I awoke fairly early in the morning. The sun could been seen just rising above the horizon and the sounds of life just now coming to existence. Birds chirped a merry song of what the hell birds sing songs about. Subtle breezes roiled through the forest blowing leaves in it path. Beginning my morning routine by stretching out my limbs attempting to shake off the numbness of sleep. I gave a big hearty yawn when I went over to examine my companions. All three of them sound asleep like newborns. It almost brought a smile to my face seeing them but the memories of last night stopped that.

Images of Loki scolding me like a 5 year old who stole from the cookie jar popped into my mind. It didn't help that he was a attractive women at them time either. Stupid sexy female Loki... I shook my head to get rid of that horrid thought.

Looking back at my friends an idea emerged. This idea brought a smile that even the devil would be proud of. They look so peaceful. I slowly circled around them to make sure they were fully asleep. Fenrir's loud snoring seemed to make the ground around shake a bit. The changeling laid against Fenrir as if he were an oversize plushy. The odd one out of our group, Owl, was off on his own side of the camp. He slept against a small boulder with his skull helmet still covering his face. That's... creepy. My smile only grew larger learning that they were still deep asleep.

I reached to my back and pulled my crossbow out of it's sheathe. The brown gem that made up the weapon shone in the light of the sun. Still smiling, I whispered into the crossbow.

"Aqua."

It began to get damp all around me as water was pulled to the crossbow. Drips and drops quickly came together into a semi solid mass. The water bolt glistened under the light. My smile only grew larger as I took the bolt from it's place. I held onto the new born water explosive before tossing it into the air as hard as I could. I quickly ran over to a tree and hid behind it preparing for the fun.  

Looking up I saw the bolt contract and expand ever so slightly. Just as it reached it's peak, it exploded. A large amount of water erupted from the spot of the bolt all at once. It sprayed the trees and nearly soaked me as well. Yet most importantly the torrent of water collapsed down onto my friends with quite some force. Twitch was washed to a nearby tree while Owl struggled to keep his helmet from being washed away. Fenrir got the brunt of the water which completely soaked his fur. All three of them got up from their attack and shook furiously. I was almost amazed by how fast Fenrir and Owl seemed to shake a good portion of the water off them. Twitch was not as lucky and walked back to the camp from the tree still dripping. I could not contain my laughter after seeing the changeling walk around with an annoyed expression with water dripping off him.

Coming out from behind the tree. "And that is revenge for all the times you guys screwed with me while I slept."

"I gotta admit, it was funny but that doesn't mean I won't get you back for it."

"I can see why Loki likes you so much. You are basically a clone of him."

"Except he is taller."

:"And much more powerful..."

"And less of an asshole..." Twitch quickly put his hooves against his mouth.

For a moment all of us stood silent before breaking out into laughter. "Yes Twitch, my father is much less of an 'asshole' than Celt!"

"Alright, now that were all awake, thanks to my brilliant prank. Shall we be off?"

"I suppose so."

"I wouldn't want to make the water you used a waste..." Twitch grumbled.

I smiled happily before looking back at Fenrir. "Fenrir, I want to ask you somethings."

"I suppose it's about the game isn't it?"

"Yes, if I am in this death match I want to know at least the rules of it."

"Really?"

"Yes, so if I see another cute and innocent girl who happened to be in a wrecked village, I know what she is and isn't allowed to do to me... that came out wrong."

"For second there Celt, you sounded like a warrior."

Owl yelled out right after Fenrir. "For the other second he sounded kinky!"

Another round of laughs came out of our merry crew. "But if you do really want to learn about the game, then I will answer your questions as we travel. For now help dry and put away our camping supplies."

"Alright."

After nearly an hour of waiting for the camping supplies to dry out from a combination of the sun and the heat from my ignis bolt, we finally set out. We continued on our way to the desert. Owl resumed his ridiculous tree jump traveling while me and Twitch rode on top of Fenrir. The familiar breeze of going high speed which I had become accustomed to hit my face. After a short while I looked down at Fenrir and decided to start this makeshift lesson.

"Fenrir, can you now tell me about the game?"

"Alright, I cannot tell you about this current game since I was imprisoned long before it even started. I can tell you a bit about the history of the games."

"Kay, lay it on me."

"This is Game used to be an old tradition that fell out of practice for quite sometime. The creator of a specific game would create the rules for it. Usually they were the same rules, such as: no helping them once they arrived or no smiting other's pieces. The prizes for each game tend to vary as well."

"Hold up, did you ever play this game?"

"No, though I did watch quite a few of them. I remember one specifically, where the kitchen god, Zao Jun, challenged all other gods to see who could make the best chef inside a hostile environment. I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the judges due to my *cough* hunger..."

"Wait... there is a kitchen god? There is actually a god for the kitchen!?"

"Yes, and I must say he made the best Game in history. I will never forget the taste of butterfly'd and braised cockatrice, with a mushroom sauce. It was like Valhalla and a War had intercourse and created that marvel of taste!"

"Damnit, we should have hunted a cockatrice..."

"I didn't get the recipe though... Anyway the winner of that competition, was rewarded with a godly 5 star rating. I think he set up a small restaurant. I wonder if he is still open..."

"Fenrir, focus on the things ahead of us... Not your stomach..." Twitch commented.

"Relax, Twitch, I am a warrior, I was made to run hungry! It just means I can eat more food later!"

"Anyway back onto topic... Fenrir what else can you tell me?"

"That the amount my father interferes is a sign of the limits created by the rules. From what I can guess, you're on your own and you won't be smited."

"Didn't you say those were the usual rules?"

"Yes, that why I can say that they exist in this game."

"So the only thing we really know is were not getting help, were not going to be exploded by godly furry and that this isn't a cookoff... Which is a shame because I can bake a mean gingersnap cookie."

"Gods will not be impressed by gingersnap cookies."

"How do you know? Maybe they have a soft spot of them!"

"Because some guy at that cookoff thought the same. Zeus was so annoyed that a mortal thought that would be suitable for a god that he turned his life span into a box of donuts and threw it into a fat camp. The guy watched his life get eaten away by morbidly obese children."

"I still think my gingersnaps are worthy enough..."

"And I think you need to focus more on hand. Now that you know about the game, you should be more cautious towards others and not try to draw attention to yourself."

"I never drew attention to myself!"

"Celt, weren't you the one bragging about being a wanted man in Equestria?"

"Twitch, you are not helping right now."

"You're not listening... Fenrir is right, you can't just flaunt your 'stuff' anymore. You don't know if... if someone might be waiting around the corner with knife."

"Relax, Twitch, I'll be fine. If someone tries to shank me, I'll shove their head into a wall."

"Celt, just try to lay low."

I notice he isn't looking at me but rather his compass. "Alright Twitch, I'll try to lay low."

"Low and behold a miracle has been bestowed upon us. I guess I was wrong about divine intervention."

"Oh shut it..." I slumped back and crossed my arms.

We traveled forward with only the sounds of the nature around us. I had just began to get used to the green foliage that had surrounded me this entire time. Such strange life seemed to flourish in this place. I smiled as I gazed upon a sight that would make any artist jealous of me. In front of me was a lush grove of flowers all showing such amazing colors. It almost seemed as if a rainbow had made it's home. Light shone upon the opening like the light of the gods themselves. In an instant we had passed the sight. I snap myself out of the trance I had come into by watching it and turn my attention ahead of us.

Directly in front of us was a what looked like a pathway. It was a rough dirt path that lead towards a opening ahead of us. I could make out a small town with a river of some sort beside it. Once we got closer the river almost seemed to expand. It grew larger until it stretched past my vision and disappeared into a fog. I looked at the dirt path, only to notice a small wooden sign that read "Welcome to Port Longwood." in old shaky writing. My mind went aflutter when I read that sign thinking up a bunch of jokes about it like: "The citizens must be compensating for something." or "I wonder if their able to do push ups." After my short joy ride of bad and immature jokes all I could only think one thought. God, I am immature...

Right before the village both Owl and Fenrir stopped. Twitch and my head jerked forward from the sudden halt. I looked down at Owl and got off Fenrir.

"Yo, Owl what's up?"

"This is where we part ways friend."

"What do you mean? You're our friend dude, come and join us!"

"Celt, you're a fun guy and I like all three of you but I have my own goals and ambitions. If I get tied down with your ambition then there would be no point of even leaving the Vena Tribe."

"Well then I suppose this is goodbye?"

"Nope, there are no such things as goodbyes. Instead I will see you later. Hopefully with a matching set of arms."

"It was an honor to travel with a hunter such as yourself, Owl."

"Same to you big buddy. Oh and Twitch?"

"Yah?"

"When we meet again, I expect you to be a badass and remember the vote passed! You kill the next psycopath!"

Owl rushed into the forest leaving us to ourselves. A joyful smile covering his face and a skip in his step. I couldn't help but feel happy for him. Can't wait to see him again... I turned towards Fenrir and Twitch.

"Well guys, time to get down to buisness."

"Yup."

"Indeed."

With those word we walked forward into Port Longwood.