Dave continued watching everyone, listening in and trying to gather as much information as he could.

'I'm sure this is another game, but what about the rules? Six smaller stones and a throne. Are they hints about the game? Will we fight together or against each other?'

Questions flooded his mind and while he couldn't answer them all, he collected plenty of intelligence about every person sitting there. Their attitudes towards each other, the way they talk and their body language. Everyone except the cloaked person gave him much needed information for how he should proceed.

'Game status'

No active game found.

Dave realized that the only chance to find out about the game itself would be by sitting on the last stone. That, or the throne guy’s explanation would trigger the game. Most likely sitting on the stone means he will agree to participate without even getting a choice. This seemed like another elaborate trap Dave was happy to dodge for now.

Dave would prepare everything he could think of to raise his chances at winning future games. Glancing at the sun, he knew he only had a few hours of daylight left before nightfall. He decided to follow the fence so he could map out the surroundings, fill himself up on some more water and finally use some of his trait points. He planned to distribute his stat points the moment he found out what type of the game follows.

While it might be dangerous to select traits he didn't know the negative effects of, he felt like he had to take the survivor trait today. It would help him find something edible to charge up some much needed energy and expand on his gathered information, which he might have missed during his first observation.

----------------------------------------

The sun was slowly setting and the group became more impatient, while a semblance of life seemed to light up in the eyes of the person sitting on the throne. A grin slowly crept up on his face as more and more time passed. Deciding it was about time he opened his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted.

"Finally someone else" the old man grumbled barely above a whisper. His sentence was heard by everyone, making them perk up their ears and look around for the final and sixth member to join.

A young man, slightly buff, covered in mud and leaves walked slowly towards the group. He looked over the group with his honey-brown eyes, this time more closely and taking note of their belongings. His hair color was indecipherable thanks to the mud covering it. The young man was Dave.

He had a hunch if he didn't get here during twilight, shortly before nightfall, he would have been showered by disgusted looks and some of them would try to chase him away, as he wasn't in his most presentable state.

As he studied the group of people, they were studying him in return. Some with a more critical eye, others just giving him a once over. Dave noticed the mischievous glint in the eyes of the young chap on the throne.

"Well it seems like you are finally six" he spoke and grinned at them from his throne.

"Excuse me for my manners before, but I wasn't quite.. Awake enough to be more courteous. I'm sure you have many questions, but why don't we all sit down first and introduce ourselves? I'll gladly start. I am Edmund, your host for today and I'm sure we will have a lot of fun together!"

The gathered people looked around, some shrugging and others frowning at Edmund.

"Well, I'm Kelly and I'm like, so not into this camping stuff. I hope to find a city soon so I can burn down all poison ivy disguised as toilet paper" the blonde girl started her introduction.

Dave looked at her with an amused smile, which she seemed to notice.

"Don't you laugh mudhobo, at least I didn't go all piggy in the wilds" she snorted in annoyance.

Edmund interrupted sneakily: "Ah yes, the issues of the wild. Before we continue, why don't you take a seat, mister..?"

"Dave. Just Dave and I sat a lot today so I'd like to stretch a little before sitting down again."

'Game status'

Active game found.

Name

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Edmund's jollification. Participants(5/6)

Rules

Stay inside the fenced area.

Penalty: Title +1

Main objective

Survive till dawn.

Rank +1

Side objective

Collect the hints and solve the mystery.

item +1 rank +1 trait +1

Beat the hunter

rank +1

Break the throne

item +1

Personal objective

Pick your path

Make sure as many competitors as possible survive

rank +1/2 for each survivor

title - Every little bit helps.

Hunt down as many competitors as possible

rank +1 for each person killed

title - You had eyes, but didn't see Mount Tai.

Would you like to join the game?

An annoyed glint flashed in Edmunds eyes as quickly as it disappeared.

"Of course, that's completely understandable. It would be rude to ignore the feelings of others and make people wait because of someone's selfishness." he said vigorously while looking at Dave, before gesturing towards the old man with an open palm.

The old man raised an eyebrow before grunting in annoyance.

"Name's John. Don't like it when people tell me what to do." he finished briskly.

"I'm Ray! I was so confused when I woke up in the middle of nowhere with nobody around to talk to. Are your memories fuzzy too? Hey, how long have you guys been here? Did you know the water is super refreshing and clear and the trees have this super tasty sap? Did you-" the ravenette teen excitedly continued blabbering like a machine gun only to be interrupted by an elbow from the man next to him.

"Sheesh my dude, calm your tits", the man said, motioning his hand along his slicked back hair.

"Thought I'd do all of us a favor by stopping this chatterbox. I'm Alexander and still single." he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at Kelly.

"Eew, no way dude. When's the last time you checked a mirror? I'd even prefer our resident hobo over there." she wrinkled her brows while pointing her thumb over her shoulder towards Dave.

"Well well, let's calm down. I'm sure you are all confused and want some time to share information. I even prepared some ingredients for a small feast, just sit down and relax while I grab them. How about the last person introduces themselves and we start our... Jolly feast? " Edmund said, trying to suppress a giggle as his excitement grew.

Everyone turned towards the cloaked person and watched in rapt attention.

With silence being the only thing greeting them, unease and annoyance slowly spread in the group.

Before anyone could call the cloaked person out, they just shrugged and motioned a zip lock around where the mount of the mask should be.

Realization dawned on them, so they turned back towards Edmund, who was happy to return the attention with an impish grin and more silence.

Finally unable to hold back anymore the old man John growled in annoyance.

"Hmph, what a feast in these shitty woods. I swear ya duck head, just tell us why you need six people… A feast he says.. Don't make me laugh. Start before I decide to leave."

He locked eyes with Edmund, who returned his anger with a slight hunger in his gaze.

"Well, the feast is already prepared, only one thing is lacking," he said, looking around only to be surprised. The last person had already disappeared before anyone could notice. Shrugging he pointed towards the almost set sun and nodded towards the sky.

"Let's make a fun game out of this shall we? You will run and you will hide. You will get two hours to prepare. You will try your best to see the light again. Be caught and be frozen till another source of warmth allows you to move again. If you stay frozen for the rest of the game or everyone is caught." his grin slowly stretched to inhuman proportions.

"You will participate in my feast."

"You've got to be shitting me, I'm not doing this shit" someone said in the growing confusion.

"This is so uncool, like I can't get up? Did you put glue on the stones?" the blonde yelped, trying to get up.

"Oh my, oh my, it seems I forgot to mention. You can only get up when the sun sets."