The Shadow Fort Summary Thread

[Crazed Rabbit]

The Shadow Fort, Day Seven

The night was calm. There were no clouds, and the moon cast soft shadows over the snow.

GeneralHankerchief was moving with purpose through the grounds of the fort. He was cautious, and kept an eye on his surroundings. He did not see the figure crouching on a low roof. Nor did he see the crossbow aimed at him.

He did, however, hear the soft click of the crossbow firing, and looked right at the crouched figure that had shot at him. He began to dodge, but wasn’t quick enough and the bolt embedded itself in his shoulder.

GeneralHankerchief grunted in pain and looked for cover. His attacker dropped the crossbow and leaped down to the ground, drawing a sword on the way, and then ran at him. Another man stepped out of the shadows to intercept him, drawing a large sword.

The attacker and defender clashed. The defender swung fiercely and the attacker had a hard time holding him off, much less getting closer to GeneralHankerchief. While his defender was fighting, GH looked around. He couldn’t see anyone, and it didn’t look like his help was needed. Feeling the pain in his shoulder, he decided to retreat.

He hadn’t made it a dozen paces before another bolt hit him, this time in the center of his back. The second attacker dropped from the roof above GH and landed on him, bearing him to the ground as GH cried out in pain and surprise.

His defender was fairing well against the first attacker, who kept on giving ground before his strikes. The attacker was frustratingly good at blocking and dodging his blows, though. When the defender heard GH’s cry he turned to look. The attacker had led him away from GH. He altered his strike at the attacker into a wide sweep that forced him to jump back, then ran to defend GH.

The second attacker did not hesitate once he landed on GH. His knife was already out as GH struggled to get out from beneath his attacker. The knife flashed, first into GH’s chest into his heart and then across his through, causing blood to spray out.

The attacker did not check to make sure GH was dead; he knew he was. As GH’s defender ran to his defense, the attacker jumped off and then ran into the darkness. The first attacker ran off as well, leaving the defender to kneel by GH’s body and check for signs of life.

In a different part of the fort Myrddraal was making his way through the night. He kept glancing over his shoulder every few minutes. It did him no good.

“Greetings, Myrddraal,” said a dark cloaked man who had stepped in front of him, sword drawn.

Myrddraal hurriedly drew his own sword and backed up. The attacker kept advancing, slowly. Myrddraal decided to get out of there and turned to run.

He saw another man, standing silently. Holding a crossbow. Aimed at his chest. The crossbow fired, and Myrddraal felt its impact. He stood in pain for a moment, seeing his only avenue of escape cut off. He looked around; the first attacker was almost on top of him.

Myrddraal thrust his sword in desperation, but the attacker dodged and then swung and hit him. The second attacker had dropped the crossbow and stabbed him in the back. The two attackers continued their assault as Myrddraal fell to the ground.

As dawn neared, two men waited in the darkness near one of the outer walls. A man approached, and they moved into position.

Subotan was walking between some buildings when a man emerged quickly from the shadows in front of him.

“What do you have against the nobility, Subotan? After all…”

The man continued but Subotan wasn't listening. He had turned as soon as the attacker stepped out and saw a second attacker behind him. This man was holding a wine bottle. Subotan’s brain was perplexed, but his reactions were not.

He solidly punched the man in the nose, causing him to stagger backwards. Subotan tried to keep attacking, but the man swung the wine bottle in self-defense and he had to take a step back to avoid it. He turned to deal with the first attacker, drawing his sword.

This man was pulling a long dress out of a bag slung across his shoulder. Again, Subotan was perplexed. Again, his instincts guided him and he swung.

The attacker had looked up as Subotan advanced on him and realized all he had in his hands was this dress. It would have to do; the attacker held it taught and raised it to block. It saved his life. The sword cut the fabric, but was slowed and only grazed the attacker.

Subotan kept the pressure on, striking again. His attacker dropped the useless fabric and managed to dodge the blow. Subotan brought his sword around and struck again, but the attacker managed to move again, in what had to be a very difficult maneuver but looked effortless.

This time Subotan paused for the briefest of moments and reconsidered his plan of attack. He struck out again with his sword.

A wine bottle crashed into his head, shattering and covering his head with wine. Subotan stumbled to the side, holding his head and turning to see his second attacker approaching with a sword. The first attacker still had backward momentum and was without a sword, so Subotan decided to finish off the bottle thrower.

The attacker began a series of strikes at Subotan, but he deflected the first and thrust out. The attacked barely managed to block it. Subotan struck again.

Halfway through the swing he faltered; the first attacker was behind him and had slit his throat. Blood poured down his clothes. Subotan did not give up. He recovered, clasping one hand to his neck to stem the flow while keeping a firm grip on his sword. He tried to keep up the attacker, but his attackers held back and beat off his strikes.

Finally, he stumbled to his knees, dropped his sword, then fell to the ground. One of the attackers came forward to make sure he was dead. He pried open Subotan’s hand and placed something in it.

The attackers moved off into the shadows, leaving Subotan lying in the tramped snow, clad in clothes covered with the dirt of traveling, and clasping a goblet in his cold hands.

Reenk Roink was making his way home after a drink at the tavern. He was almost home when he heard a grunt in the darkness. He ducked, drawing his sword. He looked quickly, and then spotted the missile flying out of the darkness.

The snowball hit him in the shoulder. The man who had thrown it was on a nearby roof. He quickly ran away, over the crest of the roof. He looked back one final time and his hood fell off.

“Methos!” yelled Reenk, getting up to pursue.

“It’s not me!” replied Methos, cursing his bad fortune as he went down the other side of the roof and ran off.

Reenk ran around the building but Methos had already escaped.

Gerard gathered the crowd into the keep. He had avoided looking at the sunrise over the snow-covered mountains.

“More people have died tonight, so we must keep looking for the Turks among us. Find them and they will be hung like the dogs they are,” said Gerard.

“And in other proclamations for how to administer mob justice from your local fortress commander…” said Hans, adopting a falsely serious tone.

Gerard gave him a sharp look and said, “We have also discovered more information on some people recently killed.

“First, we have Ibn-Khaldun. My men looked into his quarters and could only find normal traveling items. They did manage to find a letter written in Polish, so my great investigators have assumed that’s where he came from.”

–one of the investigators wrinkled his face at the memory of the investigation-

“Next, we have Diamondeye. He also appeared to be a normal traveler. However, we did find some writings speaking of secret rituals. Though when he looked into it all the rituals seemed pretty harmless and had more to do with drinking than anything else.

"We also found out somethings about pevergreen. He was no ordinary traveler; he appeared to be a noble from somewhere in the Holy Roman Empire. Though my men did not find a lot of gold, only some nice clothes and some letters with a a noble seal, so it seems he wasn't that well off.

“Finally we have Thermal Mercury. His loss was a loss to us all; he was an Austrian soldier defending this fort. We must find whoever killed him.

“Dawn has come, so seek out the Turks and killers and bring them to justice!”

The crowd dispersed and began talking.

Gerard watched them for a while, “You know, Hans, sometimes I think even I could run this better than this lot.”

“You may be right,” Hans did not fake his serious tone this time.

It is now the day phase! This phase will last for 30 hours, until 7 pm PST Saturday March 26.

Alive:
Beskar
a completely inoffensive name
Csargo
Jolt
atheotes
Sasaki Kojiro
Joooray
TinCow
Askthepizzaguy
White_eyes:D
Reenk Roink
Yaropolk
Sigurd
Yaseikhaan
Double A
Beefy187
Scienter
Renata
spL1tp3r50naL1ty
Captain Blackadder
Methos


Lynched:
Kagemusha D2
Secura D3
Ibn-Khaldun D4
Cultured Drizzt Fan D5
Psychonaut D6


Killed:
Chaotix N2
Seamus Fermanagh N2
A Very Super Market N2
Winston Hughes N3
Centurion1 N3
Diamondeye N4
Thermal Mercury N4
pevergreen N4
Autolycus N5
Seon N5
TheFlax N5
Slashandburn N5
johnhughtom N5
Subotan N6
GeneralHankerchief N6
Myrddraal N6

[Crazed Rabbit]

The votes moved around to various subjects throughout the course of the day, most voters generally following the vote of one man.

When the vote ended, Beefy187 was in the lead.

Gerard summoned his guards and had him led to the gallows. Beefy protested, but to no effect.

The hanging was over quickly.

Gerard summoned a member of the crowd, A Completely Inoffensive Name, to him. Once ACIN stood in front of him, Gerard pulled back and punched him hard in the face.

"Pull your antics again and you'll be kicked out of the fort to die!"

ACIN ran away, clutching his bloody lip.

Then Gerard directed the guards to seize Double A.

"What's happening? I showed up!" exclaimed Double A.

"You didn't even bother to vote, so I don't think we'll be worse off if you're forced to leave the fort. Men, heave him over the wall!"

Double A landed in a snowbank. After a couple minutes he freed himself, and with a sorrowful look back, went to try and walk out of the mountains.

Tally:
Beefy187: 6 (Sasaki, Tincow, ATPG, White Eyes, Yaropolk, Beefy )
Atheotes: 3 (Khaan, Scienter, Splitpersonality )
Double A: 2 (Joooray, Renata )
Captain Blackadder: 1 (atheotes )
Tincow: 1 (ACIN )
Split: 1 (Sigurd )


It is now the night phase! The night phase will end 33 hours from now, or at 7 am PST Monday March 29.

Alive:
Beskar
a completely inoffensive name
Csargo
Jolt
atheotes
Sasaki Kojiro
Joooray
TinCow
Askthepizzaguy
White_eyes:D
Reenk Roink
Yaropolk
Sigurd
Yaseikhaan
Double A
Scienter
Renata
spL1tp3r50naL1ty
Captain Blackadder
Methos


Lynched:
Kagemusha D2
Secura D3
Ibn-Khaldun D4
Cultured Drizzt Fan D5
Psychonaut D6
Beefy187 D7


Killed:
Chaotix N2
Seamus Fermanagh N2
A Very Super Market N2
Winston Hughes N3
Centurion1 N3
Diamondeye N4
Thermal Mercury N4
pevergreen N4
Autolycus N5
Seon N5
TheFlax N5
Slashandburn N5
johnhughtom N5
Subotan N6
GeneralHankerchief N6
Myrddraal N6

Forced to Wander the Snow:
Double A

[Crazed Rabbit]

The Shadow Fort, Day Eight



It was cold, and the snow had returned. Fierce winds howled through the battlements. The remaining occupants of the fort hurried between buildings, hunched over for protection from the wind.

All save for two figures, who strode across the ground as though unaffected by the wind and snow. They went to the stable and one brought out a man made of straw. The horses were startled and began neighing. The taller of the figures glared at them. They become very silent.

The tall figure, called Screwtape, took the straw man and tied it to a post, then spoke, “Wormwood! Examine carefully as this is important!
“The human body is soft and weak and can be broken easily. Observe how easy it is to kill a man by breaking his neck.”

Screwtape reached and grabbed the neck of the straw man, lifting it into the air. With a sharp jerk he broke the pole that formed the neck.

Wormwood picked up a pitchfork and approached eagerly, then thrust it into the chest of the straw man.

“Like this, Master?” he asked earnestly.

“That can work, but not if the man is wearing armor. Try again.”

Wormwood shoved the tines into the face of the straw man, and then looked to Screwtape with a smile, “Is this better?”

Screwtape was pleased, “Yes, that will do. Now let’s practice with something a little more interesting.”

The two figures left the stable.



Scienter was walking to the tavern, hood pulled tight to ward off the chilling wind. She was almost on top of the four men standing in her way when she first saw them.

“It’s Scienter! Get her!” said one of them.

“Burn the witch!” cried another.

Had not Scienter become very suddenly preoccupied with getting away, she would have seen some confused looks pass between her attackers.

There were small buildings to each side, but the path behind her was clear, save for one figure. Deciding the odds were better that way, she drew her sword and ran.
The lone attacker raised a large sword and adjusted his footing. Scienter was running at him with her sword raised.

They met, and Scienter swung as she tried to run by. In one motion the attacker ducked and swung. The blow connected, and Scienter fell forward, her momentum causing her to slide through the snow.

The attacker looked at her, slightly confused. The blow had not killed her. It had grievously injured her and exposed the maile beneath her cloak, but Scienter yet struggled to regain her footing.

The attacker’s confusion did not cause him to pause long. With two strides he was standing over Scienter with his sword raised. Scienter turned and tried to block the blow.

She failed.


The tavern was crowded tonight due to the weather. Jolt only stopped for a quick drink before leaving again.

He could not see well in the darkness. The clouds covered the moon and stars so there was only torchlight. And the reach of that did not extend far, as the snow flurried and turned the world into a blur.

The howling wind made it hard for Jolt to hear his own footsteps. Fortunately, it also made it hard to aim crossbows.

The first bolt flew so close to his head Jolt could hear the buzz as it passed his ear. As he grabbed hold of his halberd another bolt landed nearby.

Jolt readied himself as two men emerged from the snow swept darkness, each carrying swords. The flickering torchlight played wildly over their blurred shapes.

Jolt knew that he, too, must appear like that, so with a great yell he raised his halberd and lunged at the nearest figure. He could barely make out the body, but he saw the man back away hurriedly before him. Quickly, Jolt turned to look for the other attacker.

He could not see him. Jolt continued to look, but could hardly make out anything in the blizzard. Just then he heard the crunch of snow behind him. Jolt swung blindly.

The attacker used his sword to deflect and sidestep, then lunged in again to attack. Jolt blocked the blow using the halberd’s shaft then brought the axe head down at his attacker, yelling. Again the attacker used his sword to guide the halberd away and dodged.

Jolt brought the halberd around and swiftly adjusted his footing. His attacker again slashed at him. Jolt side stepped and swung up with the base of the shaft to force his attacker out of his stride, then struck with the axe head. The attacker dodged, but Jolt was already swinging the axe head around for another blow, and the attacker was forced back and could not counterattack. The attacker dodged low beneath the next swing, holding his sword in a guard above him, and again struck at Jolt.

Jolt pivoted the shaft and intercepted the sword while bringing the axe head around for another strike. His attacker leapt back and raised his sword.

Just then a large clumped snowflake landed in the attacker’s eye. He blinked, but did not stop, moving out of way of Jolt’s anticipated strike. Jolt was very fast, though, and when his eyes opened again he saw the axe head coming from an unexpected direction. He managed to get his sword in the way, but the halberd crashed through his guard and down onto his shoulder.

The attacker cried out in pain and fell to his knees. Jolt was already raising the halberd and stepping forward. He kicked at the kneeling attacker, sending him backwards onto the ground. The last thing his attacker saw was the armored figure of Jolt standing above him and bringing the axe head of the halberd down upon him.

The axe head cleaved the chest of the attacker in two. Reenk lay dead on the cobblestones.

The second attacker, having finally found the two fighters in the blizzard, saw the fallen Reenk and quickly ran off.



The midnight hour had passed when Renata was returning to her room. She cautiously looked around as she walked, though the snow made it hard to see,

But she did notice the lone figure standing in her way, a long sword held in one hand. She quickly drew her own sword. The attacker smiled and advanced, raising his sword.

Renata nervously raised her own sword. When the attacker was only a few paces away she lunged forward and thrust with her sword. The attacker easily deflected the strike and swung. The blow caught Renata on her arm, and she fell back. The attacker stepped forward and swung again. Renata tried to dodge but the attacker moved as he swung to catch her. The blade hit again, cutting through her cloak and into her side.

In desperation Renata struck out again with her sword. Her attacker pivoted his sword and guided the blade away, then swiftly struck again, this time a powerful blow that hit Renata’s neck. She fell gasping and bleeding to death.

Her attacker stabbed one last time to be sure and then moved off quickly into the darkness.


Splitpersonality had been in the tavern for a while, ordering many drinks. If he was going to die, he might as well die drunk, he thought. After finishing his glass, he ordered another mug. A full one was quickly placed on his table.

Split didn’t see the waiter put it there, but said thanks to the tavern in general and began drinking. He had only taken one gulp when another drunkard, stumbling through the tavern, fell into his back, causing him to spill his drink over the table.

With an angry yell Split got up and tried to grab hold of the offender, who had already fallen to the floor. But his anger did not last; intoxication and the jovial comments of his fellow drinkers got Split back into a cheerful mood soon enough, and he ordered another mug.

An hour later, as he left, his stomach started cramping. Halfway to his room, he doubled over in pain and vomited into the snow. He was sweating profusely when he got to his room, and shivering at the same time. He fell into bed greatly afraid.

But he managed to wake up in the morning, though running a fever.



Yaropolk was moving through the blizzard with a steady determination. He scanned the walls and roofs around him constantly. But he could see nothing.

As he walked he felt something. A presence in the darkness, like rock scraping on metal in his mind. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He gripped his sword

“Ah,” said Screwtape, “Here we go. A suitable subject for practice.” Yaropolk wasn’t sure whether he heard the words or felt them coming from behind him.

Swiftly and silently Yaropolk drew his sword. Long sword in hand, he turned to face the speaker. He could not see the face, but he recognized the presence.

Two cloaked figures stood behind him. Neither had weapons in their hands.

Screwtape, his arms spread before him, bared his teeth and spoke, “Do you think your piece of steel will save you, dog? I’ve killed more men in war than you have seen in all the years of your life.”

Yaropolk stood his ground; sword held forward, “I made you run north like a whipped cur. And now I shall make you run again.”

“Fool! I only move when I will it. I left because it was my desire to leave. And now it is my will that you die. Come, Wormwood. Let us acquaint this man’s blood with the ground,” Screwtape’s face grew cruel.

The cloaked pair moved. They were upon Yaropolk nearly instantly. He swung, and they effortlessly avoided the blade. Yaropolk was not surprised, and pivoted his body to continue the swing.

Screwtape had stopped behind him and was reaching for his neck. Blade crunched into bone and flesh as the swing caught him unawares in his left arm. But the blow was weak from Yaropolk’s over extension.

Nevertheless, Screwtape recoiled in pain. Wormwood had arrived, and grabbed for Yaropolk’s wrists. Yaropolk avoided the grasping hands and punched the crossguard into Wormwood’s face, who screamed in pain and fell back clutching his face.

Again Screwtape advanced. Yaropolk swung a swift diagonal cut at him, but Screwtape moved beneath it and towards Yaropolk, then punched Yaropolk in his metal breastplate.

Yaropolk flew backwards and halfway through a thatched wall. The impact had dented his breastplate. Screwtape slowly stood up to his full height and smiled.

“He is yours, Wormwood.”

But Yaropolk was not done. Groaning, he quickly disentangled himself from the broken wall and raised his sword. Screwtape was upon him again in an instant, reaching for his face. But Yaropolk ducked even before Screwtape had lunged and thrust up with his sword, catching Screwtape in the shoulder.

Screwtape screeched in irritation and grabbed hold of Yaropolks left hand. Yaropolk moved to break the hand away, but Screwtape broke two fingers in an instant. Yaropolk grunted, withdrew his sword from Screwtape and swung again, forcing him to back up.

Wormwood was coming at his side, yelling. Yaropolk grabbed something from around his neck and held it towards Wormwood, who hesitated. Yaropolk brought the pommel of his sword down onto Wormwood’s head, and got grim satisfaction from the crack he heard. Even before the sound ended he swung towards where he knew Screwtape would be coming from. But Screwtape held off until the sword passed and then lunged in. Again he punched at Yaropolks torso. This time he made no dent on the armor and Yaropolk remained standing.

“Find it hard to kill warriors?” taunted Yaropolk as he swung again.

Screwtape was already out of range. He turned and saw the light of dawn approaching the eastern mountains, and knew the fort would soon awake.

“Come Wormwood. We shall let this dog feel the pain of his wounds and wait in fair of his inevitable death,” commanded Screwtape.

The two cloaked figures withdrew swiftly into the darkness. Yaropolk held his ground and did not move until the morning sun shone down on him and the snow subsided. Only then did he cautiously return to his room.

Gerard woke to the news of more men dead. Reading the reports made him angry, not depressed.

When the crowd – though the dwindling group of survivors could hardly be called that – had assembled, he let them have it; “Night after night, people have been killed. And you know what my soldiers tell me? That most have not perished at the hands of the Turk, but at the hands of paranoid Austrians!

“This must not go unpunished! We cannot let people run around and kill blindly! You must – you will! – find whoever is responsible and bring me their heads! I don’t care what they claim or what they use as an excuse. Find me the people killing my men and sentence them to death!”

The crowd was silent out of fear. Hans cleared his throat.

“Right,” said Gerard, “In addition we have some reports. Cultured Drizzt Fan was a traveler, with no unusual items found in his room. TheFlax was as well, and my men found nothing out of the ordinary belonging to him. Slashandburn was also a traveler.

“Seon, Autolycus and Johnhughtom were all soldiers stationed in this fort. These good men are now all dead. Think on it – they couldn’t all have been killed by the Turks.”

The people were left to talk.

It is now the day phase! This phase will last for 40 hours, until 7 pm PST Tuesday March 30.

Alive:
Beskar
a completely inoffensive name
Csargo
Jolt
atheotes
Sasaki Kojiro
Joooray
TinCow
Askthepizzaguy
White_eyes:D
Yaropolk
Sigurd
Yaseikhaan
Double A
spL1tp3r50naL1ty
Captain Blackadder
Methos


Lynched:
Kagemusha D2
Secura D3
Ibn-Khaldun D4
Cultured Drizzt Fan D5
Psychonaut D6
Beefy187 D7


Killed:
Chaotix N2
Seamus Fermanagh N2
A Very Super Market N2
Winston Hughes N3
Centurion1 N3
Diamondeye N4
Thermal Mercury N4
pevergreen N4
Autolycus N5
Seon N5
TheFlax N5
Slashandburn N5
johnhughtom N5
Subotan N6
GeneralHankerchief N6
Myrddraal N6
Scienter N7
Reenk Roink N7
Renata N7

Forced to Wander the Snow:
Double A

[Crazed Rabbit]

Discussion during the day was long, but the outcome seemed predetermined.

Captain Blackadder was declared to be suspicious, and the crowd lined up to vote for him.

His protestations came to nothing.

Gerard was filled with a grim anticipation as the crowd congratulated itself.

"I wonder if they can see what I see..." Gerard pondered as the people earnestly dragged Blackadder to the gallows.

"They'd have to be mad," smirked Hans, then after a glare from Gerard stammered, "That is, to see through your eyes would be, uh, unlikely?"

Blackadder said he was but a simple traveler and tried to break free, but could not.

"They seem to think they've got everything in hand. I hope they're right. But..." Gerard trailed off.

Hans smiled, "Whatever happens, it should be greatly entertaining."

The rope jerked and Blackadder fell, struggling.

Gerard left without saying anything. Not that the crowd would have listened anyway; they no longer looked to him for guidance.

It is now the night phase, which will last for 36 hours, until 9 am PST Thursday April 1.

Alive:
Beskar
a completely inoffensive name
Csargo
Jolt
atheotes
Sasaki Kojiro
Joooray
TinCow
Askthepizzaguy
White_eyes:D
Yaropolk
Sigurd
Yaseikhaan
spL1tp3r50naL1ty
Methos


Lynched:
Kagemusha D2
Secura D3
Ibn-Khaldun D4
Cultured Drizzt Fan D5
Psychonaut D6
Beefy187 D7
Captain Blackadder D8


Killed:
Chaotix N2
Seamus Fermanagh N2
A Very Super Market N2
Winston Hughes N3
Centurion1 N3
Diamondeye N4
Thermal Mercury N4
pevergreen N4
Autolycus N5
Seon N5
TheFlax N5
Slashandburn N5
johnhughtom N5
Subotan N6
GeneralHankerchief N6
Myrddraal N6
Scienter N7
Reenk Roink N7
Renata N7

Forced to Wander the Snow:
Double A

[Crazed Rabbit]

The Shadow Fort, Day Nine.

The clouds had cleared, and so the fort was dimly lit at night by the stars and moon in the sky. Splitpersonality was walking to his room through the snow when he heard footsteps in the snow behind him.

He stopped and turned. Two men were behind him holding swords. Split heard movement in front of him and saw two more armed men approach to block his path.

“So this is how it ends, is it?” asked Split grimly, drawing his own sword. The four men advanced cautiously.

“Your time has come!” exclaimed one of the men, holding something in his off hand. With that signal, the attackers lunged forward to strike.

Split tried to ward off the blows, but was outnumbered and surrounded. The attackers struck repeatedly, and Split only stood for a few seconds. During that time the hood fell off of one of his attackers.

“Beskar!” exclaimed Split, but Beskar paid no heed. Seconds later Split was cut down and fell to the ground, staining the snow red. An attacker stood over him to deliver a final thrust to his heart.

Split recognized the face and cried out, “Khaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnn!!”

The light left his eyes, but his attackers were not finished. They set about their task with a grave determination and left the snow much bloodier still. The head of Split was nowhere to be found in the morning.


The bartender at the tavern was still alive, and that had to count for something, thought A Completely Inoffensive Name. He was sitting with his back to the wall, eating a fried ham sandwich with strawberry jam. There were a half dozen people in the tavern, so he figured no one would burst in to attack him.

He was almost done when he noticed the room had become silent. He looked up and saw the bartender had made a hasty exit from the room. All the customers were now standing and facing him.

ACIN quickly assessed his chances of escape. They were not good.

He looked over the faces, then spoke, “Do you people know why my death is going to be better than yours?” The group stirred uneasily, reaching for their weapons.

“Because I have just finished a delicious meal. I expect the rest of you lot will be killed hungry and cold, cut down in the snow. If none of us can escape, then at least I won’t go to meet God with numbed fingers and frozen skin.”

“Enough of this talk!” exclaimed one of the attackers, “Let’s finish him!”

The attackers all drew swords and moved towards ACIN. For all his serenity, ACIN wasn’t going to go quietly. He picked up the wooden plate and hurled it at the nearest attacker. The plate and remaining food hit him square in the face.

ACIN was close behind, leaping over a table and drawing a knife before jumping at his attacker, who was trying to rub food out of his eyes. His momentum brought them both to the floor, with ACIN on top of the attacker.

The other attackers were only steps away, and running between tables as quickly as possible, but ACIN paid them no mind. He slashed his knife across the throat of his attacker – two times to be sure – before starting to plunge the blade into the chest of his attacker. ACIN managed to stab three times before the closest attacker came and sliced halfway though his neck.

With a gurgle as blood poured down his body, ACIN became limp and tumbled over, dead.

Beneath him Methos was also dead. But the attackers were not done with ACIN; they dragged his body onto a table and pulled out knives and other weaponry. When they were done his head was completely separated from his body.



Elsewhere in the fort, a man had paused between some buildings. Csargo had an eye for observation, and something was not right with the snow in front of him.

As he looked a man came around the corner, wearing robes.

“My child, where are you going at this time of night? Shouldn’t you be praying?”

Csargo drew his sword, “You are no priest, and your ill-conceived costume does not fool me. Also, you have a spear slung over your back.”

With that, Csargo turned and saw another man holding a warhammer. This attacker advanced, ready to strike. Csargo tried to dart past him, but the quick swings of the warhammer prevented him.

The robed attacker had taken out his spear and ran forward. Just as Csargo was close to getting past the second attacker, the first stabbed the back of his leg with his spear. Csargo cried out in pain and fell to one knee, still trying to fend off the warhammer.
The spear carrier struck again, this time piercing his back, and Csargo fell forward into the snow. The man with the warhammer landed a blow onto Csargo’s spine, then turned him over. Producing a knife, he slit Csargo’s throat to make sure he was dead.

The two attackers made their way off into the darkness.


“Wake up sir,” insisted Hans again.

A bleary eyed Gerard rolled over, “And to what point? To learn of more dead men? You give the people the report yourself.”

“Surely you haven’t gone mad,” said Hans.

Gerard grumbled, got up and began putting on his uniform. He did not both securing all the buttons.

Down in the hall he spoke to the group of people, “We have some good news from the investigations. The man you lynched, Psychonaut, was a Turkish spy. My men found objects that confirm his identity, including some communications with Turkish generals.

“Alas, though, Myrddraal was just a simple traveler. The only thing of note my men found was a cello in his room.

“GeneralHankerchief was something else. From his belongings, including various items for long forest journeys, he looked to be some sort of tracker or huntsmen.

“Finally, Subotan appears to be some sort of professional killer. We found a large array of weaponry in his room. It was all kept in good shape; oiled and stored well. It’s not clear what his purpose in the fort was, though we found some notes from a Holy Roman Empire Lord.”

“Our days are drawing to a close. Find the killers or there will be no one left.”

It is now the day phase! This phase will last for 31.5 hours, until 9 PM PST Friday April 2.

Alive:
Beskar
Jolt
atheotes
Sasaki Kojiro
Joooray
TinCow
Askthepizzaguy
White_eyes:D
Yaropolk
Sigurd
Yaseikhaan



Lynched:
Kagemusha D2
Secura D3
Ibn-Khaldun D4
Cultured Drizzt Fan D5
Psychonaut D6
Beefy187 D7
Captain Blackadder D8


Killed:
Chaotix N2
Seamus Fermanagh N2
A Very Super Market N2
Winston Hughes N3
Centurion1 N3
Diamondeye N4
Thermal Mercury N4
pevergreen N4
Autolycus N5
Seon N5
TheFlax N5
Slashandburn N5
johnhughtom N5
Subotan N6
GeneralHankerchief N6
Myrddraal N6
Scienter N7
Reenk Roink N7
Renata N7
Methos N8
Csargo N8
ACIN N8
spL1tp3r50naL1ty N8

Forced to Wander the Snow:
Double A

[Crazed Rabbit]

The Shadow Fort, End of Day Nine

"The votes are in, sir," said Hans.

Gerard looked up from his seat, "Are they? Very good."

They both went to the main hall of the keep where the survivors were gathered.

"I wonder who shall die at the whim of the crowd today?" mused Hans.

Gerard addressed the assembly, "And who have you marked for death today?"

Everyone pointed to Yasekhaan.

"Almost like a pack of wolves, ganging up on one target," said Hans.

"No disagreement?" asked Gerard, oddly calm, "Are you still trying to find the killers? Or just looking to vote for anyone but yourselves?"

No one answered.

"I suppose if we've committed to this mad course we must see it through," said Hans.

"Very well," said Gerard to the crowd, "Take him to the gallows. If we are doomed we may as well stay on the path chosen. No sense bothering to take some other road to our doom."

Yaseikhaan was taken to the gallows, speaking about his 'beloved'.

Gerard stared as Yasekhaan was hung, while Hans looked on, smiling.

"We must be reaching the end soon," Hans said, excitedly.

Gerard grinned in reply.

"Well now, try not to get killed tonight, or you'll miss the chance to be hung tomorrow!" Gerard exclaimed to the people before retiring to his room.

It is now the night phase! This phase will last for 36 hours, until 11 am PST Sunday April 4th!

Alive:
Beskar
Jolt
atheotes
Sasaki Kojiro
Joooray
TinCow
Askthepizzaguy
White_eyes:D
Yaropolk
Sigurd


Lynched:
Kagemusha D2
Secura D3
Ibn-Khaldun D4
Cultured Drizzt Fan D5
Psychonaut D6
Beefy187 D7
Captain Blackadder D8
Yaseikhaan D9


Killed:
Chaotix N2
Seamus Fermanagh N2
A Very Super Market N2
Winston Hughes N3
Centurion1 N3
Diamondeye N4
Thermal Mercury N4
pevergreen N4
Autolycus N5
Seon N5
TheFlax N5
Slashandburn N5
johnhughtom N5
Subotan N6
GeneralHankerchief N6
Myrddraal N6
Scienter N7
Reenk Roink N7
Renata N7
Methos N8
Csargo N8
ACIN N8
spL1tp3r50naL1ty N8

Forced to Wander the Snow:
Double A

[Crazed Rabbit]

The Shadow Fort, Day Ten

There was something unusual about the air that night. It was warm. Or, more accurately, not quite as freezing as the past week and a half. And though it was cloudy, no snow fell.

Much of the night was silent. One man hurried quickly through the fort as the dark hours before dawn approached.

Atheotes kept a cautious eye on his surroundings. He had learned things about surviving he would not have cared to learn during his time in the fort. He kept them in mind nevertheless, and kept his hand close to the hilt of his sword.

The door of the tavern was in sight when the crossbow bolts shot out of the darkness. One missed, but the other hit his stomach. Atheotes grimaced, stifled a cry of pain, and then drew his sword. In the faint torchlight he could make out the shape of a man approaching him from near the tavern.

In fear, he turned his head and saw someone coming at him from behind, much closer. Both men were well armed, with weapons out. Atheotes raised his sword and struck at his attacker. The aim was true; directly at the neck of his enemy, who still had his sword lowered, and only seemed to lazily start raising it as Atheotes’ sword approached his neck.

But then Atheotes’ sword was deflected; his attacker’s sword in place guarding his neck. Then the attacker struck back. Atheotes leaped back and dodged the blow. He raised his sword to strike again, doubly determined.

The second attacker was behind him already; he held a morningstar, and it was plain from the way he held it that he knew how to use it. Atheotes had not heard him approach. The attacker quickly struck at Atheotes with the morningstar.

It hit Atheotes in the center of the back and broke his spine. Atheotes’ resolve faltered as he tumbled forward, crying out in pain, dropping his sword in order to try to cushion his fall with his hands.

The attacker with the morningstar smiled, then looked out into the darkness to make sure no one approached, while the other bent down, sword still in hand, and turned Atheotes onto his back.

Grabbing hold of Atheotes throat, this attacker lifted him into the air with one arm. Atheotes struggled to loosen the grip around his throat, but his attacker did not mean to strangle him. Instead, he moved Atheotes and held him up against a nearby wall; extending his arm so that Atheotes’s head was a foot higher than his attacker’s.

Then he took his sword and placed it under Atheotes’ chin, who was increasingly panicked. The attacker smiled cruelly, then jerked the sword up, cutting the flesh of his neck and causing blood to pour out, down his body and running down the length of the sword. With one last gasp the life slipped from Atheotes.
But the attacker was not done. He let go of Atheotes throat, keeping him against the wall with his sword. Then he drew a dagger and impaled it through the forehead, crunching through the skull.

Only then, putting a hand against the torso of the body, did he withdraw his sword. The body fell with a dull thud into the snow, still bleeding.

The attacker stood a moment, looking at the body. Then he glanced at his sword, dripping with blood. Seemingly filled with trepidation, he raised the sword to his mouth, and licked the warm blood from the length of it. His face shuddered in ecstasy, and he looked up to the black sky with wonder in his eyes.

The other attacker smiled deeply as the first turned to look at him.

They spoke some low words that no one could hear. The expression of the man who had finished off Atheotes changed from wonder to a cruel smile. The two men walked off, disappearing into the darkness.


It was near dawn in another part of the fort. Two men crept from shadow to shadow, swords in hand. They looked behind them, and crept softly through the snow.

Their target was the ever-increasing pile of bodies near a wall of the fort. With swords out, and scanning constantly, they approached on body. It was that of Ibn-Khaldun.

His face was in the same contorted position it was when he was hung, and several nights of snow covered his body. One man reached down to push off the snow while the other kept his sword pointed at the corpse. The first man then took out a hatchet and began hacking through the neck. The flesh had frozen, and it was hard work. The corpse remained unmoving.

But the task was completed soon enough. The men were not done, though; one produced more items from a pack, and they set about doing more things to Ibn-khaldun’s corpse. With more holes in the body than when the night began, the men stepped back to consider their work.

“Well?” asked one.

The other frowned, frustrated, “I don’t think so.”

With a glance about the area, they returned to the darkness.


“A corpse was desecrated? Are you sure you speak the truth?” an incredulous Gerard asked.

“Quite sure – I skipped ahead in the report you’re reading,” replied Hans.

“And only one living man killed? Well that’s good, I suppose. Better to kill someone already dead.”

“And we don’t even have to move the body! How convenient!”

“Indeed. Well, I suppose I’ll address the crowd, or really just the last to die! Ha! I suppose the keep makes a fitting gravestone,” laughed Gerard.

“They shall find us cold men when this is over!” added Hans.

Ten men, including Gerard, had gathered in the hall. The rest kept residence near the fort walls.

“Welcome, my fellows, to the end! Look to your right, then your left. On each side you will find a killer, stained with the blood of others,” Gerard smiled broadly, “But don’t worry to much. The killers we must hang are only those who want to kill us all, not those who simply have killed most of us! All you have to do is discern the two!” He grinned madly.

“Oh, right, we have gathered some information about the dead. Beefy, Scienter and Renata were all travelers. Beefy had a violin, while Scienter was found with a maile shirt. Renata had the crumbled remains of a cake in her clothing.

“But we found a variety of weapons in the room of Reenk Roink. From what we could find, he was some sort of killer for hire. A man with blood on his hands killed by those with blood on their hands!

“How the path of murder circles around! Who here, I wonder, helped kill him? Who here will kill his killers? Is it not exciting?” the mad grin returned.

“One can’t complain about the quality of the last act, or the importance of our part, if we are to die here,” said Hans.

Gerard turned towards him and continued grinning, “Indeed! What a blessing to live these hours!”

Hans stopped smiling, and said nothing more.

It is now the day phase! This phase will last for 30 hours, until 8 pm PST Monday April 5th.


Alive:
Beskar
Jolt
Sasaki Kojiro
Joooray
TinCow
Askthepizzaguy
White_eyes:D
Yaropolk
Sigurd


Lynched:
Kagemusha D2
Secura D3
Ibn-Khaldun D4
Cultured Drizzt Fan D5
Psychonaut D6
Beefy187 D7
Captain Blackadder D8
Yaseikhaan D9


Killed:
Chaotix N2
Seamus Fermanagh N2
A Very Super Market N2
Winston Hughes N3
Centurion1 N3
Diamondeye N4
Thermal Mercury N4
pevergreen N4
Autolycus N5
Seon N5
TheFlax N5
Slashandburn N5
johnhughtom N5
Subotan N6
GeneralHankerchief N6
Myrddraal N6
Scienter N7
Reenk Roink N7
Renata N7
Methos N8
Csargo N8
ACIN N8
spL1tp3r50naL1ty N8
atheotes N9

Forced to Wander the Snow:
Double A