“Warpstone Open IX: Qual XI Round 1

In a scrape and a scramble, the characters of Firehurler prevailed against the minions of Tulkas. Our glad spirits upon arriving at the stadium were tempered with trepidation when we saw the promoter hand a grain sack to Tulkas that jingled with gold and sagged the arms of the mummy who accepted it. Sweat beaded on the brows of once-confident blitzers as they watched the haggling over the services of ancient Setekh, whose feats were writ in stone upon monuments that had crumbled to dust ages before any of them were born. Our objections to the officials about the hiring of notorious chainsaw cheat Hack Enslash were met with wry smiles and shrugs.

Worse yet, the smell of the halfling cooks reminded us of the poor fare our hosts had provided along with our accommodations. The scent serenaded us from across the pitch as our characters lined up to play: fresh biscuits, turkey in gravy, and apple pies sprinkled with cinnamon. Our disciplined practice fell to shambles for the wont of oven-warm tarts.

Once play began, we felt a bit ourselves again. The story was ours but for the writing of it. Kyrus managed a neat and tidy drive, playing with a cautious eye to the wizard couching himself in the shadow of the TulkasTeam bench. He played the ball to Denrik in the final turn to secure what would prove to be the game's only score. 1-0.

The second half saw Hack Enslash take the pitch. We signaled the officials, whose glances studiously avoided the offending skeleton, though their ears could not have missed the ragged grating of the running saw's chain, nor the petrol howl of its motor, which echoed through the stadium. We played on, and looked for a way to topple Hack and fell him onto his own illicit weapon. We need not have bothered, for the recklessness that prompts a dead man to truck with such disastrous weapons made him reckless afoot as well. He tripped and was torn to splintered shards of bone as the teeth of the saw caught in his ribs and devoured him.

As the second half played on, Firehurler's cast kept up the pressure. A knockout, one casualty, then another, and soon we had a decided advantage of presence upon the pitch. A final gamble with the ball by its ghoulish custodian and we were able to track him down and loose the ball to the turf. TuklasTeam was left with just a storybook's desperate hope to tie. Of course, Firehurler is a story; Firehurler vs. TulkasTeam was not. The longshot ended short, as did Juliana's cheeky attempt to pass in turn 16 for her 176th spp.

1-0 was the ending score.

Next chapter, next opponent. Bring on the decaying legion of Orchi Ma Elfi

GG Tulkas_jrrt. (That wouldn't be short for J.R.R. Tolkien, would it?)”