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

[Inziladun]

McCaber, if you're telling the truth, I apologize for pushing you to this. But if you'd come up with some reason you were voting for Fea before, I likely wouldn't have voted for you.

[Mnemosyne]

The sun was setting.

No one was certain of whom to kill, nor whether to kill at all.

As the last rays of the sun grew longer and longer still, desperate, McCaber claimed that he had had a forbidding dream of Feanor of the Peredhil the previous night. At the last minute Nogrod cast the deciding vote for her.

"You want to kill me?" said Fea. "And I was trying to be so helpful!" Then she smiled, a manic, fey sort of smile that looked almost frightening on her fair features. "Very well, then: make it entertaining." And with that, she sprang up and bounded away from the room.

"After her!" cried Nessa.

The rest of the guests hurried after her, through a hallway that gave way to a wooded path. Ahead of them they could hear distant laughter.

As they ran, Lalaith noticed one shoe lying on the pathway, then another. Flung to the side a few paces ahead were two socks.

When Rikae found a pair of jeans caught in brambles on the side, the guests began to be very, very worried. Just then an eerie, earth-splitting howl floated to their ears from ahead, followed by a wheezing, gasping, sobbing laugh.

"There!" said McCaber. "I told you! Get her!"

The path became clearer ahead, divested garments aside, for claws had ripped through the underbrush. But when it abruptly ended at a cliff overlooking a steep river, all they saw was Fea, looking perfectly human, her bare body turned red by the dying rays of the scarlet sun. She turned her head to look at them, and for a brief moment Eönwë thought he could see the glimmer of a tear in her eye. Then her lips curled up, into a majestic leer.

"O happy to be dead," she whispered, and leapt off the cliff before anyone could stop her.

The guests searched far and wide. Yet the paths they took did not lead to Fea's body, but rather to their rooms. Exhausted and numbed, they fell into slumber.

IT IS NOW NIGHT TWO.

The Living:
Nessa Telrunya
Inziladun
Shastanis Athreduin
Pitchwife
McCaber
Nogrod
autume98
Boromir88
Lalaith
Nerwen
Rikae
Eönwë

The Dead:
Feanor of the Peredhil (werewolf)

[Mnemosyne]

Boromir88 woke up with a start. Looking around him, he switched on his light and sighed with relief. Then he remembered where he was.

Without a warning, the room melted away around him and he was in a forest facing a wolf's snarl. Out of his periphery he saw another wolf. Turning his head, he had only a moment to see the bow drawn at him before a black arrow pierced his side.

"Oh, of all the screennames I could have chosen," he muttered, before the next arrow hit. He fell to the ground.

* * *

When Boromir woke up, the first thing that he noticed was that he was in pain. The second thing he noticed was that he was alive. The third thing was that he could not move.

Sunlight broke over his face. An eternity seemed to pass before he heard shouts from nearby, calling his name.

Then a face--Nessa's face--bent over him. "He's dead," she said.

And they did check to make sure--they clasped his wrist, listened to his heart. Someone even found a shield to hold to his lips to check for mist.

But at last they all, sorrowing, made the inevitable (to everyone's mind but Boro's) conclusion. "Well," said Nerwen, we do seem to have a boat and a river nearby..."

They pulled the arrows from him and combed his hair and laid him in the boat. They shut his eyes, too, and he could not open them.

"Does anyone remember the song they sang?" he heard someone say.

"I could find my copy, if you'd like..."

"No. It's too depressing."

He felt the boat being pushed into the water. "No!" he tried to say, but his lips would not move. The current pushed him along, until it settled and he simply drifted. He wondered faintly if maybe the wolves had not been able to find Parth Galen itself but some other river that opened out into a lake. Then he heard the roar of water, and a tugging at his back. He was pulled, faster and faster to the brink, until he fell...

* * *

"Well," said Nogrod, "at least we were able to send him off in a fitting fashion."

IT IS NOW DAY TWO

The Living:
Nessa Telrunya
Inziladun
Shastanis Athreduin
Pitchwife
McCaber
Nogrod
autume98
Lalaith
Nerwen
Rikae
Eönwë

The Dead:
Feanor of the Peredhil (werewolf)
Boromir88

[Inziladun]

*sighs*
Well, Boro, it seems I was wrong about you.
This completely decimates my main theory. I was pretty well convinced Boro was most likely a wolf. His behaviour earlier on Day 1 had left me with some uneasiness about him, then, when Fea turned out to be a wolf, I recalled their interactions later in the Day and became even more sure.
At least we did get one of the wolves. That bodes well for us, I hope.
Perhaps McCaber will have had another fruitful night's sleep.
I feel the need for a drink, and even wine will do for the moment.

[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.

And I agree that a drink would be quite nice, however, is there anything that does not contain alchohol?

[Inziladun]

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.

Well, I can conceive of scenarios when they might vote for a fellow who is caught with no hope of escape, just to deflect some suspicion from themselves. But I don't think that's a concern in this case.

Originally Posted by Nessa Telrunya

And I agree that a drink would be quite nice, however, is there anything that does not contain alchohol?

I am sure there is. Perhaps a search of the kitchen will yield something.

[Nessa Telrunya]

I march into the kitchen, searching through cabinets instead of the fridge. My search yields a little box labeled "Green Tea". A cup of water goes into the microwave, then out steaming as a teabag is plopped in. I take a moment to sniff it, then speak.

"There are two wolves left. Surely they left some sort of clues when they spoke."

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Well, Boro, it seems I was wrong about you.
This completely decimates my main theory. I was pretty well convinced Boro was most likely a wolf.

Me too. I suppose your main theory may have had something to do with recent studies in abnormal psychology, especially Dr Eönwe's early observations on bloodlust and/or blood-phobia in werewolves, further developed by your esteemed self? Too bad we were wrong.
But since Boro has now been proven innocent by death, how do you explain his hurry to vote for you? Just curious.

McCaber, glad you're still with us! I, too, hope you'll have at least one more night to dream. And I heartily second Nessa's plea for some light shed on your last dream, if it can be done without compromising anybody.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

But since Boro has now been proven innocent by death, how do you explain his hurry to vote for you? Just curious.

I can't say what his thoughts were, of course. But he asked things of me which I complied with, then he immediately voted and left the room before hearing my response. Why? I don't know.

[Nessa Telrunya]

Well, I highly doubt that one of the wolves would sacrifice one of there own, so McCaber seems stout now. I don't expect him to survive long after revealing his role, but if he does... That's either some crafty manuevering, or something else entirely.

[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.)
And just in case McCaber isn't the Seer, would you say this might be the right time for the (hypothetical) real Seer to counter-reveal, or would you counsel against it?

EDIT: x-ed w/ Nog

[Nogrod]

"I do agree with Eönwë. We should trust McCaber now. If he somehow manages to live Day after Day we should start suspecting him - and surely at some stage - not now but later - the real seer might confirm our doubts... or at least force us to make a choice which should then be kind of a decisive one - a desperate wolf might try a fake-reveal I think if they got into that bad position... But let's go with McCaber for now and I for one will congratulate him for a well-made catch!"

Nogrod sipped the rest from his glass and eyed the people around.

"Okay, then you McCaber probably should give up your dream at one point of the Day - at least if that person starts to gain votes or suspicions dangerously enough. But maybe not just yet? It's up to you of course. But you shouldn't let that person be lynched toDay. That I think should be your prime motivation toDay. Otherwise you have dreamt in vain. And then we just hold our thumbs for the ranger doing the risky but intelligent thing last Night and giving you one more chance of catching a cursed one for us toMorrow.

Yeah, revealing a "known innocent" is like giving that person a death-verdict but it's better the lycantrophes need to kill that person that we accidentally do that ourselves. Your shot, as I said."

Nogrod walked to the fridge. "Hah I need another one... but I'll think of the yesterDay while I make myself one"

Just when he was getting to the Tangueray bottle he heard Nessa speaking

Originally Posted by Nessa

Well, I highly doubt that one of the wolves would sacrifice one of there own

"I think they could if that would win our confidence. But probably not in this way, this early. Trying to fake for seer on the first Day would seem like quite a doomed idea as we would have our real seer around to rival that claim later. Had the situation been a lot tighter - and later - I could have suspected McCaber more, but right now I feel pretty comfortable with his revealment."

[Nogrod]

Having made himself another Royal Navy drink Nogrod was ready to scan yesterDay's voting.

"Boro voted for Inzil.

I don't know what to say about it. It was the first vote of the Day and there was very little to back it but that Inzil had been "chatty" without saying much - or that after he defended himself saying there had been not a "great deal" to work with, Boro answerwed that it meant there was then "some deal"... Uh-oh Boro, you were not too helpful there I'm afraid - unless you were right with that blind shot. And we should consider that option to be sure. I mean I tended to trust Inzil on Day1 and I'm alive and Boro didn't and is now dead. Although, that could be a set-up to be sure...

Fea voted for Nessa
Nessa voted for Fea.

Fea's given reason was voting for those who leave no trails of them. Fine and dandy - if she had been an innocent. And then Nessa retaliates? Fine and dandy if Nessa is an innocent. But there are two if's... of which we know now that Fea was making a decision on the basis of solid knowledge about the roles. Of Nessa we know not.

Now it would be quite daring for a baddie to vote a mate on the first Day, but how I know Fea from the 'Downs and what chances there were Nessa would be bitten by us others for not taking too much part in the discusions (at the point Fea was voting - and how she miraculously came back - from her "nap" - to explain her vote...), I must agree she could have made a wolf-on-wolf vote.

What she said exactly was:

Originally Posted by Fea

retaliatory votes amuse me. Don't vote Nessa. No wolf would do something as silly as that.

And Fea didn't know at that moment she would herself be in real trouble later... Hmm...

Nessa's bold answer (#93) yesterDay quite impressed me and I'd not call for lynching Nessa as our first option - but we shouldn't forget that possibility either. Looking at that exchange between the two looks hairy but is it only because Fea was a wolf or if they both are?

Eönwë voted for McCaber.

Now this seems a bit worrysome-one. He said he was going with his hunches even if McCaber looked to him "better than before" (whatever that might mean - I mean has he offended Eönwë at the 'Downs on some discussions earlier or something?). 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...

Autume voted for Eönwë.

Well that sure is the most enigmatic performance of yesterDay (and hats off for that!), but really what can one say? Her reason was just "guts after reading something". All the day yesterDay she talked about there being interesting things around, the merits and wrong trails... but she produced not a single example of what she was thinking of! Now if trained by Fea during the Night - just look how she made it yesterDay - it would be no surprise... Very careful not to voice any suspicion ie. very suspicious indeed!

McCaber voted for Fea making it 2 votes.

As a seer knowing who to vote for... and already in his list at #51 he singled out Fea as only one he didn't like (being careful of course not saying it bluntly). Looks believable to me.


Bah, I need a break... - where's the toilet guys? - back soon with the rest of the votes: all four of them..."