38 Ash 121
What a quaint little idea. Go to the vendor. Look for a nice pumpkin. Take the pumpkin. Go to the Copper Cut. Or go to the Copper Cut first and then everything listed out from the start, it would all end the same anyway. After that pick a cliff. Climb up that cliff. Hold the pumpkin up. Throw the pumpkin as far out as possible. In that exact order. Those were the instructions Dakkur got and so Dakkur did it all. First to the Copper Cut- for the sake of convenience he would rather buy his pumpkin from a vendors there and his choice of vendors? Of course the vendor with the cheapest selection. It was contrary to the idea the more expensive the goods, the better it would be. The idea was not from living in the West End either; ingrained in him from being a well off family but there were plenty of exceptions like if it was something disposable, something he could do without or something with quality of no consequence to purpose. That said even as he browsed, he still did it carefully to get his money's worth despite the vendor rushing him so the next customer could get in, Dakkur was still a paying customer and able to get the biggest pumpkin he could find there. Of course he could not be sure the pumpkin he picked was the biggest since he did it by eye but he was confident he did; in his job accuracy was tantamount and the skill to be able to tell there was something off with the dimensions of the material he worked with could only help even in picking pumpkins.With the biggest pumpkin claimed as his own, it was then time for Dakkur to pick a cliff to get on top of. While he could choose the highest just like how he made his pick of pumpkins, he knew there were a lot more considerations to be had for cliffs. The largest pumpkin? That was based on his assumption the larger pumpkin the pumpkin, the heavier the pumpkin would be and the heavier the pumpkin was, the further it would travel from its weight after it was in the air. Maybe. It was a long way down. but back to the cliffs, he had to go up of the one he chose which would expend a lot of energy compared to his pumpkin which only needed to go down and then splat. And then there was the issue of some cliffs being more difficult to climb even if they were of the same height because of their steepness, ill maintained trails, dead ends and a whole lot of other things. Maybe Dakkur was making too many assumptions with this; why would the cliffs have ill maintained trails and dead ends on the way to the peak? But he was no local, he would have no way of knowing which of the cliffs were suited for his purposes.
But why would it have to be him making that decision when there were so many other locals joining the event able to make that decision for him? Of course he was not going to just ask. If they were anything like him when he was a kid, he might be given directions to the wrong cliff: the cliff which would make his pumpkin's flight the shortest or the cliff with the hardest climb or even the cliff with the most dangers like slimy and poisonous bugs- all for their sick amusement. Comeuppance was a bitch as it was only because Dakkur was suddenly reminded of his own brand of fun on the tourists to Zeraphesh that his own suspicions of the locals in Zaichaer grew to the point he would rather not ask them for advice even if it would be easier so he would just have to make do with following the groups of people setting out to what he hoped would be known as the best cliff for tossing out pumpkins after years and years of the event being held.
By all accounts under normal circumstances the trek should not even be as hard as Dakkur trekking the deserts of Zeraphesh, especially certain infamous locales where a foot sinking into the sands meant the unfortunate traveler's footwear being filled and becoming a lot heavier, under the most optimistic of outcomes. However one thing which differentiated this trek from a normal climb up was that he was carrying the big and heavy pumpkin along with him- may as well be sands in his boots bogging him down. And it was uncomfortable for him to carry the pumpkin up and each time he shifted it into a more comfortable position only made him even slower as he noticed various different groups overtaking him in the trail. Any slower and the moratallen would have gotten him long before he even reached the cliff.
What moratallen were those? Why the moratallen of the Old Mines of course, what other moratallen were there at the cliffs? But it was not until Dakkur had a chance to lay down the pumpkin at a nice spot on the cliff overlooking a nice scenery; the sight giving him the idea that this event could have been the perfect excuse for some criminals to get rid of evidence and contraband since its anyone's game once they hit the bottom and, watch the other people tossing out their pumpkins. Should he throw it from over him? From right behind his hand so he can toss it as far as possible? Or should he toss it underhand? That looked a lot easier. Maybe he could even use the weird fancy toss he saw a few goblins trying to do, that could be effective. Actually easier sounded a lot better and when he assumed the stance to lob it underhand, Dakkur felt a hand- two hands actually, holding on both his shoulders and pressing down on him so he could not release the pumpkin from his hands.
Had this been a contest all along, maybe an unofficial one since he had not heard of anything hinting at any prize or glory? These fucking shorties. How dare they have the audacity to try and sabotage him?! Dakkur spun around in a rage and was ready to stand tall to show these saboteurs who exactly they were dealing with but his demeanor immediately changed the moment he caught sight of the two even taller moratallen holding him down just moments ago and simply, meekly asked "yes? Can I help you with something?" before the stupid lad, him, for anyone taking record, was dragged off the cliff and back down to Copper Cut. Seems he was not being kidnapped, only being taken to see the boss- not that he could trust their assertion they were not kidnapping him since he was still being taken against his will but the only hints he got about his sudden abduction was something about him about to ruin everything?
The moratallen he was brought to was no bigger than the moratallen which nanned him, not the leader of thugs Dakkur thought he was since what he knew of criminal and other assorted bad men, the biggest and strongest normally made the decisions. The biggest and strongest he could see however seemed to be someone else chasing some grackles for gods knows what reason. And then the 'lad' was asked again about if he knew what he was about to do and how he was going to ruin anything which was summed up in one simple answer, "no?" The fact that Dakkur was a foreigner once revealed explained everything but the foreigner himself, with no other information, was still at a loss and again asked, "no?"
Then they explained everything, more specifically how the moratallen of the Old Mines fit in this strange yearly ritual but Dakkur still did not know why he was dragged away before he could toss his pumpkin and now, even if he could muster the strength to make the trek back up to the top of the cliff, his pumpkin would surely be gone already; a complete waste of a day but, a complete waste of a day for him was far better than the alternative as he learned. If he made his toss, it would be as if the moratallen of the Old Mines have decided to determine the already known fact they were the best tossers keeping every other race in Zaicher down, killing the tradition of pumpkin tossing. A lot of other consequences would arise from it, according to the leader, but Dakkur felt it too farfetched. Really? Pumpkin traders with an embargo against the moratallen? Retaliation from carrot traders in just this season alone? And a whole lot of other nonsense over the next few seasons.
And if he still tossed the pumpkin and did it so poorly it would not beat the other participants in a significant way, that would be a show of weakness for the Old Mines. Less bargaining power for their work as they could no longer stand together to declare they were the strongest. Troublemakers and ne'er do wells would start trouble despite the moratallen just to pick at the collective bit by bit and weaken then for very dark designs. Another tall tale based on the reputation of strength the moratallen of the Old Mines have built for themselves to the point it even became their own delusion. "So you guys just don't join the event. Have no part of the fun just because everyone else doesn't want you to? Sounds a little racist doesn't it?" Dakkur finally said before being told of the much esteemed role the moratallen have chosen to assume for themselves as keepers of the tradition.
So that was what it is all about, control and power but that was a weird one to have.
Dakkur was starting to doubt this particular moratallen and his underlings spoke for all the moratallen of the old mines but he felt prudence was the better option as he had no desire to risk any further conflict. After assuring the moratallen he was not going to toss out a pumpkin on this day, although it was less of respecting the tradition and more of wanting to avoid carrying another pumpkin up to the cliffs even if it could be a good workout, he set off for home. What a wasted day this has been. Maybe he should buy some cheap pumpkins on his way back to prepare dessert for the next few days or something...
