Elizabetta, a disapproving lady-in-waiting, Lily, an aloof lady-in-waiting, 2 Grayson House Guards, Clark, an exasperated guard arrive, following Sabella.

Sam, who is a boy and definitely not a princess in disguise, Sabella arrive, following Niklas.

Elizabetta, a disapproving lady-in-waiting have been dismissed.

Lily, an aloof lady-in-waiting have been dismissed.

2 Grayson House Guards have been dismissed.

Clark, an exasperated guard have been dismissed.

Elizabetta, a disapproving lady-in-waiting, Lily, an aloof lady-in-waiting, 2 Grayson House Guards, Clark, an exasperated guard leave, following Sabella.

Sam, who is a boy and definitely not a princess in disguise, Sabella leave, following Niklas.

Sam, who is a boy and definitely not a princess in disguise arrives, following Niklas.

Elizabetta, a disapproving lady-in-waiting, Lily, an aloof lady-in-waiting, 2 Grayson House Guards, Clark, an exasperated guard arrive, following Sabella.

It is a Dark and Stormy Night. It's one of several in a row actually, which is making the people in the quiet beachside town of Yawningsands a little bit on the edgy side. Whenever people spend too much time indoors at firesides drinking strong liquor and telling fish stories, half of them turn into sea monster stories at least. Old Man Yappers has held the attention of every child in town since the sun set, telling great tales of fighting off sea monsters in his younger days, before the peg-leg that he insists was bitten off by a shark was removed from his body. (Old Lady Yappers has always insisted that it was run over by a wagon wheel when he was drunk, but everyone likes his version better, true or not.

This evening there are several new faces gathered around the fire, including some who are just passing through the village and others who people are just too tipsy to recall are usually here every other night too. Still, its a good time for introductions, and after Old Man Yappers has his turn his palsied pointer finger swings around, "You there! Who are you and what business have you in Yawningsands!?" He inquires of Sanya somewhat rudely.

Vraxese, a Kennex Corsair guard arrives, following Jan.

Vraxese, a Kennex Corsair guard have been dismissed.

It is a Dark and Stormy Night. It's one of several in a row actually, which is making the people in the quiet beachside town of Yawningsands a little bit on the edgy side. Whenever people spend too much time indoors at firesides drinking strong liquor and telling fish stories, half of them turn into sea monster stories at least. Old Man Yappers has held the attention of every child in town since the sun set, telling great tales of fighting off sea monsters in his younger days, before the peg-leg that he insists was bitten off by a shark was removed from his body. (Old Lady Yappers has always insisted that it was run over by a wagon wheel when he was drunk, but everyone likes his version better, true or not.

This evening there are several new faces gathered around the fire, including some who are just passing through the village and others who people are just too tipsy to recall are usually here every other night too. Still, its a good time for introductions, and after Old Man Yappers has his turn his palsied pointer finger swings around, "You there! Who are you and what business have you in Yawningsands!?" He inquires of Sanya somewhat rudely.

Merek makes his way into the Empyrean, his dark attire on with a cloak shifted about him also. He looks to the others while he fins a place to settle in and look to the others. "Fish stories!"

Jan walks into the room and looks around. Games are fun, but she'll feel less out of place with familiar faces around.

The woman, a remarkably well dressed common villager, furrows her brows at the man. "What is it to you?" She asks with a clipped tone, but inches closer. "Why isn't my curiosity reason enough?"

In her role as Narrator, Vanora quietly greets late arriving guests, directs them to a few of the books that hold the rules to the game, and hands out drinks that go well with pretending to be getting drunk around a bonfire in a tiny pink-sanded village. One of her servants, clearly an actor who has missed his real calling, plays the role of Old Man Yappers, who has congregated this group to discuss the rumors that sea monster attacks are basically inevitable.

Wandering up to the fire as Old Man Yappers yaps on, Artur draws himself up into a hunch. "Don't you see who it is? It's.. what's her name? Dammit. I don't even remember her name!" he complains, "Mangata's heaving bosom, you'd think I'd know, I'd been here all my life.." And then he glances to Sanya. "Don't worry about him, he blathers on and on. I'm Artarius Fishlure, I used to be a successful capatin until I lost it all in a bet to try to win the heart of a Lady. Now my only mistress, my love, and my lady, is the Vast." he grumbles. "Now what's this about sea monsters? I can tell you story about them!" he starts, his head nodding.. did he just fall asleep?

Old Man Yappers sighs dramatically and takes a big swig from whatever homemade hooch he is currently enjoying. "Oh right. /Her/." He seems unimpressed, but much more impressed by Artur's explanation. "Yer lady has a vast -what- now? Speak up sonny not all of us kin hear ya!" Still, he's nodding, and then his finger aims at Valdemar, at Niklas, at Merek and Sabella. "En you! Who'all er you?" Maybe he knows already and is just pretending.

Caspian is currently laying in the hammock, though he is playing, just he hasn't found any reason to move. He rocks, calling out in a drunken slur, "Quiet down there! Tryin' ta nap! Be quiet ya land lubbers or Captain Mack Darrow will come over there 'n knock yer greeny ass on da ground!"

"Merek," Merek offers, not creative, though he offers a smile, "It's a pleasure!" He then leans back to listen also.

"I said it's /the/ Vast, not your /Vast/!" Arturius yells back at Yappers. He's snapped back awake, apparently by Vanora yelling at him and then looks over at Capsian. "Look here, Captain Mack! Ya still ain't paid me for last months stink bait! And stay over there - I hear ya bathe in the stuff to try to attract sirens and their vasts... you know.." He reaches up and cups his chestplate suggestively at Caspian. "And you stole my woman!" He remembers that now.

"Me? I'm Val, a simple fisherman. And I've heard some stories about sea monsters," Valdemar answers the old man as he takes a seat near the fire. Glancing back over at Caspian, he calls back at him, "Who are you calling a landlubber? We're free men here, and will talk as we please!"

"Greetings," says Niklas to the room at large. "I am lucky to have the dubious name of Nicholas Gramson, and I am a wandering actor! Like most actors I am terribly vain and not particularly bright and I love to constantly complain about the writing in plays that I've already signed up for and I knew what I was getting into and why did I even try out for the play if all I was going to do was decide that I was smarter than the playwright when in fact I am certainly not smarter than the playwright and am rather dim and lazy and have spent my entire life getting by on my reasonable looks which are certainly going to fade and then where will I be? Begging brilliant playwrights to write roles for older people, that's where!" Niklas finishes all of that, then grabs a drink and gulps it down.

"QUIT YAPPIN!" Says Old Man Yappers without a trace of irony. "It's time for all these littluns to get to bed. These other ones too maybe, some of yous look pretty drunk." He glares out of his good eye with accusation. "Now we know that nothing like THOSE old sea monster invasion stories could ever happen in a nice little town like Yawningsands, so why don't we all just turn in for the evening and I'm sure when we wake up nothing mysterious will have happened at all!" (Yappers is a bit of an overactor its true, but he is NOT cast as anything but a villager and thus free of suspicion. At his direction and the Narrator's nod, the first round of 'daytime' comes to a close, the sky above moonless and foreboding.

Lethe looks around at everyone with confusion as things begin and people introduce themselves. "Hello to you all. What a friendly group. I'm Tyda Thele." She grows quiets as nighttime comes.

Sabella can't help but beam at everyone as the game begins, maybe taking a little too much fun in all of it, "Oh! I am Jane Smithington. I am but a poor baker who loves to make bread! I grew up on it, you see, and wanted to know how to make it and now I do! I make all kinds of bread! White bread, not white bread, big breads, little breads, those breads with cheese in them," she lists off on her fingers, "Sometimes I make them in shapes like stars and flowers! I am traveling to find more ways to make more types of bread! Like perhaps, green bread! No, wait, that would probably be confused with moldy bread. Perhaps blue bread?"

Jan grabs her own drink and heads to Niklas. "Or you could pick up playwriting yourself, Mr. Gramson."

Caspian fake snores, loudly, eyes closed and arms danging off the hammock.

Scoffing at the talk of sea monsters, Sanya kneels down, glancing from Yappers to Artarius. "Let's hear it then. I could do with some entertainment." The amusment in her voice is apparent, though she still does not offer her name. "Do you have some bread with you now?" She turns to Jane Smithington.

"That's too difficult and would require I be able to apply myself to a craft rather than sit around and complain about people who are better than me," says Nicholas Gramson, giving Jan a significant look. "Why, you look like my cousin Jam. She loves making ... jam."

"I do not, I am all sold out," Sabella-Jane says proudly, spreading her hands which are not full of bread, "And a maker of jams is a very good person to know, especially if one also knows a bread maker, which I happen to be! Why, my breads both white and not-white could be spread with strawberry jam or grape jam or spruseberry jam or blueberry jam or raspberry jam..." Someone stop her.

Caspian checked charm + performance at difficulty 20, rolling 34 higher.

Caspian makes a fart noise with his mouth inbetween his snoring. It's pretty convincing. He's disappearing into this role!

"I am your cousin, Jam, and you should get your eyes checking or your vision will go before your reasonable looks do." Jan smirks.

"All this talk of bread and jam is making me hungry. But no one has any to share?" Val asks, looking around at the others. Shaking his head somewhat, he just gives a dry laugh and then grumbles, "I might as well just go to bed myself, then. I can eat the fish I catch tomorrow."

This time it is Vanora as the Narrator who captures the attention of the group. "Night falls, and by the time the dawn is rising the lifeless body of poor Jan is discovered on the pretty pink beach, having been subject to unspeakable horrors that Old Man Yappers will be detailing to little children across the land by the end of the week. "Oh dear, already we have a fatality. No time to say a few words, instead this group of villagers, which is surely not concealing any sea monsters, must discuss who they suspect of being such and plan to harpoon before nightfall tonight!"

Niklas just listens to Sabella talk about jams while staring at her, oh, let's go with loaves. "Well, yes Mistress Smithington, you do seem quite the baker. Please tell me about your muffins." To Jan Niklas says, "Oh, Jam! That explains why you look so much like Jam!"

"Well, you did before you were eaten," adds Niklas.

"No, she totally looks like jam now." Artur deadpans.

Jan dramatically 'dies' and lays splayed on the ground.

Caspian's snore is interrupted when the morning cycle comes, and he grumbles as he says, "Ah, Jam is ded? Poor lass, she where a purdy one." He waves down the server for another drink, gulping it down. "Who dun it?! I'll gut ye like a fish!"

The Grimhall children, twins aged three and a toddler not yet two, are nudged by their mother into delivering their only 'lines' as part of this game, high pitched shrieks at the slaughter of poor Jan. Arkyn even steps over to poke at her gently with a grubby finger, assuring she is not dead but probably /will/ catch a cold within the next few weeks.

Returning to the group, Arturius looks around. "Someone's missing?" he pauses, and then blinks. "Wait, they got Jam?" he says, gasping softly. "Those grubby things, why couldn't they have eaten your old ass first?" he asks accussingly at Caspian as he grumbles. "Unless /you're/ the monster. Always over there. Sleeping. Bet you're saving up your strength!"

Sabella puts her hand over her mouth to cover her laugh as Jam 'dies' and then clears her throat, "Ah, how tragic, I was just about to propose a partnership. You could have gone town to town for us hawking our wares and telling everyone how great bread and jam are together!" She says to Nicholaus with a smile. She looks over at Caspian's impressive snoring, "...is he actually asleep or is that part of the game?" She asks Artur.

"None I'd eat." Sanya says with a grimace. "What do you all think?" Her eyes drift to Caspian. "Exactly what the culprit would say."

"Wha?!" Caspian huffs indignantly, trying to get out of the hammock, but it flips over and deposits him on the floor. He groans, then pushes his face off the floor, pointing at Artur, "You probably done it! Imma bet yer balls got scales on 'em!"

Jan wink's at the child poking her then goes back to playing dead.

Val looks over at the "dead" body of Jam and frowns deeply. "No jam for anyone anymore, I guess. A pity that. And you're right, Artarius. Even monsters have to sleep. Maybe he's up all night killing innocent women?" he nods in agreement with Artur, giving the Captain a suspicious look.

Baby Harry starts to scowl and toddles over to his father, raising his hands to be picked up and completely breaking character, kind of. "No WANT sea mahsters"

"I think his role is 'Prince Luca's ghost', which is rather tasteless if you ask me." Niklas claps his hands together and looks around. "So, speaking as a common actor I'm quite upset by this turn of events, so I do believe it's time to overreact and just start accusing people and putting them to the sword!"

Merek seems to think a moment, "Well, it looks like someone has been, well," he looks then to Jan, then back to the others, with a nod.

Lethe looks concerned as Jan dies. "Oh no. I didn't know Jan, but I did want to get to know her better. There was just something I liked about her." She looks toward Caspian and then Artur. "I'm not quite sure what to think."

When baby Harry walks over to him, Val reaches down to pick him up, hugging him and assuring him, "You're safe, Harry. No sea monsters will get you. I will keep you safe." He pats the young child's back gently, attempting to calm him down as he continues to look around at the others taking part in the game.

"Oh!" Sabella seems to finally clue in that Jan being dead is actually part of the game, "It seems that we've had our first murder," she looks around the group a little more carefully now, perhaps a bit warily, "Or feast, as it were. What's that they say about the quiet ones?" She refocuses on Caspian and leans towards Sanya with a nod.

Vanora reminds the group, "If we're confident enough in someone's guilt to put them to the sea cross...the harpoon...I'm really not sure there's time to debate methods, they must be chosen in the next two or three minutes before the sun starts to set again." This place has really really short days, clearly. Also nights. "No WAH sea mahsters!" Harry is insistent and kicks his foot at the air, but Valdemar's words seem to soothe him enough to get him sucking on a thumb at least.

"Jam," corrects Niklas. "Jan is someone else entirely." He then turns to look at Sabella, narrowing his eyes. "Say. You don't seem to know much about bread for a baker."

"I say he dun it!" Says Caspian, pointing to Val. "He git a suspicious face," he says, narrowing his eyes at the man, climbing back into the hammock.

"Maybe she was sopping up Jam with her bread!" Arturius offers. "We should be done with her, just to be on the safe side. She's a terrible if beautiful baker."

"She knows that they come in different colors." Sanya insisters turning to Nicholas Gramson. "What else is there to know?" She leans toward Jane. "Or the ones quick to accuse."

"What! I would never kill someone that could have buttered my business! I mean, bettered," Sabella sniffs, folding her arms, "And how do we know the actor isn't acting like he's not in league with the sea monsters, hm? It would make sense for those with something to hide to make the accusations to throw us all off. And their friends to agree with them."

Jan tries very hard to stay in character, but can't help snickering.

Vanora turns to Lethe and Merek. "Thus far we've one vote to slay Val the fisherman and baby whisperer, and two to slay Sabella the baker. Either of you wish to weigh in at this time?"

"Some of them," says Nick, pointing to Sanya with an accusatory finger and a righteous tone, "have raisins in them!" He sniffs at Sabella. "The actor isn't acting at all, because actors are mercenary and refuse to do anything unless money or free food are involved. And having the village's finest jammer... jemmoriam... jammist... jam... person gone means less food for everyone!"

"I vote for the sleepy one," Sabella points at Caspian.

Lethe ponders and nods to what Caspian says. "I think you're probably right. Either him or him." She looks to Artur. "He has a suspicious face too. If anything happens to me it was probably Arturius."

"I've been part of this community for years.. years! And you just slid into town and act all syrupy nice and all.. bah! With your pretty words and pretty looks and they always say the pretty ones are the dangerous ones. I bet she's a siren. Have you heard her sing?" Arturius can't help it, he had to slip that in there.

"Me? I slept soundly all night after my long day fishing. Besides, if it was me, I'd have used her for bait to catch bigger fish," Val responds to the Captain as he continues to soothe his son, "I still say it is you. You're the one who sleeps all damn day."

"Would you say you slept like the dead?" Jan asked from the floor.

Vanora hmms. "Two for the baker, two for the hammock sleeper." She looks to Merek. "I think you'll have to determine who dies. Flip a coin if you must, or ask Harry what he thinks."

"I ain't sleepin'! I'm just waitin' for the fish to come to the best spot," says Caspian 'Mack Darrow' Wild, giving an indignant huff.

"NO SEA MAHSTERS!" Is what Harry thinks, very loudly.

"By fish do you mean sea monsters?" Sabella asks Caspian with a sniff, "When it turns out all of you starve without me, make sure you go after those who voted for my name."

"Not quite /that/ soundly," Val answers the "dead body". After Harry's "input", he tells him quietly, "That's right, no sea monsters my boy, I promise." He then looks back at Caspian and adds, "Even if his snoring does /sound/ monstrous while he is 'waiting for the fish'."

"Why would she kill her future partner?" Sanya asks with a laugh before turning to Jane. "Do /you/ put raisins in your bread?" She asks with a suspicious brow raise. "I, Soona Grumpwall, cannot support such a thing."

"Harry sweetheart, do you think the grown-ups should pretend-slay Auntie Sabella or the sleepy man in the hammock?" Baby Harald pulls his thumb out of his mouth long enough to point at Caspian.

"Lovely." Vanora smiles at her son. "The villagers choose to murder the strange, sleepy man who seems overly comfortable in a hammock, and his body is tossed into the waves to become fish food along with Jam. Just in time for night to fall again!"

Caspian makes gurgling noises as he fake drowns, flailing about before becoming still, going limp in the hammock.

"Hey, Cap'n, how are you feeling over there?" Jan calls in Caspian's direction without getting up.

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle," replies Caspian, still laying limp. "I'm feeling kinda wet right now. Could use a towel. And I'm gonna haunt some townfolk for this."

The night falls, the sun rises and....no one is missing from the beach! Imagine that, everyone has survived! Someone did something right. Or wrong....

Niklas looks confused. "So does that mean Caspian was the monster and the game is over?"

Merek looks around to the others while he blinks a bit, "Well," he nods a bit while he takes a drink of some water also.

"Huh. Guess he was the monster after all!" Arturius says after doing a count of heads in the morning. "Told ya he slept too damn much." he says, nodding to Niklas.

"Well we do have a mercy saving a life each night. So a night with no deaths could simply mean that the Mercy and the Monsters had the same person in mind for very different fates!" Vanora explains.

"We also have a Seer out there who knows the true identity of at least some people. Tricky tricky! The villagers can choose someone else for the harpoon tonight even though there was no death, assuming they feel comfortable and confident doing so. Or they can pass for this evening." She adds.

"Oh. That makes sense." Niklas looks around. "Do we still vote for someone to be presented to the sea, then?"

"I am satisfied that we got the killer. Anyone who snores so loudly should be suspect." Soona/Sanya announces with a nod. "He was clearly trying to throw us off."

Lightly bouncing Harry in his arms, Val suggests, "In some of the stories I've heard, these things don't attack the same place every night. I think we have to give it a little longer to be sure there are no more. But maybe the captain was the only one, and we got lucky." He then looks around at the others. "Does anyone else know anything that might help, if he wasn't the only one?" he asks them.

"HE GO SEA CROSS" Harry declares, pointing at his brother Antony who has been playing quietly with a toy boat this entire time, yet still takes offense and starts to whimper.

"Well, if everyone says we got him, I say we go to bed and enjoy the evening.." Though Arturius eyes Sabella. "I still don't trust a baker that don't know a brioche from a sticky bun."

Sabella frowns a little, "It seems we won't know if we're choosing correctly until the very end of the game when we win or lose. Well! That does make this a touch more difficult, but," she nods to Sanya, "I too think that we probably netted us one of the bad guys with that turn. But considering no sea monsters came for anyone last night, I think we're doing things correctly and we should absolutely send someone to the sea today, preferably someone that's not an innocent person like myself and my friend Soona here. And I certainly know the difference between a brioche and a sticky bun. One is sticky! You seem to be very interested in sending me to the sea though, Arturius. I wonder why that is."

Niklas frowns slightly at Sanya. "Well, the game is continuing, so clearly there's something else or else the Duchess wouldn't have us keep going. Not sure I can trust someone who wants us all to give up so easily." He stops, looking a little lost, "Oh, shit, I'm breaking character. This isn't easy. Maybe I've had actors wrong this entire time."

"Ain't said nothing about sending you to the sea! Why you all defensive?" Arturius asks Sabella.

Jan crawls on her belly to where Caspian is, reasoning that the dead should stick together.

Lethe looks to Val. "I'm not so sure we got him. He wasn't who I suspected." She glances at Artur. "We know what I think, but I'll do what everyone else wants to."

Caspian extends out his hand for Jan to give a high five. "The living suck. Being dead is where it's at!"

"I promise the game is not continuing simply because I'm toying with everyone. My lady I'm not sure that doing what everyone else wants to is the sort of political stance one wants to take around a group like this. When brother turns out brother to the sea cross simply because he forgot to bring his own toy boat...the world has already descended into chaos. However, in order to ensure that we don't all expire simply from hunger and thirst during our debates, I will declare it time for the sun to set." Vanora smiles and wiggles her fingers like that is how that works.

"No putting your brothers on a sea cross, Harry. You're supposed to love each other and look out for each other," Val tells Harry quietly, but seriously. As discussion goes on as to who might still be a sea monster, he frowns again and tells Lethe, "Without anyone else dead, it is hard to say who else might be one. But my guess would be the baker, if anyone. Artarius figured out who it was the first time along with me."

"I think that Arturius is not the seer of this village," Sabella-Jane says conversationally to Sayna/Soona after a moment of thought. "If he were, he would have investigated me last night and then we would have known that I hate the sea and would never have anything to do with sea monsters. I don't know if that makes him evil, however. It's often the least talkative, those that are secretive that end up being the ones that plot. Who here is being quiet? Besides the dead."

Jan high fives Caspian. "Life is overrated."

Aaaand now the sun is rising, its enough to confuse the plants. Especially that bright red one right on the bea...oh no, that's not a plant it is Lethe's blood soaked corpse, coated in hungry sea monster teeth marks.

Sabella points at Artur, "I vote for him!"

"We're not quiet!" Caspian calls out to Sabella, thrusting up his fist. "The dead will rise again! Revenge on the living for our lives cut short!" He turns to Jan, "Right, Jam?!"

"Gosh, that was quick. /So/ quick." Arturius says, lifting his brow. "I bet she took Lethe's bones for her bread."

"Someone who /likes/ the sea, eh?" Soona's eyes alight when Jane mentions her own distaste for the sea. On spotting Lethe's body, she turns to Val the fisherman. "Ah-ha."

"So, are you doing all this?" Merek asks then of the Old Man Yappers.

Niklas looks more than a little astounded when he sees the dead Lethe the next morning. "I honestly thought she was one of them. She hardly ever talked!" Looking to Sabella he says, "Honestly, you seem more suspicious to me than anyone else. All this 'if the seer did this' and 'if the seer did that'."

"The last thing she did was turn suspicion on you. While yes, that would be a very obvious move to make, a clever evil plotter would know that they'd have a good argument to make against it! 'Of course I wouldn't kill her,' you'd say, 'she cast suspicion on me and it would be so obvious!' Too obvious," Sabella raises up her chin, "I may not know exactly what goes into brioche, but I know a villain when I see one!"

Old Man Yappers rolls his eyes, opens his mouth to expose his toothlessness (and bad breath) to Merek, and then shakes his head. "I say its the wee ones. Violent tendencies." He bobs his head towards Harry, trying to be subtle about it.

Jan replies, "You might rise. I'm goo."

Lethe does a quite dramatic pose as a corpse. She seems to enjoy playing dead and just stays quiet as everyone plays the game.

Niklas waves at Jan. "We turn into bugs, not goo." He looks back to Sabella, eyes narrowed, then nods over toward Merek. "People who don't ever talk are suspicious. They're the ones who think they'll give themselves away by speaking up."

"That the one who wanted him dead is suspicious," Val says, looking at "Artarius", then glances to "Jane" and asks, "But how can you be sure it was him?" He then looks at Soona, his eyes wide. "Of /course/ I like the sea. It is how I make my living." He then looks at Yappers like he is insane and adds, "And I think you might be going senile, Old Man. My son is far too small to have done any of this."

"Oh man, you're in a jam, aren't you?!" Caspian asks Jan, eyebrows waggling.

"You think it's Merek? Well, you're an actor. You'd know when someone is faking it..." Artur frowns, and then nods to Nicholaus. "I agree with the actor. He did it."

"So the village has agreed to put Merek to the sea cross? We're sure?" Vanora double checks before moving the game forward.

"He is very quiet, but Lethe, er, her pretend name, fingered you last," Sabella points out to Artur and the group, gesturing his way, "I urge everyone to vote for Arthurianus. Uh, him."

"And I say if I die, you killed me!" he says back to Sabella. And then grumbles. "Damn kids on my beach with their haze and new fangled baking."

"Words to live by," Sabella shoots back, "For the same goes for me!"

"I suppose I could take actual votes." the Duchess muses. "All in favor of giving Arthurianiu...him, to the sea, say Aye?"

"Aye!" Sabella shouts out.

"Nae!" comes Arturian's retort.

"And those in favor of giving Merek to the waters?" Vanora queries

"Aye." Soona calls out in support of Jane.

"She can't even say my name right!" then Arturius adds. "Aye to Merek!"

"Would someone who is any good at this kill someone who had accused them?" Niklas frowns. "Or would they kill them assuming no one would think they would kill them. But if they knew that people might assume that they would kill them to avoid people thinking that they wouldn't kill them, then wouldn't they avoid killing them? But can't we then decide... fuck..." Niklas frowns. "What am I even talking about?" He waves to Vanora. "Sir Merek it is! Speak up if you don't want to be thrown in the briny deep!"

"Too late! Sir Merek is sentenced to the slow and merciless death of the sea cross for the crime of possibly being a sea monster in disguise!" Vanora narrates dramatically. "And now to bed in time for sunset, rid of this menace to all that is true and right and alive. Or not. Either way."

Niklas watches Merek carried off to his doom. "Well. Good riddance to bad monsters. Or at least to quiet people."

Merek wiggles as he's taken to the sea cross, then he shouts, "I'm innocent, what are you doing!? I will haunt you all!" he says.

The night is dark and has a couple of terrors and when it is day those terrors appear to have slaughtered Sabella. This leaves Valdemar, Niklas, and Artur still alive for the time being, and it leaves the Sea Monsters the clear victors!

And Soona.

Oh Sanya is also not dead but yeah, still a sea monster victory

Sabella checked charm + performance at difficulty 15, rolling 71 higher.

Sabella takes a sip of her drink and then her eyes go wide, she does not drop the cup because it would make a mess but suddenly her foot gets pulled under a nearby table (or so it seems) and she lets out a strangled cry that's gone before it starts and poof! She vanishes! But only under the table for a moment before she pops back up with a laugh, "All right, where are those of the dead sitting? I had really hoped to make it to the final round."

When Sabella wakes up dead Niklas sets a hand to his heart and says, "Oh, Jane Smithington, 'tis sad to have lost you," then turns toward the others and moves his hand from his heart to his belly and licks his lips. "But 'twas delightful to have devoured you. Now, which of the two of you wants to be crucified and which wants to be dinner?"

Caspian waves his hand over to Sabella, telling the woman with a smile, "The dead are over here. And the monsters won? Oh well. I guess people figured out I was not a monster. Sad you killed me first, thought my acting was good," he huffs.

"Well, it was fun being dead with you," Jane says to Caspian.

"I've played a ton of these games in Bastion and the rule of the first round is always to kill the person who talks the least," Sabella says cheerfully of having help murder Caspian, "I was surprised I was able to make a save that second round--Lady Sanya, they tried to kill you but I stopped it!"

"That, Ladies and Gentlemen, seems to be our game for the evening. I'm sure we could glean all sorts of lessons from it. Something about innocence, or quiet, or speaking up when necessary, or the irreversible nature of capital punishment when administered by water...but we're not really here for reflection are we? I do hope that our guests had a good time, and we'll host another like it soon I hope, its good for all of us to take a break from our daily troubles and engage with entirely manufactured ones!"

"Congratulations, 'Monsters'," Valdemar says, a grin on his face as he still holds his youngest son in his arms. He then walks over to Vanora and leans in close to speak to her more quietly.

Lethe looks to Caspian. "I never thought you were the monster, but I was only good at guessing one of them. It was fun though, and it was fun to be dead for a bit too."

Valdemar mutters, "You ... a wonderful job, ..."

Finally breaking character, a warm smile appears on Sanya's lips as it ends. "That was a great death." She approaches Sabella. "I was amazed." Her brows rise. "Oh... so -that's- what happened that round." She laughs at this. "Thank you dearly."

Caspian finally moves from the hammock, rising and stretching, giving a little smile over to Vanora. "Good game,

Caspian finally moves from the hammock, rising and stretching, giving a little smile over to Vanora. "Good game," he says to her with a nod of his head her way. "Good game everyone. It was fun."

Sanya is overheard praising Vanora: Such a fun game!

"That was a lot of fun, Duchess." Artur offers a bow of his head to Vanora. And then winks at Lethe. "Didn't matter if you knew I was the monster, only matter if you make it through the night." he wiggles his fingers at her as she prepares to head out.

Jan climbs to her feet.

Jan mutters, "I don't recall the last time I had so ... fun on ... back."