Long Game 106: On the Shores of The Black Lake

[|TJ| he/him]

4 hours ago, Kasimir said:

He'd wanted to know what Fox's [ @|TJ|] claimed wariness of Jox stemmed from. Fox had referenced a feeling, but Keldorn was hoping that Fox could explicate it a little more.

I had made friends with kids before, or rather they wanted to be friends and I merely tolerated their presence. Children usually behaved vastly different than how Jox appears here. 

"Kid's just weird, he's not normal."

[Kasimir he/him]

3 minutes ago, |TJ| said:

I had made friends with kids before, or rather they wanted to be friends and I merely tolerated their presence. Children usually behaved vastly different than how Jox appears here. 

Keldorn sighed. He would need to revisit his informants. "Could you spell out a little more clearly what you think the differences are?"

[|TJ| he/him]

3 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Keldorn sighed. He would need to revisit his informants. "Could you spell out a little more clearly what you think the differences are?"

Poor kid, lasted only one day before getting killed. At least he had a friend when he died, or so he believed...

He'd left a book, describing that one day in quite a detail. He was quite vociferous in his opinions and came swinging straight off the gate. I'm not really seeing anything of the sort from Jox here. Perhaps it was the situation that demanded it? We could not speak quite often in such danger and we could only speak when we met in secret, so we had a lot to talk in such meetings. 

"Kid left a journal for me. Here, check this page and this one. Let me know if you think Jox is showing the same urgency here."

[Kasimir he/him]

1 hour ago, |TJ| said:

Poor kid, lasted only one day before getting killed. At least he had a friend when he died, or so he believed...

He'd left a book, describing that one day in quite a detail. He was quite vociferous in his opinions and came swinging straight off the gate. I'm not really seeing anything of the sort from Jox here. Perhaps it was the situation that demanded it? We could not speak quite often in such danger and we could only speak when we met in secret, so we had a lot to talk in such meetings. 

"Kid left a journal for me. Here, check this page and this one. Let me know if you think Jox is showing the same urgency here."

Keldorn'd just gone over reports from his own informants. 

"Yeah, I can see the difference," he admitted. That ancestor or relative of Jox had gone in hard and fast, accusing Exp, and Keldorn'd actually quite liked the energy of his entrance: dynamic, aggressive, and focused.

It was a bit of a contrast to the way Jox'd backpedalled under pressure here, with more interest in investigation. It was true that another ancestor of Jox had mentioned not wanting to die, and Keldorn'd thought he could kind of see that influencing Jox's overreaction here. He supposed that was still a point against Jox, though, and Keldorn found himself reconsidering his view of the man.

However, he'd also found himself reconsidering Kéamen.

First, Keldorn'd sat down and made himself think about worlds in which Astrid was in fact a villager, out of worries he was over-tunnelled on Astrid. In those worlds, he felt that he could no longer afford Kéamen credit for voting Astrid to create a tie.

Second, he'd gone over Kéamen's posts again, in light of the former. 

In truth, he felt Kéamen was quick to throw shade on multiple suspects, spreading suspicions shallowly, seeing what took, and then picking generally safe places to cast accusations, such as Lipitor. Kéamen's switch to wanting no executions on the basis of a completely different set of circumstances didn't really feel genuine given his view on pressure, and the fact that the different set of circumstances just didn't apply here. Keldorn was also forced to reconsidering if his call for Seekers was at least fishing for reactions a little to hunt for potential Seekers, because a Seeker should only claim to their target, and in the world they found anything malicious, claiming it outright or via a previous cleared scan was the obvious course.

Although Kéamen had claimed he was exerting pressure to elicit reactions, Keldorn felt he seemed uninterested in actually drawing conclusions from how his targets reacted, nor how the market square dynamics shifted based on his pressure accusations. Keldorn wondered if he'd been too quick to consider Kéamen's behaviour to check out on the basis of his informants' reports.

Edited June 12, 2025 by Kasimir
justification

[BigBadBagsworth He/him/his]

Teal had been listening around the square, and he thought the most suspicious thing (okay, the only suspicious thing. everything was going so slowly! everything would be easier if they could just communicate mind-to-mind, like the people on that one planet his dad had told him about! but nevermind.) was that Derrick, the not-dead guy, had asked Var why he had chosen to kill another person, and Var's response had basically boiled down to "well, someone had to die". Maybe Teal didn't truly understand what was going on - that was likely as, being a preteen, he didn't have much life experience. But until someone changed his mind, Var had his vote.

[Kasimir he/him]

15 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

"Var, you had the choice between life and death, or death and death. How did you chose?"

Keldorn had been going over the events in the market square yet again, and he only just realised.

Derrick had said "life and death, or death and death." Var had said, and this was Teal's bone to pick, that someone had to die.

"Derrick," he began, slowly, frowning. "Why are the choices between life and death, and death and death?" This was extremely specific wording. It was suggestive of something—something niggled at the back of Keldorn's head—but he let it steep for the moment like tea leaves in an old, chipped mug, and awaited Derrick's response.

[KaladinsSenseOfHumourSpren He/Him]

4 hours ago, TwinStorm said:

Derrick trying to deflect votes onto Antari seemed suspicious, as well as taking Copper's accusations and removing several people from the list for no apparent reason, settling on Var with little explanation (that was noticeable to Josha, of course). Time was running out, and they needed to choose. 

 

This was a good argument. But it did not convince Mil. The only thing suspicious was no reasoning behind the Var pick.

14 hours ago, StrikerEZ said:

”Well, my fine sir,” Var said, “I did it because someone had to die. I did not feel particularly strongly about either Lijal or Astrid, and figured if given the choice Lijal made more sense as Astrid had yet to show up. We could have executed Astrid, but I imagine Aral will have some words for her if she doesn’t show herself soon. Better to execute someone we had at least some interactions from. Even if Lijal turned out to be innocent.”

 

This felt like a Spiked trying to get two kills for one. Var.

[StrikerEZ he/him]

28 minutes ago, KaladinsSenseOfHumorSpren said:

This felt like a Spiked trying to get two kills for one. Var.

“How is this me trying to get two kills for one? Ties specifically don’t kill anyone in this city,” Var said.

[KaladinsSenseOfHumourSpren He/Him]

10 minutes ago, StrikerEZ said:

“How is this me trying to get two kills for one? Ties specifically don’t kill anyone in this city,” Var said.

"You voted Lijal, hoping that Astrid would be kicked out for staying in hiding. 2 kills."

[Ashbringer he/him]

15 hours ago, StrikerEZ said:

@Ashbringer When Derrick questioned him on his choice of either letting everyone live that first day or executing someone, Var paused and pondered. Why had he done that?

”Well, my fine sir,” Var said, “I did it because someone had to die. I did not feel particularly strongly about either Lijal or Astrid, and figured if given the choice Lijal made more sense as Astrid had yet to show up. We could have executed Astrid, but I imagine Aral will have some words for her if she doesn’t show herself soon. Better to execute someone we had at least some interactions from. Even if Lijal turned out to be innocent.”

"But is that the choice you were given? You picked Lijal at first, and at last. But when the die was to be cast between Lijal and Astrid, you picked Astrid instead, until Madiane urged you otherwise," Derrick replied. "Why?"

10 hours ago, Kasimir said:

He'd wanted to know why Derrick had chosen to start a side-train at two hours and thirty-five minutes to sundown, particularly when said pressure on Antari would realistically amount to nothing. This appeared more performative than of actual use.

6 hours ago, TwinStorm said:

 Derrick trying to deflect votes onto Antari seemed suspicious, as well as taking Copper's accusations and removing several people from the list for no apparent reason, settling on Var with little explanation (that was noticeable to Josha, of course). Time was running out, and they needed to choose. 

@Ashbringer Josha, though, would love to hear Derrick's thoughts, and defend his choice.

At this Derrick shrugged. "I was preoccupied, what with the whole..." he waved vaguely at his sufficiently-scratched face. I believe I mentioned as much earlier. I didn't have a real opportunity to review why Lijal was a target, being new to the city and all, and I didn't like it but also had no arguments against it. Meanwhile, folks like Antari are still absent, particularly despite being at least partially in... outside correspondences, one might say?"

"As for my list, the names selected were the, for lack of a better word, "softer" suspicions. I don't think Jox would hire someone to remove his largest detractor, but someone less interconnected to Copper seems more likely."

4 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Keldorn had been going over the events in the market square yet again, and he only just realised.

Derrick had said "life and death, or death and death." Var had said, and this was Teal's bone to pick, that someone had to die.

"Derrick," he began, slowly, frowning. "Why are the choices between life and death, and death and death?" This was extremely specific wording. It was suggestive of something—something niggled at the back of Keldorn's head—but he let it steep for the moment like tea leaves in an old, chipped mug, and awaited Derrick's response.

"Mil and Var perhaps beat you to that punch, old soldier," Derrick said, grinning a bit too wide. "Whose life, and whose death? And as Mil notes, will it lead to second death for Astrid? Not immediately. Though perhaps I was misremembering how this works... it does vary bout to bout. Sometimes people line up for you, sometimes it's a wave. Or perhaps I'm just being dramatic," he finished, and gave a small bow.

He smacked his lips. All this talking... he didn't talk too much, did he? Well.

[Araris Valerian he/him]

For folks not familiar with Tyrian setups, I'd like to clarify/emphasize a few things:

• Any kill attempts will be revealed in the writeup, successful or not (a failed attempt will be noted as "X was attacked but survived")
• Coinshot attacks will be identified by the used of Steel and/or coins or other metal projectiles, any other method of murder can be assumed to be the Spiked
  • If I list a non-allomantic role in a writeup, it's just for flavor, there are no secret roles
• Not every role is guaranteed to exist in the game, and there may be multiples of certain roles
• (not a Tyrian thing) The activity filter for this game is 2 consecutive cycles with no posts in thread, though I may discuss with the IM if someone's activity seems more aligned with dodging the filter than playing the game. PMs do not count.

Current VC (insert disclaimer about accuracy here):
Var (3): Mil, Teal, John
John (2): Josha, Var
Lipitor (1): Kéamen
Kéamen (1): Keldorn
Madiane (1): Fox

Just over 5 hours left in the Day!

Edited June 13, 2025 by Araris Valerian

[StrikerEZ he/him]

5 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Current VC (insert disclaimer about accuracy here):
Var (3): Mil, Teal, John
John (2): Joshua, Var
Lipitor (1): Kéamen
Kéamen (1): Keldorn
Madiane (1): Fox

“Oh wise, Aral,” Var said, “I believe you are missing Derrick’s vote cast for myself. Otherwise I believe this to be correct. Or…wait, is John another name for Derrick?

”Also, @Ashbringer Derrick, in response to your question…well I seem to have forgotten a quite thorough explanation [read: my post got deleted], but essentially I voted the way I did because I wanted to avoid a tie and prioritize keeping alive those villagers who are actively engaging with us, but when it was clear Lijal would be executed regardless wanted to move my vote to Lijal to ensure no last minute shenanigans. Call me crazy if you must, but it made sense to me at the time.”

[TwinStorm He/Him]

26 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

For folks not familiar with Tyrian setups, I'd like to clarify/emphasize a few things:

• Any kill attempts will be revealed in the writeup, successful or not (a failed attempt will be noted as "X was attacked but survived")
• Coinshot attacks will be identified by the used of Steel and/or coins or other metal projectiles, any other method of murder can be assumed to be the Spiked
  • If I list a non-allomantic role in a writeup, it's just for flavor, there are no secret roles
• Not every role is guaranteed to exist in the game, and there may be multiples of certain roles
• (not a Tyrian thing) The activity filter for this game is 2 consecutive cycles with no posts in thread, though I may discuss with the IM if someone's activity seems more aligned with dodging the filter than playing the game. PMs do not count.

Current VC (insert disclaimer about accuracy here):
Var (3): Mil, Teal, John
John (2): Joshua, Var
Lipitor (1): Kéamen
Kéamen (1): Keldorn
Madiane (1): Fox

Just over 5 hours left in the Day!

excluded my vote for Derrick from Josha

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Jox was tired. He'd done a lot of learning over the past few days, and while he really wanted to avenge his friend Lijal by figuring out who the spiked were, he wasn't feeling up for a full analysis like his ancestors had done according to Fox. In all honesty, he'd started writing up one such report, and it had just made him want to stay silent for the whole day. So, rather than do either of those, he decided to focus on the people who were already under suspicion for today. Madiane, Var, Lipitor, and Derrick.

First, he went over everything he remembered Lipitor saying. It amounted to nothing. Literally nothing that was analyzable. Even when delivering the bread during the council's Promised Meals initiative (PM), Lipitor hadn't said anything. He would probably advocate for execution if none of the other three struck him as more suspicious, but right now, he didn't see the point in going after the folk hero.

Next, he went over Madiane's behavior, and didn't see anything of suspicion. He wished that she hadn't pressured Lijal so much that the urchin had died, but It had basically been a mob. Madiane had come in at the last minute, and 

Aral Penrod poked his head in. "Hi Jox, you missed Keldorn voting for Kéamen."

Jox blinked, then reread. Ah, so he had. Anyway

Madiane had come in at the last minute, and voted for Lijal, and Jox could see two likely explanations for it. One, she hadn't heard Var change his vote, and trusted him enough to vote alongside where she thought he had been voting prior to two minutes before her vote, or Two, she would rather vote for someone active rather than inactive. Jox didn't consider her behavior to be all that suspicious. She didn't seem worth voting on at the moment.

There was a lot more that could be said about Var. From his vaguely performative speech about allomancy alongside his vote on Lijal, which really didn't make sense to Jox. Surely, he knew that Lijal was smarter than that. Someone very similar to Lijal had fought alongside someone very similar to Var and done quite well, and they had behaved differently at that time. Jox noticed two things suddenly. One, he had now effectively accused Fox, Astrid, and Var of being evil based on their interactions with Lijal. Was he holding some weird biases from his dreams of The Tower's Pressure? He should probably reconsider that. Secondly, he noticed Var talking outside his window with Derrick. He was explaining why he had gone back and forth at the end of the day yesterday, and Jox nodded along with it. It perfectly matched what they had discussed during their PM, when Var had tried to get Jox to vote on Lijal over Astrid to avoid a tie, and Jox had simply shrugged, and told Var that it seemed like the man could easily avoid a tie by switching his own vote, and Jox's preference for Lijal's life seemed to be higher than Var's preference for Lijal's death.

All in all, he didn't know where he stood on Var. The man was more suspicious than Madiane, but not suspicious enough to vote on. Jox genuinely appreciated the man's interactions with Lijal. They seemed innocent.

Next, Jox thought about John dee Derrick. The cartographer had first shown up to argue in favor of executing someone, against Kéamen's argument's of peace. Jox agreed that someone did need to die, sadly, but that was honestly an ice cold take. It didn't really imply one way or the other about Derrick's own innocence. Then this morning he had done analysis of Copper's reports to Al, and had said some things about Jox that he had to disagree with. Namely, Jox absolutely would have asked his pa to take out the mob boss if he was spiked. He probably shouldn't say that though, but it was true.

Either way, he knew he was innocent, so Derrick had gotten to pick between Fox, Mil, and Var as the likely ones to kill Copper. Jox wondered still why he had chosen Var over Fox. In general, he wondered what Fox was doing behind the scenes, but Keldorn seemed to trust him, and Jox trusted Keldorn, hilariously due to Keldorn's own increased suspicion of himself. 

So, John didn't like or trust Var's motivations for voting the way he did, whereas Jox kinda did.

Still, he had one more to analyse; Kéamen. There were three things of note about Kéamen, he had early on soft defended Fox by pressuring Jox about his vote on the man, he had fought with words and actions to prevent any execution, and he had encouraged seekers to reveal their findings to the public. It felt very early Village play honestly. Nothing about it was suspicious

He was getting frustrated. None of these people seemed like good targets to execute. If only he wasn't so tired. Jox decided that there was enough information to be gained that an execution on Var might be worthwhile, but he hoped he would have energy later, before nightfall, to do a more thorough analysis of everyone, instead of just these 5.

Then, that done, he went in search of Keldorn

12 hours ago, Kasimir said:

Keldorn had previously outlined his reasons for feeling positive about Jox. To briefly reiterate, he felt that Jox had in general behaved in a more attention-grabbing way than a Spiked murderer would be comfortable with, and had early vibes of comfort with the market square. He felt that was a net positive.

He'd aired questions last night, but as far as Keldorn could tell, had received no answers to them. To wit:

He'd wanted to know if Jox [ @A Jo in the Bush ] had any private interactions with Josha, and what those interactions had been like.

He'd wanted to know if Jox had established Astrid's presence, implying that Astrid was making a calculated decision to ignore the market square, possibly to avoid heat, but was otherwise present.

 

"Hi Keldorn." Jox waved "Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier. When I walked to Josha during PM runs, the interactions we had pretty much mirrored the ones we were having in the square. Weirdly so at times honestly. As for Astrid, the man didn't say anything at all, and still hasn't, but has read my PM offering bread. Antari meanwhile, is claiming to have been kidnapped. I hope someone manages to break into the inn and free him so he's willing to talk in the square."

15 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

excluded my vote for Derrick from Josha

41 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Current VC (insert disclaimer about accuracy here):
Var (3): Mil, Teal, John
John (2): Joshua, Var
Lipitor (1): Kéamen
Kéamen (1): Keldorn
Madiane (1): Fox

I think probably Aral just spelt your name wrong? There isn't a Joshua in town, so I think that's supposed to be your vote.

[|TJ| he/him]

I understood not feeling up for something. I fee towards Jox, I am still wary but perhaps I should give him a bit of leeway. 

I am not sure about these accusations on Var, though. I feel like he was coming from a good place, wanting us to start off at some place in our investigation. 

I am not sure about a bunch of stuff right now, to be honest. Madiane's silence reads a bit weird seeming as they were involved in last minute-chaos on the previous day. 

21 hours ago, Hoid Slayer said:

Finally, Kéamen kept eyes on Keldorn and Fox. There was something odd about the way they constantly supported each other.

Should I be funny and join Keldorn in tailing Keamen? Maybe I should.

How could he keep his eyes on us if we were tailing him? Perhaps he was walking backwards...

But then... eh I really don't like Derrick's vote on Var. 

2 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

"But is that the choice you were given? You picked Lijal at first, and at last. But when the die was to be cast between Lijal and Astrid, you picked Astrid instead, until Madiane urged you otherwise," Derrick replied. "Why?"

"Astrid and Lijal were both equally accused at 3-3, with Var already yelling at Lijal. If Var does not move (and has no info about Madiane's movements), from his perspective, the day would end with a tie and no one the wiser. The only way Var could break the tie was by movie to Astrid to make it 4-2, now killing Astrid. Once Damiane popped in with an argument againt Lijal (4-3), Var could actually target his true suspect Lijal, without the fear of tie and no-death (3-4)." 

I realise I am speaking for Var, but if I could follow this line of reasoning, why couldn't Derrick?

[StrikerEZ he/him]

27 minutes ago, |TJ| said:

"Astrid and Lijal were both equally accused at 3-3, with Var already yelling at Lijal. If Var does not move (and has no info about Madiane's movements), from his perspective, the day would end with a tie and no one the wiser. The only way Var could break the tie was by movie to Astrid to make it 4-2, now killing Astrid. Once Damiane popped in with an argument againt Lijal (4-3), Var could actually target his true suspect Lijal, without the fear of tie and no-death (3-4)." 

I realise I am speaking for Var, but if I could follow this line of reasoning, why couldn't Derrick?

“Don’t feel bad speaking for me, Fox,” Var said. “You managed to say what I could not make my stupid silly brain put into words. It’s the madness, you see.

”I am really beginning to suspect that there is at least one killer amongst the voters on me. Assuming I am executed, my first suggestion would be to go for John/Derrick next. Then Mil or Teal. I actually feel pretty solid about Jox being innocent, just misguided. Mostly. I mostly trust him because I do not think a killer would get so involved with the death of a villager, unless the runner up train (in this case Derrick) was also a killer with Jox. One would think Jox, based on his ancestors’ recent experience, would know not to connect himself so strongly to a teammate so early.”

[Ashbringer he/him]

2 hours ago, StrikerEZ said:

“Oh wise, Aral,” Var said, “I believe you are missing Derrick’s vote cast for myself. Otherwise I believe this to be correct. Or…wait, is John another name for Derrick?

”Also, @Ashbringer Derrick, in response to your question…well I seem to have forgotten a quite thorough explanation [read: my post got deleted], but essentially I voted the way I did because I wanted to avoid a tie and prioritize keeping alive those villagers who are actively engaging with us, but when it was clear Lijal would be executed regardless wanted to move my vote to Lijal to ensure no last minute shenanigans. Call me crazy if you must, but it made sense to me at the time.”

1 hour ago, |TJ| said:

"Astrid and Lijal were both equally accused at 3-3, with Var already yelling at Lijal. If Var does not move (and has no info about Madiane's movements), from his perspective, the day would end with a tie and no one the wiser. The only way Var could break the tie was by movie to Astrid to make it 4-2, now killing Astrid. Once Damiane popped in with an argument againt Lijal (4-3), Var could actually target his true suspect Lijal, without the fear of tie and no-death (3-4)." 

I realise I am speaking for Var, but if I could follow this line of reasoning, why couldn't Derrick?

"John is my first name," John 'Doe' Derrick stated. "Or given name, depending on your view."

"But that is, to some degree the point - why fear a tie? If two suspects you have, and one will die from the tie just by random happenstance, then-"

Derrick suddenly got a chill to the back of his spine. One he hadn't felt in a very, very long time. Not since... since the last time he'd been Derrick. Not Ruin. Not even the return of Faleast as a voice. Something worse.

The realization of something, without a voice to say it.

Derrick suddenly pulled out a mass of paper, flipping hurriedly through his marker of town names and codes and - oh, there it was. That little clause.

Quote

Tied votes (including no votes) result in no death.

 

"Ah," Derrick said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "I, uh... may have misunderstood Var's situation?"

[Biplet she/her]

Madiane listened to all the chatter around her as intently as she could, but a headache was blooming behind her right eye, trailing down to the base of her skull where that scar sat. She traced it with one finger. So many accusations, so much noise flying around. She could barely make sense of it all.

Thought one name stuck out to her. Var, the madman who cleaned the latrines with her before her... sudden appointment to mayor. Oh, she was mayor, wasn't she? She needed to say something... mayorly. Something smart. But that niggling headache turned needle sharp, pressed against her eyelid, flashing images of... of...

Spots, and then the headache receded. Still there, dull and aching, but she could think again.

Mayor. She was the mayor.

"Var @StrikerEZ, could it be true? I thought we were good coworkers. Convince me you are not a killer among us."

Yes. That would work. That was mayor enough.

[Through the Living Hopper He/Him]

Beauty!

The ground rumbled, causing the Pain to stumble and fall.

And… was that light that Antari saw? It was! A large piece of stone had fallen out of the ceiling!

Brought alive by the hope that the light represented, Antari kicked the stumbling Pain in the knee.

The ceiling began to break apart more, spilling rubble all over the downed PAIN. Antari hopped (on the Pain's back) and grabbed a knife off of the pain-table. He cut his bonds and climbed out of the weakened room.

He stumbled, almost unconscious from the lingering pain. The town was gathered in the square: "…ri meanwhile, is claiming to have been kidnapped. I hope someone manages to break into the inn and free him so he's willing to talk in the square."

Antari stumbled into the square. He realized how he must have looked, after the torture.

"You got some ash of timing, John." Then, he succumbed to the pain and crumpled, unconscious, to the ground.

[Kasimir he/him]

4 hours ago, Ashbringer said:

"Mil and Var perhaps beat you to that punch, old soldier," Derrick said, grinning a bit too wide. "Whose life, and whose death? And as Mil notes, will it lead to second death for Astrid? Not immediately. Though perhaps I was misremembering how this works... it does vary bout to bout. Sometimes people line up for you, sometimes it's a wave. Or perhaps I'm just being dramatic," he finished, and gave a small bow.

4 minutes ago, Ashbringer said:

Derrick suddenly pulled out a mass of paper, flipping hurriedly through his marker of town names and codes and - oh, there it was. That little clause.

"That," Keldorn said flatly, "Was what I was asking. It should've been life and life, or life and death."

He didn't want to add that he'd actually asked because he'd made a note that Fox, too, had not seemed to realise that tied votes resulted in no execution. It was something Keldorn had taken note of, if only because it had formed such a significant point of contention between Copper, Kéamen, Keldorn, Jox, and Var on the first day that Keldorn had wondered (it was a little insane, he conceded) if Fox and Derrick had a hidden base in which that misunderstanding was shared.

-

Quote

 

Aral said, "Are you sure?"

Of course he wasn't asking about Keldorn's health. Probably the damages, considering. Bloody Astrid, Keldorn thought. Tosser couldn't be bothered to show up to do his damned job, so of course Aral was shoving it onto Keldorn, among all the other things he was juggling. Because there was no such thing as a good thing in a world like this, and Keldorn really needed to pay his landlady before she started jotting down more debts, both real and imaginary.

So there it was. There it went.

Keldorn said, shortly, "That's why you lent me five Garrison, didn't you?"

"Guards," Aral corrected absently. "Try not to get them killed, we need them."

Keldorn grunted. Of course they did. Damned koloss didn't have the damned decency to just drop dead already, or vanish into the mists and be eaten by mistwraiths.

He was just finished buckling his sword on when Aral poked his head back into the room. "Actually, there's no need anymore," he said.

"What," Keldorn said, flatly.

"The ground just gave way beneath the inn and Antari crawled out," Aral informed him.

"What," Keldorn said, his tone still flat. He wondered if they could arrange for a similar miraculous intervention with the koloss. "So...I'm still getting paid for this, aren't I?"

"Shut the inn down," Aral said, finally. "Arrest the innkeeper and take him and his thugs to the jail. Last thing we need is the Laughing Koloss continuing to run illicit kidnapping and extortion schemes out of the cellar."

"Told you that place was a front," Keldorn said, absently, nodding in response to his new directives. "Stew like that, they weren't going to be making any boxings. Gang was clearly laundering dirty boxings through it."

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

Quote

Sorry in advance for breaking character…

In short, I wrote a really long post on my computer, but it just died, I don’t have easy access to a charger, and there is no way I am writing that whole thing out on my phone at 10:30 PM

I’ll put the post out tomorrow; I don’t think it will change too much anyways

What really matters is that I’m retracting my vote on Lipitor (there’s no way he’s getting exes this round) and voting Var.

 

[StrikerEZ he/him]

“Well,” Var said, “since I am seemingly going to be executed before the day is out, I guess I must lay out my final suspicions. With all these new faces, it has been somewhat difficult to keep track of what has been going on. But I think it is highly likely that at least one of my voters is a killer. I’m leaning most towards John, despite the recent retraction of his vote. I also suspect Fox and Kéamen. If taking out those three does not weed out all the killers, then look at Mil and Teal next. For now, I’ve got a job to do. Cleaning up all of the crem you lot have left me.”

[Araris Valerian he/him]

Heads up that Night 2 will be slightly delayed (maybe 30-60 minutes) getting posted. Please refrain from sending any PMs during the time between turns.

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Var (4): Mil, Teal, Jox, Kéamen
John Derrick(3): Joshua, Var, Fox
Kéamen (1): Keldorn

Jox was feeling worse about the vote on Var, but didn't really want to vote on John, nor did he want to move his vote off Var and leave it as a tie. Jox was also realizing that if he left his vote on Var after saying this, and then Var died and flipped Elim, it would look really weird, but Jox really didn't know what to do.

If Var or Derrick were the only two options to execute, and they were both villagers, which seemed. . . plausible? dunno. If they were both probably villagers, who's death would give the village the best chance at victory? Jox wasn't sure.

[StrikerEZ he/him]

3 minutes ago, A Jo in the Bush said:

Var (4): Mil, Teal, Jox, Kéamen
John Derrick(3): Joshua, Var, Fox
Kéamen (1): Keldorn

Jox was feeling worse about the vote on Var, but didn't really want to vote on John, nor did he want to move his vote off Var and leave it as a tie. Jox was also realizing that if he left his vote on Var after saying this, and then Var died and flipped Elim, it would look really weird, but Jox really didn't know what to do.

If Var or Derrick were the only two options to execute, and they were both villagers, which seemed. . . plausible? dunno. If they were both probably villagers, who's death would give the village the best chance at victory? Jox wasn't sure.

“I’m suspicious of Kéamen,” Var said. “If got a third person to vote with us, such as @Biplet, we could swing the vote into Kéamen. I’d prefer John, but I also prefer anyone else dying over myself, so I’ll take what I can get.”