THIRD TRIAL

[keyofimagination]

[This is all becoming routine now, to the point that maybe the thought of the elevator dropping suddenly doesn’t bother you. Or maybe you’re just so numb to four people dying already that the thought of dropping isn’t as bad.

Or heck, maybe you’re still dreading the drop, who knows?]

Submitted for your approval, Amanda and Thalia. Two girls who deal daily outside the normal world. They’ve dealt daily with fighting dangerous beings, only to have been struck down suddenly by the mortal coil. For even experience with these terrors couldn’t prepare these two young warriors for the kind of terror one finds… The Twilight Zone.

[And there’s the drop again. At least this is the norm now, and at least once it’s finally done you get access to that sweet open bar.

The Tip Top Club, is, like, usual, the same except the new grayscale pictures of Goofy, Roxanne, Stitch, Amanda, and Thalia. The Narrator is in his usual spot, but it seems like he’s spacing out a little. He does acknowledge the guests once they enter, at least.]

Take as much time as you need. I’ll be quiet this week.

[Have fun, everyone.]

Comments

let's do the catherd again!

[forgottenfounder]

[...Alright, they've all been talking for a while, checking out a few things, but ti seems like they've hit a wall now. It bothers Oswald, for no small part that the dead were some of his best friends in this place.

Time for Oswald to step up then. And by that, he steps onto his table and clinks a fork against a glass.]

Hey! Everyone! [And hopefully, everyone's eyes are on him. He's gotta do leader stuff.] It feels like we're kind of going in circles, so let's try and piece everything together.

Let's see... Thalia was found in the chapel with some askew pews. She might have died from a cut on her neck from a knife that was found at the scene. [he winces a little.] And when Amanda was found, she apparently died from a snapped neck but was also covered in oil that could probably be the missing lantern oil from the chapel. She also had blood on her clothes despite having no wounds besides the broken neck. Thalia had oil on her too.

[He rubs his own neck, tenderly.] There was also... a burned sandwich? [He looks at Sally. Is... is that right?]

Right now, I think it might help if we tried to make some kind of timeline out of all this.

[audentiae]

A timeline sounds like a good place to start. Who do we think died first?

[anasty]

I can only assume Amanda was the last to die. The blood on her clothing wasn't from any wound she suffered.

It seems she had some time to prepare for it as well, if the note she was keeping is any indication.

[audentiae]

That sounds reasonable. It puts our killer in the chapel first, and then in the spa?

[anasty]

Assuming they're the same person.

[audentiae]

You think we might be dealing with multiple murderers.

[anasty]

It's possible... We've already had one misunderstanding, mmm?

[audentiae]

That's true, though I'm concerned about the idea of two people managing to keep their murders secret our whole time in here.

Do you think it would be useful to check for wounds?

[nocasetoobig]

If Thalia fought back, there should be something. Especially if she and Amanda didn't have any other injuries.

[theduck]

Probably Thalia. One way or another, it’d explain why Amanda had blood on her, even though she wasn’t actually stabbed or anything.

[nocasetoobig]

So Amanda and Thalia were in the chapel, got oil spilled on them, Thalia died, and then Amanda...went to the spa room?

[audentiae]

How do two people accidentally get oil spilled on them?

[nocasetoobig]

Something went on in the chapel. We don't know what, but they were both in there when the lantern spilled. And I haven't smelled any oil on anyone else - Tadashi just had, what was it? Rubbing alcohol?

[audentiae]

Were any of the lanterns in there broken or spilled? I didn't get a good look.

[anasty]

Do you suppose someone intended to burn the bodies?

[audentiae]

That makes as much sense to me as anything else.

[forgottenfounder]

But wouldn't that just draw further attention to the bodies?

[theduck]

If someone else killed Thalia, they could have gone after Amanda afterwards. Maybe she was chased to the spa room.

[anasty]

Without so much as a peep? I didn't hear any running or anguished cries last night. Did you?

[theduck]

Well... no.

I didn’t get a look at either of the— the bodies. Did they look like they were, y’know, scared?

[anasty]

[ What an interesting question, Donald. Ursula gives him a curious look before she responds. ]

I didn't see Thalia.

...

But Amanda seemed almost as if she accepted what was happening to her in the end. She'd been crying.

[theduck]

That— that doesn’t make any sense. If she was chased or attacked, she wouldn’t...

Did anyone see Thalia’s face?

[audentiae]

So she was crying, but she stopped?

[audentiae]

... Were you out last night? Our rooms are far away from where things happened.

[anasty]

Not so far no one wouldn't hear screaming, I should think. Everyone seems to pile in so quickly whenever anything happens around here.

But here's another point - if she were being chased, why would Amanda run to the spa instead of towards our rooms for help?