[the phantom]

Barad-Dur at Tol In Gaurhoth

After the Werewolves of Tol In Gaurhoth won their group, a debate started immediately as to where they would host their opening round playoff match. There was the obvious choice of playing on the Isle of Werewolves, but every member of the squad and most of their biggest supporters called The Barrow-Downs their home. What to do?

In the end it was their opponent that decided things. The Werewolves did much research into ticket sales and travel preferences and determined that they would be likely to receive the biggest share of support playing in Beleriand. The masses of Mordor had split their support between teams Mordor, Minas Morgul, Wilderland, and Barad-Dur, and it looked quite unlikely that many of them would be willing to travel such a long distance to support a team that did not include Sauron, Witch King, or Khamul, but did include historic Orc-banes Isildur, Anarion, Ohtar, Gil-galad, and Cirdan.

It was possible that an odd few supporters of Isildur and Anarion would come in from Numenor, but with team Westernesse playing at home it wouldn’t be many. Many of Cirdan’s supporters would be siphoned off by another contest as well- Ulmo and Tol Eressea at Angband, a contest scheduled to be played upon Angfauglith, a venue more hospitable to the Elves than the unsettled Werewolf-infested boggy mists of Tol In Gaurhoth. There were no lodgings in the area whatsoever. The only place to stay was within Sauron’s ancient fortress and dungeon that sat upon the island, and the place was simply crawling with nasty critters and any visitor was running the risk of death.

And indeed just as the wolves predicted the only Barad-Dur supporters that showed up were a knot of Elves from Lindon who camped two miles west of the river. It was hardly a picnic for these Elves, as their camp was ringed with all manner of creatures throughout the night, howling and wailing away. As the day of the game wore on the Elves left their camp and tramped down into the mists of the valley, getting one last glance of the highest towers of the fortress which towered over the stadium before their vision was limited to a mere ten feet.

A slow crescendo of noise from the path ahead was the only thing that warned the Elves they were approaching the arena. Quite suddenly a stone wall loomed in front of them, and a wooden sign pointed them to the right for visitor seating. The wall on their left ran straight for a time and then curved away from them upon reaching the southern end of the stadium. At the southernmost point there yawned an evil looking portal, framed with many burning torches and spikes protruding from the walls and ceiling. The Elves walked through it nervously- as it so resembled the hungry maw of some giant fearsome beast that they could not help but fear it would suddenly close on them.

Inside the arena they found the air somewhat clearer, as a massive tarp had been stretched over the top of the sunken arena. There were already thousands of Werewolves gathered, as well as a few thousand Wights, and even quite a few Orcs from the area that had served there once upon a time. Needless to say the Elves were hopelessly outnumbered, and they knew they would be unable to impact the game in any fashion. They only hoped they would at the least come away from the ordeal able to celebrate a victory.

Barad-Dur ran onto the pitch first, and the Elves cheered, but of course they were drowned out by their opposition, who did not boo, but rather laughed horribly, which was far worse. Booing would at least mean they disliked the squad and hoped they would lose. The laughter on the other hand- they thought Barad-Dur was no threat and knew they would lose.

And as Tol In Gaurhoth took the field the Elves knew why their fans were so confident. The Werewolves were just freaks! Not quite Wolves and not quite Wights, these things were something Middle-Earth had never seen before. The strategy of Men, the cunning of beasts, and the athleticism of Werwolves- a deadly combination. The Elves watched shaking their heads as the creatures warmed up. NogWolf and NerWolf were practicing a full speed counter, passing back and forth while sprinting at a ridiculous pace. GwathWolf and InzgilWolf were taking blasts at he net from 40 meters out, turning the ball into a blur. PhantomWolf, SallyWolf, and GaladWolf were warming up with various tricks, showing a surprising amount of dexterity and control given their size and strength. Meanwhile the defenders and keeper were warming up their muscles with various agility drills, leaps, and short runs. The Elves wondered how on earth Gil-galad and his helpers up front could hope to gain any separation from these athletes.

And they were right to worry, as Barad-Dur could get absolutely nothing going early on. The Werewolves were having fun, sending it to their opposition again and again and letting them take their best crack at their defense. Finally at 15 minutes Fellbeast managed to make ShastaWolf move, but he caught it easily and sent it back out. Five minutes later Gil-galad managed to trap his defender on his back and did a nice turn and shoot from just outside the box, but the defense was spread perfectly leaving only one avenue to the net, and ShastaWolf was in it.

At around 25 minutes captain NogWolf declared a shift of play and the Werewolves actually started holding it and going up to apply some pressure. Around the half-hour mark PhantomWolf found InzilWolf with a cross, but one of Barad-Dur’s rear defenders managed to clear it. Just a couple minutes later GwathWolf got around the edge and sent a rocket at the near post, but Ohtar leaped and batted it away.

But Barad-Dur could not hold off the WereWolves forever, and at 34 minutes InzilWolf realeased NogWolf behind the defense and he made Ohtar commit then chipped it to the empty side for the lead! The crowd celebrated wildly. Things were going exactly as expected! They cheered all the way to the end of the first half while the Werewolves went back to their defensive play.

Tol In Gaurhoth came out for the second half attacking, eager to put a bit of a cushion between them and their opponents. Barad-Dur staved them off for a bit, but Tol In Gaurhoth continued the pressure and soon had another score thanks to a mad scramble that followed a corner.

Tol In Gaurhoth went back to defense after that, and the Elves in the crowd noticed a change in the atmosphere. It was getting foggy in the arena. A look at the north end of the arena would confirm things, as the edges of the tarp had been removed allowing the mists to creep down into the stadium and over the field. The Elves yelled in protest, as they were losing sight of the match, but the TIG supporters howled with laughter, seemingly not bothered by the ploy.

Unable to see the match any more, the rabid crowd started getting out their noisemakers and meat and beer, kicking off celebrations early. No one can know for certain what happened under the fog, but when they closed the tarp ten minutes later and the fog finally started to clear, the Barad-Dur squad looked as if they’d been run over.

Their jerseys were ripped, and they were all bruised and bleeding. The Werewolves on the other hand looked as healthy as ever. All of Barad-Dur was more or less wandering about, simply trying to locate their opposition, but as the final bit of fog by the Barad-Dur goal vanished, there was suddenly a flurry of activity, as PhantomWolf was standing directly next to the keeper Ohtar with the ball at his feet!

Ohtar shouted with surprise and tried to leap upon the ball, but PhantomWolf pulled it away and whirled over towards the other post and stopped again, laughing. The whole defense was rushing to get back, but he didn’t move. Ohtar regained his feet and lunged again, but this time PhantomWolf whirled the opposite way and tapped the ball towards the far post. Time seemed to move in slow motion as Gothmog II and Nazgul #1 raced to clear the ball, but when they were within a step of it GwathWolf, who had been miles behind, came sliding between them and deflected the ball across the line for the three-goal lead.

GwathWolf laughed and trotted over to PhantomWolf, and was heard to shout, “What were you doing?” PhantomWolf grinned and shrugged, then replied, “I just wanted to see if you could get there first.”

The Wights and Wolves in the stands went into full party mode now, and the Elves exited, eager not to spend another night in the area. The tarp was opened again, and mist began spilling into the arena yet again. The players of Barad-Dur slumped- there would be no comeback. Even if they could put it in the net the refs would never see, and the WereWolves with their super hearing and smell would have better chances anyway.

Before the mist completely covered the field Gil-galad could be seen shaking hands with NogWolf, and mercifully NogWolf ordered possession only after that, and shouted for the mists to be cleared away. Barad-Dur exited the field as quickly as possible after the final whistle and the Tol In Gaurhoth players leaped into the stands to join in the celebrations. In dominating fashion the Werewolves were through to the quarterfinals.

Barad-Dur 0-3 Tol In Gaurhoth
tot shots 12-18
on target 4-8
GOALS:
*34, 0-1 NogWolf (InzilWolf)
*55, 0-2 GaladWolf (SallyWolf)
*72, 0-3 GwathWolf (PhantomWolf)
YELLOW CARDS:
*Barad-Dur- Fellbeast #2, Gothmog, Isildur
*TIG- InzilWolf

Tol In Gaurhoth is through to face the winner of Angfauglith vs Westernesse.