WEEK ONE

[lesmodsalouette]

WEEK ONE

32 Guests

Maybe being swept away to a fancy castle isn't what you wanted (Hickey aside), but the fact of the matter is that you're stuck here, at least for now. Thankfully there's enough food even if hot chocolate for breakfast might be a bit rich for some palates. There's at least a stock of raw food in the kitchens, but your hapless kidnapper is a Witch, not a chef, so you'll have to perform your own, manual kitchen magic if the provided meals aren't to your liking.

Just try not to burn the place down before you get the chance to take your host at his word (that you'll be leaving in a week's time, certainly, trust).

If you do get the cabin fever immediately, the grounds are a beautiful reprieve from the great indoors -- and if nothing else, perhaps you can find time to get to know your fellow guests. The weather is gorgeous all week, cheerfully sunny, which lends something to the mood.

WEEKLY EFFECT

This week, characters will feel heightened emotions periodically. If they're very happy about something, it'll feel like the best thing in the world! If they'd usually brush off something mildly annoying, suddenly it'll grate on their nerves. This effect will last throughout the week until investigation and is completely optional.

[OOC: Welcome to Week 1! Despite the lack of any threatened murder (except in Witch's direction), there will be a case this week. We'll have a small optional event on Wednesday at 1PM EDT/10AM PDT, but it won't require real time threading and can be done over the course of the week. ]

MONDAY • TUESDAY • WEDNESDAY • THURSDAY

Locations Proposals PCS Curfew Witch Contact Main Nav

Comments

[arbalestrier]

i. breakfast?

[It's early Monday morning and Sousuke is hard at work(?). That is to say, he seems to be diligently inspecting every single chair at the table, which includes crouching right next to them so he can see the bottom of the seat. He occasionally shifts the chair to observe it from a different angle, although he doesn't go so far as lifting it. Once he's finished, he moves on to another; rinse and repeat until he's looked at them all.

Incidentally, all of this still applies even if there is a person sitting in the chair, though he acts like they're not even there the whole time. If the current occupant of the seat notices but doesn't stop him, Sousuke tilts his head up to them and speaks tonelessly:]

You're very fortunate.

[And then he silently continues with the seat next to them.]

ii. literature search?

[The library is only a quick pit stop for him today, but he seems to be coming in and out, carrying out hardcover books on the thicker side. If anyone is able to recognize the titles, many seem to be coming from the section with the less-than-wholesome novels. It'll be even more obvious if you see him in the library, since he's obviously pulling books off that section of the shelves.]

iii. bullseye?

[Anyone who's out in the garden will clearly hear periodic gunshots, although the the interval between them seems fairly irregular. Seeking out the source of the sound will require walking over to the path leading to the Grotto. Once there, it's obviously Sousuke who's holding a musket and firing towards the southern wall of the cottage, which seems to have been lined with books. There are also a few guns laid on a nearby rectangle of fabric, along with other necessary supplies for the loading process. The gun themselves all appear different, but there's about half-and-half long guns to pistols.

To anyone approaching, he glances ever so slightly in their direction, but ultimately says this:]

Don't mind me. Continue on your way.

breakfast?

[frostlight]

[Tia blinks, then arches an eyebrow, questioning as she straightens in her chair.]

What?

[arbalestrier]

[He doesn't turn around to face her as he goes about his work, but he will answer.]

I didn't find a bomb under your chair. While this doesn't guarantee your safety, it can be the difference between death or recoverable injuries.

[frostlight]

[Huh?]

Why are you looking for that in the first place?

[arbalestrier]

It would be unwise to assume otherwise. Complacency could be fatal--for public safety, it's necessary that I perform an inspection.

[frostlight]

I'm not against the inspection. What makes you think a bomb is more likely than something else?

[arbalestrier]

[She has a point. Other types of traps are certainly possible, but...]

Meals are only served during set hours of each weekday. Some may decline these meals, but it's reasonable to expect more of a crowd during these periods. A bomb would be ideal if you wanted to maximize the number of casualties.

bullseye

[littlegentleman]

[Junior is of two minds about this behavior. On one hand, he very much understands it, even appreciates it. On the other...perhaps a bit more discretion would be less disconcerting to some of the other individuals that had been brought here. Oh well. For now, it's useful information.]

Actually, I'd like to watch. If you don't mind.

[arbalestrier]

[There's a glance over at Junior when he speaks up, but Sousuke's focus goes back to sighting along the barrel of the gun. It doesn't take long for him to pull the trigger again, but while it's clear he's not aiming down, the bullet embeds itself in one of the books near the bottom. His usual frown deepens ever so slightly when he sees the result.

Turning back to the supplies on the fabric, he starts the process of reloading the gun with another round.]

What did you think of that shot?

[littlegentleman]

[His eyes follow everything Sousuke does, from performing the shot to beginning the reload process. He's as quiet as ever for as long as it takes him to assess the situation, then responds matter-of-factly.]

Your aim was spot-on to hit the mark dead center, and your arm didn't waver from the kickback. Still, the bullet didn't connect as intended. Perhaps a limitation of the model? Do you believe you can anticipate the discrepancy and overcompensate for it?

[arbalestrier]

[Sousuke doesn't look away as he measures out the gunpowder and funnels it into the muzzle, although he's certainly listening. It's a good observation, and it's reasonable speculation.]

Possibly... but I don't think that will be necessary.

[His movements are precise, but not necessarily practiced--it takes a couple of minutes for Sousuke to complete the reloading process, but his next shot is noticeably more accurate, even if it's still a little low.]

I adjusted the amount of powder instead.

[littlegentleman]

Ah!

[Junior's eyes widen to see the improvement from the first shot to the second.]

I see...that makes sense. I hadn't considered the need for accurate gunpowder measurements. So, if too little gunpowder produces a weakened shot, there would be dangers with overloading the barrel as well, correct?

[It must be a risky practice, manually adjusting the amount...but a necessary one, to ensure proper usage of the weapons available to them.]

[arbalestrier]

Affirmative.

[While Sousuke doesn't smile, there's something like approval in the way he says that.]

Too much gunpowder would damage the barrel, so I've been starting with small amounts and making adjustments after each test fire. The process is quite time-consuming, so I doubt I'll finish before evening.

[He glances over at the other guns laid on the blanket.]

breakfast

[diel]

[ when sousuke does the sousuke thing, yoru yelps and turns to stone. it’s not until sousuke is several chairs away that he manages a squeaked: ]

… Thank you??

[arbalestrier]

[Ah, petrify. Terrible affliction, really. He continues searching under one of the empty chairs before moving to check the top of the seat.]

There's no need. In fact, I'd advise that you remain vigilant. Even an ordinary pipe bomb is capable of flinging shrapnel more than 100 meters away.

[so reassuring.]

[diel]

E-eh?!

[ he scrambles off his chair, knocking it over. ]

Who’s making pipe bombs????

[ and also how? and why does he know about this?? ]

[arbalestrier]

[Hard not to notice all that noise, so Sousuke looks up from the chair to glance at Yoru.]

I don't have any information at present, but I'll inform you once I find out.

[diel]

You don’t… have any…

[ what…??? ]

Wait. When you say “any information,” what exactly do you mean?

[arbalestrier]

Exactly what I said. I have yet to confirm if anyone has made pipe bombs, but I intend to find out. I also planned on making the results of my investigation public if I turned up anything suspicious.

[Safety first, and all! Or something.]

III

[caporegrimme]

Why? It's not like you're doing anything wrong.

[Well, that and Scarlet also is interested in watching!]

[arbalestrier]

Hmm...

[There is a pause here, although it's probably hard to tell if it's because he's actually thinking or because he's just trying to aim carefully. It's not until he fires and moves to reload that he speaks up again.]

I suppose I'm not. But I'd advise against getting too close. This isn't an actual range, so there's a chance it could ricochet.

[caporegrimme]

Fair enough point. Last thing I need is to bleed all over the place...

[He already did enough of that in his recent past, after all, golly. Scarlet takes a step back]

When I saw all those guns I was more concerned someone would get hurt because of bad maintenance. Whoever is unlucky enough to grab a defective gun will get a serious injury.

[Because really, nothing about that gun tells Scarlet they're all well taken care of. The Mars room seemed meant to overwhelm you, not to actually store weaponry]

[arbalestrier]

[He nods even as he focuses on forcing the next round down the muzzle.]

It's important to inspect any weapon you plan on using. I haven't found any issues while test firing, so it seems the owner maintained them well enough.

[Granted, he hasn't tried all of them either.]

[caporegrimme]

I'll guess when you apparently have magic, you don't need to spend much time maintaining every single gun...

[Magic, it would make things convenient sometimes!]

[arbalestrier]

[Sousuke pauses in his work, although he doesn’t look up from the gun.]

You don’t believe his explanation either?