Long Game 7: The Annealing of Luthadel

[+Quitecontrary]

Quitty calmly waited for the messenger to arrive. She knew who he is, and she hated that she had to wait for him in an empty table looking terribly conspicuous. It was not how she preferred to deal, or even to receive information.

 

If it was up to her, she'd have waited till the dance.

 

But what's done is done. Unfortunately, a man sat down across from her looking like he was about to make conversation. He was the man she saw playing some cards and patrolling the ballroom edges like a hazekiller guard.

 

She turned to her drink and decided to ignore him, for now. The messenger would have to find another way to contact her, or get rid of this fellow. 

[Kasimir]

And jaelre makes twenty. Welcome!

Kassel had considered lingering further in the courtyard, but he'd ended up making his way into the manor and getting positively scowled at by the Seeris woman, whatever her name was. He sighed. He swore he had a good memory for names, but that one was eluding him. Gossip, insults...he pulled out a steel-nibbed glass pen from the pocket of his suit jacket and tried to see if he could discreetly sketch on the tablecloth. Fortunately, his table had just one seat at it. He wasn't feeling in the mood for more gossip or association today. Plenty of time for that later. It was more constructive to see who had bothered to come, and this early into the ball, there wasn't a point in speaking to anyone. Later, he would watch who left; who lingered, and where the connections were beginning to form. If tenuous, they were still stronger connections to draw than the idle chatter and threats that often seemed to happen at house balls.
Begriffsschrift
They really should've sent Lissel, he found himself thinking. If the Heron house ball was a major event, as this seemed to be shaping up to be, then they should've sent the heir rather than himself. He was...disposable. A useful cousin, by all means, but no one particularly important. Just to calm his nerves, he started sketching out the Telian square of opposition on the crisp white tablecloth to pass the time, making sure to ink the pen. Fingar had criticised the Telian square on several counts, particularly on the disposition of the contraries, but Kassel found himself nonetheless interested by the way Telian had set out the neat diagonals within his logic system.
 
The universal quantifier is contradicted on this end by a contradiction of the universal quantifier...while it implies the existential quantifier...he shook his head at that. Fingar had gotten that right, at least. The universal quantifier did not imply the existential; neither did the opposite hold true. For all of that, though, the conversation between two men long dead appealed to him far more than the antics of the other nobles growing restive, waiting for Lord Heron to make an appearance.
 
I really hope, thought Kassel, that he doesn't intend to keep us all waiting too long...

[luckat]

I almost forgot to sign up. I hope I'm not too late. Sorry about coming in at the last-minute.

 

A soft purr sounded from Triss as her mistress stroked her fur. Cat Lekal–everyone called her Cat because of the companions she brought everywhere–looked around from a secluded area of the room. There was quite a gathering at House Heron, full of unfamiliar, and rather unfriendly-looking, faces. She’d never been one for politics, and she never could keep track of who was who and what was what in Luthadel. Everything was part of some plot to the Nobles here, and Cat just did not have the patience for it. She stayed away from the city as much as she could get away with.

She hadn’t been able to refuse the summons here this time. She rather suspected that the only reason she had been sent along by her family was that it was dangerous and she was disposable. They were always trying to think of ways to get rid of her.

Cat whispered to Triss, “It’ll be okay here. Soon this meeting will be over, and we’ll be able to escape away to the country. We won’t have to worry about all of this plotting and planning.” She supposed the words were more to comfort herself than anything else.

[Wyrmhero]

I almost forgot to sign up. I hope I'm not too late. Sorry about coming in at the last-minute.

 

Juuuuust got in, with half an hour left. Good to have you with us.

 

Signups are now closed. PMs being sent out shortly!

Edited July 21, 2014 by Wyrmhero

[Mailliw73]

Seeing how the poor man was shy and reluctant to answer his question, Mailu told him, "Fine. Be that way. Have fun by yourself." He left the man with his steward and wandered around the ballroom. 

conceptualized writing

Mailu saw a man all by himself, sketching on a tablecloth. Pulling a chair from a nearby table, Mailu said, "You really shouldn't do that. It bothers the nobles who went to all the work to set this up. But i won't tell anyone. My name's Mailu, who are you?" Mailu asked the man. 

verwirrt

While he was waiting, he tried to figure out the sketches. They didn't make any sort of sense to him. This man must be a bit eccentric.

 

Sorry, Ren, you took too long. I got bored.?

[Kasimir]

Kassel looked up. Young noble, he thought. Mostly in his twenties, which put them both in the same age-set. He hadn't seen him around, but that didn't mean anything. He wasn't really one for the house balls and parties. For all he knew, Mailu could be frequenting them all. He replied, "Well, I'll just have to cunningly smuggle the tablecloth with me on my way out, won't I?" He capped the pen, slipped it back into his jacket pocket.

 

So much for a quiet start to the evening, he thought. But then, he was at this ball for a reason.

 

"Still, thank you for not telling anyone. I'm Kassel." He didn't bother asking the man's House. He'd find out, sooner or later.

[Mailliw73]

"I guess that's a good idea. Just don't let Lady Heron see or you'll have to endure a lecture," Mailu joked with Kassel. The man wasn't as awkward as Mailu had assumed he would be.

"Nice to meet you, Kassel. So, what brings you to this ball tonight?"

[Wyrmhero]

House Heron may not have been one of the original Nine Houses founded at the start of The Final Empire, but over the last seven hundred years or so it has grown into one of the main powers of Luthadel. By carefully forging links between themselves and the Great Houses, and by buying out, bullying or in extreme cases even marrying the Lesser Houses, the previous Lord Herons have created a web of contracts in almost every area of The Final Empire. It is said that if you follow a trail of money far enough, you'll find a Heron at the end.

 

It is also rumoured that the House has close ties with the Obligators, and this is one place where the rumours are true. Heron's fortune was built on a foundation of work for the Canton of Finance, and it was from these contracts that the House began to flourish. It is for this reason that at least one heir to the House each generation has spent time in the Steel Ministry. Using the contacts gained this way and the financial bedrock they provide to propel themselves into high society, the House then began a long campaign of marrying the Great Houses into them, strengthening the one area they were lacking in – Allomancy – without losing any of their financial or political power.

 

These days, Heron is known as a reliable trading partner, able to procure almost anything through their extensive network of contacts throughout the Empire. They have a hard-won reputation for honest dealings, and remain mostly apolitical. While this may seem naïve, the House is not stupid; they back this up with ruthless retaliation against those who betrays their trust, and even minor transgressions are met with the termination of contracts.

 

Anyone brave or foolish enough to stand against the House will find that their trading opportunities suddenly disappear as contracts vanish before them and a string of attacks leaves their people dead. Houses that hope to branch into the great city find that they will get nowhere without House Heron's backing, and spend years cultivating a relationship before attempting that big leap. While not especially dangerous in terms of Allomancy or subterfuge, no-one wishes to stir their anger and risk the marshalling of all of Luthadel in revenge.

 

In the years after the event, the number of stories about the Heron House Ball would become almost as many as the number of people telling it. The Nobles all spread different stories, and so did the Skaa servants who saw the event when it happened. The tale grew in the telling, as one Informant put it. But whatever they said – whether he set alight to his Keep, or that they all turned aside, or that he ripped up all his House's contracts in his grief, or he found and slew all the Skaa there that very night in a rage – every storyteller agrees on one thing: When Lord Heron entered the Ballroom, it was with his sister's blood on his hands.

 

The Lord of Heron House entered the ballroom about an hour after the last of his guests had made themselves comfortable, or at least attempted to make the other guests uncomfortable. He was not the person they were expecting, however. The Lord Heron they were expecting was an older man, around 45 or so, and each of the guests would have recognised him from their dealings with him. He was also said to be a Smoker, but that was of course impossible to prove by its very nature.

 

This man, Wyrm Heron, was known to some of them there as his son, and indeed the family resemblance was obvious. He was a young man, but appeared older than this, due to the fact that his head was shaven. The tattoos around his eyes proclaimed him to be an Obligator; the red line further showed that he was a member of the Canton of Inquisition.

 

He was injured, that much was clear. He was bandaged around his chest, and while he didn't seem to be particularly pained by this, his slow gait suggested that he was covering it up a bit. In his hands, he carried a bloodied, feminine body. A sword, of all the unlikeliest of weapons used on a Noble, was lodged somewhat within it, and Lord Heron carried the body with care to avoid cutting himself on it.

 

He dropped the corpse of Wilson Heron to the floor unceremoniously, with a lot less grief than one might have expected, considering it was well known that she was his sister. He did not give them time to think about this, however, and looked up at his guests. “My father is dead. I am now Lord Heron.”

 

At once the questions began. Who did it, and how? When did this happen? Why was Wilson Heron dead at his feet as well? Why were they summoned, and indeed, if they were summoned by his father, was there any point in them all being assembled still?

 

About the only question not asked was why he was leaving the Steel Ministry to head his family – One could not be a member of a Canton and openly affiliated with a House, after all. Considering the fact that the only other heir to House Heron was lying there dead at Wyrm's feet, it was obvious that he would need to reclaim his heritage like this. In fact, they were glad of it. Otherwise the House would be dissolved and their own Houses would fall into chaos, not to mention the whole of Luthadel itself would suffer from the instability this would cause.

 

Wyrm held up a hand to silence the assembled, and slowly they quietened, one by one. He lowered his hand, and only then did he start to explain. “The one I have known as my sister all these past years, it appears, was never my sister at all,” he began, in a manner that suggested this was a normal conversation, rather than what it actually was. “You can understand my embarrassment as a member of the Canton of Inquisition to discover that my father had been swindled by a whore calling herself a Noble. I would have killed him myself for the insult to the House, let alone because such a thing would be my job, if someone had not already done that for me.”

 

He put a boot on Wilson's stomach and pressed down to draw the blade out of her body. “I had mentioned to my father that I believed that there were... impurities... within a few of the Houses we know,” he waved the bloodied sword around a little in a haphazard method as he spoke, “That is, within your Houses, and it seems that he mentioned it to my dear little half-sister. This was, perhaps, a foolish move, considering she then killed him to ensure that the rest of her kind didn't get discovered as well. I discovered my father's body this morning, and called for you all here.”

 

“My sister then decided that, as a Pewterarm, she would be able to kill me just before I mentioned this to all of you. That is why I have this sword in my hand,” he explained. He tried snapping his fingers, but his hand was too slick with the still undried blood to make a sound. Instead, he waved one of his Terrismen over, who quickly provided him with a wet towel. He wiped the sword down, and then switched to cleaning his hands. “Unfortunately, she was never really that good at fighting,” he added with a small sneer, “and a decent weapon was all I needed. If she was a Coinshot, things would of course have been rather different.”

 

He called for a Skaa, who approached him with head bowed. “Take her body to the wolfhounds,” he said, before turning back to the still silent crowd. “But in any case, she was just one of the Skaa 'Rebellion', if it can even be called that, amongst our number. And so, that's what I am here to address.”

 

He let his swordarm hang at his side now, as the Skaa took Wilson's body and started dragging it away, a long streak of blood now coating the floor of the ballroom. He made no motion for it to be cleaned up, but instead snapped his fingers again, this time producing the required sound. Another Skaa disappeared out of the room at this command.

“Now, obviously I have no way to force you into helping,” Wyrm said. “I know you probably have better things to do than help me get revenge. But at the same time, I don't think you can afford to let such impurities remain in your Houses.”

 

The Skaa who left the room returned a second later with three others, each of whom carried large stacks of parchment. Another four followed, crossing behind their new House Lord to the great fire, which they set up with logs and a tinderbox. A handful of calcium was added to the flames to produce a rich red colouring, the same as the livery for House Heron and its servants.

 

“You may reject this task if you wish. That is your choice.” He picked up a handful of the contracts and brandished them before him – The Tineyes there could see that the top one was for House Izenry, but sadly his hand placement prevented them from being able to glean any useful information from it. “But be aware that my fire will need a lot of kindling tonight. And I am certain that my colleagues would be interested to hear that you aren't interested in discovering Skaa Allomancers as well.”

 

“I will of course be performing my own investigations at the Canton as well,” he added. “So, having come this far and heard all this, who will answer the call of House Heron?”

 

Day 1 begins! It will end in three days, at 9PM BST (that's British Summer Time, GMT+1) on Thursday. Wilson Heron was a Skaa Pewterarm claiming to belong to House Heron!

 

Player List

House Tuy

Asyr Tuy (a smart guy)

 

House Elariel

Quitania Elariel (QuiteContrary)

 

House Seeris:

Sylina Serris (Theorymaker)

 

House Urbain:

Fien Urbain (Gamma Fiend)

 

Unknown Affiliation:

1. Kassel Erikell (Kasimir)
2. Tonul Venture (Tulir)
3. Alden Izenry (Aonar Faileas)
4. Jain Phantomhive (Lightsworn Panda)
5. Hyrun Tormander (The Only Joe)
6. Ashette Cett (Ashiok)
7. Hadrian Penrod (Araris Valerian)
8. Kaldin Fathvell (Kal Dell)
9. Finch Fain (QuiteLeftInch)
10. Wandrin Nuvidas (New One)
11. Racine Morinthe (twelthrootoftwo)
12. Cadri Raisaal (Shivertongue)
13. Mesist A'lees (Metacognition)
14. Mailu Willen (Mailliw73)
15. Ren Gardre (Renegade)
16. Jae Kastner (jaelre)
17. Cat Lekal (luckat)
18. TelZaan (Kandra NPC)

 

Quick pair of fixes to make: Mistborn will get a metal at the start of Day Cycles, including today. Smokers begin today with their field up, but only surrounding them, to make up for the fact that they can't have done so the 'previous' Night, since Night 0 did not exist.

 

Edit: People should be able to access their Houses now. Turns out I was using the wrong keys

 

Rules Clarifications regarding Informants: Telling the Informant that you visited him is not new information to that Informant, and so it will be counted as useless information and not added to the pool. Likewise, visiting the Informant and saying 'I lied to you' is useless information, even if it contains when that lie was placed, because it means nothing to any player who would get it. 'I lied to you about Subject X' would be though, because it is specific enough that it is useful information to players who receive it - Even if they haven't gotten the complementary information yet.

 

You also cannot go to an Informant and say 'I am not able to burn metal X', or what have you. It would take eight cycles for you to have to give away your actual metal like this, and everyone could do it. So I have decided that 'I can burn metal X' is useful and will get you info, but 'I cannot burn metal X' is not. This will also apply to other 'easy' and almost universally applicable truths, same way as 'There are Y people in my House' is not useful information. This also goes for 'I am not aligned with the Skaa'. However, as with the metal thing, saying 'I am Skaa' is useful truth. These non-specific options can also be used as a [Lie] action, though you will get no information back, even if it is the truth. You can also lie about other players being Skaa if you want - Nothing’s stopping you doing that. Information granted to players from the Informant from the GM can include their Skaa-dom.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Wyrmhero

[Wyrmhero]

Can a mod please lock this thread as happens with other games?

[Aonar]

Seeing the body of the woman dead on the ballroom floor, and the fire Heron’s servants were building, Alden felt dizzy. Charred bones in a mountain of ash… He shivered, briefly overcome by memory. A girl, naught more than twelve, soaked in her own blood…  Alden shook his head, trying to clear it of memories that he’d avoided for far too long.

 

Bloody Luthadel intrigue. I left the Central Dominance to be away from this sort of thing. Skaa killing nobles, nobles slaughtering Skaa, nobles killing each other. Rinse and repeat. For all its apparent beauty, Luthadel was truly one of the darkest and most dangerous places in the Empire. As a scion of one of the most powerful Lesser Houses, he couldn’t stay away entirely, but he tried as hard as he could to stay in the Outer Dominances.

 

If only Resam were here… In the years after his father’s death, Alden and the Terrisman had become good friends. Despite spending most of his time on helping Alden with business deals in the Outer Dominances, the Terrisman still somehow knew Luthadel’s political structure better than anyone. Most of the little Alden knew he’d learned either from reading the letters that he carried, or from Resam.

 

But he couldn’t be expected for days yet. Last Alden had seen the man, he was travelling to the Terris Dominance to set up a business deal for Alden, and visit his family. Alden was on his own, for now anyways.

 

Even if he didn’t know Luthadel’s political climate very well, Alden could still read people. And if the corpse being dragged away was any indication, that was a skill he’d have to put to use very soon…

 

Flashback time! (Never done one before, so I figured I'd give it a try. )

 

Seven years earlier:

 

“It was the Skaa, sir.”

 

Alden struggled to keep calm. “The Skaa?”

 

“Yes.” The steward, Resam, continued in his soft-spoken voice. “After you left, they rebelled against your father. They bound everyone living on the plantation and left them in the Manor to burn. None of your family escaped.”

 

By the Lord Ruler…

 

The Terrisman looked concerned. “I know you probably want some time, sir, but as acting head of house, you need to reach a decision.”

 

Alden looked out over the still-smoldering ruins of the home where he’d grown up. A short time ago, he’d sympathized with the Skaa, even asked his father to be more lenient on them. Now… This was barbaric. It proved them the animals that some of his more close-minded fellows had assumed the Skaa to be. Doing his best to hold back tears, Alden came to his decision.

 

“Put them down. All that had a hand in this, to the very last.” His voiced was cold; far more collected than Alden thought should have been possible.

 

The Terrisman wore a strange expression. “As you wish, m’Lord.”

 

Everyone's content to scheme in their Google Docs, I guess? It's been almost two hours since the write up, and no one's done anything...

Edited July 22, 2014 by AonarFaileas

[Kasimir]

Rust, Kassel thought, all thoughts of responding to his companion fleeing from his head. If Wyrm burned the documents, House Erikell would be rusted. Wyrm had the power here, and he knew it. He wasn't sure he had the power or the authority to make such a deal, but all the same, he had to. He stood up, almost-unconsciously adjusting his suit jacket. "We will, Lord Heron," he said, with as much dignity as he could summon, inclining his head in a gesture of respect to the newest Lord of House Heron. "House Erikell heeds your call. We will find the skaa among us. I assume we are to deliver them to the Steel Ministry?"
 
His uncle was going to kill him, when he heard. But he'd probably stay his hand when he heard that Wyrm was threatening to destroy their contracts.
 
The skaa...he kept his eyes from the streak of blood on the ballroom floor. He'd heard of Wilson Heron, heir to the House. He'd seen her at a few parties; never quite spoken. To know that there were skaa in their midst was sobering; to know that they'd killed a House Lord, much less of a House as established and powerful as House Heron was yet another thing altogether. How many of them are there? Kassel wondered. For some reason, he saw nothing, but a sea of blood stretching out in the days ahead of them.
 
It was a frightening thought.
 
I would hope, Aonar, that we're not all scheming in our Google Docs. Such a strategy served the 17S far too well in MR1, and worked to the detriment of all others. In the same way: we probably have no reason to trust each other (and this goes to everyone). But I would make an early recommendation not to sit tight in those docs and say nothing here. The skaa can kill. Their night kill is more lethal than the mere injury of a Coinshot. They have a large informational advantage over us because they have a presence in two docs: a House doc, and their skaa doc.
 
Basically, all I just want to say, because it's really late and I need sleep, is that we need discussion if we're going to be able to find them, so please, let's not have that same situation shape up again. I'd like to link everyone to Won't Get Fooled Again by The Who but it's a forgone conclusion that some fooling will be done, so...

[Metacognition]

Mesist shook his head to clear his mind and then walked up to the new Lord Heron. As he approached, he managed a smile and patted the new Lord on the back. 

 

"Not to worry, Wyrmie; I highly doubt that these fine, upstanding citizens would even think about running from such a noble cause!

"...Well, that one might," he added as he pointed in Fien's direction. "But I'm sure the rest of us will be more than accommodating."

[Ashiok]

I can't access my doc still...

[Left]

Fain, slowly stood and strutted around for a while before saying, "I have doubts about that one called Alden"

Edited July 21, 2014 by QuiteLeftInch

[Ashiok]

"Fain!? Padan Fain!? Mashadar! Get him!" Ashette shouted, finally looking up from her book.

"He will corrupt us all!"

[Mailliw73]

Thats what I was thinking too, Ash.

Mailu saw Kassel's mouth open to reply to his question, when Wyrm Heron burst in and made a spectacle. Skaa? In rebellion? They were smart enough for that? Mailu had always thought they were as dumb as horsekind or, in special cases, as dumb as trees. Standing up, Mailu proclaimed, "Lord Heron, my House may not be strong, but I pledge our full efforts in searching out these awful, stupid beasts and slaughtering them once and for all." He wanted to gain some sort of control and an air of prestige by being one of the first to pledge his help. Mailu loved control.

I can't accurately gauge any of the nobility yet, so I will hold off on a vote, but I will vote by tomorrow. The first day voting, whether or not a Bela scenario happens, usually gives some info. I've decided that after trying both sides. Game two we tried to block the vote and game 4 I was all for killing someone, and while the second put me under a lot of suspicion, it gave us the most information.

[Sart]

Houston we have a problem. You sent me a link to the Wrong House doc! I have access to a Minor House doc, instead of my house. Even worse, I have learned extremely sensitive information from that doc. I'm being vague on purpose, but suffice to say this shouldn't have happened. What should I do?

[Mailliw73]

Asyr, I'd say just not to look at it any more and to wait till Wyrm wakes up in the morning to fix it.

[twelfthrootoftwo]

Racine pointed Kasha forward, and the crowd around the new Lord Heron parted to let them through. That was another advantage of the wheelchair; people were always willing to move out of the way.

At the young lady's side, Racine leaned forward, squinting. She didn't recognise the face. Hardly surprising - the young lady would have only just arrived on the noble scene as Racine had been leaving, if she'd been there at all.

"Such a shame," she said, looking up. "If only we solved our problems with words, rather than swords." And assassins, too, though she wouldn't mention that. Looking to Lord Heron, she smiled. "Although, this is exactly what we are here to do, is it not? Debate, discuss, and find those who would do us harm."

"Now, I've heard some accusations flying around. Mesist I understand -" she'd observed the argument between him and Urbain "- but Master Fain, could you perhaps articulate your doubts of Master Izenry? I'm sure we would all be most interested to hear your reasons. Or were your actions merely intended to 'stir the pot'?"

She smiled at the young man she had addressed. She'd had a good feeling about this party, and now she was proven right.

I'm with Kas here; scheming in our docs is only going to help the skaa. If we think as houses, rather than nobles vs skaa, we're in a lot of trouble.

[Lightsworn Panda]

It looked at the dead body from its vantage point, enjoying the reek of death and pain that permeated the air. Best of all, however, was the delightful spice of paranoia and distrust that made every breath so enjoyable. It sighed as quietly as it could in satisfaction. It was so nice to be embroiled in such mysteries.

 

It suddenly lurched into the air, grasped by a massive hand that had seemingly come from the heavens. A few moments later, it was inside a dark and surprising warm and comfortable cavern made of cloth. Regrettably, its current form was rather puny.

 

I wonder who "it" is.   

[Tulir]

Tonul put down is book as Wyrm Heron burst into the ballroom.  Interesting, Tonul thought as he watched the situation play out.  Skaa really are capable of passing as us.  There had been rumors of this previously, but it was nice to have some conclusive proof of the matter.  He made is way done to the main area, after Wyrm made his speech, and was astonished when someone immediately accused a House Lord

"Excuse me," Tonul said as he walked over to the accuser, "But did you just accuse a House Lord of being a Skaa?!  Despite the matter of their increased intelligence, as we found out here, the idea that one could masquerade as a House Lord is inconceivable! So, why would you accuse Fien Urbain?"

 

Just to be clear, this is a vote for Mesist, however I already said that I didn't know who he was, so here is the clarification.

Edit: Huh, first time problems with the color editor

Edited July 22, 2014 by Tulir

[Gamma Fiend]

Fien watched on in stunned silence as the blood-covered, newly appointed, Lord Heron waded through the ballroom carrying the corpse of his sister, and openly declared that there was an infestation of Skaa plaguing the Nobles.
 

At least people won't be talking about my hideous orange shirt, anymore, Fien sighed with a little bit of relief, but feeling a whole new level of pressure. As Head of his House, he had always been one to draw more enemies than most others. He wasn't sure if it was jealousy of his good looks, envy of his family's wealth and influence, or maybe it was just the result of everybody's obvious intimidation at having to deal with him. Either way, Fien Urbain was not known for having many friends, which was a dangerous position to be in for somebody so young and powerful.

 

Of course, it took little to no time at all before he had heard his name being tossed out as a possible suspect. And who else would it be, besides that good-for-nothing, upjump of a Southern "noble". Barely better than skaa, Fien had always considered them.

 

"I do find it curious as to why you would immediately accost me, Mesist," Fien leveled at the horse-breeder. "But I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt of letting past animosities between us cloud your judgement. In fact, I'd almost retaliate by accusing you of being a skaa-in-hiding, yourself, but let's face it. You're not clever enough to pull that one off. I would like to know why Fain decided to suddenly accuse Alden. I'm not saying they're skaa, I'm just wondering as to their reasoning."

With his sudden, and quite uncharacteristic outburst, Fien sat back down and reached for his wine glass. He may have hated politics, but the thought of his family falling out of power was even more unbearable. Or even worse, being ran by a Skaa! No, he would do the best he could while he was here. He definitely wasn't going to let people list Mesist or Cadri strut around, sucking up to Lord Heron and the Obligators like that. Not while House Urbain had something to say about it!

I definitely agree that we should really have as much open discussion in the thread as possible. This really does look like it might play out similarly to MR1, with the 17S taking advantage of people's caution and lack of communication. We rely too heavily on verification roles and other, secret plannings to accomplish rooting out the 'Mafia' Teams in these games. While this one is obviously different, with the House Factions, and Docs, we can still use the thread to voice any suspicions or get people to speak up and defend themselves, while we can then go to our respective Docs and look for inconsistencies.  (I'll assume that's why you threw your vote against me so early, Meta, with the handy excuse of it being RP)

 

I obviously have no clue as to who may or may not be Skaa yet, so any votes right now aren't based off of actual suspicion, just as a way to promote discussion. There's nothing wrong with voting for people, Fain, just as long as we're giving valid and solid reasons behind the votes. We will of course need to eventually dedicate ourselves to a lynching, to gain some sort of information, but I really hope it doesn't go until the last minute where a horse can just come in and randomly tip it one way or another. XD

 

Edit: colored my vote. Edit 2: Retracted my vote

Edited July 22, 2014 by Gamma Fiend

[Aonar]

I must agree with Gamma here. We cannot afford to waste our time in our House Docs. We need to start doing things in thread. I would love to know why Fain voted for me (obviously ), but it is not yet so late in the day that I feel I should cast a vote in his direction. However, anyone who is here but not talking should start. Here's a List of everyone who has not posted so far:

 

Joe

Araris

Kal Dell

Contrary

Newan

Sylinia

Shiv

Ren

Jae

Lukat

 

I know not everyone on this List has read the write-up yet, but they should post once they have. Silence helps no one but the Skaa. 

 

Oh, and for the sake of completeness, here's a vote List:

 

Fien (0): Mesist
Alden (0): Finch
Mesist (1): Tonul, Cadri
Finch (0): Fien

Sylinia (0): Mailu

Ashette (2): Ashette, Fien

Jain (2): Hyrun, Hadrian

Kalden (1): Tonul

Hadrian (0): Kassel

Mailu (1): Sylinia

Jae (1): Mailu

Cadri (0): Racine

Wandrin (1): Lukat

Edited July 23, 2014 by AonarFaileas

[Mailliw73]

To provoke discussion, I'm going to vote for Sylinia Seeris. She has been on and, if you check her status updates, has gotten access to her house doc. I'm suspicious to as why she has that and I'm assuming has read this and hasn't posted anything. Even RP.

[Wyrmhero]

Houston we have a problem. You sent me a link to the Wrong House doc! I have access to a Minor House doc, instead of my house. Even worse, I have learned extremely sensitive information from that doc. I'm being vague on purpose, but suffice to say this shouldn't have happened. What should I do?

 

I apologise for getting that wrong, I was terrified of accidentally cross-posting, and that's you there and I accidentally sent someone the (thankfully locked and unaccessible) Master Spreadsheet... I'm not sure how to play this, to be honest, but don't mention that information at all, and if you can, try not to act on it if possible.

 

Okay, so smart is being moved to the House that he accidentally saw, since he never got access to his actual House. He will be made Lord of House Tuy, as before, and Quitania Elariel is now Lady of House Elariel. House Powers will be reshuffled and dealt out again to the four Great Houses (or two Great, and two Semi-Great). The day will be extended by 24 hours to allow Tuy and Elariel to readjust and compensate for this.

 

I thank smart for his honesty and apologise for the problems and the delay. I managed to get some of them sorted last night on my phone in bed, but I'm really glad I woke up early today!

 

Oh, while I remember, I made a mixup with Iron as well, so I apologise to the Lurchers out there. I can't edit the original post now, but the rules should be 'Protects a player from an attack each night, reducing its severity. Cannot target the same player twice in a row.'

 

Now, some good, old-fashioned clarifications. I almost missed these...

• Kandra cannot be lynched, in this set-up, as they are NPCs. They cannot defend themselves, and you only know they exist. You don't know what they look like, or anything like that. Just that a House has one under its employ. I can also confirm that there is only one Kandra.
• All House Powers are a Night Cycle action. There are no exceptions. Even the Loyal Terrisman one can be done after the lynch, during the Night Cycle. The Blanket Sooth power will hit someone the next day if they are a Soother/Rioter.
• Iron cannot target the same person twice in two consecutive Cycles. Steel, however, can. This is to balance the fact that there are twice as many physically defensive Roles for players to have as physically offensive.

Right... That all seems to be sorted out. Time for a cup of tea.

Edited July 22, 2014 by Wyrmhero