“After a bit of light training, I knew it was time to make the Grizzlies go at it again, despite some of them still being haunted by the gruesome death of Rori. Some slave-trading Dark Elves were in town, and despite my disinterest in purchasing anyone, they were happy (or as happy as a dark elf can be) at the prospect of playing a game of blood bowl.

The two witches heading up the caravan gathered together their 9 best followers and brought them into our stadium. Probably because of our poor last showing, not as many town folk showed up to this match, leaving the dark elves with more spectators than us.

After a disastrously high kick (Urik, remind me to train one of the boys to place those better, maybe Leif?) the witches and their harem came charging in, looking for blood.

One witch elf found a hole in my defense and broke forward to receive a long bomb, but Vermundr was able to work some of his magic and swarmed the ball carrier. Amid all the ball-centric excitement, it wasn’t until about midway through the half that I noticed that Thugg hadn’t done much but scream and roar this half.

Rurik was able to recover the ball, but dropped it in an attempt to hand it off to Vermundr. Vermundr whipped around to recover the fumble and starting sprinting toward the endzone, determined to get the Grizzlies their first TD. As he was coursing down the sideline, Thugg finally joined the action, bullrushing an elf and slamming him out of play, taking him out for the rest of the game in the process.

Sigrun, too, charged wildly at an elf near the sidelines, but this elf was prepared and met him with a stiff arm to the face. Sigrun landed awkwardly on his arm, and limped off the field in lots of pain. Doc ruled it as just a fracture, which was a relief but it will be tough playing without him for the next game or so.

Vermundr ran as fast as he could, and with seconds to spare in the half, made it into the end zone. The crowd went wild, and he attempted some sort of celebration that looked incredibly unpracticed.

The second half started, and the crowd continued to go crazy as the boys walked out onto the pitch, boosting their confidence tenfold. The whistle blew for the half to start and the boys went into a frenzy. Thugg grabbed elves off the LOS in each hand and smashed them into the ground, sending them both off, one of them looking like he’d have to sit out the rest of the game. Vermundr sprinted after an elf hanging out too close to the edge of the pitch, throwing him into the waiting arms of the Graeling fans. He then immediately launched himself at another elf, knocking this one out and sending him off as well.

Thor, after a bit of fumbling around, grabbed the ball and sprinted up field with Rurik and Sigmundr in tow. Ragnar was unable to unable to block the witch he was marking though, who sprinted around the wedge to knock the ball loose. Enraged that the witch had evaded him, Rangar charged in to try and knock her out of play, but she managed to put herself prone before he got her to the sideline.

The other witch, who had been lying prone for a while, looked to be getting back up on her feet to attack Thugg from behind. Leif ran to help Thugg, slamming his boot firmly into her back. A loud CRACK and the witch lay still, he had killed her with his boot. The ref turned around at the sound and, assuming it had been a legal block, let play continue as she was carried off. Seeing the ref was being lax, Sigmundr attacked the other prone witch as well, sending her off the pitch to recover her wits. Leif threw another foul to send yet another elf off the pitch, and still nothing from the ref! the boys all looked around to find where the opposition was hiding, and realized that they were the only ones left standing on the field!

Thor, in a very selfless act, raised the ball triumphantly in the air and handed it to Ragnar, who trotted it in for the touchdown. The boys lined up for the final few minutes, and after the whistle blew, fans and players alike were screaming and celebrating.

Vermundr came away with the MVP again to make it the second game in a row he has been the star player. Hopefully his excellent performances continue.

What a way to come back from our first loss, to make the record 1-0-1. Here’s to hoping the record stays positive from here on out!
”