After last year’s disastrous blizzard, the residents of the main settlement are prepared. The festival stands are already built by the time the air grows frigid. Activities are all planned and ready to go, with Ambrose heading the organizational efforts. As the winter season approaches, volunteers are assigned around the clock, their eyes glued to the sky.

Ambrose, busy as he is, is determined to see this year’s festivities go off without a hitch. When the young Drasillis scheduled to take the night shift falls ill, he graciously offers to fill in. He moves his workspace so that he has a clear view of the window, warms himself a mug of tea, and religiously checks the sky. But the night is long, his home is warm and cozy, and he is not accustomed to working these late hours. Soon, his chin droops and his eyes close—just for a minute; just for a quick rest—and when he opens them once more, sunlight streams through the Cave, reflecting brightly off the fresh coat of white that has buried the settlement.

“Oh no,” he breathes, rushing to the door and pulling it open to reveal several inches of fresh white fluff that’s piled upon his doorstep. All throughout the neighborhood, he can see Mycenians doing the same; can hear the grumbles of dismay as they begin to dig themselves out and find the festival preparations literally buried.

Throwing a scarf about his neck, Ambrose rushes to the festival grounds, slipping onto all fours in his hurry. All eyes turn to him, disappointment and confusion clear on their faces. He straightens himself out and brings up his paws in a reassuring motion.

D-don’t you worry! Give me just… just a little time, and I’ll get everything sorted out! Why don’t you come back on January 20th, and I’ll have new activities and snacks and we’ll still have a great Winter Watch Festival, even if we missed the actual… first snow part of it….

• This year’s Winter Watch festival begins on January 20th and will end at 23:59 ST on February 3rd.
• This is a small forum event similar to previous years’ Winter Watch. It is comprised of a handful of creative activities for players to participate in. Each activity will have its own rules and guidelines for participation, so be sure to read carefully!
• There is 1 unique item prize for this event: Windchill. Players who complete at least 3 activities will receive the prize!
• Each activity will also be raffling off a few additional prizes among their participants!
  • An extra Windchill will be raffled off per 15 unique participants
  • A Bag of Wonders will be raffled off per 25 unique participants
  • A Glowing Changingshroom will be raffled off per 50 unique participants
• All submissions must adhere to the individual activity’s rules, as well as Mycena Cave’s content rules.

	Darcy’s Scratch Pot Darcy makes delicious treats and is known far and wide for her perfectionism in the kitchen. What most people don’t know is that she is also a big fan of more experimental recipes. Some of her best work can be seen clomping about on the particularly warm feet of Mycenians who have discovered her haute couture Boots Recipe. A less stunning example would be the dim-witted Draccko that some Mycenians insist on keeping as pets. Now, she’s opening up her experimental kitchen to any Mycenian who would like to take a break from shoveling snow to try their hand at creating something new from everyday ingredients. Who knows, she may like a couple of these recipes enough to make them proprietary!
	Mont’s Cataloging Catastrophe Mont prides himself on being helpful to newly carved Mycenians. Part of this lifelong project is the cataloging of all of the fantastic and sometimes strange items that can be found within the Cave. Unfortunately, with so many recent discoveries around the Cave, he’s fallen a bit behind. It reached a breaking point when he left a window open the night the storm hit… and the blustery winter wind blew in and scattered all of his notes. Now, he’s finally swallowed his pride and admitted to himself that maybe he’s the one that needs some help.
	Cary’s Big Scoop Cary the reporter has recently taken a break from investigative journalism in order to pursue Mycenian Interest pieces. She’s been interviewing a number of subjects for future articles, and the next person she’d like to interview is you! She’s made cocoa and has her notepad ready to record, so pull up a chair and share your life story!
	A Stranger’s Request Whoever this strange Kelph is, he’s in need of a small favor. As an experienced adventurer, you’ve traversed many unusual and wonderful parts of the Cave—and he’s interested in learning everything about one such cavern. Regale this fellow with the details of one of the caverns you’ve discovered and he promises he’ll get out of your hair.

Once you have completed the event, you must fill out the participation form linked below in order to ensure you receive the proper prizes and credit. You may only fill this form out once, so please do not do so before you have completed your participation in all activities.

And with that, she’s apparently done with you. You stand there awkwardly for a few minutes as she carefully inspects the newly crafted items, until you finally realize she’s not going to turn around again. Quietly, you show yourself out, leaving Darcy to scrutinize your hard work.Darcy’s Scratch pot

This cracked me up. I used to have a phonology professor that ended class this way. He’d literally turn around and look at his notes on the board until people left.

Myla _{(Huhuhu, hopefully I made some people laugh.)}
Hooray for the banner!!! One fear assuaged! <3