After having surgery on five patients, where he had to treat conditions that dealt with the lungs,heart and kidney; oh yeah, he also had to cut off a leg. Kouse was quite tired.
A full days job as a doctor was an exhausting one, especially when one had to go about catching up with the activities of his crew for a couple more hours at night.

Kouse however decided to take a much deserved break at the tavern. He took a seat and ordered vodka. He needed a break from work and duties, even if it only lasted for a short while. 
Then he heard the question from a female wearing a red top and a black jacket.

'anyone want a game?'

Kouse shrugged to himself as he took another sip of his vodka and walked over to her, it might be a good way to while away the time.

"Not sure I'll be able to play but I'm interested." Kouse would take a seat right next to her. "I'm Dr K by the way, nice to meet you."
Black long sleeved top and black trousers with his glasses made up his simple but casual attire.

"So, what game are we talking about?."

Kouse took another sip of vodka as the lady said her name was Victoria. He always prided himself of being able to detect and differentiate the regulars on jaya and those who are new on it, and this was also the case with Victoria.

Kouse adjusted his glasses as she explained the game quickly for him. He'd never played it before, but he had heard people playing it, constantly betting money and weapons, and fights frequently erupting when the loser was a sore one.
He had never had the chance to learn with his extremely busy daily schedule, besides he never saw the need to learn it, he wasn't interested in gambling nor was he interested in getting into pointless fights with some stranger who couldn't handle being a loser.

But now, Kouse was intrigued by the game for the very first time.

"Hmm, the pawn ehh?." Kouse mused. "I take it the other pieces around the table have different roles too?"

With that question he would make his move, he knew winning on his first try was impossible, but he was not playing to win, but to while away time, whilst relaxing a bit.

He reached out and moved his pawn from C7 to C5.

"Hmm, a horsey you say?" Kouse mused as he took another sip of his vodka whilst studying the board intently. Then he watched as she moved her Knight from B1 to C3. 

"Interesting, the pawns you showed me earlier can only move once on their first move, but twice after that. Now the knights can move past other pieces and take them down?" Kouse adjusted his glasses as his interest in the game began to rise slowly. 

Victoria went on to suggest the knight pieces were like an assassin or playmaker. 

With his eyes squinted Kouse moved his pawn from E7 to E6. He looked straight at Victoria's face, hoping for a hint there that he was doing alright, but her poker face was impeccable. 

Kouse finished up his cup of vodka just as the waiter came by. Kouse felt that they would be here for sometime, and he had to keep himself from getting too drunk, so he could still make use of his brain to think.

So he asked for a bottle of beer instead.
Kouse looked at the other strange looking pieces scattered behind his first line of pawns and wondered what special roles and abilities those pieces also held. Ignoring playing this game nor any other board game for so long was slowly seeming like a mistake, it had to do with making use of your intellect, to make use of your pieces on the board to take down the pieces of your opponent's, using strategies and tactics.

"Alright Victoria, its your move." Kouse said as the waiter walked away to get their drinks.

Kouse studied the board intently as Victoria spoke.

"French Sicilian?" Kouse echoed, right after Victoria. "I'm just going with my gut feeling here." Kouse would reach out to tap his Knight, already thinking of his next move even as Victoria was about to play hers. Her hand landed on the pointed piece just to the right of her Knight and hesitated on it.
Her words made Kouse casually adjust his glasses as he wondered more about the piece with a crown on its top and how it must surely be an important one.

"I'm a pirate." Kouse watched as she moved her piece to C4. "I think that's all the information necessary for one to explain why they are on jaya." Kouse would lightly tap his Knight on G8, he would like to place it in front of the piece with the crown, if it was as important as he thought.

"The piece with the crown, at E8, what is its role." Kouse asked as he continued watching the board closely. "Also, yeah, I don't care much for getting drunk....it dulls the senses and makes one all the more vulnerable."

Kouse nodded as Victoria explained the abilities of a new piece, the bishop. It was unique because it could move diagonally across the board, and as far as possible. It couldn't jump other pieces like the knight and it wasn't restricted to one square per move like the pawn.

His mind was made up on his next move, he reached out to touch his Knight piece on G8 and would look directly at Victoria for the first time.

"But the real question is, what you're doing on jaya."

Kouse's incredible abilities of deduction and sharp mind, made him able to notice that Victoria in fact wasn't from Jaya. The way she conversed with the waiter had further served to peak Kouse's interest, and her not knowing who he was?, well that even increased his suspicions.

The moment Kouse asked the question he would move his piece to E7, his eyes still staring directly at Victoria.

Kouse adjusted his glasses at Victoria's compliment.

"Well, I guessed he'd be an important piece for on the board, he's got a crown after all." Kouse joked.
Victoria then explained how the King piece could move and how important a piece it actually was. 
He was right to move his Knight to protect his King. He wasn't sure of his next move, but he hoped her next play would make him think of one. Kouse still saw some of pieces he didn't know their names or usefulness yet, he hoped Victoria explained it to him, soon enough.
She moved her on G1 to C3.

Kouse adjusted his glasses as he mused over her move. She seemed to be interested in protecting her bishop piece with her Knight.

Then she answered his question. 

Kouse would finally drop his stare to look at the board. "hmm, alright that makes some sense." Kouse would say.


"Well, I'm a real doctor, with a hospital just around the corner."
Kouse would say whilst staring intently at the board.
After a few moments of thinking, he decided to use his Knight to also protect his bishop and moved it from B8 to C6.


"So, tell me before you came here to relax with friends, what do you do?."

Kouse knew he was prying a bit, asking more about her but he didn't care. He was normally much more reserved than this and minded his damn business. It was no business of his why she was on Jaya anyhow, but he felt especially chatty today, he could both blame the alcohol and that Victoria herself had begun asking the questions.

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that." Kouse said whilst adjusting his glasses. "You might not have heard much about this, but there currently isn't yet a sure medical way to recover one's memories."

Kouse would turn to look at Victoria.

"But after reading countless books on it, I've acquired some tips that have helped my patients with their memories over the years." Kouse looked to see if Victoria was interested in the information he was about to give, and if she was would proceed after accepting his beer. "Stay mentally active, Socialize regularly, Get organized ,Sleep well, Eat a healthy diet and lastly but not least, Include physical activity in your daily routine." Kouse would finish as he took a sip of his beer.
Kouse couldn't help himself, he couldn't stop himself from giving out advice and health tips even though it wasn't asked for, his past experience played a major part in that flaw.

Then Victoria made a move that she called a 'castling,' moving two pieces in one move, she moved her king from E1 to G1 then her Rock from H1 to F1.

Kouse's attention was immediately drawn back to the board. He looked intently at her move as she asked if he understood what she did.

"Well, you moved two pieces which up till now didn't know was possible, but other than that, I'm stumped." Kouse would admit and wait for Victoria to explain further. She'd only explained what conditions had to be met for the 'castling' move to be successful.

After she explained further, Kouse would make his move.
Moving his pawn from A7 to A6.
This game just kept getting more complex with every move.

Victoria moved her pawn from A2 to A3, which caused Kouse to flinch involuntarily for a moment. He could almost feel that Victoria's move had restricted his movements somewhat, but he wasn't sure.
Her saying 'nice try' after her move further made Kouse think more of his next move.
She then began explaining yet another piece. One called the rook.


It had a unique ability just like all the other pieces, it could move as far as it likes, but only horizontally. She then pointed to a pawn and stated it had a value of one, then to a knight and bishop which were valued at 3, then to a rook, valued at 5. Then finally to the queen, which was valued by 8 and was therefore the most important piece on the board.


Kouse studied the board after Victoria was done talking. He now knew how all the pieces could move, they were each unique and would surely give some entertainment moving them around the board, but was that really all that this game was about?. 


Kouse took another sip of his beer. If it were, Kouse could see himself tiring quickly of the game.
Touching his pawn on G7, he moved it to G6.