Leaving Limbo [Concluded]

[LazyMcCrow]

"It was me! I did it!"

Landlubber marched across the centre of the camp with a swagger. Most of the smaller children moved instinctively away from him, but one or two followed after him, submissive and shocked, but also intent on hearing what he might say next.
There was food enough in the pot for the day and no-one felt much like chores after the excitement of the previous night, and as the weight of what Landlubber was saying sunk in, almost all the Tribe had soon gathered in expectant groups around the fire pit.

As the day drew on there was much talk and argument. Landlubber's wild claim was soon common knowledge and - as some of the other children began to point the finger at him with scowls and dark looks - the big lads swagger soon turned to foot-shifting discomfort.

"Of course I didn't do it actually, I was just saying I could've done it if I'd wanted to! Isn't that right?" Landlubber looked searchingly for some sympathy for another of the Big 'Uns, but found nothing but grimaces and confusion from his peers.

As more and more of the Tribe put aside their personal squabbles and spoke out against Landlubber, the boy developed a desperate look. His eyes began twitching and he giggled - no-one knew whether it was from fear or if indeed, the boy had turned to madness.

"I say it proudly: I AM FREE.
FREER THAN ANY OF YOU COULD EVER HOPE TO BE.
AND WHEN WE TRIUMPH, AND ALL YOUR BODIES ARE SMASHED INTO THE GROUND BY OUR POWER, ONLY THEN SHALL YOU THINK ABOUT THESE DECISIONS THAT YOU'VE MADE."

As the day drew to a close, Landlubber thrashed about in the circle, shouting and ranting about being a Free Spirit after all. The Little 'Uns shied away from him, wincing at the violence in his words, but the circle around the fire pit was consolidated now and the weight of numbers shifted subtly, as Landlubber ranted and raved, to make sure the Big 'Un was gifted no chances to flee.

As the sun set, it seemed the matter was settled. Various of the cursed children still pointed fingers at one another, but the majority were now firmly pointed at the Big 'Un sitting by the fire at the dusty circles centre.

As first finger pointer, the duty fell to Visorslash to deal out the punishment.

The boys face was grim as he stepped to the weapons rack. The crowd hushed as he approached the 'Hogknocker', but then whispered excitedly as Visorslash passed by the huge club, and drew instead the Tribes machete from its place on the rack.

Silently, flanked by several other accusers armed with sharpened stakes, Visorslash approached the now kneeling Landlubber. He addressed the judged boy in little more than a hushed whisper

"You may be a Big 'Un, but no-one here is bigger than the Tribe. You think you can stick Arjos like a hog without any one else to say so? You've had your say, but no more.. y'hear? … No more."

Three of the other children pinned Landlubbers arms tightly to his side, and scraps of twine and creeper were quickly used to bind him.. but the boy made no move to defend himself, just looked slowly up at Visorslash and said quietly

"It wasn't me. I AM Tribe… I am...."

But Visorslash simply stared back and raised the machete slowly to Landlubbers chin

"It was your words got you in to this mess and we'll see to it now that you speak no more"

One of the children squeezed Landlubbers mouth open and the boy keened and spluttered as he realised what was to happen to him. A couple of children stabbed at him, making shallow punctures in Lanlubbers flanks and legs. Wild eyed he made to scream, but the sound was muffled as his tongue was yanked at and pulled taught over his jaw.

"No more" Visorslash repeated once again and crows cawed and flapped their disturbance as Landlubber screamed his last.

Before darkness had fallen, Landlubber was stuffed into a crate which was hauled up until it was swinging gently in the breeze from the bows of a large Elm tree. His bleary eyes streamed with tears, but his strength to scream out at his pain had ebbed, as his blood slowly drained from his wounds.

His accusers stood in solemn ceremony at the ledge below.

With the sentence carried out, the Tribe resumed some kind of normality, quickly preparing for the night ahead. All knew that by midnight Landlubber would be dead but more than a few of them worried that he may not be the only one.








FINAL TALLY

VOTING TO KILL:

landlubber: Visorslash, Subotan, zack, landlubber, ATPG, Ishmael, Montmorency
Subotan: DaveShack, Seon, Jarema,
Ishmael: Chaotix
Neri: BSmith
zack: classical_hero
BSmith: Neri
Jarema: scottishranger

SILENT:
Atheotes


NOTE ON THE TALLY: The tally is presented with the Strongest vote down to the weakest. The numerical Strength is not presented to the players. If the overall strength of two or more votes are tied then the person with the most individuals voting for them is shown higher up the list.

This is done purely to make it more difficult to identify Big 'Uns amongst the Little 'Uns and has no bearing on the strength of the vote. ie: any lynch ties would be decided randomly.



IT IS NOW NIGHT ONE. DEADLINE IN ROUGHLY 24 HOURS FROM NOW.

[landlubber]

Well, that was fun. Thanks for your toleration with my absurd behavior!
(There was a point to this. You'll learn what exactly it was in due time.)

[Jarema]

If I understand it correctly, we see that Scottishranger has a weakest vote among those who are the only voters for someone. And Chaotix has the stronger one.

[Ishmael]

Unless all of the single voters had the same voting strength, in which case I assume the order would be random. More likely, there's two to three vote strengths represented there.

[Visor]

[Montmorency]

Oh no, Visor is Mafia. That was unexpected.

[Askthepizzaguy]

Landlubber self-voted, said it was just a day one vote; landlubber OMGUS voted, and did other deliberately "classically" scummy behavior which scums don't really do that often to be frank, but the outing of himself as a big-un seemed fake to me.

That said, I find his story about gaining some power if he dies totally believable because his play was very seriously, and deliberately, trying to die day one.

So, he was mafia, and he is a larger threat dead than alive. His vote wasn't even a threat to us because it was worth .5, so we didn't really gain much by removing it.

We fell for the tactic hook line and sinker, and BTW, landlubber is awesome but he does not pull off those sorts of shenanigans just for the heck of it. It's not in his character. He's a pretty collected guy, and this was out of character for him. Now, me, I'd personally create the most unbelievable nonsense and shout it as loud as possible so everyone can hear, but not landlubber. So, I am guessing his behavior is directly related to his role and his goal, so he was being at least semi-honest with us.

Prepare for the backlash of falling for his nonsense. I betcha no mafia actually voted for him, because they know, that's the first place we'd look.

[Montmorency]

Ahem.

Check who was last on the wagon.

[Jarema]

. His vote wasn't even a threat to us because it was worth .5, so we didn't really gain much by removing it.

We do not know it. He could easily change this part of his role pm.

[scottishranger]

We do not know it. He could easily change this part of his role pm.

It would kind of make sense though for the mafia to have weaker voting powers. This would kind of balance the game if the mafia become stronger with each lynch

[Askthepizzaguy]

Everyone is having such a lovely time communicating privately. Why can't I be part of the conversation instead of just a fly on the wall?

[Montmorency]

[atheotes]

Everyone is having such a lovely time communicating privately. Why can't I be part of the conversation instead of just a fly on the wall?

Maybe they dont trust you?

[LazyMcCrow]

Deadline passed 8 hours ago or so. NIght One has now ended (I was sleeping - sorry for the delay). Write-up to follow

[Askthepizzaguy]

Chaotix

Zack

[Ishmael]

Chaotix

Zack

[Askthepizzaguy]

To be explained if I survive.

[LazyMcCrow]

NIGHT ONE

As the evening wore on and darkness encroached, a thick mist descended over the forest of Limbo. Usually this gave the children of the Lost Tribe an extra sense of enclosure and veiled protection from the eyes of predators, but after what had happened to Arjos, it was decided that no chances should be taken and the patrols were doubled with strict instructions that no child should patrol alone.

From one of the platforms above the main gate, classical_hero peered into the murk. The mist seemed to wrap itself around everything - even the timbers of the gatehouse appeared to be shrouded in a grey blur. He waved his hand in front of his face and watched the coils of mist displace. So much for the watchtower - you could barely see the end of your own nose, let alone any approaching threat.

Classical_hero shivered as he recalled the events of the day. He had been able to see the horror on Landlubbers face as the boy's tongue had been cut out, and a sensation of dread so consumed him at the memory that he almost didn't hear his fellow watchman shouting up from the gloom below:

' Oy! 'Ero! I've set the first trap, but I can't reach the rope for the second! Come and give us a hand up!'

Wondering vaguely how someone as small as himself would be able to help set the trap, classical_hero carefully skinnied down the rope from the platform - the ground invisble through the thick fog until the second before his feet reached it.

The mantraps suspended on ropes from the structure of the gate were triggered by the thin lines of twine that criss-crossed the path in front of the Tribe's camp and classical_hero made his way forward cautiously so as not to upset the first trap his companion had set.

'Where are you?' he called into the soupy darkness

'Just here!' the voice called back, 'just step toward my voice! - you should be able to see me now?! - maybe a few more paces?'.

As classical_hero stepped forward, he was vaguely aware of a brief resistance against his shin, but the realisation that the second trap had already been set, and that he himself had activated it, didn't hit him until the soft 'whoomp' of the open man-trap swinging toward him through the fog reached his ears.

A split second after that; the mantrap itself hit classical_hero, it's sprung steel jaws cutting the boy in two as it swung out of the dark and plucked him from the ground.


Ishmael jogged along the perimeter track as it curved downhill toward the caves from the West, when a shout from the bushes close behind caused him to jump with shock.

'Oy you! Come 'ere! You know you're not supposed to be out 'ere on yer own!'

Ishamel's legs followed their natural instincts and began to sprint away from the direction of the voice as quickly as they could.

'OY!' the voice behind him shouted once more and Ishmael could hear whoever it was break in to a run behind him. The track at this point was bordered on each side by high dense prickly bushes which brushed against Ishmaels arms if he strayed from his course, and so he was able to maintain a fair speed as he attempted to evade his pursuer... But the sound of the footsteps did not fade - if anything they seemed to be gaining. Ishmael ran on - vaguely aware that the path he was heading down would soon reach the caves where -unless he could quickly backtrack - he would be cornered. He could hear the sound of his pursuers ragged breathing, as he reached the entrance to the cave that led to the underground lake, but then the sound of the footsteps behind him coming to an abrupt halt. Momentum carried him on and suddenly he flinched and dropped to his knees as something landed on his head.

Immediately Ishmael felt the Brainworm burrow its' tiny tendrils into his scalp. His vision leapt and pulsed and he felt himself lurch from left to right as if on a boat, as the parasite took control of his nervous system.

Unbidden, Ishmaels' legs began to move, carrying him further into the caves. A luminous moss growing on the walls of the cave emitted an eerie light and though Ishmael was dimly aware of the sound of his pursuer slowly following him, as he lurched ever downward, he could not turn his head to see who it was.

Ishmael's eyes widened in horror as his legs spasmodically carried him down to the underground lake. Ishamel tried to stop, but he merely succeeded in slowling down as the Brainworm forced him onward, splashing into the shallows. Numbly, he felt the cold water rise steadily up his body, but was powerless to resist, and finally he pitched forward into the cold blackness of the water.

At the side of the lake, observing Ishamels' corpse bob to the surface, the figure that had pursued him giggled quietly to himself.

DAY TWO has begun and shall end in approximately 24 hours.


ALIVE

Visorslash
Jarema
Subotan
Neri
Montmorency
BSmith
DaveShack
Chaotix
Seon
Scottishranger
Atheotes
Zack
Askthepizzaguy

DEAD
Arjos (Killed Night Zero)
landlubber (Lynched Day One)
Classical Hero (Killed Night One)
Ishmael (Killed Night One)

[atheotes]

To be explained if I survive.

explain away

[Montmorency]

Enough said.

Vote : Chaotix

His existence is a grave threat to us little Free Spirits.

[Ishmael]

Cheery.

But I'll back Montmorency up in saying - lynch Chaotix. He killed me.

[Jarema]

ok
lets vote: Chaotix

[BSmith]

Absent any other info, I'll agree. vote: Chaotix

[Askthepizzaguy]

I received what is purportedly a private message exchange between Chaotix and who he thinks is the mafia. And there were several of them.

That said, it almost certainly has to be fake, or else someone made the biggest mafia-related fumble in years. I just got back from a hotel stay and I have to head immediately to work, so I can't go into details. My advice would be to hold off on a ginormous wagon before Chaotix can present a defense, and indeed, even be properly charged with a crime.

[Ishmael]

Having clarified something, I'd like to slightly change my stance on this issue. I'm now slightly less certain that Chaotix killed me - say 75% certain, instead of 99%. I still think you should lynch him based on the evidence at hand, but if he makes a solid case for himself I wouldn't write it off. Try not to pile too many votes on the bandwagon just yet.

[landlubber]

You can thank me for the Chaotix thing. Chaotix contacted me just minutes before day one ended, saying that he's the Bully. His goal is apparently to kill all the Little 'Uns. He has a kill, but it fails if he uses it on a Big 'Un. Thinking quickly, I chose Montmorency and Zack as my "Free Spirit" partners, only because they were the most vocal to my lynch. So, you could say it was random in a way, and they're at no fault. No, they're probably not actually Free Spirits.
They both played along beautifully. Zack contacted me briefly for clarification, but Montmorency didn't even have a clue what the heck I was doing. He just ran with it. Some might call that suspicious. I call that badass.
Anyway, my "mafia partners" claimed to be targeting ATPG. My guess is that they wanted to forward those PMs to him. Chaotix said he was targeting Ishmael. I take this as confirmation that he's actually anti-town. After some fake banter about who would become the new leader of the Free Spirits, I haven't heard anything else from Montmorency or Zack. If there are any others involved, I know nothing of them.

Now, some would ask, "Why should we believe him? He's mafia!"
I'm not. Why would I reveal this is I was anything but pro-town? Why would I choose two people who would spread the PMs around willy-nilly to be my partners? I know better than that. I've been playing this game for a while.
That leads to an even greater conundrum. What in the world was I doing day one? Frankly, I don't know. I voted myself for no specific reason, but one thing lead to another, and, before I knew it, I had a burgeoning bandwagon on myself. My attempts to explain my behavior came off as scummy, and, once I realized that I probably couldn't stay in the game after such a rocky day one, I decided to have a little bit of fun. I forged a PM and made laughably villainous posts. It was just a bit of day one fun. That's what it started out as, at least. Once Chaotix fell into a trap I didn't even know I had set, I thought on my feet and told people without screaming "CHAOTIX IS MAFIA" right before I was lynched. I mean, let's face it, who would believe me? Now that it's common knowledge, I feel that it's my job to explain everything.

[Montmorency]

Well, there are two other possibilities: 1. Chaotix forged his PM to fish for your partners, and the Mafia have double kills on odd nights, not even. So you had Ishmael killed to sow suspicion between us and get Chaotix lynched.

2. Chaotix is a serial killer and killed Ishmael, but the Free Spirits double as Little Ones and you betrayed him as a threat to them.

So I figure it's good odds on Chaotix. If it's the former here, there will be only one kill tonight, so we'll at least have definite evidence if we've messed up.

[Ishmael]

I'll chip in with my sequence of events, constructed through my behind the scenes conversations with Montmorency (obviously if he is mafia then much of this goes out the window):

Montmorency forwards me a PM (forwarded to him by landlubber) in which Chaotix claims to be the Bully (a serial killer role), and that he will be targeting me tonight. I decide not to act on this as I figured that if I died, we would have caught a SK. However, I only realised this morning that 'Chaotix's' PM was not sent directly to Montmorency and Zack, but was actually forwarded to them by landlubber. Thus, we only have landlubber's word that Chaotix actually sent 'his PM, and I'm not sure I'm buying his claim that he isn't mafia. The scenario's we've come up with to explain this are:

1. Landlubber is mafia, and Chaotix is the serial killer. For an indeterminate reason landlubber wanted to get rid of the SK, and thus forwarded his PM along to Zack and Montmorency in order to see Chaotix lynched.
2. The above, but landlubber is an innocent townie (his version of events)
3. Chaotix is actually townie, and was trying to bait the mafia into revealing themselves with a false claim. The mafia decided to carry out his claimed kill on me in order to frame him and waste a lynch phase.
4. Landlubber is mafia, and forged Chaotix's PM in order to waste a lynch.

Thus, Chaotix could plausibly be a townie, as the main argument against him comes solely from landlubber, who's motives are questionable. Give him a chance to explain himself, at least.

[scottishranger]

If we can take out a serial killer who wants to kill little uns, then chaotix needs to die. However I will wait for ATPG's explanation before continuing the bandwagon.

If we dont lynch chaotix, what other targets do we have? none that I am aware of.

[Montmorency]

Thus, Chaotix could plausibly be a townie, as the main argument against him comes solely from landlubber, who's motives are questionable. Give him a chance to explain himself, at least.

No, no, see, Chaotix acknowledged it and everything. Chaotix himself replied (after the forwarding). He was CCed in all the communications. It would be strange, if he would be party to his own framing.