THE SECOND TRIAL

[strangerpeople]

THE SECOND TRIAL

[After the final clue is found, the ticking sound in everyone's head abruptly stops.]

Well done, well done. Now, I believe you know where to go from here!

[There is the tell-tale rumble once more, and once more, if the Strangers don't go to the garden, there are dozens of bats more than happy to drag them there.

Despite the very dim light of the candles and the tray of "food" in the center of the Ossuary, it becomes clear- once everyone's been chained up and dragged to their designated place-that there are less coffins present than there were last week. Where Eddie, Akko, and Felicity's graves had been, there are nothing but a carefully balanced pile of skulls in their place. It's...best not to speculate whether any of those skulls happen to belong to the dead of your group.

Once everyone is forcibly settled, the scrolls that everyone possesses light up. Five faces appear alongside the evidence.]

THE FAST	THE ENEMY	THE CIRCUIT	THE APPROACH
				THE NOODLES

Now that we are all settled, I suggest you get to it. You do not have forever.

[As the Elder Steward finishes, the clock is ticking again. It's time to decide who is responsible for this horrible crime.


The trial for the murder of Franciscus Erkens, the Scorching, has begun.]

Comments

[inadequacyfeelings]

[...well that sure is a thing to find out about someone who died recently]

Was he...ever caught for that crime?

[relieable]

[for a moment, Osomatsu's hands cover his mouth, like he can't even believe he said that. his eyes are wide, and he's still scared, but... his memories are a bit foggy about this time... he's trying to focus.

slowly, he lowers his hands, looking to Zelda]

Y-yeah... In a trial like this...

[inadequacyfeelings]

[For a moment she's silent. That was a rather ugly thing to reveal about Franciscus, especially if he was indicted and executed in a trial like this one, but...]

I'm not certain how to take this. Would he refrain from killing someone again, knowing he has been caught before and would likely be executed again? Or would he kill and avoid the same mistakes he did last time?

I want to think it would be the first possibility.

[But his change of clothes is suspicious, so...it's hard to ignore the latter possibility]

[relieable]

[he knows it's ugly! he didn't want to say it, but if it will help them in the end...]

He wouldn't kill her again! I'm... sure. He felt really bad about it!