Happy Midsummer! I know, I know it's a day late... by Swedish standard. Midsummer's Eve was yesterday but I had no time to write then.
The projectiles whined through the air but their targets still stood steady awaiting their fate. The poor soldier knew that even though the first projectile missed, one of the next following five would not. One by one the soldiers would fall. It was a battle field where towers were pushed over and churches were crushed. When…
"Austin stop writing and come join the game", a voice yelled by his ear and he jumped where he sat.
"What", he asked and looked around. Justin was standing in front of him, when it came to games Justin was always better than Justine.
"Come on we gotta and watch those boys show that Swiss who's boss!" Justin said and took Austin's hand and pulled him up. Austin put aside his notebook and hurries after Justin to the field that Kim and his cousin Emma was putting up.
"Okay", Emma said when they were done. "You said you could beat us in any game boys so let's see then."
"Yeah", Kim said smugly. "Let's see if you can handle this game."
Puck looked at the field unimpressed.
"It's a few wooden bricks and sticks", he said sounding unimpressed.
"Is not!" Kim objected. "Okay listen up. This is the 'battlefield'. It is formed as a rectangle and on either of the short sides there is five 'kubbar' or wooden blocks. Each side has five and the aim is to knock down the other team's kubbar with these." He held up a wooden baton. "You are only allowed to hold it in one end and throw it under-handed. You have to stand at your baseline, among your kubbar."
"So we stand by our kubbs and do under-hand throws at the other teams kubbs", Nathan asked and took a baton.
"Yes", Emma said and smirked. "And beware of hitting the king." She pointed at a big block in the middle that had a pointy head, a crown. "If you hit him before all the kubbs are down you lose."
"So if my team is throwing at the other team's kubbs but it hits the king instead… we lose", Wes asked.
"Yes", Kim said. "Now if you hit a kubb the other team has to throw it onto your playfield and knock it over before they go after your kubbs. If they don't… you can stand by that kubb when you throw next time."
"Cool", Nathan grinned.
"If the team does hit it then it's get taken out of the game completely", Emma explained. "And if you guys hit more than one kubbs they all get thrown onto the other field. But if I throw one and say hit it with another kubb you have to pile them on each other, building a tower."
"What if it's three", Puck asked.
"Well then you build a church, piling the three on top of each other. The tower is shaped as a T and when you build a church you put the third one on top of the horizontal one."
"But if there's four or more?" Finn asked.
"Only three in a church", Emma explained. "If you have a forth you throw it somewhere else on the field… and there can never be five down."
"Why?"
"You see the rules states that after getting down the last kubb you have to have at least one last baton that hasn't been thrown. If not… well then the kubbs are put back into place. You hit the last kubb and then take down the king. Everyone understand?"
Everyone nodded.
"Don't worry we'll explain the rules when a situation happen", Kim said. "So… What teams?
"Me", Puck said and gripped two batons. "With Finn and Sam against you two Swedes, let's take 'em down guys!"
"Uh guys", Nathan said.
"Oh bring it on kiddies", Emma said and smirked before going over to her side of the field, Kim following.
"We begin because we are two", Kim said and took the batons.
"Shit", Nathan swore.
"What", Puck asked.
"You guys are dead."
"Why?"
"Because… Emma is crazy, competitive and she kicks ass at games that has to do with throwing balls or other stuff. You're dead."
"No we're not", Finn said and threw a baton up and caught it again. "We'll win."
"Guys they've grown up playing this game!"
"So? How good could they be?"
Suddenly Emma threw her three batons and there was a klonk and then another klonk as she knocked down two kubbs. Kim followed suit by bringing down two more. The ND boys stared.
"Clearly pretty damn good", Nathan said as he stared at the kubbs.
"Hey no fair we weren't ready yet!" Finn called.
"Well put them up again and you start then", Emma called and Kim laughed. Finn did as told and soon realized that hitting those bloody kubbs was way harder than it looked. No one on his team hit a single one… and Emma and Kim cleared up the boys' side of the field in two swift goes.
"Next", Emma said with an angelic smile.
More people challenged the two Swedes and even though some came closer to beating them than others they still stood victorious.
"Okay no fair!" Otto objected. "No more Emma and Kim on the same team!"
"Okay", Emma said. "How about this, a girls' team versus a boys' team?"
"Hell yeah!" Nathan cheered. "So who plays?"
"Well who wants to play with me?" Emma asked the girls. Tina, Santana, Quinn, Brittany and Sugar joined her. Kim got Jerry, Puck, Rory, Mike and Fred.
"Du ska få spö Emma!" Kim called.
"Ha du kan inte ens träffa ett träd så hur ska du träffa en kubb!"
"Will you let her talk to you like that", Puck asked even though he had no idea what the girl said.
"Of course", Kim said. "Heckling and praying to fake gods are part of it… or shouting things like fuck, damn, shit and Satan."
"Satan is actually very helpful in this game", Emma said happily. "Let the battle begin!"
"Ladies first", Jerry said.
"Wait what does the winners get?" Santana asked.
"How about half of the losers' strawberries", Rory suggested and Emma's smirk grew and Kim paled slightly.
"Taken", Emma said and ushered the girls to their side of the field.
"Fuck", Kim squeaked.
"What", Jerry asked.
"Emma loves strawberries… she's gonna play even better than she usually do…"
"In other words… we are doomed?"
"Hell yeah."
Austin chuckled and watched the mayhem start. It was really even between the teams and the game never really had a leading team because Kim was determent to defend his strawberries while Emma was determent to get his. The projectiles whined through the air but their targets still… Austin trailed off that thought and hurried up to his notebook and started to write again.
The projectiles whined through the air but their targets still stood steady awaiting their fate. The poor soldier knew that even though the first projectile missed, one of the next following five would not. One by one the soldiers would fall. It was a battle field where towers were pushed over and churches were crushed. When one side had fired their projectiles the other would make it's turn. A soldier went down, will it rest in a slumber filled with honor? No it gets thrown onto the field like a pig to slaughter, only to be hit again so that the enemy line could not advance. But now it was its own troops that fired projectiles at him and in the middle of all this mayhem stood the king and watched. He watched the two sides battle it out awaiting his own fate. He knew that was he ever hit and fell over a winner would be decided. He just had to wait. One by one the soldiers would fall, the projectiles would whine until the very last soldier fell and then they would whine again… to hit the king.
The mayhem continues, the king watches silently from the middle. Cheers and groans can be heard from the troops. Cheers when a hit is done, groans when the projectiles misses. Carefully they fly, careful to hit the soldiers but careful not to hit the innocent bystanders or anything or anyone that is nearby the battle. The mocking words fly, almost as fast as any projectile, it is part of it too. But then… silence. The final soldier is down. The projectile is thrown. Hit. The king goes down and the battle is over. The losing side groans the winning side cheers and in the middle is mayhem and for what? Because a few crazy Swedes wanted to play a game of "kubb".
VERY IMPORTANT! I know some of you might read this and think: "That's not the rules I play by/have heard of!" But the thing is that almost every region, village/city or even families kind of have their own rules in this game, kubb. It is a game played a lot during summers in Sweden and in our family ESPECIALLY during midsummer.
Here you go, feel free to send me request by review or pm ;) And I'll see what I can do about it :D