****Thank you for your help with this Odie! - T
Check.
The elf frowned at the board, rolling a chess piece between his nimble fingers.
A sharp blade can slay many hundreds, his mentor had told him once. A sharp mind can slay many hundred of hundreds.
How ashamed he would have been to see Zevran now.
All of the carefully laid plans, the casual moves and misdirection, the occasional jibe to make his opponent reckless.
Everything had been going smoothly, the pieces all falling into place.
And a player he had not anticipated had stepped in and nearly swept the board in a single move.
Zevran's Queen was in danger of being taken.
This will not do.
The assassin's sharp ears picked up the breathless whispers of a group of serving girls as they moved through the hall.
"Did you hear? Bann Teagan proposed to the Grey Warden!"
There was a sharp crack, startling the elf.
Zevran looked at the carved castle piece in his hand, now snapped cleanly in two.
He frowned harder.
This will not do at all.