The Black Dragon

by W. D. Newman

CHAPTER 21

  GNOME BONES

  A hush fell over the coliseum. Ben turned to Mueller, who was standing behind him with a look of shock on his face. Mueller walked to the edge of the platform and shouted down at Ringwald.

  "The old ways are over! You cannot play the Gnome Bones."

  "The final naming has not been performed," Ringwald sneered, "and all of those under the old names are under the old law."

  Mueller turned back to Harry, who also looked stricken.

  "He's right," Harry whispered. "He can play the Gnome Bones."

  "What's going on?" Ben asked. "What are Gnome Bones?"

  "It is an ancient game with many pieces, played on a field of many squares," Mueller answered. "To challenge the throne, you must play the King a game of Gnome Bones. Whoever wins becomes the rightful ruler of Kahzidar. Whoever loses is executed. Ringwald, however crazy he might be, is a master of Gnome Bones. None have even challenged him in over twenty years."

  "Do we have to go through with this?"

  "Yes, I'm afraid we do. It is a gnome ritual and custom that is older than Kahzidar. Until we complete the naming ceremony, those under the old names are bound by the old laws."

  "That doesn't make sense," Ben cried. "You revolted!"

  "Yes, but we were given a new name before the revolt," Harry explained.

  "The Holediggers that Bobo roused in the city were not under the new name," Ben pointed out. Harry scratched his head and looked over his shoulder at Bobo. Bobo held his hands out to his side and shrugged.

  "Well, you do have a point there," Harry admitted, "but it doesn't matter. Gnome Bones have been called and must be played."

  "Very well, then," said Ben, raising the horn to his lips. "I accept Ringwald's challenge."

  "He's not a gnome!" one of the Stonebreakers shouted. "He cannot play!"

  "Leave it be," Ringwald screamed. "He has accepted my challenge and I will play him. The winner will be the rightful ruler and the loser will be executed. Bring out the Gnome Bones!"

  The drummers around the edge of the arena began beating a rapid, marching cadence and there was a burst of activity at the opposite end of the coliseum. A set of double doors, leading onto the arena floor, were thrown open and, in a few minutes, a group of gnomes emerged.

  There were six gnomes in this group, all robed in black with hoods pulled over their heads to hide their faces. They carried a large table into the coliseum and, very reverently, sat it down in the center of the arena floor.

  "Is that the game table?" asked Ben.

  "Yes," Mueller answered. "That is the sacred Gnome Bones table. Some say that the game came from a distant city of man, somewhere in the wild north lands. Some even say it originated from Zorn; the home world of the wizards. Where ever it came from, it wound up in the hands of a cruel king from some long dead and forgotten realm. This king was a master at the game too and used it to mete out punishment to his enemies. He would offer them a full pardon and freedom if they could beat him. However, should they lose, the punishment was death."

  "How did the gnomes get the table?"

  "One day, a group of gnomes were poaching deer in the king's forest. This was before we left the sunlighters and went underground to live. We were poor creatures of the forest and hungry too. The king's rangers surprised the hunting party that day, but all of them managed to escape, except one. His name was Alaster."

  "What happened to him?"

  "He was brought before the king and the king made him the same offer that he made to everyone accused of any crime. Win the game and go free. Lose the game and die."

  "And Alaster won," said Ben.

  "Yes, he won and the king was forced to set him free. The king, however, was embarrassed and enraged over losing the game, especially to a poor, dirty forest creature. To get even with Alaster, he sent hundreds of soldiers into the woods to hunt down and slay all of the gnomes they could find. Those that managed to escape the king's wrath went underground and Alaster became the first gnome king."

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” Ben pointed out. “How did the gnomes get the game?”

  “Alaster eventually built his own army of gnomes. They were not numerous enough, nor powerful enough, to overcome the king and his army, but they were crafty and bent on revenge. They tunneled below the king’s castle and were able to slip inside under the cover of darkness. Alaster started calling the gnomes that did the tunneling Holediggers. The group of gnomes that had to break through the stone floors to gain access to the castle became known as the Stonebreakers. Anyhow, they killed the king and stole the game. They also took a few prisoners. These prisoners were the first slaves of Kahzidar; the first Mudcrawlers.”

  “Wow,” said Ben. “Things went awry a long, long time ago, but it’s not too late to set them straight. One more question, though. Why is the game called Gnome Bones?”

  “The original playing pieces were discarded and new ones were created. The new pieces were carved from the bones of the gnomes the king’s army had slain. Alaster did this to make him remember the crimes committed against his people. Whenever a sunlighter was captured, they were brought before Alaster to play the game. If they won, they could go free. If they lost, they became a Mudcrawler and were sent to the slave mines. Alaster was a master at the game and no one ever beat him. Years after Alaster’s death, the new gnome king had the bone pieces enshrined and had his craftsmen fashion new playing pieces. Somehow, and no one remembers when or how, the game came to be used only for challenges to the throne. It is rarely ever played now.”

  Ben turned his attention back to the center of the arena. The table had thick ornately carved legs that supported a marble-tiled top used for the playing board. The marble was set into sixteen rows of ten squares with alternating colors of black and white. The last two rows of ten, on each end of the board, were raised four inches above the main board. The next two rows of ten, on each end, were raised two inches above the main board. On each side of the main board, a single row of eight squares was elevated one inch above the main board. A small flat chest, containing the playing pieces, sat on top of the table. Two gnomes opened the chest and began arranging pieces on the board.

  The back two rows, the ones elevated four inches above the main board, were filled with twenty gnome figurines on each side. These figurines depicted gnomes that were tall, proud, and richly dressed. These pieces represented the Stonebreakers and the elevated sections of the playing board they occupied represented the upper levels of the city where they dwelt. These sections were referred to in the game as The Palace. The Stonebreaker pieces on one side were made of gold and the pieces on the other side were made of silver.

  The next two rows, the ones that were elevated two inches above the main board, were also filled with twenty gnome figurines on each side. These were the Holedigger gnomes. They were smaller than the Stonebreaker pieces and made from polished stones of varying shades of gray. One side carried spears and the other side carried swords. The raised sections of the playing board that these pieces occupied represented the lower levels of the city where the Holediggers dwelt. These playing sections were referred to as The City.

  The next two rows were the outer two rows on the main board. These rows contained twenty Mudcrawler playing pieces on each side. The Mudcrawler pieces were made of clay and portrayed gnomes that were hunched and deformed. On one side, the Mudcrawler pieces carried pick axes, while on the other side they carried shovels. The main board was known as The Pit and represented the slave mines of Kahzidar.

  Finally, the single row of eight squares on each side of the board represented the barracks in the slave mines. The Holediggers that were being used for watchers and drivers were stationed on these rows.

  Once all one-hundred and twenty playing pieces were in place, there were only four rows of ten in the center of the main playing board and six spaces in each barracks that were not occupi
ed.

  "There are a lot of playing pieces," Ben remarked, "but there are only three types. This shouldn't be too difficult. What's the object of the game?"

  "The object," Mueller answered, "is to remove all of your opponents Stonebreakers by capturing them or demoting them."

  "Okay," said Ben, "How do you capture? How do you demote? How do the pieces move about?"

  "Let's start with the Mudcrawlers in The Pit. They cannot capture or demote. They are purely defensive pieces. They can move in any direction, but they can only move one space at a time and they must move to an empty space. They can move into The City, but they are not allowed to move into The Palace. Ten Mudcrawlers make a full colony and for every full and partial colony you own, you must have one driver and one watcher.

  “The drivers and watchers come from your offensive players, which are your Holediggers. A driver and a watcher, however, may only move one space at a time and they are confined to the barracks. They cannot capture either, but they can be captured or demoted. If your opponent captures one, you must pull out another Holedigger to replace him. If you do not have any more Holediggers on the board, you will have to demote a Stonebreaker down to a Holedigger and use him. A popular strategy is to use your Mudcrawlers to protect your watchers and drivers from being captured.

  “Since you start the game with two full colonies of Mudcrawlers, you only have sixteen Holediggers that may be used offensively. You may choose any four Holediggers from the board that you wish to play in the barracks for watchers and drivers. Give that careful thought, because you want to be able to move your Stonebreakers out if the need arises.

  “The offensive Holediggers move two spaces. Their first move may be forwards, backwards, or to either side, and their second move must be a diagonal move to either side. Holediggers may jump over other pieces and if they land on an opponent, that opponent's piece is removed from play. Holediggers may move about the entire board. They can capture the opponents Mudcrawlers, Holediggers, and Stonebreakers within any section of the playing board."

  "That's easy to remember," said Ben. "They move like a knight."

  Mueller looked puzzled.

  "A knight is a playing piece in a game called chess. It's a strategy game, like this one."

  "Are you any good in this game called chess?"

  "Pretty good. What about the Stonebreakers?"

  "Ah, yes. The Stonebreakers may move all over the playing board. They move like the Mudcrawlers, but they are an offensive game piece. When you land on an opponent's Stonebreaker with one of your Stonebreakers, your opponent's Stonebreaker is removed from the playing board and a Holedigger is put in his place. You essentially demoted him from Stonebreaker to Holedigger. Be careful though, because demoting a Stonebreaker to a Holedigger actually gives your opponent a stronger offensive piece."

  "I see," said Ben. "Do the Stonebreakers demote Holediggers to Mudcrawlers as well?"

  "Yes, they do. That's a good strategy too, because as soon as you demote one Holedigger to a Mudcrawler, if your opponent has not lost any Mudcrawlers he will then have two full colonies and one partial colony. He will have to pick two Holediggers to be watchers and drivers for his new partial colony and that will reduce his offensive power."

  "What happens if you land on a Mudcrawler with a Stonebreaker? You can't demote them, can you?"

  "No, if a Stonebreaker lands on a Mudcrawler, that Mudcrawler is removed from the game. The more Mudcrawlers you remove from the game, the more playing area you will have to navigate, but so will your opponent."

  "This game actually sounds fun," Ben remarked. The short nap he had earlier did wonders for him and he was beginning to get excited about playing this game. "Is there anything else I need to know about? Any secret moves or special plays I need to be aware of?"

  "No, that is pretty much it."

  "Let's get started then."

  Mueller led Ben down the platform and to the game table in the center of the arena. Ringwald was standing on the side of the table so that his playing pieces were to his right. He had already chosen his Holedigger pieces for his watchers and drivers; the fourth piece from the edge on each side, in both rows. This would give him an avenue to move six Stonebreakers out of the Palace area with one move on each piece. Ben stood across from him and studied the board. He decided to remove four Holediggers from the center of the row adjacent to the Palace. This would provide him the same advantage as Ringwald for moving the Stonebreakers into the City area. When Ben placed the pieces he had chosen for watchers and drivers into the barracks area on his side of the game board, Ringwald scowled at him.

  "I am still king under the old law and according to the rules of Gnome Bones, the ruling king goes first."

  Ben nodded and Ringwald moved the fourth Mudcrawler from the edge, in the front row, diagonally to the left.

  "He's going to open two roads from the Palace area, straight through the City, to the Pits," Ben thought to himself, "and he'll probably try to pull out all of his Holediggers first. I'll divert the Mudcrawlers near the sides to the Barracks to protect my watchers and drivers."

  Several moves later, Ringwald had three Mudcrawlers and two Holediggers positioned on the first open row on his side of the pit while Ben had eight Mudcrawlers on his first open row. No captures or demotions had taken place yet and the tension in the air was thick and heavy. As Ringwald continued to advance all of his Mudcrawlers and Holdiggers, keeping them packed closely together as they moved forward, Ben advanced only his front colony and one lone Holedigger. This strategy puzzled Ringwald greatly, but when they finally met in the center of the pit, Ben began pulling his Holediggers forward. For several minutes they traded blows, capturing Mudcrawlers and Holediggers. When they had both captured nine of their opponents Mudcrawlers, they did not want to free up the other's watcher and driver so, they started focusing on capturing Holediggers and began jockeying for a position to invade the city area.

  The longer the game went, the longer each player took to think and plan his next move. A little over an hour into the game, Ben was winning. He had pulled out two Stonebreakers and used his Mudcrawlers and Holediggers to set up an ambush where he could demote Ringwald's Holediggers to Mudcrawlers. He managed to demote half of Ringwald's Holediggers, bringing Ringwald's Mudcrawler numbers from eleven, to twenty-one. The twenty-first Mudcrawler created a partial colony and Ringwald was forced to move two more Holediggers into his Barracks. Counting the three that Ben had captured, Ringwald was left with only seven Holediggers, while Ben had fourteen. Both players, however, still had all twenty of their Stonebreakers. Never-the-less, the numbers were in Ben's favor now and as the game progressed, Ben patiently and methodically annihilated Ringwald in the ancient game of Gnome Bones. When the last Stonebreaker was captured, Ringwald howled with rage and leapt across the table at Ben.

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