Difference between revisions of "Luck be praised - RPLOG"
(Auto update) |
(Auto update) |
||
| Line 35: | Line 35: | ||
In the fields themselves, there are five courses set up. Consisting of a balancing log, a series of steps, and finally a small tube that for each has been made in accordance with their size. At the start to each, is a worker whom has an egg and a spoon. "In the course of skill, you shall work to combine your willpower, with luck itself! Holding the spoon in your mouth while balancing the egg on it, you shall see how far into the course you can make it... Now, participants to your marks!"<br> <br>Cassidy eyes the course and bites her lip. She didn't like these kinds of things. She'd much rather an archery contest, or even a fencing contest! Not this, at any rate. Heaving a little sigh she folds her hands behind her head and looks up at the sky. "Well. Let's do this, then." She approaches the worker in her lane and takes the spoon, clutching it between her teeth as directed and setting the egg upon it as she starts, moving across the field as carefully as she can. Of course, her entire focus is on the task, determined to not fail again!<br> <br>Valor sighs, taking the spoon in his mouth and placing it inside. He starts across the log, balancing on his heavy hooves. He does make it across, and he gets confident! He then heads across the steps to get further! He gets across the steps and then.... his egg.... falls out of the spoon. He curses his luck quietly and took the spoof out of his mouth, cursing his luck a little louder and clenching his fists.<br> <br>Cedric has a slightly incredulous expression when told what he's expected to do here. Although it wasn't quite as bad as the pig incident. He reluctlantly takes a spoon and egg and balances the egg at the other end before taking to the balancing log without any problem. Such a task proves fairly simple for a member of the graceful clan, and he ascends the stairs up to the tunnel without a care in world until reaching the goal.<br> <br>Hartford takes the egg and spoon nervously. "I'm not so good with fragile things," he says sheepishly as he places the spoon between his wide, flat teeth. He does alright across the log, his balance solid as his build, but halfway through the series of steps, he misjudges the height of a stair and trips, falling hard to the ground. His egg launches from the spoon, sailing up, up, up and then down, down and landing with a splat inches from his broad nose. "Oops," he rumbles, then stands up with a deep, fluid laugh, "Don't suppose I can try again, can I?" He dusts himself off and trots heavily back to where the others are gathering. This was a great way to spend his evening off!<br> <br>Lina pads out to the fields and, taking her egg and attempting to balance it... fails, her neck jerking to the side at the last minute so that it launches instead of falls, as this will provide hehr more entertainment but still, failing. She doesn't care though, she makes a game of it and attempts the course anyways. She does hope her egg hit someone.<br> <br>"Luck is powerful, luck is strong... But luck is sadly not everything. A major factor yes, but not all there is to this world. Times will come where you must use your skill to reach out and push your luck into gear! Some of the greatest men in the world say they make their own luck, and by their skills they are right in many factors... Just keep it close to your heart though, that even the most lucky individual, will fail a hundred times more if he doesn't have skill in what he is doing... But more important than that, is those of you that fell or didn't quite make it, and still managed to have a laugh from it! You are the ones most blessed by luck in this world, for you recognize it's most cherished fact... That the greatest luck, is in getting the chance." The Zebra winking before waving them all to follow him back to the camp... | In the fields themselves, there are five courses set up. Consisting of a balancing log, a series of steps, and finally a small tube that for each has been made in accordance with their size. At the start to each, is a worker whom has an egg and a spoon. "In the course of skill, you shall work to combine your willpower, with luck itself! Holding the spoon in your mouth while balancing the egg on it, you shall see how far into the course you can make it... Now, participants to your marks!"<br> <br>Cassidy eyes the course and bites her lip. She didn't like these kinds of things. She'd much rather an archery contest, or even a fencing contest! Not this, at any rate. Heaving a little sigh she folds her hands behind her head and looks up at the sky. "Well. Let's do this, then." She approaches the worker in her lane and takes the spoon, clutching it between her teeth as directed and setting the egg upon it as she starts, moving across the field as carefully as she can. Of course, her entire focus is on the task, determined to not fail again!<br> <br>Valor sighs, taking the spoon in his mouth and placing it inside. He starts across the log, balancing on his heavy hooves. He does make it across, and he gets confident! He then heads across the steps to get further! He gets across the steps and then.... his egg.... falls out of the spoon. He curses his luck quietly and took the spoof out of his mouth, cursing his luck a little louder and clenching his fists.<br> <br>Cedric has a slightly incredulous expression when told what he's expected to do here. Although it wasn't quite as bad as the pig incident. He reluctlantly takes a spoon and egg and balances the egg at the other end before taking to the balancing log without any problem. Such a task proves fairly simple for a member of the graceful clan, and he ascends the stairs up to the tunnel without a care in world until reaching the goal.<br> <br>Hartford takes the egg and spoon nervously. "I'm not so good with fragile things," he says sheepishly as he places the spoon between his wide, flat teeth. He does alright across the log, his balance solid as his build, but halfway through the series of steps, he misjudges the height of a stair and trips, falling hard to the ground. His egg launches from the spoon, sailing up, up, up and then down, down and landing with a splat inches from his broad nose. "Oops," he rumbles, then stands up with a deep, fluid laugh, "Don't suppose I can try again, can I?" He dusts himself off and trots heavily back to where the others are gathering. This was a great way to spend his evening off!<br> <br>Lina pads out to the fields and, taking her egg and attempting to balance it... fails, her neck jerking to the side at the last minute so that it launches instead of falls, as this will provide hehr more entertainment but still, failing. She doesn't care though, she makes a game of it and attempts the course anyways. She does hope her egg hit someone.<br> <br>"Luck is powerful, luck is strong... But luck is sadly not everything. A major factor yes, but not all there is to this world. Times will come where you must use your skill to reach out and push your luck into gear! Some of the greatest men in the world say they make their own luck, and by their skills they are right in many factors... Just keep it close to your heart though, that even the most lucky individual, will fail a hundred times more if he doesn't have skill in what he is doing... But more important than that, is those of you that fell or didn't quite make it, and still managed to have a laugh from it! You are the ones most blessed by luck in this world, for you recognize it's most cherished fact... That the greatest luck, is in getting the chance." The Zebra winking before waving them all to follow him back to the camp... | ||
| − | In the center of the camp, five blindfolds are being held by the various workers from the tent, with a large bale of hay in the middle of them all. "You have heard of needle in a haystack no doubt? As fun as it is, we find it more fair to have five golden sticks in the hay stack... You cannot mistake it for hay, and you'll know it when you feel it. I ask each of you to go, and be blindfolded before I explain further.<br> <br>Cassidy snickers softly as she steps forward to have the blind fold applied before settling into a grin. "Is magic allowed? Because if so, I've totally got this in the bag. Or is this another 'luck' only thing?"<br> <br>Valor walks up to the haystack, flexing his hands in his gloves, glad he was wearing them. "Seems straightforward....." he says, allowing himself to be blindfolded, keeping his ears alert.<br> <br>Cedric lets himself be blindfolded after looking at the stacks, prepared for the challege. Another test of luck, it would seem? Well, perhaps his would be different this time. "Alright then... I'm ready whenever."<br> <br>Hartford laughs, deep and low. "This should be fun!" he says happily, taking up his blindfold and applying it to his eyes and standing facing the haystack, still a bit damp from the shoulders up thanks to his first task. He gets ready to dive into the pile at the zebra's signal.<br> <br>Lina nods and grabs the blindfold, before not listening for a starting signal. She rushes out towards the stack and hopes she finds something, her bodyguard a little on edge and watching from the side.<br> <br>"YOU HAVE THIRTY SECONDS, BEGIN!" The Zebra shouts once everyone is blindfolded, laughing along with many others at Lina's enthusiasim as a horn is blown to help kick them all into gear at the pile! "DIG GREEDILY, DIG DEEP! FIND YOUR GOLD WITH THE AID OF BLIND LUCK!" The workers and farmers surrounding the spectacle while cheering.<br> <br>Cassidy scowls a little as it seems she must be without her magic once again, turning to dig through the hay with pursed lips and frustrated determination. She was never lucky.<br> <br>Valor throws himself into the hay with enthusiasm, hoping to do well and redeem himself. His cloth-wrapped metal gloves closer around something solid and he stands, dragging whatever it was up with him, arm thrust upward!<br> <br>Cedric starts digging through the haystack, feeling around for something solid, but only managing to send up stray straws of hay up into his own face as he digs in a futile attempt.<br> <br>Hartford laughs as he burrows through the hay, coughing and spluttering a little as a sprig or two of the stuff gets in his mouth. Hard to believe that the creature he had been uplifted from had probably eaten this stuff.<br> <br>Lina is eagerly digging about a haystack before.... she is grabbed and dragged towards someone! She screams for help, in as loud a fashion as she can. "Let go!" she says before she attempts to use her training.<br> <br>The group is filled with joyus laughter, even more so when Valor triumphantly holds up... Lina. Which seems to earn him a couple kicks to the chest before the Lioness is once more freed into the pile to continue her search, along with the horse! "DON'T WORRY LASS, HE THOUGHT YOUR ARM WAS A STICK! TWENTY SECONDS!" The Zebra calls out as the crowd begins to count down...<br> <br>Cassidy quickly withdraws from the hay pile, clinging to her golden prize now that she has it. Hay clings to her capelet and tail, but fortunately her black scaled robe is spotless. Or hayless, as the case may be. "Aha! I've got something!"<br> <br>Valor drops Lina like she was hot and then goes back to digging and finds.... nothing. He stomps out of the pile, his chest hurting a little but his pride hurting more. He spits out hay and curses his foul luck.<br> <br>Lina is released and still being timed! She searches and twists frantically, her tail coming into her grasp which causes her to stop and do a double-check before straightening the fur on it and her clothes and digging a little more, moving towards the bottom and hoping.<br> <br>Cedric still hasn't found one of these golden sticks in his search of the hay. All he seems to be finding is even more of the straw in his bare fun and face, and feeling quite embarrassed about how he must look right about now. | + | In the center of the camp, five blindfolds are being held by the various workers from the tent, with a large bale of hay in the middle of them all. "You have heard of needle in a haystack no doubt? As fun as it is, we find it more fair to have five golden sticks in the hay stack... You cannot mistake it for hay, and you'll know it when you feel it. I ask each of you to go, and be blindfolded before I explain further.<br> <br>Cassidy snickers softly as she steps forward to have the blind fold applied before settling into a grin. "Is magic allowed? Because if so, I've totally got this in the bag. Or is this another 'luck' only thing?"<br> <br>Valor walks up to the haystack, flexing his hands in his gloves, glad he was wearing them. "Seems straightforward....." he says, allowing himself to be blindfolded, keeping his ears alert.<br> <br>Cedric lets himself be blindfolded after looking at the stacks, prepared for the challege. Another test of luck, it would seem? Well, perhaps his would be different this time. "Alright then... I'm ready whenever."<br> <br>Hartford laughs, deep and low. "This should be fun!" he says happily, taking up his blindfold and applying it to his eyes and standing facing the haystack, still a bit damp from the shoulders up thanks to his first task. He gets ready to dive into the pile at the zebra's signal.<br> <br>Lina nods and grabs the blindfold, before not listening for a starting signal. She rushes out towards the stack and hopes she finds something, her bodyguard a little on edge and watching from the side.<br> <br>"YOU HAVE THIRTY SECONDS, BEGIN!" The Zebra shouts once everyone is blindfolded, laughing along with many others at Lina's enthusiasim as a horn is blown to help kick them all into gear at the pile! "DIG GREEDILY, DIG DEEP! FIND YOUR GOLD WITH THE AID OF BLIND LUCK!" The workers and farmers surrounding the spectacle while cheering.<br> <br>Cassidy scowls a little as it seems she must be without her magic once again, turning to dig through the hay with pursed lips and frustrated determination. She was never lucky.<br> <br>Valor throws himself into the hay with enthusiasm, hoping to do well and redeem himself. His cloth-wrapped metal gloves closer around something solid and he stands, dragging whatever it was up with him, arm thrust upward!<br> <br>Cedric starts digging through the haystack, feeling around for something solid, but only managing to send up stray straws of hay up into his own face as he digs in a futile attempt.<br> <br>Hartford laughs as he burrows through the hay, coughing and spluttering a little as a sprig or two of the stuff gets in his mouth. Hard to believe that the creature he had been uplifted from had probably eaten this stuff.<br> <br>Lina is eagerly digging about a haystack before.... she is grabbed and dragged towards someone! She screams for help, in as loud a fashion as she can. "Let go!" she says before she attempts to use her training.<br> <br>The group is filled with joyus laughter, even more so when Valor triumphantly holds up... Lina. Which seems to earn him a couple kicks to the chest before the Lioness is once more freed into the pile to continue her search, along with the horse! "DON'T WORRY LASS, HE THOUGHT YOUR ARM WAS A STICK! TWENTY SECONDS!" The Zebra calls out as the crowd begins to count down...<br> <br>Cassidy quickly withdraws from the hay pile, clinging to her golden prize now that she has it. Hay clings to her capelet and tail, but fortunately her black scaled robe is spotless. Or hayless, as the case may be. "Aha! I've got something!"<br> <br>Valor drops Lina like she was hot and then goes back to digging and finds.... nothing. He stomps out of the pile, his chest hurting a little but his pride hurting more. He spits out hay and curses his foul luck.<br> <br>Lina is released and still being timed! She searches and twists frantically, her tail coming into her grasp which causes her to stop and do a double-check before straightening the fur on it and her clothes and digging a little more, moving towards the bottom and hoping.<br> <br>Cedric still hasn't found one of these golden sticks in his search of the hay. All he seems to be finding is even more of the straw in his bare fun and face, and feeling quite embarrassed about how he must look right about now.<br> <br>What's gold and sticky? The golden stick that Hartford has just wrapped his big, meaty hand around! For a second, the big deer is confused, then an enormous grin spreads across his broad muzzle. "I got one!" he cheers, standing up from the scattered pile of hay. He just stands there smiling in his blindfold, with the stick held above his head, covered from head to hoof in golden straw.<br> <br>"TWO HAVE FOUND THEIR STICKS! Will you all step back and submit as the odds shrink against you, or will go defiantly for one more attempt at finding your luck?!" The Zebra's voice booming out as the counting begins to reach ten seconds, and Cassidy and Hartford are escorted to the side by two deer women with fur dyed a bright almost neon blue. Both aving their blindfolds removed, and allowed to watch the last few seconds...<br> <br>Cassidy lets herself be lead away, turning her attention back to the hay stack once her blindfold is removed. She's glad she had hers! Redemption in the blind luck!<br> <br>Valor dives back into the pile, but all in vain. He doesn't find it, and stomps out, cursing luck and stomping angrily.<br> <br>The badger is about to just give up before he looks even more silly, digging around in a pile of hay like beast. He defiantly pulls at the mound of hay in slight frustration, letting out a low growl before he moves to stand up. By sheer, stupid, blind luck, his hand finds a solid stick as he places it on the ground to stand up, and picks the object up as he rises. Pulling up his blindfold and peering at the golden stick, he narrows his eyes for a moment. "Are you kidding me..?"<br> <br>Hartford claps and cheers as the other beings continue to flail around in the hay. "Luck! Luck! Luck!" he chants happily. He eyes the pretty deer women, that blue color was rather fetching.<br> <br>Lina flounders through the hay for a while more and then, bursts out in as graceful a fashion as possible, adjusting her outfit to hide her lack of clan. Hopefully that wasn't visible the whole time, maybe luck judged apostates too? She smiles and looks to her bodyguard. "I give up!", let's go see what they want now.<br> <br>As the countdown finally reaches zero, dozens of horns blare and the workers through festivly colored paper bits into the air while cheering! The two blue deer women going to lead Hartford, Cassidy, and Cedric up to a small set of boxes set out for them to stand on, before the rest of the workers go to guide valor and Lina over as well! "Children of the creators! Tonight we have witnessed the upstart of luck! A three way tie between these individuals has been unheard of since the great chicken stew festivle that we all swore to never speak of again!" A quick hush falls over the crowd as many look bashfull, before the Zebra coughs and clears his own thoat once more. "Where was I? Ah yes! Two of our winners started off with no points... And now they stand before you having won this contest! We must commend their faith in the force of Luck, and as promised they shall be amplied rewarded... With a crate of raw creator steak each!" Three medium sized crates of ground meat brought out and presented to the winners. |
| + | |||
| + | "But let us not forget those whom still dared to try! For both of you, a bottle of fine wine provided by one of the local farmers!" Two large bottles of wine are brought out and presented to Valor and Lina as the Zebra continues. "Now... For those of you whom were so enthralled, or even slightly interested today, I bid you to raise your right hand high in the air. Do such with the wish to join the Church of Luck, and bring the message of what you have heard here! For those interest, I shall invite you to participate in a quick ceremony, that all may watch!"<br> <br>Cassidy eyes the crate of meat and licks her lips, nodding. "That sounds lovely, yes. But uh... Church of Luck? Well, I'd have to know more about what that entails, exactly! I don't just go throwing my name onto things without knowing what I'm getting into, you know?"<br> <br>Valor smiles and takes the bottle, smiling as his manners returning to him. He smiles and nods. "Of course I'd be glad to participate." Luck was a fickle mistress, and maybe he could appeal to her by joining.<br> <br>Cedric isn't... entirely sure what he's going to do with a crate of meat, exactly... and doesn't seem to enjoy being placed up on a box in front of a crowd, immediately looking away from other beings as he listens to the boisterous zerba. He turns his head to nod to Cassidy. "I'm... curious, of course... but not quite curious enough to join without that kind of information, myself..."<br> <br>:laughs loud and low. "If this is what church is like, I'll join!" he says in his low, deep voice, very pleased with his prize. He raises his burly right arm high in the air. Idly he wonders if this terrible Chicken Stew Festival was half as bad as his own Spaghetti Incident. . . the big guy still had nightmares sometimes. The oversized cervine flashes a grin to one of the blue deer girls. "You busy after the ceremony?" he asks.<br> <br>"Ah a fair question to ask my dear! Allow me to answer with complete honesty... We are not as much a church as the church of creators is, or a cult like the old ones. If anything, we are like minded individuals that gather to understand a few facts that we hold true... The first, is that there is forces in this world we cannot control. We cannot control if we are born noble, commoner, or apostate... And so, the church looks beyond those facts. To us, all are equal and one, clanned, noble, apostate, and commoner. The second fact we hold true, is that if you can improve your chances, you should. Yes, you can trust your fellow man to not steal your corn, but still building a fence will make sure luck stays closer to your side in the fact that nobody steals your corn. If you fail to keep your corn after doing all you could, then such is life! There is a saying about spilled milk that I believe applies there..." | ||
| + | |||
| + | "Though, I must say with a one hundred percent certainty, that the greatest truth we hold dear, is that one cannot beat themselves up too much over not having a lucky moment. Yes it is unfortunate, yes it may be depressing... But, if you wallow in it, you will miss the good luck you have in your life still. We ask no tithes be paid for membership, we demand no labor, we take only what is offered to us. Right now, I hold services every weekend in eastbank forest, where groups of our members will sit together... And as we do, we discuss what is lucky in our lives, and what poor luck has befallen us, and together we strive to work past it." The Zebra nods as many of the workers clap and cheer, the deer girls giggling slightly at Hartford before placing their fingers over their lips with a wink.<br> <br>Cassidy strokes her chin and hums in thought. "Well. As long as I don't have to go dressing up all silly-like," she says with a wink, "I suppose I could get behind that, yes! For certainly we cannot control some things in our lives."<br> <br>Valor nods, understanding. It was more of a community than a church and.... he felt this pull to them. Like he should be here, to feel like he belonged somewhere. He claps and cheers along with them, the bottle under his arm. "Of course I will join, Xixo!" He proclaims joyfully.<br> <br>"Even if I do agree with much of what you've said, I'll have to pass." Cedric answers, shaking his head. The services, specifically having to talk to other people about things like that, it's just not really in his nature. "Best of luck, though, of course..."<br> <br>Hartford returns the deer girls wink. They must be twins or something. He mirrors their shushing gesture then turns to look at Xixo for instruction, his big arm still held in the air, as per earlier instruction. | ||
Revision as of 02:23, 28 May 2014
Participants
Date
27/5/477
Log
It is not hard to find where the strange group has set up shop, around a dozen brightly colored tents are placed in a semi-circle around one plot of farm land. The local farmers have been having fun it seems, as some have brought kegs of ale and cider to the event for all to enjoy, and nobody seems to have a frown on their faces. All the games seem to be taking place within tents with the flaps closed, and around two dozen 'workers' man the spots around their set up. All of them dressed in pink and blue robes, with small baskets to collect tips with in their hands.
Cassidy has her mask face on today, so it's probably hard to say if she's frowning or not. She's also not wearing her usual armour today, having replaced it with a long flowing robe of... Scales. Quite interesting. As she approaches one of the tents at random to see what all the buzz is about, she tilts her mask up to show her face. She is indeed smiling today. "What's all the... Stuff?" She asks one of the workers at her chosen tent, gesturing vaguely with her hand.
Valor makes his way towards the area, following shortly behind Cassidy. He admires the dress for a moment before turning his attention to another tent and approaching it, nodding to the tent workers. "What seems to be the attraction?" He asks the workers, curious.
It would appear that Cedric had left most of his clothes elsewhere, as it was too damn hot out today, even for him. Instead, he wears a pair of loose, short trousers bloused just above the knees and a simple pair of sandals on he feet as he wanders the grounds with a nice glass of cider to cool off in some shade near one of the tents, mostly loitering near a few of the beings working there.
Hartford stares in dumb wonder at all of the bright tents and costumed workers. The big, unusually patterned deer was still wearing his livery from house Blackback. He had never been to something like this before! The pay as a mere Blackback manor guard had never left him with disposable income, but now, with a Freesword's occasional windfall, he had enough to treat himself to a bit of fun! He walks up to the first tent he comes to, "What's the game here?" he asks, stomping his big feet and shaking his antlered head in excitement.
Lina pads out to the suggestion location of this strange shop, almost trying to outpace her escort in a sort of game, only moving forward as quickly as she can when they answer her or she catches them blinking. She smiles as her tail sways, looking around and trying to figure out what exactly she wanted to accomplish on this outing, deciding it was all for fun! "Hey!" she says as she waves to the first group of people she sees. "I'm Lina, it's nice to meet you!"
The individuals the group addresses all grin and seem to bow at once, before a large plume of purple and green smoke erupt out of the middle most tent... Just in time for a shirtless male zepbra to come dashing out and slidding through the dirt! His stripes all painted a neon green, and a fake horn strapped to his head as he takes a deep breath. "GOOOOOOOOOOOD FORTUNE MY FRIENDS!" His voice like booming thunder as he takes another breath as he makes his way to his hooves. "Welcome to the Fourhundred and fourty fourth gathering of the Preachers of Luck! Surely this is the first lucky thing to happen to you today! I ask that all the new participants gather around me, and for those whom have been here to remain silent on the surprises to come! My name is Xexianoboldopia, or Xexi if you wish to be less formal~"
Cassidy tilts her head, attention drawn towards the energetic zebra. A shrug is given to the one she had been speaking to before she makes her way over, folding her arms under her capelet as she looks on curiously. "Very well! I'm curious as to what you have to say."
Valor blinks at the flashy display and is even a little shocked at the appearance of the green-striped zebra. He dies gather closer but is a little wary of the mental stability of the strange zebra. He keeps an eye out for any pickpockets or slash-purses that might try to make a go at his purse, though it was tucked into his sporran so it would be damn hard to get it without him noticing.
Cedric nearly drops his drink at the booming voice, glaring over at the zebra with a momentary bout of what can only be described as murderous intent at the sudden loud noises. Still, he doesn't want to cause a scene in public so he reigns in his annoyance and gathers around the loudmouth, sipping his cider to calm his nerves.
Hartford applauds good naturedly for the bizarre zebra's entrance then stumps heavily over to join the circle. This whole thing is certainly a wonderful curiousity! The big deer has never heard of the Church of Luck. He frowns just a little as he draws close to the zebra. "I didn't know we were comin' to church," he says, worry tingeing his slow, deep voice, "Should I have dressed up nice?" He turns to smile at the friendly lioness, "Hello Lina, I'm Hartford!"
Lina greets Hartford with a smile. "Hello Hartford. This all looks kind of strange doesn't it? Is the Zebra a Luma Moth? He's got strange patterns." she says with a jestful tone, looking over Hartford and her guard. She gives the Zebra some attention and a wave, and tries to add to the clap that Hartford gave, maybe the rest of them would be nice and clap too.
The Zebra lets out a loud bellowing laugh as he pats his chest and gives a quick flex. "Dress up for church?! Good sir, if you must dress up for the church of luck, than you turn off the lights and close your eyes before grabbing garments! I do it all the time, why one time I even showed up in my wife's knickers!" The farmers and workers laughing as a few nod in confirmation, before a small bowl is brought up to the Zebra, whom then counts those present before reaching in to pull out an equal number of slips as he clears his throat.
"You must all be naturally curious how this works! So allow me to explain... There shall be three events, the first one will be random and different for each of you, as you'll each head to a seperate tent to compete... Those who succeed will gain one point for winning, and two for winning with luck! If you fail the event, well such is life! After that, we begin the second event of -skill-, for those whom are more cautious, we'll take a step into the fields and do a quick game there... Then finally, the grand test of luck will be given! After which, those whom wish to join the preachers of luck may inquire with me for more details, and a possible chance at joining our lucky order~"
A few workers mumble and nod before the Zebra silences them with a wave and begins points at the people one by one. "The Masked Lady to tent number five, the big horse to tent number one, badger to tent two, deer with fantastic choice in coloring to tent three, and lioness to tent seven~ May fortune be with you all, and remember to trust in luck!"
Cassidy rubs at her chin and nods. "Sounds straight forward enough, yes! Maybe my luck will hold out today." Without another word, she turns and strides off towards the fifth tent, as directed, folding her hands behind her back.
Valor nods, taking the slip and heading for the first tent. "Does seem simple enough..." Preachers of luck.... He might just be paranoid but he still kept an eye out for potential problems. He steps up to the tent and waits for further instructions.
Cedric listens to Xexi, drinking from his glass as he nods. "Sure, why not..." he says, heading towards tend number two as instructed. After all, he wouldn't have come down today if he hadn't intended on seeing what this was all about.
Lina tilts her head and nods, grabbing her escort and skipping off towards tent number 1, then stopping and walking over to tent number 7 when she realizes she wasn't paying attention and the line on tent 1 isn't long enough.
Hartford grins at the odd zebra's compliment, even though he does not reall understand most of what is going on. But he can follow orders with the best of them! He nods his assent and tramps over to the indicated tent.
The workers all open the tents for the particpants and step to the side, allowing them entrance into the privacy of the tents before closing the doors.
Inside of Cassidy's tent is a small mouse and three balls sitting on a table. The mouse gives a little way and chuckles. "Welcome! Come on up, and test your luck... You have to stack all three of the balls ontop of each other as I count. After you stack them, you -have- to let go, and no magic allowed! Trust me, I'll know and I'd hate for someone to forsake their trust in luck! You may begin when ready."
Inside of Valor's tent is a large rhino, and dish like device that had a multitude of holes that led to hoses that then ended in boxes with numbers printed on them. "Greetings, for this event you shall close your eyes, and pick one of the balls up before tossing it into the bowl. You may not drop it, you must toss it... After you have done your deed, I shall tell you your points."
Cedric's tent has a thin deer woman sitting at a table, with twenty cards infront of her face down and unmarked from what he could tell. "Good fortune, for this test you merely close your eyes, spin around twice, and pick a card to hand to me!"
Lina's tent has a Hyena sitting infront of of a large dart board, holding a single dart and a blindfold. "Good fortune, for this test all you must do is put on this blinfold, spin five times, then throw. I will tell you your points afterwards."
Hartford's tent has a small sheep woman and a barrel of water with a variety of different colored balls in it. "Good fortune! For this test, you shall blindfold yourself, then pick a single ball out with your teeth! I will tell you how much you score afterwards!"
Cassidy peers at the balls and nods, humming. "Seems simple enough." She closes her eyes and lifts each ball, testing the weight and density of them for any kind of weights hidden inside. After a moment, she nods and starts to stack them, holding them up with her hands as she tries to center each of them perfectly as she waits for the signal.
Valor raises an eyebrow, the shrugs. "Oh well. What could possibly go wrong." He says, closing his eyes and picking up a ball. He tossed it in the direction of the dish, all while obeying the rules and keeping his eyes closed, though his ears pricked for any conspicuous sounds.
Cedric steps into the tent, giving the woman a small wave before he finishes the rest of his drink and sets the empty glass down with a nod. He can't help but think this is a little bit silly, but he closes his eyes all the same and spins around twice in front of the deer woman. Reaching at random after spinning, he blindly reaches for one of the cards and holds it out in front of him for her.
"Okay," Hartford says, and accepts the blindfold from the little ovine and wraps it tightly around his eyes. Then he feels his way (with a bit of help) to the edge of the barrel. The big deer takes a deep breath and plunges his face into the barrel. He can't get his whole head in, thanks to his large antlers, but he splashes and snaps after the little balls as they bounce and bob around his face. Finally, after a lot of effort and a LOT of splashing he manages to get his thick lips around a ball and lift it triumphantly from the barrel, sending one more splash across the tent.
Lina laughs nerevously. A dartboard, and a dart, and a blindfold... and she had to not hit the judge or her bodyguard, this would be bad. She puts on the blind fold, does her spins in counts, and stops, before she throws the dart with all her might and closes her blindfolded eyes.
The balls Cassidy attempted to stack sadly don't even last a single second as they soon tumble down to the floor and the worker gives a soft awww. "Ah, such is luck my friend! I'll mark you down as a participant... Don't worry, maybe you can make it up in the skill one!" The worker motioning her to the door with a smile.
Valor's throw is surprisingly lucky, as the ball manages to fall into a hole that leads it to a box with +two written upon it. "That's two points, congratulations! I'll mark that down here, and you can continue on back outside for them to take you to the next event!"
Cedrics luck is aparantly not with him, as he holds up a card with a big zero written on it. "Aaaah I'm sorry dear, but it seems your luck didn't hop to it for this one! But that's the very nature of luck isn't it hm~? I'll mark you down as a participant, and you can head back out for the next event, you can still win though!"
Hartfords grasp is close to getting one of the painted gold balls, but instead he comes away with a green ball with a one drawn upon it. "AH! A good point for you sir, I'll jot that down, and you can head outside for the next event! May luck be with you!"
Thank luck indeed, as Lina's throw is true and the dart lands onto the main portion of the board, without skewering anyone! "Fantastic! That's a pluss one for you my dear, you just tip toe outside, and head on to the next event and I'll write it on down~"
Cassidy grumbles, a scowl crossing her features as she turns towards the exit, taking her leave. That was a sure way to dampen her mood, certainly. She was determined to make up for it later, though.
Valor makes his way into
Valor makes his way out the back, smiling to himself. He'd won something! Now for skills...
Cedric opens his eyes, frowning just a little bit as he replaces the card. He's not too disappointed though, after all, it was merely a test of blind luck. Nothing he could've done would have affected the outcome, so it's not really his failing. Either way, he heads out back for the next event.
Hartford smiles as he spits the little green ball into his hand then sets it carefully aside as water drips down from his thick fur. "Thank you Ma'am," he says, with a drippy nod before he ducks out of the tent. He had gotten himself a lucky point and a nice cool-off! This was a great church!
Lina casts off her blindfold with a smile, grinning and nodding. "Alright! I'll see what else to do. I hope you have a good day." she calls before tromping off, refusing to tip toe! How rebeleous.
"HAHA! I see you've all had your share of ups and downs eh? Luck is a fickle thing, but one of the most constant things in this world... We could face a trial that tells us the odds are stacked against us a million to one, and yet through the powers of our own force of will, and luck itself, we can succeed! Granted, in our lives we will fail many times, but if you ask us, that only makes our victory that time even more sweet." The Zebra nodding solemly as he motions the group to follow him to out to the fields.
In the fields themselves, there are five courses set up. Consisting of a balancing log, a series of steps, and finally a small tube that for each has been made in accordance with their size. At the start to each, is a worker whom has an egg and a spoon. "In the course of skill, you shall work to combine your willpower, with luck itself! Holding the spoon in your mouth while balancing the egg on it, you shall see how far into the course you can make it... Now, participants to your marks!"
Cassidy eyes the course and bites her lip. She didn't like these kinds of things. She'd much rather an archery contest, or even a fencing contest! Not this, at any rate. Heaving a little sigh she folds her hands behind her head and looks up at the sky. "Well. Let's do this, then." She approaches the worker in her lane and takes the spoon, clutching it between her teeth as directed and setting the egg upon it as she starts, moving across the field as carefully as she can. Of course, her entire focus is on the task, determined to not fail again!
Valor sighs, taking the spoon in his mouth and placing it inside. He starts across the log, balancing on his heavy hooves. He does make it across, and he gets confident! He then heads across the steps to get further! He gets across the steps and then.... his egg.... falls out of the spoon. He curses his luck quietly and took the spoof out of his mouth, cursing his luck a little louder and clenching his fists.
Cedric has a slightly incredulous expression when told what he's expected to do here. Although it wasn't quite as bad as the pig incident. He reluctlantly takes a spoon and egg and balances the egg at the other end before taking to the balancing log without any problem. Such a task proves fairly simple for a member of the graceful clan, and he ascends the stairs up to the tunnel without a care in world until reaching the goal.
Hartford takes the egg and spoon nervously. "I'm not so good with fragile things," he says sheepishly as he places the spoon between his wide, flat teeth. He does alright across the log, his balance solid as his build, but halfway through the series of steps, he misjudges the height of a stair and trips, falling hard to the ground. His egg launches from the spoon, sailing up, up, up and then down, down and landing with a splat inches from his broad nose. "Oops," he rumbles, then stands up with a deep, fluid laugh, "Don't suppose I can try again, can I?" He dusts himself off and trots heavily back to where the others are gathering. This was a great way to spend his evening off!
Lina pads out to the fields and, taking her egg and attempting to balance it... fails, her neck jerking to the side at the last minute so that it launches instead of falls, as this will provide hehr more entertainment but still, failing. She doesn't care though, she makes a game of it and attempts the course anyways. She does hope her egg hit someone.
"Luck is powerful, luck is strong... But luck is sadly not everything. A major factor yes, but not all there is to this world. Times will come where you must use your skill to reach out and push your luck into gear! Some of the greatest men in the world say they make their own luck, and by their skills they are right in many factors... Just keep it close to your heart though, that even the most lucky individual, will fail a hundred times more if he doesn't have skill in what he is doing... But more important than that, is those of you that fell or didn't quite make it, and still managed to have a laugh from it! You are the ones most blessed by luck in this world, for you recognize it's most cherished fact... That the greatest luck, is in getting the chance." The Zebra winking before waving them all to follow him back to the camp...
In the center of the camp, five blindfolds are being held by the various workers from the tent, with a large bale of hay in the middle of them all. "You have heard of needle in a haystack no doubt? As fun as it is, we find it more fair to have five golden sticks in the hay stack... You cannot mistake it for hay, and you'll know it when you feel it. I ask each of you to go, and be blindfolded before I explain further.
Cassidy snickers softly as she steps forward to have the blind fold applied before settling into a grin. "Is magic allowed? Because if so, I've totally got this in the bag. Or is this another 'luck' only thing?"
Valor walks up to the haystack, flexing his hands in his gloves, glad he was wearing them. "Seems straightforward....." he says, allowing himself to be blindfolded, keeping his ears alert.
Cedric lets himself be blindfolded after looking at the stacks, prepared for the challege. Another test of luck, it would seem? Well, perhaps his would be different this time. "Alright then... I'm ready whenever."
Hartford laughs, deep and low. "This should be fun!" he says happily, taking up his blindfold and applying it to his eyes and standing facing the haystack, still a bit damp from the shoulders up thanks to his first task. He gets ready to dive into the pile at the zebra's signal.
Lina nods and grabs the blindfold, before not listening for a starting signal. She rushes out towards the stack and hopes she finds something, her bodyguard a little on edge and watching from the side.
"YOU HAVE THIRTY SECONDS, BEGIN!" The Zebra shouts once everyone is blindfolded, laughing along with many others at Lina's enthusiasim as a horn is blown to help kick them all into gear at the pile! "DIG GREEDILY, DIG DEEP! FIND YOUR GOLD WITH THE AID OF BLIND LUCK!" The workers and farmers surrounding the spectacle while cheering.
Cassidy scowls a little as it seems she must be without her magic once again, turning to dig through the hay with pursed lips and frustrated determination. She was never lucky.
Valor throws himself into the hay with enthusiasm, hoping to do well and redeem himself. His cloth-wrapped metal gloves closer around something solid and he stands, dragging whatever it was up with him, arm thrust upward!
Cedric starts digging through the haystack, feeling around for something solid, but only managing to send up stray straws of hay up into his own face as he digs in a futile attempt.
Hartford laughs as he burrows through the hay, coughing and spluttering a little as a sprig or two of the stuff gets in his mouth. Hard to believe that the creature he had been uplifted from had probably eaten this stuff.
Lina is eagerly digging about a haystack before.... she is grabbed and dragged towards someone! She screams for help, in as loud a fashion as she can. "Let go!" she says before she attempts to use her training.
The group is filled with joyus laughter, even more so when Valor triumphantly holds up... Lina. Which seems to earn him a couple kicks to the chest before the Lioness is once more freed into the pile to continue her search, along with the horse! "DON'T WORRY LASS, HE THOUGHT YOUR ARM WAS A STICK! TWENTY SECONDS!" The Zebra calls out as the crowd begins to count down...
Cassidy quickly withdraws from the hay pile, clinging to her golden prize now that she has it. Hay clings to her capelet and tail, but fortunately her black scaled robe is spotless. Or hayless, as the case may be. "Aha! I've got something!"
Valor drops Lina like she was hot and then goes back to digging and finds.... nothing. He stomps out of the pile, his chest hurting a little but his pride hurting more. He spits out hay and curses his foul luck.
Lina is released and still being timed! She searches and twists frantically, her tail coming into her grasp which causes her to stop and do a double-check before straightening the fur on it and her clothes and digging a little more, moving towards the bottom and hoping.
Cedric still hasn't found one of these golden sticks in his search of the hay. All he seems to be finding is even more of the straw in his bare fun and face, and feeling quite embarrassed about how he must look right about now.
What's gold and sticky? The golden stick that Hartford has just wrapped his big, meaty hand around! For a second, the big deer is confused, then an enormous grin spreads across his broad muzzle. "I got one!" he cheers, standing up from the scattered pile of hay. He just stands there smiling in his blindfold, with the stick held above his head, covered from head to hoof in golden straw.
"TWO HAVE FOUND THEIR STICKS! Will you all step back and submit as the odds shrink against you, or will go defiantly for one more attempt at finding your luck?!" The Zebra's voice booming out as the counting begins to reach ten seconds, and Cassidy and Hartford are escorted to the side by two deer women with fur dyed a bright almost neon blue. Both aving their blindfolds removed, and allowed to watch the last few seconds...
Cassidy lets herself be lead away, turning her attention back to the hay stack once her blindfold is removed. She's glad she had hers! Redemption in the blind luck!
Valor dives back into the pile, but all in vain. He doesn't find it, and stomps out, cursing luck and stomping angrily.
The badger is about to just give up before he looks even more silly, digging around in a pile of hay like beast. He defiantly pulls at the mound of hay in slight frustration, letting out a low growl before he moves to stand up. By sheer, stupid, blind luck, his hand finds a solid stick as he places it on the ground to stand up, and picks the object up as he rises. Pulling up his blindfold and peering at the golden stick, he narrows his eyes for a moment. "Are you kidding me..?"
Hartford claps and cheers as the other beings continue to flail around in the hay. "Luck! Luck! Luck!" he chants happily. He eyes the pretty deer women, that blue color was rather fetching.
Lina flounders through the hay for a while more and then, bursts out in as graceful a fashion as possible, adjusting her outfit to hide her lack of clan. Hopefully that wasn't visible the whole time, maybe luck judged apostates too? She smiles and looks to her bodyguard. "I give up!", let's go see what they want now.
As the countdown finally reaches zero, dozens of horns blare and the workers through festivly colored paper bits into the air while cheering! The two blue deer women going to lead Hartford, Cassidy, and Cedric up to a small set of boxes set out for them to stand on, before the rest of the workers go to guide valor and Lina over as well! "Children of the creators! Tonight we have witnessed the upstart of luck! A three way tie between these individuals has been unheard of since the great chicken stew festivle that we all swore to never speak of again!" A quick hush falls over the crowd as many look bashfull, before the Zebra coughs and clears his own thoat once more. "Where was I? Ah yes! Two of our winners started off with no points... And now they stand before you having won this contest! We must commend their faith in the force of Luck, and as promised they shall be amplied rewarded... With a crate of raw creator steak each!" Three medium sized crates of ground meat brought out and presented to the winners.
"But let us not forget those whom still dared to try! For both of you, a bottle of fine wine provided by one of the local farmers!" Two large bottles of wine are brought out and presented to Valor and Lina as the Zebra continues. "Now... For those of you whom were so enthralled, or even slightly interested today, I bid you to raise your right hand high in the air. Do such with the wish to join the Church of Luck, and bring the message of what you have heard here! For those interest, I shall invite you to participate in a quick ceremony, that all may watch!"
Cassidy eyes the crate of meat and licks her lips, nodding. "That sounds lovely, yes. But uh... Church of Luck? Well, I'd have to know more about what that entails, exactly! I don't just go throwing my name onto things without knowing what I'm getting into, you know?"
Valor smiles and takes the bottle, smiling as his manners returning to him. He smiles and nods. "Of course I'd be glad to participate." Luck was a fickle mistress, and maybe he could appeal to her by joining.
Cedric isn't... entirely sure what he's going to do with a crate of meat, exactly... and doesn't seem to enjoy being placed up on a box in front of a crowd, immediately looking away from other beings as he listens to the boisterous zerba. He turns his head to nod to Cassidy. "I'm... curious, of course... but not quite curious enough to join without that kind of information, myself..."
:laughs loud and low. "If this is what church is like, I'll join!" he says in his low, deep voice, very pleased with his prize. He raises his burly right arm high in the air. Idly he wonders if this terrible Chicken Stew Festival was half as bad as his own Spaghetti Incident. . . the big guy still had nightmares sometimes. The oversized cervine flashes a grin to one of the blue deer girls. "You busy after the ceremony?" he asks.
"Ah a fair question to ask my dear! Allow me to answer with complete honesty... We are not as much a church as the church of creators is, or a cult like the old ones. If anything, we are like minded individuals that gather to understand a few facts that we hold true... The first, is that there is forces in this world we cannot control. We cannot control if we are born noble, commoner, or apostate... And so, the church looks beyond those facts. To us, all are equal and one, clanned, noble, apostate, and commoner. The second fact we hold true, is that if you can improve your chances, you should. Yes, you can trust your fellow man to not steal your corn, but still building a fence will make sure luck stays closer to your side in the fact that nobody steals your corn. If you fail to keep your corn after doing all you could, then such is life! There is a saying about spilled milk that I believe applies there..."
"Though, I must say with a one hundred percent certainty, that the greatest truth we hold dear, is that one cannot beat themselves up too much over not having a lucky moment. Yes it is unfortunate, yes it may be depressing... But, if you wallow in it, you will miss the good luck you have in your life still. We ask no tithes be paid for membership, we demand no labor, we take only what is offered to us. Right now, I hold services every weekend in eastbank forest, where groups of our members will sit together... And as we do, we discuss what is lucky in our lives, and what poor luck has befallen us, and together we strive to work past it." The Zebra nods as many of the workers clap and cheer, the deer girls giggling slightly at Hartford before placing their fingers over their lips with a wink.
Cassidy strokes her chin and hums in thought. "Well. As long as I don't have to go dressing up all silly-like," she says with a wink, "I suppose I could get behind that, yes! For certainly we cannot control some things in our lives."
Valor nods, understanding. It was more of a community than a church and.... he felt this pull to them. Like he should be here, to feel like he belonged somewhere. He claps and cheers along with them, the bottle under his arm. "Of course I will join, Xixo!" He proclaims joyfully.
"Even if I do agree with much of what you've said, I'll have to pass." Cedric answers, shaking his head. The services, specifically having to talk to other people about things like that, it's just not really in his nature. "Best of luck, though, of course..."
Hartford returns the deer girls wink. They must be twins or something. He mirrors their shushing gesture then turns to look at Xixo for instruction, his big arm still held in the air, as per earlier instruction.
