Chapter 17
The Game Master explained the next mission after both teams finished the puzzle. Then they moved to the next mission: balancing a ball on a tin plate without dropping it on a rugged trail to the next challenge. If they dropped the ball, they had to start at the beginning again.
Rune and Stone's team had a head start, and for this challenge, they had the advantage again. Not only because of the head start, but they had fewer people who would have to get their ball to the end of the test.
Rune had the steadiest hand and hurried off, keeping the ball from falling off with perfect balance. Stone's ball was all over the plate, and he was having a terrible time keeping it from rolling off. Then he swore it just jumped off the plate.
He grabbed up the ball and raced to the beginning of the event again.
Vesper and Xena were laughing. The rest of their team looked serious, grim, like they were afraid Stone's team wouldn't win this time.
Then Silas dropped his ball, seized it where it had rolled on the path, and, plate and ball in hand, bolted for the beginning. Stone kept moving, more slowly now. Elon looked like he might make it. Rune was way up ahead, nearly to the next mission.
Elon was several feet behind her. Stone and Silas had a long way to go to catch up.
At least Vesper and Xena's team couldn't start for a while longer.
And if Iris and the others did what they did on the last challenge, they would slow things down for Vesper and Xena, but not enough to cause them to realize they were working against them.
Rune got to the beginning of the next game and watched them as Elon finally joined her. Stone was glad they had made it, but he was concentrating on balancing the ball on the plate. He stumbled a little on the rocky path and had to stop to regain control of the ball before he lost it again.
Then he moved on again, and after what seemed like forever, he made it to where Rune and Elon were waiting. Silas was still trying to reach the end. He tripped too, but in a nearly acrobatic way, he managed to twist and turn his body to keep the ball on the plate.
At the same time, the other team began walking along the path. Vesper, who always thought he was so smart, ended up dropping his ball before he'd even begun and had to start over again.
Xena was doing a little better, but Vesper walked too fast, tried to make up time, and dropped his ball again. He swore out loud, grabbed his ball, and ran back to the beginning. His other teammates were doing all right, moving slowly to keep their balls balanced on the plates.
No one could say they were trying to sabotage the mission, because even Vesper was having trouble balancing his ball. Then Xena, as careful as she'd been, tripped and fell and dropped her plate and ball. Luckily, they were tin plates, so they wouldn't break.
Instead of running back, she stomped back to the beginning of the game with ball and plate in hand.
The others were making a slow, steady pace to the end of the trail.
Since Vesper and Xena were messing up the challenge, it appeared the other teammates were going to try to make it without dropping their balls.
Which was fine with Stone. He was just having fun watching Vesper and Xena's antics. He didn't laugh, like they had when he and Xena had dropped their balls. It took a lot of concentration, surefootedness on the rocky path, and balance.
Vesper was way behind the others; Silas made it to the end, and Stone, Rune, and Elon cheered him.
Vesper was so rattled that he dropped his ball again. Xena didn't even glance at him as Vesper hurried past her to start over again. She needed to concentrate on her own balance.
Iris made it to where Stone's team was standing, and they congratulated her. "That was harder than I thought it would be. I had to walk really slowly to make sure I didn't trip and lose the ball. It was rolling all over the plate."
"I know," Stone said. "I was starting out too fast, and that's how I dropped mine."
"Yeah, I saw Vesper and Xena drop theirs, so I figured we were good," Caspian said, but didn't explain further what he meant, probably worried Vesper and Xena might hear him speaking to them.
But they were a long way off; the wind was blowing, the surrounding forest leaves rustling, birds chirping, and Caspian was speaking low.
Lolita finally reached the others, Xena still moving slowly along the path, nearly falling, stopping, watching only the ball on her plate and nothing else.
Vesper was trying to catch up. He wasn't going to make it, Stone figured.
Vesper was moving too fast. This was a test of patience and fortitude, and he didn't have it.
Sure enough, Vesper dropped the ball again, looked to see where everyone was, and realized even Lolita had made it, and saw Xena inching her way to the halfway point. He looked ready to give up.
The Game Master was standing nearby and said, "If I didn't mention it before, if you do not complete a mission, not due to a life-and-death matter or some other excusable reason, you will go home."
Vesper didn't rush to get to the beginning of the game this time, as if he figured it was useless. Then he turned around and began to walk in the direction that Xena was, still making her slow progress.
Stone was glad the two of them had really screwed this up, and that the others on their team hadn't, so they had no one to blame but themselves. This time Vesper walked slowly, and Xena was getting closer to the end. Still another quarter of the way to go.
Though Stone almost wished she would drop her ball so she would have to return to the beginning again, he was ready to get on with the next challenge.
Forty-five minutes had already passed. Everyone was rested up, but they were also getting antsy.
Water and snacks were brought out, and they enjoyed the fresh, cool water and the platter of little squares of cheese, strawberries, watermelon, grapes, melons, and blueberries.
They all took seats under the trees and ate and drank and watched Vesper and Xena struggling to reach the end without dropping their balls. Stone realized this was a great challenge!
Rune smiled at him as if she could read his mind.
Then Xena fell, dropped her plate and ball, and screamed in frustration.
Everyone chuckled. They couldn't help themselves. They knew if the role had been reversed, Vesper and Xena would have been laughing hard, like they did when Stone had to return and start all over again.
Xena ran back to the beginning, nearly unsettling Vesper. Stone swore she did it on purpose, so she could make him go back to the beginning with her.
Vesper probably would have strangled her. He was finally at the quarter mark, going slow, stopping, correcting his balance, and moving again.
Xena, on the other hand, was so angry that she started out fast and immediately dropped the ball. At least she was only a few feet from the beginning. She let her breath out, cooled down a bit, and started out again.
Stone hoped they wouldn't be here all day and night!
"If this continues for several more hours, we'll eat dinner out here," the Game Master said, taking a seat on a green moss-covered chair that game coordinators had brought out to her.
"Can you tell us what the next game will be?" Lolita asked.
The Game Master smiled. "We have to wait until everyone is here to continue. If this runs into the night, you can make pallets on the forest floor like you did when you stayed in the forest before."
Everyone enjoyed their snacks. Then Iris organized a yoga class, and everyone stretched and enjoyed the exercise.
Vesper was finally getting closer, about three-quarters of the way from reaching the end. Xena was at the quarter mark.
Both were moving so slowly that Stone estimated it would take them another hour or two to reach them, depending on how fast they were going and whether they dropped the ball and had to start over.
Rune shifted into her wolf, and then Stone did. They curled up under a tree and nuzzled.
The other wolves took their cue and shifted and lay down on the piled-up leaves.
Everyone napped.
Stone was certain that would really piss off Vesper if he saw them ignoring them and having a unified pack moment. When Vesper finally arrived, no one cheered him or welcomed him.
He got water and some food and turned to see how far behind Xena was. He shook his head at her as if he had done so much better and she was the one who had slowed their team down and made them lose so badly.
When Xena finally arrived another half hour later, she looked worn out.
She was allowed to get something to drink and eat, and then the Grand Master said, "We will continue with the quest."
Everyone shifted into their fae and then stood while they listened to the Grand Master speak.
"There are nine trays covered by a cloth, and each of the team members has thirty seconds to look at the random survival items, cover them up, and then write down as many items as you can remember."
"Does my team have to be penalized on how late we came in?" Vesper asked.
"No. Everyone starts at the same count on this one," the Game Master said.
Even though Stone felt they should have been penalized for their late arrival on the second game, it would create more of a challenge for everyone. Plus, Stone didn't want the others to be penalized for Xena and Vesper's slow progress on the last challenge.
"Alright. Stand in front of your box. As soon as your game coordinator removes the cover from your box, you have thirty seconds to memorize all the survival items in your box. There are thirty items, and some of your items will be the same as the other competitors’.
Some will be different. You have twenty minutes after that to write everything down that you can remember.
If you write something on your list that wasn't in your box, that item and one other that you named correctly won't be counted. "