#rivervale_lodge

Dagmar's horse crumbles before the onslaught of a pale queen. the knight is fallen, a crown endangered.

"Thanks for playing chess with me, Dagmar" Nadeen says

Soft nickering sounds as Connor 'trots' a couple of the lost soldiers around, playing with the Knight and Rook.

"Neeeeeeiihhgghhhhh.... pbpbpbpbpbpt." A whinny, and a blow-snort. He's not bad!

"You know, some day, I might get a stalemate..."

A glance. "Though we deffo have the best knights."

"Are you done with the Castles?" He eyes the rook still on the board. "And Mr. Pointy Head."

"We're done."

"That's the Bishop" Nadeen says

"Mr. Poinytyhead that is" A smile

"Bishop Pointy-head."

He grins at her. "Can a lady be a bishop? Maybe it's Miss Pointyhead." He ponders the piece. "This game is fun to watch if you give them names and stories."

"And the queen is in charge and is the strongest. " A nod.

"I think if they're protestants..."

Nadeen sighs but stays indulgent even if the pieces are threatening to move in ways that might break the rules

"She'll zip-zoom all across and knock down your lil' guys like - BOOM but then the lil' guy can be a queen too!"

He has a fairly good grasp of the movement, "And the Horses go in the L shape like the bad block I don't like in Tetris..." But has NO concept of strategy.

"And then both sides can have extra queens, and they don't have to fight. And then they all had marmalade and tea."

"Right, the pawns can be queens... or knights, sometimes a knight is more useful."

"Knights have to ride horses though. Or be horses. Maybe..." A glance to Nadeen. "Can someone Knight a horse?"

"Well, it sure helps having a horse."

"What if your horse is a Baron, and you're just a knight? Oh, Star would get so many apples then. She's getting fat already."

"As a matter of fact, a Penguin was knighted in Norway"

Snerk.

"Really?" He laughs with delight! "Was he wearing his suit tails?"

"Star isn't fat. She's having a baby."

"A baby, and a half-dozen apples." He quips back with a grin.

"Yes in 2008, the King saw fit to dub a penguin Sir Nils Olav for his years of service and dedication to the country."

"...Dude."

"IF it werent' for a risk of offending the Chieftain, I might declare Norway a silly place" Nadeen says

"That's silly but kind of awesome?"

Connor has gone thoughtful at that. "This is a lot like Norway, isn't it?"

"Well, Chief's influence... yeah. I think?"

"Oh a Greyhound gained Saint hood..." SHe ponders 'Though I imagine the Church fussed"

"Is a saint better than a sir?"

"I think it depends on priorities."

"If you wanna be a Mountain, saints have magic. But Storms, well, knights fight. And you can be both, there's St. George..."

"He was mean!"

A shake of his head. "Poor dragon."

"I've seen the pictures, it was just, a little BITTY one."

"And it's not fair to pick on nothin' smaller then you."

"Fair is not normally how history is made" Nadeen says

Brow furrow.

"No, it's not very nice to kill a little dragon."

"But big mean ones, like Skallstryke?"

He frowns a bit, and nods. "But if someone had been nicer to Skallstryke when he was just... like just an eggo-sized dragony-wee, maybe he could have been different."

"Maybe. Maybe not, we can't know."

"Did I ever tell you about when Siv and I met Puff?"

"Maybe I can find one. The birds are making nests in the trees." He is distracted now... "Maybe I will find a big egg and hatch it and have a dragon-friend! Oh, I'd better go look. Can I have a story after dinner?"

"Double check with Chief before taking an egg from a nest!"