Day Four
The pale morning sun illuminated Lady Mallowen's bedroom. Not a single sound disturbed the silence of the room, and not surprisingly—for its mistress was dead.
Gil4 lay on the bed breathless, his face contorted in suffocation. One of his hands was tucked under the pillow, as if he had been trying to retrieve something from there, or conversely, hide it.
Xostor entered the room, fully dressed and wearing a tie. Looking closely at the body, he lifted the pillow and cursed quietly. The lady was clutching some scribbled piece of paper in her hand. Xostor quickly snatched it from the dead fingers and scanned it:
«Will:
I, Gil Ford (that is how I write my nick as a first and last name—a formal method of writing is more appropriate here), write this will so that in the event of my death, the chances of victory do not fall, but rather increase. As you have probably guessed, if I die today, Charles killed me. And the evidence will point exactly to him. Perhaps he also killed on the third night—remember my link between the postcard with a view of Vienna and Pandora? Well, I found a link to the second piece of evidence—by nick. Look:
"In the 17th century, Pandoras were called dolls—mannequins used for fashion demonstrations."
There is your link to the matryoshkas. I am not 100% sure, but I haven't found any other links to matryoshkas at all. A small note: I thought about the logic behind why such evidence was chosen and couldn't understand... In theory, when planting evidence, the mafia should think of fake clues so that they point purely to some townie, without even grazing a member of the mafs with their logic. This is my first time playing and I haven't played as mafia before, but it seems logical to me, with one exception. What if someone of their own is intentionally framed? Jane, for whom evidence is about to be found? After all, one can successfully exploit the existence of common murder methods. With the person who was the man—a mistake. They could have just as easily mistaken Flandre's role. And what if they considered a version where Flandre is Lady Beatrice? After all, they could have sent Charles on the job to guarantee the kill (every living townie counted, they couldn't afford to be without an execution). And then, by the murder method, shift it toward Jane... Only they were hoping for that 50% chance where the evidence would just be planted. And if anything, everything could be shifted onto Gur, whose avatar already shows figurines (yes, not matryoshkas, but something remotely resembling them). Gur, who was Red Jane, who is about to be found anyway. There is a chance that in saying this, I am wrong. But I realized how I messed up with the man—because the evidence on the second night was so obvious precisely because of its vagueness (Flandre's signature, Ara's quote). And I have the same feeling now about finding evidence on Gur. After all, it was so obvious; there is hardly anything to search for in his profile. And still, while reviewing Guinness's biography, I missed this (this is all Russian wiki, on the English one I noticed immediately)... His most famous modern role is Obi-Wan Kenobi, to which an interesting picture has been added on the English wiki (but not on the Russian one...). Judge for yourself—a pronounced cloak with a hood made of stiff fabric: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0b/Ben_Kenobi.jpg
So far I haven't found links to other evidence, but he almost certainly killed on the second night. And judging by the fact that he might be framed, apparently on the first night too—as if there are plenty of clues anyway and he will die soon. I repeat: I may be wrong in my assumptions about the mafia's logic regarding the third night, but you see the evidence yourselves. Since I haven't yet solved other clues linked to Gur, you should double-check everything in the event of my death. As you have probably found out yourselves, the quote from his signature belongs to Sherlock Holmes. But so far I have failed to find a specific use of this quote in the books; apparently, I searched poorly. Besides that, I saw a mention that this same quote was used in the recent movie "Sherlock Holmes." Perhaps it will be necessary to watch the movie for this quote as well. All these are leads on how to link Gur to other evidence if, due to my death, I cannot bring the matter to an end myself. You were convinced of my correctness regarding Arandor—listen to me here as well. By the way, the version about Pandora-Charles might be confirmed by the head maid. After all, we still haven't received the results of the first day's check when the Head Maid visited her. If I understood the newspaper correctly, Pandora did not leave the room after all, since the servants managed to bother her somehow. This means it is quite likely that she is Charles/the In-Love maid. Other roles are possible, I don't dispute that. But still, the evidence turned out quite good. If I were planting evidence on her, I would do something similar, and specifically by nick—the 25th mafia proved that nicks are looked at last, because the first night's evidence was so obvious: a green face pointing to a green nick...
Thus, I lead you to the thought that Gur and Pandora are mafs. And, by the way, before I forget—the only player whose townie status I am 100% sure of is Neyra Drake. There are others I am practically sure of, but in case of error and due to incomplete certainty, I name only her. There are reasons for this; I learned her role after a small analysis (strange that I didn't think of it sooner). In total, besides me, Neyra, Gur, and Pandora, there remain these 5 players: Hermit, TaKo, Leang, Nebo, Hos. If the evidence is interpreted correctly by me (I am almost sure that Gur did not kill on the third night because no matter how hard I try, I cannot find a link to Vienna—neither through Guinness nor through Sherlock; but you think too, whether he can be linked to Vienna, don't assume others will work for you!), among these five players there remain three townies and two mafs. Who is who—I do not know. I suspected Gur of being mafia long ago due to inactivity and such indifference to day discussions, while Pandora—not so much. I think I have given you plenty of thoughts. If I survive—all the better. This will reduce the number of my huge posts by one... But I had to play it safe, and I am doing so. Check all my thoughts, and together, as a team, everyone who can—work! For I too may be wrong, but if there was an error, someone among you will surely notice it. And the chances that I am right are still quite high. I bequeath my knowledge to you, my friends. Do not fail me, and good luck to you.»- Old witch! – Xostor said almost with tenderness. – Still fighting back from the other side.
With these words, he carefully tore up the paper and threw it into the fireplace. Taking some document from the inner pocket of his jacket, he quickly scanned it: "I, Beatrice Mallowen, bequeath my movable and immovable property to Charles Burnell...", nodded with satisfaction, and placed it under the pillow.
Then he walked quickly out of the bedroom and headed to
Pandora's room. Carelessly dressed, she stood by the window and, whistling, polished her nails. Two champagne glasses stood on the table, and a half-eaten pastry lay on a plate.
- Well, did everything go well? – she asked without turning around. – I almost dislocated my finger while strangling her. Stringy as an old chicken!
- She trained her neck with diamond necklaces, -
Gur purred, stretching on the rumpled bed, - Let's see how they will look on me.
- Diamonds suit fiery hair, - Xostor noted gallantly, kissing Jane's hand and sitting on the edge of the bed. – You earned them, enchantress. What would we do without your elegant skilled hands! By the way, Charlie – he turned to Pandora, - what are you going to do with
Ta Kotoraya...? Why does a maid need such money? She'll be snatched up in a month.
- What one same money, - Pandora smirked, - I'll give her the lady's old dresses, she'll sew them and be happy. And I'll write good recommendations so she can find herself a new job.
- Be careful, Charlie, - Gur noted, - I don't like the way your girls then run through dark corridors with a knife. Maybe I should help her try on the hat left by the lady? I handle hatpins wonderfully!
- No need, dear, - Pandora said, sitting on the bed and gently kissing Gur on the shoulder, - let her live, I am not devoid of gratitude. Perhaps I will even give her a hundred pounds for a dowry. After all, she gave me the key to the old woman's bedroom today, although I didn't need it.
- However, Charlie, it's time to put the house in order, - Xostor urged. – Let's go.
The news of the mistress's death quickly spread through the house. The cook
Leang, the head maid
Neyra who was cleaning Xostor's room, and the postman
Nebo who came with the morning correspondence all found out. Even the tramp
Hermit lurking in the coal cellar heard the news.
Nebo sadly threw his note into the trash:
«You guys are such lols, I'm alive (although they might kill me tonight). A letter from Registra, though he is already dead, but I think it won't hurt: "My dear, thank you for the invitation to drink tea with you. I will come, just let me smoke a pipe or two." And the author of this note: "Was at Xostor's, his letter: 'My fickle friend, taste a bit of magic!'. Today I am going to TaKo. Your postman.", is a troll, a liar, and a virgin. Your long-nosed letter carrier.»Neyra, looking around fearfully, hastily shoved her note into the stove:
«The ex killed Registra. And her name is Flandre (I am sure of this). Result of the first night – Pandora did not leave the room. Result of the second night is missing, as one malicious and white housekeeper locked me in my room. Today I am going to Xostor, I will drink tea with him and eat cookies. Wait for the result tomorrow P.S: I am just a butler maid.»Xostor stepped out onto his room's balcony and took several notes from his pocket:
Announcement: Gil, as expected, has good status. Flandre was the Ex; additional evidence for his murder is "Double Five". Today I check Pandora. Signature: Detective.Announcement: Based on the results of the check, Gil has good status. Flandre was the maniac; additional evidence for his murder is "Jazz". Today I check Hermit. Signature: Detective."I, the postman, am alive! The mafia is playing you! And they wrote the second note themselves! Letter to TaKo: 'My lady, for you I have prepared something that will leave you speechless. I'm going to Pandora. Your postman.'"Smirking, he tore them into small pieces and let them fly in the air.
The scraps slowly swirled together with the first snow beginning to fall over the Mallowen estate…
Mafia won.With an equal number of votes on both sides, townies can no longer execute any mafioso and will be killed off one by one.
Thanks to everyone for the game, I'll post the log by chapters in about an hour and a half, I need to step away. Password for the archive with roles - keptboy