~~~ Swords in the Moon ~~~

Night 1 - Conclusion - first blood.


Hour of the Rat.


After his last cup of saké, Ii Naomasa (Khazaar), started to feel drunk. He yawned and walked to his room.

While he was taking off his kimono, he heard a sound on the opposite corner of the room. He unsheeted his wakizashi and slowly walked towards the sound.

He didn’t notice the shady figure behind him, carrying a razor sharp katana.

The shady figure pierced the katana through Ii’s back.

Ii Naomasa had hardly noticed that the sword had pierced through his chest, when the sword struck a second time, decapacitating him.

The killer continued by chopping of both arms and legs of the already dead samurai.

After he had done what he came for, the attacker whiped his blade clean on the kimono of his victim and left the room unnoticed.
~~~


Hour of the Rat

Takayama Ukon (spL1tp3r50nal1ty) was soaked through when he finally could leave his post.
The veteran warrior nodded to the samurai who was coming to relieve him.

“The rain turned into snow,” he said to the younger samurai.

“I noticed that, old man,” the younger man said, a bit brutal.

Takayama Ukon was displeased by this lack of good manners of the younger samurai. Sure, technically, they held the same rank, but as a veteran, Takayama deserved more respect from the younger man.

“It is not wise to disrespect the more experienced.”

“Indeed, it isn’t,” the other one said, nodding.

The nod he got in response was hardly noticable and therefore a great insult.

Takayama however was cold and tired and he didn’t feel like making a fuss about it. He decided to talk about it tomorrow and, if necessary, he would challenge this idiot to a duel, so that others could learn from his dead.

Without even a nod, Takayama turned his back to the young samurai and walked away.

The poisoned shuriken in his neck ended his life within seconds.

The young samurai walked towards his victim. “It’s not wise to turn your back to your enemy.”

He quickly covered the body with snow and resumed standing guard. It didn't take long before the real replacement arrived. The killer bowed respectfully to the other samurai.

“I’m grateful that you finally made it. I’m off for a hot bath and a warm bed. See you tomorrow.”
After this words, he bowed and quickly turned around. The other samurai couldn’t see his face.

~~~

Hour of the Ox

Kikuya (Lord Winter) took of her kimono and started to put on her make-up.

“Now, that’s a surprise!” a manly voice said.

Kikuya dropped her make-up and picked up one of her hairpins.

The man laughed softly. “That won’t help you, darling.”

Kikuya jumped forward, the hairpin aimed at the man’s chest. He quickly jumped aside. Kikuya felt the wakizashi entering her lungs. A hard and well placed kick made her fall on the floor. The man watched her as she was suffocating in her own blood. He bowed towards her to take a good look at her face.

“What a waste,” he said, regret in his voice. The wakizashi in her throat, mercifully ended Kikuya’s young life.

The masked samurai left the scene unnoticed.
~~~
Day 1 - Traitors among us!


Hour of the Rabbit

The Lord of the Takeda stared through the window and looked at the magnificent landscape, covered in snow. He was looking forward to a long, cold Winter, in the company of good men, great stories, laughter, games, special "entertainment" and lots of saké.

The noise at the courtyard disturbed his inner peace and he decided to go take a look outside.

When he entered the courtyard, he saw his men lined up, three dead bodies lying in front of them.

The Tiger looked at the bodies and back at his men.

"What happened here?" he asked.

Nobody seemed to know and all men bowed deeply for their master.

"It seems like there are traitors among us!" he walked towards the bodies and took a closer look.

"Maybe even ninja! Ha! Did the Dragon turn into a snake, I wonder."

Lord Takeda sighed.

"You are my most trusted men. It saddens me that some of you are not who I thought you were. Since I don't know who the killer is, we will have to try to find out through a discussion and through voting. Each one of you will have one vote. The person with the most votes at the end of the day, will be killed."

Takeda paused and then continued: "If one of you thinks that a man is guilty beyond doubt, but that man doesn't seem to acquire votes, then you are free to challenge that man for a duel on life and dead. At the end of the day, my dice will decide which duel will be fought."

The Tiger nodded to his men and sat down.

~~~

Alive (61):
TinCow
Thermal Mercury
Quintus.JC
GeneralHankerchief
Iskander III
FactionHeir
Caius
Shinseikhaan
Glenn
pevergreen
Beefy187
Ichigo
Warluster
White_Eyes:D
Sasaki Kojiro
Stephen Assen
Peasant Phill
Sigurd
Kukrikhan
Captain Blackadder
A Very Super Market
Louis VI the Fat
Gobbledygook
Psychonaut
LittleGrizzly
Gregoshi
taka
Jolt
ATPG
shlin28
YLC
Reenk Roink
Rhyfelwyr
Beaver
Olavi
AggonyDuck
El Diablo
TiberiusBeskar
atheotes
Chaotix27
Ibn-Khaldun
CountArach
Northnovas
Ignoramus
Husar
Death is yonder
Tristan de Castelreng
Chimpyang
Yoyoma1910
TosaInu
Seamus Fermanagh
Banquo's Ghost
Crazed Rabbit
Haudegen
woad&fangs
Xehh II
SorBlade15
ajaxfetish
glyphz
Dutch_guy
Yaropolk

Killed (3):
Khazaar
spL1tp3r50nal1ty
Lord Winter


Fallen in battle (0):

Lynched (0):

WoG/Suicide (0):


~~~

It's now day. You can start voting. Day will end at 21.00 (GMT+1), that's within +/-24 hours. Day ends when I post the "Voting concluded" message. From then on, I'll accept night orders.