Murder on the Island

[Vulpix]

The green door opens to a long, dark hallway. The musty smell of old wood wafts through the air around you. Reaching out a hand to touch the wall confirms the material of its make—wooden boards, slightly damp and splintering. The five of you shuffle down the tight corridor till you reach a door at the end. Psychic, at the head of the pack, pushes it open. You squint against the harsh sunlight.

"Arr, yer late! Hurry up, now! The storm's a-brewin', and we'd best reach the island before she lets loose."

The man speaking to you—or more accurately yelling at you—looks exactly how you might expect. His beard is long and grizzled, obscuring some of the scars and wrinkles of his face. A black patch covers one eye. Atop his head sits a black tricorn hat. His dun-coloured coat blows in the wind—wind that smells salty and fresh. As he hobbles towards your group, you notice the wooden peg where a left leg ought to be.

"No time for dilly-dally. There's work to be done!"

"Captain! There be rocks 'neath the surface of the sea. We need to navigate around them." The voice comes from above and behind you. Turning to look, you see a fellow standing at a wooden steering wheel. The red bandana over his head does little to hide his lack of hair.

''Aye, we'll set these scurvy curs to work on helping you to navigate. There be five of ye?" The captain points up to the top of a mast, where you can see a large bowl shape. "Climb up there 'n help Sam with the lookout. On the double!"

Defective and Psychic feel something in their pockets. Each of them seem to have a notebook and pen. Defective's is the same as last time, but this time it seems more information has been added. This same information is in Psychic's notebook, too...

---

Locations

- The Ship

- The Island
- The Turtle Cave
- Shipwreck Viewpoint
- Smelly Flower Patch
- Big Tree Stream
- Edge of Jagged Rock Patch
- Treasure Chest Area
- The Rowboat Docking Spot
- Site of Sam's Body

Questions

What was the meaning behind the captain's riddle?

Who killed Sam?

Where is this island located?

Key Characters

- Captain Howell

- Graves, the Helmsman

- Edward Morgan, the Quartermaster

- Crazy Pete, the Surgeon

- Sam, the Cabin Boy

Rules

You may freely investigate and ask questions until the time expires.

Each group will submit ONE answer: That is, Psychic, Virgilia, and Enemy will submit one, and Phantom Arm and Defective will submit another. Failure to submit an answer will be treated as an automatic failure.

Your response will be graded in relation to total understanding of the case. If your response is below a certain threshold, you will lose two points.

If your response meets or exceeds the threshold, no point change will occur.

If your response satisfies all requirements, or in other words gets a 100% grade, you will be rewarded one additional point.

Evidence will be delivered via the coloured truth system. Red truths are objective facts about the case. Blue truths are more so speculations based on available evidence, and may not always be entirely correct.

[Vulpix]

Phantom Arm, with impressive haste, scrambles up the network of ropes leading up to the crow's nest. He pauses halfway up to admire the ship's sail up close, considers cutting off a piece to keep as a souvenir, and then decides to leave it for now. Seeing the boy already occupying the crow's nest, he doesn't enter. He clings to the rope netting below it, waiting for someone else to do the work of breaking the ice with the stranger.

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

Psychic takes a moment to investigate his notebook, before peering over the side of the boat to see his surroundings.

[Vulpix]

Dec 7, 2023 21:20:43 GMT -6 ⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆ said:

Psychic takes a moment to investigate his notebook, before peering over the side of the boat to see his surroundings.

Psychic's notebook is nothing remarkable on the outside. A plain, black, spiral-back notebook with fifty sheets of lined paper. It does come with a free Ikea pencil! And the aforementioned notes (see: locations, questions, etc). Looking over the wooden railing of the ship, you see nothing but sea on starboard side. On port side, things are a bit more interesting. While mostly just rippling waves of saltwater, there are a few places where you can see rocks pocking through. Far in the distance is a blemish on the horizon that appears to be an island.

"What are ya waitin' for?!" the captain screams in Psychic's ear. "I hired you scallywags to work, not to enjoy a pleasure cruise!"

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

Dec 7, 2023 21:27:17 GMT -6 Vulpix said:

"What are ya waitin' for?!" the captain screams in Psychic's ear. "I hired you scallywags to work, not to enjoy a pleasure cruise!"

"A-Ah, yes, of course! Sorry, sorry!"

He pockets the notebook and scrambles up into the crow's nest.

"You must be... Sam, right? Nice to meet you! What do you need help with?"

[Sorin Poe]

Taking a quick peek at his notebook to grasp the name of his soon to be foe, Enemy approaches Captain Howell. 

Enemy thinks to himself, "My money's good and I came to win. So step on up, and I promise you. Only one of us gon' make it out alive and it's not you."

So he's just going to stare down his singular eye and see if he breaks away.

While he's at it, he might as well examine the captain's outfit closer, and see if he's got a weapon on him. He's surely not a pirate captain, right?

[Vulpix]

Dec 7, 2023 21:30:54 GMT -6 ⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆ said:

"A-Ah, yes, of course! Sorry, sorry!"

He pockets the notebook and scrambles up into the crow's nest.

"You must be... Sam, right? Nice to meet you! What do you need help with?"

"Aye, that's right. And what might I call you?" Sam waits for Psychic to introduce himself before launching into an explanation. At a glance, he appears to be a teenage boy. He's deeply tanned from all his time in the sun. "I need the five of you to look around to see where the rocks are 'neath the surface of the water. When we know where they be, we can draw a map for Graves so's he can chart us a course for the island."

He passes Psychic a brass spyglass. "I've only got one of these, so the lot of us'll have to share it. I don't think it should be no trouble, though. I have seven little sisters at home, so I'm used to sharin'!"

---

Dec 7, 2023 21:54:47 GMT -6 Sorin Poe said:

Taking a quick peek at his notebook to grasp the name of his soon to be foe, Enemy approaches Captain Howell. 



Enemy thinks to himself, "My money's good and I came to win. So step on up, and I promise you. Only one of us gon' make it out alive and it's not you."



So he's just going to stare down his singular eye and see if he breaks away.



While he's at it, he might as well examine the captain's outfit closer, and see if he's got a weapon on him. He's surely not a pirate captain, right?

Captain Howell doesn't break the stare. Not even to blink. "I don't like landlubbers who don't know how to listen. Get your bones up to the crow's nest, lest I make ye walk the plank!"

Upon closer inspection, Enemy can see that the captain has a musket and a cutlass strapped to his belt.

[peterparker]

Dec 7, 2023 21:58:00 GMT -6 Vulpix said:

"Aye, that's right. And what might I call you?" Sam waits for Psychic to introduce himself before launching into an explanation. At a glance, he appears to be a teenage boy. He's deeply tanned from all his time in the sun. "I need the five of you to look around to see where the rocks are 'neath the surface of the water. When we know where they be, we can draw a map for Graves so's he can chart us a course for the island."

He passes Psychic a brass spyglass. "I've only got one of these, so the lot of us'll have to share it. I don't think it should be no trouble, though. I have seven little sisters at home, so I'm used to sharin'!"

Though it takes Virgilia a while to climb the crow's nest, she makes it up in time to get a chance to look through the spyglass. She hastily sketches out a map of the rocks that she can see. 



"Ah ... I believe this should keep us on course and not crashing into any rocks. Any objections, Sam?"

[Vulpix]

Dec 7, 2023 22:53:05 GMT -6 peterparker said:

Though it takes Virgilia a while to climb the crow's nest, she makes it up in time to get a chance to look through the spyglass. She hastily sketches out a map of the rocks that she can see. 



"Ah ... I believe this should keep us on course and not crashing into any rocks. Any objections, Sam?"

"Aye, miss, you're a natural! Can you tell which is our destination? Once you're sure you know where it is we ought to be sailing to, kindly take this map to Graves at the helm so he can steer us around the obstacles."

[peterparker]

Dec 7, 2023 23:01:10 GMT -6 Vulpix said:

Dec 7, 2023 22:53:05 GMT -6 peterparker said:

Though it takes Virgilia a while to climb the crow's nest, she makes it up in time to get a chance to look through the spyglass. She hastily sketches out a map of the rocks that she can see. 



"Ah ... I believe this should keep us on course and not crashing into any rocks. Any objections, Sam?"

"Aye, miss, you're a natural! Can you tell which is our destination? Once you're sure you know where it is we ought to be sailing to, kindly take this map to Graves at the helm so he can steer us around the obstacles."

"Ah ... well, there's a big X drawn on the island, isn't there?"

Virgilia goes through the arduous process of climbing back down to the ship's deck without letting anyone see up her skirt. Once down, she approaches the man at the ship's wheel, who must be Graves the helmsman, and shows him the X-marked island in the upper-left corner of the map. 

[crazynuto]

Aye aye el capitan! Perchance the Quartermaster needs help with supplies? I have never been quite fond of heights myself, so...I shall find them below deck. Tata for now!

Defective heads below looking for the Quartermaster...Edward Morgan? Morgan...hmm...seems to tickle the ol' brain ivories.

[Vulpix]

Dec 7, 2023 23:04:08 GMT -6 peterparker said:

"Ah ... well, there's a big X drawn on the island, isn't there?"

Virgilia goes through the arduous process of climbing back down to the ship's deck without letting anyone see up her skirt. Once down, she approaches the man at the ship's wheel, who must be Graves the helmsman, and shows him the X-marked island in the upper-left corner of the map. 

Graves takes the map from Virgilia. "Many thanks, lass. Best ya run along now and make yerself useful 'round the ship. Don't want the captain catchin' you idle. Perhaps Crazy Pete would like a touch o' help with the cannons."

---

Dec 7, 2023 23:07:34 GMT -6 crazynuto said:

Aye aye el capitan! Perchance the Quartermaster needs help with supplies? I have never been quite fond of heights myself, so...I shall find them below deck. Tata for now!

Defective heads below looking for the Quartermaster...Edward Morgan? Morgan...hmm...seems to tickle the ol' brain ivories.

Defective finds the quartermaster below decks in the kitchen. He glances up momentarily when Defective enters. "You're the new hired crew, then? Does the captain need me for something, or are you here to help with supper?"

---

Phantom Arm sidles up next to the person who assumes to be Crazy Pete. Crazy Pete is polishing the cannons. Phantom Arm observes.

---

"So, Psychic, how do you like being aboard a genuine buccaneer vessel?" asks Sam. He leans against the side of the crow's nest, enjoying the wind in his hair.

[⋆⋅ Sage ⋅⋆]

“Ah, it’s amazing! Never got the chance to do anything like this back home,” says Psychic. “Say, Sam, you’re just a kid, aren’t you? What made you decide to join this, uh, crew?”

[crazynuto]

Dec 8, 2023 1:21:47 GMT -6 Vulpix said:

Does the captain need me for something, or are you here to help with supper?"

Our dear Captain...Howell was it? Seemed a bit irate, so I elected to get myself busy. While I can't say I know the difference between a yam and a sweet potato, I'm certainly good at following directions! How can I help?

Defective salutes, as he's not sure what a pirate is supposed to do to a commanding officer. Spit in their face? Shine their shoes? Batten their...hatches? Who knows. But he's eager to help nonetheless.

[Sorin Poe]

Enemy will back off, not because he’s intimidated or anything. He’s not owned right now. Not at all.

He supposes he’ll go check out what the surgeon is doing manning the cannons instead of committing modern malpractice. At least, until this ship gets Wrecked.