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

[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.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Shastanis Althreduin

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

What a coincidence! I was going to vote for you!

In fact I'll do so now.

++ Shasta

[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.

[Nogrod]

Inzil I have the least "evidence" to speak for - and he did save - well could be seen as trying to save - Fea yesterDay. I have just liked her compactness and well thought ideas. Well, wolves may make good points as well...

[Nogrod]

Hey, what? Where?

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by 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.

Okay, but... Dammit, I was thinking of voting Zil, but I don't like Pitchwife's vote on him, or rather the reasons he gave.

EDIT: X'd since Nogrod at 212.

[Nogrod]

Darn it...

++ Shasta

[Nerwen]

Nah, I'll stick with him–

++Zil.

EDIT: X'd with Nogrod.

[Mnemosyne]

Once again the village was flustered as the day drew to an end. Accusations were flying everywhere and three guests were neck in neck for the chopping block. At the last minute, though, Eönwë cast the deciding vote for Inziladun.

But unlike Fea, Inziladun was not willing to make his death easy. He stood stone-still before the others. "Kill me," he said, "if you have the heart for it."

The guests looked uneasily at one another. "Eönwë was the last one to cast the vote," said Rikae. "Let him do it." They led Inziladun to a nearby cave which seemed to double as a weapons storeroom. McCaber handed him a throwing dagger, while Pitchwife and Lalaith turned Inziladun around. "Aim for the back of the neck."

For a full two minutes Eönwë stood there with the dagger in his hand. "Really," he said, "I don't think--"

Just then Inziladun exploded in a mass of fur. The werewolf reached for Lalaith's throat. Suddenly in a blaze of light Pitchwife opened up his flannel jacket, and reached inside his pocket to draw out a glowing crystal. The wolf turned to eye it, and dazzled by its beauty, did the only logical thing he could in this situation:

He bit Pitchwife's hand off.

Immediately Inziladun yelped in pain as the holy light of the gem seared in his stomach. There was something worryingly human in his cries of agony. In his throes he snapped at Shasta's stomach and tore it out.

Pitchwife stared in shocked fascination at the bloody stump where his hand used to be. "Holy smokes!" said autume. "Where'd you get that?"

He turned to her and smiled. "The Silmarils sear the flesh of those unworthy to touch it. Could only find one, but I thought it'd be good to have on hand... You know, just in case."

"Now what?" said Nerwen. Inziladun was proceeding to claw at some of the rocks at the edge of the cave, bloodying his paws.

Pitchwife looked at his arm again. "I think I know how this story ends," he said. "Might as well finish the job I've started. Shame I couldn't have protected you all longer."

With that, he drew out a knife and lunged at the mad wolf.

As Inziladun lay panting, the knife wounds to his chest innumerable, he turned back into his human form. Tears were streaming down his face, mingling with the blood. "Hurts... so bad..." he said before he went still.

Pitchwife, meanwhile, backed away and leaned against the wall of the cave, bleeding from all the scratches. "I only wish I could see my own Lúthien again," he said. McCaber reached inside Inziladun's stomach to place the Silmaril in Pitchwife's hand before he died.

Those guests who remained stared in shock at the tableau laid out before them. Then they looked down at themselves. Almost all of them were covered in blood.

"We'd better wash up," said Rikae. "Is there any way of walling this cave in?" Just then a rain started from outside the cave. As one the guests walked out into it and only wished it could wash the stain from their hearts. In a loud bang lightning struck above the cave, and stones rained down before its mouth.

They returned to the guest wing in near silence.

Just when they were about to go inside their rooms, Nogrod turned to Eönwë, a black look in his eye. "Pity you didn't kill him when you had the chance," he said.

IT IS NOW NIGHT THREE

The Living:
Nessa Telrunya
McCaber
Nogrod
autume98
Lalaith
Nerwen
Rikae
Eönwë

The Dead:
Feanor of the Peredhil (werewolf)
Boromir88
Shastanis Althreduin
Inziladun (werewolf)
Pitchwife (ranger)

[Mnemosyne]

McCaber tossed and turned in his sleep. He was a light sleeper normally, but tonight it was even worse. He could feel death closing in on him. Sighing, he tried to focus his mind on one of the company, just in case...

He pulled his blankets about him closer. It was so cold in his room, and so wet--

So wet.

His eyes opened with a start. He was on a grassy floor still slick from the evening's rain. From far off, he heard a long, keening hoooooooooooooooowwwwwwl. Staggering to his feet, he ran.

The howl came again, but this time there was a thread of excitement in the cry. He shuddered. The wolf was having fun with him!

The glade he was in narrowed into a pathway surrounded by rocky walls. He cursed as he saw that the only way forward led into a tunnel that was blacker than black.

The darkness was so heavy that he almost turned back, but he knew that if he did he would die, whereas if he could just get through--

He was stuck--not by one of those spiritual-type barriers, but by an actual, sticky, physical one. A small part of his mind remarked how it was hardly surprising, given that he was in a tunnel that was blacker than black, but the rest of him merely reacted, flailing about and getting more of the cords wrapped around him. He was trapped like a fly in a web. And there was no Sting to help him. Well, he thought, if I get stung I suppose I won't die just yet...

Just then he felt the wolf's paws creep up behind him, and its foul, rank breath hit his nose and neck. The wolf placed its arms around him, and squeezed him until his bones snapped and his eyes popped out.

* * *

In the morning the guests' corridor led directly to the tunnel itself. They found McCaber's broken body lying wrapped in spider silk. And the guests mourned the loss of their seer.

IT IS NOW DAY THREE.

The Living:
Nessa Telrunya
Nogrod
autume98
Lalaith
Nerwen
Rikae
Eönwë

The Dead:
Feanor of the Peredhil (werewolf)
Boromir88
Shastanis Althreduin
Inziladun (werewolf)
Pitchwife (ranger)
McCaber (seer)

[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