Chapter 7: Chapter 7
/ As you can see, i'm not dead, and i did not catch ligma... to make a mends im posting a chapter of 3000 words, i can't feel my fingers. /
"Ble, it's so posh and shiny here. It's going to make me barf." Jinx says next to me as we walk through the main streets of Piltover. Even though it was now dark out, the lights made it look brighter than the Undercity in the middle of the day.
"Hush, we're already drawing a lot of attention." I say making her look around. Many piltovians were staring at us, some in curiosity… but mostly in disgust due to my intimidating armor and jinx's clearly poor and dirty Undercity look.
I had gotten myself a nice place to stay in for, while I'm here using some money of which I transformed from Noxian currency to Piltovian. After that, Jinx and I entered a clothes store in the richer side of the Topside. "Why are we here?" Jinx asks looking slightly annoyed.
"No one will deal with us; we need new clothes." I say looking around.
"HEY! You Undercity ruffians! We don't donate clothes here! Get out!" a man starts yelling at us.
"Relax fool. We have the money for it." I glared at him as I showed him the pouch filled with coins. Some tried to pickpocket me but left with broken wrists and arms. For some reason people stopped trying to mess with me after seeing others crying under my feet.
The man eyed the pouch as his eyes turned into gold coins before he laughed nervously. "My apologies, sir! You can't be too careful nowadays, surely you can understand."
I snorted, "We're looking for something formal. Show me where the highest quality things are kept."
"Right this way, sir!" He says as we follow him.
"So… why are we buying clothes?" Jinx asks.
"There's a big party tomorrow evening. All the big merchants and politicians will be there, so it's a good place to make friends in high places." I responded.
The staff member took us to a long row of robes and suits, "This is for men, all are among the highest quality here in Piltover."
I looked around for something that would catch my eye, of which nothing did, all of them looked bland. "Is this it?" I ask him.
"Yes, sir. Are they not to your liking?" he asks almost stuttering in fear of losing a rich customer.
I nodded, "Do you do custom orders? If so, can you rush it to be made by tomorrow evening?" I ask.
"It will be quite expensive, but yes."
"Money is of no issue." I stated, with all the funds I received I was swimming in cash.
"Perfect. Then please follow me, sir." He said bowing slightly and gesturing for me to follow.
I then turned to Jinx and spoke, "Pick some nice dresses and shoes somewhere… I will buy them for you but please, DON'T cause trouble."
"Really? Yay!" she cheered loudly before dashing off and asking a woman to help her choose.
I groaned, "Troublesome girl."
The man led me into the back of the store and asked, "Can you please remove the armor so we can take your measurements, sir?"
"Sure." I reply as the armor retracts fully away, leaving me in some simple but practical clothing I got in Noxus.
He was a little shocked before starting to work. He started to measure me with string-like measuring things. Nearly every part besides my face and feet were measured which was recorded. "Now what type of suit were you thinking sir?" The third man asked.
A tad bit embarrassed I confessed, "I must admit I didn't really think about that. Let's just say I'm not one that cares much for types of clothing."
He chuckles "I understand sir. You are a warrior, and a suit can't save you from a sword, no? That's fine but if you don't mind could I ask if I could design it in a way, I'd think you'd love."
"That's fine." I reply to him.
After that he asked some simple questions from colors, my budget, number of buttons and other simple questions. I actually quite liked this place, after finding out I have the money to pay they treat you with the utmost respect. Though I'm not entirety sure if that's actually a good thing but one needs to make a living.
"That'll be enough sir. I'll have the suit ready if you come here tomorrow around midday."
I shook his hand and left the back. But I still wanted something else to wear so I'm not walking around in full armor. I was a little surprised to see Jinx had created a small pile of clothes close to the changing rooms as she constantly went in and out of a changing room wearing something else.
I chuckled before looking around for something. In the end I decided on a nice long black overcoat which I grouped with red buttoned shirt and black trousers. It kept my usual intimidating look, but at least made me seem approachable. Looking into a mirror in the changing room I noticed my hair was unkept and my face was covered in dirt. "Can't go to a party like this I guess." I walked out and went to the staff member from the start "Can I still buy it while wearing it or not?" When he said it was fine, I went towards Jinx "You know I'm not buying you all this right? There must be over a dozen dresses alone."
"What?!" She yells poking her head through the changing room curtain "But you said--"
"I said some, not the entire store. Did you pick a dress?"
She nodded "It's that one."
She pointed at a dress that was blue in color and made from extremely high quality silk. I must admit Jinx had a sharp eye to find something that goes perfect with her pale skin and blue hair. "It looks good. Pick one change of clothes to wear and hurry it up."
"Fine!" She groans. Before long the curtains open "There!" She says gesturing to her clothes with her hands. It still looked nothing like the usual posh clothes Piltovans wear but at least no one would automatically know she's from the Undercity. She wore some nice black leather pants with a dark blue top, finishing with a black jacket that had patterns of blue waves on it's back.
After buying our clothes we left the place. We got something to eat in which Jinx ordered a lot of food to the point I was afraid she might explode. But it seemed the amount she ate tired her out to the point I had to carry her back to the place I was staying.
I took off her jacket and placed her in my bed and dropped off our things but I wasn't done for the night. But judging by the amount of times she thrashed while asleep she's clearly not a good sleeper. So to help her... so she wouldn't cause any trouble I placed one of my Shadow Mages to constantly use a spell on her to quieten the voices in her head.
'What is wrong with me?' Apollyon thought, he simply hadn't felt a feeling like this.
As I looked down at her sleeping form I felt... bad for her. I could easily rip the souls that torment her mind but in order for her to heal she needs to do that herself. I more than anyone understand the growth one goes through when they can beat their inner demons.
With her out for the night I left and walked towards the academy of Piltover and entered their library. I was surprised it was actually open, when I entered, I could see why, the place was full of people reading books. I was looking for books myself and I found the jackpot. As expected of such a technological advanced place it had thousands of books. There I spent the entirety of the night reading anything I could find. Due to my superhuman nature I read entire books in a few minutes.
I read stories from fairy tales to biographies all until I noticed sunlight breach through the windows. I realized I read through the entire night, though I didn't regret it in the slightest. It was all simple knowledge, but that's what I was looking for, to compensate for being imprisoned since birth.
Knowing I can just come back here later I left satisfied with the amount of knowledge I obtained. I went back to the Inn I was living in for now and entered noticing Jinx was still asleep. I recalled the Shadow, but the noise awoke her.
"Morning, would Silco but worried that you didn't return last night?"
Jinx propped on her elbows to look at me as she rubbed her eye with her hand "No, I disappear for days anyway. He only cares if he needs me for something."
Well... that kind of annoyed me, to know he's using her. Even if it's for his goal of Zaun Jinx has clearly gone through enough. (Yes in Arcane Silco obviously loves Jinx like a daughter but he doesn't actually realize that till near the end so it's fair to assume he cared for her much less in earlier times.) "Get washed and let's go eat something. Even if you don't look like from the Undercity you still smell like it." I laughed.
"You ass. I don't need a dumpster telling me I smell." She replies walking away while holding her nose closed with her fingers. I knew it was a joke, but I stilled smelled myself just in case, presentation is everything in negotiations.
Suddenly sub-conscious, after she washed herself, I went after her. Piltover have these things called showers and they are VERY relaxing. Afterwards we had some food where Jinx ate too much again. "So, what do we do till this whatever party?" Jinx asked in-between mouth fills.
"I was thinking about looking for mercenaries in the Undercity. Do you know of any that'll be fine with fighting for Noxus?"
"It's the Undercity, nearly everyone there is fine with killing for money."
"I expected that. But are there any promising groups that you've heard of?"
She thinks for a bit and says "There's a place near the Last Drop where a bunch of annoying assholes hang out. If you're looking for people to kill for money, you'll go there first. There are a couple gangs as well, but I'd doubt they'd leave here but for the right amount of gold it'd be fine."
"I guess we'll start there then." I say getting up. I pay for our food as we leave for the Undercity.
In a lift we were quiet till Jinx said, "You're a killer right?"
"I am since birth... Too many to count."
"I am as well. But instead, I remember each of them." She admits sadly.
"Death is a common occurrence in this world Jinx. To live is to fight and struggle. Some live, the others will die. That's just how it is. What decides which one you are is how strong you are."
"I'm not strong." She says with moist eyes.
"Not physically. But actual strength does not come from how much you can lift, it comes from your entire being. Your physical strength, your intelligence but most importantly your will. If you have the will to continuously push forward, there is little that can stop you." I say as the lift reaches it's end.
Suddenly I hear a quiet voice, "Teach me."
I look back at her "Teach you?"
"To be strong." She says looking at her hand as she closed it into a fist "Everything terrible that has happened to me came from my own weakness. Teach me so that I'd never lose again."
I smile at her "Fine, though I won't go easy on you."
"What?! right now?" She says surprised. "I thought we were going to get mercenaries or whatever?"
"Like I said actual strength is your entire being. I read from a book that one tends to be as clever as a fox or as dangerous as a wolf. But in my eyes the real threats are someone who is both." I say walking through the heavily populated streets "Look around, tell me something you see."
She follows my order and looks around confused "Well... Lots of people?"
"Your observation skills are remarkable detective. Look closer."
She looks around as we walked before seemingly noticing something. I followed her eyes to notice someone staring directly at me. When we made eye contact his eyes widened before he slipped into the shadows. "A stalker." Jinx growled.
"So, tell me, why am I being stalked by someone?"
"Maybe he loves you or something." She laughed but stopped when she looked at my face "Sorry... could be someone looking to rob you?"
"Possible. When I'm not wearing my armor, I just look like some rich asshole don't I? Any other ideas?" I could already tell who he was since I lightly recognized him from the Last Drop "Have you seen him before?"
"I didn't really get a good look at him." She says slightly disappointed in herself.
"You rarely do. He's one of Silco's men."
"Why would Silco send someone to watch you?"
"You tell me."
She thought for a bit "Well you are someone new to the Lanes. That and you're a foreigner who already knew he was a crime boss before he met you. He probably wants you watched just in case."
I nod with a smile "The most probable answer. Being observant and clever can save your life just as well as any weapon. Is this it?" I say, gesturing to a large building full of people with the eyes of killers.
"It is." She says quietly. I looked down at her to notice that she is a little afraid. It made her move a couple inches closer to my side as we walked inside. The place was a large bar, but not a friendly one.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to eye Jinx and I. "Hey! You're Vander's brat, aren't you?!" One person said. A man with half of his face burnt walked up to a scared Jinx and glared down at her "You've got some guts to come here when that bastard let the Lanes go to hell.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and said "Calm down. She has nothing to do with this Vander person."
"Who the hell are you?!" He yelled at me.
"A foreigner looking for a unique type of business now leave her alone."
"Fuck you asshole." He spat.
A couple droplets of his spit landed on my face due to how close he came up to me. I wiped it off my face and looked at my hand "Disgusting... by even the Undercity's standards." Using that same hand, I uppercutted his chin and used my other hand to punch his gut. The punch to his gut made him curl on his knees and vomit right in front of my feet. "Really? How filthy are you?" To finish him off, I kicked the side of his head making him fall into his own vomit knocked out.
"You asshole!" Someone behind me yelled. It seemed multiple people jumped up and rushed towards me looking for a fight. Using my elbow I hit the man behind me hard in the face, I could feel parts of his skull around his nose crack under the force as he was launched back.
The next to try attack me was a very large man, nearly double my size. He slammed his hands down but I easily dodge his slow attack. Hitting the back of his knee had him fall onto his knee as I jumped into the air. I landed on his head and forced his open mouth to smack right into a table in front of him. His top teeth fall apart as he rolled over in pain.
More tried to attack, some with weapons, but it was pointless. Their skill in a fight was primitive at best. I kept brutally beating anyone trying to fight me till I heard some bones crack and a scream. It seems while I was fighting others someone tried to have a go at Jinx. The end result was Jinx breaking their left arm before throwing them into a table.
She nodded at me, seemingly no longer afraid of this place but that's easy to do when you watch them all get beaten so easily. Eventually the floor around was littered with the unconscious or broken. No one else tried to charge us meaning those left are smart or too afraid.
"That was sweet!" Jinx says excitedly as she raises her hand for a high-five.
"That gets rid of the useless ones at least." I grin as we high-five.
"So? What so-called unique business are you after stranger?" The barman of the place asked.
"Are you not annoyed by the mess?" I asked him.
He shook his head "Fights like that happen nearly every day here."
I chuckle as I walk over to him. I tell him I was looking for mercenaries and he said I could do a pitch to the remaining there. I nodded before turning. It seemed I was right with the useless ones being rooted out as the ones remaining all had at least some form of actual weaponry and armor. There was even a large group of people in hoods all with what are called rifles.
"I've come here today to look for killers. Killers that are willing to fight and kill in another's war for money and fame. If you count yourself among that in two months from now a ship will arrive from Noxus. Any who wish to become a mercenary for Noxus can join on that ship when it leaves for Noxus. You'll be paid according to your numbers in your party and given additional gold depending on your feats you preform while hired. Any questions?"
"Who would we be fighting?" One person asked.
"That information is disclosed. But even then, there is no shortage of opportunity in Noxus, no matter what you specialize in Noxus will find a task to best suit your abilities."
"How long would we be fighting for?" Another asked.
"As long as you want. The length a mercenary can fight in Noxus is as long as they see fit. If at any point you no longer want to fight for Noxus you can leave."
After that they asked things from more basic questions to straight tedious and obvious ones. They were all chatting amongst themselves with many already looking ready to join. After I told them where to meet on the day the ship arrives, I leave with Jinx in tow.
"You saw them too, right?" Jinx asked when we were a good distance away.
"Of course. Those hooded ones with the rifles are suspicious."
"The moment we walked in one of them left in a hurry. Not only that but all of them were interested in you and none of them talked during the entire thing."
I chuckle "You're a quick learner. Come on, we've got a party to go to."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone