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

[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.

[ladiesss]

Well, no...

[she slumps down over the surface of the table, barely propping her head up against her knuckles. she doesn't move any of the pieces yet. she could probably bullshit her way out of this one--she's already thought of three excuses--but after that thing with Dorian...]

Because I kind of have to explain to you that I'm one of them, and I was hoping it'd start more whimsical and happy-like.

[she does a good job of appearing calm on the outside, but... she can almost hear her own heartbeat thudding in her ears.]

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris' face turns quickly to a frown. He doesn't seem ready to rip her heart out, not yet, anyway. He doesn't know what she is, truly. There is nothing like her in Thedas, so he's cautious. ]

Are you dangerous?

[He asks calmly, levelly. ]

[ladiesss]

[well, not being stabbed. he's not even glowing. that's good.

she bites her lip, makes a soft sound as she thinks... "dangerous" is pretty hard to define.]

...Only if I want to be? I don't go around killing people or... [she waves her hand a little. vaguely. not sure what else she could do that would be bad.] ...I don't know, leading people off to be lost eternally in the woods, or whatever.

[wolfuncaged]

Can your kind posses people?

[So many questions, but he needs to know the answer. He's dealt with demons, and they are nothing good. He needs to asses the damage she can do. ]

[ladiesss]

[she shakes her head pretty quickly. she doesn't have to think about that one.]

No way. I've, uh, heard of magic that'll let fairies go into the spirit world and stuff? But the most they can do there is like, talk to your dead ancestors or something.

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris is quiet, watching her, trying to decide if she's telling the truth or not. Had he come here straight from Thedas, he realises, he would have killed her on the spot.

But he hasn't. His time in Exsilium has at least taught him to understand that people are different. And not every supernatural creature is out to kill or posses you.]

I suppose that isn't the worst case scenario.

[Just quietly moves a bishop.] Check.

[ladiesss]

What--? Wait a minute!

[s-she sits up, looking down at the board. she was gonna go easy on him, but he wasn't supposed to actually be good at this.]

You jerk... [she looks over the board, frowning, before she decides to move a rook into the Bishop's path. that'll keep her king safe for just a little bit.] Un-check. Your go.

[wolfuncaged]

[Fenris gives a soft hum of amusement. ]

Do not blame me, for your leaving your king unguarded.

[He moves another knight. ]

[ladiesss]

[she gives him a dead-eyed stare. moves her other rook to capture one of his pieces, perhaps a little passive-aggressively. a little.]

Here for twenty minutes, and I'm already getting sassed.