Fantasy World Creations

6:00 PM

After a short break from the arm wrestling competition, the festival staff had set up a long table with multiple chairs lined along it to face the crowd. "Now that you've all worked up a sweat, and considering the time, how about some dinner?" A man in a well-tailored noble's outfit slowly steps out on stage, speaking almost sweetly. But you could tell it was deceitful, and sickeningly so. Soon enough, his face broke into a devious grin, "But why stop at just being sated? We're here for fun, right? Let's have another competition while you 'enjoy' a meal" He finished with a grim tone in his voice. "I'm sure you'll eat as though your life depends on it..."

"That's right, it's an eating contest! You'll be served a large plate of a single foodstuff, and the person to eat the most wins! There'll be as many rounds as contestants, and our chefs are eager to surprise you!"

Once again, he drops to a devious tone, "Bon Appétit!"

---

• To participate, have your character get on the stage, grab a number, and sit in a chair. Then roll a Constitution check.
  
• There will be continuous rounds, but no repeat contenders, thus I'll keep going until we run out of contestants.
  
• Only 5 people allowed per round. Once 5 post, I'll resolve and start the next one. If it takes too long to get 5, I'll NPC the remaining spots.
  
• 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.
  
• These winners occur each round, however you'll be up against random townsfolk as well. May RNGesus be with you.
  

"Free food? Grungril eat! Grungril win!"

Grungril grabs a number, sits down, and digs in.

Spoiler

Rolled 1d20+5 : 20 + 5, total 25

[close]

From the crowd, and loud Whoo hoo came out for all to hear, followed by the form of a somersaulting little jester many in the guild would likely recognize. After flipping in the air, she landed gracefully onto the Stage and smiled, looking just as excited as she always did for activities. After that grand entrance, she cartwheeled to her seat, grabbing a number as she did and began to simply handstand on the chair, to excited to just sit patiently.

Festivals were about fun, and Callista had been having fun all the way up until she got a creepy flesh mask as a prize. She knew she could not eat near as much as any human, dwarf, or other larger being could, but as she was not in an unstable mood, she decided to try to get her mind off the creepy things and participate in the eating contest anyways. Thus, the faerie, still in her human form from the previous contest of arm wrestling, walked up to the stage, took a number, and plopped herself down by the pale grey-skinned girl.

Callista's Constitution.

(http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/Themes/envision2013_smf20_rev3/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20-1 : 4 - 1, total 3

[close]

"BUAHAHAHAHA! Now this is what I call a festival. Food!" The large man's appetite was ready. After all, he'd been waiting the entire day just for this specific event. Last year was glorious. And as he waited for the food to be delivered, he sincerely hope the chefs were as great as they were the year before.

The entire festival had been shadowing the large mammoth of a man. He was a human, but Nyuko couldn't help but continue sneaking, examining what Golas did after each and every step. Whenever Golas stopped by an attraction, Nyuko would follow suite. Whenever Golas would stop by at a stall to buy a piece of meat, Nyuko would do the same, buying himself the exact same thing. It went on just like this for the majority of the day.

In fact, it was because of this, that Nyuko now carried a large sack filled with nothing -but- meat. He huffed as he slung it over his shoulder again.

I must train myself to eat all this! He thought to himself as he followed Golas up to the next event. An eating contest of some sort.

Taking the number handed to him, Nyuko decided to sit a few chairs away from Golas, he didn't want to be spotted after all.

As you all came up to take your seats you realized one thing; there was no food before you, and as you thought about it, the type of food had not been announced. A small part of you started to worry over this, but soon your attention was turned elsewhere. Besides the guild members that had approached the table, there were three more people that lined up for this round. There was a small, rather thin man who seemed like he could barely stand as it is, and you wondered if he'd even be able to make it to the table. Followed by him was more of what you'd expect, as a large man with both strength and girth took his seat. You imagined him to be your biggest rival in the contest. Finally, there was a beauty of a woman, walking with a sense of grace to her place. Considering her manner, it was really hard to imagine her being at a contest like this, let alone competing.

The contest manager smiled mischievously as the members came forward. If anything he was pleased with how varied and eager the crowd was for this event. "Now that our first round of contestants have lined up, let's bring out our first dish...Chefs...? RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!" As he yells the strangest of lines to start the competitions, you see large platters being rolled out from behind the stage and set before you. Your plate was filled with three large, inch-think, triangular slabs of rubbery meat. "I hope you're in the mood for seafood! You're about to take a bite out of the a Kraken itself!"" The nobleman shouts out knowingly, "BEGIN!"

Despite the fishy smell, and rubbery look, the meat was quite tender once you dug in. But it was DENSE, and you weren't sure how much you could actually put down. The chefs had certainly done an excellent job seasoning the odd meat with spices that added both saltiness and sweetness, but soon that began to overwhelm the senses. It would be a hard-fought battle. For most of you, at least. While the majority of you struggled through your meal, three contenders were tearing through it as though it were their favorite dish. One was, obviously, the large man. As expected, he ate voraciously, not leaving a single scrap. The next two were a bit more surprising, and even more impressive with how they ate. The dwarf Grungril was neck-in-neck with the skinny man, both of them now just finishing the second of the three steaks. The solid food was almost like liquid to them, and they were drinking it right up!

While these three were tearing through the food before them, the rest were much more plain. In fact, it seemed half didn't even know what to do before the strange meat. Some reeled in disgust at the smell, while others simply ate slowly or did not have the room for such dense foodstuffs. In fact, the only ones to finish a single steak besides the three frontrunners were Nyuko and the graceful lady. The crowd more-or-less stopped paying attention to this group as turned back to the leaders. The large man had slowed down incredibly upon finishing his second steak, which meant it was now between Grungril and the thin man. About two-thirds of the way through the final steak, the thin man grows sluggish as the density of his meal finally hits him. In the last minute, the thin man wallows in agony as Grungril slurps up the last of the steak, holding out his plate expecting more. The chefs simply shook their heads, and the the competition runner stammered in surprise, "W-We have a winner! Number 1, Grungril the...Unbrakabil?! Congratulations! Followed by him, number 7, the dark horse of a thin man, Timothy! And last but not least, our third place winner, the self-proclaimed food connoisseur, Keith! As he speaks, the man has the stagehands hand out the bagged prizes, and escorted everyone off the stage to make room for next round.

"SO! Which of the eight among you wishes to challenge our delicacies!?" The noble shouts over the crowd.

The Results

Grungril gets 1st, 500exp and a brittle bone knife of some sort (Slotless item, unidentified 1044)

Everyone else is a runner-up, the NPCs steal the show this round. +200exp

[close]

Perhaps her eyes were bigger than her stomach... Then again, faeries were small creatures. Just because she was the size of a child at the moment did not mean that her stomach was actually any bigger. Three mouthfuls while in her larger form was enough to fill up her tiny faerie belly. ... Maybe she shouldn't have eaten all of those festival candies earlier that day. Oh well, it did not matter. What did matter was that she was full and she was very proud of herself for eating so much food. Setting her utensils down, the faerie proudly exclaimed, "I'm full!"

---

"I smell money."

Those were the only words Jin spoke as he rounded a bend, navigated through a boisterous crowd, deflected a solid punch, ducked under a thrown knife, slipped past a hungry bear, climbed up a tall mountain, swam through a vast ocean, and... took his seat in this New Year's Eating Contest.

Free food and free prizes-what more could a man desire? Those two concepts were closely tied to his sole purpose in life, his raison d'être. No matter how daunting the obstacle or how arduous the path, there was no stopping him. For it would be a crime to let this opportunity go to waste! An affront to all mankind! A slight to nature itself! Thus, his hands moved in a blur, stuffing his face with as much food as humanly possible and more; For the armored merchant did not want offend both nature and mankind. He was, after all, a humanitarian.

Several seconds in, and countless mouthfuls later, Jin had actually made decent headway into his New Year's fare. As an Incarnate of Law, Jin thought he'd only be using this "competition" to save on meal bills in a manner most just, but as he ate, he unconsciously reached out towards another morsel, and yet another.

Eventually...

He threw up.

[close]

---

---

"Isn't that..?" Lyolf's voice slowly meandered to a stop. His quarry, an armored hulk of a man sped past him like a madman possessed. Although the magus did not know much about the man, he'd seen first-hand that Jin desperately needed money-and that he'd do anything to get it. That man had no pride. To him, such a concept was just another commodity to be bought, tagged, and sold to the highest bidder.

As a result, when pressed into an apparently tight spot such as now, hilarity was not far in coming.

"We're going after him, Uli!" The elven magus promptly decided, immediately charging after the armored man. As always, Lyolf wondered how that large congregation of metal could move with such speed. It was almost unnatural, the elf thought with an inward sigh as he struggled to keep up while weaving past the many objects left in his path.

"...And might I ask why we're rushing headlong through traffic, dodging past shopping wagons, and wading through knee-deep puddles?" The raven asked dismally, as it matched its master's vigorous pace.

"My cabbages!!" A merchant suddenly cried out, as Lyolf's swift passage caused a horse to start and a wagon to overturn.

The elf only shouted out a swift apology in-turn, as he was unable to grant any aid without losing that elusive mound of metal fleeing before him. The magus then grinned widely, back in the chase, as he replied to his familiar's question.

"No Idea!!"

---

---

"Hey... that was Lyolf just now, wasn't it?" An orange-robed woman nudged a nearby man garbed in a robe of manly pink. The two were simple magi in the city. They were not masters of the arcane, but they could more than do their part in the city-and their part now consisted of general peacekeeping and traffic control. It definitely was not the worst job they had been forced to undertake, but it was cumbersome-very, very cumbersome. To be completely honest, they were long bored out of their wits from their hours-long stay in that overcrowded city center. Day-in and day-out, it was more of that same gentle but bland repetition. Thus, they had long hoped and prayed that something new, something different would break that rigid pattern.

And now, finally, their prayers were answered.

"I believe it was..." the pink-robe replied in length as he along with his partner watched the eccentric elf not only break every rule in the book, but also disrupt public order and cause countless minor traffic accidents, all in his quest to catch up to that armored man. However, rather than stop the elf from spreading chaos in his wake, the magi instead looked in awe upon Lyolf's figure, hints of worship apparent in their eyes.

"He truly is a paragon," the pink-robe stated with a voice filled with admiration.

"That... I couldn't agree more. But what do you think he's doing?" The man's companion replied, as she tried to make sense of the scene.

"No Idea!!"

"...You think he heard us?"

"I wouldn't be surprised" the orange-robe replied with a soft sigh, then a quiet laugh. "It wouldn't be the first time he's broken the norm."

"In any case, what are we doing waiting around here for?" The orange-robe continued with a grin almost intrinsic to a Ternaden magi.

"...You're right!" The pink-robe agreed, and together the two ran chased after the raven chasing a magus chasing an armored man.

"Spread the news!" The pink-robe shouted as he ran.  "Lyolf's starting a PARADE!!"

And thus it was that two madmen and a raven rampaged throughout Ternaden, frightening horses and overturning wagons...

As an ever-growing procession of magi paraded in their wake.

http://www.youtube.com/v/jhQLIlU11oo&autoplay=1
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/122814910/Lyolf/CabbageMerchant.png)

"MYYYYYYYYY CABBAGES!!!!"

[close]

---

It was all he ever came to the New Years' Festival for. Sure, there were great contests like Arm Wrestling, Archery, Fashion, and much more, but all of them dimmed considerably in comparison to the greatest and most important kind of competition ever invented by mankind: the Eating Contest. Even the Drinking contest took back seat when measured up to this magnificent concept. It was brilliant! He would have to craft the finest of crafts for whoever decided to host this contest this year. He was forever in their debt for the sheer amount of food he would stuff into his face that night.

He had been just outside the dining room for some time now, just sitting there and counting the number of lines in his thumbprints as he waited intensely for them to finally allow him to gorge himself.  But at last, the moment had finally come! The last item of food was set on the table and the gnome grinned the most excited grin a gnome could grin. The announcer's recitation of the contest's introduction was like music to Eric's ears, and once the contest had officially begun, he wasted not a single second before bursting through the doors and running to the nearest chair at the table. There, he grabbed the largest of slabs of meat, the most succulent of spuds, the greenest of greater plantains, the wateriest of watermelons, and literally anything else he could reach without crawling over the table, and shoved all of it right into his face, giving himself only barely enough time to swallow before filling his mouth right back up again. Meat, vegetables, fruits, and even some objects that probably weren't meant to be eaten may as well have all been blended together as Eric chowed down on them. This was undeniably the most important part of the Guild of Galas'nor to him. For this New Years' Festival to not host such an essential event would basically be a condemnation to all the guild stood for. Eric cringed at the thought of its discontinuation.

But then, there, out of the corner of Eric's eye, in a blur of blatant, daring provocation, a muscular red-haired man made his way to the table and began an attempt to put Eric's eating skills to the test. A very bad choice indeed, Eric thought. He reigned victorious as the unquestioned eating champion in many groups prior to joining the Guild of Galas'nor. Today his title may be challenged, but it would never be relinquished to another. As if to accept this man's unsung challenge, Eric quickened his pace considerably, leaving himself less time to chew the food as he shoved it all in his mouth at once and swallowed. His opponent seemed to be having trouble keeping up, but to Eric that was no excuse to slow down. He swallowed again and then shoved a whole cob of corn in his mouth.

If it weren't for his squawker being so occupied with doing its other job, Eric might have issued the man a spoken warning, but without the ability to speak, his clearly-superior eating prowess would have to suffice. He shot the man a challenging expression, unconcerned with the many food items hanging out of his mouth or the gravy leaking onto the plate in front of him. It was then that he knew - he just knew - that he was miles beyond any possible eating power that this man could possibly display. Thus Eric was sure he would once again reign victorious in yet another eating contest. It was comforting to know, but of course this gnome still wouldn't dare let down his guard. He continued furiously devouring everything he could reach, intent on driving fear into the hearts of anyone who dared try to beat him.

"What do you mean 'What are you doing here?'" Eric exclaimed, having finally slowed down enough to not have food in his mouth for a split second, "Is this not the guild's annual eating contest?" He was incredulous that he was addressed as a 'weirdo' and an 'intruder' by these bystanders when all he had done was participate in a public competition.

For a moment, there was silence, then the woman who appeared to be the main organizer of the event finally spoke up."...I think you're in the wrong place." she answered, "You're not even inside the guild right now." She looked at the food on the table, now scattered messily throughout and otherwise almost completely devoured by the gnome and another uninvited guest. She was nearly in tears. "My husband will be home any time now. His military homecoming celebration is ruined!"

It was then that Eric had questioned the directions given to him by a small homeless boy just outside of town. He was sure the child knew what he was talking about! Nonetheless, it appeared he had intruded on some random person's house during a very emotional time for her. It was probably best to see himself out in case he was part of the problem.

The gnome rose to his feet, bowed his head slightly as if to thank the woman for her unlimited kindness in offering Eric some of the food from the celebration, and then made his way for the front door. "It was a pleasure to meet you tonight, Miss, uhh... Lady! I'm afraid I've got to go, though. I've got a competition to win! Oh, yeah! See you around!" Without waiting for a response from anyone else in the house, Eric slipped out, making great haste not because he was in a rush to get away from these nice people - on the contrary, he wished he could say and finish his meal - but because there was no doubt the competition would be starting any minute now! He had no time to converse with the townsfolk! This was his eating reputation on the line here!

But what greeted him when he stepped out the front door was an immediate distraction. An armored man was hastily making way for some undisclosed location. He seemed shady and Eric was sure he was up to something that was involved with running, which Eric admitted he wasn't the greatest at. His legs weren't long enough to keep up with most people, even though he was kind of tall for a gnome. It probably wouldn't have been a good idea to join him even if Eric weren't on the search for the food-eating contest.

And then things started to get more interesting. Relatively speaking, of course. Following the armored man, who was himself pushing through the crowd, was another man and his Raven pet/familiar/livestock (Eric wasn't sure which), frantically giving chase. A poor merchant had his entire stock of cabbages knocked over and mostly destroyed by the people and wagons trampling them as they fell into the street. Upon the site of the elf running down the street, though, it seemed the whole town was starting to lose their mind. One of them announced quite loudly that "Lyolf", whom Eric could only assume was either the elf or the armored man, was starting a parade!

So that was how they got those started in this city. Eric had wondered that since he first stepped foot in Ternadan. He had thought there was some city council that he had to get permission from in order to do it. Apparently not, which was great news! Because Eric loved parades!
Not as much as he loved eating, of course, which is why he reluctantly forced himself to resist the urge to join this wonderful parade. He had to find the guild! He hastily ran to the man who just lost his cabbages, unconcerned that he had probably just lost tons of money in the destruction of his cabbages, and beseeched him to disclose the building's location posthaste!

Of course, it was difficult to get the man to cooperate, seeing as the cabbages appeared to more important to him than anything else in the world right now. It perhaps wasn't the best idea to ask this man in particular. With that in mind, he grabbed the nearest non-cabbage-obsessed man in the elbow (because he couldn't reach the shoulder) and yanked him real close before asking the same question, this time with a stern rumble in his voice to make sure the man knew he was serious.

In what appeared to be half-scared, half-confused, and half-procacious stupor, the man responded by pointing in a seemingly arbitrary direction. Eric wasn't sure this man's vague answer could be trusted, given his bumptious demeanor, but it was all the gnome had to go by. Without another word, he let go of the man's arm and sprinted in the direction he pointed, in doing so joining the elf and the armored man in their attempt to get a parade going. This he was happy about, because parades were always fun, but he had no intention of staying in it any longer than he had to, lest he risk passing up the chance to destroy all competition in the eating contest.

The streets were heavily crowded, and on many occasions he was forced to knock down fellow city-folk, punch them in the face, and throw knives through the air to make sure they didn't block his path any longer. Time passed through the hourglass like an ogre passed gas as the gnome darted to and fro through the amassment of assorted races, giving Eric the illusion that he was probably missing out on some very important gorging of himself on delectable entrées. He could only imagine what he was missing this very moment!

At last the silhouette of an outline of what appeared to be a building shaped much like a guild began to appear in his vision. His pace immediately picked up and an elated smile quickly formed on his face. It was as if the sun was shining extra bright on the building, whether it be in Eric's mind or just a trick of light, the gnome didn't know, but whatever the case, it's glorification of the location of an eating contest was splendid! It was then that he knew he was headed for the right place.

Several more minutes had passed and he finally reached the guild, bursting though the front gate and rushing like an excited dog to follow the arrows that probably led to the room where he would finally reach the eating contest. He hadn't set aside a great deal of time to explore the guild since he joined more days ago than he could count on one hand and two feet, so the layout actually did manage to confuse him for a moment. Indeed that was the only thing in the entire universe at the moment that could have stopped him in his tracks, but even that didn't stop him for long, for he discovered a map of the New Years' Festivities conveniently posted on the wall in front of the particular place he had stopped. He was near to it! The moment he saw the room on the map, he booked it down the hallway, soon finding the entrance and bursting through the doors like an exploding bomb!

"Hoooold everything!" he hollered for all to hear, "You can't start the contest without the star of the show! Oh, yeah!" he ran up to the stage, grabbed a number, and quickly made way for the nearest chair, satisfied that this time he was (probably) in the right place for the competition. He was exaggeratedly excited, but equally eager as he waited for the round to begin. No one could stand in his way or ever hope to out-eat him! After his brilliant show of nomming power at that random lady's house, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that he could surely handle anything the competition here could dish out at him.

"SOOooo...huungree..." Hawke expressed to himself, his stomach emitting an agreeable growl. How long has it been since he last saw a decent meal? Days? Weeks?

After getting himself un-lost, he was pointed in the direction of this odd town by some traveling caravans. They offered some brief warnings and odd glances, but eventually continued on their journey as they laughed at his situation, almost mocking him like he would be heading toward the looney bin. Despite how odd or foul smelling the place could be, he had to take his chances, leaning on a slight hope that they might be skilled enough to help him. He was in search of any magical help that could remedy the bad stick life had thrown his way, be it from crazy mage or digging through some dusty forgotten libraries.

Passing through the town's gates, he could feel an immediate buzz of energy throughout the place. For once, his panicked mind felt at ease, giving him a sliver of hope that this could be the place to finally settle his demons and move on with his life. His thoughts lingered of home briefly, only to be interrupted by a chorus of loud noises and excited people. Hawke tugged at his long-sleeved cloak, making sure that his affliction wasn't openly visible. He hated dressing up so much, but best to avoid nosy and easily terrified people.

As he traveled down some of the less busy streets, he began to see more and more decorations and festivities line the homes of the townsfolk. "Some kind of festival...?" he wondered aloud. Stopping by one of the booths, he decided to fetch some information from a couple of people tending to their fried goods, eager to make some happy faces and a bit of money on the side. The festival seems to have everyone in a good mood as well as occupied with whatever events they were spectating. Hawke was looking for a place known as Galas'nor, and the vendors were happy to point him in the right direction.

He tugged at his sleeves again, a habit he formed early on, making sure they would not slip too far back to reveal things he didn't want people to see. He was nearing the entrance of the guild when the strong scent of food caught his attention. Stomach growling again, he took in the wonderful aroma, reminded of how hungry he was, but with no money to show. As if enchanted, his feet took on a will of their own and began leading him toward the aroma. Soon enough he found himself standing before a decent crowd of people, and a row of tables with multiple foods stacked upon them. A few people were placed behind the row of tantalizing food, a few empty chairs drawing his attention. The crowd was a noise of words and voices, but a few stuck out to him. A few like "food" and "eating contest". "No," he told himself, he could gather food later. Right now he needed to meet these people at the guild and get to working on learning everything they could tell him.

Snapping out of his trance, he found that he was already up on stage with the other folk behind the table with a ticket in hand. "....how...when...wha...." he murmured, picking up on a few odd glances his way. This table was obviously enchanted and it's food no better. No matter what he did, he couldn't partake in this buffet, lest he chance losing his mind and spoiling his appetite. Yet he found himself moving to an empty chair and sitting down with his other contenders. "What the hell is wrong with me?" he thought to himself, his mouth salivating from the tempting food before him. 

Shandon was mostly uninterested in the eating competition. Sure, he was grateful for any meals brought his way, but gorging oneself did not appeal to him. So for now, he was content watching, even more so when he saw the first dish was rather...eccentric. At this point he was just staying to see what came next. However, as he watched the contestants line up, he noticed a rather emaciated man approach, and almost mindlessly walk up and take a seat.

"...Unwell..." He muttered to himself. That was not allowed, especially in a contest such as this. "Time to eat." The dwarf said with determination as he walked up to the stage, making his way toward the figure and sitting right beside them. If anything went wrong, the dwarf would be able to keep them from getting in worse shape. He wanted to keep them from competing, but knew this wasn't the place to cause such a scene.

And so he waited for the next course, keeping his eye on the disheveled figure beside him.

QuoteSince I'm the DM, placing my own character in this, I'll roll publicly haha.

Constitution check:  1d20+2 : 4 + 2, total 6

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.

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.

[close]

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.


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

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!"

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 (http://forums.fantasyworldcreations.com/Themes/envision2013_smf20_rev3/images/dice_warn.gif) This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+11 : 1 + 11, total 12

[close]

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.

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.

Spoiler

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

[close]

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. 

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!

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!"

"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.

QuoteGandin 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.

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

Survey (http://kwiksurveys.com/s/WhrAorvt)

QuoteResults (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! :)