[littlemanpoet]

After burying the corpses of Spawn, Kath, and Mormegil, the ten remaining villagers went back into town. Seven of them were innocent and three were werewolves. The innocent villagers were getting nervous. They were getting worried. They looked at each other in growing unease, wondering which three of their number were the werewolves. The werewolves for their part were gleeful, even though they had lost one of their number, and did all they could not to show it, so they made a point of looking nervous, looking worried, looking at all the other villagers as if they were wondering which three of their number were the werewolves ... as they laughed in their hearts.

Zali turned away from the group and hid in the house. Glirdan went for a long walk along the shore, mourning for Kath. Eonwe went for a hike in the foothills. The remaining six adults went into the Salty Seal while Oddwen ran to and fro and around the building, singing inanities, licking the rocks, jumping in the fountain then rolling in the dust. The adults raided the pantry, which was still rather well supplied. They pulled out pickled herring, beer, brown bread, and other less and more delectable fare, and hove to as they discussed their predicament. As was not unusual, Lalaith set her food and drink down first to speak.

"I don't know whom to trust now, I'm going to have to reassess a lot of things."

"Assess or reassess all you like, Lal. I say excellent hunting, Spawn, if you can only hear me from beyond the grave. I knew Morm was evil. And I still don't trust you, Lalaith."

"I can't believe Morm was a wolf," Kitanna offered. "And my faith in everything is completely shattered."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Diamond asked.

"It means there's hardly any way to tell who the werewolves are."

Diamond had no response to that except a nod of the head.

"Maybe the wolves thought I was the Hunter and that's why they did not attack me," Eomer suggested.

"All I can say is I wish Zali, Glirdy, Eonwe, and my Oddwen would please try to participate a bit more. I do not think we can win this without them." - Lalaith

"I'm thinking about why Kath was killed," Eomer said as he chewed on a big chunk of brown bread. "She didn't voice suspicions of Roa at all the day before she dreamed of her. So the wolves apparently got lucky with that kill. So why then would Kath be killed? Beats me."

"I think Kitanna is a wolf, but I don't think Eomer is a wolf," Jenny offered.

"I don't think Kath dreamt of a wolf," Kitanna said. "As for Glirdan and Eonwe, I say Eonwe is probably innocent. I say Glirdan could easily go either way."

"Thank you very much for that, Kitanna," said Lalaith. Then she launched into a long narrative of how things had gone since the Curse came upon Sealville. When she had done, she paused a moment and said, "Having said all that, I can't see how Zali was a wolf, at least not on Day Four." She chewed carefully on a bit of herring. "And something that Jenny said yesterday is eating at me. She says, 'Honestly, I think most of the reason I was not picked is that Roa and I tend to bicker.' But I say to that, 'Really? Can I just say two words to you: Nogrod. Valier."

"But those two bicker with everybody," Jenny retorted.

"Diamond is innocent," Eomer declared. "And all this talk of so-and-so being helpful, I say that helpful is as helpful does. It's in the eye of the beholder. What's helpful to me ain't necessarily helpful to you nor vice versa."

"I wonder if Roa cursed Valier after Valier first went after her, and then told Val to just carry on. At any rate, I am going to start the vote today. You, my dear Eomer, are notoriously King Bluff." With that, Lalaith voted for Eomer.

"I'm not convinced of Eomer's guilt," Jenny said.

Feanor, who had been rather quiet and in the beer until now, said, "I've never trusted Eomer, he's been generally suspicious the whole time, and I'm surprised that the wolves haven't killed him yet, if you take my meaning. I vote Eomer."

Suddenly Oddwen came rushing in, blowing and dribbling saliva out of both sides of her mouth. "I vote Jenny!" she said, rushing up to the table where the adults sat, stopping with a slap of her filthy hands on the table edge, sending dust on all the food. "I really have no time to explain, truly sorry!" She ran back outside again.

"That's the third totally unsubstantiated vote I've received in this game," Jenny complained.

"Lalaith & Feanor," said Eomer, "I too would vote for me if I was in your shoes. No hard feelings. Oddwen, on the other hand, has always been odd, but lately she has been ultra-weird. I vote Oddwen.

"I vote Oddwen," Jenny announced. "This is not a revenge vote. I'm scared of what might happen if we don't get a wolf today."

"I think Eomer's innocent," Diamond said, batting her eyelashes at him gratefully. Then resuming her twenty-years-his-senior dignity she said, "Ergo, I don't want him to die. I vote Oddwen."

"Oddwen is just too odd for the village good," Kitanna said. "I vote Oddwen. Tomorrow I'll deal with Eomer."

They waited until sundown. Glirdan, Zali, and Eonwe had stayed away.

With no Mormegil as mayor to do the honors, they drew straws to determine who would have the honor of leading the proceedings, such as they were. The honor adhered to Kitanna. She decided that she liked being mayor for a day.

"First we have to catch Oddwen." The six adults finished their food and drink, then left the Salty Seal in search of little Oddwen. Lalaith lagged behind, feeling as if she were failing in her duty as guardian to catch the little girl in order to lynch her. The others went to it with a will, and soon they caught sight of her and gave chase. Oddwen looked back and saw the adults coming after her, and thought it was a game of tag. She laughed with glee, and tore off in a new direction, giggling with delight. The adults never played tag otherwise, and this was turning into the happiest day of her life.

She was fast, clever, and covered in slime and filth. She was very hard to catch. Now she was under a table. Now she had disappeared into a basement. Now she was on the other side of the fountain. Now she was sneaking up behind Feanor and going "Boo!" and sending the otherwise dignified lady jumping with an "eek!"

Finally they had her surrounded and she could not get away, and she gave up in a fit of laughing glee. They took hold of her and led her to the beech tree.

"Am I it now?"

"Yes, dear," sniffed Lalaith.

"How high should I count? To one hundred?"

"Yes, dear, one hundred would be good," Lalaith moaned. "Be sure to close your eyes, my dear, and count very slowly while the rest of us go hide."

"Why are they putting the rope around my neck?"

"To make sure you don't come running before you count to one hundred, my dear." Lalaith began to weep.

"Why are they putting this black hood over my head?"

"So you don't peek and see which way we go hide, my dearest," Lalaith bawled.

"Aunt Lal, why do you sound so sad?"

"I'm not sad," Lalaith cried. "I've never been so happy in my entire life, playing tag with you! Now count to one hundred."

"One ..... two ..... three .... f-" She fell. "Gck! GK!!! GGGKK!!!!!" She was too light.

"Someone do something!" Lalaith screamed.

Eomer ran up to Oddwen and pulled down on both legs as hard as he could. Oddwen's neck broke and she died, swinging limply in the air. She did not change into a werewolf.

Lalaith fell to the ground and was inconsolable.

~ The Tally ~

Three werewolves
Six Innocent

~ The Dead ~ (19)

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
Dancing Spawn of Ungoliant the Baker, flayed through the back on Night Seven: hunter
Kath the minstrel: flayed where she lay on Night Seven: seer
mormegil the retired mariner and current mayor: virtually beheaded by the Hunter on Night Seven: werewolf
Oddwen the filthy, insane street urchin, lynched in a game of tag on Day Seven: innocent

~ The Living ~ (9)

Diamond of the Battledore
Glirdan with the giant crush on Kath
Kitanna the beloved of Eomer
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