Worm Gets Beat Up By Two Ogres

[Liam Gelt]

Liam takes in Worm's response and Gerrit's follow-up, nodding and swaying ever so slightly like a great tree in the breeze. He's clearly impressed by Worm's talk of restraint, not quite expecting the Summer to be so thoughtful. He's clearly thought about this...both of them have. He looks surprised at the mention of this brawl in a bookstore, but doesn't mention anything yet. This was about Gerrit processing, not storytime.

His face screws up in thought, his throat rumbling in a concerned "hummmmm" noise as mental gears turned. "Honestly, I do have days where I worry about lashing out. I had more when I was fresh out of...Back There, but not as much now." There's a bit of pain in his expression. "I think for us Ogres it's just so easy to fall into destructive patterns of anger because we were made for it. Me, I was made into a big forest guardian. I had to kick all kinds of beasts around...some Lings too, I think." He looks down at his hands, briefly curls them into fists and back. "What helped me was finding friends I could talk to about those experiences, and how to separate the fight or flight of my old life with recognizing people as people; not enemies to beat up."

"I'd say the end does justify, but there's still room for your own judgement or for others to call us out. That's why we have four Courts and not just one. We all have our strengths and weaknesses that need honing and supporting. That's why we do things like this." Liam smiles again, trying his best to calm the other Ogre's nerves.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-06 00:49:41	Liam Gelt rolls 5 to Reassure Gerrit (Pres + Persuasion + Mantle Bonus) (10 Again)	8, 3, 10, 6, 9, 4	3 successes

Liam's Mantle summons a hint of a light breeze around him, tickling his pine-needle stubble and enhancing his smile in an almost comical way. This was what Liam prides himself on within the Court of Joy: his ability to pass joy on to others. "Hey, no worries. These conversations need to happen if we're going to protect the Freehold responsibly. And each other too." He looks back over to Worm. "Wasn't there a big general-guy who was a big fighter and a big thinker. Sun Tzu? Didn't he have something smart to say about fighting and knowing when not to?"

[Colonel Worm]

"There's gonna come a time," Worm says to Gerrit, "where you're gonna have to fight. To protect yourself, or the people you care about. The Freehold itself maybe. And then, like you said, you're gonna have to get involved." He says it with utter confidence. It's not a matter of if, but when. Their world is not one that stays peaceful. And there's too much on the line to avoid that fact. "So let's just say we're training for that time. I don't know when it'll come, but it will. And this way you'll be ready."

The Goblin can see that talking about...before is hard for Liam. He reaches up to pat the Gargantuan on his shoulder, gives him a look that says: We all did shit. Because they did. Every one of them.

"Liam's right: it's about staying open. Honest. Shit goes bad when it's just you, alone. No perspective." Worm's familiar enough with that situation.

Worm nods in response to Gerrit's question. No shame. "I do. I'm good at it. And, for whatever reason, it feels...right." Had it felt right before? Worm knows he was a soldier then too. But had he enjoyed the feel of a blade in his hand prior to his time in the Red Realms? Hard to say.

"It has. Clouded my judgement," he affirms again. "And bad things have happened." He's not going to hide it, no matter how much it hurts. "To people who didn't deserve it. But that's my shit, man. Not yours. And it's why I'm here, talking this over with you." A pause while he seems to consider. "You're never going to be perfect, G. And you're going to make mistakes. But this is a war. It may not seem like it sometimes, but it is. And you've got to be ready. This is how we get ready." The Colonel is entirely earnest. Dead serious.

Liam's mention of Sun Tzu seems to break the spell. "I don't know about Sunny-boy, but I'm always down to chew the fat. Like I said, talking keeps us from going down dark roads." He grinds out his cigarette and looks between the two Ogres. "So, you want to get back at it? Or should we call it a day with the punching shit portion of our program?"

[Gerrit]

Little by little, the Colonel's and Liam's pep talk got through to Gerrit. He heard the justifications and reasons they gave him to fight and he mostly managed to believe them. Of course there was a small voice in the back of his mind which insisted that maybe there was no reason to fight in the future after all. "I see. You're both right - it is better to be prepared for the worst."

Liam shared episodes of his past, and that story was both concerning and comforting. The Spring had also had wrestle with his temper.. but apparently he had been able to gain control over it. Together with what Gerrit knew about the Soldier's past their points made even more sense. You needed others to keep you in check, to help you keep perspective.
The Summer had laid a lot of groundwork in earlier talks and Liam was mighty convincing: he almost didn't want to admit it to himself, but Gerrit almost felt good about the whole thing. "Thank you. Both of you. I think I'm ready to get going again." Chinese warlords were not really his topic of choice, but he caught a second wind to spar some more. "What do you want us to do?"

[Liam Gelt]

Liam gladly accepts the pat on the shoulder from Worm, more impressed with the Goblin's reach than anything else. And it seems like Gerrit doesn't mind Liam's efforts to cheer him up. All in all, a win-win between friends. "I'll admit it's easy for me to forget that we have to worry about enemies coming for us. It's the Spring in me that wants to hope for the best." He shrugs. "But that's why I wanted to do this: so that I can be ready for that time when we have to fight for the home we've all built here." ​The Giant's voice is hopeful, belying the power behind it. He's clearly invested in this place and its people.

The Sun-Tzu thread doesn't gain any traction, so Liam is content to chuckle at Worm's joke. "Hey, some wars are won with words. Sometimes those wars are with our own doubts."
He looks between his sparring partners. "I'd be up for a bit more sparring. I was actually hoping to practice some grapples if you guys were up for it?"

[Colonel Worm]

As Gerrit turns the corner on his doubts and Liam jogs beside him, urging him along, Worm's smile gets bigger and bigger. Until it's almost maniacal.

Suddenly he claps. It's loud. Seemingly out of nowhere. Surely it'll surprise his comrades.

"WHOO!" He howls into the Hedge, his mantle flaring. "That's what I'm fucking talking about. Now that's a goddamn parley, boys. An honest to goodness heart-to-heart that got shit done." He does a little jig, Goblin skin sweat-slicked and shining. "Are you fired up?! 'Cause I'm fucking fired up!"

Next thing you know, he's clapping both of them on the shoulders. Repeatedly. Like they've just won the big game or something.

To Liam: "Now that's a fine idea, bubba." Shifting right back into Coach Worm mode. "Let's scramble in the dirt a bit. Same principle as before: I wanna see where we're starting from. This time, I'm gonna watch you work with each other. First time around, we'll see whose got the goods. You both try for the grab and whoever takes hold, and holds it, wins. Then we can practice back and forth."

He saunters over to where they were working before, looks between both Ogres with a feral gleam in his eye: "You game?"

We're gonna do straight combat. The object is to succeed in grappling your opponent without it being broken. Whoever achieves a grapple and holds it past their opponent's next turn wins. Initiative!

[Gerrit]

The home they've built? Gerrit recognized that hopeful tone, it was the same one he used to have in his voice. Yet: prepare your goodbyes. The Stonebones shrugged himself. Still, the mood seemed good and CW seemed to get in the mood again. Gerrit could get behind that to some extend. And if that wasn't enough, the Goblin made sure that some fresh bolts of pain shot through the Onyx' shoulder to get him going. Gerrit forced a smile and gave the two a thumbs up.


But grappling? That sounded like a miserable time, given how his time in Arcadia left him with ever-bruised flesh. Plus, he wasn't really that proficient in that - and the few times he had tried and failed to grapple something to protect others were proof of that. "All right." Wars that are fought against their own doubts? Gerrit knew about that, all right.

Initiative 14

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-11 00:27:21	Gerrit rolls 1 die for initiative	9

[Liam Gelt]

Liam almost jumps from Worm's...enthusiastic encouragement. But he sees the Goblin's heart is in the right place, and shares his own wide, warm grin. "I mean, yeah. Of course. Go team!"

With Gerrit looking like he was up for it, and Worm gladly playing referee, Liam squares up in from of Gerrit. "No hard feelings, Gerrit. Just think of this as a warm, welcoming Spring hug." ​The Giant is clearly looking forward to getting to use some of his newfound training and willpower here.

Initiative 10

[Colonel Worm]

"All right!" Worm sends it right back to Gerrit, "Come one, come on." Motions each of them to a spot, facing one another. Enough distance between.

Was that a little shit talking from Liam? Nice. "You hear that, G? A hug! Sounds cozy!"

Eyes the Stonebones closely, "Now he's," jabs a thumb at the Gargantuan, "got the size advance. Obviously. On just about everybody." A glance and a wink to Liam before looking back at Gerrit. "But that's not always a good thing. What I want you to do is go for the legs. Wait for the right moment. Then commit. Wrap him up there."

Now to Liam: "You heard what I just said. Expect that from anyone you might have to square up with. If they're smart. Your size is an advantage in most cases. But it can be turned against you. Try to hug him, sure. But watch your feet."

He steps back, "Okay boys! Let's hug!"

Gerrit's up first! This is just a simple attempt to grapple/attempt to break grapple situation. Whoever holds the grapple after one break attempt wins. Worm'll stop it there to dispense wisdom.

[Gerrit]

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-14 00:28:21	Gerrit rolls 5 to grapple Liam (Str 3 + Brawl 2 - ? Defense) (10 Again)	2, 8, 3, 2, 6	1 success

Gerrit ignored the friendly banter - training was one thing, making this fun was another - and instead worked to do what Worm had suggested. He shifted around to have a more grounded center of gravity, then moved quickly to tackle the Spring at the waist. He somehow managed a hold, but it left Liam's arms free. Now it boiled down to applying enough threat of tripping the Gargantuan while not being knocked out by his tree-trunk-arms.

If Liam doesn't have more than 3 defense, the grapple succeeded. Gerrit's strength is 3 if you want to subtract it directly.

[Liam Gelt]

Gerrit swoops underneath Liam's reach and he feels the Stonebones' iron grip clamp down on his waist. He grunts and digs his feet in, keeping himself upright for the moment.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-14 14:34:05	Liam Gelt rolls 2 to Escape Gerrit's Grapple (Str + Brawl - Str Contest) (10 Again)	6, 4	failure

The Giant doesn't want to spoil the spirit of the game by going big, so instead he pulls both arms under and tries to manually pry Gerrit off of him. So far, it looks like he's stuck...

Liam's Def is 2, so it absolutely hits!