NOTW XXIII: The War Party. Game Thread.

[Diamondeye]

"I have my suspicions about Chandrasekhar still, but his defense seems convincing - at least to others. I also suspect Winston. But even a poisoner is nothing compared to a cold-blooded murderer. And since it seems to be the weapon used to kill the herbalist was an arrow, I am wondering: Did you steal that string for your bow yet, D'artagnan?

We can hang Winston tomorrow. It seems like at takes two days to replenish the posions, so we have tomorrow as well. Assuming that dragon does not eat all of us. Or fry us. Magnificent creature, by the way.

Oh, and I guess CCRunner can have the vials again..."

 

[Catharsis]

alright everyone, let's not just take everything chandrasekhar says as gospel. for example:

"Your accusation has a few flaws, Border Guard. Firstly, I have no crossbow. You don't have to take my word for it. The late Supplymaster confirmed before his death that I have smuggled no contraband to this conference. Remember?

that means nothing. items can be passed in secret, and i'm sure that once your item-less status was confirmed in public by mergle, whichever war party crony of yours did bring that crossbow along would be eager to pass it to you.

and assuming that stuck in pi would not sign her own death warrant by lying in public, and backwards logic would not shoot his own party in the foot by lying to stuck in pi (by... telling him that you have a crossbow before he is coincidentally killed by a crossbow? he would have no reason to know that someone was going to kill him with a crossbow unless he had spoken to someone and had his suspicions piqued that discussion) then the only way your explanation makes sense is if this supposed thief had gone into your tent, nicked your crossbow, figured out how to use it and assassinated the original owner, all in one night. that doesn't seem plausible...

that said:

To the Peace Party: Do I really need to debunk Chandrasekhar's defence line-by-line to show just how many holes it has?

yes, yes of course you do. the bits relating to you, in any case. and if you can't, then why should anyone trust you?

 

[Stuck in Pi]

"Well, this came out of nowhere. The dragon worries me, but it seems I have a more immediate problem. Don't throw me off the cliff just yet - I'm here to defend myself.

"Your accusation has a few flaws, Border Guard. Firstly, I have no crossbow. You don't have to take my word for it. The late Supplymaster confirmed before his death that I have smuggled no contraband to this conference. Remember?

"Of course I remember. But you're conveniently leaving out one key item here. Since you smuggled the weapon into camp, why would the item suddenly reveal itself once inside? I mean seriously, you go through all of this effort to bring this weapon inside, and then once your tent is set up you're just going to prop it up next to your nightstand for everyone to see? C'mon, you're smarter than that...

"Secondly, only a fool would use such an easily identifiable murder weapon after making it known that he had it. Of course Backwards Logic would tell a secret keeper if he gave away a potential murder weapon - that's a simple strategic precaution. Have you forgotten that we may well have a thief in our midst? If anything, Backwards Logic's murder should indicate that the thief is affiliated with the war party.

"You mean stee the dead guy? Notice since his death no other items have been stolen. Your point is weak at best.

"In any case, I'm not just here to deflect accusations from myself. When I spoke with Backwards Logic last night, he claimed that the poisoner had attempted to kill him, but that his own immunity to poison saved him. He then told me of his suspicions - by this point, he had already told many people of his immunity to poison, but among those he hadn't informed was Winston Hughes. He suggested that we put some pressure on the Historian the following day. Lacking a more substantial lead, that's where I'm placing my vote for now."

"Wow, he told me that too! At least there's something similar here. Except, again, perhaps you forgot, or perhaps you've decided to leave the incriminating part out, but BL also said that if in fact the poisoner and the assassins were working together, he'd most definitely be the next target for the night. And voila! He was right. So that leads me to my next point. Since you killed BL, then that means you also know who the poisoner really is and this lame deflection attempt is just what it is - a lame deflection attempt. You seem to be pretty good at deflecting things without putting any substance behind them... Maybe Winston Hughes is bad in another way, who knows, but he sure as hell isn't the poisoner. Cut the crap Chandrasekhar, I know you know who the real poisoner is.

"I hope you're not too afraid of heights, Chand. I hear it's a long way down.

She peers over the side of the cliff, gazing to the distant waters below

"Yea, it's pretty far. I think I can just make out J-man's body down there. Looks like he got impaled on a rock on the way down. Looks painful."

 

[Diamondeye]

"And they say I am trying to kill off the Ljosalfar? It seems like they are doing fine on their own. Perhaps they should ask their god for adv... Ah, wait, he died. Nevermind."

 

[Winston Hughes]

yes, yes of course you do. the bits relating to you, in any case. and if you can't, then why should anyone trust you?

Well, the only actual points raised against me are that I accused Chandraskhar (who I am convinced is a wolf), and that I didn't know BL had an immunity to poison (which I only found out when Chand accused me). Other than that it's all vague mumblings about suspicious behaviour, without any specifics.

All I've tried to do at this peace conference is unmask the enemies of peace, whilst finding someone innocent to share my most vital information with. Having helped to bring down Alazkan, I can hold my head up on the first point. And having told all to a most trustworthy individual, I know that my information can be used even if I don't live to see it.

 

[Renata]

Midday Update

Please keep in mind that this day will end tomorrow, Sunday, about 23.5 hours from now.

Accusations
Methos: Splime Winston Hughes
Splime: Methos Winston Hughes
Stuck in Pi: Chandrasekhar
CCRunner: Chandrasekhar
Catharsis: Chandrasekhar
Winston Hughes: Chandrasekhar
Ozbenno: Chandrasekhar
Chandrasekhar: Winston Hughes
Frozen In Ice: Winston Hughes
Nictel: Winston Hughes
oyzar: Winston Hughes
Diamondeye: D'artagnan59

Splime: 0
Methos: 0
Chandrasekhar: 5
Winston Hughes: 6
D'artagnan59: 1

Vials
CCRunner: CCRunner
Methos: CCRunner
D'artagnan59: CCRunner
Splime: CCRunner
Frozen In Ice: CCRunner
Nictel: CCRunner
Winston Hughes: CCRunner
Diamondeye: CCRunner

CCRunner: 8

 

[Chandrasekhar]

that means nothing. items can be passed in secret, and i'm sure that once your item-less status was confirmed in public by mergle, whichever war party crony of yours did bring that crossbow along would be eager to pass it to you.

"That makes no sense. I don't know how to use a crossbow. If the war party were all masters of every weapon they brought along as a group, why wouldn't Alazkan have passed his knife along to an ally instead of dying with it? At this point, it looks like Alazkan was the one assassinating us at night, and the night kills stopped (until last night) when Alazkan died. I'm sure that if the war party were all able to use each others' weapons, Alazkan would have passed his knife on so that the night kills could have continued interrupted.

"And if I did know how to use a crossbow, why wouldn't I have had it with me when I was scanned in the first place?"

and assuming that stuck in pi would not sign her own death warrant by lying in public, and backwards logic would not shoot his own party in the foot by lying to stuck in pi (by... telling him that you have a crossbow before he is coincidentally killed by a crossbow? he would have no reason to know that someone was going to kill him with a crossbow unless he had spoken to someone and had his suspicions piqued that discussion) then the only way your explanation makes sense is if this supposed thief had gone into your tent, nicked your crossbow, figured out how to use it and assassinated the original owner, all in one night. that doesn't seem plausible...

"I don't know what you're making of my explanation, but I'll say again that I don't have a crossbow, and I never did. The speculation on a thief is just to explain how Backwards Logic lost his garrote, because I highly doubt that he gave it willingly to his killer.

"As to why Stuck in Pi would knowingly lie in public, I'm not convinced that he is. Notice that I didn't vote against him. It's quite possible that Backwards Logic had wanted this very sequence of events to occur upon his death - maybe he was suspicious of me, or maybe he had other reasons to want me to die. I have a hard time believing that this was still the case after our talk last night, but I guess he didn't have a chance to talk to Stuck in Pi again to set things straight.

"It's a bit convoluted, I know, but I don't have all the information here. I haven't been included in a lot of these information-sharing groups, so I don't have much more information than what's been posted in public here. All I know is that I'm innocent, and I'm trying to figure out how everything else fits together with that condition."

"Of course I remember. But you're conveniently leaving out one key item here. Since you smuggled the weapon into camp, why would the item suddenly reveal itself once inside? I mean seriously, you go through all of this effort to bring this weapon inside, and then once your tent is set up you're just going to prop it up next to your nightstand for everyone to see? C'mon, you're smarter than that...

"Mergle seemed pretty confident of his ability to find items. Lacking a crossbow, I can't exactly check for myself, but I imagine it doesn't quite take a cavity search to find one hidden in a room. I could see a knife or something escaping detection, but it seems a bit much to assume that a crossbow could."

"You mean stee the dead guy? Notice since his death no other items have been stolen. Your point is weak at best.

"Was stee the thief after all? I heard he just stole items from the dead or something. As to whether more items have been stolen, I wouldn't know. Maybe there's another explanation. I'm just raising the one that seems most plausible to me."

"Wow, he told me that too! At least there's something similar here. Except, again, perhaps you forgot, or perhaps you've decided to leave the incriminating part out, but BL also said that if in fact the poisoner and the assassins were working together, he'd most definitely be the next target for the night. And voila! He was right. So that leads me to my next point. Since you killed BL, then that means you also know who the poisoner really is and this lame deflection attempt is just what it is - a lame deflection attempt. You seem to be pretty good at deflecting things without putting any substance behind them... Maybe Winston Hughes is bad in another way, who knows, but he sure as hell isn't the poisoner. Cut the crap Chandrasekhar, I know you know who the real poisoner is.

"I don't see your point here. It's good evidence that the crossbowman is working with the war party, at least, but it has nothing to do with me.

"I'm also a little curious about what you're saying about Backwards Logic expecting his death last night. Before the crossbowman killed him, the previous two nights hadn't been particularly eventful, as far as I can tell. Why would Backwards Logic assume that he'd be attacked at night, when it looked like the war party's ability to kill at night had been broken? I think you're either embellishing the details here, Stuck in Pi, or else Backwards Logic knew something that the rest of us don't."

 

[Niklas]

The cook is not his usual self this day. He is almost completely silent, since every time he's about to open his mouth to say something, he remembers that there's a dragon watching and listening. He doesn't know just how well a dragon can hear, but he figures it's well enough. And he's awfully shy. But he has to say something about the current events, he just has to...

Now, I... I know I don't know all that much, and I think there's lots of potential holes in the bodyguard's story, but I also know something she isn't saying, and I know others know that too, that's why they're all not voting for her, since they know what I know, y'know... and that means I won't vote for her either... now Winston Hughes on the other hand, there's no proof on him but there's a lot of smaller things suggesting he's not quite what he appears to be... CCRunner definitely works for peace though...

 

[The13thRonin]

The vials to CCRunner.

As for who should hang... Both of the accused have presented unsubstantial defenses in my eyes.

However what Niklas has said has forced my hand:

I think there's lots of potential holes in the bodyguard's story, but I also know something she isn't saying, and I know others know that too, that's why they're all not voting for her, since they know what I know...

Chandrasekhar you're a slippery fish... I don't think you will hang this day but I refuse to support a figure content to cloak herself in shadows and rumors, the refuge of assassins and tricksters.

 

[Catharsis]

All I've tried to do at this peace conference is unmask the enemies of peace, whilst finding someone innocent to share my most vital information with. Having helped to bring down Alazkan, I can hold my head up on the first point. And having told all to a most trustworthy individual, I know that my information can be used even if I don't live to see it.

weeellll... i suppose you did help to bring down alazkan, eventually. but before that, you were trying to kick another bandwagon into action, against reverend oats. so it could be said that you were trying to save him.

"That makes no sense. I don't know how to use a crossbow. If the war party were all masters of every weapon they brought along as a group, why wouldn't Alazkan have passed his knife along to an ally instead of dying with it? At this point, it looks like Alazkan was the one assassinating us at night, and the night kills stopped (until last night) when Alazkan died. I'm sure that if the war party were all able to use each others' weapons, Alazkan would have passed his knife on so that the night kills could have continued interrupted.

i still suspect that the two non-kill nights were a trap, intended to frame the inactive reverend oats and icekommander. (a trap which, i might add, you played a part in having us blunder into.)

but if you are right about this, then it is an oddity, i'll admit. but remember that:

• just because the war party did not think to do a thing, does not mean that it cannot be done;
• just because one weapon cannot be used by all war party members does not mean that none of them can.

besides, that shot looked pretty awful. if backwards logic had time to cast that sapling spell before he died, then i question the ability of the crossbow holder.

"I don't know what you're making of my explanation, but I'll say again that I don't have a crossbow, and I never did. The speculation on a thief is just to explain how Backwards Logic lost his garrote, because I highly doubt that he gave it willingly to his killer.

"As to why Stuck in Pi would knowingly lie in public, I'm not convinced that he is. Notice that I didn't vote against him. It's quite possible that Backwards Logic had wanted this very sequence of events to occur upon his death - maybe he was suspicious of me, or maybe he had other reasons to want me to die. I have a hard time believing that this was still the case after our talk last night, but I guess he didn't have a chance to talk to Stuck in Pi again to set things straight.

well then, maybe there's something i'm missing, but here's the point that makes me think you're lying:

• stuck in pi says that backwards logic told her that you had a crossbow.
• so backwards logic must have known that someone here had a crossbow.
• he must also have known that he was the obvious next target. (because it would have been his neck on the line in the public vote, otherwise.)
• both of these criteria are met if he gave you the garotte.
• if a thief stole his garotte, the second one is not met.

admittedly, i do not know this... this thing that everyone seems to know about chandrasekhar. no-one has seen fit to tell me anything, in fact. perhaps my actions and explanation of my part in things earlier were not enough to prove my innocence beyond reasonable doubt. but if you do know something, i would {OOC: ask you to consider what somethings you also 'knew' in the last game, and how far that got you}.

 

[Diamondeye]

"Am I the only one thinking that the murderer might be a bowman and not some far-off explained theory about who hides what weapons? Can anyone assure me that the arrow that killed BL was from a crossbow and not a bow? Because with all the fuzz D'art has been making of his need for a string, I sure find it suspicious that so few take this seriously."

 

[Stuck in Pi]

"That makes no sense. I don't know how to use a crossbow.

Wow, are we getting that desperate to defend ourselves? Even an idiot can use one of those things. Point and shoot.

"I don't know what you're making of my explanation, but I'll say again that I don't have a crossbow, and I never did. The speculation on a thief is just to explain how Backwards Logic lost his garrote, because I highly doubt that he gave it willingly to his killer.

I think you've conveniently forgotten one of my first points, in hopes that no one would notice and you could go on your merry way shooting more hapless people in the throat. BL told me he gave you the garrote to use for your special ability, which you claimed was to defend people from attack. It was not stolen, like you so desperately cling to in hopes of survival.

It's quite possible that Backwards Logic had wanted this very sequence of events to occur upon his death - maybe he was suspicious of me, or maybe he had other reasons to want me to die. I have a hard time believing that this was still the case after our talk last night, but I guess he didn't have a chance to talk to Stuck in Pi again to set things straight.

So, you're using a conversation that you supposedly had with BL as 'evidence' that BL thought you were innocent? Seeing as he's dead now, there's no way to confirm anything you claimed happened in that conversation. Another empty defense.

"Was stee the thief after all? I heard he just stole items from the dead or something. As to whether more items have been stolen, I wouldn't know. Maybe there's another explanation. I'm just raising the one that seems most plausible to me."

Only reason why it's plausible to you is because it's the only defense you feel has an actual chance of holding up. We all know BL didn't have the garrote when he died, so it's obviously elsewhere. You claim it was stolen from him when there's no proof suggesting that, and I'm telling everyone he gave it to you because I know this for a fact. Remember where I said BL had told me he held the crossbow for a time to prove to himself it actually existed? Well, in the pm he got when he received the item he said the string was in no shape to fire and something about it being terribly inaccurate if an attempt was made to fire it. I guess after he believed you to be telling the truth regarding your ability, he gave you both the garrote and the crossbow back. The fact no crossbow kills happened before now give truth to the idea that you needed the garrote to get it working properly.

"I don't see your point here. It's good evidence that the crossbowman is working with the war party, at least, but it has nothing to do with me.

"I'm also a little curious about what you're saying about Backwards Logic expecting his death last night. Before the crossbowman killed him, the previous two nights hadn't been particularly eventful, as far as I can tell. Why would Backwards Logic assume that he'd be attacked at night, when it looked like the war party's ability to kill at night had been broken? I think you're either embellishing the details here, Stuck in Pi, or else Backwards Logic knew something that the rest of us don't."

Embellishing? No, not at all. I know about the attempt to poison him, since he told me shortly after he found out. In our final conversation together, he said if the poisoner and the War Party members were working together, he figured he would be killed the following night since the attempt to poison him failed. Unlike you, he also believed that there's no way the War Party's ability to attack was finished, since it would have meant that out of 36 players or so, only two could actually kill people, them being J-man and whoever the poisoner is. What's also rather disturbing is your attempts in the past to persuade everyone that "oh we have time, there hasn't been any attacks the past two nights." Sound familiar?

With Alazkan's death, it almost looks as though the war party has been declawed. Now that we seem to have plenty of time to calmly contemplate the facts, I think it's inevitable that we'll be a little less jumpy and hostile towards each other.

So, you putting your crossbow back together, the attempted poisoning of the only one you thought to know of your crossbow's existence, and the following murder of him via crossbow bolt, plus not to mention your attempts to get everyone back on their heels, everything I have points to you as the killer.

"...The small crossbow bolt lay on the rocks a few feet away. Backwards Logic’s body itself was gone..."

Indeed Diamondeye, it was a crossbow bolt that killed him, not an arrow.

 

[The13thRonin]

Chandrasekhar will not die this day.

 

[Chandrasekhar]

I don't think you will hang this day but I refuse to support a figure content to cloak herself in shadows and rumors, the refuge of assassins and tricksters.

"You're a rather strange sort of Svartalfar, you know that? I think we'd get along well, in other circumstances."

i still suspect that the two non-kill nights were a trap, intended to frame the inactive reverend oats and icekommander. (a trap which, i might add, you played a part in having us blunder into.)

"That seems far-fetched to me. Who would give up two nights of kills to frame two inactives? And if that was the case, then why haven't the knife kills started up again?"

but if you are right about this, then it is an oddity, i'll admit. but remember that:

• just because the war party did not think to do a thing, does not mean that it cannot be done;
• just because one weapon cannot be used by all war party members does not mean that none of them can.

besides, that shot looked pretty awful. if backwards logic had time to cast that sapling spell before he died, then i question the ability of the crossbow holder.

"Either of those could be possible, I suppose, but it's still another odd thing that would have to be true for me to be the murderer."

well then, maybe there's something i'm missing, but here's the point that makes me think you're lying:

• stuck in pi says that backwards logic told her that you had a crossbow.
• so backwards logic must have known that someone here had a crossbow.
• he must also have known that he was the obvious next target. (because it would have been his neck on the line in the public vote, otherwise.)
• both of these criteria are met if he gave you the garotte.
• if a thief stole his garotte, the second one is not met.

"There are plenty of reasons that Backwards Logic might've expected himself to be a target for night killings. He was immune to poison, as the war party apparently found out to its detriment yesterday evening."

Wow, are we getting that desperate to defend ourselves? Even an idiot can use one of those things. Point and shoot.

"Know a lot about crossbows, do you? If the course of this day's voting wasn't already determined, I might well vote against you instead of the Historian right now for this revelation. How could you be so sure that the item could be used by anyone to kill without trying it out yourself?

"I'm beginning to suspect that Diamondeye was right about you."

I think you've conveniently forgotten one of my first points, in hopes that no one would notice and you could go on your merry way shooting more hapless people in the throat. BL told me he gave you the garrote to use for your special ability, which you claimed was to defend people from attack. It was not stolen, like you so desperately cling to in hopes of survival.

"So you say."

So, you're using a conversation that you supposedly had with BL as 'evidence' that BL thought you were innocent? Seeing as he's dead now, there's no way to confirm anything you claimed happened in that conversation. Another empty defense.

"Um... Isn't this exactly what you're doing?"

Only reason why it's plausible to you is because it's the only defense you feel has an actual chance of holding up. We all know BL didn't have the garrote when he died, so it's obviously elsewhere. You claim it was stolen from him when there's no proof suggesting that, and I'm telling everyone he gave it to you because I know this for a fact. Remember where I said BL had told me he held the crossbow for a time to prove to himself it actually existed? Well, in the pm he got when he received the item he said the string was in no shape to fire and something about it being terribly inaccurate if an attempt was made to fire it. I guess after he believed you to be telling the truth regarding your ability, he gave you both the garrote and the crossbow back. The fact no crossbow kills happened before now give truth to the idea that you needed the garrote to get it working properly.

"Again, you seem to know quite a bit about this crossbow, Stuck in Pi. Now that I take a look at all the evidence gathered on both our sides, I think I look quite a bit more innocent than you do.

"Tell me, Border Guard, are you getting desperate? Is there some reason that you desperately need to rally the mob to take me out today?"

 

[Izipo]

Well, well, well, this is getting rather interesting.
I smell fear in the air, somebody is panicking, and rightfully so, for death is the price to pay.

If I were to vote right now, I'd place my bet against you Chandrasekhar, but the day is not over yet, and I think maybe there's more than meets the eye. If you want to add something in private to help in your defense, please do so. Surprisingly, it's the cook Niklas who sowed the seed of doubt in my mind, were it not for him, I'd be sure of your guilt...

Now, what about this dragon ? Am I the only one to think that his apparition is unnatural ? And I'm using the term unnatural as in 'artificial' here. Could there be illusionists in our little group too, I wonder ?

 

[Diamondeye]

"Look, Whoever's right of these tow women, it will discriminate the other and lead us to a liar and probably a killer. Therefore, We should not hang Winston Hughes today. Personally, I believe Chandrasekhar the most. So Stuck in Pi's death would prove whether Chandrasekhar is innocent or not. A trade-off consisting of one innocent for one killer seems like the best rate we get, any way. So redirect your votes from Winston so we can find a solution to this."

 

[ZPV]

Who knows who knows who knows about the bodyguard? Who knows? Now, no-one knows about Winston Hughes.

CCRunner can have the vials again.

 

[D'Artagnan59]

Ah, but where was that arrow shot from, Diamondeye? A crossbow. I don't like crossbows, they're for nancyboys. I use a longbow.

The bowman goes to his tent and takes out his longbow.

And here it is. Still unstrung. Haven't you been paying attention? We've been on the honor guard together for a few years. Now, the fact that you've been questioning my race only adds to your suspicion.

 

[D'Artagnan59]

And suggesting to kill an innocent life in exchange for one that could be innocent? I think that spells three letters for Diamondeye's cause: w-a-r.

 

[The13thRonin]

I'd like the records to say that I fully align myself with D'Artagnan59 if you're going to try to take him on Diamondeye. He hasn't done anything to warrant any kind of hostile action from you.