Post by Franklin Stein on Dec 2, 2021 18:27:06 GMT -5
[googlefont=Lato][googlefont=Satisfy]
----- Coming From Fancy Dance Competition
Having left the dress competition in a bit of a tiff it had taken some time for Frankie to cool his head and get back on track as far as his goals for the night. It had been upsetting to say nothing else that the judges had been completely oblivious to the splendor of his outfit. If he was going to have to participate in all this again next year he might have to petition that he be made one of the judges going forward. This way he can ensure that there would be at least one judge incorruptible and with actual taste amongst the cadre. Or perhaps he would start tomorrow designing whatever new outfit he would come prepared with in the following year! Something that would be undeniably fancy. The whole thing had seemed like a joke to him previously, but now that he had tasted defeat he found a passion lit within him. For all his faults, and spirits knew he had a few, being easily deterred was not one of them.
One thing at a time though, the outfit could wait until tomorrow. He had already had come to a firm decision that he would participate in as many of these festivities as he could manage all while fulfilling his duty as a Green Mantis. The mad mage was nothing if not thorough in prioritizing his objectives. His criteria for judging priority didn't always fall in line with what other people thought was important, but he still held fast to those priorities all the same. That was why he was now making the rounds through the town and questioning every child he might come across. Sure, some thought it was weird of him to do so when he was supposed to be trick-or-treating. There were even some parents who quickly hurried their children away from him muttering statements of a crazy orange or some weirdo with tails. Such things didn't matter to Stein though. He was carrying out very important data gathering research! It wasn't just good enough to hit a few houses and get some candy. Frankie needed to know which houses gave what sized candy, gave what types of candy, and especially which ones had the 'bright' idea to give out healthy things instead of candy. Those houses were immediately put on a black list in his notes as places to be avoided for all future Spirit Festivals.
It had taken probably thirty minutes or so all in told to get enough data points that Frankie felt he had an acceptable margin of error. In the end though it looked all worthwhile. The meticulous wizard had not only identified the best street to maximize candy profit, but also which houses handed out his preferred sweats. With this he would be able to make the rounds as efficiently as possible and move on from this particular activity to the next. Sure, he could have just trick-or-treated all night and likely gotten similar results, but this way he could move on to everything else on his agenda and have a hefty prize of candy to eat at the end of the night.
A few minutes later and Frankie found himself on the street in question and at the first house on his list. A knock on the door and seconds later a nice elderly couple was there greeting him. "Oh look what we have here! I've never seen an orange based costume before, how darling!" Frankie had to fight down the urge to correct the senile old bat. He knew that fruit options in the Forsaken Region were more limited than in the bigger cities and there were some commoners who had never even seen a mandarin, let alone tasted one. Not their fault their options were limited. Besides, her misidentification was also part of his research. "Thank you for the compliment. Citrus fruits are a super fruit after all and very tasty." The older woman clapped her hands, delighted in his response before reaching behind the door and taking out a small fistful of hard candies. "That's exactly right! I love citrus, my favorite flavor. I even like to give citrus candies out for the Festival, but not enough people appreciate it. You can have some extra though for having good taste." With that she dropped the candies in a little bag that Frankie had offered up and waved him goodbye. With a smile Stein left the house. "All according to plan," he mumbled to himself. He had known full well this house gave out citrus based candies from his thorough research and based on that had come to the conclusion that his own costume might merit extra attention from the homeowners.
With one house down it was on to the next. A minute later and another knock and the door swung almost violently open. A disgruntled looking man stood before Frankie, eying the mage up and down. "Ain't you a little old to be doing this, even for the Spirit Festival?" His dissatisfaction for both Frankie and his role as candy giver was quiet clear. "It's only once a year and as the Captain said everyone should participate," was Frankie's bland response back. "Why don't you go bother someone else guy, leave the candy here to actual kids, okay?!" The longer this conversation went the more irritable the man was likely going to become. That was okay though, again this was all within Frankie's expectations. "You're the baker's husband right? I think I saw her by the pumpkin carving station? I wonder how she would react if she found out her husband was turning away trick-or-treaters?" With one sentence the man's arrogance and anger vanished behind stark fear. "You wouldn't... You would?!" Suddenly another fistful of candy was shoved in Frankie's direction. "Go, you got your candy, just leave and please don't say a word to her." With that the door was shut in the Magic Knight's face. That was okay though, he had gotten what he had wanted. From his conversations with some of the kids and adults he knew that the husband was a serious curmudgeon, but he had been given this job by his wife and she was the one person he feared above all others. Seemed she ran a strict household, served him right.
Frankie wasted no time leaving the second house and making his way on over to the third. His hand hadn't even made it to the door to knock when it swung wide, an older girl now manning the entry way. Judging by her appearance she was probably in her early to mid teens, but despite the age she had an air of maturity. "Here's your candy, now goodbye." The young teen tossed a single small chocolate his way before motioning to shut the door. Stein barely managed to prevent it in time by interposing his foot. "Wait, if you give me a second I have a proposition for you young person." Frankie's words didn't exactly help convince the young girl and she tried to shut the door once more to no avail. "Wait, wait! I'm talking about a trade! Stop trying to close the door that hurts. I've got caramels and I'm willing to trade them." It wasn't until Frankie mentioned the caramel that the girl finally stopped, her curiosity peaked. "What kind of trade?" Frankie smiled, he knew he had her now. "Here, I will trade you 3 of my caramels, for six of your chocolates?" To show he was being earnest the Green Mantis even held out a hand with said caramels. The girl stared longingly at them only for a moment before snatching them deftly from his palm and tossing back the agreed upon chocolates. With that she attempted to shut the door once more and this time Frankie let her. He smiled triumphantly as he turned to leave. He had overheard about the predicament of the young teen while doing his research. It appeared as if she could not go trick-or-treating until her younger brother and mother returned from their own excursion. The pair had even talked about returning with some caramels as a peace offering to the dutiful young girl. Frankie's hypothesis that she might be desperate to get her hands on some caramel sooner proved correct.
Time was ticking away on Frankie and the night wouldn't go on forever. Thankfully, he was already at the fourth house on his target list. This was going to be a bit trickier, but he felt comfortable he would be up for the challenge. With a knock he was greeted by a rather peculiar looking man wearing a mad scientist costume that looked more like what Frankie wore every day. Without even a hello the man greeted him by simply saying, "The man who built it doesn't want it, the man who bought it doesn't need it, and the man who needs it doesn't know it." Once said the homeowner merely stared expectantly at Frankie. "The answer is a coffin." Was Frankie's matter of fact response back. The bushy eyebrows of the scientist before him twitched for only a moment before settling. "Correct, which creature walks on four legs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 in the evening?" Once more a question was posed and once more Frankie only needed a moment to consider. "The answer is a human." This time the homeowner's lips twitched ever so slightly before he continued again. "Last question, this thing all things devours; birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays kings, ruins town, and beats mountain down. What am I?" The last question actually required real thought and Frankie let himself stand there for a moment, building the tension a little with his silence. Eventually though he answered, "Time." In response the scientist hooted and smiled, pulling out a rather large handful of candy and depositing it in Frankie's bag before shutting the door. Stein had heard complaints from the other trick-or-treaters about some mad man asking questions before he would hand out any candy and only doing so if he heard the right answer. He was glad to find that the information was accurate and the questions were riddles. He did enjoy the mind teasers so very much. He was not only rewarded in sweets, but worked up a mental sweat at the same time.
All that was left was to partake of the last house. He was honestly not sure what he was going to make of the next house. From what he had gathered this house left a bowl filled with candy for anyone to take. However, those he questioned were very tight lipped and would only make it clear that they refused to go back to that house no matter how much candy might be in that bowl. Since no one had been hurt and the Green Mantis hadn't been dispatched to put an end to the house it couldn't be anything that awful. Yet, those that had trick-or-treated at the house were clearly bothered. When Frankie reached the house nothing seemed particularly amiss. It looked like so many other houses during Spirit Festival complete with even some decorations to fit the mood. A single large plain bowl sat at the stairs of the house, the candy filled so tall that a slight breeze could cause some of the contents to spill out. No sign of the homeowner, but that was fine by Frankie. If he could avoid socializing all the better.
Not seeing any reason to delay the mad mage shrugged and made his way over to the bowl, reaching down to take a large handful. No sooner did his fingers touch the first candy that a boney hand sprung out of the pile of candy and gripped him tightly by the wrist. At the same moment several other bony hands ripped from the earth acting out some horrific synchronized dance as they grabbed fruitlessly at the air around them. A woman kicked the door open, her costume like some skeletal nun, and shrieked at Frankie, "Come for a treat and instead you find yourself tricked! Soon you'll join my army of the dead!!!!" Her words carried an ominous tone, but they fell on deaf ears. Frankie had given up on the candy and instead was inspecting the skeletal hand with much glee. "Bone magic?! What a rare sight and is that perhaps some sort of Restraining spell? Something combined with Trap magic that activates when the candy is touched? How utterly fascinating! I love the festive ingenuity behind it, truly a work of art!" Realizing that her trick had failed to get the desired response the woman simply slumped and gave up on the act. "I see, one of those types. Alright weirdo, take your candy. Just don't let anyone in on the secret trick, plenty of other victims out there waiting their turn!" With that she shut the door and left him to the bowl, the magic dissipating and the skeletal hand no longer holding him. Frankie sighed, unsure why she acted so disappointed and merely resolved himself to talk to her another time.
Having secured candy from five different houses and with a good amount from what he could see in his bag he felt he could now move on to the next activity. There was still so much left to be done for the Festival and he really should hit as many as he could to prove that he had made the appropriate rounds as a Green Mantis. Now that the sanctity of his costume didn't need to be uphold he could maybe partake in something that would risk dirtying it. His mind went back to one of the previous houses, the one where the wife was at the Pumpkin Carving station. That seemed as good a place as any to go to next. He could check out what the others had made and even put his own artistic talents to use. He was a researcher first and foremost, but magical science was a form of art in a way. He was sure he could apply his talents effectively enough. Tossing a bit of candy in his mouth to suck on, he whistled as he headed off towards the carving station.
----- Heading to Pumpkin Carving.
WORD COUNT: 2,392
TOTAL WC: 4,893
TAG(S): N/A
----- Coming From Fancy Dance Competition
Having left the dress competition in a bit of a tiff it had taken some time for Frankie to cool his head and get back on track as far as his goals for the night. It had been upsetting to say nothing else that the judges had been completely oblivious to the splendor of his outfit. If he was going to have to participate in all this again next year he might have to petition that he be made one of the judges going forward. This way he can ensure that there would be at least one judge incorruptible and with actual taste amongst the cadre. Or perhaps he would start tomorrow designing whatever new outfit he would come prepared with in the following year! Something that would be undeniably fancy. The whole thing had seemed like a joke to him previously, but now that he had tasted defeat he found a passion lit within him. For all his faults, and spirits knew he had a few, being easily deterred was not one of them.
One thing at a time though, the outfit could wait until tomorrow. He had already had come to a firm decision that he would participate in as many of these festivities as he could manage all while fulfilling his duty as a Green Mantis. The mad mage was nothing if not thorough in prioritizing his objectives. His criteria for judging priority didn't always fall in line with what other people thought was important, but he still held fast to those priorities all the same. That was why he was now making the rounds through the town and questioning every child he might come across. Sure, some thought it was weird of him to do so when he was supposed to be trick-or-treating. There were even some parents who quickly hurried their children away from him muttering statements of a crazy orange or some weirdo with tails. Such things didn't matter to Stein though. He was carrying out very important data gathering research! It wasn't just good enough to hit a few houses and get some candy. Frankie needed to know which houses gave what sized candy, gave what types of candy, and especially which ones had the 'bright' idea to give out healthy things instead of candy. Those houses were immediately put on a black list in his notes as places to be avoided for all future Spirit Festivals.
It had taken probably thirty minutes or so all in told to get enough data points that Frankie felt he had an acceptable margin of error. In the end though it looked all worthwhile. The meticulous wizard had not only identified the best street to maximize candy profit, but also which houses handed out his preferred sweats. With this he would be able to make the rounds as efficiently as possible and move on from this particular activity to the next. Sure, he could have just trick-or-treated all night and likely gotten similar results, but this way he could move on to everything else on his agenda and have a hefty prize of candy to eat at the end of the night.
A few minutes later and Frankie found himself on the street in question and at the first house on his list. A knock on the door and seconds later a nice elderly couple was there greeting him. "Oh look what we have here! I've never seen an orange based costume before, how darling!" Frankie had to fight down the urge to correct the senile old bat. He knew that fruit options in the Forsaken Region were more limited than in the bigger cities and there were some commoners who had never even seen a mandarin, let alone tasted one. Not their fault their options were limited. Besides, her misidentification was also part of his research. "Thank you for the compliment. Citrus fruits are a super fruit after all and very tasty." The older woman clapped her hands, delighted in his response before reaching behind the door and taking out a small fistful of hard candies. "That's exactly right! I love citrus, my favorite flavor. I even like to give citrus candies out for the Festival, but not enough people appreciate it. You can have some extra though for having good taste." With that she dropped the candies in a little bag that Frankie had offered up and waved him goodbye. With a smile Stein left the house. "All according to plan," he mumbled to himself. He had known full well this house gave out citrus based candies from his thorough research and based on that had come to the conclusion that his own costume might merit extra attention from the homeowners.
With one house down it was on to the next. A minute later and another knock and the door swung almost violently open. A disgruntled looking man stood before Frankie, eying the mage up and down. "Ain't you a little old to be doing this, even for the Spirit Festival?" His dissatisfaction for both Frankie and his role as candy giver was quiet clear. "It's only once a year and as the Captain said everyone should participate," was Frankie's bland response back. "Why don't you go bother someone else guy, leave the candy here to actual kids, okay?!" The longer this conversation went the more irritable the man was likely going to become. That was okay though, again this was all within Frankie's expectations. "You're the baker's husband right? I think I saw her by the pumpkin carving station? I wonder how she would react if she found out her husband was turning away trick-or-treaters?" With one sentence the man's arrogance and anger vanished behind stark fear. "You wouldn't... You would?!" Suddenly another fistful of candy was shoved in Frankie's direction. "Go, you got your candy, just leave and please don't say a word to her." With that the door was shut in the Magic Knight's face. That was okay though, he had gotten what he had wanted. From his conversations with some of the kids and adults he knew that the husband was a serious curmudgeon, but he had been given this job by his wife and she was the one person he feared above all others. Seemed she ran a strict household, served him right.
Frankie wasted no time leaving the second house and making his way on over to the third. His hand hadn't even made it to the door to knock when it swung wide, an older girl now manning the entry way. Judging by her appearance she was probably in her early to mid teens, but despite the age she had an air of maturity. "Here's your candy, now goodbye." The young teen tossed a single small chocolate his way before motioning to shut the door. Stein barely managed to prevent it in time by interposing his foot. "Wait, if you give me a second I have a proposition for you young person." Frankie's words didn't exactly help convince the young girl and she tried to shut the door once more to no avail. "Wait, wait! I'm talking about a trade! Stop trying to close the door that hurts. I've got caramels and I'm willing to trade them." It wasn't until Frankie mentioned the caramel that the girl finally stopped, her curiosity peaked. "What kind of trade?" Frankie smiled, he knew he had her now. "Here, I will trade you 3 of my caramels, for six of your chocolates?" To show he was being earnest the Green Mantis even held out a hand with said caramels. The girl stared longingly at them only for a moment before snatching them deftly from his palm and tossing back the agreed upon chocolates. With that she attempted to shut the door once more and this time Frankie let her. He smiled triumphantly as he turned to leave. He had overheard about the predicament of the young teen while doing his research. It appeared as if she could not go trick-or-treating until her younger brother and mother returned from their own excursion. The pair had even talked about returning with some caramels as a peace offering to the dutiful young girl. Frankie's hypothesis that she might be desperate to get her hands on some caramel sooner proved correct.
Time was ticking away on Frankie and the night wouldn't go on forever. Thankfully, he was already at the fourth house on his target list. This was going to be a bit trickier, but he felt comfortable he would be up for the challenge. With a knock he was greeted by a rather peculiar looking man wearing a mad scientist costume that looked more like what Frankie wore every day. Without even a hello the man greeted him by simply saying, "The man who built it doesn't want it, the man who bought it doesn't need it, and the man who needs it doesn't know it." Once said the homeowner merely stared expectantly at Frankie. "The answer is a coffin." Was Frankie's matter of fact response back. The bushy eyebrows of the scientist before him twitched for only a moment before settling. "Correct, which creature walks on four legs in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, and 3 in the evening?" Once more a question was posed and once more Frankie only needed a moment to consider. "The answer is a human." This time the homeowner's lips twitched ever so slightly before he continued again. "Last question, this thing all things devours; birds, beasts, trees, flowers; gnaws iron, bites steel; grinds hard stones to meal; slays kings, ruins town, and beats mountain down. What am I?" The last question actually required real thought and Frankie let himself stand there for a moment, building the tension a little with his silence. Eventually though he answered, "Time." In response the scientist hooted and smiled, pulling out a rather large handful of candy and depositing it in Frankie's bag before shutting the door. Stein had heard complaints from the other trick-or-treaters about some mad man asking questions before he would hand out any candy and only doing so if he heard the right answer. He was glad to find that the information was accurate and the questions were riddles. He did enjoy the mind teasers so very much. He was not only rewarded in sweets, but worked up a mental sweat at the same time.
All that was left was to partake of the last house. He was honestly not sure what he was going to make of the next house. From what he had gathered this house left a bowl filled with candy for anyone to take. However, those he questioned were very tight lipped and would only make it clear that they refused to go back to that house no matter how much candy might be in that bowl. Since no one had been hurt and the Green Mantis hadn't been dispatched to put an end to the house it couldn't be anything that awful. Yet, those that had trick-or-treated at the house were clearly bothered. When Frankie reached the house nothing seemed particularly amiss. It looked like so many other houses during Spirit Festival complete with even some decorations to fit the mood. A single large plain bowl sat at the stairs of the house, the candy filled so tall that a slight breeze could cause some of the contents to spill out. No sign of the homeowner, but that was fine by Frankie. If he could avoid socializing all the better.
Not seeing any reason to delay the mad mage shrugged and made his way over to the bowl, reaching down to take a large handful. No sooner did his fingers touch the first candy that a boney hand sprung out of the pile of candy and gripped him tightly by the wrist. At the same moment several other bony hands ripped from the earth acting out some horrific synchronized dance as they grabbed fruitlessly at the air around them. A woman kicked the door open, her costume like some skeletal nun, and shrieked at Frankie, "Come for a treat and instead you find yourself tricked! Soon you'll join my army of the dead!!!!" Her words carried an ominous tone, but they fell on deaf ears. Frankie had given up on the candy and instead was inspecting the skeletal hand with much glee. "Bone magic?! What a rare sight and is that perhaps some sort of Restraining spell? Something combined with Trap magic that activates when the candy is touched? How utterly fascinating! I love the festive ingenuity behind it, truly a work of art!" Realizing that her trick had failed to get the desired response the woman simply slumped and gave up on the act. "I see, one of those types. Alright weirdo, take your candy. Just don't let anyone in on the secret trick, plenty of other victims out there waiting their turn!" With that she shut the door and left him to the bowl, the magic dissipating and the skeletal hand no longer holding him. Frankie sighed, unsure why she acted so disappointed and merely resolved himself to talk to her another time.
Having secured candy from five different houses and with a good amount from what he could see in his bag he felt he could now move on to the next activity. There was still so much left to be done for the Festival and he really should hit as many as he could to prove that he had made the appropriate rounds as a Green Mantis. Now that the sanctity of his costume didn't need to be uphold he could maybe partake in something that would risk dirtying it. His mind went back to one of the previous houses, the one where the wife was at the Pumpkin Carving station. That seemed as good a place as any to go to next. He could check out what the others had made and even put his own artistic talents to use. He was a researcher first and foremost, but magical science was a form of art in a way. He was sure he could apply his talents effectively enough. Tossing a bit of candy in his mouth to suck on, he whistled as he headed off towards the carving station.
----- Heading to Pumpkin Carving.
Statistics
| POW: 020 DUR: 010 SEN: 000 STA: 020 CON: 020 | SPEED: 5m/s HEALTH: senior MANA SKIN: senior MANA POOL: 070 / 070 MANA REGEN: 20 IC / 10 OOC |
Spells
N/A
Items
N/A
Notes
WORD COUNT: 2,392
TOTAL WC: 4,893
TAG(S): N/A
