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The Locks
“You getting scared, Ubi?” Jenora asked her shadow. “I don’t believe I’ve ever lost any kind of contest, especially to a dwarf.” This comment set Ubreck cackling, mixing her laughter with the general rowdiness of the rest of the arena.
“Polgo’s up!” came the commanding voice.
Both competitors raised their Polgo’s, Ubreck holding hers firmly in the middle of the pole for good balance. Jenora tried to remember Kragmar’s instructions about how to hold this pole, but her hold on her Polgo was much less firm on this foreign object than it should be. It was unlike anything she had ever held before. Perhaps similar to a staff, but not as elegant, definitely more clumsy, she thought as she weighed it back and forth in her hands.
“Tocal!” the voice commanded, which meant go.
“What does toc…?” Jenora started to ask what the word meant but in that instance…WHACK!
“Owee wowee!” Jenora screamed. She had not even considered moving when Ubreck had bounded over Jenora’s head and whacked her with the fan part of her Polgo on her bottom. She had dropped her Polgo in reaction to the whacking she had received so that she could put her hands on her rear end in a futile attempt at stopping the sharp pain. A mistake she learned, unfortunately the hard way.
WHACK! Ubreck had whacked Jenora with the soft butt end in the back of her head, knocking the Halfling’s helm askew despite the straps to hold it in place.
“YOU ARSE!” Jenora screamed from frustration and pain, straightening her helm back atop her head, as she tried to see through the tears that had welled up from the stinging and then attempted to find her Polgo she had dropped.
Ubreck bounced in front of Jenora, “Need a break, wee one?” she asked compassionately.
Through gritted teeth, Jenora growled, “Play on.”
No sooner than Jenora snapped her response, did Ubreck repeat her first maneuver and resoundingly smack Jenora again on her arse. WHACK! “Tha’s two, muffin,” Ubreck called out.
“HOLY MOTHER OF THE ONE!” Jenora cried out in severe pain, but by this time, she had picked up her Polgo. Wildly swinging her Polgo, Jenora got lucky as she smacked Ubreck on the back of her head with the butt end of her stick before the dwarf could spring away.
“Good shot, li’l one,” Ubreck called out as she sprang away, bouncing at least fifteen feet straight up.
The fandom of Ubreck was hysterical from the show unfolding before them. Several had fallen from their seats, they were laughing so hard at Jenora’s wretched attempts at their beloved game.
“Keep movin’!” Kragmar called out from somewhere behind Jenora as he mimicked bouncing.
Keep moving? I’ll show you keep moving, Jenora growled miserably but quietly to herself.
“Eh?” Kragmar asked inquisitively, cupping a hand to his ear to hear over the din of the arena.
“Nothing!” she screamed above the din of the arena.
She attempted to match Ubreck’s move of bounding straight up, but apparently, this was not as simple as Ubreck made it appear. The push was not nearly equal from both of her legs as it needed to be, thus she shot at an angle to her left. This brought her directly over a section of stands inhabited by a mass of young male dwarves. They caught her so she would not crash into the rock wall behind them. However, before they shoved her back the other direction, one of the young males got a little too handsy, and….
“Polgo’s up!” came the commanding voice.
Both competitors raised their Polgo’s, Ubreck holding hers firmly in the middle of the pole for good balance. Jenora tried to remember Kragmar’s instructions about how to hold this pole, but her hold on her Polgo was much less firm on this foreign object than it should be. It was unlike anything she had ever held before. Perhaps similar to a staff, but not as elegant, definitely more clumsy, she thought as she weighed it back and forth in her hands.
“Tocal!” the voice commanded, which meant go.
“What does toc…?” Jenora started to ask what the word meant but in that instance…WHACK!
“Owee wowee!” Jenora screamed. She had not even considered moving when Ubreck had bounded over Jenora’s head and whacked her with the fan part of her Polgo on her bottom. She had dropped her Polgo in reaction to the whacking she had received so that she could put her hands on her rear end in a futile attempt at stopping the sharp pain. A mistake she learned, unfortunately the hard way.
WHACK! Ubreck had whacked Jenora with the soft butt end in the back of her head, knocking the Halfling’s helm askew despite the straps to hold it in place.
“YOU ARSE!” Jenora screamed from frustration and pain, straightening her helm back atop her head, as she tried to see through the tears that had welled up from the stinging and then attempted to find her Polgo she had dropped.
Ubreck bounced in front of Jenora, “Need a break, wee one?” she asked compassionately.
Through gritted teeth, Jenora growled, “Play on.”
No sooner than Jenora snapped her response, did Ubreck repeat her first maneuver and resoundingly smack Jenora again on her arse. WHACK! “Tha’s two, muffin,” Ubreck called out.
“HOLY MOTHER OF THE ONE!” Jenora cried out in severe pain, but by this time, she had picked up her Polgo. Wildly swinging her Polgo, Jenora got lucky as she smacked Ubreck on the back of her head with the butt end of her stick before the dwarf could spring away.
“Good shot, li’l one,” Ubreck called out as she sprang away, bouncing at least fifteen feet straight up.
The fandom of Ubreck was hysterical from the show unfolding before them. Several had fallen from their seats, they were laughing so hard at Jenora’s wretched attempts at their beloved game.
“Keep movin’!” Kragmar called out from somewhere behind Jenora as he mimicked bouncing.
Keep moving? I’ll show you keep moving, Jenora growled miserably but quietly to herself.
“Eh?” Kragmar asked inquisitively, cupping a hand to his ear to hear over the din of the arena.
“Nothing!” she screamed above the din of the arena.
She attempted to match Ubreck’s move of bounding straight up, but apparently, this was not as simple as Ubreck made it appear. The push was not nearly equal from both of her legs as it needed to be, thus she shot at an angle to her left. This brought her directly over a section of stands inhabited by a mass of young male dwarves. They caught her so she would not crash into the rock wall behind them. However, before they shoved her back the other direction, one of the young males got a little too handsy, and….
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 5, 2014
About the author
John Dodds
24 books9 followersI am the author of The Kendrick Chronicles crime series. The first three books, Bone Machines, Kali's Kiss, and Babylon Slide are out now as audiobooks from Blackstone Audio, Inc. The first two are narrated by Robin Sachs, who has appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5, Galaxy Quest, Lost World: Jurassic Park and more, while Babylon Slide is narrated by John Lee, a multiple award-winning narrator who has performed novels by Jo Nesbo and George R.R. Martin, among a host of others. The audiobooks are available in CD, MP3 disc and download formats from all major retailers, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Audible and downpour.com.
I also have a number of works, including a steampunk YA, The Mechanikals and shorter works out on Amazon.
I also have a number of works, including a steampunk YA, The Mechanikals and shorter works out on Amazon.
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