Chapter 16

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Petra knew they were getting close. The stench of stale water, bogged down moss and weeds filled the night air and the ground slowly became softer and softer. As the moon rose to it's peak they began to loose sight of their destination as it became shrouded in darkness. Mosquito and flies trailed behind them, enjoying the bits of dirt that got kicked up as they quietly navigated the outside of the Noxus swamps.

"What's the plan?" Petra whispered "How are we going to pull this off?"

"We circle the swamp until we see someone. Follow them. See what we can find." Kayn glanced over his shoulder to get a view of the two girls. He wanted to make sure they were close by. He didn't want to risk an invasion.

"And what if they're at the center of the swamp? What if we don't see anything at all?" Petra questioned. She squinted, her eyes straining to see through the fog in effort to avoid the black stains of water that puddled on the ground.

"Then we'll head that way after we've exhausted all other options. I want to get a leg up on them; For now we're going to stay low, stay quiet, and focus on putting our strategy together."

The darkness consumed the swamp. As they neared the very edge of the murky water the trees became thick and the air was sticky and warm. Sweat beaded against Kayn's cold skin and he tried not to let the heavy air suffocate him. He did his best to keep calm for he knew they would likely be heavily out numbered and he knew Petra would almost certainly fail.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Soraka whispered, picking up her pace.

"Anything moving. Anything we can follow back to their camp." Kayn stopped walking, holding an arm out to stop Soraka and Petra as well. "Like that. Get down." He pointed at a figure that was lurking across the water in the shadows. He watched as it paced a few dozen feet one way, then turn and pace a few dozen feet the other way. "Bingo." Kayn whispered.

"So what do we do?" Petra asked, the fabric of her dress absorbing the greenish brown water and seeping through to the skin of her knees. She shivered as the cold set in, giving her an uncomfortable moist feeling.

"We need to get closer." Kayn spoke, his eyes tracing the edge of the swamp for a way over. He spotted a thin patch of land that extended beyond the trees and weaved through the water, but it led directly to where this shadowy figure was protecting. He needed to figure out another way.

Just as he was about the stand, Kayn was lifted off the ground and was suspended in the air. He was turned around to face two glowing yellow eyes and was met with a deep voice seasoned with a thick southern accent.

"What are you doing in my swamp?" Not only did this creature sound terrifying, it was terrifying. Petra and Soraka stayed on the ground, they turned to face the monster that held Kayn in the air.

Kayn had to decide what to do. He noted the thing said my swamp. This may mean that he's not apart of the group that was across the water. Kayn took a deep breath in and spoke. "We' mean you no harm." He lifted his arms to show the creature that he was not holding any weapons and did not intend on reaching for them either.

"Then why are you here?" It spoke deep and slowly, it's yellow eyes glancing down to Petra and Soraka. "If you girls know whats good for ye', stay down and don't move."

"Them." Kayn pointed across the way "They kidnapped our friend. We've just come to get her back."

The creature shifted it's weight then reeled Kayn in so that he was right next to it's face. It took a long inhale in, it's tongue running over it's mouth and down to it's mustache-like whiskers. It seemed to be mulling thoughts over, thinking long and hard about it's next words. "There's a lot of 'em over there." It spoke "Too many for me to eat all at once." It slurped at the saliva that began to drip from it's mouth.

"You've seen them?" Kayn questioned, still hanging in the air.

"Yes. They've been growing in numbers. Keeping me up at night with their screaming and hollering." It furrowed its brow, anger lacing it's voice.

"Why don't we make a deal, then?" Kayn asked "If you get us over there and help us get our friends back, I promise to make all of them leave your swamp."

The creature let out a slow, mocking laugh. "And what makes you think you can win a fight like that, boy?"

"I have my ways." Kayn's eyes both began to glow red, his skin slowly changing pigment, horns beginning to protrude from his head.

"I see." The creature nodded, his other hand reaching around to Kayn's horns. It poked at them for a moment before dropping Kayn to the wet ground. "I'll take you over there, but I want the healer." It looked to Soraka whose eyes grew wide.

"Wh-what?" She pointed to herself "Me?"

"You stick with me. Keep me alive. I don't intend on dying today, girly." It stepped forward, a gleam of moonlight catching it's wet scaly skin.

"Deal." Kayn spoke up before either of the girls could. "Soraka will keep you alive and after we complete our mission we'll part ways. Do we have a deal?" Kayn was still partially transformed, his skin steaming in the humidity of the swamp.

"You gon' make sure all them stay gone now, arn't ya?" The creature leaned close to Kayn, his sheer size was intimidating enough but then he smiled revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth.

"That's part of the agreement, yes." Kayn nodded. "Do we have a deal?"

"I suppose we do. Tahm Kench, I hope it remains a pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself, a large hand reaching up to his head to remove his top hat while he bowed.

"My name is Kayn, this is Soraka, and this is Petra." He glanced over at both the girls. They stood now, stepping forward to shake Kench's big, slimy hands.

"Now..." Kayn began, turning to face the water. "How do we get over there unseen?"

EDITED 11/21/17

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