Schlimmtag 2, Sixth Lunar Disappearance, 50 CE | Terror Vortex Field at Glandus High
As Luz settled down into her seat, she could barely contain her energy, doing her best to make sure that her tail didn't decide to make a surprise appearance. Willow and Gus were similarly hyped for the match, with Willow even starting a few call-and-response chants with other Hexside students.
"1-oh, 2-oh, 3-oh, 4!" she would yell. While the plant witch did this, Gus pulled out a pair of small blue flags and acted like he was conducting an orchestra.
"We're gonna run up the score!" they would respond.
"5-oh, 6-oh, 7-oh, 8!" she'd continue.
"Banshees, we're gonna dominate!" they would scream, even louder than before.
After the chant had been repeated a few times, Luz found herself joining in, screaming at the top of her lungs about how they were going to destroy Glandus. As Luz participated in the chant, she eventually realized that she had no idea what the rules of Grudgby even were. Since Willow was currently preoccupied with being a yell leader, she resorted to seeing if Gus was willing to enlighten her on the game she was about to watch.
"Psst, Gus." He didn't respond.
"Gus!" she tried again, louder this time. The boy turned to look at Luz.
"Yeah?" he asked, still doing his little conductor movements with the flags.
"What are the rules?" she asked. Gus pocketed his flags before scooting over so he was closer to the basilisk.
"Ok, do you see that circle in the middle of the field?" Gus pointed, and Luz followed with her eyes. There was, in fact, a painted white circle about 10 feet in diameter smack dab in the center of the field.
"Uh huh." Luz nodded in the affirmative.
"That's where the players start, and they all have to be touching the circle for the game to begin. When everyone is ready, the grudgball is launched into the air and the game is officially under way when someone from either team catches it." Gus spun up a small illusion depicting the field with tiny players standing on the circle. An even tinier ball was then shot out of the ground, and multiple players leapt up to grab it.
"And what's with those big pole things with the hoops?" Luz doubted they were just there for decoration.
"Those are the goals. You have to get the grudgball to pass through one of those to score for your team." The illusion of a player then threw the grudgball through the hoop on the opposite end of the field and jumped for joy before disappearing as Gus dispelled the illusion.
"I'm guessing whoever has the most points at the end wins?" Luz wanted to make sure that there wasn't some super convoluted rule that would eliminate all the work that a team might do over the course of a game.
"Yeah, that's how you would win a game. However, since Grudgby is so fast paced because of the 10-minute time limit, you typically see teams play a best of 5 series, which is what we're doing today. That's only how a typical game goes though," Gus responded, (Luz sensed there was a "but" coming.) "but sometimes a game will be played under Smidge rules, where you forego the points system and just see whoever can catch this little guy first and whichever team does that wins." Gus conjured up another illusion, this time of a winged metal beetle covered in rust.
Luz let out a sigh. "Of course, there's an instant-win version of the game, because why wouldn't there be."
Gus gave the basilisk a pat on the shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, most people think that Smidge rules Grudgby is stupid and defeats the purpose of the game."
Luz laughed. "Well, I'm not disagreeing with that. So, the game is basically just passing the grudgball around until someone throws it through the hoop?"
Gus wavered his hand in a so-so motion. "Well, that and you have to be wary of all the traps that are on the field. Though, everyone can use their magic, so you also have to worry about your opponents attacking you directly."
At the mention of being able to use one's own magic, Luz had an idea. "Wait, does that mean that I could use my shapeshifting if I was playing?"
Gus thought about it for a second before answering. "I mean, there's nothing saying you can't do that, so I guess it would be legal."
Luz smiled. "Ahh, the Air Pal argument. Got it."
"What's an 'Air Pal argument'?" Gus asked.
Oh right, this was the Boiling Isles. "Air Pal is a movie about a dog that plays basketball, and it's allowed since there isn't a rule about dogs not being allowed to play basketball," Luz explained.
Gus nodded along like he understood, even though he really didn't. What was basketball, and why would a dog want to play it?
Suddenly, the crowd around them grew exponentially louder. Looking for the cause of the uproar, Luz saw that the timer on the scoreboard said that there was only 1 minute until the players took the field. Seeing that everyone around her was on their feet (or other various appendages, depending on the species), Luz copied them and rose from her seat.
"Witches and demons, ARE YOU READY FOR SOME GRUDGBYYYYYYYYY?!" the public announcer yelled, drawing a massive cheer from both sides. From the tunnels on both sides of the stadium, four witches emerged, all of whom were dressed in protective equipment so that they didn't die after stumbling on the very first trap.
"Introducing your home team. Dusty Everhart! Senna Wales! S'reee! Captained by Loca, they are the Glandus High Gorgons!" The Glandus student section erupted into cheers, a few of them even throwing purple and white streamers onto the field. The four witches on the far side of the field stepped up to the circle and took their places, evenly spacing themselves out. Luz had to admit that they looked pretty fierce, most of them sporting scowls. The illusion was broken, though, when Loca cracked a joke, causing her teammates to smile for a split second before resuming their death glares at the Banshees.
"And for the away team. Cat DeLisle! Skara Brooks! Amelia! Captained by Boscha Riegel, they are the Hexside Banshees!" This time it was the Hexside student section to erupt, throwing out their own streamers, though these ones were blue and gold colored. As Boscha and her crew took their places on the circle, Luz felt a twinge of indecision over whether she should actually be cheering for the triclops given how she treated Willow and Amity. Eventually, Luz decided that she would cheer for everyone on Hexside's team except for Boscha. That would work for now.
As the players readied themselves on the starting circle, Luz waited with bated breath as the timer on the scoreboard counted down. Even though it was only 10 seconds, it felt like an eternity to the energetic basilisk.
10…
Boscha adjusted her left kneepad, tightening the strap to make sure it was secure.
9…
Skara wiped the sweat from her brow, flinging it aside.
8…
Cat rolled her shoulders and snuck in a quick calf stretch.
7…
Amelia cracked her knuckles and wrung her hands thrice.
6…
Loca reached into her pocket and took out a small bottle. Uncapping the drink, she downed it in one go before tossing the bottle behind her.
5…
Senna squatted down, slapping the ground with both hands before throwing some dirt over her shoulder.
4…
Dusty took off her headband and turned it inside out before putting it back on.
3…
S'reee closed her eyes and bowed her head, muttering something under her breath.
2…
All 10 players prepared themselves, knees bent, ready to jump.
1…
The grudgball shot out of the ground, and the game was on.
Every player on the field leapt for the ball, hoping to gain the first possession of the game. By the slimmest margin, Dusty was the first to leave her feet, but the Banshees had prepared for this. Before Dusty could even reach for the ball, Skara had already launched herself into the other girl's stomach, before the two of them slammed into the dirt, effectively downing Dusty for the opening possession. (Luz sucked in a sharp breath. Oof, that had to hurt.)
If the Gorgons did what the Banshees thought they were going to do, then they would be aggressive and have Loca grab the ball and fight to maintain control of it while she landed. They didn't. As Loca reached for the ball, instead of grabbing hold of the ball, she instead tapped it behind her head, where S'reee was waiting patiently. Landing gracefully with the ball now in her hands, S'reee took off running toward the Hexside goalhoop. As the remaining members of the Banshees landed, they realized that they'd been duped. Of course the Gorgons would wait for their biggest rivalry game to do something so un-Gorgons to start off.
As S'reee tore down field, she made the mistake of looking behind her to see if anyone was tailing her. As her head was turned, she ran straight into a wall of abomination goop that had shot up, forming a massive wall. Bouncing off the sudden obstacle, she landed on her backside, the ball flying out of her hands as her arms flew back to catch her fall.
Boscha could have quickly scooped up the ball and ran with it, but she couldn't stop herself from gloating. Flicking the ball up and catching it in both hands, she turned to her fallen opponent. "Rookie mistake," she said in a faux-cheery voice before laughing and sticking her tongue out. Shifting the ball to be in a more defensive position, she turned to advance in the other direction. Her possession of the grudgball was short lived, though. Boscha only made it a few steps before she was sent flying backwards from a blast of bard magic courtesy of Senna. The captain of the Banshees tumbled backward, landing right next to S'reee, who took the moment to laugh in the other girl's face. Thanks to Boscha's impromptu gymnastics routine, the ball had slipped out of her hands and was now rolling ever closer to the Hexside goalhoop.
Coming from out of nowhere, Loca ran in and quickly picked up the ball before launching it into the hoop that Boscha was supposed to be defending.
"GOAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!" the public announcer screamed.
Gorgons 1 – Banshees 0 | 9:22 Remaining | Game 1
Boscha let out a swear from her spot on the ground. She had cost them the opening score. Now her team was playing from behind, and she was to blame. Slapping herself on the cheek to wake herself up, she got up and began slowly walking to the starting circle, trying to catch her breath.
"NOT DOG!" she screamed, communicating the play for this possession to her other teammates, though the noise from the crowd was making it difficult. If the Gorgons played this like Boscha expected, then this should be a quick answer. "NOT DOG!"
Amelia, Cat, and Skara all nodded. Good, they had heard her.
Taking her spot on the circle, Boscha took one last deep breath before readying for the ball to shoot.
As the grudgball launched into the air, the Banshees, save for Skara, all took off, running straight for the Gorgons' goal. As the ball reached its apex, Skara looked directly at the ball and put her fingers to her lips and whistled, sending out her own wave of bard magic. As the wave travelled, it caught both the grudgball and the Gorgons, all of whom were midjump. In one fell swoop, the ball was sent rocketing across the field towards the Glandus goalhoop, and all of the Gorgons were knocked out of the air like fairies that had just been swatted. "Sorry, I'm just doing what the play says." Skara quickly apologized to the students from the rival school before running to join her teammates.
Cat was the first to receive the ball as it fell from the sky, positioning herself so it landed right in her breadbasket. Turning to run with it, she made a point to not turn around and run face first into a trap. When a battle axe emerged from the ground and started falling, she was ready for it, diving out of the way so she didn't get cleaved in two. From the ground, she turned to see that the Gorgons were getting up from Skara's attack. Seeing an opening, Cat called out Amelia's name before heaving the ball in her direction.
As Amelia received the ball, she was almost immediately when thorny vines sprouted all around her, trapping her on a little island of dirt. Turning herself in a circle, she saw no way out. She couldn't jump far enough to get out, and she definitely didn't want to risk getting all cut up this early in the game. Help was on the way, though, as Boscha waved for the ball, and Amelia punted the ball towards the captain of the Banshees.
Smiling at the chance to make up for her mistake just moments prior, Boscha ran towards the Glandus goalhoop. Surprisingly, no traps had sprouted from the ground, so she had a clean shot. Looking behind her, the only person even close to her was Skara, who had expertly weaved through all the obstacles. Making a split-second decision, Boscha yelled out Skara's name and lobbed the grudgball into the air as hard as she could. Nodding, Skara sprinted over to the goalhoop and leapt into the air. As the ball reached the top of its arc, Skara cocked back her hand and spiked the ball with an open palm, sending it flying through the hoop.
"Hexside scores," the public announcer said flatly.
Gorgons 1 – Banshees 1 | 8:46 Remaining | Game 1
As Skara landed, she had a giant grin on her face. "Thanks, Bosch!"
Boscha brushed off the compliment. "That's my way of saying sorry. We still need to obliterate those fools from Glandus."
While the two rejoined their teammates at the starting circle, Boscha was already cooking up a plan for this possession. She'd studied the tape and done her homework. (Well, not her homework homework. She couldn't care less about the "proper stirring technique for potion crafting during a waning crescent.") Whenever Glandus let up a goal, they would always try to return with a score of their own by playing hyper-aggressive, bringing all their players on the offensive and leaving nobody back deep to defend, relying on the traps and obstacles to get the ball back. This strategy was risky, obviously, and would leave them highly susceptible to a quick counterattack by the Banshees if they could steal away the ball and get a player out in front. As Boscha took her spot at the starting circle, the perfect play came to mind.
Luz wasn't quite sure why Boscha was yelling about spiders (or not dogs, for that matter), but she was sure of one thing: Grudgby was awesome! After Skara's shot had tied the game up for Hexside, the basilisk had screamed so hard that her throat hurt, and Gus and Willow had been similarly enthusiastic about the bard track student scoring. If both teams kept racking up points like this for the rest of the series, Luz would undoubtedly lose her voice by the time the third or fourth match rolled around.
She watched with anticipation as the grudgball rose from the ground once more, signaling the start of a new possession. While Luz had expected for the team from Glandus to immediately go for the ball (she had clocked them to be really attacking-oriented), the Banshees' response to play resuming was definitely not what she thought was going to happen. Boscha and her crew backed away from the ball, fanning out to cover as much of the field as possible. Though Luz recognized the defensive strategy when she saw it, she was a little confused as to why they were doing it now, when the game was tied, and not when they actually had the lead. Maybe they were trying to conserve their stamina for the next possession? That might be it. Nevertheless, Luz was excited to see how this possession would turn out. Hopefully it would end in another Hexside goal, preferably by someone not named Boscha.
As Luz focused back on the game, she saw that Glandus was trying to take advantage of the Banshees' passive approach to the possession. Key word: trying. Currently, Senna was carrying the ball up the field, trying to maneuver herself so that a teammate could cut for a closer shot on the hoop. However, both the Banshees and the field itself were working against her. Whenever she would try to line up a shot, either an obstacle would appear to deny the opportunity, or a Banshee would position themselves between her and the goal. Similarly, if she tried to pass the ball off to another Gorgon, one of the Banshees would threaten to either knock the pass out of the air with a blast of magic or jump and grab it with their bare hands. (Well not, bare. They had gloves on, after all.) Eventually, and most likely out of frustration, Senna resorted to blindly throwing the ball as hard as she could at the hoop. Though the ball managed to avoid Amelia trying to swat it out of the air, as well as other magical blasts from the other Banshees, the goalhoop had other ideas.
DOINK, DOINK.
The ball bounced off the left side of the hoop, and then again off the bottom before falling backwards, never crossing the barrier to score. The grudgball landed directly in the arms of Boscha, who couldn't hold herself back from laughing at the Gorgons' rotten luck.
From her spot in the stands, Luz cheered even louder than before. If they kept playing like this, there was no way the Gorgons were gonna win!
