fifth trial

[stagemanagers]

[As the investigation ends, you'll hear the Wizard'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. Discord, Elle, Orpheus and Eurydice now have theirs draped in black crepe and with a framed monochrome photo of them on top. At Maya's podium is a stool with a fresh amaryllis flower carefully set on it.

When you reach the podiums, the lights above the stage finally come on. The Wizard is once again waiting for you. Beside it Hester is slowly lowers in on her bubble. She's still in her pretty pink prom dress, her hair restyled and make-up freshened to not be so messy from sleep. It's also worth noting the blood on her skirt from when she assisted in helping Maya with her injury is gone.

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 fifth trial, everyone. It's time to determine who was responsible for the murder of Elle, Orpheus and Eurydice. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and work together - you'll have to show teamwork if you want to leave this room alive.

Comments

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra looks... tired. Every investigation had started early in the day, but this one felt just exhausting.

Add in the current state of her appearance; very noticeable blood stains the sleeves of her flannel shirt while she carries in something wrapped in an outfit out of the costume room. She sets it carefully on the podium in front of her and just... breathes out, visibly sagging a bit.]

I, uh... found Eurydice in the costume room. The place was a mess, and someone had cut out fabric from four bolts in the room. She had a jagged cut along her neck, probably from something bigger than a knife. The murder weapon might have been... well.

[She unfolds the outfit. Nestled inside is, well, a pickaxe.]

This was buried in the clothes there. Along with signs that someone was sick in there.

[What else...]

There were coins over her eyes.

[mcfife]

[He hadn't seen her body, but he can imagine the state of her body. That pickaxe would have given her a horrible wound...]

Elle and Orpheus had coins over their eyes, too. The the cloth, too.

[All of them, together in death...]

[comeandfindme]

...Did Maya? There was a cloth, but— were there coins?

[ She was a little too...distracted, when she came out of the dorm, to notice. ]

[barberic]

And Maya, too, didn't she?

Whoever did that thought she was beyond help as well.

[It was part of the reason it had taken him so long to notice that she was still alive. He frowns.]

...But the cloth that had been draped over her was strangely long for her.

[mcfife]

Whoever tried to kill her wanted to hide the body. Elle's cloth was long...

[It gave him a few seconds of false hope.]

But Orpheus's cloth didn't cover him entirely. He is...was rather tall.

[barberic]

They weren't wrapped, were they? Just covered?

[Like we've been doing with every body since the Balladeer's.]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Neither did Eurydice's. It was just barely enough to cover her. All the fabric bolts in the costume room had been cut unevenly.

[sugarlumps]

So we're looking for someone who's- really bad at measuring?

[dammmit, that could be almost anyone, numbers are bullshit]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Or someone who was in a rush.

[sugarlumps]

I mean if I were already bad at something and had to rush at it I'd probably get even worse?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

I guess.

[Makes sense. Not everyone has an eye for fabric. Not even her.]

It's not easy to point fingers about it then.

[sugarlumps]

And there's, like, no one left who's grody enough to do this on purpose.

[mcfife]

If they didn't have time...they would have guessed their height.

[But she said something about four bolts?]

But why not cut from one bolt of fabric? Why that effort?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

I don't know.

[She seems to be visibly exhausted by admitting that.]

There were four bolts. Each one was a different color. Eurydice's was gray.

[mcfife]

Elle's was a lime green. [It's so random. Why all these colors?] Obviously, they did not care what would best be associated with the victims.

[sugarlumps]

Green and pink can go together sometimes? But, like, as highlights and accents and junk.

[mcfife]

And the others? How do white and grey and teal fit them?

[sugarlumps]

Oh. Those definitely don't, no.

[who the fuck sent these amazing people to the deadworlds with shitty shrouds, why would you do this.]

[mcfife]

This was on purpose. Why the coins, if they were not following Orpheus' example? Why go through the effort of hiding them? Was this their idea of respecting the dead?!

[comeandfindme]

...But...Orpheus and Elle...and Maya, they were all out in the open. The only one actually, like...hidden was- ...was Eurydice.

[ Eurydice's dead. She hadn't seen her body, only heard, and it's sinking in. Eurydice and Orpheus and Elle, all three of them so kind, so protective in their own ways. Eurydice's serious but loving candor, Orpheus's enduring hope, Elle's bright attitude, all three of them gone—

Peregrine pulls her cloak tighter. ]

It's not... It doesn't make sense. Why are they all spread out? ...Why's the- the did they all die the same way? What happened?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

She was barely hidden, if at all. Her body was right in the middle of the mess in the costume room.

[Under a shroud, but... Cass had zeroed in on it when she went to check that place. It was so... unlike her. Unlike any of them. Each one of these victims had hopes and dreams. Orpheus loved her, Elle wanted to get into her dream job, and now all three of them...

It's a wonder they managed to save Maya.]

Maybe... [She searches for words.] Even if they didn't die in the same way, their bodies could have been arranged afterwards.

[brokeforgood]

Hey-- Cassandra?

Did Eurydice have lipstick on?

[brokeforgood]

Orpheus was right by the door. And Elle... Angus said she fell, right? Were they all just killed where they were at the time?

[sugarlumps]

Oh glob, they were probably super messed up from fever and junk.

[Why does this kind of thing keep happening, why can't they just have nice normal killers who are evil and easy to condemn.]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

You're probably right. [She sighs, gaze slipping down to the pickaxe.] Dammit...

[...Oh. That's right.

Cassandra digs into her pocket and produces... A red carnation.]

This was near Eurydice's body.