THE FIRST TRIAL

[strangerpeople]

THE FIRST TRIAL

[Soon after the final clue is found, there are three more loud, unsettling tonal clangs, all which go right to the bone. No matter where they are, the Titled will hear another, loud creak.

The set of doors on the left are slowly opening, revealing a long, long corridor, with a very long flight of stairs going upwards, just barely visible at the end of it.

The Intercessor's voice booms through the air and shakes the ground, sounding loud and clear no matter where the Titled might be standing at that moment.]

ENTER!

[The voice brooks no argument. As soon as everyone goes through the set of double doors, they close behind them. There is no choice, and no turning back. The Titled must go up the stairs at the end of the hall. They feel like they take forever, but when the stairs are finally traversed, there is a single door at the top, already open to them.

Welcome to the Debate Hall, Titled. Its the best-lit place you've seen, with gas lamps on the wall bright as possible. Its also the emptiest place they've ever seen so far - its massive and yet the Titled and the Intercessor are the only individuals to be seen in the entire area.

Seems, because there is faint chanting coming from the darkness behind that stage at the other end. There's no real way to hear what's being said, no matter how close you try to get. No way to check if there's even anyone on or behind the stage to make such chanting possible. The only person remotely close to the stage, standing on the stone steps, is the Intercessor.

There is also a faint rumble in the air, as if the world itself mourns the crime committed.

So. Take your seats at your stone desks to face one another as you debate. And yes, they are stone. Yes, they have stone chairs with which to sit in. And yes, your Title is on your assigned chair, etched in with chisel and hammer. Every desk also has a copy of the Writs with Orders 7 and 8 circled, and a copy of the autopsy file of the deceased on top of it; that is all the aid you will get from whoever brought you here. The rest, it seems, is up to the Titled, with what they have found.

Seats 7 and 8 are empty. Their copies of the rules and evidence lay untouched.

Once everyone has taken their seats, the strange, ominous chanting stops. Its time. Bound in blood, the death warrant has already been signed. The contract is complete. Its now just a question of finding the guilty party to fulfill the call for justice.

So, get ready, Titled.

The Inquisition of Laslow, the Spinner, has begun.]

Comments

[carries_war]

Let's just get back to trying to figure out who did this.

[pursuitofbeauty]

Yusuke takes several deep breaths, wills himself to calm down.

"... thank you, Rubedo."

He sounds so tired.

[carries_war]

[He nods, expression impassive as ever...but there's something hard, yet sad in his eyes. He understands your reaction, Yusuke.]

[goodnightbats]

[She shrugs, turning away again.]

Yeah okay.

But see, there's interesting implications if even one piece of evidence is fabricated, because that calls into question the validity of every other piece we have, right? Like that second knife. Nobody much seems to have any cuts, after all...

[GLANCING OVER]

Well, except him, but if it's some kind of defensive wound then the placement of the bandage makes it seem like it's an odd spot for that. Possible, just not what you'd usually see. Besides, if the victim had a knife just like the killer, why isn't there a lot more damage? Why aren't there two bodies? And why would they both have one, what is this supposed to be, Ultimate Fight Club? Normally you'd see more than superficial wounds if the person fighting back had a weapon.

So... what if it got fabricated too? I know that this puts me back on the suspect list, if I did manage to get off it for not having any wounds, but isn't that suspicious?

[carries_war]

I'm carrying knives around. I'm probably not the only one, either. I did think it was kind of weird that there weren't signs of a fight, though, considering how long it takes to die from a stomach wound.

[Wait...]

Didn't someone say the library was a mess?

[defriendestration]

I DID!

[carries_war]

What kind of mess? Was stuff knocked over?

[1/3]

[defriendestration]

OH, ABSOLUTELY!

AND THERE WAS STUFF ON ONE OF THE DESKS THAT OUTLINED A RECTANGLE! I THINK FUTABA FOUND THE PA--

[defriendestration]

.....

.......................

WAIT A MINUTE.

THAT PAPER HAD...BLOOD ON IT, RIGHT?

[3/3]

[defriendestration]

AND...A-AND THE RECTANGLE WAS SHAPED OUT WITH WEIRD RED STUFF ON THE DESK!! NYEEEEEEEH!!

["Papyrus? Do you bleed?"

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD]

[carries_war]

I thought he died in the armory because I didn't see any drag marks or blood trails, but if the culprit was tall and strong enough, they might've been able to move the corpse upstairs from the library with the wound facing up or pressed against them, so any dripping blood would just get on their clothes.

[defriendestration]

WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT???

[carries_war]

To separate the evidence. Even if we found the body, if nobody had gone to the library, we wouldn't have known about any of the stuff there.

[goodnightbats]

[She shrugs]

Still, that doesn't invalidate any of the other points.

You'll have to trust me on this one, I've seen a lot of corpses, and a lot of what happens to the people who made them that way. I used to work at Arkham, after all, and mmm, what would you call it these days, freelance?

Anyway, my point is it's weird.

[carries_war]

All the people I've killed were in wars, so I've never had to worry about hiding it. Or deal with people who worried about hiding it. But how could they have made the knife look right for having been used without actually stabbing the body again? I already checked to make sure it was only stabbed once.

[zephyranthe]

How much blood was on the other dagger anyways? If it wasn't that much, they could've smeared a little bit from the wound without stabbing him again.

[defriendestration]

[WELL FIE ABOUT THAT]

[almightyconflagration]

There was also a lack of evidence of the victim being attacked elsewhere. No blood trails and no drag marks. Maybe the culprit planted an additional knife to make it look like they were wounded.

[goodnightbats]

Maybe, but if someone went to this much work to create phony evidence, do you really think that they wouldn't hide the real evidence? I'm pretty sure there's people around here who could carry a corpse, and honestly, stab wounds don't bleed that much before you pull the plug out of em. The knife actually keeps the blood in.

[pursuitofbeauty]

"Unpleasant as she is, Quinn-san speaks the truth."

Yusuke looks a bit queasy at the thought.

"It is much like the cork in a bottle of wine. Perhaps Laslow would have survived long enough to receive aid if the knife had not been pulled free."

[goodnightbats]

[She beams at him.]

Thank you. Please though, call me Harley.

[almightyconflagration]

Like you said, to frame another. If anything this looks more like someone trying to make the culprit look inexperienced, yet I doubt someone like Sparkles there would have thought to drag his feet to hide the size of his footprints.