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Dodging the Guard: 1st Annual C.R.A.S.H Games
Dodging the Guard:
A Short C.R.A.S.H Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aarla watched the torch-lit announcer through slitted eyes, waiting, poised on the starting line.
The scruffy-bearded starter, clad in the red-and-blue colors of the Royal guard, raised the sliver whistle to his lips, taking a deep breath as he did.
As soon as that whistle sounded, the Stealth competition, the Outlaws representative sport, would begin.
The goal of the sport was to navigate through a darkened maze to the center, garb the flag there, and return to the starting line, all while avoiding the other players, and the archers situated in high wooden towers throughout the maze, armed with rubber-tipped arrows.
In order to properly darken the maze, thus making it harder for the players, as well as the archers, to see, the competition was being held at night, under a cloudy sky.
It was a timed event, and the player who returned first, and with the flag and the fastest time, won a gold medal, and a whole lot of bragging points.
Aarla intended to be that person.
Alongside her, on the starting line, were the other three player from the opposing teams who would be competing against her in this first round.
The event was being done in several rounds, with one player from each team going into the maze at a time.
The final round would then pit the highest-scoring player from each team against each other for the deciding round.
Arnus, the blond-haired Loreesi, threw her a smug look, like he thought he was easily going to beat her, because she was a girl.
Aarla ignored him.
Burt, the bushy-bearded Garheim, was busy alternating between stretching, and swigging from a large bottle of ale in his right hand, his movement becoming more erratic every time he did this.
Vax, the Outlaw competitor, was simply standing on the line, casually studying the maze and his competition, his black cloak swaying softly in the night breeze.
Feeling her gaze upon him, Vax turned, and gave her a cocky smile, the grin making his mustached face look rather dashing, something she wouldn’t have thought possible for an Outlaw.
Focus, she told herself angrily, setting her eyes on the maze once more, although she could feel the other’s gaze still on her.
PRREEPP!!
The whistle shrieked into the night, and Aarla took off like an arrow, bolting into the maze before her competitors had even left the starting line.
Once in the hedge maze, Aarla slowed her pace, seeming to almost meld into the hedges.
She did this so that the tower archers wouldn't be able to pick her out by reckless movement.
Quickly, silently, she made her way deeper into the hedgerows, occasionally making a wrong turn, but for the most part easily figuring out the correct route.
The designers of the maze had done a fantastic job setting up a truly baffling challenge, but unfortunately for them, Aarla had always had an uncanny knack for solving puzzles like these, something that her former superiors in the Ranger Corps had been frustrated by back in the day.
It may be the right route, but it sure isn’t an easy one, Aarla thought, slowing her pace and hugging the hedge next to her, as she slipped past an archer’s tower, the third one she passed.
Leaving the tower behind, she sped up her pace again, and took a left, followed instantly by a right, and then a left again, and found herself standing at the beginning of a straight passage, that terminated in a circular clearing with four entrances set on the compass points, paved with loose stone. The middle was dominated by a fountain, with a maple tree alongside it, and a few stone benches.
The heart of the maze.
Aarla ran forward, adrenaline pumping through her as she spotted the thin wooden pole set next to the fountain, surmounted by a small red banner.
The flag.
Such was her excitement that Aarla failed to notice the archer’s tower right at the edge of the clearing until it was almost too late.
The thrum of a longbow, follwed by the hiss of an arrow splitting the air inches from her head, alerted Aarla to it’s presence, and she dropped to the ground, skidding against a hedge for cover.
Once her heart rate returned to normal, Aarla peered around the bush, taking in her surroundings, and identifying the location of the tower.
It was a devious spot indeed, she thought, spying it.
The tower had been placed right next to the entrance she’d been about to use, thus covering most of the surrounding area.
But how to beat the archers inside?, she wondered.
While she was completely confident in her ability to sneak past obstacles like this, she usually did that kind of thing in the pitch dark, and even though there was only a smattering of light from the half-obscured moon, she wasn’t willing to risk it, especially not after hearing the longbow, which most likely meant there were Scout Snipers in that tower, people she knew could shoot in near darkness with accuracy.
Her problem however, was quickly solved, as with the blundering crash of broken hedge branches, Burt came stumbling up the path, bottle swinging from one hand, with twigs tangled in his beard.
He went right past her, crouched alongside the hedge as she was, and never noticed her.
Nor did he notice the tower, until, with the thrum of three longbows, three arrows came arching down out of the night, to strike him in the chest and stomach.
As Burt swore, and the arrows bounced off him and hit the dirt, Aarla took advantage of this golden opportunity, and bolted past the staggering Garheim, speeding into the central clearing and diving behind the protective bulk of the fountain.
Even as fast as she was, one of the archers still managed to send a shaft after her, and it thunked against the tree trunk inches from her face.
Ignoring this, Aarla gingerly reached around the corner of the fountain, and plucked the flag and it’s staff out of the ground, noticing as she did that the flag bore the Royal seal.
How ironic, she thought wryly.
Wrapping the flag up under one arm, she bolted out form behind the tree, and raced out one of the other entrances, hearing a few arrows clatter on the stones behind her.
Now it was a contest of speed, and Aarla raced flat out, skidding around corners and intersections with reckless abandon.
At one point, she flew around a blind corner, and ran straight into Vax, knocking both of them off their feet in a tumble.
“Ooff,” the Outlaw said, flat on his back, with the wind knocked clean out of him.
Aarla had ended up on top of him, and a part of her mind fleetingly registered that Vax was even more handsome up close, and she decided she might not mind this arrangement.
“Well, I’d love to stay this way a little longer, but I’m afraid I’ve got somewhere to be,” she said, smiling disarmingly at the bemused Outlaw, then sprang to her feet nimbly.
“See you around,” Aarla said slyly, then bolted away.
“Wait,” Vax started, climbing to his feet, baffled about what had just happened, and wondering why the flirtatious Lenfel girl was running.
Then, he recalled seeing something rolled up under her arm.
“Hey!” he yelled, realizing she had the flag, and took off after her.
Up ahead, flying through the maze, Aarla spotted the dark mass of another tower, and started to slow.
As she did however, a taunting voice reached her ears, seeming to be directed at the archers in the tower.
“Ha! Missed again, you blind apes! You couldn’t hit me even if the sun was blazing down!”
Recognizing the voice of Arnus, she sped up again.
Rounding a corner, she spotted the foolish Loreesi standing behind a hedge bordering an L-shaped intersection, hands on his hips as he shouted abuse at the tower.
As Aarla ran full-tilt past the tower, Arnus spotted her, and the rolled-up flag.
“Hey! That’s mine!”
He started forward, and that was his downfall, as the archers caught sight of his white shirt in the dark, and with a thrum, an arrow was loosed right into his head.
“Ooww!” he cried, as Aarla sped right past, ignoring him.
One of the archers saw her, and sent an arrow arcing at her, to slam into the hedge right next to her.
Unfazed, Aarla ducked behind a T-shaped hedge, turned a corner, and left the tower and Arnus behind.
Around another corner, the entrance came into view, and beyond it, the torch-lit arena stands filled with people, and the starting line.
With victory in her sights, Aarla sped up, determined to reach the line and win.
As raced towards the opening however, she spotted an archer’s tower that she’d missed before, right next to the edge of the maze.
Even as she registered this, the archer’s shouts reached her ears, and she saw them draw their bows back and aim in her direction.
No, not when I’m this close, she thought, panicked.
With a the thrum of bowstrings, the arrows leapt away, arching through the sky towards her.
The first hit the hedge right behind her, the second impacted the dirt as she skipped a step. but the third hissed through the air, arcing straight at her chest…………….
Dodging the Guard: 1st Annual C.R.A.S.H Games
Dodging the Guard:
A Short C.R.A.S.H Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aarla watched the torch-lit announcer through slitted eyes, waiting, poised on the starting line.
The scruffy-bearded starter, clad in the red-and-blue colors of the Royal guard, raised the sliver whistle to his lips, taking a deep breath as he did.
As soon as that whistle sounded, the Stealth competition, the Outlaws representative sport, would begin.
The goal of the sport was to navigate through a darkened maze to the center, garb the flag there, and return to the starting line, all while avoiding the other players, and the archers situated in high wooden towers throughout the maze, armed with rubber-tipped arrows.
In order to properly darken the maze, thus making it harder for the players, as well as the archers, to see, the competition was being held at night, under a cloudy sky.
It was a timed event, and the player who returned first, and with the flag and the fastest time, won a gold medal, and a whole lot of bragging points.
Aarla intended to be that person.
Alongside her, on the starting line, were the other three player from the opposing teams who would be competing against her in this first round.
The event was being done in several rounds, with one player from each team going into the maze at a time.
The final round would then pit the highest-scoring player from each team against each other for the deciding round.
Arnus, the blond-haired Loreesi, threw her a smug look, like he thought he was easily going to beat her, because she was a girl.
Aarla ignored him.
Burt, the bushy-bearded Garheim, was busy alternating between stretching, and swigging from a large bottle of ale in his right hand, his movement becoming more erratic every time he did this.
Vax, the Outlaw competitor, was simply standing on the line, casually studying the maze and his competition, his black cloak swaying softly in the night breeze.
Feeling her gaze upon him, Vax turned, and gave her a cocky smile, the grin making his mustached face look rather dashing, something she wouldn’t have thought possible for an Outlaw.
Focus, she told herself angrily, setting her eyes on the maze once more, although she could feel the other’s gaze still on her.
PRREEPP!!
The whistle shrieked into the night, and Aarla took off like an arrow, bolting into the maze before her competitors had even left the starting line.
Once in the hedge maze, Aarla slowed her pace, seeming to almost meld into the hedges.
She did this so that the tower archers wouldn't be able to pick her out by reckless movement.
Quickly, silently, she made her way deeper into the hedgerows, occasionally making a wrong turn, but for the most part easily figuring out the correct route.
The designers of the maze had done a fantastic job setting up a truly baffling challenge, but unfortunately for them, Aarla had always had an uncanny knack for solving puzzles like these, something that her former superiors in the Ranger Corps had been frustrated by back in the day.
It may be the right route, but it sure isn’t an easy one, Aarla thought, slowing her pace and hugging the hedge next to her, as she slipped past an archer’s tower, the third one she passed.
Leaving the tower behind, she sped up her pace again, and took a left, followed instantly by a right, and then a left again, and found herself standing at the beginning of a straight passage, that terminated in a circular clearing with four entrances set on the compass points, paved with loose stone. The middle was dominated by a fountain, with a maple tree alongside it, and a few stone benches.
The heart of the maze.
Aarla ran forward, adrenaline pumping through her as she spotted the thin wooden pole set next to the fountain, surmounted by a small red banner.
The flag.
Such was her excitement that Aarla failed to notice the archer’s tower right at the edge of the clearing until it was almost too late.
The thrum of a longbow, follwed by the hiss of an arrow splitting the air inches from her head, alerted Aarla to it’s presence, and she dropped to the ground, skidding against a hedge for cover.
Once her heart rate returned to normal, Aarla peered around the bush, taking in her surroundings, and identifying the location of the tower.
It was a devious spot indeed, she thought, spying it.
The tower had been placed right next to the entrance she’d been about to use, thus covering most of the surrounding area.
But how to beat the archers inside?, she wondered.
While she was completely confident in her ability to sneak past obstacles like this, she usually did that kind of thing in the pitch dark, and even though there was only a smattering of light from the half-obscured moon, she wasn’t willing to risk it, especially not after hearing the longbow, which most likely meant there were Scout Snipers in that tower, people she knew could shoot in near darkness with accuracy.
Her problem however, was quickly solved, as with the blundering crash of broken hedge branches, Burt came stumbling up the path, bottle swinging from one hand, with twigs tangled in his beard.
He went right past her, crouched alongside the hedge as she was, and never noticed her.
Nor did he notice the tower, until, with the thrum of three longbows, three arrows came arching down out of the night, to strike him in the chest and stomach.
As Burt swore, and the arrows bounced off him and hit the dirt, Aarla took advantage of this golden opportunity, and bolted past the staggering Garheim, speeding into the central clearing and diving behind the protective bulk of the fountain.
Even as fast as she was, one of the archers still managed to send a shaft after her, and it thunked against the tree trunk inches from her face.
Ignoring this, Aarla gingerly reached around the corner of the fountain, and plucked the flag and it’s staff out of the ground, noticing as she did that the flag bore the Royal seal.
How ironic, she thought wryly.
Wrapping the flag up under one arm, she bolted out form behind the tree, and raced out one of the other entrances, hearing a few arrows clatter on the stones behind her.
Now it was a contest of speed, and Aarla raced flat out, skidding around corners and intersections with reckless abandon.
At one point, she flew around a blind corner, and ran straight into Vax, knocking both of them off their feet in a tumble.
“Ooff,” the Outlaw said, flat on his back, with the wind knocked clean out of him.
Aarla had ended up on top of him, and a part of her mind fleetingly registered that Vax was even more handsome up close, and she decided she might not mind this arrangement.
“Well, I’d love to stay this way a little longer, but I’m afraid I’ve got somewhere to be,” she said, smiling disarmingly at the bemused Outlaw, then sprang to her feet nimbly.
“See you around,” Aarla said slyly, then bolted away.
“Wait,” Vax started, climbing to his feet, baffled about what had just happened, and wondering why the flirtatious Lenfel girl was running.
Then, he recalled seeing something rolled up under her arm.
“Hey!” he yelled, realizing she had the flag, and took off after her.
Up ahead, flying through the maze, Aarla spotted the dark mass of another tower, and started to slow.
As she did however, a taunting voice reached her ears, seeming to be directed at the archers in the tower.
“Ha! Missed again, you blind apes! You couldn’t hit me even if the sun was blazing down!”
Recognizing the voice of Arnus, she sped up again.
Rounding a corner, she spotted the foolish Loreesi standing behind a hedge bordering an L-shaped intersection, hands on his hips as he shouted abuse at the tower.
As Aarla ran full-tilt past the tower, Arnus spotted her, and the rolled-up flag.
“Hey! That’s mine!”
He started forward, and that was his downfall, as the archers caught sight of his white shirt in the dark, and with a thrum, an arrow was loosed right into his head.
“Ooww!” he cried, as Aarla sped right past, ignoring him.
One of the archers saw her, and sent an arrow arcing at her, to slam into the hedge right next to her.
Unfazed, Aarla ducked behind a T-shaped hedge, turned a corner, and left the tower and Arnus behind.
Around another corner, the entrance came into view, and beyond it, the torch-lit arena stands filled with people, and the starting line.
With victory in her sights, Aarla sped up, determined to reach the line and win.
As raced towards the opening however, she spotted an archer’s tower that she’d missed before, right next to the edge of the maze.
Even as she registered this, the archer’s shouts reached her ears, and she saw them draw their bows back and aim in her direction.
No, not when I’m this close, she thought, panicked.
With a the thrum of bowstrings, the arrows leapt away, arching through the sky towards her.
The first hit the hedge right behind her, the second impacted the dirt as she skipped a step. but the third hissed through the air, arcing straight at her chest…………….