kollo_rpg | Summer 7

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Summer 7 - Game Night

[ It's a rainy afternoon on Norrhamn, with a distant thunderstorm rumbling over the gray sea. Typical Swedish summer, if we're honest, but that only means that the residents on this island know exactly how to combat it: with a game night.

The main dining hall has been cosied up for the occasion. There's plenty of blankets to go around and the tables have been laid out with flickering tealights and a variety of board- and card games of varying difficulty. There's Scrabble of course, and games like Settlers of Catan, Clue, Ludo and many others, along with regular decks of playing cards. There may be a few Witchcraft: The Collection around here too...

Alongside the usual offerings of hot food that's served throughout the day, the kitchen staff has set up a table with tea, coffee and hot chocolate, as well as treats like cinnamon buns and cookies, salty snacks and candy. Perfect to nibble on while in a particularly thrilling game of Backgammon, or just a good setup for a rainy day fika. ]

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[ Boy, does Zelgadis know that that look. He almost considers retracting his question, a brief frown flickering over his face until he truly locks gazes with the scarred girl. His expression softens into one of not quite pity, but a recognition of someone else who has experienced painful trauma.

When she speaks, the memory of yesterday's embarrassing phone call immediately comes to mind. ]

Ah, ahem. Yes, I believe we spoke yesterday. You're the girl in the phone. [ He rubs at the back of his head; of course with such a small population on the island, they were bound to run into each other eventually. ] I'm Zelgadis.

[ A nod of confirmation, and then a small respectful bow directed at him. ]

... I'm Hanako.

[ She leans back on her chair, both hands hands curled into loose fists over the table, eyes still downcast. ]

I'm fine with having a... match w-with you.

[ Yesterday, he couldn't understand how someone who clearly knew how to use a phone sounded so hesitant to speak to him; standing in front of her now, he sees her overwhelming shyness. The scars look old enough that it couldn't have been a recent injury, and he wonders what sort of hard life she might have had to create such a shell around her.

When she sits back, he takes the empty seat and starts moving all the pieces back to their starting positions. ]

Would you like to move first, Hanako?

[ His voice is gentle, perhaps a contrast for someone who looks like he fell out of a demon catalogue. ]

[ Chess is a quite calming game to Hanako, because there is quite the freedom to finish a match quickly or slowly, and she only has to keep her eyes on the board and take all the focus on her next moves, without having to peer at her opponent. No need to check for pokerfaces when strategies are just as easily laid out down below.

On the black side of the chessboard, she silently reacts to the man's suggestion by moving first, pushing a pawn forward.

Nothing much will be uttered from her unless her opponent speaks first. ]

[ Quite frankly, Zelgadis isn't the best at chess. If he were more patient with himself, he might find the experience humbling, but usually his lack of skill leaves him frustrated more than anything else. He has a solid grasp of the basics, where all the pieces move, and how to read several possible moves or assess a current threat. But any application of long-term strategy that comes from having actually studied the game would easily trample over his short-term tactics.

So, he has no idea what to make of any opening move; a single pawn moving ahead could signify anything.

He picks up a knight, skipping over the row of pawns, favoring the speed of a piece that can move beyond obstructions. Now that the game has started, he shares Hanako's engrossment in the board. ]

[ It would not seem like that, considering how she appears, but Hanako can be a pretty aggressive player. Especially towards players whose range of experience is unknown to her, like with Zelgadiss, she hardly ever holds back, soon choosing a strategy that aims at cornering her opponent and his King, while still protecting her own King and sacrificing few of her pieces in the process.

In the span of a couple turns the white Knight has been captured, and her pawns are advancing, along with a black Bishop and Knight of her own. Her Queen becomes active after a little while of stalling, too, looming dangerous over the board.

The whole time, Hanako maintains a blank, very focused gaze. ]

[ It takes Zelgadis quite a few moves before he realizes he's outclassed; he feels the sting of the lost knight but chalks that up to his own carelessness, too eager to have his knight mow through her early pawn line. He let her take the first move, after all, so it's not a stretch to think that would let her stake out a more advantageous position.

Getting stalked all over the board, though, keeps him on the defensive. He struggles to free a bishop, loses it, then tries to give his rook a clear path, inefficiency scooting pawns out of the way.

Once her queen begins to make small threats, he feels a cold sweat. How could he be so far behind already? Desperately, he crowds several redundant guards around his king, hoping she'll leave a gap in her defenses so he can put some pressure on her as well. ]

You're very good. [ He pays her the compliment once he's forced to sacrifice his remaining knight. Pathetically, his queen makes a timid threat against hers. ]

[ The spell fades for a moment as she hears his voice minutes after they started playing, and she allows a perk of her head to briefly gaze at him. It's praise that she will timidly accept with a nod of her head. She's certainly not the best chess player, but the time she gave learning and training is an acknowledgement she concedes. ]

Thank you.

[ Hanako quickly resumes fixing her eyes onto the board. The white Queen is trying to threaten her side, but she's not intimidated. Her remaining black Bishop and Knight have freely coursed the other side and eliminated a part of the white King's defenses. Two black Rooks are keeping an eye on the enemy pieces, guarding their King faithfully. And the black Queen will tease her enemy counterpart for some turns before she finds an opening and captures her.

In the end, Hanako reaches the right position to properly threaten the white King, and quietly announces: ]

... Check.

[ Zel grits his teeth as his pieces are mercilessly mowed down, emitting a curse under his breath when his hasty moves costs him his queen. He almost wanted to ask to take that move back, but the other queen quickly snaps through, sparing him the embarrassment of asking for a redo.

He sees the check coming with increasing dread, and takes several moments to consider his options with increasing despair. There aren't many left, and he knows checkmate is approaching within the next few moves, but he still reads out the last steps available to him.

The right thing to do would be to resign. Stubbornly, he shoves a rook into place to block the check. ]

[ The poor white Rook is valiantly doing its best to stop the inevitable, but there is not much left to salvage. Hanako drives her Bishop to capture the enemy Rook, leaving another opening that is harder to escape and, eventually, carries the white King to his demise.

Her shoulders loosen up as she leans back, closing her eyes. ]

Checkmate.

Damn! [ He exclaims as he bows his head to Hanako in defeat, a wave of embarrassment washing over him once the game comes to its decisive end. ] I underestimated you. Where did you learn chess?

[ Her lips curve just lightly, a ghost of a smile. It's not often that she does it, but admittedly she likes winning like most people. The self-restraint is still evident, though. ]

... At my orphanage. [ She hesitates, speaking very softly. That smile of hers didn't last long. ] One of the nurses b-brought a board and taught me a few things, but I t-trained by myself since then.

Oh. [ He pauses at this disclosure from Hanako, his expression soft. ] My parents died, too, when I was young.

[ But he doesn't want to dwell on family issues; he awkwardly clears his throat after a moment. ]

I only learned chess recently, from a friend. She's won every game against me.

[ This is his fate, to lose in chess perpetually to girls. ]

[ ... Quite awkward, but at least she will acknowledge that bit of his past with a nod. Well, they have one thing in common? ]

You have to experience m-many losses in order to i-improve. I used to lose a lot a-against various people, too.

[ Her latest loss was against Shizune, the student council's president at Yamaku. It was quite a crushing defeat, but it was also a learning experience. Surely, if she could deal with her life the way she did with her chess losses, she wouldn't be here. ]

Is she r-really that good with chess?

She's a princess, so I'm sure she's had chess tutors teaching her all the good tricks. I just haven't had the time to study the game properly. [ He leans back in his seat, reaching for his coffee that was mostly forgotten during the game; it's gotten cold by now, but he sips it anyway. ] Will you help me improve? Then I can surprise her when I return.

[ There's a small look of mischief on his face, as he imagines taking advantage of this temporal vacation to level up his chess so he can catch Amelia by surprise and crush her. ]

[ She hums in quiet acknowledgement, perked a little by the fact he's friends with a princess. Lilly is from a well respected family, and she's very princess-like too, but she has no such title. Hanako presses her lips together at the memory of her best friend and nods at Zelgadiss' request with a bit of hesitation. ]

I've never b-been a teacher of this game, so f-forgive me if I'm going to make mistakes.

[ It is new and scary, but she's in Norrhamn because she intends to step into a new and scary world in the first place. ]

I'm sure you'll make fewer mistakes than I did in this game.

[ He's grateful that she's agreed to this, and wastes no time resetting the board to the starting position. Then, he replays the first few moves, stopping just before his knight met its end. ]

At this point, I still thought you were just timidly scattering your pawns around. Were you really laying a trap for my knight already?

[ Hanako does her part in re-positioning her pieces and starting the game with the same moves step by step. Her hand hovers hesitatingly at the moment Zelgadiss' Knight has been captured. ]

I was. And... that was the i-impression I wanted to give off, though it works o-only for first time opponents. [ She supposes it won't work again on him. ]

Hm, I see. [ And he takes in the layout of the board, now that he can clearly see the trap for his knight. There's no guarantee that he'll recognize a slightly different type of trap, but this shows him a valuable pattern. ]

Say I don't proceed into your trap, and instead move my knight back to this defensive position. Does that solve anything?

[ He shifts the knight away instead of forward, but also wonders if the moves he blundered in the opening had doomed the game either way. ]

[ She looks down, studying with attentive focus on the board before answering carefully. ]

It is wise t-to only move your pawns for the first few turns. From a strategical standpoint, it would s-slow the game down but also give you time to think of plans involving your m-more important pieces.

[ A pause, and then she elaborates further. ]

Pawns are mostly an e-expendable set of pieces because they offer a defense for the first turns. They would have protected your Knight if you didn't put it forward so e-early.

I'm rarely patient enough to spend much time with pawns. Mostly, they get in the way of the pieces that can actually cross the board efficiently. [ He looks down at the row of plain little figures, making a wall that both seals his opponent out, while also leaving his advances locked down. ] It's rather unfortunate to think of anything as expendable.

That is your... first mistake. Every move m-must be executed with proper thinking behind it. Chess matches u-usually last long because the players need the time to s-study the situation and weigh the risks that may arise w-with their next move. If you're not patient... that would be a problem.

[ Her hands curl a little, sweat gathering over the palms. She comes to the realization that being a teacher is incredibly nerve consuming. But she's committing to this and can't drop the ball this soon. ]

It is... rather lucky that at least they're game p-pieces and not real people. I would never c-consider them expendable. [ She's a strategist, but not a cruel one. ]

Sometimes, real people are used as pawns to fight battles, though. Chess is perhaps just a metaphor for warfare.

[ Zel's no stranger to people being used as expendable, after all.

He sips his cold coffee, taking a moment to consider that there's a vast number of possible moves at the beginning of a match. ]

Maybe this is more like a fencing match between two people. In the first few moves, we're testing each other, seeing if the opponent can perceive our strategy. I've been playing as if only the next one or two moves matter, but now I understand that I need to see much further ahead.

[ She works hard to repress a wince. Warfare is not why she likes chess, it's more about the challenge tied to the length of matches and how her mind can handle it. There's an array of chances she can open up through every single move. Attack, defense, quick thinking, plan Bs, saving throws. Nothing she really wants to tie together with real people fighting battles and dying. It pretty much spoils her fun.

But she lets it slide, listening to the man and agreeing to the fencing comparison. Her expression relaxes thus. ]

Yes. In order to proceed smoothly, you must pay attention to ever piece on the board before and after every move of yours, n-not only the ones you are actively using. If you miss an important spot and make yourself open, you will run the risk t-to have your opponent exploit that lack of attention to remove your more i-important pieces. Be aggressive, b-but also be conscious of your current situation in the game.

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Summer 7 - Game Night

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