week 4 - trial

[productions]

week four 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

[allice]

I'll search Touko's room with one other person. I assume that's fine with you, Touko?

[aozaki]

[Idly fishing out her keys from her pocket to give to Alice, with a light shrug.]

That's fine, just watch your step. I never bothered with keeping a tidy work space, although if you're searching rooms, make sure to check every cupboard and take note of the incentive object. Motive can account for a lot, though I wouldn't mind either, telling you what's in mine now.

[allice]

We'll see what it is when we get there. It should be in the same place as everyone else's if we aren't around to even touch it.

[To the crowd:]

Anyone want to tag along with me? One more person should do it.

[souredsweet]

I can do so, Miss Alice.

[allice]

Alright then, lets go Kaoru. I'll lead the way.

[And off they go to the Ruby Wing, to check out Touko's room.]

Touko's Room ; Ruby #1

[aozaki]

[Touko wasn't kidding when she said 'I never bothered with keeping a tidy work space'. The bed is sort of made, but the ground is... largely littered with cut cardboard box flaps and various sort of fabric strips, some clearly coming from the curtains since it's been half-cut off. There are random pieces of wood retrieved from the stables/outside, also watch the empty booze bottle on the floor--

BASICALLY IT'S MESSY...

Of interest is the top of the dresser, where a few soap carving statues sit. There's one pink block carved out as the splitting image of a blooming rose, a lotus flower, a white cat with a blue ribbon for a tail, and of... a hand (except 100% realistic and properly proportioned), with a familiar business card tucked between the fingers, looking completely natural...

Then there's the desk. At the center sits a wooden doll, clearly a work in progress, although a finished one that's smaller is sitting on the chair docked next to it. Except instead of those plain ones used by artists for modelling references, this one's surprisingly detailed and looks very humanlike - that sort of work must no doubt fetch a decent penny at an artisan market. It's clothed too, in a miniature kimono. Back on top of the table, there's an empty glass burned in with a symbol on the surface, a Norse Rune to be precise, although it'll probably fly over Kaoru's head completely while Alice interprets it as math symbol. OH WELL.

Incidentally, her pocket knife and letter opener are next to that. The edges are dulled, but it shouldn't be hard to deduce in this case what she's been using them for. The tip of the letter opener's been darkened too, as if burnt, because she's been making things and sometimes had to heat it up, okay!! The chloroform bottle's inside the drawer, full, and the hankie is nowhere to be seen.

PERSONAL PROJECTS SET ASIDE.

Please ignore the heavy scent of smoke and how there might be like 3 different small bowls stolen from the kitchen that are serving as ash trays, one on the night stand, one on the desk, and one on top of the cupboard. They're all full. Shhhh.

Speaking of the cupboard where this week's incentive is, inside sits a stub of plant - mistletoe - where the tip is coated in a dark red color. Again; is anyone here familiar with Norse mythology at all??]

[souredsweet]

[guess who is not at all familiar with Norse mythology it's Kaoru. while a few moments are taken to inspect the carvings and look at the dolls, the Norse Rune is overlooked almost entirely. being most interested in the potential incentive, Kaoru will make a beeline for the cupboard pretty quickly, saving the rest of the investigation for after.

except...]

Ah... I have no idea what this is.

[allice]

[Alas, Alice is not the correct Zero Escape character to have weird trivia knowledge on Norse mythology. The rune certainly looks like a "greater than" symbol, but who knows for sure. These sculptures...Touko you have way too much free time to be making these.

(And Alice kind of wants one too, so you aren't allowed to be the culprit ok)

She turns her head over to Kaoru and walks to the cabinet with a hum.]

I'm not sure either. We'll have to ask Touko about it.

[souredsweet]

Let us hope that she answers truthfully. [huh... in the end, it still comes down to the potential honesty of the suspects, doesn't it? even with an actual physical item backing them up. the realization is a little disheartening, so Kaoru's attention shifts quickly from the plant.]

I can search the wardrobe, then, if you would be amenable to checking the bed and chest.

[allice]

Well, I don't know how much she can lie about a plant of all things. But yes, your idea sounds good.

[She'll go off then to check out the bed and chest then.]

[aozaki]

[The plant feels vaguely ~magical~... Maybe Kaoru can feel something from it there, but it's so ??? that it's not really telling, either way.

and of course she has shitton of free time, what else are you supposed to do when trapped in a murder manor rolling around doing nothing while everyone else is dying/getting executed? ALICE CAN ASK TOUKO ABOUT IT LATER...

The wardrobe is fairly standard, although she clearly did her work too since nothing in it looks 1920ish. A modified black ballroom dress, shirts, pants, no dresses... although by the end on the left side, a red 'kimono' (or well, Kaoru will recognize it as nagajuban to be more precise) is hung up, in one color and looking to be completely finished (maybe that's... what happened to the curtain...??). Next to it is an actual kimono, pink in color, in the works. There's no pattern on the cloth itself, but the bottom bears ongoing embroidery; looks like she's been using thread to decorate it, using white thread to give it a more subtle sort of touch.

(if both look like they could fit kaoru, it's purely coincidental.)

...Don't look on the floor in the back corner though, that's

On the bed there are two plush toys of cats. There's two cigarettes (unlit, obviously!!) under the pillow, don't ask.

Inside the chest are more clothes and some random books from the library, one sherlock holmes book because ha ha, the other is about art and culture during the Romantic period of 1800 to 1850. ...Don't dig too deep though, over a quarter in is where discarded clothing that's been used to better other things have been unceremoniously shoved stashed in.]

[souredsweet]

[PROBABLY but yeah if it's not specific to the types of ~magic~ that Kaoru is used to, nothing of note will be discovered there.

as for the wardrobe, taking note of all the altered garments! it's not all that surprising, given that she's already shown her penchant for projects that use her hands and seems quite talented when it comes to such things (the dolls, the soap carvings, the kimono). speaking of the latter, Kaoru pauses for a second, looking at both the nagajuban and kimono with a muted sort of curiosity and reaching out to look at the embroidery for a second. but, as with the plant, nothing particularly stands out. moving on systematically...

WHAT'S IN THE CORNER THOUGH... Kaoru's going to look there!!]

[allice]

She sure does enjoy her useless junk.

[Seriously Touko what is all of this. She picks up the cat toys to examine them and eyes the cigarettes under the pillow, wondering why anyone would just stash cigarettes underneath a pillow of all things. She sighs and rummages through the chest before giving up.]

Found anything useful Kaoru?

[aozaki]

[THE CORNER IS me failing to clear proper lines and not proofreading myself when moving things around

home to too many empty cigarette boxes, stacked up in the shape of the Big Ben.

Just listen to Alice, she pretty much nailed it. Touko hoards useless junk and sometimes she makes useful and nice things out of them.

THAT'S IT, REALLY.]

[souredsweet]

[touko please...

Kaoru turns back to face Alice with a headshake.]

I am afraid that I have not found anything incriminating, no. It is a mess, but there is nothing here that stands out in particular to me...

[allice]

I don't see anything useful either. We'll have to ask her what the "incentive" she received is, but other than that I think we're good in here. Wanna get going?

[souredsweet]

All right. Ah— should we take the chloroform to empty?

[just because that's kind of become par for the course on the room investigations and it generally seems safer.]

[allice]

Oh, good thinking. It hasn't been used from the looks of it, but I don't think Touko will throw a fit over us disposing of it.

[She goes to the nightstand to take the bottle out and hands it off to Kaoru.]

You can do the honors.

[souredsweet]

[takes it with a nod.]

Thank you. I will dispose of it after the trial; for now, I will leave it on the table. If that's all, then... [with one last glance around the room, Kaoru will turn to head back toward the door.]