What Drake had expected to be a tough first round was, thanks to Anna’s clever strategy of being small while Cresh was big, remarkably easy. Still, as he lined up on the surf with four glowering zarovians ready to charge at him, he found himself pondering his life choices. Getting trampled by lizardmen would be an ignominious end for a manor lord.
“Run around yours,” Cresh growled quietly. “Then grab his cloth.”
Drake glanced up at him and frowned. “That’ll just get me tail slapped.”
“Not if he’s running.”
Interesting. As Drake considered this new insight from his zarovian army’s general, he saw how it might work. A zarovian who’d hunkered down to intercept would be ready with a tail slap, but when moving, they used the tail for balance. No slapping possible.
“Good call,” Drake said.
As Samuel raised a hand, Cresh just grunted. From the other side, Hector gave Drake a tentative thumbs up. He, too, looked rather terrified by the oncoming stampede.
“Begin!” Samuel called.
Team Korrag charged like a line of cavalry, barreling for the sea. Drake charged right at them. Drake darted around his target at the last second, then grabbed for the flag. He snatched it... barely... and yanked it free with a howl of victory.
Then he took off after the other three.
The three remaining zarovians split around Cresh, but the giant lizardman leader’s impressive reach still filled half the space between the poles. Cresh caught one lizardman by the torso in each hand and simply lifted them off the ground like dumbbells, leaving his subordinates scrambling for purchase on the and. Hector deftly plucked their flags as Korrag then dodged an elbow drop from Cresh. He raced for the shore, home free.
Anna ran over, tripped, and fell on her face directly in front of Korrag.
Drake, suddenly terrified she’d be trampled, redoubled his pace. He was shocked as Korrag immediately skidded to a halt to avoid trampling the adorable little girl. Unfortunately, the lizardman was running so fast he then flopped onto his snout. With a gleeful cry, Anna hopped up and snatched the flag off his back.
Drake couldn’t believe it. The little scamp had tripped on purpose! “Anna!” Drake shouted in annoyance. She could have been badly hurt!
“Anna’s team wins round two!” Samuel called. “Anna’s team takes the game.”
“We win!” Anna shouted, dancing around for joy.
Drake was going to give her an earful about her reckless Don’t Stomp Me! strategy later, but now, at least, she looked so thrilled by her victory he lacked the heart. Korrag pushed up, glowered around, and dusted himself off. He coughed sand.
Drake hurried over to him. “Thanks for stopping.”
The big lizardman snapped his snout. “Beach no fun without little egg.”
Drake slapped Korrag on the arm. “Good game.”
“Is silly game.” Korrag smacked his long lips. “But still fun to play.”
Thanks to Anna’s clever and borderline illegal strategy, her team had passed the first round. But there was still one more to play, and their next opponents would be far more crafty.
The last game was the JV team versus four more zarovians, with the JV team starting as turtles. Carl and Gaby were both easily eliminated while Robin and Darion deftly avoided having their flags plucked. Afterward, Robin called everyone in for a quick strategy session. Drake couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she looked intent.
When it came time for the JV team to play as shrikes, the whole team charged at the zarovians the moment the game began. Their blatant aggression caught the zarovians off guard. Caught between running and protecting their flags, even Gaby was able to avoid being knocked over as the zarovians tried, and failed, to get past without having their flags plucked. They were fast in a charge, but slow to turn and prone to getting confused without orders.
“Robin’s team wins round two!” Samuel called. “Robin’s team wins the match!”
“Great job, Darion!” one of the members of Team Cleaners shouted from the sidelines. The rest of them joined in with the cheering and whistling, including Tamara and Alice. Meryl was the only one not cheering, but only because she was in deep conversation with River.
Sadly, Robin’s strategy was not up to her next test, which paired her JV Team against Team Battle Maids. Led by Emily and her somewhat unhealthy competitive streak, Robin’s team was trounced both as turtles and shrikes. That left Anna’s team versus Team Cooks.
When they started as turtles, Drake decided not to tackle anyone. The other team had three women who were all much lighter than he was, and he had a few inches and at least thirty pounds on their only dude. He ended up having to do nothing at all.
Cresh simply tore off like a charging bull. Both Tamara and Meryl lost their nerve and dived away as he barreled past. Alice almost snatched his flag, but missed and flopped into the sand on her face.
Drake winced. He hoped that hadn’t hurt. When Alice pushed up while laughing her ass off, however, he relaxed. Her face was covered in sand.
The following round, as snakes, was a foregone conclusion. With Hector and Drake mimicking the cornerback strategy used by Team Battle Maids and Cresh standing in for Emily as a defensive line, Team Cooks all lost their tails with only token resistance.
“Anna’s team takes round two!” Samuel called. “Anna’s team wins the round.”
Anna ran over and hugged Drake, obviously thrilled out of her mind. He chuckled and gave her a pat on the back. “Good job leading the team.”
“Thank you, lord!” She glanced at the towering zarovian watching them with his standard dour look. “But I think this win was Cresh’s doing.”
The big zarovian simply snorted in response. Still, Drake didn’t miss with his tail started thumping on the sand before he consciously put a stop to it. That big softie!
That left the final game of shrikes and turtles as Team Battle Maids versus Team Anna, an outcome Drake had both dreaded and anticipated. His battle maids would show no mercy. He had no doubt Lydia or Nicole would snatch his flag as Emily closed in.
But perhaps he could use their focus on him as a distraction.
As Emily grinned recklessly and sauntered down to the shoreline with the other battle maids, Drake called everyone in for a huddle. Or, in Cresh’s case, a tower over the huddle. Even down on one knee, the lizardman remained massive.
“All right, Anna. What’s your strategy for this one?”
“I don’t know, lord!” Anna said. “Emily’s scary fast, and Lydia and Nicole are too. And I think Valentia can read my mind!” She shivered. “She’s scary when she wants to be.”
“All right, well, if you’re not going to offer a strategy, can I?”
She nodded eagerly. “Of course, lord!”
Drake told them all his latest plan. As he did so, Cresh began chuckling. It was the first time Drake had heard the huge lizardman laugh. The sound was terrifying, like the engine of a steam train as it pumped out smoke.
“But... what if she’s injured?” Hector asked.
Drake appreciated that the other man’s first thought was of Anna’s safety. “We won’t do it if she doesn’t think she can pull it off. I’m open to other ideas.”
“I can do it!” Anna said eagerly. “I want to do it, lord. We are going to win!”
Drake winked at her. “That’s the plan, then. Break!”
“Anna’s team!” Samuel called. “Are you ready?”
“Ready!” Anna called eagerly.
“Emily’s team? Are you ready?”
“Ready!” Emily shouted hungrily.
Drake kept his poker face as his battle maids set up in the same defensive strategy they’d used thus far. Emily stood in the front, Lydia and Nicole took the sides, and Valentia stood rear guard. They were perfectly prepared for anything... except his incredibly silly plan.
He hoped Emily wouldn’t be too upset about her loss afterward.
“Begin!” Samuel called.
As Drake ran forward, Anna yelped in delight as Hector swept her up in his big arms. He barreled forward alongside Cresh. The sudden merger of Anna and Hector didn’t phase his battle maids, of course, but as Drake sprinted ahead, Nicole and Emily both took the bait. Since they couldn’t tackle Hector, they’d likely prioritized him to have his tail plucked.
Meanwhile, Lydia dashed straight for Cresh, likely thinking to dart around him and grab his flag with her superior agility. They all ignored Hector and Anna. Drake put on a burst of speed and then juked to run behind Cresh as Hector did the same from the other side.
As they crossed behind the huge zarovian, who acted as a screen for their movements, Hector passed off a shrieking Anna to Drake. She was shrieking, thankfully, in delight.
As Drake came around Cresh’s other side almost on top of Lydia, she balked at the sight of him holding Anna out before him like a shield. That nonsense threw her off just enough that she lost her focus on pulling Cresh’s flag, and then a woman howled as Hector went barreling directly into her on the other side.
It didn’t matter whether Hector had collided with Nicole or Emily, so long as one went down with him. He had sacrificed himself to take the heat off Drake... or so his battle maids must think.
To her credit, Lydia immediately refocused and darted for Drake, only to gasp again as Drake tossed Anna into the air... to be snatched by one of Cresh’s big arms. As the lizardman popped Anna onto his back, Lydia turned again to grab the big zarovian’s flag... only to be full on tackled by Drake. She gasped as they went down hard on the beach, flagless.
As Emily dashed around Cresh’s charging bulk to see Lydia pinned beneath Drake and Cresh’s tail still entirely intact, she howled in surprise. “Get Cresh!” She sprinted after the huge zarovian... entirely too late.
Valentia, as expected, nimbly darted around Cresh as he reached the shoreline. She easily plucked his flag... just as Cresh smoothly deposited Anna, who still had her tail, directly into the sea. The little victory dance she immediately did made Drake grin.
“Team Anna wins the round!” Samuel called... in what Drake would swear was audible consternation. “Emily, your team will be turtles in round two.”
“Lord?” Lydia said quietly from beneath him. “Could you let me up, please?”
Drake realized then he’d kept Lydia pinned to the beach with his body for the time it took Cresh and Anna to win the round. He dropped both hands into the sand on either side of her prone body, grinning down at her from above. “Sorry! Anna’s doggone adorable.”
She stared up at him with wide eyes, face flushed from the sun.
“You little cheater!” Emily darted into the surf and swept Anna off her feet, though she was grinning despite her ire. “You can’t just ride Cresh to victory!”
Drake stood and grinned at her. “I think we just did!”
Anna giggled madly in Emily’s arms.
Wait, was Lydia still on the beach? Drake glanced down in consternation, then offered a hand to help her up. Was she all right?
Why was she blushing like that? She was red as a beet. She must be embarrassed that his crazy “toss Anna around like a football” strategy had broken through the unstoppable defense of Team Emily. He’d known none of them would anticipate that.
Lydia’s hand clasped his, and then he easily hauled her to her feet. Still, Lydia looked out of sorts and even a bit woozy after his tackle, which worried him. He gripped her arm to steady her and make sure she wasn’t dizzy. “You all right?”
She nodded and brushed sand off her drawers. “Of course, lord.”
He’d never have tackled one of his other people like that, of course, but... this was Lydia. She was as tough as they came, but perhaps he’d focused too much on getting Anna up to Cresh and not enough on making sure he didn’t accidentally injure anyone with a tackle. He needed to be more careful.
“I’m fine.” Lydia’s smile was warm and welcome. “You should get down to the shore.”
Since he knew Lydia couldn’t lie to him, his worries about the tackle slipped away. “On it.” Drake released her and grinned. “We haven’t won yet... but we will.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “I believe you believe that.”
What Drake had expected to be a tough first round was, thanks to Anna’s clever strategy of being small while Cresh was big, remarkably easy. Still, as he lined up on the surf with four glowering zarovians ready to charge at him, he found himself pondering his life choices. Getting trampled by lizardmen would be an ignominious end for a manor lord.
“Run around yours,” Cresh growled quietly. “Then grab his cloth.”
Drake glanced up at him and frowned. “That’ll just get me tail slapped.”
“Not if he’s running.”
Interesting. As Drake considered this new insight from his zarovian army’s general, he saw how it might work. A zarovian who’d hunkered down to intercept would be ready with a tail slap, but when moving, they used the tail for balance. No slapping possible.
“Good call,” Drake said.
As Samuel raised a hand, Cresh just grunted. From the other side, Hector gave Drake a tentative thumbs up. He, too, looked rather terrified by the oncoming stampede.
“Begin!” Samuel called.
Team Korrag charged like a line of cavalry, barreling for the sea. Drake charged right at them. Drake darted around his target at the last second, then grabbed for the flag. He snatched it... barely... and yanked it free with a howl of victory.
Then he took off after the other three.
The three remaining zarovians split around Cresh, but the giant lizardman leader’s impressive reach still filled half the space between the poles. Cresh caught one lizardman by the torso in each hand and simply lifted them off the ground like dumbbells, leaving his subordinates scrambling for purchase on the and. Hector deftly plucked their flags as Korrag then dodged an elbow drop from Cresh. He raced for the shore, home free.
Anna ran over, tripped, and fell on her face directly in front of Korrag.
Drake, suddenly terrified she’d be trampled, redoubled his pace. He was shocked as Korrag immediately skidded to a halt to avoid trampling the adorable little girl. Unfortunately, the lizardman was running so fast he then flopped onto his snout. With a gleeful cry, Anna hopped up and snatched the flag off his back.
Drake couldn’t believe it. The little scamp had tripped on purpose! “Anna!” Drake shouted in annoyance. She could have been badly hurt!
“Anna’s team wins round two!” Samuel called. “Anna’s team takes the game.”
“We win!” Anna shouted, dancing around for joy.
Drake was going to give her an earful about her reckless Don’t Stomp Me! strategy later, but now, at least, she looked so thrilled by her victory he lacked the heart. Korrag pushed up, glowered around, and dusted himself off. He coughed sand.
Drake hurried over to him. “Thanks for stopping.”
The big lizardman snapped his snout. “Beach no fun without little egg.”
Drake slapped Korrag on the arm. “Good game.”
“Is silly game.” Korrag smacked his long lips. “But still fun to play.”
Thanks to Anna’s clever and borderline illegal strategy, her team had passed the first round. But there was still one more to play, and their next opponents would be far more crafty.
The last game was the JV team versus four more zarovians, with the JV team starting as turtles. Carl and Gaby were both easily eliminated while Robin and Darion deftly avoided having their flags plucked. Afterward, Robin called everyone in for a quick strategy session. Drake couldn’t hear what she was saying, but she looked intent.
When it came time for the JV team to play as shrikes, the whole team charged at the zarovians the moment the game began. Their blatant aggression caught the zarovians off guard. Caught between running and protecting their flags, even Gaby was able to avoid being knocked over as the zarovians tried, and failed, to get past without having their flags plucked. They were fast in a charge, but slow to turn and prone to getting confused without orders.
“Robin’s team wins round two!” Samuel called. “Robin’s team wins the match!”
“Great job, Darion!” one of the members of Team Cleaners shouted from the sidelines. The rest of them joined in with the cheering and whistling, including Tamara and Alice. Meryl was the only one not cheering, but only because she was in deep conversation with River.
Sadly, Robin’s strategy was not up to her next test, which paired her JV Team against Team Battle Maids. Led by Emily and her somewhat unhealthy competitive streak, Robin’s team was trounced both as turtles and shrikes. That left Anna’s team versus Team Cooks.
When they started as turtles, Drake decided not to tackle anyone. The other team had three women who were all much lighter than he was, and he had a few inches and at least thirty pounds on their only dude. He ended up having to do nothing at all.
Cresh simply tore off like a charging bull. Both Tamara and Meryl lost their nerve and dived away as he barreled past. Alice almost snatched his flag, but missed and flopped into the sand on her face.
Drake winced. He hoped that hadn’t hurt. When Alice pushed up while laughing her ass off, however, he relaxed. Her face was covered in sand.
The following round, as snakes, was a foregone conclusion. With Hector and Drake mimicking the cornerback strategy used by Team Battle Maids and Cresh standing in for Emily as a defensive line, Team Cooks all lost their tails with only token resistance.
“Anna’s team takes round two!” Samuel called. “Anna’s team wins the round.”
Anna ran over and hugged Drake, obviously thrilled out of her mind. He chuckled and gave her a pat on the back. “Good job leading the team.”
“Thank you, lord!” She glanced at the towering zarovian watching them with his standard dour look. “But I think this win was Cresh’s doing.”
The big zarovian simply snorted in response. Still, Drake didn’t miss with his tail started thumping on the sand before he consciously put a stop to it. That big softie!
That left the final game of shrikes and turtles as Team Battle Maids versus Team Anna, an outcome Drake had both dreaded and anticipated. His battle maids would show no mercy. He had no doubt Lydia or Nicole would snatch his flag as Emily closed in.
But perhaps he could use their focus on him as a distraction.
As Emily grinned recklessly and sauntered down to the shoreline with the other battle maids, Drake called everyone in for a huddle. Or, in Cresh’s case, a tower over the huddle. Even down on one knee, the lizardman remained massive.
“All right, Anna. What’s your strategy for this one?”
“I don’t know, lord!” Anna said. “Emily’s scary fast, and Lydia and Nicole are too. And I think Valentia can read my mind!” She shivered. “She’s scary when she wants to be.”
“All right, well, if you’re not going to offer a strategy, can I?”
She nodded eagerly. “Of course, lord!”
Drake told them all his latest plan. As he did so, Cresh began chuckling. It was the first time Drake had heard the huge lizardman laugh. The sound was terrifying, like the engine of a steam train as it pumped out smoke.
“But... what if she’s injured?” Hector asked.
Drake appreciated that the other man’s first thought was of Anna’s safety. “We won’t do it if she doesn’t think she can pull it off. I’m open to other ideas.”
“I can do it!” Anna said eagerly. “I want to do it, lord. We are going to win!”
Drake winked at her. “That’s the plan, then. Break!”
“Anna’s team!” Samuel called. “Are you ready?”
“Ready!” Anna called eagerly.
“Emily’s team? Are you ready?”
“Ready!” Emily shouted hungrily.
Drake kept his poker face as his battle maids set up in the same defensive strategy they’d used thus far. Emily stood in the front, Lydia and Nicole took the sides, and Valentia stood rear guard. They were perfectly prepared for anything... except his incredibly silly plan.
He hoped Emily wouldn’t be too upset about her loss afterward.
“Begin!” Samuel called.
As Drake ran forward, Anna yelped in delight as Hector swept her up in his big arms. He barreled forward alongside Cresh. The sudden merger of Anna and Hector didn’t phase his battle maids, of course, but as Drake sprinted ahead, Nicole and Emily both took the bait. Since they couldn’t tackle Hector, they’d likely prioritized him to have his tail plucked.
Meanwhile, Lydia dashed straight for Cresh, likely thinking to dart around him and grab his flag with her superior agility. They all ignored Hector and Anna. Drake put on a burst of speed and then juked to run behind Cresh as Hector did the same from the other side.
As they crossed behind the huge zarovian, who acted as a screen for their movements, Hector passed off a shrieking Anna to Drake. She was shrieking, thankfully, in delight.
As Drake came around Cresh’s other side almost on top of Lydia, she balked at the sight of him holding Anna out before him like a shield. That nonsense threw her off just enough that she lost her focus on pulling Cresh’s flag, and then a woman howled as Hector went barreling directly into her on the other side.
It didn’t matter whether Hector had collided with Nicole or Emily, so long as one went down with him. He had sacrificed himself to take the heat off Drake... or so his battle maids must think.
To her credit, Lydia immediately refocused and darted for Drake, only to gasp again as Drake tossed Anna into the air... to be snatched by one of Cresh’s big arms. As the lizardman popped Anna onto his back, Lydia turned again to grab the big zarovian’s flag... only to be full on tackled by Drake. She gasped as they went down hard on the beach, flagless.
As Emily dashed around Cresh’s charging bulk to see Lydia pinned beneath Drake and Cresh’s tail still entirely intact, she howled in surprise. “Get Cresh!” She sprinted after the huge zarovian... entirely too late.
Valentia, as expected, nimbly darted around Cresh as he reached the shoreline. She easily plucked his flag... just as Cresh smoothly deposited Anna, who still had her tail, directly into the sea. The little victory dance she immediately did made Drake grin.
“Team Anna wins the round!” Samuel called... in what Drake would swear was audible consternation. “Emily, your team will be turtles in round two.”
“Lord?” Lydia said quietly from beneath him. “Could you let me up, please?”
Drake realized then he’d kept Lydia pinned to the beach with his body for the time it took Cresh and Anna to win the round. He dropped both hands into the sand on either side of her prone body, grinning down at her from above. “Sorry! Anna’s doggone adorable.”
She stared up at him with wide eyes, face flushed from the sun.
“You little cheater!” Emily darted into the surf and swept Anna off her feet, though she was grinning despite her ire. “You can’t just ride Cresh to victory!”
Drake stood and grinned at her. “I think we just did!”
Anna giggled madly in Emily’s arms.
Wait, was Lydia still on the beach? Drake glanced down in consternation, then offered a hand to help her up. Was she all right?
Why was she blushing like that? She was red as a beet. She must be embarrassed that his crazy “toss Anna around like a football” strategy had broken through the unstoppable defense of Team Emily. He’d known none of them would anticipate that.
Lydia’s hand clasped his, and then he easily hauled her to her feet. Still, Lydia looked out of sorts and even a bit woozy after his tackle, which worried him. He gripped her arm to steady her and make sure she wasn’t dizzy. “You all right?”
She nodded and brushed sand off her drawers. “Of course, lord.”
He’d never have tackled one of his other people like that, of course, but... this was Lydia. She was as tough as they came, but perhaps he’d focused too much on getting Anna up to Cresh and not enough on making sure he didn’t accidentally injure anyone with a tackle. He needed to be more careful.
“I’m fine.” Lydia’s smile was warm and welcome. “You should get down to the shore.”
Since he knew Lydia couldn’t lie to him, his worries about the tackle slipped away. “On it.” Drake released her and grinned. “We haven’t won yet... but we will.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “I believe you believe that.”
