Chapter 17: Party Preparations

The rest of the day would seem to go on in an ordinary fashion. At least, that's what I hope it to be.

Two guards were visited by a Vice Master and a yinglet. The two guards had a confused expression painting their faces, no doubt reacting to the presence of a yellow ratbird that was the pet of Arisota's Hold by the Vice Master's side. This was probably beyond the norm for them. However, they didn't try to detain me, so I assume that they were informed of my position as Arrinoka's pet. Zuddle motioned to the guards. "Open."

The guards looked at each other before peering down to me. They then shrugged at each before going to the doors and opening them for us.

A darkened chamber opened up. Within the sealed room revealed rows and rows of produce and preserved meats of many varieties. The room was chilly, though I know not how. I could feel that the air was dry and cold beyond the sealed doors. Before entering the room, Zuddle had lit and picked up a glass candlelit lantern with a spherical metal cap on top. "This will take me about a minute, Roy. Don't take any food out of here unless you ask first."

I nodded. "So zhis place must be zhe larder. Zhe cold air inside makes sense. But uh... How is it so cold in here anyway?"

Zuddle blinked at me before continuing with his inventory inspection. "The answer is a bit complicated, but I'll try to answer." He pointed at the roof with his lantern-hand while his other removed lids to the storage boxes that contains cooled foods. "There is a series of metal pipes on the ceiling of this chamber, which are connected to fluid pressure operated screw pumps that transfers water through them. They're not insulated in this room, so any heat in here is absorbed into those pipes, which is then pumped elsewhere. In a different room inside our fortress, the pipes are exposed to evaporative coolers. That room is connected to a chimney that updrafts all the warmth from the pipes, and moisture released from the coolers, which is siphoned out of the fortress. Or at least that's how I understand its workings. The craftsman from Baramor, whom had installed this into our fort half a year ago, didn't explain more than that, other than how to feather the wood to restore the evaporative coolers, and how to repair the pipes in case of any blockages."

I blinked several times. "I zhink you lost me at fluid pressure operated screw pumps. It sounds like zhey require water to operate."

Zuddle nodded. "Basically yes. A small pipe is connected to the bottom of the tank, and the weight of the liquid itself pushes water through the pipe and onto a waterwheel over the tank itself. The wheel then turns the crank on the screw pump, which transfers water through this room, to the cooling room, and then back here again. But unfortunately, pipes always have a tendency to leak, so I make it a habit to check in here to ensure no moisture develops and rots our food supply. ... Ah."

Zuddle picked up a purple fruit from one of the food storage crates and held it to the light of his lantern. I walked up to the fruit to inspect it, but I wasn't sure why it was of interest to Zuddle. "Ah what?"

Zuddle sighed as he pointed at the fruit's skin. "Wrinkling. Surefire sign of the early stages of rot. We'll have to compost this entire crate."

"Shall we send for Lain?" One of the guards at the doors asked.

"Yes, and tell her that there may be more than one crate or barrel that is overripe and past acceptable levels of human consumption." Zuddle then turned to me and lowered the fruit to my height. "Want this purpluit?"

I hesitated, but I reached out for the... Wait. Is it really called a purpluit? Isn't that a portmanteau of the words 'purple' and 'fruit'? What the hell? Anyway, I took the purple fruit, pinched a piece off, and then swished it into my mouth. It wasn't grape flavored, as I had first thought. It was more like if a banana had crossed with a strawberry, but it had a hint of durian mixed in the middle of it. Maybe that durian taste was the rotting part of the fruit? It's hard to tell, but I'm not gonna pass up on free food. "Zhank you, Master Zuddle." I said as I continued eating the offering.

Zuddle closed the crates and turned the candlelit lantern off by opening the glass case and huffing a breath onto the wick within. "Right. I suppose that concludes my rounds here." he said as he began leaving the larder.

I looked up at Zuddle and followed him out, the doors to the larder closing behind us. There was a thought in my head I wanted to share. "Do you zhink zhere is a leaking pipe up zhere somewhere?"

Zuddle shook his head. "If there was, it would be a lot more damper in the larder."

I nodded. "I guess you'd need to get some kind of well zhat absorbs moisture from zhe air installed into zhis room. And air well, if you will."

Zuddle arched an eyebrow at me. "An air well huh? Do you know how to make them?"

I groaned. "No. I'm not an architect, sadly. All I know about zhem is zhat zhey draw moisture out of zhe air and condenses it into water."

Zuddle nodded. "I see. I'll have to ask a Baramor craftsman if its feasible to install one at some point." He then gestured on ahead. "So! Shall we go and see if you can play a harp guitar?"

"It won't be difficult, would it?" I asked. What even is a harp guitar? Is it like a guitar AND a harp?

"That depends if you have a latent talent for it, Roy." Zuddle said with a smile, continuing to lead the way for me. "I'm hoping the song I want you to play for the visiting dignitaries will be something you can perform."

I guess there's a first time for everything. I gulped down the last bits of my purpluit and followed.

"No no, see, you can't just strum the chords and hope it sounds good. To play a song, you'll want to read the notes and know which notes correlates to which string, and which places on the frets and fingerboard to press your fingers on. It's about the chords first, followed by rhythm and timing, and then the feel." Zuddle calmly explained as he turned the next sheet of music over to the next page. We were now in an annexed storage room where musical instruments were kept. Though the royalty and aristocracy often enrich their own lives with music and personal instruments, either being tutored to play the instruments or self-taught themselves (with limited results), Zuddle explained to me that they would hire a band of bards to handle most of the entertainment in the greeting party, and they would be bringing in their own instruments. Zuddle, on the other hand, was willing to lend his harp guitar for me to practice with.

The musical instrument, the harp guitar in question, had two harps attached to the sides of the guitar. One was tuned so that it could make high notes, while the other harp could hit the low notes. Also, this instrument was HUGE. A human could probably carry it comfortably slung under their arms, or have it rested on their lap if they wanted. Me though? None of that. The only way I can play it is if it was propped up on a chair or a wall, or if it was lying flat on the ground. I tried playing it in several positions just to try to get myself 'comfortable' playing it, but it was designed to be played by a more human form. I would stress to say that learning an instrument in a quick manner was a huge undertaking. "You try playing zhis wizh rubber pads on your fingers, wizh nails zhe size of guitar picks."

"Those nails would be perfect for plucking strings. That, and you have about... eh..." Zuddle looked at my hands for a few seconds before finishing his reply. "Sixteen guitar picks on every one of your digits. Sure, your limb length seems to be restricting you a little bit, but you still need to learn how to read music notes on the music sheet before the party starts."

"Yeah, well, no pressure or anyzhing." I groused, looking at the note on the sheet and then plucking the appropriate note on the harp guitar. Wait, is that a B4 or an A4? Guh, I wish I can play more better. I feel like I'm at a toddler's level of experience. At the same time , I feel like I'm slowly getting better. Still, this is difficult as fek.

"That note wasn't a B4, Roy. It's a B4, then a C5!" Zuddle rolled his eyes.

"Ah, right. Um. Is zhis B4?" I asked as I plucked two different notes as I strummed a string to a different fret.

"That's the one. Do you need to work on this part again, or do you think you can start from the beginning?" Zuddle asked.

I sighed. "Might as well start from zhe beginning and work on my speed."

"You're a quick learner, but you are hard to tutor with." Zuddle proceeded to grab a nearby chair and sat in it. "Now... Let's hear what you can do."

I took a breath and did my best to remember and read the musical notes as I played. The song itself was kinda hard to replicate. The song was titled 'For the Love of the Stars'. If I were honest, it kinda sorta almost sounded like a mishmash between a simpler version of Beethoven's Fur Elise and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I might've made a couple wrong notes, but at least I made extra sure to end the song on the B4 note this time around.

Zuddle nodded his head slowly, rolled it around, and then shook left and right vigorously. "I counted twenty mistakes."

"Twenty?" I growled.

"Yes. The biggest ones were where you had to pause to look at the sheet music before you continued. That happened three times during your whole performance. The seventeen other mistakes were when you went too high or low on some notes, and you ended up scrambling up and down the fingerboard hunting for the right note to play." Zuddle explained.

I paused for a few seconds before sighing. "So... What? Did I improve at all?"

Zuddle sighed before extending his hand and shaking it a little. "A little bit."

I stared at him, scoffed, raised my hands up in flailing frustration, then gestured at the sheet music in rapt anger. "DO YOU HAVE ANY EASIER SONGS ZHAN ZHIS ONE?!"

Zuddle sighed again and closed his eyes. "Yes, but I doubt they'd be able to impress anybody. Tippy Finger, Rascal on the Run, Three Blind Scavs, or any nursery rhyme made under the daylight is not going to impress anybody other than children or simpletons. Tell me this. Do you believe such songs can convince our visitors to continue maintaining the supply lines to Arisota's Hold?"

I paused. I took a few seconds to muddle over what Zuddle said. With a groan and a grimace, I sat down next to the harp guitar and released my own sigh. "Zhis is going to take a lot of effort to get zhe song right. Won't it?"

Zuddle nodded. "If you work on this song every morning and every evening at the rate we've been practicing, you might stand a chance at impressing them with what you've learned."

"I have to practice on my own?" I asked Zuddle, somewhat nervously.

Zuddle nodded again. "As a Vice Master of the fortress, It's my responsibility to ensure that the efficiency, efficacy, and proficiency of the fortress' staff doesn't degenerate. I can't look after one scav all the time, after all."

I looked down at the ground and silently groused. I suppose Zuddle has a point, but that doesn't mean the practice and training won't be any easier either. And worse still, this might interfere with any opportunities I might have to meet with the patriarchs of the secret enclave. At least until after the greeting party is done with. How many days away is that anyway? "... Well. I guess zhat just leaves zhe games."

Zuddle stared at me, with a smirk that might be stifling a small chuckle. "We don't really have to, you know."

I shook my head at him. "No no no, you took your time to teach me how to play music on your harp guitar instrument. I guess... it's now up to me to teach you a game?"

"An interesting prospect."Zuddle said, more bemused than amused. "I never had a yinglet teach me a game before."

I stroked my chin for a bit as I try to remember some games that might interest someone of Zuddle's standing. What kind of a game would a lord of a fortress enjoy? He doesn't seem like the kind of person to enjoy Checkers. I don't know how to play Backgammon. If we had a dart board, we could play Darts, but I doubt I have the arm strength or accuracy to land points on a circle of hanging cork board. I could try and teach him how to play Battleship, but that would require using pieces that resemble ships from a technological era that he has no knowledge of. The implications themselves would drive him to become more curious about me, and I don't think I want that. All that really leaves me with is just one game I know the rules of like the back of my hand. I'm not really good at it, but it might be something Zuddle would enjoy, I think.

Once I was done thinking, I stood up and stretched my legs a little. "Right. Do you know chess?"

"What's chess?" Zuddle asked.

"Perfect. I guess I'll need to make zhe pieces, zhe board, and explain zhe rules to you." I said with a sigh. "I'm going to need a lot of paper, a knife, somezhing to write wizh, and a table wizh some comfy chairs to sit next to."

"How much paper do you need?" Zuddle asked, now more curious than before.

"Ah. Uh..." I thought about what I needed to do before I continued explaining. "One big sheet for zhe board, a few more sheets so I can make zhe cutouts for zhe pieces zhat'll go on zhe board, anozher piece of paper so I can write zhe rules on it, and zhat should be it I believe."

Zuddle nodded. "Alright then. Simple enough. I'll fetch the items for you." He said, getting up from his seat and leaving me in the musical instrument storage annex.

Well. This aught to be fun!

After some painstaking crafting, the chess board and pieces have been created. The cutouts were all horribly drawn, but they served their purposes. It was tedious drawing all of the pawns, both the white and black ones, but Zuddle offered to draw them while I focused on making the rooks, bishops, knights, kings and queens. After that was done, the next thing I did was remember the rules to chess and wrote them down.

The places of where the pieces go on each column and row, how white always moved first, the pawns can move two or one spaces on their first move, can only attack diagonally in front of them, and they can be captured from an en passant by an opposing pawn if they moved two spaces in the previous move, can become a different piece other than a king when they reach the enemy side of the board and become promoted, rooks can only move in straight paths, bishops can only move diagonally, knights can hop over pieces and move two space horizontal and one space vertical or vice versa, queens can move in any straight and diagonal path, kings can only move in one space in any direction, and kings and rooks can 'castle' which is where if a king and rook didn't make any moves and if the path between them is clear of pieces the king would move two spaces towards the rook and the rook takes the space next to the king behind him, and that if you moved a piece to a different square and your hand no longer touched it your move was over. And then there's the condition concerning checking and checkmating, where if the king isn't out of danger in the next move, they lose the game.

I think that's all the rules regarding the pieces? Chess is, admittedly, a complicated game, but it's admittedly better than nothing when you're grounded from the TV, or if the power went out.

Once the board was set, the pieces put in place, and the rules written down and explained, Zuddle took a seat opposite of me. "I have to admit, Roy. This game has a lot more complexity to it than I initially thought."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Do you want to be white or black?" I asked.

"I can be black." Zuddle replied, gently moving the board so the black paper pieces faced him.

"Right." I nodded. I started off by moving a pawn in front of my king's bishop a space forward. "I would like to show you zhe easiest way to win zhis game in just four moves."

"Only four?" Zuddle asked. "Considering that there are thirty two pieces on this paper playing board, and we can only move one of the sixteen colored piece at a time, I'd assume this game would become more complex later on."

"Ordinarily yes." I said. I then pointed at his pieces. "Move zhe pawn in front of your king up a space or two. After I make my move, I want you to really look at your pieces and figure out what to do from zhere."

Once Zuddle moved his piece, I move one of my own pieces, the king's knight's pawn, two spaces forward. Once my turn was done, Zuddle looked at the paper board for half a minute before moving his black queen diagonally. "I believe this puts you in check."

"Not just check. Checkmate." I pointed at the board on my side. "Zhis checkmate pattern is known as 'fool's mate'. My king would only be able to move in one direction, and I don't have any pieces zhat can intercept or block your black queen. Zherefore, you would be declared zhe victor of zhis match."

Zuddle nodded in understanding. "So I take it there are other kinds of checkmate patterns to chess, right?"

"Too many zhat I can recall, unfortunately." I admitted with a sigh. "Chess can become quite complicated when two brilliant minds play. Heck, chess masters could zhink ahead forty or fifty moves ahead of zheir opponents if zhey put zheir minds to it. Some are so dedicated to zhis game zhat zhey could read zheir opponents' personalities and figure out what zheir opening moves would be. People can become so insanely competitive wizh zhis game zhat fights can break out, crazily enough."

"Oh?" Zuddle leaned closer to me, seeming to be interested in learning more. "I didn't realize you know a little bit of the history behind this game."

I shook my head. "No, not all of it. I just know zhe rules on how to play chess." I said, rubbing my eyes and, before I know it, a big yawn escaped out of me.

Zuddle scoffed. "Oh. Well I didn't realize a game of this caliber could bore you so easily."

I blinked. "What? Oh. Uh. Actually, I zhink I might be getting tired." Yeah, my eyelids are feeling a little heavy.

"Ah." Zuddle replied, sounding a little guilty for his earlier sarcasm. After an awkward cough, he got up from his seat. "Then perhaps I should let you rest? We can reconvene and play this again later."

I blinked a few more times. Has Arrisota came back yet? If he hasn't, then I'll need to buy more time! "No no no wait, it's fine! We can continue playing!" I said as I put the pieces back to their starting positions. However, when I finished putting the pieces back, the door into the musical storage annex blew the entire chessboard off of the table we were on. I sat there in stunned silence, staring at the bare wooden tabletop.

"Ah! There you two are!" The unmistakable voice of Arrinoka Arisota said, having been the culprit that opened the door.

A squeak left my throat as I turned my head to see the fallen paper chess board and pieces scattered all over the floor.

Arrinoka was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Something wrong?"

Zuddle sighed. "You interrupted our game. The door you opened blew it to the ground." He replied monotonously.

"Oh!" Arrinoka said surprised, his own guilt flaring from his face. "I didn't realize you were-... Oh, I'm so sorry."

I took a deep breath, sighed, and then gestured lazily to Arrinoka. "It's fine. It's all paper anyway."

Zuddle bent over to pick up the paper pieces, placed them on the wooden table, and used a small drum as a paperweight to keep everything in place. Zuddle then shuffled in place, coughed awkwardly, and then folded his arms behind his back. "So then, Arri. To what do I owe the pleasure for this interruption?"

Arrinoka nodded. "One of the trademaster lords are requesting a reshuffle of the sentinels in his retinue. It's Greggan Doubter this time."

Zuddle growled in annoyance. "Lord Doubter... Very well. I'll see what kind of wedgie is pulling on his trousers this time." He then stormed past Arrinoka and out the door into the musical instrument storage annex.

Arrinoka stifled a giggle before looking at me again. "So uh... How did it go?"

I yawned again. "I followed Zuddle to zhe larder and ate some rotten fruit, got to learn how to play a harp guitar for zhe greeting party, and taught Zuddle how to play chess. I let him win a game. We only played one game."

Arrinoka nodded slowly. "Right. Well. It sounded like you had an eventful morning, all things considered."

"Too eventful for my liking. Now I just want to sleep."

Arrinoka nodded. "Very well. I'll escort you to my room then." He said, already making his way out of the storage annex.

"Also, I'll be needing to get some practice wizh zhe harp guitar for zhe greeting party when I wake up. Do you zhink anyone would mind if I played in zhe night?" I asked, following him.

"So long as you keep the noise in that room, you should be fine." Arrinoka answered.

Good. Now to get some shuteye. ... Wait. I nearly forgot. "So uh... Has everyzhing between you and Zhaladine went okay?"

"Yes, but the corroboration between her and myself should be of no further concern. Everything is fine." Arrinoka assuaged.

"What did you two talk about?" I asked.

"As much as I want to tell, I'm afraid the conversation is confidential. It's an old rule this fort has between the sentinels and their charges, I'm afraid." Arrinoka replied, shaking his head.

"Ah. So it's like some kind of nondisclosure agreement zhen. I zhink I understand." I nodded.

"Kinda like that, yeah." Arrinoka added.

Guh, I'm tired. Lead me to the blanket and pillow on the floor next to your bed please.

A/N: I think I'm going to get super busy playing Dwarf Fortress in the future. Expect delays.