[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew. Well, I've been starting Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. No spoilers, still early in on it. But still, I wanted to knuckle down and get this ready on time. After all, December thirteenth is the six month anniversary of this story's start. It's been quite the journey already... For starters, we are so close to one thousand follows on FFDotNet. So close! Favorites are trailing behind it, but it's closing in on one thousand too.

Anyway, James brings the Shields to the Mungale Fair, the Archery Tournament happens and we meet a couple more characters! And a new poll will go up!

Let's go!

[ - Act II - Chapter III: Sounds Fair To Me - ]

The morning of the Fair had the family up early, eating and getting set as well as our guests (Although Maia had to be dragged out of bed kicking and screaming) and talking around breakfast. Miria was the first to leave, bow in hand followed by Ur'Akara. My parents left next for the Fair; dad was the host after all. I was the last to leave with Prim on my arm, Maia walking behind me with her hands behind her head and Celestine calmly walking to my side... Oh, and we were followed and flanked by seven Dawn Templars.

This was about as subtle as a sick, neon painted cat in yard full of dogs.

Not too far outside of Argon was a field usually used to graze sheep. The sheep were kept in the barn for the day as the owners donated the use of the land for the Fair. A number of guards were about to keep good order and a series of stalls were set up; food, gifts, pieces of art, palm readings and so on. One of those 'mallet of might' games were set up, as were a game with balls and targets, a table for the arm wrestling contest coming up and more.

The Fair was packed with the people of Argon, Iron Road and every town and village in the barony. And a lot of them were looking to me. Because while Prim wasn't instantly recognizable to anyone who hadn't seen her before (Although they would know she was of a high house by appearance) and knew of her royal connections and Maia could pass as just another mercenary Celestine was an unmistakable presence who's paintings was up in more then a few official buildings.

In short everyone was paying attention to us in general, me in general and the high queen in specific. Needless to say the jealous looks I had from hanging out with five hot girls in the guild had increased. Ten fold. From every male nearby. And some of the women to.

Really I imagine if Celestine was on my arm half the people would go crazy here. So as it was everyone was bowing as she passed them.

"I like it. It's rather quaint." Celestine said as she looked about. "Hmm? What are these?" She said, stopping and pointing to something. I paused to look at what was cooking on a small grill set up.

"Oh, that's a shish kabob. Just a series of grilled meat and vegetables on a stick." I said smiling as I turned to face her. It's popular food for the Fair; you can eat as you walk and browse." I explained to her. On a bit of a whim I glanced to the price and pair for four of them; one for each of the girls with Celestine getting the first. It didn't take long for her to start eating it, Prim as well seeming unfamiliar with this type of food. Yes, shish kabobs were not served in court. Maia, of course, took to it like a duck to water, as did I eating my own.

It wasn't the only thing she would pause to look at; she would stop to look at carved, copper jewelry (A material no noble or royal would wear) and complement a paling carver on his craftsmanship as said craftsman stammered at the complements by the High Queen. Not long after it was a female potter having her painted vases complemented on gawking at who was commenting on her work, followed by a man with wooden carvings that were also well painted.

It occurred to me that Celestine despite her best efforts lived in something of a gilded cage. Things that most, everyday people would see or know about would be new to her, even with her long life span. I imagine she rarely had the chance to interact with normal people on this level. Then again, normal people had a tendency to stop and act like she was a goddess and not a person standing before them.

The nobility kept Celestine away from themselves by being, well, nobility and acting petty and arrogant and seeing her as a source of power and prestige.

The common man kept her away by being too awestruck and dumbfounded by her and seeing her as a perfect goddess and leader.

What did I see her as?

A good leader and wise person. Because I'm sure that's what she was.

And it wasn't long before I heard her now favorite question: "What's that?" She was pointing to that mallet carnival game I would latter learn it was called the High Striker. It was a simple set up; a mostly wooden tower with a metal weight in a slot, a bell at the top and pad at the base. Aside from the weight and bell it was painted bright yellow with red trim with the metal bits painted white with small flakes coming off of them.

"That's a strength testing game. Well, kinda." I started as she looked at me. "There's a trick to it; it's about where you hit it. I've never got the bell to ring before myself." Mind, I was in a hell of a lot better shape now then I was in my old world.

"Well, nothing wrong with giving it another try, right?" Prim said as she patted my arm as she let go. I thought over it for a moment and nodded. In front of us one of the local adventurer's slammed the mallet down on the pad as I watched it rise up... And fall half a foot short of the bell. For the record he wasn't a small guy; he had a couple inches on me and at least twenty odd pounds. He seemed disappointed as he walked off. There wasn't a line at the moment so I stepped up and with a price of two copper I gave to the attendant (Who was looking at Celestine dumbfounded) as I took the mallet and moved to the pad.

I knew you had to hit the thing in the center as flush as possible and with enough power to get the weight up. Really, power was the least important thing here, accuracy was the most important. I took in a breath as I parted my legs for a good base before taking a few slow, gentle swings to line myself up. Once I was sure I was lined up I pulled the mallet back with with a loud grunt slammed it down onto the pad; the center of the mallet hitting maybe two inches to the left of the pad's center. The end result was the weight shot up along the slot, slowed at the peak... And hit the bell just soundly enough to ring it gently. Was it a great showing? No. But it was my personal best.

I'll take it. For my prize I got a small, stuffed, pink rabbit toy. I, of course, gave it to Prim who blushed. "You did it!" She let off, hugging me around the chest as Celestine smiled to me.

"Seems you've conquered that limitation." She quipped as I chuckled rubbing the back of my head. I was kinda proud of myself to be honest. "I do not think such a game fits me, but I enjoyed watching you play it." She said hands folded in her lap as she smiled calmly. I was about to reply...

As a loud, ringing clang sounded as we turned to the game. The bell had a very solid dent in it with the weight still pressed up into it before it fell down. We looked over to the person who had struck it; Maia who rested the mallet's shaft on her shoulder as one hand rubbed the back of her head, a goofy grin on her face.

"He he he he... I, uhhh, might have put a little too much oompff into it." She let off as we gawked to her.

If I was an anime character I'd have a giant sweatdrop coming off of me. Good lord, my little victory seems so much smaller now.

[-]

Elsewhere
Mungale Fair

"And it's another ringer!" A man let off as Riri spun a horseshoe on one finger, somehow not letting it fall off before grabbing it fully and throwing it underhand at the spike opposite of her and forty feet away from the one she stood behind. The maid had been playing horseshoes in each of the Fairs for three years now and this was the second in a row that she'd dominated the event; this year every throw had been a ringer.

Her opponent this time was an older farmer who had played horseshoes all his life, but was still losing to Riri by a decent margin; by six points. Most of her opponents were losing in the three round games in double digits.

It had gotten to the point that when someone starting a betting pool it wasn't on who would win but how wide a margin they'd lose by. Everyone from local adventurers to longtime players had challenged her, but none could beat her at the game; a testament to the skills she had learned under Sora.

Thankfully other horseshoe games were set up as well on the field, or everyone else would seem to only suffer defeat.

Makoto turned over a horse shoe in her hand, humming as she looked over it and then down to the spike away from her down the field. Her opponent was a local farmer; a portly woman with a wide smile who was waving to her to take her turn. The game was set up that the winner could keep playing until someone lost and her opponent was currently three to zero in wins. By contrast Makoto had only learned the game that day and this was her second game, having lost the first.

The other woman had already made her throws; hence why she was waiting by the spike as she readied her own throws. The woman had both near the spike; two points total. That would set the woman at two points ahead of her overall. Finally she took a calming breath, drew her arm back and took aim before flinging her shoe. A loud clang sounded as the shoe hit the spike and bounced away, landing on the ground; close enough for a single point bringing the woman's lead down to one. She could tie it... Or win, if she managed a ringer.

The eastern woman took a calming breath as she took her measure once more, swinging her arm as she sent the horseshoe off to it's target... once more the shoe connected with the spike, but rather then recoil away it wrapped about it for a moment and fell down, the spike in it's metal. There was a smattering of clapping as she realized that she had won her game by two points. The other other woman rubbed the back of her head, chuckling in defeat as Makoto did the only thing she could think to do.

Bow to her polite foe.

[-]

As one would expect Celestine, as High Queen, had a fair bit of money to throw around if and when needed. And she had been throwing it around. She bought and collected little odd knick-knacks from here and there, her Dawn Templar escort was outfitted with at least one piece of copper jewelry and she was more then happy to snack on and share whatever bit of Fair food she found. She was clearly enjoying herself at this simple, little Fair and I was enjoying watching her.

People were too nervous to approach her, for the most part, as what do you say to the High Queen who was visiting? The exception were those who weren't fully aware of how important she was; which is to say small children who would approach. Celestine now had a large, white flower tucked into her hair, given to her by a small girl who's parents gawked at her. Celestine took the time to walk her back to her parents and tell them how polite she'd been.

Prim, for her part, hung off my arm and made small talk and more or less cheered me on in whatever game I found myself playing; be it a primitive skeet-style game or a ball throwing game to knock over metal ale mugs. As a general rule I won each of the game and picked up a small prize for her. Maia would then play after me and regardless if I won by the barest amount or clearly Maia would just demolish the game.

Sometimes quite literally demolish. That guy was lucky he had spare ale mugs for the ball game; Maia had ended up denting one and caving in a second.

We eventually, however, came to a game that wasn't about strength or skill but luck; Plinko.

Well, it was called Chip Drop here but I recognized it as Plinko from The Price Is Right. It wasn't long before Celestine asked her now favorite question. "What is that?"

It was a plank of wood some five feet long and some three feet wide. Boards on the side provided an edge and a series of nails hammered into off set rows which would make the wooden discs bounce about as they dropped. At the bottom were a series of slots; eleven slots in all with three as winners, two as slots that would win you another go and the remaining eight as losing slots. It was angled at about twenty degrees back from ninety, preventing a straight down drop but also keeping momentum to anything let loose down it's length.

"It's a game meant for everyone to play. You take the discs, hold them to the board and drop them from the top." I explained. "There's no real skill in it, just luck. Hang on." The attendant was a bit dumbfounded at Celestine being here of course but was still eager to let people play his game. Each disc cost two copper to use so I bought three of them. Rather then move to the board I turned and offered them to Celestine who's brow rose in surprise but stepped over and took them from me, moving to the board. Steps behind the board let her raise herself up and with ease place the first disc.

"I just drop them, right?" She asked as I nodded to her. We all watched the board as she dropped her first disc. The disc would ping pong as it fell, bouncing off each pin under it as it zigzagged down the way towards the slot. There were two losing spots on each side, a winner next to them. The third winner was in the direct center with the two redo spaces flanking it on either side. At first it seemed to drift to the left, in that No Man's Land between the winner in the center and the one on the left, each under it a loser... However at the last moment it seemed the disc pinged off a peg and steered hard to the middle, bobbing along before hitting the edge of the slot and falling into the winner on the center.

"Hey, she's a winner!" Maia let off as Celestine's brow raised before she smiled softly. She giggled and set her second disc to the board and slid it a bit to the side. She let it go as we watched it bounce it's way down, pinging about like the first. This one turned hard to the right and bounced off the side of the board and shifted hard towards the middle once more. I watched it ping around before hitting a nail hard and sent it back to the right and into one of the loser slots. Despite the loss she was still smiling and enjoying herself as she set her third disc into place, moving it about as she (In a very cute manner) stuck her tongue out. Finally she let the last disc go.

Like before it pinged around, but this time it seemed to stay in the center. It moved left to right as in bounced and pinged off the nail as we all watched it move about as it dropped down. It was hard to tell where it was going but near the bottom it moved hard to the right suddenly pinging along before falling into the lone winner slot there. "Hey, a second winner!" Prim let off as she gave a soft clap. Celestine was a bit surprised by the looks of it but took it in good grace, stepping down and giving a brief curtsy. The attendant was still dumbfounded and looked down at his collection of stuffed toys and dolls and I could tell he felt they were inadequate for the High Queen. I mover over to him and leaned into whisper.

"She's just having fun with something new to her. The prize will matter less then the game itself." He seemed to relax a bit as Celestine moved over to the toys, humming a bit. In the end she choose a small pink cat and a small red dog, taking them and presenting them to Prim and Maia respectively. I patted the man's shoulder and moved to rejoin them before we moved down along the Fair to see what else was about.

[-]

Elsewhere
Mungale Fair

"BWAH-HA-HA! Another, another!" The large form of Gregory Hammersmith let off as Tiffany clapped and cheered for him, watching him from the side. Inside a large tent was an ongoing arm wrestling tournament with large men (And the odd woman) locking hands over sturdy, heavy tables and fighting to press the other's knuckles to the wood. Some of the men had been larger, some smaller, some bulkier but he had defeated them all; his last opponent shaking his hand out as he walked away to rejoin his friends.

One by one he'd beaten them; even the Rowdy Boys large pugilist failed to match him. He had seemed unstoppable to all around him. Packed inside the tent was dozens of people; spectators contestants and more. They had loudly cheered him and his opponents on.

"Well, well Gregory. You've done well, huh?"

"Hmm?" The Crusader let off as his head turned. He grinned a bit with a small smirk even as his eyes narrowed at the new challenger. "Fredrick Bijoux. Come to challenge me once more like the man you are, I see." He said simply as a new man entered the tent.

The man was as massive as Gregory; at six foot six he could stand nose to nose and eye to eye with the Crusader. He bore brown hair that hung behind him to the mid-back in wild, thick and untamed locks more befitting a barbarian then a minor lord, a thick mustache that pointed out to the sides four inches from the center of his nose and spread out like a worn brush. His beard hung down to the middle of his chest and was bushy enough to make one wonder if a squirrel would nest in it.

Powerfully built with wide shoulders and thick limbs he wore an open black long coat over a well made red vest that was buttoned at the front over a white, buttoned up shirt that was taut to his frame. His legs were set into black trousers that tucked into red boots with gold colored trim at the top. On each shoulder of the long coat could be found the Bijoux family crest, a triangular shield with three points at the top, the side ones curling in slightly like horns. The shield was bright red with a thin, blue outline. Inside the shield at the top under each of the points was a trio of silver arrows crossed over one another. At the bottom was the head of a light brown deer with darker antlers that reached up into the middle of the emblem; a white diamond with a point at the bottom and flattened top nestled in the antler's center.

The man crossed her arms with a wide, almost feral grin. "Gregory Hammersmith!" He bellowed out to the man before chuckling. "You bested me last year but I have readied myself this time! I've boxed with a bloody bear! Dragged a thick log from Greenwave to my manor and broke it to firewood with my own fists! I am ready for our destined rematch!"

"Bah! You think that's all you need to face me here, Bijoux? You may be a man among men, but I am a man among men among men!" Gregory boasted loudly in return.

"Umm, Uncle Greg, what does that even mean?"

"Come! My grip is like steel and my arms full of fire! I shall defeat you this year as I did last!" Gregory boasted as he ignored (Or didn't hear) Tiffany's question.

"Ah, sirs... This is a tournament, there is an orderly way to go about th-"

"Bah!" Fredrick let off in reply, smacking both fists into his chest, speaking over the referee who sighed and muttered 'not again' under his breath. "My grip is also as steel, but my arms are fueled with manliness and passion! And it will blow your fire out like a candle in the storm!" The rhetoric of the two men had cheers and calls from the audience. Most of the females were more then eager to see the two men lock arms and wrestle to admire the power they held. Fredrick strode over to the opposite side of the table Gregory stood at as the two men grinned to one another.

"Is. That. So." Gregory let off with a scoff. "I am not lacking in manliness or passion either! And you will find that storm will just stoke my fires into an inferno! And like dry grass you well be burned to ash!" The men stood across each other for a long moment before letting off a mutual laugh.

"Ah, Gregory... So few can match words with me like this so well. You are my truest equal! Come! We will settle this! Like men! The manliest of men!"

"Agreed! The manliest of rivals!"

"A rivalry so manly we will impregnate every woman here with our auras of supreme manli-"

"Ahem." Both men turned to see a woman with long, mid back length brown hair walk in, looking over them both with blue eyes. She wore a tight, black unitard that covered from the ankles and wrists to the neck save a pair of cut outs; one at the top of her breasts and one at the bottom. Red boots under steel greaves were on her legs, red leather gloves on her hands under a pair of steel bracers; the left one thicker and heavier as well as attaching to armor over her left bicep and a pauldron at the shoulder. Lastly she wore a gold circlet on her forehead with a silver spell stone set to the center of it. She stood at five foot eight and was well toned with D-Cup breasts and at her back was a four foot long sword that happened to have a four inch wide blade. "Honey, Gregory... I know you two like your 'manly' boasting... But just get on with it, please."

"Yes Dear."

"Yes Lady Karen."

The woman, Karen Noxdecus Bijoux, sighed as she walked in and crossed her arms as she looked to the two men. Her husband and Gregory grabbed a handle that was raised from the table with their left hands as the right hands moved to grip the other's. The referee sighed, shook his head and walked over, grabbing both of the massive hands as they squeezed the other. Making sure they were centered he let go. The cheering around the pair started to gain volume as they locked eyes.

"Begin!"

The referee's cry had both men pull, muscles pulling tight under their clothing as their teeth grit. They leaned over as they tried to force the other arm over, the two limbs trembling with effort and power. For a long moment nothing happened. After a few moments however one could see the hands shift side to side. For one moment Gregory seemed to be inching his way to victory and in the next Fredrick redoubled his efforts and pushed back, pushing his way towards victory before Gregory forced him back.

This was the state of things for a while; the fists of the two titans swaying one way then the other, trading the lead back and forth as groans of effort came from both. They gave a low roar as they pulled on the other's arm with as much force as they could. The two hands trembled as Fredrick, for a brief moment, started to push Gregory's hand back... Only for the crusader to pull back and start to force the lord's hand back in turn.

Fredrick grit his teeth and pulled harder to try and force Gregory's hand back only for his opponent to pull with greater force at the same time. Slowly and by degrees Fredrick's hand was forced back bit by bit. Now and then Fredrick's hand would push back and retake ground for a brief moment before being pushed back down, little by little. Cheers and cries of encouragement rained down on both men as they pulled the other's arms, the crusader gaining further and further ground.

After over five minutes of struggle, however Gregory's lead widened further as he forced Fredrick's arm further and further down before, finally, his knuckles touched wood to a loud cry from those around them. The two men panted briefly as what happened washed over them and after a moment they finally reacted. Rather then end their mutual grip the two men laughed to one another and stood fully, their left hand searching out to firmly pat the other on the shoulder.

"Bah! I'll beat you one day, you old bear! You and your well groomed facial hair!" Fredrick bellowed out as he finally let his foe go, hands moving to his hips as he gave a deep, bellowing laugh; one matched by Gregory's own.

"You'll need to do much more then that, even with that wild and manly mane!" Gregory said as he grinned walking around the table as he slung an arm over the minor lord's shoulder as the two walked to the tent's flap.

"Not again..." The referee let off as the laughing men began walking off.

"Drinks are you once more, old friend!" Gregory bellowed out.

"Bah! Well, stories are on you then!" Fredrick let off as Tiffany jogged over behind the men.

"Hey! Hey!" She let off, pointing to the table. ""Uncle! You're still in the tournament! Uncle!"

"Don't bother, lass." Karen said, moving behind her and setting a hand on her shoulder with a sigh. "They always do this..."

"Do what?" Tiffany asked with a huff.

"This." The referee, a plain, clean shaven older man said as he ran a hand past his brown, shaggy hair. "One of them will be making his way through the bracket. The the other will arrive and challenge the first; current brackets be damned. And the then Gregory wins, the pair walk off and end up missing the rest of the tournament."

"Wait? Seriously!?" Tiffany all but shrieked out as the referee and Karen both nodded sagely. "Seriously!?"

"Yuuuuuuuuuuup..." Karen let off with a sigh, shaking her head. "It's sad, but true."

"At least it means someone else has a chance to win..." The referee let off, turning to the men in the tent. "Okay! Gregory has effectively forfeited to go drinking with his friend. Terry Tremor! You won the lottery before we started, you get his slot this year! Okay people, let's get back to it!"

Tiffany groaned and buried her face into her hands. "Awwww, maaaaaaaan..."

[-]

About three hours and change after we arrived we moved towards the area set up for the archery contest (We stopped by Regina's stall to get the girls ice cream cones. Celestine also made sure each of her escort had a cone as well. Yes, I'm serious) as I explained why it was main attraction in the Fair. The answer, in short, was Garan.

To understand this answer one needed some explanation.

Eostia maintains a standing army of about fifteen thousand or so. Large, but keep in mind Balanar can field upwards of sixty thousand, Dominious can boast anywhere from one hundred to one hundred fifty thousand and Garan's numbers tends to be anywhere from eighty thousand to one hundred and twenty thousand. If we only had fifteen thousand troops then unless they were all Spartans from Halo we'd be overrun.

The Una Verita Church would back up the standing forces with another ten thousand, and there was anywhere from four to ten thousand mercenaries that could be called upon, but most of the military came from the individual states. As part of the Aegis Accords each of the states had to maintain it's own standing force; although there was a maximum limit. A limit that was unanimously raised three times in Eostia's history, with it's minimum raised once. In short a Barony had to maintain a standing army of five hundred to seven hundred and fifty, Counties had to maintain one thousand to one thousand, seven hundred and fifty, Duchies needed to have an army between one thousand, five hundred and two thousand, five hundred and The Seven Kingdoms needed to keep standing armies between two thousand to three thousand, five hundred.

In total the states would be able to throw out sixty seven to over one hundred and eleven thousand troops. Throw in the Eostian Regulars that's eight two thousand to one hundred twenty six thousand troops. And you can add another ten thousand from the church on top of that.

This meant the decentralized nature meant that once an attack happened troops would stream in from across the nation. In the case of Garan's pushes in they would, usually, push into the border territories to a degree as nearby forces mounted a defense and was backed up as wave after wave of fresh troops reinforced. By the time the southern units arrived Garan's troops would be getting bogged down and exhausted as worn Eostia troops were bolstered and then replaced by fresh ones giving them a chance to rest.

So you might ask, where did Mungale and an archery contest come into all of this?

Well the British had a saying; to train a longbowman start with his grandfather.

While Mungale has had prosperous times it had fallen to a more middling barony and can't arm and equip large amounts of cavalry, heavy infantry or knights. We have them of course and half of the manor guard fit that description but the bulk of patrols and the standing army are archers.

Yes, archers.

After all, equipping archers with woolen, gambeson armor and wooden bows is much less expensive then metal armor, shields and arms that heavier troops would require. In addition with no real viable mines and with the best trade routes going around us (Save Elddale's newest trade routes, to the chagrin of Blitzhaus) we can't afford to equip and maintain huge amounts of metal armored units. Hell, that's why we stole all of Mandeville's equipment off his men; to bolster our own ranks further.

Our heavier equipped infantry and cavalry units were very well trained and a match for the Eostian Regulars one on one, but we couldn't match the numbers that other states like Arafe, Ferra or even Elddale. But we had an abundance of forests and good yew trees that could be made into simple but strong longbows or even compound bows. And with an abundance of armor-piercing bodkin arrows that could punch through even a troll's skin a mass of arrows flying at you was terrifying.

Of course to add to it Mungale also had access to a few, strong mages. With the mages able to either do something to deal with opposing shields or cast winds to further boost the arrows speed...

Yeah.

This did put pressure on our limited heavy infantry and cavalry to defend the squishier archers and mages; doubly so since there was fewer of them compared to the archers. Ironically this meant that Mungale when fighting Garan tended to get it's units paired up with those states who had an abundance of armored melee units, preferably Arafe... But usually Elddale...

Yes, my father and Arnold von Blitzhaus had to fight side by side against Garan before. I didn't know how that went but I imagine it was not fun.

Regardless of that, six hundred years ago it was decided to put a large grand prize on the line for the winner of the Fair's archery contest. It was plenty of an excuse to get people to practice their marksmanship with the bow and when Garan came calling they were passed out. And if you go to war as an archer for Mungale you got to keep the bow you used and a quiver of arrows when you left.

The archery field was divided into four sections with ten targets each with stands for crowds to watch each field; the first field having more stands then the rest. It would be divided between a series of four rounds. Round one was a simple contest you'd expect in a Robin Hood movie; big round targets down a range. You had ten arrows to fire and had to get five into the inner most circle with the other five hitting the target to pass.

Round two used duck shaped, metal targets on a bike chain (Well, it was called a roller chain, but it looked like a bicycle chain to me) that moved the targets along at a steady rate thanks to gear turned by a spell stone. You had ten arrows once more and to pass you had to hit eight of the targets within five minutes.

Round three was the archery version of Whack-a-Mole. A series of small targets would pop up for a few, brief seconds and you had to nail them. Unlike before, however, you got one shot; miss and you're gone. Once everyone in the field had a turn they had a second go. Repeat until there's only one left.

That meant that round four only had four people left. Each archer had a quiver of twenty four arrows and three targets spinning in a circle on a post that had a spell stone in the middle of each. The stones made a ring on each target. Each time one target was hit the ring shrank by half an inch and started at nine inches wide at the start. On top of that you had five minutes to fire all of your arrows. Whoever had the most hits won.

I led Celestine, Prim and Maia to the stands at field two which was the one that Miria was at. The VIP stand near the front was large enough for all of us and was mostly empty; only my mother and Sora was there. A lot of muttering rose up as Celestine was noted as she stepped in and took a seat with the rest of us. "How long until we start?" I asked my mother who smiled.

"Oh, not long. Your father is at field one, giving a short speech before letting them start. He'll be here soon." She explained with a smile. I nodded in reply as Sora poured us all drinks; lemonade. "Did you enjoy the Fair, your highness?" She said, looking to Celestine.

"Oh, indeed, yes." She said, clasping her hands before her chest. "I don't usually get to see what Fairs are like in person. It's been quite the experience so far!" The two would start a small chat, sitting next to one another as Prim sat to my left and Maia to my right, the Dawn Templar escort standing behind us. We had some idle talk until my father finally appeared to stand on the field and address the archers and crowd. He had done fields three and four already and saved two for last so he could sit down with us after he was done.

"Welcome, one and all!" He called out loudly. "To the Mungale Archery Tournament!" A loud cheer came from the crowd as he stood facing the crowd with the referees for the tournament standing behind him. "We've gathered once more to test the marksmanship of our Barony's finest! For centuries arrows have flown to decide the best of the best within our fair land and many of the heroes of Garanian conflicts were born on these fields. Let more heroes be born today! Let us begin!" The crowd broke out into applause as he walked to join us and after a moment the first ten archers came out onto the field. As I understood it this year we had over eight hundred archers this year; so it was quite the turn out.

I didn't see Miria right away so I made small talk with Prim and Maia as we watched on. Most of the archers were doing fairly well, but you did get the odd one who did horribly; mostly those who looked like they had just started to train with the bow. I did notice that Kelly Conners of all people, one of the Mungale House Guard I had with me when fighting Mandeville, was on the field wearing a red tunic. It was a surprise as I wasn't aware she was trained in the bow, but she passed her first round with aplomb. It was a pleasant surprise of course.

Also on the field to my surprise was Mona Gage; a waitress at the Adventurer's Guild. She only just passed by a narrow margin. I noticed a couple of the Rowdy Boys on the field who passed (And one who didn't), but a lot of people were dropping out from missing too many shots. If I had to put a number to it I would say at least half of the people were failing the first round; at least on this range.

The crowd chatted among themselves, cheering or jeering at various people. Every now and then someone would see a person they knew and cry out to them to wish them luck. As people won or lost they were directed to go one way or the other and I watched on, leaning back in my seat. For a moment the quality of the archers picked up, more and more passing for a short bit.

I think we were over a hundred people in when Miria finally took the field. "Miria! Do your best!" Saxon let off loudly; enough to make most of the VIP seating jump slightly. Miria seemed to chuckle, half turning to wave at us with one hand before taking her spot. She calmly drew her first arrow took aim and fired. She would draw her next, aim and fire. She needed five in the inner most circle to pass.

She landed all ten arrows in the target with four hitting the bullseye. I think she only got four in there because there wasn't any more room for arrows in the bullseye. Needless to say she passed with flying colors.

The rest of the round would go on. By the end of it we saw two hundred and four archers take the field. By the end of it we were down to ninety eight archers. In total for all four fields things were cut down to just over four hundred archers left. There was a brief break as officials took the time to take down the current targets and putting up the next one for the second round.

The crowd murmured and some left; either to go talk with someone, answer the call of nature, get food or drinks or just plain left when someone they cheered on lost. For the moment I stayed in my seat, as did Prim and Celestine but Maia excused herself and left to go somewhere; she didn't say where. Celestine took the opportunity to move to the seat she vacated to seat herself next to me; a murmur came up from the crowd but I ignored it. "Enjoying yourself, my good High Queen?" I said cheerfully.

"Indeed. This Fair has been a rather pleasant experience, all in all." She replied as she nodded once. "So many people have tried to woo and awe me with grand concerts and plays or massive, gaudy parties and events but this simple and honest affair has been very enjoyable and fun. Save the... Overreactions of those here to my presence it has been a most enjoyable day."

"Mmm... Well, you do stand out..." I said softly with a shrug as I turned my head to look at Prim. "I hope you've enjoyed yourself as well." I began, cutting her off before she spoke. "For reasons that isn't related to me being here." She pouted for a brief moment before smiling and giggling.

"Indeed. I like watching you all enjoy yourselves; I don't think I've seen Celestine have so much fun before, either." The Princess of Ur replied as she leaned into me a bit more. "Are we only going to be watching this field?"

"If you want. I plan to watch the other fields a bit for the third round; I want to see what competition Miria has in the last round." I replied, nodding. The most notable opponent for Miria in the last tournaments was an old man named, I kid you not, Robert Greenhood. Yes, seriously. He was a retired member of the Mungale Regular forces and one of it's best archers back in the day. From what I was told he was a near perfect archer back in the day, but Mother Nature and Father Time joined forces to kick his ass and his abilities have been deteriorating year after year. He was the only one to be able to hang with her in the last two Fairs, but you never knew who else had arrived. I knew Cress was joining the Tournament as well, but I didn't think he'd be a match for her. The only other person I knew who had joined was Riri but I knew she was on field three. I was sure I'd see her down the line.

Soon the targets for round two were set up. There were five targets set up, some twelve feet long. The duck shaped targets were about eight inches long each, four inches high in at the back and six to the head. There were eight ducks to each chain and it was set up so once knocked over they would flip back into place as it turned to the underside of the chain and would stay standing as they popped back up. That way there was always a target. Again you had to hit a target with eight of your ten arrows to pass to the next round.

Once done the referee declared the second round on field two would begin and five archers were brought out and soon the duck targets were moving on their chains as we watched on. Maia arrived not long after the round started and sighed as she saw Celestine took her seat... So she walked in front of the High Queen to pass her and dropped herself into my lap, making me yelp softly. "Ahhh, best seat in the house." She let off, throwing an arm around my neck as she leaned her back into me as Prim gawked to her. I sighed and shrugged under her.

"Do I at least get to grope your breasts?" I quipped making her blush softly, but she smirked back to me.

"Y-you can grope my boobs..." Prim offered softly enough it was hard to hear as the crowd started to rise in volume as the first archer failed, making me chuckle and reach out, petting her head softly.

"And yet no asks if I want my breasts groped." We all turned our heads (Although I had to lean forwards to look around Maia, and that made Prim lean over more to look past us both) to look at the speaker; Celestine.

"...Do you want me to grope your breasts?" I asked after a moment.

"Well, no... But it would be nice if someone asked." She replied curtly.

"He kinda just did." Maia replied making the high elf blink for a moment before a hint of a blush came to her cheeks.

"Huh... So he did..."

I sighed deeply...

[-]

Mungale Fair
Archery Field Four

"I apologize, I apologize..." Fredrick let off as he shuffled over to the VIP seating at the fourth field. "Bah! Me and Gregory always have so much to talk about..." He let off. Said seating was mostly bare; a few friends of the Bijoux family and his wife who glanced at him with a soft grin. "How much did I miss?"

"The second round has just started." Karen said with a grin. "Cress has yet to take his turn."

"Oh, good. I'd feel horrible if I missed this!" Fredrick let off, chuckling as he moved to sit down next to his wife, smiling as he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"Cress has been training very hard this past year." Karen said smiling as she nodded once crossing her arms as she watched the tournament before her; seeing ducks get knocked over or arrows go wide of their targets. "Maybe I babied him too much early in life..."

"Bah! No matter how girly his appearance, no matter how soft a tone he speaks with he is a man at heart!" Fredrick boasted with a grin. "Rest assured my dear, when called upon he will be braver then any of his peers!" Karen giggled softly before smiling up at her husband with a shake of her head.

"Let it never be said that you don't have confidence in your own son." She said with a giggle. They would make small talk for a time, pointing to a few archers that seemed to have promise or that they recognized. There were less then two hundred archers on the field total and at that moment almost fifty had taken their turn. One by one they shot at the metal ducks and passed or failed; with most failing. Finally however he saw what he was waiting for; his son taking the field, bow in hand.

"Cress, my boy! Show Mungale what your made of!" Fredrick bellowed out as he stood clapping his hands, making his son yelp and face him in surprise before nervously waving to him before gulping. "Murder those metal ducks!"

"Okay dear, don't break his focus..." Karen reminded him as Cress took a moment to center himself. Once ready he drew the first arrow and took aim... Before letting the first one loose.

The first duck was hit in the head; the smallest part of the target.

The second met the same fate, followed by the third, fourth and fifth. The sixth, seventh and eighth ducks met the same fate.

Duck nine took the missile on the beak, smacking into the rig it was on as it flopped over.

Duck ten was shot in the head as well. The referee nodded to Cress as he relaxed just as his father's laughter bellowed out from the stands.

"That's my boy! Say he's feminine as a maiden if you dare, he's a true man on the field of marksmanship!" The man bellowed out. "A true marksman!"

"Please stop embarrassing our son, dear..." Karen sighed as Cress (In as quick but polite a manner as he could) shuffled off the field.

"Well, I'm not wrong, am I?" He said as his wife just sighed.

[-]

The order the archers took to the field for round two was not the same as round one, so various people took to the field earlier then before, some later then before. The two Rowdy Boys members came out fairly early; one utterly failing and the other one hit just shy of passing. Better luck next year, I guess.

Or never in their case.

Mona Gage walked out fairly early as well. Given how she barley passed the last round I expected her to fail in this one but... Ummm...

Not. One. Arrow. Hit. Not one. She missed all of them. She came close on one; the duck hitting the feathers of an arrow but it didn't count.

Like, ouch.

Small talk was made with Prim, Celestine and Maia (Who was still on my lap, sitting on one thigh thankfully) as I waited for someone else I knew to show up. To my surprise my elven tailor, Agana Bellspring, was on the field. I hadn't noticed her in round one, but she took to wearing a sky blue cloak over her usual outfit so I imagine that's why I didn't see her at first. She would nail five ducks in a row, miss the next two, nail the next two and whiff on the last. A good showing, but in the end she failed to pass by one arrow.

Kelly Conners came out not long after. I was again surprised that the woman who was usually using the lance could use a bow as well, but she nailed nine of her ten targets; near the fattest part of each target. I'd have to let her know I was impressed with her later; she had passed into the next round.

I saw a couple other guards from the Manor Guard present; these people dedicated archers. Out of the six I could make out that five had passed. The sixth failed by a narrow margin; his arrow clipped the duck and for a moment I thought it would go over but it refused. They did everyone proud.

Among the archers were various Adventurers, no doubt seeking the grand prize; one hundred gold was no small amount after all. The bulk acquitted themselves well, some well enough and more then a few failed slightly or totally. It wasn't until near the end that Miria took the field once more and walked up to take her place. Mother, once more, cried out to cheer her on as my sister took a calming breath, drew arrows and took aim.

Rather then just win she decided to win with style. The first arrow hit a duck in the head. Then the next. Then the next. One by one the ducks were head shotted. Hell, I could hear that 'Boom! Head Shot!' meme go off in my head each time she hit. Ten arrows later ten metal ducks had been shot in the head one by one in a display that had Maia whistling, clearly impressed.

"Damn, that sister of yours has damn good aim. Hate to be a goblin down range of her." She quipped.

"It's a good idea not to be down range of her in general." I added with a chuckle as I patted her hip twice. It wasn't long after she left the field the last archer took their turn. Once more a break was called to reset the field for round three. The field had over two hundred people at the start. That had been cut by over half to under one hundred. Now? We were down to thirty seven; less then half of the previous round.

And only one could pass to the final round. More small talk would follow but as round three began I excused myself to visit the other fields.

[-]

I moved to visit field three first, both to root Riri on and see who else was competing. Makoto and Tiffany were in the VIP seating here and I greeted them. Normally Makoto would be with me playing bodyguard, but I was already being followed around by Dawn Templars while hanging with the Shields (And two were following me from field to field right now) so I told her to go enjoy the fair. She apparently spent a lot of the time playing horseshoes, it seems.

The field was set up with the targets in wooden barrels set up with fourteen targets in total, staggered out in a four-three-four-three pattern with about two feet between targets. Unlike before there was only one shot per archer and as the first two came out and took their place. Then the round began; the targets were round and four inches wide and only popped up for a few seconds each; meaning each archer had very little time to take aim and fire.

Both of the first archers missed; one just straight missed the target the other took too long and the target dropped as soon as he loosed the arrow. Whoops.

I saw a few other adventurers on the field as everyone got to take their turn. I finally saw Riri and gave her a good little cheer with a clap as she smiled and nodded to me. She took aim and locked on to one the moment it popped up and fired; nailing it. Nice.

The only other person I knew here was Brent Blackman, Julie's father. Hmmm, haven't seen her in awhile. He hit his target and limped off to wait for his next turn.

Half the group were gone after the first series of shots leaving the best on the field. Riri would take her second shot and nail it like I suspected. Fewer would fail this one, but the numbers were being shaved down with Brent missing his third shot. Convinced Riri would do well I left for field one.

Field one had quite a few good archers as well, but no one I knew by sight. There was one stand out; a small breasted woman with short, red hair that covered her right eye. She took aim and quickly loosed an arrow as a target came up; she seemed set to do well. Seeing nothing else of interest I finally moved off to field four.

As I reached the VIP seating I could see two people I 'knew' already there with one, the woman, turning to look at me. "Oh, James! It's been too long!" The woman said, smiling as she stood to turn and face me. "How have you been?"

"Indeed my boy! You look healthy and hale; as a man should!" The man with her let off, grinning as he stood as well, reaching out for a handshake as I came close enough; a shake I returned.

"I've been well, thanks. Hey, you did get those Voxluxs I sent, right?" I asked the pair; my uncle and aunt; Fredrick and Karen Bijoux.

(-)

Name: Fredrick Bijoux
Title: The Iron Man of Iron Road
Class: Brawler
Level: 34
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 67
Status: Healthy, Manly, Proud

Known Traits
[?]
[I AM A MAN!] You are a beacon of masculinity and virility. +2 to Con and all sexual stats
[Mighty Guy] Your strength seems boundless. +2% Str
[?]

Loud and proud, Fredrick was born into the Bijoux family. As a young man he idolized an older man who trained religiously to become stronger and emulated him. Training in boxing at first he would spend several years of his early life traveling to the east to learn of the martial arts of unarmed combat there and on his way back lived with the Or'gon barbarian tribe in the Thunderblaze Mountain Range. Upon his return home his view of what a man was had evolved into what it was today.

(-)

Name: Karen Noxdecus Bijoux
Title: Lady of Iron Road
Class: Hero
Level: 30
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 71
Status: Healthy, Proud, Relaxed

Known Traits
[Monkey's Grip] You can wield a single, two handed weapon in one hand with no penalty. You may not wield a second two handed weapon along side it, but may wield a single handed weapon, shield or item in your off hand.

[Well Worn Weave] When wearing Armor Weave increase all of it's resistances by two.
[Queen of the Ring] Knowing a good hand-to-hand master you know a few things about punches. You have access to some Pugilist skills and abilities.

Sister of Saxon Noxdecus and second daughter of Xander Noxdecus she had no talent for spell-craft unlike her father. She decided to at least try and gain some form of strength in the form of mastering the sword. She would, in fact, become a master of the long sword and rapier but found herself drawn to heavy, two handed blades. Training to gain strength she would end up attempting to stop someone she misinterpreted as a bandit; Fredrick Bijoux. After being defeated by him and learning the truth the two started a friendship that became more...

(-)

"We did, we did! So handy those things!" Karen said with a nod and smiled.

"Truly you take after your father and grandfather both! Oh, Xander would be so proud..." Fredrick said, smacking a fist to his chest, smiling wide to me. I smiled and nodded back but...

That trait of Karen's... Armor Weave?

[Olivia, what's Armor Weave? What does the Glossary have to say?]

Next thing I knew an image of what seemed to be a white leotard and black pants came up. Okay, nothing too fancy... I moved to read the text that followed it.

(-)

Armor Type: Armor Weave
Slashing Resistance: Moderate to High
Piercing Resistance: Moderate to High
Blunt Resistance: Moderate to High
Magical Resistance: Moderate

Weight: Low
Agility Penalty: None
Other Bonuses: Varies

Armor Weave was formed in an attempt to mimic Mana Armor on some level. Made of Alchous Silk as a base and with powdered mana, liquid mana and other extracts added into the dying process they were somewhat successful in that regards.

Like Mana Armor the Armor Weave projects a magical shield over the wearer; mostly concentrated over the fabric but also in the gaps between the fabric like cut outs and necklines. Like Mana Armor it will recharge this shield with mana in the air and let the skin breathe to a degree. Unlike Mana Armor, however, it might not protect the whole body; the head of not given some material will not add protection; this requires the user to wear some for of head band to gain some protection, although anything disconnected will have a weaker effect. Some users pair Mana Weave with a single Mana Armor Circlet for head protection.

While still expensive it is far cheaper, as well as less effective, then Mana Armor although adding a Mana Armor Circlet will raise the price.

Armor Weave is also classified as a Gambeson type armor.

(-)

Huh... I wonder if that's what Maia was wearing? I had to admit Armor Weave sounded pretty damn good... If expensive. I'd have to get an idea on the price and then see who made them.

Regardless, I had other things to focus on right now.

"Thanks. I'm guessing Cress is in this field then?" I asked as I turned to look at the field. Sure enough, there he was. The numbers were dwindling fast on the field; down to nine and number nine just whiffed.

"Ha! My boy will win this one, rest assured!" Fredrick boasted. I wasn't so sure, but watched on. Soon another missed and was sent away. Then another. Then another. When it was down to five the referee called out for the last archers to line up and take aim. Soon they were forming a firing line and taking turns. Aside from Cress (And his girlish ass; good lord how did a boy have that?) there was only one, notable archer on the field; Robert Greenhood.

And yes, he wore a green hood, although it was down. His cloak was also green, as was his tunic. Brown pants and black boots ended his look, his head covered in gray but well groomed hair and a well trimmed mustache and goatee. His skin was wrinkled, showing his age. He took aim and hit his target. He was Miria's biggest challenge in the last two tournaments and I expected as much this time.

One by one archers dropped out until only Cress and Robert were left. Soon the two were trading shots; hitting targets as they popped up. After each took twelve shots my eyes narrowed as I picked up on things...

Cress was hitting the center or near center of each target time after time as they popped up. I recalled him being a decent and reliable archer but he was proving to be a crack shot right now. Robert, by contrast, had started just as accurate but I noticed his aim swaying. Rather then center and near center it was near center and outer edge now. After another dozen shots it was just the near edge. Then I saw one arrow hit the very edge of a target.

Cress stayed as laser focused as possible and nailed his target time and again.

Finally Robert's next arrow flew wide, followed by Cress' hitting dead on.

I was wrong. Cress had a good chance of winning; even over Miria.

[-]

"Good work back there, Miria." I said to my sister as I walked to where the archers were set to wait until called upon to compete. It was a large, round tent with four exits. By large I mean 'near circus size' large. Miria had, as I expected, won field two. I already knew Cress won field four. Riri took field three in the end, but when I talked to her she said it was a near thing at the end. The redhead I saw at field one ended up passing everyone else there. In addition to the four finalist a few others were about; referees, friends and family and so on. Field one, which had the largest amount of stands of all the fields, would play host to the last round. I had congratulated Riri who was now with Sora, getting some last minute advice.

"Thanks. I guess the new girl beat Robert then, huh?" She said, looking to the redhead in question who was mostly alone, aside from a couple of people with her. "Shame, I was looking forwards to beating him a third time."

"Wasn't her that pulled it off." I told her as she looked to me, eyebrows raised. "Cress beat him."

"Look, I don't care what he says, he can't-"

"I saw it." I told her as she blinked at me in surprise. "I saw it with my own two eyes; Cress beat him. Fair and square."

"Huh. Old Robert's been slipping, huh?" She let off as I sighed. She seemed to miss the point. I was about to speak up once more as a new voice pipped up.

"Miria, good to see you again!" Cress let off as Miria sighed. I had a bad feeling about this. "We'll be competing today, huh?" He asked, smiling wide to her.

"I guess..." She let off, looking over to the feminine male. "I'm surprised you got into the last round. Good string of luck?" I gave her a look, eyebrow twitching. Oh lord, she didn't get it did she?

"Luck? I've been training hard too you know!" He let off, pouting a bit as he huffed. "I've done very well today, I'd say."

"He has." I said before Miria could say anything else. I knew Miria's thoughts on Cress were... complicated. She liked him fine enough, but thought he lacked enough spine for her tastes. This meant she tended to try and keep him at arm's reach despite his best efforts. Given what I had seen however... "He didn't just beat Robert, he won handily."

"I'll believe that when I see it..." Miria let off as Cress let off a soft growl of anger, tapping his foot on the floor. "He utterly failed last year."

"And I spent a year getting a lot better." Cress said firmly as he crossed his arms. "Come on, take me seriously here." He let off as Miria snorted.

"Whatever. I'm going to go get ready." She said, waving a hand dismissively as she turned to leave...

Only for Cress to grab her by the arm and pull her back towards him to her (And my surprise) glaring up at her. "I said take me seriously." He let off firmly. I blinked and I'm sure Miria did as well. I could see him tremble a bit (In anger, fear or something else I didn't know) as he looked up at Miria. We both knew he wouldn't get violent with her, it was Cress after all, but I never seen him like this before. "I... I'll beat you for sure!" I sucked in a breath at what he said.

Miria broke out of her shock to snicker at him, covering her mouth with one hand. "Yeah... Yeah right..." She giggled out, smirking to him. "You don't stand a chance."

"Miria..." I said in a warning down, gesturing with a hand for her to ease off. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew Cress was serious.

"I'll make you a bet." Miria said, letting a bit of cockiness come to her voice. "When I win, you have dress in whatever I pick for you for a week. No matter how girly it is." She let off smirking.

"And when I win you have to sleep with me for a whole night!" He let off, extending his hand. She didn't hesitate for a moment as she shook his head.

"You'll like the panties, I'm sure." She let off before turning to walk off. I gave Cress a quick look and wave before I moved to jog up to Miria and walk beside her.

"What are you thinking, Sis?" I let off to her as she snorted. "Seriously, you're underestimating him."

"Oh please, he barley got to round two last year and choked hard. I'll be fine..." She said before walking off as I stopped and sighed.

"Oh, I hope you're ready for what's coming." I said, sighing as I shook my head.

[-]

Round four began not too long after I seated myself back down. One by one the four archers were introduced; the redheaded woman was named Ruby Rosemary, standing there in a mostly black dress. Miria was introduced second, followed by Riri then finally Cress.

Set onto the field was four posts and set to it were three, black colored targets that spun slowly around the center. The spell stones in the center were of equal size and projected a glowing, white ring. Prim sitting to my side, Celestine the other and Maia behind me (Not seated, her arms were around my shoulders, chin on my head and breasts pushing down on my shoulders. Yeesh) we paused to watch. The referee held a five minute hourglass in his hand, holding it up, telling the archers to get ready. All four notched an arrow and drew slightly. And then he turned it over and set it on a table and told them to fire at will.

They did so.

They drew fully and fired at the same time with their first arrows. Each of them hit a target before drawing their next arrows. They had each hit their first target but as I paid attention I could notice the skill gaps as they kept firing. They all hit each of their first ten targets, the lights on each target hit shrinking a bit. They were proving to be crack shots, each of them But a screw up was bound to happen and, sadly, Riri was the first to have an arrow miss; it hit the target but wasn't inside the ring. Her next arrow was the same story followed by one that hit inside... And missed with the next.

Ruby was doing well but I noted she missed two before adjusting. I wasn't aware of her before, but she was doing well. Cress and Miria...

Good lord...

Hit after hit, after hit.. What was curious though is they were both hitting one target over and over... I was surprised at how tiny that circle got until it was just the spell stone... So they hit the spell stone directly. And I mean right on the spell stone. Good lord. Celestine's brow was raised from the display, as Maia looked openly impressed. Prim, by contrast, was going to catch flies with how wide her mouth was getting.

Keep in mind, with the timer and twenty four arrows to go through you had around twelve seconds to take your aim and fire each arrow. Miria finished first and sighed. Cress finished about two seconds later. Riri was the third to finish and Ruby the last. The referee took a moment to speak with a couple other officials as Miria gave Cress a big, infuriating smirk. Soon the referee, a mid-forties something man moved to the center of the field.

"Attention! The fourth round is at an end! These are the placements!" He called out as the crowd quieted down. "In fourth place! Riri!" He said pointing to the halfling, the crowd giving a nice, polite applause for my maid's efforts. When she looked over to me I smiled and nodded as I gave her a thumbs up. She smiled to me standing with a bit more pride.

"In third place, Ruby Rosemary!" He said pointing to the redhead who bowed as more polite applause occurred. She smiled softly, not really making an impression otherwise; but her skill spoke for herself.

"And finally..." He began as Cress and Miria turned to pay close attention to his words. "For first place... We have a draw between Cress Bijoux and Miria Noxdecus!" There was no applause, rather surprised muttering and looks of confusion as Cress looked in shock to the referee as Miria, in turn, looked at Cress in shock. She then looked over to me and I just shrugged. I did try and warn her. "Both have displayed equal skill and the officials have decided that the grand prize will be split between them!"

The pair looked surprised of course, and the crowd still didn't react in anything but muted, muttering shock but it was Fredrick who would break the awkwardness in the other side of the VIP seating with one of his loud, bellowing laughs. "That's my boy! Bloody hells son! You make an old man proud with a performance like that! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

That got the crowd to start clapping in applause as Cress blushed but waved politely, if nervously, to the crowd. Miria jerked at the applause and also started to wave but it was clear she was still stunned at what just happened.

[-]

With the afternoon getting late most of the fair was being packed up. Some booths and stalls would be left until the next day but things were shutting down. I caught up to Miria in the large tent as she held her half of the grand prize, fifty gold in a bag, and coughed into my hand to get her attention. "One. Arrow. Away." I said firmly. She winced and took my meaning.

One arrow away from losing her little bet.

"Okay, okay... He's... Better then I thought..." She huffed, mismatched eyes looking down for a moment. "I just... What happened? Last year he was doing as well as a blind man, this year he matched me? What happened?"

"He got good." I said with a shrug. "He knuckled down, and got good because he had reasons to get good." I replied. Reminder; I was like ten years older then my physical form in this world; I wasn't some sagely old man but I knew some bits of wisdom.

"I guess..." She let off, sighing. I didn't tell her what I thought she should do; she knew to go and apologize. After all, their little bet got tossed out the window. I was surprised; I thought it could go either way (Sixty-Fourty, Miria's favor) but I didn't think a draw would be the end result. I decided to shrug and turn back the way I came; hooking up with Prim and her fellow Shields before escorting them (And followed along by seven Dawn Templars) back to the manor. I wasn't worried about Miria; I just think she found Cress a little bit more mature then before.

We'll see...

[-]

Mungale Fair
Path Leading From the Archery Fields

"Well... That happened..." Cress let off with a sigh. His parents would be dealing with a few other things so he had some time alone. He had tried to win last year and failed... Horribly. He had only started training in the bow seriously and having Miria snicker at his failure hurt like nothing else. In truth, he felt like giving up training in the bow after that.

Then his father dragged him while he was still sulking from his room, dropped him at the range with a bow and two hundred arrows and pointed to the targets with one thing to say.

"We all start off getting laughed at and making fools of ourselves. Myself included. Now, two hundred arrows a day and come next Fair no one will be laughing at you!"

So two hundred arrows a day, every day, seven times a week. And bit by bit he got better and better.

"Oiy."

And he proved it today; he got to the end of the tournament, went toe to toe with three other archers including Miria and won in the end. Well, drew in the end but he felt like he won given how much of an improvement he showed off.

"Oiy!"

As for Miria well...

That was more complicated. He had tried winning her over before with music, gifts and the usual suggestions but even at best she seemed frosty. Their dance at Prim's Birthday party while enjoyable for him had her as being stiff. Yet she never seemed to try and bully him or push him away fully; the gifts he got from her for his birthday were thoughtful if nothing else and he still remember her sticking up for him over two years ago now when he was being teased for his looks. Sometimes he didn't get her...

"Oiy!" He jumped softly as he turned to see Miria there, biting back a squeak. "Yeesh, you're lost in your head, huh?"

"Oh. Hey Miria." He let off sighing. He didn't know what came over him back in the tent. He laid a hand on her in a manner that you just weren't supposed to with a woman. It's just... Well, having her dismiss him in such a manner hurt he supposed. Well, he guess more teasing was incoming now...

"...I'm sorry."

"I... Er, what?" Cress let off, a squeak hitting his voice as Miria bashfully turned her mismatched eyes away as she bit her lip softly.

"I'm sorry, okay. I..." She began before her shoulders slumped a bit. "...You improved more then I thought you could, okay. I underestimated you and after all I said I realized how much of an idiot I must have come off as, so... sorry..." She said as he blinked at her for a moment.

"Um... Oh... Okay... Th-thanks..." He said, squirming a bit, not expecting her to apologize of all things. "I... I worked hard at it, you know."

"Clearly..." She said, giggling nervously before looking at him. He thought there was a blush on her cheeks, but maybe it was just the light. "Umm... About the bet..."

"Well... It was a draw... So I guess it's void, huh?" In truth he had forgotten about it for a bit, a hand moving to rub the back of his head. Lucky for him; panties always gave him a wedgie.

He would always curse Aunt Hannah for that...

"Well... yeah... But, um..." Cress blinked as Miria squirmed as she spoke. "...Look, I know you hate the whole 'looks like a girl' thing, and I was... Doing something to try and embarrass you... Like an idiot. So maybe it's a draw, but I'm kind of the loser so... Umm, let me give you a, umm..." She let off, her voice trailing off. He knew she said something but not what.

"S-sorry, you'll need to speak up a little... You, umm... Muttered..." He told her, biting his lip. "L-look, I know what I said I'd make you do, but you know I wouldn't force you to, umm... Well..."

"...bl..j.b..."

"...What?"

"I'm going to give you a blowjob, okay!?" She hissed out leaning in, now clearly blushing in a manner not a trick of the light.

"...A-are you-Whoa!" Before he could say anything else she grabbed his arm and pulled him rough behind a booth towards a sections obscured by a series of stands, booths and tents, pushing him back into the wood of one of the small structures.

"Just accept it! And if you tell anyone I'll kill you!" She hissed out as he nodded. Gulping he looked about to make sure no one was looking as he reached down and grabbed his pants as Miria knelt down, pushing the clothing down to his mid thigh. Miria gulped at the sigh as she took hold of it.

It seemed to be a bit smaller then James', the only other (Non-conjured) cock she could compare it too as she started to stroke it softly. Under her attentions his cock grew quite quickly however and soon she moved her lips down to kiss the tip before licking over the head as Cress gasped down at her, biting back a moan. Bit by bit Cress' dick would grow under her tongue and hands and she quickly realized something; what one of her friends meant by a 'grower, not a shower'.

While smaller then James while soft his cock expanded much more then her adopted brother's; not quite matching him in size once fully hard but coming quite close. It also tasted smoother on her tongue, if she were to put it into words, before she sucked the tip down her lips, hands on his hips as she sucked down deeper. He gasped out, quivering over her as she worked his cock, looking up to his face.

Cress, meanwhile, was still in a state of disbelief, even with his cock so deep in his crush's mouth. Finally he moaned out deeper and took hold of her head with both hands as he let his own lust guide him as he started to thrust his hips, seeking more pleasure from the Catalan beauty under him.

For her part Miria let off a muffled cry of surprise as more cock went into her mouth and lips then she was ready for. Thankfully he wasn't trying to shove the whole thing in and when compared to her only point of penis reference his seemed to be a little more flexible as it rammed into the back of her mouth. She idly wondered if he'd push it into her throat but he seemed unwilling to do so. On one hand she respected that he didn't try and hurt her when she was in such a position. Yet some odd, primal aspect of her psyche seemed disappointed...

She put it out of her mind, more focused on sucking in that moment, moaning around his cock. He was panting over her not long after and she was sure he would cum. "Ah... I'm going to cum..." He hissed out, pumping his hips a little faster. "I'm going to cum..." He hissed out, shivering as he tried to hold himself back before starting to withdraw his dick from her mouth...

She slapped her hands on his plush ass cheeks to halt his withdrawal and made him both jump slightly and unleash all he had into her mouth, pumping enough of a load to fill her lips; glob after glob spilling onto her waiting tongue. As his cock finally finished unloading she pulled back letting her start to swallow.

"Ahh, y-you didn't need to swall-"

"I wanted to. Besides, less stains that'll show." She said as she stood up, wiping the back of her mouth with a hand. After all, she knew something of semen stains.

Oh gods, she knew...

"...Um, thanks." Cress said biting his lip. "Just... Umm... Next time maybe we can do it in a room, though..." He said as he moved to wedge his softening dick into his pants.

"Y-yeah... ... I... gotta go now so... Take care of yourself..." She let off, turning and walking off as Cress blinked, watching her backside as she left.

"...Did she just admit we'll do this again?" He asked once he got his pants back up.

Meanwhile as Miria got back onto the path, walking towards home a thought hit her.

"...Did I just say we'd do that again?" She wasn't sure of what to think of it.

[-]

Miria arrived home not long after I did and given her blush I had an idea of what she did. Not how far she went, but an idea. I wasn't going to ask of course; I'll admit I had mixed feelings but I wasn't upset. I guess most of it was at the end of the day, adopted or not I was her brother and wanted her to be sure about these things. I knew Cress wouldn't have forced anything, regardless of any sort of bet, so I wasn't worried.

Sora seemed to pick up on things as well; breakfast the next morning had extra cream on her waffles again which reminded me of something...

On another note, Celestine and Maia shared the meal with us before readying to leave for their respective territories. Prim, it was decided, would stay with us as our first stop to begin installing the Boosters would be the Grand Duchy itself so she would ride with us. Speaking of which, our carriages were readied once more as well as escort and one of the wagons. Ironically one of the wagons Mandeville used to bring troops to Mungale to steal away my maid would be used to better all of Eostia.

The wagon would carry the boosters with us; ten in all. We'd need eight for the rest of Ur and Feoh both and two spares seemed like a good idea. We could then get more from Mungale before moving east to Geofu. In short, the plan was set.

And soon I would return to Ur and start my grand tour of Eostia...

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew.

The Miria/Cress scene didn't go quite as I had planned, but I was worried if I tried that it would drag the chapter on too long. For the record, the original plan was for the two to draw and go into a sudden death round that would drag on for a while before Miria nudged out a win. She wouldn't subject Cress to the bet, but still blow him.

Other then that I also wanted to lay more foundations of the relationships James has with Maia and Celestine. Maia is fun to write and I do love Celestine and I want to have more fun with them down the line.

Anyway, the Grand Tour of Ur is beginning and there'll be a lot to do during it.

Anyway, poll time; this is the one with the most options so far (And hopefully no other poll will match it); what base class would you pick if you were dropped into Eostia and given the choice?

Poll is here: (slash) x88gp91x6

In addition I wanted to ask a question; unrelated to the poll. One of the things I've noticed is non-vanilla kinks tend to ruffle feathers more then I expected. I had included femdom as a bit of spice and ended up with people noping out on it. And the rape poll was a firm, loud no. And the idea of a trap (Cress) getting maybe, possibly involved with James in a sexual manner had people turning it away right off the bat (Despite no plans to go that route, for the record).

As such; what if I made a spin-off story to Harem Quest? One that would carry both Canon and Non-Canon stories focused more on the sexual and carry the kinks that seem to make some people a little weirded out? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it as well as thoughts on this chapter as a whole.

Thanks you; as always I welcome comments and criticism.

Until next time.

~~Eostia Scribe