First Trial

[stagemanagers]

[As the investigation ends, you'll hear Hester's voice inviting you to the auditorium. As this happens, the twin doors on either side of the concession stand, across from the gym, will click open. You can enter on either side; both go to the same place.

When you enter the auditorium, it's dark. There's only the small lights along the walkway behind all the seats, just enough to illuminate where you're going. There's a central path between the seats, down towards where you know the stage must be. That's where you must be going, right? As you pass each row of seats, the lights at their ends flick on, marking your procession and slowly making more and more of the room visible. Shortly, you can see your destination: a circle of podiums stationed in the orchestra pit, below the lip of the darkened, curtained stage. They're all identical, labeled with a cast member's name, save for Mumble's, which is draped in black crepe and has a framed monochrome photo of him - Elijah Wood him - on top.

When you reach the podiums, the lights above the stage finally come on. It's time to meet the Wizard.

The mechanical head, with glowing green eyes, is installed above the stage and the still-closed curtain. Even if you were standing on the stage, it'd be well out of reach. It peers down at all of you, its motions fluid, and speaks with a booming, artificial-sounding voice:]

Welcome to your first trial, everyone. I am the Wizard. It's time to determine who was responsible for the murder of Mumble. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and work together - you'll have to show teamwork if you want to leave this room alive.

Comments

[wanderlusttitania]

...........

What if...

[Accidentally shut in. The body experiences stress. Heart failure.

Peregrine screaming what it's like to die alone, not even knowing anyone was there.

But. Yet.]

He wasn't dead yet...?

[She pales considerably as that realization comes to her.]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

...If he wasn't dead but stuck inside... Someone should've heard him struggling to get out, right? They could have helped him.

[fourbutts]

Or... tried, and messed up somehow. So we're here.

[ YIKES, ]

[yourattention]

When you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around—

[He jerks, startled by it again.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Connor's just over Rina. Peregrine glances at him, lips pressed tight. ]

What? What is it?

[yourattention]

No one deserves to be forgotten,
no one deserves to fade away.
No one should flicker out or have any doubt,
that it matters they are here.
No one deserves to disappear.

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine continues to stare at him. Her mouth is a thin line. ]

You wanna believe that the fight will be fair,
That someone will come or that someone will care,
But more often than not, there's no one else there.

[yourattention]

I try to speak, but nobody can hear,
so I wait around for an answer to appear
while I'm watch, watch, watching people pass—
waving through a window

[comeandfindme]

Can anybody see?
Is anybody waving back at me?

[ ...Yeah, they're having A Moment, aren't they? ]

[sugarlumps]

Forests are a real bad place to fall, there's branches and rocks and stuff everywhere.

[brokeforgood]

It's a metaphor, apparently. [She's been through this with him already.]

[violentenvies]

It appears that it might've been a strong possibility, Madame. [Salieri also does not look particularly happy about that news, though he notices the way she pales, and moves closer]

...do you feel faint again?

[wanderlusttitania]

[She doesn't seem to hear him, somehow. She does look like she's going to faint, though, since she is swaying despite holding the podium in a death grip.]

...........

[violentenvies]

Madame Elisabeth? [Salieri takes a step forward, out of his box, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder]

Are you alright?

[wanderlusttitania]

[As he gets closer, he can see how truly dazed and hazy Elisabeth's eyes are. She doesn't even seem to see him, or where she is, or anything.

There is also a very base terror in the gleam of her eyes, as if she is seeing something for the first time, and in this, she starts to shake violently.]

.........he wasn't dead.................

[She's in shock. A great deal of shock.

Something is not right.]

[voicerights]

Salieri. Go to her.

[Does it really need to order that but yeah GET MOVING, HUMAN]

[violentenvies]

[Salieri goes very still at that, eyes widening slowly in realization as he notices her expression, going pale as well as he gets closer to her]

Madame Elisabeth. [hsi voice is strained, cracked]

Madame Elisabeth, you didn't...

cw: ptsd-ish flashback [1/2]

[wanderlusttitania]

[There is no comprehension, at least of the present world, in her eyes. SQUIP, being...well, SQUIP, would probably know what's wrong, given the symptoms.]

....fix this......

...whoever did this to you-I don't-just...don't move, just stay...stay here, monsieur, you'll be...

...

y-you'll be...

[No one else can see it, what she's seeing. But they will see the tears start to stream from her eyes.]

[2/2]

[wanderlusttitania]

[Then it breaks. Her eyes start to clear, and something of comprehension returns-as does horror as she sags into her podium, staring down at her lectern with wide eyes.]

...................................

[A shaking mouth slowly goes to her mouth, and a sob comes from it.]

God no, no, no...!

[voicerights]

[And again, to Salieri;]

Hold her. She is going to collapse.

[violentenvies]

[he moves immediately, hardly needing the SQUIP's prompting as Sissi starts to collapse, one arm going around her waist, the other to her elbow, bracing her against him, but also curling around her somewhat, as if that would somehow protect her.

His own eyes are wide and he's gone very pale, and there is absolutely fear and shock written on his face]

Madame Elisabeth, you---[he can't say it. He cannot say it. He can only pull her closer, one hand going to her hair, clasping her to him]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus goes pale, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth as things click into place. For a moment, he's horrified, but then it's replaced by something else entirely.

He turns to look at the Wizard, and points at Elisabeth. ]

Look at her! She was trying to help him! [ he shouts, furious and heartbroken. ] You keep saying it has to be done this way but it doesn't! This is all your fault!

[alchemistake]

[Varian is quiet. Watching Salieri speaking to Elisabeth very carefully. He hadn't noticed anything was amiss until he'd said something, but now...]

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah catches Varian's sleeve with her fingertips. She doesn't think he's going anywhere, but she doesn't like what she's watching. She doesn't want to be alone.]

[mayavericks]

[Maya is shifting her position -- no longer glaring at the wizard, but turning her attention to Sissi. She positions herself between the woman and her charges -- save Salieri, apparently.]