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Lysanthra, or Liz as her foster siblings call her, sees her first opportunity to disappear, or escape if she can. Her foster dad, Jordan Lee, the mayor of Smith Falls. Today, he decided to take her and her foster siblings to Fort Hammer, about twenty miles north of Smith Falls, for their annual festival. The festival is a conglomeration of games, music, contests, events, carnival rides, entertainment, food, dance and drinks. Thousands have arrived from all round, including Smith Falls, the local native tribes, travellers and all of the Fort Hammer locals. What better place to disappear when the time is right? Then she can get some answers!

She digs into the linty pockets of her hooded sweatshirt, which covers her tight, form fitting, black v-neck shirt. Her leggings and athletic shoes emphasize her curvy young figure. The sweatshirt is more for comfort and can be turned inside out as a possible form of disguise.

She pulls out the contents of her pocket; five whole credits. Apparently, everything is cheaper in Fort Hammer. Meals, games and/or drinks are only one credit. Most of the events are free and offer cash or material prizes. She is mildly hungry, but the lines are too long. Some of the biggest attractions are the rides for the younger kids, each costs a credit. There's a gigantic obstacle course outside of town, with an enormous line for contestants. It costs one credit for two tries. Anyone completing stage one gets their credit back. Stage two and three also each give one credit back. If anyone were to ever complete all four stages, then they win one thousand credits, which in Smith Falls, is a few months of rent. In Fort Hammer, it's rumored to be enough for a small cottage or a motorcycle or even a horse. No one has ever beat all four stages.

Fort Hammer is a humble town. One paved road is the main street of town, which has just about everything a small town resident could need. The other two roads are dirt. One dirt road covers the residential area. The other road covers the outskirts of town for maintenance purposes. Agriculture and hand crafted goods seem to be the main economy of the town. All of these roads are now covered with vendors, rides, games and entertainment.

The town's leader, recently beat Liz's foster father's brother, Andy, for leadership of the town. His name is Lord William Stein. Rumors are rampant that he's a dictator, religious fanatic and deluded on his role as the leader of the community. Most of the locals seem to like him. He does look rather pompous with a big jeweled crown on his head. He's been busy with officiating most of the events of the town. The man also seems full of himself.

Outside of town stands a Native American encampment, where they too sell their own wares and services. Not as many people go there, but it is a good place to get specialized herbs, dried meats and rare ingredients for whatever a person could need them for. Most of the native children are in town, enjoying the festivities and food. Local prejudices are at a low this year as most locals tend to keep them out of town. But not this year.

Local law enforcement is pretty friendly and relaxed. The town sheriff, Joe Ericson, and his five deputies make sure that the town knows that they're safe. Only one arrest has been made. Someone from Smith Falls had too much to drink and was escorted to jail to sober up.

Liz has spent most of her life in Smith Falls. She's been to Fort Hammer a few times for the festival with her parents, but can barely remember those times. The only other time she's left was to forage for plants, mushrooms and bark outside of the safety of the protection lines, or so they call them. These lines keep out monsters and unimaginably bad beings and spirits. The world outside of the lines is an extremely lethal place.

Those were so much better times... before her parents died traveling for one of their foraging trips. Liz has never had a chance to go investigate for herself, but she'd inherited her parents' home and business. Because of her age, a business group, known as Wellington, has taken over her assets until she turns eighteen, and thus, placed her into foster care, preferably far east in some city known as The Manistique Imperium.

Luckily, the town's mayor, her current foster dad, took over and placed her in his own care, stating to be a friend of her parents. Oddly, Liz had never met the man before then. It seems suspicious. This is where she met her siblings. Emily Jones, a fourteen year old spoilt brat who finds it unfair if Liz or Marshal get anything extra, even if she doesn't want it. Marshal Bateman, a quiet seventeen year old who keeps to himself. He'd watched his parents be murdered by one of the monsters from beyond the lines. At least Liz has something in common with him, but he refuses to talk about it.

Other teenagers have come from Smith Falls. There's Sam Kessler, an up and coming artist with some considerable talent. He seems pretty interested in one of the locals, named Megana. There's Steve Campbell, a local adrenaline junkie who tends to get into trouble and is usually seen hanging out with Maya Nguyen, just recently completed the first stage of the obstacle course, breaking the fastest time record. Maya is interesting. No one knows where she lives or who her parents are or cares to ask. She seems well fed and dressed and she loves taking pictures of everything.

Liz has noticed some of the locals and picked up on a few of their names. Megana, the one Sam seems to like, was talking about racing horses earlier. Frank and Johnny, two locals who have a love for racing, are currently competing against each other in the sack races. A guy named Ted and his girlfriend, Vi, both seem overconfident in everything they do. Ted won the first stage of the obstacle course, while Vi horribly failed and twisted her ankle. Yet, they're both scoping games and contests to see if they can win any.

Eventually, Liz comes across a poster, reading all of the events going on today:
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Competitions:
Arm Wrestling (1st place: 10 credits and a trophy, 2nd Place: 5 credits and a trophy)
Barrel Racing: Winner gets a bottle of wine
High Jump: Winner gets either 1 credit or a bale of hay
Ongoing - Tug o War: Winners receive 2 credits each and the rope
Completed - Three legged races: (Winners each get 1 credit)
In Session - Sack Race: Winner gets a 50# sack of potatoes.
Cooking competition: (Hosted by Phil Williams, popular chef from Smith Falls) Winner receives 5 credits and new professional cookware.
Chess Tournament: (Winner gets a new carved granite chess set)
Checkers Tournament: (Winner gets a new carved granite checkers set)
Cornhole Tournament: (Winner gets their own cornhole game and a trophy)
Horse Races (1st place: 100 cr, second place: 50 credits, 3rd place: 25 credits) and a trophy
Steeple Chasing: (1st place: 100 cr, second place: 50 credits, 3rd place: 25 credits) and a trophy
MMA Fights (undetermined matches) : Prizes yet to be determined and a trophy
Marksman Competition: (Winner receives a newly made 30-06 with a new distancing scope and a trophy)
Archery Competition: (Winner receives a newly made compound bow with a quiver of new metal arrows and a trophy)
Relay Races: (Winners each get 1 credit and a trophy)
Texas Holdem
Poker (5 card draw)
Roulette
Black Jack (played with 5 decks)
Dance off: Winners (top two) receive two credits and an all expense (travel, food, room, some entertainment) paid trip to Smith Falls for a day and night and a trophy.
Singing Competition: (Winner receives 5 credits and a boombox)
Billiards (Winners receive 5 credits and a trophy)
Dart Tournament (Winners receive a bottle of whiskey and a trophy)
Axe Throwing (Winners Receive a chainsaw and a trophy)
Annual Beer drinking games: Winner gets a keg of beer and a trophy
King of the Ring: (Winner gets 100 credits and a trophy)
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Events and Attractions:
Ongoing - Credit hunt (up to 50 credits: Age limit (no one under 2 or over 10)
Completed - Egg Toss (Winner gets 1 credit and a basket of eggs)
Human Piñata
Grease Pig Run: Winner gets free food for the rest of the day (wear disposable clothing)
Greased Pole Climb: Prizes are on the pole (wear disposable clothing)
Fortune Teller: Costs 1 credit
Produce Judging and prizes
Art Show and Judging
Massage and spa tents
Chiropractic Tent
At least a dozen food vendors
Constant Live Music with Dancing
Balloon Pop (Prizes vary)
Bottle Break
Helter Skelter Slide
Roller Coaster
Tilt-a-whirl
Ferris Wheel
Carousel
Ring Toss
Magic Show
Mirror Maze
Petting zoo
High Striker
Ongoing all day - Obstacle Course: (Win one credit per checkpoint completed within time limit. Win 1000 credits for completing the course)
Cancelled - Boxing Exhibition Match (Vi "Warwick" Trent vs Teddy "The Terror" Swenson) Prize: 20 credits
Theatre Drama Show
Bingo
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As she's quickly reading through the list, a woman's voice asks from behind her, "Are you new around here?"

Lysanthra wondered about the woman's intention with the question. Hopefully she was just being a curious local but Lysanthra was cautious with everyone usually. She didn't make friends easily usually and questioned people's motives all the time since her last best friend slept with her boyfriend. Still, Lysanthra turned to smile at the woman who asked her the question and said simply, "Yes, I am. My name is Liz."

Lysanthra wonders about the woman's intention with her question. Hopefully she's just being a curious local but Lysanthra's cautious with everyone usually. She doesn't make friends easily and questions people's motives all the time since her last best friend slept with her boyfriend. Still, Lysanthra turns and smiles while answering, "Yes, I am. My name is Liz."

Before Liz stands the most fashionable woman, even for a small town like Fort Hammer. Her blonde hair perfectly shaped with no hair out of place. She wears a form fitting black shirt with golden heart necklaces adorning the front. Her makeup is on point, accentuating her ocean blue eyes. Her smile is classy, yet genuine as she admires Liz's hair, "You're quite beautiful, Liz," she begins to walk, circling Lysanthra. "My name is Ingrid. I've not seen you with anyone this entire time!" She stops circling, "Would you like to spend it with me? I have money to spend and no one to spend it with," she grins.

Liz takes in Ingrid's beauty and smiles warmly at her. She can tell this woman was watching her for a while now but somehow it doesn't feel scrutinizing. Maybe having a friend here would pay off, Liz thinks to herself. She speaks confidently despite feeling a bit nervous. "I would enjoy some company today and I was just thinking about the fortune teller. Maybe we can start there," suggested Lysanthra.

Liz takes in Ingrid's beauty and smiles warmly. She can tell this woman has been watching her for a while, but it doesn't feel scrutinizing. oO(Maybe having a friend here would pay off)Oo Liz thinks to herself. She speaks confidently despite feeling a bit nervous. "I would enjoy some company today and I was just thinking about the fortune teller. Maybe we can start there," Lysanthra suggests.

Ingrid seems in thoughtful contemplation, then nods with an enthusiastic smile, "Alright! Let's do it!" She confidently takes Lysanthra's hand and leads her to the fortune teller's tent. Upon entering, Madame Etna, a middle aged, dark skinned woman of unknown ethnicity, sits on a pillow with graceful posture as she quickly stops twirling her braids. She smiles as Lysanthra and Ingrid enter, "Welcome! Please come. Take a pillow." Once seated, she asks, "What do you prefer today?" as she points to a chalk written menu, mounted on an easel, then slowly and gracefully places her hands on the square marble table between them.

All one credit each per person:
Palm reading
Tarot reading
Chicken bones

Twenty credits each per person:
Native American Spiritual Journey
Natural Enlightenment
Hypnotic Treatment
Object Reading

After studying Madame Etna's choices on the board, Liz turned to Ingrid. "I've always wanted a palm reading," she said hoping for encouragement. "What do you think?" Liz was also hoping to gain some insight into her new friend.

After studying Madame Etna's choices, Liz turns to Ingrid. "I've always wanted a palm reading," she said hoping for encouragement. "What do you think?" Liz hopes to gain some insight into her new friend.

Ingrid claps her hands together lightly, "Yes! Let's do it!" and she sets down two credit coins. "Do you want me to go first or do you want to?"

"You should definitely go first" Lysanthra said. She might get an inside look at this woman and ask her how accurate Madame Etna really is, at the same time. Liz was also secretly thinking about how much she could trust Ingrid. Maybe this was an opportunity for her to find something better for her life. Maybe she would gain an ally that could help her get away from this place one day. Lysanthra couldn't pass up an opportunity to find out.

"You should definitely go first," Lysanthra replies. She might get an inside look at this woman and ask her how accurate Madame Etna really is. At the same time, Liz is also secretly thinking about how much she can trust Ingrid. Maybe this is an opportunity for her to find something better for her life. Maybe she could gain an ally that could help her get away from this place one day. Lysanthra can't pass up an opportunity to find out.

"Okay!" She seems to give Liz a interested smile, then elegantly sits down across from Madame Etna and places her hands palm up for her to read. The madame takes Ingrid's hands into her own, concentrates for a moment and begins.

"You've recently felt very alone. You enjoy quality over quantity and you've been unlucky in love. You've recently made a new friend and you've been torn between decisions and feel excluded... from... something, like looking through a window, unable to be included.

"Humility and generosity may bring you more happiness and a vacation may be a healthy choice in the near future. It will result in a longer life and heal your heart."

Madame Etna looks into Ingrid's now tear filled eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Thank you," Is all Ingrid can blurt out as she moves for Liz's turn. She carefully wipes her eyes, scared to smear her makeup.

Lysanthra pondered what was happening in the life of Ingrid. This friendship may be beneficial to them both she realized. Liz took her place at the table and laid her hands out for Madame Etna. She was expecting something generalized and impersonal but it seemed like she hit close to home with Ingrid. Maybe she would learn something about herself today. Lysanthra took a deep breath and confidently said "My turn," as she smiled and looked at the fortune teller.