Mafia Game 1 (IC)

[Grillick]

Debate around the village hall is heated, but it is clear before noon that only two candidates are being considered. Shortly after the noon bell rings, the villagers have settled on the first of their number to be sentenced to death for the murder of Grillick. Dominic Decario is chosen, and quickly tied down to a chair while the gallows is erected. Just as the sun begins to pass below the horizon, the fateful tree is complete. The villagers wonder silently how they will know if they have chosen the right person. Does the mafia carry badges? Weapons? Dominic Decario resists as the villagers drag him up to the gallows, crying out his innocence the entire way, but his struggles are no match for the entire village.

 

The noose is placed over the young man's head and pulled tight, then he is lifted up onto a stool and the rope is pulled, not quite taught, but tight enough that the feet will no reach the floor. The entire village is caught up in the excitement of the event, and nobody is quite sure who did what, but at the end of the day, the stool has been kicked over and, after a few twitches and a disgusting gurgle, the body of Dominic Decario hangs silently from the gallows. None of the villagers says a word, finally realizing the enormity of what they have done. After nearly an hour, Cato Publius finally goes up to the gallows and rifles through Dominic's pockets. He finds nothing but a few coins and dollar bills. Nothing that would indicate whether he was a murderer. Without looking anyone else in the eyes, each of the villagers goes off to his own home and waits there, watching the door with dread. Eventually, one-by-one, the whole village falls into slumber.

 

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Early in the morning, just before the sun comes up, the village is awoken by the sound of a gunshot. The sound comes from the home of Godfrey. Everyone reaches the scene of the crime at the same time. Godrey's body lies just inside his doorway, as if he'd been entering his home when he was shot. Beside his body, tucked into the crook of his arm, is a note that reads, "He died because you did not believe Nao. Do not let happen again."

 

(Voting will remain open until 10pm EST (GMT -5:00) on Sunday, November 30, 2014)

Edited November 28, 2014 by Grillick

[naTia]

Well I'll be damned. They killed the kid. Dominic had nothing to do with this. As much as I hate loudmouths, I hate sadists more. A decision needs to be made, and quickly.

[Ayayay]

Dear God... what have we done?

[Vincent]

Nvm.

Edited November 26, 2014 by Vincent

[Dietrich]

Dietrich cried out in anguish and fell to his knees; all night, he had sat awake vigilantly, his Bible clutched tightly in his hands in case it was his turn to die, and there it remained as he cried over the body of Godfrey. After a minute, he calms himself, takes the note from the crook of Godfrey's arm, and stands. His expression has hardened since yesterday.

 

"We allowed this to happen. Everyone in PNW Village is equally guilty for the death of Mr. Decario; now we must live with the burden that, because of our improprietous haste, young Godfrey lies dead before his time as well. We mustn't make the same mistake today, gentlemen. There is now at least one piece of evidence in our possession, and it is our duty to think carefully upon it before we rush to inflict undeserved punishments upon our innocent neighbors, as we did yesterday."

 

He carefully hands the note to Nao.

 

"What do you make of this, Nao? Can you shed any light on the meaning of it all?"

[SAI-40]

"We were hasty with Decario, sent a lad to his death just because he was hastier than us. We can't do that again. Let's go through this carefully, was there anyone who would've had a personal vendetta against Godfrey?"

[naTia]

Nao looked at the note. Maybe it was his high blood pressure, or the thought of the young lad's death, but Nao's heart began to quicken in pace. He clutched the note in one hand, not making a sound. He wanted to say he didn't know, but his fellow townspeople may not take such words well. He did not want to believe his own life could be in danger, especially after his cold denial the day before.

 

I think he may be referring...

 

Nao paused, staring directly at the hastily scrawled letters.

 

to my own denial... I think he wants us to turn a blind eye to it all.

 

Nao came to his senses, and gave the note back to Dietrich.

 

I say we cannot. Not now, nor ever shall I turn my back to such an atrocity. The murderer is among us. He who spills the blood of the innocent is the true foe. It is not our place to point fingers at fellow men of goodwill and fair intention. We must act in unison to weed out the man of such terror.

Edited November 26, 2014 by The Captain Nao

[Dietrich]

"As far as I'm aware, Godfrey had no personal enemies in this town. He quarreled briefly with Mr. Decario yesterday, but as Mr. Decario was dead before nightfall..."

 

Dietrich's words trail off; his meaning is clear. He places the note gently on a table by the door, free for examination by the other townspeople, before continuing.

 

"I agree; it is imperative that we locate the wolf in the midst of our flock before it strikes again. But how can we know for absolute certain who is innocent and who is not? I fear that there may be no easy path forward from here."

[SAI-40]

Sean wanders over to the table by the door, reading over the note with a face twisted in conflict. He fumbles for his flask and takes a gulp to wash away the thought of Godfrey's corpse in the door.

 

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got no good damn idea where to start. I'm not ready to lead another person to their grave on a whim. No reason to make the job easier for 'em. That said, here are the questions I've got. First, why does the note make a point to mention Nao and Nao only? Not to say that he's the guilty party, don't get me wrong, but he's been called out for a reason. Second, and bear with me here, assuming that the killer could've off'd any of us, why would he choose Godfrey?"

[Dietrich]

"Yesterday, Nao said that he didn't believe that this tragic situation was real; today, the note tells us to believe Nao. I think, as Nao suggested, that that is what the note is referring to. The murderer wants us to sit idle in the face of his injustices. If we can take action, we should, without a doubt, but after yesterday, I tremble at the thought that we may condemn another innocent man."

[Grillick]

(See updated voting cutoff in edited earlier post)

[Ayayay]

So how can we act? We have neither evidence nor inkling as to who is committing these atrocities. Can we afford to kill another innocent in our blind fear?

Edited November 28, 2014 by underlordgc

[naTia]

Our choices seem to be that we can let the mafia kill us off one by one, or we can blindly accuse. Both of which may mean bloodshed for more innocents, but only one of which may offer an end to the terror within our town.

[SAI-40]

"Blindly accusing people could end the reign of terror--or it could thin our numbers even more and make their job easier. That's a risk that we should not be taking. Nao, if you want to blindly point the finger, feel free, but don't expect the rest of us to follow suit. I want to figure out who it is just as much as the rest of us, but I'm not going to kill another innocent person. Here are the facts that we know: The person we're looking for started with one of the most well liked men in town, and then after we'd killed for ourselves the most brash, unpredictable, and outspoken man in town, they then took out one of the most logically-minded. I don't think that these murders are random, and if something isn't random, then it's pretty easy to track the pattern back to the beginning. Let's just stop for a moment and think about it."

[Dietrich]

[OOC: SAI-40, I never pass your signature's .gif without stopping for at least a minute to watch it. Damn you, sir; damn you and your attention-demanding signature!]

 

"Are you suggesting, Mr. Ian, that Mr. Decario's death was orchestrated by the mafia? That would be a bold suggestion indeed. I'm more inclined to wonder why Grillick was killed; he had no enemies that I know of, and as you mentioned, he was among the most well-liked men in town."

[SAI-40]

[ OOC: You're welcome. ]

 

"If they're one of us, then they may have had a hand, that can't be denied. There's a chance that we might have played right into their hands with our own brashness. We can't take the blame off of ourselves though, we killed Vincent, not them."

[naTia]

There are five of us alive, but only three of us trying to solve this. Where are the others?

[Ayayay]

I have nothing of value to add to this conversation. 

[SAI-40]

I think that everyone is afraid to say what's really on their minds, because no one wants to be the first to point the finger. Look what happened to Dominic last night when he pointed his finger. We can say what's on our mind without sending someone to the gallows. Let's put it all on the table. I myself am suspicious that Nao was mentioned in the note. It's either an intimidatory factor, or a way to try to paint himself in innocence. That isn't an accusation, mind you, just a concern. I'd like to hear a reason why it might not be you, anything at all. I'm not inclined to send you to the gallows, I think you're a fine lad, but I need some reassurance.

[naTia]

I am no fool, as you may all well know. The mentioning of me in a note would be exactly what a mafia member might do. What better way to cause suspicion than to mention somebody in a note? Mentioning myself in a note would be suicide. It would bring extra attention to me whether or not I am innocent, which is exactly what it has done.

[SAI-40]

((I have no idea how to do this in character without making it clear, so I'm just going to do it. I figure something needs to get done, since the deadline is coming up fast.))

 

"That is exactly what I was thinking, and I think it was an attempt to soil your name. Reading this note though, I've noticed something I find particular. There's a mistake in the wording."

 

Sean pulls a pen out of his pocket and twice underlines what he's talking about, and then passes the note to Nao. It now reads "He died because you did not believe Nao. Do not let happen again."

 

"It's something subtle, but I've been looking at the note for any sign of evidence, and I think that mistake is the most damning piece. This is a mistake I've seen Lucky make a few times in his writing. I think that he's tried drawing attention away from himself--either through trying to force attention onto someone else, or by keeping silent so as not to draw attention to himself. Out of all of us here, he's the one who seems the guiltiest to me."

Edited November 30, 2014 by SAI-40

[Geronimo]

As fire when thrown into water is cooled down and put out, so also a false accusation when brought against a man of the purest and holiest character, boils over and is at once dissipated, and vanishes and threats of heaven and sea, himself standing unmoved. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

 

What did you say Mr. Sean Angus Ian?

[Ayayay]

A spelling mistake? I...I'm not sure I can justify the ending of a life over something like that... 

 

His voice trails off and mutters something incoherent before regaining his composure

 

I certainly don't fault Ian for trying to indict Lucky but I'm not sure I can bring myself to support this initiative.

 

(ooc) Can we just not vote for a round or two?

Edited November 30, 2014 by underlordgc

[naTia]

Sean Angus Ian points out what I was too afraid to say. Lucky has made this same mistake many times. When trying to find the culprit, we must look for a signature. This is it, and I think this can lead us to our villainous mafia member. I cannot stand around and watch Lucky get defensive multiple times. If we are pointing fingers, I'd say Lucky is our best bet.

[Dietrich]

Dietrich looks conflicted. He glances at the note in Nao's hand, and then at Lucky. He knows that the evidence is there, but it's not very strong, and he's reluctant to bring a man's life to an end over it.

 

"You're right, Mr. Ian, but... as Mr. Publius said, we're contemplating killing a man here. Lucky may seem guiltiest, but by what margin? A misplaced preposition? The evidence stares me in the face, but I don't know if it's enough to justify another lynching..."

 

The minister struggles with his own morality for a moment, still looking between Lucky and the note.

 

"What have you to say, Lucky? Why would you so quickly accuse Mr. Ian of murder rather than defend yourself from his accusation? That seems as suspicious to me as any grammatical connection between you and the writer of the note."