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[F27-EVENT-2024] Diwali


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Diwali, 2024
This event will run until the 30th of November, 2359ET.

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With Wushen’s defeat, a sense of peace and tranquility has returned to the floor, past the events that culminated to its rise. In this time of leisure, its citizens have sought out tradition: a celebration undone over the years, almost advisory, a rumor spread through word of mouth. It shares a common name — Diwali — and yet each town appears to hold different kinds of rituals and festivities to uphold the norms of their territory. 

Most have gathered to Ronbaru, acting as the floor’s natural hub, to partake and share in each other’s culture. There, the city is lit in gold, with lanterns, oil lamps and braziers keeping the town in a perpetual wakeness. A number of stalls line the outer ring of the central plaza, offering a number of different activities to the public, an invitation to join them and learn of their history. Yet, as comfortable as they are, working in tandem yet operating in parallel, the differences in their underlying nature begets yet another question: why?

So return to the twenty-seventh. Seek out their truth. In turn, it is beseeched that you seek your own, and let the blessings of the light guide you.

 

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★ Event Activity: Diya Lighting

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★ Event Activity: Pallankuli

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★ Event Activity: Gyan Chauper

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★ Event Activity: Of Celebrations Near and Far

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!!! Event Quest: <<Purusartha>>

!!! Event Quest: <<Ravana's Revenge>>

 

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2d80bb00744a1c4a710b6caf0a695588e9e5137e.jpg
厌倦你浪潮般涨落地爱我
当作莫名靠岸惶惑地来过
再说了从未幻想过你爱我
天马行空都埋没
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TRACKERS ALLIANCE GROUP CHAT
KAL: hello, everyone! i stumbled across smth that might be of interest to us.
KAL: [--attached image: a bird's eye shot of the festivities in ronbaru's central plaza, taken from the third floor of a nearby building. the city is, unusually, awash in light.]
KAL: looks like a big deal. the entire area's changed overnight.
KAL: if anyone wants to check it out, i'll be here for a while. we can walk around together.
KAL: [--attached image: a pallankuli board, set for one game.]
KAL: i'll be here. for a while. :<

"Hm, I used to play this as a kid," Yue Hua mused. The board that was set before her, though, seemed to possess a different set of rules than she was accustomed to, and she didn't think she was even supposed to stay for the entire game. But she was quite curious about how it would go. She thought for a bit longer before she settled for a familiar strategy. First row, second cup from the left. She gathered the stones in her painted hand and dropped them off one at a time 'til she reached the counter. "Right. I think that ends my move. Are you playing against me or shall I drag in a bystander?"

GAME #1
Moving five (5) crystals from Row #1:

506   666   [1]
555   555   [0]

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3MvdMvx.png | MORNINGSTAR
 | Lv. 69 >> P. 36, Lv. 33
 | Status: [ // ]

 Notes:
 //

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data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

Star was familiar with Diwali, although he never celebrated it himself. Needless to say, he found himself fascinated with the reimagination of Ronbaru. All of the lights and colours astounded him—the stalls and pop-up shops did too. Across from Kali, he added his own message to the group chat.

MS: there's food.

Star nodded. "I'll play. It's kind of like mancala," he observed. The rules seemed simple enough. Move the crystals into the little holes and try to score points. There wasn't much to it. He scratched his chin, eyeing the tiny orbs. Which five to choose?

Would it kill him to pick at random for once? One by one, Star lifted the crystals and placed them gently in Kali's kuli(lol?). Was he winning? Probably not, but trial and error was his best friend. He took one last glance over the board to make sure he had moved correctly. "Okay. Back to you, I think."

GAME #1
Moving five (5) crystals from Row #2:

617   766   [1]
555   550   [1]

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Wulfrin had never heard of Diwali before the announcement of the event. With the inability to access external search engines to research, he was left with no choice but wait and figure it out on his own. Supposedly crafters could earn a handful of rewards if they expended their daily crafts, so that's what Wulfrin decided to focus on first. That was until the Trackers Alliance group chat started to pop off. He would respond in quite possibly the most oddly prioritized way possible.

Wul: Food? Count me in.
Wul: Heard there is an opportunity to show off some crafts too.

Wulfrin gathered up his first batch of Samais. The oil lamps were finely crafted out of brass, a material he hadn't had much experience with. They weren't the best, but they would improve with time. Hell he had already found a few ways to better the crafts. The only limitation was his lack of crafting attempts. Wulfrin dropped of his items at the NPC. He spotted Morningstar and Kali a game at one of the tables not too far away. Lucky him!

"Glad to see y'all made it!" Wulfrin said cheerfully as he observed the game in progress. He was a true gamer to the core, always willing to give unfamiliar games at least one attempt to win him over. "What's the game and how do you play it?"

* * *

Festival Item Crafts: 10/15/24

Item Name: Ornamental Samai
Profession: Blacksmith
Quantity: 4
Craft IDs: 235853, 235854, 235855, 235856
Post Links: 

Wulfrin | HP: 740/740 | EN: 108/108 | DMG: 21 | MIT:78 | ACC:5 | AA  | BH:24 | REC: 8 | LD:6

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Edited by Wulfrin
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Across from her was Morningstar, the first to arrive at her message, mulling over his first move. Living up to their name as rumor chasers, they were. Yue Hua almost smiled. But she looked pleasant enough without it, or so she was always told, so it didn't quite matter in the end.

Her eyes were drawn from the board at Wulfrin's approach and she raised a hand in greeting. In the meantime, Morningstar selected his cup. Stones gently plinked down like raindrops across their rows. "Hello, Wulfrin. It's called pallankuli and -- you haven't played nor heard of mancala, have you?" Recognition would have struck him as soon as he saw the board, as it had with her. She tipped her head to the side and made a small, thoughtful noise as she internally worked out how to explain the rules to a newcomer. "You pick a cup from your row, any cup but the counter at the end, and you distribute the stones in it from left to right. The player with the most stones in their counter by the end of the game wins. Er." She looked at the system message facing her side of the board. "Players, I suppose. Want to team up with me against our Leader?"

Back to their game. Yue Hua wasn't sure how to judge Morningstar's move. Sowing holes and capturing the opponent's lots made for half the fun and strategy. And she hadn't considered herself more than a casual player in the first place. For now, all she could do was pile the stones on her side of the board.

GAME #1
Moving six (6) crystals from Row #1:

028   877   [2]
555   550   [1]

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The invite was all Firefly needed to brave herself up to the newest floors. Many people had warned her about the dangers of trying to travel to the upper floors without the experience gained within the game but seeing Kali up there assured her that it should be safe. The two of them were relatively close in level.

SFF: I need to see this! 
SFF: I’ll be there as soon as possible!

As soon as possible being practically seconds. She was there in a blur and through the small crowd she would spy her guild mates. Sitting around a low set table with a group that they were transferring contents between. This had her interested immediately.

The NPC manning the booth would give away her approach to the group, not that she was attempting to be sneaky or anything. “Good Evening fellow guild members.” She’ll say after the NPC explains the simplicity of the game.

Kali would give a slightly more thoughtful answer about strategy to the game and invite Wulfrin to be her partner against the leader of the guild. Firefly would softly smile and take a seat next to Morningstar. “Then how about two versus two. I’ve never played a game like this though, so I’m afraid that you probably got the worst teammate.” The girl would chuckle to her guild leader. “Hmm..” She’ll observe the ‘board’ and take a long breaths worth of time to plan her move. The most logical move hits her. The crystals clank against the cups as she deposits them evenly leaving the cup she took from empty. “How about that then?

GAME #1
Moving five (5) crystals from Row #2:

028   877   [2]
506   661   [2]

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Scarlet Firefly | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20 | DMG: 7 | MIT:6 | ACC:3 | EVA:2

Edited by Scarlet Firefly
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"Heard of mancala," Wulfrin affirmed. "Never played it though. This seems simple enough though. Very well two on two it is."

Wulfrin felt a wry grin crawl across his face. He moved behind Kali and observed two moves, one from his partner one from his leader's. The game seemed simple enough. In a bold move he selected the cup closest to his and Kali's collection. With one smooth effortless motion each gem in the kuli plinked into it's new home. Their new total was three. Best part is the free crystal that their opponents would have collected was added to, essentially giving Wulfrin's another crystal to move around. Wulfrin's assumption was that the win condition was having the majority of gems collected.

"Sorry leader," Wulfrin chuckled cheekily. "No free gems for you. It is now your move I believe."

There was a surprising lack of other players around. Perhaps them being a rumor hunting guild allowed them to get information before the other players. This was the first major event that Cardinal had thrown Wulfrin took part in, partly because he had no one to go with until now, and partly because until recently he was a coward that kept himself secluded in the Town of Beginnings.

GAME #1
Moving seven (7) crystals from Row #1:

028   870   [3]
617   772   [2]

* * *

Festival Item Crafts: 10/16/24

Item Name: Ornamental Samai
Profession: Blacksmith
Quantity: 9
Craft IDs: 235889, 235890, 235891, 235892, 235893, 235894, 235895, 235897, 235898
Post Links: 

Total crafts for event: 13

Edited by Wulfrin
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another entry into ronbaru's file. she left the details to her singular lackey to fill in, but looked over the group chat in earnest as she waited for the responses, all acknowledgements, from the contacts she believed needed to attend. the number of replies didn't matter; bistro just needed her eyes to settle on something else other than the present to keep her mind off things.

in one hand, she had a white mug filled with coffee, taken straight from the cintamani. and, across the table from herself, an associate was present too. a momentary stop by way of invite from the stall keeper, ushered by her own curiosity, one that might've kept the rest of their guild waiting.

bistro looked at the group chat once more, before her camera captured the stakes at play between the two women.

BIS: [--attached image: a checker board with numerous designs of snakes and ladders sprawled across it. two pawns remain standing on different tiles.]
BIS: will continue looking for all of you after this :)

"so?" bistro looked to the dice. it was siren's turn. their game had looked complicated at first glance, but either it wasn't, or time had passed them by faster than they'd expected. they were looking to wrap up soon, by length of play alone. "how far are you getting this round, @Siren?"


BISTRO | Lv. 13 | DMG: 16 | HP: 260/260 | EN: 44/44

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Entering Ronbaru, Freyd only just realized how little time he'd spent here since the floor had been unlocked.  The whole floor carried a vibe similar to Shitennoji temple, back home, but with its own unique blend of aesthetic.  Advancing to the edge of the event grounds, it was instantly apparent that final preparations were being rushed as participants were already actively gathering.  Several booths and tables had attracted small groups of hooting and hollering players, some admiring wares while other engaged in good-natured contests and games.  A panicked gasp on his left drew one hand to his weapon out of instinct, only to find the source was far less than dangerous.

"Here," he offered to the struggling young woman, taking a small tray of lanterns from her as she struggled to balance two at once.  "Please let me help you with that."  Despite being wrapped in a shell of heavy armor, he swooped in with an agile catch to rescue the rightmost grouping before it fell.  Tanabata's tragic end had made him wary of such events, even if they were desperately needed to maintain player's unity and morale.  

"Ah!  Thank you," she offered, blushing in surprise.  "My lamplighter is late and we're supposed to be on standby to replace the lanterns as they burn out."  Furtive glances paired with demonstrated desire to be seen as reliable by her peers offered an opportunity for mutual benefit.  Maybe he could consign himself to patrolling on this one, helping out with the lights and keeping an eye out for trouble at the same time?

"Why don't I take this batch?  I'm heading around the grounds anyway.  I'd be glad to help out if it gives you one less thing to worry about."  Beaming her a pleasant smile, Freyd simply tucked the tray under is arm to better protect it from the pressing crowds and carried on to the tune of the NPC's grateful thanks, dismissing them with a nonchalant smile and a wave.

***

Freyd collects 5 lights from Dayanita.

***

Freyd consumes: 

Sweet and Sour Licorice Bites | Tierless Perfect Snack | 223577c | LD III 

***

Freyd | HP: 1260/1260 | EN: 158/158 | DMG: 21 | MIT:55 | ACC:1 | F-SPIRIT | EVA:1 | BH:69 | FLN: 16 | HLY: 16 | LD:9 | PROSP:3 | QTY: 2

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26c11f3a322deb7a3ce95ed39aeffc20534816b0.jpg

(* ^ ω ^)

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An was here, too.

She was wandering around by herself – quite content – enjoying the pretty lights and picking her way through food stalls, one never-before-heard-of delicacy at a time. A fair amount of them were too intense and spicy for her taste but they were devoured with sparkly-eyed vigor all the same. (No one tell her she was eating a week’s worth of savings in a day). This was all too exciting! A floor-wide festival for players to enjoy themselves, and it seemed Cardinal was keeping it around for more than a week or so. In her mind, the appraiser was already drawing up plans to reduce her official shop hours.

She’ll explore every nook and cranny of this attraction before it goes away. Today, An went after the things that stood out the most.

And of course, what else would an appraiser-slash-unwillingly-retired-gacha-player be drawn to other than dice.

 

-> Gyan Chauper: CD 24 | Dragon's Jewel

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Edited by Andromeda
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Star ignored the group chat while he made his next moves. He begun by moving six from the second row. Wulfrin and Firefly, who had suddenly joined in, took sides at random. "Check this out," he grinned, like a child who was about to start spinning.

Wham. Three more crystals moved from row two, and another point scored. What did that mean? It was impossible to say. But it probably looked really cool.

He stood from his seat. "That's it for me."

To Kali, he spoke directly; however, the invitation was open to all. "I'll wait around for a bit and then go looking for some of the others."

Finally, he took a peek at his messages. Snakes and ladders--or some variation of the game--was being played in the vicinity.

MS: where
MS: where
MS: where

Finally--a game he knew how to play. At least, he had played it once, fifteen or so years ago.

GAME #1
Moving six (6) crystals from Row #2:

028   870   [3]
028   883   [3]

Moving three (3) crystals from Row #2:

138   870   [3]
028   880   [4]

MS has completed 3/3 turns in Game 1.

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"Hehe." Yue Hua's tail flicked, pleased, as Wulfrin took her side and Firefly helpfully popped up to assist Morningstar. It was turning into quite the party and she was happy to be surrounded by her cohorts. "Right on time you are."

She let the two newcomers take their shot. A soft, understanding hum went Wulfrin's way once he concluded his move, and her watch over the pallankuli board took on brighter intensity when her original opponent took his turn. Twice in a row. "Mmh. I see," Yue Hua said mildly, but her iridescent eyes were sharp with focus. She glanced at the system window on her side of the board. Unfortunate that she didn't have the moves left to consider that option. "I wouldn't be too strict on a casual game either. I'll take my last turn too, then, after this, it's you against Firefly, Wulfrin."

They didn't have any free moves left. Yue Hua pondered, then she opened up two options for her next player. Once the last shell was in its new cup, she also stood but remained hovering a few steps away to spectate the rest of the game.

"I'll join you after they finish," Yue Hua said in response to Morningstar. "It seems this event is shelling out rewards through party games. I'm curious about what it has to offer outside of that as well."

GAME #1
Moving eight (8) crystals from Row #1:

130   981   [4]
139   980   [4]

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So quickly did the group move that Firefly couldn’t keep up. It was only then that she understood that the limit of turns was three, which Morningstar had already breached with his last turn. Kali made her final turn as well, leaving Wulfrin and herself as the only remaining participants. “Oh, the cups are looking pretty heavy on my side. That actually seems like a bad thing tho…” The un-blinded girl will mutter as she scoops out the big chunk of crystals on her side and starts placing them one by one.

While in the middle of her turn she would overhear Kali and Morningstar’s conversation - not that it was difficult considering how close they were - and she would chime in. “Rewards are nice and all, but I came simply to see the wonderful event. Everything looks beautiful.” The girl was beaming like a child on Christmas at this point. She wanted to make as many memories with her eyesight as she could. It would be a tragedy not to.

GAME #1
Moving nine (9) crystals from Row #2:

241   1091   [4]
130   1091   [5]

Edited by Scarlet Firefly
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holidays. a hint of the old world poking its head into the new. he didn't much care for them back then, nor did he now. however, with event came rare items, and he was not one to turn those down.

gyan chauper. what the hell was that? didn't matter. he was pretty sure he was good at it.

“it’s a board game in good faith, for fun and banter, over trivial matters that brings the spirits of people together. why not give it a go?”

he agreed. what was there to lose? when the area was clear of other players, he took jai up on his offer and gave it a try.

 

"and that's the game! thank you for playing! come again!"

chameleon walked away with a handful of sweets. he'd lost, as far as he was concerned. a number of valuable items available and he received five balls of sugar.

"rigged," he muttered, out of earshot.

---

ID236568 | cd3
ID236569 | cd1
ID236570 | cd5

3+1+5 = 9

chameleon receives:
laddu (5) | tierless snack | prosp iii

chameleon | level 4 | let the festivities begin...

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data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw==

 

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The streets of Ronbaru looked like streaks of stars set in the sky. Acanthus walked slowly, taking in the sights and sounds. She’d never seen anything like it. The city was electric with singing, and dancing, and other activities put on by the myriad of citizens.

She strolled through the streets with an armful of special recording crystals. A man by the name of Hiten had put out the call for crafts made in the name of the festival, and Acanthus thought she would oblige. It probably would give her some good experience. Sure, the crafts allowed her to experiment with a compositional genre outside her comfort zone, but at the end of the day, it was a video game, and she was responsible for making her numbers go up so she could leave. Maybe not the most exciting perspective, but a practical one.

She dropped the crystals off with Hiten, and took a little time to peruse the activities. A group of players standing around a board full of gems drew her attention. With a quick explanation of the rules, she decided to give the game a try herself.

GAME #1
Moving nine (9) crystals from Row #X: (Moving stones assuming we don't place in bottom pasu)

352   (11)(10)2   [5]
230   (10)02   [5]

* * *

Festival Item Crafts: 10/25/24

Item Name: Aarti
Profession: Performer
Quantity: 10
Craft IDs: 236648–57
Post Links: 

 

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all dice thrown. her piece barely makes it a third of the way through. the woman looks faintly dismayed, but her mood brightens when jai turns around and starts to rummage about his stall for a prize. from a bowl, he takes five individually wrapped treats and places them in a small paper bag, which he hands to her with a smile.

"thank you very much! see you!"

...are these sweets?

arabelle exits the game stall, already peering into the bag. she fishes out a 'ball' but doesn't unwrap it and lets the info window do all the discovering for her. they are called 'laddu' -- unfamiliar -- and each one sports a full prosperity buff. no expiration date. she hums to herself in satisfaction and returns the sweet to the bag, already knowing what to do. she is terrible at these festival games, and where a part of her would prefer to turn ruthlessly competitive, she had instead developed a liking for collecting the 'worst' or the 'middling' rewards no one wanted to get. there was still a surprising variety to them.

simple happinesses.

now, where to next? looking around for her next stop, arabelle finds that she's walked herself to the edge of the fair. nearest to her is a stable, well-lit and decorated. a girl carrying a bucket of feed exits a stall and spots her hovering curiously.

“h-hello. are you looking for a mount?”

 

-> gyan chauper: cd 12 | laddu (5)

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BIS: trade co-ordinates?
BIS: i'll show you mine if you show me yours
BIS: jk. lol

appending their position to the group chat was a quick and easy move. and siren seemed to be struggling with the game, so bistro decided she'd spend the time waiting for star's response in return to try and help her sort out the rules. it was a simple board game, really -- maybe her guild mate was thinking too hard about how to win it?

"well," and bistro shrugged, "when you're ready, we can head over to where they're at. i don't know what this 'pallankali' thing is, but i presume kali's an expert on this?"

somewhere else, unbeknownst to her, night was getting angry at bistro for an unspoken reason. but while she lived in that blissful ignorance of her own mistake, she sent a message over to two others who were likely roaming the town square, scouting -- and enjoying the festivities -- on her behalf.

private messages.

BIS: [-forwarded co-ordinates from the tracker's alliance.]
BIS: we'll be headed there next. see you over when you two are done!


GAME #1
moving the game along.
Moving five (5) crystals from Row #1:

303   (12)(11)3   [6]
230   (10)02   [5]

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R5tSbC7.png | NIGHT
 | Lv. 150 >> P. 117, Lv. 33
 | Status: //

 Notes:
 //

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ronbaru looked different.

this was a good thing for night. the last she remembered this many lights scattered across a city was back in the real world -- which seemed like a decade ago. and, if she were to get a little more specific, the last she remembered seeing this many lamps, candles and lanterns was...

her train of thought was abruptly interrupted by the raise of a light from her companion. day had bent over and picked up the object from the floor, examining it closely. as night stepped forward, mouth open, ready to chide her, a voice from a woman resting there drew her attention instead.

the less cardinal became aware of her 'imaginary friend', the better. night accepted the lights from dayanita with a bow, leaning down to collect the diyas herself. it was only when she rose from her kneel that her duplicate held up the last lamp for her to take. her index had tapped the etchings on the bottom of its clay base.

"look, night," day said, "something's written on it."

-> DIYA LIGHTING: COLLECTING FIVE DIYAS FROM DAYANITA.

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ASURA | Lv.1 | HP: 20/20 | EN: 20/20

ASR: got it

jay looked up from her messages, arm resting on the standing table ahead of her. their broker was nearby, only visible from a distance, and yet had decided to give them their privacy. how nice of her! and here they were, unable to complain about an invite to a festival mostly unheard of until now.

maybe, in her perspective, it made for a nice welcome gift for their return back into aincradian activities.

"-- five six seven eight nine ten eleven! and... done!"

"wow," jay swooned, just as tally had set her piece down on the last tile of her roll. the marker, a blue bull's head with gold markings painted onto it, seemed to have been crafted out of wood, as though it was part of a miniature chess set. "you got pretty far there! hey, didn't they say this was part of your fortune for the year or something?"

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