1st Place - Gum

You did a superb job of sticking to the prompt, whilst engaging the reader in an original story that put another angle on who the burden really was to Gum.

What I liked the most about this piece was the quality of Gum's character - a shaman that so easily comes across as sympathetic that even the act of killing the pet's owner comes across as merciful, if not a little shocking, in the context of the story. As usual your mechanics were excellent and your technique ensures that the reader isn't getting bored halfway through. Excellent work!

2nd Place - Rayleigh

As with Gum, I felt you did extremely well in sticking to the prompt. What made this stand out was Rayleigh's initial abhorrence at the idea of Vincent simply picking up a stray from Lindqualm, as if it were completely fine to do that, and Vincent's total lack of worry. I also appreciated the humor of Rayleigh comparing the dog to a horse, and referring to it as such for the remainder of the thread.

Technique and mechanics are your strong suite, and very little was wrong with either. In this vignette's case, there seemed to be many "dog" type pets but at least you mixed it up a bit by making it a beast from the cursed Red Forest.

3rd Place - Philomel

[Commentary to follow - posting from my phone]

Gum receives 1200 EXP, 600 GP and 6 AP!

Rayleigh receives 1680 EXP, 450 GP and 3 AP!

Philomel receives 1800 EXP and 3 AP!

All other entrants receive 3 AP!

All rewards inclusive of Althanas Day 3x rewards!