|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:04 pm
The obstacle course held just as much interest for Sun as the endurance course had, so he'd have to say that the events were starting off well. Of course, the pentathlon would probably have other events far less suited to him, but that was what it was.
The first obstacle was a delightful tangle of vines, and Sun approached it with interest.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thyPOPE rolled 1 20-sided dice:
12
Total: 12 (1-20)
|
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:06 pm
He'd intended to plan it out first - how would he retrieve the stone? But he couldn't, well, see it through the thick coat of vines and foliage. Yes, he supposed he'd have to brute force his way through.
No, wait - there was a small opening there, and if he started there...he nosed his way over and began pushing, encouraged. But it wasn't long before he hit a nasty lump of coiled and twisted vine, forming a wall that almost seemed...solid. This was an interesting construction, he couldn't help but think - but that was no helpful thought if he wanted to get through. Sighing, he gathered his strength and pushed onwards. And pushed, and pushed.
This...wasn't working out too well. And yet Westward Bound didn't want to give up so soon. He knew he had strength within him to carry boulders and shape ditches: surely this would not be beyond him. He continued pushing and kicking at the verdant growth, tossing his head in frustration. He, of course, could not see the vines slowly becoming more tense, stretching to their limits as he tugged them. And so it was a surprise when he, exhausted, finally broke through, and saw the stone immediately. There! He ran through the hole he'd created, pleased, and took it from its resting place. Then he looked back at the carnage behind him: how were Ultimate Purpose and Longstride intending to, ah, rebuild this obstacle for the rest of the participants?
He supposed that was for them to work out as he moved on to the bog.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thyPOPE rolled 1 20-sided dice:
12
Total: 12 (1-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:15 pm
The bog, Sun thought, would be easier for him. After all, he was a resident of Westfen, and the swamp, and he was a kimeti through and through. If this task was optimized to anyone's strengths, it was his!
So he began...well, a little overconfident. His first few steps on the bog were fine, really! And then he felt the moss begin to give way, and dread pooled in his stomach. All right, well, Sun could swim; he knew that well enough. He kicked and struggled, and almost felt himself going under - but one of the organizers was a legendary! Surely he'd - no, no. He had to get through this course on his own, for Westfen. Sun pushed through the vegetation again. Perhaps he hadn't done this enough.
But he was a builder first, and as a builder, well, he had a tendency to notice patterns. When he kicked his legs this way and then that way, the vegetation was far less likely to create more tangles. That meant he'd swim relatively unencumbered, which obviously greatly reduced his chance of sinking. And if he kept his balance well enough, well, he wouldn't really be swimming. That was good, wasn't it?
So distracted by his attempts to strategize, he hardly noticed when he finally made it back on dry land.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thyPOPE rolled 1 20-sided dice:
20
Total: 20 (1-20)
|
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:24 pm
Another maze?
Well, at least this one had roots and not rocks and riddles. He wasn't sure if he liked the philosophical questions that Sleeping Dragon had proposed, even if he did find the maze itself fun.
Still, Sun was already quite winded by his struggle with vines, and then his swim through the bog. It came at no surprise to him, at least, that climbing roots felt tiring. Or perhaps it was that his legs and fur were still waterlogged, because it seemed as though he kept tripping. But it was only roots! This obstacle should not have provided such a challenge. He'd climbed and navigated aboveground roots, before - he had, in fact, found it fun, as a child. So why was it so difficult now? Perhaps Longstride and Ultimate Purpose had simply located a very difficult cluster of trees, for it seemed as though Sun was often stepping into roots that bent backwards beneath his hooves, or which were far too flimsy to support his weight. This happened near constantly, though, and Sun found himself wanting to give in.
But to what? Allowing a tribe like the, ah, Royal Rainbow Troupe to take the distinction of being better than Westfen in its own home, at its own game? No, Sun certainly could not do that. So he struggled onward, difficult as it was for him (perhaps this was a feat actually optimized for young children: they were nimble on their feet, and, more importantly, light enough that the roots of this particular mangrove might support them).
And, at last, he made it through, though he wanted to collapse when he did.
using kimeti ability - difficulty reduced to 18
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thyPOPE rolled 1 20-sided dice:
8
Total: 8 (1-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 2:44 pm
At least this next obstacle involved...less motion.
Right then. The best way to do this was methodically. Start from the left, move to the right. From top to bottom, layer by layer. Was Sun moving his head at the right pace? Thistles were pink; he'd have to notice that in a giant stack of green grass. Well, some of it was yellow, but the point remained. Was he allowed to put checked grass in a pile to the side?
It...didn't look as though anyone else was doing that. He went back to searching, slow, methodical, patient. At least he was allowed to stay in one place, and at least he didn't mind the gentle sting of thistle. If it would ever come, anyway.
He blinked, finding himself at the end of the stack, none the worse for wear. Where...how could Sun have missed it? It didn't matter, though: it was easy enough to start again, a little more slowly this time. He was careful not to miss any little blade of grass, this time, and eventually he felt it: the telltale sting. Yesss!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thyPOPE rolled 1 20-sided dice:
11
Total: 11 (1-20)
|
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:41 pm
Ugh - mud. And running. Two of the most annoying things about the swamp.
It was a short little course, though, compared to the endurance run, and the thistle hunt had stiffened Sun's muscles but not made him so tired he couldn't run. So he started, and he'd been doing fairly well until - well, until he got to the middle. How was the mud deeper here? Had the group dug a hole and brought the mud over by turtleshell?
An interesting thought. Although perhaps this was not what Sun should have been focusing on: he was submerged to his eyes, now, and he had to fight his way back up. Surprisingly, though, the mud was cooling and relaxing, and when he see-sawed his legs, he managed to pull himself up again, and run the rest of the way. Sure, he ended up dirty, but most of his coat was already brown. And he wasn't a prissy acha. Who cared?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thyPOPE rolled 1 20-sided dice:
14
Total: 14 (1-20)
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 3:51 pm
The final obstacle was log hopping?
Okay, Sun decided. He could do log hopping. He jumped the logs quickly, not really minding them until he saw the glint of a brightly-colored shadow in the water. A caiman? It always tripped him up that they could be just as brightly-colored as kin were. But it was, he thought, an apt warning.
His next jump was made with a bit more apprehension, and a bit less paying attention - there was a caiman to watch! Except he really should have been concentrating on his task, as he felt his hooves slide on the log he'd just landed o - no. No, he could do this. As his hoof slided, he felt around for a catch - a foothold - and then he steadied himself. It was smooth leaping the rest of the way, although he did look back at the river to watch the caiman with suspicion once he was done. He really didn't like those things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
