Bepshekin

One, two, three, four,
I declare the hunt begun!
Five, six, seven, eight,
We will look until we're done!

— Traditional bepshekin rhyme

During the rainy season in the Vyyhand Forest, it often storms for weeks on end. That means that the locals often stay inside when they can and need to keep themselves busy and entertained. Over the years, a strange little tradition developed around finding objects hidden in the home, leading to the tradition known as bepshekin, or "pebble-hiding". Now it's nearly the national pastime in the Jirldomen, with its own competitions and recognition by religious authorities.

Rules

The rules have changed very little over the past several centuries, as every Vyyhandan child learns them at a very young age. The game only requires a stone and at least two people to be played, although "the more the merrier" is a common attitude for bepshekin. One person is elected to be the shikre, or the "hider" and the other assembled players become bandar or "searchers." 

While the bandar all wait in another room or, especially in more traditional areas, are simply turned around, the shikre finds a place in the room to hide the stone. Common hiding places are under chair legs, inside of sacks and clothing bundles or even more zany locations. Once the shikre has hidden the stone, they let the bandar know through a song:

One, two, three, four,
I declare the hunt begun!
Five, six, seven, eight,
Find the stone to find some fun!

The bandar then begin to search through the room, attempting to find the stone. Official contests put a time limit on the length of their search, but traditionally the search lasts until either the stone is found or the bandar all collectively give up. If the stone is found, the bandr who found it does a small dance or wins some small prize. If the bandar give up, the shikre does a dance or wins the prize instead.

An example of a bepshekin stone

Primary Related Location

Vyyhand Forest

Related Ethnicities

• Vyyhandar

Beautified Pebbles

The bep pebbles for this game are usually some rock found in the house, but some nobles and wealthy individuals have been a little more interested in bepshekin due to their additional spare time. This has led to a small industry of people making specially carved or painted pebbles to be used in this game. Some carve runes, short phrases or symbols into t he rocks. Others colour them with bright paint, draw scenes on them or even embed gems and paint them with gold. Only the richest of the Vyyhandar can afford these specialty stones, and many deride people for purchasing them when a regular stone can do.