Strongharbour was busy with people coming into Hurdland from all over the world. Fayyim's award was turning into a parade, a festival, and everyone was interested. Willow watched as scores of people passed the window and made their way together out of the city and north to the capital, Garroway City.

The store she was standing in was wall to wall with glass fronted shelves, paper scrolls were neatly stacked within. A small wooden chandelier with four candles illuminated the room where the daylight coming through the window failed. A bespectacled man sat behind a glass and wood display counter, a doorway led to store rooms behind him, where people could be heard working beyond.

'Terrible time for a party.' Willow said as she gazed out of the window.

The man in his crisply pressed trousers and shirt was flicking through a number of unrolled scrolls on the counter. His gaze never once diverted from the job at hand. 'It's the perfect time. Word is that Cairo is using The Red Front's recent victories and award ceremony to make a show of force. The Red Front, The Order of the Silver Ram, Field Marshal Demshir and his personal retinue, as well as a large number of regular troops will all be paraded in front of the Garroway nobility, as well as some choice invites from every major region in Hurdland, and ambassadors from Amaratsu, Churash and Spirit Island.'

'The Silver Rams will surely put the fear of the Gods into Amaratsu, that I'm sure of.' Willow turned to the clerk. 'I can't see the Churashi ambassador being moved much by all of this though.'

'That's why Cairo is having Admiral Demshir choke the neck of River Deep.'

'Wow, the fleet is going up river?'

'Indeed.' The gentleman smiled while flipping a scroll over on to another pile and reading from a fresh parchment.

'The brothers Demshir both at Garroway...' Odd, that they're pulling High Commanders from the field... Anyway. 'Why are delegates from Spirit Island going to be there? Aren't they covered by Amaratsu?'

'Officially, yes. But Spirit Island claims to be a sovereign state, while Amaratsu claims otherwise. There's been some contention between the two for a while, especially with the promotion of this Prince Philip to High Commander of the Amaratsu military. Spiritualists of the Spirit Temple aren't supposed to take sides in the war, they're pacifists up until a point, only taking action when it is completely justified and without recourse.' He paused to read something of interest, once done, he continued. 'There's no information about Hurdland's intention, but I personally think that Cairo is hoping to bring the Spiritualists on side.'

'Is that even possible?'

'Maybe. With the land dispute and the insult of Amaratsu raising one of the island's Monks, traitor or not, up to such a high position of power, the Spirit Temple may well seek to regain their honour through war.' The man looked up from his work to Willow. 'And may the Gods have mercy on those who the Spiritualists and Monks oppose in open battle.'

They can't be that powerful... Can they? She thought to herself before shaking off the conversation and getting back to business. 'Anyway, have you got anything for me?'

'One second...' The clerk finished reading from a scroll and then placed it down in one of the many piles he had been building on the counter. 'I have three groups for you to choose from.'

'OK.'

'The first pile is of powerful warriors from rival nation's armies, those who I am sure would defect for the right price. Not so honourable, but their ability is proven.'

'Right.'

'The second pile are people who are part of other Hurdland armies, those who may jump ship to the Red Front. They meet your criteria to the letter. The third pile is of neutral warriors who may or may not join you, that is your choice and your job to make it happen.' The man smiled. 'What will it be?'

'Give me the third pile.' Willow was quick to answer.

'What? Just like that?'

'Just like that. The first two piles have way too much drama attached, too much political baggage.'

The clerk took up the first two piles and placed them on a table behind him. 'You're a smart girl, Willow.' He grinned.

'So, let me have it, who are my choices?'

'Gold first.' The man held out his hand. 'We Brokers won't make money giving this information away for free.'

Willow pulled a leather pouch from her belt and handed it to the clerk. 'Take what you need and then use the rest to put me in credit will you?'

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

'I sure will!'

'Let me have it, Arthur.'

The man pulled the string on the pouch and peered inside. 'Sure.' He placed the pouch out of sight under the counter and fingered through the pile of scrolls on the table, the leafs of cream paper wrapping around each other. 'This is not a long list. First we have a man named Li Tsun, a Scrapper of great renown.'

'I know the name.' Said Willow.

'Many do. He may be willing to take on your job.'

'A Scrapper seems slightly underpowered.'

'Don't judge the job, judge the man. This particular man is unbelievably strong.' Arthur, the clerk, fingered through the pile. 'Next is a Knight called Sir Daniels.'

'I thought you said this list didn't include Hurdland men?'

'It doesn't.'

'Sir Daniel's is a Hurdland Knight.'

'Silly girl, not as smart as I thought.' He smiled. 'Sir Daniels is a mercenary, and right now he is in the market for work.'

'You learn something new-'

'Every day, yes.' Arthur moved on. 'This next one might be difficult, considering the current climate. It's right up your alley though, I know you like a challenge. Poor Mokoe was proof of that.'

'You heard about that?'

'Did he really blow up a tavern, by accident?'

Willow laughed. 'He... May have.'

'And you presented this man to Admiral James?'

'Mokoe may be prone to causing accidents, but he is also very capable when under pressure. He'll do the Admiral proud.' Willow gestured. 'Moving on. Who is this problematic candidate?'

'Yes.' Arthur cleared his throat. 'This one they call Six Hands-'

'Someone I haven't heard of.'

'Not many have, but his reputation is growing quite quickly. As far as I can gather, he is a wandering duellist who is known to be entirely undefeated in the north of Amaratsu.'

'A Duellist might not fit the bill, unless he's a particularly good swordsman.'

'Not a Duellist.'

'You said Duellist.'

Arthur scowled. 'I didn't mean Duellist in the job sense, I meant duellist in the lifestyle sense. He travels around and duels powerful opponents, or so I'm led to believe.'

'What is he then?'

The man laughed. 'He's a Monk.'

Willow was not amused. 'After what we've just spoken about, you give me a Monk?' She waved her hand. 'No, I'll pass on him.'

'You've already paid for this intelligence, don't throw it away so easily. He's particularly interesting.'

'How so?'

'He's the first Monk I know of to take action against Amaratsu.'

'Seriously?' Willow placed both hands on the counter, leaning in to listen closely.

'From what we know, he attacked a number of Amaratese Spear-men in Chira and then completely demolished one of their rising star Captains in single combat.'

'Nice.'

'He may well be the perfect candidate if he has for sure taken up arms against Amaratsu. And if his progression is to be sponsored, he could reach the level of Meditative Monk, able to boost the attributes of his allies more than twice over.'

'Wouldn't this cause issues for Hurdland, taking one of Spirit Island's Monks on board? It's the same insult given to them by Amaratsu.'

'That's not for me to say.'

Fayyim... I can't put her in a hard position. 'I'll have to think about it.'

The man shrugged. 'Your choice, but let me see if I can't help you make it. Li Tsun and Sir Daniels are both at Floating City. There is a duel tournament due to start any day now. It will last the week and then they are likely to move on. Head there quickly to find them. The Monk? No one knows where he's going. Some think he's heading south now, others say he was seen boarding a boat to the west. I personally think he's worth your time to search for, though it is a bother.'

'Yeah...' What to do? 'I'll likely head to Floating City, see if I can catch the other two before they depart, I won't make the tournament on time.'

'It's sold out anyway.'

'Just my luck.' Willow took possession of the three scrolls that contained the player profiles and made to leave. 'I can't wait around, work to do. Thanks-'

'Not so fast.' Arthur motioned her back.

'What's up?'

The man looked at and under the counter, like he was missing something. He looked at Willow's hands and then shrugged. 'Don't worry about it, it's fine, sorry.'

'Fine.' Willow waved and then left the Broker's Office. 'Take care, Arthur, see you around.'