Araris Valerian

Day 3: An Awesome Shot Blackkeep was awesome. Not as awesome as Teal, of course, but there was so much metal here. Teal flared steel and pushed off a weathervane, tendrils of mist furling behind him. The old Ministry building was just barely visible below in the west side of town. There are rumors about some of the Lord Ruler’s atium being stashed there. Not sure why anyone would care though, the stuff tastes nasty. Teal pushed gently on the building’s metal roof – despite being unused, it was still in remarkably good shape – and perched at its peak, knees bent in a crouch. From this high up, the mists obscured most of Blackkeep, and Teal didn’t have access to tin to pierce through them. But Teal didn’t need tin to be awesome. He could make out the outlines of roofs, doors, and windows behind the mists, outlined in blue. Teal was going to show those Spiked, whoever they were, that they weren’t as awesome as him or the town. They were just a bunch of monsters. Teal pulled his lucky coin out and waited for the mists to condense on it, then rubbed the boxing with his shirt until it was shiny. Then he flipped the coin into the air and flared steel, pushing as hard as he could straight up into the misty night, until the line linking him to the coin thinned and vanished altogether. Last time, the coin had taken fifty to come back down, but Teal was sure that he was more awesome now. Movement from below caught Teal’s eye, and he looked down toward the street. 10 heartbeats. A blue line had appeared, circling around the ministry building. It’s that guard. Astrid. He’s not awesome. He told me not to play on the rooftops. Teal had learned all of Blackkeep’s guards. He couldn’t really tell their faces apart, but they each carried their swords a bit differently, and their helmets gave away how tall each one was. 20 heartbeats. Still, the guards were trying to stop the monsters. Maybe when they saw Teal save Blackkeep, they’d try to start being awesome themselves. 30 heartbeats. As he mulled over the best way to help the guards be awesome, Teal noticed another blue line appear. It didn’t move steadily like the watchman but instead moved forward rapidly before stopping every now and then. It seemed whoever was carrying that bit of metal was tailing Astrid. 50 heartbeats. Yes! I’m even more awesome! Just then, Teal caught the blue line of his lucky coin begin to thicken from above. Caught between his desire to kill the monsters and his ambitions of becoming more awesome, Teal froze. That indecision stretched out for one moment, then two, as both urges flared intensely in his mind. So much so that Teal failed to realize that his coin was coming down far more quickly than when he’d pushed it up in the past. The boxing struck the back of Teal’s head, and he tumbled from his perch. Dazed, he saw the unknown source of metal move sharply into the space between Astrid’s helmet and sword. The lines, Astrid’s lines, wavered, then fell to the ground. Everything went black. Come morning, a guard directed Aral toward the old Ministry building, where two bodies lay on the street. Astrid had been stabbed through the heart, and apparently Teal had fallen off a nearby building. Almost more shocking was the lack of a crowd, given the number of people Aral knew to live in the neighborhood. Previously inhabited by the nobility, the nice houses had been all but abandoned for a while, until refugees had come pouring into Blackkeep. Out of curiosity, Aral banged on one of the closed doors. Hmm, no answer. Wonder if this one is just vacant. The door was unlocked, so Aral poked his head inside, and immediately recoiled at the smell of vomit. There were several families inside, all apparently incapacitated to one degree or another. Aral turned to his guard escort, ordering him to fetch a healer. A lengthy search revealed that nearly all the families in the eastern quarter of the city had similar symptoms; severe vomiting and fatigue. That explains the lack of a crowd. Apparently, everyone on the west side drew their water from the same central well. Teal @BigBadBagsworth was a Village Coinshot! Astrid Lefflame @LordSpirit was a Village Vanilla! Day 3 has begun, and will end at 10PM Pacific Time on Monday, June 16th. PMs are open! Player List:

Also, I'm probably not going to be able to make rollover work tonight, so Day 3 is going to start sometime tomorrow (maybe noon Pacific time or thereabouts) and run for a bit longer than the normal 48 hours to realign with the original rollover time. The night will end at the normal time, so just refrain from using PMs/docs until I get the day up.

Noted Derrick's retraction. Just so that everyone is on the same page: Votes/retractions in either spoilers or quote boxes will not count. The rules specifically allow posts that include a vote/retraction with no contextual RP, and doing otherwise makes doing a VC extremely tedious.

Night 2: We aren't THAT Bloodthirsty It wasn't really a surprise, how normal Blackkeep looked. Or at least how it looked on the surface. Lots of work went into keeping a fortified town running, and it didn't just start doing itself because refugees, traitors, and an army showed up. There was bread to be baked, maps to be made, and latrines to be dug. And of course since everyone was also trying to find the Spiked murderers, there were a lot of messages to be delivered. Of particular note was a correspondence involving the cartographer, John Derrick. Apparently, he'd been convinced the other day that if no traitors could be pinned down, the citizens of Blackkeep would just have a bloodbath of all involved. Keldorn and Var had been quick to set the matter straight, but Aral could tell that doubts about Derrick were growing. Derrick was a regular visitor of Blackkeep, and on good terms with many of the townsfolk. In fact, the old council members had commissioned a map of the fort from him, which probably was still around in the town hall. It was quite odd that he'd make a misunderstanding like that. As the day went on, the feelings of suspicion toward Derrick continued to fester, and when work was finished, Aral noticed a crowd gathering outside Derrick's place. With a mix of dread and anticipation, Aral maneuvered himself in front of everyone, and took a look through an open window. Inside was a pile of bones. A man's bones, laid in a rather neat pile, and stripped entirely of flesh. Ah. That explains the misunderstandings. And I guess we know he wasn't Spiked. Wasn't even human. Aral extricated himself from the crowd, thinking over something earlier in the day that nagged at the back of his mind. That's right. The guards from the east gate reported that one of the fishermen didn't come back. Chances are, Derrick, or whoever he was, figured he'd run out his welcome. Frustrated at the lack of visible progress toward finding the Spiked, he headed back to the north end of Blackkeep. The day's final message was for the mayor, and it provided a decent excuse to see how repairs on the wall were going. Aral put a hand to his forehead in exasperation, looking over the still ruined wall. He should have realized that Madiane's memory would play into her capabilities as temporary mayor of Blackkeep. Apparently, on the way to oversee repairs to the wall she'd gotten sidetracked, and instead had spent the day working on latrines again with Var. While sanitation was important, one would think in the face of imminent attack the city wall having a massive weakness would take priority. And of course, since everyone knew that Madiane had the wall under control, they'd gone about their business as regular, so in fact it was in just as bad a state as right after the quake. Working with Keldorn had apparently caused him to lean too hard on the competence of others. Of course, there was another reason working with Keldorn was a problem. Distancing himself from the Ministry had taken a fair bit of work, and though the man wasn't an Obligator, word was out about the kinds of jobs he'd been involved in. John Derrick/AraRaash @Ashbringer was a Village Vanilla! Night 2 has begun, and will end at 10 PM Pacific Time on Friday, June 13th. PMs are Open! Vote Count: John Derrick/AraRaash (5): Jox, Josha, Keldorn, Fox, Var Var (2): Mil, Teal Lipitor (1): Kéamen Player List:

The Day has ended!

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.

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!

“I found no metal projectiles at the scene, the lack of which indicates a Coinshot was not involved.”

Day 2: Tremors in the Criminal Underworld Criminal prospects in Blackkeep were looking up. The current crisis was an excellent opportunity to establish the Metal Mob in a new location. Unfortunately, the Mob needed a little more time to feel out the town, or Tin Al would have put himself in the running for Mayor. As things stood though, that would bring too much attention. They needed to recruit some local mistings, ideally at least one Thug and Coinshot, maybe a Tineye if one could be found. Skaa or noble, either would do, and both would appreciate the security a proper Smoker would provide. Copper Stopper woke suddenly, his dreams of the Metal Mob's plans fading to the darkness of his room. The ground was rumbling, and he put out his hands to avoid tumbling out of bed. Across the room, he met the eyes of Tin Al in lanternlight seeping through a crack in the door. Their current residence was a rough shack on the corner of town (fortunately nowhere near the docks or the sewage), and it seemed likely to give fall to pieces in the shaking. Both men stood, but between their grogginess from having just woken and the unstable ground, they fell to the ground. Copper cursed as he felt at his belt for a vial of copper. It had shattered, staining his clothes and the floor with the mix of metal flakes and alcohol. Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the quake stopped. The two men slowly stood to their feet, each apparently marveling at being relatively unharmed. Outside, a shadowy figure frowned at the house as the quaking subsided. Despite it's shoddy construction, not enough critical supports had given way to collapse the roof. Frustrated, they gave a firm kick to the corner, which finally gave in with a loud *crack*, followed by a cascade of crashes and two yells of pain and surprise from within. The figure vanished into the mists, satisfied that no criminal competition was left in Blackkeep. Copper Stopper was a Village Smoker! Tin Al was a Criminal Mob Boss! From the central square in Blackkeep, two sights became visible as the mists cleared out. The first was a large split in the northern wall of the fort, evidently a result of the tremors in the night. Despite the word that the Koloss were coming from the south, the beasts would be able to circle Blackkeep in relatively short order. The newly appointed Mayor Madiane was heading in that direction, possibly intent on overseeing a repair effort. The other noticeable feature was a message scrawled across the ground of the square: Day 2 has begun, and will end at 10 PM Pacific Time on Thursday, June 12th. PMs are open! Player List:

The Night has ended!

Just over an hour to get your orders in!

Night 1: A Nasty Fall Aral finished his initial notification of significant individuals in Blackkeep within the hour, and somewhat surprisingly, the news about the council's death remained under wraps the whole time. Apparently his judgement of leadership skills wasn't entirely lacking, because when the word did get out, there was surprisingly little reaction from the general populace. In fact, it's almost concerning how little of a response there was. Maybe a few more deaths just doesn't mean much when it seems like the whole world is against us. Unfortunately, nobody seemed willing to step up to fill the hole left by the dead councilmembers. On one hand, stepping into the shoes of a bunch of men that had just been murdered was a risk, but Aral had hoped that the character of Blackkeep's occupants was firmer. Of course, it was decently probable that one or more of the town's leaders were involved with the killings Despite their unwillingness to hold office, many of the townsfolk did begin to take steps to seek out any who might be working with Jorg. He had requests for a dozen different messages to be delivered (plus three loaves of bread that Jox had entrusted him with), all of which were related to the current crisis. Aral hurried toward the dockside gates, then paused as he saw two of his recipients working in a ditch off to the side, where the scent of fish mixed with that of human excrement in a way that deterred most folks from nearing that half of the road. The council had decreed that any refugees without a profession would be put to work on sanitation, since Blackkeep wasn't built to support the number of people currently residing in it. Both Var and Madiane appeared to be hard at work, though Var was holding his shovel the wrong way, and Madiane occasionally glanced around as if she'd lost something. "Var, Madiane, I've got bread, courtesy of the baker and his apprentice. Also a few messages from folks." The two workers glanced first at Aral, then at the mud and... other fluids covering their lower bodies. "Ah, sorry. I'll just set them here for when you get cleaned up. Anything you'd like me to pass on while I'm around?" His business by the docks concluded, Aral headed back towards the town square, such as it was, munching on the third loaf. Near the end of the day, Aral found himself back on the east side of Blackkeep, where he saw several townsfolk surrounding a child whose back was to the newly dug latrine pit. He recognized Var and Madiane, both now cleaned up, as well as Fox and Mil. The child was Lijal, a refugee who Aral had taken note of for his intelligence. The adults were shouting about Lijal's lack of work, and the urchin kept inching backwards, a look of fear on his face. Then Lijal's foot slipped on the edge of the ditch, and the boy toppled backward. His brief call of surprise was cut short by a nasty-sounding *thunk*. Madiane frowned, then jumped down in after Lijal. A few moments later, her head rose over the edge and slowly shook. Apparently Lijal had broken his neck in the fall. Then she looked down at herself and groaned. Now that I recall, Madiane is the only person that anyone was willing to support to lead the town. Keldorn spoke up on her behalf, and I have reason to trust his opinion. She seems a bit absentminded, but certainly is willing to get her hands (and legs) dirty when things need doing. Lijal's body didn't have a spike like Jorg's had, and there was nothing linking him to the council's deaths, so in the end it was determined he was innocent. Vote Count: Lijal (4): Var, Madiane, Fox, Mil Astrid (3): Keldorn, Kéamen, Jox Jox (1): Copper Stopper Fox (1): Lijal Antari (1): John Derrick Lijal @IcedOutPenguin was executed! They were a Village Vanilla! Night 1 has begun, and will end at 10 PM Pacific Time on Tuesday, June 10th. PMs are open. Player List:

The Day has ended!

There was an error in the previous VC , this should be correct (and I fixed the old one): Astrid (3): Jox, Keamen, Keldorn Lijal (3): Fox, Var, Mil Fox (1): Lijal Jox (1): Copper

The day ends in just under 20 minutes! Current VC (should be correct, let me know if there are mistakes): Astrid (3): Jox, Keamen, Keldorn Lijal (3): Fox, Var, Mil Fox (1): Lijal

Day 1: Looking for Capable Leaders, No Prior Experience Required Well before the mists had cleared, Aral set off for the building that served as the city hall. Mist from the lake regularly shrouded Blackkeep, but it was only more recently that the strange, nighttime mists stayed even after the lake’s fog melted away. As a member of House Penrod, Aral once had shared the nobility’s disdain for fearing the mists. But last year, they had attacked him… Aral shook his head, driving the painful memories out and mentally went through the list of issues the council had him running messages on. Rumors about the Lord Ruler’s atium cache, plans for the abandoned Ministry building, declining fishing yields, and the mysterious deaths. Not to mention the oncoming army of Koloss. Never a quiet day in Blackkeep. As he pushed open the doors to the city hall, the scent of death immediately washed over Aral. A few tendrils of mist stretched into the room, mirroring the trickling blood that had spilled toward the doorway. Six bodies lay strewn across the floor, five of which he thought he recognized as the current council members. The last corpse wasn’t quite as familiar, and Aral struggled to place the sturdy frame within his mental list of Blackkeep’s residents. Ah, Jorg, one of the smiths. Jorg’s hands were tightly closed on a steel rod, and a closer look suggested it was responsible for having killed the others. Aral took a few deep breaths and tried to order his thoughts. As he did so, a gleam of metal reflected from Jorg’s shoulder. He stepped forward, then paused as he heard the crunch of glass beneath his foot. An Allomantic vial. Likely pewter, from the way the others were killed. Aral pulled at Jorg’s sleeve and revealed a slim spike of metal piercing the other man’s skin. It reminded him of the Inquisitors that had once passed through Blackkeep to and from the Conventical of Seran. The mists were just starting to thin as Aral emerged from the council building. He knew everyone in Blackkeep, and even had learned most of the faces of the newcomers in the last weeks. Some of them were far more suited to leadership than Aral, and hopefully they could get a handle on the situation before things could spiral out of control. He'd left a guard at the door with orders to keep folks out; better to hold off on spreading word of the deaths until successors could be found. The city council has been killed by the Spiked! Jorg was a Spiked Thug (npc)! Day 1 has begun, and will end at 10 PM Pacific Time on Monday, June 9th. PMs are open! (make sure to check the status of PMs with each writeup). All PMs must include me. Player List:

Signups are closed! Day 1 should be posted shortly after all PMs are sent.

The latrines always need extra hands .

"That is correct, though we don't have lords in Blackkeep these days, save for Emperor Venture and any that he deems worthy."

"Starting tomorrow evening, no further people are to be let in the gates! Those exiting to use the docks must register themselves with the guards or re-entry will not be permitted." Aral, having addressed the last squad of gate guards, began to work his way back toward the center of town. With all the refugees that had come to Blackkeep in the last few days, the town's food supply would be stretched as it was, so the orders from the council made some sense. Plus, there were the other matters going on that would only be worsened by more unknown faces filling up the local inns.

One option would be to see if we could plan ahead and have @Aeternum or @Aeoryi sub in for you, if you'd like to play the start of the game. Otherwise, I'd strongly suggest you not play, since missing essentially 2 full cycles would make it rather hard to get caught back up, and if you ended up as Spiked, or with a powerful village role a lot of pressure could get put on your team. In that case I could swap you to spectating (or pinch-hitting, since you could be available as a sub after your trip ends). Also, welcome to @Hoid Slayer and the other new folks (or at least, folks I haven't yet played with). It's refreshing to see some new usernames around here, and hopefully this game will be a good sample of what's kept me around SE for so long!

Occupation doesn't necessarily mean job, and your character doesn't have to be actively engaged in it during the game's timeframe either, so I just put you as a wandering scavenger. Noted. Will find someone else to dubiously clean latrines. Yes, all roles only function during the Night turn (except Pewter, but it's passive)

Just going to emphasize this part of the rules (from the roleplay section): Folks who fail to comply will be given whatever unpleasant occupations I can come up with

Player List: Spectators and Pinch-Hitters: Quick Links:

With the death of the Lord Ruler, koloss rampage across the lands and ash has been falling at an increasing rate. The former ministry outpost Blackkeep, nestled between the southern edge of The Black Lake and Mount Faleast and guarding the main road between Luthadel and Seran, has thus far managed to survive on fish and trade with Luthadel. Recently, however, refugees fleeing a small koloss army have arrived, bringing word that the monsters are headed toward Blackkeep. The outpost has begun preparations for a defense, but not all is right within the walls… Welcome to LG 106: On the Shores of The Black Lake! This is a Tyrian-adjacent game, so nearly all the rules are the same as in our anniversary games, but the Rioter and Soother roles have been redesigned to remove the vote manipulation. Additionally, this game will be conducted entirely through roleplay. I, @Araris Valerian, will be the GM, and the IM will be @little wilson. The Day Turn writeups will be told from the perspective of the character Aral Penrod (at least while he's alive), a former lesser nobleman who runs messages on the behalf of the current ruling council. A rather chatty fellow, everyone always comes away from talking with him feeling like they might have given away a bit more than they intended to. Feel free to ask me any details about the setting that you want to know, or come up with your own (within reason). Also feel free to RP in the signups thread. Rules can be found here in doc form, or below. The game will start at 10:00 PM Pacific Time on Saturday June 7th. Rollovers will be at 10 PM Pacific Time. General Rules: Factions: Roles: Roleplay: Details and Clarifications: