Long Game 106: On the Shores of The Black Lake

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

1 hour ago, TwinStorm said:

Josha sighed, walking through town. Murders last night. Bad for business. When people died, everyone immediately suspected the wizard. Comes with the job, he thought, but he didn't appreciate the pitchforks.

He walked up to the baker. "Boy!" he called out. "Boy! What's the news?"

@A Jo in the Bush

"Well, some of the new refugees have brought a recipie for a ring-shaped bread, called a bagel, and my Pa is going to ask the council for permission to try making it." Jox looked at the guards still preventing anyone from accessing the council's chamber. By now he had heard the rumors of murder that were filling the town. "I wouldn't keep my hopes up."

"As for less local news, well, my Ma listens a lot to Fox news, but that stuff is all terrible to pay attention to." He shrugged. "maybe I'm wrong though, and this one will be different."

[Ashbringer he/him]

Turns out, doctors can be quite talkative people once you've assured them you're not a panicked hallucination or incarnate mistwraith. Technically, AraRaash was the second, but he didn't see much reason to tell the doctor that now that he was sipping a hot drink in shaky hands. They'd put a few things together, the two of them. AraRaash - or John Doe, or Derrick, or whatever name this corpse used to own - had been found at the base of the mountain after evidently taking the very short way down from the top of it. He'd bled to death, then suddenly regained consciousness, conveniently with some level of memory loss. From there he'd assured the doctor - Marwin, his name - that he wasn't here to claim his soul.

That left just one really, really important thing.

"Please tell me this isn't Tyrian Falls," AraRaash said, the desperation in the back of his neck overriding the want to ask more discreetly.

"No, we're in Blackkeep," Marwin replied, seemingly relieved to be discussing something other than the apparent resurrection of the definitely-human in front of him. "Tyrian's a good bit that way. Why, you have business there?"

"No! No. A long time ago, I did, and it... didn't end well. I'd stay away if I were you. Still too many koloss." Granted, that 'long time ago' was on the order of multiple centuries, when he'd gone looking for a certain element. They'd found it, him and Faleast, but then they'd gotten themselves snuffed. And it still took them a dozen different methods to get out of that anomaly. Second-worst timeloop he'd gotten himself into. At least the Strifeline was being interesting.

Did he have that element? Or was that a yet-to-happen?

"Oh, I'm afraid that won't be a problem," Marwin said. "City's under lockdown. Too much going on."

"Ah. Secretive faction that needs to be dealt with before they kill too many of us?"

"What?"

"We'll see soon enough," Derrick said, grabbing a coat that seemed to have mostly survived the mountain fall. "Now, I thank you for not burying me, but I still need to get some air."

And he left the little office, leaving Marwin stammering behind. Time to find Faleast, and find what was happening in Blackkeep.

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

Copper Stopper stared out across the streets of Blackkeep. He was ready. He could do this. He had been instrumental in the expansion of the Metal Mob in the last town. That had earned him his new job as point man for Tin Capone. 

This town was a very busy place. Despite his hesitance to create a alternate persona for himself, he had already kept track of the accusations thrown about by the people of Blackkeep.

Fox (2) Keldorn, Jox 

Lijal (1) Fox

Keldorn (1) Keamon

Of the accusations, Copper only found two to be of note. Keldorn and Fox didn't seem particularly serious in their reasoning, so Copper was quite certain they'd change their minds. Keamon's accusation too, felt fairly ordinary, though Keldorn was perhaps a strange target. Keamon did seem like to type to pick a strange target though, so Copper figured he could excuse that.

Jox, though, he was a bizarre boy. He had used his bread delivery as an excuse to create a line of communication with Tin Capone himself. Copper had a feeling Jox had done this with others, but of course he couldn't know without their input.

Copper wasn't sure what it meant if his prediction of mass communication was correct, but he thought it was telling that Jox had not done the same in certain similar situations in the past.

He also thought it suspicious that Jox had joined Keldorn in accusing Fox. It was early yet in the day, and it could very well have been an opportunistic maneuver. Jox may seem a child, but Copper had looked him in the eyes, and he had an old soul. Perhaps the oldest in this town.

If Copper had to suggest a name to Tin Calone, it would have to be Jox, but he would wait for now. Like he had thought, it was early yet.

[TwinStorm He/Him]

6 hours ago, A Jo in the Bush said:

"Well, some of the new refugees have brought a recipie for a ring-shaped bread, called a bagel, and my Pa is going to ask the council for permission to try making it." Jox looked at the guards still preventing anyone from accessing the council's chamber. By now he had heard the rumors of murder that were filling the town. "I wouldn't keep my hopes up."

"As for less local news, well, my Ma listens a lot to Fox news, but that stuff is all terrible to pay attention to." He shrugged. "maybe I'm wrong though, and this one will be different."

"That's . . . wonderful." he paused. "Look, what are the people saying? Who's the culprit? Do we know?"

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

7 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

"That's . . . wonderful." he paused. "Look, what are the people saying? Who's the culprit? Do we know?"

"So far, no one's saying much of anything." Jox checked the list he had been scribbling on all day. "Most people who have said anything have simply asked that I tell them if someone is acting weird or suspicious. A few folk have asked that I not deliver them any more bread, which might be suspicious? I mean, who doesn't like bread? The rest have just appreciated the bread. There's still a lot of folks who haven't even accepted the bread, just listened to the choice I offered them, then shut the door in my face. I might just offer up the remaining bread at the end of the day to anyone who wants it."

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

As he spoke with Keldorn, Kéamen kept an eye on the boy. Jox, he had said his name was. There was nothing inherently suspicious about him. And yet, Kéamen couldn't help but notice the way Jox eagerly approached every interesting figure in the square immediately. He had an excuse, of course, but still. Dangerous people often liked to establish the earliest bonds. And then there was the matter of Jox's pressure on the Fox, seemingly unprompted, after Keldorn had already applied his own. It could be indicative of an urge to focus blame on others.

Kéamen shook the thoughts from his head. It was just a boy. But sometimes the youngest were the least likely to be suspected, and the most dangerous.

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Jox sighed. He definitely wasn't a comedian. "I'm sorry for joking around, I was just trying to make the situation less tense. I have nothing against Fox, I was just joking about not trusting Fox news when I was asked about the news."

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

Kéamen nodded slightly, not entirely satisfied, but consumed by something else at the moment. He had already spoken with the boy in private (the boy had approached him first, of course), as he was now doing with Keldorn.

 

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

6 minutes ago, Hoid Slayer said:

Kéamen nodded slightly, not entirely satisfied, but consumed by something else at the moment. He had already spoken with the boy in private (the boy had approached him first, of course), as he was now doing with Keldorn.

 

Copper nodded to himself. From the ways the others were discussing, it seemed the boy had opened communications with everyone. Certainly not suspicious quite yet, but the boy had not done so in the past, despite similar circumstances. He had also quickly retreated his stance on Fox one pressed. Not a very good look.

[Biplet she/her]

Latrine duty. Madiane supposed it could be worse. At least she had a job this time. Something told her she wasn't usually one to keep down a job. Not like she remembered ever having one, at least. 

Unfortunate to see that this town already had a murder. Seems lots of people were getting murdered these days. At least she had a partner to clean latrines with. Ver? Far? Something like that. Maybe he knew what all this murder nonsense was about.

[Kasimir he/him]

Shortly past his conversation with Kéamen, Keldorn found himself watching the emptiness of the market square with some wariness.

He distrusted the silence. It felt like the calm before a sudden, violent ashfall. There were too many they hadn't heard hide nor hair from; Lipitor, Teal, Astrid, and Antari, based off the list of profiles Aral had handed over to him. It was easy enough for the Spiked murderers to hide among the silent, though Keldorn did not feel the missing were their primary concern at this juncture. With the scout reports of advancing koloss and the council murders, Keldorn had no doubt that anyone missing for more than two days would find Blackkeep's Garrison hauling them out of hiding.

No, he was more worried if any in that number was merely lying low. They'd need another day to know for sure, however.

Of those his informants had caught sight of, Mil, Lijal, Var, Josha, Derrick, and Madiane seemed content to merely establish their presence. Keldorn distrusted that. (Admittedly, he'd a slight fanciful theory about Jox and Josha, though he'd not seen fit to give voice to it quite just yet.)

Jox and Fox had both made accusations, though Keldorn could work out little enough from what they were saying. 

8 hours ago, The Unknown Order said:

Copper wasn't sure what it meant if his prediction of mass communication was correct, but he thought it was telling that Jox had not done the same in certain similar situations in the past.

Copper though. Copper and Kéamen were particularly vocal, and Keldorn'd noticed the slight connection between the two of them. What to make of it, he was unsure, though he found himself a little wary of both. He agreed with Copper's assessment that Kéamen likely fit the profile of the sort who was wont to immediate and wild distrust of anyone who was a little more forward about trying to find the Spiked. (He thought he remembered someone like that, once.) Still, there was a conspicuous overlap between that and two different-but-similar sorts of profiles that Keldorn could think of, like a horseshoe. Sometimes a new murderer would panic and immediately push someone they thought was loud. It wasn't deliberate, Keldorn didn't think. It was a strange kind of involuntary kneejerk, no different from the way you might end up inhaling water when drowning. Sometimes, an experienced murderer did it on purpose. That was a mindset Keldorn struggled to understand, though he knew of it. Which way Kéamen fell, Keldorn was not immediately certain. It was the point of reservation he kept to himself.

At the same time, Copper wasn't as clean as a whistle, and there were whispers that Copper had connections to the Mob, one of the more notorious thieving crews that'd dabbled in all sorts of crime and vice. Keldorn was wary of that, and wary of the aggressive way Copper'd come in. Didn't seem very much like his profile of the fellow.

Where was Copper getting the idea it was uncharacteristic for Jox, anyway?

15 hours ago, A Jo in the Bush said:

Once he had the names in hand, he set off, to find and speak to each individual on the list.

8 hours ago, The Unknown Order said:

Jox, though, he was a bizarre boy. He had used his bread delivery as an excuse to create a line of communication with Tin Capone himself. Copper had a feeling Jox had done this with others, but of course he couldn't know without their input.

9 hours ago, The Unknown Order said:

If Copper had to suggest a name to Tin Calone, it would have to be Jox, but he would wait for now. Like he had thought, it was early yet.

Keldorn distrusted the pattern he saw. Copper's uncharacteristic behaviour (the irony was not lost on him), at least not for someone of his more relaxed profile, the seemingly-performative question Jox'd already addressed publicly made it seem as though Copper's wariness of Jox wasn't particularly sincere. Sometimes, criminals did that: they made it look like they were at odds so you thought they weren't working together, but little things gave it away—the shallowness of the accusations, engagement along a tangent...

Certainly, Copper'd claimed that Jox might've been making loose accusations. Still, a significant part of his wariness appeared to be careful artifice—artifice which Keldorn had misgivings about.

One way or another, Keldorn was ill-inclined to make too much comment about the disposition of the defenders of Blackkeep or the Spiked murderers in their midst. He often felt this was not the sort of thing that could be established without more information than they currently had. All the same, he did feel that there were enough strangers in Blackkeep that it was worth cautioning any Tineyes or Mistborn burning Tin to be sure to vandalise somewhere prominent and to hide some secret means of confirming their identity in that vandalism.

At least he wasn't the Watch here, and he didn't need to care about other kinds of petty criminal misdeeds, Keldorn thought, grimly. There were only so many hours in the night, and particularly as they found more and more Spiked (the alternative was not a future Keldorn cared to contemplate), anyone who could spend the night vandalising public property certainly couldn't be killing.

Edited to add:

No one was asking him, but in Keldorn's opinion, Madiane had his vote for new council member, if not the rank of Master  @Araris Valerian

[TwinStorm He/Him]

12 hours ago, A Jo in the Bush said:

"So far, no one's saying much of anything." Jox checked the list he had been scribbling on all day. "Most people who have said anything have simply asked that I tell them if someone is acting weird or suspicious. A few folk have asked that I not deliver them any more bread, which might be suspicious? I mean, who doesn't like bread? The rest have just appreciated the bread. There's still a lot of folks who haven't even accepted the bread, just listened to the choice I offered them, then shut the door in my face. I might just offer up the remaining bread at the end of the day to anyone who wants it."

"That's . . . alright. Not everything revolves around bread." he said, leaving Jox for Keldorn. 

"Well," he said, approaching him. "what's the news? Thoughts?"

[Kasimir he/him]

3 minutes ago, TwinStorm said:

"That's . . . alright. Not everything revolves around bread." he said, leaving Jox for Keldorn. 

"Well," he said, approaching him. "what's the news? Thoughts?"

Well. 

It seemed that a lot of people on Aral's list were showing up today. Keldorn figured he'd accept the small victory. It saved him the trouble of having to hunt them down.

"Council's dead," he said, tersely. "If anyone's not told you that yet, Josha, then I scarce know what they're doing with themselves." Market square was dead quiet, all things considered. Keldorn didn't like it, though he knew he sometimes worked odd hours, hunting down the leads he'd surfaced. All part of the damned job.

"'Least I see it, you're asking for thoughts I've already given. Copper's oddly bold, and isn't making much sense here. Jox is biding his time on Copper, which makes me reconsider thinking they're teamed, but I've only so many thoughts about why that lad'd accept blatant falsehoods about himself, and they aren't pretty. I haven't decided how I feel about Kéamen yet. I haven't felt good about Fox's response to a private meeting, either. And the market square's too damned quiet, which makes me think that the murderers in our midst are happy enough to saunter around, ask us about our thoughts, without any particular sense of urgency! What about your thoughts, you've been in the market square long enough as it is!"

[TwinStorm He/Him]

22 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Well. 

It seemed that a lot of people on Aral's list were showing up today. Keldorn figured he'd accept the small victory. It saved him the trouble of having to hunt them down.

"Council's dead," he said, tersely. "If anyone's not told you that yet, Josha, then I scarce know what they're doing with themselves." Market square was dead quiet, all things considered. Keldorn didn't like it, though he knew he sometimes worked odd hours, hunting down the leads he'd surfaced. All part of the damned job.

"'Least I see it, you're asking for thoughts I've already given. Copper's oddly bold, and isn't making much sense here. Jox is biding his time on Copper, which makes me reconsider thinking they're teamed, but I've only so many thoughts about why that lad'd accept blatant falsehoods about himself, and they aren't pretty. I haven't decided how I feel about Kéamen yet. I haven't felt good about Fox's response to a private meeting, either. And the market square's too damned quiet, which makes me think that the murderers in our midst are happy enough to saunter around, ask us about our thoughts, without any particular sense of urgency! What about your thoughts, you've been in the market square long enough as it is!"

Josha was shocked by the man's abrupt anger. That was rude and offensive, for one thing, but also a bit sudden. "Well, I agree with your thoughts on Copper, he seems rather bold, and Jox seems to be scouring for information. Haven't talked to Fox or Keamen yet, but I'm not inclined to trust anyone."

[The Unknown Medallion he/him]

Copper scribbled some more notes for Tin Capone.

Quote

Josha (1) Keldorn3

Lijal (1) Fox

Keldorn (1) Keamon

Fox (0) Keldorn1, Jox

Var (0) Keldorn2

 

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

Jox wondered what Copper Stopper was writing, and whether Tin Al would be having him make a statement of suspicion as a few others had.

"So, I've been delivering lots of bread all day, and been chatting with lots of folks, and so far, I haven't been able to find Teel, Antari, or Lipitor. I still have bread for them, and don't know when I'll be able to deliver it. Almost everyone else has either accepted their bread, or refused it. There is one exception though. @Lord Spirit Astrid. I definetely heard him breathing on the other side of his front door, but he never answered it. I really need to know what bread he wants so I can deliver it."

[Kasimir he/him]

The way Keldorn saw it, the murders had happened under Astrid's watch.

"Who will watch the watchmen?" Keldorn asked, quietly. Almost under his breath. The worst thing he could possibly imagine as former Garrison was a traitor, a soldier turned by the promise of boxings against his own cohort. Perhaps it boded ill for Astrid and the guards employed that someone had murdered the council. Perhaps not.

Either way, Keldorn hoped Aral was at least questioning those tasked with that duty.

[IcedOutPenguin He/Him]

Lijal didn't like any newcomers, especially Fox. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't voting Fox because he'd voted for her, but gave up because that was most definitely the reason she was voting him, I guess I just am that petty then. She thought

[|TJ| he/him]

Fox had a lot of internal conversations. 

Copper's reasoning does not make sense. The baker's kid is obviously going to visit the people he's asked to distribute the breads no, there's nothing suspicious about Jox opening communications with everyone. But I do think, independent and actually different to Copper's reasoning, that Jox had been behaving uncharacteristically. I am not sure if I can pin-point why exactly, perhaps we'll see in the coming days. 

Coming to Lijal, I remember being back on one of the bandit strongholds in the wasteland, where we had to infiltrate the bandits and rescue the hostages. I had a friend and colleague just like Lijal and she behaved the exact same way back then. Responding to accusations by giving them back and then just claiming that was just her. Perhaps there was a connection there. I am becoming more convinced in her guiltiness. There'd by no one I'd be keeping an eye on more than her as of now. 

"Watch out for Lijal. She might be trying to get off easy."

[KaladinsSenseOfHumourSpren He/Him]

Mil pondered these events for some time. Everyone seemed to be think the Spiked are either Astrid or Lijal. 

Astrid did not respond when asked about bread; very strange. But Lijal...

4 hours ago, IcedOutPenguin said:

Lijal didn't like any newcomers, especially Fox. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't voting Fox because he'd voted for her, but gave up because that was most definitely the reason she was voting him, I guess I just am that petty then. She thought

Lijal was acting off. 

So, Mil did the only logical thing. He rolled a dice.

Lijal

"Alright," Mil began. "I'm going to try and re-learn how to read better in half an hour. After that, I will not respond until after dusk."

Quote

I'm leaving for school soon. I won't be back until ~4:30PM AEST, which is an hour and half after rollover. I'll see you all at night.

 

Edited June 9, 2025 by KaladinsSenseOfHumorSpren

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

As the sun began to descend in the sky, Kéamen finally returned to the bustling market square. After his conversation with Keldorn, he had spent the rest of the day lurking, discovering as much about the town as he could, and he was finally ready to try his hand once more with the people. He had gotten access to the list circulating Metal Mob, and was silently thankful to Copper Stopper for compiling it. So far, he found most interesting the behavior of Jox, the baker's apprentice. Most recently, Jox had attacked Astrid for seemingly no reason.

Kéamen was also keeping an eye on Keldorn, who had made various accusations without much evidence. Of course, Keldorn was experienced; his approach was likely similar to Kéamen's: throwing around light accusations, applying pressure to gauge reactions. His attack on Astrid was curious, however. It could be a sign of him following Jox.

Then there was the matter of Lijal. Quiet at first, but then openly admitting she was attacking Fox because he had attacked her. It just didn't make sense. If she was a spiked, why would she admit that? If she wasn't a spiked, it certainly didn't improve her look. It seemed like conflict for the sake of conflict.

As the day waned, Kéamen expected to see accusations far more evidence-backed. He also forced himself to take a break from the puzzle. He knew that anyone, if looked into closely, would prove suspicious for one reason or another, and was wary of making incorrect choices.

It was not accusations that dwelled heaviest on Kéamen's mind. He had come to a realization. While much of the town seemed eager to punish someone this very day, Kéamen was sure that such a punishment was not compulsary. They could go a day or two before actually exeing anyone. That way, they could hopefully avoid convicting anyone innocent, and helping the spiked. The spiked. They worried Kéamen; he would have to ask his mentor about their nature. Another secret being kept from him.

As Kéamen made his return, he had one primary goal in mind; to attempt to establish contact with those that had been quiet insofar, and receive their input.

[StrikerEZ he/him]

Var had gotten very thoroughly invested in his latrine duty. It had been quite some time since he had been able to just pour himself into nice, physical labor like that. However, the voices of people from the market square had bothered him all day. And, despite his best efforts, he had listened to them. Somewhat. Poorly, but he had listened. It was hard not to, what with the Sense and all.

So, steeling himself, he decided to walk straight to the market square and give his thoughts.

"Hello, fellow citizens!" He proclaimed, hoping his dirty appearance would not scare away any listeners. "I have been listening to your noises all day, and there are some things I should set straight. I have been in many dire situations such as this one before. You can choose whether or not to believe a mad man, but know this: we need to execute someone today. That is a given. With the potential for secret killers amongst us, the longer we wait to act gives them more time to plot and kill us. Even if we sit on our hands and twiddle our thumbs, the killers will not be so kind. If we act now, we might get lucky and find a killer right away. Which would be an incredible boon.

"So, having listened to the minimal conversation today, I think we should execute Lijal! Her reaction to Fox's accusation was to simply point a finger back at Fox, with no rebuttal. Lijal seems inexperienced and young, and a killer with those qualities would be prone to simple retaliations. Especially when there is little pressure on anyone right now and any accusations could lead to an execution. While I doubt I will convince all of you to vote for Lijal, I highly implore you to consider my arguments in light of her limited reactions and behavior. Your vote, especially when few have voted, is very impactful. And could be quite useful."

Var paused to breathe and collect his thoughts.

"Now, onto another point of order. There are almost certainly some of us among us who have allomantic abilities. Like Keldorn has said, anyone who can burn tin should make use of their ability at every single opportunity. If you are busy scrawling and scratching away during the night, you cannot be a killer. Anyone who can burn steel should make use of their abilities to their best judgment. The killers will not have mercy upon us, so why should we have mercy upon them? I would start with those who have been the most quiet this day. They likely felt safe to hide in the shadows this day since there was little discussion. Those who can burn iron should find a couple of fellow villagers they trust, whether that be because of their public opinions or because of private conversations, and protect those one or two people as much as possible. Those who can burn pewter should avoid being called for execution. We would hate to try executing you, wasting a day's worth of deliberations, only for it to fail. Those who can burn zinc should be extremely careful with their actions. You have the potential to inadvertently discover a killer, though you might also inadvertently cause someone else's death if you prevent a protection from taking place. Those who can burn brass should use their powers on whomever they find most suspicious. Those people will likely be killers. Copperclouds can be incredibly useful if they envelop a coinshot or lurcher. I would recommend smokers to use private conversation to build trust with and search out our most powerful allomancers. Those who can burn bronze...you might be our most valuable asset. I have a suspicion that our killers are...easy to discover with bronze. If you do discover a killer, make a trusted ally in private who can reveal your findings. We cannot lose you."

With that, Var left to continue cleaning up human excrement.

[IcedOutPenguin He/Him]

"So everyone's just voting me because I'm young and a street urchin." Lijal said matter-of-factly

[Ashbringer he/him]

"Unfortunately, Var's right - not acting today is a poor idea," Derrick said, pushing off the wooden pillar he'd definitely been leaning on the moment before. "Well, I should say Var's right about that particular instance. I'm still in a bit of doctor's orders, so I haven't caught too much."

"That being said, I'm here all week, especially all days not today. A few others I don't believe are here at all. Has anyone seen Lipitor, or Teel, or Antari? The last one seems more surprising to be gone."

[Kasimir he/him]

The sun was going down, casting blood-edged shadows in the market square.

9 hours ago, IcedOutPenguin said:

I guess I just am that petty then. She thought

Lijal was one of the names on Aral's list, and had been accused of being one of the Spiked murderers. Keldorn wasn't so sure about this. He distrusted both the fact that the day had begun quietly, after the shock and horror of the council's deaths, and had suddenly picked up speed, with a total of four people casting accusations at Lijal.

He'd been tailing Lijal, trying to figure out if a killer potentially lurked behind the street urchin's unassuming features. Her body language suggested she'd accused Fox, out of seemingly banal motives: he'd accused her first.

Keldorn didn't know what to make of that. Truth to be told, he liked it: he liked that Lijal wasn't particularly hiding that petty human urge to lash back out at her accuser. It made him feel like she wasn't fussed about how she appeared to others, wasn't interested in keeping up a veneer of total innocence. He distrusted the extent of the accusations, too. The sudden convergence on Lijal made him feel as though his suspicions of Astrid, really meant to just provoke a shift in the complacent quiet, had actually struck a nerve. He considered the possibility of connections between Astrid on the one hand, and Mil and Var on the other.

At the same time, he admitted his thoughts on Lijal kind of partially boiled down to the idea he was rewarding basic vengeful behaviour, which was fundamentally how he'd expect a normal person (not a hardened criminal!) inexperienced in the arts of murder to behave. ("Too suspicious to be criminal is a scam," he could all but hear Prelan Wyred screaming in his head. Then again, he really needed to stop letting Wyred live rent-free in his head, didn't he?)

He supposed if forced, he would admit to his misgivings and remain on Astrid. 

36 minutes ago, StrikerEZ said:

While I doubt I will convince all of you to vote for Lijal, I highly implore you to consider my arguments in light of her limited reactions and behavior. Your vote, especially when few have voted, is very impactful. And could be quite useful."

Var'd cut a fine speech urging everyone to vote for Lijal, but Keldorn distrusted it, too. Where was this urgency coming from? With four accusations, and the next being Astrid at two, he doubted Lijal was going anywhere but the hangman's gallows. (Harsh world, this.) What did everyone voting for Lijal really do here?

4 hours ago, Hoid Slayer said:

It was not accusations that dwelled heaviest on Kéamen's mind. He had come to a realization. While much of the town seemed eager to punish someone this very day, Kéamen was sure that such a punishment was not compulsary. They could go a day or two before actually exeing anyone. That way, they could hopefully avoid convicting anyone innocent, and helping the spiked. The spiked. They worried Kéamen; he would have to ask his mentor about their nature. Another secret being kept from him.

The shift in Kéamen's demeanour was something Keldorn would pay attention to. His informants mentioned that Kéamen'd previously not demonstrated any scruples about convicting or executing another. (Perhaps it was more Kéamen's profile than Kéamen himself.) So where was this new hesitance coming from? Keldorn didn't want to relitigate a very ancient debate, but also felt that urging the reawakened market square to surrender what tempo they'd gleaned was detrimental and risked allowing the Spiked a free night in which to wreak more death and chaos.

45 minutes ago, StrikerEZ said:

"Hello, fellow citizens!" He proclaimed, hoping his dirty appearance would not scare away any listeners. "I have been listening to your noises all day, and there are some things I should set straight. I have been in many dire situations such as this one before. You can choose whether or not to believe a mad man, but know this: we need to execute someone today. That is a given. With the potential for secret killers amongst us, the longer we wait to act gives them more time to plot and kill us. Even if we sit on our hands and twiddle our thumbs, the killers will not be so kind. If we act now, we might get lucky and find a killer right away. Which would be an incredible boon.

This did put him in agreement with Var, at present.

"Madiane can do the job," he reiterated. Damnit, but one way or another, he would make his voice heard in electing their new representative to the council.