Ionian Nights- Part 4
###Part 4
One day, four hours since champion meeting in the Chamber of the Council...
"Forgive me gentlemen, the master does not usually expect visitors. Nor visitors of your...fame...to grace his halls," spoke the Pupil of Shadows. Through these dark halls the young fellow led Master Yi, Wukong, Lee Sin and Ryota. For someone who is often said as being dangerous, Zed's dojo for any who wished to learn the way of shadow was surprisingly clean and well-maintained. The students were respectful, there was not one bit of bloodshed, it was overall a very grand place.
Lee Sin acted as the group's voice, chuckling and waving a hand. "We do hope we have not intruded, young man. We mean only the utmost respect for Zed and his teachings," Lee spoke, doing his best. In truth there was definitely some animosity for Zed and his ways, Zed's view of balance being almost completely opposite of most Ionians. Still, for both the sake of the mission and avoiding conflict, all four visiting men would stow their disagreements.
For another few minutes the group walked, the pupil lavishing the grand halls with talk of how Zed and his students founded this little temple and how it was considered one's duty to uphold both the way of the shadow and the dojo itself. Still, the entire thing reeked of propaganda and falsehood. There were definitely some questions that would be raised in Zed being a "noble" figure.
"And here is the main room, where Master Zed oversees the more experienced pupils. If you don't mind, please remain silent: Master Zed didn't expect visitors and is actually in the middle of a tutoring session," the pupil spoke before opening the doors. In this small room was one single arena, the boundaries marked with a coarse and thick rope. Following a small staircase with one's eyes, Zed would be sitting in a somewhat regal chair. The main point of interest was inside the arena however. Two students, both wearing similar gis that harkened to Zed's ceremonial armor, stood. They were both sweating profusely, panting heavily. From the look of it, they had been fighting for hours.
"Again," Zed commanded, raising one arm.
The two students flew at each other, assaulting each other from every angle in a flurry of martial arts. The two seemed to have gauntlets similar to Zed's but, guessing ever so slightly, both lacked the retractable twin-blades Zed often used in the League arena. The guests watched this display for five minutes before both students stepped away, panting heavily.
"Again," Zed commanded once more.
This time, however, the student on the left seemed tired of this sparring. When the right student threw a punch, the left student ducked under him. Normally this would leave him wide-open for a counter, but the left student suddenly vanished, leaving behind a ghostly black figure in his wake. The right student barely had time to react before the left student reappeared, pulling a small dagger from his belt and stabbing his sparring partner in the hip. Blood splattered upon the wooden floor as the student crumpled, glaring at his opponent.
"Stop," Zed spoke once more, standing from his seat of power and slowly walking down the steps.
Both students knelt, the injured youth clutching his side as the other one kept his head down. "Master, he broke the rules! You commanded that we fight without weapons or shadow magic and yet he disgraced your command!" The injured student said, still clutching his side. "We were to fight until you deemed us worthy of stopping, no matter how long it took,"
Zed turned to the injured pupil, placing a hand on his head. "You have learned a valuable lesson today, young man. This exercise was a test to see who was willing to win, not how long you could spar for. In that aspect, you have failed miserably. Take this lesson, however, when you train once more: The warrior with honor dies on the field, but the warrior who fights to win returns home the victor."
The injured student glared and nodded, apparently ashamed of his failure while the other student couldn't help but smirk in mischievous glee. "That is all for today. Go seek medical attention, both of you. You have been sparring for upwards of six hours," With that, Zed's pupils bowed to him as he made his way over to the four guests. The guide bowed to Zed, the shadow ninja returning a nod before focusing on the visitors.
"To what do I owe this pleasure? Forgive me for my suspicion but you must comprehend that I do not get many visitors beyond the enlightenment seeking ones," Zed turned and nodded to each of the four, definitely playing up the gracious host role.
Master Yi stepped forward, bowing respectfully as it -was- Zed's temple. "Evening, Zed, but we have a question for you. You see, several days ago members of the Ionian council were attacked, two of them kidnapped and one of them assassinated. We have reason to believe-"
Mid-sentence, Ryota stepped forward, locking eyes with Zed. Zed was a good foot or two shorter than Ryota so it was definitely a staredown between an imposing giant and a smaller (but still imposing) foe. "If you had a hand in this, Zed, you -will- be brought to justice," spoke the shogun, Zed glaring at him for what seemed like an eternity. After this staredown, however, Zed exhaled, turning on his heels and walking back to his seat.
"You should know that despite our. . . different views, Ryota . . . I completely respect the council. It would take a great deal of reward to make me commit to a dangerous strategy like so," Zed said, shaking his head dismissively. "Alas, your accusation has put me in a rather sour mood. It would be best if you four took your leave now."
Ryota stepped forward to protest but Wukong grasped his arm. "C'mon, you've already done enough," Wukong said with the slightest of glares. Ryota huffed angrily, shaking Wukong's arm off of his and turning to leave. As the four turned to leave, Lee stumbled slightly. Accidentally slipping on a bit of the blood one of the students had dropped, Lee knelt down, bracing his arm against the floor before he could faceplant against the hard wood.
Zed peered at Lee in a bit of confusion, Lee chuckling softly and stumbling upwards. "My apologies for seeming clumsy. It is easier to navigate on the fields of justice as a summoner is leading my movements," Lee explained, bowing to Zed as the four moved down the hall and to the exit. Not that they could go other directions with the more senior students guarding the other directions. It seemed that their mission hadn't yielded any success.
Lee paused, mid-trot, has he turned to two of the guards blocking the way. "Excuse me, gentlemen, can one of you lend me your weapon so I may help ease myself out of your home? I am dreadfully sorry, I have my troubles you know," the blind monk explained, Wukong, Yi and Ryota pausing so that Lee may get a walking stick of some kind. The guard exchanged glances before the left one nodded slightly, handing Lee Sin a sheathed blade and nodding to the monk. "Ah, thank you, thank you."
Almost faster than the human eye could track, Lee grasped the sheathed weapon hard and slammed it into the skull of the left guard. Before the right one could even react Wukong's staff slapped the blade right from his hand, Yi dashing forward and swiftly applying the hilt of his blade to the guard's skull. With both out cold, the four quickly ran down the hallway, Lee leading the path.
"I hope you know what you're doing, monk!" Ryota commanded. As the one with the heaviest armor and the largest figure he trailed behind the other three, Yi having to routinely slow his pace so he would not pass Lee mid-sprint. Lee gave a soft nod, making sharp turns and avoiding the guards.
Minutes ago, when Lee had "accidentally" tripped on the student's blood, Lee Sin had braced himself by slamming his open palm into the ground. What seemed like a simple case of a blind man tripping on an unseen object, Lee had actually put enough force into his fall to give the faintest of vibrations, mapping out the entire temple in the span of seconds. There was a reason Lee was often the subject of many League meetings, after all...
"Yes Ryota, I know where we're going. Now if my echolocation was correct..." Lee paused, pressing a hand to what seemed to be a stone wall. He tapped it twice with his fist, nodding to the others. Master Yi drew his blade, breathing softly before making incredibly delicate cuts, slicing through the stone with steel. As the wall gave way, the four found a short hallway with a mighty wooden door, no guards in sight.
The group ran to the door, Ryota forcing it open with one mighty kick. In this dark hallway, cages and prisons lined the walls, naught but small torches to keep the area lit. "My guess is that even the students are unaware of this prison. If the council is anywhere, they'd be here," Yi said. Ryota turned as everyone entered, shutting the door behind them and twisting the handles as best he could to make it impossible to open. "We do not have much time, let us move!"
Ryota ran to the end of the hall, the other three rapidly opening cages as quickly as they could. Some had nothing in them, others hand weak kinkou pupils who had likely been tasked to try and apprehend Zed. Others still had mere skeletons in them, prisoners whose stories would never be told. "WUKONG! LEE! YI! TO ME!" Ryota howled from the end of the hall, the three rushing to meet him at one of the furthest back cells.
Inside, Ryota knelt on the floor, gently lifting the limp body of an elderly man. His clothing torn, his expression wide-eyed with terror, this man had been recently killed. "We did not make it in time, from the look of it, Ozawa was killed mere minutes before we arrived..." Ryota whispered, one hand clenching into a heavy fist.
"The best we can do is-" Mid-sentence, Wukong was cut off by an enraged cry of war. Ryota set Ozawa's body down, slamming through the trio and rushing toward the locked door. "HEY! IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Wukong called, the three having to rush after him as Ryota drew a massive, burning sword. This juggernaut of armor aimed one shoulder forward and rammed his way through the door he had shut closed mere moments ago, wooden splinters flying out as bloodlust and vengeance spread through him like a disease.
As the group exited, however, they found themselves...in a forest. Specifically, the forest they had trekked through to get to Zed's temple. "But...how..." Ryota said, the group walking out with a perplexed look plastered on each of their faces. "Damned shadow magic, quickly, we-"
By the time the three turned around, there was no door. Rather, all that was left was a piece of parchment stabbed to a bamboo stalk in the darkness of the forest. Master Yi reached forward, delicately removing the kunai that held the paper to the stalk and read aloud: "It is extremely rude to spit in the face of a gracious host such as myself. Do not bother looking for the temple again, you shall not be allowed back in. With regards, Zed."
Lee grimaced, shaking his head. Wukong sighed. Ryota took it the worst of all, repeatedly slamming his blade into the ground to get out his fury. Luckily the forest floor didn't catch fire but the outburst was far-from civil. "I...I am sorry, friends. My anger at Ozawa's death is the reason that we could not recover his body. Let us return to the Placidium and inform Karma of what we found," Ryota said through aggravated, panting breaths. With shaking hands he sheathed his blade, stomping down the dirt road which had led them to Zed's temple, Lee following those small shockwaves his heavy footsteps made.
Wukong moved forward to follow but Yi grabbed his hand, confusing the simian pupil. "Master? Something wrong?" he questioned, Yi waiting until Ryota and Lee were out of earshot to speak.
"This is all wrong, my student. Based on what we were told, there are errors in planning too egregious to ignore. Moreso, why would Zed just force us out of his temple instead of attempting to abduct or kill Ryota? What is Zed planning here?" Yi whispered to Wukong, Wukong giving rapid nods with each comment Yi made.
"Whatever the solution, we need to talk to Karma about this in private. My intuition tells me that Zed, or whoever offered Zed payment to do this, has some plan that sinks far deeper than we can see as of now...."
End Part 4
