<h4>Chapter 108: Dress to Impress</h4>


    Kat turned her head away and tried to stifle theughter threatening to bubble up within her. As she turned, she could see Green was in a simr situation. Flicking her eyes around Nixilei had a real smile on her face for once but Gareth seemed somewhat concerned but with someughter in his eyes.


    "What! Why in the name of the old ones do melee fighters need to participate in a quiz show" said Kress


    "Well, I mean why not? This is all about the tournament, andst I checked you are in fact in the tournament" said Thyme


    Kress struggled for an answer swapping between confusion and rage, though just before he was going to shout at Thyme a strange calm seemed toe over him as he remembers who he was talking to. "I guess that''s fine then" said Kress through gritted teeth.


    "Excellent, are there any further concerns about the game type?" said Thyme.


    "Yes Thyme," said Skye "How will Eva fully participate in this quiz show"


    Eva just shrugged as everyone turned to face her. "Well" said Thyme "I see two options. One, I provide her a board to write on, and she can provide answers with that, or secondly someone can participate in her ce for I understand this is an atypical challenge"


    "Eva what do you prefer" said Skye. Eva just shrugged in response. Looking at one hand then the other and shrugging again.


    "I see" said Eva "In that case I''ll participate in her stead"


    "Sure thing" said Thyme


    Kress looked between Thyme and Skye debating if he should speak up "Hey, why does she get to opt out?"


    "Well Kress" said Thyme showing big pointy teeth "As talking is not a requirement for the tournament and I''m the one who added such a strange event, I decided it was only fair to allow for a talking member to participate"


    "Why not just fix Eva''s voice" asked Kat


    Everyone turned to face Kat and her bold statement with a look of shock and horror on their faces. They were understandably concerned that Kat would question someone as powerful as Thyme but she thought she had a valid point.


    "Well Kat, firstly, fixing someone voice is harder than you''d think, especially depending on how recent a development it is. Secondly, just fixing her voice doesn''t mean she can magically talk, she''d still need practice. I mean, I''m not a miracle worker you know, I keep that to once a month on Sundays" said Thyme


    *You know, now that I think about it for an extra half second he makes a really good point. If I never had an arm and suddenly, boom left hand, I bet I''d struggle to get used to it.* Kat''s thoughts rung strange for a moment though and reconsidered. *Wait a minute though… Isn''t that exactly what happened to me? And I got used to it real quick.*


    "Well, is that all?" asked Thyme


    Seeing the nods Thyme waved his hands. Firstly four podiums popped up beside Thyme''s own sprouting from the ground with intricate designs. The first featured a cloudy sky with intricately detailed clouds shaped to look like various things from trees to sheep, with a central cloud looking a bit like a person. The second one was filled with trees. The leaves were expertly carved and the little forest critters could be seen in the background and under roots.


    On the other side of time was to very different podiums. The first depicted Jim, and the rest of the God Crushers huddled by a fire with smiles on their faces and drinks in hand all huddled together with friendship and warmth. The final one was the strangest of them all. It had dark red blood carvings that looked like they were dripping from the sides, with a single broken sword in the centre.


    With a snap of Thyme''s fingers the contestants disappeared and reappeared behind their respective podiums, Skye, and Ryo on the left with Jim and Kress on the right. However that wasn''t all that happened, each contestant now had a new, more fitting garment to match their podiums…


    Skye had a blue and white dress that went all the way down to her feet. She had a yellow sunhat and the clouds on the dress moved around the dress slowly as she stood still. Ryo also had a dress on though hers made her look like a flower of the forest. With red around the bottoms ending in sharp points that transitioned into a soft green. Her hat was made up of a collection of flowers all a deep blue to contrast with the rest of the dress, Each seemed to be a different type but all the same shade.


    And well, for the boys… Thyme seemed to have taken the same liberties. Jim wore a thick dress like those belonging to serving girls. It was a dark brown with dusty white coverings. The top had long sleeves and even provided gloves. Jim even seemed to keep his original spiked top hat, but now it had a bow on the side as well. And Kress, well he had a blood red evening gown that seemed to shimmer as it moved. He two had gloves, but where Jim had sturdy looking work gloves, Kress had silk thin evening attire with holes over the palms. He was also the only one without a hat.


    "What the hell is wrong with you!" yelled Kress his facing turning red like his dress


    "Ah yes, I deeply apologise" said Thyme "Let me rectify this issue"


    With a snap of Thyme''s fingers a silver tiara with a blood red gem in the centre appeared on Kress'' head. "How the hell is this any better?"


    "Well, I assumed you wereining about theck of headwear. Everyone else has a hat and you don''t, so I sought to rectify this issue" said Thyme


    "Really? Really? You think this is a joke?" asked Kress


    At this point Kat and Green weren''t even trying to hold back thereughter, they were just going for it.


    "Well of course not. I''ve provided you with only the finest dress avable. Perhaps you''d prefer a different shade of red? It really brings out the eyes" said Thyme.


    "Why. Am. I. In. A. Dress." Said Kress


    "Well, I thought it only fair to provide everyone with a special garment for the asion. A quiz show is a chance for everyone to dress up" said Thyme.


    Kress put his head in his hands and took a deep breath. In and out. In and out. "Can I request something different" said Kress


    "Well sure" said Thyme. Twirling around Thyme transformed. They''d double the length of their hair which swiftly tied itself in a bun. Thyme''s outfit changed into a short formal dress, and they gained sses and a clipboard, along with a measuring tape. "I can provide you any dress you desire"


    Throwing their hand out a long line of clothes sprung out from Thyme''s sleave. Dresses by the dozens continued to flow out unabated for a full thirty seconds before stopping.


    Kress groaned. "Maybe, something that isn''t a dress?"


    "I have this" said Thyme picking out a skirt and topbo that was daringly short.


    Kress grit his teeth and smiled "You know what, I think I''ll pass" he then turned on Jim. "Why do you not seemed rmed by this?"


    "Well, I mean, this is really fine cloth. The workmanship is fantastic and it''s some of the mostfortable clothes I''ve every worn. The piece may look simple, but I can feel the quality, and I doubt even prolonged adventuring use would tarnish it. Why, there was this one time-" Jim continued until he was cut off


    "You know what, I don''t care" said Kress


    "Boo, I wanted to hear what he was going to say. He seems to know a thing or two about tailoring, and I wish I was half as confident" said Skye


    Kress put his hands together and let out a breathe, then shakily lowered them to his sides. "Is it perhaps possible, to get my old clothes back?"


    "Nope" said Thyme


    "Why the hell not!" shouted Kress


    "I make the rules, and I say rule number 1 you participate in my quiz show with a dress or not at all" said Thyme.


    Everyone else on the contestants stands just nodded like this was the most reasonable request in the world. "What is wrong with you people?" asked Kress


    *I dunno, it''s pretty nice stuff Thyme has here, what''s the problem?* Of course, despite Kat''s thoughts she was stillughing with Green and struggling to maintain a standing position. Even Nixilei''s mouth was starting to twitch with unrestrainedughter, and Gareth had put on his helmet to hide his face.


    *Man, we haven''t even started and I already love this quiz. Thyme you have the best ideas.*


    Kress mmed his head into the podium in front of him. "Can we just get started? Please? Anything to be done with this faster"