The Sea of the Watchers

At sunset, a wooden ship slowly sailed away from Harrell Port across the Sea of the Watchers. Though it wasn't especially prosperous, the port was still one of the finest along the eastern coast of Shurima.

On board, Jia Ruo wore a coarse-cloth vest. The muscles in his bare arms were clearly visible.

Compared with four months earlier, when Neeko had found him, he had tanned considerably. His skin was now a lively wheat-brown, and he had grown a few inches taller. Once five foot nine, he now stood just over six feet.

He had Neeko to thank for that. She had taken on Jia Ruo's former appearance, making the changes easy to see side by side.

Jia Ruo's temperament had also shifted from delicate to sunny. His untrimmed beard was a little unruly, making him look more mature—or, perhaps, like an uncle.

A month earlier, he and Neeko had said goodbye to Nidalee and headed east.

It took them more than twenty days to reach the coast.

Once there, following directions from fishermen and travelers, they continued south along the shoreline, taking eight days to reach Harrell Port.

At the harbor, with Neeko's abilities, they had little trouble finding this merchant ship, which was bound for Placidium, Ionia's most prosperous city.

Neeko could clearly sense the captain's feelings. The middle-aged man, with his thick beard and fearsome face, meant them no harm.

When she and Jia Ruo had made the same request to the captains of other ships bound for Ionia—to let them travel aboard in exchange for working alongside the sailors—most had turned them down out of suspicion.

The few who accepted either planned to empty their pockets once they were aboard (though they had no money), then kick them off the ship.

Or, more sinisterly, they intended to sell them to slave traders in Bilgewater, where there were no rules to hold anyone back.

This captain simply happened to be short-handed and figured he had nothing to lose by accepting their offer.

He was practically a saint.

"Jia Ruo..."

A young man who looked remarkably like Jia Ruo tugged at his sleeve. "We don't have to walk anymore, finally. Neeko's feet are about to fall off!"

It was undoubtedly Neeko.

As for why she had taken this form—they told people they were brothers who wanted to go out and see the world.

Jia Ruo was busy following the First Mate's orders to haul up the broad, sturdy sail. As he strained, he said, "Yeah. At least we won't have to sleep out in the wilderness anymore."

Jia Ruo found himself missing their old campsite. They had been weary from sleeping rough and living off the land throughout the journey, and they needed a rest.

Jia Ruo tightened the beast-hide bracer around his right wrist.

Nidalee had made it from Shadow Wolf hide. It looked rough, but it was sturdy and reliable. The shard fit neatly into a groove on the inside of the bracer, and once it was fastened with a thin leather cord, there was no need to worry about the shard falling out.

Jia Ruo was heading to Ionia not only to help Neeko find her people, but also for another reason: Ionia was home to countless schools and many experts, making it an ideal place to find a master who could teach him how to grow stronger.

Whether he wanted to find his way home or simply survive better, power was a prerequisite.

He had been practicing how to control Mana, and had only just begun to grasp the magic of controlling plants. But Neeko wasn't human, after all, and her abilities were entirely innate. All she could offer Jia Ruo was a little advice from her own experience.

To make the best use of any power, one needed to learn the right techniques and receive expert guidance.

The merchant ship had begun sailing smoothly, propelled by the nighttime breeze blowing from the land toward the sea. That was why the captain had chosen to set out at dusk.

"Dinner's ready!"

The cook called out as he tended two large pots, both filled with thick soup made from dried meat and vegetables.

Jia Ruo and Neeko each received a large bowl of soup and a loaf of bread about the length of a forearm.

They would only have vegetable soup for the first few days after setting sail. During the long voyage afterward, oranges would be their only source of vitamins.

The bread was hard, since as much moisture as possible had to be removed to make it last longer.

Jia Ruo and Neeko carried their food to the bow and began eating dinner in the salty sea breeze.

The early-summer evening was already rather muggy, and Jia Ruo loved the coolness the sea breeze brought.

The ship's two dozen sailors, on the other hand, preferred eating on crates on deck with their captain.

After all these years, they'd had their fill of the wind.

"Jia Ruo, I can't eat any more."

Half of Neeko's soup remained, and she had only taken a few bites of her bread.

Jia Ruo, by contrast, had a much bigger appetite than he'd had back on Earth. He had already finished his soup.

Jia Ruo stuffed the last piece of bread into his mouth. The tough bread filled his cheeks until they bulged.

He glanced around and saw that no one was paying them any attention. Then Jia Ruo traded bowls with Neeko and took her bread as well.

"You've got quite a mouth on you."

Neeko lightly poked Jia Ruo's bulging cheek.

It should have been a heartwarming moment, but with her current appearance, it always felt a little strange to Jia Ruo.

Before long, Jia Ruo went over to the cook.

"Could I have some more, old man?"

"Of course! There's plenty!"

Jia Ruo took back his bowl, filled to the brim with soup, and this time he and Neeko sat down among the sailors.

The sailors chatted and bragged in loud voices, but most of their talk revolved around women.

Few sailors who went to sea ever settled down. What woman would want to marry someone who spent most of every year drifting across the ocean?

More importantly, they were poor.

Though the captain treated his crew quite well, sailors who spent at least two or three months at sea at a time would spend every last coin of their wages as soon as they came ashore. Every port had its share of red-light districts and gambling dens, some more openly than others.

Every sailor would indulge their desires and blow off steam there until their wallets were empty and the owners or bouncers threw them out.

Most sailors were like that, unable to save money and caught in the same cycle: work aboard a ship, come ashore with their pay, spend it all, then sign on for another voyage.

Those who could restrain themselves might become small-time farmers or open little shops after seven or eight years at sea.

But people with that kind of discipline and foresight rarely ended up as sailors in the first place, so they were few and far between.

Jia Ruo sipped his soup, only half listening to the sailors' conversation.

Then he heard something that caught his interest.

"I'm telling you, Noxus and Ionia have been fighting for ages. Why are we still sailing to Ionia?"

"Bah, we're going to Placidium. Noxus has only reached Ionia's western coast. It's a long way from there."

"I heard that too," a third sailor cut in. "They say Ionia's got all kinds of experts. Some kind of priestess, I think—she waved her hand and scattered Noxian warships. Those ships had to be bigger and sturdier than our merchant vessel. And there's some Sword Saint who routed an entire Noxian legion all by himself!"

"So what? Noxus wiped out the Sword Saint's whole village. Tch..."

The sailor who had started the conversation picked it back up.

The sailors talked big, not caring about the tragedies taking place in that land. They were only trying to outdo each other with tales of who had heard about the mightiest figure.

When he noticed Jia Ruo looking their way, a shirtless man grinned, showing off a mouthful of yellow teeth. "You're the young fellow heading to Ionia who came aboard today, right? Once we reach Bilgewater, your big brothers will show you the sights."

Jia Ruo hurriedly shook his head, got up, and went to return his wooden bowl.