Chapter 392: Preparations and information
"The tournament will start with a ceremony. Several nations, factions, and individuals will be introduced with speeches from a select few Elders and a High Elder."
Sterling discussed the information he had been able to gather over the past few days. The tournament was a regular event but was known to be full of surprises and upsets. However, as the date of the start approached, more and more information leaked out.
Spies gathered every bit of intel they could find. These were compiled by experienced professionals and merchants with vivid imaginations.
Upon inquiring, Hex learned quite a few fascinating things about the entire intel gathering done by the spies.
He had assumed they broke into the offices of Elders to peek into files. Or that they spend enormous amounts on bribes. These were done, yes, but only by a few served as a minor source, and were often unreliable.
The way true professionals worked, differed from this. Some of them followed the flow of goods, such as tents, drinks, and food to locate the venues.
Others searched for unusual activities. They were looking for anything that deviated from the norm established over a span of a set amount of time. The standard was ten years but why, no one Hex consulted knew.
The movement of Elders, Guardians, and other prominent figures was monitored as well. It made sense why only gambling houses were able to gather enough intel, which they gladly sold to anyone willing to pay. Daily updates were for sale too. Only the merchants could afford to dedicate so many resources to all this.
"Argh," Hestia groaned. She was sitting beside him and listened to Sterling’s information. "Can we skip the opening ceremony? Or the speeches at least?"