Quest: Take the Cake

It's a familiar sight to the citizens of North Castle who had been to the Grand Celebration the year previous, yet just a glance at it is enough to inspire awe in all those gathered for the festival. In the very center of the Castle Courtyard stands an enormous cake, ten layers tall. True, last year's cake held twice as many layers, but the layers on this one are about three times as tall. Frosting has been used like there is no tomorrow, though hopefully there will be since this cake could not physically be eaten in a single day. Yes, it's that enormous.

And there sits Tingle, busy slicing the cake to pieces with smooth crisp swipes of the knife in his hand. A quartet of guards sits on the ground nearby, but unlike those assigned to watch over the knife-wielding Tingle they hardly cast an eye in his direction as he busily chops away. "I gotta say, Captain Collonius is one heck of a genius," one of the Hylian Knights says as you approach. "Hiding that rupee-firework thing in there last year...now all we have to do is tell Tingle that he can keep any rupees he finds in the cake and he works day and night without question!" The roar of laughter draws the Christmas-colored-clothed man's attention, but he smirks as he quickly returns to his job, muttering something about how he'll be the last one laughing when he actually finds another rupee...

Glancing in your direction, the guards wave merrily. "Hello, my good adventurer!" one calls out. "Hey Tingle, toss us a piece, will ya?" Thrown with excellent precision and caught with the same degree of skill, the guard holds out the newest piece to you. "Here you go, my friend! Feel free to have as much cake as you want; just ask Tingle for another piece when you're in the mood."

With the tasty treat merely a foot from your form, will you dare deny yourself the delicious pastry?

"How can I dare deny myself such a tasty-looking pastry?” spoke Blank aloud as he marched up to the colossal cake, forced to gaze skyward so as to partake of its incredible glory. Turning, he winked at the man behind him and chuckled. “Alright, someone please tell me who is making all of these cakes.” The sheer thought of a baker being able to create something so enormous, while completely in secret and without others noticing, was baffling. Blank was practically drooling as he waited as patiently as possible in line. Last year's cake had looked so good, and had tasted... well, such a positive description would only over-exaggerate the masterpiece. It had just been simply amazing! The nomad began to fidget with his twin scabbard belts - not even Blank was wicked enough to bring knives to a celebration of this caliber.

Especially when the little bearded man at the cake's edge was cutting away so fiercely. That cake-knife could easily upstage the nomad's pathetic Deku swords. He was glad to be free of their weight for such a joyous occasion. He finally arrived at the head of the line, salivating at the grand smell and spectacle. It was then that he looked down and recognized the little man in green. “You!” he shouted, seeing Tingle and wondering why in the name of the Oracles only a few paces away was Tingle here, and cutting the cake at that. The strange, funny man had been present at the previous year's celebration, and had been hauled away by the guards as Blank recalled. “Erm, never mind,” he said with a smile, not wanting to anger the fairy dreamer, lest the possibility of a good slice of the brilliant dessert be lost. He nodded thankfully as he held his piece in hand, staring at it as he wandered off to find Tayro, or possibly Dogura, so that he might brag about his score.

“No, it's too good to brag about!” he shouted, shoving the beautiful piece of culinary art down his throat with a triumphant grin. It took about ten seconds to really get it down, due to the size of the pastry he had just inhaled. There were several words that could come to Blank's thoughts to describe it, but these were lost in the sheer happiness of the taste. He wiped his dirtied hands on an unsuspecting passerby and wandered off, still wondering if the delectable cake would give him “the Tingles,” as last year's had. He could not help but glance back at the Rupee-hungry Tingle, only now catching the reference.

Dogura decided to take today to enjoy himself. A personal vacation of mind and spirit. Dogura smiled the biggest smile he had formed in years. All of this reminded him of an annual festival he used to attend with his father back in Shadowclaw. It was one of the only times of the year he would actually see his stern father let loose, and enjoy himself. Dogura smiled, and took the cake. It looked wonderfully delicious. Dogura took a bite, and sighed a sigh of happiness. "Enjoy yourself dad..."

The cake, though being handed out by one such as Tingle, is quickly taken away by any and all people in the area and devoured in an instant. Their taste buds spark as the delicious piece of cake slides down their throat, and most walk away without a second thought as to what the sensation the cake bring might be.

Some, however, recognize the cake as what it truly is, a TINGLE-filled piece of heaven. New power can be felt emerging within all who eat the tasty treat, hopefully serving to prepare them for the trials of the next year as they continue to protect Hyrule from the dark fates that would befall it.

Blank and Dogura have earned 1 TP.

Navigating through the wild array of people was not an easy deal. Specially when they were partying and dancing happily, enjoying the festivities. And you couldn't wish them bad either - probably Tayro was the next one joining them. Trying to find his friends in the middle of this confusion, the boy almost bumped into a woman carrying a white poodle, two men - apparently twins, though with different shirt colors - and two lovers dancing romantically to a song that was listened in the air. Wide assortment of people, all having their fun. The teenager's fun began exactly then. Standing a little in front of him was the largest birthday cake he had ever seen in his life. Ten stories high, and each portion was quite bigger than the boy's mouth. There was probably enough cake there to feed the whole town for days. The youngster's eyes lit up. He wished for a small portion... no mater how small... if he only could get to taste that wonderful thing.

He really got more than what he asked for. He was strangely called to by the guards - a time in which the boy was already wondering what he had done wrong - but found out it was nothing abnormal at all: just his wish getting through. Watching the man serving, a small creature with a paranormal outfit which was rather shocking to the eye, Tayro kept his eyes on the plate that critter launched towards the guard, who deftly got it., handing it over. Tayro couldn't believe what he had heard. All the refills he wanted?! This truly was paradise. He hadn't made it last year because of illness, so at least, this turn it was paying off. Armed with a metal fork, the mage apprentice nearly devoured the whole slice, licking his lips in delight. It was a hard to define flavor... a mix of many ingredients that the teenager couldn't point out. Still, he was not that much of a cooking expert, so he could as well be wrong. Nonetheless, it felt and tasted like the best cake ever. Still, it seemed like his sugar-toothed belly could very well fit another slice inside. Not wasting more time, he walked towards the - rather scary - server...

Only to be pushed and falling towards the floor. A kid, about his thirteens, armed with his own plate and fork quickly passed in front of him on the line. Simplistic light blue shoes, with a matching shirt and bow-tie, with dark blue shorts to boot, simple white socks and a slingshot in his right pocket, the hazel-haired kid looked back. "Sorry mister, I..." - he stopped, examining Tayro up and down. A huge grin appeared on his face, before letting go of said plate and throwing himself against the fallen teenager. "Big Brother! You're here!" - he yelled of happiness. Managing to grab hold of him, pushing him aside playfully and getting up, Tayro smiled back. "Good to see you too, Mike!" - was the expected answer. Michael Nicholson, two years Tayro's junior was a great friend of Emily and his when he was at the orphanage. Being younger than it's two companions, he used to address them as big brother and big sister, a warmful title. Appetite lost with a matching happiness, Tayro walked alongside his friend as they navigated through the mass of people. "You should see - there's an amazing ninja over there! And did you see those fireworks? They were the best ever!" - the kid continued to shout. The elder teenager didn't recall that every year, the Orphanage kids also participated in the festival. He wondered if Emily was here as well. "Oh that's right, Big Brother! Big Sister is way mad at you for having skipped her birthday. She said she was gonna rip you to shreds!" - Mike playfully commented, as if he had divined his brother's thoughts.

Uh oh. He was in for it. Due to the excitement of his adventures, fighting Nightmares, Hakiems, going underground... he had completely forgotten about Emily's birthday! Knowing her well, he knew his punishment wasn't gonna be light. Slightly more nervous, he was not so sure if he wanted to see her now... His arm was suddenly pulled by the Orphan, who cried to investigate another attraction over there. With slightly more - joking - caution, he happily went.

Leth and his three friends enter the square, and look around in awe. "Blessed Goddesses! That is one huge cake!" Says Drommlin. Leth nods in agreement, and Karuna comments, "It is indeed large." Leth approaches the guards. "I will take three and a half pieces, sir. The half is for my little Minish pal." he says, indicating the small creature sitting on his shoulder. The Minish nods in recognition.

"Can I get a piece of such a delicious cake?" asked Orpheous, who happened to be strolling by when he noticed the colossal masterpiece. He was never a big fan of cake, but he thought that perhaps this cake might be different from the others. "I mean, may I please have a piece of such a delicious cake," he corrected himself.

Upon entering North Castle, Rose had let out a low whistle at the sight of such a cake. Such a cake was hard for a hawk to miss from the air as it dived into an alley to turn back into a human. However, at the time of her arrival, she had other things on her mind. Now that she had failed at Mendion the Ninja's contest of speed and skill, she felt that satisfying her sweet tooth would cheer her up.

Once at the table handing out cake, she accepted the sugary confection from the guard, nodding her thanks as well as vocalizing it. She did not get very far from the table when the voice of an elderly woman called out her name. She turned around and looked, seeing a short Hylian woman with grey hair, only a couple of blond streaks left to hint at what she had looked like in years past. The human smiled and replied, "Amelia. It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Same here," the scribe said, her voice cheery. "Except it's more of a pleasant surprise. I don't see you too often in North Castle."

"I came by when I saw that Din's Troupe was not at their usual spot near the Crossroads." The ranger then eyed the two plates of cake. "Hungry?"

"Oh, no, the other piece is for Seth. He's around here somewhere. On duty, of course. He's a little bit sour because if trouble comes up, he's going to have to resort to his sword and not his bow, but I don't know why he's thinking such a silly thing. Say, did you sign up for the tournament they're having?" Rose nodded her head. "Well, you're welcome to stay at my house."

"Thank you," Rose said with a slight bow. The two women headed off in their own directions.

The cake, though being handed out by one such as Tingle, is quickly taken away by any and all people in the area and devoured in an instant. Their taste buds spark as the delicious piece of cake slides down their throat, and most walk away without a second thought as to what the sensation the cake bring might be.

Some, however, recognize the cake as what it truly is, a TINGLE-filled piece of heaven. New power can be felt emerging within all who eat the tasty treat, hopefully serving to prepare them for the trials of the next year as they continue to protect Hyrule from the dark fates that would befall it.

Tayro, Orpheous, Leth, and Rose have earned 1 TP.

Alpha stumbles into the Courtyard, looking around in surprise. 'Of course . . . it's been a full year since the last time we had a cake this big.' He takes another look at the cake as he strides forward towards. 'Actually, it looks like this one's even bigger than last year's!' Quite a surprise; he hadn't expect that feat to be possible.

As the guard calls out to him, Alpha turns and nods slightly in his direction, quickly taking the cake in eager anticipation. Last year's had been absolutely delicious; hopefully a bigger cake also means a better cake. Quickly he scarfs it down, savoring its taste as he wanders away, merging into the crowd.

IT'S CAKE!
AM I DREAMING!

Azador quikly bashed trough the small crout of people.

OH MY, IT's HUGE, AND I MISSED THE LAST TIME THEY MADE A CAKE THAT BIG!
he spoke to himself

MISTER TINGLE PLEASEW GIVE ME A PIECE!!!!!!

The cake, though being handed out by one such as Tingle, is quickly taken away by any and all people in the area and devoured in an instant. Their taste buds spark as the delicious piece of cake slides down their throat, and most walk away without a second thought as to what the sensation the cake bring might be.

Some, however, recognize the cake as what it truly is, a TINGLE-filled piece of heaven. New power can be felt emerging within all who eat the tasty treat, hopefully serving to prepare them for the trials of the next year as they continue to protect Hyrule from the dark fates that would befall it.

Alpha and Azador have earned 1 TP.

Cake, Aureliano thought, Something I never tasted. I was always to poor for such things back in Macondo. Just a little bit wouldn't hurt. Aureliano goes and grabs a piece of cake.
"This.........is...............delicious!" Aureliano says, realizing it is not a piece of cake, but a slice of heaven.

Brin is quick to spot the cake.

"Mmm... Cake!" exclaims Brin. "How could I resist?"

Grinning, he accepts a piece from Tingle, and gulps it down in one bite. "Delicious!"
Thanking the fairy impostor, Brin heads off to join the other festivities of the Grand Celebration.

Worru, looking at the cake with major dislike, grudgingly takes a piece, and chokes it down. "*urp* Thanks..." he mumbles, running off to find either an unnocupied commode or trashcan.