Mougin Blinked at the rhetorical question.
"I do not." He said loudly.
The bald man frowned and gave a brief overview of the rules, clarifying a great deal in the process. So that was what the two blue dots on the board were for. It was high risk, high reward, as unlike the center, the blue dots were placed in low scoring areas. How interesting. Mougin held an axe in his hand. He had seen axes before, of course, but this one was quite a bit smaller than what he was used to. There was a certain stereotype of minotaurs with their axes, and he wasn't really sure where it came from. The Bighorn tribe had always preferred to use their hands.

It was time for his practise throws. Mougin had thrown rocks before, but never axes. The bodyguard had made it look so easy, but he decided to watch what his partner did first. Rozzlo held the axe on one end and sent it spinning end over end towards the target, smacking into the board with a solid thunk. Mougin tried to copy his posture, slowly getting a feel for the weight, and threw with a moderate amount of strength. It seemed he had mistimed his release, as the axe was sent in a downwards direction headfirst, smacking into the backboard. The bodyguard let out a guffaw, but Mougin paid him no mind. He had to figure out where he went wrong.

As Rozzlo made his second throw, Mougin reflected on his approach. The release timing of the axe was a little off, and the strength he used wasn't adequate, causing the axe to sink lower than he wanted it to. He decided to increase the strength he used, and released the axe at the correct time. The axe flew and impacted the target with a loud smack, landing on the second outer ring. Mougin frowned. He had aimed for dead center, but using too much strength had lowered his accuracy. His third throw was more accurate, but the axe landed handle first. It was more complicated than he thought it would be. How interesting.

Soon enough, it was time for the official competition. The bodyguard and his 'partner' went first, much to his relief. The man was strangely confrontational, but he wasn't unskilled. The team scored 22 points in total, the bodyguard throwing 3 times and scoring 15 points personally. He sent a few sneers his way as the teams traded positions, but Mougin was busy concentrating. Their throws had given him some inspiration. You didn't exactly need much strength to throw an axe, but you needed some to make it go the distance. Using more strength made it fly straighter, but also led to accuracy issues. More than anything, consistency was key.

As the more experienced player, Rozzlo took the first throw and scored them 5 points. Again, Mougin studied his posture and his movements and sought to replicate them. Thanks to the similarity of their frames, he didn't need to adjust his strength much. He threw and hit the second inner circle, earning another 4 points. Rozzlo threw again, landing them another 5 points. Mougin breathed in and breathed out, relaxing his posture a little. Rigidity was not conducive to accuracy. He pulled back and threw the axe in one smooth motion, hitting the target dead center - Or so he thought. The edge of the blade had clipped in just oustside the red circle. Mougin let out a disatisfied snort. It had almost gone to plan.

His companion made the last throw. Another 5 points. This man was extremely consistent. His throwing technique was very helpful for helping Mougin learn. So far, they had a total of 24 points, beating the bodyguard's score by only a little.

Mougin moved away from the range and awaited their team's next move.

---

---

His companion made the last throw. Another 5 points. This man was extremely consistent. His throwing technique was very helpful for helping Mougin learn. So far, they had a total of 24 points, beating the bodyguard's score by only a little.

Mougin moved away from the range and awaited their team's next move.

---

As the two teams were switching lanes, just as they were about to pass each other, Bradly spit at the ground right in front of Mougin and made direct eye contact. Mougin didn't seem to care, or perhaps he didn't notice. Neither did Rozzlo apparently. The two were indeed a stoic duo.

The only person that seemed rattled by this was Bradly's own partner, who's eyes widened when the spit hit the floor. To his relief, it didn't trigger any drama. The man could hold his own in a normal bar brawl, but he wasn't sure about this room full of giants and killers.

Once everyone was standing in place, Bradly made a little announcement. "Alright everybody, how about we actually try this time?" Then without looking at the board, he threw his axe and hit one of the blue dots, the killshots as they were called.

"I didn't say start." Lonny the referee stated plainly.

Bradly's eyes narrowed at the man, "I'll do a rethrow if you really want me to."

After thinking on it for a second, Lonny responded with, "No... I'll count it."

That throw was just a precursor. Bradly threw a perfect game, throwing the axe a different way each time, and after each throw he would look to see if his trick shot strategy was shaking Mougin and Rozzlo.

His throwing partner was throwing a good game too. The man only missed the bullseye once. After which, Bradly had a quiet word with him. He threw with extreme focus after that, which led to his otherwise perfect game.

Mougin was intrigued. While he believed that he had optimised his movements to the ideal state of throwing axes, the bodyguard veered off the so far more accurate method, and yet his results did not suffer. It was very interesting. Nevertheless, the artistry of the axe throw was besides the point. He did some mental calculations. The bodyguard had scored an astonishing 24 points, while the other man had scored 12 for a total of 36, dwarfing their 2 point advantage. If they wanted to win, they needed 34 points. Even if he scored perfectly on both his throws, he needed Rozzlo to do better than the last round as well.

Mougin stared quietly at his partner. This man was a little mysterious. Nothing he did stuck out in particular, but Mougin felt like he was holding back. Their eyes met for a few moments, and he was proven right. Rozzlo threw his axe in a relaxed manner. It gracefully sailed through the air, landing squarely in the middle of the board. A perfect bullseye. Mougin nodded to the man as he retrieved his axe. Now it was his turn to perform.

The minotaur relaxed his shoulders, set his feet in line with the target, and reared his arm back. He let the axe hang loosely from his hand as he adjusted his aim, eyes set squarely on the blue dot on the left. He brought his arm forward, tightening his grip on the axe before letting loose, forcing it to spin through the air each revolution bringing it closer to his target... Only for the axe to miss. It had landed a hair's breadth away from the blue spot. 1 point.

Mougin grunted and left the range. Rozzlo stared after him in confusion. As Mougin reclaimed his seat at the bar, he crossed gazes with him and stared back. There was no longer any chance of victory, so he felt no need to participate. Rozzlo threw the last 3 axes himself, as accurate as ever, before heading back to their table. While he remained as taciturn as ever, Mougin was getting a hint of some feeling from the man's body language. As to what he was really thinking, it was impossible for Mougin to say. In the end, they had lost, and it was his fault. An unfortunate end, but a interesting journey.