“CIBBL - Y8, Summer – CSL: round 1:

In spring the Meddlers had failed to defend their regional Athel Loren title. After last season’s disappointing second place Mereia found Timaris Stormwing, the Meddlers’ head coach, staring out of the window, hands folded behind his back. In the corner of the room Aery, the wood elf cheer leader, was washing her hands in a crystal bowl. She’d just finished massaging Timaris’ neck, relieving the tension of the hardship endured after narrowly missing the title last season. In his mind Timaris was still imagining how the Drakwald Thicketkeepers had beaten his Meddlers, when Mereia, his assistant, drew him back into reality. “Boss”, she called as she snapped her fingers in front of his face. “We’ve got a game to play tonight”, she continued. “I’ve already deposited the players’ list, but now we really need to leave or we risk missing the start of the game!”. With that she turned her back and left the room, quickly followed by Timaris and Aery. The wood elf grabbed his green-colored cloak from the stand, gracefully swung it around his shoulders and offered his arm to Aery. The cheerleader accepted with a gracious smile, hooked her arm in his, and together they went off to the stadium.

Mereia, wearing her usual tank top, fingerless gloves and black cap, was already sitting on the bench. A glass of martini filled her hand. As she noticed Timaris approaching, she lowered her shades and said: “right on time, coach. The show is about to begin”. That very moment the referee blew his whistle, announcing the start of the game. The Meddlers faced the Stone Princes’ Men, a brawling team from the Border Princes. It was the fourth time both teams met on the pitch. Each previous encounter had been an action-packed thriller and this game would surely be no different. The Meddlers started the first half kicking and got rewarded by a fan launching a rock onto the head of Mahra, whose thick skull kept him on the pitch, at least for now. The Meddlers applied high pressure on the ball right from the start, encouraged by Timaris shouting on the bench. Meanwhile Mereia enjoyed the spectacle, slowly slurping her martini. The Stone Princes’ Men, under pressure from the start, were urged to pass the ball forwards. That being typical elf stuff, Timaris wasn’t surprised to see the pass fail. Fast as lightning Syrabeth cleared the path towards the ball, followed by Hauclir who picked it up and launched it into the hands of Nimrodel, who immediately sprinted away with it. One turn later the Meddlers lead by 1-0.

At the start of the second drive Nuffle offered a Blitz! to the Meddlers. Timaris urged his team forwards again, while Aery already initiated the team's victory dance. Mereia thought it wise to order her second martini of the evening. Keira and Nimrodel sprinted towards the ball, but even their phenomenal speed didn’t suffice to recover it. One turn later Keira got brutally knocked out of the way (and out of the game), only to allow Flashy Fiona to pick up the ball. During the following turns Timaris saw his team putting up a solid effort to block the path to the endzone, but the Stone Princes’ Men eventually broke through – badly hurting Syrabeth in the process – and equalized in turn eight. “Bah”, Timaris cursed, “just a flesh wound anyway”. Not allowing this setback to perturb his fragile mind, Timaris shouted precise set-up instructions for the last turn before halftime. They had practiced it dozens of time on training, but it had so far never worked during an actual match. That hadn’t stopped Timaris from stubbornly pushing through his plan though. The wood elves took up their close-packed position as Vanhir picked up the ball and passed it to Nimrodel. Then Belborth Bluebark came in and grabbed a thug from the opposition’s line of scrimmage, roughly pushing him into the hole that had been left open for exactly that purpose. One after the other, the wood elves pushed the unsuspecting human one square further, thereby bringing Nimrodel ever closer to the endzone. Eventually the lithe elf started his sprint and as he leapt into the sky the whole crowd went quiet. With a breathtaking somersault the wood elf catcher jumped over his opponent and dodged right into the endzone: 2-1 for the Meddlers. “Yes!”, Timaris cried out. “I knew it would work!”, he continued. Even the ever-calm Mereia had to admit that her boss’s plan had worked out well. “Nicely done indeed”, she saluted Timaris while adjusting her black cap backwards. “That deserves another martini to celebrate!”.

The second half started with the Meddlers receiving. In the first turn Belborth managed to knock himself out of the game (and out of the next one too), provoking a minor curse from Timaris’ mouth. When Isilvar got badly manhandled one turn later – luckily the elves’ professional apothecary saved his career – a little nervousness entered the Meddlers’ play. Pressure was increasing steadily and with a wizard up their sleeve, the opposition still had lots of ammunition to interfere with the wood elves’ plan. Time for a bold move must have thought Timaris, as he urged Hauclir to pass the ball to Nimrodel. The wood elf catcher repeated his trick of the first half as he gracefully leapt over the dumbstruck opposition, who could only stare and witness the wonder of elven agility. The ball was handed over to Vanhir, who blitzed the last opponent aside before running in the third elven touchdown of the evening: 3-1 for the Meddlers with six turns to go. On the dancing platform Aery continued her victory dance.

The Stone Princes’ Men understood that they needed to score quickly if they were to avoid defeat. This urged them to initiate risky moves. After having opened a hole in the Meddlers’ defense, some brawlers managed to push through, followed by the ball-carrying Flashy Fiona. Imagine the drama when she slipped on a carelessly dropped banana peel! The Meddlers reacted quickly, planning to seize the unexpected opportunity. Nimrodel cleared the path to the ball, allowing Keira to pick it up. And then Nuffle intervened another time, restoring the balance. The crowd had a good laugh when Keira slipped on the exact same banana peel, dropping the ball! This time the Stone Princes’ Men managed to remain upright as they ran in their second touchdown of the evening in turn five: 3-2 with three turns remaining!

As the tension visibly rised, the Meddlers failed to create an opening in the humans’ defense. Instead, they put up a loose screen protecting Hauclir who had picked up the ball. When Caelir unceremoniously crashed into the turf trying to dodge away from the opposing ogre, the thugs saw their chance. Vanhir was brutally pushed aside as Timaris saw no less than four brawlers move in and threaten Hauclir. To make matters worse, the opposition’s mercernary wizard launched his Zap! spell at the Meddlers’ thrower at that very moment! The whole stadium held its breath as … nothing happened! Not losing time wondering about the magician's failure, Nimrodel got up and blitzed Thorjan out of the way. Then Hauclir passed the ball to Corion, who quickly ran it to safety, hiding behind the back of the capable catcher. That sealed the deal. All the Stone Princes’ Men could do by then was sending in an overconfident Mahra, who managed to kill himself trying to liberate the ball. Next turn Corion ran in the fourth elven touchdown: 4-2 for the Meddlers. In the stands the crowd exploded, causing a riot, but even that event didn’t change the score anymore. After the dust had settled Aery climbed down from her dancing platform and joined Mereia in ordering yet another martini. Even Timaris felt he could use one to celebrate the victory, but instead ran onto the pitch to collect the helmet of the fallen adversary. Another trophy to add to his collection…

The Meddlers open the season with a win!
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