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

[godwhisperer]

[He's just listening quietly to this, his expression not betraying anything he thinks about this story.]

They are not among the creatures I have chosen to work with, but I have had a hive before to tend to.

[speakveryclearly]

Okay.

You must be aware of how they have a... President? Empress? What's the Earth word again...

I'm sorry-- much as you could refer to the mammals of your world having a "mother and father", we likewise didn't have an additional word that distinguished other insects of Alternia in their method of lineage.

[godwhisperer]

A Queen, we would say.

But you do refer to your...Mother.

[speakveryclearly]

Yes... she wasn't my mother in the way you would understand it. We aren't raised by our genetic donors but have guardians - lusus naturae. Being raised by the mother grub was in fact highly unusual, since of course there's only one or so at a time and they can only take on one charge each.

In most generations the mother grub never takes on a charge at all, and doing so guaranteed she would die relatively early, which is why the matriorb had to be extracted instead of laid like any other egg.

I just called her "Mother", when she was alive, as an affectionate shortening of "Mother Grub".

[godwhisperer]

I see. It is a common notion, among creatures known and unknown to mortals alike, that such a thing would occur. Many species have their lives shortened by procreation...and though few are raised by a species other than their own, I myself am familiar with this concept.

[speakveryclearly]

You are?

[Faintly remembering something, but not words said to her directly, so it dissolves like marzipan in water]

Not surprising.

[godwhisperer]

Hm...

And failing to hatch this orb, what will occur? You said the survival of your race...there are no other eggs? No other colonies?

[speakveryclearly]

[Her hand rests on her forehead as her think pan begins to ache, with the exact details of the meteor disaster getting blurry thanks to the Hostess.]

The only such remaining egg was blown to pieces before my eyes almost a sweep ago...

Synthesizing an alternative is theoretically possible - and this manor appeared to prove that. The resources necessary [the word grist cannot leave her lips anymore, with the serial numbers of SGRUB filed off] I had believed couldn't be collected over the course of ten lifetimes, let alone one, and my species lives longer than yours.

Humans in general, I mean. [because God only knows how many millennia Gundam has spent on the astral plane of course]

[godwhisperer]

...

To say it cannot be done is an insult to me. Do you know the countless species I have brought back from the brink of extinction? Their circumstances were far more dire than your own.

I THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN BUT I'M STILL TOUCHED OMG

[speakveryclearly]

[Her jaw drops.]

Gundam...

[godwhisperer]

I will find a way to accomplish it...even without the orb, it is certainly possible. The abilities I have mastered have prepared me for this occasion...

[speakveryclearly]

[Gundam... has floored her. She cannot remember another human being ever taking her plight so seriously.]

You're going to face quite a challenge... in navigating to my universe... [that is a genuine logistical problem] but... you are the most worthy of your kind to take up such a task.

[godwhisperer]

I can no longer travel between worlds at my will, but there are other methods. I will determine what one will be.

[He shakes his head.]

I do not like to live in debt, Kanaya Maryam. You provided succor to my Dark Gods, so I must repay that debt.

[speakveryclearly]

[SO THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT... the revelation actually tears Kanaya's heart out. Like figuratively but still. It's like glancing across the street and not being able to stop it without running through traffic. Though you probably could if you're a vampire. But you're a normal person, and powerless.]

That wasn't an altruistic act on my part... You were one of the most accepting towards my form and nature from the outset--I wanted to maintain your favor.

...Though I did also misunderstand the abundance of "the orange orb" and think they were at risk of starving to death if this game lasted as long as it has.

[godwhisperer]

I know.

[He doesn't look particularly hurt or upset by the comment. That's what he assumes most people who approach him would want.]

It is ironic because my favor is meaningless to you. I would, and will, still vote for your execution if I believe in your guilt. But this is another matter.

...Besides, it would have been an easy route for you to attempt to rouse suspicion against myself and the Dark Lady for your own protection. You did no such thing, you played your part honorably.