The Newcago Court

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Tena fell out of the sky, waving her arms and screaming like she was about to have all her bones crushed to pulp. Instead of that happening, she remembered that she had a speed Metalmind and started filling it really fast. By the time she hit the ground, she was barely moving. She landed on her feet and skidded a few inches, nearly tumbling over onto her face. "I'm sorry," she said calmly to the assembly of sledders, "but I was just informed that there was to be a sledding race, and, as a bonus, I'd get to challenge a fellow Edgedancer. Could I join, your Ladyship?" She nodded respectfully to the Queen, then Awakened her pants and launched herself into the air with a Steelpush against a dropped coin. Ceasing Pushing at about ten feet into the air, she flipped herself over and regarded the assembly sternly. 

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

1 hour ago, AxeliustheGreat said:

Tena fell out of the sky, waving her arms and screaming like she was about to have all her bones crushed to pulp. Instead of that happening, she remembered that she had a speed Metalmind and started filling it really fast. By the time she hit the ground, she was barely moving. She landed on her feet and skidded a few inches, nearly tumbling over onto her face. "I'm sorry," she said calmly to the assembly of sledders, "but I was just informed that there was to be a sledding race, and, as a bonus, I'd get to challenge a fellow Edgedancer. Could I join, your Ladyship?" She nodded respectfully to the Queen, then Awakened her pants and launched herself into the air with a Steelpush against a dropped coin. Ceasing Pushing at about ten feet into the air, she flipped herself over and regarded the assembly sternly. 

Elsa created a few more sleds. "Of course you may join! What is your name?"

[Archer he/him]

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Psst. Queen E! You may want to update your sig if you're planning on keeping the Newcago Court here. 

"Sand dunes are very much like snowy hills. They're just less cool. Running's easier though." Mace paused and stepped to the side to let a mime get past him to inspect the crack in the fourth wall. 

"This is a nice sled. Good paint job, nice seats. It's aeroooooooo-" he stumbled and tripped into the sled. It began to roll forward. "LET'S GOOOOOO!" he shouted, face still smushed into the floor of the sled. 

[I Am Witless she/her]

Yzabet grabbed Mace by the foot and increased the Abrasion on her hand. He jerked to a halt.

"Hang on a second, Mace. TUBA is known for being honest. At least, it should be. I believe that Her Highness will let us know when we start so that this isn't unfair."

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Soooo..... are we sledding down stairs, or is there an actual course?

 

[Archer he/him]

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Speaking from experience, riding down stairs is fun, but it hurts to stop. Let's make this a real course. Perhaps Her Majesty could magic up one, unless that would bring back too many traumatic memories? 

Mace straightened his bowtie. "Yes. You are, as usual, right. We have a reputation to maintain." He felt a little queasy, but he shook it off. 

"I'll just wait for the starter's orders then." He began to twiddle his thumbs. He occasionally glanced over to where Yzabet was standing, eyeing how easy it would be to sabotage her sled, but resisting the urge like a good boi. 

[I Am Witless she/her]

Yzabet caught Mace's eye and raised an eyebrow. 

"Yes?" She asked, fully aware of what he was thinking.

[Archer he/him]

Mace looked away guiltily. 

"I hope you're ready to lose Yzy," he responded. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeves." He casually began to slick his running boards with grease to deter boarders. Where he came from, people raced to win. 

A glance around the starting line told him his fellow racers had forgotten to bring their lances. I guess I'll be the only one jousting the competition then, he thought. It would be a short race then. 

[+Ark1002]

"Ugh. Can we just start already?"

[I Am Witless she/her]

Yzabet blinked, then drew herself up in a posture of friendly indignation.

"Yzy? Really Mace? YZY? How does one even go about spelling that? Or, if you read it, pronouncing it? The only trick that you have up your sleeve is making a fool of yourself." She turned to Hellbent.

"And you can devote your rebel streak to joining me in sassing Mace instead of complaining. We wait on the word of the Queen."

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

14 hours ago, Archer said:

"Sand dunes are very much like snowy hills. They're just less cool. Running's easier though." Mace paused and stepped to the side to let a mime get past him to inspect the crack in the fourth wall. 

"This is a nice sled. Good paint job, nice seats. It's aeroooooooo-" he stumbled and tripped into the sled. It began to roll forward. "LET'S GOOOOOO!" he shouted, face still smushed into the floor of the sled. 

It won't let me edit it!  

 

11 hours ago, I am Witless said:

Yzabet blinked, then drew herself up in a posture of friendly indignation.

"Yzy? Really Mace? YZY? How does one even go about spelling that? Or, if you read it, pronouncing it? The only trick that you have up your sleeve is making a fool of yourself." She turned to Hellbent.

"And you can devote your rebel streak to joining me in sassing Mace instead of complaining. We wait on the word of the Queen."

 

12 hours ago, Ark1002 said:

"Ugh. Can we just start already?"

Elsa turned to Kai, who had a racing flag in his hand.

 

"On your marks, get set, GO!"

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Tena whipped her hand in front of her and summoned her spren as a long staff, whilst simultaneously tapping her speed Metalmind and Slicking her feet to be completely frictionless. She began doing her ice skating motion and out-skated everyone else because of her combined speed and lack of friction, but still dropped and Pushed several coins in the other skater's faces, which both slowed them and sped her up. She planted her staff in the ground and vaulted over Mace, whose token attempt at a lance-fight-thing went practically unnoticed by her as she jumped right over his head, picking up speed and putting herself in first.

She tapped her Metalmind even more, making her go way faster, and since the course they were going down was circular, she ended up skating on the walls. This is so AWESOME, she thought. Even if she didn't win, this race was definitely worth getting into the Newcago Court.

Edited July 28, 2018 by AxeliustheGreat

[Archer he/him]

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Bro, you just brought your skates to a sled race. 

Mace got hit in the face with a coin before he'd even started to move. Cool, free money, he thought as he healed the wound by drawing from his gold metalmind. Using his lance to push off of the ground, he glided forwards. Speeding down a hill, he raced towards the other competitors. 

"HO HO HO!" he laughed, feeling jolly. As he leaned into his turn, he saw the man who'd hit him with the coin moonwalking in front of him. 

Mace stuck out his arm to collect a fistful of snow from the ground. He shaped it into a ball. As he rounded the next bend, he threw it at Tena. 

Edited July 28, 2018 by Archer

[I Am Witless she/her]

Yzabet threw the sled ahead of her, ran, and jumped on it. She rode it like she was surfing or skateboarding, and quickly slicked her body and the sled so that the two were frictionless. Taking a little slick off of the bottom of her foot, she used it to push herself along faster. She too jumped over Mace, and the coin shot at her slid off her skin like a leaf. She quickly caught up to her lead competitor, who..... was wearing ice skates?

"Those aren't gonna work very well, honey!" She yelled. "We're about to get off of the ice and start over snow!"

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Let's see what a normal Edgedancer can do.

 

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

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Oh, good try, but she isn't wearing skates. Her feet are just frictionless. Also, you said: slicked her body and the sled so that the two were frictionless, but that implies that Yzabet would have just slid off her sled, unless her body and the sled were going the same speed, which they weren't, because she threw herself onto it, and her hands couldn't have held on. 

Tena concentrated on the race, but made sure to shoot a coin at Yzabet, who got hit in the face and nearly toppled off her sled. She took a snowball to the back, but remained upright. She saw the snow area coming, and her spren obligingly turned into a big, curved piece of metal that she threw under herself as she hit snow, stopping her lack of friction and maintaining her momentum, gliding forward on her Shardsled. Yzabet was close behind her, along with Mace, but she only knew that because of Yzabet's snide comments and Mace's maniacal seal-laugh. 

Edited July 28, 2018 by AxeliustheGreat

[I Am Witless she/her]

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She made it so that she could stay on her sled using the friction on her feet and on the sled. She slicked herself AFTER she started moving. Do you need me to draw you a picture? [I don't intend this as an insulting comment. We've done it before. Sometimes the physics of these things are REALLY confusing.]

Yzabet easily balanced on her sled, veering back and forth in a threat to pass Tena. She's a coinshot as well, but I don't have any metal on me, and the sled is made of wood. What can I dooo…… Jael, her spren, formed into a boomerang, and Yzabet threw her right in front of Tena's sled, upsetting the toboggan. Yzabet passed Tena, then quickly summoned Jael back and used her as a staff to go faster. Yzabet was nearing her top speed on this downhill slope, aided by the mostly-frictionless sled and her mostly-frictionless body. Behind her, Mace was singing the Alleyverse National Anthem, the Hokey Pokey.

Edited July 29, 2018 by I am Witless

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Tena growled and Pushed some coins into the faces of other sledders, including Mace, who tried to grab the coin. Tena then tossed one in front of her and veered right really fast, Pushing the coin right into Yzabet's flank, and making the woman turn 90 degrees and smash into the side. I guess it's time to play dirty, Tena thought, promptly setting a coin on her sled and Pushing herself to her feet with it. She did her ice-skating motion and gained speed, easily passing the cursing Yzabet, then summoned her spren as an axe, throwing it behind her without looking. She heard a shriek of pain and re-summoned her spren into her hand as a staff the length of the sled track, re-frictioning her feet and angling the staff so that it was throat-level with the incoming sledders. They all either crashed into it or each other, so Tena spun back around and ice-skated right over the bright red finish line, but kept going to the green one because that was obviously a Mace-esque trap; setting a fake finish line. Or maybe two. She kept on skating until she touched the wall with her hand, and then looked back to see what the other racers were doing.

"Okay, you finished in first," a bored-looking guy said, handing her a small pouch that Tena didn't open, because putting something in there to knock her out was also a Mace-esque trap.

[Archer he/him]

Mace watched the other racers zoom around him. If he was worried, he didn't show it. In fact, he reached down and pulled the parking brake on his sled to slow it down.

When that failed to do anything (likely due to the lack of wheels) he grabbed the coil of rope on the seat beside him tied it around his waist, then jumped ship. He flew through the air as the sled zipped out from underneath him. Eventually the rope pulled taut, as the other end was connected to the floor of the sled. He felt like a kite. 

Mace then quadrupled his weight. He dropped like a stone, landing with a crunch in the middle of the track. Using his body like a human anchor, and his hands to guide the rope, he swung the sled around him like the hand of a clock. Its momentum carried it in an arc, lifting up into the air as it swung. Mace allowed it to swing 90 degrees to get it in the right position, before deftly drawing on some stored speed to quickly untie the knot holding it on to him, releasing the sled. He watched with satisfaction as it whizzed through the air like a cannon shot, headed towards the person standing at the finish line. 

[I Am Witless she/her]

A coin shot right into Yzabet, but slid off of her, hardly even wobbling the Edgedancer. An ax flew past her, and Yzabet cursed loudly. Someone is willing to hurt other people to win. I'll ask Mace who she is after this is over. This is NOT cool.

Yzabet jumped over the other competitors, then skidded towards Mace. "Lighten up!" She screamed, then grabbed him by the collar.

[Archer he/him]

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MUST WIN I'VE GOT 25 CRYSTS RIDING ON THIS!!! 

Okay, so not really. It's probably been long enough, Mace can reasonably transition out of war-mode now. 

The sled flew true, smashing into the snowbank above Tena. It caused a mini avalanche, sending snow spilling down onto them, half burying them. 

Mace smiled. 

Then Yzabet slapped him. 

"Ow!" he muttered, rubbing his cheek. He looked up at her. Looking into her eyes triggered something in his subconscious. A memory, faint, but poignant. 

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But his author hadn't planned on any major character development in this post, so nothing more was said about it. 

"Sorry!" he shouted in the general direction of his fellow party-goers. Feeling a bit embarrassed at how reckless he'd been acting, he slowly got to his feet to inspect the damage he'd caused. Luckily, no one was hurt. 

Although, much confusion and delay had been caused. "Hey Yzabet?" he asked. "Could I get a ride to the bottom with you? My ride appears to be in several different pieces at the moment."

[I Am Witless she/her]

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I intended to hint for Mace to store weight, and for Yzabet to drag him through the air like a kite by his neck or something like that. I didn't communicate that, sorry.

 

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

"Great gods of the-" Tena cursed, slamming a coin into the snowy ground under her, then Pushing off it, bursting through the 10 feet of snow that had buried her, and flying upwards and backwards. She spun in mid-air, so that when she landed, she was facing towards the sledders, one of whom had apparently been attempting to suffocate her. She dropped another coin and Pushed herself towards the track, alighting nimbly on a Shardpole that she formed below her as she willed it to, so that she glared down at Mace and Yzabet like a hunting owl.

"What was that?" she asked calmly, knowing that Mace had thrown the sled that had almost killed her; she'd seen him doing it, but had figured that he wouldn't attempt to kill her. She raised her hand to silence what Yzabet was going to say, knowing what it was. "No, what he did is different, Yzabet. I can heal any wound I cause easily. But he would've had to dig me out, and by the time I was out, I might have hypothermia or be dead. You can't heal dead people." She shortened her Shardpole until she could jump off and stand up, which she did, now holding a Shardstaff that she could use in a fight if she needed to.

[Archer he/him]

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*should have taken Witless more literally*

"Actually..." Mace caught himself before he started on a lecture on how to heal dead people. "Nevermind. I'm sorry Tena, that was out of line. No hard feelings?" He offered his hand to her to shake. 

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This doesn't seem like a Mace-esque trap at all. No sir. Definitely not.

... 

You can take it either way. 

 

Edited July 29, 2018 by Archer

[Sherlock Holmes he/him]

Tena extended her hand, accepting the handshake, but quickly backed off a few steps and looked around, expecting to see hemalurgic seals coming to eat her or something like that. "Whew," she said quietly, then, "I heard something about money or something being given to the winner, which, as I recall, I am. So...?" She tilted her head questioningly. 

[BitBitio he/him]

A Sentinel Representative wearing a blue coat enters and whispers something in Mace's ear.

[Archer he/him]

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 Hemalurgic seals would be fun!

"Expletive!" Mace exclaimed. "So soon?" 

The Sentinel Representative nodded. 

"Okay," Mace continued. "I'll get my battle armour ready, then go pick up the army. I'll meet him on the battlefield as soon as I'm ready."

The Sentinel Representative nodded. 

"Sorry guys. I've got to go. See you around." 

The Sentinel Representative noodled.

Mace then removed a Tia card from his pocket and stroked it. Just as he was about to disappear, he shouted, "Give my thanks to Queen E! It's been a fun party!". Then he was gone. 

The Sentinel Representative continued to casually improv on his flute. It sounded terrible.