[Nogrod]

Herbert hadn’t heard the man approaching. He screamed with fright when he realised the shadow blocking the narrow doorway into the pillbox.

“Cool down Herbert. It’s me. You are learning your powers my boy. But you need some practise still. Killing your mother was even a better start I could have foreseen but you still need a few lessons as I can see you’re not yet in balance with your powers. You’re now enchanted with the evil and revenge… you should learn the other side as well.”

The boy stared at the shadow his mouth opening wide as he slowly recognized him as his stepfather.

“That last one burnt you, right?” Mr. Hearst said smiling thinly to the boy. Herbert didn’t answer.

“You kind of liked Aggy, didn’t you? I heard about her from your mom. She bullied you but you admired her independence and courage to break those boundaries you never had nerve to break?”

Herbert felt forced to nod slightly in the face of a plain truth he had never thought of earlier in such terms pulled open before his eyes. He had regretted his decision to pick Aggy as soon as her figurine had started to caught fire. It had just been too late to reverse it as he couldn’t move his hand away from the light aymore. And then it had burnt him.

“It was the same thing with your mom. Do you see it? You loved her and hated her but with her your hatred was stronger and deeper. But love and hate stem from goodness and evil and they are distractions in your way to power my lad.”

Herbert wasn’t sure he actually understood Mr. Hearst’s last sentence but he nodded in a way a good boy shows his teacher that his ears are open for more and he’s trying to follow.

“There is no good and no evil in reality. They are only ideas which live only when contemplated by someone. They are ways of looking at the world. Learn that first. It is a simple idea but hard to grasp fully in all its consequences. Most of that which lives thinks they obey something they call “the laws of good and evil”, but for higher spirits they are just bedtimestories you can learn to master – and with that mastery you learn to master the minds of men. The ideas of good and evil can be used to gain power my lad. And power is all there is.” He made a pause to let his words sink and for the boy to wrestle with the meaning of them. “I will tell you more of it when you’re ready. Don’t you worry about that”.

Something was brewing in Herbert’s mind but he wasn’t quite sure what it was. He was baffled by all that Mr. Hearst had said. He seemed to notice his confusion.

“To wield that power you must become impassionate Herbert. Like this…”

Mr. Hearst took a step towards the table and grasped two figurines crushing them in his hand indifferently without even glancing whose figurines they were. He dropped the pieces to the floor and looked Herbert straight to the eye.

“You will be a great wielder of power if you just pass this test. You’ll learn to use it but you need to forget your inner goods and evils. Growing up to be a free spirit means you must first grow out from your inner morality passed on you by people around you. Hatred is a great way to start the path as it cuts you away from any influences but those of your own. But you must grow out of it in the end. Only in an impassioned reality you can wield your power to the fullest as there will then be no restraints.”

He laid his hand on Herbert’s shoulder and pressed it firmly smiling encouragingly.

“Experience that with your figurines now. Try something new. I’ll visit you soon to observe your progress.”

With that Mr. Hearst nodded and turned around. And left.

Herbert was alone in the pillbox once again. He looked back at his figurines and heard them crying at him.

There was this Janus-faced girl Caílean. It was like she was two different girls. One had always held him as her friend and he had liked him a lot. But the other Caílean had always used him to her whims and made fun of him in public. He loved her and hated her but now he tried to be as cool as he could.

He took the figurine and brought it to the fire.

It took fire slowly and started heating his fingers... but it never bursted into sudden flames like the Aggy figurine had done. It was just consumed by the flames.

Herbert held his breath. It did burn his fingers but he bit his lip. He would endure it. He would endure it...


*~*

It was to be a mad day. A day of chaos and intrigue. And the poor villagers tried to keep a cool head in the middle of all that.

Soon after the second day of open town council was opened by the elders Rikae came forwards.

"I couldn't get lynched if I wanted to. Allow me to demonstrate... A vote for Rikae to be lynched!" He looked at the stupefied villagers around her.

"It must be ironic..." Roa whispered to those near her.

"Ironic, but not at all suspicious, eh?", Rikae snapped back. "That's ok. I'm the GW, anyhow - so you really couldn't lynch me. So lynch Legate, he's evil."

From that ensued a lengthy discussion as to whether to believe her or not.

Finally the phantom came forwards with his own revealment of having been told by the GW to hunt for Cailín.

From that a lengthy discussion ensued as to whether to believe him or not.

Or whether to believe something he said but not all the other things. Or how would these relate to Rikae's revealment. Or whether they were both in cahoots in this? Or which would be the best way to proggress whether they were true or not.

"I didn't want to do this, but... I think that the confusion here is not good for the Good team, and since Rikae has seemingly got what she wanted, I may as well let the thick villagers in on it. Rikae's not the Good Wizard. I am." It was Diamond who talked.

That finally ended the lengthy discussions about whom to believe.

But it didn't meant the end of the discussion...


Suddenly the villagers realised the sun was setting fast.

"Well, how do we kill her?" asked Kath pointing at Cailín.

"How about we drown her?" Lalaith suggested.

"But where would you drown her in here? Into Mac's cider or to or your chocolate? Or maybe to my candle wax?" Celuien queried.

"I'd say we do not drown him into the cider as we've got no one to make more of it. A waste of good stuff I say..." Durelin protested.

"I have a natureal distaste for drowning anyone in chocolate. How could you eat any after that?" Brinn said shivering.

"The candle-wax it is then?" Gwath said with a curious smile.

"Yess! I'd love that!" Sally bursted.

"Let's do it then" Lommy said and nodded to Greenie to give her a hand with walking Cailín to Celuien's workshop.

"Now finally you're showing some sense!" the phantom said and went forwards getting the wax-cauldron ready.

The whole village gathered around as Celuien showed how it was done.

Cailín was drowned into the largest cauldron of liquid candle-wax.

Especially Di and Sally looked entusiastically at the procedures. "I have this wax-fetish you know?" Sally asked Di. "You do? Then you're not the only one..."

Suddenly the cauldron fell down and a great bellowing form of half-solidified wax came out from it.

"Yoooowwww---il....lll not get awwwwwaaayyyy....f-f-romm this!" the blob tried to bellow while trying to stretch itself into any possible direction the wax would let it move. Thick hair was sticking through the waxy surface as the thing rolled around in the ground.

"Someone stop it before it gets loose!" Di and Sally cried being the nearest to it.

"You should light the heart!" Celuien yelled over the general rumble.

"Here you go you beast!" Legate ran with a candleheart and sticked it to the waxy monster. "Light it! Light it!"

"With pleasure" said the phantom and brought a match from his pocket.

Cailín caught fire and burnt with a clear flame. She burnt the whole night indeed. But she was a dead werewolf. An ex-lycanthrope who had went to meet her maker. Deceased she was.


*~*

Alive:

+ A Little Green, a fortune-teller - folklorist - herb-grower - unofficial therapist, advisor and midwife, most presumably a witch, the gammer (the eccentric mother of Lommy & Mac)
+ Shastanis Althreduin, astrologer/fortune teller, gaffer (Greenie's husband, father of Lommy & Mac)
+ Isabellkaya, a gammer who loves asparagus and throwing knives (Shasta's sister)

+ Thinlómien, a bird tamer, adult (married to Nilp, Macalaure's sister)
+ Nilpaurion Felagund, a house-bound sandwich-maker, adult (married to Lommy)
+ Eönwë, Rikae's unofficial helper-person, 22 (their son)
+ Kath, tavern owner, 20 (their daughter, Brinn's life partner)
+ Satansaloser 2005, Lommy's assistant, 17 (their daughter)

+ Rikae, a lumberjack, adult (married to Macalaure, Roa's sister)
+ the phantom, sheep herder with Legate, 21 (their adopted son, Di's brother)
+ Diamond 18, dissolute, 11 (phantom's pre-teen littlesister)

+ Lhunardawen, healer's apprentice, 20 (Cailín's daughter, good twin of Durelin)
+ Durelin, poisoner 20 (Lhuna's evil twin, daughter of Cailín)



+ Roa_Aoife, school teacher, adult (mother of Legate, Brinn and Kit, wife of Nogrod, sister of Rikae)
+ Brinniel, Greenie's apprentice, 21 (Legate's sister and Kitanna's twin sister, Kath's life partner)
+ Legate of Amon Lanc, sheep herder with tp, 19 (brother of Brinn & Kit, Sally's boyfriend, Agan's ex-bf)

+ Lalaith, chocolate maker, adult (sister of Nerwen, mother of Aganzir, Volo's daughter)

+ Mormegil, adult (son of Volo, husband of Celuien, father of Gwath and McCaber)
+ Celuien, a candle maker, adult (wife of morm, mother of Gwath and McCaber)
+ Gwathagor, a highwayman, 20 (McCaber's big brother)
+ McCaber, a henchman, 18 (Gwath's little brother, dates Aganzir)


The dead:
Eomer of the Rohirrim, adult (Cailín's husband, Lhuna's and Dury's father); An innocent beheaded by the werewolves on Night1
Nogrod, the judge, adult (Roa's husband, father of Legate, Brinn and Kit); An innocent torn in two by werewolves on Night1
Nerwen, the healer, adult (sister of Lalaith, Volo's daughter); An innocent nailed to the oak-tree on Day1.
Volo, the guy who knows everything about staying alive, the gaffer (Father of Nogrod, morm, Nerwen and Lalaith); The seer mutilated and eyes pulled off on Night2.
Kitanna, a tavern wench 21 (Legate's sister and Brinn's twin sister); An innocent ripped into pieces and thrown into the well on Night2.
Aganzir, the little match girl, 15 (Lalaith's daughter, dates McCaber); A werewolf burnt alive on Day2.
Macalaure, apple farmer, adult (married to Rikae, Lommy's brother); The ranger overpowered by four werewolves in a fight and torn to pieces on Night3.
The Ka, a dog whipper (a fatherless and ageless little child of Lalaith); An innocent impaled to a spear her doll in her hand on Night3.
Cailín, guinea pig breeder, adult (Nilp's sister); A werewolf melted into a candle-wax and burnt on Day3


Night4 has begun.

You know what to do and what to do not.