Caitlin Elopidat

UP:Catskills

    Just outside Dungeon Wrong, a small area was fenced off, and those nearby wondered why. They found out soon enough. Moments later a man appeared in a bright orange shirt, wearing a black cape, and proclaiming himself, Andre the Gambler.

    He asked if anyone wanted to try their hand at gambling, perhaps making a little money, and when those nearby got suspicious, he assured them that everything was legitimate.

    What happened next was surprising to all. He left for a few moments, promising a speedy return, and when he came back, he had two warriors, dressed in only short pants and shoes, wearing bright red gloves, and scowling at the crowd. Soon their scowls turned to each other, and Andre started the betting. The first matched pitted Khalil, a fighter from Jhelom, against Brendan, a fighter from Magincia. Khalil was the favorite, enjoying 2-1 odds, and Andre took a number of bets before continuing on with the fight.

    The rules, he explained, were simple. Each of the fighters would go at each other using only their gloved fists, and the last one standing would be declared the winner. Andre warned the crowd that if anyone cast spells at the fighters or attacked them in any way, that he would consider the match a forfeit and keep all money. This seemed to keep all of the spectators from interfering as he reported later that he had no trouble.

    Andre stopped taking bets and shouted "BEGIN!" and then the action started. At first it seemed the favored Khalil would take the match easily, but Brendan made a remarkable comeback, and knocked Khalil to the ground with a few well placed hits. He was declared the winner, and Andre payed those who had made the bet on the underdog.

    Andre, pleased with the success of the first bout, announced that a new challenger would be found for Brendan, and he left again. Shortly thereafter he returned with Ramsey, a much stronger fighter than Brendan. Due to Brendan's conditioning however, Andre announced even odds on this fight.

    The crowd gathered anew, and Andre took more bets, this time, several chose Brendan to win, due to his amazing defeat of Khalil. The betting ended, and soon the fight began again. Andre shouted, "BEGIN!" and the fighters broke loose from their corners, ripping and tearing into one another with all their might. The crowd shouted for Brendan to tear his head off, and it looked as though he would do just that. But, surprisingly, with Ramsey about to fall, Brendan took an inexplicable turn, and started heading back to his corner, perhaps thinking that he'd already won. But Ramsey turned him around with a right hook, and Brendan fell to the ground, causing much jeering from the crowd that had championed him. Amidst screams of "The fight was Rigged!" Andre payed off the few smart enough to bet on Ramsey and announced that the evening's festivities had come to an end.

    Before he could make his way back to wherever he had come from, however, several of the spectators made Andre promise to return tomorrow night for more fighting. He did so, also offering an oppurtunity for locals to join in the fighting.

    "Anyone who wants to step into the ring and fight one of my guys legit is welcome to it." Andre said. "No Magic, no weapons, just good old punching." Several said they would show up for the fights.

From the Town Cryer - The Journal of Ultima Online, Sunday, March 22nd 1998