INVESTIGATION II

[lesmodsalouette]

Investigation

CLANG, CLANG, CLANGCLANGCLANG.

Your unfriendly local grandfather clocks sound odd this morning, either because it's not quite morning -- the day is still dark at 2 AM, the castle still in the throes of moonlight -- or because it's quite easy to mistake it for an alarm rather than a real wake-up call. Regardless, if you’re in the castle proper it hopefully gets you up quick, because there's a pall of smoke in the air that disguises the cold snap trying to sneak into the hallways in drafts and gusts. Those in the villa can chill in relative peace (or perhaps not).

The realization comes pretty quickly: it's not just smoke anymore — there's a distinct crackle and roar, an ominous light of fire in the castle.

Rise and (torch) shine!

(( OOC: Comment to this entry with where your character is going in the morning. A mod response will let you know if there’s anything to be found there! The Investigation is a free-for-all until all bodies have been found.

Once the victim(s) have been identified, there will be an IC announcement, and mods will provide Investigation sub-headers for the relevant locations. Up to 3 characters are welcome to investigate under each header unless indicated otherwise. ))

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[caporegrimme]

[Hi, this is the menagerie, are the animals safe because the fire isn't here or should I worry]

[lesmodsalouette]

[ It's smelling of smoke in here, but there's no flames to be spotted anywhere!

The animals are as safe as currently can be... though they are very anxious, smelling danger in the air. In fact, one of the birdies sees fit to exclaim that in a loud squawked 'FUCK! SHIT!' so uh. Don't worry about it. ]

GARDEN

[antemeridian]

[ homura spent the night outside, because people do that. apparently she's psychic considering what the fuck is that smoke from inside the castle???

is the head count the same as it was the night before? and uh. are we moist, actually. is there anything else off here. ]

[lesmodsalouette]

[ First questions first: the gardens are big! Were you all together? And where in the garden were you resting?

Unrelated to all that though, Homura will find herself a little moist indeed because there is light snowfall currently ongoing and some flakes have melted on her body heat. ]

[oncefallen]

[Vanis is here! With paint on his face from having fallen asleep on his palette, but.]

... Miss Homura. You're all right, I assume?

[antline]

[Here's Sariel, blearily looking up from where he's splayed on the ground...next to his beloved ants...]

....Something is burning.

[uiscebeatha]

[ Cain wakes with a start in the solarium on full alert. Oh fuck.

First order of business: who is closest to him? Grabbing them.

Second order of business: is this room on fire?

Third order of business: where is his champagne bottle— ]

[lesmodsalouette]

[ This room is not on fire, which means he is a) free to grab whomever he wants and b) his bottle is right where he left it!

All his companions from nighttime are still present and accounted for! ]

[allrounder]

[ Well, once Cain gets his champagne ready, G'raha all but leaps up onto his feet. It's Serious Business Time. ]

Are you all right?

[siffriend]

[ tearing up. It has to be Siffrin he's grabbing, because he knows the fella is slow to wake, as pained as I am to do this

a short dagger flashes out and catches onto Cain's arm as Siffrin jerks away, eye wide and guarded. It definitely went through, it definitely had the intent to kill, the fact it only struck where it did is thanks to positioning alone.

The dagger remains raised a moment before panic seeps into their expression and they try to scurry away. Try, because they immediately faceplant onto the ground again thanks to a potted plant they'd moved last night. ]

[ocenon]

[ Yeah great the library's on fucking fire, but more importantly: IS AYAKA OKAY???]

[simulacres]

[ SHE SURE IS BUT SHE LOOKS TERRIFIED, frozen in place. ]

S-Saber!?

[ yeah she is trying to cling to him. ]

[littlegentleman]

[Junior wakes up in the library--which he will at once realize is extremely on fire.]

Get up!

[There's not really much time to react. He'll try and rouse who he can, and looks for Lili first, but he probably won't be able to stick around long...]

[remainsilent]

[ This is not fine.

With all of this fire in the library can he tell who is missing? Is everyone accounted for? Who needs help being pulled out? ]

[distain]

[The first thing she does when she wakes up is


start coughing.

The second thing is throw the open book off of her lap when she realizes the place is on fire and leaps to her feet.]

Fire! Get out.

[Whoever fell asleep next to her chair is getting, uh, kicked awake, hopefully.]

[whileaway]

[When Break wakes up with the shouts, and especially once he processes it’s fire and smoke that’s taken over the room, he’s really unhappy with himself for having found another bookshelf to rest on when they fell asleep.

The smoke is addling enough that this landing when he jumps off was much less graceful than the one from the evening prior.]

This is… not good.

[Screw subtly, at this moment. Break is going to reach out and grab whatever person he can hear is closest and not let go.]

I can’t see—- can you see the door?

[the_obedient_servant]

[Junior's voice - and the overpowering smoke that is threatening to invade their lungs - shoots them awake, causing them to leap to their feet, the old instinct taking over.

They hold a hand up to their mouth and nose, and quickly dart their eyes around to see if there's anyone struggling or stuck.]

[stygiomedusa]

[Well, Hamel is waking up in the ballroom... how are things going besides the castle being on fire somewhere,]

[lesmodsalouette]

[ The ballroom is looking exactly as Hamel left it, stray Sousuke included! ]

[arbalestrier]

[Okay well, the ballroom could probably be in a worse state as far as locations go but he’ll look around a little before checking the entrance that leads to the mars room. Anything alarming?]

[lesmodsalouette]

[ Nothing alarming! Everything is just as Sousuke left it over at the Mars Room entrance and aside from the smell of smoke coming from downstairs, it's all quite peaceful here. ]

[perfectpower]

[Yeah, he may be a dumbass but he is smart enough to not fuck around with a fire.]

Oh shit-

[After making sure people in the Menagerie are awake and moving, Brad will start running to the other rooms to make sure people wake up. First stop is the Banquet hall.]

OI! If you're in here, wake up and get out! There's a fire!

[lesmodsalouette]

[ The Banquet Hall looks largely undisturbed and also entirely devoid of people!

Bradley will note that some of the doors are wide open, which might be something to glance at again later...?

And also he'll note that the door to the library is quite on fire. ]

[divineth]

[Urianger blearily looks at the time when the clock awakens him.]

'Tis only two past midnight... [He closes his eyes again.] Someone hath acted upon Ish's offer.

[That has to be it, right? Ugh. But other than that ominous thought alerting him to what might've gone down, it sure is great to wake up in the villa with nothing immediately amiss...right?]

[lesmodsalouette]

[ Correct! The two of his roommates who also stayed in last night are all accounted for, and nothing seems strange in the suite at all! The smell of fire is also not notable here. ]

salon!

[diel]

[ yoru wakes up on one of the salon settees. waking up really sucks!! sleeping should be banned!! and initially he's as disoriented as he was last week, blinking around in confusion. he vaguely registers that several of the salon’s doors have been thrown wide open?? ok? weird?

and there's enough awareness in him to pat the familiar body next to him, hand gentle. wake up, please!!

also btw what's this about a fire? ]

Re: salon!

[lesmodsalouette]

[ The smell of smoke may be wafting in your direction heavily, but don't let it bother you... enjoy your date... ]

[fourtuity]

[ when her eyes open to the sound of the accursed clocks, clover mechanically gets up to grab her shoes, ribbon, and a mace. after a moment, she grabs her earmuffs as well before trying to storm out of the primrose suite.

there's...nothing inside or outside the villa right? because otherwise she's marching out to search for primroses.

no one came back no one came back no one came back no one came back it makes sense for some but all of them tonight no they're not going to show up in pieces they can't ]

[lesmodsalouette]

[ The villa is very, very quiet - this could be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective. The matter of fact is that it's looking entirely as it always does, and it pretty devoid of people.

Clover is free to rush towards the main castle. ]

ANNOUNCEMENT

[calamitish]

[ like last week, everyone will see a projection of ish wherever they are. but for the folks clambering out of the library, he'll be right there in front of them. ]

Heyyyyyyyyy. So I can approve of the statement, but not of this whole place burning down. Last week it was water, this week it's fire, are we gonna get an earthquake or something next week? Ugh.

[ for something like this he actually takes out his staff, pointing it at the library. ]

Contractus Cauda. [ just like that, all of the fire is smothered instantly and most of the smoke is cleared. ]

Anyway, I'll forgive you if you haven't noticed, but Siobhan Roy, you probably know her as Shiv, is dead. I'll accept your thank yous anytime this weekend, because if I didn't wake you up, there'd be a body pile up on the first floor. Also, who throws a party in the library of all places?

[ waving his hand, that's not important but he had to say it. ]

Despite the early wake up, it'll be the same thing as last week. The carnival will be held at midnight, so you can get some kind of sleep if you want. I know, I know, I'm so generous.

I'll see you there!

Re: ANNOUNCEMENT

[perfectpower]

[Calling out after him:]

Can you at least put out the fire?!

INVESTIGATION

[lesmodsalouette]

HEDGE MAZE

[lesmodsalouette]