The Campground [Concluded]

One evening as the sun went down
And the jungle fires were burning,
Down the track came a hobo hiking,
And he said, "Boys, I'm not turning
I'm headed for a land that's far away
Besides the crystal fountains
So come with me, we'll go and see
The Big Rock Candy Mountains
~ Harry McClintock

A campground, Clinton, Iowa, United States.

The myth of the American vagabond, the traveler roaming across the country, in search of exactly what nobody is certain, is a very prevalent one in society. Countless tales have been written over the years; stories, legends, apocrypha. The archetype has become almost overused in society, to the point where today's writers and chroniclers always look elsewhere for their tales for fear of not being taken seriously.

What few people realize is that the American vagabond is not a myth. It still exists - it always has and always will - on the fringes of society, maybe not as numerous or as prevalent as it once was, but still there. These lonely figures crisscross the country, come across each other and pass like ships in the night, always moving to the great land of Elsewhere. These people have their secret places, and every so often when in the need of rest or company, will congregate there briefly before inevitably setting off again.

The campground in Clinton, Iowa, is one of these places. Clinton, a sleepy river town with a for-profit college and a fast-food shack run by Flava Flav himself, has its quirks and peculiarities much like any other American town. The great road U.S. Route 30, the former old Lincoln Highway, runs through the town and crosses the Mississippi here. It is this road that most of our travelers have come through on, and it is off this road they will veer to take rest for the night.

These travelers, these lonely Americans, congregate here through the night. They say their hellos, some trade items, some trade stories, but for the most part they ignore each other and look for a comfortable place to sleep for the night. But then, two things happen during the night. First, a freak storm hits, leaving the only dirt road in and out of the campground a muddy lake. The Mississippi has overflowed and flooded, and there will be no leaving for a while. Everybody groans and worries about rationing their food and other basic necessities. The second thing, however, is far worse. Someone turns on a radio.

"Two dangerous felons have escaped from the Clinton Hospital for the Criminally Insane," the newscaster says, with just the perfect inflection designed to scare the wits out of anybody listening and still be taken seriously as a broadcaster. "Their whereabouts are currently unknown, but police have advised to stay out of isolated areas such as alleys, fields, and campgrounds. Please be sure to lock your doors at all times and do not let your children venture out alone."

The campers all look at each other. They know Clinton well. It has to be here. This is the downside of life as the American Vagabond, the understated danger of living on the road. And now they are going to have to deal with the consequences. Each tries to get some sleep during the night, but it is a futile pursuit. They know that, in the morning, something is going to be done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rules, etc.:

This is a vanilla mafia game, designed for 17 people. There will be two mafiosi who know each other's identities and are not allowed to kill each other at night. They get one kill per night, no matter their numbers (unless it is zero). There will be no other power roles.

This game, along with Andres's previous large game, will provide you good training for the first of the games that will be part of the Gameroom Anniversary Celebration, which will happen in a month and be hosted by yours truly. I'm sure you can all guess what kind of format it's going to be and even the title (:grin:), but that's going to have to wait. For now, enjoy your light and fun Small Game! Please post to sign up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Signed up: (17/17)
Yaseikhaan
Visorslash
Reenk Roink
Zack
Saregona
B_Ray
robbiecon
Csargo
Diamondeye
Andres
johnhughthom
Renata
Scienter
God Emperor
Askthepizzaguy
TheLastDays
Chaotix

(Romanic)

:charge:

Sure, I'll bite. Count me in.

Clinton, Iowa???? :laugh4:

:bow:

I in

Hello.

Hello shall join.

Put me down as reserve- I'm free to play, but if the list fills up and someone else would rather take my spot, they have it.

I'm diving in!

I'm going to assume there's marshmallows and say IN.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Reenk Roink

Clinton, Iowa???? :laugh4:

:bow:

---

Yeah! Why, you ever been there? :laugh4:

In/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by GeneralHankerchief

Yeah! Why, you ever been there? :laugh4:

---

Pretty sure we filled gas there once... Obviously this gives me excellent knowledge of the setting and thus the campers should defer to my leadership. :snobby:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Reenk Roink

Pretty sure we filled gas there once... Obviously this gives me excellent knowledge of the setting and thus the campers should defer to my leadership. :snobby:

---

We will!
In, by the way.

I love the setup. And the Big Rock Candy Mountain theme!
You can have your stew, and your whiskey too,
you can paddle all around it in a big canoo...

In.

Aye.

In.

I'll play!

There's still a few spots open if you guys want 'em. :yes:

(yes, this is a covert bump)

ok :) Me in

Quote:

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Originally Posted by God Emperor

ok :) Me in

---

:smug:
"Less coercion, more manipulation", I always say...!

Oh, this game already started, but I didn't get a pm! I must be an innocent townie, then!

Vote : Diamondeye

It's always him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Andres

Oh, this game already started, but I didn't get a pm! I must be an innocent townie, then!

Vote : Diamondeye

It's always him.

---

You're first :stare:

I'll join to fill out the ranks.

Okay, we'll leave signups open for one more day or so and then I'll start things. :yes:

I'll also join to fill the ranks, but I don't have as much time to play mafia. If someone wants my spot, before the game starts, he can have it (and put me on the reserves).

Count me in!

Thanks
TLD

Alright, I'm closing signups. Chaotix will take the final spot, Romanic will be a reserve and will step in if needed. Thanks for your interest, I'll get PMs out shortly and then we'll begin things. :yes:

Csargo is scum. Let's see some votes on him.
Vote: Csargo

Clinton, Iowa
Day 1

Nobody got any sleep after the radio broadcast. Most of these campers were hardened veterans, able to get a few hours of shut-eye in any environment, but the combination of the soggy conditions due to the storm and the fear that there were two dangerous killers hidden amongst them was enough to ensure that for once the veterans would have to spend a night sleepless.

Finally, at dawn, one of the campers, realizing everyone's mutual situation, called everyone together. "All right, folks," he said, "We know what we're up against. We're cut off from escape and help, and there's 15 of us and two of them. Problem is, we don't know who 'they' are. The way I see it, there's only one way out of this. Process of elimination. This is America, right? We all believe in the democratic process, right? We've all been on the road for a while, we all know how to read people, otherwise we'd probably already be in a ditch somewhere. I think with our collective minds we'll be able to figure out who these two killers are and get rid of them ourselves. Any objections?"

"Yeah," piped up another camper. "Isn't there a better way to do this? I don't want to die just because we get a guess wrong!"

"And what do you have to live for?" chimed in a third. "Something happened to you back home that made you be one of us, one of the road warriors. When's it going to end for you? For any of us? Do any of us truly have a home to go back to anyway? Home is where we make it, and right now home is right here. And our home is under attack, so we may as well defend it." This was met with more than a few grunts of agreement.

"Any other objections?" asked the first camper, who was replied to with silence. "No? Well, then, let's start this thing. See you all on another road."

It is now Day 1. Day 1 will last for roughly 30 hours, as I'll be out for a lot of tomorrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Still alive (17):
Yaseikhaan
Visorslash
Reenk Roink
Zack
Who am i?
B_Ray
robbiecon
Csargo
Diamondeye
Andres
johnhughthom
Renata
Scienter
God Emperor
Askthepizzaguy
TheLastDays
Chaotix

fine.. I will try again :laugh4:

Vote: Csargo