The Seasonal Arena - Summer

[chris 101]

Thanks dave it was a good fight, just a shame it went against me.

[Tekore]

Gorp the Refined v. Dagul Morkinson

The dwarf just sat there, bleeding on the arena floor, and Landolasorusarian (or Steve, as the other elves called him), the druchii in charge of calling out the names of the competitors, could not for the life of him figure out which dwarf he was. He knew that the dwarf Throkken had already fought once, but this dwarf looked exactly the same, down to the clothes on his back. Deciding that it must be the other dwarf, and sighing over the indignities of having to announce a stumpy race where everyone had the same equipment, Steve announced the first competitor, Dagul Morkinson, and scanned down the list to announce his opponent.

Just then, a small hand pulled at Steve’s pant leg. As the crowd watched, a small goblin dressed in garish drag passed Steve some shiny jewels and a note. Steve read it, and nodded.

“In place of the regularly scheduled competition, Dagul’s opponent will be: The Most High and Splendiferous Gorp the Refined!, the dark elf announced. He paused, reading down the goblin’s note, and added, “Woo!”

At that very moment, the arena ceiling cracked and then broke open, as a massive orc broke through. He was born aloft by several bound and gagged harpies, who struggled with moderate success to hold his weight. Gorp hit the ground running, and stood basking before the crowd.

Gorp stood tall for an orc, and what an orc he was! He was buck naked except for what appeared to be the stretched skins of several dark elves made into a crude loincloth, along with a cape and cap of the same substance. What little hair stuck out from under the cap was drenched in what appeared to be excrement, and spiked up in a random fashion. He carried what appeared to be a rock covered in the very same excrement. He lifted it above his head, and roared at the crowd.

The crowd sat, struck dumb, and then wild cheering broke out. His outfit might make a wych blush, but this was no standard brute in the arena. He had the fashion sense of a dark elf!

Dagul, addled from his torture at elven hands, stared at Gorp in shock, his beard hanging low as his mouth hung open. Gorp took the advantage and slammed the dwarf hard in the face with his rock, ripping off one dwarven ear in the process and sending Dagul flying across the room.

Dagul came up angry and no longer shocked by the dwarf, as this was fighting and an old racial enemy, concepts which dwarves comprehend very well. He drew his great hammer, Mjorbir, and raced back at the dwarf.

Shocked that any opponent could have withstood his first blow, and ill dressed for the occasion, Gorp could barely fend his opponent off. He blocked with his rock until it cracked, and then tried his best to dodge Dagul’s mighty blows. He was finally hit several times in the head, and sunk to the ground, where Dagul continued to beat on him, until he was satisfied that the orc must be dead.

Dagul turned to the silent arena, and noting their lack of applause with pleasure, began to trudge back to his cage to await the next fight. Meanwhile, several goblins scurried out of the stands, and began to carry Gorp toward the dwarf.

Dagul felt a tug on his leg, and didn’t mind the idea that he might have to smash a few goblins as well. He looked down to see an orc face grinning into his, and half a rock heading his way. Gorp clubbed the dwarf hard again and again, and then threw the dwarf against the wall. As Dagul fought unconsciousness, he looked up to see the orc celebrating.

“Don’t yous know about the Trojan Orc, dwarfie? Oldest trick in the orc playbook! You must not be literuri…litury…literary….you must not read good!”, Gorp laughed. He looked at the crowd, and seeing that the dwarf was no longer a threat, went to the center of the arena to treat them to a performance of his latest hit orc song. He drew in a breath, and let out a mighty bellow, followed by a screech.

Unfortunately for Gorp, the sounds of his singing caused the rest of the arena ceiling to collapse, burying him under several tons of rubble. Those in the audience not panicking noticed the dwarf manage to pick himself up, and wobble unsteadily on his feet.

From the top of the rubble there came a small noise, and Gorp hauled himself to hang by his arms from a beam. He coughed up blood, and was clearly in bad shape. Looking over, he beckoned the wounded dwarf closer.

As Dagul approached the orc warily, it was clear the orc was close to death, and wanted to tell him something. Dagul leaned his head near Gorp’s mouth, and the orc gasped in weakness as it tried to speak. It hacked weakly, and then growled a single word into the Dwarf’s ear.

“Rosebud.”

Gorp then lunged, and grabbing Dagul’s head, bit the dwarf’s other ear off. He slipped in Dagul’s hair, and plummeted back down into the rubble, where neither elf nor dwarf would see him again. Dagul looked down for the orc, and weakly raising his hammer in what appeared to be defiance, promptly passed out.

In the aftermath of the fight, Dagul was declared the winner of the battle, and advanced to the next round. Normally, this would be the end of a fighter’s tale, but such was not the case with Gorp the Refined.

It took several hours for slaves to clear the rubble from the arena ceiling. Gorp’s body was never found, and the goblins around the arena had mysteriously disappeared as well. This was initially chalked up by all involved as sneaky goblins stealing the body away.

All around Nagarrond, word of Gorp’s exploits and wild behavior spread. An entire season of wych elf fashion revolved around his arena outfit. Giant rocks became the must have accessory for Executioners, and the concept of harpy air travel was born, becoming a great dark elf business (albeit a dangerous one). Outside Hag Graef, a massive slave rebellion led to the execution of every slave after thousands declared “I Am Gorp!” and fought against their masters. Everywhere, the great and fashionable orc was discussed by the elves. But never again was Gorp seen, and he soon became only a legend in the Arena of Death.

Tekore’s notes: I hope you enjoyed it. Forgive any errors, long hours at work.

[DavidVC04]

Hilarious...I loved it.

[RobtheGuru]

That was awesome. Was starting to get worried that all the writing staff had died lol

[SteamTankDriver]

First off...that was bloody brilliant Tekore. I really got a charge out of the whole thing and then the Citizen Kane reference was the icing on the proverbial cake. Well done sir.

Secondly...I hate going back to school. I love teaching but it really interferes with my writing schedule. That said, I am still working diligently at both my novel and the AoD but the going is slow. I am aiming to post at least one, if not both, of the battles I have due over the long weekend. Much obliged for everyone's patience.

-Tom

[Arklite]

wait.... what happened? O_o

[DavidVC04]

Round One matchups

1. Resis Stormbow vs. Bloodtide Foereaper
2. Kraken the Old One vs. Krongor the Mawseeker
3. Kahdaz Grukkak of Karaz a Kol vs. Venerable Saurus Oldblood Wakan
4. Esco-Ra, The Frozen One vs. Morvael
5. Elthinivel Arvan vs. Shi Lian
6. Kethemar Hlaetylar vs. Glorfindel Amandil
7. Dagul Morkinson, Ironbeard of Kazzad Dolvir vs. Gorp the Refined
8. Lord Geoffroi D'Artagnan vs. Throkkenn Ironfist

Advanced to Round Two
1. To be revealed. Both entrants died in combat, so a contigency character will be entered. In short it's a secret, and we're not telling.
2. Krongor the Mawseeker
3. Kahdaz Grukkak of Karaz a Kol
4. Esco-Ra, the Frozen One
5. tba
6. Glorfindel Amandil
7. Dagul Morkinson, Ironbeard of Kazzad Dolvir
8. tba

[DavidVC04]

I loved it when Gorp parachuted into the stadium.

And how the Dwarfs looked so strangely similar...nice.

[Demandred]

Whoever does the match between Elthinivel Arvan and that little wight girl, just let me know so that I can inform you of how I want my dances run.

[daelrog]

I think the match has already been rolled. SteamTankDriver is currently writing it up with the other one this weekend.
I took a look at your character build and I have to say I'm impressed. Not the best at mathhammer, but I can say that the longer the fight lasts, the better shot your character has.
Good luck.