[littlemanpoet]

Sleepy Ranger was not born in Sealville. He was of the men of Valandil, King of Arnor, and of the Dúnedain. So when he came to Sealville, calling himself by some odd sounding Elvish name the inhabitants of Sealvilled could not pronounce, they butchered it in their speech, into 'Sleepy'. And he was content. He found himself a wife, Roa, and they had three children, as has been told already: Caranlondien, Glirdan, and Lommy. Sleepy had named that youngest one, and asked what he meant by it, he said that Lommy was to her true name as Sleepy was to his. They raised their brows in confusion, but let it be.

The Ranger household always seemed peaceable enough, though Caranlondien was gone most of the time, and Glirdan was so quietive he might as well have been gone, and Lommy was a little thief, skulking everywhere but home. So the peaceableness may have been accounted to the fact that the Ranger home was usually empty of its children.

What the villagers did not know was that Roa had dug out a special little room that not even her husband knew of, and had decked it according to her wishes, in hopes of one day receiving the benefits of the prophecy. That room was bookshelved floor to ceiling, wall to wall to wall, and lorebooks from far and wide filled those shelves. A single candle lit the little room, standing on a desk big enough for just one book at a time, a single stool before it. Which left plenty of room for the Shadow when it came.

What the villagers did not know was that Sleepy once upon a time discovered this room, and wished that he had not. He loved his wife, though he always feared she did not return his favor, and kept her secret, though he knew he should not.

When the curse came, he refused to know what had happened. He denied himself the knowledge. He cut off such thoughts from his own awareness. And he stayed quiet for most of the days as the curse took its toll. He was greatly saddened by the deaths of his two daughters, and took it upon himself to bury them.

When Gurthang named his wife, Roa, as the evil wizard; worse, when Roa announced it proudly herself, he kept his mouth closed and watched the ensuing battle, betraying little emotion. Truth be told, he had not wholly been able to convince himself that she was not the evil wizard. As he watched the good wizard contort entirely out of human shape, and his wife go up in flames, he felt that his life was done. No, not free; but over. Yes, there was Glirdan who was so taken with mooning over the lass Kath, that Sleepy wondered if he noticed the deaths of all the females in his house.

So when Sleepy cast his vote for Jenny, giving hardly any reason, he supposed that he was perhaps signing his death warrant. And so it turned out to be; by one vote. Three votes to two to two. How fitting, he thought to himself.

Mormegil ordered him to be bound and led to the beech tree. He was trussed up and left there to stand upon the stool, the noose tight around his neck.

"Any last words, Sleepy?" asked Mormegil.

Sleepy Ranger said not a word, but looked upon his son reproachfully.

His son, Glirdan, was ordered to kick the stool out from under him, and Glirdan did so with a flourish, having cast the final vote for his own father.

Sleepy fell, choked, his neck broke, and he died.

"No werewolf there," someone commented.

~ The Tally ~ (6)

Four werewolves
One seer
One hunter

~ The Dead ~ (18)

Elempi, father of Diamond of the Battledore, killed on Night One
Loki the leech collector, lynched on Day One: innocent
The Saucepan Man the barkeep, killed on Night Two: innocent
Nogrod the retired jester, lynched on Day Two: werewolf
the phantom the loud, unpredictable, adventurer: hunter
Naria the servant who empties and cleans chamber pots: werewolf
Celuien the Healer and Cupper, lynched on Day Three: innocent
Lhunardawen the jeweler, committed suicide on Day Three: innocent
Cailín the match maker, mauled by werewolves on Night Four: innocent
Valier the gardener, planted and stoned in her garden on Day Four: werewolf
Firefoot the artist, frenziedly eaten on Night Five: innocent
Nilpaurion the ne'er do well hubby of Dancing Spawn, head almost ripped off by werewolves: innocent
Alcarillo the old retired sea captain, drowned on his boat on Day Five: werewolf
Lommy the little girl who steals other children's candy, broken and consumed on Night Six: innocent
Caranlondien the Sled-Team Driver, skewered and kabobed on Night Six: ranger
Roa Aoife the weaver, burned by fire on Day Six: the evil wizard
Gurthang the stable-hand, contorted by evil magic on Day Six: the good wizard
Sleepy Ranger the former wanderer, lynched on Day Six: innocent

~ The Living ~ (13)

Diamond of the Battledore
Dancing Spawn of Ungoliant the Baker
Kath the minstrel
Glirdan with the giant crush on Kath
Kitanna the beloved of Eomer
Oddwen the filthy, insane street urchin who steals chickens
mormegil the retired mariner and current mayor
Feanor the shepherdess with a love of alliteration
Zali the seamstress and beloved of the phantom
Jenny Hallu the unmarried maiden & aunt
Lalaith the frivolous aunt and guardian of Oddwen
Eonwe the freeloading husband of Lhunardawen
Eomer the adventurer & lover of Kitanna