[the guy who be short]

Only an hour later, Fléin returned to the group, bearing what looked like the beginnings of a fence and a heavy sack. All debate died away as everybody turned to look at him, fascinated.

"What have I missed, then?" he rumbled, and was treated to a mumble from ten different people, from which he gathered that only one other vote had been cast, Fordim for SPaM. He glared at the Dogman. What was this, anyway, the village of freaks?

Panakeia asked the inevitable question. "Why have you got the beginnings of a fence and a sack? The werewolves are already amongst us. A fence won't help at all."

Fléin turned his glare to her. "This," he announced majestically, "is not a fence. This," he paused again for effect, provoking a sniff from Valde, "is a numbering device."

There were general murmurs of confusion, but the Dwarf continued speaking over them, so that they died down rapidly. "It works so: For every one of us, there is a stick and a stone. Sticks and stones, you may know, may hurt our bones. Each stick and stone has a name engraved upon it."

"Now, the sticks are to be stuck in the ground in a row. Each person is to collect their rock. When you vote for somebody, you place your stone under their stick. A simple method to keep track of what's going on."

"What do we do with the stick and stone after somebody's been lynched?"

"The stone," Fléin answered with a smile, "is flung at the accused, whereafter the stick may be thrust through their body."

There was an uproar at this comment, especially from those looking likely to be lynched, but the system was reading adopted. Fourteen sticks were shoved into the ground, with two stones around mormegil's, two around Nilp's, and one around SPaM's.

The debate soon continued.