Misguided Adventures and Magical Attachments (Completed)

Chapter 11

"Hey, Pine Tree!" Bill's cheerful voice echoed throughout the dreamscape.

Dipper grinned widely, looking around for the triangle, watching to see when he'd pop up. "Hi! Ready to have a good time?"

"Yeah! You up for that game of chess?" Bill asked him and two floating chairs appeared as well as a floating chess board.

The boy jumped up onto one of the seats, the normally impossible feat rather effortless in the dream. "You bet! Chess is the best," he reponded, sitting down. "Black or white?"

"Black, of course!" Bill told him, snapping his fingers as all his pawns appeared. The triangle floated just above the chair, not actually touching it.

So I get the first move . . . Dipper eyed the board and his pieces, moving the pawn diagonal to the queen forward two spaces, wanting to free up his best first. It was usually a promising way to go. "I'm warning you now: I've never lost a game of chess in my entire life," the boy bragged proudly, smiling at the dream demon. "Mabel can testify."

Bill rolled his eye and flicked his finger, moving his pawn forward with magic. "Yeah. Yeah. And you do know you're playing against a demon, right? Not to mention that I'm omnipotent in the mindscape. I can read your mind and see all your strategies, kid."

He grinned in response. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean it's impossible for me to win. It wouldn't be any fun for you if it was, wouldn't it?" Dipper slid his queen out from the back row, progressing safely to the side.

"True. I'm choosing not to read your mind. I just meant I could." The demon made his move, freeing up the bishop.

The boy felt a burst of joy at hearing that. It was weird, to say the least. He moved a pawn. "So, do you play this often?" Dipper asked casually, not wanting the conversation to end there.

"I actually haven't played in thirty years. There haven't been any good people to play chess with since then. Probably a bit rusty but thirty years to me feels more like thirty minutes. When you're immortal, a century feels like barely anything." Bill shrugged, flicking his finger, taking his move.

Dipper released his knight, pondering over the statement. "That's gotta feel weird, huh?" he said. "Others' lives must have little meaning when it seems that short . . . Wait, did you say thirty years? Did you play chess with the Author before he disappeared?" The boy's eyes widened in anticipation.

"You bet! He was challenging to beat, actually. After all, he is the smartest man I've ever met. We had fun, I made him my puppet, we chatted a lot . . ." Bill was careful to not reveal too much about his old friend as he made his move, releasing his knight as well.

Dipper felt a stab of mixed curiosity and jealousy. I thought I was Bill's only — he abruptly cut that thought off. "That's . . . uh, cool. I knew you met him but I didn't know you guys were so close. What . . . What happened?" He moved a pawn without looking, troubled eyes on the golden triangle before him.

"I . . . can't tell you the whole story, but I will say he disappeared into another dimension," he said softly, moving his pawn to capture Dipper's.

Aw, man . . . Dipper shifted his rook to the side. "Another dimension? Strange," he commented, worrying his bottom lip. "Can you . . . tell me a little? Maybe who he was?"

"Nope! That's for destiny to decide when you find out. I'm sure a day will come in the future when everything will change. You'll find out soon enough. Though . . . Maybe if you can decode a code on my wheel you can get a hint as to who the Author is . . . " Bill muttered the last part, deciding to give the kid ciphers and riddles instead. "How about this, Pine Tree. I'll give you one code, a hint, and that's it. Here." Bill waved his hand and a slip of paper appeared with some gibberish on it. It read: VWDQ LV QRW ZKDW KH VHHPV.