“Match 4 - vs Bladecatchers (CP)

The Crafty Stars arrived at a pitch in the great northern wastes in the last hours of the day. The dull light was just enough to illuminate the hints of dried blood and bits of intestines, which covered a field that looked more like a battle ground than a sports arena. The marauders that already found tehmselves on the field, ready to embrace their opponents in fatal competition, made no attempts to hide why. Wearing torn pieces of armour, having even gone out of their way to add sharp bits of metal to boots and gloves, this rowdy crowd looked more like warriors than players. Had the undead known fear they might have felt just that, but as it was they calmly took place in the barren landscape that resembled a field.

At the line of scrimmage the wights and mummies routinely pushed over their opposition while YellOw the Storm ran to the endzone where he adeptly picked up the ball. He turned to his brethren Bisu and launched the ball in his direction but missed his mark, not by feet, but by plenty of yards. Not standard, you know.

The ghastly pass left the spectators gasping or screaming with joy as according to allegiance, while Elijah Kool, the cunning dark elf renegade who seemed to be the only capable ball player of the opposition, closed in on the patch of grass on which the ball now rested. Seeing the ball threatened, NaDa the Tornado turned from his line duty and ran to hinder the elf's progress. Doing so, he sadly left his fellow wight ´BoxeR´ behind, letting his comrade be badly hurt at the hands of the ferocious barbarians. Meanwhile the ghouls also sprinted towards the ball and YellOw succeeded in regaining control of it, although those of the audience that were near enough might have witnessed his hands shaking as they grasped for possession.

Elijah Kool was now within reach, however, and the daunting elf eluded his cover from NaDa who stood dumbfunded as he was left behind. The elf smirked as he looked back at the perplexed wight and was completely unaware that he came to close to GoRush who cunningly tripped him over. There was a cluttering of bone and flesh as the undead surrounded the poor elf in the grass and no one could blame the ref for missing what happened next. The almost untraceble hints of a grin and a dim sadistic light in GoRush' hollow eye sockets might have given him a clue, however, had he looked hard enough.

While the brutalized elf was dragged from the pitch, some among the audience may have asked themselves whether the loss of ball possession had been a lucky misstep or a clever scheme on the ghouls' part. At any rate, the opposition was now left to the only trick they had left in their sleeve – tearing rotten flesh from ancient bone and pounding said bone to dust. In the following fight many undead players left the pitch, but luckily none with injuries their innate regeneration couldn't mend. Things were heating up nonetheless and YellOw saw it best to perform an early touch down.

The next drive saw more carnage as the angry barbarians took revenge upon GoRush. The chaotic skirmish went on, but in the midst of all this an unnoticed marauder came from the far end of his own half of the pitch and launched an impressive ball to surprisingly safe hands of his blood covered warrior comrade. Sprinting towards the undeads' endzone he was fast, but not fast enough to avoid a tackle attempt from YellOw who didn't have composure enough to finish the job. The warrior known as Cillian pushed him aside and scored in the very last second of first half.

Savages and undead terrors alike came upon the field more riled up for bloodshed than ever. A menacingly violent few minutes later a cloud of bone splinters, dust and blood lifted again, and revealed a pitch that had been rid of many players from both teams. The group of gasping, blood covered marauders were making their way down the field, the ball carrier among them, treading over a ghoul on their way. NaDa the wight was circling the group, like a vulture circling a carcass, searching for a vulnerability in the group's defenses. He stroke at what seemed as his moment of opportunity, but was met by a wall of a warrior, James O'Connel, who not only brought him to his knees, but piled him into the dust beneath him, knocking him out.

It seemed like the quicker players of the undead ranks had no chance to stop the savages progress down the field, but the mighty Jaedong and Flash placed themselves deep enough to halt the forthcoming group of marauders. They didn't see the one known as Nick Cullen break away from the skirmish in the middle of the field, however, and were completely unprepared when the marauders again defied nature and appearances by commencing an awe-inspiring passing play. Mark O'Leary adeptly threw the ball to Nick Cullen who had placed himself deep into the Crafty Stars' territory.

All seemed lost for the undead, but as the audience held their breath creating an absurd silence that filled the air and threatened to stop time itself, a meek zombie called ChoJJa who knew only life on the line of scrimmage, broke free of the opponents surrounding him and sprinted down field where he tackled Cullen, becoming the unseemly hero of the day. Who knows what strange greatness touched his absent mind this day, but the cadavre who had known no glory rose to halt what mummies and wights had failed to stop as he knocked out Cullen and now stood the only conscious (well, close enough) player near the ball. He stood his ground and guarded the ball while he recieved the applause of part of the audience and became and object of fierce hatred for the rest. He stood his ground as Mark O'Leary made his way to the ball and attempted a pick up. He even stood his ground as the same Mark O'Leary fumbled the ball, commencing a comical series of fumbles between the two of them before the ball once again fell to rest at his feet. And he stood his ground as YellOw, inspired by the zombie's greatness, ran to the ball with renewed hope and gained possession, enabling him hand it over to Bisu who shoved the opposition aside and ended a magnificent match in the favor of the undead.

(Thanks to Tesifonte for a fun game and for leaving my players miracously unscathed)”