FIRST TRIAL

[keyofimagination]

[As the living guests finish investigations, they will hear a small click from the library. The door in the back of the room is now open, and true to The Narrator’s words, it leads to the boiler room and in the back there’s an elevator, already open for the guests. However this elevator doesn’t look anything like a normal elevator.

The elevator doesn’t start until everyone is seated and buckled in, and when it does, instead is starts moving backwards for a few moments before going up. As it moves, your host’s calm voice is heard inside the elevator.]

Friday the 13th. It’s often considered the most unlucky day of the year, and for young Vanellope von Schweetz, she has encounter the greatest misfortune of all. Young Vanellope, who at the end of the day just wanted someone who loved her, instead found herself with nothing but pure hatred. And now Vanellope will have a new game to call home, a game only referred to as… The Twilight Zone.

[As he finishes, the elevator halts with an ominous creak. There is a long stretch of silence before The Narrator speaks again.]

You are about to discover what lies beyond the fifth dimension. Beyond the deepest, darkest corner of the imagination… in the Tower of Terror.

[And then, suddenly, the elevator drops. Hard. None of the guests will have a clear enough mind as they are suddenly being plunged to the ground to notice this, but somehow, the elevator is moving faster than gravity would normally work. But just before they would reach the ground, the elevator suddenly moves back upwards, and then drops again.

This repeats for what seems for an eternity, until the elevator quickly climbs to the very top and stops suddenly. There is a cheerful ding and the elevator doors finally open.

The doors open up to a 30’s-style night club. It’s impossibly clean for a hotel that’s been out of commission for decades, as, unlike the rest of the hotel, it was never closed. There is a grouping of 12 tables sitting in front of a stage, with a placecard, notepad and pen sitting on each one. Boarding the walls there are also 24 pictures, each one representing a guest. While everyone else’s picture is in full color, Vanellope’s is in grayscale.

Light music fills the room, and will continue to play for the rest of your time here.On the stage, The Narrator is already here, straddling one of the chairs and smoking a cigarette.]

Welcome to the Tip Top Club. I hope your trip here was uneventful.

[Judging by his knowing smile, he seems to know exactly that something went down in the elevator.

Each of you has assigned seating arrangements, though you are free to move about the club as you please. You will find that there are several amenities here, however, your main goal here will be solving the mystery that had been put forward.

Feel free to discuss this amongst yourselves, and once you feel you have an idea of who committed the crime, write their name down in your notepad. Majority rules, and participation in this activity is mandatory.

There will be no set time limit for this trial. I trust that you have found enough evidence to properly figure out who the culprit is.

[But on the bright side of all of this, there’s an open bar for those who already want to forget today.]

Comments

[audentiae]

That's my guess.

[ A breath. ]

I investigated the body, or at least was part of the effort to. There were shards of glass in her chest that looked like parts of a bottle. There was also a wound on the back of her head. Her shoes had scuff marks, mostly near the heel put a little on the toe, and there was candy in her pockets.

Tadashi can handle the rest of the body's condition.

[greatwidesomewhere]

[Belle's eyes squeeze shut, and she shakes her head slowly. It's hard to hear, but all the same she's glad she didn't look at Vanellope's body.]

The candy...I noticed there seemed to be some missing from the lower cupboards in the kitchen.

[higitusfigitusmigitusmum]

I can't help but wonder how it ended up covered in blood. Perhaps after she was stabbed, she left a trail of candy & blood at the same time? Or perhaps was it something else...?

[greatwidesomewhere]

I don't know. Perhaps. Was there a bag found anywhere? The rest of the sweets?

[fairlypushy]

[Pulls a handful of slightly bloody candy from her pocket. She sure brought it with her.]

It was scattered around the room, but I still don't think it makes sense. Why would dhe stuffed her pockets so full of candy it was spilling out?

[greatwidesomewhere]

[Belle leans across their shared table to inspect the candy.]

Perhaps she was going to...to share with a friend? I can't make sense of that.

[theduck]

[Overhearing about the kitchen is enough to prompt Donald to jump in with what he discovered.]

There was a puddle of blood in the kitchen, too! It didn't lead anywhere, but this was next to it.

[He holds up the plastic bag he'd use to collect the bloody fork he found.]

[higitusfigitusmigitusmum]

Good heavens! I thought she was stabbed with a bottle?

[darnsitall]

Maybe they started with the fork, and finished her off with the bottle!

[greatwidesomewhere]

[Belle's eyes widen; she's glad she hadn't been the one to find that.]

Did...Did Vanellope have a wound that might have come from a fork?

[audentiae]

Not that I saw, no. Just the glass and the head wound.

[greatwidesomewhere]

Then...is there a chance the blood might have come from the culprit? I don't know, perhaps...perhaps Vanellope was trying to defend herself.

[theduck]

...Maybe she wasn't the one who got stabbed with it? She could have managed to stab whoever attacked her.

[higitusfigitusmigitusmum]

[He thinks hard.]

Perhaps... she was the one who used the fork. In self defense!

[tadaishi]

I...didn't see one. Just the mark on her neck, the head wound, and the chest wound.

[tadaishi]

You've got most of it.

But aside from the head wound, she had a red mark around her neck. She looked terrified of something as well. I mean, whatever or whoever got her, most likely.

[darnsitall]

Terrified, you say? She must have seen them coming!

[tadaishi]

Probably.

[Poor Vanellope.]

[darnsitall]

And the person who did it saw the fear in her eyes even as they did the deed...and now they're here in this room with us! How sinister!

[gosh, where's her dramatic radio drama organ accompaniment when you need it?

[greatwidesomewhere]

[WHAT THE HELL SALLY]

[higitusfigitusmigitusmum]

[SILENT JUDGING]

[darnsitall]

There were shards of broken glass in the dining room! They must belong to the same bottle!

[goofy_er]

[Goofy here jumpin' in after overhearing talk of evidence. But god he really doesn't enjoy this at all.]

I found a blood trail in the lobby! It let to both the game room an' the dining room all the way to the kitchen! Though-- I made it to the dinin' room only but I found scuff marks an' blood on the wall! It looked like someone had kicked the wall or somethin'.....

[fairlypushy]

When I was looking at the candy it seemed like it led to the blood trail in the lobby, so I think we can assume the attack took place in either the kitchen or the game room.

[coulombslaw]

The table that was near Vanellope had a dent on the side that hit the floor. I guess she or the killer made it fall when they...

[Fought? Maybe?

Virgil looks like he's having a hard time with everything that's going on. This is the worst situation he has been in in a long while]