“So, Urik, how many showed up for tryouts?”

“Not as many as we’d have liked, boss. Enough, I’m hoping. We did have a few good big guys show up, so that solves that problem, at least.”

“Assuming they are of any quality.” I continued my walk toward the pitch, with Urik in tow. “What about the men? Any stand outs?”

“A few,” said Urik as he shoved a few scouting reports into my hands. “One guy ran a sub-five 40; and this other guy, Ragnar, they call him the Red, is a monster. Six foot eight and strong as a bear, that one.”

As I approached the pitch, a quick count showed that only 20 men and 3 trolls had shown up. This was going to be more difficult than I had imagined.

“Get them running some plays, Urik. I want to see them moving.”

Urik ran at the pitch, snapping orders and assigning sides for a scrimmage. As I sat down in the bleachers, my eyes wandered over to the three trolls on the pitch. A quick look through their papers showed nothing exceptional, and the smallest of the three didn’t seem aggressive enough to be useful. This was going to be a long day.

After about an hour of seeing everyone moving around on the pitch, while I wasn’t any more excited about the prospects in front of me, I at least knew which of them I wouldn’t even want bench warming for me, as well as confirming my suspicions about the smaller troll. A quick relay of this information to Urik saw the troll and 4 of the men leaving the pitch, leaving me with 5 more guys and a troll to cut.

Ragnar the Red, although huge, wasn’t technically gifted, relying on throwing his weight around to move people instead of good blocking ability. My eyes drifted over to the other guy Urik had mentioned, who ran the fast 40. Thor Steelheart was his name, and he looked to be the exact opposite of Ragnar. At 5’10’’, he was dwarfed next to most of the men on the pitch. Still, he seemed to be one of the better players on the pitch, managing even to knock over one of the Yhettis during a blocking drill. Another man, who after a quick scan of the paper I identified as Guthrum Blutooth, also was impressing me. Although a few inches shorter than Ragnar, he still seemed to be a strong, giving me options. Also, the taller of the two remaining Yhettis was beginning to show his dominance. While still not a talented as I was hoping, he would have to do.

The obvious winners, though, were Vermundr Halson and Sigrun Hardrada. Neither exceptionally large nor strong, they were crazy out there, and technically gifted, to boot. These two could be stars if they survive long enough.

A few more hours in and I came to terms that none of the other prospective players really had anything to offer. A quick glance through the scouting reports and a few scribbles on a my notepad and I quickly had formed up my starting eleven.

Starting XI:

Thugg
Thor Steelheart
Rori the Cursed
Thorfinn Jordison
Guthrum Bluetooth
Ragnar the Red
Rurik Samrson
Leif Karlsefni
Sigrun Hardrada
Sigmundr Ironside
Hogni Svenson
Vermundr Halson