“Archie, the teenager who worked as a courier for the Archers of Avelon found a seat on the bench along side of Kondor. This was the first Blood Bowl match he had been allowed to attend. In fact, since his family were simple miners, they could not afford CabalVision much less a magical mirror necessary to watch games. This would be the first time he actually witnessed a professional match.

Kondor watched the wide eyed lad as he took in as much of the spectacle as he could. The poor bugger. Once you see a match in person you are never quite the same. Either it nips you and you can't get enough or someone finds you outside the arena vomiting before halftime and mumbling about what you just witnessed.

Sliding closer to Archie he noticed the lad eyeballing the dark elf cheerleaders. He patted the lad on the shoulder. “Don't even think about it. If they got their claws into fresh meat like you they would never let go. You would be crying for your mother one second and begging them to be their eternal slave the next. Trust me. Stick with human cheerleaders for now. At least they are predictable.”

Archie shook his head and moved his attention to the dark elf team. To his shock, they were blatantly sharpening an assortment of knives and practicing with some shadow stabbing.

“Isn't that illegal?” he asked.

Kondor pointed to the Archers who were going through the exact same ritual.

“The truth is that it is only illegal if it is a secret weapon that was not agreed upon before the match. The dark elves and high elves hate each other enough that they readily agree to allowing in game knife fights. Don't worry too much though. With all the armor both sides are wearing combined with the agility of the combatants, the blades rarely do any real damage.”

The ogre referee called both teams to mid field and examined the blades. All fell within the designated limits, and no one had slipped in with something like a bomb. Still, that did not stop him from being overly thorough with his pat-down of the witch elf which resulted in two dislocated ogre fingers and a smiling witch elf.

The referee howled in pain and shook his hand until a line judge popped the digits back into place. Kondor laughed knowing that if she had really taken offense she would have chopped the fingers off. No. That was her way of inviting him to the locker room after the match. The referee would be a fool to show up for that party.

With only a few minute until the kick-off a tall, slender, shirtless chap in tight white leather pants sat down next to Kondor. The gold chains around his neck clank together and jeweled rings glisten on every finger. It looked like he has not shaved in about three days but that fact is easily missed due to the distraction caused by the large white top hat with a peacock feather tucked in the band that rested atop his head.

“C98, I saved you the best seat in the house.” said Kondor.

“No you didn't.” Replied C98. “It is my house. I own this arena”

To avoid an argument, Kondor handed him a mug of Buggman's “That is true but I brought enough of this to keep you happy.”

C98 smiled just as a whistle blew in the background signaling the initiation of the match.

The action on the field was hard to follow. Elves ran in every direction. The ball flew back and forth. Yet the crowd paid no attention to the score. At some point, a dark elf blitzer got a clear shot at Iondil who just managed to shoot an arm in front of her face preventing a blade from being lodged in her throat. But the dagger stabbed clean through her leather covered forearm sending her to the bench with blood pouring down her arm.

Corbis immediately picked up his suturing kit. Finally an injury he could handle. By halftime the stitches and bandages were secure and Iondil returned to the field.

In the meantime the blitzer Ares proved to be too skilled the rookie line elf Joelena. He knocked her to the turf at the feet of Apollo who did not hesitate. Dropping to a knee he brought his blade down in a coup de gras and buried it between her shoulder blades. Just to add insult he left the blade in his victim, the coolly turned and returned to the match.

C98 stretched out his hand and Kondor filled it with a bag of gold without saying a word.

Moments later there was another cry of pain and the Archer kicker Osonia was carried on a stretcher to the locker room. The word was that there was a deep wound to her back and her career was in jeopardy.

Once again Kondor dropped a bag of gold into C98's outstretched palm.

Finally, it was the Archers who did some damage. Ortalion saw the witch elf Hera at his feet and deftly drove her blade into the opponents abdomen in what looked to be a fatal blow.

This time it Kondor put out his hand palm up but C98 wagged one finger back and forth.

The dark elf apothecary was on the field. He pulled Hera to the sideline, withdrew the dagger. She then dipped a mug into a bloody cauldron and poured the liquid into the wound. Hera screeched in agony and writhed for a few seconds on the turf then pushed herself to her feet. Incredibly, she would return to the game with the next kickoff.

Kondor frowned and put his hands in his pockets.

At last the final whistle blew and the scoreboard showed that the Archers of Avelon had been in the endzone once more than there dark elf opponents.

C98 chuckled and headed for the locker room. “Any time you want to loose some gold we can schedule another match.”

Kondor waved and turned to Archie but he was gone. Looking around he saw the boy walking with a pair of dark elf cheerleaders. As much as he hated to be sentimental he couldn't leave the lad to that fate. He tapped ogre referee on the shoulder and suggested he take the place of Archie. The ogre grinned widely and rushed off to the res”