bellelurette | TRIAL I

Trial

Today is going to be a loooong day. You knew that pretty shortly after waking up, didn't you? On the plus side, it means you've had some time to process the death of one of your own, or leisure time at the very least. But come midnight, the clocks in the castle all strike out in unison again. This time though, you barely have time to clutch your head before you're transported elsewhere.

Yes, you're coming in your pajamas if you were already in bed.

The place where you find yourself is obviously not the castle, that much is obvious from an immediate look alone. The look is very circus fair meets hell, minus any actual fire (for now). The walls, the lighting, the atmosphere is different, reds and purples and exposed rock face all together with furniture that should belong in a courtroom, and a carnival, not a caldera. It's a stylistic choice, for sure.

Seating consists of various stools on the outer ring, the layout suggesting that the preferred way to conduct trial is to free mingle towards the center, unless you're partaking in food and refreshments. A veritable bounty of a spread is available for you to partake as you like. There's even an entire table's worth of chocolate, cut out in various animal shapes for you to enjoy. And yes, alcohol too, because a banquet without the finest wines isn't a feast at all.

Even with all the food there's plenty of space for all of you, but do be careful around the pit in the center of this room. How deep does it go? Where does it lead? There are other unanswered questions to answer, and you've been tasked with finding out who murdered Tia. The Witch of Ruin demands a show and unfortunately you are his captive actors. He presides over all of this from a balcony above, the best seat in the house.

(( OOC: Welcome to your first trial! You'll have 7 hours (until 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT) to vote one (1) person guilty of murder. As this is scapegoat style, a correct vote is not necessary. Please remember to vote unless otherwise discussed with the mods, as that is our AC for this game ))

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's possible. But, since no one wants to actually strip...

( He's spitballing ideas, he's a dragon not a detective, )

[He lets out a suffering sigh at that.]

Aye. I thank thee for bringing further avenues of discussion to the deliberations.

... I'd really like it if we could figure out who it is. It doesn't sound like he'll tell us if our guess is right or wrong after all this.

( sad.... tia :((( )

I wish there were more ways to figure this out besides just hoping the culprit left a tell on their person... And Ish said he wouldn't confirm what prize Tiamat got for her confession.

( there probably are other ways but he's lived in a beach state of mind for so many thousands of years... gears slowly turning... )

[With a nod,]

And with a time limit besides. It only serveth to compound the stress we are under.

[Not to mention the heightened emotions...stares at the fist fight happening.]

I am of the mind that we ought to compare who might have been able to comfortably wear the armor that we found disturbed. It may be of use in narrowing down the possible suspects.

Yes. Though I still wonder why that one part was set aside...

As am I. It was out of place, so they must have at the very least attempted to wear it.

We should include it in our examination.

...Shall we have everyone try it on, then?

Aye. Mayhap we will find more willing participants.

[Considering it's the opposite of stripping?? Who knows.]

I truly hope so.

I believe we should also be focusing on those of us who have experience with combat and weapons. Even with our powers limited, I get the feeling Miss Tiamat was no slouch on that front.

[With a nod,]

A wise suggestion...though we risk the possibility of dishonest answers if we were to inquire now.

Of course. But there is always the possibility that the culprit mentioned something incriminating earlier in the week before we were made aware of the Witch's plans for us.

For example, I told G'raha and Break when we first arrived that I've never used a weapon before. I would have had no reason to be deceptive at that point.

Verily, I hope to hear statements such as these.

I will also be forthcoming in that I have mentioned mine own combat capabilities to several others.

[He's a squishy magic user, but like.]

[He nods.]

I typically use magic, but I don't think I need to elaborate further on that right now.

[Squishy magic users unite...]

(no subject)

divineth - 2025-03-15 22:13 (UTC) - Expand

It does not seem that Tiamat was simply taken by surprise and knocked out quickly, judging by how spread out the damages are, so yes, I imagine they must have been able to fight her well enough to eventually get a good hit in.

[ the evidence is so weirdly spread out, though... ]

Perhaps we can attempt to narrow things down based on some sort of profile based on the evidence?

That makes sense. Mmm...

( On behavior... )

It's hard with everyone's emotions being a little extreme, but... Mm... I mean, even with all this going on, I didn't chase anyone down. That's not really my nature. So there has to be someone who'd get that mad... or persistent... or sadistic... if they really did chase her down that far...

( ... )

... But I don't think it was her who chased them. Because it seemed premediated... and I don't think she's that type of person.

( So someone smart enough to at least pick out the sollerets, cut off bells, or... huh... He is just a dragon.

As for the physical profile... )

As for everything else... I think what Urianger and G'raha said about trying on armor works. It should be someone who can at least fit the shoes on. And lift the sword...? And break glass?

( He's not even halfway through the evidence and he feels there's a lot to keep track of, )

A strength test, possibly?

[ To account for lifting a sword and breaking glass... ]

We should certainly start with the solleret itself, I agree.

I think that's sound. Whatever gets people to participate.

[ hm... scratching the back of his head... ]

Do we know for sure who chased who? Is there any way to tell?

I don't know why else someone would put on shoes or armor if not with the intent to hide their tracks, but... I guess it's possible that Tiamat chased the other person. The person may have prepared themself for a murder, but maybe didn't expect her to get aggressive.

( It's a good point that maybe she did chase the other person down. )

But if they came prepared, why would they run from her instead of just hitting her with their sword? ... It's strange that they put on armor, but didn't use weapons...

Everything besides the stab wound seems to be from the mirrors, which might've happened from them shoving her into it... maybe? And maybe they broke the rest of the mirrors to hide which one they shoved her into?

( He's a little wet-eyed thinking this aloud, but continues... )

... Maybe they got into a fight, this person stabbed her in anger, and they started chasing each other down all upset? Because... it looks like what killed her was being pushed down from the top of the observatory, right...?

... Maybe it was partly an accident. They just ... lost themselves in their anger.

Edited 2025-03-15 23:05 (UTC)

......

Who here has been angry?

( "who here has been angry"

he looks at angelo and chara who have been violently angry on this day )

There's a few we've seen just now...

Agreed, perhaps a behavioral profile is not as useful when everyone has been affected in some way of the last week.

I agree that the armor sizing might be the best choice. It should perhaps help with being able to intuit who can maneuver in it and who can't.

[ motions to the set he's wearing. shit's tricky to move in! ]

And also to see if Tiamat is the right size or not.

Edited 2025-03-15 22:29 (UTC)

( that was a good point, and so he scurried away to be depressed over the body for a sec before returning )

I checked her shoes... there's glass on the bottom. So, at the very least, I don't think she was wearing the shoes... or the gloves, since her hand was cut.