( TRIAL - WEEK 5 )

[abhoth]

At exactly 11:30 am, all residents who are still asleep will be jolted awake by a sharp, burning pain that spreads across their whole body. A simple look will reveal no visible injuries, oddly enough, and the pain will fade away as soon as they're properly awake. Those early birds who are already up and about will feel nothing — except maybe a strange, mysterious sense of relief as they go on about their business. Lucky them. Moments later, an announcement will come through the static-filled PA system: "This is Craftly speaking. My apologies for the rude awakening, children. As the Dining Hall is still under reparations — today's trial will take place by the pool. Please do try to be there before noon. My staff members have simply too many duties to tend to, to be escorting each and every one of you out of your quarters. Good day." And true to his words, anyone who doesn't make their way to the Outdoor Dining Area before noon will be dragged kicking and screaming regardless of where they've sequestered themselves. Sucks to be you, huh? Upon arriving there, however, residents will be given the menu, one copy of the rulebook, one pencil, one notepad, and a cheque folder. Due the Kitchen and Dining Hall getting wrecked, lunch and dinner will mostly consist of grilled and barbecued menu items. Hamburgers, hotdogs, salads, and items that require little preparation — all the residents have to do is ask in order to receive. Similarly, all beverages will be retrieved from a hundred quart cooler that has been placed by the side of the pool. Not as fancy as usual, but at least the pool is clean now. Some inflatable pool toys lazily swim in the water, along with pool noodles. A single towel that still has sludge on it floats among the accessories in the pool. Looks like no one bothered to really clean it up from Friday. Every now and then, the waters will vibrate to the sound of buzz saws and assorted power tools. Looks like the Disposal Room, Dining Hall and Kitchen are under reparations still. A tent has been placed over the area to shield the residents from the sun, and to make up from the lack of transparencies everyone will receive a small booklet containing each resident's profile. They look a little bit like shitty PowerPoint presentation handouts, but maybe it's part of the charm. The profiles of the deceased are included, as always. A second tent has been set up in the parking lot, complete with an air conditioning on the inside. Its use will become rapidly apparent once the victims corpses have been wheeled in. Anyone who wishes to step into this area will be asked to wash their hands, and will be given a pair of latex-free gloves and a hairnet by a staff members who is stationed nearby. Residents are required to dispose of both items before returning to their table; a trash bin is available outside of the tent for this purpose. Evidence found during the investigation, on the other hand, will be displayed in a table by the pool shed. Any items found by the residents on Friday will be displayed here for further examination. Finally — one of the grandfather clocks has been kidnapped from its respective floor to show the current hour. Please do remember you have until 9:00 PM to figure out whodunit and cast your vote. And if anyone tries to leave the area before the trial is over? They'll discover an invisible wall blocking their path. ( victims ) Characters will be given nine (9) hours to discuss everything related to the investigation to hopefully solve the mystery behind this week's murder. No one will be allowed to leave the Pool/Outdoor Dining Area (the pool shed will also be locked), and all characters must cast their vote before 9PM EST. You may do so on this week's voting page. If you have any questions or doubts, shoot us a PM or a PP over at yuggoth. ( quick navigation ) voting | profiles | menu | locations | ic rulebook

Comments

[abhoth]

[Yeah. He just laughs at that.]

No, no. The gods are after a more coveted prize. Entertainment. There's nothing that satisfies their desires like the suffering of mortals.

[pinesfortruth]

[......... there's the most deadpan expression on his face. WHY ARE ALL HORRIBLE BEINGS THE SAME WAY]

That actually makes it way more believable for me. [fuck.] Why did you make the "Hunter" group?

[abhoth]

Because I wanted to see this game end as swiftly as possible, Manson. While the dead are subjected to a horrible fate... it was not my desire to see another take the deal. The contract is cruel and binding, far more than any mortal should be forced to endure.

[pinesfortruth]

[he's listening, which is a lot more than he's done on this subject for. the whole week, probably.]

... The only way out for you is for someone to take your place, right? Unrelated to the deal we'd have to take if we want the dead out. [which they don't have much of a choice on now since the dead to living ratio is a bit. skewed. thanks, detroit.]

[abhoth]

Correct. Unrelated to the deal, the only way to replace me is to kill me. However—

[He glances at the sun before continuing.]

... You will lose access to the deal if you kill me first.

[pinesfortruth]

[dipper gives the sun his own "yikes" stare before moving on]

Only one facilitator per batch, huh. And... you can't die any other way than someone killing you?

[abhoth]

[A shake of his head.]

If I could, I wouldn't be here.

[pinesfortruth]

... That sucks.

[AN UNDERSTATEMENT BUT, Y'KNOW]

I'm guessing it's also kind of hard to find a way to undermine things from the inside with... that. [gestures to the sun]

[abhoth]

It is. If this cycle were so easy to break, I'm sure one of the many individuals under my employers would have found a way to bring everything to an end.

[pinesfortruth]

[he's thinking]

... We can choose to keep our memories of all of this, right?

[abhoth]

Correct. If you make it out of this realm alive, you will retain your memories. They are part of your soul, after all.

[pinesfortruth]

....... Has anyone ever tried to break the cycle from the outside? Do you know?

[abhoth]

I've heard of tales, yes... But as you can see, they have been entirely unsuccessful.

[pinesfortruth]

So far.

[that line of questioning aside:]

Why those three in particular?

[abhoth]

Do you mean the Hunters, Mason?

[pinesfortruth]

Yes?

[look he's salty he wasn't part of the detective faction deep down inside]

[abhoth]

... I suppose it was their raw determination that caught my attention. Hope. The power to follow through with their convictions, regardless of what the masses believe.

[pinesfortruth]

... Fair enough.

[is he-- yes he is still pouting about it. he's twelve. he'll get over it]