~~~ Swords in the Moon ~~~


Day 4 - Conclusion.


Hour of the Monkey

" A freezing winter
" The sharp cold stops living things
" Branches are leafless

Saruwatari Ryou (TosaInu) looked at the freshly written poem. He sighed. It wasn’t what he wanted it to be. He hadn’t really thought about it before, since he had never expected to be ordered to commit seppuku. Who would have thought that clearing his throat after days of silence would make him a suspect of murder?

Saruwatari sighed again and he looked around him. The sound dampening snow and the silence created by the freezing cold made him feel at peace. The sky was dark blue and the first twinkling stars became visible. Stars, inviting his soul to join them.

The man in the white kimono smiled at the stars. Surely, so far away, there would only be silence and peace. Silence and peace, like on a cold winter evening.

Finally accepting his karma, he picked up the clean and sharp knife in front of him. He opened his kimono and took a final deep breath. He pierced the knife through the skin of his belly, right into his inner organs. The sudden loss of blood made him feel light in the head and for a moment, there was only peace and the beauty of the silent winter evening. Before the pain could reach him, the blade of his kaishakunin struck mercifully.

Lord Takeda nodded respectfully towards the body.

Oguri Hatsuharu (Jolt) and Saruwatari Izumi (Beaver) were watching the scene. When somebody ordered them to come forward to carry the body, a rock above them fell down, bringing with it an avalanche of snow, ice and rocks. It took several hours to dig them up and when the digging samurai finally reached the bodies of their two comrades, they were already dead.

~~~

Tally:

TosaInu : 5 (FactionHeir, Beskar, White_Eyes:D, atheotes, Sasaki Kojiro)

Rhyfelwyr: 4 (Yoyoma1910, Wishazu, Peasant Phill, TinCow)
Yoyoma1910: 2 (AggonyDuck, Chimpyang)
Beskar: 2 (Husar, Stephen Asen)
TinCow: 2 (YLC, Rhyfelwyr)
Seamus: 1 (Kagemusha)
Caius: 1 (Psychonaut)
GeneralHankerchief: 1 (Glenn)
Sasaki Kojiro: 1 (GeneralHankerchief)
Banquo's Ghost: 1 (Kukrikhan)

abstain: 4 (AVSM, Banquo's Ghost, Death is yonder, taka)

Not voting: 19 (Crazed Rabbit, Tristan de Castelreng, Quintus.JC, CountArach, Gobbledygook, Caius, ajaxfetish, Captain Blackadder, Ichigo, TosaInu, Seamus Fermanagh, woad&fangs, Yaropolk, Dutch_guy, Haudegen, Jolt, Beaver, Beefy187, glyphz)

~~~
Challenges:

1. Stephen Asen vs. Beskar
2. Beefy187 vs. GeneralHankerchief
3. Glenn vs. Rhyfelwyr
4. YLC vs. TinCow

Note: since TosaInu got lynched, the duels GeneralHankerchief vs. TosaInu and White_Eyes:D vs. TosaInu became null and void.

~~~


Alive (40):
TinCow
Quintus.JC
GeneralHankerchief
FactionHeir
Caius
Glenn
Beefy187
Ichigo
Wishazu
White_Eyes:D
Sasaki Kojiro
Stephen Assen
Peasant Phill
Kukrikhan
Captain Blackadder
A Very Super Market
Gobbledygook
Psychonaut
taka
YLC
Rhyfelwyr
AggonyDuck
Beskar
atheotes
Kagemusha
CountArach
Husar
Death is yonder
Tristan de Castelreng
Chimpyang
Yoyoma1910
Seamus Fermanagh
Banquo's Ghost
Crazed Rabbit
Haudegen
woad&fangs
ajaxfetish
glyphz
Dutch_guy
Yaropolk

Killed (14):
Khazaar
spL1tp3r50nal1ty
Lord Winter
The Spartan
Iskander III
Shinseikhaan
Olavi
Thermal Mercury
Chaotix27
pevergreen
Gregoshi
Reenk Roink
LittleGrizzly
Louis VI the Fat

Fallen in battle (3):
Northnovas
Ignoramus
El Diablo

Lynched (4):
Askthepizzaguy
Sigurd
shlin28
TosaInu

WoG/Suicide (3):
Xehh II
Jolt
Beaver
~~~

It's now night; PM's please. Night will end at 21.30 (GMT+1); that's within +/- 23h30m