being spotted at this time of night would raise questions. Questions he wouldn't be able to answer.

But he made it to the manor.

A walk around the manor led him to the wall with the vine reaching halfway. The wall was perfectly covered in darkness.

He jumped and grabbed the vine.

It was flimsy but held under his weight. Using it as an anchor, Gregori scaled the side of the wall and reached the top.

He sat on the wall, legs hanging off the ledge and inspected the other end.

The vine reached all the way to the ground and subsequently disappeared.

It didn't connect to a tree. 

It just went into the ground in a very unnatural manner.

Gregori scooted a little and jumped off the wall and landed over the other side.

Lowering himself, he observed the point of contact of the vine and the ground. With the overgrowth, it was a difficult thing to spot.

But he did spot it.

That particular portion of grass was a little higher raised than the ones around it. 

A trap.

If he had landed on it, it would have given way. A short fall to his death or worse, capture and torture.

His eyes observed the perimeter with alertness. This place was trapped. That meant two things. Either Amoline's family had something to hide or someone else had hid something of great importance here. Which could explain why the place hadn't been sold to the highest bidder yet.

Gregori slowly made his way to the manor. Staying low and avoiding unnatural looking patches of grass. Which was harder to do than he expected, with how much open space was available. The unused fountain, the random statues littered across the place and the stone pathways across the manor lands made it so that he had to make his way through the overgrown grass.

He also refrained from touching anything.

A single trap being triggered could end his entire mission.

Gregori had to stay in the shadows for a little while longer. The Mallat were still alive. And eliminating their entire family was possible only if he did it from the shadows.

A step here, a leap there and Gregori stood in front of the manor walls.

He had decided against using the entrance because of the possibility of traps.

The same reason also ruled out the lower floor windows as well as the balconies around the manor's higher floors.

No, the safest bet would be a higher floor window.

But it came with its own risks. First, it could be trapped. Second, it wouldn't open and brute force might alert someone. Third, He might be spotted as he climbed up the side of the wall.

The other worry was if someone lived there. Squatters or even guards.

He picked up a rock and scaled the side of the wall until he reached an inconspicuous window.

Placing his face flat against the window, he observed the inside as well as the edges of the window. Nothing dangerous spotted.

Gregori slid a finger into the grooves of the windowsill and slowly pried the window open. He was met with little resistance and the window opened outward.

Flicking the rock inside, he waited a few seconds to see if anything had been triggered.

Nothing happened.

Smoothly, Gregori entered the manor and closed the window behind him.