WW XXIV: Winter's Heart

[Tanuchan]

Welcome to Werewolf XXIV!

 

You live in a village set deep in a valley, surrounded by woods. It's the middle of Winter - the worst one in decades. The mountain pass has been closed by the snow, completely isolating the village. Although there isn't shortage of provisions in the village - for now - people are aware that the animals in the forest are starting to feel the effects of the harsh weather.

 

The story starts near the Winter Solstice - the heart of Winter, and in this part of the world the coldest time of the year.

 

Our players are:Sweetcherrie => Annie, 7-year-old brat

Katzaniel => Karen Zahn, the butcher's daughter

Patrick Durham => Cedric Fernsworth, a man in his early fifties who's to marry Susan, a 16-year-old girl

Jammeez => Granny Jammeez, matchmaker

Venefyxatu => Nathaniel Blake Churnstone, owner of a so-believed haunted house

LeifTheBunny => Leif the Bunny, retired adventurer, tavern owner

JDRollins => Joseph Gunalo. merchantile and general goods store proprietor

Mynx => Susan, 16-year-old girl to be married to Cedric;

Giles Jordan => Adam, a former hunter/woodsman turned blacksmith

Azuran => Tsal, 19-year-old boy who spends most of his time making small sculptures and figurines from wood

Panther => John, the town carpenter. He can do almost anything with wood, be it houses, cupboards or coffins and everything in between.

NPCs

Lillen => a barmaid at Leif's tavern.

 

Important Notes

• the sign-up thread will be used as OOC thread;
• PM alliances are not allowed; PMs with RP purposes are alright, but please copy them to me - I'd like to know what's happening for eventual "flavor" posts (mod-written posts) during the game;
• day phases last 48 hours; night phases, 24 hours. RP is free during night phases, however no accusation/speculation whatsoever;
• "dead" players: feel free to be a friendly ghost and keep the RP; however, don't influence the living players in any way;
• eventual inactive players: they won't be out of the game; they can have any role;
• no stating of the roles OOC or IC; everything is done through RP;
• Wolves: they're shapechangers, not necessary werewolves (I'll leave it to the wolves to decided which shape they wear). Winter has lead them to attack the village, but their motivations are still unknown. There will be 2 wolves;
• Seer: a True Dreamer, one who's able to see the truth in dreams; it's a family secret, for they have been persecuted in the past as being abominations;
• Baner: up to the player to decide on the background and methods... it's someone who in the past has had dealings with werefolk;
• effects of baning:

Baned	Result
wolves' target	no kill
wolf	if more than one wolf = 50% chance of no kill; if one wolf = no kill
anyone but wolves' target	normal kill

Concerning the lynchings/kills

• when accusing, please add a last OOC line clarifying your vote;
• respect the deadlines... during day phase, if there's not enough votes after 48 hours, there *might* be a short extension; however, once that is over, whoever has the most votes will die. If there's a tie, the lynchee will be determined through dice;
• same holds true for night phase: if the targets of wolf/seer/baner aren't PMd me in the 24-hour-period, they are forfeited (that is, there will be no kill/no seeing/no baning);
• as the number of players decrease, day phases may be shorter provided all active players have posted;

Eventual players who go inactive

• if you think you won't be able to post in a given period of time, PM me; please, don't post that information (I'm trying to avoid RL-caused 'kills' this time);
• if a special role (wolf/seer/baner) goes inactive without previous notice, I'll deal with their targets by rolling dice; their posts will be taken care of;
• in other words - inactives players can still be wolves, seer, or baner.

If you have any doubt, don't hesitate in PMing your friendly mod (a.k.a. me )

 

 

Game starts next post. Sign-up is open until the first NPC kill, which should occur on Monday and when roles will be PMd.

 

~~~~

Edit: updating list of players

Edited January 16, 2006 by Tanuchan

[Tanuchan]

Another day comes, with a lull in the snowstorm that has raged for three days. Cold seems to cling everywhere, and the smoke coming from chimneys is the only sign of life for quite some time. Little by little, life stirs in the small village - people shoveling out snow from the front of their doors, picking axes to get more firewood, and even a small party of hunters who has decided to try their luck in the forest. Metallic sounds come from the smith, saying that the blacksmith and his apprentice have also started the day, while The Bunny opens the tavern for his first patrons. Granny Jammeez peeks out of her window, observing the street, and nods at the hunters who are starting to gather in front of Gunalo's store.

 

A shriek comes from a house at the end of the street, and a little black-haired girl stomps out, her looks outraged. A few children who were out scurry back into their own houses, not willing to face Annie in a temper.

[LeifTheBunny]

Leif ventures out to clear a path to the tavern. "Ah, such a magnificent day. I should make more stew though. It seems the only way to keep warm in these bitter colds."

 

After clearing the path, Leif returns inside to get the staff their assignments for the day.

[JDRollins]

Joseph unlocks his door and opens it greeting his customers warmly. As the last of the customers walks into the store he looks at the girl and shakes his head.

 

"Annie in a temper, what a new thing." He mutters sarcastically to himself. Then he forces the smile back on his face and walks in to take care of his customers' needs.

Edited January 14, 2006 by JDRollins

[GLJordan]

Pauses in his work to make sure the fence around the forge is locked when he hears the shriek. the first few blows afterwards sounding louder than before.

[Azuran]

Sitting on one of the lower branches of a large tree, Tsal quietly observes the activity of the other townsfolk. Recognizing the sharp ringing of Adam's hammer, he recalls his need for a new carving knife, thinking it better to head over there soon before the smith gets too busy. Returning to the small lump of holly in his left hand, Tsal examines the almost finished figurine. It was originally supposed to be a flying falcon gripping a freshly caught squirrel tightly in its talons, but the squirrel had ended up looking more like a small, bumpy branch. The resulting effect was that of a falcon melodramatically clinging to a twig for dear life and looking at it, Tsal cant' help but chuckle softly.

 

Sighing, he carefully slips his knife into the sheath inside his coat and slides slowly off the branch, the knee-deep snow cushioning his landing. Habitually brushing his hair back out of his eyes he trudges off towards Adam's forge, keeping a wary eye on Annie.

[Patrick]

Cedric was clutching the boquet of roses tightly. It had cost him a lot to have them transported intact here, but for her he would have done nearly anything. He hated to admit it, as he walked down the streets, but he had never felt this nervous in his life. This was going to be the first time he was going to really have the chance to get to know his future wife better. His own emotions did not make him blind to the possibility of Susan resenting this marriage. He hoped that she wasn't going to be hostile, and if she held at least some emotions for him that would even be better. It was a mostly egoistical thinking, but he knew that he cared more about her, than most men of these times cared about women they married.

 

He turned down the now familiar small street and knocked on the door of Susan's house.

Edited January 15, 2006 by Patrick Durham

[Jammeez]

From her window, Granny Jammeez has a good view of most of the village. She likes it that way. Her house sits almost dead center of the "old" village, which is comprised mostly of the village square; the smithy, the tavern, the mercantile, the school...

 

Granny remembers when that's all there was to the village...that and a few other cottages...families who had dwelt in this valley for generations. Ozy, Tangy, Dean, her beloved sisters Elwen and Celes... Now she's the only one. Even Itchy, her sweet husband of fifty years, had passed on and left her a widow - to fill her time with living through others' loves and lives...

[Venefyxatu]

Nathaniel put on his warmest clothes, and then prepared to go outside. He put on his ankle-length black coat, his white scarf and black tricorn hat and lit his pipe. When that most important task was done, he put on his black gloves, took the shovel he'd put against one of the crates in the hallway and opened the front door.

He stood in the doorway for a few moments, blowing smoke into the air and surveying the snow before getting to work.

 

It took him the better part of two hours to make a path that could get him into the village proper, where most of the worst snow had already been cleared away. During that time he let his mind wander back to his beloved books; the library was the first room in the house that he'd unpacked completely and while part of him enjoyed being out in the cold, most of him was already longing to continue his studies near the blazing fire he'd have going in the fireplace.

 

That would have to wait just a little though. Nathaniel stuck his shovel in the ground, knowing that it would still be there when he got back, and decided to go for a walk through the village. Stuffing his hands deep into the pockets of his coat, he started walking, thinking that he might even have something to eat ...

[Katzaniel]

Karen sighed as she watched the snow falling outside. She had sat in this very window many a time when she was younger, waiting for her father to come home. Her mother didn't like it when Karen helped him out in the butchering yard, or even the store, though she had managed to sneak away sometimes. And when it snowed, it meant that her father would be able to stay home, and that had always made Karen happy. But it wasn't making her happy now. Now it was preventing her from going back to university.

 

The 19 year old was training to be a doctor. Everyone in the village, it seemed, disapproved. But less than they disapproved of the idea of her following her father's footsteps, so this is the way it would be. Karen, unlike her mother, thought that a woman should be able to support herself, even if she did decide to marry. But this whole town was backwards. Susan, a girl that she knew but had never been close to, was being forced to marry an old man. At least her own mother wasn't that crazy. But since Karen had come home for winter break and been trapped here by the weather, her parents had both been very joyful. Her father, she knew, was happy because he would get to see her more, and he was trying for her sake to be sober about it. Her mother, on the other hand, was clearly happy not because Karen was home, but because she wasn't at the university.

 

As she stared out at the snow, mind turning to thoughts of a test she would be writing if she could get back in a couple of weeks, Karen heard her mother working in the kitchen. That's where a woman belonged, apparently... but if she kept sitting there, she'd be called in to help shortly. She cast around for anything else she could be doing, but finally just resigned herself to her mother's company and joined her in the kitchen.

[Lord Panther]

With a puff of woody air and sawdust, John bursts out of his workshop into the cold of the snow. Mumbling something about the cold and his aching knees, he makes his way slowly down the street to the blacksmith's. Not normally liking to venture out into the cold if he can help it, John only comes out for the necessities. Today, the necessity is replenishing his stock of various sizes of nails that he may need for his winter's projects. Maybe he should enquire about some new chisels too...

 

Absently brushing the sawdust from his hair, he makes his way insite to the warmth of the blacksmith's.

[Mynx]

Susan sat up in her room in an old wooden rocking chair, possibly one of the nicest pieces of furniature that her family owned. She forced herself to sit still, although her hands continued to figit in her lap with nervousness. She knew she was meeting Cedric today - the first time since she was told by her parents that he was to be her husband come the summer feast.

Susan knew this marriage was important to her parents, and Cedric's general kindness and good nature was no secret to the village. Even she had to admit that she could have been given away to a worse man. Oh yes, much worse Susan thought bitterly, before a movement outside her small window caused the thought to disappear.

With growing nervousness, Susan watched her betrothed head down the street towards her house before closing her eyes in an attempt to compose herself.

As she heard the familier sound of a fist against the front door, Susan rose from her chair and straightened her dress.

Her stomach gave a sudden lurch, driving a small cry from Susan's lips.

Oh please God, not now Susan prayed silently as she doubled over, struggling to compose herself as she heard her mother's brisk footsteps rising the stairs to summon her from her room to meet the man who would be her husband.

[Azuran]

Arriving at the smithy, Tsal finds Adam hunched intently over his anvil, while John, the town’s master carpenter, rifles through some bins on the far wall. Seemingly unnoticed by either of the two men, Tsal awkwardly waits in the middle of the room for at least a minute or two, unsure of whether the smith had heard him enter and not wanting to interrupt if he had. Eventually, Tsal lets out a short, self-conscious cough, “just to make sure,” he rationalizes, a little embarrassed at his own inability to just say something.

 

Tsal’s cough, however, is unheard by the intent blacksmith but instead attracts the attention of John, who looks up at the sound, smiling politely as he recognizes the boy standing there. “I hope this morning finds you well, Tsal?”

 

Opening his mouth to reply, Tsal ends up sneezing instead, quite in earnest this time, and quickly gives John a wry grin and a small wave instead. Weakly clearing his throat and brushing his hair back out of his eyes, Tsal works up the courage to speak to the carpenter, “Actually, sir,” he pauses a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing, “it was just the other day that I was somewhat frustrated by the fact that it’s been rather difficult finding any good carving wood out in the forest lately. All this snowfall and such short days and all, you know, “ he trails off slightly before carrying on again. “Well, anyway, I was wondering if perhaps you might have any scraps of carving wood laying around your shop that I could use. Of course nothing too big or anything,” Tsal hastily adds, “just, you know, a piece here or there that’s not really of much use to you anymore maybe..?”

[Sweetcherrie]

Annie sauntered down the street. It was a bad day today; the weather was too cold, the sun was too bright, her pony hadn’t wanted to come out of his stable, and on top of that her parents had gotten her new riding gear, but of course it was exactly the wrong stuff.

 

This morning she had already thrown a tantrum about it, and her mom had hastily promised to do better in the future, but she still had the worst mood ever. Why were there never any kids around to play with when you needed them?

 

In her annoyance Annie kicked at a little stone that was on her path, and the pebble flew through the air down the road. She looked up and her eye caught the sight of the smithy. That was an idea! She could go and ask Adam to make her a new bit for her pony. Surely after buying her the wrong gear her parents would give her a new bit, especially because the other one was three weeks old already and although it was still ok, she really needed that special bit.

 

Changing direction slightly she ambled off towards the smithy and walked passed granny Jammeez’s house. She glanced in and secretly hoped that the old lady would notice her, at least she normally had a nice word for her.

[GLJordan]

Adams make sure the fence has been closed and locked after the two enter and if neither say anything resumes his work.

[Patrick]

The door was opened by Susan's mother, and Cedric could see Susan standing behind her, a strange expression on her face.

 

Maybe she's as nervous as I am about this meeting. - Cedric thought. He hadn't been this nervous since he had been a boy of six years old and had had to go to school for the first time. It both surprised and intrigued him that he was still capable of living such emotions this far in life.

 

He smiled pleasantly at Susan's mother, and taking her hand kissed it. He then made a hesitating step towards Susan, and from behind his back brought out the boquet of roses. Even the short time in the cold outside had made them look not as good as when he had left his home, so he tried explaining himself.

 

"I brought these for you, Susan, sorry they don't look too good, but since I couldn't get any of them here, I had to have them brought from far away, and well...the trip didn't seem to do too much good for them."

[Lord Panther]

Looking Tsal over quickly and smiling, John finishes putting the last of the nails that he will be needing in to the sacks he has with him. He walks over to the smith's counter and pays for the goods and turns back to Tsal.

 

"I'm sure we can find something, young man. When you're done with the smith here, come over to my shop and we'll see what suitable scraps we can find for you to work with."

 

John smiles again to Adam and Tsal before making his way back through the cold to the warmth of his own workshop.

Edited January 16, 2006 by Lord Panther

[Tanuchan]

Lillen walks briskly through the streets, nodding here and there for some people who wave a her. The cold gives her cheeks a rosy tint, and her eyes gleam a deep green this morning. Her long black hair is loose, falling below her shoulderblades, but soon it will be held in a pony tail - as Leif like his barmaids looking neat.

 

She enters the smithy, greeting Adam warmly while John examines the nails.

 

"Good morning, Adam. Mother sends this to you." She hands him a package, the smell of fresh home-made bread teasing everyone's noses.

 

"Thank you, Lillen. And thank your mother, please." Adam smiles, and turns to John as he's paying for the nails he had chosen.

 

"You should come to the tavern, John. With this weather, I'm sure Leif is having a good stew being prepared. It's always nice to have something hot in your stomach to start a day."

 

She includes Tsal in the invitation by looking at him and smiling. The boy grins back in silence as Lillen completes, "and you too, Tsal. You look like you need some food in you."

 

Leaving the smitly, Lillen crosses Annie's path soon after waving to Granny Jammeez. Frowning a bit and forcing a smile on her lips, she nods a good morning to girl, who barely looks at her. Lillen sighs.

 

She's such a pretty girl... it's a shame her parents have no idea of what to do about her.

 

Shaking her head, she heards someone calling her name.

 

"Good morning, Mr. Churnstone. Coming to the tavern?"

 

He nods, adjusting his steps to hers. "Something hot would be good, I think. Is Leif preparing that wonderful stew?"

 

"Probably, Mr. Churnstone. Ah, I'm sorry... you can go on to the tavern, it must be open already. I have to get a couple of things for Mother..."

 

Waving amiably to Nathaniel, she enters Joseph's store for a quick shopping.

 

"Heya Joseph, how are things?"

 

 

It's just a few minutes later that she enters the tavern, being greeted by Leif.

 

"Sorry for being late, Leif... mother wanted me to hand in some bread to Adam, and get some yarn at Joseph's."

Edited January 16, 2006 by Tanuchan

[Azuran]

What a beautiful smile… Tsal’s mind temporarily basks in the magnificence of the cute barmaid’s smile, until his brain quickly snaps out of its reverie with a frantic warning that he’s now smiling himself—and probably a little too enthusiastically, at that! He hastily makes an attempt to convert the garish grin into something a little more charming, only to have trace of panic creep into his visage at the realization that he has no idea what she was just saying, distracted as he was... Not until the girl is already gone does the invitation to the tavern finally register, and Tsal mentally curses himself for not having said something—anything at all, really—in reply.

 

It takes several moments, and multiple unnecessary brushings of his hair out of his eyes, before Tsal recalls again why he came to see the blacksmith in the first place, and with a last lingering thought of “Lilly…” he turns back towards Adam to inquire about the price of a new carving knife.

[LeifTheBunny]

"Not a problem Lillen, just don't make a habit of being late on cold days like this. You know we get busy. Morning tasks have already been handed out. I'd like you to help in the kitchen for a bit until we get the stew done, then you will get your normal waitressing duties."

 

Leif turns and heads into the back for inventory. This time of year, spiced ciders are always a big seller and stock is looking a bit thin. Might be time to make a fresh batch after the morning rush.

[Mynx]

Susan accepted the roses with a small curtsey as her mother had instructed her, touched despite her fear that Cedric had gone to such trouble for this meeting. Of course, how nice he truly was to her would depend on how things came out in the next few months.

After surveying the two of them standing rather sheepishly in the hallway, Susan's mother invited Cedric in and led them both to the parlor, leaving almost immediately to make some tea and find a vase for the roses while they got settled.

Susan flushed pink as she watched Cedric survey the small and drab room with (what she assumed was feigned) interest. He had not been invited to this room until today.

"Your family keep a good home Susan," Cedric attempted a conversation, mentally wondering if he came out as idiotic as he sounded to himself.

Susan kept her head bowed as she tried to decide if the sickness was going to be a problem today. It didn't appear so, and perhaps the tea would help. Hopefully.

With a small swallow to try and settle her stomach, Susan raised her head to meet Cedric's eyes for a brief moment before she flushed again and focussed instead on his shoes.

"We try, my lord. I can cook, clean and mend to a serviceable level if that is what you're wanting to know?"

[Patrick]

Cedric gently put a hand under Susan's chin, and lifted her head so that he could look her in the eyes, and she could also see his expression as he spoke.

 

"Susan, I have servants to do that work, and you shall not need to do any of it. I wouldn't want you to be doing things that, you don't like doing."

 

He glanced around the room again.

 

"When I said that this is a good home, I meant that contrary to my home, it has the hand of those, who live inside it on it. A loving touch here and there. My home is just a collection of expensive paintings and objects of art from my travels, which only have monetary value, and no sentimental one. I hope that when you come to my place you could offer advice on how it could be made more a place, which one can grow to like, and not only like its contents."

 

He smiled, hoping he didn't come off too snob for Susan.

[Jammeez]

Granny watches John cross to the smithy, and sees Tsal emerge from his tree and head in the same direction...

 

Lillen hurries up the street and Annie kicks her feet in the snow...

The little one has got a temper, she has. Granny sighs and pulls her shawl up over her head, and shuffles to the door.

 

"Annie-girl, hello, Dear!" Granny waves as she makes her way down the path to the road. She had begun to take for granted the young man who shoveled the snow for her, he always came so early and left without a word. But, Jammeez didn't know what she would do without him, bless his heart. She leaned on her cane while the girl came closer...

[Tanuchan]

As the night comes, the village slowly retracts into silence. The snow that has been threatening to fall finally comes, and doors and windows are shut tight against the cold. By midnight, a howling wind comes and the snowstorm once again hits hard. Light from some windows cast shadows on the street, and sometimes odd shapes can be seen almost lurking in the dark paths.

 

 

With morning, there comes a shriek.

 

"Not Annie again... not every morning..." mutters widow Pearson, closing her door after making sure that her old poplar tree had resisted well to one more storm.

 

However, the first shriek is followed by others, and shouts for help. Some men run towards the back of Craig's stables, and then a boy darts towards the sheriff's office.

 

 

Lillen hugs Karel, the youngest of the barmaids, who cries histerically.

 

"Calm down, Kari. It's over. The sheriff will take care of it, and doctor Mason is coming to take the body."

 

The girl sobs, Lillen patting her arm with a frown while trying to get another peek at the body of Mark, the village drunk.

 

"Those are claw marks."

 

Lillen turns, startled by Leif's voice. "I've seen them enough in the past. Mark has been attacked by some beast. Winter must be making them bold."

 

Adam shakes his head, standing up from where he had been kneeling by the body. "Claws, yeah. Beast, surely. But not a common beast. See the tracks."

 

People turn to where the former hunter/woodsman points, and see clearly a set of odd tracks.

 

"I have just once seen something like that. Together with this." He opens his hand, showing strands of odd-colored fur. "Werebeasts."

 

A murmur spreads quickly, and some comments can be heard.

 

"Werebeasts? They're dead!"

 

"It's been more than 40 years since the last one was caught in the heart of the forest!"

 

"There must be a pack of wolves around the village!"

 

"A pack of wolves, maybe. But this was a solitary kill." Leif looks at Adam, then at the sheriff. "I see no tracks coming to the body... just leaving. The ground has been trampled, sure, but no animal track can be identified anywhere except those going back to the forest."

 

 

As realization comes, the sheriff nods.

 

"You might be right. My father thought he had seen the last of them, but we might be harboring werebeasts among us."

 

 

~~~~~~~~~

OOC: Mark, the town drunk, has been found dead. Werebeasts lurk among you. It's Day Phase, and you have 48 hours from this post's timestamp (Wednesday around 8pm EST) to vote one of you out. Please, state your vote clearly in an OOC line at the end of your post.

 

There's a list of players in the first post of this thread. Keep an eye on the OOC thread, too.

 

Good hunting!!

Edited January 17, 2006 by Tanuchan

[JDRollins]

Joseph arrives a little after everyone else. He gave strict instructions to his helper boy Tarn to make sure that none leave without paying first. He walks up to the crowd.

 

"What's the ruckus here..." He stops short as his train of thought is interrupted by the dead man.

 

"Claws? Was he raked by claws?" Joseph walks up next to Leif. "Dear lord above, what could do this? What would do this? More werebeast I betcha." He rambles on. "Thought I'd never see the day when our town was plagued by such evil. If'n there's a werebeast hereabout betcha it is the least likely person. Who was attacked recently...Ahhhh, makes no nevermind truly as lotsa people been attacked by animals. But if I had a guess I'd say probably that fellow who's a courtin' Susan. Yep, I betcha it's that fella there, that...oh what's his name?...Oh yeah, Cedric. That's what my money's goin' t'wards is Cedric."

 

OOC: My vote is for Cedric.