Tavern Brawls S07WK00

The summer’s heat was still lingering well into the fall as teams began to gather at The Two Brothers for the second year in row.  Normally by this time of year, the leaves would have begun to descend, but this year summer seemed to be clawing its way further towards the coming winter.  “It’s almost as though we’re just going to skip autumn all together,” thought Fletch as he watched the crowd interact while waiting for the owners to officially kick off the event.  Absentmindedly, he grabbed a glass of water from a miniature train car passing on Kevin’s delivery track he had installed last year.

Strictly speaking, Fletch did not need to be here this time around.  Since taking over for General Grindstone as the lead Ranger after last year’s events, he was well within his rights to leave security completely in the hands of his crew.  Cantrip and Selena worked well as a team, but they weren’t trained as rangers and he felt obligated to keep close tabs on them.  He observed them scanning the tables, looking for signs of trouble.  Sitting up straighter in a sudden moment of panic, Fletch did a careful sweep of the room himself, looking for one particular troublemaker from last year.  After a moment’s observation, he sighed in relief.  The Poopsmith was not in attendance this year.

In fact, he noted to himself, there were very few repeat brawlers this time around.  It would seem that the usual Brawl patrons had recruited new brawlers this year for the most part.  Part of that probably stemmed from the new rule this year allowing more of Thandar’s guilds to participate.  In addition to sigils from the 5 founding guilds, he saw numerous brawlers wearing paraphernalia from the Alchemists as well as a few from the Barbarians and Druids.  The Bards and Monks were also each represented by a single participant.  The most notable addition, however, was that from the Necromancers guild.  They had managed to get participants on 10 of the 12 teams this year.  This was, of course, a statement reflecting their recent record in other events across Thandar.

Fletcher smiled grimly to himself.  There was no doubt that the necromancers were an unsettling presence and would be even without their fighting record.  He shuddered involuntarily as he turned his attention instead to Chris and Kevin, the titular proprietors of The Two Brothers, as they climbed on top of the same bar they had stood on a year ago to announce their first Brawl.

At once, the crowd’s previous low murmur became a palpable roar even as Chris beckoned them to calm down.

“Thank you everyone!  Thank you!  Welcome to the seventh annual Tavern Brawl!”

The sound of the crowd soared again as ogres and orcs, elves and dwarves, and all of the various gathered participants jumped to their feet, shouting their excitement.  Chris and Kevin, who had seen this before, waited patiently for the noise to die, smiling at the excitement in their establishment.

“We’re delighted to once again host you here at The Two Brothers!” Chris began.  “If you need anything from us, please let us or our staff know so that we can make this a fantastic experience for everyone.”

A barbarian at the back who had already had more than a few drinks started shouting obscene suggestions on how he could be helped.  Iris, who had been standing nearby, grabbed an ale from the nearest delivery cart and dumped it over his head.  The crowd’s laughs were cut off as the barbarian jumped to his feet, pulling a small axe from his belt.  As his hand came up, he felt a cold thin blade under his chin.  The room fell silent as the barbarian froze in place.

In a voice so soft that only the barbarian could hear, Selena whispered in the ear of her potential victim, “This is a new blade that hasn’t been fully sharpened.  If I pull this across your neck, not only will you bleed out in a matter of seconds, but you will feel the blood going through every ragged rip from the dull cut and everyone here will only remember you as the dumb brute who allowed himself to be taken by a woman half his size without so much as breaking a sweat.  Or, you could apologize to the nice owners over there for interrupting them and to the waitress for threatening her.”

The barbarian didn’t even blink.  He choked out a soft, “Sorry,” and tried to sit down, but Selena held him firm with her blade.

“I don’t think anyone could hear you,” she stated coldly.

“I’m sorry!” spewed the barbarian.  “I shouldn’t have interrupted or threatened the wench…auck…waitress,” he corrected as Selena tightened her grip.

Selena held him for one more moment, then released him back into his chair.  Her knife was hidden again under her cloak before anyone could see it leave her hand.  Ducking slightly, she disappeared into the crowd as quickly as she had appeared.

Chris cleared his throat from the front of the tavern.  “We want everyone to have a good clean Brawl and to have fun.  That includes representatives from the additional guilds this year!”

At this statement, a few brawlers clapped, but many of them looked suspiciously at the newcomers – especially the necromancers.  There was an uneasy peace for now, particularly because most had a necromancer on their own team.  Still, Fletch observed, this was far from the most relaxed tavern he had been in recently.

Chris continued his speech.  “As always, we have a few house rules that we ask you to follow in order to make this the best Brawl ever:”

“First of all, be kind to the wait staff.  They’re the ones bringing you food and drinks. If you harass or shout at them, they WILL throw you out.”

Iris glared for a moment at the crowd, eyes lingering on the barbarian who had already spoken up.  After he turned away from her gaze, her bright smile appeared again on her face and she grabbed empty mugs from the nearest table.

“Second, we want this to continue to be a family event.  Let’s keep the language family friendly,” stated Chris as a few nearby patrons grumbled.

“Third, please keep any love connections out of the tavern.  There’s a time and place, but this isn’t it.”

Iris winked at Chris.

Turning red, the young man cleared his throat.  “One final directive:  If anyone finds themselves in a match with the brawler sponsored by CorranRust named Firestar, we have free drinks for your entire table if you win.  He knows why.”

“As you’ve already seen,” Chris gestured, “security is on hand.  Please follow these rules and you won’t even notice they’re here.”

By this time, the crowd was starting to become restless, but they quieted as they saw the taller of the two brothers walk over to a large lever near the wall.

Kevin shouted above the ambient noise of the room “Let the games begin!”

He pulled the lever and the floor opened.

—–

Even the veterans that knew what was about to happen stared in awe as the floor virtually disappeared into a wide grid of supports overlooking 6 arena rings.  Rather than falling, all of the tables, chairs, and occupants were supported by a transparent material that appeared to be glass, but seemed to be much more resilient to strikes and weight.  Unlike last year, however, the rings were outlined into separate rooms that all appeared to be different.  Fletch, who had helped to supervise the installation this year, still nodded in appreciation at the various areas.

Chris narrated the scene to the astonished patrons.  “What you see below are the rooms supporting this year’s theme of ‘Wintumn’!  The Wizards guild, in cooperation with the Alchemists guild, have helped us theme each of the arenas this year.  You may find yourself fighting in a room filled with piles of autumn leaves shipped in from around the countryside where they have actually fallen.  You may find yourself fighting in the snow dodging around snowmen.  There are different themes in each of the arenas, but the toughest one will be, of course, the ice arena.  I hope everyone brought their skates!”

As the crowd looked at the sight below them in wonder, many pointing out interesting aspects of each room, flashes of light appeared high along the outer edges of the wall, sparking as though striking a flint.  After a few moments, the sparks grew and died, leaving behind viewing portals.  The Brawl had used these last year as well in order for patrons to stay in the tavern itself while still viewing their matchup of choice.

A new scoreboard appeared outlined by one of the new viewing portals.  The crowd noted the matchups and the assigned arenas.  Many took one more pull from their drinks, then began making their way downstairs to the arenas.

Fletch worked his way to the front of the tavern where Chris and Kevin were chatting with Cantrip and Selena.  Cantrip was asking where he ended up getting the icicles when Fletch finally arrived by their side.  He nodded curtly to Chris and Kevin in apparent approval, then turned a questioning look to his team.

Cantrip answered the unspoken inquiry, “Yes, we’re ready.  We have additional overhead viewing portals set up so we can at other angles.  We can even see inside the maze!”

Chris stood on his tiptoes.  “That reminds me, did anyone see the druid guildmaster?  She said she would come and help me set up the evergrowing corn since we all know they’re not going to stay on the paths.”  He hurried off to find his target as Kevin pulled a couple sticks of jerky from a nearby container and made a beeline for the stairs to watch a match ringside.

Fletch, Cantrip, and Selena looked around at the emptying main room of The Two Brothers and collectively sighed.  With more teams, more specialties, and even the arenas becoming hazards, this had the makings of an even crazier year than last.