Chapter 5

Baldric's study was cleaner than the rest of the house. It wasn't clean, but it was close enough not to needle my magic. I'd expected a dark den of wood and leather, but the walls were bright white, the desk was deep blue, and the seating was plushly upholstered.

And rocks, minerals, and crystals crowded every bookshelf. They sparked in the light, glittering just as brightly as the bits of quartz in the stones I'd given him. I swallowed my sadness and turned my attention to the game board.

The Knights Bandits board was made from carved stone rather than the normal wood, and the playing pieces were heavy for their size. The bandits were dark gray, the knights were light gray, and all of the pieces had a unique weapon or shield that could be removed to indicate they were injured.

The goal of the game was to capture and defend the treasure in the middle of the board. Knights had stronger attack and defense, but they could only move in the four cardinal directions. Bandits could move diagonally and attack on the same turn if they slipped behind a knight.

Because the two sides required different strategies, games were divided into two matches, and the players switched sides between them. If each player won once, then a third match was added with the sides chosen by a coin flip.

I could play either side equally well, but I was slightly better with knights. I'd started with bandits to give myself a stronger second match and a chance to see how Baldric played.

He barely studied the board before moving his pieces with an abrupt decisiveness that could easily be mistaken for carelessness. But it only took a couple of rounds for me to see his strategy forming.

I let him build his trap while I moved my bandits in seemingly nonsensical patterns. Once he was nearly ready, I purposefully sacrificed a piece to see if he would take the bait.

For the first time, he hesitated before moving.

"Having second thoughts about killing your bandit friends?" I asked.

"I'm not a smuggler," he said, still frowning at the board. After another long pause, he attacked the bandit I'd put in danger and removed the piece from the board.

I grinned, then neatly turned his trap against him. I won by eliminating all of the knights from the board, though it would've been slightly faster if I'd held the treasure instead.

We switched pieces and reset the board for the second match. "Shall we make a wager?" Baldric asked.

His voice was a little too casual for someone who'd just lost the first match. I eyed him suspiciously. "What kind of wager?"

"If you win, I will let you out of your promise to stay a week."

"I didn't promise that, but go on," I said.

His eyes glinted. "If I win, you'll stay two weeks. I'll pay you for the second week, of course. Twelve silver."

"That's not exactly incentive for me to win," I said. "The house will already be clean, which means I'll make an extra twelve silver for very little work. If I win, I want out of my nonexistent promise and the additional silver as a bonus."

"Very well," he agreed far too easily.

We began, and within three moves, I knew I was going to be in trouble. I'd been holding back during our first match, but so had he. His bandits slowly chipped away at my knights using strategies I'd never even seen before.

I knew the game was lost before half of my pieces had fallen, but I kept playing, watching his moves and adapting them for myself. I had to win the third match.

When my final knight fell, a tiny, victorious smile touched Baldric's mouth. "That's one match each. You may choose your side for the third."

I'd just gotten stomped as knights, but I wasn't so sure I'd do any better as bandits. "Knights," I murmured.

If he was surprised, he didn't show it. We reset the board and began. Rather than playing cautiously, which might have been what he expected, I threw myself into my most ridiculous strategies.

It worked… for a time.

But Baldric was a quick study, and it wasn't long before I was on the run again. I delayed the inevitable by taking out half of his bandits, but it wasn't enough to stop him.

I forfeited when it became clear I couldn't win. I chuckled at my poor fallen knights, then looked up at Baldric. "You play better than anyone I've met, which means you lost the first match on purpose. I've been hustled."

"Are you unhappy with the result?" Baldric asked quietly.

He might frown and grumble, but I bet if I asked, he'd let me out of the wager. Since I didn't really have a pressing need to return to my tiny cottage, I shook my head with a smile. "I get an extra week of room, board, and wages for hardly any work. Now that I think about it, maybe you were hustled."

"You play well. Your strategy is… unique."

I laughed. "You can say it's bad. You won't offend me. But I want a rematch at some point. It's been a while since I've lost so badly."

When Baldric waved at the board in invitation, I sighed, tempted. "I'd like to, but I still need to clean my room so I can sleep. Tomorrow?"

His chin dipped. "Whenever you'd like."