Excuse me for my tardiness on this day. The terrible events of yesterday evening have forced my hand in seeking outside assistance for it seems our logic failed us at the moment we needed it most.
Long and hard have I conversed with a wise woman from the vale far beyond our village. She agreed with me that the remaining wolf is cunning and deadly, far more so than I think we gave it credit.
There seemed to be only two possible explanations; one, that the wolf would stop at nothing to survive, even sacrificing its own brother to ensure its success and, two, that there is more than one wolf remaining and they are colluding to continue to confuse us.
The former seems to be the most plausible and, for our sakes, I sincerely hope is the case...
So, I have cast my mind back through all things said, both here in the square, and privately whispered to me as tried to eat my lunch and so forth.
Our wolf is cunning. He is toying with us, playing us like pawns. He speaks neither too much, nor too little. He directs us with his words, provides justifications that sound true but are, in fact, false. He is devious and sly.
I say that there are only two candidates for this person, the wolf: myself and Mister Piacular.
I will offer no defence for myself, for if I am the wolf then my words would be lies and should not be trusted.
Instead, hear what I have been told and what we have seen and draw your own conclusions as to Mister Piacular's nature, for if I am your true friend, and if I am right -- which I may not be, I admit -- then he is your enemy, the devil who has killed us and caused us to kill our dear friends.
It was the day in which Farmboy Midgert was found slain when Mister Piacular confided in me that someone had approached him and confessed they were sent visions from the gods: a seer, no less. My impression, perhaps incorrect, and tenuous, was that he came to me directly with this information. Again, my impression, albeit from what scant observation I could manage there and then, was that he could only be referring to Barman Bambi or Vicar Waterproofbob. Our Vicar turned up dead the following morning and my sense is that the gods have not been with us since that moment.
It is ever so tenuous, but picture this... our Vicar, a seer, approaches his assumed friend, Mister Piacular, and declares his supposed gift. The following morning, he is dead. Who else might he have told? No one, I suppose...?
I am not done with that one tenuous piece of evidence, circumstantial and hearsay at best. One more thing...
Notice how Mister Piacular has always lead the voting for the one who has been killed? Notice how he even lead the vote that lead to the demise of the wolf Thatbloke? He has directed our thinking, cajoled our choices, narrowed our minds to short options. Certainly, I applaud a citizen's strength of character to step forward and risk everything to unmask the demons amongst us, but what if this was no unmasking? What if it was all so arranged so that we assume Mister Piacular's innocence simply because he'd "obviously" not vote to slay his own wolf kin, nevermind lead that charge!
Could it be someone else? Surely as the sun will rise tomorrow for those who live out the night. Could it be Barman Bambi or Farmer Nanor as Mister Piacular suggests? Again, surely as fire burns and ice freezes. Could it even be me, pulling your strings and working to cajole you in one last desperate gambit to preserve our village? Indeed it could.
But the time is too early for last gambits, if one is the wolf. I say to you that the wolf would not risk himself yet, would seek to keep our attentions on tenuous threads, keep the options open, keep us guessing. We're guessing, certainly, and often randomly.
I say to you that should neither I, nor Mister Piacular, be the wolf then he is more devious than I can even imagine and, honestly, I am lost; at that, we might as well spin a bottle or draw straws to see who shall be lynched at sundown.
But if it is one of us, and the time is too early to make this "him or me", then I say to you it is Mister Piacular who is the wolf, not I.
There is little point in further words from me. I have said all I can, displayed every shred of reasoning I can bring to bear.
I say choose between him or me, no others. There is no evidence against them, just as there was no true evidence against Behind You or, it turns out, Brave Tetsuo.
Him or me. Him. Or me.
If you come for me, I will not resist. I shall follow Brave Tetsuo's example and pray for you all and hope, against all hope, that you find the last wolf before all is too late.
I vote Mister Piacular.
Let yourselves be heard.
Piacular was the only one who tried to justify killing tetsuo making it fair, you went with a gut instinct and behind you was intent to kill nothing more.
