An hour had passed–most of the seats were already occupied–when Wanora walked towards the middle of the covered arena, her magician-like, white and blue robes made her look the part of a Guildmaster.
“Welcome to the Tenth Monthly Torinelo City Workshops Party,” said Wanora, her eyes scanning the room as some people clapped. “I'm glad so many people decided to come; specially the new members. I hope you are all having fun.”
Ilaria felt the Guildmaster's gaze linger on her for a bit; it was surely her imagination.
“Being already 8pm, and knowing tonight we do have a time limit,” continued Wanora, all eyes of the room on her. “We'll start with today's special event. I'll invite every participating couple to come here, next to me.”
Johnny turned his head to look at her; taking her hand in his. Ilaria nodded, raising from their seat together. The mage looked around the room; several other pairs started to get on their feet. At some point her gaze wandered towards Amy; she had stood up.
“What are you doing?” Ilaria typed it as fast as she could–which was really slow–her not being used to the virtual keyboard. By the time she pressed send, Wanora was already giving the instructions for the first game.
“I'm participating, of course.” Amy's response was fast and to the point. Despite the previews warning, Ilaria risked glancing at the elf again. She was a couple of steps to the back of Wanora–clad in a melon-colored summer dress–anyone who glanced at the mage would think she was looking at the Guildmaster.
Ilaria had started to type another question, when Johnny interrupted her, taking her left hand and pulling her to the front. Including them, there were ten male-female teams lined up in front of Wanora. Amy wasn't in any of them.
The first game consisted in shooting empty soda cans balancing on the head of your date. You could use your own weapon to do it; since, if you failed, the system wouldn't let you injure another player. Wanora went through the players, setting them in their respective positions.
“Ilaria, Johnny, who's shooting?” asked Wanora, when she got to them.
“I will,” answered Ilaria, before Johnny could say anything. She was confident in her aim, if nothing else.
The one player of each couple who would be shot at got in a line at the front of the room, their backs towards the entrance, since it was the only side that didn't have tables behind. They were going to shoot ten cans for each couple, and the one who got the most would win. In case of ties, they would shoot in turn until one fails. And yes, all the shooters were females.
Since they were going ninth, Ilaria calmly watched how the rest of the players did. All the other participating girls were mages too, shooting Force bolts towards the top of the head of their date. Amy–it seemed like she had been recruited as an assistant for the event–kept handing out the empty cans from a white plastic bag she was holding in her arm.
First couple did only three cans. The girl had started well, with two clean shots, before sending one directly towards her partner's face. It bounced harmlessly; but it had spooked her, making her miss several in a row, until finally getting another one. The second did five, which ended up being the average; the top couple getting seven.
“Ready?” asked Wanora, while Amy was giving Johnny the first can. He had told the elf something that Ilaria didn't get to hear.
“Yeah.” Ilaria answered, taking out her wand and positioning herself behind the chalk line that they had drawn on the ground. At ten meters, it was a way easier target than the one from the mage class quest. Mina had told her later that nobody actually tried to get the bull's eyes by aiming; people usually spammed Force bolts until they got it by chance.
Johnny winked as he put the can on his head, making Ilaria consider missing on purpose. She calmed herself and did the calculation in her head; setting the wand in the precise position.
Force bolt.
The sphere of white energy did a straight line and impacted the first can right in the middle of the cherry logo, knocking it down. The wand would move from the recoil after each shot, but it didn't matter. As long as Johnny didn't move his feet, her body already knew the exact place for a perfect bull's eye.
----------------------------------------
Johnny laughed as she got her tenth can in a row. It had been so easy that she wondered why no one else could do it. Mina probably would.
The last participants of the round were the couple that had been talking with them before. The girl failed the second shot–which would mean that Ilaria had won the first game–before getting eight in a row. She smiled at her, which made her feel guilty that she didn't remember their names.
“Nine cans, good but not good enough,” said Wanora, smiling. “Now; can you help us a bit, Johnny?”
Johnny approached Amy, talking the white bag from her. The elf went towards the cross marked in the ground and stood facing the shooters. Johnny passed her an empty can, which she put over her head. Wanora took out a short, leather-hilted dagger; and set herself behind the shooting line.
Ilaria watched the development with disbelief. When Amy had said participating, she hadn't expected that she would be part of a couple. And much less with Wanora. Johnny moved a heavy wooden board behind Amy, and stepped aside.
The Guildmaster held the dagger from the hilt and extended her right arm over her shoulder. Amy closed her eyes. Wanora moved her arm like a whip, sending the dagger flying, hitting the can squarely in the middle, and sticking it in the wood panel.
Johnny took the dagger out of the board, giving it back to Wanora, before giving Amy the second can. She set it on her head, closing her eyes again. She didn't seem to be enjoying the game.
Wanora ended up hitting nine cans in a row. For the tenth throw, Amy opened her eyes, locking gazes with Wanora in the last second. Ilaria could feel the throw going off course even before the release. Amy flinched as the dagger impacted the middle of her forehead, bouncing harmlessly and falling down in front of her.
“Too bad,” said Wanora, picking up her dagger. “Congratulations to Johnny and Ilaria, the winners of the first game.”
----------------------------------------
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
For the second game, one player would have to use a spoon, held with their mouth, to pick up marshmallows, one by one, from a plate. Then they would turn around and move, as fast as they could without dropping it; to feed their partner, who sat at ten meters of distance. The couple who ate five marshmallows first would be the winner.
Ilaria sat next to Johnny's female friend; Amy, two seats away from her. This time the roles were more evenly divided between males and females. Her partner was with Wanora, on the other side–spoons already on their mouths–waiting for the horn that would signal the start. It was finally the chance for Ilaria to text Amy without interruptions.
“Why?” Ilaria didn't waste time in needless letters.
“It was part of the deal, for helping us.” Ilaria risked glancing at Amy from the corner of her eye. She was looking straight ahead, as she discreetly moved her fingers.
As she was going to type a response, Ilaria noticed that Johnny was already closing on her. She opened her mouth–the spoon hovered around her lips–and used her tongue to slightly push the marshmallow, before biting onto it. It was strawberry-flavored. Johnny turned around and ran back to get another one.
“Are you dating her?” Ilaria pushed send impulsively, almost instantly regretting it. She raised her head, crossing glances with Wanora, who had just fed Amy the second marshmallow, and was turning around. She heard the ping of the answer; Johnny was already in front of her. She opened her mouth, hitting the spoon with her teeth, and munched on the marshmallow.
“No, of course not. I'm just helping tonight.”
Ilaria didn't risk looking at Amy anymore, cooling down as she watched Johnny fumbling with a marshmallow in front of her. “Why didn't you warn me about it?” If Ilaria had known beforehand, they could have planned for it together.
“Sorry. I didn't realize you would be here too.”
Johnny was already at her again, Ilaria raising her head and biting into the marshmallow that was offered. He went back for more, as Wanora crossed the distance with her fourth? marshmallow balancing on her spoon. She took long, deliberate steps; the spoon perfectly leveled at anytime. Maybe being used at playing as a rogue helped with it.
“What else was in that deal?” Ilaria couldn't help but ask; she didn't like surprises. Amy's response wasn't immediate, and Ilaria had another marshmallow to focus on.
“Nothing that concerns you. Let's talk tomorrow.”
Amy didn't write anymore. Ilaria watched around the room; people were cheering as Wanora picked up her fifth marshmallow from the plate. Johnny fed Ilaria their fourth; even though the game was already lost, Amy eating her last marshmallow soon afterwards.
----------------------------------------
After declaring herself the winner of the second game, Wanora told the players to remove the chairs and table. Meanwhile, a pair of guys were setting up what seemed to be colored lamps. A girl drew a big cross on the ground with chalk, dividing the open area in four quadrants; then drawing a small circle in the middle, filling it up in white.
“For the third and final game, we'll play balance the ball,” said Wanora, taking a red ball of about 10 cm of diameter from Amy's hand. As she explained, the lamps turned on, lighting each quadrant of the room in a different color: red, green, yellow and blue.
For the game, the couple would need to keep the ball between them as they moved around. It would start blinking in a different color at random intervals, and they would need to move towards that area before it settled. The white area in the center didn't count, and, if the ball fell down, they would be out.
Amy didn't look at Ilaria when she came to give them the ball; it was green. Johnny took it from her hands, showing a half smile as the elf moved on with the next couple.
“Where should we hold it first?” asked Johnny, looking at her from top to bottom. Ilaria could change into sneakers; though, even with her heels, the warrior was taller than her. It probably wasn't in their best interest to increase the gap.
“Forehead?” Ilaria had never played something like this, but that's how she had seen it in movies.
They ended up holding the ball on top of Johnny's nose, Ilaria putting pressure on it with the side of her head to keep it in place. The position only let them look at their respective right, so they would need to guide each other as they required.
The music increased in volume as the game started. Ilaria watched as a handful of teams moved around, two almost bumping each other, one team letting the ball fall to their chest area.
Yellow.
Their ball flickered; Ilaria knew the yellow zone was to her left, therefore Johnny needed to guide. She was still surprised when he grabbed her by the waist, slightly pushing her towards their destination.
While they moved, she could see Wanora's team arriving to the green zone. They were holding each other like in waltz dancing–the Guildmaster guiding the shorter girl–with the now green ball nested under Wanora's chin.
As the time passed, the ball started changing colors faster. The couples crossing in each others way seemed to be the greatest peril. There had been already a double elimination from one of such collisions.
Red.
They had gone from yellow, to red, to yellow, and back to green. Now they needed to cross diagonally through the white zone. Ilaria put his hand on the back of Johnny and guided him over. She had to evade one couple coming from the other direction, inadvertently bumping into another that was passing by their side. Their ball fell, the mage pressing against her partner to stop it. It lodged between Johnny's upper chest area and Ilaria's breast.
They arrived at the red zone without any more trouble, when someone who wasn't Wanora announced that there were only five teams remaining. The music upped in tempo as the colors in the ball began to change even quicker.
Blue.
Johnny held her again as they moved; she could see another two couples double eliminating themselves as they tried to cross through the middle.
Yellow.
They hadn't had any time to rest before moving again, Ilaria taking them towards the white zone. Going through the middle was the longest distance, the mage going in a hurry. She watched Wanora coming from the corner of her eye as her forward momentum put her in collision course. The Guildmaster smiled at her as she spun Amy around to evade. Their red ball was held between each others breasts, which seemed like an unfair advantage.
Green.
“Go,” said Johnny, poking her on the side.
Ilaria had been distracted, overcompensating by going faster. She never saw the other couple before feeling the impact on her back. She was pushed slightly forward, the ball squeezing through and falling to her waist. Johnny tried to press it with his leg but it was useless, the ball bumping and falling down.
----------------------------------------
“And the winner tonight is: Amy and Wanora's team!” exclaimed Wanora, like she hadn't just said her own name. The other participants clapped, seemingly content with the results. “But I never intended to reward prizes to myself, no matter the outcome. The second place team, Johnny and Ilaria, will get a rare item of their choice from the stockpile.”
Ilaria had completely forgotten that there were prices involved. The items in question were weapons and accessories; Johnny letting her keep the price. She quickly scanned the list; she could have picked a pair of mana earrings or something like that. Yet, there was only one possible choice: the One-eyed Wand.
It was a quarter to ten after they wrapped up the game event. Both music and lighting were turned down, the arena's awning being withdrawn and stored away. Each couple got back to their table, talking in low voices as they contemplated the sky expectantly. Ilaria watched as Wanora walked side by side with Amy, towards the far corner.
“Is Wanora gay?” Ilaria had blurted it absentmindedly, like if she was talking to herself.
“Is that one of your questions?” replied Johnny, looking at her reproachingly.
“No, forget it.”
They remained silent until the stars began to fall from the sky, the players in the room blinking out one by one.