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FIRST TRIAL
Trial I
The opera house doesn't seem to have gotten any changes. There are no lights on the windows, the lobby is dark. Only when everyone is gathered there something does happen: Rembrandt appears, opening the main stage doors, the large and heavy doors creaking when they open.
Rembrandt herds everything together, guiding them down the halls of the seating area. You better not stray from the hallway -- there's a very palpable sensation that something's deeply wrong about this place. You may perhaps see the form of something moving, blending with the darkness. Wait...it's several forms. A few pairs of intensely blue eyes, eyes that so far only Ango may have seen before, gaze at everybody. You really shouldn't try to approach. At least they don't try to come closer, cowed by Rembrandt's presence.
The main stage is the objective here. It's lit rather brightly, with the spotlights the Lady had used for her introduction a few days ago, illuminating the stage. In what's a rather ominous touch, the backdrop depicts hellfire. There aren't any props around, other than a few seats that seem to be spares for seats in one of the minor auditoriums, not even enough seats for everyone. Rembrandt blends into the darkness.
"Welcome!"
That's the Lady's voice, coming from high up. Looking up, you'll find a balcony to a side, large and with two seats. There's the Lady, wearing her dress, visible even in the darkness. She's standing up right now and leaning on the railing, shouting at them.
"Let's try to make this short and sweet. We figured it'd be fun if you all got to discuss who killed dear annoying Elliot. Give us a name, and we'll execute that person. Nice and simple, don't you think?"
"So, culprit who saved so many people from us...now you have to struggle for your own life. Oh, we never told you about this before? Don't feel bad, there's a lot we don't tell you all about. She sits down, adjusting her dress.
"I'm not going to pretend I care about you all catching the right person. Just give us a name and let the culprit go free, for all I care. Get started, we don't have all day to do this! You only have seven hours! Get moving!"
Here you are, all the actors in this impromptu play about justice, and the audience is...well there certainly is an audience larger than you were expecting. Everyone will hear the noises of those things moving around in the seating area, from time to time directing their eyes at the group, but they still make no attempt to approach. Looks like the audience that really matters is up there, in the balcony.
Let the trial for the death of Elliot Schafer begin.
[OOC NOTE: From the halfway point of the trial and onwards, you'll have the option to ask the masterminds for the chance to get a hint! Be warned, though: the price will involve some body horror for your character. Keep that in mind when deciding to use this option!]
QUESTIONS
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whoops very late but just for ic ref
SOME ADDITIONS
Regardless he then turns to the group with much flourish. reaching into his coat pocket to procure two stacks of parchment, one in each hand. ]
Before you begin—I received several grievances earlier about the quality of the autopsy report. It is of mine and my Lady's utmost concern that you are well equipped for your stay, within reason of course. As such, we have another gift for you.
[ Rembrandt holds up the pile of parchment in his left hand, glove slightly creasing the page. ]
By now you should be more than aware of the very first gift we gave you when you arrived. Sharing is a virtue, but one it seems a few are more acquainted with than others, so allow us to share as well. On this sheet is a list of all the powers you were given. A summary if you will, we wouldn't want to give away all the surprises., nor the actors and actresses who have been cast in each role.
Finally, it is necessary to establish some ground rules, now that this game is properly underway. [ He raises the other pile of papers for emphasis before setting both on the ground in a neat pile. ]
Now, let us properly begin.
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I had a feeling there was more to it than simply killing someone... But what if your "audience" condemns the wrong person?
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Dazai and I investigated the first floor. Right off the bat we found a trail of muddy footprints leading towards the stairwell. The footprints lead me to the fourth floor, where I immediately found that the door to the observation platform was open.
[ she pauses for a brief moment to allow people to process this. ]
The wall next to the door was covered in markings that were made out of mud. These markings were made deliberately and had straight lines and several geometric shapes covering most of the wall. I couldn't tell if they were supposed to make a pattern or if they were drawn randomly. Didn't seem like anyone else knew, either.
Anyone else who investigated the clock tower is free to chime in with their findings.
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I found drops of mud on the third floor! That's where I found these buckets. Maybe this is what they used to make the art on the fourth floor?
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There appears to be at least one dress missing, along with several missing light scarves, and a single missing wig. I do hope none of you dressed up to kill that boy.
[that's absolutely a lie, please tell him someone put on their murdering ballgown!!!]
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I have brought a notebook with crime scene sketches, courtesy of Shin. In absence of photography, this will have to suffice for evidence on the corpse itself. Shin is better equipped to explain his schematics, so I will leave it to him, but know that I was present for the drawing process and he had no time to tamper with the body.
Meanwhile, I explored the area surrounding the body. Allow me to present my findings.
Elliot was carrying a book back full of stationary and knives, many of which were strewn around the body. There were around a dozen knives, some of which were recognizably from our kitchen in the clergy housing. None of the paper was written on. There were a few history books, additionally. None of these items showed any suspicious qualities aside from their presence at the crime scene.
But there were a few more oddities around the main square. For one, there was a muddy dust pan in one of the bushes.
[ In fact, he is holding this very dust pan right now. Did I mention he took gloves from the Opera, too? He did. He is holding it with gloves. ]
This in itself seems like an odd act of littering, but not noteworthy alone. However, there was also a hole in the grass at the corner of the square, near the benches. There was mud around it, indicating there had been digging recently. I tried digging the spot and came up with nothing. If anything, it might be that something used to be buried and was removed. How this relates to the case remains to be seen.
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[ A pause though as he looks at the dust pan. ]
I think that mud was removed from that hole.
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...Was there anything else you think was noticeable while you were investigating and checking the surroundings?
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A Better Autopsy Report
At least he brought Mikami's notebook with him. A notebook full of detailed sketches of the body as it was found. ]
As you can see, many of his bones from the waist up were broken and there is a part of his head that was caved in. I can assume the body had been there for a while since rigor mortis had already set in... I also noticed some scraping and abrasions on both his hands here, and here...
[ Sigh. ] I would have gotten more detail on the body if somebody didn't decide to barge in while I was working. [ GLARING AT RIDEAUX... ]
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[ EYEROLL... anyway. ]
The body did indeed have numerous broken bones, mostly notably the ribs, neck, and hands - from the fingers up to the elbows, actually. There were abrasions on both the palms and the backs of the hands, especially on the inside below the thumbs.
As we've said, part of the skull near the top of the head was severely crushed, leaving brain matter exposed. His face, on the other hand, had only minor damage -- just some abrasions, nothing broken.
Livor mortis had obviously set in, with the blood pooled on his front side, as one would expect if he'd been in that position for some time.
While there was blood on the stone beneath his face and elsewhere, there wasn't very much of it, which could be chalked up to most of it being washed away by the rain.
...All in all, most of the injuries could potentially be explained by falling and making impact with a hard surface, though the extent of the injury to the hands in particular makes me question that.
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Catherd time!
[ Feet checking may have been necessary but also quite the distraction from productive discussion. ]
I shall attempt to reconstruct what we've discussed so far.
Our culprit appears to have thoroughly prepped the clock-tower. The statue, dressed as a female figure, was dangling outside of it, presumably to stage a fake murder scene and attract someone's attention.
Inside the clock-tower, there was the questionable mud art... The buckets as well as the dust pan were presumably used to create it. We have yet to decipher its purpose, but it may have been a distraction as well. The person who made the art is also the person who's footprints we likely have. It stands to reason that this person is the culprit as well.
Elliot was, in some manner, thrown out of the tower. This explains the scattered objects from his bag, that appear to be unrelated to the case.
Evidence we have yet to connect to our scenario in some form is as follows: First, the water splashed in the bathroom. We can assume this is related to the mud adventures, but we have yet to attain consensus about this. Second, the broken bottle that was presumably used as a lamp. We don't know if it was Elliot's or the culprit's.
And third, if any of the strange powers were involved remains to be seen.
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Lamp Check- Hey Ango hey
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Hand Check
[ He's going to be checking for mud under the nails or missed any where, any thing that looks freshly scrubbed, and checking for any injuries on people's hands. What do we have? ]
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Re: Hand Check
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HINT OFFER
It's been more than half of the time alloted for the trial, so the Lady stands up]
You all, amateur investigators, leave a lot to be desired. Fools! So we have an offer to make to you.
[She takes from out of sight a box. With a self-satisfied smile, she pats the top of the closed box]
I have here a gift, darlings. This gift contains valuable evidence that may be of use to you if you use it properly! But of course, something like this doesn't come free. This has a cost, and luckily for you, it's not your life.
It'll be your body.
[She leans on the box, the cardboard creaking under the weight of her arms]
I won't describe exactly what you'll go through after the trial if you accept, but the result will leave you with some...undesirable traits. Let's say your life will never be the same from there on, so think real well if the integrity of your body is worth it. All sales are final!
Keep that in mind. I'll leave this offer open for the next ninety minutes. Anyone who wants to take the offer and pay the price, say so before that time is over. But remember...
...you'll regret it.
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[ If anyone was waiting for Hyoubu to make protests, they'll be disappointed. After he talks to Rean, he turns around and smiles. He claps his hands. ]
You did it! Congratulations. I thought Mikami-san was going to lose an arm or something there for a hot minute.
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EXECUTION
And so, he may as well take this with as much fortitude as possible -- all the better to irritate the Lady with, after all.
As the seconds ticked by, Hyoubu found himself alone on one side of the stage, head tilted upwards, towards the spotlights. As the artificial lights shone down on him, the warmth of it almost reminded him of the sun's rays as it illuminated the deck of a cruise ship, voices of children carried along the wind.
It was just an illusion, really. One that was too easily shattered by the ambience of the stage, the faces in audience and the presence of one of the masterminds.
Ah. It was Miss Coward. And of course, like any good coward, she raised an object -- a gun. Her hands didn't tremble, she glared at Hyoubu coldly, without an ounce of remorse. "I would draw this out were we alone, but this will have to do" she muttered, seemingly to herself, but Hyoubu could hear her. All he did was grin at her in that way that infuriated her.
The noise from the gun was startling, if only because of how loud they were. The bullets that pierced him were far less surprising. Hyoubu looked down at his chest, where two bullets had penetrated him, effortlessly piercing him, blood already flowing down. Looking up, Hyoubu saw the Lady getting closer and shooting a third time. Just for a second it felt like he was back onto the cruise ship, like his mind was trying to give him one last reprieve before death.
That third bullet hit him right in the forehead. Death was instant. Hyoubu fell on his back, like the force of the shot had pushed him. In his lips he still had that smirk that made the Lady so furious, like even after his death he was still mocking her.
The Lady breathed deeply, gritting her teeth, furious. "Rembrandt!" She held a hand to the air. Rembrandt, from where he was, took out a spear, and tossed it towards the stage, where the Lady caught it in her hand without much effort. Grabbing it with both hands, she wasted no time in aiming the tip at Hyoubu, in one swift move and with all the hate she could muster and a scream that showed it, she brought up the sharp spear, right onto his heart, pinning him to the stage.
Once that was done, she turned around, not even bothering to give him a second glance. "Burn it, burn it all. Burn it until there's nothing left!" she ordered, stepping off the stage, into the opera building.
Kyousuke Hyoubu is dead.]
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maybe there's some people who will be encouraged by hyoubu's defiance, but seteth's just tired. two people are dead, and for what?
sigh. he's going to wordlessly leave and head for the danged church, because he lives there now, apparently.]
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