“Cheat!” Lucia growled, slamming the toy rifle on the table. “Hit every one. No reaction. Cheat.”

“My lady, the targets are simply too precise. If you would like another try, you may certainly do so.”

“Fine,” Lucia snarled, picking up the rifle. “Will teach.”

“Hey guys, everything alright?” Ann asked, trotting up with Kat and Rosalyn in tow. Immediately, she earned a glare from Lucia before she turned back to the game.

“Never mind her,” Bren sighed. “Festival games are always unfairly rigged, and she is learning this lesson. How has your morning been?”

“Pretty fun so far, beside some kinda creepily accurate fortune telling that nailed Kat’s current predicament and may have seen more than the poor guy bargained for with the Dragon and everything, but he seems to be ok and then we got food and I’m ready for more, even if there’s a lot of people, cause you all are here.”

“Glad to hear it, Rosalyn,” Bren laughed. “What is this about a fortune teller?”

“Dragon actin’ up,” Kat said, waving him off. “Didn’t like even the ide o’ bein’ looked at an’ gave this poor sap a scare. Nothin’ tae worry about.”

Lucia barked a frustrated noise as her shot bounced off a target ineffectually, completely ignoring the rest.

“Ann, is it nothing to worry about?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Guy was cooped up in this incense filled room. Just got him outside to breathe for a bit, and he calmed down. It was the Dragon, though. Waheela said it was being proud, and she needs to eat it. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Bren gave her a flat stare, but nodded. “I see you have won a game already, Kat. Did you break it again?”

“Sure did,” Kat said, puffing out her chest. “They even put the Grrn weight on. Knocked that fecker sky high.”

“We are lucky they seem to like you,” Bren groaned. “Twice now.”

“Only twice? Would have thought you’d been doing that for a while,” Ann said.

“Nae, only broke it once I got All In,” Kat explained. “Won without breakin’ the bitch before that.”

“Again!” Lucia rumbled as coins clattered on the table.

“Miss, maybe a breather would be best.”

“I said again,” Lucia glowered.

“Very well,” the vendor sighed, and reset the targets.

Lucia took careful aim, then fired. Three targets went down without resistance. Looking to the side, Ann saw the sign with the rules. Five targets for a small prize, seven for a medium-sized one, and ten for the large. Each attempt had ten shots, meaning the game was obviously cheating to keep the largest prize available and tempting passersby.

A white flash and a hole burned through the next target. Whatever mechanism was being used to reset and hold them up was obliterated, making the circle of brightly painted metal clank back.

“Oh my,” Ann heard the vendor whisper. He shot Lucia’s determined look a wide-eyed glance and started to sweat. His bluff had been called.

Two more shots without the burning flash knocked over targets that weren’t fixed. Lucia’s lips split open in a wild smile as she sighted another target. Whatever skill she was using was devastating. The thin metal was no challenge as the pellet punched straight through. Ann had seen that skill working with Fillianore on a full sized Warped. It was impressive that even a toy gun could do so much damage in the Thrundol’s hands.

“Miss, I…”

“Quiet,” Lucia said, icy calm.

Another flash and she had her seventh target.

“Seven,” the vendor announced. He wrung his hands but didn’t dare interrupt the woman currently dismantling his game.

Lucia loaded her last three shots into the cartridge, racked the bolt, and took aim. There were six targets still standing. Ann guessed the remaining plates were fixed in place, judging by how the prizes were set up. The game would have five targets set to fall without resistance, two more to be at the vendor’s discretion, and then the rest would be stuck. Lucia had clearly figured this out, taking her time to make the poor man sweat.

The gun popped, a white streak knocking over her eighth target. “Two.”

Another. “One.”

With a resounding ping, the last target had a hole punched through it. It teetered, then fell back, making a bell ring.

“There,” Lucia crowed, placing the gun on the table. “Perfect. Prize.”

“Y-yes, of course,” the panicked vendor stammered. “The trophy, of course. Expert marksman, as you clearly deserve. Please! Take it!”

Lucia took the brass trophy from the man’s hand with pride and turned to face the rest of the party with a grin on her face. “Won.”

Ann couldn’t help her laughter at the simple pride of the woman. “Sure did, Lucia. Might want to not scare the shit out of the workers, though.”

“Cheat,” Lucia shrugged. “Deserved. See Kat won too. Good job.”

“Thanks,” Kat laughed, patting the stuffed wolf in Rosalyn’s arms with pride. “Had tae use skills fer this, too.”

“All cheating?”

“Nae, was a challenge. They put on heavier weights cause I broke the machine last time.”

“Good. Congratulations. Fine prize.”

Behind her, Bren quietly slipped the vendor some coin to pay for repairs. The man looked intensely relieved and accepted the whispered apology gracefully.

“I know! Isn’t she cute!”

“She?”

“Yeah! Figure I’d call her Waheela, cause she’s a wolf and it’s like Ann, but not Ann and it’s about the only thing I could think of because names are hard, but that’s what I decided, definitely a she.”

Hear that? Ann thought, laughing to herself.

I will devour this impostor! Waheela roared, raging against her bindings. I will tear her to shreds and feast on her innards. Her blood will paint the lands red for generations!

“Waheela loves it,” Ann laughed, only causing the internal voice to scream louder. “Yup. Wants to meet it as soon as possible. Totally not hurting my head with how loud she’s yelling. So, all of this has been pretty normal festival stuff so far. What’s there to do that’s unique to Korvas?”

“Hmm, we’ve got a few things. Shows an’ the like, then we’ve got tournaments. Not sure who’ll be involved. Feats o’ strength, but tha’s more o’ my thing. Maybe some other games could work fer us. Hm… five… not the best number. Might be fun tae do somethin’ we can all just compete against each other.”

“Not doing boulder tossing, got it,” Ann teased.

“Nae. Let’s see, there are the bottle tosses, the target games like what Lucia’s done, races, obstacle things. Ooh, aye, obstacles should be good. Can do ‘em as a team an’ try tae go as fast as we can. Sound good?”

“As long as you think I can manage it,” Rosalyn said.

“If ye can’t, that’s what the rest o’ us are fer.”

“Right,” Lucia nodded. “Have long arms. Helps short arms.”

“Thanks?” said Rosalyn. “Sure, let’s go ahead. Where are they?”

“They have an arena set up for them further in. For what they require, it has to be close to the mountain’s inner wall,” Bren explained.

“What needs that?” Ann asked.

Soon enough, she found out. They approached the area designated for the obstacle course, and, sure enough, this thing needed the mountain wall. It was massive. The entrance was marked with a festive banner decorated in the Everfrost colours hung between pillars of crystal, and an attendant speaking with prospective participants. Bleachers lined the perimeter with many people watching excitedly as friends or others made their attempts, chattering and cheering as progress was made.

The course itself was mostly hidden from this angle, but one part was distinct. A climb. Set up on the mountain wall were a series of handholds and footholds, alcoves, moving platforms, and what Ann thought was magical fire jetting out of a specific point. It all had to be fifty feet or more above the ground, with no safety nets whatsoever.

“I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this,” Ann said. “That looks really dangerous.”

“Hm? What, the skywalk?” Bren asked. “Actually, that is particularly safe. They have enchantments set up on the ground below to slow falls with wide allowances for… particularly expedient and wide flung departures. It has been, what was it, a decade since the last major injury, Kat?”

“Somethin’ like that. No one’s died tae this version, especially since they took out the lava pits. The glowin’ rocks just don’t have the same sense o’ danger.”

“Someone died?” Rosalyn squeaked.

“Safety wasn’t always the best,” Kat shrugged. “Things get better, though. We’ll all be fine.”

“If you say so…” Ann said, suddenly far less excited about this whole thing.

“Welcome, welcome,” the gate manager greeted the group. “Five individuals or a group?”

“Group,” Kat said, gesturing to the rest.

“Gotcha. You’re up in ten, then. This is the Gauntlet of Champions, the famed obstacle course of Korvas. How many of you have participated before?”

Kat and Bren raised their hands, but the rest shifted nervously in their places.

“A lot of newcomers. Good to see! So, you’ll have one attempt to get through the obstacles in the ground run, then up onto the skywalk. Make your best time and cross the finish line after touching back down. Last one over the line is your group’s time.”

That all made sense to Ann, though her stomach dropped as she saw someone fall off a platform. Cries erupted from the crowd, but no thud was audible. She was suddenly way more focused on the guide’s words.

“Safety first, all obstacles have been rated for safety, but that doesn’t mean accidents can’t happen. Speed is for the experienced. I always recommend that you take your time on the first run through, and get used to the tricks and traps. Should you or anyone in your group get hurt, we have a healer on staff ready to fix you up.”

“I am a healer as well,” Bren said, raising his hand.

“Good man. Still, just in case you’re the one out of commission, you’ll be covered. Trips and falls are expected, bumps and bruises are lessons. We assume some level of athleticism, but if you work as a team, the less active of your group shouldn’t have a problem. Skills are not only allowed, but encouraged. The only thing we ask is that you not damage the course. Doing so is an immediate disqualification and ejection from your run. Depending on the severity, you will be banned from the activity. Any questions?”

“Just our skills, bodies, and wits?” Ann clarified.

“And reflexes.”

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing. You all good?” Ann asked the rest.

“Sounds fun. Good,” Lucia nodded.

“I’m gonna get carried for half of this, aren’t I?”

Ann tousled Rosalyn’s hair. “Only if you need it. You’re plenty fit.”

“Might not be the only one,” Bren said as they turned to leave the entrance.

The group took their places in the line, which had an enchantment set up to obscure the course from the competitors. Ann couldn’t help but bounce nervously on her paws, eager to get going. She hadn’t really had the body for doing this kind of thing before her coma, but now she was excited to test herself.

“Alright, one point o’ strategy. I’ll be an anchor fer any liftin’ or pullin’. Get me in place an’ I’ll help the rest. Ann an’ Lucia, ye can handle most o’ this, but I’m more worried about Bren and Rosalyn. No offence, ye two aren’t as mobile.”

“None taken,” Bren shrugged. “We shall do our best.”

“Yeah. Kinda sad none of my skills will be useful here,” Rosalyn pouted.

“Not true. Entangle will be good if we need to climb some tricky areas. My skills besides the stamina aura are useless,” Bren pointed out.

“Ok, so we get Kat into position to help from the bottom, but Lucia and I go up ahead and help bring people over obstacles?”

“Sounds good to me. Ah, shite, here we go,” Kat said with a nervous chuckle.

“Greetings contestants! We have a special group today!” The announcer was a woman whose voice echoed over the arena with a magnified boom. Ann felt her heart racing as the excitement took her. “The third princess, Katlyn Farragher, and Lord Bren Hedera are gracing us with their presence! Let’s give them all our encouragement!”

The enchantment in front of them lifted, and Ann took in the arena. It was insanity. Almost everything was moving. What wasn’t moving looked like it was dangerous. What didn’t look dangerous was probably a trap. Her ears filled with the sounds of cheers and applause from the crowds but her focus was locked in on the course.

“Let’s give them a countdown. Contestants, take your marks!”

The group lined up with Kat at the centre, Ann and Lucia on the wings. They were the fastest, and would be able to reach the obstacles first, so it made sense.

“Follow the yellow lines on the floor, make your attempt! Have fun! Three! Two! One! Begin!”

Horns blasted, and they were off.

The first trial was a simple jump. Ann and Lucia soared over the small pit, with what looked like mock spikes in it, with ease. Bren followed shortly after, and Rosalyn made a valiant attempt, but needed to be caught to make it all the way. Kat, of course, practically skipped over the thing.

“First down, easy enough. Next up!” Kat laughed.

Next was a balance beam over some water. Kat took the lead on this one, with Ann in the middle and Lucia at the rear.

“Stick wit’ me, fluffs,” Kat called, holding Rosalyn’s hand.

“I can do this,” Rosalyn laughed, stepping out onto the beam.

It was a couple of inches wide, more of a test of willpower than actual balance. Kat practically sauntered over with Rosalyn straight behind her, walking calmly. The trick was in the second half of the beam. Two logs fell from their suspended positions, crossing the beam in a regular pattern.

“Don’t break the course,” Kat muttered to herself as she stepped past the first swinging pole.

“Don’t let it hit you,” Rosalyn squeaked as she dodged past.

The rest followed relatively easily. Bren cheated slightly, using his barriers to halt the logs while walking by. Lucia shrugged as she walked by the disabled traps.

“Couldn’t ‘ave done that fer the rest o’ us?” Kat asked.

“Eh, you were having fun.”

“Fair. Oh! Swingin’ bars. This’ll be fun. Rosalyn, ye think ye can handle this one? Gotta swing from the bars tae cross.”

“Mm, I don’t think so,” Rosalyn admitted.

“Then climb on an’ don’t let go,” Kat instructed, crouching down.

Rosalyn clambered on, and once secured, Kat leapt up and snagged the first set of bars, going hand by hand over the pit of water with chunks of floating ice. The bars were slick. Either previous competitors had sweaty hands, or they were just designed that way to make it harder. Ann had to grip hard, using her thumb to lock her hand around the bar with each swing. Kat, of course, sailed through, even swinging off the bars early. Rosalyn giggled the entire way, happily playing koala for her girlfriend. Lucia didn’t seem to be having trouble, but Bren was the worrying one. He wasn’t known for his strength or agility, but he was still an adventurer. Apparently he had enough to make it over, even though his grip slipped a couple times.

“Well, that was fun. Next up is… ah shite. Floatin’ ice. Course.”

“Come on, can’t be all brute strength challenges,” Ann laughed, clapping the girl on the shoulder. “Take it one at a time and don’t rock the ice for everyone else. This’ll be easy.”

“Tempting fate,” Lucia grumbled. “Bad luck.”

“Look, Rosalyn’s already halfway across,” Ann pointed at the druid walking calmly across the ice. Each of her steps was sure and confident. Soon enough, she hopped the last gap and landed safely on solid stone.

“What? Playing on lakes was fun!” she called back. “Come on!”

Kat took a tentative step out, and Ann saw the ice shift as she put her weight onto it. The woman was significantly heavier than Rosalyn and would need to be even more careful along the edges, especially once they got wet and slippery. Kat grumbled obscenities as she picked her way across, then slipped. Landing on her ass, she scrabbled for a grip. A gust of wind sent ripples over the pond as Rosalyn pushed Kat back onto the ice.

“Thanks!”

“Welcome! Just be more careful!” Rosalyn cried back, clutching her staff.

Ann watched as Lucia started her attempt, then Bren. She’d decided to go last since she’d have the easiest time with all of this. Taking a moment, she shed the fur between her pads and tested the feeling of walking with the addition. It felt a little naked, but in theory it should help with her traction.

Lucia, unsurprisingly, crossed with little effort required. Bren scooted his way across, making some very undignified noises as his arms flailed to balance himself, but got across dry as a bone.

Ann wanted to have fun with this one. Crouching, she took off at a run, then leapt onto the first platform. Bending her leg at its digitigrade ankle, she absorbed the shock, dug in her claws and kept going. The ice bucked under her paw as she leapt to the second platform of ice, but she kept running. Using the tilting ice as a bank, she angled her run to use it to her advantage. Claws caught the exposed edge of the ice, launching her over the third piece of ice onto the fourth. A splash sounded as she hit feet first, sliding along the surface as it tilted upwards. Her speed was enough that she slid up and over the raised lip, flying out and landing next to her friends in a low crouch.

“Easy,” Ann sighed, wiping off her fur.

“Show off,” Lucia grunted, though gave her an approving nod. “Agile.”

“Gotta put all that dex to use somewhere.”

“A foolhardy application, but one that suited you,” Bren nodded. “Now comes the second half.”

Bren gestured upwards. They had reached the wall.