Page 54 of Knight Moves

“Yes.” Wally raised a fist. “Let’s get this going.”

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Mr. Harris.” Mr. Donovan smiled at Wally. “Now, I’m aware that some of you may not have participated in a role-playing game before. No worries. You’ll not be playing the game individually. Not exactly.”

“What?”Wally’s bliss turned to dismay. “Why not?”

“You’ll be playing in teams. Men against women.”

My mouth dropped open. “Four on a team?” I uttered. “But…role-playing should be individual.”

“Oh, no worries, Ms. Sinclair. Each of you will have your own avatar. But the four of you will have a collective, not a singular, goal and accumulated points. Gentlemen, you have an identical setup in the room next to this one. Both teams will be linked to each other virtually. However, strategy and information can be called out and discussed aloud, and in real time, without fear of your opponent overhearing. Please keep in mind that everyone’s scores, movements, and mistakes are factored into your overall team score. The game can be played to its conclusion, which is the acquisition and control of both kingdoms. If that hasn’t happened by the end of the game—which is eight hours—the team with the highest combined score will be declared the winner.”

Wally exchanged a worried glance with me. I understood everything he feared in one look. Dread swelled in my stomach. It was hard enough to manage your own score, actions, and movements in a role-playing game. Directing and coordinating others in a fast-moving scenario, with a ton of different aspects, all while keeping a focus on your own actions and the end goal, would be a nightmare. And that wasifthe others would even agree to direction. Arguing, unforeseen mistakes, and refusing to follow directions could be a real problem. I suddenly had to face the real possibility that I could tank this trial, too. If that happened, I would be a washout for sure.

Before I had time to fully consider the consequences, Mr. Donovan ushered the guys out of the room. Wally gave me a last worried glance over his shoulder. I managed to give him an encouraging thumbs-up even though I didn’t feel confident in the slightest.

Right after the guys left, we got another visitor. John showed us the controls, gave us an overview of the rules, and left. We watched a seven-minute introduction video to the game before a digital timer on the wall started the countdown and it was game on.

For a moment, the four of us just stared at each other.

Frankie finally broke the silence. “So, Angel, what’s the plan?”

“Me?” I said. “Why are you asking me?”

“I’ve never participated in a game like this.” She glanced at Kira. “What about you?”

Kira shook her head. “Me, neither.”

I looked hopefully at Hala, who shook her head. “I’m a novice. I’ve played a few games with my brothers, but they killed me. Looks like you’re in charge by default.”

I leaned back, pressing my hands to my head and blowing out a breath. This was far from ideal. I was stuck with essentially three newbies. At least Wally had Jax and Mike, both of whom I’d seen in action. They were experienced and decent players. I had no idea how much Bo gamed, but at this point, it didn’t matter.

We were totally screwed.

I inhaled a deep breath. It wasn’t in my nature to go down without a fight, so I had to tackle this logically, just like I did any other problem. I stood and walked over to a table that had loose pieces of paper and a few pencils. I brought them back to the group and placed them on the coffee table, smoothing down the paper.

“Okay, I’ve never played this specific game,” I said. “That’s because this is likely a scenario custom-made for us. But I’ve played plenty of online role-playing games similar to this. Usually, you make alliances and form strategies to get ahead. Alliances don’t last, because someone you helped at one time will likely have to betray you down the line so they can win. However, since we’re bundled together, we must form one strategy, and all of us need to stick to it to work toward the goal of defeating the guys in their kingdom of—” I had to glance at my notes “—Ironhaven. Apparently our kingdom is called Alygarth. Are you clear so far?”

Everyone nodded.

“Okay, then before we start, we have to consider our opponent. I know Wally, and I also know his style of gaming. I’ve also gamed once with Mike and Jax, so I have a decent feeling of their level of expertise, too. Mike is good, but I’m fairly confident he would relinquish executive control to Wally. Bo is the dark horse. I have no idea whether he plays well or not. But my feeling is that he won’t be anywhere near the same level as Wally.”

“So, Wally will be the leader?” Frankie asked.

“I think, given the knowledge we have, we should assume that.”

“But what if Mike turns out to be the leader?” Kira protested. “Would it change our strategy?”

“It might.” I lifted my shoulders. “But this point, we have to act on certainties. Anything else could lead us down a rabbit hole.”

“I agree,” Hala said firmly. “We should assume Wally is the leader. So, what’s our plan, Angel?”

I studied the giant screen where our avatars stood waiting to be assigned. “My gut tells me Wally will pursue a military strategy. It’s his go-to scenario, and he’s very good at it. He’ll build an army and fancy weapons, using them to crush us into submission. However, it also means he’ll have to force a lot of his people into conscription, which will cause damage to his reputation, charisma, and the happiness levels of the people. He’ll look for ways to offset that, but I bet he’s willing to take that risk. Whether he’ll be successful is up to us.”

“Can we do the same?” Frankie asked.

“We could, but I think that’s whathethinks I’ll do. So, in that case, their strategy will involve preparing to meet us one on one in a military face-off. Because of that, I think we should do exactly the opposite.”

“Like what?” Kira exclaimed.

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