[IC] New Years Festival: Eating Contest

[Linwelin]

Finally, the next set of contestant gathered once more, pushing past any inhibitions over the strange food being prepared. Besides the guild members that had stepped up, three more appeared from the audience. This time, however, they appeared much more average than the round before. It seems that the strangeness of the previous round had gotten to the general populace in attendance, leaving only the more resolute figures to step forward. Or maybe it was fear over how intensely competitive the past round had actually ended up. Either way, the announcer was grinning, "At last, more brave epicureans have gathered. I commend you all! But your bravery must be met with some form of challenge, should it not?" Once again, a devious smile crept across his face, but it suddenly turned gentle.

"How about a steak?" He asked simply, leaving a scene of silence for a moment. As the simple question sunk in, it looked as though the faces in the crowd expressed...disappointment?

Finally, someone calls out, "Just regular steak?" There were murmurs discussing this turn of events. But the announcer continued to smile unsettlingly.

"Finally you begin to ask the real questions! Now why would we prepare anything so plain, so unembellished as cow?" He paused for effect as he let loose the rhetorical question. "No no no~! I'm not so cold as to refuse you your entertainment! Though, the prey this meat is from certain was rather chilling." The announcer signals to the staff, and they wheel out the next dish. Upon receiving the plate before you, you see a single, 10 by 5 by 1 inch cut of a rather odd meat. It was a purplish-red color, despite seeming to be fully cooked. And by far, the strangest part was the sheen in gave off. Whatever was coating it did not seem to be a chef's work, but rather the natural juices. It was as though it glazed itself with some sort clear sauce, which seemed to tinge it white.

"What we have here is not cow, but frost worm!" he flourished his hand, motioning to the plates. "This huge arctic creature was quite the vicious catch, and we felt it was only right to pay back the hardship it gave us but cooking it up. Well let me tell you! Even that was a hardship. You see, the blood is magically enhanced to always chill, and yet the flavor of it is rich, making it wasteful to drain the meat of blood. Thus, after cooking it, they needed to be plated on magically enhanced plates that continued to keep the meat just above room temperature. I cannot say the same for when it is being swallowed, however. Best eat it fast, lest you lose feeling in your mouth and throat!"

"BEGIN!"

Truth be told, for something that was supposed to be of a giant worm, it was surprisingly not gamey. In fact, it was delicious. You even wanted to thank the staff for such a delectable meal. Upon swallowing, however, you realized the true nature of the competition, and why there was only one steak. The sheen from before was in fact the traces of the beast's blood; wherever the steak had been, a chill seemed to follow. If you took too big a piece, or swallowed too slowly, your muscles began to go numb from the cold. Upon reaching the stomach, it was rectified, but the throat and mouth remained effected. This was not only a race against time, but an actual fight with how to appropriately eat the food before you.

The one that seemed to catch on the fastest was an unlikely fellow. The gnome, Eric, and soon after Hawke. Whether it was simply their own voraciousness or not, they pounded down the meat in long slivers, not chunks. The gnome seemed more practiced at the act, or maybe it was just because the other was shaky and relying on instinct. It was as though they overlooked the numbness in favor of getting the morsels down. The next closest was a rather familiar face of mischief. A certain elf with a raven upon his shoulder. He as eating in a rather out-of-character style, cutting the meat into small bits and swallowing them whole. Perhaps the mage had recognized the magical properties of the meat, and acted accordingly.

The rest of the participants seemed to be keeping pace for a while, but soon there were signs of internal struggle. Not fullness, but simply bodily function. Soon, they weren't even able to close their mouths from the cold, some of them even shivering. In the end, the only ones to finish their steaks were Eric and Hawke. Lyolf, though he stayed well, only managed there-quarters of the meal, with the rest unable to pass the half-way point before accepting their defeat.

"And it seems we have our winners! First place goes to the savage gnome here, Eric! Followed by the mysterious Hawke!...hey, are you alright? Do you need a cleric?" He looked to Hawke, unsure, but it seemed the man was stable enough. "And finally, third place goes to the one and only, Lyolf! We made sure to watch carefully so that he DIDN'T cheat, folks. It's a legitimate win." The announcer reassures both the crowd and the contestants alike as the prizes are handed out and the stage is cleared for the next round.

[spoiler=The Results]Erik gets 1st: 500 exp, 10 tokens, and a green cloak embroidered with an oak (Back slot, unidentified 1045)
Hawke gets 2nd: 400 exp, 8 tokens, and a skull-clasped headband (Headband slot, unidentified 1046)
Lyolf gets 3rd: 300 exp, 6 tokens,, and 500 gold.

Exp and items added to character sheets.[/spoiler]

[info]New Round!

Continue to PM me rolls.[/info]

[Annia Siadon]

The knight was feeling brave. The various different foods were strange and unique, and she couldn't help but be somewhat curious about who they tasted like. When the next round of competitors were being called, Annia started making her way to the stand.

Milianna Jones would have done it. Her adventure book hero would have done anything after all. Finding treasure, recovering stolen artifacts, beating bad guys, all in a day's work. Annia decided exotic foods was probably on the list too.

http://www.youtube.com/v/n-_vcTk5lx0

Humming Milianna Jones' theme song she took a ticket and sat down.

[Oath]

Ryine

Ryine was strolling through town, slowly making his way to the location where the scavenger hunt results would be announced. However, something caught his eye. An eating contest. Ryine noticed that his friend Annia was sitting at the table, getting ready to eat whatever was going to be coming out onto stage. He approached, took a ticket and sat down next to her.

"Annia, my friend! Good luck in the contest. May the best eater win!"

[InhumanRonin]

After taking his turn in the archery competition Nomblilin continues to wonder aimlessly around town taking in the sights and sounds of the festival. Again Nomblilin notices a crowd gathering this time though around a long table placed upon a stage. Nomblilin asked around in the crowd what was going on and found out that an eating competition is taking place. "Hm now that i think about it I havent eaten much since I got up this morning. Maybe this will be a cheaper way to get my fill."

Nomblilin proceeds to walk up to the stage and take a number. As Nomblilin approaches his seat at the table he pulls out his lute and begins to strum out some music [spoiler]Performing a tune to entertain the crowd as we wait This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+11 : 1 + 11, total 12[/spoiler]

[Bootman]

Aion originally just came by because he smelled some interesting foods, and was hoping to get a recipe. He asked around a bit, took some notes, and decided that was good enough, not realizing there was a contest. But before he left, he spotted somebody he recognized. Annia was up there, sitting down. The warrior's face lit up and he did a full on sprint up to the stage and sat down next to her. "Annia! I've barely seen you around since I got here. What's up?" He asked, not realizing he had just entered the contest.

[Dan-e]

Upon Markus' discovery of the eating competition he nearly spoke his thoughts out-loud, "Food I don't have to prepare myself? Finally a decent meal!" and immediately jumped to enter the contest.

[Bootman]

[spoiler]Looks like Braxton will be the sixth since the last post and therefore not in the same round as my other character[/spoiler]

The bounty hunter set his hat down gently on the table, rubbing his gloved hands together with excitement. Braxton's chair whined, squeaked, bent and moaned under his titanic weight. As soon as he entered the stage, the cook's eyes grew wide and the head chef started barking orders with increased urgency and less coherency. Considering the man looked like he could eat half the other contestants as an appetizer, it might be a reasonable precaution to make more food. 

[Fellow Rabbit]

Eric Whittock

If there were any manners that one was ever meant to show while eating, the gnome certainly hadn't ever heard of them. It didn't matter if the dish was literally burnt to a crisp, the meat was undercooked (or still alive), the meal was downright inedible, or his serving was frozen solid. He wanted it all inside of him! This "frost worm" dish was no different. He listened idly to the instructions, then sort of shrugged off the warnings, waiting eagerly for that truly exhilarating moment when he would be able to continue his quest to satiate his appetite with this mouth-watering delicacy!

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. Before the announcer even finished shouting "BEGIN!" the gnome had already begun digging into the remains of whatever generous creature gave its life in order for this competition to exist. In one gulp, the gnome quickly devoured quite a sizable chunk of the protein before him. Any ordinary eater probably wouldn't even be able to fit a slab that big in their mouth, let alone fit it down their throat, but there was no mistake that Eric was no ordinary eater. He didn't care about whatever this "cold" nonsense the announcer was spewing. All that really mattered was that he ensure his title was never even debated! No one ate better than Eric Whittock, Gnome from Beyond the Planes!

Another blink of an eye passed and so too did another huge chunk of meat disappear into the gnome's gullet. Two-thirds of the frost worm meat had already been consumed, the sight of which actually saddened Eric. He was almost done with his meal and not even close to being full! Although he had to admit that nice lady from town did provide him with a good amount of fill for the night, there was still much room in his belly that had to be filled before he could justify even thinking of telling anyone around him that he had eaten his fill!

Then, in one movement, the gnome stabbed the final piece of meat with his fork and shoved it all into his mouth at once, swallowing without even thinking of chewing. Around him, he could see that the others were struggling tremendously to keep up with the ravenous gnome they competed with. The next best contestant had barely even finished half of the worm and appeared to be struggling to fight whatever this "cold sensation" was that the announcer mentioned about the food. Eric didn't mind the effects at all - in fact, he found them entertaining in their own way - but they definitely were doing a good job at keeping the others at bay.

Finally, after swallowing and allowing a little time for the gases forming in his stomach to position themselves well, and with the knowledge that he had defeated the other participants by a landslide, Eric allowed himself to ease up a bit. He slumped a bit in his chair, relaxing his muscles and showing off a satisfied smile, before at last he was able to let it out. He looked up at the air above him, opened his mouth wide, and released the most heartfelt guttural belch he could possibly muster, being sure to project it as best he could so it echoed at the highest possible volume off of every wall, ceiling, chair, table, person, and plate that it possible could. It was so loud, in fact, that he could swear a few of the empty dishes still on the table had rattled against the wood they rested on. That, the gnome would argue, was one of the most satisfying parts of eating.

Taking a moment to sit up once again so that he was up-straight, he sighed contentedly, albeit voluminously, clearly quite happy to get the free meal, and turned to the event host as he stood to his feet and smiled triumphantly.

"More please!" he shouted, fully expecting to be entering the following round as well for to ensure that the rest of the contestants would be forever aware who is the uncontested master of all eating-related events!

[Fellow Rabbit]

Gandin, son of Gehin

Spewing hatred and angry resentment from every pore of his body after finding out his amazing 100,000-gold cat mask was indeed worth much less than his own appraisal of the mask suggested, the dwarf sat at a table in the middle of the guild hall, drinking furiously from a goblet of the guild's finest ale. The profit he made from reselling that mask, even though it perhaps made him the most out of all the items he sold, was absolutely abysmal compared to the price he rubbed in Kin's face. He knew of at least one mister Lord Circus he would punish with tiger fury for daring bestow upon this dwarf an item so cheap and ordinary as that mask. He had almost a straight hour of gritted teeth to rip him a new one over as well.

He felt his pure raw rage pouring out of him like some kind of liquid air, filling the room around him and probably raising it by a whole degree every minute. It seemed, though, that everyone around him was too afraid to ask him what was wrong, so they instead either just stood idly by and watched him seethe, ignored him, or simply left the room to escape the saturation of their own sweat that was getting the better of them. Fortunately for them, however, Gandin was met with an ever-so-slight interruption to his boundless fervor. His stomach had rumbled, and there the dwarf had realized he hadn't eaten since breakfast; an oversight that was terribly unlike him. How on earth could a dwarf, of all races, forget to each lunch? It was miserable, come to think of it. He was actually starving. He felt like he could die right then and there.

But there was hope! He had remembered after not too many minutes of reflecting that there was a contest perfect for such a dire emergency! Indeed it was a godsend to know that the guild was looking out for him. An Eating Contest! It was even hosted by none other than some guildmate that Gandin hadn't heard of before, that is to say "not Kin"! How could it be any more perfect? Other than if it were hosted by someone like Gandin, who would serve only the greatest and most delectable food ever! That or the most trollish food ever, depending on who he found out was participating. Hopefully that current event organizer didn't have such trollish tendencies. Else Gandin might have yet another thing to be angry about. He was seriously losing track of all the things about life that made him furious.

In any case, it was time to make sure he got more than his share of that potentially amazing food! Without a moment of further hesitation, he jumped to his feet and sprinted like no other dwarf before him right out the door and followed his nose to wherever it was that they were hosting this eating contest. The soft aroma of whatever exotic dish they had served during the most recent round was beginning to grow in strength as Gandin made his way further up and further in. It was the sure sign that he was headed the right way, and the salivation beginning to well up in his mouth only reaffirmed that speculation.

Whatever it was they had served certainly wasn't anything Gandin had smelled before, though. It smelled well-cooked to a standard not unlike that which any chef should hold, but when he breathed in the faint aroma, it seemed... cold? What an odd feeling it was for him. But nevertheless, he would ensure that the contest was not snatched from under him. Not only was it free food, but if he won, it was yet another prize he could rub all over Kin's horrible face! And if that wasn't motivation enough, then surely there was nothing that could motivate the dwarf. Well, not unless there was a very specific fandom involved or if there was a very specific household item he could hope to acquire as a prize. But if all three should happen to be present all at once at this competition, then it would certainly be the most important competition he had ever participated in.

At last he seemed to have found the part of the hallway where the aroma was the strongest. There, he saw a sign on a door that read in big, bold, black, capitalized letters "EATING CONTEST". Yes, there was no mistaking it! Gandin's next meal was at hand! With a mighty burst of dwarf-kwon-do instinct, he kicked the door open as if it were some kind of non-door object, flinging it open so hard it slammed into the wall it was attached to with mighty CRASH! Without speaking, he stomped in, hands clenched in a fist. He climbed up onto the stage and eyed the announcer like a cat about to pounce on its prey. For a moment, that was all he did, but after an awkward confrontation with the man, he finally moved on, ripping a ticket from his hand and taking a seat at the gigantic table. "How dare you start this contest without me!" he finally shouted, "Now bring me some food before I get really scary!"

[Linwelin]

"And at last, we're at the final round of our eating contest, folks! My, oh, MY what a ride it's been." The announcer seemed to stare off in sudden reminiscence, even though the events on with he thought upon happened only within the past half hour. Finally, the man shook himself of his daydreams. "And after all this intense ingestion, mighty mastication, and quarreling quaffing, it's time for something more subtle. More refined. So, all I have is a simple question."

"Who wants pudding?"

By now, the crowd is much too fearful of whatever was going to end up on the table. Thus, only the bravest, and maybe even carefree souls dared trounce upon the stage at the dinner chime for pudding time. And as it was wheeled out and revealed, the contestants stared in confusion, and in some way disbelief. For before them WAS...

"This can't be chocolate pudding..." One of the contestants, a woman with olive skin, who seems to have ventured up from the southern desert from her airy, yet swaddling hooded robes. She was looking at a stone bowl filled with a regular portion of black, gelatinous...something.

"About that. You're half right. What you have before you is treated and prepared black pudding. That's right, the scavenger of the underworld, that devours and dissolves even metals that touch it. We've diluted the acid to the point where it's now no more than a citric burn, as though you'd eaten a lemon or orange." The man wore an innocent smile that sent a shiver down the crowd's smile.

"However..." There it was, the catch. The audience and contestants alike new a twist was in the works. And so they waited anxiously until he finally spoke. "This pudding ended up having a certain other property remain even in death. Suction. It clings to surfaces that it touches in life, and still maintained a reduced version of that in death. And...I'll let you figure out what that means. All I can say is it IS edible. I had a bite myself."

"How was I even close to half right!?" he woman exclaimed, obviously a little unsettled by the dish before her.

The announcer looked her way and quickly stated, "The chefs mixed in chocolate shavings for taste."

"Contestants ready? It's desert time! BEGIN!"

The other two contestants that were not guild members, besides the desert lady, also seemed much more serious competition than the other rounds. One was a large portly man that you were surprised hadn't stepped up before. He had a double chin and wore fine merchant's clothes, and seemed quite ready to take on this challenge. The other was a burly man, obviously a warrior and sellsword of some sort. It was strange to see him dressed in civilian clothes, considering he even looked to belong in armor.

The first bite foretold the end for half the contestants, as looks of delight followed by confusion spread across their faces. After around 5 spoonfuls, The warrior, Annia and Nomblilin begin heaving slightly as the food fights back, seeming to stick slightly in their throat and sliding down at an extremely slow pace. This must be what he meant by suction. In the end these three could not handle the texture, along with the way the pudding tried to come back up on its own, and retired from the contest. The rest continued heartily, or at least as heartily as they could. The desert lady seemed to have taken too large a bite and ended up choking out of the competition, while the fat man took one too many quick spoonfuls. This left Ryine, Gandin and Markus to fight on through the odd concoction.

It was strange, the pudding burnt at the throat more than expected due to the slow speed it was swallowed. And the constant, involuntary jumping in the throat didn't help much either. As it went on, however, it was obvious who was going to pull out victorious. Markus, and then Ryine, both began showing signs of slowing, as the burning began to compound. Seems even diluted acid in larger amounts was enough to burn the throat raw. The only one to hold his expression throughout was the dwarf. And that expression was one of hunger. Thus it was no surprise when he was the first to finish his bowl, then pick up the remainder of the desert lady's beside him and continue. He showed no sign of stopping even at the announcement of his first place victory.

"And it seems we have our first place winner- wait, he's going back for more! What a man!" The announcer was astonished, so much so that he nearly missed Ryine finish his own shortly after, with a bit more trouble. At this turn of events, and somewhat to his relief, Markus was able to stop and still hold his place in third.

"And we seem to have our winners! First place goes to the unstoppable dwarf, Gandin! As he's still going, we'll leave his prize for once he finishes. He was shortly followed by the sturdy Ryine! And last is the commendable effort by Markus!" Cheers and applause resound across the stage and crowd as the winners were handed their rewards.

"We've left remainders of the competition food around the stage for curious souls to try. They have been portioned into safe, non-obtrusive amounts, so you have no need to worry about emergency illness. Thank you all for coming and to all the participants. Happy New Year!" The announcer exclaims gleefully before taking his leave.

Gandin receives 500 exp, 10 New Years Festival Competition points, and a cloak with flecks of silver or steel sown into the weave (Unidentified cloak, 1052).
Ryine receives 400 exp, 8 New Years Festival Competition points, and a tiny silver cube (Unidentified slotless, 1053).
Markus receives 300 exp, 6 New Years Festival Competition points, and 500 gold.

Character sheets have been modified.

[Linwelin]

Poll for this event! Please vote as soon as you can :)

Survey

[Linwelin]

Results (200 exp for each):

Best Post:	Lyolf
Best Overall Roleplay:	Eric
Most Writing Improvement:	Tie with Nomblilin and Hawke
Most Character Development:	Tie with Eric and Gandin
Food Ranking:	1st: Black Pudding
	2nd: Frost Worm
	3rd: Kraken

Experience rewarded. Thank you! :)