--- Lily ---
Lily hadn't managed any further major breakthroughs while playing with shadows but that was fine. Especially right now. Every team had gathered in the lounge area the inn had. Thyme had remodelled it a slight amount for the announcement, with a few normal chairs being added. Lily was enjoying the chance to sit on Kat's lap... and she'd even decided to stick to her human form.
It wasn't necessarily more comfortable... but it did feel more properly intimate.
Lily wasn't going to say she was ready for anything crazy. Even just sleeping with Kat in her human form still seemed a long way off... but despite her worries Lily wanted to push forward a step. So she was abusing her new bodies more mobile spine to mould herself against Kat in the beanbag chair they'd commandeered.
No she didn't have courage solely because in Memphis form she couldn't see over the stuff in front of her. Not at all.
Thyme walked up on stage in... well in some ways it was a normal costume but for Thyme it seemed so strange. Thyme looked overweight for once, with a suit jacket that seemed to be straining at the seems. The pants Thyme had chosen looked like they could fit both Lily and Kat in just one of the legs. Then there was the hair.
Thyme had a very clear wig, that you could've easily spotted in the dark, let alone as it was now. Half falling off while Thyme looked like they were sweating buckets. Mint was even trailing behind with a mop.
"Right, I would normally speak appropriately for the disguise but that feels annoying and like I'd be taking the joke too far. Obviously things got... a bit hectic in regards to the runner up. It's become a whole big thing, and despite not wanting to go to royalty to get things straightened it became a massive shitshow.
"I'm not even entirely sure why. I suspect that there's some political game being played that I missed... but the only reason it worries me is that my royal backup didn't seem to know what was going on either. Perhaps it's some new grunge flaring up, perhaps someone is messing around in the shadows.
"This is the part where I'd complain about the lack of sleep from being awake so long, but being a dryad means I don't have a normal sleep cycle and even then, I tend to sleep very little compared to my pears... and when I do need sleep I cheat with time magic to make it seem like I didn't need any. So honestly I'm just playing it up at this point.
Mostly for my own amusement... but also to give an excuse to let you all know a bit behind the curtain...
"That was actually the main sticking point. If Blue's collection of treasures actually 'counted' as being 'owned' by Blue at the time she was eliminated. There were other factors as well, but those four things took up the main bulk of the arguing with one taking considerably more time then any of the others.
"So... yeah it got quite heated for a while there. In the end, the fact that Blue lasted longer was probably the deciding factor because the other facts could be argued over forever... but the fact that Blue was the second last person in the area? That's not something that can be argued.
"Well, some people tried, pointing out that she went unconscious due to blood loss and that meant she lost control over the treasures, thus making them not hers anymore... but the person who brought that argument up clearly didn't read the rules before coming in to complain because I remember addressing that specifically in the book.
"Anyway, I'm getting off track. That's how things shook out in regards to the decisions. Now, what does this mean for the prizes? Well, originally I was going to hand them out in a different way but I've scrapped that idea. The new setup is in the basement. I've got ever single treasure on display with their name on it.
They will remain there for forty-eight hours.
"Everyone that is eligible for a prize will be given a form to fill out that's basically just a numbering system. You'll put in the treasure you want the most as 'one' and the least as 'five'. If you're on the same team and multiple people put the same item on? I'll ignore the entry so TALK to each other.
"At the end of the time limit, I'll be handing out the treasures based on the winnings. So Marigold's team gets first pick, then Blue's team, with March's team getting final pick. If Lily's team wants anything they'll get a fresh duplicate. Oh yes, that's something to keep in mind. I'll be fixing the items up if they've been broken at all... unless you're buying them. Then you get them as is.
"As for how the buying is going to work? You'll have a similar form and the same time limit. At the end of the time limit, I'll send out messages to everyone after the same item and we can come to an agreement as to who it goes to. Though, do keep in mind, while technically it's one per person, quite a few treasures DO have duplicates so perhaps keep your eye out for those?"
*Is that something we're interested in?*
[I'm not sure. We don't really have the money to pay for it... but we might be able to ask D.E.M.O.N.S to convert some of my money into like... gold or maybe native currency? Worst case scenario we'd have to ask for someone else to lend us the money and we can pay it back later when D.E.M.O.N.S is working again. Though... how do you think this will affect your deal with Marigold?]
*That's a good question... I imagine not much? She'll probably pick out her own treasure and then buy whichever is cheaper? Though Thyme didn't say how much anything was, just that it's half price so... I'm not sure if they'd want to buy them or not. I imagine some will be reasonably priced... and others less so.*