Marco ran like hell was behind him not even having enough breath to continue screaming. Thanks to the good physical shape he was in it wasn't the distance that stopped him but a gorge that seemed to come out of nowhere. If it hadn't been for his Ballet and Free Running training he would have fallen a good 15 feet onto rough terrain and likely twisted or broken something important. Fortunately he did a last minute pivot and grabbed onto a nearby sapling propelling him up onto a sturdy tree branch which he crouched on like a chimpanzee. He took slow deep breaths, a trick his Sensei had taught him when in a stressful situation to get more oxygen to the blood and calm yourself, as he gazed out across the ravine taking in the scenery. The terrain down below was full of loose rocks and logs that would make traversing it a nightmare for most people even without the stream down the center of it. On the other side the dirt cliff rose up 15 feet like it did on this side making climbing out of the area dangerous and difficult. Normally it wouldn't be a problem getting through it if he took it slowly but, checking his watch, he had about 3 minutes left before the hunters started coming after him.
'Why the FUCK is Toffee sending people to hunt me?!' Marco thought to himself trying to gather himself as best as possible. He decided to put the reason why on hold until he got across the gorge in front of him to get a head start against anyone coming after him. Using his free running skills he looked through the valley for the best possible path to get to the other side and up the cliff. He took particular note of areas to come down, areas to crawl back up, and potential areas to cross the river that would not slow his momentum. In free-running momentum was incredibly important as if you lost that your options were limited. Picking a good path he ran further out onto the tree limb he was on and grabbed onto the end letting his weight lower himself enough so he was only about three feet from the ground before letting go. He hit the ground running not losing any momentum at all and leapt lightly from rock to rock using his teenage lightweight body to his advantage disturbing only a few rocks slightly and only when he got past them.
Back at the tree he had noticed three close areas to cross; a fallen trunk, several stepping stones, and a small leaping point with convenient rocks on either side. He almost went for the trunk but remembered he was being hunted and traps had likely been set up so he avoided the most obvious option and instead went for the leap off point. That might be a trap as well but given his skill it would be less effective than if they had trapped the stepping stones. As it turns out he was right in suspecting it was trapped as when he leapt off his side the stone crumbled away into the stream. Thinking fast instead of landing on his feet he ducked and rolled hoping the excess momentum would keep him going even if the other side fell away. To make a long story short it worked and he kept running as the rock collapsed behind him. As he got to the cliff he avoided any roots dangling from the side as it might leave an obvious trace of where he was going. His grandfather had made Marco watch a show called ManTracker in the past and Marco had a surprising grasp of what left a trace when you went through an area. Instead he went for a sandy divot in the side of the cliff that might have been trapped but Marco was gambling he could get through it.
As he started up he kept to the sides to avoid shifting the sand as much as possible leaping from side to side as needed. After a brief struggle he managed to get to the top and noticed that there was a boulder trap at the top designed to activate and roll down if too much sand had been dislodged. Breathing a sigh of relief at his luck he stopped behind a tree and checked his watch. Exactly 10 minutes had passed which meant the hunters were finally on their way. 'Let the games begin.' Marco thought to himself as he took off his hoodie and tied the sleeves around his neck like a cloak before starting off into the woods.
"Well guess that's what happens when you underestimate someone." Trogdor shook his head as the group chuckled at him with Moon speaking up.
"He didn't even leave a trace or suffer any injury when doing so and did it all before they started after him; feeling so confident about your bet now?" Heckapoo glanced over as Moon smiled at her before replying.
"Oh come on most people can get by that, it's the swampy bridge that separates the men from the boys." River laughed at that speaking up.
"No kidding. I wish Bonibell could be here to participate." Toffee looked up from his group to see the three other groups intermingling.
Some were already sighing in disappointment, a solid 1/5th to his surprise, while others cheered Marco on. Even more to his surprise one of the Monster chiefs was 'consoling' a Mewman noble who had bet on Marco not making it far encouraging him with a lesson about not underestimating people. 'Well looks like things have lightened somewhat.' Toffee thought to himself. There were still three solid groups with people still keeping to them but the betting had loosened them somewhat. 'Now to see how far he actually gets.' Toffee smiled slightly as he turned back to the screen.
Marco moved through the trees avoiding underbrush and mud whenever possible to leave as little trace as possible as he moved. Coming to the top of an uprise he saw something through the trees ahead so decided to climb up a tree a little ways in order to see the surrounding area. Up ahead was what appeared to be piles of boulders all over the place forming a strange maze with the biggest boulder of them all being split in half leaving a small pathway through a nearly impassable area. Marco knew he would either have to risk the maze and any traps in there as well as ambushes or go the long way around which could, from his point of view, take hours and considering he didn't even have water that could be bad.
Steeling himself Marco slid down the tree leaping from tree to tree on the way down to cover some distance. He hadn't seen anyone coming but was sure they were coming in fast so he had to move. He leapt from the final tree to the ground and moved silently picking up a few twigs and sticking them into his hoodie to help conceal him just a little bit. He made it to the boulders without error and looked for a way into the maze finding one after a few minutes. Sneaking into the cool passageways between the boulders Marco moved quickly and quietly approaching every corner with caution instead of just blundering about. He was also constantly checking underfoot for trip wires or pits he could fall into as those were quite common in movies he had seen. As he started through he always kept going right, a trick he had heard of somewhere as if you kept going a single direction you could never get lost, although it would take a while.
As he moved through after a while he heard what sounded like hounds baying in the distance and knew the hunters were onto him. As he went to get moving faster a thought suddenly struck him, what if he could move over head by leaping from boulder to boulder. He was lightweight enough since he was young and it would be a quicker way to get through the maze as he could see where he was going. Yes he would be exposed to the sight of the hunters but they would be slow in movement and most of them would be unable to follow him on top. If he waited until they had entered the maze he could even avoid them detecting him until he had covered some distance. Smiling to himself Marco looked for a way out almost stepping onto a trip wire that connected to something. Marco stepped around it and had another clever idea reaching into something from his fanny pack he had brought along.
Buff Frog had to admit, Marco was actually pulling off a good hunt despite his self-proclaimed lack of experience. It had taken them quite some time to find his trail at the ravine and when they had they lost two hounds and three rather stupid knights to the trap he had avoided springing. He rolled his eyes again at the way they had scrabbled up the slope when he had told them to not disturb the sand and made laughing stocks of themselves. However Marco did not disguise his scent which meant hound tracking was rather simple though it did take a while given a lack of physical trace he was leaving behind. When they got to the cleft boulder Buff Frog had to admit he was not that surprised when Marco was nowhere to be seen and had gone directly into the maze. He spoke up getting everyone's attention as the knights gathered around.
"Alright, he has made it into the maze and intends to navigate it from what I can tell. Move through the maze carefully and do NOT loose the hounds until you see him; if we lose the hounds to traps or Marco fighting back tracking will be that much more difficult. And do not underestimate him comrades; we already lost three to a trap he kept from springing even though he took that route." Everyone nodded and moved into the maze cautiously except for a few he held back against the maze wall out of sight, including Lavabo and Higgs. "You lot, with me. We will be going up on top to get a better view and chase him from above. Most of us can't do that unfortunately so we will be the only ones who will be up there so use caution if he is flushed out on top." Everyone nodded with Higgs getting on Lavabo's shoulders looking over the edge to get a good view immediately calling down.
"Um, he's already on top."
"What?!" Buff Frog leapt up holding on tightly to the boulder's edge as he peeked over cautiously. Marco had in fact gone on top and was keeping an eye near the entrance as if he was afraid of people going on top. "Clever boy, waiting for us to enter the maze so he wouldn't be spotted easily." He turned back to the selected calling out. "Alright, over the top comrades." Everyone gave a cheer and the small party leapt up on top with Marco spotting them immediately.
Not even pausing in shock Marco moved like liquid lightning leaping from boulder to boulder as if he was part Frog Monster. Buff Frog actually stopped for a second to just gauge and admire how he was doing this before going after him. 'He may move well but he can NOT out jump a frog.' Buff frog thought to himself as he leapt from boulder to boulder with great ease out pacing the other hunters above and below. He knew it was risky going it alone but he kind of wanted to fight Marco one on one and see what he was made of. As Buff Frog was closing in however Marco immediately leapt off of the boulder into the maze taking Buff Frog by surprise. Moving up to the trench he looked down to see Marco was in fact not sprawled in pain even after a near 10 foot drop.
'What is this boy made of?' Buff Frog though impressed as he signaled the others on where Marco had dropped down. He then leapt across the gap and surveyed the area as best he could trying to pick out movement as that was easiest to spot in these empty and windless trenches. After a short while he did spot something fluttering in one area and smiled leaping in fast to catch Marco before he got anywhere. As he grabbed onto the piece of cloth Marco had tied to the trip wire he berated himself for his own foolishness as the trap was sprung trying him up in web of ropes. He hung there for a solid three minutes before several other hunters finally reached him and stared in shock for a second before chuckling. He rolled his eyes before replying.
"Embarrassed at my lack of caution yes, but I am above such emotions. Now then get me down so we can find that bo…" He was cut off when the sounds of a trap springing and whining hounds came from a certain direction of the maze. "Someone go see what is going on while you lot get me DOWN FROM HERE!" The knights moved to action quickly cutting Buff Frog down within a minute. As he got back up top Higgs moved up to give him a report.
"Sir, Marco appears to have baited one of the traps in the maze and it took out all but one of our remaining hounds as well as two more knights. No deaths fortunately but they won't be helping us anytime soon." Buff Frog rubbed his chin in thought for a second before speaking up to everyone within ear shot.
"Change of plans, we will get to the cleft itself and cut him off from going through. It is a cheap tactic yes but I am done underestimating that boy. Now get up here all of you." He gestured with the knights scrambling up on top with Buff Frog leading the way.
Marco moved out of the maze through the cleft in the boulder smiling to himself at a job well done. He had managed to plot a route through the remainder of the maze while leaping from boulder to boulder thanks to the quick thinking needed in free running. That traps he had laid were not good but might delay them for a minute or so and every minute counted. He finished moving through the cleft to the other side and took in the sight before him planning on what to do next.
In front of him was a wide open are that looked like it had been recently burned with a massive tree at the far end that had black bark and blue leaves in the distance, maybe a mile off at most. He also noticed a group of unicorns tied to a post not far off with 3 dogs that looked part eel guarding them and looking at him warily. He knew the instant he stepped out onto the field it would be a solid 10 minutes before he reached the other side and they could run him down on the unicorns with the greatest of ease. And if he did make it to the other side they would make up lost time and tracking would be easy for them given the soft ashy earth. He had one option but it was risky; of course this whole situation was risky when you really thought about it.
He moved towards the dogs in a crouch with one hand forward and one out to the side but still visible. The dogs growled at him threatening him making him stop momentarily before proceeding. When he got close the dogs moved forward slowly to sniff him with Marco keeping his cool and speaking softly to the dogs trying to radiate peace. He tried giving the same feeling he gave out when Star curled up on his lap and kneeled down keeping his eyes low so as not to make eye contact. After a few tense seconds of sniffing the dogs relaxed and went back to guarding allowing Marco to go up to the unicorns. He quickly untied the ropes binding them, knots were second nature to him after the Diaz family vacation to Mewni, and got on what he thought was the lead unicorn. He them smacked another unicorn on the rear making it run and did it with another before kicking his steed into moving. He had gone on multiple trail rides and had spent a few weeks at horse camp which fortunately translated to unicorns rather well.
The whole herd took off across the burnt field with Marco holding on to the unicorn tensely as he tried to stay on properly. They made it across the field within two minutes letting off a nice ash screen before Marco tried pulling his over and succeeded with a bit of effort. He stopped under the tree admiring for a second at just how big it was, easily twice as big as the other trees around it. As he went to get off however the guard dogs surrounded him and began barking eagerly. Marco hesitated for a second in mid swing which prompted the unicorn to shake him off throwing him to the ground in a heap and trotted off to join the others. As Marco tried to get up the dogs mobbed him with licks and barks prompting Marco to speak to them.
"Not now guys, I still have quite a ways to go right now." The dogs would not let up however prompting Marco to grab one in order to get up. "Seriously, I'd love to play with you but…" He then heard a long whistle from across the field that got the dogs attention. "And that's my time to go, see ya." He then took off running with the dogs whining as they looked back and forth between where Marco had gone and where the whistling was coming from.
"I will admit that Marco boy is clever and calm in these situations. I was actually hoping I would lose this bet." Toffee admitted this with pride in his voice as Omnitraxus spoke.
"*sigh* So much for my Space time knowledge offering a hand here." People chuckled all around with Moon speaking up again.
"Now you see why I invested so much into Marco people; he's not only tough but smart as well." Heckapoo scoffed at Moon's words speaking up.
"Perhaps, but he still has to get past the thing that guards the bridge, the whispering willow's grove, and deal with the king. That's a tall order even for what he's just accomplished." A groan of annoyance came from different parts of the room prompting Toffee to look up and gaze around.
Far more people it seems had not expected Marco to get halfway through then the other way around and were currently frustrated over everything. He also saw multiple people who were still in the game looking mighty nervous at how well Marco had pulled off his feats. Others however were wishing the boy well even though they had just lost and some were fairly confident that Marco would still lose in the upcoming challenges. He also notice several were talking with each other about different topics than the current test Marco was going through; in particular one conversation he overheard about the new changes being made by the 'Bill of Rights'.
"So you think this is the end of Mewni?" A crab like monster spoke to a blue haired Mewman noble who shrugged and replied.
"Just a… version of Mewni. I just hope the new Mewni has a place for people like ourselves." The crab chuckled and replied.
"Well I for one welcome the new changes as some have been needed for quite some time, even if it means I will lose something to gain something. Regardless, what do you think of that boy Marco?" The noble smiled at that and spoke eagerly.
"I for one welcome the new boy as the princess's squire and bodyguard. He seems well educated in his warrior arts already, and that is without proper schooling. You have no idea how hard it is to find recruits that good." The two chuckled as King Ponyhead flew behind them…
'Wait what?' Toffee attention shifted back to the overall crowd and he noticed several foreign dignitaries amongst the party goers who had not been invited. He also notice they were placing bets on Marco's progress with several people even stepping forward to try and place more money in order to change their bets. He shook his head in confusion at this and decided to not intervene. 'I think the relaxing atmosphere is working a little too well.'