004 // the house of sin

[serpentis]

Who: Dorian and assorted guests
Broadcast: Fleet-wide, 3/10
Action: In a villa practically in the forest (THE HOUSE OF SIN)
When: Broadcast- 3/10 // Action- 3/9-3/31? Until we leave.

Broadcast:

[The broadcast goes out on 3/10, and Dorian smirks a bit into the feed.]

I believe I've secured lodging for myself, with room enough for several others. If you need a place to stay, do let me know. It's a quaint little villa a bit outside of town. ...please don't mind the suspicious glances, I assure you, I've done nothing entirely against the guidelines that were set.

---------

Action:

[Dorian has secured a villa, but the residents of Mor don't seem too keen on having an evil mage for a neighbor. As the month goes on, more and more villagers will show up to stand at the gates of the villa and threaten to come in after the "evil wizard".

Maybe he shouldn't have gone so overboard with the whole "contacting the spirits of the dead" thing.]

((OOC: Mingle post for the House of Sin. We'll pretend there are enough rooms in here for everyone! Even if you character only drops by to rest their feet a bit, everyone is welcome to visit and stay the night if they want.))

Comments

[wolfuncaged]

[What is she even doing? He squints. ]

...No.


Why?

[ladiesss]

[she disappears under the table... and comes up again holding a long, thin box up in the air. it rattles. there are probably pieces inside.]

I can't sleep. Do you know how to play chess?

[wolfuncaged]

[Where was she even keeping that. What is even happening. He blinks. Once. ]

No. I have never learned.

[ladiesss]

[it was... not actually magic. she just snuck it in with her. she was really careful. her stealth stat is surprisingly high.]

Do you want to? We can ditch the game if you think it's boring.

[but, to... maybe encourage him, she'll put the box down on the table in front of her and actually slide into one of the chairs like a normal person.]

[wolfuncaged]

[She is a rogue. He is sure of it at this point. He makes a mental note to send her to Varric, he'd probably be able to teach her a thing or two.]

...Alright. I have the night to kill, I suppose there are worse things to do of an evening.

[ladiesss]

Okay. Have a seat.

[she sits on her knees, leaning over the table to wave him at a chair. she tries very hard not to smile or look too pleased with herself as she opens up the box and starts setting up the parts of the board. she mostly succeeds. mostly. while she stands all the little pawns up--]

And ignore the weird ink stain on the left of the board. It was like that when I got it...

[wolfuncaged]

[He moves cautiously, slowly, before sitting himself down, staring at the box. ]

Honestly, I hadn't noticed.

[ladiesss]

[that's good. Krista really does seem bright and awake. quiet, harmless, but absolutely ready to do something with an otherwise restless brain. she's been plotting something like this from the moment she figured out she might be on good terms with the stabby guy.]

Okay. House rules. [she holds up a finger.] One, if you ask a question, I am not allowed to be a jerk and not give you the answer. Two, we will pause and break for snacks if it is deemed necessary by both parties.

[and... she simmers down in her chair, though she's still sitting on her knees.]

Three. Ummm... [...it just seems like there should be three, but she hadn't planned on anything.] No kicking each other under the table, I guess.

[wolfuncaged]

[She is so weird, and Fenris doesn't know how to handle her. He just blinks, bemused as she lists off the rules.]

...I shall endeavour to remember those.

[ladiesss]

Good, okay.

[she would also tell him to relax and have fun... but she's not totally sure he can do either of those things. so... she's determined to keep her cool and not make it weird. if she fakes confidence, it should be fine!]

So... The... Way that we play is that we take turns moving these pieces around the board. Each piece has a specific way that they're supposed to move, which is probably going to be the hardest part to remember. You can capture your opponent's pieces by landing your own pieces on top of them.

[she reaches over the board to point out Fenris' "king".]

The way you win is by capturing your opponent's king. If there's nowhere your king can move without getting captured, it's game over.

[wolfuncaged]

[Only when he's imbibed indecent amounts of wine. ]

Okay. I understand. Can any of the pieces capture a king? Or is it only another king which can do that?

[ladiesss]

Any of them. Even the little guys can do it. I think the trick is to surround the king so that no matter where he moves, someone is going to get him.

So! These guys are the pawns...

[she'll point him through all of the pieces! and try to make up easy ways for him to remember how they move...]

[wolfuncaged]

[She is so helpful, and at least Fenris is a good learner. He's a fighter at heart, and this... ]

It is like a battlefield.

[He can work with that. That's familiar. ]

[ladiesss]

[she's glad that he's getting it! she was prepared to have to go slowly and repeat a lot, but maybe... she underestimated him a little...]

Yeah, exactly. That's why you have to get the king, since an army without a leader is pretty much useless. It's also why the queen does the most work, as usual...

[ha... yeah. okay.] Um, white usually goes first. We'll play mostly for practice this time. I'll move this pawn... Two forward, right here.

[yay! first move!]

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris is a surprisingly fast learner. Probably because most of his early learning was wiped clean. He has a lot of space for New Things. ]

That does sound familiar.

[He looks at the board for a moment, squinting, thinking. He moves a pawn ahead two, and waits. ]

[ladiesss]

[she smiles to herself. y-yay, his first move...

she decides to do something crazy (mostly to show him how it works) and bring a bishop way out into the middle of the board. they can go from there.

it'll be a very relaxed game, she's already decided. more about getting him into the habit of how the pieces move and how strategy starts to factor into things.]

[wolfuncaged]

[He watches, silently, his eyes scanning the board, in his head, he is making up a battle plan. He's a warrior. It's what they do.

Eventually, he moves another pawn, a safe move to some, but he's working on his own strategy now. ]

[ladiesss]

[good on him. she'll intentionally forget about the bishop and move another pawn.]

Hey, can I ask you a question?

[wolfuncaged]

[He moves a knight. Weird. ]

If you wish.

[ladiesss]

[...hrm. she moves one of her previously-moved pawns forward one space. she's a little more focused on what she's saying than she is on the game, but that's okay. again, starting game. she doesn't want to trounce him his first time.]

Do you know what fairies are? Or, uh, fae people? Do they have those where you're from?

[wolfuncaged]

[Quiet. Methodical. He moves a rook. ]

They do not exist in Thedas, but I have heard of them during my time with the Initiative.

[ladiesss]

Oh. [that saves her a bit of time. she's also got to ask what the "Initiative" is, later, though she bets it's another place like Accord or Court...] ...What do you think of them?

[she moves a knight forward.]

[wolfuncaged]

[He shrugs, moving another pawn. ]

They sound like spirits. Creatures who could be very dangerous.

[ladiesss]

[oooh, that's what she was worried about. she went back to look for Fenris on the network after she met him the first time--and she knows how often he gets all glowy and scary about "demons" and such. she was hoping they could get along.

well, is it better to not tell him? maybe he doesn't have to know.

which would be worse, a murderous rage now, or a murderous rage later?

Krista gets quiet, makes a face. Looks at the chess board for maybe a little too long before she decides to move her bishop backwards two spaces.]

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris notices. He's not an idiot, after all, he can tell something is wrong. He moves his other rook. ]

I assume that is not the answer you were hoping for.