Double Gambit

Writers: Duskdog, Sia
Date Posted: 3rd September 2024

Characters: E'tariax, M'kayre
Description: E'tariax and M'kayre play long distance dragonchess
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr, Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 16 of Turn 12
Notes: Takes place over a couple sevendays

M'kayre

A brown firelizard flitted between Dragonsfall and Dolphin Cove, carrying messages in a tube strapped to his chest like a tiny dragon carrying cargo. The tube, however, carried a small drawing of a dragonchess board in mid-play, along with little notes to accompany it.

'I hear congratulations are in order. I hope your tactics in Threadfall are better than they are at chess.'

M’kayre sneered at the note -- though anyone who knew him well enough would be able to tell that it was a relatively light sort of sneer, free of the full weight of his disdain. By comparison, this judgment here was almost _fond_.

He moved E’tariax’s piece on the very real board in his weyr, according to what had been indicated on the note, then moved his own piece and jotted down his own move on the note, too.

‘Said with all the unearned confidence of a man who so easily forgets his losses,’ he wrote back, sliding the note back into the tube and sending the firelizard on its way.

Socks was much less behaved when he arrived again in E'tariax's weyr, and it took no less than twenty minutes to wrestle the note from him. "Stupid little beast." He grumbled when he finally got the firelizard around the middle, between the wings and the forelegs. Socks chirruped at him.

He stared at the paper for a while. Nothing of importance was done quickly. Eventually Socks reappeared at Dragonsfall with his next move and another note.

'Your memory is as selective as your strategy, old man.'

M’kayre moved the pieces, and then stared down at the board for a long while. Sharding E’teriax. Far too good at dragonchess than any uppity greenrider had a right to be.

‘At least my strategy isn’t ‘cross your fingers and hope for the best’’, he sent back.

E'tariax cursed at the paper, then set up the board again. It was hard to keep one mid-game with kids and a stupid firelizard underfoot. Eventually he sent the note back with the pieces moved into a maneuver that he'd been setting up for a few moves now.

'One day 'bullying the board into submission' will work for you.'

M’kayre moved the pieces and glared at the board. And then glared some more, and cursed under his breath. It took him even longer to decide on his next move, and formulate a counter-strategy.

‘A firm hand works wonders, even in dragonchess.’

E'tariax waited impatiently for the note to come back. He'd been waiting for this, and his reply was sent back infuriatingly fast.

'Should I show you how it's done?'

M’kayre’s reply took a full day and a half.

‘You don’t have the balls.’

E'tariax took his time writing back. Partially because M'kayre had finally figured out how to reroute his maneuver and he needed to get out of it with minimal losses, partially because his teen son had arrived home with a particularly hard case of the angst and got upset at any perceived attempt at mindhealing (and not helping, those were two different things). But mostly because E'tariax knew waiting would drive that pent-up bronzerider nuts.

'By the look of your last move, the thought is driving you to distraction.'

M’kayre, pleased at the thought that he had perhaps turned the tide of the game, jotted down a particularly aggressive maneuver. Time to go for the kill. (Of course it had absolutely nothing to do with being annoyed at the wait. Not at all.)

‘Distracted, perhaps, but not by you. I have plenty of other distractions to keep me entertained.’

An easy deflection, though it didn't look like E'tariax was going to win this game. He did like to think he was winning the mind games, though, and the tone in his next note two days later was just as smug.

'Overcompensating is textbook in a man of your stature, Weyrsecond.'

‘There is no ‘overcompensating’ if you have nothing to compensate for,’ M’kayre replied almost immediately.

Ah yes, textbook. The rash move kept E'tariax in the game a little longer, at least. He had the move ready right away but waited another few days before sending anything back.

'Maybe if you focused less on defending your pride you'd avoid getting caught in such compromising positions.'

As loath as he was to admit it, E’tariax was right -- his angry need to bite back had led him to make a rash move. M’kayre took the time to deliberate, and forced himself to wait a couple of days before replying with his next move.

‘Perhaps if you paid more attention to my positions and less to verbal sparring you’d be able to dominate the board as I do.’

Sometimes getting M'kayre angry and flustered was enough to eke out a victory despite a bad game. Not this time, though. This time it was mostly for fun.

'I've noticed your positions. It's too bad you don't have a bronze's stamina anymore.'

Jotting down M’kayre’s final move, the long-awaited checkmate, was _almost_ as fulfilling as sending the note back.

‘Bold words. If you actually have the fortitude to face your loss in person, Bhelth will kindly show Aphirith to my weyrledge. I’ll be in all evening.’

Last updated on the September 5th 2024

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Double Gambit