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Philipwn rolled 1 20-sided dice:
10
Total: 10 (1-20)
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 Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:21 pm
Gil was a bit disappointed with his color assignment of course, but figured he would simply take the piece in the course of the game, and examine it at that point. Of course that would require him to actually take the piece, but he wasn't overly concerned on that front. His parents had insisted on ensuring that he was extremely well versed in the game, probably as part of their ongoing efforts to turn him into some sort of superhuman anti-government agent. Or possibly, they had simply enjoyed it. Gil's old family had been complicated like that, alternating between apparently open expressions of love in their actions and others which were clearly more geared towards turning him into the tool they needed him to be. It was one aspect of his earlier life that Gil was actually glad to be rid of.
But now he needed to focus on the game. Responding to Peace's opening gambit, he opted for the Sicilian Defense. From there it was all a matter of simply following through on the many routines and patterns his father had rigorously drilled into him over the years. He would have that white rook before the game was up.
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:23 pm
Then again, it had been a long time since those lessons, and he hadn't played since... This wasn't looking to be as easy as Gil had been expecting.
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Ergo War rolled 1 20-sided dice:
12
Total: 12 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:34 pm
 Peace would have marveled at the flawless execution of the Sicilian Defense if she had even the vaguest inkling of what that actually was. Instead, she opted for a series of seemingly random moves that might possibly be part of a greater strategy, but which in all likelihood were nothing of the sort. She continued to put on airs, despite it possibly becoming increasingly clear that she had no idea what she was doing. Acting it up was half the fun for her, though.
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Philipwn rolled 1 20-sided dice:
16
Total: 16 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:39 pm
Gil had never prepared for this. Peace wasn't using any of the traditional responses to his moves! Every once in a while she would do what he expected but as he pounced on the opportunity she would do something completely out of the blue again! Gil was flummoxed. He couldn't pin down her pattern, and without a pattern, he didn't really know what to do. He was being forced to play in an entirely reactionary way in response to Peace's moves, which was not the position he wanted to be in.
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:41 pm
Nonetheless, Gil's firm grasp of the pieces' capabilities and quick analysis of positioning served him well in the mid-game.
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Ergo War rolled 1 20-sided dice:
10
Total: 10 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:46 pm
Peace's trap was set, and Gil was walking right into it. She had seen many players like him in her dreams before, and she had won against all of them. Sure, things might have appeared to turn his way, but she knew that she could still win, and fully expected to. Her brash overconfidence directed her moves in a confused, slightly aggressive manner. Truly, the upright, skilled player that was her opponent would soon find himself weeping as he met his untimely demise.
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Philipwn rolled 1 20-sided dice:
12
Total: 12 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 7:53 pm
Gil would normally have been gloating during his initial comeback, but it seemed slightly pointless when his opponent couldn't verbally respond and return his jabs. As the game continued, he no longer felt the urge to gloat in any case. His resurgence had brought him about even with his silent adversary after her initial onslaught. It was all coming down to these final moments, and given Peace's extremely unpredictable style, Gil couldn't even begin to hazard a guess at the outcome. It was all coming down to these last few moves...
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:01 pm
Peace's final moves were flummoxed and bamboozled at every turn by the skilled moves of her opponent right down to the last turn. Finally, she sat back in defeat, all her pieces taken save the king. Her barbarian plans had not paid off, her moves plucked fresh from the golden leaves delivered by R.N.Gesus Himself failing to match up against the vastly superior training of her opponent. After moping for a couple of seconds, she started setting up the board again, this time with Gil as the white side, clearly assuming they'd be playing again.
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Philipwn rolled 1 20-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:14 pm
Gil took great satisfaction in his victory. It had been a long time since he'd played, and he was still young enough that winning was more important to him than it should be. He was not blind to how close he had come to losing, however, and so to spare his pride resolved not to play again. Besides, he was exhausted. He'd been in several fights recently, and then there was the emotional toll his conversation with Accalia and the realizations he'd made therein had brought upon. Yes, he needed to retreat into his tree and get some much deserved rest...
Oh, dammit! He really needed to stop having these internal monologues while he was interacting with people! While he had been busy being introspective, Peace was already 80% finished resetting the board. Gil didn't have the heart to tell his only close friend "no" if she was as excited as all that. So, smiling partially to himself about his mistake and partially to Peace at her antics and company, he helped set the board again. It really wasn't much of a sacrifice to make for a friend and a savior, he was enjoying himself as well after all. He resigned himself to play until she was tired of it. That didn't mean he was going to go easy on her, however. This time, he opted to open with the Stonewall attack, going right for her throat.
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:16 pm
Of course, that might have gone better if Gil actually remembered exactly how the Stonewall Attack went...
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Ergo War rolled 1 20-sided dice:
11
Total: 11 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:20 pm
A flawlessly executed Stonewall, as far as Peace knew. She would have to be careful with this one. Embracing her inner strategist, she decided to play a bit more defensively, opting not to charge straight into her opponent's defenses like some sort of headless chicken. She called this maneuver the Yummy Tuna, after the way she felt about that particular fish when she was trying to come up with the name. Time would tell if this gambit would pay off, but for now she was absolutely certain it was what the situation demanded.
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Philipwn rolled 1 20-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:28 pm
Gil knew he should've quit while he was ahead. His Stonewall Attack had become something more like a Pillowfence convulsion. Collapsing in on himself, his opponent wordlessly gained more ground. He knew it wasn't her intention, but damn was Peace intimidating with her absolute silence as she swept his pieces from the board. Attempting to rally, Gil refocused on the game, making aggressive movements with his knights in a desperate bid to catch back up.
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Ergo War rolled 1 20-sided dice:
7
Total: 7 (1-20)
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:33 pm
Damn, things weren't going as well as Peace had intended. Those knights were always so imposing whenever she looked at them, so she employed a counter-strategy she called "Reverse Psychology": she moved her pieces in regions where she wouldn't have to look at those knights, and if she had to, she'd try to take them. Bears were one thing, but horses could turn on you in a second after getting your guard down by letting you ride them. Peace wasn't sure how anyone could do battle from horseback, not with those treacherous, carrot-eating furbags under them.
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:40 pm
Gil understood enough about chess to see an unwinnable situation when it appeared. He decided to concede rather than draw the game out to unnecessary lengths by trying to delay the taking of his king. He had attempted to win with grace in the last game to encourage his friend's continued interest in playing (it wouldn't do to give her a gift she no longer enjoyed), so he would endeavor to be just as graceful in his defeat. He smiled at his friend and congratulated her on her victory, but was unable to suppress a yawn. He would really have to insist on not playing again this time, it had been far too long since he'd slept. He'd walk Peace home first, however. She may have had an enormous sign to beckon her home, but it was hard to see in the dark, and Gil knew his territory better than anyone. Besides, despite his weariness, he wasn't in any sort of hurry to be rid of her in the first place.
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Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 8:52 pm
It would seem the formalized institutions of chess had no counter for her Yummy Tuna strategy. She would have to also try out some other ones she'd developed, like the Rare Venison and Roasted Swan strategies, or perhaps even the Golden French Fry. She also really needed to stop thinking up names while she was hungry.
When Gil conceded defeat with a yawn she smiled and nodded and began packing up. She could take a hint, at least as far as sleep was concerned. The mouse skull almost went in with the rest of the pieces since it had worked out so well, but she thought better of keeping it around long term. After getting her things together, she set out toward her base with Gil, pondering what sorts of things she would've chatted about if she'd been able. Most of it would've been complaints about the idiots she'd been chasing out of her mountain recently.
Upon arrival, Peace would start up a small fire in her living area, which she'd partially enclosed using lean-tos since Gil had last been there. Her name was also now complete, the gravel-filled letters staring the city down somewhat ominously. She would offer the boy his choice of roasted venison or bear meat and wouldn't insist he leave, but wouldn't motion for him to stay either. Food and company were good, but the kid had his own life, after all.
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