The Ninth Trial

[advisories]

Who: everyone
When: Day 18, starting just after dawn
Where: The Hermit's Tent, and all around

[This morning as the sun begins to pour through the train's windows, there's the tremor that signals a Trial.]

Come hither, Heroes. Prove thy worth. Or something like that!

[It's the same older man's voice from the sixth trial, and outside is the same fortune teller's stall. Today the front flap is lifted to show a normal interior -- there's a wooden table, carved with geometric patterns and painted in bright colours, lit by teal-coloured carved candles.

At the table sits a man of indeterminate age, somewhere between 30 and 60. He's wearing what appear to be monk's robes, teal with patterned trimming. In front of him is a crystal ball and a stack of bingo cards, along with a stand-up sign bearing the rules of this Trial.

Across the top in large font, it says:

Icebreaker Bingo

Good luck and have fun!]

Comments

[desirestruth]

...Lucien.

[A long pause.]

And he still always wins.

[CAN U BELIEVE THIS SHIT, CROW???]

[bad_crowmance]

Are you.... sure he's not just really, really good at cheating?

[desirestruth]

I'm sure! I could tell if he was hiding cards or marking them! And he's too honorable to want to win on anything but skill!

It's as infuriating as it's hot, to be honest with you.

[bad_crowmance]

Haha, of course that'd be the kind of thing to turn you on!

[desirestruth]

Oh, please, someone with honor and insane skill with a sword would turn anyone on.

[bad_crowmance]

[ The only reason Crow isn't feeling intensely called out right now is that he doesn't remember Rean very well at all. ]

Haha, maybe! Lucien's pretty hot, not gonna lie, but I've already filed him away as "off-limits" so I'm not really thinking about it.

[desirestruth]

I do appreciate that.

[And she does, truly.]

...Should we fill in more squares?

[bad_crowmance]

Yeah, let's go for it!

[ He glances at the card. ]

We're going about this pretty randomly, huh.

[ He holds out his hand, extending his pinky. ]

I'll promise to never take Lucien off the "off-limits" list.

[desirestruth]

And I promise not to ask about who you are sleeping with.

[Hooking her pinky with his! It's a fairly easy promise to keep, after all, but she does mean it.]

[bad_crowmance]

[ It's an easy promise for both of them. ]

Sounds like a deal!

[ He shakes on it, his pinky hooked solidly with hers. ]

[desirestruth]

[She's careful, not to get the glove accidentally yanked off, but there we go.]

There we go, then.

[bad_crowmance]

There we go! What next?

[desirestruth]

[Staring at her card.]

...I have really no idea how I'd play a prank here and who I'd do it to.

[bad_crowmance]

I've got ideas for pranks but they'd take way too much effort to pull off on the fly.

[desirestruth]

There has to be something we can do...I don't really want to give up on a square.

[...A look passes over her face. Something came to mind, but she isn't sure if it's too mean.]

[bad_crowmance]

You look like you've got an idea....

[desirestruth]

...Well, it's something I used to do with my twin, but it was before the engagement...But we'd pick someone and see how long it took to fluster them.

The real key was to only really do or say things that could sound salacious, but were otherwise innocent.

[bad_crowmance]

That sounds like fun!

[desirestruth]

The question is, who do we do this to?

[A long pause.]

Not Hlasoh.

[That'd be just cruel.]

[bad_crowmance]

Nah, not her.

[ That'd be inconvenient. ]

You'd probably get flustered before Lucien, so not him either.

[desirestruth]

Also, if we woke him up this early, he'd be pissed.

[She's considering this.]

...I don't know if Eliza gets flustered.

[bad_crowmance]

I'm pretty sure she doesn't. At least not easily. ...Jusis does, but he tries to be prim and proper about it.

[desirestruth]

Jusis?

[She's met him but they got too snooty and never bothered to introduce themselves.]

[bad_crowmance]

He's about this tall-- [ He gestures with his hand. ] Blond guy on Clover, not a bad guy but probably has a stick up his ass?

[desirestruth]

[...She takes a moment to input this data.]

Well, I think I've seen him around. If you think this would work on him, then...