Tol-in-Gaurhoth XXI: Dueling Wizards Werewolf

[Valier]

Originally Posted by Roa

Either way, your instinct has not been trustworthy this game.

We shall see my dear Wizard...

[Cailín]

Originally Posted by Valier

We shall see my dear Wizard...

Oh dear. I have never seen Valier this convinced of something. We might have another situation on our hands.

A Roa vs Valier situation, that is.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Cailín, you are so funny.

I have no idea who to vote for. I really hope Azaelia isn't the Seer as I think she won't be back tonight. I'm not the Seer but I'm not about to offer myself as a noble sacrifice yet.

[Celuien]

The deadline draws near, so there isn't time for my ususl elaborate analysis.

Roa:
174: Defends Loki. Says that the EW will pick unlikely GW choices.
200: Does not suspect Loki. Questions Nogrod’s motives in attacking Loki. Votes for Nogrod.
258: States Loki was believable because no one contradicted his claim and because of his timing. Says Nogrod was the one who caused confusion.
274/277: Analysis of Nogrod.
287: More explanation to Fea about Loki. Asks not to vote randomly.
295: Votes Nogrod for the second time.
324/336: Presses Nogrod about his attack on Loki, more explanation of why she finds him suspicious.
493: More about Loki to Fea. Wants to know what Valier is talking about with her theories. Agrees with morm about the narration thing. Wonders why Valier is so eager to be rid of her.
509: Says that Valier’s record is less than stellar. Doesn’t understand suspicion of Alcarillo.

I see nothing here to suggest to me that Roa is the EW. The cannon-fodder theory non-withstanding, I can't see the EW attacking Nogrod as strongly as Roa did very consistently for two days. While Nogrod was a perfect set-up, he also made a dangerous wolf, and losing him would have been a blow to the evil team.

My suspicion of Alcarillo does stem from what happened to the SPM, along with his overly in-character defensiveness. Granted, there's nothing wrong with talking about village affairs, but as both morm and my late husband pointed out, the wolves do not respect village relationships. Talking only about village happenings and connections to the diminishment of wolf-hunting debate is detrimental to finding the wolves and their foul master. And it gives a way to talk, look friendly, and hide in the open without leaving a trail.

I also agree that the narrations should not be taken as clues. That doesn't seem to be the style of our Great Seal.

And, again, the phantom was not the hunter until last night, so Valier's theories about him can't be right. And I'm puzzled by her attack on Roa, who really does not seem suspicious to me. I'll be keeping an eye on her. Two eyes, in fact, when I can spare them.

[Firefoot]

Firefoot is the one that really draws my attention. After her strong defense of Nogrod before, and her imediate jump to help morm collect evidence against Eomer, she's looking really bad.

I'm almost surprised that no one else has commented on this. Not that I'm trying to make myself look bad, but I haven't really been trying to avoid it, either. I jump on theories that make sense and have some backing. Morm's theory did. I'm also pretty stubborn, which is why once I decided yesterDay that Nogrod was innocent, I stuck with it. Take it as you will.

But I'm really on the run right now, so although I had enough time to read through everything, I don't have any time to comment. I'm going to stick with my instinct and go with

++Eomer

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Sorry Firefoot, but you are wrong in this. (Or evil, perhaps.)

Don't want to vote Celuien either.

++VALIER

Attack on Roa seems too weird to me. Seemed to slide into trouble with her thoughts on the phantom and is trying to scramble out of it. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[littlemanpoet]

The evil wizard rung both hands in the night. It was dark save for a single candle, hidden from the eyes of would be snoopers, deep underground. The evil wizard had planned to be the evil wizard even before the title and power had been given. None knew of this secret place.

Things were not going well. Worse, the evil wizard was not sure what the source of the trouble was, other than plain bad luck. Only two werewolves! After all the evil wizard had done right! It was as if something more than luck had been plotting for the evil wizard's demise. The evil wizard poured over the list of living villagers, trying to decide which one would make the best curse in this bad situation.

A chill, dank and dread, came into the room. The evil wizard's spine crawled. The room darkened yet more. The Shadow had come. It whispered chill words

"The deaths are too few. Why?"

The evil wizard's voice shook. "I don't have enough werewolves!"

"What can you not achieve with one curse each night?"

"That other wizard! The cowardly one! The cowardly wizard scried on the first night! As if a warning had come!"

"Sssssss!"

"And the cowardly wizard had a hunter that could kill a werewolf in ways the lorebooks never spoke of!"

"Sssssssssssssss!"

"I am not to blame! I have done all you have said!"

"There are other powers at work here. I can smell it," breathed the Shadow. "The Watchers." The darkness lessened in its intensity for a brief moment, and the evil wizard breathed the easier, wondering what was going on. Then the intensity redoubled. "Ah! The Watchers warned the good wizard! I see the imprint of their glamour still hovering upon that night. The hunter also was specially gifted by them. How dare they!!" The evil wizard covered both ears and shrank away, for the Shadow's last words carried in the small room with a fell echo that threatened to rip the evil wizard's body from soul.

"I - I am doing all you ask!"

"The flagrancies of the Watchers I will revenge. Two curses in addition you will make tonight, by my power." Out of the darkness of the Shadow an arm of malice sprung and enveloped the evil wizard. Cold fell power drenched the evil wizard, who smiled a slow smile as the Shadow left the little room.

"Three curses tonight. It shall be an evil night." The evil wizard's smile spread with a sheen of maliced madness.

*******************

The evil wizard chose the curses for the night: three. The evil wizard was rewarded with two werewolves and one seer ungifted. "Curses!" the evil wizard cried unoriginally. "I wanted three werewolves!" But then the evil wizard thought better of it, and that evil grin spread on the evil wizard's face once again.

*******************

Meanwhile the good wizard thought about the villagers and their behavior of late, and chose one to scry. The result was a new gifted, for the villager was not a werewolf nor the evil wizard, and this villager was gifted as the new hunter.

*******************

The seer dreamed that night in relative peace, and learned of the innocence of a second villager. But suddenly the seer's eyes opened and the realization hit that the seer gift was gone.

******************

The two veteran and two new werewolves were dispatched to kill twice.

[littlemanpoet]

Cailín was a happy woman. Match making was so much fun. She had set up Lhunardawen with Eonwe - which should have been a happy marriage, how was Cailín to know there would be so much sorrow? She had hooked up Spawn and Nilp, Saucy and Celuien, and lately Zali with the phantom and Eomer with Kitanna. It was a shame about the curse. All those great matches were falling apart! She turned over in bed. What was a matchmaker to do? She hit upon an idea. Why, Zali needed another match. Eonwe was available now. Then there was Diamond. These werewolves just might do her a favor and kill a wife so that a man would be available. She winced, horrified at what she had just thought. That wince never left her face, for two werewolves descended upon her hungrily. In moments she was eaten, her heart ripped out.

*******************

The good wizard was waiting for dawn to arrive to see who had died, when two werewolves threw themselves into the good wizard's room.

"You'll not kill me, miscreants!" Staff rose, light flared, and the werewolves ran away howling in fear and rage.

They crawled back to the evil wizard to report their failure. The evil wizard, however, smiled in maddening glee.

*****************

The villagers found Cailín at the foot of the Watcher rock. They were horrified at the mangling done to her, and not a few lost their appetites. The werewolves were getting more vicious.

~ The Tally ~

One evil wizard
One good wizard
Four werewolves
One hunter

~ The Dead ~

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

~ The Living ~

Diamond of the Battledore
Caranlondien the Sled-Team Driver
Roa Aoife the weaver
Dancing Spawn of Ungoliant the Baker
Kath the minstrel
Lommy the little girl who steals other children's candy
Glirdan with the giant crush on Kath
Valier the gardener
Sleepy Ranger the former wanderer
Kitanna the beloved of Eomer
Firefoot the artist
Alcarillo the old retired sea captain
Oddwen the filthy, insane street urchin who steals chickens
mormegil the retired mariner and current mayor
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
Nilpaurion the ne'er do well hubby of Dancing Spawn
Gurthang the stable-hand

Players may start early if they wish; Day ends at the usual time.

[mormegil]

OUCH! I thought we were doing well too. Now we are up against four wolves which means two kills a night . We have done well to keep their numbers in check so far but after this blight I'm not sure what to make of it. Thinkin on yesterday the person who struck me as the most odd and out of character, so to speak, is Valier. This is even more so than Alcarillo, at least Alcarillo has been consistent. I'm thinking Valier was converted to a wolf the night before and buckled under the pressure.

However, I'm still nervous about Alcarillo and truly believe he is hiding under role playing.

[Firefoot]

I'd say that our position has definitely taken a turn for the worse. Four wolves, two of whom are new and so have left no trail yet. We don't have a seer, and the EW knows who the GW is, but not vice versa. Actually, with that being true, I think that we could now start to at least seriously consider having the GW reveal him/herself. It's something that might be looked at toDay.

I'm unsurprised that Cailin was the wolves' victim last night. Just about everyone thought she was innocent.

As for Celuien, I never thought she was a good choice for lynching, but you win some and lose some, I guess. I thought the same thing about Nogrod.

I have to fly, for now... back when I have time.

[Valier]

Ummm wow I was not expecting to live let alone find Cailin has been the one killed So according to the narration the EW now knows who the GW is? I think this is right...It may be in the GW's interest to hang in there one or two more Day so that they may have a full roster of gift eds before they challenge the EW, But this leaves it open for the EW (Roa) to make more werewolves...

[Diamond18]

Then there was Diamond. These werewolves just might do her a favor and kill a wife so that a man would be available.

Despite this rather morbid suggestion, I have no intention of going after the newly widowed Alcarillo. Romantically, that is.

And what's all this about my Lhuna commiting suicide? I thought that until the village got much smaller, absences would be tolerated. Instead you take my eldest, my favorite, and turn her into a child full of woe... woe... this is about Smith isn't it? Oh never mind, great Seal, do whatever you must, I will still be strong.

Now I'm going to take a closer look at the Celuien bandwaggoners. I told you she wasn't suspicious enough to lynch, but nooooooooo, you went and killed her.

I'm still suspicious of Azaelia, but I'm going to put that line of thought on hold in favor of the whole Celuien foul up yesterday. Back with thoughts.

EDIT: By the way, I'm not suggesting LMP offed Lhuna because of me, I just noted a rather dire representation of my motherhood in the narration, and he did promise to have revenge on me. Hmph.

[Celuien]

1. Azaelia --> Eomer (Eomer-1)
2. Nilp --> Azaelia (Eomer -1, Azaelia-1)
3. Celuien --> Alcarillo (Eomer-1, Azaelia-1, Alcarillo-1)
4. Diamond --> Azaelia (Eomer-1, Azaelia-2, Alcarillo-1)
5. spawn --> Azaelia (Eomer-1, Azaelia-3, Alcarillo-1)
6. Thin --> Eomer (Eomer-2, Azaelia-3, Alcarillo-1)
7. Sleepy --> Fea (Eomer-2, Azaelia-3, Alcarillo-1, Fea-1)
8. Fea --> Roa (Eomer-2, Azaelia-3, Alcarillo-1, Fea-1, Roa-1)
9. mormegil --> Alcarillo (Eomer-2, Azaelia-3, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-1)
10. Kath --> Valier (Eomer-2, Azaelia-3, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-1, Valier-1)
11. Gurthang --> Azaelia (Eomer-2, Azaelia-4, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-1, Valier-1)
12. Valier --> Roa (Eomer-2, Azaelia-4, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-2, Valier-1)
13. Cailín --> Celuien (Eomer-2, Azaelia-4, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-2, Valier-1, Celuien-1)
14. Kitanna --> Celuien (Eomer-2, Azaelia-4, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-2, Valier-1, Celuien-2)
15. Firefoot --> Eomer (Eomer-3, Azaelia-4, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-2, Valier-1, Celuien-2)
16. Eomer --> Valier (Eomer-3, Azaelia-4, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-2, Valier-2, Celuien-2)
17. Jenny --> Valier (Eomer-3, Azaelia-4, Alcarillo-2, Fea-1, Roa-2, Valier-3, Celuien-2)

28 minutes to go...

[JennyHallu]

Time I need to vote:

++Valier for vehement attacks without careful reading of the actual posts and rules beforehand. She's just giving me a nervous feeling...

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Here's a point I might not get to make tomorrow. Thinlomien is forever saying "Oh, it looks like the voting's between him and her today" — always giving us a shortlist (well, it happened at least twice!). That looks quite silly, especially the way voting has gone today as a number of people have their necks on the line.

Could this be construed as malicious in any way?

[mormegil]

Originally Posted by Eomer of the Rohirrim

Here's a point I might not get to make tomorrow. Thinlomien is forever saying "Oh, it looks like the voting's between him and her today" — always giving us a shortlist (well, it happened at least twice!). That looks quite silly, especially the way voting has gone today as a number of people have their necks on the line.

Could this be construed as malicious in any way?

Of course it could but I rather believe it's merely a bit short sighted. She seems to not consider that things change and when she does say them the count and the atmosphere would suggest so. I find no reason in doing this but I don't see much harm in it but possibly could be coupled with a bit of the oddities associated with Thinlo but currently I think her innocent.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I can't believe I have to leave.

Well, I might not see you again. I'd love to share some words of wisdom in case you do lynch me but I have nothing useful to say. So I'll just hope you don't kill me. I'll tell you this though: I'm not the Seer. I'm a completely ordinary villager. So if you want to make sure you're not killing the Seer then kill me. I know I haven't been especially useful in this game but there you have it.

Good luck villagers!

[Roa_Aoife]

I doubt that seriously, Eomer. It seems less like malice, and more like an attempt to instill order in what could easily end up being a chaotic situation.

well, I hate to create a 4 way tie, but I don't believe in the guilt of either Eomer or Zali, and I think Valier is just a highly misguided innocent who needs to read things more carefully.

++Celuien

The points made by Spawn were enough to convince me. I'm afraid that's all I really have time for right now.

[Celuien]

Originally Posted by Roa_Aoife

Well, I hate to create a 4 way tie, but I don't believe in the guilt of either Eomer or Zali, and I think Valier is just a highly misguided innocent who needs to read things more carefully.

Actually, I think Zali is still in the lead with four votes. Eomer, Valier and I all have three unless I've miscounted.

Well, if I die today, at least I'll be able to go with a clear conscience.