week 6 - trial

[productions]

week six trial



[At 9 AM precisely, the old grandfather clock chimes once again, and the doors to the drawing room are opened. They will remain open until everyone has come inside, after which they will shut behind them. It is not possible to leave on your own, although perhaps if you have a specific purpose the hostess will allow you to go, as long as you are accompanied by a partner.

The room is set up comfortably, with several tables by the fireplace set out to assist with the trial. The Hostess will also remain in a seat near the fireplace, next to the scales on the mantle. At lunch, the doors will open to bring in a large meal on an automatically rolling buffet, and at 3 PM, tea and finger sandwiches will be served. You'll be able to enjoy the trial in comfort, of course, but the information cards set out on tables will not allow you to forget your true purpose here.

At 7 PM, the trial will adjourn for the day. Players will be escorted by the Hostess to the ballroom, where dinner and wine will be served until 10 PM, at which point players will be required to return to their wings in groups with their wingmates and will be locked in their bedrooms until 8:30 AM the following morning.]

victim



suspects



Character Statuses
Setting
Manor Rules
Cheat Sheet
Voting

Comments

[obsideo]

Guys, the autopsy report is being vague again.

I'm not much of a chemist, but I tried looking up some things about magnesium. It seems like it could be used as a sedative. Or maybe even a poison?

[throe]

Maybe someone was trying to put a hex on him by using his pomade, but performed it incorrectly in the process so they had to go with second best!

[obsideo]

Someone knows how to make a poison from chemistry, but thought their best shot was a hex?

[throe]

It's in the spirit of the season, don't you think? Maybe they were trying to make it look like it was a... spiritual occurrence, rather than an actual one to get them off the hook.

[obsideo]

That's...actually not a bad theory.

But why? They knew we'd be given a list of suspects.

[throe]

To deter away from the actual crime. Isn't that what framing and deception are usually about in these cases?

As it is, there are way more Halloween-relevant clues in this case. For all we know, some of them might not even be related and are placed here to fit the whole theme of the mansion itself, rather than the actual murder.

Maybe one of our suspects is enthusiastic about the season and felt the need to play along. [ A pause, then a smirk. ] If that's the case, you can cross Spain off the list.

[notyetlost]

Why does he get to be crossed off? [Spain's a jerk.]

[throe]

Have you seen the way he reacts to someone even mentioning spirits? No one could play up being that afraid, especially him.

[notyetlost]

That's not fair that he gets off just because he's a total wuss!

I don't like this junk either.

[throe]

That's exactly why he would get off. Why would someone so terrified of spirits try to perform an occult-related ritual? Or even make it remotely look like one without fear of releasing spirits from another plane?

It's like Latvia dismembering Belarus. Unless he's playing everyone a fool, there's no possible way Spain would even consider committing a crime if he knew their spirit is going to come back in some way. You might not like it, but he's terrified of it.

[ She is being as vague as possible in insinuating that she has both caused and witnessed it first hand. ]

[notyetlost]

Fine. Then if Spain gets off then I should totally get off too.

Wearing costumes is fun and going door to door and extorting people for candy is one thing, but I wouldn't do something like this either. I'm Catholic.

[obsideo]

He's not a Halloween fan?

[throe]

I think he's terrified at the notation of life after death and the unrest of spirits. Malicious or not.

[obsideo]

Ghosts and stuff, not actually that big of a deal. But okay, creepy magic and ghosts not his thing. Think chemistry is?

[throe]

If we don't account any of the ritualistic stuff as clues, then... [ She shrugs. ] Maybe.

Didn't Latvia say something at the last trial about knowing how to recognize poisons...? I don't think he'd be that dumb to admit something like that and then kill someone by poison a week after, but getting his opinion on the matter might help.

[obsideo]

That's another good point. If only we knew what that stuff on the boil was.

[balzams]

I-I never said that!

I know how to recognize alcohol... If it's bad or if there's something strange in it I can tell, but I really don't know much about poisons in general.

[pandacea]

[OH BOY CHEMISTRY she can finally be useful!]

Magnesium is essentially nontoxic - you would need quite a lot of it to poison someone, and as it does have a taste, Clyde should have been able to tell immediately whether someone dosed his food or drink with it. It can act as a sedative, but its effects are quite mild. In fact, alcohol would have been a better choice and a less suspicious one if the killer intended on sedating him.

[obsideo]

Hm. Maybe there's another reason why they would look into Magnesium?

[inthebones]

Magnesium will also react with water when heated, but... rather mildly. I can't really imagine a murderer circling the means of death he intended to use, though.

[pandacea]

That's right! And it is also quite flammable. It would burn very brightly if someone were to ignite it, so I am not sure why they would want to do so unless they wanted to draw attention to themselves.

Perhaps our killer has a poor memory?

[obsideo]

It might not be the cause of death. But if no one else circled it, it might mean something. Maybe...they wanted to burn it brightly?

[inthebones]

...I assume you don't mean as some sort of demonic ritual in the parlor.

What would they need a bright glow for? There are candles.

[obsideo]

I was thinking to light the way at night. But maybe they meant to create a distraction, it didn't work, so they created a different one.

[inthebones]

The glow of magnesium wouldn't last very long, I don't think. I'm not sure who would have been drawn by the light.

...Perhaps everything is a distraction.