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It was a boisterous evening in the gaming hall. Blaine sipped on her post-dinner drink, rolling her eyes upon overhearing Kili brag to his brother about taking the best of three games.
“Psst! Blaine!”
Feeling a gentle tug on her sleeve accompanying the whispered greeting, the forester started to turn around and in doing so bumped into the source of the voice. She managed to avoid sloshing her ale on the newcomer, though she switched the stein to her other hand to flick the spilled ale away.
“Ori! Well met!” And, more quietly, “Does your brother know you’re here?”
Reflexively, Ori glanced around the gaming room. “Mmmm-hmm. Nori suggested I stay off to the side. He was afraid that Fili or Kili would try to coax me into whatever they are playing.”
Blaine looked back across the main room, to the table where the princes now had a sizeable crowd cheering on their game of Shut the Box. “Ahh. Possibly the best idea yet from Nori. I’m certain they would mean well, but even from here I can tell those two are gambling pretty hefty amounts. Especially the way Kili is being so vocal about it. Not a game you would want to enter or even wager upon unless you were confident.”
“Which I know I am not.” The youngest Ri watched them for a moment longer, then seemed to make a decision and suddenly grabbed his satchel and rummaged through it. “But would you be willing to try something with me?”
Before Blaine could answer, she watched as Ori brought forth a small roll of fabric and a palm-sized drawstring bag which clinked as he handled it. The scribe stepped over to the nearest table. “Dori brought this back for me from his latest trip to Dale. He and I have played several times, but Nori does not much care for games like this. I would like to play this with someone aside from my family who would appreciate it. Would you? Please?”
Blaine paused, glancing over to the corner where Nori leaned in close to yell something into Oin’s hearing-horn. She had promised the proprietor a round of Hazard, as Nori seemed intent to teach it to her despite her repeated sidestepping of that particular dice game, but as she looked back to Ori the refusal died on her lips. The youngest Ri had apparently perfected what Men called the “puppy-dog eyes” expression, and he now gazed up at her with that look in full force.
She crumbled almost immediately. “Ahhh, certainly, Ori, lead on. What game is this?”
Ori sat down and began unrolling the fabric and smoothing it out on the table. As Blaine sat opposite him, he upended the contents of the pouch to reveal smooth stones, some black and others white. He answered, “Something played among dwarrow as well as with Men. Dori said that if I like this enough, he would speak with Bifur about having a more permanent game set made up for me. This one, though, I can easily carry with my pens and inks.”
Blaine raised an eyebrow in amusement as she leaned back. “What? Ori! How is it that you have time to play games during the day? I thought that Balin kept you busy assisting him and Thorin while doing scribe-y things?”
He ducked his head but Blaine caught the smile. “He does. And we certainly do not play while working! But occasionally we take a break together during the midday meal, and I think he would enjoy playing this. It involves strategy, and is not as in-depth as chess.”
Blaine mock-groaned. “Strategy? Oh, Ori, chance is a kinder approach for me. I leave the strategy to folks like Dwalin.”
The scribe paused in his arranging of game pieces and glanced up at her. “The reports from Bard that I have seen say otherwise, that you are quite capable of organizing things in the north woods.”
It was Blaine’s turn to duck her head, though she knew better than to ask how the scribe had access to such inter-kingdom discussions. “Not too loudly, Ori, or you’ll have people thinking I can out-smart your brother.”
As she leaned forward, she finally realized what now populated the table between them, and blinked in surprise while pointing to the game board. “Wait, this looks Iike Nine Men’s Morris!”
Ori nodded in satisfaction. “Very similar, we call it Mills. Same sort of idea. Get your pieces into a straight line. Seems easy, yes?”
As they began to play, the forester quickly realized that behind her opponent’s shy exterior was a mind as wily and ruthless as his older brothers when it came to games. Ori walked her through the variations of the game and was eager to describe the different scenarios her moves soon opened up, but despite the coaching her pieces quickly vanished from the board. After two repeats of a polite but speedy defeat, Blaine laughed and held up her hands in surrender.
Ori shook his head as he chuckled, and began to reset the game pieces. “One more round, and this time I can show you where you keep making the same mistake.”
A welcome voice stage-whispered in Blaine’s ear, “Oi, lass, had I realized Ori would pull you into his game I would have warned you. He runs circles around whoever he sets up against.”
She leaned back against Nori’s arm and glanced up at him, while Ori snorted and lobbed the drawstring bag at his brother. “Admit it, Chance is as much your deity as she is mine. Besides, this has been quite educational. If I ever need help with outwitting someone, apparently any of the brothers Ri will suffice quite nicely.”