Ulthuan

Wilhelm turned to the woman "If I change my vote now, and Elizabeth is innocent, then by my estimates there will be at least two assassins left, both of whom would have voted for Elizabeth's death this day. There is a 66% chance that one of them will be you, thus I cannot trust your word, my lady. As for Markus' guilt" the veteran turned towards the man "I did suspect him at first, and still do to the same extent I do all of you, but out of the human males remaining, Ruprecht has been acting more suspiciously and, if I may, more like an assassin than Markus. Also, as far as I know, Markus didn't have a vampire as a bodyguard."

The old soldier turned to look at the gathered people "Whichever group is correct this day will have proven that they have innocents among them and whichever group is wrong harbors the assassins beyond a doubt. That is, unless the assassins are more clever than I give them credit for. As for your words, Ruprecht" now William turned to face the man who had sought his demise from the very beginning "they are empty and hollow, for do you honestly expect any one of us to believe that an assassin would say anything else? Until you're proven innocent beyond the shadow of a doubt, or at least a reasonable doubt, your words mean nothing"

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Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians

"And to what extent are you aware of Markus's magical capabilities? Care to share with the group brother."

Markus sighed heavily.

"I was hoping to keep this a secret for as long as I could.. Sorry, Klara, for lying to you previously.." He spoke, clearly not happy about this turn of events.

"I do, indeed, have 'magical capabilities' as a Arcane Mage of Altdorf. My presence here has nothing to do with the Witch Hunter we uncovered earlier and I was not aware of his presence. I was sent here partially on my family's behalf and partially because the order suspected evil infiltration in this council of nobles. I identified this threat too late though as others had already uncovered Reinhold as a vampire. My investigation, however, was continued into Ruprecht as most people don't have a vampire as a bodyguard.."

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Klara was shocked.

"To be honest i was expecting you to be a user of dark magic, and the reason that Theodoric was so gruesomely murdered was by your magical doings. I apologize for my doubts in you. What findings do you have so far in regards to Ruprecht or any others that you have managed to collect up to this day?"

"So far it seems I've been investigating the wrong people.. Which is a failure on my behalf. The night before Theoderic was murdered I found out he was who he was although he hadn't harmed anyone yet. And I failed to spot out Wolfram cause when I tried investigating his case my magic seemed to seep from me with every inch I drew nearer to his room. Hence I didn't go any further cause, if he was a vile force, he could've easily murdered me. Sadly, my suspicions about him turned out to be wrong.. Olanis was my third visit and I couldn't pin him on anything particularly nasty or interesting. And when I pressed my ear against Ruprecht's door last night I could clearly hear that he was not asleep.. And as I didn't want to confront him in the middle of the night I didn't want to press on in fear of my life.." Markus answered his sister.

"So.. All I have is suspicion, no solid evidence, sadly. Fortune has not favored my endeavors it seems."

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A mage of the arcane order you say? I would then have to ask you which, for your kin though skilled, are too short lived to learn the pure high magic and as such is dividing its magic into schools. This begets the question which school you are from, and furthermore, what proof you have of being a user of magic.

The proof of being a mage should be easy enough for you to provide however, please display a simple but controlled example of magic, I do not expect to see anything like I would at Hoeth, but a certain sense of restraint as well as ability in the complexity would be nice.

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I love pushing around my small delicatedly painted dolls together with the rest of you.

"My school? Shadow. And even though my skill is paled by that of your kin I could provide you with a small demonstration. Even though I thought I read that elves are connected to the æther and can therefor sense magic as, what we humans call, gut instinct." Markus replied.

OOC: Amun? I can haz small demonstration?

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Peter Frederich came forward upon hearing Markus' claims, looking fairly displeased. "An Arcane Mage? So I am to understand that another agent has been sent to infiltrate my house to search for some vaguely described "evil" and again I am not informed? If this is true, then yes, please do as Thalos has suggested and show us an example of your talent."

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Setesh Akhen-Isfet, Commander of the Heralds of Oblivion

"So you are a Grey Wizard, a mage charged with with the inflitration of groups suspected of plotting against the Empire?" asks Ruprecht. "Your kind are said to be investigators of corruption of the highest skill. No offense but either you are not who you claim to be or you are an embarresment to your Order. You could not even figure out that Wolfram was Witch Hunter and openly called for his death. You have admitted that you have been investigating us for almost a week now and have come up with nothing useful. But please explain to me Markus how my being awake in my own room makes me suspicious? Also if you are so talented at magic what insight did your magic give you about me last night? The only thing you claim to know was that I was awake and you only gained that knowledge by pressing your head against my door. Lastly I'm curious if you even attempted to open my door last night or were you too scared of me to try?"

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Cidracin Greyrider 12/14/3

"Ruprecht, I am a mere adapt. Not a grand magus." Markus retorted before continuing.

"As for a demonstration.."

Markus focused intensely as he stretched forth his arm, his fingers crookedly coiled in the air. Slowly but surely everyone's shadows began to distort and in the blink of an eye gathered their darkness in Markus's palm before slowly drifting back to their respectful owners.

"Is that proof enough for you, Thalo?"

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OOC: *Thalos

"Also, Ruprecht.. I just said I was too scared to try. Try listening to my words instead of making silly remarks." Markus said, giving a disappointed glance at his suspect.

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"The reason I asked you whether or not you tried to open my door was not to make you appear a coward adapt. I asked if you had because attempting to do so could have given you some insight of my innocence. For if you had tried you would have found it very difficult to open by typical means. The sounds you heard were the sounds of me barricadding my door shut before I went to sleep. Why would I do this? Because as I have said before I'm innocent and last night I was afraid that I was to be murdered."

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Cidracin Greyrider 12/14/3

*Thalos shakes his head softly, giving a slight nod towards the wizard in response to the question*

Yes, that is demonstration enough. Thank you.

Now, there are three things we can learn from this ladies and gentlemen and please do consider that prior to losing yourselves in the discussions details, take a step back, and see what we can know.

We know that Elisabeth claims to have been inside her room all night, though evidence shows that her door clearly has been opened.
We know that Ruprecht sent me a letter, the contents allready revealed to you.
We know that Markus is a wizard
We know that Markus was outside his room last night
We know that Ruprecht, by Markus' words, was inside his room last night. But awake.

These things are facts, I am not convinced of Ruprects innocence, nor of yours' Markus, that you tell us you are a wizard may be a ruse to hide in plain sight, a very clever, and very brave, ruse but it can still be one. I would not seek to condemn either of you just like that however.

Now, a warning to those who may desire to check up on me in my room at night. I am a very light sleeper, and though my door is never locked I do not ask questions to those entering, I meet people who enter my room unbidden with song and sword.

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I love pushing around my small delicatedly painted dolls together with the rest of you.

As the sunlight faded, the remaining guests had not come to a consensus. Reluctantly, Lord Frederich ordered the guards to restrain both Elisabeth and Ruprecht. "Elisabeth Kurz and Ruprecht Hall. You have both received half the vote, and no one here seems willing to change their minds. Unfortunately I have no choice." He nodded to the guards and the sentence was carried out.

Ruprecht was defiant, he stared at Wilhelm as he spoke. "You are only murdering another innocent, I pray that my death will open your eyes."

Elisabeth said not a word as she slipped away from the guards holding her. A pair of daggers seemed to appear in her hands and she sprinted towards Lord Frederich. The guards were stunned, but luckily one reacted quickly enough, tackling the noblewoman. The others rushed to help. Blades flashed and Elisabeth was no more.

An investigation of Ruprecht's room revealed his words to be true. There was not a scrap of evidence that could implicate him in any murders, not even a petty plot.

Unsurprisingly this was not the case with Elisabeth. Among her belongings, a stack of papers and contracts. One recently completed contract bore the name of Arthur Elzacher. The second, yet to be completed, was for Peter Frederich.

OOC: It is now NIGHT! Send to me your actions!

The fallen:
Anika Elzacher: Vengeance-seeking noble, executed on Day 2.
Boris Shuvlov: Disgraced noble of Kislev, executed on Day 3.
Wolfram Ehrhard: Witch Hunter of the Order, throat slit on night 4.
Olanis Solbar: Not-so-noble elf, hanged by his pajamas on Night 4.
Reinhold Halheimer: Vampire, beheaded on Day 4.
Theoderic Rugen: Ruthless merchant, chopped to bits on Night 5.[/quote]
Ruprecht Hall: Surprisingly honest merchant, executed on Day 5.
Elisabeth Kurz: Professional Assassin, thwarted on Day 5.

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Setesh Akhen-Isfet, Commander of the Heralds of Oblivion

The four remaining guests all return to the hall this morning, still alive. All of them appear healthy, aside from Wilhelm, whose shoulder has been bandaged.

OOC: It is now DAY! Discuss and cast your votes!

The fallen:
Anika Elzacher: Vengeance-seeking noble, executed on Day 2.
Boris Shuvlov: Disgraced noble of Kislev, executed on Day 3.
Wolfram Ehrhard: Witch Hunter of the Order, throat slit on night 4.
Olanis Solbar: Not-so-noble elf, hanged by his pajamas on Night 4.
Reinhold Halheimer: Vampire, beheaded on Day 4.
Theoderic Rugen: Ruthless merchant, chopped to bits on Night 5.
Ruprecht Hall: Surprisingly honest merchant, executed on Day 5.
Elisabeth Kurz: Professional Assassin, thwarted on Day 5.

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Setesh Akhen-Isfet, Commander of the Heralds of Oblivion

"Well this was a more pleasant awakening then most, it would seem that we have all arrived alive and in one piece. I was not disturbed this night by any assassins, how about the rest of you?" Klara stopped and glanced at Markus.

"Has your magic shown anything this past night?"

"No deaths at least.. And, Klara, last night I looked for Thalo but I didn't find him in his room. And when I looked around I found a rather obscure pendant covered in vile red-glowing runes. When I reached for it however I heard noises and elven curses in the hall way and I figured Thalo was coming back from a failed attempt to murder one of you, so I got out of there as quick as I possibly could when I considered the idea of fighting an enraged Dark Elven assassin. It seems Wilhelm was the victim of this attack although I'm glad to see he escaped from it relatively unscathed." Markus spoke, concerned.

"With this discovery I can without a doubt in my heart vote.." He continued

Vote: Thalo

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This is rather amusing Markus. But pray tell me, do you think anyone would actually believe that lie? I know that both you and Wilhelm was outside your rooms, I used the same trick as yesterday with the dough. You know, the trick that revealed a professional assassin.

Tell me, had I been what you claim then why would I have ensured the death of both the vampire and the assassin? Simply put, I would not. No, you are afraid that I would be one to reveal you today, as I did with the others that where guilty, only this night I lacked enough to actually cast any vote.

That you however bring forth such a desperate lie reveals that you are no mage of any order of righteousness, but rather a servant of the ruinious powers. Tell me, what sort of mage are you to do this? Are you even Klara's brother or an imposter that through his magic of illusions have stolen his place?

You claim that I would use an obscure pendant covered in vile red-glowing runes? Magic? Let me tell you this now human, had I been a trained assassin of the dark kin, then you would be dead as would everyone else in this house. The only one here who uses magic, who would have any ability whatsoever to handle such items, beyoind any shadow of a doubt, is you.

I call you out, liar and imposter.

Vote: Markus

Oh... and incidentially I wrote a letter before I went to bed, handed it to the staff, and described what my actions during last night where, these can be verified quite easely by comparing them to the traps I placed in my room. Imposter.

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I love pushing around my small delicatedly painted dolls together with the rest of you.

"Before I place my vote in this matter I would like to hear what Wilheim was doing last night. It was by his accusations that Ruprecht was killed. What led you to target him? Was it a dream that you may have mistaken as a vision one night?"

Indeed, I would like to hear what Wilhelm did last night too. Both due to his wound and his door having been opened during the night.

Yesterday, two people in this room where adamant about their convictions of guilt, yesterday these two despite the evidence against someone who also proved to be a murderess still insisted on voting on this person, and yesterday this led to the death of an innocent man.

Today, one of the two fabricated a thin lie that has not a shred of evidence and revealed himself as an imposter and a criminal. And I can in fact prove that he has not been in my room if he would but show me the soles of his boots. Because yes, anyone entering my room last night would leave a trail out of the room.

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I love pushing around my small delicatedly painted dolls together with the rest of you.

Wilhelm tossed a dagger on the table. "I'll gladly tell you where I was last night. Last night, I did indeed leave my room, but it was to guard Thalos. He's been level-headed and, despite my misgivings about him in the past, those have been alleviated. The elf did indeed stay in his room all night and no-one made an attempt on his life. When this became clear to me, I returned to my own chambers, where I was met by a strange sight indeed" he took a moment to draw breath and make sure everyone was listening. "In my room was not one, but a dozen Thaloses! They were all chanting something in elven, Khala Mesh Khan or some such. As I struck them with my sword, they turned to fog and drifted away. I was hit with this dagger during that skirmish."

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Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians

"Desperate lies indeed, Thalos. But not from my tongue, only yours. And where is this evidence letter? I'd like to read it for myself. You've been fabricating evidence for your own innocence since the very start of this." Markus replied.

"I won't believe your lies, Thalos. You may be acting on your own behalf instead of in co-operation with the assassin and the vampire. I've never read about human assassins, vampires and dark elves working in unison anyhow." Markus continued.

"And attacking someone that was guarding your door most of the night a moment after he leaves is just pathetic.."

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Let me understand this correctly Wilhelm, you where outside my room guarding it during the night? If so, I thank you for your concern. There is however one thing in your tale that strikes me, not towards any guilt of yours I assure you, but rather this. You mention that you went from my room to your own, and found copies of me there chanting?

If we presume that Markus is telling the truth, then the following has to be true:
firstly, that I am in my room as witnessed by Wilhelm
secondly, that I arrive to Wilhelms room, prior to Wilhelm, despite being in my room.
Thirdly, that I have time to set up a ritual to create copies of myself to attack Wilhelm with
Fourth, that there is such a time between the attack on Wilhelm that Markus is able to go to my room, search it, hear me coming back, and run off. Despite that if the second part is true, that I would be able to travel so fast that I could arrive before anyone else?

Do I even need to explain why this is stupid? If both Wilhelm and Markus is telling the truth, then I would need to be able to move nearly instantly between rooms and still manage to leave evil items lying out so that they can be found in a quick search without any effort?

How stupid do you actually consider us Markus? you here are the only one who are capeable of using magic, you are even using a sort of magic that distort shadows and create illusions... Really, and you call me a desperate liar?

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I love pushing around my small delicatedly painted dolls together with the rest of you.

Wilhelm listened to Thalos and turned to Wilhelm "What he says makes sense, wizard. Thus far Thalos has been correct, and as his reasoning is solid, I will cast my vote with his"

Vote: Markus

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Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians

"There arguments make perfect sense Markus. You proved to us the other day the power of your shadow magic, and the fact that you targeted Thalos makes me very suspicious that you planned this all out in order to turn us against him and kill an innocent. If we put together the pieces.
Wilhelm returned to his room, only to see many clones of Thalos awaiting there. Surviving such an attack would convince someone to go ahead an vote for Thalos the next day. However, Wilhelm was at Thalos's room that night and knew he was there.
As well, someone implanted a dream in my mind, that Wilhelm was sleeping soundly when out of the blue Thalos appeared and tried to attack him, leaving a red amulet. This i know to be false because Wilhelm did not actually stay asleep in his room last night.
Then this morning, before any of us could begin to discuss our nights, You Markus, quickly began to vote on Thalos, without questioning what he did last night, but began telling us what you heard him do. Your plan would have probably worked out if Wilhelm had not left his room.

I don't know how i'll face mother and father, although then again i think i'd rather face them then have them visit me at my funeral. Currently your fate is already sealed, so my vote means little."

Vote: Markus

"Wilhelm, if he had time to put bread on our doors after we went to bed. Who says you weren't guarding an empty room? Instead. He had all the time of the world to set up the ambush."

Markus sighed as his death was sealed by his own sister.

"Thanks for the faith in your brother, Klara. I hope your death at the hands of this dark elf will be swift and painless... Really, you're making a mistake here.. If what you're implying here is true.. Don't you think, that if I really wanted Wilhelm dead. I would've strangled him with the very shadows in his room?"

Markus said, getting somewhat concerned..

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“Markus Kuestermann, your fellows seem convinced of your guilt. Let us hope that this will be our last vote.”

Markus smiled as the guards surrounded him. “You should have sided with me, dear sister. I would have spared you.” The shadows around the room began to move, twisting and changing forms. Two of the guards were caught, gasping and choking as their own shadows grasped their throats.

No one noticed Klara gesturing discretely, her own magic countering that of her brother, and revealing her to be the Arcane Protector that Markus had claimed to be.

Free of the illusions that clouded his mind the previous night, Wilhelm charged forwards, snatching a sword from one of the stricken guards and stabbing the Acolyte of Chaos through the heart. Despite the suspicions directed against him during the previous days, Wilhelm proved himself worthy of the title of Greatsword.

Peter Frederich stepped forward to survey the scene as the shadowy magic dissipated. “It seems you have made the right choice. With all of the assassins dead, you are of course free to return to your homes. Lady Klara, you have my sincerest sympathies, I can only imagine the courage it took to cast your vote. And Master Daerlon, I am sorry that you were involved in all this, but now that the saboteur has been removed, business can return to normal. I certainly hope this will not have any lasting effects on the relations between our two peoples.”

OOC: The innocents win! Even with NoOoDLe badly outnumbered, I think it might have gone either way. I was surprised to see Thalos left alone for the most part, Wilhelm too! Most players had the ability to attempt an assassination, and with the conflicting agendas, I wasn't too surprised to see "innocents" going after innocents.

I hope my first attempt at GM'ing wasn't too bad. I certainly had fun watching the game play out! Now for all the questions, complaints, comments, and gloating!

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Setesh Akhen-Isfet, Commander of the Heralds of Oblivion