“CIBBL - Y7, Summer - GSS: Athel Loren vs Skavenblight - R1:

Timaris Stormwing - head coach, owner and founder of Modryn's Midnight Meddlers - confidently looked at his team. Recent winners of the Athel Loren's spring season with a perfect record, his Meddlers were in great shape for the summer season. Yes, the Great Summer Special would be an excellent opportunity to let the Meddlers' star shine a little brighter still.

In the first round of this summer, the wood elves faced a bunch of rats someone had dug up from Loec knows where. Certainly that vermin couldn't form a serious challenge to the elegant play of the Meddlers! A few minutes before kick-off, Timaris directed himself towards the bench, where he found Mereia, the Meddlers’ assistant-coach, who had already installed herself in a lazy chair, glass of martini loosely held in her left hand. “Comfortable enough?”, he shot her an angry look. “Quite so”, she replied, lowering her shades for an instant. “I’ve studied our opponent a bit”, she continued, ignoring the head coach’s remark. “They got some competent ball players”, she started lecturing, pointing her figure towards some black-furred, scrawny beasts. “Got themselves a hitter too”, she added. “Wouldn’t be too surprised if he causes havoc amongst our lines”. “Bah, whose side are you on? Theirs or ours?”, Timaris retorted. “Just doing my job here, offering some valuable tactical insights”, Mereia said unperturbed, slightly adjusting her cap.

Meanwhile the referee kicked off the game. No time for cautious foreplay, whereby both parties scout carefully scout and test their adversary. This match was launched at rocket speed by a particularly violent fan hurling a huge rock towards the rats’ thrower, who was stunned by the impact. The rats in front of him panicked, and one of the black-furred weasels even dropped the ball. “Now, that’s what I’d call an excellent start”, Timaris wheezed, ignoring the fact that Thelion had been rammed off the pitch by the Verminlord mere seconds ago. The elves moved in, creating a gap amidst the confused rats. Syrabeth picked up the ball, smartly handing it off to Nimrodel, in relative safety. Caelir and Aeyris supported the couple to the best of their ability.

The rats’ coach didn’t hesitate and instructed the hired wizard to launch his fireball. A massive cone of fire hit the wood elves, instantly roasting Aerys (only some ashes were to be discovered afterwards) and blowing Nimrodel off his feet. Only turn two, and mayhem was everywhere. “So that’s what you call a good start?”, Mereia asked Timaris, lowering her shades again. “Don’t want to know what a bad one looks like”, she continued, returning her eyes to the game. Timaris clenched his jaw without replying. A slight spasm was visible on his right cheek. On the pitch the rats had recovered the ball and made tactical retreat, while gangfouling Syrabeth, one of the wardancers. Luckily for the Meddlers unsuccessfully so, the referee even sent off the vile rat that had brutally kicked the downed elf. The Meddlers throwed some punches too, but the rats’ armor held out.

The Under-Nuln Bells started their advance on the right flank, while tying down as many elves as they could. This worked for a while, but eventually Isilvar found an opening and hit the ball-carrier, releasing the ball and even knocking out the opposing creature. Timaris’ face showed a slight relief, but Mereia remained unimpressed. “All well and good, but there is no one left to pick up the ball”, she explained to no one in particular. The rats had notice this as well, and moved in on Isilvar, who got surrounded and hit on the back of his head. The last rat picked up the ball and hid safely in a corner. Somewhere in the center of the field the Verminlord knocked himself down, but without any consequence. Syrabeth, who had recovered from the foul earlier in the game, cleverly managed to move around the screen put up by the opposition and managed to kick the ball loose. Isilvar was too eager to assist, snaked a dodge and hit the floor. The spasm on Timaris’ face had returned. Next turn was worse, when Syrabeth snaked a GFI for a blitz on the ball and broke her arm in the process. Game over for her. That left the rats, who couldn’t believe their own eyes, with running in the touchdown: 1-0 at halftime as perfect defense ruined the one-turner effort.

Only nine elves and a treeman entered the pitch at the beginning of the second half. Hauclir, the superstar catcher, picked up the ball, but moved up too fast – lagging in the backfield for a long bomb wasn’t an option because of the blizzard. That complicated the Meddlers’ position. The rats increased pressure on the ball, forcing a hand-off to Nimrodel who passed the ball to a line-elf running away only to get knocked down and losing the ball next turn. While Mereia coolly observed the spectacle, Timaris had raised from his seat, shouting himself hoarse while trying to offer direction to the steerless ship the Meddlers had become. Chaos entered play, with the ball changing possession several times. Eventually another failed GFI in the snow sealed the game, with the rats walking in the 2-0 end score.

Bad start of the season for the Meddlers!

And yet another game ruined by a fireball…
”