Death's Chess Set

Death's Chess Set

Death's Chess Set:

Long ago there was a young man who took a journey through a perilous forest. Having traveled alone, there was no one to help him when he fell into a great pit, and no one to send for help when, already bruised and battered, he was bitten by a terrible snake. Thus did Death finally arrive, ready to usher the poor fellow to Czernobog's obsidian domain. But the traveler, being a young man with many years still ahead of him pleaded for Death to spare him. Feeling generous, Death produced his chess set, each piece carved from bone, the black pieces painted with the essence of heathen souls. Death challenged the young man to a game: should the young traveler win, he would continue his journey in good health, living out the rest of his days in peace. If Death should win, though, the young man would become his apprentice, doomed to walk the planes between life and death eternally, a witness to the end of every life for the rest of time. Thus commenced the game. Death was crafty, with a keen mind and a cruel strategy, but the Young Man was no stranger to the sport. After nervous hours of labored strategy, the young man proved the victor. He found himself suddenly out of the perilous forest, his wounds healed and his body free of the snake's poison. But when he arrived home, upon emptying his satchel, he found Death's Chess Set amongst his other items. He lived to a ripe old age and died in his sleep, and his eldest son claimed the Chess Set as part of his inheritance. Knowing the story behind it, he dared not to use it for many years. But over time, he found himself oddly drawn to the board, its crude pieces, and the eldritch whispers he swore he heard emanating from it... They say that the Traveler's son walked into a tavern one night, Chess Set in hand and challenged a wayfaring stranger to a game. And that was the last anyone had seen or heard of him. The exact whereabouts of the Chess Set's current location and owner are unknown, but the novice adventurer would be wise to think twice about a challenge to a friendly game if it come from a wayfaring stranger...

Attributes:

The rules are very simple, but they must be followed strictly, lest you face dire consequences. Should the current owner of the chess set challenge someone to a game (for you must challenge someone eventually, despite your best efforts to fight the eldritch whispers) and lose, they will die instantly. The Chess Set then belongs to the challenged party. They will carry it until they too break under the strain of the whispers and challenge another to a game. If the current owner challenges someone to a game and wins however, they are free of the Chess Set's power. However, they are then given the dark task of finding an inheritor. Whoever they choose, whatever the reason, becomes the new owner. It is imperative that one never challenges another to a game or tries to keep the board after victory though. The game can only be played between the game's current owner and one who is newly challenged. To break this rule would incur the wrath of the underworld, from which there can be no rescue...