PROLOGUE : TRIAL

[themodsgrimm]

The Story Continues... PROLOGUE - WEEK 037 Narrators Remain ; Wakey wakey, naughty murder children. It's a lovely Saturday, after all. Breakfast is served piping hot at its usual time and all of the evidence has been removed from the scenes of yesterday. No matter how you choose to spent your morning though, the clock will begin to chime the moment both hands reach the large, ornate twelve. Before your eyes materializes a door...but not just any door. Unlike the door leading to the festival, this door sits primly and properly right in front of the foyer. Whether you exit the castle on your own or you feel a friendly, invisible push, you begin to walk under an arc of wisterias. Behind you, the clock continues to chime with every step you take. By the time the time the clock strikes twelve, you've entered a beautiful garden. In front of you is a long table, 19 seats on each side. Around the garden are several glass cases containing evidence collected yesterday. As noon intensifies on the sun-shaped clock, you'll find Dragon at the head of the table, a glass-covered rose near her right hand. Tick tock, Narrators. You have nine hours to deliberate. Welcome to your first trial post! Please see here for the OOC summary of events from yesterday's investigation. In addition, please be sure to vote! Please see the voting page on how to vote, as we will have two special things to vote for. Voting will close at 9pm EST/6pm PST! If you have any questions, please ask on our Discord server or ping us on plurk. Please direct pings for the NPC to Dana (decals), as she will be taking point for today's NPC, and the moderator team will be on deck for all other questions. full navigation. locations taken (statuses) stories (profiles) info & faq wishing well private conversations

Comments

[alttitude]

[Surprise to no one - Jae-ha will be found by Gi-gan's body for the most of the trial. Noticeably, he's retrieved an orange scarf, one end embroidered with a purple phoenix on a pirate boat, and wrapped it around her shoulders like a shawl. His own hair bow seems to have changed from its original orange ribbon into a similar fabric of the scarf.

He's quietly watching everyone else, listening to their conversations, but he doesn't quite move from his spot. A dragon sentry for his fallen captain.

Anyone who wants to get to Gi-gan will likely have to go through him.]

[ ooc: For this part of the trial for streamlining, assume all evidence-related brackets that come from Jae-ha are mod-confirmed. ]

[randori]

Jae-ha, Jae-ha, you know her best! Who do you think did it?

[ just. right to the point, no need to look at all the evidence- he spoke to somebody before, and all Natsuo could think of is that if anybody could take down Gi-Gan, it would be somebody she knows well and wouldn't suspect. ]

[alttitude]

[What a question.

Jae-ha's had time to think on this though, and his answer is simple:]

Someone she would've been too kind to kill herself. My Captain possessed strength and smarts to take down bands of mercenaries - but her warm heart would have limited her.

[randori]

That's not helpful! That could be anybody! She wouldn't want to kill anybody here— nobody would!

[ He points to her body without looking at it- he's still refusing to look, so Jae-ha will have to do it ]

It doesn't look like she fought at all, right? If it's an attack, there should be bruises and cuts and stuff too!

[alttitude]

[Jae-ha manages a gently withering look at Natsuo - why are you yelling at him about his mom when you just said he knows her best - but seems to pick up on his reluctance to look at the body.]

The tailor's room was in disarray, if you remember. Do you think she would've just let herself be killed?

[He glances back to his Captain's form and sighs.]

There's only two wounds. One at the neck, one at the chest.

[randori]

I didn't get to see the tailor's room. Just the room with the stairs where she was found— what do the wounds look like? Knife wound? A sword? Needle? I didn't want to look too close, and I've never gotten stabbed so I dunno anything about them either.

[alttitude]

Ah, so you came to someone with experience?

[ - it lacks the usual lightness of his tone, but at least he's getting closer to joking.]

It's too thin to be a knife or a sword wound. It isn't wide enough to be either.

[randori]

You look like someone with experience! [ So yes, that's exactly right.

But if not a knife or a sword, what else could it be? He's a little stumped for options, throwing glances at the cases of evidence like that'll help. ]

Something thin like that... she might not have died from that if she puts pressure on it. There's no other way she could have died?

[alchemenace]

[ y'all told me to so legally even though he looks like he would rather be anywhere else in the entire world, here is Varian. looking at the dragon and only the dragon what corpse in a glass case??? If he can't see it it's not real. ]

Hi, Jae-ha. Did. Did anyone look at the body yet?

[alttitude]

[ . . . . even if i wrote the npc tag jae-ha is wondering why you're all sending him a bunch of kids!!!!]

I have -

[ - but a fresh pair of eyes might be better.]

... but it seems like you don't want to.

[alchemenace]

[ Varian laughs awkwardly ]

Well. There's a lot of things I don't want to do. [ a long pause ] The case makes it worse, honestly. It's the... The way she's displayed.

... But I want to know who did it. If-- if me looking makes a difference, I shouldn't stop because I'm-- uncomfortable.

[alttitude]

[ . . . and Jae-ha listens to that for a moment before going to open the glass display.]

It's too much like a pinned butterfly, isn't it?

Then clear a space.

[He'll carefully retrieve her from the glass case and place her on whatever surface Varian chooses so long as it's not the ground or dirty!!]

[alchemenace]

[ he doesn't react to the butterfly comment with more than a shrug, and then uh ig rip everyone we putting her on a table so Varian can look her over fully ]

I'll-- make it fast. Oh boy.

[ idek what to look for but is there any wound outside the neck one for one ]

[alttitude]

... don't push yourself. You can direct me if that's easier for you.

[Gi-gan would want him to still look after everyone else, after all.

There's also a wound in her chest! There's ink stains on her clothes surrounding it.]

[alchemenace]

[ how big is the wound? and also if you look in the wounds is it all ink because if there's blood Varian might faint ]

It's fine. I'll be fine.

[ this is believable ]

[spondulix]

It seems you were quite close to her. Sorry for your loss.

[The concern seems incredibly superficial - after all, he's not here to feel sorry. He's here for information.]

By the by, Gi-gan didn't have anything wrong with her blood, did she?

[alttitude]

[Thanks Fitz!!

But nah, Jae-ha's here for answers just as much as anyone else.]

She bled red and it smelled of iron, not ink, before we came here - if that's what you're asking.

[spondulix]

So the purple ink is very new.

[HM!]

Was she the type of woman who could win in a physical fight?

[alttitude]

So long as she wasn't surprised, she could outsmart any brute. She's quite lively for her age, you know?

[was.....]

[spondulix]

Ah, the element of surprise...clearly something that can take advantage of even the most experienced fighter.

...

Do you know what she was doing the night before?

[alttitude]

I was with her for dinner - and walked her to her room at 7 PM.

[he's a good dragon son]

[spondulix]

Was there anything amiss with her? And did she mention she was meeting anybody afterwards?

[hairbrain]

[ not going to examine the body just yet, but she'll come and squeeze jae-ha's hand gently while he's getting emotionally compromised by scarves. ]

[alttitude]

[this is your fault rapunzel

no jk,he'll let her - and again bring his hand up to his lips to press a placating kiss to the back of it. he's fine.]

[hairbrain]

[ stop doing this jae-ha!!! ]

We're going to find whoever is responsible. I promise.

[ somewhere varian is triggered by the words "i promise". ]