Wisp's eyes glossed over for a half second, she had seen the Lavent's defense, was there time to change strategies?
"A derivation of Khyberdog, how... refreshin'" Wisp eyed the board, what was the next move? There maybe a point of attack...she picked up a piece and moved it in an L fashion, trying to circumvent the oncoming storm that was Khyberdog. It was outside Lavents, but might supplement it in a way that would seem like bait, would she fall for the deception though? "Moves to you honey..."
"You know, this reminds me of when they came to my team, asking for a revamp of the Warforge Synaptic Vesper Link..." Saralyssa says with a smile as she rubs her hands together. "I am sure you have heard of the issues they were having with the Synaptic Vesper Link, right?" She continues on as she eyes the board. "They just couldn't understand that the Synaptic Vesper Link needed a Vestault Circular Regulator to make it work properly, but, no they just couldn't get it through their heads that the plans were right from the start and not to try to change things up..." She makes a move with her mage hand.
Siggur leans close to the table between the small-folk, his elbows heavily resting on his knees and his hands moving in little gestures below the edge of the table as if predicting movements. The talk of game strategy was a bit above his understanding but he could relate them to battle strategy well enough.
In a sudden moment of realization stabs a pointed finger at the piece Saralyssa's mage hand was about to move. "You could exploit a weakness in the flank by attacking here! Though it may leave your own defensive line weak in the next....three moves?" He looks up proud for a moment but realizes he may have revealed a future flaw. He pulls his oddly un-calloused hand back and puts it back under the table.
"My apologies for interrupting. Usually the entertainment I enjoy on travel is more...physically involved and less mentally. Please continue."
'Is she trying to throw me off talking about this? Or just getting comfortable?'Wisp thought to herself as she evaluated the board following the move, trying to figure out if she'd taken the bait or not, it mattered not though, she needed to follow through with her plan. "Well, actually, you've got me at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to Warforged technology. Most of my studies are in communications, long distance, as well as cryptic. Nevertheless I know what you mean so far as people not leavin' well enough alone" Wisp moved her piece, on an attack path to Saralyssa's king
Kwai watches the movement of the chess pieces for a while, trying to decipher, and then remember, the rules pertaining to each. He realizes quickly the depth of the game. One could play it ten thousand times and not see the same result repeat itself.
"How like life this game is,"the monk remarks to no one in particular. "Complex situations. Uncertain outcomes." He then casts a quick glance at the players, hoping his voice wasn't deemed an unwelcome or rude intrusion, which seemed entirely possible after the warrior's remarks.
"Thanks for the point..." Saralyssa says to the warrior. She hoped the gnome across from her thought the same thing, since that was the bit of the derivation trap she had set.
"Well, if you have not heard of it, then I should explain." Saralyssa said as she looks over the board. The straight-out attack to the king was foreseen, of course, but it did put her into a dilemma, continue the false trail and then... "You see they wanted to put the square regulator in, since there was a square hole, but the circular regulator was what was suppose to go in, and the square hole just let it relieve pressure a bit easier. If they stayed with the circular regulator, as I designed the thing, then they had no issues. when they changed to the square ones, well, I think you heard about that whole squad of mad warforged during the battle of Vilstpot's Hill, right?" She decided it best to keep up with her current ploy in the dragon chess game, since the other gnome seemed quite willing to fall into her trap.
"Outcomes become very certain if you commit to a decision." Siggur says in a similarly hushed tone towards the other man watching the chess game. "In battles of wit you can make holes of logic and outcomes become muddled. In battles of tactic each decision leads to an immediate result. Good tactics give predictable outcomes." He nods to the gameboard and looks at the monk, "Good tactics see through bluffs and misleading communications."
Wisp sat back in her seat to ponder a moment, it was all facade though, she knew what move she was going to make. She saw it now, she'd bitten on the hook, of the trap, but like the proficient Dragon Chess player she was she'd left another recourse lined up for once Saralyssa took advantage of the her own trap. "Well, if I remember that story correctly those Warforged all stripped their clothes off, took up cookin' utensils and tried to march directly into battle with nothin' but pots and pans." Wisp advanced her piece once more as if she was unaware of Saralyssa's intentions.
"Good tactics give predictable outcomes," repeats the monk. "Agreed."
Kwai spins the throwing spike in his hand a few more times before stowing it on his belt with the others. "This game mimics not only life then, but battle as well."
After a brief pause, the monk speaks again. "I am called Kwai. And it is good to meet you."He then nods at the warrior.
Saralyssa saw she might have actually underestimated this Wisp a bit. She could see the jist of the moves she was doing now and had to admit it was pretty clever. She had a couple options available, but saw that nothing was going to lead to a victory now, but then again, a draw was not such a bad ending to a game between equals.
"I see that you are indeed a clever player." Saralyssa informs Wisp with a nod of respect. She has her mage hand move a piece, pretty much ending the game, since neither of them would be able to get into a winning position without one of them making a very bad mistake now. "Shall we call it a draw then?"
Wisp smiled and stood, holding out her hand to shake Saralyssa's and accept the draw, "You are a great player, who taught you darlin'?" Wisp looked about and was shocked to see several others had joined in watching the two of them play, she blushed a bit for show as she smiled at each of them.
The conversation of Seeker and Urmdir above decks is interrupted by a shadow which falls over the deck of the galleon. Above them looms an elemental airship, wreathed in a ring of fire. Four figures descend onto the galleon from ropes. They wear green and gold cloaks depicting the crest of House Deneith, a dragonmarked house renowned for their services as mercenaries and bodyguards. For a moment there is only silence as the passengers of the galleon regard the four mercenaries, who are armed to the teeth. Then one of the men swings a mace, shattering the skull of the bard in a terrible act of brutality, and chaos ensues. The passengers scatter in all directions, trying desperately to escape the mercenaries.
Seeker and Urmdir, roll initiative!
Kwai, Saralyssa, Wisp, and Siggur hear the sound of heavy boots thudding onto the deck above them, followed by screams and yells. The dozen or so passengers below decks look to each other in confusion and fear. In particular, two dwarves in dark cloaks feature grim expressions, and they exchange a meaningful glance before making a break for the storage area, a large hold adjacent to the lounge.
The four of you may also roll initiative, but you will not participate in the surprise round.
"As with everything important, I learned from my family." Saralyssa says with a bow, then shakes Wisp's hand. She looks around at the others as well, giving them nods of greeting once more. "Any idea how long until we get to our destination?" She asks then.
"What do you bet that those two dwarfs know something about all of that noise?" Saralyssa asks as the two dwarfs dodge away towards the hold. "If I know anything about Ressinant Piston Couplers, then I know a pair of guys with their fists in the cookie jar when I see them..." She heads off after the dwarfs, grabbing up her pack as she does so.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Initiative: 19
"What in the world, who's makin that ruckus?" Wisp looked about and hearing Saralyssa, and seeing her head toward the hold after the dwarves, thinks it's best to follow!
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Wisp's eyes glossed over for a half second, she had seen the Lavent's defense, was there time to change strategies?
"A derivation of Khyberdog, how... refreshin'" Wisp eyed the board, what was the next move? There maybe a point of attack...she picked up a piece and moved it in an L fashion, trying to circumvent the oncoming storm that was Khyberdog. It was outside Lavents, but might supplement it in a way that would seem like bait, would she fall for the deception though? "Moves to you honey..."
"You know, this reminds me of when they came to my team, asking for a revamp of the Warforge Synaptic Vesper Link..." Saralyssa says with a smile as she rubs her hands together. "I am sure you have heard of the issues they were having with the Synaptic Vesper Link, right?" She continues on as she eyes the board. "They just couldn't understand that the Synaptic Vesper Link needed a Vestault Circular Regulator to make it work properly, but, no they just couldn't get it through their heads that the plans were right from the start and not to try to change things up..." She makes a move with her mage hand.
Siggur leans close to the table between the small-folk, his elbows heavily resting on his knees and his hands moving in little gestures below the edge of the table as if predicting movements. The talk of game strategy was a bit above his understanding but he could relate them to battle strategy well enough.
In a sudden moment of realization stabs a pointed finger at the piece Saralyssa's mage hand was about to move. "You could exploit a weakness in the flank by attacking here! Though it may leave your own defensive line weak in the next....three moves?" He looks up proud for a moment but realizes he may have revealed a future flaw. He pulls his oddly un-calloused hand back and puts it back under the table.
"My apologies for interrupting. Usually the entertainment I enjoy on travel is more...physically involved and less mentally. Please continue."
'Is she trying to throw me off talking about this? Or just getting comfortable?' Wisp thought to herself as she evaluated the board following the move, trying to figure out if she'd taken the bait or not, it mattered not though, she needed to follow through with her plan. "Well, actually, you've got me at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to Warforged technology. Most of my studies are in communications, long distance, as well as cryptic. Nevertheless I know what you mean so far as people not leavin' well enough alone" Wisp moved her piece, on an attack path to Saralyssa's king
Kwai watches the movement of the chess pieces for a while, trying to decipher, and then remember, the rules pertaining to each. He realizes quickly the depth of the game. One could play it ten thousand times and not see the same result repeat itself.
"How like life this game is," the monk remarks to no one in particular. "Complex situations. Uncertain outcomes." He then casts a quick glance at the players, hoping his voice wasn't deemed an unwelcome or rude intrusion, which seemed entirely possible after the warrior's remarks.
"Thanks for the point..." Saralyssa says to the warrior. She hoped the gnome across from her thought the same thing, since that was the bit of the derivation trap she had set.
"Well, if you have not heard of it, then I should explain." Saralyssa said as she looks over the board. The straight-out attack to the king was foreseen, of course, but it did put her into a dilemma, continue the false trail and then... "You see they wanted to put the square regulator in, since there was a square hole, but the circular regulator was what was suppose to go in, and the square hole just let it relieve pressure a bit easier. If they stayed with the circular regulator, as I designed the thing, then they had no issues. when they changed to the square ones, well, I think you heard about that whole squad of mad warforged during the battle of Vilstpot's Hill, right?" She decided it best to keep up with her current ploy in the dragon chess game, since the other gnome seemed quite willing to fall into her trap.
"Outcomes become very certain if you commit to a decision." Siggur says in a similarly hushed tone towards the other man watching the chess game. "In battles of wit you can make holes of logic and outcomes become muddled. In battles of tactic each decision leads to an immediate result. Good tactics give predictable outcomes." He nods to the gameboard and looks at the monk, "Good tactics see through bluffs and misleading communications."
Wisp sat back in her seat to ponder a moment, it was all facade though, she knew what move she was going to make. She saw it now, she'd bitten on the hook, of the trap, but like the proficient Dragon Chess player she was she'd left another recourse lined up for once Saralyssa took advantage of the her own trap. "Well, if I remember that story correctly those Warforged all stripped their clothes off, took up cookin' utensils and tried to march directly into battle with nothin' but pots and pans." Wisp advanced her piece once more as if she was unaware of Saralyssa's intentions.
"Good tactics give predictable outcomes," repeats the monk. "Agreed."
Kwai spins the throwing spike in his hand a few more times before stowing it on his belt with the others. "This game mimics not only life then, but battle as well."
After a brief pause, the monk speaks again. "I am called Kwai. And it is good to meet you." He then nods at the warrior.
Saralyssa saw she might have actually underestimated this Wisp a bit. She could see the jist of the moves she was doing now and had to admit it was pretty clever. She had a couple options available, but saw that nothing was going to lead to a victory now, but then again, a draw was not such a bad ending to a game between equals.
"I see that you are indeed a clever player." Saralyssa informs Wisp with a nod of respect. She has her mage hand move a piece, pretty much ending the game, since neither of them would be able to get into a winning position without one of them making a very bad mistake now. "Shall we call it a draw then?"
Wisp smiled and stood, holding out her hand to shake Saralyssa's and accept the draw, "You are a great player, who taught you darlin'?" Wisp looked about and was shocked to see several others had joined in watching the two of them play, she blushed a bit for show as she smiled at each of them.
The conversation of Seeker and Urmdir above decks is interrupted by a shadow which falls over the deck of the galleon. Above them looms an elemental airship, wreathed in a ring of fire. Four figures descend onto the galleon from ropes. They wear green and gold cloaks depicting the crest of House Deneith, a dragonmarked house renowned for their services as mercenaries and bodyguards. For a moment there is only silence as the passengers of the galleon regard the four mercenaries, who are armed to the teeth. Then one of the men swings a mace, shattering the skull of the bard in a terrible act of brutality, and chaos ensues. The passengers scatter in all directions, trying desperately to escape the mercenaries.
Seeker and Urmdir, roll initiative!
Kwai, Saralyssa, Wisp, and Siggur hear the sound of heavy boots thudding onto the deck above them, followed by screams and yells. The dozen or so passengers below decks look to each other in confusion and fear. In particular, two dwarves in dark cloaks feature grim expressions, and they exchange a meaningful glance before making a break for the storage area, a large hold adjacent to the lounge.
The four of you may also roll initiative, but you will not participate in the surprise round.
Mercenaries’ initiative: 12
"As with everything important, I learned from my family." Saralyssa says with a bow, then shakes Wisp's hand. She looks around at the others as well, giving them nods of greeting once more. "Any idea how long until we get to our destination?" She asks then.
"What do you bet that those two dwarfs know something about all of that noise?" Saralyssa asks as the two dwarfs dodge away towards the hold. "If I know anything about Ressinant Piston Couplers, then I know a pair of guys with their fists in the cookie jar when I see them..." She heads off after the dwarfs, grabbing up her pack as she does so.
Saralyssa initiative: 4
19
initiative
Urmdir shouts "ATTACK!!" as loud as he can. He draws his shield and charges any mercenary that is close to the rail, attempting to shove them over.
Athletics: 21
If this isn't possible, he positions himself to block any other civilians, and takes the dodge action.
Seeker initiative: 3
Seeker will charge at the nearest mercenary, trying to position himself between them and the rest of the crew, and thrust at him with his spear.
Attack: 14 Damage: 5
Troubled by what he hears above, Kwai makes his way toward the stairs... (Initiative: 18)
Initiative: 19
"What in the world, who's makin that ruckus?" Wisp looked about and hearing Saralyssa, and seeing her head toward the hold after the dwarves, thinks it's best to follow!