"Flying high

Into the sky

Don't know why

It hurts my eye..."

Benjo frowned and stopped singing but continued strumming his lute. Omar, his orange pet monkey, placed his hands on his ears and loudly screeched. "Don't tell me you don't like it, buddy! It's terrible, isn't it?"

Omar nodded, then reached his hand into the pouch on Benjo's side and stuffed his mouth full of peanuts. They were his favorite snack, so Benjo didn't mind Omar stealing them. They were lifelong friends even though Omar was technically a pet. Benjo shook his purple hair out of his eyes as the door to his hotel room opened.

It was Syra, the beautiful Attorian who was also one of the representatives of Black Dragon, smiled.

Benjo blushed. Man, she's beautiful. As if reading his thoughts, Omar grinned and hopped off the bed and onto Syra's shoulder.

She giggled. "Hey there, Omar. You are a good little monkey! Yes you are!"

Benjo slipped his lute onto his back and stood up. "Is it almost time for the task?"

Syra nodded, as Omar played with her straight brown hair. "Yes, Rovad sent me to come get you. He wanted me to remind you not to mess things up like Athira did."

Benjo laughed and held out his arm for Omar, but it seemed the monkey had a crush on Syra too. The little orange fellow wouldn't leave her side. He wrapped his arms around Syra's face and hugged her. "I won't, don't worry. How's Bekka?

Syra coughed and shook her head with a chuckle. "She's in a lot of pain but the doctors saved her foot. It is badly burned and she will probably be out the rest of the games, so if you do well in this next challenge, Rovad might keep you in the rest of the games."

"I hope so. C'mon, Omar. Time to go!"

Benjo and Syra walked out the door and down the hotel hallway. The grand staircase was made from ornate gold and silver and was wide enough for at least seven to ten people on it at the same time. At the bottom of the staircase, Black Dragon filled up the lobby.

Rovad gave a speech loud enough for the entire hotel to hear. Standing on his right side was Kyren, Greo, and Jeythr. Benjo was surprised Jeythr wasn't in bed after his performance yesterday in the labyrinth. The Mountain Elf had used up a lot of Mathanos.

".... may be in seventh place, but we are Black Dragon and we will rise!"

The hundreds of guild members here in the hotel gave out a thunderous roar and then the crowd stormed out after Rovad and the three men, following them outside. Their magical transport that ran on prisms filled with Mathanos waited on the street. It was large enough to hold fifty people, so half of the Black Dragon members hopped on it.

Syra and Benjo couldn't get through the thick crowd. Jeythr glanced out one of the transport windows at her and ushered her inside. She smiled and shook her head, motioning to the second transport, behind the first.

Omar cheered and jumped off Benjo's shoulder and onto Syra's. "I think he's happy you get to ride with us," Benjo said.

Syra smiled and stepped up onto the second transport. Fortunately, the Mathanos Prisms allowed the transports to fly - as long as they didn't leave Tythan's atmosphere - so they would fly over Serpent Island and to the continent of Appor in the south, where their next challenge awaited them.

Transports from other Magi guilds were already in the air and heading that way. A few others were still on the ground loading up, but Black Dragon was the guild that had the most members - thousands, compared to other guilds that only had hundreds. Benjo supposed it was part of why they were a fan favorite. They won or come in second place almost every year, so it wasn't just surprising to the bard that they were in seventh place - seventh. The entire guild was angry and discouraged, which put many of them in a bad mood. Benjo also guessed that that made the five representatives even more determined to win and gain back their standing. Hopefully, anyway.

Their transport rose in the air and Benjo leaned back in his comfortable, plush seat beside Syra and Omar. It was going to be a long flight.

*****

As it turns out, the trip wasn't as long as Benjo had originally thought. Between Syra and the lively conversation, her requests for Benjo to play a few songs - which in turn, got the rest of the Black Dragon guild members in the transport singing along - and Omar's flirtation with Syra, which made Benjo jealous - yes, he realized he was jealous of a pet monkey - time flew by.

They gathered along the outer edge of a thick forest in front of a white, magical shimmering line. Benjo had been surprised that Rovad had chosen him as the competitor for Black Dragon in this challenge; he figured Syra, Kyren, or Greo would have been chosen. Rovad was actually still pretty mad at Kyren and Greo for the fight incident that took place two days before.

The first white, magical shimmering line was to keep Benjo and the other participating Magi from entering the forest until it was time to begin. The second line behind them was to keep Black Dragon and the other guilds back, so that they could observe the challenge safely.

"... Does everyone understand?" Pimret didn't wait for a response. "Good. Well, let's get this treasure hunt started then, shall we?"

The white shimmering line in front of the participants disappeared and immediately, they all dashed into the trees. The instant that they did, a magical shield in the shape of a dome appeared around the entire forest, trapping them inside.

On Benjo's left and right were two other participants - a female harpy from Mystical Dynesty on his left and a female elf from Silent Phoenix on his right. More Magical lines appeared on the ground, glowing with bright energy that pulsed, almost like a roadway. The one in front of him was black and white, flashing with a black dragon head - the symbol of Black Dragon. To the left, the harpy flew up above the magical energy, which was a bright green, flashing the symbol for Mystical Dynesty - a tree. Glancing to his right, Benjo noticed the elf lady was already long gone, following the path made from a deep blue, flashing a blue phoenix which was Silent Phoenix's guild symbol.

Shrugging, Benjo trotted along his path, which snaked through the forest. It seemed the energy didn't stop tree limbs, logs, leaves, and even thorn bushes from growing along the path. Benjo was snagged in thorn bushes twice and once, his ankle slipped into a brownie's hole. He could see them out of the corner of his eye, hiding behind a tree trunk. They seemed angry at him for stepping into their hole. It was an accident, he thought.

It was a relatively quiet trip. He hummed to himself and even found himself wishing Omar was with him. The little monkey had been perfectly content to play with Syra, who had been conversing with Jeythr with Kyren, Greo, and Rovad as they watched the starting of the challenge.

Fairies twinkled through the branches above him, winding through them like a game or a race of their own. Behind him, he could hear the whirling and buzzing of the magicam following him around. No doubt it was rather boring for the audience, at least for the current moment.

Up ahead, the path took a sharp veer toward the right and down a hill. Benjo stumbled down it, struggling to keep his footing against the sharp rocks and gravel. With a grunt, he finally tumbled down the rest of the hillside, landing on his bottom. Shaking dirt and rocks out of his hair, Benjo hopped to his feet and looked around.

He was in the center of a massive valley, with hillsides towering high all around him and the forest continuing behind them. It made him feel confined and tiny. As Benjo took a step forward, he heard a crack! Picking up his foot, he bent down to see what he had stepped on. It was a clay urn, discarded in the dirt and he had broken it.

"Oops," he said. The entire valley was littered with junk similiar to the urn. Plates, cups, arrows stuck into trees and even rocks, boulders with gold flecks in them. Benjo even found a bag spilling out golden coins and a Mathanos crystal. In the center of the valley slithering toward him... Was a giant salamander. It was a foot tall but around eight foot long and had cream-colored skin with black polka-dots that was also lathered in slime. Its black tongue flicked in and out of its mouth, making Benjo grimace.

"Come to me... Yessssss, you have! Before I reveal what itemsssss I ssssssseeeeek... a ssssoonng I require. Yesssss.... A poem, a rhyme, a little bitty sssssonng," the salamander said.

Benjo lifted an eyebrow. "A song huh?" That, he could do. He thought for a short moment and at last the words came to him.

"Long, long ago

There lived a maiden fair

Who loved her family so

Until one day, there was a dare

For her to run and touch a tree

This tree was a dangerous one

A very dangerous one, you see

For all who touched it there was none

Who came back alive

But this fair maiden took a chance

What a wild, wild dive

For when she touched this tree, it became a dance

A beautiful dance of nature and man

The villagers could not believe their eyes

Many of them turned and ran

Others sat around and expected her to die

For that tree was a killer, they thought

So all her dancing would be for nought

Yet the villagers, how wrong they were

For the maiden's time was not yet up

The tree fell in love with her

So he gave her a cup

And allowed her to fill it

With the sap from inside him

Alas, the dancing, it did quit

As the sun began to dim

The maiden returned to her hut

And realized she was hurt

So she tended to the cut

And cleaned it of all the dirt

Alas she yawned and took a nap

Lying on her soft, warm bed

Carefully she placed the tree's sap

Right beside her head

Now our song is through

For another will begin anew."

The salamander grinned and something about it made Benjo's skin crawl. "Very well sssssunngg little bard! I will tell you the itemsssss I need! Firsssst, I will need the fin of a diamond catfish... Ssssssecond, I will need an enchanted cluster of geodes... and third, I will need a glass hand."

Benjo lifted a smooth eyebrow. Fin of a diamond catfish, enchanted cluster of geodes and a glass hand? What is with this lizard? he wondered. "You got it," he said outloud.

"The itemssss will be hidden in chesssstssss through the foressssst." The salamander slithered around him in a circle before it came to rest directly in front of him. Then, it began to sing. "Long, long ago, there lived a maiden fair, who loved her family so, until one day, there was a dare, for her to run and touch a tree, this tree was a dangerous one, a very dangerous one, you see...."

"Hey that's my song!"

The salamander paused and then winked. "It'sssss mine now... bard! My ssssong!" A flash of energy pulsed away from the salamander and struck Benjo in the forehead. He blinked and all of the sudden, he forgot what he had been talking about.

"Uh...?" He knew what three items he had to get, but wasn't there something to do with a song? Instantly, the thought vanished, so Benjo shrugged and climbed back up the hill and into the forest.

For some reason, it was easier climbing up the hillside than it was coming down. At the top, giant oak wood trees had roots dug deep into the ground. Benjo used those to pull himself up and over and back into the thick forest.

Up ahead, two Magi were locked in a fierce magic battle. Benjo observed them for a moment, but figured his best chance was to stay out of it.

One of them was an animaloid wolf using runes and shadows to attack the other person. Benjo thought this was one of the members of Knight's Watch. The opponent, however, was the beautiful elf woman from Silent Phoenix before. She used magical shields to block his attacks and then quickly darted around him with daggers.

Benjo stared at her for a moment, transfixed. She's beautiful... he thought.

The wolf growled and it turned into a screeching howl. With it, shadows extended from the trees and grabbed the elf woman. She kicked him in the face but he snarled at her. The two grappled along the ground.

Benjo shivered. He hated wolves, even the animaloid kind. Backing up, his foot stepped on a pressure plate. Gulping, he glanced up to see a net hovering over him. If he moved, the net would fall and catch him, and he didn't think he was fast enough to dodge it. Crap, uh... To his right was an apple dangling from the tree, so he grabbed it and threw it on the pressure plate as he jumped off.

Sure enough, the net stayed in place and he was freed. He sighed in relief and backed up against the tree behind him to rest. His hand brushed against something cold - like steel. Furrowing his eyebrows, Benjo turned around and reached into the gap in the tree's trunk. Fortunately, his arms were scrawny enough to fit. The metal object, however, wasn't. With a grunt, he yanked and pulled until it finally slipped free.

He fell on his behind, but the metal object came with him. It was a steel chest, plain and not decorated at all. Benjo eagerly opened it up. Inside, was a mammoth tusk, which he grabbed with a grunt from its heavy weight and prepared to move it aside to see what else was in it.

"Hey! Is there any way I could trade you for that mammoth tusk?" a woman asked.

Benjo turned around. It was the harpy from Mystical Dynesty. "Sure. Whattya got?" he asked, standing to his feet. The mammoth tusk was heavy, but he gritted his teeth, hoping to show her how strong he was. The weight caused him to stumble, but the harpy giggled.

"I mean, I've got these ruby coins, flecks of coal, um..." As she spoke, she pulled items out of a backpack. "There's the quiver filled with magical arrows, a sack of flour made from fairy dust... Oh, and this diamond thing. I'm not sure what it is though."

Glancing at it, the diamond object was triangular in shape. It seemed like a fish fin to him. "I'll take the diamond thing," he said.

He handed her the mammoth tusk and she lifted it, what seemed like eaiser than he did, and he took the diamond fin in exchange. "Great! Thanks so much!" she said with a beautiful smile.

"Yeah, of course!" Benjo grinned and turned back to the steel chest.

Inside were several items, including: a lock of hair, two golden arrows embued with fairy dust, some sort of creature's fang, and a bag filled with marbles that sang. Benjo wasn't sure about any of it, but he figured he could use some of it to trade with, so he grabbed everything, including the diamond fin, and placed it inside the backpack the Gamemakers had given him and the other participants at the start of the challenge.

He traipsed through the woods as quickly as possible, looking for any sign of other chests. Eventually, he found one that looked like a large boulder, but it only had a couple copper coins and a hair brush inside. Stuffing those into his bag, he kept walking forward, only to slip into a rope. It tightened around his ankle and flung him upside down. Yelping, he grabbed for the backpack, but it slipped off him and fell to the ground.

"Haha, see ya, sucker!" a voice called. A human male darted beneath him and grabbed the bag and took off with it.

"Hey! I need that diamond fin! You can't steal - " Benjo shouted, but it was doing no good, so he stopped mid sentence and traced a rune into the air with his finger. At the same time, he pulled Mathanos from his body and filled the rune with it. The symbol flashed, forming energy and turned into a giant spider.

The spider crawled toward the human male who dropped the bag and backed up in fear. "W - W - Stay away from me!" he scrambled backward, searching for a wizard's staff, which he had dropped onto the ground.

Meanwhile, Benjo had managed to slip his ankle out of the rope. He fell to the ground with a hard thud. While his illusion-spider continued chasing after the human male, who began chanting a spell, Benjo hurried up and grabbed his bag before the Magi could do a spell and figure out it was an illusion.

Benjo darted into the trees just as he heard the man curse. "It was a fake!" the man screamed in frustration. Grinning, Benjo looked inside and made sure the diamond fin was still there, along with everything else. Putting the bag on his back, he tightened the straps around his shoulders, so next time he wouldn't lose it.

*****

So far Benjo had found well over a dozen chests filled with amazing and unique items, but not the last two he was looking for. He had no idea how he was supposed to finish first when he couldn't even find the last two items he needed. Black Dragon was already doing terrible in the rankings and Benjo's failure would only hurt the guild more. Maybe they shouldn't have chosen me. I'm just gonna let them down, Benjo thought. Frustrated, Benjo kicked a rock. It flew several hundred yards and slammed against a bush with a thud.

"A thud?" Benjo lifted a smooth eyebrow. He jogged over to the bush and looked down. Sure enough, there was a chest hidden inside it. "Please, please, please," he muttered, prying it open.

Suddenly, the bright red and purple berries on the bush all fell off. "What the - ?" They rolled across the ground behind him and as Benjo whirled around, he stared at them in shock. The berries all connected, looking as if they were connected by some invisible glue. It formed a humanoid body, except that it was made entirely out of berries. "You have got to be kidding - "

Before he had a chance to finish, the berry monster began shooting him with berries. Each one pelted his skin and stung, making him flinch and yelp. He leapt up and darted through the trees to escape it, but somehow the berry monster was almost faster.

One of the berries struck his butt, so Benjo cried out and climbed up onto the nearest tree. He had to figure out a way to defeat this monster, but his magic was useless. He doubted it even had a mind to trick with his illusions. Oh, why couldn't he have had a better magic, like fire? It would be so easy to burn the thing to a crisp then.

Fire. That single word created an entire idea in Benjo's mind. Earlier he had gotten a piece of flint, so now all he needed was some steel. The chest had been mostly wooden, but there were chunks of steel embedded into the surface as decoration.

Benjo leapt from the tree and yelped as the berry monster continued pelting him with berries. Surprisingly enough they were probably going to leave several bruises. He darted over to the empty bush, grabbing his backpack. Inside it, he took out the flint and struck it against the steel, as the berry monster closed in behind him.

The movement caused several sparks, which hit the grass and the bush. At last, the bush ignited, so Benjo grabbed one of the branches and swung it around toward the berry monster.

It threw several dozen more berries at him, so Benjo charged straight for it to tackle it to the ground. Several of the berries that made up the creatures body were smashed, leaving crimson and purple stains on Benjo's close. He took the branch and pressed it against the monster. The flames licked the berries and soon the monster caught fire.

"YES!"

While the berry monster burned to a crisp, Benjo opened the chest to see what else was in there. There were dozens of golden and silver rings but beneath them laid a hand made entirely out of glass.

Benjo snatched it and put it into his backpack just before he slipped the backpack onto his shoulders. Two down, one to go, Benjo thought.

*****

Benjo had been wondering for hours and already the first two guilds had finished. Part of him simply wanted to give up. He couldn't do any worse. Mentally, he kicked and punched himself over and over again for being a failure. Black Dragon had selected him to fill in, had trusted him to suceed when they could have brought in Syra. She was one of the original selected five representatives and far better qualified. Ugh, Benjo thought.

He sat down, leaning against the trunk of a tree. Voices carried through the wind so Benjo perked his ears to listen to the conversation.

"Yeah and the cavern is filled with chests and most of them are in the open!" a female voice said.

"Well, then let's go!"

Benjo poked his head around the corner to see the male and female Magi, whose guilds had obviously teamed up, sprint off in the opposite direction. Cautiously, Benjo jogged after them, being careful to keep his distance while at the same time keep them in sight.

It didn't take long for them to reach the cavern and the instant they disappeared inside the mouth of the cave, Benjo followed suit. Or, at least at first he did. After only a few minutes of wondering through the winding tunnels of the cavern, Benjo was not only certain he had lost the two Magi, but he had lost the entrance to the cave.

He whirled around and punched the cave wall to his right. It was damp, so the rock left streaks of torn skin and water on his knuckles. "Oh, man!" Benjo continued wondering for another hour or so, searching for treasure or chests of any kind, but all it did was get him even more lost.

Suddenly, shimmering purple energy appeared in front of him. Benjo leapt back with his fingers ready to draw a series of illusion runes in the air, but it was Republic Guards and one of the Magi Guards, a Space Wizard.

"Come with us, Benjo. You're being rescued and replaced," the Space Wizard Magi said. As they teleported him out of the arena, Benjo looked up at the crowd of Black Dragon guildmates and other spectators watching the screens. He glanced at the waiting Magi who had already finished. With tears burning his eyes, Benjo turned his face away and left the arena, heading into the nearby shipyard where their empty transports waited to take them back to their hotels in Kypha when the event was over.

Benjo sunk down in his seat in the back as silent tears fell down his face. He had never been more ashamed or embarrased as he was now. I'm such a failure, Benjo thought.

*****

Benjo had gotten a diamond fish fin and a glass hand, so according to the information given to Syra upon her arrival, all that she had to fetch was an enchanted cluster of geodes. Since many of the forerunners had already finshed, there was a great number of chests that had already been pillaged. In a way, this made Syra's job easier and more difficult at the same time; easier because the chests had mostly all been uncovered, but more difficult because now many of the items inside them were gone.

There were a few guilds still in the race, so all Syra could hope for was that she didn't allow Black Dragon to finish last or next to last. They had already been humiliated enough. With a torch in her left hand, she let the flickering of the firelight guide her way through the dark forest. Fear slithered in her veins and Syra shivered involuntarily, but continued trekking onward.

Up ahead, was a glowing green box, so assuming it was a chest, Syra drew near. The box itself came alive and snapped at her with razer sharp teeth. Syra yelped and jumped backward, but realized it had no legs, so she gave it a wide berth and simply avoided it.

From then on, Syra began watching the area in front of her much more closely. She tripped and quickly recovered the torch, turning to see what she had tripped on. It was a normal looking chest, made from dark brown wood with golden decor. Syra opened it up and fortunately, it was unlocked.

Suddenly, a net sprang up around her. It pinned her to the ground as if it had a mind of its own. The net tightened around her limbs, pressing her arms tight against her body. It tightened and closed in on her enough to squeeze her body uncomfortably. Then it simply stood still, leaving her lying there in humiliation from how tightly it squeezed. She could only hope that no men happened upon her.

Pulling Mathanos from her veins, she flicked her eyes back and forth, drawing a rune simply by where she looked. It was a technique she had developed back home in the event that she couldn't move to draw the rune; it had come in handy many times in the past and definitely had come in handy now.

The rune flashed once and a bear formed, made from blue Mathanos. "Set me free," Syra commanded. The bear reached over and chewed through the netting with its teeth. "Knock down any intruders that come near us," she said, turning back toward the chest.

Inside was a shark's tooth, a coral bracelet, orcish arrows, and the cluster of geodes. Syra quickly closed the chest and dismissed the bear, following the black glowing path back to the Treasure Guardian.

*****

Kyren tickled his daughter, Rya, and she erupted in a fit of giggles. His girlfriend, Naya, entered the hotel room with her arms full of fresh food from the marketplace; biscuits with jam, fried Mammoth meat and cheese, chocolate goat's milk, strawberries and blueberries, and three different pies. Filing in behind her was Faelniia and Athira, both carrying just as much food at Naya. Syra and Jeythr were the last ones into Black Dragon's hotel lounge where they gathered for a private guild with the guild.

So far, only a few had decided to join them. Most, like Greo, had decided to deal with their frustrations of the losses they'd been dealt lately, somewhere else. Benjo was nowhere to be found, but Kyren felt bad for the poor boy. He'd tried his hardest and even though it sucked that Black Dragon was close to last, Kyren wasn't so competitive that he was about to shame Benjo the way a few members had. They were still waiting for the results of the second challenge, but none of them had any idea what place they'd come in; not first, obviously.

"I know we haven't done as well as expected," Rovad began. Kyren picked Rya up and held her in his arms, nuzzling her neck as Naya slipped her hand into his free one. The others in the room all stood, quietly listening to their guild leader.

"In the past, we have dominated the Games. This year, we have stronger competition. Are we so weak and pathetic that we cannot take losing without grumbling? No! We are Black Dragon and we're better than this! Today, Benjo did a wonderful job with the odds he faced. Syra picked up where he left off. We may not have finished first, but we still finished strong!"

Cheers roared through the room, echoing and bouncing off the walls as the hungry guild members dug into the food that had only barely arrived.

"Daddy! I want a pastry first!" Rya pleaded.

Kyren opened his mouth to say no, but the moment he looked into his miracle-daughter's eyes, he couldn't resist. She reminded him so much of her mother that his chest ached. "Alright, go with Naya and she'll grab you one."

"YAY!" Naya grabbed Rya and took her to the food table as he watched them both closely. He was blessed; more than he had ever expected or imagined. In his past, he had known such pain that he never thought he'd ever be free.

Now he was and he loved it.

*****

I was allowed a word count of 4,000 (3,000 but an extra 1,000 since I did all the ballot punishments) with an extra 1,000 for the beginning and ending scenes; I had 739 for the intro; and 3,730 for the challenge itself; and 424 for the ending. The intro and ending combined was 1163 - which was slightly over the 1,000 for guild interactions, but I stole 163 from the extra 1,000 I had. Anywho, in total though, surprise, I was actually under at 4,893 - phew. so close.  I did all the awards and ballot punishments and I balloted myself, jesusfreak202. Comment here if you want me to ballot you. I'd love any feedback y'all have for me! So this will keep you occupied till the deadline (which is in 2 days for everyone who hadn't turned in yet).  Also the poem for the poem ballot punishment, it was 227 when it was supposed to be at least 100. Surprisingly, I got really inspired for it. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed :)