Long Game 103: Eyes of Red and Blue

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

1 minute ago, Ookla the Villager said:

Volo didn't think Sever was connected to Cilian: he thought they were disconnected:

It was true, however, that there were two points of uncertainty to Volo's thoughts:

First, Sever hadn't seemed particularly concerned about collecting two accusations, which might imply some behind-the-scenes collusion. Against that, Volo weighed the thought it was passing strange for Cilian to accuse Sever, for them to be partners in crime, and for Sever to just...completely fail to react. Something like that had happened before: he'd seen scams run where one partner just ignored the other, and one of them had behaved much like Cilian.

Second, he figured that if Cilian'd truly wanted to make some appearance of antagonism between him and Sever, there'd probably be more telegraphing of the move. Some scammers worked like that: they made big flashy moves, to distract you from the sleight-of-hand going on.

All in all, Volo's overall judgement was for the moment that Sever and Cillian were less likely to be accomplices. He was just less certain of it and thought it wise to flag his own uncertainties.

Sever quickly realizes he misread the situation, his cheeks burn red in embarrassment. However, he stood by his word. perhaps if those two had latched onto him, perhaps they had some sort of thing going on between them? They could be having talks in private. Or they could be the murderers. both were possible, he just wasnt sure which. he had no surgebinding to work with, unlike his cousin Assassin in White.

[Lord Spirit he/him]

40 minutes ago, Ookla the Villager said:

He figured there was maybe something like this as well with how blatantly Jonoh was calling for Arenta, and then how Jonoh'd singled out Metorem for casual conversation. Of course, maybe Jonoh's comfort with either of them suggested a connection beyond the obvious, but once again, Volo had the gut feeling that it worked like scams: you never wanted to appear too obviously connected, and the casual way Jonoh'd talked to them both suggested no real connection there. (He needed a better psychological profile of Jonoh to make more sense of this, alas.)

 

Jonoh noted the stranger looking at him. It seemed like he was analyzing Jonoh. Anyone who knew him could have told the man that Jonoh was paranoid laggard. Just because he had tried to warn about the end of world didn't mean he was paranoid. And now he had proof that he was right.

Well, Jonoh had no intention of getting killed by getting involved with he didn't know. He would stick to people who lived in Ru Eris. Maybe the strangers were behind the storm. He couldn't trust them. He might not even be able to trust his fellow townsfolk anymore. He should probably leave Ru Eris until this whole thing blew over. That seemed like a good idea, maybe once he had learned the full extent of what was happening. He'd worry about that later though.

[Araris Valerian he/him]

47 minutes ago, Ookla de los cuervos said:

he nods to himself, but cringes to himself as for what Arenta will say to him for this.

Arenta had been reconsidering her assessment of who the murderer might be as lunch for the day drew to a close, but then she noticed Sever drawing on her wall. So she instead resolved to hold fast to her original conviction (and to take the cost of the repairs out of the 3 marks and 1 that the fellow had overpaid by earlier). She didn't really have a lot to go on, but that was no reason to frivolously change her mind.

 

2 hours ago, Ookla the Violist said:

He walks over to the table where the shin man had been sitting. Best avoid that one. He seemed dangerous. He takes a seat and glances at the innkeeper. “So Arenta, what’s happening? The world’s ending and there’s word of the Unmade, here in our little town of all places! Can you believe it?”

@Araris Valerian

"What's happening, Jonon, is that you owe me spheres. My books are upstairs right now, so I don't have the exact amount, but I can tell you it's not nothing! I'm not in any particular hurry, but a little cremling told me something juicy last week that you might not want spread around, if you get my drift. I'm not going to let the world end before every last person in this village settles up with me, and that includes you."

[Lord Spirit he/him]

34 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Arenta had been reconsidering her assessment of who the murderer might be as lunch for the day drew to a close, but then she noticed Sever drawing on her wall. So she instead resolved to hold fast to her original conviction (and to take the cost of the repairs out of the 3 marks and 1 that the fellow had overpaid by earlier). She didn't really have a lot to go on, but that was no reason to frivolously change her mind.

 

"What's happening, Jonon, is that you owe me spheres. My books are upstairs right now, so I don't have the exact amount, but I can tell you it's not nothing! I'm not in any particular hurry, but a little cremling told me something juicy last week that you might not want spread around, if you get my drift. I'm not going to let the world end before every last person in this village settles up with me, and that includes you."

“You keep track of my debt, but you still can’t get my name right? How many times do I have to tell you, it’s Jonoh, not Jonoh. Besides, I was going to pay you, I just kept forgetting… I’ll get it to you tomorrow. But you’re really concerned about money when we’re all doomed? I know we’ve had our differences, but there’s a lot of mysterious people who have shown up lately and U doing trust them. That Shin guy is vandalizing your inn. The citizens of this town need to stick together.”

[stiltedmoth she/her]

10 hours ago, Ookla the Villager said:

What's your thinking about things right now? An Elder stabbing a seafood vendor after taking up with a strange spren?

Giethri pondered for a long moment before replying. It's not like she knows the locals, but their reactions to the recent murder had certainly been interesting. Despite the loose grip Sever seemed to keep on his dagger he had been rather hesitant to action. Could be trying to keep a lower profile, but she also thought it a point in his favour - surely any of the Elder's accomplices would attempt to divert the blame by suggesting a more suitable target, especially when so many of the townfolk were so wary of him. The Stormwarden, the prepper, and her Herdazian countryman had all been similarly slow to point fingers, which Giethri didn't know how to feel about. It would do them all good not to turn on each other so hastily but surely waiting for the Unmade to strike was worse? Out of all the townsfolk Cillian stuck out the most to her, awfully quick to join in once Arenta had voiced her suspicions of Sever.

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

Singled out for who you are,

Takes all types to judge a man,

Feel,

That's all you can

Oh, but don't,

don't sink the boat, 

That you built,

you built to keep afloat

Cillian had a few thoughts regarding the mood in the tavern as of late, but feared sharing those thoughts may very well invalidate them. He decided to wait a time longer before speaking or changing his vote. Then he would be certain.

[CadCom he/him]

Metorem had been so preoccupied by his scheduled appearance, he hadn't taken note of all that had gone on today. An Elder murdering an innocent bystander? THe horrenditudes! And now him and 7 other people in town were being considered as persons of interest. 

There was Arenta, but she was just the inkeep. No way she could be an accomplice? Could she?
There was Cilian the sailor. Everyone knew not to go against an O'cillian when death was on the line. That made him seem unapproachable. 
The unknown traveller (Giethri) with poor timing indeed. This automatically made metorem suspicious, though admittedly without cause. He'd have to approach and ask a few questions.
There was the other unknown, Volomir, Unknown, but Metorem had seen his type. Rather noisy, and seeking to get people to follow him wherever he went. Annoying, yes, but evil? Probably not.
Matoro had come into town a while back. Hustler type. Generally untrustworthy
Jonoh had already approached Metorem. Seemed like an honest fellow, but did want access to his house. Wanted to put at risk his precious wife and children. But were his wife and children that important to some unknown deity of desolation?
Sever the Shin was on the list too. Rather talkative for a shin. But personalities vary, especially for one who holds his own oathstone.

"Giethri. Come, talk with me. What do you know of the surges? Rumor has it the unmade have access to powerful and wickitudinous powers? How may we be wary? I find you suspicious, but I plan on getting to know you before finalizing that suspicion"
 

Quote

Assuming Ookla de los cuervos' count correct:

Votes Against: Currently (My count)
Matoro: 1
Sever: 2
Arenta: 1 
Volomir: 1
Cillian: 1
Giethri: 1

 

[Lord Spirit he/him]

2 hours ago, CadCom said:

Everyone knew not to go against an O'cillian when death was on the line.

To so would be inconceivable!
so many strangers in town. And I can’t even trust some of the citizens. Somewhere he had seen a list of suspects, with his name on it! He had being planning to warn them for years. He’d known the end was coming. Maybe if he’d said something sooner he wouldn’t be a suspect. He reviewed the other names 

Sever seems dangerous, but he’s being too aggressive to be a voidbringer. They would be more careful. Unless they knew he would think they and were using that as a cover. 
Cillian seems to be saying a lot without any meaning. Either he’s drunk or he’s careful and pretending. 
Volomic seems very smart. Smart enough that I’d have no idea what he’s planning. Hopefully he’s not trying to kill everyone. 
Matoro seems to have done almost nothing. Those men could be dangerous. Still one second and violent the next, and you’d never had a warning. 
Giethri seemed normal, which was far scarier than the so called assassin. 
Although he didn’t like the idea, Arenta  seemed oddly confident in her ability to collect debts despite the chaos surrounding them. 
The Stormwarden seemed to be remarkably calm for a man in danger of losing his job. Either he’s putting on a brave face, or he has some secret connections. 
(I know some of these aren’t real reasons, but I can’t think of much, and this is more in character for Jonoh.)

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

Sever mutters a prayer to the stones and an apology to Matoro

[Kasimir he/him]

Giethri wasn't wrong to mark Sever's hesitance—Volo had noted it as well, though he'd no idea what to make of it. Was it assurance or risk tolerance? Wouldn't a murderer's accomplices help him? On the other hand, wouldn't an innocent be more apt to defend himself, knowing there was no one else he could rely on?

Still, the point was moot now, particularly since Sever had declared his intentions to defend himself should the need arise. Volo thought it better to go back a few steps in trying to understand what was currently transpiring.

For most of the day, accusations had remained stable on Sever, with Arenta being the first to toss a whisper of doubt, and then Cillian following up shortly after. (This seemed a tad opportunistic, and Volo wondered about the self-conscious way Cillian had cited the need to accuse someone or risk being thrown out of Ru Eris. After all, as far as Volo could tell, the Elders in Ru Eris were not particularly tolerant of indolence, but that boiled down to needing to make an appearance in a public area of the village each day.)

Quote

If you do not post anything for 2 turns consecutively, or if you do not vote for 2 day turns consecutively, you will be removed from the game, unless you’ve given prior notice to the GM and some alternative arrangement has been decided on.

No one, as far as Volo could tell, was falling afoul of the Elders, although Matoro had made the most blatant attempt to show up and then subsequently vanished thereafter.

Volo himself had wondered about Arenta's complicity in murder, but had eventually shifted his thoughts to Matoro, wondering if the Herdazian's hustling had anything to do with the murders. Perhaps he'd been caught running some sort of scam and had turned to taking up with strange spren and killing thereafter?

Eventually, Giethri had accused Cillian. Sometime later, Metorem had accused Giethri in turn. Nothing particularly outstanding, given Ru Eris was currently running on fumes: scandal, gossip, and suspicion.

The last two doubling on Matoro caught his attention though. Unlikely for Sever and Matoro to be partners-in-crime. Volo couldn't think of any scenario in which scammers would throw each other to the axehounds rather than someone else entirely. Given only two accusations on Sever, it was very much possible to pull off.

For Jonoh to elect to accuse Matoro was interesting though. It suggested Jonoh wasn't in a scammer gang with Matoro, since Jonoh didn't particularly care about endangering Matoro. But there was a hint, perhaps, that Jonoh was fine with saving Sever. And that was interesting to Volo.

He updated his mental list:

Quote

X Arenta - Jonoh
X Metorem - Jonoh
X Sever - Arenta
X Cillian - Sever
X Matoro - Jonoh
X Matoro - Sever

And mulled on his thoughts on what had transpired thus far in Ru Eris.

Edited to add:

Volo thought to stir the pot a little, and decided to focus on Cillian for the moment. @Ookla the Benefflicted @DrakeMarshall

Edited December 11, 2024 by Ookla the Villager

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

Sever wondered why the sun hadnt quite gone down yet. @DrakeMarshall

[Kasimir he/him]

2 minutes ago, Ookla de los cuervos said:

Sever wondered why the sun hadnt quite gone down yet. @DrakeMarshall

On 12/9/2024 at 2:15 PM, DrakeMarshall said:

Day 1 has begun, and will end in 2 days at 06:00 GMT December 11th.

As it turned out, the sun was not due to set for at least two more hours.

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

18 hours ago, Ookla the Villager said:

Well, at least it wasn't one of the locals. Things had been quiet for the moment, and there was word of an announcement in about twelve hours local time. Something to do with the Elders seeking out collaborators. May as like to be that shady fellow—Volo thought he'd heard Arenta referring to him as a Shin assassin, though he could count on one hand the number of times he'd heard anything to do with the Shin when it came to Roshar.

Things being quiet was interesting, though. As far as Volo could tell, just about four names had been thrown about, with little shifting. Maybe it was too early. Or maybe it suggested the murderers were too comfortable with the current state of affairs. Sever seemed comfortable enough that he hadn't yet voiced suspicions, and yet promised to do so if given more time. Volo wasn't sure what that meant for Sever. He did want to wait a little longer to see how long he'd keep that up anyway, before drawing any conclusions.

Though Volo supposed that for all he knew, some of those red spren'd bonded just as easily to travelling strangers as to locals. He had to keep his suspicions broad.

"It's the storming Everstorm," he said, lightly. "I don't think anyone's getting any travelling done while the storm's raging through these parts. What's your thinking about things right now? An Elder stabbing a seafood vendor after taking up with a strange spren?"

Sever rubs his eyes, then shrugs. He could have sworn the sun would set.

[Kasimir he/him]

1 minute ago, Ookla de los cuervos said:

Sever rubs his eyes, then shrugs. He could have sworn the sun would set.

Volo shrugged.

He tried, timezone maths was not his forte  They probably should've gone with someone like Arenta. With her insistence on debiting the people of Ru Eris for more or less everything, she probably would've had a better set of calculations.

Edited December 11, 2024 by Ookla the Villager

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

A scrap of paper blows in the wind. There's some writing on it:

Cillian (2): Volo, Giethri
Matoro (2): Sever, Jonoh
Sever (2): Cillian, Arenta
Giethri (1): Metorem

Curious. Somebody must've misplaced it.

5 minutes til dusk...

Time's up.

[DrakeMarshall he/him]

The people in Ru Eris got to work. There was so much to do. Several people’s homes needed major repairs. The ships that’d been in the harbor when the storm struck were still badly in need of repairs. A lavis granary had been split wide open and spilled out most of its contents.

 

That wasn’t the only work that needed doing, though. Nu Ralik forbid that the Everstorm had been anything remotely natural. Nobody was quite sure if the new spren that had been showing up had caused the storm or if it was the other way around, but they were definitely related. More to the point, some of those spren were driving people to acts of violence. Someone had to put a stop to it.

 

The trouble was, these "Unmade" were far more crafty than your garden variety spren. They were good at hiding. And the people who agreed to do their bidding, well, they just looked like normal people! You had to be constantly on the lookout for anything suspicious. The citizens of Ru Eris were a naturally suspicious people, so this came easily to them. In truth, they probably spent more time on ferreting out traitors than they did on rebuilding efforts. Perhaps because there wasn’t much use in rebuilding if someone could just come along and ruin it again. Or perhaps because gossiping about your neighbors was just much more interesting than mending holes in sailcloth.

 

The day’s activities were interrupted when a man fell from the sky.

 

When a man is falling from the sky, you generally don’t have time to process questions like “why,” let alone inspect his armor and recognize details like the crest on his armor, which an educated onlooker might recognize as the ancient insignia of the Order of Skybreakers. You mainly just have time to brace yourself for what’s bound to be a gory scene in a few moments.

 

So it came as a bit of a surprise when, not only was the man not pulverized, but he dusted himself off and started addressing the crowd, as if falling from the sky was a normal everyday thing to do.

 

“You’re lucky. I was giving aid in Ru Tapan not long ago, they’re under enemy control.” He said the last bit like it was an expletive.

Ru Tapan was another town, slightly larger and wealthier, about a day’s walk along the coast to the west. Ru Eris didn’t generally get along with them.

 

The stranger looked around.

“No parshmen here,” he remarked obscurely, seemingly to himself. “That might explain it.”

 

“...Well, I’ll be moving on,” the stranger announced. “Good luck, I guess.”

 

Until this point, the townspeople had kept silent, caught off-guard by the unexpected visitor. This last development was enough to break the silence over, though.

 

“Hang on a moment,” elder Temmek sputtered. “Things are not fine in Ru Eris. There are traitors everywhere! People are making pacts with suspicious spren and going insane! And people are taking advantage of the chaos to circulate scams about gold bars! Is there something you can do to help?” he pleaded.

 

Now it was the stranger’s turn to be nonplussed.

“I dunno anything about all that. Especially not the gold bars thing.”

He sighed.

“I don’t think you quite get it. The Voidbringers have returned,” he said emphatically. “Big mean sons of chulls with red eyes, braize-bent on overturning any order we’ve set up. I don’t have time to help you punish lesser crimes."

 

“Even if I’m sure you have lots of them,” he added under his breath. There was a Shin man loitering about, decked out in all-black and armed to the teeth, who the Skybreaker’s finely developed senses said was obviously a criminal of some kind. “I don't have time for this,” he repeated, mainly for his own benefit.

 

“But-” Temmek continued, reaching for something else to say. This stranger was the only person who seemed to have an idea of what was going on, the longer he kept on talking the better. “We still aren’t sure who to punish!”

 

“Roll some dice or something,” the stranger growled, before hurtling off into the sky again.

 

The people of Ru Eris took the suggestion to heart. It wasn't like anyone had a better idea.

 

…It was funny. Everyone knew the Vorins had a taboo against guessing the future. They’d tell you in smugly superior tones that gambling on dice was immoral, because knowing the future is “a thing of the enemy” or something like that.

 

Well, as it turned out, the servants of Odium aren’t actually very good at dice.

 

Sure, Cillian actually did see it coming, but knowing the future wasn’t quite the same as being able to change it. He panicked and tried to run before the die was thrown, only for Volomir and Giethri to grab his arms and hold him still.

 

As was the custom, Cillian was offered a choice. Either a swift and fair execution, or a fool’s hope: getting dangled into the ocean as bait for a Yu-Nerig. Anyone who survived a week like that could go free, but nobody ever did. You didn’t need the gift of foresight to know it was a death sentence either way. Cillian did happen to have the gift of foresight though, and so chose the quick death.

 

And Ru Eris became slightly safer than it had been.

✺

Vote Tally
Cillian (2): Volo, Giethri
Matoro (2): Sever, Jonoh
Sever (2): Cillian, Arenta
Giethri (1): Metorem

@Ookla the Benefflicted has died!

He had the following death rattle:

Spoiler

He had access to the surge of Tension, and was aligned with the Unmade!

✺

Night 1 has begun, and will end in 1 day at 06:00 GMT December 12th.

Player List

1. @Araris Valerian - Arenta - The Gossipy Innkeep That You Owe Money To
2. Ookla the Benefflicted - Cillian O'Cillian, son of Cillian - The Sailingest of Sailors Surge of Tension, Unmade
3. @stiltedmoth - Giethri - The Unlucky Traveller
4. @Kasimir - Volomir Kassarm - The Scambaiting Silverlight Streamer
5. @Ookla the Irreplaceable - Matoro - The Honest Herdazian Hustler
6. @Ookla the Violist - Jonoh - The Procrastinating Paranoid Prepper
7. @Ookla de los cuervos - Sever - The Shin Assassin; Relation to Vallano Unclear
8. @CadCom - Metorem - A Prognosticative Philosopher of Stormy Secrets

Edited December 12, 2024 by DrakeMarshall

[Kasimir he/him]

Spoiler

Volo wished he could claim credit for it but to be honest, he thought Lady Luck had more of a hand in it than he did, and he was pretty darn surprised too.

Still, the Elders had somehow worked out that Cillian was one of the murderers they were all looking for, and that Cillian'd had access to the Surge of Tension. As far as Volo recalled from reading some dated local travel guides, the Surge of Tension could be used to make a target impervious to any action save attacks. In practice, this could be used to commit unstoppable murders or to prevent investigation, though Volo figured that the murderers would've needed to know they'd Tension in the first place. This inclined him a little towards believing that someone aligned with Ru Eris might have access to Illumination, but not overtly so.

Cillian's calm willingness to leave a vote on Sever and double up behind Arenta made Volo come to several conclusions, some weaker than others.

First, he thought that it was less likely that Cillian and Sever were aligned. Again, this was a weak conclusion—sailors like Cillian often had a strong risk appetite. You'd have to, to be willing to sail despite the dangers of highstorms and the sea. Nevertheless, it was on the face of it a little strange for Cillian to attempt to create artificial distance between himself and Sever by placing a second accusation on Sever, particularly without any real reaction from Sever either. In addition, Sever had seen Volo's late accusation of Cillian and simply hadn't cared. However, Volo's late accusation had created a three-way tie. Had Sever and Cillian both been partners-in-crime, Volo struggled to see Sever having more or less no reaction at all with a 2/3 chance of loss.

Second, he thought that it was a little less likely that Cillian and Arenta were aligned. He did not feel that Arenta would be fine with the way Cillian had simply joined her in accusing Sever, as though to slyly ride off her initial suspicions. Certainly, scammers often sought to downplay any appearance of collaboration, rather than blatantly act in concert, though people like Cillian and Arenta were always somewhat difficult to predict.

In that light, he felt that Matoro and Cillian were probably not teamed. While it was difficult to tell who'd seen the late switch to Matoro, and Volo's own late accusation of Cillian, Cillian might have caught the shift and been fine with the Matoro shift. Overall, it was not a conclusion Volo felt confident in, and he was probably okay revising it subsequently. Nonetheless, while you could not really read off silence, Volo did believe that it was a little odd that Matoro should be a murderer and yet there was no response to Matoro being accused.

Third, he didn't have a good handle on Giethri and her risk appetite. A merchant plying as far as the Purelake probably had a decent risk appetite, but Volo didn't know enough to be sure. Still, he felt that he was alright giving Giethri some credit for having voiced suspicions of Cillian for the time being.

In his head, his updated thoughts went something like this:

Quote

X Arenta - Jonoh
X Metorem - Jonoh
X Sever - Arenta
X Cillian - Sever
X Matoro - Jonoh
X Matoro - Sever
X Cillian - Giethri
X Cillian - Arenta
X Cillian - Matoro

Edited December 11, 2024 by Ookla the Villager
colour editor, fixed notes to add Araris chain mentioned for ease of understanding

[TwinStorm He/Him]

Matoro sighed, strolling through the streets. Another murder. Storms, this town didn't know nothing about keeping the law, did they? There was good coin to be won tonight. First, he needed to find some friends.

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

Sever hadnt expected the knife to fall so soon... he was disquieted, but glad he wasnt killed. he could focus on... who was it? he had forgotten. time to look back. he looked to Volo. "Hey, could you replay my thoughts from yesterday?"

Quote

ill look at them myself, dont worry lmao.

 

[Kasimir he/him]

Volo ran the initial soundchecks from his seat at the corner booth of the inn, just enough to give him some distance from the others. He didn't fancy having to explain to the locals about the Silverlight streaming industry. Warren confirmed both sound and visuals were doing just fine. At least the Everstorm didn't seem to have caused too much interference with the Shadesmar relays.

"Welcome back to 'Volo's Special Guide to Roshar!'" he said, putting his streamer face back on. "I've seen some of your comments on the shorts I've been uploading, and yes, as it turns out, Cillian the Sailor was one of the murderers blighting the small fishing village of Ru Eris! Kudos to—" a brief glance to his notes, scrawled in shorthand on the table for the name—"ElantrianWorldhopper27253725 for calling this before the Elders of Ru Eris took action!"

"Now, some of you have been asking about the food. It is indeed true that Roshar is simply crawling with a creature known as the cremling, whose flesh tastes faintly sweet, with a subtle hint of salt. Because of the commonness of the cremling, it forms a reliable source of food for the Rosharans, and the inn I'm staying at has a simply delicious way of making a creamy cremling soup—"

Easy enough to prattle on, setting the scene, falling back into the way he'd gone on and on about the various places in the Cosmere that streaming Volo's Guide had taken him to.

Meanwhile, his mind drifted.

The Elders of Ru Eris had seemed certain that each person had access to one Surge. Moreover, they'd warned that trying to target yourself with a Surge was too dangerous—impossible, one of them had said, though Volo didn't understand why. He didn't feel different, nor had any sort of spren approached him (though Volo really thought they should, he wouldn't mind featuring one on his stream), so the thought of having a Surge just felt about as strange as the thought he'd access to AonDor, or the Metallic Arts of Scadrial.

Nevertheless, Volo figured that the villagers of Ru Eris would probably be experimenting tonight, trying to figure out what Surges they'd access to. He wasn't sure if there was a case for targeting those you trusted or those you suspected, but figured that this was something people should try to convey in their death rattles, taking advantage of the presence of the Unmade.

For the moment, Volo was relatively content that Sever seemed to be an ordinary Shin. To a lesser degree, he was willing to give Giethri some grace for having condemned Cillian as well, though certainly Giethri could not have known that someone else would join her. 

His suspicions had wandered to Metorem and Jonoh, primarily, though he considered Matoro as well. Although he did not particularly suspect Arenta at present, he had the feeling that an old innkeeper as wily as Arenta should not be underestimated. In his head, he imagined a series of brackets, as though they were all players in one of T'Telir's infamous Tarachin tournaments.

Quote

PROBABLY INNOCENT
-Sever

MAYBE INNOCENT
-Giethri

WHO KNOWS?
-Arenta
-Matoro

PROBABLY SUSPICIOUS
-Metorem
-Jonoh

Primarily, Volo's problems with Metorem came from a casual interaction with Cillian that weakly suggested they might be conspiring elsewhere. He also felt that the stormwarden's accusation of Giethri was particularly odd: Metorem had not really framed his suspicions of Giethri carefully. On the one hand, it looked like he was responding to Giethri's suspicions of Cillian. But those were in fact reasonable suspicions: Giethri had named the speed with which Cillian had battened onto Arenta's initial suspicions of Sever. Sometimes, scammers did that: they tried to make you think something was your own idea, so they backed you to the hilt and let you take the lead and the fall.

On the other hand, suppose Metorem claimed he wasn't in fact responding to Giethri's suspicions. What, then, was he responding to? Was it a suspicion cast by pure chance? If so, then what was the value of it? Hospitality was respected in Marabethia: enough that most present likely knew Giethri was in no danger, not as a stranger so new to the region. And yet, suspicions cast when a traveller was protected by hospitality was no real suspicion at all, because it lacked teeth.

Either way you sliced it, it seemed strange of Metorem, and more showy than not, which suggested Metorem had nothing particularly at stake and was avoiding the main trains of suspicion. This fit the profile of a murderer who would have noticed early on that it was mostly Sever and Matoro whose necks were on the line.

It had also not been lost on Volo that Jonoh had been quick early on to declare they were on the same side. Volo distrusted that declaration: why would they know if they were on the same side or not? After all, he was a stranger to Ru Eris himself. Similarly, Jonoh seemed to hedge a number of his suspicions, suggesting self-consciousness. The difficulty was determining if this was the uncertainty of a murderer realising he needed to frame the folk of Ru Eris and believing his reasons did not pass muster.

To a lesser extent, Volo also noted that Matoro had continued to be present, and yet offered little in the way of thought, or reaction to the ongoing events. This need not suggest that Matoro was a murderer, but Volo did question Matoro's investment in staying abreast of the Elder's decrees that all in Ru Eris remain active, and yet little apparent interest in finding the murderers.

Thus, those were his three suspects for the moment, ordered from strongest to weakest. 

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

Sever wanders over, his eyes catching on Volo once more, who seemed to be talking into a gem stone now. this stonewalker... how odd. he sits down at Volo's table curious. "Stonewalker, what are you doing? I am full of confusion. you speak odd words. although i notice you eyes Jonon. I have similar thoughts about him"

47 minutes ago, Ookla the Villager said:

Volo ran the initial soundchecks from his seat at the corner booth of the inn, just enough to give him some distance from the others. He didn't fancy having to explain to the locals about the Silverlight streaming industry. Warren confirmed both sound and visuals were doing just fine. At least the Everstorm didn't seem to have caused too much interference with the Shadesmar relays.

"Welcome back to 'Volo's Special Guide to Roshar!'" he said, putting his streamer face back on. "I've seen some of your comments on the shorts I've been uploading, and yes, as it turns out, Cillian the Sailor was one of the murderers blighting the small fishing village of Ru Eris! Kudos to—" a brief glance to his notes, scrawled in shorthand on the table for the name—"ElantrianWorldhopper27253725 for calling this before the Elders of Ru Eris took action!"

"Now, some of you have been asking about the food. It is indeed true that Roshar is simply crawling with a creature known as the cremling, whose flesh tastes faintly sweet, with a subtle hint of salt. Because of the commonness of the cremling, it forms a reliable source of food for the Rosharans, and the inn I'm staying at has a simply delicious way of making a creamy cremling soup—"

Easy enough to prattle on, setting the scene, falling back into the way he'd gone on and on about the various places in the Cosmere that streaming Volo's Guide had taken him to.

Meanwhile, his mind drifted.

The Elders of Ru Eris had seemed certain that each person had access to one Surge. Moreover, they'd warned that trying to target yourself with a Surge was too dangerous—impossible, one of them had said, though Volo didn't understand why. He didn't feel different, nor had any sort of spren approached him (though Volo really thought they should, he wouldn't mind featuring one on his stream), so the thought of having a Surge just felt about as strange as the thought he'd access to AonDor, or the Metallic Arts of Scadrial.

Nevertheless, Volo figured that the villagers of Ru Eris would probably be experimenting tonight, trying to figure out what Surges they'd access to. He wasn't sure if there was a case for targeting those you trusted or those you suspected, but figured that this was something people should try to convey in their death rattles, taking advantage of the presence of the Unmade.

For the moment, Volo was relatively content that Sever seemed to be an ordinary Shin. To a lesser degree, he was willing to give Giethri some grace for having condemned Cillian as well, though certainly Giethri could not have known that someone else would join her. 

His suspicions had wandered to Metorem and Jonoh, primarily, though he considered Matoro as well. Although he did not particularly suspect Arenta at present, he had the feeling that an old innkeeper as wily as Arenta should not be underestimated. In his head, he imagined a series of brackets, as though they were all players in one of T'Telir's infamous Tarachin tournaments.

Primarily, Volo's problems with Metorem came from a casual interaction with Cillian that weakly suggested they might be conspiring elsewhere. He also felt that the stormwarden's accusation of Giethri was particularly odd: Metorem had not really framed his suspicions of Giethri carefully. On the one hand, it looked like he was responding to Giethri's suspicions of Cillian. But those were in fact reasonable suspicions: Giethri had named the speed with which Cillian had battened onto Arenta's initial suspicions of Sever. Sometimes, scammers did that: they tried to make you think something was your own idea, so they backed you to the hilt and let you take the lead and the fall.

On the other hand, suppose Metorem claimed he wasn't in fact responding to Giethri's suspicions. What, then, was he responding to? Was it a suspicion cast by pure chance? If so, then what was the value of it? Hospitality was respected in Marabethia: enough that most present likely knew Giethri was in no danger, not as a stranger so new to the region. And yet, suspicions cast when a traveller was protected by hospitality was no real suspicion at all, because it lacked teeth.

Either way you sliced it, it seemed strange of Metorem, and more showy than not, which suggested Metorem had nothing particularly at stake and was avoiding the main trains of suspicion. This fit the profile of a murderer who would have noticed early on that it was mostly Sever and Matoro whose necks were on the line.

It had also not been lost on Volo that Jonoh had been quick early on to declare they were on the same side. Volo distrusted that declaration: why would they know if they were on the same side or not? After all, he was a stranger to Ru Eris himself. Similarly, Jonoh seemed to hedge a number of his suspicions, suggesting self-consciousness. The difficulty was determining if this was the uncertainty of a murderer realising he needed to frame the folk of Ru Eris and believing his reasons did not pass muster.

To a lesser extent, Volo also noted that Matoro had continued to be present, and yet offered little in the way of thought, or reaction to the ongoing events. This need not suggest that Matoro was a murderer, but Volo did question Matoro's investment in staying abreast of the Elder's decrees that all in Ru Eris remain active, and yet little apparent interest in finding the murderers.

Thus, those were his three suspects for the moment, ordered from strongest to weakest. 

 

[Lord Spirit he/him]

45 minutes ago, Ookla the Villager said:

Jonoh had been quick early on to declare they were on the same side

(I realize looking back that that was proofless statement, I just was think about how you utterly bamboozled me last time. I assumed that you were a villager, which could be false, but I doubt you’d have contradicted me by pointing that out if you were an unmade. Realistically, it was just a bad way of saying “I’m a villager”, which is pretty useless statement. I hope I’ll get better at this game lol.)

3 minutes ago, Ookla de los cuervos said:

i notice you eyes Jonon.

Jonoh has the impression that someone said his name wrong again. Stupid foreigners. 
He was in no way surprised that the sailor had been working for Odium. 

He watched quietly as Sever conversed with Volo. He didn’t like how quickly the assassin had shifted his vote so quickly to save his life. He had waited until there enough votes on someone besides himself to switch so that he’d be safe. It was understandable that he didn’t want to die, but his methods were questionable at best. 
 

As much as he hated to admit it, it seemed almost impossible for Volo to be a voidbringer. He has also switched votes late, but his had been the vote that ultimately led to Cillians demise. There would be almost no reason to change the vote unless he was trying to help the town. 

[Ookla de los Cuervos he/him]

26 minutes ago, Ookla the Violist said:

(I realize looking back that that was proofless statement, I just was think about how you utterly bamboozled me last time. I assumed that you were a villager, which could be false, but I doubt you’d have contradicted me by pointing that out if you were an unmade. Realistically, it was just a bad way of saying “I’m a villager”, which is pretty useless statement. I hope I’ll get better at this game lol.)

Jonoh has the impression that someone said his name wrong again. Stupid foreigners. 
He was in no way surprised that the sailor had been working for Odium. 

He watched quietly as Sever conversed with Volo. He didn’t like how quickly the assassin had shifted his vote so quickly to save his life. He had waited until there enough votes on someone besides himself to switch so that he’d be safe. It was understandable that he didn’t want to die, but his methods were questionable at best. 
 

As much as he hated to admit it, it seemed almost impossible for Volo to be a voidbringer. He has also switched votes late, but his had been the vote that ultimately led to Cillians demise. There would be almost no reason to change the vote unless he was trying to help the town. 

Linguistics were not Sever's strong suit. and being in no way surprised? how odd... 

[Lord Spirit he/him]

8 minutes ago, Ookla de los cuervos said:

Linguistics were not Sever's strong suit. and being in no way surprised? how odd... 

(this was said in character based on Jonoh’s paranoia making him suspicious of outsiders. He also has a habit of claiming he that knew things breeches he thinks it makes him sound smarter. I didn’t have any strong opinions of who’s guilty.  

Jonoh reenters the inn and makes sure he knows where everyone is. His town was in danger and he didn’t want  of them to die to one of the strangers. Cillians proved that they were up to no good. The only people he could trust were the townsfolk. 

[Araris Valerian he/him]

There were only two things Arenta missed about Cillian. He'd owed her a not unsubstantial sum, which was related to the other thing she missed; his singing. She'd been letting him pay her back by performing for the other guests, and the songs had brought a bit of liveliness to the Leaky Bucket that was now replaced by low mutters and the sounds of eating. Maybe the lack of tunes was more honest, more fitting, for a backwater town's crem-covered tavern run by someone that was generously referred to as "an old hag." But it had been nice to pretend otherwise. Perhaps the next time someone performed at the Bucket, she'd ask them to sing a "Requiem for a Dying Song" as a way to remember.

During a break in the evening crowd, Arenta took some time to smooth out the scratches Sever had made in her wall. As she did, she reluctantly admitted to herself that it was unlikely he was a murderer, in light of Cillian's actions. A vandal, certainly, but not a killer, and he didn't owe her anymore, which made one person in the village.

Finished with both polishing and pondering, Arenta perked up as she heard a Volomir's name mentioned from a table in the corner. While she moved closer to catch whatever rumors she could, her eyes darted around the room, mentally noting the various scuffs and spills the guests had caused, adding a small charge to her mental note of the tabs for each. Unfortunately, the person she'd overheard stood up to leave, setting a few clearchips on the table, and she only caught the end of his last sentence.

"... was responsible for bringing down Cillian."

So, Volomir had helped. Well, he probably wasn't the killer either. Didn't seem like the kind of fellow to send a companion to damnation if he could do a thing about it.

Just then, Arenta heard a holler from the kitchen, and looked over to see several plates waiting to be served. Seemed there was more work than gossip tonight, and debts didn't loan themselves.