[hr][Center][h1][color=ed1c24]Ruby Phoenix Tournament - Day One[/color][/h1][/center][hr]
The night passes without incident as the party finds themselves drawn to sleep in some of the most comfortable beds they had ever felt. The morning soon breaks, and it seems as if all of New Harbor wakes before dawn. Even as the dull orange sun creeps slowly over the eastern horizon, the fishermen have already crowded into their boats. They move swiftly, like blackened silhouettes dancing against dawn’s watercolor pallet, eerily silent except for the shuffling of ropes and oars, and the caws of their trained cormorants. Marthysan greets the party when they rise, already awake and brewing his morning tea, and tells them they need to get going so they won’t be late for the opening exhibition. Finding their way to the Grand Pavilion poses no challenge, who find a steady stream of boats carrying contestants and observers who can afford passage across the bay to the seaside arena, while droves of locals follow the coastal path to the pavilion.

The Grand Pavilion and surrounding fairgrounds lie deep within the cove, and feature a massive and elaborate combat arena specifically constructed for the tournament. Scores of colorful tents cram the grounds spreading from the wood almost to the water. A line of spectators stretches from the Grand Pavilion, waiting to enter the arena. Contestants are given priority, and red- and orange-clad monks usher the eclectic collection of warriors and battlemages into the arena to stand before the Emissary.

Before they are allowed to enter the Grand Pavilion, however, the party must sign an entrance contract before an Abadaran cleric. On the contract, the PCs must write their team name, and the name of each member of the team. They must also each sign their names to the contests’ five simple rules, which are:

• The commands of the Emissary and his agents are to be obeyed at all times, and the Emissary's word is final. None shall take violent action against the Emissary or his agents.
• No contestant may leave Xielan Island until the conclusion of the tournament for any reason.
• Once a round has begun, no contestant may receive any aid, be it magical or mundane, from anyone not participating in the round as a contestant.
• Should any contestant yield to a foe and forfeit the battle, failure of other contestants to honor that forfeit will result in immediate disqualification.
• No contestant shall loot the body of a fallen foe. 
• All contestants agree that there shall be no ties; only one team may be named the champions.

Once each member signs the entry contract (which is mandatory for participation), monks escort them to the fight stage, where they find many other contestants already assembled, each waiting patiently, and watching performer acrobats entertain the growing crowd as the audience files into the grandstands.

In the grandstands, a tenuous hush falls upon the immense and eager crowd. Moments later, the curtains part, revealing the Emissary flanked by the oni Kiang Zhen and the previous Ruby Phoenix Champion, the half-elf paladin Marthysan the Righteous. Behind the Emissary, like motionless statues, stand no less than a dozen qinggong monks—his mystic disciples and bodyguards. As all watch rapt, the Emissary rises and addresses the crowd.

“I am Sifu Xho Nuo—Emissary of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament and guardian of the legacy of Hao Jin, the once immortal sorceress in whose name you are gathered here to battle. To honor the Grandmaster’s legacy, I stand before you to carry out her final will: the thirty-first decennial Ruby Phoenix Tournament. Without further delay, we begin our first round of the contest. May the worthiest win!”

Upon his final words, the crowd erupts into clamorous applause, and the contestants scatter for their respective seats or positions throughout the pavilion. The PCs are escorted by a group of silent usher monks and directed to the center of the fight stage to face their first opponents, the most skilled martial artists of the famed Monastery of the Enduring Spirit in Quain. The party is given a minute to prepare for the combat, at which point the gates will open and the contest shall begin.