Summer Festival Badger Chase -The Chase is On!

[Shivased]

Entering the Riddermarket, you see a crowd of people and horses assembled at the gates. You see a sign for The Riddermark’s Summer Badger Chase, and you know you are in the right place. A layer of green grass blankets the ground, flowers here and there. Spectators are lined on the sides of the streets, not wanting to be run over when the race starts. Shop owners take a small break from their work to see what’s going on, and the competitors can’t wait to get started. The blue sky greets your eyes as you move towards the chase…

Welcome to The Riddermark’s Summer Badger Chase! The way the chase works is that one badger is released at the gate of the Riddermarket, and all competitors will chase after the badger on their horse. If you do not have a horse, you can NPC a horse we provide, just go ahead and make up the name and personality! There shall be up to thirty competitors, all races allowed. Please wait for our opening post of setting the badger off! Once it has been posted right below this, start posting! Shivased will moderate, posting in RED!

Once the chase has begun everyone will start with one roll. You can then post yourself beginning the race and following the prompt you have been given. You may also choose how many rolls you wish to receive each turn, up to 3 rolls. If you know you will be away for a day or so, you can put at the bottom of your post "Two rolls please!" Updates will happen every other evening, with each person getting the number of dice rolls/prompts they ask for in their post. You will RP however many roll actions you received in the same post. There are twenty-two possible rolls and actions, each accompanied with a number of spaces you move forward or backward. Everyone gets ten rolls!

This will continue until everyone’s rolls have been exhausted or until the end of the festival, whichever happens first. At the end, the top three players (people with the highest number of forward spaces) will win!

Here are the pre-determined rolls! We added a "disaster roll" AKA "the evil roll". Why? Because we’re evil, and we want to spice things up. You will avoid this roll like the plague, as you can see, it sets you back seven – yes seven! – spaces! *Evil laughter*

1. +3 spaces 12. -4 spaces
2. -4 spaces 13. +4 spaces
3. +5 spaces 14. -2 spaces
4. -2 spaces 15. +1 spaces
5. -3 spaces 16. +3 spaces
6. +2 spaces 17. +2 spaces
7. -2 spaces 18. +4 spaces
8. -1 spaces 19. +5 spaces
9. -5 spaces 20. -5 spaces
10. +5 spaces 21. -7 spaces
11. +4 spaces 22. +1 spaces
We hope you have fun! However, there must be some rules…

COMPETITORS:
~ All Plaza rules apply!
~ No signatures!
~ You must have signed up to play! If your name is not on the list below, do not post as a competitor!
~ Stay in character, unless you have something to ask. Example: (OOC: If you think something’s wrong, or are confused, type it here in the white and we’ll get around to answering it)
~ Abide by your die rolls when you post. If something bad happens, don’t ignore it! Role-play it out.
~ If a roll involves interaction with another competitor, be nice. This means no harassment, no punching their daylights out, and no language that isn’t fit for a respectable person. Also, keep it in one post, or make it so the other competitor can acknowledge it in their post.
~ We expect your posts to be at least 200 characters. You can do more, if you like (we encourage it), but we would like to see a good 200 at least! A great post will be around 400 – 600 characters.
~ Competitors, post in any color except RED and BLUE.

SPECTATORS:
~ All Plaza rules apply!
~ No signatures!
~ Stay in character, unless you have something to ask us. Example: (OOC: If you think something’s wrong, or are confused, type it here in the white and we’ll get around to answering it)
~ Do not help or interact with the competitors. We know you’d like to, but just cheer them on from the sidelines.
~ YOU MUST POST IN BLUE! We need to be able to tell who is a spectator or not!

Have fun!

Leaderboard

KingODuckingham ~ 0 rolls ~ +19 - CCOMPLETE
Amhran ~ 0 rolls ~ -11 - COMPLETE
Eógyth ~ 0 rolls ~ +10 - COMPLETE
Gwai ~ 0 rolls ~ 0 - COMPLETE
Léowyn ~ 0 rolls ~ +4 - COMPLETE
Laewyn ~0 rolls ~ +12 - COMPLETE!
Ides ~ 0 rolls ~ +7 - COMPLETE
Talen ~ 0 rolls~ +7 - COMPLETE

[Lirimaer]

Signing up. I'm sending an NPC to these games, I hope that's okay?

[Shivased]

@Lirimaer yup, that's fine!

[KingODuckingham]

Behold! It is I, Ducky, the greatest badger swiper this side of Mt. Gundabad. Why, just ask the dwarves of Moria how I handled the badgers of their axe-throwing contest. And for that matter, how I handled their axes. Truly, you look upon the visage of a virtuoso! Why, I will have this badger back in no time. It will not even know what freedom has BEGUN to mean by the time I have wrangled it with a wizard's touch. It will be badgered! There is no possible way I can fai---wait, what? I have to do it all while riding a horse?

I, ah, do not have a horse.

One will be provided, you say? Ah, yes, well that does make it a bit difficult to explain why I would no longer wish to participate, doesn't it? Very well! I shall...still..participate.

*INTERNAL SCREAMING*

[Amhran]

I'm here! I'm here! Let the bells ring out and the banners fly! My trusty plough horse Landan and I will partake of this test of courage, of skill, of speed... and besides, I have a score to settle with that badger.

*Landan snorts*

Okay, maybe not THAT EXACT badger. Badgers in general.

[Bereth]

I believe I shall attempt an NPC, Eógyth, though she is more adept at misery than merriment. And ~ ah ~ she happens to have a deep and rather unnatural affection for the canny carnivores! She’ll be perched upon a pony.

[Gwai]

Gwai wandered up to the sign up booth, enjoying the festival atmosphere, and eating a oliphaunt ear, her quota of fried food for the next year. "Sign me up, Brightfyr and I hopefully remember how to catch badgers!" she said cheerfully, licking some powdered sugar off her fingers. "If we catch the badger...are there burgers involved?"

[Durien]

Léowyn w/Swyftfoot

Léowyn had been in such a rush to finish tending her family’s horses and her own beehives, that she had lost track of the time and now she was in great haste. Her long honey blonde hair was already windswept and her cheeks glowed with the rosiness of exertion when she finally arrived at the festival grounds astride Swyftfoot, one of the younger colts she had recently started under saddle. The fiery red chestnut with a tiny white star on his broad forehead and four white socks barely extending above his pasterns had yet to learn patience and despite having galloped through Meduseld, she had to dismount in order to sign up. Remounting, she directed towards the back of the herd, where his pawing wouldn’t be quite as distracting to the other horses present, and waited for the release of the badger!

[Allacan ob Burzum]

Allacan was excited to discover that she had returned to Meduseld just in time for the Badger Chase. Still suffering the most unfortunate fate of a Rohir, without a horse of her own, she had decided that this would be a good opportunity to check if she still had the lungs of a commander and try her hand in the spectators ring.

As the racers began lining up ready to begin the race, she took out the bright blue Pom-Poms she had cobbled together and began waving them around enthusiastically as each racer was announced.

“Ducky, Ducky, lookin’ lucky, keep it movin’ don’t get stucky”

“Léowyn the lioness, coming’ for you. Left turn, right turn, under cover too. Run badger, run, but there’s nothing you can do!”

“Eógyth is after you, little badger kid. Should have kept your nose clean, silly mustelid. Better move those feet now, badger you beware! Eógyth is after you, dither if you dare!”

“Gwai and Brightfyr, stepping fast! Race for first, don’t come in last. Gonna be quick, gonna be slick, gonna chase badgers like a lunatic”

She waved the pom-poms again, already mentally composing new rhymes in readiness for the next few names to be declared.

(OOC at @Amhran; what’s your character’s name so I can cheer them on?)

[Lirimaer]

Laewyn, riding Honey Butter

The Summer Festival had sent thrills through the whole community. Laewyn had been sent out for extra groceries and found herself signing up for this event. It probably wouldn't take long, what with all these people, and anyway, she hadn't ever chased a badger, and that was probably a crime in Edoras.

Foxes now, those she'd chased, caught and slaughtered, for daring to take Mama's chickens. She'd also gotten batter at carpentry, incidentally, and now the chickens were safe within an impregnable fortress ... probably ... except for the eagles.

Regardless of all responsibility, she trotted up, ready to race. Or chase. Maybe she'd better read the rules again - she didn't want to go home with a new pet badger.

[Amhran]

(OOC: @Allafyrefleorhtlig, just Amhran. I keep it simple. :-) Thanks for asking, and for the cheers!)

[Idesinholde]

It was time for the summer badger chase and although Ides and her horse Fenja were far from ready, she was entering anyway. You could not win if you did not participate after all and Ides wanted to win. Fenja being a nervous filly was prancing all about the starting line wanting to run or move. Her nerves were not up to all the noise and people but Ides had brought her anyway because she was the fast, not to mention what was the point of owning a horse you could not ride when you needed to. Besides being used to her ways she was able to hold her pack although they did not exactly look dignified where they were prancing. It was a beautiful day with blue skies which was a good thing with the breakneck speed everyone would be riding in.

[Shivased]

UPDATE

Shivased gave one last look around to see if anyone else was signing up for the chase. Seeing nobody promising, she stood and went to a podium beside the starting gate, right above where a large cage with a snarling, angry badger was anxious to get out. Riders Ready!? she shouted with a grin. Then, nodding at the men minding the badger she yelled GO!. At the same time the cage opened and the badger shot out into the market. The race was on!

KingODuckingham ~17~ You hear a loud noise behind you and you urge your horse on. Advancing 2 spaces, you look back. What frightened you?

Amhran ~5~ A little girl scoops up the badger and begins to feed him cheese, when you were hot on his tail! She refuses to let him go, and runs off with him to the other side of the Riddermarket, where the moderator and a spectator intervenes. However, you tried to track her, and ended up going backwards 3 spaces!

Eógyth ~20~ The Badger strategically knocked certain things over, creating a number of obstacles for you and your horse. Your horse backs up 5 spaces in fright. What did the badger knock over?

Gwai ~8~ You have stopped to look for the Badger perhaps hiding among some market ware, when your horse gives a jump and a squeal, the Badger has appeared out of nowhere and bitten him! You move back 1 space to get some medicine from Star’s shop to tend to your mount while the Badger meanders off.

Léowyn ~6~ Trying to navigate the back streets you get lost, yet you manage to get back on the main streets, and your luck! You are 2 spaces ahead where you had previously been! Describe your journey.


Laewyn ~13~ Your friend calls to you, and you move forward 4 spaces to talk to her. She says she saw the badger. Describe the conversation between you two.

Ides ~3~ Your horse sees a nice patch of flowers and decides he is hungry. In a short canter, he moves forward five spaces! What did you do to stop him from eating the beautiful flowers?

Note: From here on out, please post how many rolls you want at the end of your post. Remember, you only have 10 rolls!

[Lirimaer]

Laewyn, riding Honey Butter

Laewyn was planning to be quick off the mark with Shivased's yell, but it was her friend Anawen in the crown gesturing frantically that got her attention, and Honey danced forward four steps looking for apple slices.

"Lae! Lae, I've seen it!" Anawen beamed excitedly, clearly desperate to share her news.

"What?" Laewyn asked. "Is this about that new milliner's? I am racing, you know!"

"Huh, there's a new hat shop?" Ana half-turned. "Where? In the old quarter? I thought that was going to be a cake shop!"

"No, in the main street, next to the barber's. Look I've got to go-"

"That's what I meant!" Anawen remembered her purpose and lowered her voice. "I want you to win. I've seen the badger and might even have slipped it a little paprika of the medical liquid kind. If you keep a little of it around, you're sure to lure it back to you!"

"Good advice," Laewyn smirked. "You got any for such an eventuality?"

"Of course I do," Ana snorted, and with a flip of her hair, dove into her satchel for a bottle of the hard stuff. That she also came up with some apple slices meant that even Honey Butter was delighted to see her.

"Go forth and win this thing!" Ana yelled, melting back into the crowd. "I believe in you!" But she was no longer paying any attention to the race, too intent on heading for main street's newest clothing store.

Laewyn smiled. Well,it wasn't too bad a start - she already had a headstart over most folk, and a nifty clue none of the others had. Perhaps she would win.

+4
1 roll please

[Amhran]

And they were off! The badger scuffled up a rooster-tail of dust as he shot off down the market street, Landan thundering hard on his heels. This would be a cinch, thought Amhran, and wondered what the record was for fastest capture ever and if she was about to break it. But as she shifted sideways in her saddle, preparing for a flying tackle, a human figure loomed out of the dust cloud ahead and she had to yank hard on the reins to keep from riding it down.

It was a little girl, and the badger was in her arms, peacefully eating cheese out of her hand.

Amhran dismounted. "Hey, sweetie? You know the badger chase that's happening today?"
The little girl smiled serenely. "Uh huh."
"That's the badger. Please put him down so we can chase him."
The little girl scrunched up her nose. "Shan't."
Amhran groaned in frustration. "Come on, sister, you're holding up Rohan's Fastest Badger Capture Ever, don't you want to see history made?"
"No."
"I've a honey cake in my saddlebag. Trade you for the badger."
"No."
"You know badgers don't eat cheese, right? He's going to throw up all over your smock. Put him down."
"No."
"I'll tell your mummy you were sassing a former Marshal of Westmark. She'll spank you."
"Haw. You don't even know who my mummy is."
"Do too. She's right behind you."

Amhran couldn't believe the child would fall for the oldest trick in the book. She looked. While her head was turned, Amhran lunged for the badger, intending to whisk him off to the finish line and win the prize before the others even reached the halfway mark. But she forgot to reckon with the uncanny reflexes of pre-adolescent children. The little girl sensed her movement and bolted with the badger (dropping the cheese) for the other side of the Riddermarket, Amhran pounding in her wake and shouting ineffectually. "Hey! Stop! Come back with that badger!" The former Marshal of Westmark may have been faster, and had longer legs than the little girl, but she was no match for her ability to dodge. Within moments Amhran had lost sight of her amongst the shops and bric-a-brac of the Market.

Carding her hands through her hair and blowing out an exasperated sigh, Amhran looked about her for signs of the direction the child had taken with her burden. There were little crumbs of cheese on the ground. Not unusual perhaps for the middle of the Riddermarket, but these crumbs had badger saliva smeared all over them. Feeling slightly like something out of a fairy tale, she proceeded, bent double, to follow the trail of crumbs, down the street, between two tinker's carts, up a set of stairs, and through a narrow alleyway. As she neared the end of the alley, she could hear a commotion in front. There was the little girl, standing between Shivasaed, arms crossed and foot tapping irritably, and a spectator, apparently the little girl's mother, who was giving her a telling-off. The badger was nowhere to be seen. Amhran realized, with a fresh pang, that she was now three blocks *behind* the starting line.

Meanwhile, back amongst the shops, Landan had finished the cheese.

-3
1 roll, please. (OOC: Is there an advantage to requesting more than one roll?)

[Bereth]

Maintaining a fairly steady stream of mutterings seasoned with Gwathuirian curses, much of it unintelligible and almost a bit comical in her sing-songy off-key warble of a voice, Eógyth, rhythmically thumped her heels against the wide girth of her stout and portly pony as they ambled off after the snarling badger, who grumpily waddled away in panic, unhappy to be the center of so much attention. Her plan is the opposite of most.

She is not after any prize other than the badger itself, intending fully to keep on going north once she snatches him up!

The other riders were quicker, higher, younger, but she had stamina and a more pure goal, she was certain! Setbacks were no problem. Trouble was no stranger to her reality. “Badgea, beautiful heyouu, come Badgea!” She clicked and tisked and cooed as she jolted along, nudging and flicking reigns and swerving, the pony’s gait not entirely unlike that of the badger, her face, half obscured by a bush of spiky, wiry black hair, grinning confident as she slowly closed in on her
target.

“Rottens!” She spat as Botheid, her pony, stepped on enough of the badger’s tail to dislodge a few hairs painfully, frightening the thing to guttural screams as it careened back and forth between several shops. It banged hard into a rack of cooling horseshoes that clattered noisily against each other as they fell, which in turn further frenzied the badger into a blind dodge into the Ffermgardd Adref, brushing past a display of pitchforks that teetered and tumbled down bouncing about like a trap as the badger tried to escape the wooden handles.

Botheid had managed to skirt the shoes, but her short little legs made navigating the crisscross of tools more challenge. And once she finally got past them, the badger had by then slammed into a basket of yarn, tangling his claws into one of the unraveling balls and sending most of the others streaming out in every direction!

While social graces were not her usual strength, Eógyth felt responsible for the damages and dismounted heavily to aid in retrieving the yarn. “No no no, he won’t get far, yeeaas,” she blubbered. But now she’d lost sight of him.

-5
1 roll, thank ye kindly!

[Gwai]

Gwai and Brightfyr

And they were off and running! Brightfyr made a clean start, and he loved to run! Gwai let him for a bit, keeping an eye out for the badger. Of course this wouldn't be the same badger they used to chase so many years ago, but if he was anything like his kinfolk, he would be tricky to catch. She was close to the Riddermarket right now, and decided to make a quick trip through the market to see if the badger was hiding anywhere in there.

Gwai slowed Brightfyr down to a slow trot as they approached the Riddermarket, as a courtesy to the patrons who were not involved in the hunt. She kept scanning both sides of the street as she looked for the badger, but, suddenly, she found herself almost falling off as Brightfyr squeeled and bucked. Gwai kept her seat and calmed him, and looked back to see what had spooked him so much. It was the badger! The fellow was hurrying off in the opposite direction, and Gwai, frustrated, knew she couldn't go after him until she assessed the damage.

Quickly dismounting, Gwai looked at the blood coming from Brightfyr's left fetlock. Kneeling, she took a closer look. It was fairly minor, and would not require stitches, but Gwai wanted to get it cleaned and covered before continuing. Brightfyr wasn't limping, and fortunately, they were already in the Riddermarket, so Gwai led Brightfyr toward Star's shop, tied him to the hitching post inside, and hurried indoors to request alcohol and clean bandages.

Supplies in hand, Gwai came back outside and ruefully pet Brightfyr's neck. "I'm sorry old buddy," she told him. He snorted, seeming more concerned about the delay than any pain. Gwai rinsed the bite wound clean with alcohol, pour water from her canteen over it next, and then pat it dry with a clean cloth. She then padded the cloth, and tied a long strip around it, tucking the edge in to keep it in pace. Untying him from the hitching post, she put the reins back over his head and lightly mounted.

-1
1 roll, please!

[KingODuckingham]

Ducky had just managed to scrabble awkwardly up on his horse (on the second try), and had begun trying to make friends with him (it was a him, they had told Ducky that much), when suddenly behind him someone yelled "Go!"'

"Oh what the duck!" the wizard yelled, and instinctively tensed his body. Doing so caused his boots to dig into his horse's ribs, and it bolted forward, nearly leaving Ducky behind entirely. He barely managed to grab hold of the reins. He had technically ridden a horse before, long ago, but it seemed that riding a horse was not, for him, exactly like riding a bicycle. It was more like a quad-cycle. Whether the horse was headed in the right direction, he was not sure. He was too busy double-checking to make sure all his parts and pieces were in the right place to look for the badger.

2
1 Roll please!

(OOC: The leaderboard says I am at -2, but the post says I advanced two spaces. I have recorded it as 2 in my post here but I will change it to whatever you intended, just let me know)

[Yávië]

Talen
Late to the Party

"Oh, come on now, we're nearly there!" Talen tugged hopefully at the reins of the horse he had "liberated" from Bree several months ago. He wasn't a very agreeable creature, but then, Talen had been told that he wasn't a very agreeable boy. "There's a festival, you see," he tried to explain. "There will be candied apples, and cakes, and food on sticks! There will be competitions and games and prizes! I'll buy you a whole bag of apples if we win! Properly paid for and everything."

The horse tossed its head.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease!" He rummaged through his bag for the last loaf of bread and split it in half to share with the horse. "Now we've got to go! That was the last of our grub, and I'm not grazing for dinner with you." Finally, they found themselves at the entrance of the Riddermarket, which had errupted into chaos. Talen gazed around wide-eyed at the careening riders and caught a glimpse of black and white streaking across the main road.

"Er, excuse me," he said, to an in-charge looking woman (Shivased) near the gate. "Is this part of the festival? Can I join some of the games? I've got a horse for..." he gestured vaugely to the chaos, "...uh, this."

(OCC @Shivased: Any chance I can sneak into the game a round late? I can start with 2 rolls to catch up. Pleeeeeeeeeease XD)

[Shivased]

UDATE

KingODuckingham ~3~ Your horse sees a nice patch of flowers and decides he is hungry. In a short canter, he moves forward five spaces! What did you do to stop him from eating the beautiful flowers?

Amhran ~9~ From nowhere, the Badger zooms forward and scrambles between your horse’s legs. Apparently another competitor had been chasing it and nearly smashes into you! You must back up 5 spaces to avoid an accident!

Eógyth ~8~ You have stopped to look for the Badger perhaps hiding among some market ware, when your horse gives a jump and a squeal, the Badger has appeared out of nowhere and bitten him! You move back 1 space to get some medicine from a shop to tend to your mount while the Badger meanders off.

Gwai ~4~ A small insect lands into your eye, startling you. While trying to rub it out of your eye, your horse decides to take a turn back a lumber two spaces backwards to see if there may be any dropped food by the Ploughman's Plenty. How did you scold your horse?

Laewyn ~5~ A little girl scoops up the badger and begins to feed him cheese, when you were hot on his tail! She refuses to let him go, and runs off with him to the other side of the Riddermarket, where the moderator and a spectator intervenes. However, you tried to track her, and ended up going backwards 3 spaces!

[bTalen[/b] ~9 & 10~ (9) - From nowhere, the Badger zooms forward and scrambles between your horse’s legs. Apparently another competitor had been chasing it and nearly smashes into you! You must back up 5 spaces to avoid an accident!
(10) - Another horse skids forward on a small patch of ice, smacking into your steed's rump. He startles and dashes forward five spaces! How do you deal with this?

@Amhran - Nope, no advantage, just useful if you miss an update or two or want to finish sooner.
@KingODuckingham - My bad! Fixed!
@Aerlinn - Sure, join in! I put your update above with 2 rolls to catch you up.

[Lirimaer]

Laewyn, riding Honey Butter

Laewyn was about to begin the whole 'entice the badger with Dr Pepper' trick her friend Ana had suggested, when she saw a small child pick up the darn creature.

No, surely that wasn't the actual object of their chase? It had to be a pet of some kind; she was feeding it cheese, for Hammerhand's sake. But it was near the beginning of the chase, and frankly, she wasn't up for spending all day chasing over Edoras for a badger she could see perfectly well in the child's arms ...

"Hey, kid!" she called, with all the authority of a stablemistress. "Drop that badger!"

Several folks turned around, trying to see what she was seeing, but the kid, far from obeying instantly, ran.

Laewyn shifted and Honey responded instantly; she'd ride right into the crowd if she had to. Ah but she didn't have to: an official grabbed the kid and another grabbed the badger.

Smiling in satisfaction, Laewyn turned back to the race only to find she'd lost her early lead.

"Ah, carrotsticks," she muttered, watching others ahead of her. "Oh well, at least we have a badger to chase now."

+1
1 roll please

[KingODuckingham]

Ducky had expected things to slow down after the initial spurt from the starting line, but it was not to be. He would have liked to attribute that to his expert skill and confidence in horsemanship, but in fact the horse itself deserved the praise. Ducky could not figure out what had caused it to bolt, but he had needed to lean forward in order not to be thrown off the rear of the animal, so fast was its pace. It was extremely interested in something...was it too much to hope or suppose that the horse was chasing the badger?

Yes, yes it was. Of course the horse wasn't after the badger, why would it be? It had no grudge against its fellow creature. Instead it appeared to want to graze on a large open field full of flowers. But that would slow us down, Ducky thought to himself. He couldn't have that!

Ducky thought quickly. He whispered, first to himself, making an offhand gesture, then continuing the whisper in the horse's ear. He had conjured up an image of a mare off in the distance, a complete moving picture replete for all the senses except sound. Hopefully the horse would respond.

1 Roll please, and thank you!

[Durien]

Léowyn w/Swyftfoot

The badger was released and the race was on! The chaotic jumble of horses, riders, bystanders, and one badger, quickly delved in mayhem as everyone raced off in multiple directions, and into each other, as shouts indicating badger sightings seemed to echo across the market. Léowyn reacted quickly and smoothly, but her mount, Swyftfoot, a very young colt, was inundated by the uproar and his ears conveyed his confusion by flopping out to the sides. It made her laugh, but at the same time, the honey haired rider realized she needed a new plan of attack, so to speak, if she was going to catch this badger - which she thoroughly intended to do. From the general direction the shouts of "badger!" seemed to be coming from, she had a general idea of the direction in which the badger was headed.

A brilliant idea rushed through her mind. She knew which direction the badger was headed, therefore, if she rode with speed around the crowds, she might be able to cut the badger off and corner him before the other riders could catch him. Deftly, she reined Swyftfoot sharply to the left, down a narrow side alleyway and pressed him on to a full gallop. The village buildings flashing past her as she ducked underneath clothes hanging to dry on lines stretching across the alley. She tried counting the the number of cross alleys, before sliding in a sharp turn around one with blue flowers on the window sill, her knee scraping roughly against the wood of the sill but leaving the flowers unscathed. She gritted her teeth for a moment, but then the momentary shock of not being where she expected to be hit her hard.

"So much for that brilliant idea." Léowyn muttered the twitching ears of the colt. Not only was she not where she expected to be, but at a flat out gallop, she was having a hard time telling where she was at all. "Confound it all! She cursed as she urged Swyftfoot on, making yet another sliding left turn at full speed. She was even more stunned when she saw the main road just in front of her. Once more, she urged Swyftfoot into a full gallop as the horse launched her back into the fray of the badger chase.

1 Roll Please!

[Gwai]

The Badger was nowhere to be seen in the Riddermarket, so with only a minimal delay, Gwai guided Brightfyr out of the market, and toward the open fields where there was hopefully a better chance of finding the badger. They had not gone far, however, when a bug flew into Gwai's eye. "Eeeewwww," Gwai grumbled, rubbing her eye as she tried to displace the insect. Her hold on the reins slackened, and Brightfyr took the opportunity to wander toward the side of the street in search of food.

She finally got the bug out of her eye and looked around, blinking owlishly as her eye continued to tear. Where were they? Brightyfr had strayed a fair distance from where they were while Gwai was dealing with the bug issue. "This isn't where we're supposed to be," she chastised her horse, gathering the reins back up and nudging him back to the main road. "We're not going to catch the badger with you eating everything in sight!"

-3
1 Roll, please!

[Amhran]

Muttering, Amhran strode back to where she had left Landan. She tightened his saddle girth, waved away the now-cheesy breath he blew in her face, and remounted. "Now to find the badger again. He's got to be around here some-WHOAAAAAAA!" The badger shot out of nowhere, weaving between Landan's feathered legs and causing him to rear and dance backwards. Before he could recover, the shout of "GANGWAAAAAY!" assailed Amhran's ears and she had to turn her poor confused horse on his hind legs like a ballet dancer to avoid colliding with a competitor. Landan gave a loud, irritable whicker and pranced jouncily five blocks further to the rear where he stood facing a wall and refused to budge. His rider leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "honey-child, you are a fiasco; if you back up any further we will have reversed out of town. And you shouldn't have eaten that cheese."

-5 this roll
-8 total

1 roll please!

[Bereth]

“Oooof” was a oft-uttered grunt as Eógyth gracelessly wove her way around and often under the chaos of the other contestants, the hapless spectators dodging out of the way, and the wily badger who still maddeningly managed to elude them all!

“Thera! No no.” She cajoled, yanked, nudged, prodded the beleaguered Botheid, but she seemed to have only one speed and little reaction to her substantial rider. But she knew what to do, wanted the badger just as much as Eógyth. She was a badger pony after all, bred for this. Speed would do little to help catch her prize. One must outwit it!

The sturdy pony slowed to pause at the strong scent of badger mingling with the delicious aroma of leathers at the Second Skin Saddle and Tack shop, certain the creature was cowering in the bushes beneath the window, and Eógyth allowed her to edge closer. Slowly.

However, several things happened rapidly all at once. Around the corner a pretty young colt came careening at full gallop, spinning Botheid halfways around, another large horse ran up from the other direction, frightening the badger out of hiding. Thus the pony backed up, the panting badger charged forward, and the collision left Botheid’s hind leg just below the fetlock barely scraped by the sharp teeth. She hefted her heinie in surprise enough to unseat Eógyth with a thud. As she lumbered upright again, she proceeded to swat at the side of the pony’s rump, startling those within earshot as she chastised, “No no no, don’ go breakin’ poor badgea’s nice teethies!”

Sighing, she spotted the spurting blood, and whipped off a hank of her black cloak and spun it around the leg, pulled at the reigns to lead her towards the butcher’s, one sad glance backwards at the yet again escaping badger, “Come, some sweet lard will heal ye up right quick.”

- 1 this time, so
- 6 total (But all is not yet lost!)

1 roll, if you please?

[Yávië]

"Yes! Thanks'm!"

Talen did not so much mount his horse as climb up her, which she endured with little grace, but at least refrained from following through on the threat of bared teeth and flattened ears. He had never ridden so much as a pony before aquiring this mare, but a pony would likely have been a more appropriate size.

He was still tangled up in the reins when the erstwhile badger, and a very large Rohirrim stallion, charged directly at them. "That thing!" he yelled in excitement as they stumbled backwards in a clatter. "That thing! No, behind you! Turn around! It was right there!" He tugged the reins this way and that, and got absolutely no where before there was a startling jolt and he found himself dashing back to exactly where they had started. The horse turned to give the oaf that had slid into her a dangerously flat look.

The badger was no where in sight. Talen sighed and pulled the mare's head away. "Focus, you ninny! Badger, black and white, has stripes, about yea big." They headed into the marketplace.

I've really got to give you a name, the boy thought.

0
1 roll, please!

[Shivased]

UPDATE

KingODuckingham ~4~ A small insect lands into your eye, startling you. While trying to rub it out of your eye, your horse decides to take a turn back a lumber two spaces backwards to see if there may be any dropped food by the Ploughman's Plenty. How did you scold your horse?

Amhran ~12~ You have no clue whatsoever where the Badger is, you ask the nearest person, but apparently the Badger hadn't been spotted coming this way and now you are behind 4 spaces for traveling backwards to ask the person! (Sorry! The dice roller doesn't like you!)

Eógyth ~6~ Trying to navigate the back streets you get lost, yet you manage to get back on the main streets, and your luck! You are 2 spaces ahead where you had previously been! Describe your journey.

Gwai ~10~ Another horse skids forward in a small patch of mud, smacking into your steed's rump. He startles and dashes forward five spaces! How do you deal with this?

Léowyn ~19~ Thinking you see the badger, you canter forward 5 spaces. However, it is not the badger. What was it that looked so much like a badger?

Laewyn ~9~ From nowhere, the Badger zooms forward and scrambles between your horse’s legs. Apparently another competitor had been chasing it and nearly smashes into you! You must back up 5 spaces to avoid an accident!

Talen ~20~ The Badger strategically knocked certain things over, creating a number of obstacles for you and your horse. Your horse backs up 5 spaces in fright. What did the badger knock over?

@Allafyrefleorhtlig and @Idesinholde just a reminder, the badger is taunting you!

[Lirimaer]

Laewyn, riding Honey Butter

Laewyn was facing forwards, far behind almost everyone else, having spent the race so far going back and forth uselessly, when suddenly - weirdly, even - the badger came from behind them, scrambling between Honey Butter’s legs. Why on earth anyone was behind her, since she was barely off the starting blocks, was a mystery.

Another competitor, apparently chasing the badger in a unwatchable display of bad horsemanship, bad sportsmanship, bad manners and the chronic inability to pick a damn direction, hurtled headlong toward them, and it was only quick thinking and mastery of the reverse manoeuvre which saved them from the knacker's yard. Laewyn glared at them, but no apology was forthcoming. She hadn't expected such rudeness.

Still, they ended up even further back, behind the starting line this time, and Laewyn wondered if she shouldn't just abandon it all and go to the pub. It would definitely be safer.

-3 (OOC: Your counter in the OP seems to be off.)
1 roll please

[KingODuckingham]

It was just surprise after surprise. Right as he was guiding his horse toward the illusion he had conjured, and everything looked to be going well, suddenly he looked at nothing. A bug had entered his eye, or tried to, and he reflexively tensed, shutting his eyes as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, that meant the directions he had been giving to his horse dissolved into confusion, and the illusion itself vanished without his concentration. The horse was free to do as it pleased. And distressingly, what it pleased was turning back to see if any food was left in that field they had just passed. To be fair, it did smell like food.

After Ducky successfully barred the eye-gates against the assaulting bugs and was able to open them again, he realized what had gone wrong. He swung the horse's neck back around with the reins and began to chide his beast:

"Now, now, chap, don't you know that the only way you'll be fed is forward? The carrot is always in front--behind is the stick!" But Ducky didn't actually have a stick with which to back up this threat. Nevertheless, as he continued speaking to the horse in a language they both understood, he lavished promises of delectables and grand treats if only it would move in the correct direction: that of the badger.

1 Roll please!

[Idesinholde]

OOC: OOPS! I totally did not remember to check for this! Thanks for tagging me!
Ides was ready to rumble! Fenja was too, and as soon as the and when yelled GO! and the badger was released she kicked Fenja's sides and off they went in a fast gallop. They soon lost sight of the little black and white animal in the flowers and grass in the field and attempted stopped her horse so she could get a better look. Unfortunately Fenja had other ideas and ignored her riders attempt to stop her although she slowed down to a short canter. Her head went down, and she started munching the flowers. Well this was rather humiliating; having her horse do whatever she felt like while the world watched on. Pulling her head up sharply and with a hard kick of her heals the horse got the message and her head went up and she started moving forward. Looking around for the badger Ides realized she'd gotten lucky as the direction Fenja had walked in was also the direction Fenja had decided to go. Kicking her sides she had her trot towards the badger; victory would be hers!

+5
3 rolls please!
4 rolls left

[Bereth]

Thankfully the badger pony had developed very thick skin from all the healed scarring from a decade of badger bites and rock scrapes and banging bumps, so the newest wound didn’t affect her plodding gait much at all. However, it didn’t seem to help with navigation much either.

“Ya caint sniff ‘im out, Botheid?” Eógyth asked with a tiny bit less growl to her tone. They bumped along down the first alley by the butcher’s shop, the and snuffled along thinking to make a simple circuit around a few of the buildings, but the streets off the main avenue were a maze, seemingly haphazardly laid out, although the halfbreed from Dunland wasn’t all that used to larger scale civilization, so it left her in increasing discomfort. She had not idea this many people wanted to live so close to each other!

“Blast, how we gunna find ‘im in this messa.” She grumbled, swiping a hand beneath her beak of a nose, trying to hold back a sneeze at the flowery scents, and keeping the pony down the middle of the streets so her widely swerving rump wouldn’t knock down one of the window boxes. She couldn’t keep stopping to clean up their messes!

After several long minutes of weaving and turning and deciding too late to backtrack cuz they’d now gone too far to remember where they came in, they almost stumbled out right back out onto the main street again, narrowly missing stepping on the bothersome badger! Again.

Swooping down to scoop up the badger, she missed. Again. “Aaaiii! Afta ‘im!” She kicked and clucked to try and hurry Botheid.

Not that it helped.

-6 to start this time
+2 huzzah!
So ‘only’ -4!

1 roll ~ much obliged

[Amhran]

(OOC: @Shivased Another reverse? You're killing me, Smalls! )

Amhran finally coaxed Landan away from the wall, but by then the badger had disappeared. There was no way she could find it merely by force of eyeball; there were too many places to hide and she was severely behind the other competitors. An old man was sitting in a chair on his front doorstep just up the street a ways behind her, so she turned her horse and went to speak to him. He'd been out here the entire time, maybe he had seen her quarry.

"Excuse me - sir?"
"Eh?"
"Have you seen a badger go past?"
"Eh?"
"I'm chasing a badger. Have you seen a badger?"
"Eh?"
It was proof of Amhran's flustered state that she didn't make the connection in her head that this was not going to prove a fruitful conversation and she should go ask someone else. Instead, she raised her voice.
"A BADGER."
"Eh?"
"HAVE YOU SEEN -"
The window behind the old man flew open and a woman's head popped out.
"Granddad's deaf, lady."
"So I gathered."
"Well then what you shoutin' at him for?"
Amhran opened her mouth and shut it again. Really, she had no idea.
"Anyway, lady, no badger been seen around here. You might try more towards the Riddermarket."
The window slammed. Amhran stood in the middle of the street, reins held slackly in her hand, wondering what happened now. She was way off the course, and the badger was nowhere to be seen.

There was only one reasonable course of action. She pulled out a sandwich and a bottle of beer. "Welp. Good time for lunch."

- 4 this round
-12 total (*splutter*)
1 roll please! Come on, baby needs a new pair of badgerskin shoes.

[Durien]

Léowyn w/Swyftfoot

They had just rejoined the fray, when a flash of black and white off to the side caught her eye. The badger! Excited, she urged Swyftfoot into a fast canter. She wouldn't gallop ahead at full speed this time and miss what she was looking for, like she had just moments ago. She leaned forward over the fiery red mane, her summer sky blue eyes straining to catch the another glimpse of the badger. What if she actually caught the badger and won the event? Wouldn't that be something? After all, her brothers were competing in their own events, what if she brought home the biggest prize and/or did the best? More excitement filled her. Another flash of black and white darted off to her left and under the wares of one of the marketplace stalls.

Léowyn carefully leaned down, throwing Swyftfoot slightly off balance as the young colt moved sideways and spread his legs to compensate for the shift in hter balance. With a gloved hand, she grabbed the edge of the rug underneath which she had watched the streak of black and white disappear. She was reluctant to dismount for fear of losing the badger when she flushed him from his hiding place. In one swift motion, she flung the rug upwards and revealed her quarry.....only it wasn't her quarry.... "SKKKKKKKUUUUNNNNKKK!!!!" She cried loudly, her heels hammering into Swyftfoot. Fortunately, the startled colt reacted faster than the stunned black and white critter, although not by much. How they managed to avoid trampling the pedestrians fleeing the market, she had no idea. A heavy, rich, and definitively pungent aroma filled the air behind her.

Surely a skunk couldn't be as fast as the black and white blur she had seen earlier. Had the cunning badger intentionally crossed paths with the skunk in order to mislead her? If so, she was still on the right track, for the badger had to be fleeing the scene the same as she. Otherwise, all the riders would now be able to smell the badger from half a market away.

One Roll, Please!

[Yávië]

The scent of spiced lamb and frying cheese wafted through the air. Honey and a whiff of baking bread tickled Talen's nose. He caught sight of candied apples, and his stomach gave a badger-y sort of growl. Was this chase really so urgent? Surely a small delay was justifiable, he had been traveling most of the night! He edged his mount closer to the food stands and a humongous spitted boar came into view. "Uhhhrng."

Talen was fishing in his pockets for spare coins when a shifty-eyed length of striped fur bumped lightly into a barrel of Lígbryneflod waiting behind the food stalls. On top the Lígbryneflod was a cask of Dorwinion Wine, and on top of the wine was a jug of Honeyed Tea. The tea tipped and tottered...

...and fell into the pot of stew...
...out of which flew a large beef rib...
...that jarred loose the thin rod supporting the shelf of Mirigetunge honey cakes...
...that clattered down onto the Candy Apples...
...which rolled under the feet of Cnith...
...who tripped and fell into the roasting spit frame...

...and with a great crash, the Rohirric roasted pig and one dazed cook landed in front of Talen and his mare, who reared back with a startled whinny. Talen hung on to her mane for dear life.

Further down the road, the badger jostled a cheese wheel displayed outside CweÞ Ciese. It teetered...

-5
1 roll please

[Gwai]

She couldn't catch thieves, she couldn't catch badgers....there was an ever growing list. She guided Brightfyr down another street, keeping him at a slow trot since there were quite a few other people about. She leaned forward and gave his neck a pat. The palomino twitched an ear, and Gwai had a feeling he was looking for the badger as well, probably wanting some revenge for the bite earlier today.

Another rider was fairly close to Brightfyr's tail, and he put his ears back, not liking somebody else so close. Gwai agreed, and was about to tell the other person to just go around her, when the other horse slipped in some mud, and crashed into Brightfyr hindquarters. Startled, Brightfyr immediately leapt forward, trying to avoid the other horse. Gwai let him. He was surefooted and knew what he was doing, and this was the best way of avoiding a worse accident. A few strides down the street, and Gwai slowed Brightfyr back down, and looked back to ensure the other pair was uninjured. They appeared to be, as they had turned around and gone the other direction. Gwai rolled her eyes. How rude.

1 Roll, please

[Shivased]

UPDATE

KingODuckingham ~6~ Trying to navigate the back streets you get lost, yet you manage to get back on the main streets, and your luck! You are 2 spaces ahead where you had previously been! Describe your journey.

Amhran ~17~ You hear a loud noise behind you and you urge your horse on. Advancing 2 spaces, you look back. What frightened you?

Eógyth ~13~ Your friend calls to you, and you move forward 4 spaces to talk to her. She says she saw the badger. Describe the conversation between you two.

Gwai ~11~ Seeing something shiny on the road, you are momentarily distracted. Moving ahead 1 space, you dismount and pick it up. What did you pick up?

Léowyn ~10~ Another horse skids forward in a small patch of mud, smacking into your steed's rump. He startles and dashes forward 5 spaces! How do you deal with this?

Laewyn ~20~ The Badger strategically knocked certain things over, creating a number of obstacles for you and your horse. Your horse backs up 5 spaces in fright. What did the badger knock over?

Ides ~1, 20, 9~ 1 - A bee stings your horse and he darts forward three spaces! How do you regain control and treat the sting, if you do at all?
20 - The Badger strategically knocked certain things over, creating a number of obstacles for you and your horse. Your horse backs up 5 spaces in fright. What did the badger knock over?
9 - From nowhere, the Badger zooms forward and scrambles between your horse’s legs. Apparently another competitor had been chasing it and nearly smashes into you! You must back up 5 spaces to avoid an accident

Talen ~15~ The badger is up ahead! As you move forward, you are suddenly cut off by another rider, only achieving 1 forward space. How do you feel?

[Lirimaer]

Laewyn, riding Honey Butter

There was a great crash, suddenly, and a number of stalls at the side of the race either collapsed, veered sideways or fell over altogether. What was odd was the insistence on the part of the onlookers and race organisers that it was the badger who had done this. Clearly this was a badger with planning and forethought, and no uncertain amount of magical ability, considering it was causing (or, more likely, being blamed for) all the chaos in town.

Honey Butter was having none of this nonsense, however, and despite being behind the starting line, seemed determined to get back even further. She wasn't alone in this either, other racers/chasers were clearly having trouble going forwards, which - considering they were mostly Rohirrim - was just an embarrassment.

She was too far from the pub at this point, and with all the nearby stalls in disarray, she opened her satchel, gave Honey a slice of apple and opened the drink her friend had given her. It was pretty nice, although the glaze on her teeth felt sticky afterwards.

-8
1 roll please

[KingODuckingham]

Onwards they galloped. Or rather, onwards the horse galloped, while Ducky sat rather lamely astride the great animal, giving a bit of shame to such a noble creature. Perhaps it was too kind to notice.

Either way, they had made their way back into a more definitely...well, urban was not the right word, but what passed for urban in Rohan, anyway. Not wilderness. They were in an area like that. Rural wasn't the right word either, really, nor was suburban. Suffice to say, there were streets and backstreets, and even boys on those backstreets, though they quickly scattered when they saw Ducky and his mount come careening through.

Honestly, after a road or two, Ducky wasn't sure that he wasn't turned around. Were those the same backstreet boys? Hadn't he seen them before a while ago? They looked mostly the same, though their moves were a little less smooth this time as they scattered left and right. Their voices sounded nearly the same though. Was Ducky simply retreading his own steps? Was he making exactly zero forward progress?

It certainly felt like it, but in the end, when the horse turned a corner and burst free of the backstreets, Ducky recognized the area in which they now found themselves. It was not back the way they had come, but a nearly identical looking neighborhood, it had to be said. Still, he had come out ahead in the end, perhaps thanks the horse's unerring sense of direction. That made one of them.

1 Roll please!

[Amhran]

The sandwich and beer were gone now. Feeling much better at least in her interior, Landan with his rider astride was meandering languidly down a side street, Amhran peering around trying to find an alley that might lead her back to the race course. They were passing a row of small shops when without preamble the door blew off one of them with a loud WHOOMPH and a puff of acrid smoke, and a small object whizzed past Landan's ear, pinging off the swinging inn sign opposite and taking a chunk out of the backside of the pictured boar rampant. With a squeal (which one squealed? Hard to tell) the startled horse and rider shot off down the street and round a corner back towards the Riddermarket.

Out of the chemist's shop, for chemist's it was, stumbled a wild-haired man, waving his hand in front of his face and coughing. He took a moment to catch his breath, then pulled a mangy quill and a scrap of parchment out of his pocket and scribbled a brief note, muttering to himself "Adding charcoal, nitre, and sulfur to a small piece of lead over a flame does NOT make gold." With a sniff, he pocketed his writing materials and went back inside.

+2 (yay!)
- 10 now
1 roll please!

[Gwai]

Brightfyr seemed to have recovered nicely from the other horse sliding into him. There were fewer people on this side of town, so Gwai urged him into a slow canter as they continued looking for the pesky badger. The odds were not in her favor for catching it, but she couldn't help dreaming what she would do if she did. However, being fairly pragmatic, she decided she would probably end up bitten.

Something shiny on the road glinted in the sun, immediately grabbing Gwai's attention. What was it? she wondered. She pulled Brightfyr to a halt, and dismounted, pulling his reins over his head and walking a few steps toward the item. It was a silver coin! Gwai looked up and down the street, but there was nobody else in sight. Shrugging, she scooped it up and put it in her pocket. Maybe her luck was turning! Pulling Brightfyr's reins back over his head, she lightly remounted and touched his side with her heel, continuing to look for her nemesis the Badger.

Edit: 1 roll please!

[Allacan ob Burzum]

Allacan shouted out in excitement as the race started; she had been so caught up in the gathering of people and horse's and admiring Gwai's handsome mount Brightfyr - such a clean start and powerful gait, she really should make that horse an honourary Beorhtlig - that she was remiss in her motivational chants and would now have to strive to be heard over the medley of noise as the race went on.

Doing her best to suppress the laughter that erupted at the sight of Ducky's novice attempts to 'horse', she took a deep breath, and with an enthusiastic bellow cried out "Leawyn brings all the badgers to the yard, and she's right, they're gonna be barred. Damn right, she's gonna ride hard, you can run badg', but you'll never get far!"

Only a short distance away, Leawyn's horse was brought to an abrupt halt as her eyes caught something in the crowd. Allacan shifts her position and realises that a small child has... has... PICKED UP THE BADGER?! And is feeding it CHEESE? Conscious that the creature might be dangerous to an unknowing child she swiftly moves through the crowd and arrives just after an official who had quickly grabbed at the child. Allacan took advantage of the child's distraction to snatch the badger up by the scruff of its neck and liberate it from its new - albeit brief - life of luxury.

It would only be a matter of time before the wriggling mass of angry hissing fur in her hands managed to twist around enough to bite her, so she turned back to where Leawyn waited. "Ready?" she called, and they without taking the chance to wait attempted to toss the angry creature toward the competitor. It managed in the last second to deflect its trajectory with a twist and land a little distant from the rider, taking off again in a dash, with Leawyn hot on its heels.

Turning back to the field, she gasped in awe as a new contender came tearing into the mix, and strained her ears to hear the name being called out by the announcer. Taler? Tilen? Talen? She would have to listen closer. She glanced around looking for the competitors and spotted Amhran suddenly re-enter the field in a booming retort and burst of smoke - impressive pyrotechnics, must have been expensive to hire a wizard just for that, but she was loving it!

"Boom! Crash! Wham! Here comes Amhran! Crack! Smash! Whirr! Amhran is aaaaaargh......"

Her call was cut off as the angry badger suddenly rounded a corner, and spotted her. Recognising her as the one who had deprived her of cuddles and cheese, its face grew angry and vengeful. She glanced around for back-up, but it had clearly managed to shake Leawyn for a few precious moments, and a few moments was all it would need. It charged, teeth shining and promising a painful assault with their viciousness. Her bright blue pompoms were thrown high as she desperately attempted to snatch at the sword hanging at her belt, but she was too slow. Without the height of being mounted to protect her and the racers too far to intervene, she could only brace in an anticipatory grimace as those nasty fangs bore down on her.

There was a shimmer in the air before her, and suddenly a spectral figure... an equine figure... filled the space between her and her assaulter. It neighed angrily, but in an oddly echoey manner that reflected its not-quite-present state, stomping its hooves toward the approaching badger. Faced with the ghostly apparition of a noble mount of Rohan, the badger had too much momentum to avert its trajectory but with eyes wide in terror desperately dodged the ghost horse's counter-attack.

The badger dashed away, and the stunned Allacan could only stare in awe and wonder as the equine form turned to her to check her over with comforting snuffles and breath that was barely a breeze."Beaducyrm?" she asked tentatively, eyes filled with tears as she recognised her recently passed horse of ten-plus years, returned from death to protect her one last time. She reached a hand up towards his nose even as her vision began to swim, and his shimmery white form began to fade and grow indistinct against the light beyond. She blinked back the tears and was reaching her hand forward to snatch at him, mouth open to beg him not to leave her again, when through his disappearing, transparent form her eyes suddenly focussed instead on the sight of Léowyn and Swyftfoot bearing down on her and the group of pedestrians gathered about her, yelling loudly "SKKKKKKKUUUUNNNNKKK!!!!" as they came barrelling towards her.

She just about managed to dive to one side and avoid being trampled under Swyftfoot as horse and rider passed them by and continued on the chase again.

Zero spaces, zero roles, not participating, only spectating, no more badger attacks please

@Shivased (There you are honey, that work for you?)
@Durien and @Lirimaer (Hope you two don't mind me getting involved as your "Random Spectator Number 1" and "scattering crowd as they almost get trampled"; the ref mistook me for a racer and I thought this might add more drama to the game than just correcting her)

[Durien]

Léowyn w/Swyftfoot

Léowyn heaved in a shuddering breath as Swyftfoot cleared the rest of the crowd and slowed to a trot, snorting as he did. The colt had very nearly trampled a woman, Allacan, who had managed to dive out of her way at the very last moment as the colt had tried to clear her with a leap. She hoped the woman was okay. Before she had time to dwell on those thoughts, another rider galloping up along her left hit a patch of mud. Barely aware of what was happening and catching it as if in slow motion out of her peripheral vision, she watched as the horse skidded and nearly went down, staying upright only because he solidly plowed into Swyftfoot's haunches with his left shoulder, the impact giving the other horse just enough of a pause in his momentum to finding his footing.

However, the fiery red colt Léowyn was riding ill prepared for the impact and the resulting transfer of momentum. The blow send the ccolt tumbling forward into a mad gallop as his spindly front legs fought to stay in front of his legs. She was thrown off balance as he scramble to regain his balance. Unfortunately, they were at the crest of a hill in the market and their newfound momentum was carrying them downhill. Front legs splayed wide, the colt fought against the slide downwards, but his unshod hooves found no purchases against the slick cobblestones of the market. Fortunately, he was able to get his hind legs underneath him, his rear hooves scrambling in a staccato galloping motions in an effort to keep from falling. They must have looked ridiculous.

"Badger!"Léowyn cried as she half turned in the saddle as they slowed near the bottom. She had just seen a flash of black and white off to her right. Not giving the shaken colt any time to regroup, she sent him to the right with a nudge of her heels, hoping to catch another glimpse of the wily creature. Perhaps the rough bump had been in their favor after all, unintentional as it was. Her eyes glowed like a sunlit summer sky as their adventure continued.

One Roll, Please!

@Allafyrefleorhtlig OOC: Feel free to interact, spectate, and/or comment away! The more the merrier!

[Bereth]

Eógyth settled in to a determined canter, her eyes sweeping g back and forth to catch the slightest hint of the sly furry beast, though screeching to an abrupt and impatient halt as a tangle of horse and humans tumbled past them! Craning their necks in nonchalant curiosity, just to see if there’s be two fewer to have to race against, she huffed and turned to find another route.

Not much truly ruffled Eógyth’s implacably sparkling personality, but when a hooded figure stepped out right in front of Botheid, it took all they could manage not to trample the person. Her growl dissolved into a look of stunned surprise as she realized it was someone she knew!

“Maurthun,” she hissed silently, as the man made a fleeting signal to hush her. She gulped back a thousand questions, and nodded understanding at his signals, kicking the pony into the direction he was discretely pointing towards.

But she couldn’t resist brushing fingers against his shoulder as she passed, secretly gleeful! An ally in this cause wasn’t a bad idea! She just hoped if it were cheating they wouldn’t be caught!

-4 to start
+4, so I be at Zero!

Edit: 1 roll, at your leisure

((OOC: @Allafyrefleorhtlig !))

[Shivased]

UPDATE

KingODuckingham ~16~ A gust of winter wind causes a length of canvas to blow to the ground right in front of you, spooking your horse, and he darts forward three spaces before you finally regain control of him. What did you do to regain control?

Amhran ~7~ Oh, dear. Your horse decided to go to the bathroom in front of The Ploughman’s Plenty and the shopkeeper insisted you clean it up right that instant! You move back 2 spaces to tie up your horse and find a barrel!

Eógyth ~10~ Another horse skids forward in a small patch of mud, smacking into your steed's rump. He startles and dashes forward five spaces! How do you deal with this?

Gwai ~12~ You have no clue whatsoever where the Badger is, you ask the nearest person, but apparently the Badger hadn't been spotted coming this way and now you are behind 4 spaces for traveling backwards to ask the person!

Léowyn ~17~ You hear a loud noise behind you and you urge your horse on. Advancing 2 spaces, you look back. What frightened you?


Laewyn ~3~ Your horse sees a nice patch of flowers and decides he is hungry. In a short canter, he moves forward five spaces! What did you do to stop him from eating the beautiful flowers?

[KingODuckingham]

Ducky felt rather pleased with himself. He didn't know if it was considered cheating to use a bit of magic here and there during this competition, but he figured it better to ask for forgiveness than for permission. After all, he didn't have the natural link with all animals that Elves did, or the deep connection to a particular horse that a Rider of Rohan might have. He was just levelling the playing field, as it were.

Or, as in this case, levelling a giant canvas. He did this by means of a slight conjuration trick. Just enhance the natural winds, give them a bit of a cold tinge, direct them at a large canvas that was already flapping in the breeze, and bop! Down it came! Right in front of his horse, startling it to no end. For that, Ducky was sorry, but one could not deny that the trick worked. Off bolted the horse, again. It was a jumpy thing, wasn't it? But it was working to his advantage. As it took off, Ducky held on for dear life and giggled. This was getting to be fun!

He was going to have to think of more tricks to keep this horse running, because once the terror died down it always seemed to revert to shambling. A weird gait for a horse, Ducky thought, but he was no expert in these matters.

1 Roll please!

[Yávië]

"There! Go go!" Talen yelled in excitement. Finally, a stroke of luck after his disastrous attempt to buy food. The badger was just feet ahead, down a straight, open road...

"YOU FROG-FACED ROTTER!" He couldn't believe it! The oversized rider who had cut him off at a gallop made no sign he had even noticed the boy. "You smelly, pea-brained, mad man! What you trying to do? I'll cut YOU off you snotrag!" Talen might as well have been shouting from inside a ball of glass for all the good it did. The rider and badger were both out of sight, and he hadn't even gotten a clear view of his face.

Furious and sulky, he snapped the reins with a bit too much force and his horse took off again at a startled gallop.

-4
1 roll, please!

[Gwai]

Usually she was a fairly skilled tracker, but clearly the badger had thought of some new hiding places over the last several years (or more). Gwai sighed as she guided Brightfyr down yet another street. Where could the creature have gone? There had been no sign of him since he had bitten Brightfyr. "You should have kicked him," she told her horse glumly, having long been in the habit of talking to her horse. He twitched his ear at her words, and she took it as assent, and gave his white mane a rub.

Clearly they were getting nowhere with what she was currently doing. Spying an old lady with a basket over her arm, probably heading to the Riddermarket, walking slowly away from them, Gwai gently pulled Brightfyr to a stop. "Excuse me, ma'am," she said politely, addressing the old lady. The old lady looked at her, and Gwai couldn't help but gasp. She had one tooth left, in the front of her mouth, a large mole next to her mouth with several hairs stuck in it, and a basket full of red, shiny apples, which looked to good to eat. Gwai blinked, realizing instantly her initial impression that the woman was a witch was, of course, completely ridiculous. There were no such things, and Gwai instantly felt regret for leaping to an unfair conclusion. "I was wondering if you could tell me if you have seen the badger lurking about? We are on the Badger Chase looking to catch him!" she explained pleasantly. The old woman slowly looked at Gwai and Brightfyr, and something about it made Gwai's skin crawl, although she once more repeated to herself she was being ridiculous. The old woman, who had not blinked since Gwai encountered her, waved an arm vaguely behind her, and began her slow walk back toward the Riddermarket. Gwai did not follow her, nor ask follow up questions. "We're better off on our own," she murmured to Brightfyr, as she guided him in the opposite direction the old lady was going.

1 Roll, please!

[Amhran]

Eww.

Things had been starting to look up; Amhran could hear the cheers of the onlookers in the distance and knew she was headed in the right direction, when Landan came to an abrupt halt right in front of The Ploughman's Plenty and relieved himself almost on their doorstep. "What - Landan! Here? Now? REALLY?" The shopkeeper had seen the whole thing through his front window, and, grasping a shovel, stepped out in front of Landan and wordlessly thrust the implement at Amhran, adding a pointed glare for good measure.

Amhran got the message. She tied Landan to a post up the street and rolled a barrel up to the Ploughman's doorstep.

And time and the badger chase passed merrily along.

- 2 this round
- 12 total (oh well)
1 roll, please and thank you!

[Lirimaer]

Laewyn, riding Honey Butter

Honey Butter, despite the bribe of an apple slice, was clearly narked that this chase was not going how they usually gambolled around the countryside, hell for leather in generally one direction. Well, to be fair, they had been going in one direction, but it was backwards. In fact, some other riders had evidently been swayed by the amount of people going backwards, and thought it was some kind of winning ploy. Laewyn restrained herself from rolling her eyes, mostly because Honey was taking matters into her own hands and wandering off into what he thought was a nice meal. Since it was a florist's stall and she wasn't made of money, Laewyn leapt off in alarm, catching the headstall and holding the mare back.

"Nay, my lovely, come away, come away," she cooed, fishing for apple slices and guiding the horse away from the avaricious seller. "Come on, my beauty, let's go!" And she swung herself up into the saddle and looked around. They were still behind the starting line, but with much less distance to it!

-3
1 roll please