TWG XIV: Mystery at Rockyford

Theslan · July 2007

Prologue

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It is a nice sunny day in the open fields of South Dakota, for around there, there are many different landscapes, and few signs of civilization making its mark. Since the population boom of 2050, humanity has move across the solar system, colonizing every bare part that it people can survive in. Fortunately, the government preserves South Dakota since 2010, to ensure that people can still revere and see the vast landscape of the past, from the clutter electronic world of modern society. It is here, where Petco, a security guard, sits on the helm of an old-fashion trailer, leading several trailers while being bore out of his mind.

Petco stares at the flat road beyond him before looking back at Thansal in the passenger seat. In these days, Petco sports a traditional blue-collar shirt with the words “Circus Security” across his chest, and a pair of black slacks. He also wears a simple black baseball cap with the same words. Thansal, on the other hand, wears a simple black sleeveless shirt as he is flipping the paper map back and forth in search of directions. “Are we there yet? How far until we hit Rockyford?”

Thansal takes a few more moments looking at the map before he looks at Petco. “How am I supposed to know? There’s no sign of where we’re at except this long dusty old road. Just follow it the road and we’ll get there. Stop asking for the fifth time.”

Petco looks back out at the road again. “Just asking.” After a few more moments, he asks Thansal, “When you join the circus, did you expect it to be this way?”

Thansal raises an eyebrow as he neatly folds the map. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that did you expect to be part of history or entertain people? I expected to, for I wanted to be an actor. Instead, I got this lousy job of security. It’s not even security, since the all-mighty Daisoon refuses to issue out guns. We’re only there for show, for he relies too much on his oh-so-high tech security system.” Petco shakes his head. “I’ve looked at it before; it’s not so high tech. There’s still some loopholes, but no, all I get to do is stand and be menacing and hope to God nothing happens.”

Thansal replies, “Well, I only applied because nobody else would accept me.” He grins for a moment. “I’ll admit, I do enjoy parts of it, and I’ll have it no other way. For you, maybe go talk to Daisoon. You’ve been here for a long time, so I bet you can ask for an acting part. If anything, you can ask for a gun. I know he keeps a gun to himself, and you’ve been here long enough for him to trust you.”

Petco mutters as he stares out at the long dusty road. “Maybe. But he’s stubborn like that, wanting control over every aspect, and including who gets what job. Sometimes I think there needs to be an incident for him to understand how little he really controls.”

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An hour later, the group of trailers arrives at small town of Rockyford. Immediately Imma Daisoon, the circus manager, waves frantically at all the people to get the circus set up. Though monstrous in size, Imma seems to have the energy of an athlete, able to move from one trailer to the other to make sure everything is in place and ready for the show tonight. He pushes everyone around, saying the same thing, “Hurry hurry, we must have this set up by nightfall!”

At one of the trailers, Eternaly_lost dons on his costume, which is an outfit of a turquoise robe and a small computer pad-like phone. Ana is next to Eternaly_lost, sitting on a computer chair as she is working on a nearby computer, listening into a computer headset. Ana nods to Eternaly_lost as he plays around with the small pad, pressing and typing different buttons. Then Ana takes off the headset, places it next to the computer, and then the computer chair zooms off with Ana to another direction, swerving as it barely misses Isamil, who is teasing the monkey below by holding a banana out of its reach. Isamil chuckles loudly as the monkey chatter irritatingly, trying to get the banana.

“Isamil, give the banana to Soul Rider. Nobody’s going to like a burnt clown in the show.” Xentor shakes his head at Isamil as he flicks his lighter, making sure it still works. After it produces a flame, he looks at Isamil. “Or maybe you’ll like a foretaste right now,” Xentor threatens.

Isamil hold his hands up non-threateningly as he drops the banana. Soul Rider quickly picks it up, and kicks Isamil at the shins before leaving with his prize. Xentor shakes his head, “You gotta pick up another hobby than tease that monkey. You know how Daisoon hates to see his monkeys treated badly.”

Isamil shrugs off the kick as he drops his hands. “Yeah, I know. But everyone’s got to loosen up a bit. If you ask me, people need to laugh more around here. After all, that’s what my job is all about.”

Xentor shrugs, as he watches the two security guards, Petco and Nightstalker, and the ringmaster pass by, talking animatedly to Imma Daisoon. “Yeah, yeah. But if you ask me, there’s not much to talk about with the war going on. I think we need to change our act sooner or later. Hopefully sooner.”

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Petco cries out, “What do you mean, no?”

Imma Daisoon looks at Petco and Nightstalker tiredly. “That’s what I said. We cannot afford guns to run amok around this place. Your batons should be ample enough for security. Look around this place. We’re out in the open at a town of a population of 8. If you need guns to defend this place, then you need another job.” With that, Imma turns his back against his security force to look at the ringmaster. “Now, what did you want Faskalia?”

As Faskalia starts talking about the details of tonight’s show, Nightstalker interrupts by saying, “You forget that not everything can be caught with today’s technology. You assume that your high-tech security device will catch people who are stealing stuff here. But they might just take something and not go out. After all, your devices only check the perimeter.”

Imma sighs and looks at Nightstalker and Petco. “Then it’ll be useless, eh? They can’t take it out of the circus, since it’ll trip the alarms. They can’t stay, since after the show we’ll pack up and spot them. If something does go missing, it’ll be up to you two to find it. That’s what I hired you two for. Now go help others setup before I think hiring you two is a mistake.” With that, Imma walks away with Faskalia, while the two guards stay behind. “Sorry, what did you want, Faskalia?”

Faskalia says, while walking with Imma, “Look at this. There’s a storm coming over here in the next few days. It shouldn’t affect sales much. Also, we should change the title to this here to…”

As Faskalia and Imma go out of earshot, Nightstalker turns to Petco. “What’ll we do now?”

Petco shrugs his shoulders. “We have this argument every time we switch sites. Eventually he’ll cave in and issue us guns. He hasn’t fired us yet.”

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That evening, the small town of a population of 8 is lit up by circus lights and signs. People all over the world come to the circus by busloads, as the busses park at a nearby empty spot. Petco and Nightstalker direct the traffic with their orange light sticks, and their hover boots as some of the more ambitious drivers try to break through the traffic by hovering in search of a close parking space.

For those who try to get a free show by hovering their vehicle above the circus will be disappointed. The circus is surrounded by a soft yet opaque white bubble covering, with one opening at the entrance. On side of the bubble, the words “Imma Daisoon’s circus presents: The last stand to victory: the TSA/Kharra encounter! A night that changes history forever!”

And the sign is right. Tonight is a night that will change the circus’s history forever.

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Wolf roles have been passed out. They have until 7pm PST tomorrow (Thursday) to choose a special trait. Then the human roles will be passed out.

Current players:
1. Eternaly_Lost [Magician]
2. Soul Rider [Trained Monkey]
3. Im lost [Tightrope walker]
4. Xentor [Fire breather]
5. Nightstalker [Security]
6. Faskalia [RingMaster]
7. Thansal [Strong man]
8. doomchica [Small Booth Vendor]
9. Kassinger [Giftshop Vendor]
10. Petco [Security]
11. Isamil [Clown]
12. Ana [Blind Costume Designer]

Map of the place:
<a href="http://imageshack.us" target="_blank"><img src="http://img473.imageshack.us/img473/7233/maptwg2vo1.png" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></a>

Because some people ask, here is the actual image:
<a href="http://imageshack.us" target="_blank"><img src="http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/7860/rockyfordlb7.png" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></a>

Theslan · July 2007

Due to a new player, we have restarted the round. Wolf roles are passed out right now. They have until Friday, 7pm PST to decide which trait to choose. Keep in mind that there are 3 starting wolves now, not 2.

Human roles will be passed out at Friday.

Also, someone asked me this question which I feel I need to tell everyone.
<div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'>Q: Does mayor sash kill at night even if the guardian protects?
A: Yes! It does. The mayor sash is a guarantee kill, unless howl manages to stop it during that time</div>

Current players:
1. Eternaly_Lost [Magician]
2. Soul Rider [Trained Monkey]
3. Im lost [Tightrope walker]
4. Xentor [Fire breather]
5. Nightstalker [Security]
6. Faskalia [RingMaster]
7. Thansal [Strong man]
8. doomchica [Small Booth Vendor]
9. Kassinger [Giftshop Vendor]
10. Petco [Security]
11. Isamil [Clown]
12. Ana [Blind Costume Designer]
13. TheFeniX [Security]

Theslan · July 2007

Something has occurred and I have to tend to it immediately. Expect Night 1 to be late.

Theslan · July 2007

Night 1

“Welcome, welcome all to Daisoon circus! Come right up, get your tickets here! That’s right, come and enjoy the sights!”

Imma Daisoon heartily laughs as he joyfully waves the crowd of people towards the manager trailer, where there is a break in the bubbling. This field is truly a technology advancement to secure a parameter. It allows people inside to see out, yet block from people to see inside for weakness in defenses. It is said that the field can shock a person non-lethally, similar to the old fashion tazer, allowing the security forces to easily secure a breach. Imma was wise to employ it as part of the security for the circus, with its two twin generators located on each side of the manager trailer.

Kassinger sits at the booth, substituting the ticketmaster who is ill at the moment. He happily sells them while his counterpart, Faskalia , silently collects the tickets from the customers. He occasionally nods to them with a brief smile.

A half hour later, Petco and Nightstalker arrive by gliding down to the earth, nodding to Imma as Petco reports, “That’s the last of them. They’re all ready for the show.”

Imma nods, gestures to Faskalia . “Let’s get going then. Can’t keep them waiting.” He starts going in with Faskalia when suddenly he snaps his fingers and turn to Kassinger , saying, “Kassinger , go fetch TheFenix and send him up here.”

Nightstalker raises an eyebrow as Kassinger disappears in a flash. “TheFenix ? Who’s he?”

“He’s working for security. I just hired him tonight, so start teaching him what to do around here. He’ll be here for a while.” With that, Imma goes in with Faskalia .

Nightstalker stares at the back of Imma for a moment, before looking back at Petco . “Just hired huh? Did we push too far?”

Petco slowly nods, staring at the entrance. “Well, that’s new. I don’t know what to make of it.”

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The crowds mutter and whisper in excitement as the main tent gets filled up with people. Kids and parents are pointing everywhere at the pictures of TSA marines and aliens, props, the cage, and the wire high above the tent. People from all ages have entered into the tent, some more fanatic than others. While some people dress for the weather, others have gone all out in their costume, sporting a helmet that has a tiny red laser on the side. Others have tried to imitate the shape of the aliens, making claws out of paper, or wings on their arms. Some were better than others, particular on one part of the tent, where a lerk, a flying critter, and a fade, a claw-like creature, sat patiently waiting for the show to start. A few people point to them, wondering how they manage to get such good detail in their costume.

Suddenly, the lights dim down, as one spotlight turns on, focusing on a person walking into the middle of the tent. The hubbub quickly dies down.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys, and Girls! And any aliens who are out there. Welcome to Imma Daisoon’s circus, where tonight we have a special treat.” Faskalia grins as parts of the stage behind flashes up with bright colors. “Tonight, we celebrate the night, where the heroic TSA marines of our time,” He outstretch his right arm as a banner unrolls itself above him, showing several valiant marines saluting, “went against the evils,” Faskalia stretches his other arm, with another banner unrolling to show pictures of aliens, comically yet evilly drooling as they peer over to the other banner, “and rightfully won!” Faskalia puts his two hands together making a clapping noise which set the alien banner on fire, quickly devouring in a few seconds. Faskalia then bows to the audience. “Stay tune as we reenact the story of those brave marines. Enjoy the show.”

The marine banner quickly rolls up as spotlight on Faskalia fades. Another spotlight turns on, showing another figure in a turquoise robe. He strolls forward to the center saying in a booming voice, “In the beginning, there was man. Then there was space. After man explores the galaxy, he found something good. He found … nanites.” The music turns on as Eternaly_lost starts waving his arms, producing several marine weapons with a puff of magic.

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Nearby, Ana and Im_lost are high above the crowd, watching passively at Eternaly_lost , doing his skit. Ana sits there in front of a controller, listening intently as Im_lost fiddles with his costume helmet. “How soon is it before my turn to act?”

Ana tilts her head sideways as she listens to the crowd erupt with oohs and aahs. “Imma said after Eternaly_lost finishes, and Isamil comes out, and Soul Rider soon afterwards, and then Xentor . You’ll be walking to the middle in competition of Soul Rider on another wire after Xentor leaves. Then after that Eternaly_lost will be back with Isamil and Thansal as they do their skit, with a quick appearance of you up here…” She pauses as she hears several explosions of magic coming below. She puts her hands on the controllers as she twist a knob, which unrolls a nearby banner. “…and then after that Soul Rider comes out to do a quick finale.”

Im_lost shakes his head as he picks up his rifle-like pole to help him balance on the wire. “I don’t know how can remember everyone’s part so well. Must be what was traded for being born blind.” He quick adds, “No offense, Ana .”

Ana briefly smiles to Im_lost “None taken.”

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“So explain to me what we have to do again?”

Petco rolls his eyes as Nightstalker explains for the third time, “We stand here for the rest of the show to prevent people from sneaking in without a ticket.”

TheFenix scratches his head. “Don’t we need to patrol or something? Make sure they don’t sneak in from another entrance?”

Petco shakes his head, as he pats at the control station next to him. “They can’t with this grid online. It’ll prevent anyone from seeing, or getting inside expect through here. Look, I know the job isn’t what you expect originally. Same thing happen to me.”

“Don’t we can guns, or something? It feels silly to just stand around and say ‘halt’ without anything to back it up.”

Petco and Nightstalker both look at each other briefly. After a few moments, Petco says, “Eventually, you’ll be issued a gun. Look, the crowd isn’t big tonight, so let me show you around the place. That’ll way, you’ll get familiar with what’s suppose to be here and what isn’t. Nightstalker , can you handle here by yourself?”

Nightstalker nods, glad to avoid talking about the issue, and secretly glad that he can take control of the station that generates the shield. Petco usually never lets him use it. “Sure thing, boss.”

“Thanks. TheFenix , come on.” He gestures TheFenix to follow as he walks towards the big tent. “That’s where the main event is. This time around, we’re doing a reenactment of some big battle that occurs several years ago.” TheFenix peers inside the big tent, seeing Eternaly_lost waving his arms in his magic act, producing what seems to be first-aid kits in front of Isamil who is dancing away from Soul Rider , who is poorly dressed as a small alien critter. Soul Rider seems to latch on Isamil for a moment before Isamil beats him back, while stepping over all the first-aid kits. Soon, Xentor comes out and flicks his lighter, blowing into it as he produces a ball of flame that engulfs Soul Rider . At least, it looks like that, as TheFenix sees from this angle that Soul Rider escapes with a conceal trap door nearby. Nevertheless, the act seems good enough for the audience to erupt with applause.

Petco comments, “If you want to see the whole show, next week we’ll be in over at Chicago, where Imma won’t need us guarding. You can watch it then.” He tugs TheFenix as they walk over to another set of buildings. “Here is where the crowd will exit, and hopefully spend some money over gifts, games, anything that’ll amuse them. And over here…” He points to a smaller tent and motions TheFenix over as he opens the flap to let both of them inside.

“Here’s another place of curiousities. Actually, now that we have 3 people guarding, I can place you and Nightstalker here.” TheFenix actually gasps at the room fill with glass cases. Within each case, there is some evidence of alien origin. Some of it is seems common, such as toenails from a small critter called skulks, or bones from the monstrous alien called onos. Within the collection, there are some rare items, such as a collection of lerk spikes, and an actual builder called a gorge, mummified. TheFenix turns to Petco . “Imma expects us to guard here without any weapons?”

Petco nods solemnly. “Don’t think there’s no security here. The glass is outline with fiber optics which is tied to the system you saw in the front. If anyone opens the cases, it’ll trigger the alarm.” Nearby, the crowd cheers. Petco glances toward the direction. “It sounds like they’re almost ready to come out. Stay here; I’ll get Nightstalker to join you. This’ll be a good place to start for your first night.”

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Thansal stands on stage, hoisting a big contraption of a gun (one might say the gun is called Sasha), with a picture of a monstrous alien building banner behind him. Along with him are Eternaly_lost , Isamil and Xentor . Crowd applauses loudly as Xentor takes a stick with a ball of fire into his mouth, only to open it and blow in front of people. Likewise, Eternaly_lost continues with his creation magic, conjuring items left and right. Isamil runs around towards the audience as he happily goes to the nearby children, tossing assortments of candy to them. As the banner with the alien structure rolls up, Im_lost , Eternaly_lost , Isamil , Xentor , and Faskalia all come on stage to take a bow, with the audience thundering with applause to them.

After the show, the audience went out to the shops to look at the museum of curious alien objects, or try out some of the games they have set up. Doomchica happily accepts them, letting them try games such as pin the skulk, or hit the lerk. On the other side, Nightstalker and TheFenix stand at the entrance of the museum, looking slightly bored. In the middle, which draws a bit of a crowd, is Thansal , where he stands next to a machine, letting several people try out to see how much strength they can pull enough to hold the gun he uses in the play.

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After all the hustling and bustling, the circus finally draws into a close. As the customer slowly move out of the circus, and the busses pull away from the circus, life became more normal for them… for the most part.

TheFenix yawns as he looks inside the museum. Though he is not in duty anymore, he has to admit that this place as the best attract from circus. He glances each article one by one as he passes by, until he glances at the lerk spikes. He looks puzzled for a moment, and then frowns. He rubs his eyes for a moment, and looks again. There is no denying it: the lerk spikes are gone. He quickly went off to tell the others.

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Imma furrows his eyebrows, with Petco and Nightstalker behind him. Imma immediately order a thorough search of the area, while Petco stood at the entrance of the field. “Whoever took the spikes didn’t trigger the glass, nor gone out through here, or else we’ll detect them immediately.”

Petco nods, glancing at the scanner, which check for any alien debris, located at the entrance. “We’ll find the him. The area isn’t a big place, and he can’t hide forever.”

“Good. I’ll go and join the hunt. Make sure someone mans this post. Close the field if you have to if someone tries to escape. We’ll deal with the consequences later.” With that Imma goes off into another direction, to help with the search.

“Told you so.” Petco raises an eyebrow as he glances at Nightstalker . “What did you say?”

Nightstalker grunts, taking a bite from his sandwich. “I told him so. Remember our discussion earlier? Seems like it’s true. Someone who has been with us for a long time knows the weakness of the system. Proof of concept that security needs to be better.”

Petco eyes Nightstalker suspiciously. “Did you take the spikes?”

Nightstalker chuckles, taking another bite from his sandwich. “Me? No. I’m not going to try to steal something just to get security better. I’ll lose my job. I bet after this whole thing is over it was just a prank. It’s a win-win situation: spikes are found and we get better security, which means we get guns.”

Petco nods as he glances down at the controls. “I hope you are right. But something tells me that it isn’t as simple as a prank.”

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<a href="http://imageshack.us" target="_blank"><img src="http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/527/maptwgroomsha6.png" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></a>

Search for the missing lerk spikes! This is not the only thing you'll be searching, but it is the current search this night. All the red boxes are places that you can search. The green boxes are also rooms, but it is easier to see the difference since several names are duplicated.

Rooms:
1 - Manager Trailer
2 - Circus Trailers
3 - Circus
4 - Museum
5 - Gift shop/Vendors
6 - Houses (red)
7 - Houses (green)
8 - Community Center
9 - Fields (red)
10 - Fields (green)

There are 10 rooms, 7 clues total, 2 clues with movable parts. You need at least 6 clues to figure out the answer, and it is possible to guess with 5 clues. Every night, you're allowed one guess, and I choose the first one (bold the answer or it doesn't count). There is no second guess. Everyone will be informed if someone got the right answer. To help you start, I am looking for a 6 digit number.

There are also 6 items distribute among these 10 rooms.

As of right now, all rooms are connected to the road, which means all rooms are connected to the other rooms. As the game develops, this may change (hinthint, there will be a time when several rooms are inaccessible from other rooms).

One more note: it is impossible to have two clues in one room. It is possible to have more than one item in a room though.

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Human roles have been passed out. Check your PM box for more information. Guardian/seer, please PM your choice. Psychic, you'll get your PM shortly. Wolves do not get to choose a kill tonight. All human roles are active. Everyone else, PM your starting rooms to me.

Because of confusion, and apparently miscommunication, this night will end Saturday, 8pm PST.

** EDIT: In case of more confusion, clues and items will be handed at the end of the night.

..... oh and Eternaly_lost's pic.... which has no bearing of the game whatsoever.
<a href="http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=townpb0.jpg" target="_blank">http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=townpb0.jpg</a>

Theslan · July 2007

(Day 1) Morning, August 10th, 700 hours.

That night was uneventful. The whole troop went through the circus with a fine-tooth comb, and the spikes were not found. After several hours, Imma gave the okay to allow people to go through the protection shield, but he opt to keep the generator and kept the security on guard at the entrance.

Xentor , Thansal , and Faskalia took the opportunity to go out to the nearby town to find something interesting to do in the small town. Unfortunately, all they had was a community center, several fields of crop, and a few houses. In the end, they decide to go into a nearby gym just to explore around.

As they settle into a nearby shop to get a bite to eat, Xentor asks, “So what do you think is going to happen? Is Imma ever going to find it? Are we going to stay here for a while?”

Thansal shrugs, taking a huge bite into his sandwich. Faskalia , on the other hand, replies back, “Well, if we find it we can be on the road right now. But as it is, I doubt he’s going to move out for the moment. There’s a huge storm coming this way, and if we don’t move soon, we’re stuck here until the storm passes. Hopefully it’ll just be a couple of days. Maybe enough time to find the person who stole the spikes.”

Thansal looks at the other two. “Who wants to steal the spikes anyway? Unless you’re some sort of alien collector freak.”

Faskalia shakes his head. “Those had some sentimental value to Imma . He used to be part of the TSA troop a few years back when the aliens invaded the station he was deployed at. He was one of the few survivors from that incident, and he kept the spikes to remember the incident. It’s kind of why he’s adverse towards having security done by people – something happened there that changes his opinion. Though you should go ask him, I’m not one to spread rumors, or stories about our boss.”

On a nearby table, TheFenix and Petco raise their eyebrow as they listen into the conversation. TheFenix turns to Petco and asks, “Is that why our job is to stand there and look pretty?”

Petco sighs a little and says, “Essentially, but hopefully this incident will kick him back to his senses. But let’s not talk about that, we’re here to rest, not to spread rumors about it.”

TheFenix nods outwardly, but notices that both Faskalia and Petco refuse to talk anymore about the incident. He makes a mental note to talk to Imma later.

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Nightstalker and Ana are at the manager trailer, working on the twin generators. Ana frowns as she fiddles with the controllers, while listening to through a headset that is plugged into the computer. After pressing a few buttons here and there, Ana shakes her head and takes off the headset.

Nightstalker looks at Ana . “So?”

“It’ll hold a few hours, maybe even to the night. But the generators aren’t meant to last this long. At best, it’ll hold out to the morning. At worst, they’ll blow out then someone needs to repair them. Now can I get out of here? I need to fix Eternaly_lost’s costume.”

Nightstalker nods to Ana . “Sure thing. I better report this to Imma …” His voice trails off as he spots someone staggering in the distance. Ana perks up her ears as her seat rotates around so that she’s facing that direction.

The figure makes a gurgling sound as it moves slowly towards Ana and Nightstalker . It raises its hand towards them for a moment before the figure collapses. It tries to pick itself up, but then it gasps and falls down in a thud.

Immediately Ana arrives to the figure’s aid, having her seat move her across with celerity. She tries to pick the figure up, but found the weight to be too heavy. Nightstalker arrives, gasping slightly as he recognizes the figure to be their boss (Imma). On the side of the neck were two lerk spikes impale into the skin. A small trickle of blood slowly falls out of the wound from.

“Medic! Medic! Get a doctor over here!”

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There are 13 players remaining. Instanlynch is at 7.
1. Eternaly_Lost [Magician]
2. Soul Rider [Trained Monkey]
3. im lost [Tightrope walker]
4. Xentor [Fire breather]
5. Nightstalker [Security]
6. Faskalia [RingMaster]
7. Thansal [Strong man]
8. doomchica [Small Booth Vendor]
9. Kassinger [Giftshop Vendor]
10. Petco [Security]
11. Isamil [Clown]
12. Ana [Blind Costume Designer]
13. TheFeniX [Security]

Day 1 will end Monday, 8pm PST.

I should note a few players did NOT send me a PM of their room choice. These players automatically goes into the circus room, and do not search for a clue or item.

im_lost · July 2007

Well, we can't break tradition, so I'll start the game off with a random vote for Ana.

Since there are two people new to playing on this forum (and since it's been a couple months since our last game here), I think it's a good idea to preemptively emphasize this: Don't edit your posts.

Isamil · July 2007

I'm voting for Xentor so im_lost can't vote first. Also his name is suspicious(bad people often have names starting with X).

(not an edit) AT THE TIME OF THE ABOVE WRITING IM_LOST HAD NOT POSTED. Logically, this is the real first vote.

Petco · July 2007

I vote for Nightstalker, I don't trust a Nightstalker as a security person(random vote).

TheFeniX · July 2007

I'll throw a vote at Eternaly_Lost because you just can't trust a magician.... and he's the only guy I know well enough to off on the first night.

Faskalia · July 2007

[b]Petco[b/]. Cause if security cannot trust security, then how can WE trust security?

Soul_Rider · July 2007

What is going on? I have been in the IRC channel since 4pm (bst) yesterday until 8am today (That's 8am-midnight for you PST players) and the sum total of the chat in the room?

[16:25] <SoulRider> hello
[22:53] <SoulRider> hello?
[22:53] <im_lost> hi
[22:53] <SoulRider> how's it going?
[08:31] <SoulRider> hello

That really doesn't help me work out who to vote for does it?

Faskalia · July 2007

Petco. Cause if security cannot trust security, then how can WE trust security?

Not and Edit: Hmpf, stupid bolding <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />

im_lost · July 2007

Soul Rider, all I saw of you in chat today was

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IRC log)</div><div class='quotemain'>07/14 14:51:31 -!- SoulRider [~SoulRider@andywilson1.demon.co.uk] has joined #ns-twg
07/14 14:51:36 -!- mode/#ns-twg [+v SoulRider] by ChanServ
07/14 14:51:58 <+SoulRider> hello?
07/14 14:52:07 <@im_lost> hi
07/14 14:52:30 <+SoulRider> how's it going?
07/14 14:55:51 <@im_lost> good
07/14 14:58:29 -!- SoulRider [~SoulRider@andywilson1.demon.co.uk] has quit [Ping timeout]</div>

Those times are PST. Basically, you weren't in the channel all of that time. Still, you didn't miss anything of much significance, at least from my perspective.

Soul_Rider · July 2007

I never got your reply, and apparently i am still in IRC, but yours says i have left.

Damn...

Will rejoin..

Xentor · July 2007

Ok, I gotta get back into the habit of checking this and the IRC channel again... After so long a break between games, well, you guys get the idea...

Anyway, I'll just return [b]Isamil[b]'s vote for now... It's 4am, and I don't know why the hell I'm still awake... *passes out*

Soul_Rider · July 2007

For the sake of randomly picking someone without a vote, i'll pick im_lost.

Current Vote Tally

Ana - im_lost
Xentor - Isamil
Nightstalker - Petco
Eternaly_lost - TheFeniX
Petco - Faskalia
im_lost - Soulrider

Yet to vote:

Eternaly_lost
Xentor
NightStalker
Thansal
doomchica
Kassinger
Ana

Eternaly_Lost · July 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Soul_Rider @ Jul 15 2007, 04:12 AM) [snapback]1639012[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>
For the sake of randomly picking someone without a vote, i'll pick im_lost.

Current Vote Tally

Ana - im_lost
Xentor - Isamil
Nightstalker - Petco
Eternaly_lost - TheFeniX
Petco - Faskalia
im_lost - Soulrider

Yet to vote:

Eternaly_lost
Xentor
NightStalker
Thansal
doomchica
Kassinger
Ana
</div>

Randonly voting for someone who does not yet have a vote yield me a vote for Thansal.

Ana - ( 1 ) im_lost
Xentor - ( 1 ) Isamil
Nightstalker - ( 1 ) Petco
Eternaly_lost- ( 1 ) TheFeniX
Petco - ( 1 ) Faskalia
im_lost - ( 1 ) Soulrider
Thansal - ( 1 ) Eternaly_Lost

Thansal · July 2007

mkay, wasn't around yesterday (one night of Fire!) and not going to be around much today (being a geek).

doomchica has no votes.

Totaly NOT an edit

people, don't forget to either preview your posts or double check them, 2 people have tried to vote but have not so far.

Petco · July 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Soul_Rider @ Jul 15 2007, 12:43 AM) [snapback]1639003[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>
What is going on? I have been in the IRC channel since 4pm (bst) yesterday until 8am today (That's 8am-midnight for you PST players) and the sum total of the chat in the room?

[16:25] <SoulRider> hello
[22:53] <SoulRider> hello?
[22:53] <im_lost> hi
[22:53] <SoulRider> how's it going?
[08:31] <SoulRider> hello

That really doesn't help me work out who to vote for does it?
</div>

Well, it's the first day and there really isn't much to talk about. No clues, no leads, not much.

Isamil · July 2007

Spread out votes are not productive.

Eternaly_Lost is our next act! Start acting.

(vote may or may not change)

TheFeniX · July 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Petco @ Jul 15 2007, 10:05 AM) [snapback]1639046[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>
Well, it's the first day and there really isn't much to talk about. No clues, no leads, not much.
</div>There's always some form of clue, even on the first day. We should talk about anything seemingly coherent to the game. Besides, how is one random person getting "wolfed" tonight going to tell us anymore than we already know anyways?

If anything, we could try a deduce where everyone is located and if they've found anything (probably not what they found though). As humans outnumber wolves almost 3 to 1, we can cover a lot more ground to verify if anyone is lying.

I'm just throwing this out there to get people talking. If it's a bad idea, let me know. I've just kind of deduced that the more information that's out in the open, generally helps humans more than the wolves.

Isamil · July 2007

Tally:

Ana - im_lost
Nightstalker - Petco
Eternaly_lost(2) - TheFeniX Isamil
Petco - Faskalia
im_lost - Soulrider
doomchica- Thansal
Thansal - Eternaly_lost

Yet to vote:

Xentor
NightStalker
doomchica
Kassinger
Ana

Xentor · July 2007

*yawn*... Ok... Yeah, posting at 4am doesn't work too well... Obviously I meant to vote for Isamil, so let's get it right this time....

im_lost · July 2007

Interesting you should bring that up, TheFeniX. We have played one game here previously where we searched for clues (last game we were only searching for items, not clues to piece together). During that game, everyone knew where everyone else was (it was shown on the map). This meant that after the second night, enough information had been exchanged that a list of the rooms with clues was posted in the thread (by a player, not by the host). At that point, the wolf network was still larger than the seer network (led by me), so the fact that the seer network got all of the clues first was a bit of luck.

Also, another interesting thing that happened in that game. doomchica posted a movement plan that was supposed to be a point of discussion (people were supposed to argue that it wasn't fair for them, etc.), but instead it just ended up being nice and helpful for the seer network, and people only brought up complaints after the clues had been put together to obtain the artifact.

So now we have a seer network of 2 people (maybe) and a wolf network of 3 or 4 people (I would guess 4). From my thinking, the more information that is out there, the faster everyone can work toward finding the clues, which means the wolves get a chance to find it before the seer network is large enough to have a chance.

This rambling was mostly to help me put my own thoughts together, but basically I think we should NOT share with everyone else which rooms have stuff.

Vote count:

Eternaly_lost (2) - TheFeniX, Isamil
Ana (1) - im_lost
Nightstalker (1) - Petco
Petco (1) - Faskalia
im_lost (1) - Soulrider
doomchica (1) - Thansal
Thansal (1) - Eternaly_lost
Isamil (1) - Xentor

Yet to vote:

Nightstalker
doomchica
Kassinger
Ana

Soul_Rider · July 2007

I agree with im_losts logic to a degree, but it has it's good points and it's bad points.

Bad - If we share the information, it won't take long for the wolves to piece together everything and with 4 wolves, they will be able to cover the ground and piece it together much quicker.

BUT

If the humans spread the word quickly enough, before the wolves get the chance to act we will have all the neccesary clues and items, thus will have the advantage.

So i am torn between the 2 options.

The thing that concerns me slightly, is that last time this sort of mini game was played im_lost, you were a direct beneficiary, and thus it produced a human win, from an almost certain wolf one.

So why is it bad this time if it worked so well before? Maybe it would only be bad this time because of the advantage it would give to the humans, and you wouldn't want that huh?? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" />

im_lost · July 2007

Bits of luck from last time that aided the humans:
1. Comprox got two free clues out of other people (getting a clue without giving one); one of those free clues came from a wolf even (apparently they had a pregame agreement)
2. Nobody questioned doomchica's movement plan, which allowed her to drop into a room with a clue and claim it unchallenged and made it easier for me and Comprox to get clues.
3. GrayDuck decided to trust me because she misunderstood something about the game mechanics (something about me hosting the previous game, so I couldn't be a wolf in that game).
4. I found the guardian night 2 (Comprox), he trusted me, and at that point I couldn't be killed at night. This also led to a failed wolfing one night.

Clues will most likely be exchanged within the seer network, and they will definitely be exchanged by the wolves. The longer it takes for clues to be gathered, the larger the seer network is. Do you want to hope for the type of luck that occurred in that game?

Soul_Rider · July 2007

I fail to see how luck would play a part in it.

There are currently 13 players in this game.

If everyone shares information (not all just some) then in 2 consecutive rounds each claim can be verified, and thus if the wolves lie, they will be found out.

That gives us the whole map in 1 round, and the confirmations after 3 rounds, with a few extra here and there. We have 9 humans sharing info and 4 wolves. How can the wolves possibly get all the info before the humans?

If you believe in information sharing PM me if you have found anything. I don't want to know where you found it or what you found, just IF you have found anything.

This at least can give us some information about how many of the 7 clues etc have been found.

This will not aid the wolves, as no-one will know where anyone is, nor where they have been. No names will be published, so there is no threat of attack from the wolves, apart from to me of course, but then, would they go for me now while i'm standing out from the crowd? A bit of a loud mouth, do they silence me now, or let me speak??

im_lost · July 2007

Of course, if you are a wolf, you could be trying to find a good person to kill tonight. I'm not saying that's the case, but it's a possibility.

Addendum:

1) Knowing that someone has a clue seems to be pretty useless, unless you plan to try to get the clue from them somehow or to kill them because they have the clue.

2) Knowing where a clue is lets you more quickly find the clues.

3) Knowing the clues obviously gets you closer to getting the prize.

So, the first bit is what Soul Rider is asking for. What good is it to let someone else know that you found something? If they aren't planning on killing you for it, it's useless unless you plan to move on to the second or third part. I think I've explained how 2 and 3 are advantageous to the wolves, and how it was luck that made it not work out that way when I benefited from knowledge exchange before.

Thansal · July 2007

mkay, well I am back, and will be on IRC once I get to work (though probably patchily).

I don't really know if clue sharing (and/or what type of clue sharing) is best, I will think on it and post it up latter today.

However, I will toss in one last thign that im_lost left out.

If I remember correctly, the wolves had the answer to the puzzle the same night the humans did.

Soul_Rider · July 2007

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(im_lost @ Jul 16 2007, 01:04 AM) [snapback]1639104[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'>
Of course, if you are a wolf, you could be trying to find a good person to kill tonight. I'm not saying that's the case, but it's a possibility.

Addendum:

1) Knowing that someone has a clue seems to be pretty useless, unless you plan to try to get the clue from them somehow or to kill them because they have the clue.

2) Knowing where a clue is lets you more quickly find the clues.

3) Knowing the clues obviously gets you closer to getting the prize.

So, the first bit is what Soul Rider is asking for. What good is it to let someone else know that you found something? If they aren't planning on killing you for it, it's useless unless you plan to move on to the second or third part. I think I've explained how 2 and 3 are advantageous to the wolves, and how it was luck that made it not work out that way when I benefited from knowledge exchange before.
</div>

But by not sharing the clues the wolves are GUARANTEED to solve it before the humans. The only people who would be anti sharing would be wolves, because they have a team of 4 searching for the clues. Humans that are not networked will have no-one to share info with. Thus not sharing information only benefits the wolves.

Once we know all the clues have been found, then we can go onto sharing the further information about the content and the locations, but to re-iterate, non sharing only benefits the wolves, and the more you argue against sharing the more suspicious of you I become.

Or am I really not making my point clear enough about how the wolves are guaranteed to get all the clues before the humans can?

Surely you can see the detriment by not sharing?

Xentor · July 2007

Interesting argument... You've managed to imply that:

"Not giving information to Soul Rider" = Wolf

Now the only question is your motivation... Since if you're a wolf, that entire plan becomes one big trap to get the wolves the artifact, and if you're a human, you're just setting yourself up as a wolfing target, probably banking on a guardian save.

TWG XIV: Mystery at Rockyford

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