us. “That last hit doesn’t count, and you know it, Kelsey. She’s allowed to reload on magic.”
“But I hit her fair and square!” Her voice is so high I expect to see the neighborhood strays come jogging up any second.
“That was not fair, you hit her. For real, you hit her,” Dan says.
The crowd begins to murmur. I hear words like “ejected” and “suspension” thrown around.
I sit up. “No. I’ll take that last hit.” Her not crossing her fingers was one thing, but I’ll be dammed if I win the whole shebang on a technicality.
“Are you sure? A move like that is cause for ejection from—”
I don’t let Sorenson finish. “I’m sure.”
Something hits my arm, and I look around thinking one of Kelsey’s friends has decided to enter the fight. But it’s just one of my own energy bolts lying on the grass next to me. Another one hits my leg, then another lands by my hand. The surrounding players are searching the ground for my ping-pong balls and tossing them to me. One person, the only female dwarf in the game that I’ve seen, actually brings me a handful.
“Kick the crap out of her,” she whispers to me, then returns to the crowd.
I scoop all the balls back into my bag. I stand up and dust the grass and dirt from my clothes. Everyone applauds like I’m an injured basketball player that just got up off the court.
Kelsey stands by Sorenson, grasping and releasing the hilt of her sword. She huffs like she just ran all the way to the Hot Topic store in Alexandria.
Sorenson faces me and in his most distinguished British accent, says, “Are you prepared to continue the battle, elfling?”
I straighten my back, square my shoulders, and look from side to side at all the painted and made-up faces around me. They all seem to lean forward, eyes unblinking. There’s only one person I’m looking for, though. Logan stands by Dan with the same look of disbelief as everyone else.
“Let’s do this,” I finally say to Tommy. “And don’t call me elfling, Gandalf.”
The crowd cheers as Kelsey and I face off again. Her skin has turned an apple red, which, with her black ensemble, is not a good look. Not that I can really say anything. My hair probably looks like a bird’s nest complete with dead grass from my tumble on the lawn.
She snatches her character sheet from Sorenson. When she glances over it, her frown confirms my suspicions. If I’m right, Kelsey’s character should be close to incapacitation. Just one or two more hits and I’ll be able to bring my plan to fruition, hopefully.
Sorenson steps back to the sidelines. “Resume!”
I wait for Kelsey to make a move. Instead of charging, she says, “I heal.”
The rules state that, depending on a character’s level, they can only dodge attacks while they heal. The higher the level, the shorter the amount of time they can’t retaliate.
“It’ll take you five seconds,” Sorenson says, which means her character isn’t as awesome as she’d like everyone to believe. “One one thousand…”
I throw a ball, but she’s ready. She dodges easily.
“Two one thousand. Three…” The crowd joins Sorenson in counting.
This is my last chance to tag her before she heals a substantial amount of health points potentially putting me at the disadvantage. I aim at her left thigh, head toward her, and swing my arm. She darts to her right, but fails to notice I didn’t actually throw the ball.
“Four one thousand…”
My arm follows her motion, and the ball still in my hand easily connects with the exposed skin on her upper arm. She screams like I really did just slam an energy bolt into her.
“You’re down!” Tommy says, and the crowd hoots and jumps. Dan is shaking Logan by his jacket as he throws his head back and howls.
I look at Kelsey, and she’s staring at me like I just dropped out of the sky.
I shrug and say, “Sorry,” as sincerely as possible.
Once the crowd calms down, Sorenson steps up to us. “What do you want to do with your prisoner, Laowyn?”
“I cast the elven incantation Change of Heart,” I declare.
“No way!” Kelsey says.
“Hold up.” Logan holds out his hand to Sorenson. “Let me see her sheet. There’s no way she can have that spell.”
Sorenson looks at me for my permission to let Logan see my character sheet. I nod. Logan takes it and scours it.
I’m not surprised he doubts me. This specific spell is super expensive, hence why