PaxOku, Tokuno, Chesapeake (PaxLair Times) – January 20, 2012 – by Ashlynn – On the fifth day of the anniversary week (which is the actual anniversary day) I had to actually run something and that I did! A mushroom-themed hunt with a slight twist.
Everyone gathered at the Tea House before I dragged them all to the Shrine of Sobriety. Informing everyone that they would be handed tasks and successful completion of the tasks would offer the opportunity to pick a prize, I then announced the twist. There were two boxes, one containing mental challenges and one containing “endurance” (or in some cases patience-testing) challenges. Participants chose their category and then picked a random number corresponding to the tasks inside.
Some were simple gathering excercises, some tougher than others. Some asked the entrant to write a mushroom haiku, while others asked for anagrams to be decoded and the items brought back. Those who successfully completed a task could pick a box and a colour and would receive a random prize.
Notable tasks completed included a series of questions on mushrooms my Lord Maedhros, a mushroom haiku submitted by Lady Winmere, and I must commend Lady Oni who diligently spent quite some some decoding an encrypted phrase.
After an hour was over, we all made our way to a new construction behind the Tea House where an informal feast was prepared. Governor Winfield gave us a lengthy speech and the celebrations began. Even the Harbinger decided to make an appearance and it took us quite some time to eject him from the venue.
Lady Lenora then announced the winners of the literary contest earlier in the week. There were six categories and a grand prize for the best entry. The results were as follows:
- Best Song or Poetry: Imagine by Severus
- Most Humourous: Nite Before Xmas by Balor
- Most Creative: Fungal Folly by Ashlynn
- Best Historical Contribution: Nidaros History by Maedhros
- Best Bar Story or Fishing Song: Balance is Restored by Winfield
- Reader’s Choice Award: Fungal Folly by Ashlynn
- Grand Prize for Best Contribution: Night of the Apple by Maedhros
After some closing words, awards for those who completed Governor Winfield’s “Balance Quest”, a gift for all the participants, and a little more revelry, everyone began to disperse for the evening bringing a fun and successful fourteenth PaxLair Anniversary to a close.