Nisk rushes up to the weights, surprised at such a silly challenge, and then pushes into them.
The man slams through the weights without slowing at all, laughing as they wave behind him.
Torgus attempts to charge through the weights!
He gets stuck in them and moves back out for a second attempt. He notices Nisk rushing by and hurries back to get his lead.
He gets passes that and gets to the next one, ending round 4.
Bandogrim sees the gauntlet and decides to just plow right through it, head first.
Unfortunately, he gets caught up in the attempt.
Current Position (at end of Round 4):
Passed Obstacle 3, attempting Obstacle 4: Cassadar (who passes it in Round 5), Torgus, Nisk
Passed Obstacle 2, attempting Obstacle 3: Bandogrim (who has a round 4 action pending)
Obstacle 5:
The track narrows as it passes between two walls and you are confronted by a sparring dummy crowded in the confined space. As you near the dummy it animates and seeks to bar your passage.
Nisk looks at the blanket and sand, analyzing for a moment, then awkwardly attempts to crabwalk across.
As he passes through, he gains the hang of it, moving much more quickly as he comes out of the sheet, then moving to the next challenge. Down the trench he ran, readying to strike the dummy until seeing it animate. "Damn!" The man yelled as the waving arms attempted to throw him backward.
The half-elf slips by, barely, and mostly thanks to recognizing the standard throw that was used.
Seeing Nisk do it the Brawling Bear attempts to imitate a crab,
But due to his large farm he is having trouble doing so and slips down on his face, with a roar of frustration he picks himself back up and attempts it again.
And swiftly crawls through it the second time and getting to the obstacle 5 at the end round 6.
The halfling tries again to push his way through the rope gauntlet...
...this time, successfully slamming the weights aside as he passes. He then rushes on to the next obstacle, this time putting extra effort into the attempt to ensure he does not get slowed down again.
As Bandogrim approaches the sparring dummy, he sees it lash out at him...
...and recognizes the attack from an old manual his teacher had once drawn for him. The halfling slips to the side, avoiding the animated dummy, thanks to his teacher's preparedness.
The young half-elf (who has somehow successfully melted into the background until now) finally steps forward, giving the obstacles a look. He's only a step behind the others when he launches into action. His sun-darkened and gangly limbs pump furious as he rushes towards the log of the first obstacle, hitting it nearly at a run.
As he approaches the pond , he looks for the steps some of the others used.
The young half-elf continues past the putrid pond...
... and when he hits the shelter with its hanging ropes, he doesn't even hesitate, vaulting into a diving roll to come up on the other side.
As he turns the corner, dives head-first under the blanket. His momentum alone carries him most of the way through the sand, and he wriggles the rest of the way without losing much speed. He's back on his feet nearly without missing a beat, sand spraying as he rounds corner into the confined spaces of the dummy.
Despite never having seen such a contraption, the skinny young man has no problem slipping by it on the right side with a quick somersault.
He lands lightly, eyes scanning and body tensed for the next obstacle. He gives a half-smile and a self-depricating shrug to the others.
Obstacle 6
The path dips into a deep pool of water, there doesn't seem to be any specific obstacle apart from just swimming.
Obstacle 7
Nearing the end of the course, the path ascends onto a series of raised platforms. The entry way is lined with leaves and foilage that seem wet. You will need to push them aside to get through.
[ooc]For this one, a simple Acrobatics DC 10 will mean you maintain balance on the beam.
The little monk's trademark grin fell away when he saw the pool-- swimming had never been Bandogrim's strongest pursuit. He reaches deep within himself in order to draw on all the skill he can muster...
...getting nowhere as he kicks and sputters. I can't fail here, Bandogrim thinks to himself as the water kicks up around his nose. Gotta keep moving.
This time, he kicks forward and pushes on to the other side, angry at himself for the loss of time.
Nisk dives into the pool quickly, and is surprised at it's warmth. There's more to this than there seems. He thinks, trying to keep on his toes.
Nisk pulls himself dripping from the side, smiling at Bandogrim trying to cross, and continues up to the balance beam, moving as quickly as he can across it.
Definitely too easy. The man thinks as he moves ahead toward the plants, trying to remain wary.
As Torgus gets beyond the sand, eyes the training dummy as he stares at the wooden thing he gives it a snarl as he charges it.
He mows down the puppet and as he sees the pond and cannonballs into it ,then he bellows like a bear as glides through the water.
As he reaches the otherside the same time as Cotton, "Glad you found your water legs."and thus ends round 8.
Your pores freshly opened from the warm water the oil seeps into the top layer of your skin. An itching and burning sensation starts to become apparent....
"Crap.." Javi mutters when he sees the water, "… not really a swimmer." Not willing to stop, however, he wades in awkwardly.
Geez… this is warm. he thinks as he flounders in the water.
Quickly he finds the edge of the pool, using it to pull him through the liquid, instead of actually swimming.
Forgetting the frustration of the water, he is quick to dodge through the plants on the raised platforms. Almost immediately the leaves begin to take effect, and Javi absent-mindedly scratches at his exposed skin.
Nisk feels the burning assault of the oil into his skin, but is able to ward off the worst of the effects just leaving him in some discomfort.
Obstacle 8:
From the raised platform there are a series of monkey bars leading to the next platform. The surface of the bars is not smooth, and they look to be covered with sandpaper....
Nisk grins at having caught up to the new half-elf. "Come on, buddy, let's see if you're fast enough to finish with me!" Upon seeing the next obstacle, Nisk looks askance at the sandpaper, deciding to just slam through instead.
Painfully striking it and failing to do so.
Emerging from the water, Bandogrim rushes up to the raised platform and pushes through some foliage to cross a narrow beam...
...but as he continues on, he starts to notice a burning feeling on his arms and face.
Torgus gets out of the pond feeling a little hot, but moves his soaky wet burly body to the balance beam.
Brawling Bear Beats Balance Beam (say that five time fast hehe), as he gets across he notices something after he passes those plants,
Bandogrim's exposed skin starts to feel as though it is melting, and it becomes more difficult to concentrate.
After the Brawling Bear Belligerently Beats Balance Beam by Balefully Blasting it with Boasting and Bravado the exposed areas of his skin feel like they are afire with pain and the soft tissue around his eyes starts to swell, constricting his vision.
"Aahh THIS IS WORST THEN THE LAST TIME I HAD FLEAS!" As he feels his skin a fire, and his vision getting a little blocked he growls in frustration and charges the bars.
Brawling Bear Barrels through the bars,(darn it you beat me!hehe) he awaits his next challenge while itching away at the oil and mutters "I hope we get another water obstacle."
The Wasp smiles as his fellow half-elf's fingers slip from the rungs, using his mis-placement to guide his own attempt. "I think we'll see who's fastest." he says with a smirk as he glides through the obstacle.
The itch and burn begins to gnaw heavily at the little man's mind as he started across the monkey bars.
He can barely think for the pain, even trying to dig deep into his reserves; but it wasn't enough-- not nearly enough to get across.
Final Obstacle:
The final obstacle looks a little bit like this. A twin set of rails too far apart to grip and a bamboo rod that can be used to straddle between them and 'shuffle' forwards upon.
Javi slides to a halt when he sees the final obstacle. His mind races, looking for an edge. Mind made up, he digs deep, reaching for that inner power that he so often uses, and his legs respond with a surprising amount of power. He flies towards the device, vaulting up with enhanced speed. The bamboo pole hits his palms easily enough,and his momentum carries him down the strange path. For a few seconds he uses his momentum and some halting jerks to progress, but his fingers give out…
SPLASH!
He comes up sputtering, but his eyes hold resolve. Once he's back in position, he shakes his hair out, uselessly trying to dry his hands on his pants. The inner power answers his call once more, and his feet thunder towards the final test. Again his momentum carries him far, and he's able to hop a solid two-thirds of the length of the obstacle.
He can visualize his finish, and he begins to celebrate in his mind, Just about the---
Dragging himself from the water one last time. The determination is replaced with smoldering frustration. "I got this!" he growls to no one in particular. He takes a calming breath, gauging the distances more carefully this time.
His feet are noticeably slower on his approach this time, the fatigue showing. Regardless, he sails fast and far. He grabs for the bamboo bar...
... and catches nothing but air. His third failure turns into a fantastic-looking belly-flop. Arms pin-wheeling, legs pumping, eyes wide.
You wonder if he's actually hurt he stays under so long. He rests at the bottom of the murky pool. Maybe they won't notice if I don't come up.
Resigned, he finally surfaces, finding a place out of the way to watch the others try their hand at the daunting contraption.
Round 9
Nisk, enraged by the other man getting ahead, throws himself into the bars again.
Round 10
And again.
Finally managing to get past, angry but moving ahead.
He spots the slider and, confused analyzes it for a moment, watching Javi fall multiple times. Looks like mostly strength. Wonderful!
Round 11
Nisk rushes up, past Javi trying a second time, and throws himself bodily at the pipe.
Sliding across he grins at his own luck. Show that Mwangi Basterg who's not worth this--
SPLASH!!
Round 12
Upon dragging himself from the water Nisk moves back to the pipe, annoyed at the other man being so close to the finish, but ok when he falls. He leaps for it once more, sure in his chances this time!
And despite his miscalculation and lousy beginning jump, Nisk barely manages to hang on until the ending platform, then catches his breath for a moment before raising his soaked arms in triumph.
As Torgus gets to the rails, he looks to the bamboo rod and gets the idea. As he moves up to the rails and puts the staff inbetween them, Torgus slowly swings his lower legs to assist his arms in moving forward on the rails. As Torgus notices the added help of this technique, he figures out he can use a hand motion from scaling a wall to crawl the staff to the other end.
Torgus makes it to the other side and lets out a loud Which ends his round 11.
Bandogrim tries to push through the burning sensation in order to make it past this obstacle.
He just can't take his mind off the itch. Inching forward, Bandogrim keeps trying to move through.
Having finally crossed the bars, Bandogrim moves towards the final obstacle.
Lining himself up for the attempt, Bandogrim resolves to grab the bar high-- rather than completing the task from below, while hanging, he'll try to scoot the bar along while sitting atop it. But it was set high enough that performing this stunt would be no easy task.
Sitting on the bar, Bandogrim holds his balance, contorts his torso, then straightens suddenly to kick forward, hoping to move along down the rails.
Bandogrim feels utterly drained, on the verge of vomiting due to whatever poisonous plant he had encountered. Still, he will not stop here, not so very near the end. He is determined to finish this course, even if it takes him all day.
So you could make a bunch of skill (or even abilities checks - like a Wisdom check to control your breathing / Constitution check to ignore the pain from lactic acid / etc) to give you bonuses on the final check.
As Nisk, then the Big, Bearded Bear both succeed, Javi jumps back up… unwilling to fail. He waits for the halfling to make an attempt or two before he jumps back in. He charges once again, but once again falls… doing his best to shrug off the mounting embarrassment.
Maybe Bandogrim's got something for me to learn from, he thinks as he trudges back to the front. He waits, watches, and tries to apply what he observes. With the fatigue taking its toll, the Wasp takes one last, long look at his enemy. Then he digs deep one last time, knowing this is the last of his inner power reserves. Sprint. Jump. Fly. Grab. Clang. Clang. Clang. Slide…
… and Javi's feet finally hit the ground on the far side of the water.
Even if he had the energy, he wouldn't cry out in success, knowing first-hand how hard the test must be for the smaller halfling. His sympathy overcomes his sense of competition, and he begins watching the smaller fighter's attempts, finding the little things that go wrong and how they can improve... constantly encouraging Bandrogrim to succeed.
"YOU CAN DO IT. KEEP YORU FEET UP THERE. DON'T PUT SO MUCH EFFORT INTO THE KICK AT THE END! COME ON, COTTON!"
After you have finished the course, you look back to Fangul and notice that he has been joined by a female Half-Elf who is also garbed in monastic robes. They are conversing between each other while watching the last of you finish the course and then Fangul beckons you over towards him.
Javi steps warily towards the tall, heavily-muscled Ulfen. He quickly drops down into a fighting stance. While the basics are there, they are crude. He switches between a huddled stance and dodging steps, but he never stands still. His first few attacks are quick, furtive things - meant to test the Ulfen's own defenses while maintaining his own.
As he attacks, his hands had begun to float slightly away from his torso, moving slightly erratically. All at once, he quits attacking in his probing fashion. His right hand floats towards the Ulfen's face in a darting feint, his knee driving quickly to the man's lower gut.
As he resets his leg, the Wasp doesn't hesitate, side-stepping around the big man as his left hand rakes at the man's eyes... a vicious fake covering his right fist that's driving towards his floating rib.
"Should have figured The Brawling Bear would be the only one to beat me." Nisk smiles as he grabs Torgus's arm in a warriors grip. "And now comes the little one. What was that about being fast tiny?" He smiles at Javi, then notices the Fangul and the new girl. Oohh... this one's cute. He thinks, stepping up to them. "How's that?" He asks with a daring look. "As good as a 'little babbie?' He asks, imitating Fangul's accent.
He responds with a roar, "OF COURSE I AM THE CHAMPION OF BALLENWOOD AFTER ALL!!!!" After shaking Nisk's hand he looks over to the other two, "Come on, I see Fangul brought us a treat HEHE!" He pats the two of them on the back and moves over to them while scratching his rash from the plants. Then tries to hold off itching, and struts over to them, "Thats right its me the BRAWLING BEAR!!!"
A hint of a grin to Fangul's face he greets the group as they cross "You enjoy, yes? Don't worry, tomorrow harder." and he gives a quick nod to the female as he departs.
The female Half-Elf looks you up and down disdainfully before simply uttering "Come" before turning and starting to walk. Although slight, she moves sinuously and feet barely kiss the ground as she moves. She leads you back to your place of residence, where a nourishing (though bland) repast has been laid out picnic style out front.