StrikerEZ Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 @little wilson We can’t both be the Spy, and my ID clearly says I’m the real Spy. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrae Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 1 hour ago, Elbereth said: Well. It depends on how clever soulforged!Joon is, then. How much does he know about Ellira? She’s got a sharp hairpin and sneaks out each night briefly, but is that enough for him to realize she’s an assassin and not just a flirty distractible girl? Good question. The more a Forgery deviates from the original, the less likely it is to stick... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeTess Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Tssk, no real Scots... I mean, spy has their ID say so. It should look more like this: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STINK Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 I present to you a short comic showing how things really went down, despite these many claims going on. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrikerEZ Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Sorry, I must’ve sent the wrong picture last time. Here’s my real ID. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little wilson Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Right. I apologize. Thank you for correcting me. This is my real ID. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STINK Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Guys I think you're really running with this spy ID joke thing here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvron Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 6 hours ago, little wilson said: Oh, also well done. And sorry, Alv. I mean, I'm not really sorry because I was right and you guys killed me anyway (really, a cycle 2 death in my first game back? What's up with that?!), but maybe I'm a little sorry about giving Asterion a panic attack. Maybe. I'm not sorry at all I died when I did. Whenever I RP a character I try to get into their head so I can feel what they feel. Asterion was not in a good place. There were several times where I had to stop typing his RP and go outside for a breath of fresh air because I got too deep into his mind. I was happy to be lynched. It was my idea to kill you. You were a threat and threats need to be removed. I don't care about keeping talkative or 'experienced' players alive so I can hide among them. I would rather keep new players alive so they get experience or the not as much talkative / analyzing players so they can flourish without others overshadowing them. 3 hours ago, STINK said: I present to you a short comic showing how things really went down, despite these many claims going on. Clearly that isn't me eating those pancakes. After all, everyone knows Waffles are superior. Guys, guys. It's very clear who the spy is. It's me! Think about it. I knew the ids of all the Discovery members before they knew mine and I even had Rae pegged as the EO the same cycle she turned. But really, Stink, Wilson or Itiah is our best bet. Wilson seems too obvious but maybe that's what she wants. Striker and Venture are possibilities but I discounted them. Striker because while I can see it, there's just not enough to go on one way or another. Venture I doubt because he could've easily voted for me on D1 when everyone thought I was tied in the lynch with Striker. If I was a betting person, and I am, I would say Itiah is the spy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STINK Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 1 minute ago, Alvron said: Clearly that isn't me eating those pancakes. After all, everyone knows Waffles are superior. The pancakes are the superior giving me the mission, and it started out as a stack of documents but became pancakes once I started putting mouse to paint. 2 minutes ago, Alvron said: But really, Stink, Wilson or Itiah is our best bet. Also it's kinda annoying that you say this then go in further on wilson and itiah but not me. Feeling kinda scorned tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvron Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Just now, STINK said: Also it's kinda annoying that you say this then go in further on wilson and itiah but not me. Feeling kinda scorned tbh If it makes you feel better, the Gods of Luck and Chance are saying you are the Spy. I'm just ignoring them for now and going with my gut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little wilson Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 4 minutes ago, Alvron said: It was my idea to kill you. You were a threat and threats need to be removed. I don't care about keeping talkative or 'experienced' players alive so I can hide among them. I would rather keep new players alive so they get experience or the not as much talkative / analyzing players so they can flourish without others overshadowing them. My issue with it actually has nothing to do with keeping talkative or experienced players alive or that I'm shocked I was killed so you guys had less to hide behind. At one point in time, specifically when I was active, we kind of let players who'd been regular and gone inactive for a while (say...oh, I don't know, a year and a half?) survive until around mid-game at least for their first game back, treating them mildly like new players. This was my first QF and I didn't even have time to adjust to the new format let alone start enjoying my first game back in a year and a half before I was killed, and let me tell you: I have basically no desire to ever play another SE game again knowing that you all were so intent on my death so early in my first game back. If you guys don't want me to play, why should I want to rejoin SE as a player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrae Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 I don't think Itiah is the spy. Mostly because of wrong things in their post here: Quote Hello! While I do agree that the chances of me being an elim are the same as they were before, I can understand Striker’s point of view, and I feel like Elb’s immediate vote on them comes off as a little suspicious. However, it could just be another attempt at starting a lynch discussion (which has worked, so good job, I guess ), which they were doing before as well. Bard’s vote on Stink... I can believe that it was just observing slight differences in their language, and not something else. Or maybe I’m just overly trusting and suck at analysis Elandera seems to have a similar gut feeling on Elb as I do, or maybe she’s trying to distance herself by stating slight suspicion and then saying it’s most likely NAI. Rae and Elb could also be an elim team (Or is this just me being paranoid, I wonder)? She disagrees about the vote on Striker, and then goes back to vote on him. However, this is due to what she sees as overreacting on Striker’s part, which I have to admit I agree with. Striker’s statement in response also makes sense (But is anything really overthinking in SE? ), and his comments about being fine to be lynched are something I perceive to be the mark of someone who doesn’t have anything to hide. However, I am aware of elims pulling tactics like this, but I don’t think Striker is doing this so early on. Remember, this is the person who voted to lynch himself when he was the spy so the village wouldn’t lose. I don’t think he would be open to be lynched on the first cycle if he had an elim team he had a responsibility to. So, my vote goes to Elbereth for the quick vote on Striker for saying something I can see as an understandable thing to say, and because Elandera also has gut feeling on them (and you know what they, two gut feelings are better than one ). And even if I’m wrong, hopefully this post will be more informative in the future as the game goes on and alignments are revealed. At this time, I was undeclared as the EO. Also, El was village. The spy would also know that Elandera is an elim, and it just seems off for the spy to use an elim's gut read to vote on a villager? Could be misdirection, but it implies trust in Elandera that a spy wouldn't have. Stink is still a maybe? He's 2/3 for votes on elims, which is pretty good. I also kind of felt like Stink was lying low this game more than usual -- maybe he was making a conscious effort to survive? Warning: I haven't played with Stink in a long time so take that with a grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnt Spaghetti Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 2 hours ago, little wilson said: My issue with it actually has nothing to do with keeping talkative or experienced players alive or that I'm shocked I was killed so you guys had less to hide behind. At one point in time, specifically when I was active, we kind of let players who'd been regular and gone inactive for a while (say...oh, I don't know, a year and a half?) survive until around mid-game at least for their first game back, treating them mildly like new players. This was my first QF and I didn't even have time to adjust to the new format let alone start enjoying my first game back in a year and a half before I was killed, and let me tell you: I have basically no desire to ever play another SE game again knowing that you all were so intent on my death so early in my first game back. If you guys don't want me to play, why should I want to rejoin SE as a player? To be fair wilson, if you call this cycle 6, then you've participated in 3 cycles, which is half the game. Quick games are very quick! If this were a midrange or long game, I'd have wanted you to survive a lot longer than 2 cycles for sure. And even though you were only alive two cycles, you did an amazing job of reading whos evil and whos not and was really refreshing to see you in thread again. I really do hope to see you ingame again <3 Okay so here are my thoughts: 1. Wilson: right out of the gate she was suspicious of not only one, but two of us eliminators. That being said, i consider her a legendary tier player- it would not be out of character for her to simply be that right so quickly. Additionally if she was the spy i think shed have put attention on a villager as well and not have come out and talked about only elims that quickly. Although perhaps her goal was to remove alv then be stealthy after but i don't think that is the case. So i think she was just being a very good player, and not the spy. 2- stink was the only villager to ever vote for me. While elandera and alvs names were getting thrown around mine never was mentioned until stink. Who then died. 3- following on to that i feel like the spy may have died fairly early on- again basing this off of the fact that no one was coming after me. There was definitely no spy in the last 6 players. Elanderas name got thrown around a lot, and this may have been the result of the spy handler so id say the spy would be someone who at least mentioned elandera, and that may being agreeing with someone elses view on them -not necessarily initiating the discussion them If its not stink then its definitely an early death person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrae Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 Stink. This will probably be my vote for the cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elandera Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 I'm willing to vote on Stink, as it seems a pretty viable option. That might change once I get the chance to review the past turns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrikerEZ Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 @Arraenae @Elandera @Alvron @Burnt Spaghetti What are you guys doing? Why are you voting on someone who is so obviously not the Spy? Did you not see my clearly real ID???? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnt Spaghetti Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, StrikerEZ said: @Arraenae @Elandera @Alvron @Burnt Spaghetti What are you guys doing? Why are you voting on someone who is so obviously not the Spy? Did you not see my clearly real ID???? Oh my appologies! Striker ------ On a serious note, I will be going with Stink because i don't have any better ideas Edited October 24, 2019 by Burnt Spaghetti actually voting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasimir Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 I'm logging a vote from @Alvron in the Eliminator Dead Doc, due to his Internet failing him. Alvron voted for Itiah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STINK Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 Well I'm glad to see there was a stalwart defence while I was asleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Bard Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 1 minute ago, STINK said: Well I'm glad to see there was a stalwart defence while I was asleep Clearly, they got it right, and we're all gobsmacked into submission... No need to change your votes now, Elims - keep it right where it is, please, for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasimir Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 The cycle is closed! Stay tuned to see who gets to brag! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasimir Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) Aftermath Aphelion Kavela drifted through the small, self-contained world of the Frozen Moon like a ghost. Conversation was a constant murmur about her ears, but she could not quite bring herself to intrude. She hesitated, a hand going to the unmarked skin of her throat. Nothing at all. How was this possible? Things had seemed eerily familiar before: Asterion running out into the dark, Asterion’s body turning up in the pavillion, and she couldn’t remember seeing Joon or Wai ZhierSen, and yet they were here all the same, their presence indubitable. She brushed past a MaiPon server, and for a moment, saw him carrying both a large metallic sword balanced on a shoulder as if it weighed no more than a feather, and a repeating crossbow in the other hand. It felt so real. All of it. The hunger and the thirst. The Strikers waiting for them outside, in the dark. The terror, the long, slow death. Joon pressing the strangler’s wire into her throat, leaning into the movement with practised ease. His hands had brushed past her at some point, and they were callused and Kavela could not remember when he’d acquired those calluses. They should be soft, she found herself thinking. A spoiled pretty-boy’s hands. She could still leave now, couldn’t she? She flung open the door and strode out into the courtyard, with the peach tree. She’d climbed it, days ago. It felt like it had been forever. The MaiPon man was there, still, scratching at the fallen leaves with his broom. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Kavela saw him, curled up on the ground, blood oozing from a crossbow bolt that had punctured his thigh. Could she do this? Could any of them be saved? Impulsively, Kavela said, “Gamman’s coming. You must leave, get out of here, go somewhere safe.” “I know,” said Shi KwaiRan. ㄢㄋㄌ Ableah watched as Arbiter Urskevan left, ostensibly to search for more of the Frozen Moon’s excellent buns, and waited. No one noticed as first Marzia, then Somi, and then finally, Asterion himself, made various excuses and left after the arbiter of the Glory Faction. He felt his hands clench into fists by his side. No. He had no love for the Glory Faction, not when Arbiter Urskevan had championed mercilessly hunting Ableah Edr and his fellow scholars of the Discovery Faction down, five years ago in the Succession Riots. Meeting Asterion again had been a shock, the sudden jolt of thin ice giving way beneath his feet. He thought they were all dead. The Strikers had left him for dead, shooting him full of crossbow bolts after he’d killed enough of them with his halberd. Discord had been a good weapon, if chatty. Ableah wondered what had happened to it now. Without particularly appearing to do so, Ableah trailed the hidden members of the Discovery Faction, scooping up an empty platter so he looked appropriately busy. He might have felt something, once: relief, or a sense of kinship, almost. He owed Discovery nothing now. They had not come for him when he lay among the dead, and he would not come to heel now. Ableah reached for the repeating crossbow hidden within his armoured jacket, and felt the cracks in his soul and mind widen, just a little. ㄢㄋㄌ “Surrender in the name of the Emperor!” Joon Banyung smiled, and reached for his bowl of powdered tea. He’d asked for it to be shaken, not stirred, so there was a pleasant layer of froth at the very top of the drink. Actions and consequences, or if you preferred: action, and then reaction. It was eminently foreseeable that Gamman might lash out at those who had gathered to plot against him. There were several questions to be asked: how Gamman had realised this, and what Gamman’s plans were, and how the Discovery Faction had been involved in the first place. When Joon had seen the recall phrase scrawled on a tiny slip of rice paper and concealed in a jar of tea leaves, he had barely believed it. Had eaten the paper, out of sheer force of habit, even as he tried to work out the situation. It had been five years. He was certain they’d forgotten about him. Evidently, not any more. Ellira shivered. She was good, Joon Banyung thought, even as she let him put his arm around her to comfort her. She was slight, but packed with wiry muscle, and he thought he felt at least three knives and a slender garotte hidden about on her. Then there was that hairpin, which was very likely poisoned. He thought he noticed that the ornamental fan tucked into her sash was a little too heavy, which pointed to steel ribbing, perhaps. Even more concealed blades. That was part of the fun, wasn’t it? Flirting with danger. It had been five years. Joon Banyung deserved to live a little. He raised his tea bowl in an ironic salute to Gamman, and drank deep. ㄢㄋㄌ It began with a Striker’s shouted command in the cool night air. Ellira shivered, allowed her expression to show fear, and blinked until her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to die,” she whispered, rolling her eyes inwardly as Joon whispered sweet nothings to her. She was trying to work out what she should do next. Strikers meant a picket line with crossbows, and Ellira could take a Striker in a fight but she didn’t fancy her chances against several bolts from a repeating crossbow. Watch and report, her Master had told her. She did not know if this was what Arbiter Raishin had in mind. For all Arbiter Raishin was of the Reform Faction and Ellira worked for him, managing one or two agents in the Reform Faction’s eyes and ears, he had started putting her out into the field more and more. Ellira didn’t mind. There was a sharp mind beneath the soft-spoken exterior, and for all people spoke disparagingly of Arbiter Raishin, Ellira simply laughed. They were both playing a role, and if others could not see that, then they were fools. She did not know what game Raishin played. It did not matter to her. Last week, she’d killed a soybean merchant on his orders. The week before that, she’d infiltrated a local gang leader’s home and stolen his ledger. That kill had been hers, because it amused her. She’d forced his head down beneath the surface as they shared a heated bath with fragrant oils. There was still a whiff of jasmine on her wrists, and she had felt it, the moment he stopped thrashing about and became dead weight in the water. He hadn’t expected her to be so strong. Most men did not, especially if you’d honed smiles and tears into weapons. Raishin, at least, allowed her the occasional diversion. He did not brook disobedience but he enjoyed giving assets the creativity to interpret and follow his orders as he saw fit, and Ellira in turn would have chafed at a tight leash. She wanted, so badly, to lead Joon on a merry chase. He thought she was simple, falling for pretty words and a lovely smile, but Ellira hadn’t gotten to where she was by fluttering her lashes and falling hard the moment a pretty boy turned on the charm. Two could play at this game, but her orders were clear: watch and report. Joon would live. For now. Somi ignored the jar of dream honey and focused on the third object on the shelf: a jar of dried tea leaves. The scrawled label indicated it was Duck Vomit Oolong, aged for at least ten years. Somi raised an eyebrow. “Duck Vomit?” she wondered aloud, both impressed and taken aback. She scrabbled through the jar of tea leaves until she found a tiny slip of rice paper, which she unfolded. The message had been written in an unfamiliar hand, and displayed one or two smudges and blotches, as though the writer was not well-versed in the codes commonly employed by the agents of the Discovery Faction. Cover away, it read. Gamman spy here, which Somi supposed meant that their cover had been blown. The writer had probably swapped the code words around on accident. Kan had made no mention of a spy, though the MaiPon who had contacted them had once worked in such a capacity for the Reform Faction. But she trusted Kan. It was fair to say they all did. It was Shuos KanSeun who had brought the Discovery Faction to prominence during his brief tenure as arbiter. It was Shuos KanSeun who had led to that first fall from grace, the beginning of the gradual decline that had become an abrupt descent during the Succession Riots, five years ago. Even in failure, he was still the paragon; the proof that even the smallest of Factions could produce greatness. A chance to strike at Gamman. She thought of Urskevan. Had they thrown away this chance by leaving him to die? But how could they continue as though nothing had happened while Urskevan plotted with the conspirators? I don’t care if we’re doing Gamman’s dirty work for him, Marzia had said, slipping a short, heavy cosh into her fist. He hunted us down like animals during the Succession Riots. I’m not keeping my head down and pretending that everything’s alright. If Gamman had a spy here, though, that changed everything. The spy wouldn’t be able to reveal their identity, for fear of the conspirators turning on them. But Gamman had no love for the Discovery Faction. They were in danger as long as the spy lived. “We need to find the spy,” Marzia said, now. “We do,” agreed Somi. Asterion merely nodded. He had not spoken, since the vicious attack that had almost cost him his life, five years ago. There were several candidates for the spy. Somi scanned the crowded room of the teahouse, letting her gaze flick from person to person without particularly focusing on any one of them. There were a few outlanders who might have been coaxed into spying for Gamman—the man who named himself Stefan Trent Isle Nathan Kilkreath was one of them. There was the arbiter, Yesterday Jones. Marzia dismissed her. “She’s an arbiter,” Marzia said. “Gamman probably learns more from what she says to her fellow arbiters than anything else. She can’t be our spy.” There was the quiet and unremarkable Itiah, sitting at a corner of the table, nursing a cup of hot tea and ignoring the pastries. Asterion indicated him. Perhaps there was something more; some hidden depths to the man that were yet to be revealed. Somi considered, briefly, the legendary Wai ZhierSen, who had been seen on a few tasks for the Glory Faction before she’d vanished, presumed dead, after the incident with the glitter and the syrup and the sweetbreads. There was a story there, but Asterion would not tell it to her, and so she’d had to put it all together. Yes, Wai ZhierSen fit the profile of the spy perfectly, but Somi could not see one such as her condescending to work for Gamman. It was probably one of the others. Wasn’t it? “I bet it’s Kilkreath,” Joon murmured. He had slipped away from the girl, at long last, and was currently lounging insouciantly on the chair. “He just seems like the sort.” But when eventually they ambushed Kilkreath with a cosh to the temple and searched him, they found nothing, only a hank of twine, a ball of dried noodles, and half a bottle of rice wine. If there was a spy, they had slipped through their grasp. “We don’t have time for this,” Marzia said, at last. More bravado than deliberate course of action. “We carry on with the plan.” Somi rubbed the carved duck lucky charm in her pocket and hoped this lapse would not come back to haunt them. ㄢㄋㄌ Some of the conspirators surrendered, walking shame-facedly out of the Frozen Moon, hands held high up. They were arrested by the waiting Strikers, and taken away from everyone’s sight. The rest of the conspirators, however, argued about the next course of action. “Gamman is not known for his mercy,” Yesterday “Yes” Jones said, “And we are ill-served by giving in to him.” As an arbiter of the Heritage Faction, her words carried some measure of weight, and put some steel into the conspirators backs. Shuos KanSeun laughed. “Of course Gamman is not known for his mercy,” he said, shaking his head. “He won the Rose Throne through cunning and subterfuge and he is terrified that the day he falls behind will be the day he is deposed by someone more ambitious. Someone like Arbiter Frava, perhaps. Or Arbiter Urskevan. It has always surprised me that Gamman let them live, when he first seized power.” “You said Gamman needed to be stopped!” Roashina screamed back at him. “Of course he does,” Kan said, with a raised eyebrow. “Did you really think we would get away scot-free in the process? One does not hunt a tiger and expect all the hunters to return home safe and sound. And make no mistake about that: Gamman has the soul of a tiger.” In the end, the conspirators held firm. They would not surrender. “In fact,” DeTess murmured, “Murdering a group of peaceful citizens, among whom are the arbiters of the Glory and Heritage—and Discovery Factions,” she added, with a reluctant nod to Kan, “Might provoke popular backlash. Even Gamman can’t risk that. He will need to wait.” “Former arbiter, I’m afraid,” Kan said, with a graceful bow. “A pleasure, Arbiter DeTess. History has come and gone, and left me behind in its wake, I’m afraid.” “You are not in your grave yet, Shuos,” DeTess replied. “And neither are we. We will look for opportunities and negotiate with the Strikers. To kill so many arbiters from Factions not his own would provoke an uproar within the Theatre of Address.” ㄢㄋㄌ Days of deprivation and hunger followed. Kavela kept hold of her orange, stolen all that while ago from the marketplace, sucking at each slice for just a trickle of sweet moisture. A few more broke, and surrendered. Lawrence Scholdei, arbiter of the Glory Faction, caused a stir as he surrendered and was pinned to the door of the teahouse by a flurry of crossbow bolts. Suddenly, the Strikers weren’t so peaceful any longer. They were ready to kill. The well was poisoned, and then they began to ration their water. Shuos KanSeun was nowhere to be seen. Kavela did not remark on that. And there was Itiah, brave Itiah, crossing the picket lines to bring back water. He lay sprawled in the dust, precious water trickling out of his pocket, his eyes burned out. How he had died, Kavela could not say. She only knew he had died terribly, and wished he had said something—anything at all. The debates about whether to surrender continued. Herat lay in a corner, unresponsive, her eyes glazed over and muttering on occasion. Her skin was flushed with fever, and Kavela could not bring herself to give Herat any of their precious water. She was done for, she told herself, one way or another. Woundrot was setting in, for all they’d tended to the wounds after Kan had removed the crossbow bolts lodged in Herat’s thigh. And then Herat died, and Kavela felt a shred of guilt, deep inside. She closed Herat’s staring eyes. At least Herat was no longer suffering. Kavela was far too tired, far too dehydrated, to cry. ㄢㄋㄌ Gamman arrived on the last day, clad in full war regalia. It was the infamous paranoia at work again, Kan thought, as he made certain to keep sufficiently distant from the Emperor to soothe the worries of the Strikers. Gamman was no coward, but he would not leave an opening for the conspirators to strike at him. And it was a clever move: the Emperor of the Eighty Suns was a striking, resplendent figure in the war regalia, and clearly meant to stand in contrast with the rest of the conspirators. “I will be interested to hear more about how you unmasked the conspiracy,” Gamman murmured, smirking. “I am especially interested in how you came to hear of it, in the first place, General.” Of course, he thought Kan didn’t know he’d ordered the letters sent. All the more fool, he. “Of course, your Majesty,” Kan smiled. He had been good at it as a child, this game of keeping a straight face. Letting people think what they wanted to. “I am grateful my efforts have won your Majesty’s approval and recognition.” Gamman nodded. “Of course,” he echoed, briskly. “Where is Commander Ki?” The gaunt-faced Striker rapped a fist against his chest in salute. “Orders, your Majesty?” “Flaming bolts,” Gamman said, casually. “I want this teahouse up and in flames yesterday.” “Your Majesty!” This was Arbiter Huzin now. For all she was a staunch supporter of Gamman, it seemed that this last order was a bridge too far. Even Arbiter Raishin looked disturbed, though he said nothing. At least Kan thought he looked disturbed. It was difficult to tell, with Raishin. People often mistook a chronic lack of principle and flexibility for a chronic lack of spine, but Raishin had a finely-honed sense for where the political winds were blowing. “There are people inside!” “I know,” Gamman smiled. “That’s the idea. Flaming bolts, Commander! I want to watch the Moon burn.” ㄢㄋㄌ The Strikers dipped crossbow bolts tied with rags into oil, and then set them ablaze and launched volleys of bolts. The first few hit the stones of the pathway and soon flared out completely. But a few bolts found their mark in the wooden walls of the teahouse, and then more and more struck home. Even the countless peach trees in the courtyard were ablaze. Gamman held his hands out to the fire, dark eyes intent, as though he could feel the warmth against his skin. So perished a part of history, Kan thought, and was surprised at the pang in his heart. Some of the conspirators struggled out of the inferno, as walls began to collapse. Too few of them did. A slight girl, with striking green eyes. He caught the brief flicker of recognition from Raishin, and noticed especially when Raishin concealed it in the next moment. Gamman accepted her surrender, and had her arrested and taken away without so much as a search. There was something going on there, Kan decided. The other was a familiar face: Yesterday Jones, arbiter of the Heritage Faction. “Tsk,” said Gamman, shaking his head sorrowfully. “Another arbiter plotting treason. Take her away,” he commanded, and the Strikers wrenched Yesterday’s hands behind her and marched her off. “What are you going to do with them, your Majesty?” Arbiter Huzin asked, uneasily. “Starve them for a few days,” Gamman said, easily. “They’ll have water, but not very much of it. On the fifth day, we’ll feed them, and take their surrender, and we’ll watch them carefully but let them go. They shouldn’t cause anymore trouble.” “Your Majesty, forgive me but...people like that don’t forget,” Arbiter Huzin said, eyebrows knit together in a worried frown. “People are animals,” Gamman said. “Put them somewhere uncomfortable for days, deny them food and water, and they grow weak. The mind answers to the body. Ideals become much less palatable when you’re dying, and once they eat, they’ll surrender. The shame will never let them conspire to remove me from power again.” “Not everyone surrenders, your Majesty,” Arbiter Huzin felt compelled to point out. “Some people regard ideals as more important than their lives.” “I know,” said Gamman softly, smiling. “Who do you think the people who died in that fire were?” Kan sucked in a long, astonished breath. “They were the ones who wouldn’t surrender, no matter what,” Gamman continued. “The ones to whom ideals mattered more than their own lives.” The flames of the burning teahouse seemed to be reflected in his eyes. “For the rest of their lives, the survivors will feel ashamed of themselves when they think of rebellion. They will tell themselves they should have died in the fire. And word of the fire will spread, and others will think twice about mobilising against the Security Act that Arbiter Huzin will pass in a few weeks.” He turned his head slightly. A shadow moved. Ableah Edr leaped out of the shadow of clustered tents, cutting down with inhuman grace and speed the first two Strikers that put themselves between the Emperor and him. And then— ㄢㄋㄌ Shi KwaiRan knelt on the roof of the dwelling, steadfastly ignoring the pain in his wounded thigh. He barely dared to breathe, as he watched Kan lure the Emperor every closer towards the fires of the burning Frozen Moon. The Frozen Moon, burning down. Goodbye. Goodbye, to a chapter of his life, goodbye to Wenshon, and Kwai felt a few tears prickle in his eyes as he saw the inferno. Perhaps it was better Wenshon was dead, and Kwai would likely be dead soon. He braced himself carefully and drew back the laminated horsebow, nocking the arrow and pulling the string back with thumb and forefinger, almost past his ear. He breathed, lining up where Gamman would be in physical space with the target in his mind’s eye, and felt the strain as he held the horsebow steady. He half-exhaled, and loosed. The arrow traveled in an arc, spinning about a little as it dropped towards where Gamman would be— ㄢㄋㄌ Ableah would have said he wanted vengeance, but each kill splintered his world a little more, shoving more cracks through the tattered canyons of his mind. He was breaking apart, dying in fire, by the sword, reigning over an empire of ashes and bone, and Ableah did not care. He had hidden himself well, and chosen his moment to strike. As he burst out from the shadows of the encampment and lunged at Gamman, two Strikers tried to stop him. He cut them down with the Shardblade, barely slowing down. Metal fared badly against Shardblades. Trading for this one had cost him dearly. He pulled back for a swing that would ram the point of the Blade through Gamman’s throat, and— And there was a flicker of movement. Then the arrow took him in the eye and Ableah screamed— ㄢㄋㄌ Kwai lowered the horsebow, stunned. He’d just saved Gamman’s life. What’s more, Gamman knew: their eyes met, and the Emperor inclined his head slightly, and motioned away the Strikers that were about to surge like hunting jackals in Kwai’s direction. Unexpected. Kwai’s arms shook as he lowered the bow, as the Soul Stamp dissolved into a puff of red smoke against his skin. He had set out to assassinate another Emperor. He had not expected to save Gamman’s life by sheer accident. Had not expected Gamman to acknowledge the gesture, and to call the Strikers off. That made them quits, didn’t it? Wenshon would not be avenged, not today. The eye shot had been a one in a million chance. The arrow was meant to go through armour but Kwai didn’t feel like rolling the dice a second time, not against imperial war regalia. He had lost. He felt so tired. He unstrung the bow, coiling the string about. Below, some distance away, the Frozen Moon continued to burn. ㄢㄋㄌ Raishin didn’t come for her, but there was a symbol scratched into the dirt of the tent. Three diamonds, overlapping. Ellira knew what was expected of her. She killed the Striker standing watch over her, by crying until the Striker came over to make her be quiet, and then she drove the poisoned, sharpened hairpin into the Striker’s eye and slipped away as the woman died, choking on her own blood. Pity about the hairpin, Ellira thought. She would have to get another. The Frozen Moon burned to the ground that night. It was said that the dying conspirators had remained defiant to the end. No one had cried out. No one had asked for mercy. Word of the Frozen Moon massacre spread throughout the Imperial Seat, and then the Rose Empire. It grew more and more exaggerated in the telling, until it was said that Gamman had played a flute and the bones of the dead had walked, even as the Frozen Moon, the former jewel of the Imperial Seat, had burned. Arbiters refused to comment about the Emperor’s actions. The gathering in the Theatre of Address proved to be subdued, with Arbiter Yesterday Jones of the Heritage Faction a silent figure at the back of the room. The Security Act was passed and approved, with little fanfare. Gamman’s grip on the reigns of power tightened ever further. And in the cellar at the base of the Frozen Moon, which had sheltered them both from the devouring flames and the searching Strikers, three surviving agents of the Discovery Faction parted ways, for the moment. They would return to their lives, return to hiding. And perhaps one day, they would strike as the lightning, and their enemies would never see them coming. ㄢㄋㄌ “The Frozen Moon Massacre was a turning point in Gamman’s domestic policy. While Gamman had previously arrested dissidents and had rebellious arbiters killed or cowed, he had never acted so openly before. Some believe that the Frozen Moon Massacre was carefully planned and orchestrated as a way of removing Gamman’s enemies and sending a strong message to the rest of the Empire. Others argue that Gamman had no way of knowing that the Frozen Moon Massacre would not become a propaganda victory for his enemies: he simply chose to take the risk, and to test how much he could get away with. The true answer, I think, lies between both these views. Either way, the Frozen Moon Massacre was a significant step in Gamman accumulating unchallenged power as an absolute emperor.” —Shuos KanSeun, When the Rose Blooms: The Lives of the Emperors ㄢㄋㄌ And that's a wrap! Thanks to everyone for playing! Once again, congratulations to Team Disco [Alvron, Burnt Spaghetti, Elandera, and Arraenae] for the victory, but you have been outfoxed and hoodwinked by the Village! Bragging rights and kudos goes to the Village for a magnificent display of trolling, as STINK was not the Reform Spy! Player List 1. I think I am here (Itiah) Conspirator Vanilla (Heritage) 2. DeTess (DeTess) Conspirator Arbiter (Glory) 3. xinoehp512 (Ecnelis) Conspirator Vanilla (Glory) 4. StrikerEZ (Roashina) Conspirator Vanilla (Heritage) 5. Elandera (Marzia) Discovery Survivor (Glory) 6. Burnt Spaghetti (Somi) Discovery Vanilla (Glory) 7. Young Bard (Kavela) Conspirator Vanilla (Glory) 8. Rathmaskal (Yesterday ""Yes"" Jones) Conspirator Arbiter (Heritage) 9. Alvron (Asterion) Discovery Vanilla (Heritage) 10. Elbereth (Ellira) Reform Spy Handler (Glory) 11. STINK (STINK) Conspirator Vanilla (Heritage) 12. Butt Ad Venture (Lawrence Scholdei) Conspirator Arbiter (Glory) 13. Devotary of Spontaneity (Faitren) Conspirator Vanilla (Glory) 14. Arraenae (Joon) Discovery Embedded Operative (Glory) 15. Little Wilson (Wai ZhierSen) Reform Spy (Glory) Dossier Spoiler Eliminator Doc Spec Doc Village Dead Doc Eliminator Dead Doc Master Spreadsheet Edited October 24, 2019 by Kasimir 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasimir Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 (edited) I’m dead tired and work is threatening to drown me, so this may be less coherent than usual: We were fortunate in having an extremely helpful IM, @Fifth Scholar. Much appreciation for his dealing with flailing, mistakes, and panicking, especially during the Strikergate incident of the first iteration. I will admit to some disappointment, although this is a QF, that both Striker Kalebane and Alvron were up for death early, just as they were in the past iteration. It is also somewhat sad that Wilson got shanked early, and this is from the perspective of returning players, rather than the issue of the Reform Spy. Getting killed early is often a point of frustration for players, particularly when they are killed repeatedly for reasons they are powerless to influence (or so they perceive.) We can do better. The Eliminator distribution was somewhat unusual: ultimately, we decided on a four Eliminator team. This was pushing the upper end of the safe Eliminator % boundary, at 26.6% of the player group. The mitigating factors, in our view, were as follows: first, we anticipated at least one early Eliminator casualty, due to Spy action. We therefore built the expectation that the Eliminators would be one member down from the start/early on into the team size. Second, we wanted some cover for the Embedded Operative. To this end, we knew we needed at least one Survivor in the game. We also expected the Spy to be able to mobilise a stronger voting coalition, due to the ‘ludicrous amount of arbiters.’ We did not anticipate a high arbiter mortality rate. Finally, in our view, giving the Eliminator team a Survivor rather than a fourth member had the advantage of providing them with the expected four bodies, but putting them at a vote disadvantage (they had four bodies but commanded three votes.) The Embedded Operative, as usual, remains tricky to balance for, and potentially swingy as a force for either side/faction. On the one hand, to some extent, the Embedded Operative should be swingy: as a role, they have the capacity to add more firepower to whichever Faction they declare for. We also deemed it more critical for Factions to be able to function in the absence of the Embedded Operative. In particular, Factions could take a variety of strategies towards the Embedded Operative: they could decide to try to enter a bidding war for the Operative, or to try to sway them to their side. They could decide to eliminate the Operative (especially as a non C3 Operative will be fragile), though this would potentially drive the Operative to Team Disco. Ultimately, I am divided about whether the C3!Disco Operative should get to know who Disco is. The lack of communication and imperfect information might help as a further check on the Operative’s abilities, by making them more cautious about killing, for fear of (un)friendly fire. In the first two cycles of the game, I experimented with sending players an RP prompt that could be generic, or customised to the RP they had already produced. The aim was to encourage more player activity, even in the form of a few lines of RP, and to produce more setting immersion. I later mostly abandoned it as work began to drown me, but I also think that it was in general a good idea but poorly-targeted. First, RP prompts should be around drabble-length. Second, this game has not been marketed as a RP-centric game. I think RP prompts are best integrated with games that have been indicated to have a significant amount of RP, and thus would hopefully appeal to such players. There is some doubt about whether 24 hour cycles are sufficient. Ultimately, as I prefer games to be more fast-paced, I think it was fine as a QF, though the Avalon format could also lend itself to 48 hour cycles. I also would tie this with how lynches turned out less useful than expected for the Village. I think the Village spent more time focusing on those who were thought to be evil, at the cost of informational lynches. As a result, when the lynch target turned out to be neither evil, nor informative, the Village was at a loss. Elandera, for instance, would have proven a good target for an informational lynch, in part because of how she became the ‘big agenda item’ of more than one cycle. The Reform Spy and the Assassination Cycle ended up being balanced well enough. Ultimately, I don’t think I can say much about whether the Reform Spy works well, as the Reform Spies in both iterations have had very short life expectancies. That being said, I like the Assassination Cycle solution better than the Assassination mechanic, and think it gives players both a chance to have some light-hearted fun, and to mess back with the Eliminators. It also restrains how obvious the Spy can be about identifying Eliminators, and creates a strategic trade-off on the part of the Eliminators: killing suspected Spies early removes the informational advantage the Village might enjoy, but at the cost of the Eliminators going fairly blind into an Assassination Cycle, should the game turn against them later anyway. I think the Embedded Operative is another decent check on the Reform Spy, but might consider employing more complex Avalon characters in future games, e.g. Mordred (is Evil, but is invisible to Merlin/Spy), and Morgana (is Evil but appears to be Merlin/Spy to Percival/Handler.) These might serve as better balances to the Spy and has the advantage of removing the Operative-associated considerations from game balance. That’s about it from me. Thanks to M’Hael for being an excellent co-GM, though we were both dead tired and out of it near the end as work took a significant toll on us. Thanks for playing, guys, and hope y’all had fun! Cheers and catch you all around sometime! Edited October 24, 2019 by Kasimir 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burnt Spaghetti Posted October 24, 2019 Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 Elbereth was the handler. Elbereth. Wilson being spy, okay sure- good job btw and all that. But el was the handler? Wait what??? O_o that. Huh. Okay. Well then. Well that was a great game, thanks hael and kas for running this. I had a lot of fun being evil, got to be evil with alv for longer than one cycle, which is a record! Now just need to be evil together again and both survive past cycle 2! Also love that we all forgot that we only had to outnumber village and were planning for the scenario where they all needed to be killed >> definitely read the rules i swear >> Definitely love the assasination round. Giving village the opportunity to have a cycle where they can be trolls is awesome Love love loved the writeups and the rp that came out of this game. Even though being a qf doing a lot of rp was a bit challenging, this game as a whole and the people in it and all the rp kinda felt like being back at home in the eaarly days. Though also it blew my mind at one point when i realised Elandera had never played with Wilson before and that people existed who hadn't played with the players i played with when i was still a kid in school and now im like. Woah. Im an old player. And old player still terrified of voting in thread and being vocal Anyways i need sleep as usual so if i remember thouhts theyll come but yeah Twas a fun week. I wanna go again can we have a part c lol 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasimir Posted October 24, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2019 17 minutes ago, Burnt Spaghetti said: Twas a fun week. I wanna go again can we have a part c lol Only if Striker Kalebane, Gamebreaker, Terror of GMs, the Shield of the Lynch doesn't play j/k You want a part c? cries in 11 reports and 3 presentations and 1 folder of logistics assignments >> Actually, I do have a third game planned - this was always meant to be a loose trilogy of TES SE games. Which made plot beats a bit easy, as Gamman was always meant to reach Maximum Despot/Authoritarian status (or appear to be reaching it) here, before the actual wrap-up game. It won't be Avalon mechanics though, I'm toying with something involving faction swapping (i.e. swapping powers) though not wincons. I've learned my lesson from MR7 Since I'm a stickler for tradition, and this game took place 4-5 RL years after MR7, stay tuned for the LG to come in about 4-5 years! j/k 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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