Zepher

def has expressly told us the twist. He is not likely to tell us one twist and then make up another... And your logic at the beginning of the post is assuming that you believe everyone is townies. Pandora would not assume that you believe it, she's accusing you of random lying. You're right, Pandora, Hinckley did unvote you. But his explanation for doing so went something like this: "Pandora, I may have been wrong about you. I'll explain in my next song" and then in the next song... "Pandora, if you're town..." No real explanation. Perhaps he stopped trusting Scouty, but I think that he and Scouty were on to something. The other big candidate he shouted out was Shadows... who is confusing as always. I admit, his "can't be converted, could be converted" deal is suspicious, and if something more surfaced against him, I'd be interested to hear it. But it still sounds like you were lying to a lot of people through PM/playing them against each other, and I stick to "lynch all liars". Unless you were trying to act scummy to draw out scum (either Scouty or Hinckley.... both of whom were admittedly suspected of being scum)... my head hurts. I hate that the town has to act scummy. It makes the townies seem untrustworthy and gives the scum an excellent excuse when called out. Hinckley's other listed suspects were Dave, Nightshroud and Potato. Dave has already been cleared... my two suspects I'd go after today would be Pandora and Shadows, but I REALLY do think there's something up with Big Cam.

I like the hair! Haldor's becoming more refined. I'd like to (excitedly) announce THAT'S A WRAP. Every picture that will ever appear in a Wren Quest has been photographed. Expect an update in a few hours.

Hinckley did find me odd. He even messaged me telling me so before he died. I told him I found him odd in response. But now it is clear that I was wrong. It is interesting, however, that no matter how odd he found me, he VOTED for you, Pandora. You can say he wanted me gone all you want... but he clearly felt that you were a good lynch option, because, you know, he publicly said so. I was the first to vote for Hinck, and I was sure of the conviction until the end of the day. Hinckley usually plays with his cards close to his chest and writes plays and then lets people figure out how guilty they think someone is before he tells everyone about WHO it is. This time he pretty much blew the cover off the story right away. I didn't like it, and I didn't trust it. While I'm not the most credible source after the lynch yesterday, I still have a number of suspects. Big Cam remains high on my list for the same reasons as Day One. He has given nothing to the town. At all. The first day people excused him because of his Roleplay action, but that's no longer a thing, and he still is giving nothing but crack-pot theories. Tammo too has been pinging my radar for days. Nothing in particular, just siding early against town, making posts that are accusatory and vague (like this one against him ), things of that nature. That being said, my biggest suspect today IS Pandora. Hinckley and Scouty compared notes and they both found her suspect. Hinckley is confirmed town, and I think Scouty's action is at least one I believe in, which makes him slightly more credible than a lot of other players. When voting rolls around, I think Pandora will receive my vote.

Hi 53ers. I know we took a pause. Because I'm heading back to college tomorrow, I'm pouring all of my free time into actually finishing the sets. I've only got one left (one of the two big ones), and after that we should return to our normal programming! So, give me a few more hours, we'll continue tonight. I think we've been moving at a good pace, so a day or two pause doesn't concern me too much.

Barty zips by and speaks snippily at all three heroes. "Save your ether. Will, drink one of your remedies. You will be able to ensure that you are healed that way, and you will not suffer any more damage than you would otherwise. Ellaria will be able to keep the cretins under fire this way." Boomingham nods. "He has a point. You want us to beat these fellows, don't you, little guy?" "I want wrong doers to be punished. These men are liars and cheats. You and I both can agree that they have not put in the work to reap the reward."

OoC: But the Pongcanis should still have counter struck me, I think, since that happened beforehand. I'm going to wait for it be confirmed that William is both drawing attacks and fragile, that will affect our strategy quite a bit this turn. Aka, if you think we should do something about it, speak up Sandy/VP. Boomingham growls triumphantly. "That one found it's mark. I'll take on the Sorcerer. William, hang in the back chap and see what happens. You're going to have to keep your attack of Smith going. Hang in there." Boomingham swings Scupperer at the Sorcerer from the front row. Battle Order Boomingham Ellaria Harkenshire Ellaria Harkenshire

Haldor can still take his new title very seriously. And perhaps a soul just happened to go down his throat by chance. The MoR did explain that the others got so screwed up because they ate too much soul food.

Hey, what my questies do is their own choice. If Haldor wants to take his new title so seriously, that's up to him. They didn't ask to eat souls, so they didn't get any, and their heads should still be right as rain. EDIT: Just to clear it up, the MoR isn't a member of the Court. He just helped give them powers. They don't, for example, chill on weekends. Also, the reason the Court is so wonky and lost their way is because they took souls of the dead into them, not because they joined up. Their Experts, Apprentices and Masters are all normal and insane on their own right. Nothing happened to them.

The Master of Regret smiles. "Birth begins both hope and regret. But in the moment, it is passionately beautiful. Life breeds both hope and regret. But its reward is in the now. Death ends both regret hope, but those who are passionately in the now don't fear it. They don't think on it." "Just beyond the northern wall, you will find a crypt that was once own by Crozen. There is where the Court of Demons reside. Zane will lead you to it, he needs to. He has a final debt to pay, and he will pay it there." The heroes may head out whenever they wish.

"Tell me your guess, lady. Which of the three Gods felt different than the other for each one." The Master of Regret shakes his head sadly. "Birth begins hope, but that was not the discussion. I will give you a hint, heroes. The odd one out is the same each time."

The Master of Regret is simply ill-informed.

The Master of Regret shudders with happiness as Cronk breaks down. He turns to the Orc. "You feed me well, but that was not my trick. There are, as always, other forces about. I will admit that with me the veil between life and death is thin, but reaching out from the other side belongs to another." "As for your accusation, Atramor, we all feast on souls. My brother, my sister and I. I feast on the souls of the regretful, my brother on those of passion, and my sister on those who hope. I simply collect the souls of the dead because mortals often die with regret. But you are thinking on the right path. Bear in mind, we embody that which we are called. When I die, it will be with the most regret of all." "The apprentice has a head on her shoulders. In some ways, yes, that's correct. The one who does not fear death does not have any regrets."

"Wrong, wrong. You give me too much credit. You have as many guesses as it takes, Atramor."

Boomingham rolls his eyes. "Something must be wrong with my sword arm," he says tiredly, but he stares at the Pongcanis who is turning into a worthy opponent. "Harkenshire, keep J. Smith busy. Ellaria, the bird and dwarf. These two are mine again." Same Battle Order

"Good. Steps forth, heroes." "Thothwick, regret for those that you've left behind. Hoptet in the Hall right now, and another, someone named Bluto. I welcome you to the Court of Demons, and name thee Prince of the Lost." "Dyric, full of regret for the death of a family, full of regret for the banishment from your homeland and your fear of returning there. Dyric, I welcome you to the Court, and I name thee Royal Retainer of the Banished." "Skrall, an old ogre has many regrets. A checkered past, a family who no longer wants you nor needs you, children you may never see again... you even regret much of your time in the Hall. You are almost past regret at this point, Ogre. You have almost welcomed misery and accepted it. It takes a strong Ogre. I welcome you to the Court, Skrall, and name thee Magister of Misery." "Arthur, the young and fiery, heart filled with fear and hate and a past once kept hidden. You are also lost and you despair, grasping at straws in the dark. Your title is to be Scarecrow of Sorrow. Welcome to the Court." "Haldor, son of the north, you have had a scarred childhood. You regret what you are, but wish to accept it as well. Haldor, I name thee the Master of Loathing." "Alexis, who moves from lover to lover with only thoughts for the previous one. You are riddled with guilt. Fineran, Althior, now Arthur, but your thoughts remain only on those past and not on those present. I name thee Mistress of Lost Lust, and welcome you to the Court of Demons." "And now, we move on to the doubters and liars and those without regret. Cronk, who wishes to present himself with no regrets, as pure, as the master of light. You have no regrets, do you?" But before Cronk can speak a regret swims before him, from long ago... "Don't you have any regrets, Cronk? I would have thought at least one, dear brother. I go through all the trouble of trying to save you and for what? You didn't even stick around for my funeral. The saddest part is, she was never in your league anyway. The odds were astronomically not in your favor, but brains were never your strong suit." The Master of Regret glances around the room thoughtfully, but continues. "You are the Lord of Liars, sir. Welcome to the Court." "Nyx, Atramor and Hoke. You live your life differently than the rest. I welcome you all as Apprentices to the court. I hope some day you will do something you can learn to regret." The heroes feel the breath rush out of them. The candles flicker. Their next breath seems... staler, somehow? "Welcome to the Court, brothers and sisters." "Now, as promised, a riddle." "The three Old Gods sat down to dinner and started playing a game." "They first talked about birth. The three asked which of them thought birth was beautiful. Only one of them replied that they thought birth was beautiful, and the other two said that they had no opinion on it." "The second question was about life. The three asked which of them thought that life was rewarding. Two of them said that they thought it was not, and the third one said that they thought it was." "The third question was about death. They asked if they thought that death was something to fear. Two of them said that they thought it was something to fear, while a third one said that they did not think it was scary at all." "Now, I ask you heroes, for each question which of the Old Gods was the odd one out and why?"

"Ellaria, you shoot a pretty shot. Once more from you. Harkenshire, join me in my assault on the Pongcanis, and fire a bolt J. Smith's way as well." Boomingham swings his sword at the Pongacnis again. Same Battle Order.

Felton lays a hand on Dyric's shoulder, and one on Arthur's. "Listen to me, heroes. I always advise we respect our enemies. You both recognize Wren as smart, cunning. We must view the Master the same way. He is offering us up Mephisto's location, but he has explained- he may not break his contract. He agreed to tell no one other than the Court. We simply name ourselves to the Court, and we get the information. Do you not see what he is doing? He is sticking to the letter of the law, not the meaning. It is genus, terrifying if used against us, but in this case, it is not. He is helping. I swear myself to the Court. I swear Hans and Poletad, and McColt to the Court. They all would, would they not Gray Wizard?" The Gray Wizard nods silently. "Do you yet trust me?" "Your family intrigues me, to say the least." <We all do what we must. We have duty. I pledge for myself, Mallelio and Emperor Victor. The people of Dastan will not and do not balk at what is required of them, and neither do Dragons.> "I will speak for Triad. She knows duty like no other. You have our agreement, brother. We will all join the Court."

They haven't said the vows yet. You'll know when they do.

"What's with the little madman? He's full of regret and fear, isn't he? If I didn't have other things to do, I'd let it keep going. I'm not stripping you of free will, just giving you a new title. Joining the Court doesn't mean anything more than you're a member of the Court. I'm not doing anything to alter what you think. Hel, Zander just told a story where he handed Zane's big behind to him. He did that of his own free will, not because I or Mephisto or Zee made him." "You're not going to let me forget that, are you?" "Why would I? I wouldn't be much good at my job if I did. You'll regret it as long as I can make you." "Then I guess I'll have to find a way to stop regretting it," says Zane with a wink towards Zander. The Master smiles at Hoke. "My brother must love you. That's a move I can admire at the least. Regret looks towards the past- you look towards the right now. That's true passion. I can grant you no power unless you're keen on soul consumption, and for that I'd need to make a separate deal with you. A soul for a soul, fair is fair."

The Court isn't a unified force. That's what they keep trying to tell Arthur, but he is too stubborn to listen. Zee and Mephisto serve Chaos, but the others don't have to. It's not important, if he doesn't understand than he doesn't understand. I was just pointing out that my enemies are often just as divided and secretive as my ally NPCs.

He told you point blank he doesn't believe in Chaos. That was essentially his "Chaos is BS" speech.

You think I'd make you regret something from the Master of Regret?! Please, that would be far too straight-forward. As my NPCs continiously tell you guys, stop trying to figure them out. I promise you only this- they will be honest in their dying moments, and before that probably never. Also, if Arthur keeps calling the Court Chaos Users, Zane's going to beat him upside the head. Zane doesn't care about Chaos, and doesn't even believe in it. Zander's too stupid for it, and the Magician doesn't worship it.

"Guess we'll just have to see." The Master smirks.

The explanation of why heroes can't be hurt belongs to Sandy, not I. I don't know if I've published it to the NPC index yet (I will work on that again when this quest is done) but in the Falconer's bio, it is explained that she protects the heroes from death. It's very smart, and all kudos should go to Sandy for it. :wub:

"I can only assume you'll share the information. I can't betray Mephisto's deal. When I sign a contract, I keep to it. I swore to only reveal the location to members of the Court. It's the same reason Zane couldn't tell you." "Did you truly believe I'd never been there? I needed a reason to bring you to the Master here... though in truth, if I could have told you I would have."