[the phantom]

For a while it looked like there would be an all out war in the village, but soon cooler heads prevailed, and the villagers voted to take a twenty minute break in order to consider the recent happenings. Twenty minutes had come and gone however, and still the group was not all present.

"Well, there's SPaM," said Sai as SPaM came stumbling up the path from the tavern, "But we're still missing Mardil."

"Yes, and that Fea girl," added Wilhelmina.

"I think I saw the both of them headed over that way," said Panakeia, waving in the direction of Mardil's hut.

"Yeah," sniggered Fléin, "I'm sure they're having a nice little chat."

"Yes, yes," agreed Valde, "The two of them looked like they were getting quite cozy after dinner yesterday."

"I'm going to go fetch them back," said Alli through gritted teeth. She began walking briskly towards Mardil's hut.

"Wait, I'll go too," said Sai, hurrying after her.

When she reached the door, Alli pounded on it as hard as she could. "Mardil! We're all waiting for you!" From inside the hut came the sound of clinking metal, shuffling feet, and unintelligible whispering.

"Just a minute!" called Mardil's voice. "I'm almost ready! I'm just picking up some things in here. I'll be there shortly!"

"Well, why don't you let me help you?" asked Alli fiercely.

"No, no, that's really not necessary!" answered Mardil. "Look, why don't you run along and-"

"Oh, don't be silly, Mardil, Sai and I will help." Alli pushed the door open forcefully and took in the scene. Mardil was standing in the middle of the room, halfway through pulling his shirt on. His light leather armor and cloak were lying in a heap on the floor along with his weapons, as well as a navy long sleeve t-shirt and a leather jacket, both of which belonged to Fea. Fea was seated on the table clad in a tight black t-shirt and faded jeans and was pulling her socks and shoes on.

"Come on, Alli, let's go back like he said," suggested Sai, anxious to avoid any sort of conflict. Surprisingly, Alli allowed herself to be led away in silence.

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"Well Mardil, I certainly hope you're proud of yourself," whispered Sai as Mardil sat down next to her. Alli was sitting apart from everyone else on a tree stump.

"I am proud of myself," said Mardil.

"Excuse me? Why in the world would you be proud about-"

"Spare me the lecture and take a look at this, Sai," said Mardil cutting Sai off and shoving a small black book into her hand.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I spotted that Fea lass reading it on several occasions, but only when she thought she wasn't being watched. Every time someone came around, she'd stow it in her jacket. But, as you can see, I managed to get it from her while she was occupied with, well... me."

"Well, that's very clever and all," said Sai as she thumbed through the pages of the book, "But what good does this do? The book's cover and pages are blank."

"They just look blank, m'dear," said Mardil. "I did a bit of spying and figured out how to read the book. Whenever Fea pulled it out, she waved her hand over it like this, and said 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good'."

Sai gasped as golden words appeared on the cover of the book. As they became more clear, she read them out loud. "The Phantom's Comprehensive Guide to Slaughtering Villages."

"So, what do you think?" whispered Mardil.

Sai began flipping through the book, its pages now filled with writing. Much of the book was highlighted. The highlighted sections said things like the first priority is always killing the seer, it is nearly always a bad idea to kill a fellow wolf when there is another choice, don't make kills that leave an obvious trail whether it is false or not, and don't lie- tell truths that don't lead to the truth.

"Well," said a shocked Sai, "This is some pretty good evidence."

"Yes it is," agreed Mardil. "Let's go ahead and present our case right away."