Devious Plans

"No longer will we be guided by invisible hands. The Arcane will free us, and I am its herald."~ Viktor, the Herald of the Arcane (RAAHHHH Another Arcane champ!)

Double chapter tomorrow.

Chapters are like this because I am very close to settling on a place to live for the next year. Like it should be sorted in 48 Hours.

Apologies, it might feel like the previous schedule but just double the chapter length.

Also drop a couple comments. Are you having fun? Do you have anything you want to see? Let me know!

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WHOOOOSH

Gregori looked up as he walked. A Silverwing Raptor flew across the sky.

"Flying to pass the news of the victory...." He murmured. 

It had been a day already.

The raptor and its rider had probably rested enough to make the journey all the way to the Demacian Capital. 

He hadn't waited for anyone from the Demacian front to follow him, instead choosing to return home to his children as soon as possible.

The walk down the mountain had drained him beyond anything. Climbing down the mountain was always harder than climbing up it. And with the battle and the transformation, he was almost at a point where if he closed his eyes for too long..... he might have passed out.

It was almost like a miracle that he had arrived at High Silvermere right as nightfall hit. Walking into the nearest tavern, he showed his Demacian steel axe and told them to reimburse his night's stay with the Crownguards that would be coming this way in a day.

They seemed unsure and did not relent.

Gregori raised his axe. Looked at it for a moment. Then placed it on the table.

"Take this. Pure Demacian steel." He said. "This should cover for more than the night's stay and dinner. If you want gold for it..... then when the army walks back, give it to any of the Crownguards or even the king if you want to and say that 'Gregori used it as collateral'. They will gladly take it off your hands and pay you handsomely."

They looked unconvinced until one of the regulars observed the weapon. He pointed out that the weapon was genuine and worth quite a lot. Especially one without Petricite in it.

"Specially made for me." Gregori explained. "Worth quite a lot."

"Why would you put this on the line?" The owner asked. 

Gregori shrugged as his body begged for rest. "My use of the weapon has ended already. I do not need this one anymore." He pulled out the Freljordian axe. "This is enough for me now."

A man in the back asked. "Won the war then?"

"Soundly." Gregori commented as he turned back to the owner. "Is it fine?"

The owner glanced at the weapon and then Gregori. His hand slowly stretched out and grabbed the weapon. A nod.

"Food then." Gregori said as he slumped into the seat.

The man who had checked the weapon asked, "Why not leave with the army?"

Gregori tilted his head, "My children are alone. And it is dangerous."

"Where are they?" Came the follow up question.

"The capital." Gregori answered.

The men seemed confused. "They are the safest in the capital."

He shook his head, "I never said that it was dangerous for them."

A couple of the men looked taken aback but a the others seemed to take it as a joke and laugh.

"Little devils eh?"

A smile crept onto his face, "You'd never even guess."

The tavern fell into small chuckles as they thought about their children as well. Little ones were quite uncontrollable after all.

The innkeeper arrived with the food.

A simple food.

Gregori took a small spoonful, trying it for any amounts of poison.

Clean.

Then he spotted the mushroom.

The poisonous one that was edible when cooked.

He closed his eyes and grit his teeth as he cursed himself. He hadn't used the poison. In his bag, there lay a vial.

A vial of poison from the mushroom.

A small amount would cause minor paralysis. A muscle spasm here. A flinch there. It would be all a warrior or soldier would need to turn the tides of an even battle.

A larger dose would cause a full second or a little more of a halt in movement. A freeze that long in a battle was a death sentence.

But in his adrenaline fueled ego match with Sylas..... he had forgotten it.

The battle would have been so simple of he had just used it.

A simple step he could have slid in right as Sylas came in contact with him. One little action.

Fuck.

He sighed heavily.

"Is it not to your liking?" 

Gregori looked up in confusion.

The innkeeper looked back at him in sadness.

"No. NO." He waved, "It is really good. I was just in thought."

"Well let me know if you would like refills." He reached under and pulled out a mug, "A drink?"

Gregori nodded, "Yes please."

The innkeeper nodded and poured him some ale. "A light ale would do you some good." He slid the drink over as Gregori ate a spoonful of the soup.

"Thanks." Gregori answered as he took a sip of the drink. The bitter refreshing taste had woken him up a little. And then he began gorging himself on the meal.

"Got any tales about the battle to tell us?" Someone asked.

Gregori shook his head, "Nope. I didn't really have the time to observe the state of everyone else. But I did kill a few of them."

The men nodded. It made sense. In the heat of battle it did not seem likely that the man in front of them was laying.

If he had immediately launched into a story, then it would have seemed like he was lying.

"Freljordians?" The innkeeper asked.

Gregori nodded. "They brought with them quite a few Iceborn and a lot of beasts. The mammoths were the actual problem."

"Mammoths?" One man exclaimed, "How did you all face them?"

Gregori shrugged, "I do not know. I just saw them dead. They were dead before I caught sight of them."

At his nearly zero information replies, the crowd lost interest and let Gregori finish his meal and drink in peace.

A key dropped in front of him.

"Third room on the right." The innkeeper pointed up the stairs.

Picking up the keys, Gregori nodded to the man and made his way to the room.

It wasn't anything amazing but it felt homey. There was a small ledge on the window with a cushion, a ledge seat.

The room was clean. 

It was fine.

Gregori placed his alert wards on the room corners and fell into a deep sleep the moment his head hit the pillows.

The next day began with his crossing of the massive river.

From there, he spotted the flying creature.

A couple hours later, the rider landed in the Capital. He pulled out the letters given to him and passed them onto the guards.

They immediately shuffled out bringing the letters to their respective destinations.

Nobles who had received letters began to rethink their plans.

But all of them had one thing in common. A single thought. A common goal.

Keep Gregori in the kingdom.

Keep the strongest mage available chained to the country.

There was only one thing they could do now..... only one option left for them.

His children.

They needed to get their hands on his children in order to force him to stay. Force him to serve them.

Hearing of his performance in the war..... without the use of his weapons.... Demacia deserved a weapon like him.

They deserved a weapon like him.

And it needed to be done within a day. A maximum of two.

It was each noble family for themselves.

Within the hour of reading the letters, nobles across the capital had begun to mobilize their forces. Their assassins and guards. All in order to escort the children into their hands.

"You have a letter." The guard said as he knocked on the doors.

Eileen opened it, "A letter?"

"From the war Milady." He replied as he held it out for her.

She took the letter off the guard and looked at it. The Crownguard crest was in the center.

She pulled out her sword and used the tip to cut the wax open. The letter slid out easily. Her eyes zipped through as she read it.

Her hands trembled as she read the report and then with a tired smile she turned to leave. She stopped, turned around and thanked the guard and dismissed him before heading in.

"Kids!" She called. "Your father won! He will be returning soon!"

Sydell was the first to arrive. He had followed her and stood just around the corner, eavesdropping on her.

He stretched his hand out for the letter.

"No." Eileen said as she folded the letter. "It is not for children to read." 

"Then would you mind it if I read it?" Willa asked as she walked toward her, drying her hands on her apron.

Eileen passed it onto her.

Willa opened the letter and squinted as she began to read.

"I....Is this true?" She asked with shaky hands.