In Honour of Arthas!

“Greetings one and all and thank you for coming.” The cold voice of Tichondrious (Vampyre turned Wight) carries out over the crowd. He stands on a platform in the middle of the stadium. “As you all know, these past games have been relentless battles. Half the time on the field was spent arguing about proper procedures while the other half consisted of players brutishly pounding each other to make up for the lost time.”

A roar of approval erupts from the audience. Howls mixed with gunshots escalate the fervour of the crowd as they relive their favourite games. (An unfortunate goblin is tossed into the air with a bomb strapped to his back.) Tichondrious grins, his black lips spreading across his long-dead face. As the screams (of the goblin) die down, Tichondrious resumes.

We are nearing the beginning of the semi-finals and with the team rankings finally set in their proper places...” *Applause* (from the members of Coach Coffin’s team who actually have hands and a head to know how to use them) “...I feel that we, and the rest of the members of the NCC, are ready.”

The antics of the crowd pick up again. Some begin to cant “NCC! NCC!” and soon the ground begins to shake as the creatures stomp the ground and raise a ruckus. (Miraculously the goblin survived; unfortunately this encourages the crowd to try again.) Tichondrious examines the crowd and waits for them to finish, then realizing that they are not going to; he cuts in with a bone chilling wail. (Being a Wight has its benefits.)

“With that I would like to bring your attention to a tragedy, one which has undoubtedly impacted us all.” Tichondrious closes his eyes.

The crowd looks up, puzzled, unsure of what he means. All motion has ceased. (The goblin makes his escape). The Undead below Tichondrious begin to wail. The Ghouls scrape at their eyes, the Zombies their flesh. The Skeletons are taking their ribs and snapping them one by one. The members of the audience look to each other for an explanation. None is proffered.

“Arthas Menethil is dead!” More confusion. Some begin to laugh. Death is a part of the contract, everyone knows that! Although death is rare for undeath, it is still possible.

 Growing bored the audience begins to leave. They start talking of the upcoming finals, making bets followed by plans to poison the ones they bet against. An explosion catches the crowd’s attention and they make their way to the source to see if it marks the beginning of another game. (The runaway goblin apparently forgot to take the second bomb off his back, much to the pleasure of the crowd.)

Tichondrious does not notice his audience leave him as he stands in silence to honour the passing of his idol. With his team below acting as his only listeners, Tichondrious continues his speech.

“We all know of the triumphs of Arthas. Of his evolution from man, to death, to King of Undeath, he has touched us all.”

“And I would like to make a vow, that from this day forward, all of our games shall be played in honour of him, and that through him, we shall be triumphant!”

The Ghouls, Zombies, Skeletons, and even the Mummies, cheer, they begin to ceremoniously stomp the ground, both for effect and to attempt to reach Arthas in the far reaches of hell. As one the yell out to the world their new motto, “FOR ARTHAS!”

POSTSCRIPT:

On A related note, Coach Coffin has been reportedly been considering a new mascot - in order to draw in some younger blood...er ...fans (yeah thats it!) by softening the public image of his team a little. Here is a little preview - write in and tell us what you think?

Strongarm Drop Like A ROCK!!!!!

The premier game of the New Year saw the much anticipated match up between 4-1-0 C.F.L. led by Coach Craig and the undefeated 5-0-0 Stronghold Strongarms.

After all was said and done Coach Craig had this to say:


 "If I could, I think I would have to give my team's MVP award to Strongarm vet. player Gattil!!!! He fumbled more than some potted plants I know....

 But that being said I am very pleased with my Team today - they have learned a lot and earned a lot. Abraxus The Multiformed finally lived up to his role of being the team hammer. If today is any indication, having seriously injured Denovay the slayer and taking him out of the next game, there is much to believe in the words of those who say his best hits border on felonious assault.

Abraxus was also key, along with the brilliant plays of actual game MVP The Mighty Fecundus in holding down the Deathroller and ensuring that it had little impact in overall play. Thanks to Coach B himself for the insinuations regarding what their forges were working on in his previous interview - it really allowed us to be prepared for this mechanical monstrocity.

The Deathroller in action vs the C.F.L.

Fecundus was a monster today (technically, being daemonic and all, I guess he is a monster everyday - but I think you catch my meaning) and had a key role to play in all the major plays of the day. He is often underrated but has clearly become a major key to this team's play. The fleet footed catchers moved exceptionally, the linesmen supported and everything went pretty much to plan. Really it was the Dwarven inability to hang on to the ball which made it a massacre instead of just a beating.


What amuses me the most is just how easily these fools have succumbed to the great plans of Lord Tzeentch. Us losing the previous game has ensured that this defeat moves the Strongarm not to second but causes them to fall meteorically all the way back to fourth!!! "Any way but down" indeed Coach B"


Just goes to show that what the famous philosopher Play-Doh (or whatever his name was) said is right "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." The Strongarm talk a good game but if you dont let them intimidate you they fall apart like Jenga played by hyperactive monkeys (or by the coaching staff of the Skullcrushers... more or less the same thing really)!

Actually this guy looks scarier than most of the Skullcrushers.....

In other games - Coach coffin raised more than just Zombies with a win over the INCREDIBLY VIOLENT Midnight City Nightmare.  While this may have propelled Coach Coffin into the top place in the league I think that the Nightmare were the real winners here as the coaching staff seem to finally be using the strengths and abilities of the players in an effective manner. The team owner was overheard saying "Those zombies may be a pain - but they make for great target practice!"

In additional play the Kroxigoons continue their slow but steady rise to greatness, and the Plague once again show that they can be a serious threat and a dangerous crew. The Hoard, Skullcrushers, Hooligans, Kroxigoons, Crusaders and the Reavers all draw in what appears to be a general stabalising of the challenger (though challenged is perhaps more appropriate....) ranked teams.

That pretty much wraps it up for this edition of N.C.C. News - see you next week time for more action from the Crusader Cup!