[IC] New Years Festival: Flirting Contest

[Fellow Rabbit]

7:00 PM

Pinky Parks

"Come, little friends! Yes! Enter into Pinky's marquee!" A voice called out loud and clear without restraint for all to hear, "Eheheheh! Put your skills to the test! Yes! Show Pinky your powers of seduction! Don't be shy!" He motioned his hand to welcome them into the giant tent, a smile that surely only a slightly crazy man could bear visibly corming across his face. It was probable, however that the man didn't mean harm to anyone who would dare enter his contest. Not physically, anyway. The sign above the doorway clearly read "Flirting Contest", but inside the makeshift building was nobody with whom one could flirt. And it was obvious that the host certainly wouldn't be the one flirted at. The host seemed confident enough, though, so there must have been someone back there to flirt with. No matter how one looked at it, there was no doubt this would be one of the more awkward of the festivities. Surely that meant that the rewards would be higher-quality, right?

...Right?

"Eheh! Hurry while you still can! Yes! The contest is about to begin!"

• To participate, simply enter the tent. Pinky will hand you a ticket on your way in.
  
• When enough people have joined, the contest will begin. I am hoping for a minimum of 5 contenders. If enough players are still left that want to join once the contest is over, I will start a second round.
  
• When the contest begins, you will be given a partner to try and flirt with. You may choose to roll a check for either Charisma, Diplomacy, or Intimidate, but you must roleplay accordingly. Please PM me your rolls with the name of the character you're rolling for.
  
• All participants automatically get 1 New Years Festival Competition point, and +200 exp.
  
• Winner will receive 500 exp, 10 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Greater Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Second place will receive 400 exp, 8 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Lesser Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Third place will receive 300 exp, 6 New Years Festival Competition points, and 500 gold.
  
• Overall best flirt will also receive a special gift.
  
• NPCs may also be participating.

[Ella]

Maeve Gallagher

Flirting contest? This was not something Maeve could recall seeing at festivals she had been to in the past, but it definitely caught her interest. Rather than continuing to walk past it, she decided to drag Vlad to it. Now he could watch her win a prize for her persistent flirting and maybe she could see him flirting, too! "Come on Vladimyar! Lets try this one!"

[Mumble Dragon]

Post the wondrous events of the eating contest, Hawke was strolling through some of the vendors and came across a very peculiar tent. A rather boisterous voice was calling out, urging the passerby's to enter and show their skills. "A flirting contest eh?..." he thought aloud. Hawke couldn't deny the inner curiosity that welled inside. Poking around at the skeletal headband he earned from eating some food, he wondered if going in to such a contest would earn just as fun of a prize.

"Perhaps it's time I show some of that good ol' royal charm." Hawke tugged at his collar and threw on his best smile. "Let's go meet some of the fine people of this city." Confident, he strolled up to the entrance of the tent.

[Golas Rorn]

"BUAHAHAHAHAHA!" A large, deep, booming voice resounded out through out the marquee. It was Golas Rorn. He had heard news of this so-called flirting contest, and the large man was more than curious about the event. Flirting with girls? He was never really good at it, and had even tried to get Kryas to help him in those goals of his, but in the end he continued to be awkward around them.

Well, except for Annia. Golas was fine with talking with her, but she didn't count.

"The handsomest and strongest in the guild of Galas'nor shall win this contest!" He roared in his boisterous laughter.

[Nyuko Nyun]

There he went! Into that strange tented building. He had seen many of those during the festival, but he wasn't quite sure what this one would be about. Whatever it was, the large man was laughing as he always did, so Nyuko followed behind eyeing him carefully. The large man stepped in, and his large resounding laugh echoed shortly after.

Shadowing behind was Nyuko, stepping where Golas had stepped, but generally trying his best to be stealthy so that the large man wouldn't notice.

"Nyahahaha!" Nyuko mimicked Golas, keeping his voice lower to not draw his attention. He grinned wide to himself. His laugh was almost perfect!

[Ella]

Callista Fae

Just like most other festival events, Callista was all over this one. She was not sure what flirting was, but she would at least try! As she entered the room, she held up her scavenger hunt sheet to the man and pointed at a spot on the page. Finding the location of the flirting contest was apparently on her list, which meant that she had to receive a ticket stating she had been there.

Once that was taken care of, the faerie continued her path. There was a crowd of people, but they were all just standing there. She guessed the guy running the event had fine details he wanted to share with the entire group before he let them begin. Unless flirting mean you had to just stand there. She was not used to just standing in one space. Usually, she was flying, sitting, walking, or running. Standing around was boring to her. Trying her best to stay still, she hoped desperately that this was not the contest.

[Fellow Rabbit]

Eric Whittock

"A Flirting Contest?" Eric rubbed his hands together excitedly, examining the sign in front of the contest's marquee close enough that his nose was touching it. It was a wonder he was still able to read it with such close proximity, but the gnome appeared to handle it well. "Eheheh, this oughta be a good one. Oh yeah." He smirked mildly, expecting in his mind that the host would be having them flirt with other contestants, seeing as there weren't really an other people inside. At least not from where he was standing.

He nonchalantly stepped up to the Doofenshmirtz-esque contest host and was greeted by the man with naught but a small ticket with a number on it. Once he took the ticket, he only stood there, unable to go on, either shocked or perplexed, and stared at it. Never in his life had he ever been met with such generosity. He didn't know what to say to this man who had graced him with such merchandise so beyond the realms of imagination as this note with a single digit printed on it. A tear appeared up in one of his eyes. His lip quivered. His breathing became unsteady. A lump welled in his throat. His limbs grew weak. Then tears began to appear in his other eye as well. Eventually, he lost control and fell to his knees in pure unprecedented elation.

"Thank you!" he finally called out with great volume to the host who was standing right in front of him. He didn't know what else to say. The number 6 seemed to glow like the way he imagine hot dogs would glow if they were pumped full of radioactive chemicals. The paper appeared whiter than a grain of rice in a glass of milk on a paper plate in the middle of a snowstorm. The texture could only be described as silky, but ever-so-slightly slippery - kind of like the way someone's hair feels after they had just brushed it to get the knots out, but still hadn't showed in three or four days. The smell... at first he couldn't pin it down, but then it hit him: it smelled just like he imagined the skin behind his ears must smell. Absolutely amazing.

Everything about this ticket was everything he had hoped to gain in life. He was complete. The world around him could never understand the fulfillment in his life in that moment. How could they? Their hopes and dreams... They may go their entire lives without getting a ticket with the number 6 on it. But Eric had done it. The very cosmos had aligned and the hand of fate itself had graced him with his innermost wish.

"Thank you!" he repeated, still unsure of what else he could say. The moment was more than he had prepared for. He only expected to be participating in a contest - perhaps getting a chance to speak with her, but instead he got so much more. There was nothing else to do in the moment but throw his hands up in the air and cry. And he did cry. He wailed like a mother giving birth to her first child, but without the screaming and more of the joy.

Soon, his uncontrollable delight subsided. His eyes had dried, having exhausted their entire tear supply for weeks to come. His lip stopped quivering. The lump in his throat had gone. His breathing returned to normal. He had regained the strength in his body enough to stand up straight once more. His moment of glory had finally passed. It was time to do what he had come there for. It was time to flirt like he had never flirted before. It was time to live the number six.

As if he had not just enacted the most dramatic scene of the entire festival, the gnome finally stepped through the doorway of the marquee and walked with a little bounce in his step to where the rest of the contenders were standing. There, he waited with them, comparing his number to that of those who still had their tickets out. All of their numbers paled in comparison. The number 6 was far more substantial and enormous than any of their numbers. If he were the gambling type, he would consider himself to be the luckiest man alive. That was good news for the contest ahead of him. Fate was being good to him this day.

[Linwelin]

"Hold on just a-" There was no time for Vladimir to refuse as Maeve dragged him toward the tent. A flirting contest? Gods, this is hardly something I'm comfortable with... But the grasp on his arm wasn't about to release its restraint, and it wouldn't be very becoming to tear himself from his date's grasp. "There isn't a chance I could just watch, is there...?" Maeve turned briefly with a quizzical look, but that soon turned to a mischievous smile, before she turned back around without a word and continued onward. ...Didn't think so. Well, I can at least put my courtly training to use. With that, Maeve's pulling became less dragging and more leading. Only by a little, though.

[Mysticsage]

Kryas and Serena were the last to enter the tent one close behind the other. The two were confident about there talents to woo other people and they both figured why not have a little fun with the rest  of the guild. They each grabbed a ticket from the man that they guessed was organizing the whole event.

With that taken care of the pair went to joint the other waiting participants to see where they would end up. The pair were somewhat dreading and looking forward to being paired against each other.

[Bootman]

Aion was really starting to get into the festival as he munched on some cotton candy he had gotten from a nearby stall. At this point, he was starting to get this nagging feeling in the back of his head.  "You've only done so good because you used magic. If you tried doing something without it you'd fail worse then anybody."

He knew this line of thought well. He always ended up thinking stuff like this whenever he did good at anything, and he typically ended up trusting that voice more then anything else. He stoically bit into a large wad of cotton candy, chewing it as he walked into the nearest tent to prove himself to himself. He sat down, arriving a bit late and not knowing the rules, but ready to win it all for great justice! Or honor! For some virtue he would... flirt?

"...Oh dear."

[Fellow Rabbit]

Pinky Parks

"Haha! Yeeesss! The turnout is better than Pinky dreamed!" the host of the contest exclaimed, "This will be so much fun! Yes! Come! Come further in!" the skinny man motioned with his arms to the area of the tent with an assortment of tables scattered throughout. Each table had a number on it, ranging from one to fifteen. It was clear that this "Pinky" didn't expect nearly as many as ten contestants to brave his challenge, but he had certainly hoped for a large number.

Each table was vacant, only set up with two chairs across from each other. Atop the tables were fancy, silky white tablecloths that looked like they were probably very expensive. On top of those were three candles per table, each with different heights, all arranged in perfect equilateral triangles. They were short enough that even a halfling would be able to see another halfling across from them while they were both sitting down. The whole inside of the marquee was very dimly lit, setting the best mood possible for any serious flirting to happen. Pinky had pulled all the stops to make sure everyone would be at their best flirting capacity.

"Find your table!" the event host motioned again to the tables in the tent, smiling deviously with one hand behind his back and the other hand holding a handkerchief. "Yes! They will be here soon!"

Once everyone had found their table, sitting at the one marked with their corresponding ticket number, Pinky grinned enthusiastically, even dancing one of those fancy one-person dances as he made his way for the stage to make his final contest announcement. "Prepare yourselves, everyone! Yes! For tonight will be a night to remember! Flirt to your hearts content, but never forget: you're being graded! Only the best will be met with a reward! Yes! But as for the rest..." He trailed off, his face growing uncharacteristically serious and his voice becoming a little deeper than normal. Within seconds, however, he returned to his usual aloof demeanor and smiled a daffy smile once more. Then, without skipping a beat, he snapped one of his fingers, and out of thin air, across from every contestant, appeared a puff of smoke that revealed each of their flirting "partners".

At table number one, across from the tiger-woman Maeve Gallagher, appeared the first of the flirting subjects. Perhaps not the most conventional of targets of disport, it came as a shock to everyone who saw it. For there, where the seat across from Maeve had once been sitting, was now a mirror, at which she must flirt vehemently if she were to have a chance of winning.

The second table featured a subject no less awkward and perhaps equally surprising, for across from the man known as Hawke Argento, appeared a winged lizard - a dragon to anybody who would rather think of it like that. It was no larger than Hawke himself, having ever-so-slightly more-humanoid features than most dragons around. It put an arm on the table and eyed Hawke like a hawk.

The third contestant, Golas Rorn, was met with either his greatest fear or greatest desire. As the puff of magic smoke subsided, the figure of a human began to take shape, but that was far from it really was. As the figure began to complete its shape and its appearance became more and more visible, Golas could see without a doubt that it was made of nothing but solid golem meat. Freshly cut and cooked to perfection, dripping with succulent flavor, and exuding the most glorious smell of meat one could possibly smell. The only catch? It was actually alive.

At table number four sat yet another catfolk, a younger boy by the name of Nyuko Nyun. His subject would surely be an interesting subject indeed. The figure that appeared before him was unmistakable. And how could he mistake it? He had been following that figure around for most of the festival, hadn't he? But of course, nothing is ever as it seems. It was clearly meant to resemble Golas Rorn himself, but instead of being an ordinary, muscular, red-haired man like the real Golas, this one was an ordinary, muscular, red-haired woman.

Callista Fae, who held ticket number five, was met with quite the surprise as well. Hers was the most difficult to choose a target for, Pinky thought, but he was mighty proud of what he had finally settled upon. He smiled yet even wider as the mist dissipated to reveal the most over-the-top clown imaginable. It was literally as stereotypical as it could get, all the way down to the light-up red nose and the ridiculous laugh that didn't sound like any sort of natural laughter.

And then there was the sixth table, at which sat Eric Whittock, who undoubtedly would flirt at anything if he was given the chance. But as he dug deep into the gnome's history, he learned something that would make this the most unforgettable contest of them all. There, sitting atop a wooden box, was a large cannon. It, too, was quite an odd subject, but it was by no means inanimate. It's eyes were filled with love, and it's mouth - the end of the barrel - was fully operational. It winked at Eric and rested its barrel on the table as it stared at him.

Lucky number seven turned out be one he had sincerely hoped would join the contest. It was a stroke of luck that the tiger lady had dragged him in, whether it was against his will or not. This silver-haired man known as Vladimir Ludvik was sure to meet his partner with shock. And that was exactly what Pinky was going for. He even took special care in making sure this mist would evaporate the slowest of them all, just to make the big reveal that much greater. It took nearly a minute for a shape to finally form, tension building with every second that passed. Finally, after all the build-up, the mist revealed the form of a body pillow printed with Maeve on it. Pinky didn't feel the need to animate it.

Contestant number eight was everybody's favorite mister Kryas Windsel. The target's chair seemed to disappear in the cloud smoke that was to reveal his flirting target. For a moment, it appeared as though the half-elf was going to be sitting alone for this contest. On the contrary, he would have a flirting partner. Another, smaller puff of smoke burst on the other side of the table. Disappearing quickly, though, it revealed an apple, but this was certainly no ordinary apple. Its size was the first indicator, being enough to weigh no less than ten pounds, but also sporting a red so deep that it was impossible to resist. Yes, there was no doubt about it. This was an enchanted apple. It seemed to glow with desire.

Not far behind Kryas entered Serena Lunaris, whom Pinky had to admit he knew nothing about. The quest to choose for her a suitable flirting partner was met with difficulty rivaling even that of Callista. It dawned on him after much deliberation that he had no choice but to improvise. And improvise he did. Only one contestant would be given such an honor, and who better to bestow that honor upon that the one for whom he had no idea how to prepare? Serena would be flirting with Pinky Parks himself. He smiled widely as he fluttered his eyes at her, resting his chin on his arms as he stared deep into her eyes.

And last, but certainly not least, was contestant number ten, Aion Loucelles, a man unlike any Pinky had known to prepare for before. Thankfully, Pinky had just the thing to present him with in a flirting partner! Small electrical discharges flickered inside of the mist, briefly lighting up whatever it was about to reveal, until the mist finally began to fade. Inside, Aion could see a form beginning to shape. Finally, the subject was clearly visible, shocking as it was. It was a woman! But not just any woman, for this woman, as odd as it seemed, had a boot for a head. No eyes. No mouth. No visible facial features. Just a boot. Luckily, it appeared she was still fully conscious and ready to be flirted at.

• No new characters may join at this time.
  
• Now that you know your partner, roleplay to the best of your ability the way your character would flirt with them.
  
• PM me your rolls with the name of the character you're rolling for. You may choose to roll a check for either Charisma, Diplomacy, or Intimidate, but you must roleplay accordingly.
  
• Bonus points will be awarded to players who roleplay exceedingly well.

• All participants automatically get 1 New Years Festival Competition point, and +200 exp.
  
• Winner will receive 500 exp, 10 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Greater Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Second place will receive 400 exp, 8 New Years Festival Competition points, and a random Lesser Minor Wondrous Item.
  
• Third place will receive 300 exp, 6 New Years Festival Competition points, and 500 gold.
  
• Overall best flirt will also receive a special gift.

• No NPCs will be participating.

[Ella]

Maeve Gallagher

Unwillingly releasing her companion, the tigress moved to find the table with her number on it. She hoped that she would get a table near wherever Vladimyar's table was, but at the same time she was not sure she wanted that. On the one hand, she would get to see if his way of flirting was what she had already experience or if she was missing out. On the other hand... it seemed like he would not be flirting with her.

Once the table with the number one was found, Maeve sat and looked around. In addition to spotting Vladimyar nearby, she also spotted the guild's catboy, Nyuko, the tiny faerie, and the ice witch she had met the day she had first visited the guild. Although she wondered why the catboy and faerie would come to an event like this, she had a pretty good idea in her head why Serena was there. Two men also caught her interest. A large muscular man with red hair who she had seen about the guild previously but had not yet had the chance to speak with and a man who had white hair. She would keep those two in mind for the future, perhaps when Vladimyar goes on a mission without her.

She looked once again towards Vladimyar and winked. While still looking at his table, she noticed the empty chair before him suddenly had an occupant. She blinked, not sure she was seeing things correctly. Was that... a picture of herself on a pillow?! How did someone get an image of her on a body pillow? More importantly, how did someone get a picture of her in a bath robe?! Did she have a stalker?! She was not sure how she felt about seeing herself on a body pillow in a contest held by a questionable person. Trying to get over the creepy feeling, she told herself that at least some luck was on her side as Vladimyar now had to flirt with an image of her in a bathrobe.

Remembering that she had a flirting partner of her own, Maeve turned her attention to see who or what it was. "Oh!" She gasped. "Imagine seeing a fine thing like you in a place like this!"  Before her, propped up on the table, sat a large mirror. It had been shined and polished to perfection, allowing her to see herself cleanly. Batting her lashes at her reflection, she admired herself. She definitely had done a great job with her preparations for the evening. Her hair was absolutely grrrogeous. So much so, that she had to compliment herself. "Oh, my, you certainly do take very good care of your hair! It looks so beautiful and healthy! Such long, luscious locks!"

Her make-up was slightly messed up, probably from participating in the arm wrestling contest. She would definitely have to fix that up. "Your make-up is a little smudged, darling. Let me fix it up for you so you can keep looking your best!" Maeve opened up her bag and dug out her emergency make-up kit. Opening it up, she leaned in really close to the mirror and began her work, talking to her reflection the whole time. "You'll look fabulous when I am done with you~"

Once finished, the tigress double-checked her work, put her bag away, and proceeded to stare at herself. Ah~ A job well done. "Do you know martial arts? Cause your body's kickin!" She told her reflection, then replied to herself. "Oh, thank you! I do in fact know some moves! I was trained as a monk, you know."

"A monk? No wonder you have such beautiful muscles!"

"I can show you more later, if you like." She winked at herself.

And so Maeve continued to flatter herself and then reply with more flattery, forgetting that she was in fact in the middle of a flirting contest. That is, until she remembered that Vladimyar was just a table away and supposed to be flirting with a pillow version of herself just after a bath...

[spoiler]Using 1 karma to add 1d6 to Maeve's roll.[/spoiler]

[Ella]

Callista Fae

Rather than sitting in the chair, Callista had perched on the edge of the table in her smallest form. Facing away from the empty chair opposite her, she looked around at the other tables. She still was not sure what this 'flirting' was, so she thought it would be best to observe the others first. It seemed she was not the only one observing the other tables. Was this what flirting was? First you stand for a bit, then you sit in a chair or on a table and look at other people? Was it a special way of eating? Perhaps everyone was going to be given a bunch of food and they would have to eat it all! She was not sure if she could do that and the eating contest later on...

As she pondered this, things began appearing in the empty chairs or on some of the tables. She watched as a mirror appeared on one table and a weird dragon man appeared in the chair at another. A meat golem that looked like a freshly cooked version of one she had fought with Gandin, Golas, and a couple others from the guild appeared at the table Golas was sitting at and a female version of him appeared at the next table over. She was not quite sure what the thing was at one of the tables, and it piqued her curiosity. If she was not in the middle of a contest, she would have flown over to investigate it. And then, a giant pillow or faerie bed or something with the image of one of the cat people appeared at the table next to it. A humongous apple appeared at another table, and the man at yet another table found himself sitting in front of a woman with a boot on her head.

Callista found these two to be the most hilarious of things and burst into laughter. If this was supposed to be like some sort of eating contest, only a couple of them had actually gotten something edible without making them cannibals. That along was hilarious to the faerie, but why would anyone ever wear a boot on their head like that woman? You couldn't even tell if she had a neck!

"Hahahahahaha!" She laughed, clutching her stomach as she rocked forward and back and pointed. And then she heard the laughter coming from behind her. Trying to hold back her laughter at the others, she turned her body around and stared. It did not take her long to burst into laughter once again. This time, she was pointing at the clown before her. "Hahahahahahahaha!" She laughed at his face, she laughed at his hair, she laughed at his clothes, she laughed at his nose, and most of all, she laughed at his laugh.

Perhaps 'flirting contest' actually meant 'laughing contest'!

[Mumble Dragon]

Hawke clasped his hands together as he leaned back in his chair, sweeping one leg over the other, he tried to wrap his mind around the creature that was standing before him. Some form of winged lizard was now there, eyeing him intently.

Hawke was not amused.

What was the chance that someone would randomly guess to throw this in his face. This was one of his closest secrets that he kept guarded from all. No one other than the few from home would know of his condition and how it was affecting him. Studying over the creature a bit more, Hawke could tell he was more of a magical construct than a summoned being. The question now lay before him like a pit of vipers. He was intent to do his best and win this game, but that would mean flirting with the thing he despises the most. He was either going to have to suck it up and flirt with this beast, or throw in the towel and leave the premises immediately. No matter what happened, he was sure to have some strong words with the curator of this unfortunate event.

*new content*

Hawke held his head in a hand as we tried to hide his reddening composure. Was he actually thinking about trying to flirt with this creature. He tried on multiple accounts to say some form of words, but it was like he was working with a frog in his throat. The creature never said a word, only stared, making this ever more uncomfortable. "Why did it have to be this?" he wondered to himself. Giving a sigh, he leaned slightly forward and clasped his hands together on the table in front of him. "Listen, I have no idea what to say in a situation like this. So how about we agree to disagree on this being a good match-up for either of us." The cogs were turning now. Hawke always enjoyed a good puzzle, and this one was proving to be a doozy. He had to find a way to win this one, no matter what. Lining himself up against these odds set loose a spark in his eye that drove him on. He couldn't just say negative things, he had to find a way to add some pizzazz into the mix. "So, I was thinking, let's cut the small chat and work out a deal. I'll pretend to say something nice to you, you smile and nod while having a great time, and then I hand you whatever gold I have on my person and a cut of the reward when I win this thing." This was sure to be the nail in the coffin for this event. There was no way this plan couldn't work.

[Fellow Rabbit]

Eric Whittock

He waited and watched, stroking his ticket as if it were a pet tarantula, as the puffs of smoke subsided, revealing one-by-one each participant's flirting partner. Each one was more exciting than the previous, and he began to tightly hug his ticket as he watched the targets appear. First, a mirror, followed by a dragon thing, which preceded a delicious-looking and -smelling meat man. Eric actually missed the next few revelations as he began to drool over the meat's wafting aroma. It didn't matter at all that it was alive; he just wished that it had been his partner rather than Golas'. He deserved it!

He was unsure whether he should feel anger, sorrow, or agony as the fact sunk in that he may never get the chance to flirt with (and probably devour) a living, breathing meat creature! This was simply unjust! And he knew, for one, that he would be giving the organizer of this event quite a piece of his mind for not pairing him up with what he desired more than all else at that particular moment. All he could do through all his emotions, however, was glare furiously at Golas for having better luck than him.

Eric glanced back at his ticket, the number six staring back at him with nonexistent eyes. He was lucky enough in life to have this miracle practically drop into his lap. Why couldn't his luck have gone on just a bit further and grace him with a whole living meal? It just wasn't fair, and to him the whole event was already a loss for him.

Glumly, he blinked the budding tears from his eyes and turned back to his own table, solemnly staring at his solitary number six. He reached up and wiped his tears with his sleeves before finally taking a look at his own flirting partner.

But what he saw changed everything.

He jumped in his seat, startled by the sight before him; he dropped his ticket in his alarm. A scream was trapped in his throat, and following his jitter, it was as if his body couldn't decide whether to scream or run away. Was this some kind of sick joke? Who was the man who organized this event? It was nothing else but a cannon, animated with a woman's personality, and it was indeed interested in men like him.

"Eeeah!" the incomprehensible jumble of mouth sounds finally escaped his lips. He was beyond words. In all his time of enjoying the Guild of Galas'nor, this was the moment it had been taken too far. He was still half-frozen in shock and horror, but he was regaining enough control to know that he had to get out of there.

"It's the WWAAAAAARRRRR!!" he cried, now able to form his thoughts into words. Immediately, he grabbed the edge of the table, flipped it up ahead of him, and beelined for the exit to the marquee. Memories poured into his head like a torrential rain the likes of which no one could have prepared him for. His speed was abnormally quick for someone as short and stubby like him, but given the circumstances, he took no surprise in the speed he was moving.

As he reached the doorway, he spotted a stack of wooden crates nearby. Looking back only for an instant, he dived behind them, covering his neck and dropping to the ground, preparing for it to fire at him. Today fate was not good to him, and he had now accrued a powerful enemy upon whom he would make it his destiny to exact revenge. No one would stand in his way, but for today, he merely had to survive.