[center][h2]Hyrule Castle City, Inner Wall District[/h2]
[h3]Morning[/h3][/center]

The entire square was being used for the tournament, there were two stages, Stage A and Stage B, one on each side of the fountain in the middle, with a statue depicting the Goddess Hylia. Looking at it from the front with Hyrule Castle behind the fountain, the stages were set on the left and right side, while an announcement platform was set up against the fountain, with a bigger balcony on the front where a majority of the crowds would gather. Currently everyone's attention was focused on that announcement platform.

[i][b]"Welcome Hylians and all, to the first set of the Hyrule Combat Tournament! Today here in Hyrule Castle City the jewel capital of the kingdom itself, we will find out who is the strongest warrior within the region of Hylia! That's right, the strongest in this region! But we won't be stopping there, after this we'll find out the strongest in Eldin, Faron, Lanayru, Gerudo, Akkala, and even Snowpeak! And when that is all said and done, we'll return here again for the Grand Finals! Featuring the strongest from every region to find out Who. Is. The Strongest. IN ALL OF HYRULE!"[/b][/i], the crowd's cheers were deafening as the MC introduced the tournament to everyone. It was roughly the same every year though, but the energy never waned regardless.

[b][i]"Rrrright now our contestants are getting up on stage! From now to two clicks past noon, we will be running qualifying matches! We have a lot of contestants so this time around we're running this tournament in two sets. The Preliminaries, where all the contestants will be matched against each other in a rapid elimination to narrow down for our notorious Eliminations round. Yes the one you've all been waiting for! The Eliminations will be done in a traditional tournament fashion where contestants are pitted against one another, fighting to climb to the top!"[/i][/b], the crowd cheered once more, but ended rather quickly as he continued.

[b][i]"Throughout the Preliminaries however, new contestants are allowed to sign up, however do not be too late, otherwise we may have to reject your entry because it'd simply be too late. I will return to announce the Eliminations when they start, so everyone, please enjoy this year's entrants, look at them, size them up, and place your bets when you feel confident in a certain fighter!"[/i][/b], and with that, the flashy-coated man left the stage, letting festivities resume.

Sure enough, anyone who registered was walking towards any of the two stages. It was as said, the organizers would tell who was up, and then the two would briefly fight. Considering these were just preliminaries, it became quite apparent who was going to make it to the Eliminations, as those contestants defeated their opposition with little trouble, if not effortlessly.


[hr]
[center][h2]Hyrule Castle City, Inner Wall District Guard Station[/h2]
[h3]Morning[/h3][/center]
[@Sen]

[i]"Huh? We didn't hear anything about-... Hmmm"[/i], the guard captain took a moment as if considering. Sure enough the attire that the Zora wore was that of the guards in Zora's Domain, but that wasn't his concern right now. The Zora was offering to help. He straightened up over the table and stepped out from the counter.

[i]"Alright, yes you're right, we're stretched pretty thin and could use all the help we can get. Times are tough since the Cult of Ganon began to become popular again as of late, so the Templars are out witch hunting rather than focusing their efforts here in the city, so it's become easier for criminals to move around"[/i], he began.

[i]"I'm not sure what it's like in Zora's Domain, and by protocol I'm not even supposed to let you help us as we're meant to treat you like civilians, but if anyone asks it'll be 'international cooperation', and you're also from the guard in Zora's Domain right? I hope that's true because that'd make the excuse easier"[/i], the guard captain seemed an easygoing guy, though he kept a firm stance. He reached over behind the counter and grabbed a few papers and began reading.

[i]"So... Basically we got a lead. Big operation is going down today, seems they're also all meeting up to review their plan. We only know this because one of their rats were squeezed hard enough to speak. We don't know where though, only their leaders know. We only know of two leaders, 'Gaunt Grant' and 'Sewer Steve', I'm not sure who comes up with these names but they sound like really terrible superheroes. I have dossiers on them, but I can't give them to you. I'll ask someone to get the documents out and you can read them over on the table there",[/i] he said, clicking his fingers as a guard standing by at the door behind him entered what seemed to be the room with all the files. Shortly after he emerged with very few files.

[i]"See to them as you like. We don't actually have much on them, so take in what information you can",[/i] and with that the guard captain went back to his seat by the counter, reviewing some other documents. As Nikou would pass it seems like the standard permissions and complaints, as well as patrol routes and reports.

As Nikou would peruse through the documents, the most information came up for Gaunt Grant. The guy was old so this was natural, more or less it was more suspected involvement, but there's a lot of evidence that suggests he is in the smuggling ring. The more solid lead though is Sewer Steve. The note says that the one they interrogated on this was one of his underlings too... All the interrogation details are here, but nothing points to a location. Looks like he might have to do some hunting. His name is 'Sewer Steve', so maybe his nickname is related...? As for Gaunt Grant, he seemed a little untouchable right now, no tells of his location or what he did.