WWJ XI: When World's Collide

[Thinlómien]

"I am quite confident that Volo's innocent. He acts innocently and Boromir believed him innocent."

Thinlómien sucked her hair. "When I reacalled all the village events, I found out it is really possible that Nogrod is the last wolf. In that case, master weed-dealer, you're absolutely hilarious. Anyway, take a closer look on Boro's list", Thinlómien urged and threw a copy of the start of Boromir's speech on the table. "I underlined some passages. (Bolded one, too.) Have a good look at them."

'As far as today goes, here's who I feel good and safe about:

Macalaure
Nogrod
Volo

'I've wondered what's been the suspicion brewing around Mac has been about. I catch no evil wolf intent. He did strongly stir suspicions against Menel, he started the voting of Menel, he's been just as helpful as anyone. I really don't understand Sleepy's reasoning, or anyone else's as far as why Mac is a wolf. To me there are several more noticeable wolf probabilities.'

'If Nogrod's a wolf, he would be the greatest back-stabbing, yet brilliant wolf to have ever been cursed. That's the end of that.'

'Volo, started voting with Valesse yesterday (and I believe he was really the first one that started suspecting her), I said he seemed innocent to me, now he's got a wolf lynch under his belt. Much like Mac, I catch no evil intent.'

"Now, look at the bolded sentence. Look at the sentence about Mac earlier. Now, wouldn't this greatly suggest that he knew of their innocence? 'I catch no evil intent' being synonymous to 'I dreamed of him, he's not a wolf'? Against this background, isn't the 'that's the end of that' screaming that 'I did not dream of him, I trust him based on other things'?" Thinlómien fell to her chair. "This does not suggest that Nogrod is a wolf, but that we shouldn't discount him. My lorebooks tell me he is cunning, and bold." The elf sucked her hair again. "Besides, doesn't the death of Macalaure fit into Nogrod's wolvishness? Having bluffed so much and being trusted by nearly the whole village, wolf-Nogrod only needed that more sheep-like and guidable innocents would be around, and no one (except Naria who hadn't good reasoning behind her suspicion) would even question his innocence that was claimed by Boromir's list? No offense to you, Volo and Kath, or to Sleepy either, but a wolf-Noggie would certainly have seen Macalaure posing the biggest threat for him."

"The third point that I have against Nogrod is that he - especially at the beginning of the game - speaks mostly of general ideas 'x did this and y did that, that could make y a wolf' than of opinions 'x did this and that makes him a wolf in my opinion'. Now, I don't say that it's a bad thing. It's good to be objective and analytical. But surely to a wolf trying to think like an innocent it is easier to speculate who could be wolf based on their actions than give an actual opinion? I migth be blabbering nonsense here, though, saying what just comes to my mind without thinking about it too much." The stablehand maiden sighed.

"Besides, Noogles, your defense doesn't convince me. You said:

I intentionally tried to make it more uncertain and more frustrated by making my Ranger-comment back then. Then I could see it as quite a logical choice, that it went after Maca as the ranger had protected Boro the last time there was a real choice and I might be protected this time: it might be seen as a bit safer kill for it. But the ranger was wittier than it was. Let the ranger be praised for that!

Either I do not get your point or you're being really wolvish here. Wouldn't a wolf want to sway the ranger to waste his/her defense on himself? Wouldn't you, as a wolf, want to sway the ranger to protect yourself and leave Maca unguarded?"

"The more I think of this, the more I'm worried about Nogrod."

Thinlómien glanced at Kath. "I recalled all your words, but it didn't make me any wiser about you. However, in your defense, why would our ModGod use a masculine pronoun about a known female. It does not make sense."

"My vote - which comes soon- will probably go to Noggie."