Possibly one reason that snakes inspire fear is the way they move, so unlike any other land-dwelling animal. Another unnerving thing about snakes is that they can get into places that other animals can't. It can be quite an unpleasant surprise to find a snake in your boot, even if it wasn't venomous. This sort of behavior has caused snakes to be associated with thieves, spies, and contortionists. It was hard to find any other animal that can display such stealth and flexibility. Which would be the main focus of the next trial.
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The structure of the Trial of Stealth was a large maze that was like a cross between a jungle gym and a crawlspace. The contestants would have to slither through a grid of pipes arranged in empty cubes with walls between some. The goal was to make it from one end of the maze to the other. Of course, there were some obstacles. There were lights that shined down into the squares, some steadily shining, some turning on and off at measured intervals, some moving between squares. The contestants would have to avoid coming into contact with the light. If the light touches any part of them, they lose and had to crawl out of the maze. To be fair, each contestant gained a point for how many squares they've managed to cover before their trial is finished. Therefore, the best way to complete this trial is to get to the end of the maze while covering as many squares as possible. Doubling back was allowed, but the squares would only count for one crossing and space and time limits discouraged them.
Now this trial was more of a challenge for some snakes more than others. While the space between the pipes had been made wide enough out of consideration for males with broad shoulders and female with large breasts, it still forced them to crawl with their arms as much as slither with their tails. As such, the larger snakes had a bigger disadvantage. A good example was Iphis and Ianthe. Due to their large size, the additional bulk from being a herm, and the two heads not being completely coordinated, they made the least progress in the maze before being hit by a light.
Then there were snakes who did middling well. Some of them did the shortest path they could find and get all the way to the end. Which was acceptable, but they missed a chance for bonus points. Others were trying to rack up more bonus points only to get hit by a light before they got to the exit. This was certainly a bigger challenge, especially for those who hadn't trained in their flexibility.
The most impressive were the two snakes who scored the highest. Unsurprisingly, one of them was Muxing. As a martial artist, she had honed her body for maximum agility and flexibility. She was able to cover several squares, even darting through squares where the lights turn off temporarily. She had to pause at some points to consider her next path, but when Muxing emerged from the other side, she had left quite a circuitous trail that covered quite a lot of the maze. That pushed her far into the lead, especially from what she won in the Trial of Smarts.
The other snake who scored highest was a bit of a surprise for some. Angie wasn't quite as physical as some of the other snakes, her belly-dancing asides. However, having four arms gave her an advantage when it comes to crawling. Compared to Muxing, Angie was more systematic than flowing. She was a bit slower than Muxing, but had managed to get a few squares that Muxing hadn't gotten under a moving light.
When asked later how she was able to do so well, Angie said, "Well, it's a lot like a stealth mission in a video game. It comes to timing and patience. Of course, the big difference is that I'm moving a lot more than my thumbs. My first two thumbs, that is. And with video games, you're just reset to the beginning of the stealth mission if you get spotted. So yeah, I was playing like I only had one chance, which I did."
While Angie did well here, it was a reminder that four-armed snakes could have a big advantage with snakes that only had two arms. As such, there is a small deduction of points for four-armed snakes to keep things fair. This will be particularly important with the Trial of Strength.