<div class="floatright">(http://i.imgur.com/ibz6MA4.jpg)</div><br/>The various contestants enter the ball room to a polite but enthusiastic round of applause and sure enough, several of the other girls already have potential sponsors in mind.  But likewise several sponsors had made themselves known during the viewing and are standing in such a way as to be obvious to the contestants.  It wouldn't do for them to look too eager, flagging down the girls, but the excitement in their eyes and on their faces is impossible to mask.  Almost to a person every potential sponsor in the room is giddy and flush with anticipation.  The addition of the sponsorship program is still new, and for many of these people they've spent their whole lives watching girls challenge the dungeon.  Some, like the elder elves, have been watching as long as the signal has been broadcast.  Now here these men and women are, the powerful from around the known world.  The rich, the influential, the movers and the shakers of the various nations, and they get to have a hand in the contest that will begin tomorrow.   So it's no surprise that they seem as excited and nervous as the girls themselves who will be participating.<br/><br/>Lydia  scurries off from the entryway, seeking the dignified looking older man who'd seemed to stare into her eyes during the viewing.  His bearing spoke of poise, charm, and dignity, something that invariably meant money.  She spotted him near the back of the crowd of milling patrons, and luckily had the foresight to remain small, using Yanna as a visual shield.  Then as the half orc strode to greet the wealthy, she dipped to the side and stepped around a fat merchant to stand before the imposing looking man.  Of average height, but somehow with a personality that made him seem taller, he nodded his head at her.<br/><br/><strong>"Hello contestant, I am Count Davos, Earl of Richine, you may address me as my Lord or Lord Davos.  I watched you make a dash towards me, so you must have had me in mind.  I do not know if you know who I am," </strong>and in truth Lydia did not,<strong>"but I, like most of the people here have more than a moderate amount of wealth.  Tell me, why should I sponsor you young lady?"</strong><br/><br/>His eyes had a calculating look, not cold exactly and the slight smile on his lips made him from seeming unfriendly, but his eyes had the critical glare that Lydia might have seen on a horse merchant inspecting a new stud.  Something about him told Lydia that simple seduction might not work with this man.  He seemed to be looking for values in a contestant that might make them standouts in the contest.  Obviously it would be an expensive and embarrassing loss if a sponsor backed a contestant who was eliminated early.