A last Night

The Blight Marshes are not a pleasant place. And yet, when the Warpstone Open is running, the masses gather close to them. A tent city covers wasted grassland, music, dance, brawls and of course a lot of booze are used against the cold, gloomy fog spreading from the Marshes.

An accurate circle of low, blue-striped tents marks the camp of the Agility Monsters, the renown elfballing dwarf team. They have once again failed to qualify for the main event. Like each year, they were hoping for a lottery win, but again it was not meant to be. Many teams and their fans have already left, looking for casual games in a more convenient environment or already training for the next tournament. The Monsters stayed, petrified by the latest severe injuries to the core of the team.


The twin moons are both visible this night, and maybe it is due to Morrslieb's eerie glow, that all but two of the dwarves have already crawled into their tents. The two remaining are Rhoda, her left arm strapped to the back, giving her smashed collar bone a rest, and Xovor, stretching one leg against the niggling pain in his knee.

"Eighty-five games...", the blocker mumbles with frustration. "How many of those have we won? Have we achieved anything?" Rhoda keeps staring into the fire in their midst. "You know, they still call me 'Fanatic'. And a fanatic I was, back in the days. Followed you guys everywhere. Cheered for you, suffered with you - and enjoyed every single game. And there were many more of me, back then. How many fans have we left? The team is getting old." He pauses, glaring at the female runner, who undeniably appears older and somewhat exhausted in the flickering fiery glow. She doesn't look up. "You still pull your stunts, you have those magic moments - and Nogli is amazing - but something is missing." He spits into the fire, grimacing, then pulling himself onto his feet. "You know, I'm done for today. That puny fire there is the only thing still burning in this camp. Night, Rhoda." He starts limping away, once more muttering into his beard. "We are getting old..."

Once he's out of sight, Rhoda puts her mug down. She sighs.

"You know he is right." Rhoda, alarmed, turns head and torso too fast. Pain rushes through her side, stopping her immediately. The throaty voice that emerged from the shadows is followed by the dark, cloaked shape of another dwarf. The stranger is in no rush, strolling over to the fire and sitting down on a log. A hood is hiding his or her face completely.

"Rhoda." Same voice, same authoritative and slightly pitiful tone. And somewhat familiar to the currently battered runner legend. She stares at the dwarf with a mix of disbelief, awe and distrust. "Ramnah?" A hand reaches up, pulls back the hood, revealing thick black hair, a brought, grayish face and eyes that seem to burn with the reflection of the fire. A joyless smile.

"When..." The former blitzer's voice cuts right into Rhoda's question. "Where is Brumbas?"- "He's asleep..." - "And Rabe?" Rhoda's screws up her face. "Somewhere in the Far East, probably celebrating the winning streak of his college team... He seemed very eager to get back there. Guess he didn't expect us to win the lottery ticket... They are on top of their division, you know?" - "It's only us then." Ramnah nods, ignoring the rest of the report. "This is about the future of our team." - "Our..." - "You know the Monsters are a blatant joke. And you, Rhoda, are one of the clowns, performing in the circus ring - not for your fans, but for the opposition's amusement. And even your stunts are getting old. You aren't that special." The runner looks pale and shaken, but doesn't reply. "The Monsters' time's up. Or now. Your decision. They listen to you. You took my place, whether I like it or not. If you step back, I'll take over again." She abruptly stands up and turns away, heading back into the shadows at a smart pace.

"Ramnah, stop!" Rhoda has risen as well, though with trouble. "What about Rabe?!" Ramnah, both hands already at her hood, about to put it back into place, holds and looks back over her shoulder. "What about him? He serves the Monsters, not the other way round. It was always that way and it should have stayed like that. He's a useful... gnome." She sounds disdainful. "And he's so dependent. He'll cope." Her glowing eyes disappear behind black cloth again and with few more steps she has vanished into the darkness.

Rhoda remains standing in silence near the dying fire, feeling more than just her injury's pain and a deeper cold than that of her team's last night at the Warpstone Open area.