Mid-Range Game 29: A Midsummer Night with No Moon

[DrakeMarshall]

This has been Act IV of A Midsummer Night With No Moon.

We will be resuming the show shortly, after a brief intermission.

[DrakeMarshall]

Phase 5: Precarious
"The best lies about me are the ones I told."

 

Balance.

It was all about balance.

 

Neris juggled a set of seven knives at once, expertly spinning them through the air in an arc overhead.

One was of muted, blackened mountain glass, an onyx mounted on the pommel. It was scuffed, worn, and cracked.
One was of brittle ramston steel, tempered blue with oxidation. Half of the blade was snapped clean off.
One was of cold-forged iron, unornamented, honed to a single sharp cutting edge.
One was of polished brass, bright and cold in hand. A jagged streak of coal-black corrosion ran along it.
One was of green-stained bronze, badly corroded beyond recognition, still holding its form.
One was of slate-grey lead, heavy and silent as it fell through the air.
One was of pale arsenic, bright and blighted as it soared overhead.

Neris wore the mask of all true performers, presenting the act as simple. Faster and faster they would spin, her hands working skillfully, the knives moving as a blur.
They hung in a careful balance.

 

She listened as the others had a heated discussion. The voices were quiet, intense, afraid. Lost.

"Could you repeat that name?"
"Loke! You know, little kid, likes sneaking around, voice of an angel."
"...now that Encanis is dead..."
"...What do we do?"
"Ahem. I have a riddle for you."
"Behavior is a very poor judge of character—these are master charlatans at work here."
"Not a Namer no!"

The voices were masked by false bravery, and in some cases, false bravery layered over false fear. The right words, and they would be pushed off the edge.
They, too, hung in a careful balance.

 

Neris juggled on, moving by muscle memory, the blades seeming to defy gravity as they danced through the air. She reached out her hand to catch the next blade...

Only it wasn't there.

Agony shot through her back as the missing knife bit into Neris.

The hand that had just caught the blade midair now relinquished hold of it.

Neris fell to her knees, her pulse already slowing. Around her, the other six knives fell to the ground in disarray.

The balance was broken.

. . .

"Neris was murdered, you understand? We have to find who did it."

"Human or fae, they must pay."

Ray Fox stepped forward, clearing his throat. The troupe hushed, possibly in anticipation of a song.

"It's okay guys. It was me," Ray spoke. "I did it. Y'alls can lynch me now."

"WHAT?!"

The entire troupe stared aghast at Ray.

Ray stood there, grinning broadly. As the silence grew more pronounced, his grin began to slip.

"What... Wait, did you guys think I was actually serious?" Ray asked incredulously. "Wow."

"Sure sounded like that. You're saying you weren't being serious?"

"No, I was totally being serious, can't you tell? I obviously killed Neris."

That tipped the balance. For a moment, the troupe was still, and then:

"Get him!" one of the troupers shouted.

The mask of composure shattered. As one singular mob, the troupe swarmed over Ray.

. . .

Arinian has been lynched! They were a Singer!

Bard has been killed! They were a Juggler!

That took way, way too long to finish, because for some reason every time I hit ctrl+z it deleted everything and I couldn't get it back.
 

Vote Count
Arinian (8)- Eternum, Drought, Devotary, Walin, Alvron, Arinian, I think, Rae, Bard
Bard (3)- Snipexe, Megasif, Cadmium
Xinoehp (1)- Fifth
Rae (1)- Xinoehp
Megasif (1)- Bort
(congratulations, every player currently alive voted!)
 

Cast

1. Elandera as Ahnya Cyphus
2. Eternum as Enerin
3. Droughtbringer as Pyra Mainiak
4. Aonar Faileas as Aorais Kipthorn Lutist
5. Devotary of Spontaneity as Gaskana
6. Walin as Nelden Dastardly
7. Fifth Scholar as Marne
8. Snipexe as Snip
9. Alvron as Laon
10. Steeldancer as Squick Flutist
11. Megasif as Mega
12. Xinoehp512 as Reyalp Nwoknu
13. Arinian as Ray Fox Singer
14. I think I am here as Itiah II
15. Arraenae as Alev
16. Bort as Master Ash
17. Wonko the Sane as Fifth Daughter Resterford Encanis
18. Cadmium Compounder as Deric Watar
19. Young Bard as Neris Juggler

Countdown

Edited May 31, 2018 by Drake Marshall

[Bort]

19 players in the cast yesterday, and 19 today. Looks like no-one disappeared overnight again. I also note that someone bought off one of the votes on Arinian - 8 votes but 9 voters.

For now, and to get the ball rolling, I am voting for Eternum. Don't worry, this is only temporary until I can find time to do some proper analysis and talk to some people.

[xinoehp512]

Well, I'm not dead. Thank you, Droughtbringer.

I'm going to give an item out today. I have three that are available: the knife, the lodestone, and the wine.

[Arrae]

Quote

So Xino got and lost four votes, and Arinian got five and still has them.

Bard Arinian. 

This smells of hammering and I’m gonna stop it before we get more info. Feel free to lynch me if he turns out elim. 

Also feel free to question my motives for voting on Arinian, when I say he’s probably innocent. 

See ya all next cycle...

@Walin, why did you vote on Arinian last cycle? And how do you stop a hammer by adding to the lynch train?

[Fifth Scholar]

I strongly suspect Devotary right now with news that she’s targeted Wonko on Night Three, in my view with Scrael, but giving her the benefit of the doubt for now, as she claims something different, I’ll vote Megasif, who has mostly been voting to dodge the filter. I’d like suspicions/thoughts from you on people, as we draw nearer to the end of the game and the player list becomes considerably smaller. 

I retain suspicion of Itiah for being very quiet, and would also like to remind people that Drought/Xino being lovers does not clear them. At all. Outside those five, I don’t have really strong suspicions, though I agree with Rae that Walin’s vote does look weird and I’d appreciate a bit more from Eternum, whose analysis I’ve liked so far. 

[Arrae]

56 minutes ago, Fifth Scholar said:

I strongly suspect Devotary right now with news that she’s targeted Wonko on Night Three, in my view with Scrael, but giving her the benefit of the doubt for now, as she claims something different, I’ll vote Megasif, who has mostly been voting to dodge the filter. I’d like suspicions/thoughts from you on people, as we draw nearer to the end of the game and the player list becomes considerably smaller. 

I retain suspicion of Itiah for being very quiet, and would also like to remind people that Drought/Xino being lovers does not clear them. At all. Outside those five, I don’t have really strong suspicions, though I agree with Rae that Walin’s vote does look weird and I’d appreciate a bit more from Eternum, whose analysis I’ve liked so far. 

I actually disagree with that. Drought's vote was moved to Elandera and helped create a tie. Drought's lover didn't prioritize Elandera's survival, which highly suggests that Drought's lover, and by extension Drought, isn't an elim. If Drought is village, then he has no reason to lie about who his lover is to save Xino. Therefore, if Xino was the one who manipulated Drought's vote D1 and Drought isn't pulling any weird gambits, they should both be village.

(Assuming that they haven't converted to the Cthaeh win con.)

[Walin]

Huh...if appears my vote was nullified rather than set to a value of negative one. The vote values should be 7 on Arinian, because I had a deal with a Jester and a Skindancer to play tricks on my votes.

Just kidding. I’m the Jester, I don’t know any Skindancers; I thought Arinian was getting hammered with the swap-from-Xino, so I wanted to prevent a tiny bit of death.

And for that hammer last night, I accuse the Xino-voters of...something. Maybe they just found Xino suspicious, and Arinian more so.

Xino for now.

[Eternum]

...Is this what it feels like when you're literally unable to read someone?

[Droughtbringer]

2 hours ago, Walin said:

I accuse the Xino-voters of...something. Maybe they just found Xino suspicious, and Arinian more so.

Xino for now.

So you're accusing the Xino voters, but then becoming a Xino voter?

[Walin]

They voted on Xino and unvoted so quickly it seems like they were somehow forced to do so by a role Xino has. I’m saying that Xino is suspicious for coming under and out of fire so quickly.

Quote

...Is this what it feels like when you’re literally unable to read someone?

I mean, I’m not being clear, but I am the Jester.

...But...I ought to be more clear about my reads. I don’t know if I have any but a lingering suspicion of those who voted on Xino, and Xino specifically.

[Arrae]

 

Readslist:

Assuming 4 or 5 elims at the start of the game, which means 2 or 3 are left.

1. Eternum as Enerin - village. He took his vote off of Steel C1, which pushed Elandera closer to lynch majority at rollover. I feel this is less likely to be the action of an elim, although it could've been a calculated risk to gain trust. He also voted on Wonko C2. Then he voted on Wonko C3, before the reveal. Again, could've been a calculated risk, but I feel like he's probably just a villager, especially since it happened thrice.
2. Droughtbringer as Pyra Mainiak - village, because he claimed Xino as his lover and his vote was moved to Elandera C1.
3. Devotary of Spontaneity as Gaskana - neutral. Which is almost kinda suspicious. After going through the entire thread and reading their posts, I have no opinion on them whatsoever.
4. Walin as Nelden Dastardly - slightly village. His actions line up with his Jester claim. It's possible that the vote manips were done by a Scraeling Master teammate though, so he's not cleared.
5. Fifth Scholar as Marne - slightly village. I've gotten a good read from him in PM interactions.
6. Snipexe as Snip - village, my lover.
7. Alvron as Laon - most definitely absolutely elim, cannot possibly be village aligned. On a more serious note, village read, because he was the first person to vote on Wonko C3, before Orlok outed him.
8. Megasif as Mega - slightly elim. Very silent. Needs to talk more.
9. Xinoehp512 as Reyalp Nwoknu - village, because of the lover claim.
10. I think I am here as Itiah II - slight elim read. He's been mostly silent this game, and his post here feels super exaggerated. It gives me a bad tone read.
11. Arraenae as Alev - village. For obvious reasons.
12. Bort as Master Ash - neutral. Which is almost kinda suspicious. After going through the entire thread and reading his posts, I have no opinion on them whatsoever.
13. Cadmium Compounder as Deric Watar - slightly elim. He broke a tie between Bard, Aonar, and Wonko by voting on Wonko, but that was very early in the cycle, so it doesn't mean as much. Interestingly, before dying, Bard said he was suspicious of Cadcom, but could only explain it next cycle. Then Bard died.

I know that I haven't put the Cthaeh in there at all, but I have no idea who they could be, so I've left them out.

I Think I Am Here, you have a grand total of two posts this game, and they're only responses to potential danger for you. @I think I am here., why shouldn't I lynch you?  

 

 

Edited June 1, 2018 by Arraenae
Formatting+spelling

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

3 hours ago, Walin said:

They voted on Xino and unvoted so quickly it seems like they were somehow forced to do so by a role Xino has. I’m saying that Xino is suspicious for coming under and out of fire so quickly.

I mean, I’m not being clear, but I am the Jester.

...But...I ought to be more clear about my reads. I don’t know if I have any but a lingering suspicion of those who voted on Xino, and Xino specifically.

Everyone took their votes off of Xino because Droughtbringer claimed to be Xino's lover. Can you explain why you're suspicious of Xino and everyone who voted for Xino? Given that both of the leading lynches before Xino started to accumulate votes were on villagers, we can be reasonably sure that the votes on Xino were not an attempt to save a teammate. We should be able to test Xino's tinker status by having him give an item to anyone other than Droughtbringer.

Once again, @Megasif and @I think I am here. have to vote this cycle or else they will die of inactivity. Their profiles indicate that both of them have been around in the last couple of hours. If they cast votes, we can decide whether to lynch either of them. 

Arinian being a villager means that @Cadmium Compounder did not vote for Bard in an attempt to save an evil teammate. I would still like to know why he voted on someone from his neutral list instead of one of his suspects.

[Eternum]

@xinoehp512, I would still like confirmation that you are in fact a Tinker. As I suggested last cycle, send me.. whichever one you want. I'll reveal it to the thread next cycle.

 

[Arrae]

Bodies littered the ground, broken and bleeding. Some of them in Commonwealth uniforms, others in Caeldish ones. The coppery tang of blood filled the air.

Mirac cradled Yusef, begging him to survive so that they could play one more game...just one more game of Tak, and Yusef could pull all the clever gambits he wanted and crush Mirac just this once...

Alev looked away.

She woke up drenched in cold sweat, just in time to hear the wind carrying a soft gasp that sounded like Yusef's last breath. Alev was intimately familiar with that sound, now.

But Yusef was long dead -- gone, zapped, kicked the bucket. Alev might have problems, but she hadn't imagined that sound, had she?

She bolted out of the tent.

And stumbled upon Neris's dead body.

Edited June 1, 2018 by Arraenae

[Alvron]

Mega, I see you viewing the thread, any thoughts on who could be evil?  I must admit, you are one of the few left on my list that I can't account for.

[xinoehp512]

Yeah, Mega. Are you going to respond? I know it can be hard to post sometimes, but why are you staying so quiet?

[+ElephantEarwax]

If there is one, could I get a link to the Spec doc ?@Drake Marshall

 

[Bort]

Eternum.

So, having had a look at these threads, and trying to do some analysis, and then taking into account the voting that's already been done, I think I'm going to throw my vote behind Megasif.

I don't like how he, Itiah, and Xino just seem to be skating by, and suspect at least one of them of being an Eliminator. Not sure which one though, so adding my vote to the one that already has a few votes seems like a good idea.

[Walin]

Oh, darn. I was skimming through the cycle, looking at votes, because I was in a hurry to post before rollover. I forgot to read the hinge post that Droughtbringer did; forgive me Xino and everyone else. I will read more thoroughly before posting any more analysis.

[Fifth Scholar]

Marne walked around the edges of the campfire, separate from the rest of the troupe, brooding in silence. Moving past people quickly, he muttered words of encouragement and support to those who he knew he could trust. To others, exchanges of suspicious glances were standard fare. He often wondered why the glances were returned. Then he would remember the flames, how he had nearly perished in them long ago, standing with six others on a mountainside in a falling city, Tehlu beside him, facing down seven enemies. The flames thrown, and how his burns and scars had nearly killed him. Holding the pass so men could escape Encanis, the first time. Marne was frankly astonished by the devotion some showed to Tehlu. He was of equal station to Marne, after all, and had only struck the finishing blow against Encanis. But no. Marne was disguised here for a purpose. And if the disfiguring scars and burns that patched his face would conceal him, he would accept suspicion as the price to be paid. 

Marne watched as a juggler, Gaskana, skillfully suspended eight flaming balls in the air, not seeming to notice the heat each time one briefly touched her gloved hand. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Gaskana had claimed to have used a sacred stone to help bind Encanis, but Marne had no recollection of such an object being loaned. He brushed by the tinker. “Did you hand a lodestone to that juggling woman over there, Reyalp?”

“No sir, I didn’t. Do you want me to?” he replied. 

“No, that’s fine, thank you.” Marne’s eyes lowered even further. Gaskana had been chased away by Scrael earlier...but she had come back unharmed by the creatures, which he knew from experience to be supernaturally quick. Add to that her lies about the stone, and an absurd claim about being a child of a long-dead Jester...Marne slowly rose, allowing his glammourie to falter just slightly. A spot of flame, obscured by a vague shadow, hovered at his shoulder blade as he spoke to Gaskana. 

“You! I have seen your actions these past days. A Fae hunter noticed you getting involved in Resterford’s binding, which you claim was a stone you used, despite our trustworthy tinker denying these facts. Yet I seem to remember a fair number of Scrael in the woods before we started a fire to chase them off. Add to that your ridiculous claim about being Nelden’s daughter...well, that’s just plain unbelievable. I accuse you of treachery and of directing hostile Fae towards us!” 

Gaskana’s lips pulled into a snarl. Still juggling the flaming balls, she spoke the name of fire, flaring them white-hot. Suddenly, one of the balls whizzed out of her circle, speeding towards Laon. Marne—Kirel—removed his glammourie, extending his wings of fire and shadow, halting the flaming ball. He winced as the ball burnt the wing slightly. That will take a few decades to heal, he thought bitterly. Feeling himself glow with the thrill of battle for the first time in centuries, he spoke the name of water. 

The nearby creek burst upwards in an explosion of water, extinguishing the flaming balls, which dropped to the ground one by one. Marne turned towards Gaskana, who was dripping wet and disheveled, and uttered one word: “Why?”

(Yes I’m roleclaiming. Yay, everyone already knows it so it’s fine.)

[Devotary of Spontaneity]

 

Gaskana laughed as she listened to the accusations thrown against her. When she spoke, her voice was raspy from centuries of smoke inhalation. 

"You call me evil? You, Kirel, who should have died in the fires of Myr Tariniel so long ago? Once you were benevolent, a devoted servant of Aleph, but those long ago flames burned away your morality along with your body. Your pursual of what you believed to be the greater good has blinded you to the evil that surrounds us all. You have allied yourself with the same being that cursed us; the same being that even now spreads its vile influence throughout the land. It is not too late for us, nor is it too late for you to turn away from your current path."

Next, Gaskana turned to address the crowd of surviving troupe members. "Without my kin and I, all of you would have been long dead. You all know, of course, that the Sithe indiscriminately slaughter anyone or anything that gets close to the Cthaeh's stump. Why then, are you still alive?" She paused, shaking some of the water off her soaked attire. "Some of you have maintained your hold on life because while the Fae care not one whit about the well-being of mortals, their own existences are oh-so-precious to them. You may have noticed that while five troupers have fallen, no Sithe have been willing to put themselves at risk of oblivion. They hide themselves behind shields of glammourie and flesh, preserving themselves at your expense.

Seeing the hostile faces of the crowd, Gaskana quickly continued. "People of the Edema Ruh, our quarrel is not with you. We have done you no harm. Squick and Ray Fox were killed by the aura of hatred and fear generated by this place. Neris died to a blow meant for another, his sacrifice forced upon him by the Sithe. Aorais tried to stop the violence, and was personally executed by the very beings who claim to protect you. With his dying breath, Alaxel was able to summon the power to send Locke home, to ensure that there would be at least one survivor of this tragedy. I tell you again, we are not your enemies. Kill me if you must, but know that the Sithe will massacre you within the hour should we fall. You have only one chance of survival. With your help, we can cleanse this land of corruption. Together, we can destroy the Cthaeh and defeat its Sithe minions. No longer will these Fae protect the Cthaeh from those who would combat it, while allowing those with the greatest potential for destruction to become tainted by the Cthaeh's words. Should we prevail, we will help you return home as heroes."

Gaskana ignited two torches and held them out, offering one to Kirel and one to the nearest troupe member. "The choice is yours. Do you condemn me to die and leave this realm suffused in evil? Or will you help us fight back against the Cthaeh, the greatest threat we have ever known?"

 

[Fifth Scholar]

Marne spluttered. He had never heard more ridiculous rhetoric against the Sithe in his life. Well, perhaps he had, considering there were millennia for him to hear such rhetoric. But he would respond anyway. “May I ask who started those long-ago fires of Myr Tariniel? It was this same Alaxel, Encanis, whatever he wishes to call himself—he is the one that condemned the seven great cities of the world to flame and ashes. He is the one who fought to corrupt and enslave and destroy all of mankind, and take them away from the light of Aleph. It was he who formed the Chandrian to fight us seven, and bring down ruin and desolation on the earth. And yet you bow and scrape before him! He, who has murdered countless, and wiped Locke from existence, separating him from his beloved parents and caring troupe, the latest cruel act in a line of countless previous ones. The only “home” he has sent the helpless Locke to is one of fire and pain, which he shall be rescued from when the world is ended and judgement is passed on him who has condemned so many to death. 

“You accuse me and my Sithe brethren of working with the Cthaeh? Do you not recall the blood and conflict unleashed by the Fastingsway War, the last time a mortal ventured near the tree of the Cthaeh? Or perhaps you forget the aftermath of your hero Lanre’s visit to the tree—he unleashed a war and a terrible conflict that brought to ruin the perfect peace I and my brethren had labored centuries to craft, and morphed and twisted him into the worst demon known to men. And these were singular men who spoke with the Cthaeh. Imagine if an entire troupe ventured towards the tree. The blood and chaos that would undoubtedly ensue, and the tragic ending each would come to.  Truly tragic, unlike the simple stories you tell, but a tragedy told in the millions dead, among them each person here. The Cthaeh is intent, pure evil, malicious—it seeks to draw you all in, and we have kept ourselves away, and likewise keep others away as well. The exceedingly small chance of destroying that monstrosity is nothing compared to the terror that would be unleashed should we approach it. And the Sithe have learned not to. We have shot our own that venture too near the tree, and despite the claims this controller of Scrael makes, we will do the same to any who approach it, Fae or human. And so our camp is currently a very safe distance away from that nexus of evil, for the present, because we do not kill needlessly.

“You seek to invoke the names of those killed? Than do so accurately. Neris died nobly of his own volition, offering his back to a knife that would have taken the life of a tinker- the same tinker who exposed your lies for what they really were. Squick and Ray were killed, but in no way were their deaths ‘forced’ by the Sithe, or their killers linked to us in any meaningful way. Your lot has more blood on their hands than the Sithe—the Sithe may kill those who approach the Cthaeh, yet you eliminate those who even speak of the Chandrian. And do not make false statements about the death of Aorais—the Monks and Namers who bound Encanis saw him stab Aorais without a second thought, yet you seek to pin the blame for his death upon my brethren, and then have the audacity to name me a liar. Do not pretend that we seek the death of this group, or that you are somehow innocent in all of this. Were it not for our Monks, your Fae brethren and Scrael and skindancers would have killed even more than they already have. You, not I, seek the death of this troupe, and although you do not know it I have been watching over some at night, insuring that they are not killed by you or your associate. Once both of you are dead, the Cthaeh cannot accomplish the goals he wishes to set, and we will have finally achieved the ultimate victory- removing Haliax from this earth, a serial murderer and corrupt devil, and all those who would assist him in throwing the world back into anarchy, no matter their honeyed talk. Once this is accomplished, we may all venture out of this enchanted wood, and this lost troupe will have the glory of being known as the final vanquishers of the true evil permeating these lands!”

Edited June 2, 2018 by Fifth Scholar
Spelling

[DrakeMarshall]

12 hours ago, ElephantEarwax said:

If there is one, could I get a link to the Spec doc?

There is one, and yes.

[Arrae]

Alev looked at Marne, then Gaskana, then back again to Marne.

As each of them monologued imploringly to the troupe, she slowly backed into the press of the crowd, then ran once she was clear of the throng. Alev ignored the throbbing pain in her right knee -- she could deal with that later. She rushed into her tent and threw herself in, searching among her paltry collection of things.

Her hand closed around a long, thin package, wrapped up with a layer of sackcloth. Alev hastily unwrapped it and removed the sheathe, to reveal a long, pristine spear. The spearhead gleamed copper.

Copper’s good against Namers, Azlin had written when Alev was discharged for her knee injury. Don’t hurt yourself with this.

Alev gripped the spear in both hands. It felt right, comfortable. Months of spear drills flashed back into her mind, and she accepted them, trusting her body to guide her right even when her mind had done its best to forget.

Alev snuck back to the campfire. When her troupemates saw her, they scrambled to get out of the way, leaving her a clear path to walk through to Marne and Gaskana.

Alev leveled the spear at them. After a moment’s hesitation, she swung it towards the thing that had once been Marne.

“What the **** is going on?” she demanded. “Are you Sithe planning on killing us afterwards?”

@Fifth Scholar @Devotary of Spontaneity