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Mid-Range Game 17: Hic Sunt Leones


Amanuensis

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7 hours ago, Burnt Spaghetti said:

So now mage has confessed eh? Knew it. 

So, nothing Lopen has said so far have changed my suspicions on him. The whole thing with doc just to me says that Lopen had a hand in why it failed. Not to mention he’s just had an evil!Lopen vibe to me for the whole game. I know, Lopen, you've certainly made an effort to be more useful in thread and build more trust but… hey, it's merely my turn to have a good tunnelling :P

Mage, you said you also wished you could duel me. How about this. I duel Lopen. You get your chance to cheer against me, and we let the people decide whether they’d rather trust you, the self confessed elim, and Lopen or if they’d rather trust me, who you have just been trying to convice people to have lynched.  Apparently the only points put forth against me is that i’m lurking….um, tell me something new. I dare you to find a game that i’ve played and not lurked in. I will be thoroughly astounded if you do.

 

So yes, i am going to challenge Lopen.

 

A new percentage list:

100%=Good, 0%=bad

 

Assassin in Burgundy as The Jackal - 50%

Magestar as Lucius - 0%

Jondesu as Quintus - 68%

AliasSheep as Nirgal -48%

I_am_a_Stick as Stick -70%

The Young Bard as Gregor - 60%

TheMightyLopen as Priam - 10%

Burnt Spaghetti as Tia - 100%, but, i’m biased.

Doxis as Morsde - 60%

jefrywlfersn as Jefry - 60%

Can't say I'm surprised by this. It's a waste of a Cycle though, however this Duel turns out. There's not really much I can say in my defense that I haven't already said. Len revelaed to me and El because we weren't Forsworn, because he was betraying the Forsworn. That's not something you'd tell a Forsworn member. Doesn't cover the possibility of me being Rath, but really, I think I've made it quite clear how much I dislike being an eliminator. I'm not Rath, but I don't think there's any way for me to prove that, unless one of the inactives is a Lunes.

7 hours ago, Burnt Spaghetti said:

Remember, confirmed good doesnt mean confirmed right. Just cause doc trusted lopen at the time doesnt mean we should blindly follow along and trust him too. And he only revealed the ways to kill mage after i asked him too. 

Sure ive been sus of mage for a while. But, hes been suggesting me for lynch two cycles in a row now. You think hed really try push for my lynch if i were forsworn too? 

I told you the ways to kill Mage, and then when I was too tired to post them, I asked you to explain the situation in thread.

And now Mage Cheers for me. Yippee.

Doxis, an evil just Cheered for me with an hour left in the Cycle. Seems like a good way to get me lynched if you ask me.

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33 minutes ago, Doxis said:

Hiii, it's me!

The game ue very long to read through,  but just seeing a confirmed evil voting a player makes me know that I should votefor burnt

Jondesu why you vote for someone who  evil has votr for?

He's just trying to throw around suspicion. I'm honestly suspecting neither is Forsworn, but I'd rather keep Lopen than Burnt since Burnt forced the issue by starting the duel. I trust Lopen more right now.

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Of the two alive right now, Lopen is the one who I've been communicating with more in PMs and who I have more reason to trust than Burnt.  Lopen has also been quite honest with me, thus, out of Lopen and Burnt, I'm cheering Lopen.

Edited by AliasSheep
PMS =/= PMs
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Chapter 8 will close on Thursday, October 27th at 8PM EST! Chapter 9 will begin approximately two hours later!

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Chapter 8: The Hearth's Last Light


With the death of every lancer, Tia's rage swelled, her previous submerged memories resurfacing, bringing both pain and clarity. Most recently, witnessing Tenebrum's slaughter and Jefry's resolve had triggered a particularly agonizing scene for her...

Marching. Cheers. Her hand tightened around a razor. The release of a deep breath. Her eyes, opening. Crowds. Crowds all around. Watching. Yelling. Screaming a name. Her name. Her real name. Vesta. A hand on her shoulder. Tensing. Glancing to the side. A face. A familiar face. But. No. She knew not who he was, yet she felt something stir within her. Emotions. Love? He says something. She responds, though she doesn't comprehend the words. They're in a mine. Walls red. Bleak. She's anxious. He reassures her. A deadly calm. Then screams. More red. So much red. Victory... yet disaster. Fear. Terror so potent it suffocates her. An explosion. Incessant ringing. Terrifying silence. And pain... so much pain. A sliver of light. A tiny window for her to peer out of. Head light. Energy depleted. And that face, again, lingering above her. Determined. She's being carried in his arms. And then, a sudden rush. He looks down at her. Fear. Fear turns to horror, then terror, than agony. She falls, then wakes up on someone else's shoulder. They carry her away. She wants to yell, but can't. For she sees the man, life draining from the strong, handsome features of his face. His body goes slack. Sorrow. Crushing sorrow. Then darkness. Absolute darkness.

No matter how hard she tried, "Tia"... Vesta... could not shake this particular memory. Over and over, it played in her mind, each time more detailed, each time leaving her more sad, more angry. How many were dead, now? How many friends? How many loved ones? How many at the hands of Lucius and Priam? Yes. She was certain. It was their fault. Spartacus told her his plans the night he disappeared. She would kill them both for this. She had to avenge him. Avenge the others. She would have vengeance, or else die trying. Lucius, though... killing him would not be easy. It would take all of her resources, vast as they were. But she would see it happen. She was the Hearth Knight, after all. A legend in the modern era. But first, she'd need to deal with Priam. Determination rising, blood-lust surging, she drew her razor and faced the man, hopefully for the last time.

 

Why me? thought Priam as he stared down "Tia" from across the hall. The woman was tall, significantly taller than him, the muscles of her arms rippling as she clenched her fist and the hilt of the razor at her sides, eyes glowing red with what could only be described as murderous intent, strangely juxtaposed against the childish grin spreading beneath her slightly upturned, button-nose. She really was beautiful, in a sort of vicious way, but something about her face just made him angry, though he couldn't quite place why. At least not until she announced her name. Once she did, everything seemed to click.

"I, Vesta au Bellona, challenge you, my goodman, to a duel to the death"

Priam would not hold back.

Drawing a knife from his boot, the lancer sliced open the flesh below his eye, the wound quickly weeping a tear of blood. Before his death, Priam's father did not teach him much, but one thing he did make sure he knew were the ancient blessings from the Conquerings.  Those who recognize it... Quintus, Lucius, Nirgal and eventually even Stick, couldn't help but look at him anew, and inevitably drift behind him. Only Morsde took Vesta's side, not that it would really matter in the end, because as soon as she announced her name, the battle could  only end one way.

"I accept!" Priam yells, throwing his knife at the woman with the deftness of a Violet acrobat. Charging forward, he draws the razor loped around his waste by its hilt and lashes  it outward, not bothering to trigger the chemical reaction that straightens the blade until it's a mere inch away from her gut. To his surprise, Tia doesn't even try to block the knife, her own razor searching his just before it can bite into her flesh. Just as two blades collide, she loosens her razor and allows it to coil around his weapon, then uses the man's momentum and the fulcrum of her arm to lift his hand above his head, exposing his unarmored armpit. It's then he notices she caught - caught! - the knife by the hilt with her teeth. He just barely dances out of the way as she attempts to drive it into his side. Grip tightening on his razor, he pulls the woman closer and knees her in the stomach, forcing her to let go of the knife. As hard as he pulls, he cant seem to wrench his weapon free. Could this woman really be stronger than him? Looking at the gleam of crystal beads on her armor, he finds it hard to believe, though now that he thinks about it... yes, Vesta au Bellona, the legendary Hearth Knight. He'd have recognized her, surely, if not for her dyed hair and dulled mind. Not that it seemed very dull right now...

Suddenly, victory seems less certain.

Nothing left to do, Priam loosens his razor, causing the two blades to become a tangled knot, rendering them both useless. Furious, Vesta rips it free from his grasp and tosses him aside, then leaps on top of him, driving him to the ground. It takes all of Priams discipline to keep his hands guarding his head as she boxes his ears and drives the air out of him with the occasional blow to the stomach. Meanwhile, he weaves his head to avoid the brunt of her punches, eyes searching frantically for an opening through the cracks between his arms.

There!

Planting his feet, Priam thrusts his hips upward, rocketing the Bellona over his head. Attempting to establish a base, Vesta lays her forearms down, but by then he's already shrimped to the side, one of her legs hooked by his foot, while one of his arms wraps around her elbow and the other firmly plants itself against her shoulder. With strength and fluidity, he throws her over onto her side and then jumps on top of her, one knee planted against her neck, pushing her head down and away, while the others sinks into her stomach, driving the air out of her. With a savage twist, he tries to break her arm, but a ripple of electricity forces him to retreat, then try again. But no. No matter how hard he twists, her arm resists. A pulseShield, eh? In that case...

Bursting from the ground, Priam kicks Vesta in the side of the head, then axe stomps on her throat, disorienting her. Flipping backwards, he scoops up the knife before his feet hit the ground, and lunges on top of the woman again. Driving the knife not once, not twice, but three times into her clavicle with enough force to shatter the shield. If he could just get one more blow in, he'd be able to finish her off, but she's already recovered and sweeping his legs out from under him, her legs forming a triangle around his neck, pinning his arm and the knife underneath her weight, and stretching her body out to choke the life out of him.

Unconsciousness creeps towards him, but before he can pass out, Lucius rips Vesta off of Priam. "That's enough!" he yells, throwing the Bellona like a rag doll towards the wall.

She rolls and rises to her feet effortlessly, hands reaching into a pair of pouches hung on each side of her waist. "And so you reveal your true nature! Spartacus was right, wasn't he, Lucius? You've been working for Nero this whole time!"

"And so what if I have? It matters little, now. Haven't you wondered where your father is? Tiberius is already dead! And you, Vesta! You're next!"

"NO!"

Too late, Lucius notices the cylindrical cannon shaped around her fist discharging a bolt of energy straight towards him. It takes him in the chest, sending him flying across the hall and into a wall, though he doesn't feel either impact, nor the ionBlade she drives into his heart.

Above his corpse, Vesta pants, exhausted. Sprawled on the ground nearby, Priam gasps for air. Surrounding them, the last of the remaining lancers watch the Hearth Knight, awestricken by her fury and rage. When she barks for them to move, they leap, none quite willing to challenge the woman. Not after the battle they just witnessed.

At least, not the sane ones.

 

Vesta ran. Not to Tiberius' chambers, but to her little sister, Tarna's. It was still hours before dawn, which meant she should be there, fast asleep, dreaming of unicorns and glitter and new ways to prank the Browns. But if what Lucius said was true... if the Forsworn had already gotten to the ArchGovernor... maybe she was dead, or perhaps captured, too. She needed to know that she was safe. Nothing else mattered in the world. She already lost every other person she loved in the world. She would not lose her too.

When she found her safe, she was thankful. Less so when the Red entered the chamber, a crude, curved blade limp in his hands. She contemplated waking her, telling her to run, but then the man nodded towards the hall, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Careful not to disturb her, she kissed her baby sister's brow and followed the man into the hallway. "Please, if you must kill me, don't let them hurt her. She's just a little girl. Surely you have younger sisters of your own, somewhere?"

Without a word, the man nodded, face grim, motion's deliberately slow. His sisters were all dead now, as was the rest of his family, but at least they inhabited the Vale, now. Golds had no Vale, however. And just because they had to be child killers didn't mean he had to be one too.

Vesta smiled when she died. It was a quick, clean death, and not one entirely without meaning. For a Gold, that was the best they could hope for. Not that they were very hopeful often.

 


Burnt Spaghetti was Vesta au Bellona, a Faithful lancer in the ArchGovernor's Employ. She was defeated in battle by Priam, who was cheered by QuintusLuciusNirgal and Stick, then finished off by the Carved RedVesta's whisperGem contained the following message:

Quote

Obvs, mage and lopen are evil. And theres still the sk around. I have no leads on the sk unless its jondesu, which im thinking it could be. I was a favoured bellona so, i got secret special treatment. I also hit mage with a ionblade and stunfist and had a pulseshield. Yep. Muhahaha

Stick knows all. Trust stick. Please.

Magestar was Lucius au Arcos, a Forsworn lancer secretly working for Imperator Augustus. He was slain by VestaLuciuswhisperGem contained the following message:

Quote

 


Quicksilver's Coffers


 

  • (4) jamField(s)5 Merit: Any device that is used within close proximity of you and another lancer you target is disabled (not destroyed). This can interfere with a Lunes research, but no other House ability.
  • (4) stunFist(s)10 Merit: Stun another lancer, preventing them from taking any further actions this Chapter. If your target is protected by a pulseShield they will not be stunned, although their pulseShield will be destroyed.
  • (4) fleshMask(s)15 Merit: Disguise yourself as another lancer, preventing any action that would be used against you at the cost of potentially becoming the target of an action that would target the lancer you disguise yourself as. Likewise, any further action you take will be observed as being executed by the lancer you impersonate.
  • (3) ghostCloak(s)15 Merit: Stealth yourself, causing any action that targets you to fail. In addition, you can stalk another lancer to discover the targets and actions they make, but you yourself are unable to take any more actions.
  • (1) pulseShield(s), 20 Merit: Passively protects you from a single death (includes duels).
  • (1) ionBlade(s)25 Merit: A generic, energy-based weapon that's perfect for assassinations.

 


Dramatis Personae


  1. Darkness Ascendant as Pierce au Fabii
  2. Daniyah as Dimsari au Thorne
  3. Doctor12 as Spartacus au Thorne
  4. Assassin in Burgundy as The Jackal
  5. Magestar as Lucius au Arcos
  6. Wonko the Sane as Sanis au Julii
  7. Jondesu as Quintus
  8. AliasSheep as Nirgal
  9. I_am_a_Stick as Stick
  10. livinglegend as Rylos au Telemanus
  11. Bugsy6912 as Sevro au Bellona
  12. The_Lady_of_Chaos as Tenebrum au Lune
  13. Elenion as Khazad au Rath
  14. The Young Bard as Gregor
  15. TheMightyLopen as Priam
  16. Burnt Spaghetti as Tia au Bellona
  17. Arraenae as Nyanah au Thorne
  18. Elbereth as Lumina au Julii
  19. Doxis as Morsde
  20. jefrywlfersn as Jefry
Edited by Amanuensis
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Wooow. I'll come back and post more once I digest that, but that was...amazing. Guess someone found a way through Mage's cracks, though it took her down in the process. It's too bad she pushed for Lopen so hard, though, I wonder if she could have survived otherwise (since we don't know who The Carved Red is).

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Darrow is the Carved Red (doesn't spoil much, but if anyone hasn't read the books I don't want to say much more).

I'm only mildly suspicious of Jefry, because he's been quiet, but my suspicions haven't been as good as I hoped so far.

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Jefry as an elim seems pretty likely to me.  Normally a team has a mix of experienced and new players and we haven't lynched any new elims, so that's a point in favour of lynching him.  In addition, they're the only person I remember staying consistently quiet even when accusations were levelled against them.  Finally, since they're basically inactive, I see less harm in lynching them than in lynching an active player who's contributing to discussion.

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Okay, so, now that Burnt is dead, it's reveal time. I'm not Forsworn, but I'm not a Faithful either. My name is Eon au Cylus, and I'm a Neutral lancer. My goal is to have all Bellonas die and for me to survive. I believe Burnt was the last Bellona, so at this point, all I need to do is survive. My role is powerless, basically a Thorne, so from here on out, I'm staying out of things. I figure there's likely only one Forsworn left anyways, so it's not like I'm needed. Maybe I'll get around to doing that RP I said I might do this game. >> Oh, and I very much enjoyed that write-up! I thought it was a pretty epic Duel. :D

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8 hours ago, AliasSheep said:

Jefry as an elim seems pretty likely to me.  Normally a team has a mix of experienced and new players and we haven't lynched any new elims, so that's a point in favour of lynching him.  In addition, they're the only person I remember staying consistently quiet even when accusations were levelled against them.  Finally, since they're basically inactive, I see less harm in lynching them than in lynching an active player who's contributing to discussion.

Ok good. Jefry, I challenge you to a duel. 

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Ok,  time for my reveal. I am Jefry au Thorne.  My house is not as useless as everyone might think though. In exchange for not having an ability, i recieved at the beginning of the game a ghostcloak. I used it last chapter and quess what i saw? Quintus searching for a target and recieving an ionblade. If there are any faithfull Lunes left, this can be verified. My guess is that Quintus recieved the blade and then tried to eliminate me.

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Why would I want to eliminate you, if I was Forsworn, Jefry?  I've been saying for a while I was suspicious of you.  If I had a blade and killed you, I'd clear your name instantly with everyone else and make myself look suspicious.  However, that's an excellent way for you to try to incriminate me by claiming the ghostCloak let you see that.

Assassin, I've been talking to you and I'm convinced you're good, so you get my cheer.

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I dunno, but it'd be less about impersonating me and more about just picking a patsy just in case they were followed. They might have just picked an active player that wasn't Forsworn, not specifically to target me, but just as an insurance policy. (Because if anyone tried to follow them, that would have failed, but unlike the ghostCloak, they can still go make a kill.)

Edited by Jondesu
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So by looking at the list of the remaining players, this is what I've been able to make out:

Faithful:

Stick, Sheep, Jondesu, Assassin (not completely sure about any of them tho)

Forsworn:

jefry (I'm willing to assume he's the last Forsworn..?)

Not so sure:

Bard, Doxis

Neutral:

Lopen

But I have questions. Are there hidden roles still? What about the SK? I'm sure it's one of the players I've put in the Faithful list but..eh

Therefore: Assassin 

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