"It's lovely outside, wouldn't you agree Darwin?" the reptite said, finishing up the final adjustments on the machine. The Nu just stared blankly ahead like it always did when its master started getting excited. "Lovely breeze, not a cloud in the sky..." The reptite continued, pulling on the straps to make sure they were good and tight. The machine, which was affixed to the Nu's back with strong vine straps wrapped around its armed and legs, was a crude metal box. From the sides of the box sprung wings not unlike those possessed by the winged apes, crafted from wood and covered in leather. Three crystals jutted out from the top, each inserted into a specialized receptacle, and a pull cord hung down from the back.

Satisfied that his assistant was securely strapped to the box Dr. Sleestak tottered over to his work table, grabbed a blank stone slate, a chisel, and a hammer, grabbed Darwin by the hand, and led him over to the elevator. They both grabbed one of the wheels sticking out of the side and gave it a pull, the elevator creaking upwards slowly as they continued to pull.

The door at the top of the plateau opens automatically as the exhausted reptile and his blank faced assistant gave one final pull and the elevator brought them up into the twilight. Panting, Dr. Sleestak took Darwin by the hand again and guided him to the edge. Here, at the top of this mountain, you could overlook the entire jungle. He took a deep breath, really breathing in that evening air. A fine mist was already beginning to rise out of the jungle as the heat of the day gave way to the pleasant not-as-hot-but-still-comfortable heat of the night. "For best result we should probably be doing this at noon, but I really don't want to risk it. I don't want that female finding me, and can you imagine how the humans would react? Seeing a Nu flying around? They'd think the world was ending Darwin."

The old Reptite peers over the edge of the cliff, down to the jagged rocks below, before looking back at the setting sun. This was going to be close. He reached over and gave the cord a good rip. The apparatuses holding the crystal sprung up on polls, shining even in the weak light of the setting sun. The wings began to flap, slowly at first, but then faster and faster until they became impossible to see. The wind they kicked up blew a cloud of dust from the mountaintop, and Sleestak had to cover his mouth to keep from breathing it in.

"I suppose I should make a speech of some sort?" Sleestak asked to no one in particular, before shrugging and kicking Darwin over the side. Quickly he laid his tablet on the ground, bringing up the hammer a chisel expectantly as he watched with rapacious excitement. Then, as he watched, his excited grin began to turn downward before a loud *THUMP* wiped it completely from his face. He sighed sadly and began tapping the results of this latest failure into the tablet.

Raynard's Theme

The bright sunny day felt wonderful as a calm breeze blew over the fairground and Raynard gave a refreshing inhale of the good air. It was a perfect day for the Millennial Fair and it was now his time to try and show off his entertainment skills to the crowds. He had been practicing some new tricks for quite some time and it was time to see if his hard work would pay off. Raynard got out his three magic boomerangs and began to toss them into air making them do quick aerial maneuvers. After they completed each trick the boomerangs would always come back into his hands with followed by oohs and aahs from the onlookers.

"There you have it folks, no one is better with Boomerangs than me. I will now show all never before seen trick by knocking three apples off the top of three separate fair tents tents" Raynard said to his audience and there was immediately scuffs and words of unbelief. He smiled and held a single boomerang in his right hand, preparing to throw it. Before he started his show Raynard had placed three apples on the top of the chosen tents and had to assure a couple of the owners that he wasn't going to damage their tent. Everything was ready and all he had to do now was throw the boomerang correctly and make it hit its three targets. He may have practiced a lot for this trick, but practice was never the same as doing it in front a crowd, one had to master their nerves first.

After taking three deep breaths Raynard throw the Boomerang and the projectile flew at fast speeds towards his first target. It easily knocked off the first apple and flew on towards the second fruit. It took out the second target, but it looked like the collision had knocked the boomerang off course and was going to completely miss the third apple. Instead the boomerang turned in the air and came around knocking the third apple off of the top of the tent. It then flew back into his the entertainer's outstretched hand and the crowd then gave a loud cheer. Raynard was so proud of his achievement and almost didn't notice the gold pieces that were being thrown into his coin bucket.

"Thank you for your generosity good people. I hope the rest of your visit to the fair is as good as this performances. There will be a second showing later today and I hope that none of you will miss it, so tell your friends and they too will see the wonders of Raynard's boomerang showmanship" he said to his audience with a friendly wave and warm smile. Raynard put his boomerang back in its holster on his sash with the other two and decided to have a look around the fair after collecting his well earned money. It would be a while until he had to perform again and he wanted have some fun around the fair.

"This day seems perfect, nothing can go wrong" he said to himself as he went buy some candy and then watched the races. He was surprised that people didn't look at him too strangely do to his inhuman appearance, but Raynard just guessed that since the fair had a lot of people dressing up as all sorts of creatures everyone just weren't as suspicious as they usually are. Weird looks or not he was going to have as much fun as he could at the Millennial Fair.

Fero Maze, a fearless, famous,(if not a bit pompous) mercenary in the kingdom of Guardia, had just departed from the dock of Truce, heading towards Leene Square. He heard the familiar sound of Leene’s bell as he was departing from the ship. As he approached the square, he looked up to see balloons being released into the air, and he could hear people cheering. It seemed that the festivities were already underway.

As he entered the square, people were loudly cheering at a display from an entertainer who had just caught a boomerang. It was too bad that he missed the show, but perhaps he’d see it at some point.

As he continued into the square, Fero stopped for a moment to look at the weapons that a salesman had. The man had a bushy, white beard, wore small round sunglasses, and he was holding a cane.

Fero brushed the long purple hair out of his face as he looked at swords, guns, and other weapons, but nothing that he could use, though he still admired their craftsmanship.

He was distracted momentarily by the sudden, and loud, coughing of an old man. He was sitting at a table with a sack of food that his wife had prepared for him. The old man stood up, and walked away from the table, still covering his mouth from the coughing.

Fero’s eyes narrowed when he caught the sight of a spiky-haired kid who looked like he was about to take the old man’s food, which was still in its sack on the table. He quickly cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the boy, and as soon as he did, Fero shook his head, and gave the boy that ‘I’m watching you’ look. The trident that was strapped to Fero’s back looked quit intimidating, even for those who were used to seeing such weapons in combat. The boy slinked off as the old man took his seat at the table and started to unwrap the food that his wife lovingly made for him to enjoy at the fair. He looked over to Fero, noticing that the mercenary was looking in his direction and gave a little smile. Fero’s expression softened as he smiled back, watching the old man enjoy his food. He could still hear cheering for the race and the excitement of the children around him as they played, and enjoyed the fair.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!"

The chanting came from a small gathering around a long table off to one side of the fair, onlookers cheering on the participants of the drinking contest being held there. Three contestants guzzled can after can as quickly as they could manage, seeking to clear the target goal before time was up.

The first contestant, someone dressed up like a strange reptilian creature, fumbled as they tried to open a new can too quickly. The can toppled from their grasp, striking the ground. A huge spray of liquid sent the can spinning in place, the costumed contestant scrambling to regain control of it. The onlookers laughed at the antics, and even the second contestant couldn't maintain his composure. The musclebound man nearly choked on his drink as a result, giving his chest a few hardy thumps before continuing to chug his drink. The third contestant had more success, the young woman refraining from giggling at the sight and placing another emptied can on her stack. The host stood off to the side, watching out for would-be cheaters and keeping an eye on the stopwatch held in his hand. He raised his free hand up into the air, letting it hang there for a moment.

"Time!" The arm came down with a small swish of air. "Cans down!"

Some chatter filled the small crowd as they exchanged counts on who they thought had made the goal or not. The host moved over next to the first contestant, who had finally gotten their wayward can under control. Taking a moment to assess the pile in front of them, he gave a small 'tsk' sound.

"Sorry buddy, looks like you only managed six! Try again, yeah?"

The host moved over to the musclebound man next, assessing his cans expectantly.

"Only seven cans? Is that the best you can do?"

Finally, the host came to the third and last contestant, the young woman. There was a brief pause and a look of surprise flickered across his face momentarily, before he put on a wide congratulatory grin.

"Eight! Not bad! You hit the goal and you out-drank the other two. I'll put five silver points on your card for you."

"Wooo-urp!" The green-haired woman gave a small cheer, only for it to be interrupted by a sudden small burp. Her cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment, the onlookers chuckling among themselves.

She gave herself a quick thump on the chest to clear things up and avoid further embarrassing goofs, tallying her points up in her head as the host started calling for new challengers to try their hand at his contest. She hadn't had any luck at all with the race earlier, and the test-your-strength bell only gave her a single point when she finally got it. That put her at six. Deciding this was her best bet to earn more points, she raised a hand even though she had yet to leave the table in the first place.

"Count me in for a round two." She volunteered once more, the host quirking an eyebrow in momentary surprise. He quickly shrugged it off, turning it to his advantage to try and entice more participants.

"Well alright then! Anybody want to try and see if they can out-drink the little lady?"

Arianna blinked at suddenly being presented as a featured challenge of the contest. Eight cans was a lot to chug in such a short time, only two participants before her had even managed it. Being no stranger to taverns and celebrations, particularly celebrations at taverns, it was a relatively easy feat for her. She had only done eight because that was how many she needed to win some points, beating the other participants was just a bonus. Except now the host had gone and made it a challenge to her and the crowd. She couldn't very well just up and let someone top her after a challenge like that, could she? Wouldn't be fair to them either, if they beat her when she wasn't giving it her best.

With an amused sigh, she waited for the contest to begin again. If nothing else, she would definitely have the points she needed to win that Poyozo Doll from the Tent of Horrors by the time she was done here.

Millennial Fair, 1000 AD
Some kids dashed up to the boomerang throwing performer just after his show, one held out a piece of parchment and the other had a pen that a well renowned inventor had given them moments before. "Mister? Can we have your autograph?" The boy with the parchment asked, ripping the pen from his sister's grasp.

A woman who looked to be in her late twenties approached and grabbed the boy by his shoulder, "Now, now, honey," she said, "I'm sure the fox-man has something to be doing now." She glanced up at the performer and gave a kind smile before attempting to pull her child away. The daughter glanced back and forth, then noticed something that caught her attention.

"Look Mommy! That lady just won a Soda Drinking Contest!" the little girl squealed, pointing up at the next level of the square where a young lady sat at a table covered in empty cans of something that may not have been soda, "Can I try?" The mother's cheeks flushed as she yanked both children away from the man who appeared to be in a fox costume.

About five feet away, also on the second level of the square, a teenage boy shouted, "No way! You're Fero Maze, the best Mercenary in Guardia!"

The young boy who was just asking for an autograph broke away from his mother and ran up the stairs to the place exactly between the drinking contest and the mercenary. Unsure which way to go the boy stopped, and when he looked in front of him he realized he had barely missed colliding with a teenage girl who was pacing between him and the huge bell that the boy had forgotten the name of. The mother came running up the stairs just behind him and grabbed his shoulder before looking at the girl. "I'm so sorry if my son bothered you, I have no Idea what's gotten into him." She tugged hard on the boy's shirt hard with the last few words. Something about the girl reminded her of somebody else but she couldn't quite place it.

"No, no, its fine! I hadn't even noticed he was here," the girl said, slightly sorry for the boy. The mother began to yank both children toward the exit of the Fair, quietly scolding them under her breath. Within a few seconds, they were all gone.

---

Truce Canyon, 600 AD
Arkan was here hiding from the guards who had ransacked his home just minutes ago. A bush would be the one thing protecting him from them if they chased him here when he fled the scene. The small clearing here felt somehow familiar, although he had never been here. This feeling felt the same as what he had felt just before the accident all those years ago..... Arkan reached into his pouch and touched the gift he was given by somebody he had once cared for, but was long gone now.

All of the commotion of the fair was a refreshing atmosphere to the sounds of battle that Fero was so accustomed to hearing, and seeing. Places like the fair were a good reminder that life was to be enjoyed; that it wasn’t all about fighting, and money. Sometimes, even mercenaries needed a break from the everyday to just sit and relax, which is what he planned to do when he wasn’t thwarting would-be spiky-haired thieves.

Fero heard something from across the square, a chanting of sorts.

“Chug! Chug! Chug!”

He looked over to see the contestants in a drinking competition. A small grin appeared on his face when he noticed the one in costume fumble with his can, and drop it, causing it to spew its contents all over the place. His attention then went to the muscle bound one, surely he could do better, or so Fero thought before seeing him thump his own chest and struggle to finish his last can. The last contestant, a young, green-haired woman, didn’t seem to have the problems that the others were experiencing. That in itself was impressive. He then heard the announcer call time on the competition. He watched the judge walk from the costumed man, to the musclebound one, to the young woman, proclaiming her the victor. He thought that the small cheer that she displayed was cute.
“A young woman beating those two… that must be embarrassing.” He thought to himself.

Fero’s attention went from the “soda” contest, to the children who were rushing to Raynard to get an autograph. It was obvious that he wasn’t a fiend, or at least, a threatening one. “Hell, if his skill in battle is as good as it is to entertain a crowd, he could be a powerful ally” he thought to himself, though he wasn’t sure if the entertainer had ever fought a real battle, but it was fun to imagine.

Fero finally moved from his place near the west tables, towards Leene’s bell. He was headed to the drinking table when he was approached by a teenage boy.

"No way! You're Fero Maze, the best Mercenary in Guardia!" the boy said with excitement.

Without missing a beat, Fero winked at the boy, pointing his index finger at him. “And don’t you forget it!” he said as only someone with an inflated ego could.

He made his way to the table with Arianna. He looked to her with a small smile, then to the judge. “Count me in!” he said with a cocky tone. He looked to the table in front of her, seeing the 8 empty cans.

“Damn!” he thought to himself. He may have been in over his head with this one. He didn’t drink often, but he was never one to back down from a challenge. What if he lost to this young woman? His reputation would be tarnished. He could defeat undead lancers, Nagas, and Weevils, oh, and he lost a drinking contest to a young woman.

Oh boy..

Raynard was about to get some food when he was approached by two children and their mother. Mister? Can we have your autograph? That was new, up until now no one had ever asked for his autograph like he was some kind of celebrity. Their mother told them that he had something to do, but he didn't and Raynard shook his head.

"It's quite alright madam, I'll give you my autograph" he said as he took the pen and parchment and signed them both for the siblings. After he signed them and handed them back to the brother and sister. The little girl then talked about a soda contest and pointed in the direction of something that wasn't soda and not for kids. This made Raynard chuckle as the mother pulled her two children away.

"Kids are so happy and silly at these fairs. Just like my childhood" he said to himself and then walked around the fair to see what was being offered at some of the food tents. While walking about the fairground Raynard noticed a little girl crying and he walked up to the upset child.

"What's wrong young one?" he asked her and she sniffled a bit.

"I..I lost my kitty!" she sobbed and Raynard felt bad for her. He decided to take upon himself to find her lost pet and return it.

"Don't worry I'll find her" he said to the girl and walked away to go for searching for the feline. His stomach gave a loud growl and Raynard wished that he had gotten something to eat first, but he had taken up a task and he had to see it through to the end. His hungry stomach would just have to wait a bit before getting nourishment. After what seemed like several minutes of searching he came across a cat and picked up the animal. It mewed and tried to escape, but Raynard kept it held in his hands and returned to where the girl was still crying and showed her the cat.

"You brought back my cat! Thank you!" she said excitedly and took the cat from his grasp and gave Raynard a smile.

"It was no problem, now do me a favor and try to enjoy the fair as much as possible" he replied with a smile. She nodded and Raynard turned to go find some food to feed his belly. After a few minutes he found a place to eat and got his hands on some delicious fair food. Raynard then went to eat near by where the drinking contest was being held and he watched them compete. He felt tempted to try it, but he wanted to have a full stomach first.

Millennial Fair, 1000 AD @Weird Tales@Uruvion@Xeronoia
A boy who appeared to be 17 approached the drinking contest. He sat on the stool placed on the opposite side of Fero from the girl who he was challenging. He took one arm and shoved Fero slightly to the side, "Whats a girl like you doing in a drinking contest?" he asked, pushing Fero a little more. This hotshot mercenary wasn't going to get in his way. The boy had developed a crush on the girl when she entered the Fair and he had just developed the courage to talk to her.

Hidden lab, 65 Million BC @Gentlemanvaultboy
A short scrawny human emerged from the brush by Darwin, lifting a stick from the ground. The man used the stick to poke the Nu, who stood as if on command. Surprised, the human lifted his head and looked to the top of the mountain where he spotted the inventive Reptite. "Reptite! Reptite bad!" He shouted before dissapearing back into the brush.

"DUNG!" Sleestak shouted, scrambling away from the edge. What was one even doing away from the village this late in the day? He'd been so careful all this time, too. He took the slate and threw it at the ground, shattering it ob the plateau top. Would they be able to get in? He hidden the door, but humans where remarkably persistent when it came to something encroaching on their territory.

Nothing to do about it, he would have to take everything important and bug out for a bit, at least until he was sure they'd lost interest in this mountain. He ran over to the elevator and stamped on it. It quickly dropped out of sight, the doors closing behind it. The plateau looked for all the worlds like an ordinary mountaintop.

The elevator landed hard, like it always did, with a mighty crash. The good doctor didn't even give a moments thought to it. He picked himself up and ran to and fro about the lab. He would need to take only the essentials. He ran past the gallery of failed inventions (a flying machine in the shape of a pterodactyl, his autonomous wooden defense machine/assistant, his "ghost army" of straw dolls done up to look like humans) he found his large safari back and threw it on. He ran to his work table, throwing a hodgepodge of tools and crystals into it. He then went over to the food storage, close to where he'd built his little bed of grasses and leaves. He wouldn't be able to take much from his revolutionary icebox, it would spoil before he got the chance to eat it. But the dried emergency meat in the cabinet above it would keep him fed for a while. Into the pack it went, along with a nice dinosaur shank wrapped in leaves for a good supper his first night.

He'd of course need to defend himself out there, and so opened up the meager armory. The dung bombs were secured in a bandoleer he wrapped around himself, though he mentally kicked himself for slacking off on their creation. He only had about half as many as he needed.

Then there was his pride and joy.

He reached out and delicately picked up the wooden frame of his Crystal Rifle Version 6.8. The crystal was secured at the back end of the barrel, and he could see the shine of the beam it gave off even in the dim torchlight. The only thing stopping it from shooting was an obsidian disk secured at the end, which had four holes bored through it around its circumference. He brought the rifle around, aiming through the sights at one of the torches in the back of the room. He pulled the trigger and the obsidian dick spun so the hole aligned with the beam. Instantly the beam was free, burning through the torch and causing it to fall to the stone floor. The obsidian spun again as he removed his finger from the trigger, cutting the beam off once more as Sleestak nodded in satisfaction. That had been with the poor quality of crystal you got around here. He shuttered to think what it could be capable of with a truly high quality stone.

He looked back at the previous versions hanging in the armory. If the humans did find a way in they could certainly cause some damage with those. Probably to themselves, mind, but that didn't stop him from pulling the crystal from each of them and slipping them into his other bandoleer.

He looked forlornly at the slates he had set up neatly on a series of shelves in the back of the room. They would probably be safe. There was no way the humans would understand their significance. Besides, the research was all in his head. He could set that back in stone whenever he wanted. Satisfied, or as satisfied as he was going to be, he walked to one of the exterior walls and pushed. The wall, a clever facade wade of wood and dried mud, went up.

He found Darwin there, staring at him.

"Well this is a real pickle you've gotten us into Darwin." He said to his assistant. "Yes, you've really Darwined the situation up this time." The Nu gave no response, so Sleestak pushed him into the cave. "If the humans get in pretend only you live here. They might just thing that other guy is an idiot. I'm going to the bug out shelter on Mystic Mountain. Do not keep the torches lit all night or we're going to have to get more peat and you know how much I hate that. You may have anything in the icebox except the ribs. Those are mine. Don't stay up too late. Do not play with the defense machine."

The Nu continued to stare blackly forward. Sleestak looked all around to make sure absolutely no one was watching, then patted the creature on the head a few times. Then he jumped up and slammed the wall shut. After making sure it was good and closed and there were no suspicions seems he turned around and set off toward Mystic Mountain.

"Look mommy, that lady just won a soda drinking contest! Can I try?" The light voice of a little girl managed to reach the aforementioned contest, and the ears of the aforementioned winner.

Arianna broke out into a smile, finding the girl's comment simply adorable. She had heard it called many things over the years, but 'Soda' was a new one. That the little girl genuinely thought it was soda just made it more endearing. From another direction, behind her, a little boy's voice rang out in excitement.

"No way! You're Fero Maze, the best Mercenary in Guardia!"

"And don't you forget it!" An older voice responded, in a tone that oozed confidence.

The green haired young woman shook her head lightly in amusement. She idly wondered if the mercenary was just humoring the boy, or if he really did talk like that? The answer to that question came swift enough as a man with shaggy blue hair came up next to her and shot her a smile.

"Count me in!" The man said, the cocky tone and sound of his voice identifying him as the same man she had overheard moments ago. As his gaze shifted to the pile of cans in front of her, the slightest widening of his eyes betrayed a moment of hesitation.

Any response she might have had was distracted by a young teenager entering himself as well, taking the seat on the other side of Fero. The youth reached an arm out, shoving Fero backwards so he could see her clearly.

"What's a girl like you doing in a drinking contest?" The question was meant to be flirty and playful, but there was a presumptuousness to it that irked her. The fact that he was so rude as to shove someone out of the way didn't improve the impression any.

She didn't show her annoyance, however. Instead she shifted on her stool, so that she was facing him. Bringing one leg lightly across the other, in the feminine manner to account for her skirt, she propped an elbow up on the table. Taking care not to disturb the pyramid of cans in front of her, she brought the side of her head to rest in her palm. Able to see the young teenager clearly without the need for Fero being shoved backward as he was, she fixed her blue eyes on his. The corners of her lips twitched upward into a small smile.

"Winning, so far." Her tone was friendly, no hint of offense or sarcasm present. A mischievous twinkle lit up in her eyes as she asked a question of her own. "What do you think a girl like me should be doing?"

Anyone who had heard such a question before would recognize it for the trap it was.

When Fero sat down next to Arianna, he glanced from the cans in front of her, to turning his head to look at her. He was about to say something to her before someone sat down on the other side of him at the table. Before he knew it, he was being shoved aside by a teenage boy. A detailed eye would have noticed a quick, but subtle change in expression on Fero's face, like he was challenging someone to a serious battle, but it quickly softened. He hated being interrupted, and he surely didn't care for someone shoving him. What worse was that he sounded like he was insulting this young woman, something that Fero would absolutely not stand for.

"Whats a girl like you doing in a drinking contest?" The boy said while shoving Fero a bit more out of the way, even though he had a clear view of the girl beside him.

That was it. Fero was fuming inside. Who did this punk think he was? As soon as the boy applied enough pressure to Fero’s arm, his expression changed again, subtly, to one of sudden enjoyment, but softened again before anyone would notice. He put most of his force into his arm as his elbow made contact with the teenager’s face.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Fero exclaimed quickly, almost as if that were planned. “Old battle injury! Random muscle spasms! You understand.”

Fero said with the biggest grin on his face, the grin was from satisfaction, but if anyone asked, it was because he was sorry for what happened.

The teenager’s mood seemed to be ruined thanks to the purple haired mercenary.

With the motion of Fero elbowing the boy, the table shook, and Arianna’s pyramid of cans started to topple over, but Fero quickly reached out with his other hand and grabbed the top can, keeping it from tipping over. He was both preventing a mess, and showing off his reflexes.

As soon as he righted the cans in front of her, the judge put out the full cans in front of all of the competitors, waiting until 10 were in front of each of them before raising his hand, and calling the start to round two of the competition.

“Ready…. Go!” he shouted, throwing his arm down.

Fero quickly grabbed a can in front of him, opening it, and chugging it down. It didn’t take long for him to realize that he couldn’t stand the taste of beer.

1 down.

2 down.

3 down, barely.

By the time he got to his fourth can, he was having trouble keeping it down. He didn’t have it in him to look at the girl to see how badly he was being beaten at this point. His concentration was on keeping the liquid from coming back up.

After a few seconds more, the judged called time. “Cans down!” he yelled, as he walked over to check their progress.

“Hmm… Four?” he said with a small chuckle, looking at Fero.

“Hmph, Let’s see how the others did” he said, walking towards the teenager, and Arianna.

Fero was feeling embarrassed, and sick to his stomach.

“Give me a giant mechanical cat, I’ll show you what I can do” he said under his breath. Obviously, drinking wasn’t his strong suit.

The boy began to answer the girl's question when he was met by the wrath of the mercenary, muffling his suggestive responce. Cluching his stomach, he looked at the girl and said, "Names Gavin, you should come find me some time. Leave your Mercenary boyfriend at home." When he turned back to the table, there were 10 cans placed before him. Then a voice yelled the signal to start.

1.....

2.....

3.....

4.....

Time was called and the judge walked over and criticized Gavin for how few he could finish. Then he moved over to the girl.

Arianna blinked in surprise as the mercenary responded to the rude teenager by elbowing him in the face, the table shaking slightly as a result. Noticing the cans about to fall, she pushed herself back up into a proper sitting position and made to reach for the pyramid. Luckily, Fero was quicker and managed to stop them from toppling over.

"Whew, nice catch." She thanked, giving a small sigh of relief. It wouldn't have been much of a problem if the cans had fallen over, really, but it was nice to avoid having to pick them all up. She paused, considering if she should call Fero out on his slightly over the top response to being shoved, but decided against it. She had no idea if he actually suffered from muscle spasms or not, that huge grin on his face aside, and didn't want to risk accusing him of lying about something that was true.

It was moot in any case, as the teenager wasn't particularly hurt from it. She actually had to give him some credit as he did his best to shrug what just happened off, even as his follow up attempt at hitting on her left her bewildered. Where had he got mercenary boyfriend from? She'd only met the older man a few seconds before this kid, who was apparently named Gavin. Before she could compose a suitable response, however, the judge announced the start of the contest once more. Her bewildered expression solidified into a focused one, determined to win herself another five silver points and out-drink both of her fellow contestants.

She snatched up can after can, rapidly guzzling down the contents with competitive haste. She was so focused, in fact, that she failed to notice that both of the other competitors were having a much harder time of it. She reached eight once more, securing herself her points, and managed another can. She would have made it ten, but half way through the last can the judge called time. Setting the half-drunk can aside, she shook the mild daze out of her head and and tossed her hands up in the air.

"Woo! That's how it's done!" She cheered, managing to stifle a burp behind a hand this time, and blinked as she noticed just how few cans her fellow contestants had managed. Her expression first shifted to surprise, having expected that at least the mercenary would manage better than that, but it quickly shifted into amusement. They'd managed even less the the guys from the previous round, and were nowhere near close to winning silver points. Much less out-drinking her, even if that wasn't strictly the point.

"Even better than before with nine, that's amazing! That's another five silver points for you, young lady, though it is a shame neither of these gentlemen could put up much of a competition." The Judge exclaimed in mild surprise, likely having expected her to either do eight again or hit her limit in the process.

"I'm just glad I haven't run into some of my drinking buddies he-urp-re." The green haired and slightly tipsy woman pat at her chest, face flushed slightly pink again. This time it wasn't entirely embarrassment, however, as she had downed a total of seventeen and a half cans after all. She played it off with a short laugh, scratching the side of her head with a light smile. "I don't think you'd have enough stock if that happened."

Everyone laughed at the joke, although the punchline was that it wasn't a joke at all.

Raynard chuckled at the others with their drinking and bantering. A 17 year old boy thought that he could slick and catch the girl's attention, but mercenary had other plans and elbowed the boy. Raynard laughed even further at Fero's drunkenness and he felt tempted to get in on this drinking game, it probably wasn't a good idea to get drunk before his next show, but he wanted to have fun so Raynard let himself join the fun.

"Hay I'd like join in on this drinking game" he said to the others with a friendly smile and prepared himself for the drinking that was to come. He hoped that his opponent would still have some competition left in them to try and beat him. Raynard placed his things on the table and he prepared himself for the duel of alcohol consumption.

As Gavin got up from his seat, as the fox entertainer took his place, he nudged Fero as he stood with a mocking scoff at the mercenaries’ progress in the drinking contest, or lack of.

That

Was

It

Fero was already starting to nurse a headache, trying to keep his bloodpressure in check. He quickly stood up, and whipped around to face Gavin, though his fast-paced alcohol consumption caused him to seem off balance, and his focus on Gavin wasn’t as smooth as he’d hoped.
“Don’t…*burp* Don’t run off, kid” he said as clearly as he could.

Gavin crossed his arms in front of his chest. What was this hot shot going to do, belch him to death?

Walking as straight as he could, Fero found the closest guard, leaning in to whisper to him, and pointing to Gavin. The guard nodded his head, as he reached his hand out and took something from Fero, most likely a bribe.

The guard quickly hailed another guard, and together they rushed at Gavin, tackling him to the ground and dragging him away as he struggled. The boy was clearly scared; he didn’t know what he had done wrong. Fero had a small grin on his face as he watched them carry the boy away. He would be standing trial in the kingdom of Guardia for the plotting to kidnap someone of royalty. Luckily, Fero had some pull with the guards for his service alongside them in the past, so he was a trusted source of information which he rarely abused. Gavin would most likely only serve three days in jail, that’s if they didn’t find, or fabricate evidence against him. This thought crossed Fero’s mind, and he just gave a small shrug.

He walked back to the drinking game table, though he wouldn’t be participating. Apparently, four drinks were over his limit. He would have gone to fight the mechanical cat in the west area of the square, but he didn’t think that doing so while he was intoxicated was a good idea.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest as he looked at the additional empty cans in front of the girl. Truly, she was impressive. He looked over to the fox as he was waiting for the contest to start again. He was eager to see if he could do better, or perhaps even match the girl in his drinking capabilities.