Tarkin's second visit to Stargazer Village was all about getting some coin so that he could purchase some new stuff. As it turns out, flyers were posted from the Mayor that he needed some security, and that he'd pay 150 coin to whomever show up to his meeting in an hour. So, he did just that, and when the time came, he went to the Mayor's office and showed a simple demonstration of power, firebolting a nearby wooden target. That was all the Mayor needed to see, and he moved on the next. It was a very busy day, after all. Tarkin went back to his woods and, in two days' time from his interview, went back to the Main Hall where the competition was. Security was allowed anywhere, as long as they didn't enter the roped off area specifically for the competitors. So, he specifically found an area in a corner where he had the vantage of the entire area, which was a simple square indoors. He also took note of the entrances, of which there were 6. Two for the audience, one for the referees to have their meeting room, and three separate ones for the individual players. There was a window from the referee's room, as well as magical ceiling lights so everyone could see without issue. He also noted there were 3 other security officers. Two of them were right outside the ropes, paying more attention to the competition than the crowd, and the fourth was right near the referee's room, probably standing guard for any weary visitors who might want to enter. Of the referees, three were judging the competition, watching the individual players to make sure they did nothing illegal, one had a clock to keep track of the five minutes the competitors had, and one was commentating on the action, for the audience's delight. This, she did very well, and by the first matchup, the crowd was already cheering, excited to see how this all went down.



(This thread is for the Mouth Full renown quest.)

Up in the rafters above the audience, a tiny figure scurried about and looked down at the stage where the competitors lined up. He just happened to be in the area when he heard there was going to be a little show. How could he resist taking a look for himself? It wasn't like anyone could stop him. There was a surprising amount of security for some silly little eating contest, but none of them even noticed him as he stalked through the shadows and took his balcony seat. It was even better than the front row.

But, he was disappointed by what he saw. The competition didn't look very even. There was clearly one competitor that was favored to win. A huge Orc man whose potbelly looked big enough to fit one of his competitors in let alone the small buffet of food set out in front of him, and a mouth big enough to shovel whole plates into without even trying. That didn't seem fair at all to Hylltywyll. How was he supposed to enjoy the show when it was so obvious what the outcome would be? There needed to be some surprise! Some intrigue! This wouldn't be fun at all if he left it as it was.

No, he'd just have to help the other competitors out and do something about this guy. It was a good thing this wasn't about who could eat the most, but about who could eat the fastest. He just needed to slow the Orc down, as a handicap. Perfectly fair.

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Mouth Full
Participants: Two or more
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 5 posts per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown

Description: While Sol city houses the biggest party of the summer, every other village in the realm celebrates their own, throwing smaller festivals for those who can't make it to the capitol. A mainstay activity at these festivals is always the eating contest; multiple competitions where contestants need to eat all of the food in the fastest amount of time. Participate in one of these eating contests or be involved in some kind of way, but keep an eye out for any disruptions that may try to ruin the event!

The competition was quite complex for the village, but it really wanted to stand out from the rest and mark itself as one of the best, if not the best. 81 competitors were gathered to compete against each other, tournament style. Each player was randomly put into one of the brackets and would compete against each other in teams of 3. The three doors acted as rest areas, where they could discuss strategy with their coach.

The strategy for the competition was threefold: beat the other competitors by eating more than them, stabilize alcohol consumption, and minimize the food eaten. See, while you could rest during the other matches, the break time between rounds was only 5 minutes, except for the break between the semifinal and the final, which was ten. As such, you had to really watch your intake of food.

The way they determined who moved on was that a pint of alcohol (No water at the event) counted as a single point, and the value of a pint of alcohol increased by one the more you drank, maxing out at five points, once you hit 5 pints. Food, on the other hand, had fixed values, the steak was five points, the mashed potatoes three, the pie four, and the vegetable plate was worth two. You had to down the entire thing to get the necessary points, and a referee would tally up everything. One competitor was caught in the first round trying to hide steak in his pockets, so that it would seem he actually ate it. He was disqualified. An elf was also disqualified for cheating when she kept using create food on her fellow competitors' plates. That was a hassle no one wanted to deal with.

The mayor watched from the crowds, in the center, and there was a betting table outside where you could place money on how far you thought your competitor would make it. One person also came in staff blazing, but was quickly handled by Tarkin's firebolt, straight to the chest. The village watch was quick to throw him in prison.

Hylltywyll listened to the announcer explain the rules of the competition for what felt like way too long. Just how complicated was it to eat more food than someone else!? Why were they making it so annoyingly overcomplicated? They were taking all the fun out of eating. That mayor really wanted something unique here, huh?

The first few groups were nothing special. Hylltywyll didn't even feel the need to interfere with them. There was a little something interesting as one competitor tried to cheat using magic, but that was caught easily. He hoped with just how many competitors there were that someone would show him something fun, or make a good target for him to mess with. The Orc and his group still hadn't come up yet. As the favored to win, he was probably saved for last. He was definitely going to mess with that group, but he'd just have to wait.

Finally, there was a spark of interest down on the stage. One competitor, a small Dracolynn with blue and black scales, was acting shifty. He was obviously hiding something. Hylltywyll leaned forward and watched him closely.

The round began and Hylltywyll finally noticed something as the Dracolynn opened his mouth. Was that fabric? Ha, this had to be a joke! Did that guy actually shove a magic bag into his gullet just to cheat in an eating competition? The competitor was scooping up steaks and tossing them into his mouth one at a time, but he took hardly any time to chew at all as the food just slipped right into the magic bag and vanished. It would have been pretty smart if it wasn't so stupid.

Hylltywyll was so amused, he was actually rooting for the little guy. He waved a hand and manipulated the shadows in the Dracolynn's mouth, trying to help cover up the bag and keep it hidden from the guards and audience. Maybe this guy could win the whole competition if he didn't get caught.

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Mass Shadow Control

Besides some small disturbances, the job was going very smoothly, and the competition was deep into the qualifiers. He couldn't wait for the competition to be over, though. Even though he was alone in his corner, he sought the comfort of his cave. But he needed the coin, so he muscled through. It was definitely weird, when someone needed a mouth check to remove a bag someone had shoved into his mouth and a ref came out of it, bag in a pair of grippers, holding it up like a trophy.

It was finally the orc's turn, the dude with the greatest number of bets placed on him and fated to win the whole competition. His round one opponents were a dwarf who looked like he had a severe alcohol addiction, and a petite elf who looked like she was struggling even holding one of the steaks.

The elf dived straight into the veggies, while the dwarf very quickly downed pint after pint of alcohol, seemingly not stopping. But it was the orc with the steak that everyone was keeping their eye on. Rather than just consume the steak alone, he combined it with pie, which probably didn't taste too good, but man did it score points.

Hylltywyll grumbled in frustration as his favorite competitor was caught cheating and disqualified just like that. How disappointing. These judges were no fun at all. What would be more entertaining than a tiny little Draconynh winning? The crowd would have loved it, even if he was actually just shoving the food into a magic bag. Stupid judges...

Oh, that was it. He knew how to make this competition more fun. Just get rid of the judges! It was so obvious, how could he have not thought of it before?

Hylltywyll scampered along the rafters up above until he came to a support beam. Gripping it on either side, he climbed down it in the back of the room. No one in the crowd was looking his way as they were all focused on the star of the show finally taking to the stage. The huge Orc that was dominating the stage by his sheer size alone. The competitors next to him looked like they wouldn't stand a chance.

It was annoying how brightly lit this room was. It didn't let Hylltywyll use his shadowy magic to hide, but it was fine. He was small enough that he could make his way between the legs of the crowd with no problem. For a moment as he climbed down the beam, one of the guards glanced his way, possibly catching a glimpse of the little Fae as he descended. He didn't wait to confirm if he'd been spotted before scurrying into the crowd.

If he really was seen, it wouldn't be easy to catch him while he was weaving between all the crowd members eagerly watching the competition despite being pretty sure they knew who was going to win. Peering out from between the forest of legs around him, Hylltywyll spotted his first target. The judge that had pulled the magic bag out of the Draconynh's mouth with a pair of tongs.

Up on the stage, the first round was coming to a close as the Orc wiped the competition easily. The alcoholic Dwarf didn't even eat anything, just focusing on the drink, apparently forgetting that the points for drinking capped at 5. The Elf could barely even finish two plates of vegetables before stopping and struggling to keep her food down. Why she even entered the competition, who knew? Meanwhile, the Orc had already eaten nearly every steak on the table.

With all eyes on the stage, Hylltywyll waited until just as the end of the round was supposed to be announced, the judge readying himself as he watched a stopwatch in his hand. Just as he opened his mouth to shout out to the crowd, he suddenly felt the ground vanish beneath him and he fell two feet to land on his butt in the middle of a hole that had suddenly appeared.

He started to stand back up, confused, but the hole suddenly disappeared again, leaving him embedded two feet deep in the floor, his arms and legs unable to even move.

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