THE THIRD TRIAL

[strangerpeople]

THE THIRD TRIAL

[After the finale clues are found, the ticking which we totally didn't forget to add to the investigation post in everyone's head stops, and the Elder Steward's voice echoes through the webs.]

Excellent. Now, please, proceed to the ossuary! Do not tarry.

[Just like before, the Ossuary rumbles upwards to accept the remaining Strangers, with bats hassling those who take too long. Just like before, chains drag everyone to their respective coffins, and in the center are souls for sustenance. You might expect the only true difference to be that piles of skulls now replace the coffins where Zelda, Bangladesh, and Jun might have otherwise stood when they were alive. However, one more change has been made - Eric's coffin is now quite a bit fancier and even a little less coffin-looking. For example, it has a nice chair! Apparently there's some favoritism afoot.

Once everyone is in place, the Elder Steward strolls forward to the edge of the circle, hands crossed beneath his robes. The scrolls glow to reveal the evidence and the suspect list as this happens.]

THE OVERBOARD	THE CIRCUIT	THE RUBBER	THE NEON
				THE ENEMY

Now. Let us get started, shall we?

[And with that, the ticking begins anew. Someone killed. It's time to decide who's responsible.

The trial for the murder of Jun Ushiro, The Launcher, has begun.]

Comments

[hexposition]

...Ask me whatever you will. I think we already know how this ends.

[It looks like Emma's already marking on her scroll.]

[whiterosefoes]

[Harriet glances up from the scroll, where she was glowering down at her own picture.]

What, you're just going to give up? If you actually did it, great, but let's have a proper confession if that's how it will be.

Frankly, I doubt it. I know a trap card when I see one.

[relieable]

[Osomatsu would say something to her about her defeatist attitude but he was the same way, wasn't he? still he gives her a withering look]

Why don't you just tell us what happened? What brought you up to the library in the first place?

[yonosoymaria]

You're right. We're meant to.

[Eric is uncomfortable with this "chair" development, and seems ill at ease, clutching the armrests. That's probably not the only reason he's so out of it, given the obvious smears of blood all over the front of his clothing.]

We're... meant to figure it out. So nothing like me happens again... not another sacrificial maiden, either.

[incendiarize]

[Ask whatever, huh? Alright.]

Can you use a bow and arrow?

[hexposition]

He died because I opened that door, right? I didn't mean for anything like this, not ever, but if that's what happened then I'm guilty, right?

[hexposition]

[A sigh, but there's no point in keeping it hidden.]

I've been looking around in the mornings to see if I can find Excalibur. The little creature that told me we could transform into weapons in the first place.

He got bored and wandered off shortly after we met, and I've been worried about him... I keep hoping eventually he'll pop back out again.

[joinhands]

So that's what those ridiculous wires were for!

[Krone slaps the side of her coffin in her enthusiasm.]

[hexposition]

No.

[relieable]

[oh!]

I guess you haven't been able to find him yet?

[hexposition]

No.

To be fair, I have no idea where he was hiding before he popped out the first time, too. I only happened to catch him because he was making noise in the game room.

[incendiarize]

Then it's not as simple as you think, 'cause I dunno how it links up, but the first vision I had was someone shooting a bow.

[whiterosefoes]

I rather doubt she'd approve of you calling her that, but okay. Let's just solve it.

[whiterosefoes]

Someone still had to set the door up that way. It seems rather ridiculous for a killer to set up a situation where a person dies but someone else claims the right to culpability and their motive. None of us have a death wish, right?

[if Lecarde raises his hand she will glare at him until he puts it back down]

[joinhands]

[KRONE IS CLOSE ENOUGH ON EVERY SINGLE LEVEL TO LOWER HIS HAND FOR HIM IF NECESSARY. SHE'S GOT YOU, HARRIET]

I thought what we were interested in was justice. Are we seriously going to believe that blood on our hands stains our souls regardless of anything else?

[joinhands]

[Okay well setting aside the two completely different militaristic train wrecks in slow motion]

Excuse me for a moment, but there's significant reason to believe someone other than Miss Millstein was moving around during the crime. This was in the secret passage.

[Krone produces the preserved just-doused torch-in-bucket, which Osomatsu may examine if he pleases.]

If we accept the testimony that Miss Millstein entered through the main door, this paints an undeniable picture of someone else passing through the secret passage at the same time.

Unless someone was on a stroll for fun? In that case, please tell us now!

[yonosoymaria]

It was... he didn't want it to, but I think that might have been...

[He's dazed and visibly struggling for words, gesturing almost like he's spinning something with one hand, or physically trying to grab what he wants to convey.]

I don't want it to. I don't want anyone to think that.

[relieable]

So I saw some clay was missing from the workshop. And it looks like it was found in the library? [also... buckets] I wonder what it was used for. Or, gonna be used for.

[yonosoymaria]

[He stares at Harriet for longer than is really necessary, or tactful, and finally seems to realize he didn't say it out loud - ]

Yes. Yes, for... yes.

[joinhands]

Good.

[She grabs that gesturing hand of his.]

If he thought he didn't have a right to live, he was wrong! Understood?

[whiterosefoes]

[Fortunately or unfortunately, there's only one person the "he" pronoun seems like it could be referring to.]

Ah. Yes, you're quite right. That's the last outcome I'd want to vote for true.

[joinhands]

That is strange. In the library did it look disturbed at all? If not, doesn't that imply it was set up before either of those two got in there?

[notadinosnack]

I'd imagine it wasn't intended to make a statue. Did anyone even find anything made of clay here? I don't recall seeing such a thing on the scroll.

[notadinosnack]

Arthur's correct. That's about the only part of the first vision that even made sense.

[whiterosefoes]

Seems unlikely that someone on a stroll would be carrying piano wires to drop, though.