|
Post by wintercoat on Apr 21, 2023 14:39:01 GMT
Caitlin was stuck in the Family Guy death pose, but upon hearing Felix’s voice she lifted her head slightly. “I had ‘im on the ropes, you know.”
|
|
|
Post by Joker on Apr 21, 2023 21:17:23 GMT
"You're alive!" Nico exclaimed, as he ran up to Caitlin to also check on her. He also totally helped in the fight, doing cool moves and flips and shit. You had to be there.
"Is anything broken?"
|
|
|
Post by Collin1002 on Apr 21, 2023 22:30:16 GMT
Caitlin was stuck in the Family Guy death pose, but upon hearing Felix’s voice she lifted her head slightly. “I had ‘im on the ropes, you know.” "I-I'm sure you did, Caitlin," Felix said with an unconvincing smile. "Can you stand?"
|
|
|
Post by satan on Apr 21, 2023 23:04:11 GMT
Hawk grunted as he flicked the sword again, steel sliding on leather with a soft clink. "Hopefully we can find some form of medical supplies. Letting your injuries go untreated would be very unwise."
|
|
|
Post by wintercoat on Apr 22, 2023 0:02:37 GMT
Caitlin tried to stand and fell on her ass. End scene.
|
|
|
Post by Joker on Apr 22, 2023 17:14:00 GMT
“So… Does anyone want to go on the Ferris Wheel or something now that Caitlin’s okay?” Nico asks.
|
|
|
Post by Collin1002 on Apr 22, 2023 22:39:58 GMT
"The ferris wheel sounds fun!" Felix eagerly replied. "I bet we'd get a heck of a view from up top."
|
|
|
Post by Joker on Apr 22, 2023 23:37:41 GMT
"Awesome!" Nico exclaims. "I didn't think anyone would be up for it! Let's go!"
|
|
|
Post by Panda on Apr 23, 2023 9:04:45 GMT
[#spoiler=Part 1] Days passed. It had become clear that the players were caught in some kind of time loop, resetting at midnight every day. The ship wrecking, the storm, the lightning strike: it all reoccurred every day in the same way. Only the players themselves seemed exempt of this, to an extent. They'd been free to do as they liked, not bound by any fate. For a while some tried to use this power to save King and Queen, but somehow they kept dying in increasingly stupid ways, so eventually they stopped bothering. It's unclear if this was also a part of the unalterable fate of the islands, or if the universe just hated the pair. Probably the latter.
At first the loops didn't seem so bad. Everyone was already trapped on the island anyway, so it didn't make much of a difference. However, they soon came to resent how everything they did, everything they created, just got undone less than a day later. On top of that, every day they had to experience the shipwreck and the storm all over again, day after day. It wore them down without anyone fully realising it. People began experimenting with methods to break the loop, like staying up past midnight or avoiding the blimp, but everything reset every time regardless.
No-one said it out loud, but everyone came to the same realisation: the only way to end the loop was for someone to die. This would start a trial, after which the players would move on to the next Demon Realm.
The players started to get antsy. Another murder was inevitable, yet days continued to pass without incident. By now everyone had fully explored the island, other than the cavern with the monstrous plant in it. Faye had at one point returned to the others completely sodden, saying she'd tried exploring the ship's interior via the prison door, but there wasn't anything to find there either. The island was a miniature paradise, but there was only so much they could do here.
Time kept marching on, ever in circles. [/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Part 2] A new day dawned on the island. Everyone found ways to occupy their time.
Some of the players hung out in the blimp, in their rooms or the kitchen. Another group occupied the casino, playing high-stakes Yu-Gi-Oh! for fake money. A few preferred to be alone, despite the danger it presented.
People had quickly learned that the blimp was a bad place to be in during the storm. It got relentlessly battered about, knocking things over and breaking windows, and you couldn't even escape once it started to get bad, as the high winds blew it too far from the Ferris wheel dock. As such, an hour or so before the storm was set to arrive, Hawk, Nico and Felix headed to the exit to disembark. They had been the only ones aboard. However, they met Faye going the other way, soaking wet again. Her familiar, usually ever-present, wasn't by her side.
"Storm's coming soon. Don't stay here long," Hawk warned her.
"I know. Just need to get changed," Faye answered. "I was exploring the shipwreck again, with Korrigan. He can give you the details."
"Oh, did you find something?" Nico asked, feeling a bit excited at the prospect.
"Move. I don't want to spend another second in these clothes if I don't have to," Faye snapped grumpily. The group of three obediently moved out of the way, letting her through.
"We'll just find Korrigan, sorry," Felix said. The three exited the blimp, and Faye returned to her room. [/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Part 3] When Korrigan arrived at the casino, a little after Faye returned to the blimp, he found Caitlin and Yves playing cards. As usual, Caitlin's familiar wasn't there, though nor was Korrigan's for once. "First drinking, now we're all gambling in hell, huh?" Korrigan quipped, finding a wall to lean against. Like Faye, his clothes were damp, but he didn't seem perturbed by it.
"Sod of, ya pisser," Caitlin shot back. She hadn't had much luck against Yves so far.
Korrigan chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm not here to stop you. I just came to report something. Earlier, Faye came to me with a plan for exploring the cave. She'd throw a rock, and I'd enlarge it with magic so it would fall and crush that plant."
"Clever of her, as usual!" Yves said happily. "So did you find anything?"
"You bet! We found a secret passage, right under it!" Korrigan answered. His eyes were probably gleaming underneath his helmet. "Seems it was guarding a trap door. Though... before I get your hopes up, it was a bit of a bust."
"Of course it was," Caitlin muttered. "Since when has this place been anything other than inventive forms of torture?"
"Yeah... The trapdoor opened up to some kind of watery passage. We both dived down to check it out, but it turned out to just be another doorway to the ship's interior. We followed it along, and found it led to the exit at the prison."
"Oh. That's... um, disappointing," Yves admitted. "B-but maybe there's more to explore, now that the plant's gone?"
"Maybe! Probably best to wait until the storm's passed, though," Korrigan said. "That's everything I had to report, anyway. I figured there'd be more people here, honestly. I'm sure more will come by later."
Time passed in the casino, with Caitlin and Yves continuing to play cards while Korrigan observed. At some point Nico and Felix arrived, and Korrigan gave his report to them too. [/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Part 4] Soon the storm arrived, as usual. Caitlin and Yves were joined at the table by Nico and Felix, enough to organise a mini tournament.
The wind outside picked up, and the sea creatures began howling and screeching. By this point, the blimp was too far from its dock to be boarded.
Others occasionally came by to chat, observe or gamble by themselves. Mikoto was first, but then left again a while after. Next was Hawk, who stayed for a while to talk with Korrigan. Then Korrigan said he wanted to go take a nap elsewhere, and Hawk decided he would go patrol to ensure people stayed safe during the storm. It was around this point that lightning struck the clock tower again. Hella was last to visit, watching the Yu-Gi-Oh! players with only mild interest, not having much else to do.
A little more time passed. Then, the five players at the casino heard something new. The wind and sea creatures often sounded like screaming, but this one felt too real. Furthermore, it was a scream that grew steadily louder before abruptly cutting off.
"We need to check that out," Felix said, jumping to his feet. No-one argued. Everyone quickly headed out of the building and towards the where they'd heard the scream: the clock tower. [/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Part 5] A rabbit skewered on a spear, like a hunting trophy.
When the group of five arrived, they found Faye impaled on one of the clock hands sticking out of the ground, blood pooling under her. Her body hung limp, and her eyes were lifeless. The Game had claimed another. [/spoiler]
|
|
|
Post by Panda on Apr 23, 2023 9:04:52 GMT
[#spoiler=Investigation Part 1: Preamble] Felix was first to react, casting Larwm (Alarm) to signal everyone else on the island. Soon everyone else had arrived, pained but not surprised by the sight.
For the first time, the twin demons showed up on the island, alongside M. They restored everyone's SP as usual. Aardok explained that they'd wanted nothing to do with the time loop, so had spent this time elsewhere in the Realm.
"Proceed," M said, gesturing at the crime scene. "You have 1 hour, as is standard. Then return to the beach." [/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Investigation Part 2: Crime Scene] No-one had anything strange on them. Neither Caitlin nor Korrigan's familiars were present.
Hawk cast Golau (Light) on Faye's body. It confirmed that she had died due to being impaled, and that she would have died instantly. The time of death lined up with when the casino group had heard her scream. Faye was otherwise uninjured and healthy.
Feeling paranoid, Caitlin also cast Golau on the blood pooling under Faye. The spell didn't react, for some reason. None of the living players had any wounds significant enough to produce that much blood; no-one could lose that much blood and still walk about normally, anyway.
Hella noted that Faye's clothes had a few minor cuts at the edges. They weren't deep enough to have reached her skin.
Faye's jacket was still slightly damp from the tunnel excursion. It was hard to tell due to the clock hand pierced through it and the resulting blood, but there appeared to be faint handprints on the back of her jacket, consistent with her being pushed.
The clock hand she was impaled on was jagged due to snapping off after the clock tower exploded. When lightning struck the tower earlier, the top blew open and the two clock hands fell down to the ground, getting embedded in an upright position. They were positioned such that someone falling from the top of the tower could conceivably land on one, ending up like Faye did.
Mikoto wondered aloud why Faye didn't just use Gwynt (Wind) to slow her fall. Korrigan suggested that she perhaps had been caught off-guard, and hadn't had enough time to cast the spell.
There wasn't much else to find here. The 8 survivors split into two groups of 4 and moved to investigate the rest of the island. [/spoiler]
[#spoiler=Investigation Part 3: Everywhere Else] One group remained at the tower to start with, and climbed up the spiral staircase to the top. Felix was first into the clockwork room, and noted that the floor felt unstable. When Nico stepped foot inside after him, the floor suddenly collapsed. Felix managed to dive forwards and catch himself on the far edge of the room, while Hawk shot forwards to grab Nico, saving him from a fall. The lightning damage must have been severe.
The group did their best to carefully search for clues, skirting around the intact edge of the floor. Before the lightning strike, the clockwork room had been mostly intact, and there hadn't been a way outside. After the strike and resulting explosion, it was fully exposed to the elements, with the front side and roof completely open.
After making their way down from the broken tower, the group investigated the casino. Other than the remnants of the games that had been played earlier, they found nothing of interest.
Lastly the group explored the cave. Just as Korrigan had described, they found the plant had been crushed by a boulder that had then been rolled aside, revealing a trapdoor. The trapdoor led into a submerged section of the shipwreck. Everyone took a deep breath and dived down, swimming along the ship's corridor before jumping out the door at the other end, emerging at the prison. It was the same door they used to escape the ship and reach the island at the start of each day. They could just about make the journey on a full lungful of air. There had been nowhere else they could reach inside the ship while still having enough air.
Meanwhile, the second group had started at the prison. They didn't find anything of note there.
There wasn't anything at the beach either. M confirmed that nothing had been thrown into the sea or devoured by anything.
The Ferris wheel was as usual.
Last to investigate was the blimp, but it was currently blown too far west to board. M flew up to it and piloted it down to the ground near the dock, allowing the players to investigate.
It was a bit of a mess inside, just as it always was after the storm. Windows were broken, things were knocked over and the kitchen was in ruins.
They entered the flight deck and found it to be in a similar state, with all its windows broken. The control panel at the front was muddy. [/spoiler]
|
|
|
Post by Panda on Apr 23, 2023 9:05:01 GMT
Trial Once they were finished with their investigation, the players gathered at the beach. "You will board, and be taken to the courthouse," M blandly informed them, gesturing to... a submarine? The players knew better than to question anything in this place by now, and made their way to the hatch that allowed access to the vehicle. Once aboard, the airlock sealed and the submarine departed, leaving the island far behind. The submarine had no windows, so there was no indication of progress. It felt like it was far too soon when it stopped and M told them to get out. The submarine was now parked in a car park. Somehow. Nearby was a grandiose courthouse, so the players headed inside. [Theme: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h29zK6_VstU]The court room felt like a stark departure from the island setting. It had a noble air to it, traditional yet modern, oppressive and yet somehow comforting. M must have copied it from a pretty nice place. It was, however, unsettlingly empty. It should have been bustling with life, but instead it was just the 8 of them here, alongside the 3 demons. Their footsteps echoed in a room that was far too large for such a small group. The layout wasn't particularly suited to a trial, at least in the form they'd experienced until now. It was, after all, designed for actual legal battles, between two opposing sides. Everyone just found places to occupy where they could all see and hear each other. M took the judge's seat, while Aardok and Zofra took two opposing sides in the deserted audience stands. "You have all you need. Begin," M declared, blunt as usual. [#spoiler=Lifelines] Effigy Ritual (Hangman’s Gambit): All the characters jointly decide on a question to ask. The answer will be hidden, but each character gets to guess a letter. (Previous players can guess another letter only if needed to expedite the game.) The game will end after too many wrong guesses, depending on the length of the answer. No discussion on which letters to guess can take place. Clash of Wills (Rebuttal Showdown/Scrum Debate): Two (or multiple) characters argue on a point. At the end it’s be revealed which side was closer to the correct answer. Judgement (Climax Reasoning): One character is chosen to put together a numbered list of everything they know about the case. (The number of items in the list is determined by the GM). At the end, they’ll be told the first three incorrect items. Demonic Oracle (Logic Dive)Cleansing Flames (Spring Cleaning): Irrelevant or already-used evidence is removed from the evidence list, to better focus discussion for the remaining unsolved mysteries. [/spoiler] [#spoiler=Meta Notices] The only supernatural elements present during the murder were the players’ own magic spells and any location details that have already been explicitly stated. The location is otherwise non-magical and the NPC characters didn’t interfere in any way. Unless stated otherwise, any time a person is seen, their familiar is also seen nearby. It will always be explicitly pointed out if a character’s familiar isn’t with them. Care has been taken to minimise confusion caused by spells. Many spells are very situation, so have clear places they would be used and aren't applicable elsewhere. Some spells leave clear traces of their use, such as by being unable to be reversed on the same day they are cast, or by leaving something behind in their wake. If an object is created through magic, there will always be evidence of it existing (so you don’t need to worry about “what if the killer conjured up a weapon and then disposed of it somewhere we never found”). Otherwise, trial rules are as standard for these games. [/spoiler] Someone has been killed. The players are now at Sin Level 6. Who is the murderer hiding among them? The trial begins.
|
|
|
Post by satan on Apr 23, 2023 10:04:31 GMT
Hawk leaned against the wall, rubbing his eyes. "Another death, on my watch... Some guard I've turned out to be." His hands dropped to his side, and he sighed, shaking his head. "Alas, it's neither here nor there by this point. Let's get this over with."
He stepped closer to the high table, leaning onto it and examining those within his sight.
"Let's go over what we know for sure. Ms. Liddell fell from some height onto the clock hand, though from where is currently, from what I understand, unknown. The clock tower itself is in shambles; were I a moment slower, Mr. Holden would most likely have fallen prey to the floor collapsing. However, we were unlucky, and found nothing of note in either the clock tower nor the casino.
"That being said, something to note is that one cannot explore the ship after it has crashed without drowning. One would have to exclusively head for the escape door without taking any detours in order to survive."
|
|
|
Post by Akkordian on Apr 23, 2023 11:10:57 GMT
Yves stares despondently, unblinking, at the floor, standing perfectly still. As soon as Hawk finishes speaking, her head snaps up violently and she clenches her fists as her gaze lands on the man.
“You… were one of the people unaccounted for, most of the night. You- you could’ve killed her.”
|
|
|
Post by satan on Apr 23, 2023 12:12:11 GMT
"With a clock hand? Lest we forget, I am always armed, especially when on patrol, and I have stated my own willingness to admit my guilt. You are, of course, more than welcome to hold onto your beliefs."
|
|
|
Post by wintercoat on Apr 23, 2023 13:21:07 GMT
Caitlin appeared incredibly worn-out and defeated. Dry streaks of eyeliner ran down her cheeks and her eyes themselves were bloodshot and tired. “How could we let this happen? Faye didn’t deserve this… I’ll find whoever did this if it’s the last thing I do.”
|
|
|
Post by Kachu on Apr 23, 2023 13:36:19 GMT
Mikoto has their face firmly planted on top of a counter or the witness podium or whatever they're standing near. They look almost lifeless.
They slowly lift their head up. It's hard to tell, but there's tear stains underneath their eyes. They weakly glanced over at Caitlin and Korrigan.
"Where... Where are your familiars? Where were they? Why weren't they with you?"
|
|
|
Post by satan on Apr 23, 2023 14:46:03 GMT
"For Ms. Càrthaigh, I understand." Hawk raised a hand. "Summoning one's familiar when jt, shall we say, experiences several accidents in quick succession is not the best idea to have with oneself. That being said... I am very interested in why Korrigan didn't, and why I found him sleeping in the prison."
|
|
|
Post by Kachu on Apr 23, 2023 14:59:11 GMT
"...Huh? What do you mean?" Mikoto sounded confused. "What did you find?"
|
|
|
Post by satan on Apr 23, 2023 15:20:38 GMT
"Exactly what I said. After I discussed a few things with Korrigan while he was watching the tournament, I left to continue my route. However, when I checked the prison, I found Korrigan asleep in one of the cells." Hawk shrugged. "I confess, I cannot fathom why you would want to sleep in there, but I suppose ine finds a way to rest regardless of location."
|
|
|
Post by Kachu on Apr 23, 2023 15:40:48 GMT
"I'd like to know what they have to say about that, honestly..."
Mikoto shakes their head. "But before that, and before we hear why some familiars were absent, we can try to figure out what happened exactly..."
"Faye must've been pushed off the clock tower, yes? After it was damaged. Which would place two of us up there at time time, likely near the large hole in the roof..."
"But, why on earth would Faye be up there in the first place?"
|
|
|
Post by Kachu on Apr 23, 2023 16:37:54 GMT
Mikoto sneezes. It's red and gross and gets all over the floor.
|
|
|
Post by Panda on Apr 23, 2023 16:38:54 GMT
[ I forgot to write this before, and have now edited it into the post: Faye didn't have her familiar with her either, when she was seen boarding the blimp. ]
|
|
|
Post by wintercoat on Apr 23, 2023 17:50:06 GMT
“I hate magic, and ya know damn well my familiar’s just a complete hassle to have around,” Caitlin explained, agreeing with Hawk. “Why’d I get saddled with somethin’ so stupid? In any event, Faye went up to the clock tower to… hm. I dunno… do ya think that, maybe…?”
Caitlin seemed to be implying that Faye might’ve been suicidal.
|
|
|
Post by Kachu on Apr 23, 2023 18:03:03 GMT
"It's still a little odd, at least, that yours and two others were absent. I don't mean to suggest you're in on something, but I think it's worth keeping track of..."
Mikoto hangs their head a little bit at the next bit. "...No. No no. Faye was pushed. It would be terrible for someone to do that when she was already in a dark place like that..."
"...Why're the blimp controls muddy, anyways?"
|
|
|
Post by Akkordian on Apr 23, 2023 18:29:00 GMT
Yves shoots a glare at Caitlin, but her expression softens a fraction almost immediately, despite her white-knuckle grip on whatever flat surface is in front of her.
“Faye wouldn’t! She- I know she wouldn’t do that… it had to have been someone that wasn’t in the casino with us, the whole time, right?”
|
|
|
Post by satan on Apr 23, 2023 22:35:13 GMT
"Why don't we exhaust all our options first? Given that it could be argued that there are handprints on her jacket, and accounting for her screaming, it would be easy to presume that her fall was involuntary."
|
|
|
Post by Neotelenta on Apr 23, 2023 22:44:52 GMT
"Exactly what I said. After I discussed a few things with Korrigan while he was watching the tournament, I left to continue my route. However, when I checked the prison, I found Korrigan asleep in one of the cells." Hawk shrugged. "I confess, I cannot fathom why you would want to sleep in there, but I suppose ine finds a way to rest regardless of location." Korrigan nods. "That's a fair suspicion. When Faye and I swam through the water, I underestimated how taxing it would be to swim in this suit. Like...incredibly. I needed to recuperate, and I wasn't exactly picky. I fell asleep before I realized I had done so. I didn't want Luca to deal with the water, so I unsummoned him before I got into it, and I forgot to summon him back, admittedly." Korrigan runs the back of his neck. "He normally likes to rest during these trials, anyways, so I'm going to let him sleep for now."
|
|
|
Post by Kachu on Apr 24, 2023 0:13:51 GMT
“So the two of you just… didn’t have them around. Very well.” Doesn’t sound too happy.
“If the handprint on her coat really shows that she was shoved, the killer would almost certainly be someone who shoved her.” Mikoto nods as Yves. Has anyone tasted her coat, perchance?” They add on like it’s totally normal.
|
|
|
Post by wintercoat on Apr 24, 2023 0:16:29 GMT
“No, ya know, it’s the damnedest thing. I meant to give it a good lick when we first examined it,” Caitlin said dryly. “The hell’re ya sellin’ over there?”
|
|
|
Post by Kachu on Apr 24, 2023 0:19:03 GMT
“I wish to know if it was salty. If she truly managed to change her coat, rather; when she went to the blimp to change.”
|
|