Chapter 1
I have no idea how it came to this. All I wanted was to
show him the price of his betrayal by beating him in a one
versus one match. Boy do I regret it now...
After a long and exhausting trip from across the continent I finally managed to arrive at the salon. I had heard a juicy rumor of Twisted Fate's current whereabouts, and I had to confirm it myself. Of course, by the time I would arrive there he would be long gone, but the people in this particular area are not keen on leaving so fast or the booze is flowing and women are as beautiful as ever (depending on how drunk you are). I opened the double doors of the salon and slid in, trying not to raise too much attention. But I soon saw there was no need for that. It was a lively night, much more so than usually. People were singing and shouting, throwing insults at each other and smooching in a corner pretending to be unseen but yet seen by everyone. I ordered two pints from the counter and looked around the packed salon. I looked for the man who had witnessed my archenemy doing some shady business in this part of the town, probably making money by gambling and dealing fake magical artifacts.
After looking for a while I saw a man waving his hand at me. Could he be the guy? Without further thinking I strutted ahead. Dodging the drunken and merry sailors and excusing the frustrated ladies to give way, I was finally able to cross the floor and found myself in a dimly lit corner rather far from the crowd. I took a better look at the man, and I did not recognize him. He wore a red scarf on his head and looked quite old, possibly in his fifties at least. He was your average sailor, possibly a pirate stopping by this port, and happened to see the man I've been looking for ever since his betrayal. Of course, I've seen Twisted Fate in the battle grounds countless of times, but as the rules go a real "death" is not possible while being summoned. When you are summoned to participate in a game set by the summoners, you get bound by an immortality spell that revives you inside the arena whenever you die in the battlefield, but this is not possible in the "outside world". I have no idea how they are able to cast such a spell, but by doing this my idea of revenge gets crushed. I've beaten him many times in battle, lost quite as many if not even more and even had to fight alongside him. It was more infuriating than fulfilling, and thus I continued to look for him outside the league in order to beat him for real. Even though we get paid for battling in the league, I simply can't rest when I know he's still out there doing his evil bidding.
I sat down on the table and bowed my head, laying down my weapon but keeping it close as a precaution. You can never be too sure. The man snorted and took out is pistols, and laid them on the table next to my shotgun. Even though this guy might be a pirate, he does know the proper etiquette of disarming oneself when negotiating.
"So" the man said, in a matter of fact-ish tone, "I can only assume that you are the legendary outlaw Graves, who's looking for a certain man, am I right?" The man liked to go straight to the point, or so it at first seemed. I would have preferred his straightforward answers more, but I felt that if I pressured him too much he would shut his clam for good. The pints I had ordered finally came, and I took a great gulp out of mine. "I am" I answered shortly, and took another sip. I put my pint down and crossed my arms, laying back and listened closely to what he was going to say next. The sailor smirked and took a sip off of his own, putting it down as well and leaning forward. "You do know that sailors don't get paid that much, if you catch my meaning" he half- whispered and gave me a daring look. I sighed and using a slightly irritated tone I said: "Look, I don't care whether you're a sailor or a pirate, or even a spy for his highness King Jarvan the Third, but know that crossing me is he worst thing that could happen to you. You'll get your payment, if you can give me what I'm looking for. And consider it high if he's still around.
This time the sailor laughed heartily at my words, and took another sip of his drink. He leaned back, and looked much more relaxed now. "Alright champ, you win. How did you know about me being a spy though?" he asked in a light tone, not caring in the least about being discovered. I almost spilled my drink all over the table when I heard him say this, and the look of surprise didn't fade from my face for a while. Wait, did I really just find a royal spy? But why the heck would he blow his cover off when I didn't have the faintest idea of his true identity. "I was merely just making a point, but wouldn't it be bad for you to reveal your true self to a guy like me, in a place like this?" I asked the man, but he still didn't seem fazed. "Yes I suppose you are right, but you know, this will be the last night I'll be in this cover anyway. Tomorrow morning you wouldn't recognize me no matter how hard you'd try to look for me. I am that good." he said calmly, and I couldn't help but believe his words. Demacian spies must be good, but nothing could beat a Noxian one. He didn't say whether he was from Demacia or Noxus, but I didn't care. All I came here to do was to get information on Twisted Fate. But I still couldn't help wondering what was a royal spy doing around here, helping out a renowned Bilgewatian conman and a champion of the League. Maybe he wasn't after a monetary reward. Did he want information as well? I scratched my chin in an apprehensive manner, but soon shaked the thoughts away. No, I've got to focus, I need that information. "We're getting sidetracked here. I need to confirm what you tell me before paying you, but you are free to stick with me until then. How does that sound?" I threw the offer at him, and he gave it a thought. He finished his drink and I finished mine as well, hoping that we would come to an agreement. If he refused, this could take a while, and I surely didn't have that long. If he's still around, he must've already heard of my arrival and decided to flee, so I must be quick. I started to get nervous again, feeling the blood stirring and sweat forming on my forehead. After a while he gave me a light nod, indicating agreement and I let out a relieved sigh. "Well, shall we go then? I can show you where he is right now if you'd like to." I hastily rose from my chair and grabbed my trustworthy gun, and scoured my pockets for some change to pay for the two pints. Before I could lay down the money he had already put down a bill, and shook his head. "It's my treat". I thanked him and we set off into the night streets of Zaun.