Quiver

Like I said, it's mostly fluff, but I had thought of the players being the Shards. An alternative idea occurred to me, though it might be imbalanced or unfair. It would certainly require a large player pool. X number of players are Shards, with one of the Shard being Odium (or an equivalent). The Shardholders know who each other are (though they don't know the roles everyone has). Regular players are worldhoppers, with X number being Odium's champions. Day cycles work the same as they do right now, with players voting to kill each other. The Shardholders do their own, separate vote to choose which Shard to Shatter. For night cycles, the regular players have no roles. The Shardholders can use their roles as we've been doing now. Alternatively, they can choose to Invest themselves in one of the players, granting them their ability for the Night Cycle, with the downside that it leaves them vulnerable. Like I say, I'm still working this out, but here's an example as I see it working during a Night Cycle: Honour is a Thug. He Invests in a Worldhopper. Odium is a Coinshot. He targets Honour . Odium's Champion targets the Worldhopper. The Worldhopper does nothing. Result: The Worldhopper is attacked but survives through his Thugginess. Because he isn't a Thug any more, Honour is killed by Odium's Coinshot.

Tamzin, would you mind explaining how my comments are sexist? Curse this infernal lack of tone differentiation! I don't intend to sound defensive, as much as I'm concerned. I love reading female characters, and tend to emphasise with them a lot more than I do male ones. That said, the truth is that I'm still learning when it comes to a lot of stuff; so if my stuff is wrong, or offensive, or insulting then... let me know, so I can take steps to fix it and my attitude. Again, sorry if I sound defensive because... I'm not. I'm worried about what it says about me. EDIT: Though 213, I do think you're waaaaay off base with that. Depending on how you define "fantasy" the Hunger Games (female protagonist, female author) would be considered a counter-point. Depending on how you define stories, you might want to consider, for instance, Gail Simone's comic books, particularly Birds of Prey and Red Sonja. I haven't read the latter, but the first one is pretty minimal on romance (and Superheroes are a fantasy construct). But, even just sticking to fantasy novels, two I've read sort of recently don't fall into the pattern. Sarah J. Maas Throne of Glass novel (now with a sequel, The Crown of Midnight) is a story about a female assassin. Yes, it hints at romance between her and the male leads, but neither of them fit into the pattern you suggested. It also stars another female character, who also has a different perspective on the world. Romance is, in that, a sub-plot. Alternatively; Daughter of the Empire, a story co-written by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts, which is the first in a series about a woman obtaining political power. PRE-EDIT: Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trudi_Canavan You're suggestion that most female fantasy authors write romantic fantasy sounds... well, rather insulting to be honest. Even if that were the case though, what about male authors? It doesn't take a lot of effort to find examples of women being objectified in male fantasy, and it's common enough that Terry Pratchett built a joke around it in The Color of Magic. Have I heard of books like the ones you have suggested? Yes. But to say that that means every woman writing a female character is writing a wish fullfillment is insulting in a way I can't really describe.

Not a role, as much as a setting. It should be obvious from he games that I like the writing part more than the gameplay, so this was a scenario that occurred to me: The Players with Roles are Shards. The Regular players are Worldhoppers. The Inquisitor Player is an Odium-like character. At the moment, I've just been adapting the current roles to the Shard names (though I'd expect any role playing to be done with invented names). A Thug would be the equivalent of splintering, with the 'second life' being as Spren/Aons/whatever. A Lurcher would be an Endowment-character, giving players a second chance at life. Right now though, it's just fluff. The only idea I've had, game-play wise, might be to have two separate games running at once, influencing one another, or to maybe make the Shards (aside from Odium) only capable of using their powers and not being able to vote.

When I decided to wait for people's responses before posting, undead teasing wasn't what I had in mind. The only useful thing I can get out of Gammas statement is that he said 'brother', suggesting at least one of the remaining spiked is male which doesn't narrow the options down at all. I'm in a rush right now, so I'll edit this later with my vote (or better yet, there'll be a lot of discussion and I can just make a new one). EDIT: Okay, so... I'm not casting a vote yet. Because this is the big one, and I'd rather not tie myself down for something yet. That said, we really, really need to discuss our suspects now. Of everyone who's left playing, the only person we know is clean is Seran. Personally, I still have strong feelings towards what I said before; I think one of the I actives is spiked - or, as a worst case scenario, both are, in which case lynching each other is playing into their hands. That said, I'm not sure which of the remaining I actives I suspect. Aether was spiked last game, so it might be obvious to target him; alternatively, because it's too obvious Cessie might have done it so that we'd discount him. Besides that though, he hasn't chimed with a list in a while, which leaves me suspicious as to whether it's because he's stopped playing, because he thinks his lists would be suspicious after last game, or some other reason. But there's something kind of funny about Windy being the spiked. He's the crew fall guy, so I could imagine picking him as a spiked Coinshot to get some evil 'jokes on you' moment in the final write-up. He hasn't been all that active in the game, and we have Serans testimony for how inactive people respond to snapping; if Windy did get a coin shooting spike, team evil might have thought it'd be a good idea to get someone who didn't seem involved as their assassin, picking people off in the background. Of the remaining active players, we know Seran is clean, so no problem there. Alvron... is kind of the voting player I suspect the most, to be honest. Part of that is because I'm sure there's at least one spiked player hiding among the inactives, and in the last vote he was pretty loud in protesting against voting for them. I'm also combining him and Wilson together, based on what he said; that her and him were part of the Magnificent Seven who opposed just going along with what Peng said. Again, I don't know if opposing Peng should be seen as a legitimate strategy, a bluff, a counter-bluff or what, but I would have expected at least one spiked to be on the other side of the debate. As is, we know that Two of the Seven were team Ironeyes. I don't know how likely it sounds that almost half if that group was spiked... But then, that would leave me, since I wasn't in that team, and I did advocate following Peng. So, like I've said before when I've offered my neck for the rope- I can't exactly prove my innocence. But earlier, when we had more players to work off of, martyr would narrow the pool of suspicion. If we kill an innocent now, we're in trouble, so here's my 'defence'. I've spent the last few days of this game trying to encourage debate amongst the players. It's why I've tried outlining my suspicions every time I made a guess, even if it was just a gut-feeling. I was (I think?) the first player to change my vote and follow Shiv in killing Cessie. It didn't save Shimble, but it did mark the point when the players started targeting her. That was the turning point of this game, the moment we started clawing our way back, and if I was the Coinshot, as Wes suggested, then I basically cost the spiked the game. And, in my opinion the big one; this is an important vote. Maybe the most important vote. So I'm not going to vote yet. You can say that's proof I'm spiked, that I want to deadlock it, or confuse things or hide who I want to kill or whatever. The reason I'm not voting is because this time? We have to get it right. I've given my reasons for suspecting people. Do I suspect some more than others? Of course. But I don't want to vote wildly, especially given how I messed up yesterday with the Seran vote. TLDR; I'll vote closer to the deadline, once we get some debate and discussion going.

I can't help but dread the conflict of interest that will emerge if the Renarin/Deathspren theories are true.

The first rule of Spike Club is you do not talk about Spike Club.

Okay, I was really, really hoping someone else would vote beforevI had to go, but that's not the case so... here goes. I'm... a little confused by your post Alvron. Whenever you say ignore it, I'm not sure if you're including ignoring the vote. If you are, that puts it back at a 1-1-1 tie, and .i'd really rather not miss the chance to get the spiked, so I'm switching my vote. I'm going to vote for my second choice, Seran, mostly for the same reasons I suspected Mathieu; if I was the Coinshot, I'd keep myself as inconspicuous as possible, which might mean not voting at all. If I don't post, people might forget I'm a viable target. And yes, Seran's been a little more active now, but the fact that he's only really voting after the Inquisitor and a spiked were found out seems... convenient. Really, it's a case of who I think is more suspicious between Seran and Wilson, and I just think it's Seran. Wilson's names been brought up for lynching a few times, hadn't it? If she is the Coinshot, that seems like a bad way to do it, as does sticking in a group mentality with Cessie (as one of the Seven) or Gamon (our recent Five vote). She seems too active to be the Coinshot to me. I don't know if siding with the spiked is a sign she's one of them or not (it could just be bad luck) but... yeah. And how I really have to go. I'll edit this for types etc when I can get back.

Yes. Because comic book Loki is a god, the same way Darkseid is a god. Of course, movie Loki is an alien (or something?) and I'm about 99% sure that the upcoming Justice League movie will be a ) a disaster, and b ) recast the God of Evil as a planet conquering alien, so whatever. [/snark]

Uh... based on that write-up, I feel like I should say that claiming to snap in my write-up was the bluff, not claiming to have snapped a lurcher but actually being a coinshot. (AND HOLY HARMONY, 12 REP GUYS, SERIOUSLY, SO MANY FEELS) Anyway... I'm sorry again, Roban, for leading to your death; I guess, on the upside, we managed to get a spiked out of it, which at least gives us something to work off of. Frankly, based on the order of yesterdays votes, I'm leaning towards Mathieu as being a Spiked. Vron and I both suggested two seperate targets, but Gamon didn't respond to the thread until Mathieu was suggested. The only problem I have with it is that Mathieu had his vote soothed away, which Gamon could have done, but it seems odd to soothe him when there was only one vote in his favour. I guess it could depend on when he put his daytime orders, in, but still... So... sorry, right now I have to vote Matheiu. It seems too coincidental that a spiked would start working on getting Roban's vote up whenever his name was mentioned, and besides, I think Wes has a point. Last game, I joked to Meta that I could Lurch myself every night and "win" by living to the end. I think if I was an Inquisitor, I would spike someone who is both fairly inactive and has already played a spike; the latter would make it seem unlikely for them to be spiked again, and the former would make them unlikely to be targeted if we just forgot about them. So... yes. A vote for Mathieu (though if you have something to say in your defence, or someone else wants to offer better reasons for someone else, then please do so! I have a promise of no more mistakes to keep.)

Quillion crept through the door under the Urteau canal, leaving a pair of hazekillers unconscious behind him. In their defence, they weren’t bad guards; he was just better. Even though they had been placed on watch, neither of them had really been expecting any trouble. While they were guarding the entrance, they had had the good sense to realise what might happen if they impeded the entry of an obligator agent. That let Quillion get right up next to them before whipping out his duelling canes. He struck the misting in the leg, dropping him to one-knee, spun, and caught his stunned companion in the side of the head with enough force to break the cane. He couldn’t tell whether it broke the hazekillers skull or not, but the man fell backwards, unconscious. He turned back to the misting, who was reaching for the flask at his waist. He swung his other weapon up, knocking the vial and the metals within from his grasp before stamping on his wrist. He pointed the shattered end of his broken cane in to the man’s throat. “Steel, tin or iron?” he asked, his voice a low whisper. If the man in the ground had been a pewter-burner, he would already be on his feet by now. “I-iron,” the misting stammered. “I’m a lurcher.” Quillion nodded, then struck him upside the head with whole cane. He was out in moments. The flask now hung from his waist. He’d collected it and took a swig. Alcohol, laced with iron flakes. He remembered the taste. His father had given him all sorts of concoctions of metals, hoping to find the one Quillion would manage to burn. He stripped, dropping the travel clothes on the floor of the basement. The ash-stained hood and simple shirt were fine for travelling on the streets but they would draw attention to him inside the Canton. He needed something more in-conspicuous. Fortunately, Ollivier hadn’t bothered to send anyone to retrieve his obligator robes from where he’d stashed them the last time he left. He pulled the robes, embroidered with the symbols of the Canton and the Sliver of Infinity, over his head, and slipped on a pair of soft, clean shoes. For some reason, they felt uncomfortable. The travel clothes were meant for subterfuge, a high hood to cover his tattoos, loose trousers and shirts to pass among the skaa undetected. This was who he really was, this servant of the Canton. The robes and shoes were more comfortable, especially after spending days and nights sleeping in those ash-stained rags. And yet… he felt uneasy. The clothes didn’t seem to fit as well as they had before. It’s my imagination, he thought, trying to dispel the thought. That’s all. Even so, he shoved his travel clothes into a bag, and slung it over his shoulder. However this encounter went down, he didn’t like the idea of leaving them behind. And so, finally, the flask of metals on his waist and using the duelling cane as a walking stick, he took a breath, went up the steps, and finally re-entered the Canton of Orthodoxy. There were guards in the halls, of course, but none tried to stop him. Why would they? It was late, but obligator’s kept odd hours. He had a duelling cane to hand, but these were dangerous times. As he made his way through the building, he nodded courteously to some of the hazekillers and the obligators he passed. We aren’t bad people, he thought absently. We aren’t that much different from the crew, really. After all, both the leader of the Canton and the leader of the Crew had betrayed their followers in different ways, hadn’t they? Modeft had poisoned their bodies; Ollivier had poisoned Quillion’s soul. He made his way to Ollivier’s office, and rose his hand to knock on instinct. He caught himself, shook his head, and shoved his way in. Ollivier was standing behind his desk, looking out at the mists blanketing the city. He glanced back when Quillion entered, but said nothing. The obligator returned the gaze under the lord returned to staring out the window. “You’re late,” he said quietly as Quillion locked the door. “You’ve been expecting me.” “Of course I have. Do you want something to drink?” There were two glasses sitting on the table, a bottle of alcohol between them. Beside the bottle were two vials, one a murky brown, the other clear. Ollivier began to pour one of the glasses without waiting for a response. “You know I’m going to kill you then.” The lord looked up, his lip twitching. “I know you are going to try,” he answered. “Though I’m less certain as to why.” The coldness of the comment brought Quillion up short. “You don’t… of course you know why,” he snapped, taking a step closer. “Cessie.” “Ah yes,” Ollivier said, running a finger along the table. “The noble Inquisitor. I hear she’s been taken care of most thoroughly. You did a good job, Quillion.” “A good… you knew!” Quillion took another step forward, placing his hands on the table and leaning to stare Ollivier in the face. “A noblewoman Inquisitor,” he hissed. “And a Terrisman who leaves a message, the steel alphabet carved into metal. These are not coincidences. Those do not go unremarked. You knew” “I suspected.” Ollivier shrugged. “These were unusual circumstances. You can understand why I would want to be sure.” “No,” Quillion said quietly. “You were already sure. Do you remember what you said the first time I told you about her?” Ollivier raised an eyebrow. “If she’s one of us, I’ll protect her. Those were your words. One of us, and she’d have your protection.” “Which she obviously did not, given you had dealt with her.” “Did she?” The young obligator met Ollivier’s gaze, and it was difficult to tell whose eyes were colder. He was quiet a moment, and then whispered, “I didn’t suspect her until the end. I didn’t even raise a voice against her. Doesn’t that sound a lot like protection?” He gave a mirthless laugh. “A besotted obligator defending her honour.” Ollivier stared at the young man as if he were mad. “What are you implying?” “You know what I’m implying, my lord. You did offer her protection. Because she was one of you. She was the Inquisitor. And you are spiked.” Ollivier lowered the glass. Slowly, he gestured to the vials on the table. “Do you know what this is, Quillion?” he asked, his voice carefully level. “You don’t know the name of it, but this is the poison the skaa used on you. And this,” he gestured at the clear vial, “is the antidote. If I were spiked, would I have had both prepared for you?” Quillion frowned, and for a moment, his curiosity overwhelmed his anger. "An antidote?" He took a closer look at the bottles. It was true, the clear vial looked like something that could be mixed colorless lay, odourlessly, with water, but still... "You're lying." "Why would I do that?" Ollivier answered sharply. "It was difficult to find, possibly even unique; I have no idea where a simple skaa learned to create such a potent blend. You need daily refreshers of the dose from that... tavern to keep you alive don't you?" He tapped the clear vial with a long finger. "I guarantee you, this will flush it out of your system. It might be unpleasant, but you won't be dependant on those skaa anymore." Despite how he felt about Ollivier, the offer was tempting. "Why?" he asked,being the vial. "You have plenty of tools. Why go to the effort of saving me?" “Because you’ve done me a great service in rooting out the Canton of Inquisition, Quillion. I wasn’t about to let you die. And,” he added with a smile, “in the process, you rid me of a number of potential troublemakers.” “Modeft,” Quillion interrupted. “Weiry. Digits, Shimble, Ridge. Kukri. Herwybe. Dyring, Eddy, Fnord. Maxil, Shiv, Lam, Lucy. Peng. Aspren.” He choked slightly. “R-Roban. They weren’t troublemakers. They had names. And because of you, because of me, they’re dead. Because I didn’t stop Cessie sooner.” “Oh, Quillion!” Lord Ollivier began laughing, as if Quillion were a child who'd said something silly. “You make it sound as if they mattered!” Quillion whipped up his duelling cane and swung it for Lord Olliviers head. The old man raised his forearm, and the cane shattered. Quillion’s eyes widened briefly, as Ollivier placed both hands on his thick desk and shoved. It pushed forward, catching Quillion at the waist. He rolled over it and landed at Ollivier’s feet, before the old man planted a kick in his stomach, a kick strong enough to send him flying across the room and bang into the wall. That’s… that’s not possible! He stared at the man in shock, the taste of blood filling his mouth. He fumbled at his waist for the metal flask, taking a gasp of it to wash away the taste as the Lord approached. He was old, almost ragged. There was no way he could have that much strength in him. It was impossible. Unless… “You’re a thug?” he whispered as Ollivier towered over him. He placed his hand on the wall to support himself as he rose to his feet, body shaking. It felt like the kick had broken something. “A Pewterarm,” Ollivier corrected coldly. “And a well-guarded secret. You've spent too long with the skaa, Quillion. You start to sound like one of them.” The obligator thrust with his broken cane, and Ollivier side-stepped. As he went past, Quillion re-adjusted his balance, stopping and turning on his heel to drive the wooden splinters into his eyes. Somehow, Ollivier managed to dodge it, stepping back out of Quillion’s reach, and then stepping in to seize his wrist. Quillion gave a cry as he squeezed, feeling the bones in it break. His broken cane clattered to the floor uselessly. His eyes beginning to tear up, he reached for the flask again, and managed a quick sip of it before Ollivier knocked it aside. His felt the iron-flakes catch in his burning throat as Ollivier seized him by it, hoisting him into the air. “I’m disappointed, Quillion,” the old man said quietly. “Sincerely. You have always been so useful and loyal. I blame the skaa for this. And I want you to know that, when this is over, I will make them pay for what they have done to you." Quillion coughed, and Ollivier loosened his grip to allow the man to talk. “You… were an allomancer?” He coughed. “When did you… Snap?” “Snap? I didn't snap. I’ve been burning Pewter for years.” “Oh.” Quillion met the man’s eyes, then smiled, crooked and bloody. “Because I Snapped in the mists last night.” Quillion raised his broken arm and gestured, as if he were pulling something towards him. In fact, almost as if he were… Lurching. Ollivier released his grip, and spun around dodge, or block, or catch the metal flask lurching towards Quillion and himself. The obligator wasn’t sure what his old master had intended on doing, and he never would be. In a few seconds, Ollivier was lying on the ground, choking to death. It wasn’t from a lurched flask. That was still lying on the floor, right where Ollivier had left it. He was dying because what was left of Quillion’s duelling cane was stabbed through his throat. Quillion collapsed onto the ground, and stared at Ollivier as he convulsed, blood spreading from the open-neck wound into the carpet. Slowly, the convulsions turned to jerks, then small twitches, and then stopped altogether. Quillion still didn’t take his eyes off him. “Keep the cane,” he managed to mutter, dragging himself to his feet. “It’s broken anyway.” He had to be quick. Their fight was brief, but someone would have heard the commotion. Claiming to have allomancer might work as an effective bluff once, but he had no intention of testing it on every guard in the canton. He wanted to get out. But first, his eyes snapped to the table. It had been a fine oak, pre-dating Ollivier and the previous two Lords. It had been a dark wood, polished to shining. Now it was just so much broken timber blocking the doorframe. Quillion quickly thanked the Sliver; if Ollivier could do that to oak, he was lucky to be leaving the room in one piece. Even so, he felt a sting of regret and annoyance. Whatever had been in the vials was now destroyed; if Ollivier was right, and that was the on,y antidote, he was as dead as the Survivor. It wasn't an antidote, he told himself. It was probably just another sort of poison. Even so, he avoided looking at the desk as He walked towards the windows, and shoved them open with a shoulder. He always kept them closed, Quillion realised as the mist curled in. He’d always thought that it was because Ollivier wasn’t a misting, or because he was afraid of an airborne assassin. Now he’d never know. But did he want to know? Probably not. He’d got what he was after, and was surprised to find the taste sour. He hadn't given much thought to the idea of life after this. There was a banging on the door. The desk Ollivier had shoved against it was proving to be an effective barricade, but it wouldn't last forever. Certainly wouldn't last long enough for Quillion to inspect the body for spikes. He was just going to have to trust that he’d done the right thing. I did, he reminded himself. Even if he wasn’t spiked, he was a bad person. He deserved to die. That thought repeating in his head, over and over, he pulled his ash-stained cloak out of his bag, and began edging his way out of the window, up the wall, and onto the roof. As he left, he heard the cry rise up in the Canton of Lord Olliviers murder. He thought he heard the words “Inquisitor” and “spiked”, and smiled to himself. He must have been right. Tomorrow, we end this, he thought to himself resolutely. One way or another. He limped his way across the mist-covered rooftops. He’d get away from the Canton, drop into an alleyway. Find someone to help him with his arm. Burn the robes and the soft shoes. They weren't him any more. Then arrive at Dyring/Roban’s inn in his ash-cloak. He’d made a mistake in killing Roban. He hoped he’d righted it in killing Ollivier. Either way, he didn't plan on making another.

Why yes computer, how did you know I wanted to have my RP handiwork destroyed? How remarkably convenient you are! So... I wanted to try and post this with a role play section; my name is up, and I'd like to finish Quillion's character arc. But, as I said, I've had technical difficulties, so I guess I'll defer that and either post or edit it in later. Anyway... we're falling back into the silence routine, which... I said before was bad idea. So, as great as Hero's latest message was (and it was), I figure I ought to get the ball rolling on lynching discussions. Honestly, of the Final Four, the one I'm most suspicious of is Roban. The problem is that it isn't based on evidence as much as it is gut feeling; he called for Hero's lynching almost from the start, but given how useful we made uberTin for Cessie, I don't know if advocating taking him out would be a spike move. That said, he's been a bit more quiet recently, which I think started about the time Cessie was lynched? Which would certainly be a good way of directing attention away from himself. All of which is vague and circumstantial, I know, but I'm not the Thinker of this game. That's you guys, and if this stirs up some discussion, then good, because we need to decide what to do. Despite the earlier disasters in the game, I still trust my instincts a bit, so, I guess I'm casting a vote for Roban.

Okay... No one's said anything, so I suppose I may as well start. I kinda wish you'd have said why you suspect me Aspren, just so .i know what I'm responding to, but honestly? I can see why you might suspect me. I said it way back when .i came out that naming myself as a regular and an unsnapped was probably a gamble. Frankly, I'm kinda surprised it took this long for me to attract serious attention; saying I'm a regular would be suspicious for the villagers ("I totally don't have a power that I'm not using for evil!"), and it outted me as a potential target to the spiked for conversion. So... yeah. I can see why it would look like Quillion/Ollivier might be hiding some nails under their cloak, and I wouldn't blame you for lynching me tomorrow. If it helps you narrow down the list, and find the spiked - good! Do that! But I reiterate my desire for a Survivor sized cult formed around me in my honour.

Yeah, I'm active and voting for Aspren. Been a little delayed trying to come up with a cool RP post involving Quillion's 'revenge' against Ollivier. Before The Lord Ruler's fall, the Canton of Orthodoxy had been a veritable fortress. Afterwards, it became a literal one; the first thing Ollivier commanded was for the doors and windows to be reinforced and barred, for guards and haze killers to mount the rooftops and grounds, and for all Obligators loyal to the canton to remain indoors when the mists fell. There were, of course, exceptions. Quillion was one of those, though he didn't labour under any illusions of being the only one. Lord Ollivier had many loyal agents with the skills to go where they shouldn't have been, through doorways that shouldn't have existed. It was one of those Quillion approached now, a hole disguised in the walls of Urteays canals. He squeezed his way through the crack, and began to make his way through the man made corridor. He navigated through his duelling canes, feeling out the wall with one while the other mapped the ground ahead. He didn't need to do that- he was so familiar with the place he might as well have been a Tineye- but it was routine, and it was comfortable. It helped distract from the thought in his head. Lord Ollivier dies. Tonight. And I'm going to do it. He wondered what his father would say if he saw him now. Probably nothing; he'd probably just beat him. Quillion had been born to a noble family- not a particularly prosperous one, but rich enough. He'd had duelling lessons, etiquette, and money long before he joined the canton. The one thing he didn't seem to have- the one thing that made everything else irrelevant- was that he wasn't a misting. It was like a black shame on the family, or at least on his father. The old man never said as much, but the way he threw himself into his drink was proof enough of it. That was when Quillion began learning how to use two duelling canes rather than one- any advantage, even a minor one, would be of use against an allomancer, he thought. Finally, the cave began to brighten, small lanterns placed a hundred or so yards apart burning smokelessly. Quillion pocketed his canes, and pressed himself against the cavern wall, edging forward. Just ahead, in the next chamber, was a door. It led to the basement of the Canton. In front of the door were two guards. Quillion bit his lip. Each guard was hefting the wooden shield and cudgels of a haze killer. If that was all they were, he felt fairly confident in his chances to take them in a fight. Both were heavy-set, meaty looking men, but that was exactly the sort of persona who underestimated what a small man like Quillion, with greater skill, could accomplish. He was about to strike, when one haze killer turned to speak to the other, and he caught sight of a vial hanging at the man's waist. He re-evaluated the plan. Could he take a misting, as well as a soldier? He had to admit, they weren't odds that he felt entirely comfortable with. Besides that, he could feel a spasm beginning to run up his legs and down his arm. He'd been getting them a lot lately. The effects of Modefts poison- and didn't that just help motivate him to confront Ollivier? But what he didn't have was the antidote. Fighting a misting, a haze killer and making his way through the Canton while poisoned? Bad odds. He hesitated for a long time, weighing them. He'd come so close. With Cessie dead, tonight was going to be the night he did it the night he killed Ollivier for setting him up in all this. But what would killing Ollivier matter if he didn't make it out of the Canton alive? With a silent curse, he turned and made his way out of the tunnel, into the canal, and headed for Dyrings- no, Robans- inn. He'd get the antidote for the poison, plan his move, and make a strike when things were more in his favour. Either way, lord Ollivier wasn't going to live to see another day. Quillion promised himself that. Revenge refused to wait.

"I'm n't a drunk, I'mma jus' a mistborn! Got's a whole lotta metals ta wash down!"

That sounds like a bad idea to me. One good joke would cause someone's rep to spike.

Congratulations on being caught up, even if it means we have to wait longer for new material. Please hold. Scene One Okay, so, it's only a brief second of dialogue, but I think the interaction between Sylvie and Seiko does a good bit to show how their relationship has developed. Sylvie is more concious of her previous flaws, and even though she's being sarcastic, it seems like she's not as hurt or angry at the criticism as she would have been in earlier sessions. Similarly, Seiko's flippant "Anytime," reply sounds like one of someone who is more comfortable and friendly with her than he has been in the past. I don't know if I'm reading too much into it -it was only a brief second of dialogue- but it seems like it makes fiVes reply seem more petulant and petty than it would have ordinarily been. Miranda not even bothering to listen in on their conversations struck me as bizarrely comic. I just got a mental image of her as a suffering-parent, too tired to deal with her children's squabbling... which might be appropriate since, with Katie gone, I think Miranda is probably the most mature person on the ship. Seiko and Eleanor are still, I suppose, nominally in charge of the op since getting back from Valentina, but Seiko has made it clear that he prefers following orders rather than giving them, and while El is good in social situations, the fact she's currently sitting on the deck and trying to keep the peace suggests (to me) that leadership isn't her forte. I'm sort of curious to know how the hierarchy of the Scroungers works in Katie's absence, really. Also, I offer two to one odds that Miranda crashes Tranquility into the Yacht, makes a badass speech and takes the party goers hostage. Again. Scene Two I have to say, I'm sort of surprised at Katie re-establishing contact so quickly. I expected it to be a blind, Valkyrie-like fury, riding out of Tranquility on her... er... jetski... to signle-handedly storm the barricades and take it back. Then again, if the Yahct hadn't moved on, that might have been exactly what she would have done, so who knows? Instead, the fact she re-assess the situation and calls back shows her being a reasonable person and, as you've established before, good at planning. She took an opportunity, probably cooled down a bit, and then reassessed the situation to make a new plan. And... whenever she's under stress, she calls Zhu Rachel. And when Zhu's in trouble, she calls her Katie. That's sweet. Also, I think it's pretty telling about Katie's relationship or connection to her that of everyone on the ship she could contact, she picked fiVe. Scene Three I like that this whole sequence plays out from the Tranquility's POV. It makes the scene a little more tense, especially whenever the crew start throwing questions for Katie to ask and she needs to take a minute to get it through. I also like that Katie is putting her emotional feelings that little bit above her professional ones. It may not be the best way to ensure everyone gets out safe, but under the situation, it feels a lot more realistic. Advanced Hydrophobia 101. And again, the ending, with Zhu referring to her as Katie is sweet. I have a baaaaaad feeling about this... Scene Four Again, the cross cutting between characters makes this a very visual, action-movie like sequence, particularly the portion at the end, when El turns a corner to find the guards and Seiko snipes them. I also think this scene is pretty interesting for showing some of the differences between the characters. Miranda was freaking out over her blueprints getting out, but here she is, outwardly, more relaxed- maybe inwardly, too, since she's disappointed at not getting to pretend to be a pirate. Sylvie and Katie both have personal stakes in things, and Sylvie expects Katie to understand why she has to save Mike first- and Katie agrees to go along with it, citing 'tactics', even though her own running off earlier to Zhu wasn't exactly a tactical decision. Scene Five damnation. I don't know if Katie marching down a boat, coat billowing behind her, guns akimbo is more badass than Eleanor letting psycho Seiko snipe her so she can infiltrate the enemy team. Or there's always Sylvie going all Arkham on the group of thugs. Or Miranda, who crashes the boat into the other point, and then decides it's best to sneak. Clear fiVe means awesome in any context. Scene Six Okay, bravo. I guessed Zhu's party would come up, but I didn't expect Sherman to be on your side. I'm really interested to see what this information he has is, my only guess being it's connected to the bomb. It was also neat to see El get the guards on her side. Sylvie's reaction to Sgermans suggestion was funny, Katie's reaction to Rachel being a kill on sight was... terrifying. And now I have to wait to see what happens next....

Drawing snd quartering was a messy art, Quillion thought, but one which Cessie wholeheartedly deserved. He watched the spectacle with a mix of duty and grim satisfaction. She had been targeting the crew from the beginning, playing everyone. She was responsible for the deaths of the crew, boths the ones she had attacked, and those the crew had killed in their paranoia. She barely said two words to me, he thought to himself! as the horses tore her body apart. For some reason, a reason he didn't want to dwell upon, that made him immeasurably sad. Her body was strewn across the street, blood mixing with the ash. Looking at her, even knowing what she was, it was difficult to focus on the spikes rather than how she had looked. He took a moment, and pulled a bag of boiling so from his pocket. He walked to Gamon, pressed it the casanova's hands, and whispered, "Thank you." He tried to make it sound jovial, but he failed. He didn't feel happy about this. Some of the others might have wanted to celebrate their victory. Maybe they wanted to pursue Cessies revenge. Frankly, Quillion didn't much care. He threw up his hood, and marched into the night, towards the Canton of Orthodoxy. The mists were especially heavy tonight. Good. It would make murdering Lord Ollivier that much easier. EDIT I ought to have out this in sooner, but you may have noticed I get a bit... over zealous with the role playing side of things and less on the actual gameplay. Anyway... I agree with Kurkistan. If I was the Inquisitor, I'd go for the regular targets; if they get the spiked powers, great, if they don't they aren't any worse off than when they started. So, like I did before, and like Kurk did above, I'm gonna out myself. I'm a regular villager, unsnapped, non-spiked.

YES. Sorry about that, it's just always great to see more Warbreaker fans around. I get that's not the Fantasy Epic like Stormlight Archives is/will be, and it doesn't have the fascinating time jumps of the Mistborn saga, but damnation it, Warbreaker is still one of my favourite Brandon books, and I never feel it gets the attention it deserves. Er... aside from War-ranting... Welcome!

Yeah, er... sorry Mailliw. I.. might have got a little overzealous in some reviews. Anyway, new session means more chances for zealotry, so I'll edit this post with it in a moment.Hallowed Come the Judges, etc. First, I need to apologise. For some reason, I kept reading Valentine's name as Vanaline. Congratulations on your Russian mob boss being upgraded to a hypnotic voice angelic sociopath. YOUR WELCOME. Anyway... Scene One My comparison might not be entirely inaccurate. She threatened Seiko with the same half-lidded eyes that she used to invite Eleanor to the real VIP club. I don't know if she's trying to flirt with one (or both) of them, or just planning to kill them. Though, given the Vanaline comparison, there's a not-too-bad chance that it's both. Besides that, I liked the parallels between Sylvie and Miranda being explored here. Like you said Feather, their very similar, and I couldn't help but read Miri's first line of dialogue in a tone of indignation at being so devalued. Similarly, I think Sylvie comes across a little worse when she demands Vee back, but it really isn't that much different from Miranda wanting to go out and arrest them right away. Besides them, I again liked this as a showcase of Eleanor's skills. I don't know if you guys planned this when you were making the characters, or if it's something I'm projecting, but it seems like she's the "social" player on the team. She was conning the information out of the EMT way back, and she takes the lead in these negotiations. I also liked how Seiko kept calling back to the HQ for orders, since it... reinforces what he said before about not liking to take the lead. And Katie? I'm trying to work out whether calling ahead of time, buying up Vanaline Valentines assets and delivering them to the woman you love qualifies you as a Magnificent [word which might be too explicit for forum board rules], but I'm going to say it did. That being said, I do find it kind of funny how, even after she told the other team members to take point on this, she still had her own backup plan running in case things went South. She really is a masterful planner, isn't she? Scene Two It's nice seeing fiVe, particularly her being contrite, though I have to say, I didn't think it was flirty. Pinning her processors like a butterfly actually made me think of a serial killer. Maybe it's just the reaction I'm getting fromher oh-so-recent gun-aiming at Sylvie. Scene Three Okay, so this is a scene all about trust, and trying to get fiVe and Vee together, both romantically and as teammates, but OH MY GOD, THE SUBTEXT. I'M NOT GOING NEAR THAT ON THE OPEN FORUM, BUT WELL-PLAYED, MADAME, WELL PLAYED. Scene Four Okay, so... I find it interesting that fiVe finally agrees to Sylvies help after her dalliance with Vee. It seems like another of those very sex-positive moments that occurs throughout your groups work. Obviously, letting Sylvie mess with her codes at all is a major step, but I'm curious to see whether it this is going to result in her being more open towards her, or if it's going to set off a paranoid "Did she change something? I can't tell!" train of thought. And wow. I'm glad I was right about suit-man being bad news, and Zhu's party tying into the plot, but I would not want to be... whoever or whatever was responsible for it whenever the Scroungers get there. You said I'd be interested, and I'm guessing this is why, but I have to say, I'm even more excited for the next part, since it'll be Katie completely reacting with no plan, no back up, no weapons worth a damnation, and not having anything- to- lose. Should be nice. On a happier note, she now owns a night club? I hope the Scroungers hang out at the Krokodil during an intermission or use it as a new HQ, but if I were them, I'd be doubling down on my security right about now. Valentine being outted for her finances right after her meeting with Seiko and Eleanor? I'd start watching my back.

Don't worry about being late, it just means I actually got the whole thing read before commenting for once lol. As such, I hope you don't mind if I comment on it as a whole, rather than breaking it into scenes as per usual. I know I've said it before about other scenes, but , again, I have the feeling that this is like a soft reboot for the series. The drift really threw the status quo out of line, and this session seems like it's resetting what the set up is gonna be going forward. I say that mainly because this scene seems reminiscent of the first session of this Act (and of the previous meeting room moments); especially since such a long time has passed between the last one and now. Tempers have cooled and people seem to have gotten used to this new working arrangement. Sylvie's critiques of herself seem like a little more like light-hearted self-degradation than the loathing she was showing at the end of the last scene. That, and her trying to get closer to Mira (or should I call her Miri) seems like an interesting comparison with fiVes current situation and origin story. Like Vee, I'm curious about the phases you seem to put your characters through, with one being disliked or withdrawn while the other becomes more social. An overly crude way to put it, but I think you get what I'm trying to say. On the topic of Vee though, she finds fiVes casing intimate? Do the AiVees have a ship name yet? Anyway, I'm interested to see how Vees infiltration goes; it seems like it should be another intervening point of comparison and contrast between her, Sylvie and fiVe. I'm sure the points been raised somewhere, but I found Miranda's protectiveness of her suits and the blueprints of them reminiscent of Sylvie's feelings towards the Vees. Given how specific she argued against the use of Mira, I'm curious about how aware she and Seiko are of their feelings for one another. Tying into that is Seiko's line about preferring to take orders rather than give them. It certainly tallies with everything we've seen of him so far. Professionally, he is a good soldier and does what he's told; I can't think of a moment when he really disobeyed a direct order from Katie or Miranda. Salvaging the con is probably the biggest thing he's done under his own initiative, and the team ended up spending nearly half of this session debating with each other what that meant and how they were going to deal with that. Personally... Well, he does take his own decisions on behalf of his sisters, but even there, he kind of... follows someone else's words? I can't think how to put it, but the fact he's trying to trust Zhu, to the extent of telling her about the lockdown code for instance seems to suggest he foes feel more comfortable when he knows what he's going to have yo do. I think most of the romantic moments between the two, like the kiss earlier on, we're also stuff initiated by Miranda, do I wonder if he's waiting for her to make the first move. You've mentioned that Katie is the plot-driving player, do I have to admit, I kind of read her handing control of the operation as a "Lets see how you like it!" moment to free herself up to do some fainting and punching and yelling. It's going to be interesting seeing how she reacts to this op though; neither Seiko nor Eleanor were particularly eager to be in command, and from the sounds of things, Zhu might be too distracted to send in support if necessary. I'm curious to see how Katie (the character) reacts to something when she isn't in control- I remember her not exactly being thrilled any other time the team went off book. And, since their tangentially related, I'm calling Zhu's increased work load and party situation as a plot point lol. And maybe it's intentional, maybe it's overly optimistic wish fulfillment, but I'm taking Eleanor's sleepiness as proof that she and A- J-Tech Doyle are romantically involved. Yeah, I'm shipping them, so what? If they are already a couple, I hope we get some more on-screen appearance of Doyle; it wold make the two of them the least complicated couple of the series so far. Speaking of Eleanor though, I liked the scene at the end with her and Seiko bluffing their way past Valentina, particularly the use of physical actions, like deliberately looking too much at Yegerov to make her think she has the upper hand. The scene ended, generally, in.their favour, but... I don't expect that to last long. Worse, I kind have a bad feeling about leaving Vee in this situation; unlike Sylvie, she'd be easy to replace (just make another backup), which makes me a little more wary of her survival than I would if it was any other member of the team.

He's The Trickster, and that archetype is fairly popular. He's also charismatic, seemingly heroic and he knows what's going on in the Cosmere better than we do; no wonder people like him. Never read Elantris, so I can't say.He's an informant in The Final Empire He led some refugees in The Well of Ascension (and retrieved a bead of Lerasium from the well) He was an informant in Hero of Ages He spoke to a couple at their wedding in Alloy of Law He posed as a storyteller for Siiri in Warbreaker. He's dong lots of things in Way of Kings According to Brandon, there's a world hopping Terriswoman in Warbreaker. There are also the three members of the 17th Shard who are chasing him in Way of Kings, whoever compiled the Ars Arcanum for Mistborn and Alloy of Law, and possibly whoever made the maps for the books.

The crowd milling outside the inn surprised Quillion. It wasn't like this crew to stand and debate their actions in the streets. As he approached the group, however, he saw the mistborn and someone else working on a pile in the dirt. A body lay on the ground, dried blood from it's opened throat seeping into it's clothes. His clothes. Quillion recognised the body as Dyrings, the cut as the raggedy tear left behind by an Obsidian dagger. He stopped where he was. Aside from Peng and Aonar, everyone else were keeping their distance from the corpse. Maybe they still were uncomfortable with the Inquisitors handiwork. Whatever else Quillion was, he was still an Obligator. A skaa could be buried in the dirt somewhere, and no one would care. But an Obligator still neded to witness things like that. How else were they to be remembered? Inside, he offered a prayer to The Lord Ruler, to guide Dyrings soul. Then, after a moments hesitation, he whispered another quick prayer on the innkeepers behalf. It was to the Survivor.

Like a windrunner

Odium was furious

Thanks, sorry for not replying sooner, but... it's tv tropes. What did you expect lol Well, when I pictured the idea, I thought of a... Renaissance-era sort of setting, since when I think ships, the first thing that comes to mind is Spanish Armada. The story I'd thought of was going to deal with colonialism a bit, with different island empires trying to colonise and control each other, so that seems like an appropriate place to start. That said, if anyone has any more specific eras that might be worth checking out, please, let me know- most of whatcI know about boats and naval history would fit on the front of a postcard.