Revolutionary (Part 2/5)
The carriage ride was about the same as any ride Lux had taken before: Slow, uneventful and only good for looking out at the landscape passing by her. It had been nearly a day since they had left, the duo and their driver having stopped at a town just outside of Demacia for the evening. Despite the rather wonderful accommodations from both the inn and the carriage itself, Lux’s travel partner wasn’t the talkative or jovial type.
On the other side of the carriage, across from Lux, lay C flat on his back, one hand was over his face, the other arm hanging off the side of the seat. He smelled faintly of alchohol and had one foot pressed to the window. They hadn’t spoken much at all, Lux keeping quiet in the presence of this stranger. She didn’t feel the urge or desire to speak to him.
The carriage rocked from hitting a rock in the path. Lux was jarred upward from the impact, quick to fix her outfit of wrinkles once she landed. C, conversely, bounced up and hit his head into the back of the seat. A low, groggy groan came from the Ionian as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “Son of a bitch, this ride sucks compared to the ship…” he muttered. C pinched the bridge of his nose with his clawed fingers, trying not to pierce flesh with the dangerous gauntlets.
Now awake, the two once more sat in silence while C collected himself. He looked out the window, recoiling from the sun hitting his half-lidded eyes. He ruffled his hair, making it nice and disheveled. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a cigarette. Lux’s eyes fell to his hand, eyeing the vice. C was quick to notice her eyes wandering to the stick, pulling another one out and offering it to her. “You smoke?”
“Oh. No. I do not smoke. No sir.”
“Mmm, alright then,” C muttered, sticking it into the corner of his mouth. “…Hm. Windows go down?”
“No sir.”
“Piss,” he muttered, keeping the unlit cigarette in his mouth. The carriage once more fell into silence until C locked eyes with her. “So are you gonna talk to me at all during this trip or are all Demacians this quiet?”
Lux fidgeted, hand grabbing for her staff. “No, no I’ll talk. I just…don’t have much to talk about is all.”
Crimson eyes narrowed at Lux, noting her shift before he shrugged. “Then how about you tell me about this guy? Whazzizname? Sylas?”
A pang of guilt overcame Lux’s face, her expression turning sullen as it had in Jarvan III’s presence. “Yes. Sylas. He was a Demacian prisoner for several years. His crime was abuse of magic and killing his handler.”
“…Handler. So an animal or just treated like one?”
“No, not at all…He’s-“ Lux’s expression was a maelstrom of emotions. It was clear this topic held great significance for her. Lux, noting the awkward silence, shook her head and tried to force the most neutral expression possible. “My apologies. Sylas is a powerful enemy. Physically imposing and capable of swinging Demacian chains with ease. He’s also a magus with the ability to steal and redirect spells. Anything magic you have is just another arrow in his quiver to use.”
C shrugged. “It’s a one-to-one copy? Good AND bad effects?”
“I wouldn’t know. I assume so.”
C rolled the unlit cigarette from one corner of his mouth to the other. “…And what do you know about him?” His gaze hardened. “Out of everyone who could have come along on this vacation, they sent you. Either everyone else can’t stand me, very friggin’ likely, or you know something about this guy.”
The half-lidded eyes and twitch of her mouth was all C needed. Lux took a deep breath before continuing. “Sylas and I- I thought we were friends. I brought him books and spoke to him. He was just using me though. I thought he was different. I thought that maybe, just maybe, if I teach him about the world he’ll have a change of heart. I thought-“
“Wrong. You thought wrong,” Lux’s thoughts were interrupted as she looked up at C, her fist clenching on the seat. “But, eh, don’t worry about it. I’ll punch him for you.”
Not at all happy about being mocked for her failure, Lux was quick to fire back. “With all the respect I can give you,” she started, hoping he wasn’t so dense he missed the jab, “You’re from what I’ve seen just an above-average strength person. I don’t see much tactical merit unless you’re a meat shield. In which case, this is more Noxian strategy than Demacian.”
Before C could respond the carriage ground to a halt, the horses shifting. Their driver, a meek but earnest man, knocked on the window. “Excuse me, we have a problem.”
Both occupants of the carriage exited, coming out into the middle of a forest. In front of them was an overturned wagon of sorts, a few individuals blocking their path. With disguised faces, it was clear to all that they were of questionable repute. “Brigands? Out here?” Lux muttered, mind racing. “Guess we’re far enough from the capital that this is an issue.”
“Ahem!” All eyes turned to who seemed to be the leader, a sickly man juggling a dagger. It was ornate, well-crafted and likely stolen. “Hello lady and gentlemen!” His free hand reached up, scratching his balding scalp. “Pardon our mess. We’re just road-workers trying to move this overturned wagon. We’re just waiting on payment.”
Lux’s eyes narrowed. “Payment? So you’re extorting us?”
“What? No! Mugging is for Noxians. We’re, how you say, valued members of Demacia working the road.” Low snickers came from all around the man in the lead. Lux did a quick headcount, placing their numbers at around ten. Perhaps more hidden. They were outmanned. Already she was doing calculations in her head, planning how to handle this. Even with her magic, the odds were stacked against them.
C, oblivious to the strategy Lux was planning, walked forward.
The brigands were taken aback by the hulking man moving forward, rubbing his face with one hand. “So you guys just need this moved?”
Daggers, swords, a spear and one board with a nail in it were shoved towards C, the leader of the group looking down at C from atop the overturned wagon. “Yes sir. Just waiting on payment. We could do a trade too. Such as those stellar gauntlets. Weird steel though. Bit malformed. Might need more to compensate for our job.”
“Mmm, naw. We’re good.”
C wrapped one metal hand around the wheel of the wagon as the brigand leader looked on in confusion. Then, in a single fluid motion, the Ionian lifted his right arm upward, gripping the wheel axel overwhelming force. The leader fell to the dirt just in time to witness C throwing the wagon with one hand to the side of the road. Red veins snaked up his arm, gauntlets pulsing. “What- what the hell ARE you!?” The brigand leader cried, pointing the dagger at C with a quivering hand.
Refusing to answer, C turned to Lux. “You asked why I got picked for this? Y’want me to show you?”
Lux had noted parts of him, yes, but never as a collective. The massive, deep red scar across his chest. The oversized veins running up his arm. The worst was his expression as he spoke; It was almost begging. Taunting. Pleading for Lux to say yes. He was a caged animal, bound by her words and her words alone. The moment she gave C even the slightest approval, he’d brutalize these men until he grew bored. It wouldn’t be a fight. It’d be a massacre.
Lux was going to say no but the decision was made for her by the brigand leader. The lanky leader rushed forward, jamming the ornate dagger into C’s back. His grin widened, showing off crooked teeth as he felt the hard catch of bone. He may have been strong but a knife in the spine was enough to stop anyone.
C turned to face his assailant. The brigand leader etched the wild, overjoyed grin in his mind just before C’s fist impacted his temple, sending the man soaring into the forest. Lux’s eyes went wide, covering her mouth. It didn’t take an analytical mind to understand that the brigand was well beyond dead. The others backed away, stammering in shock at the sight of their leader being murdered.
Metal fingers snapped as C lifted his thumb to his face, a dull flame around the metal. He held the light from the gauntlet to his cigarette, taking a long drag before exhaling smoke from the corner of his mouth. “So am I showing you or what?” he asked again, C locking eyes with Lux. He didn’t even acknowledge the other men around him.
They didn’t need another warning. Like cockroaches the men went scurrying back into the forest, some dropping their weapons. The carriage driver was stunned, having watched something out of a folktale. “I- We can…way…go…we can go now…” he stammered, clutching the reins with an iron grip.
“Naw, gimme a sec’ to finish. Might as well smoke while we’re stopped.” C walked over to Lux, motioning to his back. “Mind giving me a hand? Can’t reach back there.”
Breaking out of her own stupor, Lux realized the dagger was still in his spine. “Won’t it hurt?”
C shook his head, scratching the stubble on the left side of his face. “Just yank. I don’t feel pain. Mostly.”
Lux took a deep breath, looking at the wound. She was no medic but from the shape, it was embedded deep within his skin. Lux reached over, grabbing the dagger’s handle with little hesitation. The tear in the back of his coat gave way to a magnificent back tattoo of a phoenix, all admiration for the art gone as she closed her eyes. With all the force she could muster, Lux tore the blade from his spine. She stumbled backwards, eyes opening to look at the dagger. Steam rose from the blade’s edge, the wound on his back having sealed shut. It was like nothing happened save for the missing part of the tattoo. “It’s done.”
“Appreciate it,” He said, leaning on the carriage. “M’almost done but yeah. That’s why your pals called me. I hit like a steam engine and I don’t get knocked down.”
“Those big things in Piltover and Zaun?” Lux asked, C nodding in response. “I see. I’m a little shocked that you-“
“Didn’t hesitate. Yeah, I figured.”
Lux shook her head, C looking confused. “I’m shocked that you put yourself in danger. A common thug would have sided with the brigands. I wonder why they were robbing though. They had to have a reason, correct?”
A long sigh came from C’s lips as she said this. He dropped the half-smoked cigarette out of his lips, using one foot to put it out. Lux looked down, seeing metal boots ending in claws stamping out the dull flame. “Don’t be one of those types…What’s your name? Lux?”
“Luxanna Crownguard. I guess this is the first time we’ve exchanged names.” Lux offered a hand, a little calmer now that he seemed to have some personality beyond that horrifying lust for combat.
“C. Just C.” He didn’t bother to shake her hand, looking at her. “Again, don’t be one of those types. M’not a good guy. Only thing different between this Sylas guy and me is that I’m doing this for a paycheck and he’s doing it for reasons I don’t get. Some mage crap.”
Lux’s gaze looked to him, as if studying. She tapped one hand to her chin. “I don’t believe that. You’re willing to help a kingdom not your own, even if for profit. There’s a little spark of good in every-“
“Spare me that shit,” he grumbled, rubbing his hair. “Think what you want. I’m here for gold and nothing more. Let’s just hurry up.” C opened the door of the carriage, climbing back in as he returned to the sleeping position he had been in earlier.
Lux looked to her baton. Her eyes focused on a dull light that appeared at the end of the staff, making her heart surge with emotions. She didn’t want to be wrong. There had to be good in him. In those brigands. There had to be good in even the worst in this world.
If Sylas was even one bit like the brigands or, worse yet, C? There might be worse problems to deal with than just a boorish traveling companion.