next »

[Dacke]

God has blessed us with a new saviour! I never lost faith, we shall be delivered!

[Garthy]

Noah, thankyou for your reply. To be honest, I had absolutely no idea how you would address my queries- or if you would address them at all. What I did not expect at all was a fairly detailed reply answering most of what I had asked- which is exactly what you gave.

Much of what you say is quite reassuring. Time will tell, of course, but I hope at this point that it is okay to be... cautiously optimistic.

On page eleven of the town records I suggested a number of theories. Based on what you knew before, and what you now know, in the role of the Hand, is there anything you can add to any of these? Are any clearly wrong? Does anybody have any information that they can (safely) share that might give us some further clues as to the nature of the enemy that we face?

[Alevice]

While I lament the resignation of PBS as the Hand of our Lord, I don't doubt that God Himself does have some other tasks for our brother.

I also applaud brother Noah in his promotion. No better man could have been chosen and proof of it lies in how he addressed Garthy's concerns. I wish the best for you.

[Noah!]

Thank you for your support, Alevice, although I don't think I was particularly eloquent or exemplary in how I handled Garthy's concerns. I merely answered his questions honestly, using what I know, and what I believe.

And thank you for your cautious optimism, Garthy. I know that these are dark times, and indeed I can see the foolishness within blind trust. I hope that I will be able to earn the full trust of both you and everyone here within time.

By the way, I did recall hearing your theories on the day you brought them up; however, I stayed silent. At that time, I had nothing of substance to add. However, now that I know a little more, here is what I can say:
 * I can confirm that Peanutbuttershoes did not kill Ashkin. While it is true that the Hand of God must execute once per day, that execution is the only one permitted by Our Lord. And I do not feel that God takes would take kindly to the breach of such a commandment.
 * There may be a guardian angel at play. Through discussion, I have confirmed that there are people among us who have special abilities that can be used during the nighttime, and one of those may be that of securing protection upon one person in the night. However, I have yet to meet such a person. Also, as a side note, because the abilities of these people make them a much greater target for attack, I feel compelled to withhold the names (and abilities) of those whom I already know. I hope you understand.
 * Personally, I think that the theory that one party can kill by ashing is the most plausible. Assuming that death by ash indicates a demon, why would the demons kill one of their own kind? However, this is personal opinion, and is not rooted in divine insight.

That is all I can say at the moment. But I will keep your theories in mind, and as I keep acquiring more data, I'll be able to intermittently return to the list and comment accordingly.

Now, to everyone that is listening. It seems that in a few hours I will be called to unsheath my sword, and fulfill my duty as The Hand of God for the first time. However, I feel that I do not know enough to make a confident decision regarding whom to execute. Therefore, if anybody has any information at all regarding the spiritual nature of your fellows—evidence, divine insight, even suspicions—please let me know! Feel free to speak among us, or if you lack the confidence to proclaim your opinions publicly, I am more than happy to coverse via Personal Meeting! Failure to speak up may cost us the lives of innocents!

Finally, I might as well get this out of the way now: For those of you who wish to speak to me personally, it should be known that the address to my estate is one that tends to be confused with that of another. Therefore, I shall provide you with a map. The directions contained show the best way to meet me without issue.

[Noah!]

Unfortunately, it has come to this. It is now dusk, and as mandated by God himself, it is now time for me to execute one of those among us. I will admit, I had wished to have more information before this time. However, it seems that time was against me today, and as such, I am forced to come to a decision using only prayer and intuition.

So...

...in that case...

Eyeliner, I believe you to be a demon.

At first, I was hesitant to believe this intuition strongly enough to act upon it. Yet, as I pored through the records of the town, and sought the favor of God on this matter, I found a strange peace settling over me.

I dearly hope that, in turn, this will bring peace to our town.

[Inanimate]

☦

The assembled people step back quickly, leaving a circle surrounding eyeliner and the new crusader, Noah. The night encroaches, as clouds cover the moon, and hazy mist washes over the ground, grasping and tugging at the pantlegs of the two men.

"...I am sorry, comrade, for what I must do." Noah says, as he unsheathes the blade. It flashes brilliantly, before a shining white sheen settles on it, like the milky reflection of moonlight on a lake. "This is the duty of the Hand of God. And thought I did not ask for it, I must shoulder the same burden as the one before me."

Noah raises the blade, slowly, slowly, and it taps against eyeliner's chin, a delicate brush that, in any other circumstance, would mean nothing. Here, it means everything. Eyeliner begs and pleads under his breath, tears forming at his eyes, a desperation that chokes every word he attempts to sputter out.

Noah is speechless, as he grimaces at the power he wields, and the horrible sight of the burden of judgement. Doubt washes over him, for a moment, as he shudders and the blade trembles -- but it doesn't fall. Closing his eyes, clenching his teeth, he rushes forward and jams the blade into eyeliner's throat.

The man's eyes flash open, and his pupils constrict, tighter and tighter, until they are pinpricks the size of, ahem, pins. The blade screams, the metal whining from heat -- no light pours from this wound, no ash. Soon, the villagers realize quickly that it is not only the blade that screams. Eyeliner tears himself from the impaling of the blade, as he wails and screeches. His skin explodes into brilliant crimson flames, the skin charring and blackening -- blood falls onto the ground, a deep and vast scarlet, before exploding into flame itself.

Eyeliner stares down at his hands, which clench and unclench in unthinking agony, the skin flashing into flame, his bones blackening before his eyes. His face conflagrates, and he falls to the ground, screaming in unbearable agony and suffering, as his body is consumed by the inferno, a pillar of fire that roars and soars into the night sky. The crowd shrinks back from the intense heat.

Noah stares at the blackened char on the ground, and lifts his blade, quickly cooling -- and completely untouched. There is no trace of eyeliner -- it was as if he never existed. The emotion washes out of Noah, as he sheathes the blade, and everything it has done. Noah breathes slowly, his eyes closed in thought, before looking at the crowd before him.

"A demon has been slain tonight -- I think we can all agree on this fact," Noah says, gesturing at where the body once was. "Let us mourn for eyeliner, our comrade, tonight -- he was a good man once, before the demon wore his skin, lived his life. Let us never forget the man he really was."

Noah stands, turning to look over the entirety of the crowd.

"So let it be done. Rest well, brothers."

The crowd leaves Noah standing in the town square, where he looks at the statue of the angel, and thinks.

NIGHT III

[Inanimate]

(For the love of me, be PROMPT with your night actions this time. This game needs to make up for lost time!)

[Inanimate]

DAY IV
4/7
☦

The dawn breaks upon the town, who wake up tense, wary of whatever death the night has brought. The villagers shuffle into the center of the townsquare nervously. The usual position of Peanutbuttershoes is instead conspicuously empty, and Noah watches the crowd from outside it, as they take a count of heads.

"Jared, and Randomasta..." the one counting notes, and everyone looks hurriedly around, as their absence is confirmed. Noah shakes his head in sadness, and sighs as people in the crowd rush hurriedly to the homes of their friends.

The door of Jared is discovered blasted in, splinters and shards sprayed over the hallway leading into the house. Gouges and tears are scored into the walls of the hallway, with bestial force and savagery; and at the end of the hallway lies the ravaged corpse of Jared, barely recognizable. His torso has been torn open, his heart crushed, and blood paints the walls of his house. His face is contorted into a face of wretched pain and suffering -- his torso was torn open while he was alive, everyone present is sure.

The men walk back out with a bag holding his body, and solemnly set it in the center of the town.

Meanwhile, the door to Randomasta's house is discovered forced open, the door hanging askew on its broken hinges. A few men, with much trepidation, step into the living room of the small house -- and find a blackened scorch covering the ground, which was obviously writhing with pain and suffering in its death. Beyond that, there is no remnant of Randomasta, no body -- but the feeling of horror and doom descending in the room is enough to make clear his fate.

The citizens of the town congregate at the statue, and Noah stands up, clearing his throat.

"Friends," He starts, and looks over his friends and compatriots, men he has lived alongside, and could die for. The feeling sinks into him that there are traitors amongst them, wretched beings that wear the faces of his friends, that wrench the hearts of his beloved.

"Family," Noah chokes out, before closing his eyes, dispelling errant thoughts. "We must believe in God. He has given us his mercy, but also his challenges; he has given us strength, not to live in peace or luxury, but to live through difficulty and loss..." He opens his eyes, and stares up into the morning sky, the clear sky. "...I am no one special. I am but one lamb in his flock, one man he has given life from dust."

Noah stands taller, his arms uncrossing and his fists clenching at his sides.

"God envisions for us grand destinies and roles, but he has also bequeathed upon us free will; he has given us the the ability to shoulder upon yourself your duty, the choice to do what must be done. We each can work for the survival of our town; we each can protect the innocent and fight the demons that lie in our midst."

"God has given us the blessing of life, the duty to live! Let's not let him down!"

The crowd roars, as the fourth day begins.

--

Jared C. has died.
Randomasta has died.

[eigenbom]

And so we are the last 13. If the curse of the mind and body has spread as far as I fear, then there are around 6 more demons amongst us. Though maybe there are more, in which case, the innocent are outnumbered.

We must take action, else we will all be murdered, one by one.

[Garthy]

Okay, I'd say that it may be a reasonable assumption that eyeliner was a demon under the circumstances! Whilst in theory it could be an elaborate ruse of some sort, I really doubt it. This is definitely good news: Not only have we taken out a demon, but we now have some indication as to whether the Hand managed to correctly identify a demon. This would suggest that the two previous targets of the Hand were not demons. They may have been innocent.

Noah, one thing that I was hoping to ask (before night fell suddenly fell and I found myself asleep, part way through composing my thoughts) was why you had decided to go with eyeliner. As it turns out, it was an incredibly good choice. What led to your decision?

I hope you all didn't miss the mention of the "no ash" reference on eyeliner's death. I am now reasonably convinced that ash is significant in some way- why all of these ash references, plus an explicit mention that there was none in this case? I still don't know what they mean, but at this point would most agree that they are probably significant? I'm wondering if the "no light" reference is significant too.

Now, as for the other two deaths. Randomasta is quite likely to have been a demon too- note the scorch marks, the "obviously writhing with pain and suffering", lack of body, and probably a narrative slip in saying "its death", rather than "his death". This would mean that we've taken out two demons in one night! Finally some good news.

The question is- who killed him? Was it the deliberate act of an ally to the town, or are we watching two rival factions fight over us?

One thing is terribly interesting: One faction killed Jared, and another killed Randomasta, who I'll assume was likely a demon. I'll also assume the demons are not killing their own. This means we have two factions:

- Faction A, who kill by ripping people apart, and as far as we can tell, have never killed a demon. They have also killed every single day thus far, with (more or less) exactly the same results.
- Faction B (or C, D, etc) who have killed a demon. One died by ash, one night was skipped, and one died demon-style with no ash. It's possible that these are all indpendent parties.

I'd say Faction A are very likely to be demons- Faction B certainly aren't, and they seem to be hitting innocents. Faction B (or, possibly, multiple independent parties) are probably the enemy of the demons (since they killed one, probably), and may be our friends? Or maybe not? In any case, they aren't just hitting demons exclusively- is this deliberate, or an accident?

Shortly after SirNiko was picked by PBS to die, he sent me a message, asking if I had any abilities that I could use. It struck me as unusual, as he would not be able to usefully use any information I gave him, as he was due to die that evening by PBS's hand. I guessed that it probably meant he had allies he was relaying the information to before being killed. I messaged him back, and told him that. I never got a reply- he was killed before I got one. Perhaps this is Faction B? Or something else?

My theories regarding whether ashing is an indicator or the killer or the killed might be interesting to revisit. It seems that the means of death indicates both the killer and the killed. Demons die in an explosion of flame (apparently)- but demons also kill in a certain way (if I am correct). I'd say that the method of death indicates both the killer and victim.

As for Jared- I'd say it's likely that we have lost one of our number. All indications are that Faction A hit him, and with a body and nothing more specific than normal, I'd say he was innocent.

Another thought: Perhaps there is no Faction B at all, just a bunch of us lashing out, hoping to hit demon targets if we can.

I'll ask a question of the Hand: Did you have anything to do with taking down Randomasta? You've said you didn't ash Ashkin, but how about Randomasta? This is really important as if you did it, then my theory about burning indicating demons could be wrong.

(Although, on a quick review of page one of the town records, Randomasta and Eyeliner are crossed off in red. I'd say that the theory that they were demons is pretty strong now)

I now have some incredible doubts about eigenbom's position now. He had stated that Ashkin was evil because he was ashed- we now have some convincing information that suggests that demons die in an explosion of fire, not ash, and that the demons are not likely to have killed Ashkin- they hit Shelby that night, not Ashkin. I hope you have an amazingly good explanation for your earlier statements, and for the period in which you vanished, conveniently avoiding the questions that myself and others asked. I think we are all incredibly curious as to what you have to say on the matter. Short of an amazing explanation at this point, I suspect we may be looking at demon number three right here.

[eigenbom]

I admire your attention to detail Garthy, but you omitted a vital detail. Since you have been doing the majority of the sleuthing around town, shouldn't you be the prime target of the .. unfriendly ones? Why then, are you still alive?

I have another question, why has there been so few murders a night? Is there only one demon capable of rending flesh? Maybe the other demons do battle with their voices, weaving confusion and lies amongst us?

There is only so much talking we can do, can we investigate further? Let us search each other's houses and look for evidence.

(Inanimate: can we do this?)

[Garthy]

eigenbom, your answer to some of the serious concerns I and others have raised is to.... try to push suspicion my way instead?

I've been telling myself to try to keep an open mind about things, in case, despite the obvious and glaring signs at this point, that there may somehow be a reasonable explanation. If there actually was one, you're really not making it easy to figure out.

[eigenbom]

You offered your theories and I offered mine. You suspect me to be a demon, and I suspect you, although I truly hope that you aren't. I agree with your theory that there are two parties at work. It seems as though evil is not the only one that skulks in shadows.

I also have another theory --- the demons that lie among us may be the quietest amongst us. Noah, I recommend you examine the town log are seek acquaintances to those demons slayed already, and, failing that, find he who has not yet spoken, and query him as to his motives.

[Noah!]

The reason why I decided to execute eyeliner was based on a number of factors. When looking over the official census (that is, not the one recently held by PBS), given the people that have been confirmed to be innocent, as well those whom I have heard to be demons (albeit inconclusively), I started to notice a pattern. Those who were innocent had followed God's decree to sign boldly with gold ink, while those who were demons did not. I used this criteria to narrow my search. Later, while poring through the city records, I came across eyeliner's blasphemy against those with God-given abilities. I'll admit that sparked a bit of righteous anger against the fellow, and through further research and prayer, I came to the decision to execute him. Unfortunately, with Randomasta's death, it seems my assumptions were mistaken.

Based on the fact that a demon among us was murdered last night, I have two theories. The first is that the demons among us are not unified or coordinated, and lash out blindly against us. The second is that there is indeed another faction among us, determined to purge the demons by their own hands. As to who comprises this faction, I am not sure. Though I will say that I had nothing to do with Randomasta's death.

I do find it kind of strange that the demons have yet to kill any high-profile targets. While it is true that Garthy is one, there are many others as well who are inclined to spirited speech. Of these, none have been a victim. This makes me wonder...

The decision to search for alliances among demons is a wise one. I'll try it, and see if I can accomplish anything.

[Inanimate]

(Searching houses... interesting. I will ponder it, eigenbom.

Also, if you haven't been active for a bit, I'd like you to speak up. Disciplinary action is something I'd prefer not to engage in. Thanks.)