"The desert, the sunset, this whole thing feels straight out of an old western," Caleb said with a sigh as the day drew to a close.
"There isn't even a river here," Sivir shot back mercilessly.
"Okay, fine, it's the vibe that counts..."
Caleb looked away, suddenly a little guilty.
Why was it that whenever other people quoted poetry, everyone around them praised it like it was brilliant, but when he did it, all he got was people giving him crap?
"Why me?" Caleb said helplessly.
He had memorized so much poetry growing up, especially the really lofty, almost otherworldly stuff.
And yet the people around him were either research-obsessed science nerds or someone as rough around the edges as Sivir.
When other people quoted poems, they got admiration from their peers, approval from their elders, maybe even fame. When Caleb did it, he got dismissed by a sun-bronzed mercenary.
Kai'Sa, who was still petting the cat in her lap, had the kind of look that clearly said, I have no idea what you mean, but I feel like it sounds impressive.
"Renekton, what do you think?"
Caleb turned and called back to Renekton, who was following behind the Skallashi.
"Good!" Renekton's booming voice answered supportively.
But somehow that overenthusiastic approval only made Caleb feel even more bored.
"Misplayed that. I should've memorized all the lore too," Caleb muttered to himself through a mouthful of food.
At his core, he was only an enthusiast.
Besides, after Riot had swallowed the Void Blade enough times to keep changing things on a whim, Caleb had lost interest.
Back in the day, every champion story was basically, this champion did this and that, and then they joined the League of Legends family.
Now everything had turned into separate Runeterra stories.
That shift had completely thrown him off.
So he had gone right back to happily grinding ranked.
And that was a whole different disaster, like the people in charge were phoning it in while the rest of us got sent straight to the graveyard.
As for the high-complexity champions, Caleb simply could not play them, so naturally he never dug that deeply into them either.
Honestly, if he really had known every champion's story inside and out, his path probably would have been even harder.
Why?
Because it was hardly the first time Riot had retconned things.
If Caleb actually trusted the designers' nonsense too much, he might not even know how he died.
Since everyone in the group had physiques far beyond ordinary humans, they decided to push on toward Zuretta through the night.
Caleb had drunk plenty of water during the day, so the cooler air now felt much more bearable.
Worth mentioning, merchant caravans could be found on the road both day and night.
With someone as enormous as Renekton in the group, Caleb and the others did their best to avoid running into people.
Caleb's exact words had been, "That ugly mug of yours is going to scare somebody."
That had left Renekton depressed for quite a while.
Yaanogel had spent the whole afternoon complaining about Caleb too.
"The man was revered by everyone back in his Ascended days, and you just had to go and say the quiet part out loud?"
After hearing that, Renekton had gotten even sadder.
"Hold up..."
Caleb pressed a hand down against the Skallashi beneath him, and the beast obediently came to a stop.
"There's a tribe up ahead."
He had discovered that after his body was enhanced, not only his strength but even his eyesight and senses had improved noticeably.
And after being possessed by Yaanogel twice, his body actually seemed to be changing for the better.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
"That's... a camp?"
Caleb's heart tightened a little.
He just hoped it was not a bandit camp, because that would be a hassle.
"I think... maybe?" Sivir narrowed her eyes and nodded.
Caleb immediately jumped down from the Skallashi and headed off to the side.
"Where are you going?" Kai'Sa asked, confused.
"To take a leak!" Caleb called back without turning around.
Once they reached somebody else's camp, it would be awkward.
"Just ignore him." Sivir rolled her eyes.
Most of the time, Caleb was dependable. Every now and then, though, he had to act a little ridiculous.
"Let's go," Yuumi agreed.
The Skallashi started moving again, with Renekton kept hidden behind them.
If it was just an ordinary merchant group, it would be better to circle around from a distance and avoid causing trouble.
Trailing behind the big Ascended, Caleb had just leaped up, planning to use his huge body as a springboard to get back onto the Skallashi, when he suddenly heard a delighted cry from ahead.
"Taliyah!"
That was Kai'Sa's voice. Caleb could tell that much immediately.
Taliyah? The Stoneweaver?
Caleb brightened at once.
"This is Taliyah," he heard Kai'Sa saying as she introduced her to the woman and cat beside her.
"And this is Yuumi, and Sivir."
Kai'Sa was just about to explain where Caleb had gone when Caleb landed in a dramatic superhero pose.
"...And this is Caleb," Kai'Sa said, looking at him showing off and sounding a little helpless. "He's sort of the leader of our little group."
Caleb stood up and looked at the freckled girl in front of him.
Her complexion was even darker than Sivir's, but there was no hiding the energy and life in her.
"Hi!"
To his surprise, Taliyah stuck out her hand.
"Oh... hi." Slightly flustered, Caleb took it and shook.
Then she did the same with Sivir and Yuumi.
"The one in back is?" Taliyah asked in a low voice. Her eyesight was sharp too.
"That's the Ascended Renekton. We brought him in to help fight the Void."
"He's that strong?" Taliyah's mouth fell open in a perfect O.
"Extremely strong," Caleb said with a nod.
This girl really could talk... no wonder she and Kai'Sa got along so well.
"My people are having a hard time deciding where to move next," Taliyah said, her bright eyes glinting as she leaned a little closer to Caleb. "Do you know anywhere good?"
"Uh..." Caleb paused, then said, "Maybe you could try heading toward the Sun Disc?"
"All right, Taliyah, let's talk inside the camp," Kai'Sa said.
She looked a little unhappy for some reason, and she led Taliyah down from the Skallashi.
Sivir gave Caleb an amused smile, then climbed down with Yuumi too.
Caleb scratched his head and followed after them, completely lost.
"Should I come too?" Renekton asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, come on. It's fine." Caleb waved him over.
As long as Renekton did not lose control, he actually looked pretty imposing if you treated him like an Ascended.
And it definitely made things more convincing.
"So why head toward the Sun Disc?" Taliyah asked, her eyes full of curiosity. "That place should've been abandoned ages ago."
"Azir has awakened," Caleb said bluntly. He knew there was already a legend like that floating around Shurima anyway.
"Ah!" Taliyah clapped a hand over her mouth again.
"The Ascended back there can confirm it." Caleb pointed toward Renekton, who was carrying his massive blade.
"Then I really need to go talk to my people about this."
Taliyah's expression turned serious right away, and she ran off toward the tents.
"Not bad. They'd be the first residents to settle under the Sun Disc," Sivir said with a satisfied nod.
The area around the Sun Disc was simply too barren. Almost nobody went near it on purpose.
But as long as people started living there, the name of Shurima would one day echo across the world again.
"So that's what this is about?" Kai'Sa stared straight at Caleb.
"Taliyah's earth magic makes her the right kind of fighter to help seal the Void beneath Zuretta," Caleb said, recalling what he had seen of Taliyah in cinematics. When she really put force behind it, she could even topple a massive stone statue.
With that kind of strength, one more person meant one more layer of insurance.
"Oh."
Kai'Sa answered with that single gloomy syllable.
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