"GO!" shouted Thyme as they vanished.
Everyone took off in one motion, leaving their axes behind. Kat quickly found herself drawing ahead of the pack, and March was getting slightly ahead, but not really breaking away like Kat was. Kat looked over the log stacks. Each stack was a bit taller than she was, and the best way to carry them wasn't entirely obvious. Or rather, how many you could carry while moving at top speed wasn't obvious.
Kat had some ideas flash through her mind but quickly decided on what she thought was the best one. Kat swiftly grabbed a stack wincing as her fingers dug into the soft wood. *Let's ignore that. I'll just throw away the bottom log because I'm pretty sure it won't count.* Kat snaked her tail around so that it ran along the side of the log nearest to her body, and she took off with full speed. The stack did wobble slightly, but Kat was running in a straight line and her tail kept it all together.
Kat dumped the logs onto the ground and ignored them as they immediately fell over. *Might need to level the ground around here a bit but for now… not my problem.* As Kat ran back she looked over to see how the other competitors were doing. For most… the answer was 'not well'. Asteodia was sprinting with three logs balanced into a triangle which was much slower then Kat's stack of six, but good enough…
Nabras was not doing well at all though. He'd clearly taken off with a full stack of six like Kat. Unlike Kat, his path back was littered with fallen logs that didn't make the journey. He managed to keep two of them, but part of that might've just been luck. Though Mauve was having similar issues. Mauve had clearly done the same thing as Nabras, but unlike him, she'd pivoted to using Asteodia's method. It did put her a bit behind both Nabras and Asteodia but she wasn't too far behind, and the slight time loss was probably worth it. Plus, with three taken in her first run, she was probably better off then Nabras, even if it was slower.
March was the real outlier here. Instead of trying and failing to run back with a stack, March was hurling the logs back towards her stump with shocking accuracy. Sure some of them rolled a bit, but if not for that they would be spot on. March's place on the middle stump perhaps hampering her more than if she'd gone for the edges. Kat compared the method to her own, even as she picked up her next stack and found… she might be falling behind.
March was slowing down when it came to the top logs because she couldn't reach up and grab them by themselves… and while Kat had managed to grab the bottom log without breaking it she DID break it the first time. Currently, March was halfway through her second stack, and only seemed to be getting faster. *Shit that might just be the way to do it. I'm not sure if I could be that accurate throwing logs though. Dammit, if the ground was perfectly flat my method would probably be better… but I know that it's not. Shit… what should I do?*
Kat didn't let her thinking stop her moving. She put the logs down as quickly as she could and growled as the fell again. *Ok. I can see a few ways to do this. First, I keep up with the running and ignore it. Second, I start throwing logs like March. Third, I dig a trench and then start throwing logs. I might not be as accurate as March but if I make it a decently big target, but one right near me stump then I might be able to pull ahead. Hmmm…*
Kat picked up her third stack and sprinted back. *I'm not sure how sturdy this axe is but it could make a half decent shovel if I really need it to. The worry would be snapping it but I doubt Thyme would make them so flimsy and then not mention it. But is it really worth tacking the time to dig it out? I could try to stomp it all flat… but I just don't have a great way of doing that right now.*
Kat dropped off another load of logs… and this one stayed upright! Kat was mentally cheering until she glanced over and saw that March was already making a start on her fourth pile. *Dammit. So throwing them really is faster. I mean, it makes some sense, but I'd hoped with my six stack method I'd be able to make it work. Dammit. So do I throw the logs or dig and then throw?*
ραndαsnοvεl.cοm Kat reached the pile and grabbed another set of six logs, watching the other competitors as she thought. Technically she was losing time doing this, but it was good enough for now. It would certainly be less efficient to start throwing logs then take a break partway through to dig a hole.
As for the other competitors… Nabras had tried and failed to send the logs flying as far as March and quickly given up on the idea. Mauve had seen March succeed, and Nabras fail and took a middle approach. She had quickly dug a groove into the earth about halfway down the trail and was throwing logs at that. They'd hit the groove, most of the time and loose all of their momentum. She was actually throwing the logs faster than March… but it was clear she'd need to throw them a second time, so she wasn't really saving much, if any time over Kat's current method.
Asteodia was doing something interesting. She was casting fire spells to burn away all the grass between her and the logs. Kat wasn't entirely sure why that was just yet, but perhaps it would work out for her. *Right, ok so throwing them is the way forward and it seems at least one other person thought digging was the right choice.*
With that confirmed, Kat dropped off one more set of six logs and then got to work digging away at the ground. She picked up her axe and used it to cut deep groves into the ground. Treating the dirt a bit like she imagined she would the logs. Once she'd cut out a big chunk, Kat threw it over her stump and towards the crowd. Not too close obviously, but somewhat close. Part of her wanted to start messing with the others… but that might've counted as messing with their log piles, and as such it really wasn't worth the risk.
Kat's digging was… slow going. She wasn't happy with the speed at all. March was dashing ahead, even though her logs were all over the place at this point. They were bouncing in all sorts of directions once they hit other logs. Some clearly entering other contestants 'play areas' a few flying past the stump she'd be assigned and towards the crowd. Honestly it was a mess, but it was still a LOT of logs. Kat could also see that there were more rows of logs behind the first, so at least they weren't going to run out.
Mauve's plan was… not going all that well. The groove she made had filled up with logs and now they were just sort of going everywhere. She was a bit more accurate then March but there just wasn't that much space to fill with logs unless she wanted to start reducing the distance she threw them. Her twenty-five metres either side were quickly filling up due to this. Sure there were big holes were logs might fit… but Mauve wasn't quite that accurate.
Nabras was actually doing well in comparison. He'd kept up a steady stream of three logs at this point and he was making a good pile right next to his stump. Sure it wasn't anywhere near the amount of logs Mauve or March had moved, but his were all right next to his stump. It was a great position to get started. Perhaps he would soon start chopping and then get more logs later?
Asteodia's plan had finally become clear… and honestly? Kat thought it was pretty awesome. Time consuming, and probably worse than March's… but perhaps better then Kat's own. She'd burnt away all the extra grass and now she was using her strength and two logs as rollers to flatten down the area between her stump and the log stacks. Kat was all but certain that once it was done Asteodia would start rolling logs down the 'road' she was making. If they got all, or even most of the way back… well that might just be the best strategy. Kat almost wanted to try it herself… but surely, she could throw the logs the hole way. Right? Kat was certainly hoping so.
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