“The mighty dwarves of the Dark Underground were on the road again, this time traveling to take on the untested skaven of Amadaun's Immortals. "Get in, kill some rodents, score, get out," said team captain Bloodstone before the game. "I hate the smell of rat." His team proceeded to do just that, racking up a second straight 2-0 victory.

The dwarves won the toss and elected to take the ball. After a touchback, runner Wind took the rock and his team set up the usual wall around midfield. The skaven set up a defensive perimeter, unwilling to go toe-to-toe with their beefy opponents, and sent several fast team members to flank the dwarven line. The dwarves moved stodgily forward, knocking out Immortal linemen Chaconne, Athol, and Genoas on the same play and advancing the ball into skaven territory.

Undeterred, Talam circled the defenders and took on Wind, knocking both players to the ground and sending the ball bouncing. The dwarves chose to leave the rock be, another ball-handling blunder that will certainly boil coach Mordae's blood given last week's similar debacle. This time, though, the rats were unable to corral the pigskin and dwarven runner Fire came forward to collect it, just outside of scoring range. Another dwarven push KO'ed Amadaun and sent Selmer to the bench with a bloody head, and Fire waltzed into the end zone for the game's first touchdown. True to dwarven strategy, there wasn't enough time left in the half for the skaven to do anything but run around.

The dwarves set up to kickoff the second half with an 11-8 advantage--Amadaun and Genoas were still seeing stars. The kick bounced right into the middle of the Immortal formation, and the rats quickly set up a cage around their thrower, Toboso. The only flaw was the stumbling lineman Chaconne, who was probably barely conscious from his first-half KO when he tripped and fell to the ground, stunned. The dwarves pushed against the cage, knocking out Athol for the second time and refusing to let the ball cross mid-field. The rats had other plans, though, as gutter runner Panza tried to slip around the dwarven line. The stout dwarves fought back, stunning Amadaun and circling Panza at the sideline. Panza, in a fit of desperation, tried a risky backwards pass to Toboso, but Fire stepped into the lane and intercepted the throw!

The dwarves took full advantage, mauling Panza into a bloody pulp, knocking out Brose, and springing Fire to run free into Immortal territory. The skaven weren't about to let Fire score again, and a blitz from Talam sent the ball skittering across the field once more. Toboso scooped up the turnover and ran across the field, trying to catch the dwarves out of position. However, this tactic was similar enough to the elven ploy from last week that the dwarves had defended well, and the stout lads were true to the task. Two dwarves quickly flanked the ballcarrier, and brave Wind took on Toboso. The result was messy, with both players on the ground and the ball free again. Toboso put his hands on it again and threw a quick pass to Chaconne, but the dwarves were able to trip him up and force yet another turnover. Wind grabbed the rock and handed off to unheralded lineman Limestone. The skaven set up an assisted blitz, but the young longbeard sent Toboso to the bench with a vicious stiffarm!

This left only four rats on the field, all on their backs, and Limestone rumbled slowly towards the end zone. Felder was tripped up trying a last-ditch blitz, and the dwarven lineman marched into the end zone to celebrate his first CBBL touchdown! The remaining time ran off the clock without incident, and the Dark Underground had secured their second win of the season.

Lineman Marble had a quiet but productive game, with three knockdowns, two stuns, one knockout, and one forced turnover; he was given the MVP by the crowd. Runner Fire had the most productive day, with a touchstone and an interception. After the game, though, Limestone was the loudest of all, shouting, "I smashed that rat and smashed him good!" as he recounted his glorious touchdown run.

The dwarves now get to go home to face Freshwater Felons in a grudge match that will define the first CBBL season. When asked about the next game, coach Mordae said, "Those lizards are tough. We'll probably hire on some additional help before we go out to face them, but my lads are stout and we'll smack some scaly butt!" At that, his team let out a rousing cheer and carried him from the field.





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