After what seemed like an eternity, Steven capped his pen, neatly folded his letter, and tucked both back into the confines of his jacket. He rose from his perch on a nearby boulder and winced. Sitting in the same spot for so long had caught up with him; his back was not happy. Regardless, he garnered more than a few stares as he approached the group.
"Ah, my apologies," he began with a sheepish smile. "I've been awfully distracted today, you know, with all this." He gestured with one hand at the surrounding cavern. "I guess I just can't help myself sometimes."
"Although," his expression swiftly turned serious, "I'd like to think I've taken in a fair share of today's activity. And because of that, I'm inclined to agree with several of our members: perhaps it is unwise to share too much with each other this early in the game. Information is our best weapon, and it can just as easily be turned against us in the blink of an eye."
Those who weren't staring at him earlier were certainly staring now. Steven set his jaw and continued. "I do realize this paints me in a rather suspicious light, and if it puts a target on my back, then so be it. That being said, allow me to at least put forth my intentions."
A sudden resolve swept across Steven's countenance, and he squared his shoulders to the group. "I will do everything in my power to keep as many of you alive as possible through the end of this... game." For a brief second, his glare flicked over toward where Diyem lounged.
He paused, adjusted the lapels of his jacket, and took a steadying breath. One hand lingered over the outside of his jacket pocket where the letter sat. "I believe I know a few things about the roles some of us may have. As for alignment, though, I can't quite say. To protect as many people as possible, I cannot say exactly how I've come to conclude these things. For all I know, I could be mistaken about a grave number of them. The only thing I do know is that by not divulging anything tonight, our enemy cannot glean anything from me either."
Another sheepish smile spread across Steven's face, and he ran a nervous hand through his unruly hair. "Ah, perhaps I've just talked myself in circles. It's all written down here in my notes, though if you do try to take the letter from me, it cannot be read by anyone else. The same magic protects anything written on the paper, no matter who the author was, at least as far as I can tell."
"Please know for now that while I have my suspicions, I have no plans to act on anything without further evidence. Before the day is over, though, I intend on casting a vote. For now, I'll simply say this..."
Steven turned to regard the small, devil-like creature that had calmed considerably since their initial meeting. "Kent, I believe your innocence."
"Now," Steven faked a cough and turned on his heel. "If you'll excuse me, I do believe I saw some quartz just over there."
. . .
"If I may be perfectly honest, if that is the extent of your reasoning, then I see no point in following it. Should I truly be forced to choose, your collection of dubious decisions is more suspect to me than someone merely having a friend. However, I do not wish to be so afraid of losing two people, that we pretend we have information that we don't, and lose three as a result of that denial. I still do not think that you, despite being my most suspect should I be forced to choose, are much more likely than a random selection to be bad."
HE... HE DIDNT HAVE ANY FRIENDS AND NOW HE'S... (CHOKE) HE'S GONE-
(SOB) (SOB) (BWUHHH)
