Prompt #8: Adroit
Tales of the Wayfaring Mage
Dwarves
Depending on who you ask, you will either have a positive or negative response. Loud drunks with rocks for brains or brilliant metalworkers with hearts of gold and livers of steel.
But after a hard day's work, they settle down over a pint... or keg. A sort of experience of camaraderie you wouldn't find anywhere else. Anyone that has either fought or worked alongside dwarves are treated like brothers and sisters of their own.
Arm wrestling matches were a favorite pastime for the miners. Most strength tests were. That and drinking. ---
Another day had passed for the mining crew and it was time to relax until next time. A small group of dwarves approached their Bar in the Wall with an amber-eyed human in tow.
“Not bad fer a gangly beanstalk's first month down 'ere.” One dwarf with red beard elbowed the human's side. “Didn' hafta pick up any slack in th' last week. Progress!”
Another dwarf that had a blonde beard laughed, “Aye, an now e's got sum meat on 'is bones. Ain't no beanstalk no more.”
A dwarf with a brown beard shook his head, “Nope, e's more a, cornstalk now, aye? Aye?”
The group as well as the human laughed as they approached a table.
“I tell ya what, son, ye certainly surprised me.” The black bearded dwarf smirked at the human. “A whole lot o' us didn't think ye'd last down 'ere. Goin’ back t' yer namby pamby nobleman's life from dust in yer eyes.”
“Surprised th' lot o' us.”
“Sure did.”
“Who'd 'ave thunk!”
The human smiled at the dwarves and their words. “We are most glad that we were able to exceed expectations.”
All of the dwarves looked at each other and snorted at the response, one even thumbing to the human, and all with smirks on their faces.
“Now if only ya'd drop th' fancy talk.” The red-bearded dwarf smacked the table with his hand before turning to the barmaids. “Need a couple mugs o' ale 'ere!”
“Please.” The human quickly added afterwards, which got a laugh out of the other dwarves.
“Least one o' yas got some manners.” The dwarven barmaid teased before turning to the taps.
Once the dwarven miners pulled up a chair, the blonde-bearded dwarf turned to Alistair. “Alright, lad. This time, yer gonna drink like th' rest o' us.”
“Pardon?” The amber-eyed man questioned as he sat down in a chair that was slightly out of spec with his size.
“Ye heard 'im, lad! Drink with yer brothers!” The brown-bearded dwarf answered. “After all yer hard work, why wouldn't ye?”
“Well...” The human had trouble trying to gather his thoughts.
“Don't even try t' talk yer way out of it.” The black-bearded dwarf interrupted. “Ye've been flakin' out on drinkin' with th' guys since ya first got here. Ye only drink one mug! Not nearly enuff.” He smacked the table with his fist. “Ye even miss out on arm wrestlin', too! Can't 'ave that either! Yer workin' with us!”
“But... you are stronger than us.” The defeatist human tried to excuse himself.
“That's quitters talk!”
“Milksop!”
“Come off it!”
The dwarves continued to poke fun at the human until the red-bearded dwarf smacked the table one more time. “Alright, lads, let's not give th' nobleman a hard time. He's obviously above our cultural traditions. Let 'im sit it out.”
This comment did not go unnoticed by the only human at the table. Such words stirred within his heart and mind, irritating him the more he sat on it.
“Alright, lads, ale's 'ere!” The barmaid approached with a serving tray held aloft, cutting off any more jabs at the human patron.
With a loud cheer, the group tended to their mugs with fervor as though it would be the last mug they would drink in a while. Meanwhile, the human watched his consumption as well as plotting something in the back of his mind.
---
After everyone had been through 3 mugs of ale, the revelry truly began. A couple of them started singing songs with others clapping along. More dwarves had even started showing up to join in after work. Soon there were dwarves dancing about and arm wrestling matches all around. The place was filled with merriment and joy.
“Say, boy!” The red-bearded dwarf from earlier approached the human, sitting across from him. “Come on. Ya gotta, do it.” He placed his elbow on the table and raised his arm along with his brow. “Come on! Show me what ya got!”
Some of the other dwarves nearby tugged and shoved the man around in a light roughhousing manner.
“Come on!”
“Do it! Do it! do it!”
“Give it a shot!”
The human sighed and squared up, putting his elbow on the table. “Fine. I can try.” He lifted his arm and he gripped the dwarf's hand.
The spectating dwarves cheered, some even laughed as though already expecting a certain result. Another dwarf placed his hand over the competitor's hands and looked between the two.
“Ready!?” He looked between the two.
Both the dwarf and human competing tightened their muscles, waiting for the moment to start.
“Go!”
The dwarf and human both started pushing against the other either with all or some of their strength. The dwarf did not appear to be using much of their own muscle to hold the human back. In fact, once he found out how much stronger, he decided to get cocky.
He let the human struggle to push his hand to one side only for him to push back to center. He was just going to mess with the human a bit before he could snatch his clear victory.
“Oh, so close.” The dwarf taunted before pushing back and slowly being pushed against. “Oh no, I think... I lost me strength.” He stopped his arm just half way. “I think I could use some more ale.”
The human struggled but never gave up trying in spite of everything. They were a part of the spectacle and he was the fool. But... he would be a fool no longer.
Suddenly the dwarf found his eyes watering up, an urge was rising within him. It felt like something was rubbing against his eye. He wanted to dig it out but he was still stuck in his arm wrestling match. He couldn't afford to rub his eye now!
Within that instant, the human swiftly pushed their hand down, the back of the dwarf's hand met the table.
Silence reigned around the table.
…
“Did we win?” The human asked as he slowly released his opponent's hand, dumbstruck as everyone else.
A loud cheer erupted all around them. Several of the dwarves were shoving the human around and giving rough pats on the back.
“Got somethin' in me eye...” The red-bearded opponent raised his hand to rub the corners of his eyes. “I think? But yeah, ya won. But don't let it go t’ yer head!”
The amber-eyed man laughed and waved his hand dismissively. “Promise not to.” However, he did not have the heart to tell him he cheated a bit. He had magically accumulated dust as well as dirt and gradually pushed them into the dwarf's eyes.
However, once that match was over, more dwarves wanted to challenge the human that bested a dwarf in arm wrestling.
The boy needed to figure out new clever methods and quickly...