"I don't believe this." The spy, head in hands, rocked gently back and forth in the lonely corner to which the two had repaired once night had fallen on the Palace. "These slaves of evil are springing up like weeds! First Nogrod taken from us, now Boro. My heart forebodes that the end will be dark for us."

"Think not of the end," said the other, laying a hand on the daunted one's shoulder. "We must break the back of this unholy alliance between Harad and Mordor! That is all. Come."

"You are right," said the first, looking up. "What matters it if we die– even by the cruelest tortures these Southrons can devise. For Gondor!"

"For Gondor!"

Resolved afresh, the two set out down the corridor on their mission of death-dealing. But they had not gone very far when they found themselves walking slower and slower. It was as if the very air around them became gradually more dense, weighing down on them until they were unable to move a step.

Somewhere in the darkness, there was a ripple of mocking laughter.





Living
Sally –Messenger girl.
Shasta –Particularly attentive guard-lieutenant.
Pomegranate –Entertainer.
A Little Green –The Empress's favourite snake-charmer.
Pitchwife –Captain in the "Provisional Royal Númenórean Navy" and emissary of Angamaitë IX, Lord of Umbar.
Lottie –Accident-prone sorcerer's apprentice.
Inziladun –Minister of the Treasury.
Lommy! –Court physician.


Dead
The Empress of Harad. Mod. –assassinated in her sleep.
Bom Tombadillo –Greatly afflicted beggar. Ordo. –multiple stab wounds.
Eruhen –Court eunuch. Ordo. –burned to death on the Empress's funeral pyre.
Rikae –Empress's handmaiden. Royal Executioner. –garotted with own wire.
Nogrod –Camel and coffee trader. Spy. –poisoned with own merchandise.
Galadriel55 –Professional assassin. Captain of the Guard. –neck broken in stairwell fight.
Legate of Amon Lanc –Legate of Khand. Ordo. –crushed to death by an enormous waggon.
Steve –Court Jester (from Umbar). Envoy of Morder. –sliced up by the spies on Night Four.
Boromir88 –Wealthy mûmak breeder. Spy. Trampled by own mûmakil.


Day Five has begun. Nobody died.

I'm confused.

Lommy, do you know something about this? Did you manage to dream? I said I'd reevaluate you if you wouldn't die during the Night, but I obviously didn't expect this. It would seem that we've got some cool magical powers on our side (or, well, if we count Eru's death as caused by something unnatural, then perhaps not completely on our side but affecting things around us anyway) - if it's not Lommy, then what is it? Empress's ghost?

They didn't forget to send in the kill, did they?

At any rate, this is nothing but a great opportunity for the village. I know who my top Spy-suspicions are at the moment, and I'm very interested to see what else develops.

The narration does indeed start with some kind of suggestion that they would've just forgotten the name. However, the end doesn't seem to suggest that, it would seem that there's something going on which isn't caused by them.

I'll have to go to a flat viewing soon, but I'll be trying to do some analysing of at least Pitch-Boro-Nog-rest of us and Lottie-Boro-Nog-rest of us-combinations toDay.

Well, Lommy should have gotten another dream last Night. Even if her target was different than she intended, that's still significant.

As I said yesterDay, I don't think someone casting suspicion on our known Spies is necessarily a sign of innocence. It looks to me as if pretty much everyone left has had some interactions with them. That said, I wanted to look at any noteworthy things people said about Boro or Nog, independent of Seer-info or whatnot. I'll try to get to everyone at some point (except Lommy.

One of the people she describes as doing that was Boro.

Ok, so some rather specific suspicion on Boro, Day 1.

And a vote for Boro. The first vote of the Day. Since she didn't know what was going to happen after she left, this might seem reckless if she was his packmate. Then again, he didn't seem to be in any serious danger of being lynched at that time. Mostly people were talking about me and Legate.

Here she defends Nog against a claim that he started the Bom-wagon. At that time Steve had not revealed, obviously.

Thinks Boro looks better at that point (Day 2), and agrees with Boro's suspicion about Nog. I'd think it risky, if I were Greenie, to link myself to both of them in that way.

Agrees with Legate about Steve's attack on Nog (pre-reveal) looking bad.

And votes for Steve based on said attack. If Greenie was a packmate, this would be a natural move, I think, since Steve's case against Nog would certainly have raised eyebrows, and they would have loved to have gotten him lynched. Indeed, that could have happened had he not revealed.

I don't remember if she ever said what that reason was, but this is a interesting quote.

And another reference to what she'd said above, with still no elaboration.

Hmm. At times it looks like she's acting reckless if she were a mate of Nog and Boro, and at times I could see it as plausible.

Popping in very quickly...
 

Sally is innocent.

I'll be back later when I have managed to get some schoolwork done.


PS.
Why these combinations exactly?

Lottie
 

Some minor suspicion on Nog, lumping him in with Legate.

All this was in response to Nog.

This is pretty much in line with Greenie, suspecting Steve because of the way he jumped on Nog.

Votes for Nog after Steve's reveal.

The mild suspicion on Boro seems unnecessary for a mate of his.

But here she has Shasta as a likelier Spy than Boro, apparently.

To put Boro with Nog seems pretty risky if she was a mate of theirs.

Based on all this, I think Lottie is one of the less likely Spies.

x/d with Lommy

Pitch
 

There's some small questioning of Boro about the row between G55 and Rikae. He also responds to Nog.

Both those were responses to Nog.

He responds to Nog some more, and says Pom had a "good find" in noting that Nog, not Shasta, originated the ideal of the Bom-lynch.


Again a response to Nog.

And again.

After all the "questioning" he did on Nog, and their back-and-forth, it seems odd that he didn't really suspect him more. All of that could easily have been wolf-on-wolf.

And Pitch apparently forgot all about Boro.

Still looking, Inzil?

Here. Let me help you out.

++Shasta

With three known innocents in a group of seven, a second, unkillable Seer, and double lynches allowed, there is no mathematical way for us to win.

Game over.

Lommy: Because I suspected Lottie already yesterDay, and when I looked through Boro's posts I felt his suspicion for Pitch was very crafted. Apparently I was wrong on at least one, though, looking at Shasta's last post.

Shasta: I sense some frustration in the air :P I can understand that, though. We haven't lynched a single wolf without the help of a Seer. That is somewhat sad.

Well, when you hit a Gifted every night and still end up in a situation like this...

How do you know what happened last Night? It might have been a one-time thing.

Granted, you were still high on my suspicion list anyway, but still....

Because that makes it so much better for us.

Oh, dear, I'm sorry. Did I ruin your fun? Would you like an accolade?

Well, if it was a singular event, there was still hope for you.

I'd been entertaining the possibility that Lommy was possibly evil in some crazy way since she didn't die last Night, but I couldn't make any headway with the thought.

To be honest, I agree with Inzil. You have been giving up way too easy recently. I'm sure I would have at least considered whatever theory Boro could've come up with yesterDay, had he not given up, and probably again today, at least to some degree, because Lommy didn't die.

No. There wasn't. All you have to do is double lynch from the group of 5 unconfirmed players until you win. Not exactly a difficult task. And we don't have the time to stop you. And you can both just stop with the patronization.

No! Because I was prepared to do analyses at least for an hour or so to procrastinate before essay-writing, and since I can't do that now, and still don't have the inspiration for essay-writing, I had to create something else to do. Like patronizing.

Assuming Shasta is a Spy, and I see no other explanation, my first guess for his packmate would be Pitch.

Fine. I'm not going to argue about it with you. I was only saying that I still had some reason for doubt in the issue.

Shasta - a hug. I know it probably won't help much, but you'll get one anyway.

I'd want to keep the option of Pom open. I agree that Pitch has been acting suspicious for a while, and I've noticed that before, but I also think Pom reacted extremely jumpily to suspicion yesterDay, and though she claims Boro was trying to set her up with the connection between Boro and Pom, I don't see Boro picking her, of all people, to set up like that.

Shasta,

... ... ...

I'm sorry you feel frustrated, and I'm sorry you gave up. I'm sad if this game ends this way, even if it means village/acolyte victory. I'd choose a game where everyone has fun over a game I win, anytime.

Anyway, although it's late for you, I have to disagree with your pessimism: I wish I was unkillable since I need to survive until the end in order to win, but I'm not. In fact if you want to know, the original rule was that the acolyte cannot be Night-killed* but to keep the balance, Nerwen changed it into that it is difficult to Night-kill the acolyte.

Also, yesterDay, I was really positively surprised how everybody has believed me and my goodwill - Boro included. This game could have gone so differently, in so many ways. I could have chosen to side with you baddies, and you'd likely have won already. (Not because of my help, of course, but because of lack of opposition.) I could have chosen not to risk my neck and just try to get Boro lynched without revealing, and then chosen my side at the end of the Day based on whether we were going to lynch Boro (my known wolf) or someone else. (Yes, to be honest, I was very tempted to do that until it turned out most of the villagers think the acolyte is good.) The village could have suspected my sincerity. Boro could have kept fighting and in the worst case you guys would have got me lynched (I would have lost, and the village wouldn't have got a dream toDay). Even toDay, anyone could have made a case against me (that I'm some sort of shady figure operating on my own) and got people to believe it. And so many other things.

My kudos for you wolves (you Shasta, dead Nog and Boro, and whoever is still hiding out there) for the gifted-slaughter and bold wolf-on-wolf. You have played well. I think you still had a realistic chance of winning.

When I made my choice yesterDay** I thought you had such an upper hand that siding with the village would be fairer and make the game more even. Seems like the contrary happened - obviously I didn't mean to kill the game for you. I definitely didn't expect stuff to turn out so well for the village or that the wolves would be so demoralised. (Maybe I'm over-emphasising my own importance and actions, but obviously that's the easiest perspective for me to take.)

However this is not an apology, and I hope it doesn't sound like an accusation either. My only regret is that I didn't try dreaming you, Shasta, last Night, like I originally intended. On hindsight, it would have been nicer to everybody. If you want to know, I ironically decided against it because after rereading yesterDay, I thought you looked pretty good.



* I heard I may get an opportunity to switch sides if I want. I was assuming this would happen if the wolves attacked me, but I wasn't asked anything last Night.

** Yes, technically I lied when I said I already had made my choice when I revealed. The deadline for the decision was the end of yesterDay, not the Night before. Anyway making the reveal was basically siding with the village - I would have been pretty darn stupid/heroic if I had PMed Nerwen I'm siding with the wolves after that.

I hadn't forgotten Pom, but I haven't had a chance to look at her like I did the others yet.

For my part, I trusted you based on my original argument regarding the Acolyte: a known evil (wolves) is more of a threat than an unknown quantity. I saw no reason an innocent Boro would have rolled over like that, and so went along with your claim.

Lommy, when you revealed yesterday, there was no chance that anyone would believe Boro over you even if he had fought back. Go look at people's reactions yesterday if you don't believe me. And after Boro was lynched you were guaranteed to be cleared innocent - even if I had done some type of counterclaim toDay and by some miracle been believed, and you'd been lynched, we would be in nearly the exact same situation tomorrow, with Sally clear and myself a revealed wolf. Once the Seer was replaced with a self-protecting Seer that could still dream, the wolves were just done.

Turns out everything went quicker today than I thought, and I come back to find - this?

Oh boy. I'm sure She Who Pulls the Strings didn't mean any of this to happen, and I'm sorry for doing this to her, but my last comrade shall not die alone.

*takes his place next to Shasta*

++Pitch

Do your worst, minions of Mordor!

Awww, Pitch.

I hope it makes you happier to know that when the Day started, there were two people I was almost certain were NOT wolves: you and Greenie.

Risking being disrespectful in your tragic moment ;) - I have to ask now that I know who you all are - was your strategy to be as much wolf-on-wolf as possible without outright trying to get each other killed? It worked really nicely.

~*~

I used the word of tragic a little jokingly up there, but it actually is (italics for Zil!) a tragic end to a very good game. I enjoyed it very much, even though I was very confused most of the time: the person whose guilt I was the most certain about was the ranger, and I only suspected one wolf seriously in the course of the whole game. :rolleyes: I think I've got rusty and I need to play more ww in the near future!

Thanks for the game, everybody, and Nerwen especially. The end might be in sort of minor key, but let's not forget all the great stuff before that (especially my specific favourite, half of the village's fixation that Inzil was the acolyte. I still don't get where that came from! :D)

Now Inzil's going to be even more insufferable. :rolleyes:

Sorry, Pitch, but any and all fight completely went out of me once I saw the morning's narration.

Oh well. At least Nerwen has an inkling of which way she wants to go for the final narration, now - perhaps the two remaining loyal servants of Gondor, faced with no way out, heroically take their own lives rather than fall prey to the evil minions of Harad and Mordor? :Merisu:

'Tis about time this ends anyway. This land's been a nightmare - the dry heat's ruined my complexion, the local cuisine gives me diarrhea, and the coffee - no offence to Nogrod's shade, but there's a reason I'm a tea drinker.

*shrugs* Wolf-on-wolf comes naturally to me; it's getting innocents lynched that's the hard part... and when I try, they have a nasty tendency to reveal as the Seer. *coughEönwëcaugh*

I got it from Rikae.

Yes, it was a good game and fun while it lasted, especially wolfing together with three outstanding packmates. And I'm actually pretty sure Nerwen never intended to throw an unkillable Seer at us and there would have been some chance to kill you next Night, but after Shasta's surrender I don't find it in me to go on alone.

It's not an altogether unfitting end though. After all, this grace was given to the Men of Westernesse, to lay down their lives of their own free will while still hale in mind and body, etc.

Well, now I feel like a heel.

Boro agrees with me, though, for what it's worth.

Let's not forget to do the double-lynch and end this properly.

I was right? Incredible. :eek:

And the funny thing is, impersonating the Acolyte never once crossed my mind. I was honestly just being myself (something that's gotten me suspected I don't know how many times), though I was deliberately trying to be confusing to the wolves.

++Shasta

It's only proper.

Technically you didn't even have to vote. :rolleyes:

I'm a stickler for procedure.

*points to his signature*

Btw Zil, my friend, you are a major pain in the neck when you're on the other side. (In other words, well played.;))

Yes, and now someone else has to vote too keep it even!

++Pitch

It feels very stupid to vote a wolf you only caught because he confessed... :rolleyes: Kudos again, Pitch! That was quite masterful.


ps. Yes. 50-50 chance, to be specific.

Thanks guys. You were amazing.

And to be honest, all I was commenting on this morning was how badly I ended up playing, suspicion-wise - I don't think I suspected any of you at any point during the game. Nog a bit, but he spoke himself out of it. After all that sharpness :P But you were REALLY good, it's sad it ended with an unfair situation like this.

Lottie - thank you for suspecting me, I never get suspected and it was nice fighting with you a bit, especially as it ended up being two innocents against each other.

Sorry, wolves :( – I was trying to get a balance between making the game winnable for the Acolyte, without making it impossible for whatever side she *didn't* choose, but I think I erred on the side of the first. I just never expected Lommy would get the whole village on side so easily once she came out.