Tol-in-Gaurhoth LXIII: The Cottage of Lost Play

[McCaber]

Once again night is nearly here. I give it about two hours before the worst of it hits.

And it's strange, but I myself am unsure of who to vote. I was actually hoping for more discussion, but I suppose that two hours is a long time in this scenario.

Well, there's no way I like Eonwe, or perhaps even Lal or Pitchwife. I'll give this another pondering and see if anything strikes me.

[Shastanis Althreduin]

You people really are going to have to make up your minds. If I don't say anything, I'm "unhelpful". If I do, I'm "defensive". You can't have it both ways. So which is it?

[Eönwë]

OK, I'm sorry. I was mistaken. It appears that it was I spoke to Pitchwife 3 times on the matter of the seer.

Also, some of the stuff that's been said about me has ridiculous. "Giving tips to Pitchwife"... If you're going to accuse me, at least come up with a good reason.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by Shastanis Althreduin

If I don't say anything, I'm "unhelpful". If I do, I'm "defensive". You can't have it both ways. So which is it?

Heh. Not quite. The first part is right though - if you don't talk you are unhelpful. But there are a host of things to do when talking. It's not anyone elses fault you have decided to take a retaliatry defence mode. No one forces you to it. How about making some suspicions yourself? Try it, you'll like it - and we'll like it.

And McCaber is right, we should pull our act together. I'm going to give a thought on that in a moment.

[Shastanis Althreduin]

"Retaliatory defense"? Hm, yes, I suppose you could call it that, because you're using the same complaint you use every game in order to suspect me after other people already have.

Oooh, look! I'm following the moddess's request! How suspicious!

++Nogrod

[Nogrod]

Looking back at my earlier thoughts on whom I'd be more hesitant to vote toDay leaves me with four people. Namely: Nessa, Shasta, autume and Eönwë. Sadly I'm not too enthusiastic of lynching these people either. But let me see.

Nessa then. As people have said already, voting wolf-on-wolf early is a possible idea but sounds a bit dangerous. Also Fea's comment of Nessa not being a wolf looks more like she tried to make herself look good being considerate and such by calling a retaliation not a probable wolvish action at that point. The only thing that actually bothers me there is Nessa's point on not being just retaliating... So was there a communication breakdown of sorts there? Props for Inzil for noticing it.

Shasta's behaviour kind of irritates me a bit. After that morning rant - when he promised to make cases - he's just disappeared and now pops up only to say that he's unhappy with how some of us look at him because of what he does or does not do. Anyway, Would he act like that if he was a wolf? That then is the question.

Autume I think might need a bit more time to adjust in and I might be willing to give her the benefit of the doubt at least toDay.

Eönwë has somehow slipped my radar completely - or almost. I need to check what you others have been saying about him and what he has done himself...


EDIT: X'd with Pitch and... Shasta... okay then...

[Shastanis Althreduin]

Nogrod - what I've said, combined with the fact that he jumped on (and, really, attempted to lynch) me after Inzil started his word-twisting campaign.

Lalaith - blindly followed Nogrod, which I found suspicious.

Inziladun - Pitchwife has already made the point - Zil repeatedly says "he must have misunderstood", but it would have taken all of five seconds to go and look back and what I actually did say; yet, he continues to insist that I said something different.

[Shastanis Althreduin]

Also, I trust Pitchwife more now, after his stance on Inziladun, even though he seems to have flipped Lommy-like regarding me from yesterday.

[Pitchwife]

Inzil -

He gave us the name of a wolf on the First Day! What more do you need?

A wolf can name another wolf. For the moment, I'm content to trust McCaber. I'll trust him utterly once the wolves show any sign of interest in silencing him (unsuccessfully, I hope).
And sorry, but just so I don't miss anything important again -
++Inziladun

[Shastanis Althreduin]

By the way, for the record - before McCaber's reveal of Fea, I was planning on voting Zil.

[Nogrod]

Let's not lynch Pitchwife. If he is a wolf he really let Fea down yesterDay when he had ample chances to save her discreetly. I think her believing he gave Shasta his first vote when Fea was in trouble speaks good of him.

[Nessa Telrunya]

"Hmmm...Right about now, I have to go with what I said earlier. Pitchwife's vote for Shasta yesterDay just didn't sit right, since his only reasoning had to do with bandwagoning. And the whole game, the way he's phrased things just seemed so strange, like he were trying to drop hints. I've just got this feeling about him...

Geez, I can't believe I'm doing a last minute vote, either!"

++Pitchwife

[autume98]

I've taken a closer look at the people I have thought to be suspicious.

I believe for the time that Nessa is innocent. She did vote for Fea. However what I really thought to be interesting is what McCaber had to say. Could the following have been his way of letting us know what he saw when he dreamt?

Originally Posted by McCaber

First of all, people I don't think are wolves:
Nessa voted for Fea, and vice versa. I have a hard time thinking that the wolves would have spent two of their votes against each other as the first votes of the day.

With that thought in mind I started taking a look at Lalaith. She's one of the reasons that I started to suspect Nessa. Could this just be a ploy to put us on the scent of someone else?

Originally Posted by Lalaith

The other interesting interaction was with Nessa. She votes for her, having already said that she will vote for either Nessa and Nerwen. Then, when Nessa immediately retaliates with a vote, she responds by telling the rest of us that Nessa is clearly not a wolf.
Now, at this point, of course, Fea-wolf does not know she has been scried. Why does she make this defence of Nessa? My first thought was that such a comment was primarily intended to make her (Fea) look good...proclaiming someone else's innocence like that is not a wolfish thing to do. Could Fea also be defending a fellow-wolf? It is certainly a high-risk strategy for two wolves to vote for each other like this on the first day...but not inconceivable, particularly when followed up by Fea's comment, which could have been expert damage limitation.
Well, that's my Fea analysis. More soon.

Now we have Lalaith's comments on the voting yesterday. I found what Lalaith had to say about Inzil interesting.

Originally Posted by Lalaith

So, here's my impression of my fellow houseguests.
Inziladun – active, raising good points – dismissing the ‘McCaber is a fake’ argument briskly - so again, inclined to trust for now.

Lastly I've taken a look at her vote for yesterday and her explanation. I'm not sure if this makes me think Lalaith is trying to arouse suspicion elsewhere or if this just makes Eonwe look more guilty.

Originally Posted by Lalaith

I need to vote now (as stated elsewhere). I appear to have four main suspects and clearly they can't all be wolves. So my process of elimination involves asking myself - could there be an innocent explanation?

....

Then, Eonwe and Pitchwife. I may be being dense, but I can't really think of a likely innocent explanation for their double-act. It is however possible that one of them is an unwitting stooge. Which? Actually I think it is more likely to be Eonwe - he is being defensive, and Pitchwife might be taking advantage of this and fostering him as an ally. So, my conclusion is...
++Pitchwife

Edit: Crossed with Nerwen

[Pitchwife]

Now look at this! I leave you people alone for a couple of hours, and whoops! here's the first vote for me - with more to come, the way it looks. I guess it had to come, in a game where everybody suspects everybody. Just makes me wonder how wrong I may have been myself in my suspicions of some other people.
Like McCaber, for example - and possibly Shasta, too.
Indeed, I like the way Shasta defended himself against Nogrod toDay. Maybe in his case, too, what looks like suspicious behaviour is just personal style? And the whole thing between Shasta and Inzil needs to be inspected closer.
Inzil did indeed misrepresent Shasta's explanation of his doings upstairs, whether on purpose or not. That is no big matter in itself, but his constant denying of what is on record for everybody to check I find puzzling. He also was very quick to pick up Eönwe's early (very early!) suspicion of Shasta, with very little to base such a suspicion on at the time. This is where Shasta's career as a suspect actually began, before Nogrod came in.
I'm also very worried by the fact that Boro, who clearly suspected Inzil and voted for him, was conveniently killed before he could explain himself. Had he realized that Shasta had been set up as a diversion?

I'm not going to reiterate everything I've already said about my cross-posting last evening. Believe it or not, it's true.
Since the main other reason I'm being suspected is my interaction with Eönwe, a few words about that are required, I think. Lalaith, just because I thought and said that your attack on Eönwe was unwarranted at the time doesn't mean I'm in league with him and trust him more than I do anybody else. I'm very curious about him and would very much like to know which side he's on. (If you want to know why, look closely at our interaction in the early yesterDay morning hours.) My best way to form an opinion about him is talking to him.
I also have the impression that Eönwe and Inzil were playing very smoothly into each other's hands last morning (the Shasta suspicion, the blood-phobia theory), but at the moment I find Inzil more suspicious. Indeed, Inzil is my prime suspect as of this.

EDIT: typos corrected

[autume98]

At this point in time I'm looking at Eowne.* YesterDay she voted for McCaber which caused there to be a tie between McCaber and Fea.* Seems a little suspicious to me.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by autume98

At this point in time I'm looking at Eowne

Eowne? Not known at this address, my friend.

Edit: X'd with Steve.

[autume98]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Eowne? Not known at this address, my friend.

Edit: X'd with Steve.

I mean Eonwe.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by autume98

At this point in time I'm looking at Eowne.* YesterDay she voted for McCaber which caused there to be a tie between McCaber and Fea.* Seems a little suspicious to me.

First of all, I'm a he. (and called Eowne?)

Secondly, how is that suspicious?

edit: x-ed

[McCaber]

So it looks like we have another last-minute voting rush. Can people at least say who you're planning on and why, so as to avoid another debacle like the last Day? Anything that limits confusion and maximizes effectiveness, especially in clearing out relations between people.

EDIT: crossed with Eonwe

[Inziladun]

*strides into the room*

Well, decision time again. Thanks to McCaber, we did well yesterDay.
Rather than say what I think of everyone, I'll keep it at things that I find striking, as time is short.

Originally Posted by Nessa Telrunya

Well, the good thing about having gotten a wolf so early is that those who voted against her couldn't be wolves. If they were, surely they would not have voted to kill one of their own.

I don't know Nessa well, as she hasn't been a part of our Downs community terribly long. However, such an adamant statement, that the Fea voters could not be wolves, and Fea saying no one should vote for Nessa makes me uneasy. Again, my suspicion of her (and McCaber in turn) the previous Day was based upon the fact that she voted for Fea immediately after Fea voted for her, and, after it was posited that Nessa's was a revenge vote, she denied it. Her 'explanation' of the vote never rang true to me. Couple that with her urging McCaber to reveal his dream after he's already said he wished to keep it to himself for the moment, and Nessa is highly suspect to me.

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

Nice thought, Eönwe, and thanks for voicing it. (No offence, McCaber - I'm sure you'll understand we need to consider every possibility! Of course, you would do yourself a great favour in terms of credibility if you told us what you did dream last night, and why you're so reluctant to talk about it.)

Another one wanting McCaber to divulge information about his dream. And for credibility? He gave us the name of a wolf on the First Day! What more do you need?

Originally Posted by Eönwë

But this is just hypothetical. For now I think we should assume that McCaber is the real seer.

Definitely. But after Nog says:

Originally Posted by Nogrod

it looks reasonably believable McCaber is our seer...

Eönwë asks Nog for clarification.

Shasta I still don't trust. He seems to have pretty well continued his previous pattern of popping in and out without saying anything to help our cause.
I have yet to see his case against four of us, of which one was me.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Eönwë asks Nog for clarification.

Yes. That was a bad quotation by me. Look at Noggie's post from where I quoted that and you'll see why I asked:

Originally Posted by Nogrod

Well, earlier he had said McCaber had been too calculated and detached... Good, good... but looking at Eönwë's actions so far I could say almost the same about him - and it looks reasonably believable McCaber is our seer...

So I didn't understand what he was trying to say...

[McCaber]

Vote Count:

Pitchwife: 1 (Lalaith)
Nogrod: 1 (Shasta)

[McCaber]

I'm still waiting to vote, to make sure that an innocent doesn't get lynched against my wishes.

Don't worry, I'm good for it.

[Nogrod]

Originally Posted by McCaber

I'm still waiting to vote, to make sure that an innocent doesn't get lynched against my wishes.

Don't worry, I'm good for it.

"Oh the irony of this..." Nogrod said quietly when he rose up from beside the webbed body of McCaber.

"But we were the ones to blame of what happened yesterDay. Had we just made a little effort to share our views before the last minute we could have avoided that tragedy. Let's see that doesn't happen again, shall we?"

Nogrod looked at the corpse shaking his head.

"Oh you poor bastard, you could have left us with a name of one innocent anyway but did you? Let's check that from our memories asap. But I'm afraid you didn't... Let's see and cross fingers you had some nice thing there to help us out that much."

Starting to walk back to the resident areas Nogrod turned his head back while walking: "Okay, there's lot to look for so let's get on with it."

[Eönwë]

Eönwë got out of his room and met the others, his eyes glazed over from lack of sleep.

Someone looked at him quizzically and Eönwë replied "It's been haunting me all night. I couldn't sleep. It was my fault that the ranger was killed. And because of that the seer as well. I don't know why I didn't kill him when I had the chance. I thought that you had already chosen who to kill, and that I was late... and then I realised that my vote could have counted, but it was too late. You saw what happened yesterday when Inziladun attacked Lalaith. And then Pitchwife too. Maybe you should just kill me. It would probably help the village more," he said.

Eönwë looked like he was about to cry, but instead collapsed, and fell face-first onto the cold, hard, stone floor.

[Nessa Telrunya]

Nessa sadly followed Nogrod away from the body.

"Out of seven people, there's now only one wolf left. The odds are in our favor, but how do you suggest we go about uprooting the one baddie?"

[Nogrod]

Okay, I think I have everything McCaber said about his dreams or anyone of us by name yesterDay. I think it's easier if I just recite them here so everyone needs not to run back the memory lane. Sadly there's not much there...

Originally Posted by #126

But my scryings last night did not reveal a wolf. As of right now that's all I'm prepared to say directly on the subject.

Originally Posted by #139

First of all, people I don't think are wolves:
Nessa voted for Fea, and vice versa. I have a hard time thinking that the wolves would have spent two of their votes against each other as the first votes of the day.
For Nogrod, it would have been too easy for him not to vote and let me die yesterDay along with Fea. I'd say he's clean.
I would have said Boro over here, precisely because of his link to Fea. Working together like that really strikes me as more of a wolf working with an innocent to gain trust, rather than a wolf combo attack.
Pitchwife and Lal both seem decent, simply based around the voting records. I can only assume that I looked like a seer to the wolves, and that getting rid of me then or at night would have been what they were looking for.

I also believe that there probably is a wolf among those people who didn't vote. No real reason, but simply a feeling.

Originally Posted by #177

So far I think what has been said so far toDay is helpful. Now we need people to talk about each other's analyses and what they think about them. (Taking a cue from Nogrod's book here, because that's at the core of finding suspects.)

Originally Posted by #179

Well, I know one person I can trust for sure. There are a few who still frighten me a bit, and a few who have gotten more onto my good side. And then come those who have not said enough to show me much of them at all. Nerwen, guess which one you're in right now.

What? Can't a seer make fun of people too? This is a high-stress job we're talking about.

Originally Posted by #190

And it's strange, but I myself am unsure of who to vote. I was actually hoping for more discussion, but I suppose that two hours is a long time in this scenario.

Well, there's no way I like Eonwe, or perhaps even Lal or Pitchwife. I'll give this another pondering and see if anything strikes me.

[Nogrod]

"Hey there Eönwë!"

Nogrod had seen him falling down and ran to help him up. "Hey someone, help me with him... he needs a shot to be sure." Looking down at Eönwë he said to him: "Cheer up mate, we need you to talk, not to faint... We all make mistakes... Now c'mon!"