GUNPOWDER MAGNOLIA Chapter 13: Devastation (Patreon)

Oh no, Dagger Tier! Why didn't anyone tell me I'd forgotten to share this on the first of August?! I didn't realize until I went into my newsletter and thought "wait a minute, how has the mailing list caught up with the $1 Patreon?" 

Anyway, here's your month-late thirteenth chapter of Gunpowder Magnolia JUST ahead of the newsletter. Sorry about that! Not caught up yet? Find links to previous chapters here.

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Devastation.

Maybe that was a little dramatic, but Lanthe wasn’t a damn poet, and it was the only word she could think of to describe Yelhwa’s style of play.

Had Tenro burst into a game of Sen with the same strategy, Lanthe and Tairo might have fared a little better. After all, pure aggression was the sort of approach you expected from someone like Tenro. With Yelhwa being Yao and a lady, Lanthe had spent a few too many moves testing her nerves. Tairo had spent too many moves waiting for her to pull back. These turned out to be errors they could not afford.

Within an hour of play, Yelhwa had dismantled Tairo’s defensive line. Lanthe’s defensive line held, but Yelhwa’s archers severely limited her movement, meaning that she had to continue playing defense as the princess of Yao tore through Tairo’s cavalry.

The slaughter only abated when a guard appeared and bowed deeply. He whispered something into Lady Mina’s ear, who whispered into Yelhwa’s ear. The princess blinked, and for a flicker, Lanthe thought she saw something like an emotion cross that flawless face. With the next blink, however, it was gone.

“Tell him I’ll be there momentarily,” she said. “Chang Tairo, Luyang Lanthe, you’ll excuse my terrible rudeness. There is something I must attend to.”

“The game isn’t over yet,” Tairo protested.

“But it is, though.” Yelhwa gave him a smile that was a shade too smug to be sweet. “Lady Mina, would you entertain our guests by playing in my place for the last…” she took stock of the board, “six moves?”

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