Sunlight beamed over the decks of the large sea ferry. Willow sat up against the main mast as sailors, waiters and travellers went about their business, either sweeping decks, hoisting ropes, patrolling drinks and snacks around, or talking loudly over the waves and wind.
The Head Hunter would reach The Floating City a day after the Duel Tournament ends, there were no faster ways of making it before. Still, even after the end of the competition, the duellists should remain in the city for the celebrations and parties that often followed the main event. Willow would still be able to track and recruit her desired target, though she had not yet chosen who that would be. She had not even read over the information broker's scrolls, choosing to take a more relaxed attitude while travelling. She had spent more time ensuring that her horse would be well housed while she was away. Now was as good a time as ever to start reading, she thought.
Reaching into a satchel, Willow retrieved the intelligence she had bought and proceeded to finger through the many sheets of crinkled paper. So who's our first candidate? She singled out one of the pages randomly and read.
“Captain Deluge. Male. Spear-man of the Hattsu Academy.” They're usually decent. Looks like he specialises in coastal defence and small troop command, and his single combat record is impressive, he's defeated over 30 challengers at the Hattsu Academy. Deluge, can you do what Fay wants? Willow scanned over the document quickly, sucking air through her teeth unconsciously. Here we go. “Tackled fifteen coastal raiders when his troop was ambushed in the Greenlands. Was brought down by bow and arrow after defeating eight raiders.” He's more impressive than the average Soldier, but I'm not seeing the draw on this one. Willow quickly read through the remainder of the profile and was surprised at the end. What's this? “Defeated deftly by Six Hands at the Hattsu Adademy.”
Six Hands? I'm sure he's in here somewhere. Willow put away the previous profile and flicked through the rest, recovering a particular page. “Six Hands. Male. Monk of the Spirit Temple.” This time she tried to read without skipping over the details. “Practised as a Spiritualist under the guidance of The Spirit Temple. Before advancing to Monk Job Class, proved himself in several unarmed duels within the Temple, victorious over all. After advancement to Monk Job Class, was challenged by the ace student Philip, yet the match was halted due to internal Temple politics.
“Began his Warrior's Pilgrimage with the greatest success and continues to do so today. Six Hands' most notable battles include duels against three Fire Breather sisters, Anoch, Hildae and Faeya, in which he was victorious; the Knight Sir Marko Smalls, in which he was victorious; the Rifleman John Highbone, in which he was victorious; the Fire Dancer Captain Santanda, in which he was victorious; the Diamond Dancer Yurash, in which he was victorious; the Swordsman Daichi, in which he was victorious; the Monk Hollow Heart, in which he was victorious; the Spear-man Captain Deluge, in which he was victorious, the Spear-man Captain Kainda, in which he was victorious.”
This guy is very-very impressive. She read on. “It is noted that all duels won by Six Hands have been without the use of weapons, armour or Monk abilities.” Incredible... But there's nothing here about him on the battlefield. Willow knew that expert duelling did not necessarily transfer to battlefield effectiveness, she moved on and randomly picked out another profile.
“Li Tsun. Male. Striker. Trained as a Scrapper and then Grappler at the Fighting Pits in Hurdland. Chose to travel from west to east in order to challenge the fire users of the Fire Pits. Won several high profile duels against Hurdland champions, including the Knight Bronze John, in which he was victorious; the Knight Sir Ackerman, in which he was victorious; the Bowman Ferris Glover, in which he was victorious, and the Wrestler Little Boppa, in which he was victorious.
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“Li Tsun's reputation allowed his entry into the Fire Pits where he was granted the opportunity to train and gain experience duelling students of the school. As his first duel at the Pits, Li Tsun battled the Amaratese Commander, Princess Ashara, and lost decisively. Apparently this defeat spurred Li Tsun on, his training increased and his duels at the Fire Pits were all victorious on his part. These duels included opponents such as the Fire Dancer Che Hamara, the Fire Dancer Su Lin, the Flame Pitcher Banu Azar and the Fire Dancer Georgio Lange.”
Nothing about his ability to tackle troops on the field. Another dead end for me. Willow took a deep breath and closed her eyes, a moment to rest them. It was the sound of clinking mugs that brought her out of a shallow doze. Her eyes widened and she yawned. I should probably log, get some sleep. Willow stretched her arms and spine, the paper she was holding caught the breeze and several sheets slipped from her fingers, gliding over the deck. Willow was quick to follow, gathering up what she had dropped. A handy NPC waiter picked up a fleeing page and pushed the piece into her hands before walking away to complete his errands.
That was close. Willow crawled back to where she had been sitting and fought off the urge to yawn and stretch a second time. She flicked through the profiles, ensuring they were all safely retrieved. When she came across Six Hands' profile, she noticed that one of the top corners was damaged, the paper was peeling. Without much concern, Willow flicked the corner before looking for the next profile to read. The corner proceeded to fall away more, revealing text. She looked much closer and pulled away the new layer behind the other. The damage was not damage at all, it was another profile page, one not discussed by the Broker. The page had become stuck to Six Hands'.
Willow pulled it free, pressed it against her knee and rubbed away the wrinkles. She read. “Jerry. Male. Swordsman. Trained as a Soldier in the Livapool Academy. Went to war for Churash but defected after meeting the Knight Cairo, who would later win the seat of Supreme Leader of Hurdland. Jerry then battled Churashi raiders and trained in the Garroway City Academy until reaching the Swordsman Job Class. Jerry was one of the leading fighters behind Cairo's coup d'état against the old government of Hurdland. A destructive battle in the capital, Garroway City, ended with Jerry and Cairo facing the old guard of Garroway's palace. The two gained victory against thirty guards comprised of Knights, Swordsmen and Riflemen.”
This is more like it! Willow was enthralled. But why haven't I heard of this guy before? “After the rise of Cairo, Jerry took his leave of the Capital and was not seen until a year later fighting in the world Duel Tournament. It was in this single event that Jerry defeated every foe until yielding in the semi final match to Li Tsun. Jerry's motives for bowing out have not yet been discovered.
“There have been several accounts of Jerry's exploits between his disappearance from Hurdland and his re-emergence. It is said he has defeated several players of high level and elite Job Class. One account suggests that Jerry has defeated the only known Cloud Diver in single combat, though this is unconfirmed. It is noted that Jerry is yet to advance to any advanced Job Class on the Swordsman progression, despite his play time and overall experience that no doubt has given him the ability to do so.”
This is incredible. Slack jawed, Willow read the last remaining passage. “In our estimation, Jerry is classed as an elite player, as powerful as those most revered in the world.”
I've found my man. Only... Willow had her doubts. He already has a history with Hurdland, he left for a reason. Would he rejoin? I don't know, but I have to try... Her lips parted and she whispered. 'As powerful as those most revered in the world.'