CHAPTER SEVEN ; TRIAL

[themodsgrimm]

The Story Continues... CHAPTER 7 - WEEK 711 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. The garden is strangely silent and there are no snacks today...it seems as though you'll be left to your own devices. Welcome to your 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 or sooner if the game ICly elects so. 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

[asswipe]

[YEAH that sure isn't sketch!! Assuming they eventually come across some sweaty kids in danger of getting a heat stroke—]

... Maybe Varian and Ion should approach first. See if they want, um, shaved ice? Some ice bags? I don't know.

[alchemenace]

[ varian shares a look with ion so they can both acknowledge how bad they are at handling actual real life children so that'll possibly end badly ]

Just-- any way to cool down, right? They should be... open to it?

[ unless their parents have warned them about strange danger, but. ]

[fonlines]

[ they sure are sharing a look, considering that these two children have not remotely acted like children in who knows how long ]

... Shaved ice, or popsicles... something like that, perhaps?

[ anyway guess they're up ]

Hello. Are the two of you all right? Perhaps you should get out of the sun-- you both seem quite faint...

[ nailed it? yea, nailed it ]

[vigilantics]

[ SHE GIVES ION A THUMBS UP

YOU'RE DOING AMAZING SWEETIE ]

[asswipe]

[THEIR SON HAS GROWN UP SO FAST, HONEY BEAR.

Veronica is going to work on making popsicles while the tweens continue to fail at being tweeks, though.]

[alchemenace]

[ this is hellish. this is? hellish? varian does his best to smile at the kids reassuringly ]

We had the same problem not too long ago [ fake ], but someone helped us out, and I think she can help you cool down a little? If you want?

[fonlines]

[ at least ion is in the profession of pr so his smiles are probably more reassuring? probably. listen he was trained to handle crowds and smiling masses and public appearances okay. ]

Yes... unfortunately, we really didn't plan for this trip very well. [ a slightly sheepish dip of the head; ] We're travelers, you see, and underestimated the heat-- but she really has been quite the help to us.

I'm sure she'd be fine with assisting you as well. [ stop being so formal, ion, though he does turn a little to sort of indicate the two further behind. look trustworthy! ]

[vigilantics]

[ steph just exists ]

[asswipe]

[Veronica also exists.

And she has four whole ass ice pops with her! She'll wave them around for Varian and Ion to take.]

Yup, that's me! Helpful... Nellie. [She's trying.]

[alchemenace]

[ varian just throws veronica an unimpressed look and then he turns to the kids and. gives them? both??? popsicles???? ]

Yep! Nellie. She's a super helpful adult and she's been handing these out for kids.

[ varian wishes he was dead ]

[fonlines]

[ ion's gaze also goes pretty flat as soon as the kids attention turns to veronica and varian. really??? really. ]

You can have these for now, but please, try not to stay out in the sun for too long in the future... Nellie might not be here next time, after all.

[ anyway so he's going to straighten up with a tiny bow, then wave them a kind-looking goodbye as soon as that's sorted. this is officially varian and veronica's problem to sort now, time to scope out a house to break into! ]

[vigilantics]

[ GOOD WORK TEAM

steph will follow ion. ]

I think that one looks... empty?

[asswipe]

[Veronica, too, wishes she were dead.]

Yup...! That's right! Just— Uh. Just let us know when you're feeling cooler, okay?

[Set them free so they can go loot.]

[alchemenace]

[ luckily for us, this can be written in one tag where the children enjoy many popsicles and feel cooler and then we leave them with more popsicles because this is as close to a system as we can get.

unluckily for varian and veronica, it takes them at least ten minutes of just standing there hanging out with children and trying to feed them ice. once the kids say they're fine, varian is waving with one arm and then gesturing at veronica since he cannot. grab her. and fuckin off to find the house ion and stephanie have hopefully found to break into ]

Thanks for waiting on us!

[ rude!! ion if varian has to suffer so do you!!! ]

[fonlines]

[ ion and steph sure have scoped out a house of some sort, there's a window within uh, easy smashing range and

well ion just tilts his head at v and v when they catch up. ]

I thought this might be a more efficient use of our time.

[ but if they're all ready, their two keys secure, he'll nod to steph. take it away, uno bear ]

[vigilantics]

[ she bows, and varian and veronica will notice a sizable rock in steph's hand.

they will also notice it leaving her hand, because that rock is being fucking yeeted through the window. ]

Tada.

[ once that's done, she's going to just... tidy this up so that she can actually shimmy through this broke window and get inside. ]

[asswipe]

[Steph is truly the MVP.

Once they have the key from the last task and they can get inside:]

Is there anyone here, or...?

[alchemenace]

[ oh wow. varian is just going "go stephie" softly in the bg while she does that. anyway: ]

Does it matter? All we have to do is break in and take stuff, if we get caught, we can just-- run.

[ which they probably will have to ]

[fonlines]

[ he huffs a sigh, just a short one (it kind of is hot out here, still), and impatiently gestures a hand. ]

I've done this before during our stay here-- if they don't care for the specifics, just take something and run. We'll follow the jewels out to wherever they lead us.

[ you know, the ones just lying around that no one else seems to have noticed because magic or something.

anyway is there a desk or something, neat, ion's grabbing a figurine of some sort from it and following the rest of them, time for a speedrun. ]

[vigilantics]

[ YEAH LET'S MOSEY ON OUT

to follow the jewels. she's grabbing the key on their way out though, because that's a thing that's around. ]

Onward!

[asswipe]

Any ideas where these are taking us?

[Besides "outside of the Bazaar", anyway.]

[alchemenace]

[ they're all just running wildly on the path of jewels through-- a forest now ]

I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about it?

[fonlines]

[ it's a relatively dark clearing, apparently, that opens up pretty quickly so he can't even appreciate the respite from the heat.

unfortunately it opens up to a certain house they'd probably all rather not opt to remember at this point. ]

... I'm not sure I trust this, but I suppose this is where we must go.

[vigilantics]

...

[ she almost just turns the fuck around.

but doesn't, and instead, she will be brave and go to open the door. ]

... huh. Bad idea.

[ she's stuck. ]

[asswipe]

[Oh, mood. Veronica looks like she's about to murder a man, but instead she sticks close to Varian just in case.

But also—]

... Uh, what was a bad idea? What happened?

[STEPH??]