MYTHICAL CREATURE RACE NEXT SUNDAY!

Next Sunday will be the first annual MCR (Mythical Creature Race) where contestants set out on an epic journey across the globe!

Starting from the town square on foot, you will try to find (and tame!) a mount, whatever you are able to ride is allowed, under the condition that is WAS COMPLETED WILD, NEVER UNDER HUMAN CONTROL and NOT HUMANIOD OR INTELLIGENT (for example, you could ride a troll or golem, but not an elf) and continue to the check point in Castlerock (see map below) where you must duel with the next opponent to arrive, if you lose, you must abandon your mount and find a new one.

From Castlerock you will continue to Eldenwood, then to Mystic Mountain, ect, ect. (See map below)

The entry fee is 20 rupees, and any damages caused by action outside of regulation will be paid by the racer.

THERE IS TO BE NO:

• Public disposal of Unicorn Dung
• No fighting outside of organized duels
• No mounting un-wild creatures
• No mismatched socks

For a complete list of rules see the local wizard.

The prize for winning is 1200 rupees, a story in the “Medieval Globe”, and two Bob Ross toasters.

If you are interested, send a pigeon to:

195 MCR Dr.

SEE YOU THERE!

CrazyRickRiordanFan going under the name Tris(just a random name I thought of)

I searched the dense woods, leaves crunching under my foot. The poster said it must be a mythological creature who is untamed, and so far, I've only seen harpies, who have bad breath AND a bad temper. And... Oh wow a hippogriff, but they are noxiously hard to tame so never mind.

Crunch

Oh wow my feet is making a lot of noise.

CRUNCH

Wait wha-

Croak

I turned and saw a wall of slimy, greenish brown skin.

Oh wait a minute, this is

A small, beady eye stared at me.

A giant toad?!

With wings?!

I reached out and scratched its chin

CROOOAAK

Croaking with pleasure, it then barfed on my shirt.

Oh well, at least it is a mythological creature

Now let's take you home, mr toad.

MRC Form:

Name: Tris

Steed: Gigantic Toad

Steed's Name: Mr Toad

Status: Untamed

List one bad habit of its: Barfing on rider often

Any illness or condition?: None

Has any magic powers?: Yes

Then what is it?: Flying

Does it qualify with the MRC mythological creatures standards?: Yes

Are you sure it is untamed?: Yes, duh

Do you have any fighting experience: Yes

What is your favorite food?: I like gummy bears

What is your steed's favorite food?: Baked Mac n' Cheese

How did you find that out?: You won't want to know...

Did you tame your steed yet?: Yes

Does it like you?: Maybe...

Is your steed intelligent?: NO, double NO

Are YOU intelligent?: Duh...

Do you like reading?: Yes

Do you like sports?: Yes

Do you like cooking?: No

Do you like witchcraft?:Yes

Do you do dark magic?: No

Do you do white magic?:Yes

Do you do grey magic?: Yes

Do you like Tommy Tomson from preschool?: No

Are you friends with Sally Sallson from kindergarden?: No

Thank you for your time

I sighed.

Mr toad barfed again.

*crunch, crunch*

I was slowly walking into the abounded gold mine, hoping to be unnoticed until I wished otherwise.

*thud, thud, clinker*

That was a few gold coins being scattered by my bare feet, I dared not pocket them, not when I saw what was ahead.

A Gryftrix, a formidable beast, sorta like a Griffin, but a peregrine falcon instead of an eagle, and a tiger instead of a lion.

She (it was a young female) was asleep, I crouched toward her, then, suddenly grabbed the back of her falcon head.

She awake with a start, glaring, I met her gaze, I felt her inner lightning coursing through my veins.

Right before met my breaking point, her gaze softened, and she laid her head in my hand.

”Welcome to the race Gyx, I think we’ll get along fine

Name: Quinn

Age: 15

Steed: Gryftrix

Steeds name: Gyx

Favorite color: Green

Steeds favorite Color: Gold

Does your Steed have any magical abilities: Yes

If yes, what? Storm manipulation

Steeds favorite food: Human/goat

Your favorite food: Human/Goat (just kidding)

Can you Dance: just the waltz.

Who is Tommy Thomson: sounds like a fake name

Is your steed intelligent: not in a human way no.

Was it wild: it tried to kill me.

Thank you for your time.

I turned to Gyx, “We got this.”

The good news? Mark's favorite band was back together and going on tour. The bad news? They hadn't announced which cities they were going to, just dropped a blurry teaser post that he had spent literal hours looking at cross-eyed. Now his eyes hurt, and he still had no idea where he needed to get tickets. And no money to get tickets with, but that wasn't as bad, because he could just get a job. Or get a bunch of crows to steal coins for him (hey, it had worked before!)

The even worse news, though, was that he was currently trapped in another dimension.

Assuming this wasn't a dream, which was a fair bet since he had pinched himself several times and not woken up, he was somehow back in the Middle Ages in a picturesque town with grass roofs and cobblestone streets. Mark wasn't an expert on medieval times, but he was pretty sure they didn't have internet or flushing toilets. How was he supposed to figure out where his favorite band was playing if there was nowhere to go to the bathroom?

A piece of paper nailed to the wall caught his eye. Mythical Creature Race Next Sunday! The more he scanned the flyer, the more exciting it started to look. He had never dueled anyone before, but it couldn't be that hard. Befriending wild animals was just what he did every afternoon. And 1200rupees and two Bob Ross toasters was probably enough money to get two tickets to a concert in an unspecified city. He was pretty sure Bob Ross was the guy who sewed the American flag. That had to be worth at least a couple hundred dollars.

He took a quick walk outside of town to the forest, immediately feeling three times better about this whole medieval-dimension situation. He extended his life sense, trying to figure out if there were any tamable mythical creatures in the area.

Two seconds later, he found out there were more than he could ever have expected. He knew what the life signatures of regular animals felt like, and even the life signatures of human-animal hybrids (long story), but mythical animals were totally different. Their minds felt bright and colorful, like they were covered in an extra layer of glitter. He hadn't even known that life signatures could be colorful. Must be the magic.

Despite all this magic, he had no idea what any of it meant. They could be dragons or... what was a small, pointless mythical creature? Jackalopes? No offense to any jackalopes that might or might not exist in this world. Anyway, the mythical creatures could be anything. Maybe he could ride a unicorn or a basilisk or something. Or a griffin. There was definitely a joke he could make there, but he digressed.

Something swooped over his head. He flinched and looked up to see what looked like a flying deer with saber teeth. "Profane mortal!" the creature screeched, then flew away.

That was hurtful. Actually, now he had another question. Could he understand these creatures because he could talk to animals, or did they just all speak human language? Or a combination of both?

He kept going, spotting a couple of cat-looking creatures in the trees with clubs on the end of their tails. None of them looked big enough to ride, and anyway, Mark had met enough cats in his life to know that they weren't the most companionable animals. If he was going to win the America toasters, he needed something friendly and fast. And hopefully something that doesn't fly, he thought nervously. He didn't get along with heights.

"What are you doing here?" asked an animal voice from behind him. He turned around to see a seemingly ordinary brown squirrel sitting on a tree branch. He scanned it with life sense. Yep, it was just a regular squirrel.

"I'm actually looking for mythical creatures," he said. "I'm trying to find the most powerful mythical creature in this forest for a race."

The squirrel's tail shot up in alarm. "You're a human! How can you talk?"

"Because I'm just that cool," answered Mark without missing a beat. "And because where I come from, everyone can do it. How can you climb trees and not get dizzy?"

The squirrel snorted. "The most powerful mythical creature in this forest, huh? You want the Red Death. Go to the center of the cherry grove and look for the great cave beneath the roots. That's where he lives, surrounded by the bones of those he kills."

Sounds not ominous at all. "Is there... any other option?"

"Hmm. Nope!" The squirrel skittered away up the tree, leaving Mark with nothing but a half-dead cell phone, his favorite cowboy boots, and some very cryptic and scary instructions. So basically, right where he liked it. What was the point of living if you didn't run directly toward danger with no plan every once in a while?

It took another twenty minutes to find the cherry grove, most of which involved wrangling a bunch of bluebirds to give him directions, but eventually he got there. Right in the middle was a big tree with pink flowers that almost looked plastic, and underneath the tree was a small burrow surrounded by tiny mouse bones.

Well, that's disappointing. Of course a "great cave" to a squirrel would be tiny for a human. Mark was about to turn around and go back to the village when he saw something small and fuzzy moving inside the den. He reached out life sense to check what it was... and the magic sparkles on this thing were off the charts.

"Hey," he said gently to the underground creature, "how are you doing?" Classic conversation starter. Really chill.

A pointed nose poked out of the burrow, followed by two yellow eyes. A young fox. "Human!" the canine shrieked in terror. "Fear me!"

"No, no, I'm not here to hurt you!" Mark held up his hands. "I was actually wondering if you could help me with something. I'm looking for a mythical creature called the Red Death to help me in a race."

The fox tilted his head. "Mythical creature?"

"Yeah, you know, like an animal but with magic. Are you magic?" Evidently the answer was yes, but he had no idea what kind of magic.

"Magic." The fox stepped outside the burrow and padded up to Mark, and with its whole body visible, he saw his second tail for the first time. "I am magic!" With a golden flash of his eyes, the fox transformed into a deer, then a hawk, then back into a fox.

Oh, wow. Mark could totally work with this. “How do you feel about getting out of your forest for a little while and seeing the world?”

The fox’s tongue lolled out. “More prey?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. So much.” Mark grinned. “By the way, do you have a name, or is it just the Red Death?”

“Wind in cherry branches. Red brush, sharp claw. Death to mice and rodents.” The fox seemed proud of himself.

“Yeah, none of those are names. Okay if I just call you Red?” The fox barked his approval, so Mark set off to find a pigeon for his registration form. He could worry about getting back to Earth later.

Name: Mark Wilder

Steed: Uh… it’s a fox… with two tails

Steed’s Name: Red

Has any magic powers? Yes

Then what is it? Shapeshifting

What does your steed eat? Rodents

Is your steed wild? Yes

Is your steed intelligent? All animals are more intelligent than humans give them credit for, but I don’t think he’s any smarter than the average fox

Are you intelligent? Yeah

Do you like sports? Only if it’s the Tennessee Volunteers

Have you met Tommy Tomson? No

Can you fight? Kinda, maybe

Can you do magic? Not the flashy kind

Can you dance? Absolutely not

Do you have any allergies? No