2.33 The Game of Kings

The lizardman’s eyes grew wide with interest at the mention of the name.

“Never heard of it, but that was to be expected. Anything you want to say about it before you give us a demonstration?”

“I think the demonstration is the best way to show what it’s about, so not much, except that it’s called the game of kings,” I paused for a bit before holding up two fingers. “For two reasons.”

“You know how to stir someone’s curiosity,” Draco said with a grin on his face. “But we will find out in a bit.”

I nodded as I thought about how to set up the game. We already had a checkers board and game pieces. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure something out. For the long-term, we’d simply commission proper, actual chess pieces, and a new eight-by-eight board. For now, we could use what we have with a bit of improvisation, probably in the form of paper, to explain the basics – which was practically all I knew.

I chuckled at the thought. I knew how to play chess, I knew the rules and all that, but I’d never bothered to actually play it, that much I remembered from my old life. I had no doubt that whoever took even the slightest bit of interest in the game would surpass my skills within a day.

I wouldn’t be this world’s first grandmaster, and I was content with that.

One excited Velariah approached us, Valtheril following behind her, his usual serious expression on his face. Though added to that was a hint of indulgence, curious to see why his daughter was so fired up.

“It seems Velariah is more than riled up for you to show me some kind of game,” he said as he came to a halt. “But what makes you think I’ll have any time to play it?” he asked in utmost seriousness.

“Would you believe me if I said that I had more or less accounted for that?”

“Now, I’m interested,” He said as he crossed his arms.

“Right,” I said. “Then allow me to demonstrate at home.”

It felt odd to have the general follow me for once as we made our way back to the mansion, all of my companions eager to see what this was all about. As soon as we were inside, and taking off our armor, I started explaining a few things as to why I thought this was interesting for Valtheril.

“The game is played between two people, and is a battle between two armies clashing. In my old world, it was historically played between higher-ups, noblemen and kings. It’s a game of wits, strategy, and foresight, which is one of the reasons why I think you’ll like it.”

The general nodded as I continued.

“So yeah. If it’s something you find interesting, feel free to use it during talks and negotiations. I imagine it might them a bit easier, perhaps more interesting.”

“Strategy, you say?”

I nodded as I finished taking off my apparel.

“Elly, would you be so kind to make some coffee?” He asked the maid, who nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Could you grab the checkers board and pieces?” I asked Velariah. “And some pencil and paper.

“Sure,” She said, before darting off to our living quarters.

“I hate having to do it in such a primitive way,” I said to Valtheril. “But I guess it works for now. There is the option for me to ask the lumber processing plant to create a proper version of the game, which is another point of interest.”

“Sales,” Valtheril said. “We can sell it.”

He’d caught on quickly.

“Yup,” I replied. “But you know there’s an issue with that.”

“I doubt I can use the same excuse where I learned it from a deceased adventurer a second time.”

He led the way into the next room, and sat down at the head of the table while rubbing his chin, lost in thought and looking for a solution. The rest of us quietly followed and sat down in silence, none of us daring to break his train of thought. In the meantime, Velariah returned as well, excitement written all over her face until she saw her father thinking deeply.

She quietly put down the board, pieces and gave me some paper and a pencil and I ripped them into small pieces that I’d draw some symbols on, and put on the checkers pieces.

I started with the pawns, although I just drew two of them, one for each player, just to make the idea clear, and for future reference when it came to crafting the actual three-dimensional unit. It was then I realized my drawing was absolute garbage, and, while the king, queen, rook and bishop were doable for me, as they simply consisted of their headwear in forms of crowns and a miter, and then a tower’s battlements, but the horse…

I was certain a horse was the mortal enemy of many a would-be artist.

“Vel?” I asked with a whisper. “Can you draw a horse’s head?”

“Sure,” She said as I handed her the pencil.

“Hmmm,” The general suddenly let out, watching Velariah draw. “I might have a solution, but I’d like to see what this will be first.”

“So,” I said as I took the board and placed it in front of him. I placed the pawns in two rows of eight, cutting off the last two rows horizontally and vertically. “This game is played on a board of eight by eight fields, so please ignore those at the sides. They aren’t used.”

He nodded and looked at the board, then at Velariah who finished the first horse head and happily handed the piece of paper to me.

“Nice work, Vel. Now, I’ll need three more.”

“Say what?” She reacted with shock.

Seralyn burst into laughter and Draco and Nira couldn’t help but grin either.

“So, usually,” I continued my conversation with Valtheril. “The pieces in this game are cut from wood and shaped to be the characters they represent. This can be done as simple or intricate as one wishes. That’s the production aspect of it all.”

“I see. And what are these characters supposed to be?”

“There are the king, the queen, the bishops, the knights, the rooks, or towers, and then there are the pawns. Each of those has a unique way of moving across the board, and they always start in the same positions. I’ll demonstrate when we’re done setting things up.”

He held his hand under his chin and watched me place the first black knight on the board, behind the pawns.

“The players take turns, each moving one piece in their turn. The goal of the game is to defeat the enemy’s king. It’s done by moving their pieces and removing the other player’s pieces from the board by moving a piece on top of the square that they occupy.”

“And each type moves in a different way you said,” He said as Velariah finished the second drawing and handed it to me.

“Yep.”

Elly returned with a platter, with on top of it, a pot of coffee, sugar, milk, and cups. She’d also gotten a glass of strawberry juice for me and placed it before me.

I thanked her and asked if she could perhaps get another pencil so we could speed this process up a bit.

“Sure,” She said as she looked at the board and then the general, who seemed properly intrigued now, before making her way upstairs in an unusual hurry.

“Armies, strategy, foresight. A battle of wits. This is starting to become interesting.”

“It’s quite unbelievable that I'm explaining, to a general of all people, how to play this game. In my old world, this game was used throughout the ages, but the means of combat it represents has been long obsolete. It’s interesting because I think you have a fair share of commanding people on an actual battlefield, doing the same steps that are done on this game such as thinking what moves your opponent will make and counter those.”

His lips curled into a smile.

“I certainly have. Those are not unfamiliar concepts to me at all.”

Elly returned with several pencils, sat down, and asked if she could help.

“I’ll give you a hand as well,” Draco offered.

“Thank you guys,” I said as I started drawing a rook. “You can copy this one if you want. We will need four of these, four knights and then four bishops. I hope bishops are a thing in this world?”

“They are, but they are only found in the larger temples, and then, of course, the cathedral in Goldleaf.” The general shook his head. “Sometimes I wonder if they truly follow the goddess’s teachings. Imagine worshiping the goddess of nature and then there isn’t any of that to be found in the area. The entire city is like that, just way too fancy buildings all over the place, seemingly built without even putting a second of thought into planting some trees.”

He was visibly frustrated with the entire place, including some of the decisions made there, which led me to believe he had his own personal reasons to stay here when he could.

“If I may ask. What about the treemenders then? They follow the goddess too, right?”

“Treemenders have a special status. I’m sure we told you before. They are followers of the goddess and the church, but they aren’t the ones preaching it. Instead, they serve her directly by doing.”

“I’m just wondering,” I said. “Since this game uses the headwear that my world’s clergy does. What do they wear here? I imagine it would be better to use that instead.”

“They wear this ridiculous hat,” He said before laughing out loud. “And they think it makes them look smart or something.”

“Something like this?” I said as I drew the shape of a miter.

“Yeah,” He said. “Like that, and then there’s a tree symbol in it.”

“Want me to draw those?” Seralyn offered.

“Sure. Thanks.”

And so, we had most of us working on setting up the game. When we were finished, I put down all the pieces belonging to black on the board and started explaining how all of them moved. I left out the part of castling for now and just stuck to the basics. I had to explain it several times for him to understand and then once more when all the pieces were finished and my companions could focus on the game itself.

“This is far too complicated for me,” Seralyn admitted. “I much prefer that other game.”

“As expected,” Velariah said with a mischievous smile. “You don’t have the patience, nor the wits for something as majestic as this.”

“Pft,” She said, pouting.

“So, shall we play a game, then?” Valtheril suggested.

“I think that’s the best way to learn. I have to admit, I don’t necessarily like the game myself and completely suck at it because of it.”

“That’s okay,” Valtheril assured me. “As long as I can get to a state where I can teach others, it’s fine, right?”

“That’s the goal, yes. Let’s just try not to think about it too much.”

We started our match, and Valtheril and I were both messing around, moving pieces quickly, and randomly, but within the rules, without thought, taking each other’s pieces as the game progressed. The game ended with a victory for me, causing him to learn the terms and meaning behind ‘check’ and ‘checkmate’, but I knew that if Valtheril had only half the interest that he was showing, he’d beat me in no time.

“I suppose this is where I introduce some of the more advanced things in the game. Don't worry, though, as it’s only two things: promotions and castling.”

Valtheril nodded and I set up the board to demonstrate what castling was, and the rules behind it. When it could be done and when not. Then, I went on to explain how a pawn could be promoted to any other piece when it reached the end of the board.

“Interesting…” He merely said after my explanation and as I readied another game.

My eyes went from Valtheril to Draco, who was at least as curious as the general.

“Hey, Draco. You wanna give this a try?”

“I’d love to. Thank you, Miss Elania.”

I carefully pushed the board away from me so that the lizardman on the other end of the table would have an easier time accessing the game.

Valtheril sipped the last of his coffee and the second game began. It was played quick, just like before, which was probably not as was intended, but the two players seemed to have a fun time learning the basics. The general won in the end, but it had been a close match.

“It’s deceptively simple,” Valtheril admitted.

“But of course, the difficulty lies in the strength of your opponent,” I added. “Easy to learn, hard to master.”

“It’s an intriguing game. Very much so,” The general said. “And I personally know some people who would love to test their wits against each other, and I can already tell that this is how it’s going to be done.”

I smiled at his enthusiasm.

“As for the production and place of origin,” He continued. “I’ve thought about it for a while, and have a proposed solution to your problem.”

The six of us were eagerly awaiting his response, and he seemed to add the necessary drama by pausing to think it over once more.

“What could be better than having the king himself introduce this? I can simply say I learned this from someone and have him promise me to keep it a secret that he learned it from me, and I from you. We can have the pieces crafted here by people such as Master Pylanor and use the same board, so we don’t draw any suspicion from the lumberyard workers. You could, perhaps have them make a second board and say the first one broke, perhaps even make it eight by eight. That’s up to you.”

“And you’re confident in all this?” I asked. “Will the king not be too highly interested in whoever taught you this?”

“For the good of the people,” Valtheril said. “He won’t mind not knowing. He’s a good friend and a trustworthy man. The people won’t even dare question the origin if it comes from their ruler himself. From there, we can have it spread. I’ll make sure to have the king form a contract with the local craftsmen’s guild to sort the mercantile part of this.” He paused for a few seconds. “Speaking of which, I think you’ll receive your first payment for the coffee in a few days. It might be slightly delayed due to the imminent military action, but I don’t believe you’re desperate for money at the moment.”

“Not really, no. It’s nice to have, but that’s fine. Thank you.”

“Hope that signals the end of the talks,” Velariah said impatiently. “I want to play a game too.”

“Allow me to make this a bit easier for that,” Draco said as he stood up to offer the elf his seat.

“Thank you,” She said as they switched seats and the general opened the match.

I was smiling evilly throughout. Valtheril had a plan, I could see it on his face. He was determined, focused, and most of all, quiet as a mouse. Velariah was excited, eager, and played the same way that Draco had previously played.

It was no surprise to see Valtheril completely smash her with a landslide victory. He’d already adjusted, and started planning his moves in advance, trying to trap his opponent.

“Ugh,” The white-haired elf let out at her crushing defeat. “I need more coffee for this.”

“Should I make some more?” Elly offered.

“Please,” Valtheril said as he placed the pieces back in place on the board. I noticed him making a mistake by accidentally switching the king and queen and I let him know.

“An easy way to remember is that the queens are always placed on the color of their piece,” I added.

“Good to know,” He said, before showing a smile. “So who’s next?”

“I’d be interested in more,” Draco mentioned. “Let’s go for a slower style, shall we?”

“That’s what I had in mind too,” The general said.

Elly brought in some more coffee, half a cup of tea for me, and sat down to watch what appeared to be a meticulously played game of chess. They were beginners, of course, but they still seemed to think deeply about each and every move. I never thought it would be this fun to watch this game.

“What was the name of this game again?” Valtheril asked about midway through.

“We call it chess.”

“Why?”

“Uhhhh,” I stumbled, thinking about the origin of the name. ”I have no clue.”

“How about we name it ‘king’s game’?” The general suggested.

“That sounds good to me. Makes a lot more sense, too.”

Valtheril nodded and made his next move. It took a good while for the game to finish, but he once again proved to be victorious, leading me to believe these would be the first wins of a very long streak.

“You know what?” He said as Draco rearranged the pieces. “I’m going to get Master Pylanor. I want him to see this. I’ll be back in a bit.”

He stood up and made his way to the hallway, leaving me smiling from ear to ear.

Velariah grinned at the sight of me, shaking her head.

“What is it with you and getting people addicted to things?”

“I’m just using  what little free time he has to demonstrate something that has multiple uses, especially for him.”

“He does seem to be incredibly happy with it,” She continued in a soft voice. “I’m glad to see that.”

“I wonder what Master Pylanor will think of it,” I said. “He looks like someone that would enjoy this too.”

“No doubt he does,” Draco added. “It’s a great game.”

“What do you think, Nira?” I asked the harpy who’d been quiet for a good while, simply petting Gray on her lap, who, obviously, had no clue what was going on on the table.

“It’s… interesting,” She said softly.

“Wanna try it out?” Velariah offered.

“Sure.”

“Let’s have you go against Seralyn,” The white-haired elf then said. “I’m very curious to see how well she’s paid attention.”

“Ugh, fine,” The brunette replied with a sigh as she sat up straight and we moved the board between her and the harpy.

I wished them luck with the game as we waited for Valtheril to return.

Today proved to be a day of discovering new things, and I was happy to see a completely different side of Velariah’s dad in the process. A side that I hoped to see more of in the future. Perhaps, when operations were finished around here, we could experience just that.