No Backward Glances

[stagemanagers]

Today is the day of the promised grand finale. And, strangely, nothing about the Opera seems especially different this morning. The theatre doors remain locked. There's no smell of blood in the air, no trashed rooms, and no dead bodies to find. In the lobbies, the crystal chandeliers are still in their places, not swung about by any mysterious force.

But there's little things. It may take a while to notice, but the lock on one of the doors in the second floor lobby - the one leading to Boxes 5 through 8 - is missing. Should anyone try it, it opens easily and without a sound.

Meanwhile, down on the first floor, the graffiti on the box office walls has once again been cleaned up. In the process, it seems, the box office door was left slightly ajar.



(( As a reminder, these are your teams. Group A gets the second floor, which will involve the area indicated in red, and Group B gets the first floor, with the areas in blue here and down the left to here. Good luck, everyone! ))

Comments

[dechagny]

[A little put off,] Of course I meant evidence.

[aflatouttahell]

Nothing under the bed, either.

[Time 2 keep moving!!! Or something. More investigation, regardless.]

[dechagny]

[Look he'll leave the gun be for now and look around the box for anything else that might be unusual.]

Hmm...

EY YO MODS

[allicareabout]

Hey, you never know with these things.

[Anyway, he'll take the gun while you investigate the rest of the box, buddy, box-dwelling is your area of expertise.

So, mods! Question: is it loaded at all?]

[stagemanagers]

[There seems to be a slight draft next to one of the ornamental columns.]

[allicareabout]

Good question. Not that it's like we can shoot first if it is, but no harm in checking.

[And so.]

[onthebusagain]

Do you think you can move it? I'm not strong enough to push it.

[trettende]

I may not be as strong as say, Valjean was, but it shouldn't be too hard, right?

[ Hans is gonna try and move the dresser so they can look behind it. He can fight a snow monster, he can do this!! Anything back there? ]

[stagemanagers]

[John Wilkes Booth bursts out from behind the dresser, waving a gun and screaming -

- no, there's nothing there.]

[stagemanagers]

[It's loaded quite a bit! Looks like only one bullet was fired from this magazine.]

[trettende]

[ Damn, Billy, he's glad he got on your good side. He'll go ahead and head this way since Bal's room is a bit of a bust. ]

What's down that way?

[trettende]

[ So close to punching Booth in his face, and yet so far. Hans grumbles, looking back at the dresser.

Is the flannel all there was to it? ]

[dechagny]

[Huh. Let's go feel around that column for the source of the draft.]

[stagemanagers]

[Flannel, jeans, a few white undershirts, and Red Death himself. None of this look obviously worn in any way, but feel free to sniff anything you want, you fucking weirdo.]

[dontfeedplants]

Wow. [That was... really careless of them...] Someone who's good at using this should carry it just in case.

[onthebusagain]

[Of course not Hans, you get Heather's applause! So strong!]

[trettende]

[ They don't even smell like him, what's the point. ]

[stagemanagers]

[Sounds hollow.

And, if you find the right spot to press, part of it pops open a little. Pull it open all the way?]

[trettende]

[ At least someone appreciates him. ]

It was worth a shot, I guess.

[dechagny]

[Hell yeah!]

Friends - there's something here...

[pennyless]

[Hans will see the keypad lying on the floor next to Billy's foot, and Billy standing there with a blow torch in one hand in front of the open door.]

I'm not sure yet. Looks like there's five doors, though.

[stagemanagers]

[It's totally dark inside, but the space is small enough that the light from the box illuminates the narrow staircase leading up pretty well regardless.]

[dontfeedplants]

What?

[Huh, so it is.]

Where does it lead to?

[catliketread]

Well, we're going to find out! Who wants to go up first?

[dechagny]

It looks like it leads upwards.

[Oh God is he reaching in to feel for the stairs like he's going to climb them?]

I wonder just how high it goes...