Kazimir had only just arrived at Hargeon when he was given his first task. A man named Jay Holiday at the beach needed some help. “The wind feels different here,” he remarked more so about the atmosphere of the people than the actual wind. He could tell this place was going to be a lot different than Magnolia.

He kept his scarf on despite the warm sunny day. He was used to being warmer now from his time at the forge. The beach was just as bright as the rest of the city and almost…bubbly as people strolled through their day.

“Excuse me,” he stopped a group of ladies walking towards an ice cream stand. “Do you know where I can find Jay Holiday?”

The ladies replied with enthusiasm, “Of course, everyone knows where Jay is. He’s over there lifting. Like always.” The women pointed him towards an area filled with weights on the beach and he could see a tall blonde man lifting to his heart’s content.

“Thank you,” he replied taking his leave and jumping over the railing to quickly make his way over. Jay had just dropped his deadlift when Kazimir arrived. “Are you Jay Holiday. I’m here for the request with the Rune Knights.” He felt as though he had said that same line so often that it was losing impact with people, but it never did.

“Yeah, I’m Jay. Thanks for coming. I need someone to sign me up for a competition but I’m just too busy to go.”

Kazimir got a fleeting annoyed feeling about where this was going, “Alright so I take it this competition is pretty far away. Where is it, another town?”

“No nothing like that, first you need to take my info though,” He flexed a little, showing off his physique before lifting the barbells. He handed Kazimir a notepad. “These are the questions.”

Kazimir didn’t bother asking how he got the questions but didn’t registered and just asked them, “Alright. What is your size?”

“Rippling with muscles?” He replied while curling the barbell in tight.

“Next question, how tall are you?”

“Tall enough to grab a pull-up bar without jumping,” he flashed a smile and there was almost a sparkle on his pure white teeth. He knew his answers weren’t helpful, but he gave them anyway.

“What category will you be competing in?” Kazimir asked as his energy for the task was fading.

“Being the best!” He dropped the barbells to the sand with a thud and flexed his arms to the heavens.

“Well, I think that covers the personal info. So where is this event at exactly.” Kazimir tucked the notepad away and was ready for the last segment of the quest. Eager to be done with Holiday.

“It’s right over there but it closes at sunset. You gotta hurry man. I can’t miss this.” Jay pointed at the far end of the beach.

Still keeping his calm demeanor, Kazimir replied, “You mean you had time to put in a request but not to walk to the end of the beach?” his tone was more of a temperate annoyance than anger.

“You gotta hurry.” Jay ended as Kazimir took off running toward the sign-up station.

word count 537/1000

“Come on!” He was less than pleased about the sudden deadline placed on him and may have some words about time management with Holiday when he returned.

The beach was full of people crossing his path and he was certainly not dressed to sprint across the sand and wooden walkways. He bobbed and weaved around people, ducking beneath arms and circling around groups. He was pushing his legs in a way he hadn’t in a long time and felt the sting of fatigue creeping around the corner.

A sandcastle stood in his way with children putting the finishing touches on it. “No, not the kid's area.” He grimaced, seeing the array of children playing various sports games from volleyball to frisbee.

He leapt over the sand castle luckily not causing it to topple but while in the air would he be able to avoid the deadly duo of a fast-moving volleyball and a frisbee whizzing toward him.

“No more games then."He gathered a small amount of wind around him and pushed his trajectory upward to evade the volleyball with a somersault and sent it back down with a kick.

“Hey, you’re not playing!” The kids yelled at him from below, but his mind was already on the threatening misaimed frisbee coming his way. He rotated his body in the air like he was jumping over a pole-vault and snatched the frisbee mid-air. He sent it back at the kids who threw it and landed with a roll, springing back to his feet.

He forgot about his annoyance at the task as he sped through the crowd. He was having too much fun to remember the earlier irritation. Dead ahead was the next obstacle. A large group of teens drinking. He rushed into their midst as they panicked and spun their drinks. He bumped into them back and forth as they frantically moved in all directions unsure about what to do.

“Just stay still I’ll be out in a second.” He tried to calmly reassure them, but it was too late. Some of them flailed their arms and slammed into each other causing their drinks to splash outward. Orange soda soaked Kazimir’s shirt and part of his scarf, “Oh come on. That doesn’t wash out easy. Just calm down.”

They still didn’t hear his words as more started to panic and drinks filled the sky. This time he wouldn’t be caught in the mess. He tried to calm them, but he had a task. The wind lifted him into the air and he blew an opening in the liquid that began to rain down.

He shot a burst of wind sending him over them. Tumbling to the ground he left them with their spilled drinks and wet clothes. “I’ll buy you drinks sometime. Sorry."

He could finally see the register in the distance with a group of elderly people in his way. Using the same tactic as before he dove over them. This time causing no ruckus. They were moving to slow and he couldn't be slowed down anymore.

Finally, he got to the line. The other contestants were dripping with sweat that gave them a shimmer in the sunlight. He held back a reflex to gag a little, but he had made it. More contestants arrived and sandwiched him between their bodies. He fought them for space, but he was tired from all the sprinting.

He signed Jay up and returned for the reward. “Thanks mage, you’re the best!”
“No problem. I’m just going to go take a shower now.” He hated mess and needed to fix this problem as soon as possible.

“That’s what fitness is all about. The post-workout shower!”

Word count 1132/1000